Retail therapy

Now that I'm engaged in a full time gig that requires me to be attentive to demanding toddlers all day, I appreciate being able to do ANYTHING alone. So when I got the opportunity to go shopping all by myself for a couple of hours this past Saturday, I took it.

I've always hated shopping. I've never been a big fan of wandering around looking at things that I have no need for but somehow want anyway because of marketing and clever product placement and all other such tricks that retail stores employ. I have always had buyers remorse after indulging on shopping trips such as this, and the remorse outweighs any fun I was able to have. I much prefer those trips where I go in with a purpose and a list and buy pretty much what I expected to buy when I walked in the door.

Now that ALL of my regular shopping trips are classified as purposeful shopping and are usually rushed because of the toddler-who-refuses-to-sit-still-and-constantly-throws-things-out-of-the-cart, I appreciate the opportunity to browse. It's a weird change for me, the non-browser, but I REALLY love browsing now.

So, Saturday I visited the card shop, Target, WalMart, Lowe's and Aldi. And I spent a total of $28.00. I bought one or two things from my list at each store, and spent the rest of my time browsing. I browsed at Halloween costumes, new baby gadgets, laminate flooring, and even some Christmas decorations. (The last thing I need is MORE Christmas decorations. But it's fun to look!) And I didn't buy ANYTHING in any of these categories. And you know what? I HAD SO MUCH FUN. I used to hate this kind of shopping, but now I enjoy it. I think it has more to do with spending alone time than it does with the actual shopping, but still.

What do YOU do with your alone time?