Was That _My_ WalMart?

I'm home today, trying to reach a delicate balance in my packing. Enough stuff, but not too much. Fewer suitcases, but not too heavy. One of my secrets - vacuum bags! (Not the kind that go in your vacuum cleaner, but the kind that you seal and press out the air.)

I've used these for my work trips for several years. Especially in the days of carry-ons and inspections by hand, I liked having my dirty clothes somewhat contained. When my hair product packaging prevented me from carrying on my suitcase, I continued to use the vacuum bags, to better use the available space in my suitcase. Yes, things come out wrinkled, but part of my first-night-in-the-hotel ritual is to iron everything for the trip, so it works out.

So, in this week's pack-stravaganza, I ran out of vacuum bags. Not sure how that happened, as I've had occasion to pack for the whole family for a week-long trip before. But, I've also slept since then, so there's no telling if I bagged things differently, or found a new place to stash my bags (and then forgot about it). I also have one bag with a tear along the seam, so I justified it was time for some new bags. I've taken the day off from work, so I figured I could shop after I dropped the kids off at school.

Ok, it's confession time: I'm not a WalMart shopper. The cluttered aisles, the sheer volume of things available at the store, the nutty parking lot arrangement; I just don't like it. However, there are things I like to buy at WalMart: kids hangers, some crafty stuff, etc. I've discovered the only time I can tolerate WalMart is first thing in the morning, when no one's there. (And yes, it's a 24-hour store, but there's usually no one there until after 10 am.) So, on this morning, I stopped by WalMart in search of my vacuum bags.

I walked into the store and sensed something was up. There were more bodies in the store, but they were employees, or maybe even Managment or Corporate Management. The regular employees were very heads-down, getting their stuff done, but watching this cluster of men in button-down shirts out of the corners of their eyes. I rounded the corner toward the pharmacy section, and discovered a clean, wide expanse of linoleum...all the in-aisle displays were gone. Hey! Maybe these guys in the shirts should come by more often! But, I sensed flux, not total change. Sure, the aisles were clear, but I know WalMart...this is not a permanent change. The clutter will be back, urging me to pick up the value pack of two deodorants or hand lotion.

I tracked down my vacuum bags and browsed the store, looking for other items on my list. Sure enough, there were several wide open spaces around the store - all the aisles, but within some of the merchandise areas as well. Interesting...

(While I was checking out, the "remodel team" was paged over the intercom, which suggests to me that the clean aisles were truly temporary - just for the convenience of the remodel team.) Sigh.

Turns out, the vacuum bags I bought are too big. So, I'll be touring WalMart again this afternoon. I'd report on what has changed since this morning, but, as I'm not totally memorized the floor layout, I'm not sure I'll notice!

It's Christmas!

We've had a lazy day today - sleeping late, vegging out in front of the TV and/or computer, raiding the freezer for whatever goodies are down there to make a meal. We did get the girls' sugar cookies made and decorated (and I managed to make colored icing without getting the color all over my hands!). The girls are in bed, and I'm waiting until they're good and asleep before I do anything else. wink.

We did take advantage of the Christmas Music station on the digital cable today - was really nice to have that in the background while baking the cookies and wrapping the last of the family gifts. And I think the version on cable is better than the local radio station who's gone to 24-hour Christmas tunes, because the cable version doesn't have commercials. Although, radio commercials aren't nearly as bad as the commercials on the Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. My youngest was trying to convince me today that we need the Snugglie - the Blanket With Sleeves! Aaaugh!

This is the first year in many that we've been home for the whole Christmas break. The stars aligned over Columbus, Ohio last weekend and we had Christmas with my family, whereas in normal years, we've made the trip up after the holiday - even as late as New Year's. It was a pretty quick weekend, but well worth it to get the whole bunch of us together. Yay! As an added bonus, we're hoping to see some of our far-flung friends while they're in town with their families.

I think the egg nog in the fridge is calling my name. I'll sign off now, and wish you all a Merry Christmas. ;-)

On the Road Again

Hello from the road! I'm in Boston for work. I came out on Saturday to see my sister - we had a good time! Today, in discussing tomorrow's schedule, we realized I didn't allow myself enough time to fininsh my training session and get to the airport. The training sessions here are going really well, and we don't want to reschedule the last session and lose momentum. It's been a while since I traveled through an airport of any real size, so, on the advice of my team, I changed my flight home. Since I haven't blogged since the last time I was on the road, I figured it was probably time to check in!

Steph and I ran through Target on Sunday, picking up a few things for my stay in town, and some stuff for Steph's house. I ended up at a different Target last night with some of the team from work, picking up a couple more things for the trip (and a book to read on the plane home). Good Old Target!

Other Boston Observations:

• The local newscasters don't have the local accent!
• The 99 Restaurant has pretty good food!
• There are more hills here than I expected (not sure why...)

That's it for now!