In The Pink

Today went much better than yesterday. I went to the Acme to get my paycheck, then headed to the shopping center behind it to pick up some birthday and Christmas gifts. I got my little brother Keefe's birthday present at FYE...and ended up picking MYSELF up something as well. It seems FYE was having a 2 for 25 sale on WebKinz. I'd wanted to buy one for a Christmas gift anyway...so why not do the sale and get me an early Christmas present?

Yes, this means...meet Rose, Miles' glittery pink pony sister. Why a pony? I had no stuffed horses, and I figured, if I was going to go for a horse, why not go all the way? I hate pink, but I loved her eyes. Unlike Miles (or most WebKinz, or most stuffed animals, for that matter), Rose has beautiful blue eyes that are embroidered, not the usual round black button eyes. She does have an awfully short mane and tail, though. My Care Bears will ride her. ;)

Rose is named after my sister Rose. Rose loves horses, fantasy, and used to love pink when she was really little. (She doesn't like it any more than me now. She says her favorite color is blue.) Actually, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree - according to the "biography" given Rosie Pony when I registered her, she loves to ready spooky stories...just like her aunt as a kid. Rosie Pony is now on the desk next to my monitor. (I moved Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars to the shelf where all the other Sailor Soldiers are.)

I wanted to go frilly, but not too frilly...and not too "funky girl," either. There was a gorgeous "golden pink" bed that seemed to suit the bill, and the rest of the furnishings were either the blue stripes, fantasy, or sky themes. Like her "brother," Rose has a treadmill (actually, it was her "exclusive pet gift"), a kid bookshelf, a small table and chair, a toy box, and toys. Her bio says she loves basketball, and I also bought her a doll house, a mystery book, checkers, and the Zangoz Switcherooz game. The bio mentioned she wants to be a singer, so, like any music-inclined young lady, she has a "boy" band poster. Also like her brother, she has three changes of clothing - her "everyday" cool outfit (jeans, sneakers, a cute heart t-shirt with a jacket), a t-shirt (blue), and a polo shirt, along with pajamas (purple stripes) and, of course, a bow.

I went to Wal-Mart after that, but still no inner tubes the right size for the other bike, so I left quickly and stopped at Tu Se Bella Pizzeria for a delicious slice of veggie pizza and a Diet Coke. After lunch, I went to the Acme to do this week's grocery shopping. I ended up getting the Sugar Free Cool Whip for free; Cool Whip is 10 for 10 dollars this week, but for some reason, it ran up regular price. I took it to the counter, and I was right; it was part of the sale. Sweet. I'm going to use the Cool Whip to make a Pumpkin Pudding Pie next week, using the Pumpkin Spice pudding mix Jello put out last year.

I stopped at home long enough to put everything away (thank goodness my kitchen isn't big), and then headed to the bank and the library. Thanks to a snafu, my CDs weren't late at all. I asked the librarians what the best market was for library sciences is these days. Ironically, they said "children's librarians." That's JUST want I want to do! They suggested I e-mail local elementary school librarians for more information. That might not be a bad idea.

I ran a few quick errands after the library. I bought some small items for my sister Anny's birthday present (I didn't really know what to get her), and some Christmas cards, birthday cards, and a Thanksgiving card for my family from Dollar Tree. I stopped at the Rite Aid across from the Westmont Plaza and finally found something I'd wanted - the new Holiday Care Bears Matt mentioned at his blog on X-Entertainment. Unlike Matt, I didn't have the money for three (or the luck to find them with the wrong price), so I just bought one. I could not resist Santa Oopsy. I really like him. The character is such a dear. He doesn't have a real tummy symbol, so he apparently has to draw one (though the symbol on the stuffed Oopsy's tummy is real).

Tomorrow is the last farm market day before it ends for the winter. I hope it's nice. It was cold and very windy today, but the sun would occasionally peek out from behind the heavy clouds, and it never rained. One man I saw at work claimed it may snow tonight. In South Jersey? In November? We occasionally get light snow in December (it happened two years ago, not long before I moved), but I don't ever remember snow in November. I wish people around here didn't panic the moment the thermometer drops under 40 degrees.

Oh, and Lauren and I are working on the story again - she went to a Christmas festival in her hometown and seems to be feeling much better.