Shopping!

I went day-after-thanksgiving shopping! I am not necessarily recommending this to anyone, although my friend Jenni and I already have a plan about next year. :-) I can't post any pictures of me from the experience because I was lookin' a little mangy. We left the house for Walmart at 4:45 when it seemed acceptable to be mangy. I didn't really consider that we'd still be out at noon in Kohls and still looking mangy. My big find (and motivation for getting up early) was a GPS. My grandpa's been telling me I should get "one of those things that tells you where you are and finds where you are going". I've officially gotten lost enough to agree that a GPS would be helpful. My job involves going new places to meet new people, so it will always give me the opportunity to be lost. Besides, not all of the places I am going are places I want to get out of my car alone to ask for directions. I think with all this cheap gas I might road trip it to NY - only 10 quick hours away! - to try out my new toy.

Walmart had 28 dollar pink vacuums on their sales. Right now I only have a little patch of carpet in my apartment to vacuum and a very friendly land lord who has a vacuum downstairs - but I decided it was one of those things I would want to have for the rest of my life. And since it was on sale and pink it was the second great find of the day.

If you haven't yet played Settlers of Catan I am recommending it in this order: 1) Believe in Jesus, 2) learn to play Settlers, 3) come visit Megan in Chicago. It's an "exploration and strategy" game with multiple variations so it really is never the same game twice. I got to play twice a day for 3 days during Thanksgiving with some friends in Michigan that I went to Bible School with.

I found this giant tool box on sale for 15 dollars at Sears, making it my 3rd great find for the day. It's definitely also the least practical purchase - making it the one I'm the most excited about! So I took the tool box with me to the dollar store and sat myself down in the container isle to find perfectly sized containers to fit in the tool box and hold my game pieces.

There are containers under the containers and some spots on the lid so I have plenty of room to expand my strategy board game collection. I even found a game shop down the street from my house that has strategy games and every Tuesday night people come play games. You can trust and believe that I am going to make my way down there soon!

It's still a little surreal to me that I live here and am doing full-time ministry with urban children! I've been in Michigan all week for staff development, helping with the high school retreat, and meetings . . . and look how pretty it is here! We get "lake effect" snow, which is big and fluffy and just sits in the trees. This is your official invitation to come volunteer at Winter Blast on Feb 20-22 with campers and experience camp in the winter!