Santa Lives at the Mall!

Here at the House O' Shea, we're gettin' into the Christmas Spirit a wee bit early.  We do this every year really, because I hate the Christmas crowds, specifically, the ones waiting to see Santa.

I got the kids dressed up and off we went to the mall.  (I should have inspected the Eldest before the picture, I let him dress himself and I didn't notice until we got home that his collar was all out of whack.)  There were no other people in line, yay!  We walked in, talked to Santa and off we went.  Well, sort of.  It took about ten different takes to get an okay picture.  They were either blinking, not smiling at all or were distracted by other stuff in the mall and wouldn't look at the camera.  I took what I could get, messed up collar and all.  I'm sure Santa's leg was going to sleep with the Eldest sitting on it for so long.  That kid is heavy and tall for his age (9),  he's 85lbs!  

The Youngest was really funny, he went back to talk to Santa some more since there weren't any other kids waiting and asked him where he lived and if he knew where we lived.  Santa replied that the elves have a GPS to help him get to every house, so no worries there.  When we got home The Youngest said, "I had fun going to Santa's house!"  Did you know that Santa lives at the mall? 

Now, I'm almost done with the shopping for the boys.  Again, I hate lines and people with miserable attitudes, so I shop as early as I can.   I've never heard the Youngest as for anything until today.  Crap.  Now my shopping list has been expanded by a couple of toys.  He asked for a Batman Bat Cave with Robin, Joker and Penguin.  They should be delivered next week sometime.  I couldn't wait, I ordered them as soon as I got home from the mall. 

The Eldest has a mile long all year round list that is usually filled with expensive electronic type games, so he's no problem, but I figure I have to get the only thing that the little guy has asked for all year long.  Cause Santa has to bring at least one thing on the kid's list, right?

Return of the WIPs

It's the Return of the WIPs Episode of All Things Shea!  Well, only one really.  Remember this project?

This is the Old Shale Scarf (Ravelry link) by Tienne.  I'm using Colinette Jitterbug Sock Yarn for it.  Aren't the colors great?

I started this project back in September 2008.  The whole project was sidetracked by lots of other projects.  This time, it's sidetracking my current project.  I am halfway through the first sleeve of my sweater and very bored, so it's time to pickup and finish this little 2008 WIP.

It's funny really, I don't have very many WIPs.  (That's Work In Progress for those that aren't familiar with the term.)  I'm a fairly monogamous knitter.  There are only two other WIPs that I have sitting around and those were planned that way so that I would have something to do between big serious projects.  This, however, has just been plain neglected, poor little scarf.    

The Thrill of Bargains

I hit up my favorite thrift shop over the weekend to get the Eldest some "camping" clothes.  Basically, he needed some play clothes that he could wear that it wouldn't matter how much dirt he ground into them.  So, off I went.

Check out the cool deals that I found:

1 pair of camouflage pants = $2.48
1 pair of pants (zip off, REI brand, never worn) = $2.98

Perfect!  But I found more goodies too:

1 Rubbermaid storage tub (it's pink, but I can live with that) = $.99  Most of my jewelry making stuff fits in it, which makes me really happy.  I've been tired of using three smaller storage boxes.
1 Knit It Sheep Kit (Retails for $14.99, still shrink wrapped) = $1.98

Being frugal can be hard, but sometimes it's just plain fun.  All that for $8.93, which includes the 6% sales tax in this county, and let's not forget to mention the thrill of finding stuff for next to nothing.  Combine that with the $22 bucks that I saved on our grocery bill from coupons and sales and you can go ahead and call it a good weekend! 

Of course, my Monday totally and supremely sucked, but what else can you expect from a Monday anyway?