Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

I slept in a little today, not a lot, until about 8:30. I ran Disney cartoons from two of the Cartoon Classics videos while I ate my Life cereal and strawberries. Since Mother Nature is saying it's summer, I ran the "Happy Summer Days" tape that features the classic Goofy-as-suburban-father 50s shorts "Father's Lion" and "Two Weeks' Vacation," the Donald short "Tea for Two Hundred," and Mickey's last theatrical short until the 80s, "The Simple Things."

After the cartoons, I headed out to the Acme for this week's grocery shopping. I picked up a nice paycheck, then got what I needed. I lost my list somewhere between Oaklyn and the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center, so I had to approximate what I needed. I picked up chicken legs, single packs of fish, baking powder (which I was almost out of), brown sugar, and the Duncan Hines Angel Food Cake mix, which was on the clearance rack.

Headed home next to drop off my things and have lunch, then went out again for a quick run to the bank. I couldn't put it off. After I worked all those hours last week, including Memorial Day, my paycheck was just too big.

I'd been debating what to do with my afternoon. I wanted to go to the Deptford Mall, but the bus that picks up on the Black Horse Pike doesn't come back to Deptford until 9:19 on weekdays! That's way too late to be at a mall. I finally decided that, since it was a nice (if a bit humid) day anyway, I'd ride my bike to Barrington and catch the bus that went past Haddonfield, Barrington, and Runnemede. (I could have ridden my bike to Haddonfield, but not only would that have taken a little longer, but with Barrington, I'm going in a straight line. Getting to the bus/train station in Haddonfield requires more twists and turns.)

I'm glad I did. I had a very nice trip. When I arrived at Barrington, I had enough time to buy an unsweetened iced tea and treat myself to a black-and-white cookie at the Barrington Coffee House. The bus picked me up only a few blocks down from the cafe.

I did really well in Deptford. My first stop was Target. I only needed a few things there and was in and out in less than an hour. I headed straight for JC Penny next. They send me coupons in the mail all the time. My most recent coupon for them was for $10 off an order of ten dollars or more. Between that and the money remaining on the last gift card Mom and Dad gave me at Christmas, I whittled a $69 order down to $32. Bought two pairs of bermuda shorts (one khaki for work), a turquoise tank top to replace the olive one that's getting stretched and a little bleached under the arms, a pretty peach blouse, and a nice red canvas St. John's Bay purse to replace the heavy leather one I've carried for the past few weeks. (I'll keep the leather purse in case anything happens to the canvas one or the knit one I use in the winter.)

After that, I walked around in the main mall for a while. I was hoping to find a graduation present for my brother Keefe, who will be finishing Lower Cape May Regional High School on Thursday. I couldn't even find a card I liked. I have no idea of what to buy an 18-year-old boy who is about to join the Navy in the fall. He probably won't even need the housewares and cleaning items everyone bought my stepsister Jessa when she graduated high school and went on to college in 2009. I did find a small present for a friend and a the WebKinz Tomato Clown Fish on sale for myself at American Greetings.

I had an early dinner at Burger King in the food court. I haven't eaten at Burger King since I lived in Wildwood. The closest Burger King here is in malls and on the Black Horse Pike. My siblings and I ate at Burger King all the time when we lived down the street from them in North Cape May...and tonight, I'm wondering why. I had a plain old Whopper with no cheese, Diet Coke, and fries. The Whopper was an obvious processed patty, without even the smoky taste some of Arby's sliced meat sandwiches have. The fries still weren't as good as McDonald's or Five Guys'.

After a peek around Lane Bryant, I headed out to the bus stop between Lane Bryant and Lens Crafters early. Good thing, too. The bus showed up more than ten minutes before it was scheduled. This also means that I was able to get in ten minutes earlier, too, and get home a little earlier than planned. When I got in, I went right in the shower after I put everything away. Whew! I needed it.

And meet Jersey, the Tomato Clown Fish! As my first (and likely only) underwater pet, he'll get his own Underwater Room, complete with sunken furniture and waving coral plants.