Shopping adventures & an old friend...

I've been a busy bee. I've run a zillion errands over the last two days {OK - maybe 10, but I'm not a usually marathon shopper, except for groceries}. I'm too cheap to buy much, but I love looking and occassionally am suckered into buying some really cool stuff.

I was captivated by a display of sock monkies {and other critters} at World Market. I had one of these as a kid, very basic though...and I loved it. The more I research I do on the psychology behind each American generation, the better I understand how I shop - GEn-X'ers are very iconoclastic, feeling strong emotional bonds to things that trigger positive childhood memories - look around at the resurgence of 60's and 70's toys on the market and you can see that the toy company's target is the parent, not the child...OK, OK, enough of the deep thought... I went there with Ashley & her girls and was at the display when little Ella fell in love...

Also went to Hancocks & got all the fabrics for my classes in Boston next week. As well as discussing the psychology & politics of American design, we will be making snappy "trendwatching" journals and I'll teach them how to be a watcher. This class, the TrendWatcher, has taken on a life of it's own. I didn' realize when I developed it two years ago that it would become such a passion for me, that it would reshape what I read and what I think and how I look at the world around me...In Boston next week, it officially retires. But, never fear, I'll still be watching...and I'll keep you posted.

Went to my SuperTarget...for tortillas, green chile enchilada sauce & a perscription, but I left with 120 composition books {.50 a piece, people!}, really cute post-it notes with punctuation marks, a mini dymo labeler {keychain size} and these shoes. It's a curse. No, it's a plot. And I'll add, on the record, that I want to buy every single piece in their independent study lines. They're conspiring against me, I know it...

I got a call from my best friend from high school, Marcia. She lives in Seattle now with her husband and three beautiful children. She was in town visiting her parents and I got to go over & hang with the fam for a while then we went to dinner {yumm-o}. I got to hear all about her trip to Vietnam last year with a group from her church, touring conditions in hospitals & orphanages. They also were encouraged to tour the "Hanoi Hilton" which they thought was odd, until they saw all the government propaganda about how well the Americans who "stayed there" were treated...um, creepy. She took over 600 pictures and wasn't in one of them...I had to talk to her about that. Look through your pictures & make sure that when you tell your story that you're actually in your story - even if you think you need to lose a few pounds, or your hair is a mess - you're really beautiful - you're somebody's daughter, wife, mother or friend - you should cherish your own story, after all that's why we scrapbook...{all of a sudden blogger hates me - I had the picture of us up & accidentally deleted it from the post, but now blogger's acting up & not letting me add photos, so please check back}

OK, I should hop off the blog - I'm getting all deep today...have a great Saturday!