A Year of Blogging: December 26, 2011

December 26 was 'Whiner's Day'. I guess it's a good day for you to whine about the presents you wanted but didn't get. Or maybe it has its roots in children whining because they are already bored with their toys. Either way, it doesn't seem to be a very pleasant day. One of the advantages of being an adult is you can buy your own things. If there was something you wanted that you didn't get, you can just go buy it. I tend to make a list of things I'd like to get 'someday'. Sometimes I give the list contents as gift suggestions (such as the tea box I wanted). Otherwise, I just keep the list and buy it when I have the funds (or when I remember). So there should be no whining. Here in the US, December 26 starts the next big round of shopping. It's time to head back to the stores and return the gifts you don't like. Or that don't fit. The news said it's the day we take back all the things we don't want our cousins knowing we are returning. Our cousins? Diane Sawyer must be closer to her cousins than I am to mine. We don't exchange gifts. Maybe some of the 13 of them do, but none of them exchange with me, nor I with them. I don't often have to return gifts though. The way to avoid returns is to either be very specific about what you want, or ask for gift cards. Or books. December 26 is also a good time to snatch the sales on Christmas merchandise. We went to Target yesterday. I'm going to start making yarn ball wreaths to sell in my upcoming Etsy shop. Some of the wreaths I saw online also have Christmas ball ornaments. So I went to Target to get some! I found sets of 50 ornaments online. Regular price $15, online they were on sale for $10.50. In the store, they were 50% off- so $7.50 each. I thought for sure they'd be sold out, but the store still had a great selection. I bought six boxes of ornaments, plus a few boxes of mini ornaments, to vary the sizes on the wreath. I saved $68! I was so excited, I drove across the parking lot to Michaels' and spent all that I saved at Target, and then a whole lot more. I needed yarn for my many projects. I bought yarn for eight different projects. I am so very excited about 2012 and the new opportunities in front of me. I think instead of whining today, everyone should take time to look at the gifts they received, the family that surrounds them, and the new year stretching in front of them. I'm sure everyone has plenty not to whine about. Maybe you'll even find that while your life isn't perfect, it certainly is blessed.