i told myself that I wouldn't go post-Christmas crazy, and I pretty much kept my word. I only spent $50 or so. Most of what I got was light related. After the debacle of setting up the lights(which I realize now I never went into. I swear I will as soon as I can, it's hard to forget!), I will now check and replace any bad bulbs before wrapping the strings up for the year, and putting them in their tote. So after feeding this morning, I ran inside, grabbed my wallet, phone from the charger, a non-horse smelling jacket, and a hat, and took off for Wal*Mart and Target.

So at Wal*Mart, I picked up 8 10-packs of clear mini lights, 2 packs each of colored clear c7 lights for the tree(haven't blown any yet, but always be prepared),a 200 light set of lights just like the ones I have(just in case one string blows, or I can always cannibalize it for replacement parts for the ones I have) a remote controlled outlet plug(at 50% off, which was about 5 bucks!!), a few stocking stuffers(in case I ever get to stuff stockings again), and a tote that's supposed to be for bows(I already have my bows in a tote, but I also keep ribbon in it, and you can never be too organized). I tried to get tape for 50% off, but the lady at the register was being moody, I needed to get over to Target, so I didn't press the matter. I can always get tape some place else, and maybe cheaper. I have a year to keep my eyes open. The bill was ~$20-25, which was good. Next on list of places to go was Target. Targets where I broke the bank, unfortunately.

At Target, I picked up 2 sets of 100 mini-light strings. My Dad came down the other day, and he asked me where he could buy a small string of lights. I said hold on, ran upstairs to the holiday closet, and grabbed the "just in case" set of lights that were in the gift tote(Don't know why I file them under "gifts", but they've been in there for the longest time, so I don't mess w/perfection). The only bad thing about the whole situation is that he re-unforced a paranoia, which is why I went and got 2 sets(I hate when I know that the only reason I do something is because of one of my vices, and consciously recognize it, but do it anyway). So 2 sets of those(they were only a dollar each, so it wasn't that bad), a set of mini-mini-lights that has a controller to do cool patterns(i.e. chasing lights, fade in/out, twinkle, etc...) that I will add to the tree for cool effect, some more c7 lights(Wal*Mart didn't have red, and the packs at Target did), some cool garland/string I will use for next year's wine(Here is a pict of this years batch) instead of ribbon, a set of penguin salt and pepper shakers for my Mom next year, a hula girl for my car(total splurge),and my biggest expense, a LightKeeper Pro, which was $10. I justify it by the fact that the one I got last year, and used this year(I will tell the story), was great, but this one is hella better, and will hopefully pwn the other one. It has a way better bulb puller, it doesn't require wire contact to check continuity, and has a "quick fix" feature to light the set enough to find any burned out bulbs. I also picked up a gift card for my Dad, because I didn't have any idea what to get him, and it was the best I could come up with.

So after doing all of that, I came home, met up with my Dad, then went to work. And that's where I am now. OK, I think that's it for today for now. After work, I have to do a little food shopping, then depending if it's raining or not, it's either Happy Hour or cleaning up(the house is like a disaster area because of Christmas with bags everywhere). Happy holidays all!