Back to the Land of the Living...

...or blogging in this case, and I am slowly getting there. I didn't have to go to Oklahoma City again this week which is a good thing...to use the words of Martha Stewart. However, I did go to Nashville this weekend for the annual sisters' trip to the Nashville Christmas Village. My sister and I used to get up at the crack of dawn when we were younger...and she had a driver's license...to hit the day after Christmas sales...now that we are older...and in different cities we have chosen this event as our shopping trip. This year, my sister's friend Gaby joined the mayhem.

and it was mayhem....thousands of women all lined up ready to shop...and a few line cutters thrown in and mayhem is the only word that describes it. Now, that we are on our 3rd year I would like to consider us as semi-professionals...not quite as professional as the woman behind us in line with her fanny pack with water bottle hostlers so she doesn't get dehydrated...but not as amateur as the people who get distracted by the booths set up as soon as you walk in the door so you get caught up in the mayhem. Our system involves walking briskly to the very last barn/building/shed to our favorite Shea Ingram...her frames are to die for...and should be considered an investment in art. I told myself I wouldn't buy another one this year but dang it that girl gets me every time...and dang it I forgot to take a picture of her booth...and the frame I bought...so picture coming soon.

We spent a whopping 6 hours among the crush of people...and my social anxiety was in high gear... I think I had to latch onto my sister's purse once or twice as I relived the days that my dad would wonder off in Wal-Mart when I was little and I would panic...its a deep seeded fear...and I realized it when my sister would have to look me in the face and say...I am just going to walk to the booth next door...like I was 5...and apparently I am...because it kept me from panicking...don't judge me unless you have ever been left searching for your dad in Wal-Mart.

This is actually an uncrowded area...I didn't get a lot of pictures because I was too consumed with trying to make my way from point A to point B...without having a complete meltdown...and then once I got to point B I was too consumed with all the great things that were for sale.

These are the only two pictures of things that were for sale that I took...and ironically it is of Christmas things...which A. is not an accurate representation of what Christmas Village offers and B. I don't think I have ever bought a Christmas decoration from Christmas Village.

I am now edging closer towards the Christmas spirit...maybe not to the point of listening to Christmas music...but enough to get serious about buying some Christmas presents...because I only ended up with two this weekend...and it will be here before I know it.