Fa la la la laaa la la la la

Evidently there are 48 days until Christmas. So says the sign at Walmart. Ashley returned to school today and so I emerged from my diseased house and made my entry back into the world. I honestly don't remember the last time I actually went shopping to a couple of stores. And, man, did the price of gas jump while I was in seclusion. Seriously I know it was around $2.80/gallon when the surgeries began and today it was $3.18/gallon. It made me wonder if somehow my house turned into a time machine and jumped forward a few years. But I have digressed. I noticed it in the first store I entered--Christmas music. I know Halloween is over, but did anyone remember that Thanksgiving is between October 31st and December 25th. However, the longer I shopped the more I sang and the more I sang the more I thought about Christmas and the more I thought about Christmas the greater urge I had to buy, buy, buy, and buy some more. I was formulating Christmas lists in my head and thinking about getting this great jump start on all my shopping. I even had a toy in my cart!!!!! Fortunately my sanity returned as I reached for the second present--the subliminal messages had worked!!! And I usually pride myself on not giving in to any sales tactics--I mean, everyone knows that if you start buying Christmas presents now you will buy more than you had planned because you have so much time to shop some more and see the ultimate gifts that my kid just can't live without. This doesn't happen if you are seriously disciplined--even I don't have that kind of discipline in my shopping life. So I returned the toys to their shelves, pulled my original crinkled up list out of my pocket and became determined not to sing anymore Christmas music. I think the next time I'll wear earplugs...