CRANKY SHOPPER

There was a time when I loved shopping.  I could spend hours in stores looking at everything, touching the

fabrics, slipping on clothes in the dressing rooms.  There was a time when salespeople were abundant, helpful and attentive.  I never could afford the really high end retailers, but Nordstom was so service oriented it was my favorite place to shop even if I couldn't buy much.  I always hoped that all the stores would see their example and follow it - but instead, it seemed to slide the other way.

Before there was even online shopping, I shopped catalogs.  It started when I was pregnant with the twins in late 1987.  I tried shopping in a mall when I was 7-8 months pregnant; my doctor forbade me anymore trips to the mall when he saw what was going on with the monitor I was required to wear to detect early labor.

After they were born, well, try shopping with a double wide stroller - I was the entertainment for half the shoppers at the mall.  It was still a bit unusual to have twins back then and the sight of those two babies drew a crowd.  I am not kidding.  My sister can attest that people literally grabbed the stroller to stop and take a look and comment.

So the catalog shopping continued.  As we all know, if you get on a list for one or two of them, the mailbox fills up really fast after that.  And then when stores started having websites and I could safely shop online - well, let's just say that years went by without trips to the mall even without the excuse of  pregnancies, babies, toddlers, kids and, later,  full time employment.  I'd say about 98% of my holiday shopping is done online.

There has been much discussion about the malls being empty this holiday season and the online retailers raking it in.  Wonder if the brick and mortar stores will pay attention now?

I went to the mall on December 1 and couldn't find a single salesperson at Macy's to ask about  stock or a style I was looking for. The aisles were crowded with racks, clothes were on the floor and heaped on the shelves, it was hard to figure out the organization of the merchandise or to find sizes. I did find a couple of things I liked and after lunch with my sisters (and I had birthday money in my pocket) we went back.  They approved the sweater so we got in line.  It didn't seem to be moving so we walked around and found another register and another line.  There was a woman who was returning 2 bags of things she had previously purchased and re-buying them with coupons.  It was ridiculous.

Rather than try to find another register, I dug deep for my patience and waited to make my purchase.  That is when I realized I would rather shop online than wait in line. The former love of seeing all the merchandise, touching the fabrics and trying things on just pales in comparison with the irritation I experienced.

Anyone in the business of customer service knows the axiom "Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part."  Yet there has been a week of news reports over the failure of Fed Ex and UPS to make all their Christmas deliveries "ruining" the holiday for people all across the country.

If these folks didn't care enough to get their shopping done in the 11 and 3/4 months before Christmas - how is it the fault of the delivery service that their holiday was spoiled?

And now I hear that recycling centers are "overwhelmed" with cardboard boxes following this online shopping frenzy.  It's always something - isn't it?

I will now remove my cranky pants and get ready to go do a couple of errands, including making a return to a real store..

TIME WARP TUESDAY

It is time for Time Warp Tuesday again - hosted by Jenn, we all post photos from our homes and tell the stories behind them!  Check in with Jenn to see who is participating this week!

This is a professional photo that I had made as a Father's Day gift for Tom.  He loved black & white photos in silver frames - so that is what he got!  I had not planned to be on the photo, but the twins were not doing well with the whole process, so I joined in to stop the melt down.

TIME WARP TUESDAYS

Welcome to Time Warp Tuesday sponsored by Jenn at Juggling Life.  We are posting pictures we have around our homes and telling the stories behind them.

This week I am posting two pictures.  My twins, Maggie and Zac wanted to get tattoos when they turned 18.  Then they decided they should wait until they were 19 so they wouldn't be too cliched plus they were still deciding what they wanted to do.  It was going to be a twin thing, they knew that. By that time they had been separated by the entire country for 4 months at their colleges and during winter break they got their ink.

They had each other's initials with an "&" placed close to their hearts.

I am not a fan of tattoos, never wanted my kids to get them, but how could I help but be touched by their choice?

Then for Christmas this year, Maggie found this ornament for them to share.

TIME WARP TUESDAY

Time Warp Tuesday is Jenn's idea - now we have several bloggers posting photos from around our homes with the stories behind them.  Go here to see who's playing this week!

I missed the opportunity to post a Happy 25th Birthday to my twins last week - so this week I am featuring their first "mall" photos.  And I mean mall photos. 

There was a spot in the middle of the mall (a predecessor to the "kiosks" that now fill up all the walking space.)  The set-up  was a table and an easel with backgrounds on it and a photographer right out there in the middle of things. This always made for a crowd willing help distract crabby babies (ahem, Zac) and get involved in the whole enterprise.

Back in the late 1980's, twins were not as common as they are now and we drew quite a crowd.  Maggie sat up, smiled a bunch and that was that.  Zac wouldn't sit and it took a looonng time to capture a somewhat pleasant look - I think he was shy of the crowds hooting and waving at him.

So happy 25th birthday and thanks for all the wonderful memories! I don't even mind how old I feel to have kids who are 25.

TWO TIMES 21

Senior Ball, June 2006

Halloween 1987

The trick or treaters are done for the night. It's a warm October evening so we decide to walk down the hill to Main street and see what the grown-ups are doing. We wander into a bar full of costumed revelers and find a seat. Tom has a couple of cocktails and I sip on a glass of grapefruit juice that tastes of tin can. We walk back home and go to bed.

Midnight - I wake up in a puddle. My water has broken. You see - I was 38 weeks pregnant with twins. They decided not to wait for the scheduled c-section a couple of days away. I woke Tom and sent him to the kitchen to make himself some coffee while I showered, changed the bed and packed. Oh, and I called the doctor.

We arrived at the hospital and Tom asked the nurses to remove their cat ears, flashing pins and other Halloween accessories - "Time to be serious!" A fleet of doctors arrived to usher our little ones into the world. At 3:11 am Zachary and at 3:12 Margaret were delivered and my life was doubly changed.

Today they turn 21 - the days are long and the years are so, so short.

Last December they had each other's initials tattooed near their hearts....

The Birthday Party