persephone33

A first happened in this, my (and Nolan's) eleventh year of marriage.

He took me shopping on my birthday.

I know.  I was as shocked as you are.

He didn't set limits or parameters, and except for being a little tight-lipped and pale of face about pulling out his credit card to pay for an admittedly pricey set of bejeweled hair combs, he was a peach. And he really did make the day about me; we lunched, spent an hour sniffing perfume, lolled around in many different shoe departments, he waited patiently as I tried on fifteen million pair of boots, and he only diverted into Johnston and Murphy once.  If you knew Nolan's shoe fetish like I do, you would have indulged him, too.  All in all,  I call the day a success.  I didn't find any boots I liked, but I ended up with a few pairs of tights, some new perfume, and THESE bad boys.  (I couldn't find the exact picture.  I think mine are even cuter, though.)  EDIT:  Nope!  HERE THEY ARE!

I'm not gonna lie.  They make me a little giddy.  And I had to leave them at mom's house due to space being at a premium in our luggage. * pitiful sob*

Maaaaybe that's why Nolan and I are so well suited.  We BOTH have a shoe thing.  Huh.  Go figure.

And I got not just one, but two awesome, HOMEMADE birthday cakes by two of the best cooks on Earth.  Mom made  my favorite cake in the world, and my sister Em made a dynamite chocolate raspberry with a ganache frosting that made me want to weep with joy a little because it was so fabulous. It got inhaled so fast I didn't have a chance to take a picture.  And many, heartfelt thanks to all of the people who sent good wishes on the day, or after.  I really appreciated them all.  You people make me smile.

So I bought stuff today.  A LOT of stuff.  I spent a lot of money that wasn't mine (or at least didn't come directly out of my personal checking account).  I think I got about $600 worth of CG's for the company Christmas party and 10 'girly gifts' per Nolan's request.  I suppose the wives aren't being fairly represented by all of the other gift certificates.  I have more to do tomorrow, but look at what I bought for me:


So I will be all kinds of cute at the company Christmas Party.  Where no one will sit with us, because no one likes the boss.  *sigh*  Luckily, I have other friends, and there are major perks to sleeping with the boss.  *wink*

So I'm at the mall today trying on that dress, and I couldn't get it zipped by myself.  I sigh heavily, and go out of the dressing room to find a salesgirl to help me out, and while she was zipping me, popping her gum and rolling her eyes, this little old woman (like in her 70's) comes out of the dressing room in this truly hideous jacket.  That's she's trying on.  I give the three-way mirror a glance, decide the dress is for me, (Because I'm a purchaser, not a shopper) and head back to put my clothes back on.  The woman smiles at me and tells me that the dress is pretty, and pleasantries are exchanged, blah, blah.  Anyway, she asks me what I think of her jacket, ( she was singing in a Christmas pageant, and had to have a  jacket tonight) and I panicked a little, because, truly, if she was my grandma, I would've ripped it off her and stomped on it, and maybe, maybe set it on fire.  It was that bad.  

I said something innocuous, I honestly don't remember what...  I didn't lie, but I wasn't exactly truthful, either, because that would've sounded something like, "No.  Exactly how many turkeys were destroyed to make that jacket?"  Anyhow, I get dressed and come back out of the dressing room, and the little old lady is standing there, looking helplessly at all these jackets.  The salesgirl (who by now has put on her ipod and is texting someone) is obviously going to be of no help to this woman, so I sigh and go over to her.  I helped her picked out four jackets that would go well with her coloring, and she went in to try them on.  I went to buy the dress, nearly beheaded the salesgirl (she would have totally never seen it coming) and in the mean time, the little old lady comes out of the dressing room and shows me her stuff.  After my transaction, I went back over to help the little old lady (who's name was Audrey, btw) make her final decision, and she started crying a little, and told me that her daughter and grand-daughter hadn't had time to come and shop with her today, and that me taking time out of my day meant a lot to her.   

And then she hugged me. 

So I almost started crying in the middle of Dillard's, which, you know, is really SO not my style.

And then I remembered that not all people are giant throbbing asses, and that I shouldn't want to be one myself, either.  

Merry Christmas, y'all.