Shopped out (but still not quite finished)

I worked late Friday night. By the time I got home, it was almost 8:30, which meant by the time I ate and let my food settle for an hour, it would be 9:30, so I skipped the gym. Instead, I vegged out on my couch watching It's a Wonderful Life. It's my favorite Christmas movie, and we watched it every year growing up. I hadn't seen it yet. It's not officially Christmas until I have, so I went and bought it on DVD Thursday night so I'd have it in my own collection.

It's funny the things you don't get when you watch a movie when you're little. This was the first time I'd watched the movie alone, so it was distraction-free viewing. I understood why George and Mary started acting so funny from just standing close together while they were on the phone. I also realized that my dad is George Bailey.

He's lived in our little town pretty much all his life, and there's no one like Potter that he has to protect everyone from, but he's worked hard and doesn't have as much as he'd like to show for it. He doesn't get to go on vacations, and he's told me several times he wishes he could have paid for my college so I didn't have to have student loans or that he could pay for my car so I didn't have to. I tell him I wouldn't have things any other way.

Because I got a job when I was 13, I started paying for a large portion of things I needed -- everything from clothes to makeup to school supplies and even feminine products. I paid for my CDs and magazines. I got a checking account. I learned the value of a dollar. I'm not selfish or spoiled. I appreciate what I have. I'm a bargain shopper. And because I knew it wasn't going to be easy to pay for college, I spent a ton of time my senior year in high school filling out scholarship applications, writing essays and interviewing for awards. Because I did that, most of my college was paid for. I hope my dad realizes how much of a difference he's made for so many people. They don't make guys like him anymore. He's just such a great, nice guy, and he works hard. I'm proud of him.

Saturday, I was going to sleep in or go to the gym, but K called me at about 9. I talked to him for a while before dozing off for another 20 minutes or so. Then, I went to the optometrist and finally got a new prescription for contacts. I've needed to do that for a while. The doctor told me I looked like a younger version of Nicole Kidman. :)

I went shopping and got several people taken care of. I got my hair "trimmed," but the guy needs to go back to elementary school to relearn how little "half an inch or an inch" is. He definitely cut more than that off. Oh, well.

I went to my boss's Christmas party. I was the first person there, which was kind of uncool. That's why I'm always just a little late for things. If you're late, you don't find yourself being the only person at the party while the hosts are still putting out bath mats from the wash.

The party was fun, though, once other people arrived. There was a Christmas movie trivia, though, and the grand prize was an iPod shuffle -- not the teeny little square one from this year, but the one that's about two inches long and half an inch wide. Well, the final round of the trivia was over It's a Wonderful Life, so I totally kicked butt. I got all the answers right, and I won the iPod. Woohoo!

Sunday, we had our office Christmas part at our department head's house. Her husband is a chef, so there was some amazing food there! After I left, I ran a few more errands, and my shopping is almost complete. I do still need to get a couple smaller things, but it's no biggie. I'm almost done, which is great because I don't have time this week to do much shopping, and I'm afraid I don't have the energy either.

Braving those malls is exhausting!