Buy one get one free!

It's the season to be jolly. The discount deals on items from pens to panties are amazing. If you like shopping that is. And the places to shop are infinite. From the glossy malls, to the sometimes not so pretty alley shops that specialize in a vast array of everything, are a spend-thrift's paradise. So, why do I feel like I'm in hell every time I have to shop, even for home essentials?

By now you should have guessed that I'm not a 'let's go shopping' kinda gal. I would have blamed my parents here too, but both of them actually enjoy walking around aimlessly and buying the oddest of things. This has to be an acquired trait, probably stemming from all the aimless walking around I've done with my parents...Oh!! I can blame them!! My husband too is the shopper of the family. When he gets the time to shop it can escalate into hours of torturous, completely uncalled for meandering, which many a times results in bad tempers, aching legs and insatiable hunger (from the exercise), besides the non-purchase of merchandise. Needless to say I'm very reluctant to go out with him on a shopping spree, even if he's paying.

I am a man's best friend and a girls' worst nightmare. I go in with set ideas of what I want, always knowing which store has the items I need. I spend less than 5 minutes to get exactly those things on my itemized list. I spend less time shopping than I do on this computer.So, when I can't find the things I'm shopping for, it truly unnerves me.  The last few weeks have been particularly stressful. I've had a few items on my list that I just haven't been able to cross off, leading up to the surprise I've planned (read The Surprise). How am I going to be able to fullfil my end of the surprise when every store that I go to doesn't carry the necessary equipment? All this wasted time and stress is giving me an ulcer. I'm at my wit's end and my last pair of good shoes. I would have just given up by now, since there is only 1 day left, but I realized that while I dilly-dallied around finding the perfect things, I've managed to acquire some fabulous paintings for the house and other sundry things, that I actually have use for and weren't on my list.

I'd like to say that this is a win-win situation, buying a fabulous find instead of my regimented merchandise. But I find I prefer the 'Buy one get one free deals better", even if I have to pay for them, as long as I get what I went shopping for.