White New Year

Once again, I slept in today. I needed it. I felt so cranky and worn-out yesterday. Getting 8 hours of sleep for the first time in weeks helped a lot. So did making a quick run to WaWa before work. I needed milk, and I figured I'd have an easier time getting it at WaWa than at the Acme. Since I was there, I took money out of the ATM machine for the week, too, including for my counseling appointment on Tuesday. I also bought a "winter spice" cappuccino (I guess someone finally called them on their pumpkin spice cappuccino not tasting much like pumpkin) and a roast beef whole wheat shorti hoagie to take to work instead of throwing something together at home.

I finished out Holiday Inn as I swept the few leaves, sticker balls, and pumpkin seed pieces left on the porch, then got ready for work. Tossed on a Looney Tunes short that also discussed various holidays when the movie ended. "Holiday Highlights" comes with the Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers DVD. It's a typical Tex Avery gag-a-thon of nutty non-sequiters, here with a calender theme. My favorite sequences - the Valentine's turn-about and the Fibber McGee & Molly jokes for June graduations.

It was still just cloudy when I rode to work around 1PM. Work was a total and complete madhouse all night. First and foremost, there was the forecast. We're supposed to get anything from 3 to 7 inches of snow. Second, it's the beginning of the month. Many people probably got their money today. Third, people were restocking for weekend parties - late New Year's for people who had to work, Three King's Day, birthdays, the Eagles-Saints game on Saturday. Fourth, today was the last day of this week's sales. Put that all together, and it spelled total bedlam. Even with as many people working as could be rounded up and as many registers open as possible, we still didn't have enough to handle them all.

Thankfully, other than I'm dead tired, that was the worst that happened. Though there were some people who were noisy or obnoxious, most seemed to take everything in good faith. By the time I finished at 8, the customers were finished, too. It had died so quickly, I was able to leave with no relief and no need for one.

The reason it quieted down was the snow started somewhere around 6PM. I walked out of the store and into a sparkling white world. It was coming down really hard, and nothing had been plowed. I walked home. While the wind was blowing, I figured it would be easier to walk than trying to drag someone out to pick me up in that mess - I doubt anyone could dig themselves out that fast.

Actually, I very much enjoyed my walk. I was able to ride slow on the Black Horse Pike. I gave up on the bike and just walked it when I got to the Oaklyn ramp, which meant I was able to take in how lovely the Christmas lights looked against the dark night sky and glittering fluff on the ground. It was like a painting from an old-fashioned Christmas card. There were a few people attempting to shovel their sidewalks or driveways on Kendall, but the snow was coming down so hard, their efforts were really rather futile and only made surfaces slippery instead of clear.

There were two surprises waiting for me when I got home. I won two lovely hand-made dresses for Josefina on eBay. One is a pretty pink floral print with an elegant lace shawl. The other is a simpler soft blue-violet print with a sweet hat trimmed with flowers. Both are long-sleeved, which is much-appreciated. Josefina only has two long-sleeved outfits in her small wardrobe. One is her pajamas. The other is her Harvest Outfit, which is long-retired and expensive on the secondary markets.

The other was also AG-related. I got my first American Girl catalog of the year, highlighting Isabelle, AG's "Girl of the Year" for 2014. Isabelle's a dancer who designs her own costumes. She joins a prestigious art school, but feels flustered by all the talent around her...until she finds her own unique voice. Oh dear. Isabelle is the first "Girl of the Year" I've ever wanted to buy. I love her creativity/theater/dance theme, and her nifty wardrobe of separates and dance costumes. I've been wanting another dance/theater/musical themed doll to go with Molly, and one I could spoil and buy frilly-girlie modern outfits for. Most of my dolls are tomboys or Bohemian. I may consider saving up for Isabelle this winter and buying her for my birthday - we'll see how I feel in the spring.