Hallelujah!

Do you hear that? That chorus of angles, singing a round of Hallelujah. Oh yeah. Today has been a joyous hallelujah kinda day. I decided that my negative attitude towards shopping and clothing in general was probably keeping me from finding anything purchasable. So I decided that I would go dress shopping with a whole new attitude. The whole way to the store I was repeating positive mantras in my head. "I am going to go into this store with a smile on my face. I am going to find a dress that I like and that likes me. And I am going to walk out of the store with a dress to wear to the wedding and a smile on my face." And guess what? It worked! Only instead of walking out of the store with a dress, I walked outta there with 2 dresses. Only it took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to that point.

I walk back to look at the dresses and I start pulling things off the rack. This sweet little girl (little enough that I could have picked her up with my pinkie finger, easy) came up to me and asked if I needed help. I said, "YES! I DO!" I proceeded to tell her about my lack of fashion sense and the need for a dress to wear to my brothers wedding. Would she please, please help me!?! I showed her a skirt I liked and asked her what shirt she would wear with it. She said she didn't know. I looked at her and her 20 layers of clothing cuteness and wondered how she didn't know what kind of shirt I should wear with a skirt.

Then she started giving me some options. She gave me a t-shirty kind of shirt and said that it would look really cute tucked in. I thought that right about then would be a good time to inform her that I could not wear a t-shirty kind of shirt tucked in to anything because it made me look extra super fat. She said that it would be OK because the type of skirt I had, came up high on my waist and would hide my fatness. I looked at her and thought, listen you skinny little...sweet thang...you don't know whatcher talkin' about.

Anyways, I loaded myself up and headed for the dressing room. The most annoying dressing rooms ever invented in the whole entire world. You can only take 5 items in at a time. The problem with that is when I am shopping, I literally try on about 60 different things to every 1 thing I purchase. And the doors to the dressing room lock, so if I have to run out and get a different size, I have to find skinny little...sweet thang...to let me back in. And guess what? I had to go out and get a different size of EVERYTHING that first go around. I wear medium in pretty much everything. I picked up a medium at this store and I couldn't even get my right ankle in it. Medium my booty. Medium for someone who eats 6 oz. of non fat yogurt for breakfast, lunch and dinner maybe.

OK. I was in that store for 3 full hours. I'm serious. 3 hours. I tried on every article of clothing they have. I was there so long that a lady that lives down the street from me came in, did her shopping and left, and then another lady that lives down the street in the other direction from me came in, did her shopping and left. Little Miss Sweet Thang and I became the best of friends. I know she must have been so relieved when I finally left. But I walked up to the front and turned right around and walked back and made her help me pick out jewelry to match. And I had to get her to open the dressing room again so I could try on the dresses with the jewelry. I could see the look of horror in her eyes when I came back a third time. Oh, poor little gal. She earned her pay today.

So I left with 2 dresses. Because my theory has always been, if you are trying on 500 dresses and you find more than one you like, and it likes you, by 'em all. 'Cause you don't wanna have to repeat that process for a very long long time. And I was so excited because I saw those shoes up there ^^^ at Kohl's a couple months ago and I wanted them so bad, and I told myself way back then that I was gonna find a dress to match so I could go back there and make them mine. And now they are! Yay!

That's three big fat deep juicy drop pop reasons for the Hallelujah chorus, but there is more. I picked up my van from the shop today. They were able to fish 43 cents out of my CD player that Addy shoved in there back last spring. And now my CD player, radio, DVD player and navigation system work! HELLO HONEY! The CD player and radio weren't that important. I hardly every use them. I like to use my time in the car to think deep thoughts and talk up a storm to myself. But if you know me at all, you know it's hard for me to find my way around with my navigator, let alone without it. And the DVD player. The DVD player. That's gonna come in very handy in the next little while.

Also, I finished up my last little bit of shopping I needed to do, came home, wrapped all our presents, and then opened them all up again! And guess what? Santa came to our house tonight! We love Christmas so much, we set our tree up in the middle of November, and we open our presents in the middle of December.

Allyson's Big List of Things to Do Before Friday: check, check, check, check, check, and check!