I blame it on the 3 am chicken

So.

I didn’t mean to disappear – again.  The last couple of weeks have been filled with carpenters and painters making a mad dash to get the last of the interior house repairs done before the holidays.  After they packed up last week Luke and I finally began the process of truly settling in.  We’ve been in a curtain-shopping, blind/picture-hanging, accessory-arranging, Christmas-tree decorating frenzy and though we aren’t quite finished, it’s starting to feel more like home than a construction site.

We talked a little about Black Friday.  First let me get it off my chest that I am not a fan AT ALL of the retailers backing their sale times  into Thanksgiving Day.  Not that it kept me from going, but I was rebellious on the inside.  I just hate it for all those workers who no longer have a day to celebrate with their families before having to deal with psycho women fighting over cheap towels and Barbie Jeeps.  What used to begin at roughly 4 am for my girlfriends and me turned into an all-night extravaganza that found us eating Chick-fil-A #1 combos in the mall food court at 3 am.  That’s just wrong no matter how you look at it.

I blame the late hours on my Sephora Fail.  My girlfriend Tammy was waiting in line for Gymboree when I heard someone say Sephora (just across the way) was having a 10 for $10 sale.  Since Sydney is not a fan of Gymbo, I thought I’d venture over and see what was up.  I have to preface that by saying that for me Sephora is like the Hobby Lobby of make up.  I try not to go in unless I have something very specific I am looking for because otherwise I just start twitching from cosmetic goodness overload.  That said, I was excited about having limited choices and for CHEAP.

I grabbed my basket and gathered 10 awesome things ranging from mascaras to a Stila palette all the while planning whose stocking I could stuff or the girl gifts I could create for Dirty Santa parties.  I started to get 20 but decided to hold off so the other shoppers could have some good luck too.

I went to the checkout and the initially sweet, drop-dead beautiful at 4 am girl (how did she do that?) rang up my purchases and said, “Your total is $109.25”.  Bless her heart…  She was having a bad morning because did you notice how she rang up my purchase incorrectly?  I asked, “Excuse me, but aren’t those 10 for $10?”  And she said, with the most condescending, you-are-a-total-loser-no-class-moron voice, “Ten Dollars.  Each.”

I sheepishly explained that I thought the items were $1.  Her “as if” look showed she was not amused. To save 1/10th of my face, I kept the Stila palette while she deleted my other nine things.  And to beat all, I used it this morning and I don’t even love it.

Dude, I want my $9 back.

Well, it’s late and I’m still trying to catch up on my sleep. I truly hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Let’s all take the time to be still and know He is God as we usher in the Christmas season.  Jesus is our treasure.  He doesn’t disappoint.  He doesn’t mislead.  There’s no sacrifice we could offer that would ever be enough and yet His gift is free but only because it was secured by a terrible ransom.

It’s that babe in a manger who puts a basket of cosmetics in perspective every time.  Shopping victories are fun but I’m going to reserve my true celebrations for Him.

Merry Christmas!