Shopaholic? Me?

Although not traditionally the day for sales, but many sales start today… so good luck with your bargain hunting!

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Hope you enjoyed your christmas gifts. Not that I should be advocating anything but many shops will happily let you swap your Christmas ties, socks and soaps for things you might actually want!

Thank God that everyone will accept credit cards because otherwise we would have been truly stuck. If it were not for e-commerce and credit cards, we would have been stuck in Luton indefinitely. We boarded a Ryan Air flight to Malta and this was at first delayed. Then due to the snow, we were offloaded and finally our flight was cancelled. There was no-one from Ryan Air to be found and their call centres closed. So we were stuck there and unable to do anything but thankfully with our cards and the internet, we booked new flights and train tickets to an alternative airport and finally a day later we were at our destination. I dread to think that without the internet and our cards, we would probably still be in Luton till after Christmas as the next available flight from Luton to Malta was on the 29th December!

While in London, I saw an advert for WGU – Western Governors University which is a non profit online University. It made me think about how much I would love to study further but being honest with 3 kids under the age of 4… it is almost an impossibility. BUT with it being an online university, then it can be possible as it would mean that I can study in my own time. I need to look into it further to find out how much time I can take to do a course and if there is a course that appeals to me particularly (unless there is a shopping course which would win hands down… though I could probably teach that myself)!

Doesn’t the internet facilitate everything. I mean if it weren’t for the internet… I could not even consider any further study… but like this… I can.

I know this post is not strictly shopping… but I suppose deep down I am shopping around for an affordable option to further my studies to be able to get a better paid job when I return to work, so that I can shop more. Now you decide if it is a post that deserves its place on Shopaholic or not!

I am on my way to Oxford street to do my last minute Christmas Shopping. Obviously I will be hitting

• Hamleys, the most notorious toy shop that I know,
• Fortnums & Mason, for their luxurious items,
• John Lewis,
• Monsoon,
• Ann Summers,
• Selfridges,
• Gap

and who knows where else (at least it will make a change from warehouses in  metal buildings). What I do know is that I am so going to suffer with carrying all my shopping back home!

Then heading off on Holiday for Christmas. Will let you know all about it when I come back. Meanwhile, hold tight… I will be back!!

My hubby asked me today, “do we have a small off cut of carpet?”. Well no, you threw it away saying we don’t need it. So I asked why. I mean seriously? He said he needed an area rug to put in the under stairs cupboard and could I buy a rug for the area. I laughed. I mean seriously. I love to shop and would buy as many things as we need but a rug for a storage cupboard. Mind you, I guess I could always use our hall rug and replace it with a new one!

With all todays political correctness, we have lost some of our sense of being. As humans we build protocols and social routines and our policital correctness is putting a stop to that.

For example, in the past, when a baby was born, the father would share out cigars on hearing the news. Can you imagine that happening in a hospital today? Do you know what my hubby did when my babies were born… he got out his Android Phone and posted on Twitter!

On the plus side, he was with me supporting me during labour. Perhaps I ought to buy him the upgraded phone instead of Cigars (did I mention that he does not smoke!)

It is Christmas and so it is all sell sell sell. I was actually impressed today how many stores had cardboard display units particularly for Christmas wrapping and tags. I guess it must really help promote sales and be a cheap way to prepare a sales unit for a particular stock. I guess the only issue would be how disposable they are with all the global warming issues there are. Mind you, here in IOM it all gets burnt and turned into energy so not too bad I suppose!

I have been hit by some nasty gastric bug and it has been awful. On the plus side I have weighed in a little less (which is always a good thing) especially as I would like to fit in a smaller size so that I can hit the shops. But it is not fun! Mind you I guess it should be listed among the colon cleanse reviews as the best form of cleansing. Meanwhile pass the dioralyte!

My son goes horse riding and loves it. However, it is not a cheap hobby to say the least. As he is still young and grows like a wild flower, I am always wary about buying expensive clothing. I did think about buying some breeches though I think I might prefer to start with a helmet. However his teacher must be used to kids, so she recommends that for now he uses a cycling helmet as that offers the same protection. I think it is really great that she is practical and in due course I will buy him whatever he needs, but meanwhile I will stick to practical stuff like a cycling helmet and wellies!