November 22, 2008

Item #19: We are so excited! We got our "Dear Santa" letter in today's mail! I am now going to research & use all my skills to see if I can find a dollhouse for less than $30! I doubt it ... but I'll try. Her other requests are a doll & a book bag (easy enough to accomplish for less than 30 bucks, so I'll start with the grandest request first) ... but we also have clothing & shoe sizes if we wanted to get her clothes. It's such a tough call with kids who are below the poverty line. I want them to be warm for winter ... but I also know the innate desire of a child to have something to play with!



Item #90: We went to the local Teavana store we'd located & sniffed about 8 different teas, and chose 4 to bring home. We've tried the Ceylon one so far (I found it a bit too smoky for my tastes, but H admits he may have used too much tea ... and now we learn, possibly too hot water and too much steeping). Yes, tea brewing is becoming an art! We'll try the other 3 flavors over the rest of the winter.

Item #95: We purchased 3 more holiday gifts today ... and we've been reminded why we do not shop at Woodfield Mall: parking insanity, too many shoppers, and now a 10% sales tax! HOLY COW! We will not be returning there anytime soon. Except, maybe to visit Teavana in January, since there is only a 2% tax on the tea -- must be because it's a food item? I need to purchase one more gift, on Tuesday, then most of the rest are handmade to some degree!