Saturday Alone

J. and the boys are in Tulare this weekend, where J. is attending his 40th high school reunion (in Visalia). We had considered me going - and I would have. But I was glad/relieved/thrilled when J. suggested he would be fine going alone - he knew I probably wouldn't enjoy it much and he didn't want to worry that I was having a rotten time. I went to his 25th and it was fine, though 'fun' is not an adjective I'd use to describe it. So I opted out, which saved us oodles of $$ and gave me a weekend at home alone. Just me and Chloe.

I drove to Pleasanton again today to return the outfit I bought at jjill a couple weeks ago. Ended up buying a jacket I had my eye on that day, which was now clearanced and 1/2 off! Love a deal! I had lunch (an almond pretzel from Auntie Anne's and an iced tea from you know where. Also went to Sephora for a few 'beauty' items and saved myself shipping since I was planning to order them.

They were putting up the big Christmas display in the mall ALREADY and already had the 'calendar' kiosks in the middle of the mall for Christmas gifts. They also had 'fake' Christmas trees with multi colored lights - exactly what we've been looking for. We have considered buying the Costco pre-lit trees but those lights are just clear and we all want multi. So when I saw the 'tree store' in the mall, I headed in. And then immediately headed out. The tree I looked at, at the 2nd to the shortest size, was ONE THOUSAND NINETY DOLLARS. Can you believe that? Even at $100/tree (which we rarely spend - we're usually between $65 and $85), it would take us NINETEEN YEARS to recoup our investment. True, some of the attraction is avoiding the hassle and mess of a real tree. The outing to buy it; minutes/hours finding the right one; tying it to the top of the car and praying we make it home before it falls off; dragging it into the front door, leaving a trail behind us; getting it into the stand; etc....but I don't think I can spend that kind of money on a FAKE tree. I just can't do it. I think if we decided to go the 'artificial' route this year, we'll buy the Costco tree with white lights and then add colored lights to it. Easy. Though I think we will likely be 'traditioned' into getting a real tree every year until the kids don't live here anymore. It's what they've grown up with and like. And I can't blame them for that...

I went to SaveMart and bought some Ben & Jerry's ice cream for a treat. Got the 'new' Creme Brulee flavor, which was incredibly, sickeningly sweet - and after a couple spoons, I had to eat some potato chips to even out the sweet with some salty. Now I'm parched and will need some cold water to get rid of the salt.

I've paid the bills, cleaned out the catalog cupboard, signed up for a service that deletes your name from catalog mailings for those you don't want, taken out a lot of recycling, played with Chloe, had dinner (baked potato). Will soon be starting some laundry, running the dishwasher and making some pineapple pumpkin bread for tomorrow.

We've started letting Chloe out in the evenings - freeing her from her puppy prison to come play for a bit. She still piddles - everywhere - and we are watching her like a hawk. But as long as she stays in the same room where we are, she does pretty well. And she loves playing and it's been a lot of fun to see her interact WITH US, instead of playing with Dani. She is becoming a 'people' dog instead of a dog's dog and it's been fun to see her transformation this week. We still have a long way to go to get her to be a 'allowed out all the time no caution required' dog, but we're working on it. We're going to take her to the vet for a checkup and tell them that she piddles when she's excited or nervous - and see if there's something wrong with her. Besides a small bladder, which I suspect is the problem. She's a tiny little thing.

Gotta run. Time for Chloe's play time. We're watching 'You've Got Mail', the absolutely perfect Saturday evening alone movie.

Night all. Chloe and I wish you a peaceful evening and a good night's sleep.