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Depending on how motivated you are or aren't, Sunday is the unofficial day of Catching Up & Lazing Around, isn't it? I like to do a little of both.

I had such a busy week, I crashed & fell asleep at 8pm last night, right in the middle of an exciting episode of one of my favorite shows, The L Word (we rent it, so we're just now watching the last season). I had planned to go out with friends, because it was Michelle's last weekend here before she moves to Wales for three months, but I just knew I wouldn't make it. Maybe if the plan had been to go to a comedy show, where I'd just have to sit on my ass & listen, I could've, but they were going out for karaoke & dancing. I really hate missing out on fun, but sometimes you just need to catch your breath.

No sooner had I made the decision to stay in, than Amy's friend Curran was inviting us to a party. He jokingly added, "If you're not in bed," either because sleep is Amy's #1 hobby, or else he was insinuating we were doing the wild monkey dance, although I think the first is more likely, because they used to be roommates & he knows her all too well, lol. When she told me what he said, I replied, "They're nice," (meaning the people having the party & the people who'd be there) "but we really don't fit in. Mostly because we don't drink, but also, the fact that he joked, 'if you're not in bed,' and we are, in fact, in bed..." Haha, we're just not party people, at least not that kind of partying.

Before chill time began yesterday, I took our friend Dana's girls, Grace & Penny, out to their first-ever clothing swap. I'm used to scoring big time at swaps, and I thought they'd go home with bags full, but I guess kids' clothing swaps are a different ball game. Dana sent them with really nice dresses & other things that no longer fit, which were scooped up literally as I was dumping them out of the bag, and the "pile" (like, ten items) there for them to look through was full of items stained so badly, it was clear people just brought what they couldn't even get $0.10 for in a yard sale. Kizzy brought her daughter, who was swapping for the first time, as well, and the same thing happened with her. It was really disappointing.

There was a toy swap going on after the clothes swap, so I guess people brought a few ratty clothing items, just so they could snag some toys. It was a very different experience than I am accustomed to at swaps, where people are usually generous and kind, rather than greedy and inconsiderate. On the bright side, once the toy swapping began, the kids couldn't have cared less that they didn't get clothes, especially Penny, the youngest of the bunch. I even snagged a few stuffed animals that no one seemed to be interested in & gave them to our dogs, including a talking Care Bear, which excited Princeton a little too much (he cut himself on it somehow & then went crazy "murdering" it, so we had to take the voice box out, lol).

I finally took down the last of the Halloween decorations a few days ago, and Christmas stuff has made it out of the storage closet, although not out of bins and boxes yet. My ideal schedule is to have the place decorated for Christmas on Nov. 1, so we can enjoy it for as long as possible without feeling weird (I won't mix it w/ Halloween, as Amy practically begged me to, after she bought some icicle lights last month), but I have realized that the only way my home could ever be run the way I'd really like it to (hello, Stepford wife) is if I had no life whatsoever. I'm just not willing to make that sacrifice for spotless floors & early Christmas decorating.

I have been Christmas shopping for months, but now, it's time to really focus & make sure I have something for everyone. I always want to buy so much for so many people, I have to pace myself. Every year, I buy gifts for some people who aren't able to reciprocate, and I really hope those people don't feel bad about it. I buy for the people I really want to buy for, and the fun of it is a gift in itself. When it comes to good friends, I tend not to think about price, but that is not to say I buy extravagant gifts all the time. It's just, I might see something that is $10 one year, or maybe $50 another year, and if it's the thing that makes me go, "Omg, that is soooooo her," then I get it. I don't worry if I spend $10 on one friend & $50 on another, both of whom are equals in the friendship department.

I just worry that other people are not like me, and they are keeping score, both of the gifts themselves & of the value. That's the kind of thing that can make people feel weird, esp. if you get them something nicer than they get you, or they know you got a mutual friend something much more expensive, etc. But it shouldn't be like that. When I receive a gift, my feelings on how "nice" it is are in direct proportion to how "me" the item is, not how much it cost. And as much as I love receiving gifts, it doesn't bother me when someone doesn't get me one, regardless of how many other people they bought for and/or what they got them. It's just... a gift should be a gift, free of clear of politics! A way to say, "I really appreciate your friendship, and I saw something I thought you would like, so I bought it for you." Dream on, right? lol

( Okay, enough talk. Pictures! )

My fourth & final Halloween event was a night out that involved a comedy show, a drag queen show, and dancing in two seriously cool clubs (which is saying something, b/c I'm very picky about clubs). Such a blast!



Rose & me, sisters by choice. I'm so glad I met her!

( Halloween, Part 2 )


P.S. This super-flattering photo from the other night popped up on facebook. LOL, awesome!