Winter

Day 76-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Winter is here at Fort Simcoe. We got a light dusting of snow last night and we're expected to get 1 to 3 inches again tonight. I'm pretty excited. I love snow! I'm like a little kid in a candy store right now. I'm all bundled up, walking around with the heat packs Mom sent, my scarf wrapped so tight, and my beanie pulled down so far down my ears that all you can see is my eyes. I feel like an Eskimo. :-)
I finally have an excuse to listen to Christmas music (thank God, I've only been waiting since August).

I went on Day Pass yesterday. Every Saturday you have an opportunity to go on Day Pass and they take a bus into Yakima to the mall or Walmart. Anyway, I went to the mall looking for shoes and tights to go with my brown dress for Thanksgiving. Now I really hate shopping. I always have an idea about what I want, but no idea where to start looking. So yesterday, I gathered all the shopping sense I had and stopped at Payless Shoes first. I didn't want to spend a million bucks on a pair of shoes I would wear maybe twice a year. As I was looking through the selections I started feeling really hopeless. Oh my goodness, why in the world are there so many designs?? Of course I have no idea whats in style or what might be too much, you know? And every time I put on a pair of heels I could hear my toes screaming. Why in the world do women torture themselves to look 'classy'? I figured I was asking too much to find an 9 1/2W that didn't make my feet look like Frodo Baggins'. I tried to cram my feet into all kinds of 8s and 8 1/2s. Yeah, wasn't going to happen. I was so frustrated I almost gave up, but I decided to take a shot in the big foot section. As I was carelessly scanning the rows and rows of impractical shoes, I spotted a sticker that was out of place and said '9 1/2W'. No way. Next to this sticker was another bright yellow sticker that said '$10'. Oh my gosh! The label on the box noted 'dark brown, two inch heel'. You gotta be freakin kidding me!  I took the lid off the box and I swear the ceiling opened, the skies parted, angels sang, and heaven shone down on this pair of shoes. I put them on and they were perfect. I snatched them up and took them to the front counter and the girl asked me if  wanted socks or something for half price! I asked for some tights and she picked out the last pair of matching brown ones. I was so excited! I got the finished touches to my outfit for 15 bucks and all under 15min. (Yeah I know, I make it seem like I was in the store forever, but 15 minutes is a long time for this redneck).

After my success at the shoe store I went looking for a present for Jamie's mom, Dawn. My mom told me I should go empty handed and she was right. I knew that Dawn liked quilting and art so I went looking for an arts and crafts store. I never did find one (then again I wasn't putting much effort into looking, I'm so helpless in a mall), but I did see a BIG sign that said 'Up to 50% OFF all FRAMED PAINTINGS'. I was curious so I took the escalator and went to take a look. There were some really beautiful pieces that reminded me of home and the rodeo. It was hard to tell on a few pieces whether it had been painted or photographed. After I was done admiring I was about to walk out when I saw a painting of a farm house with a quote; "Families are stitched together with memories". There were fields surrounding the farm house that had been painted to look like a quited blanket. Wow, that's perfect. I frowned when I saw the price though. It was 88 bucks. Damn. Too bad. Then the salesman came up behind me, I guess noticing my interest and said, "I can lower this one to about $35". I gave him a look that must have been pretty silly since he furrowed his brow and gave me a frown. I quickly recovered and told him that I'd take it. Tax came to about 5$ but I thought it was still a good deal. He seemed eager to get rid of it, which made me wonder if I had made a wise choice, but I'm still happy with my purchase, and I figured he was just happy to get it off the wall. I was afraid it might be too big of a gift for not only is it a rather large painting, but it also wasn't some cheapo Hallmark 'thank you' card. So I called Mom to get some reassurance and she said the gift was very classy and I did I good job. Yay!

After I got all my shopping done, I found a Hurricane Coffee (Tully's, for those of you in different areas), ordered a white peppermint mocha (it must of been the best I've ever had), and a heated cinnamon roll. I then found a comfy couch in the corner where I wouldn't be bothered, curled up with my holiday coffee and pastry, and got a whole 2 hours to enjoy my book. They were even playing Christmas music inside the lounge! I definitely had a perfect day at the mall. :)