Back to School - Around

We're not heading out blind. I've received some great advice on where to go, items to get and even some comparison pricing.
Kara wants to buy herself an MP3 player. That's first. She wants one that is searchable and it must be easy to manipulate. Found it. Good deal. Moving on.

We're in Etobicoke. Stop here. Stop there. If we're quick we can stop here, but we'll have to be quick to make it back in time for an appt. I couldn't change. Celebrate success. I drop Kara off to get some lunch while I go to the doc. Meet back in 1/2 hr.

Andrew joins us for the next leg. I tell Kara that I haven't been back in this particular store since I had an allergic reaction in it. She laughs at how I keep track of stores and shopping. Allergic reaction to peanuts here, reacted to balloons there, all-natural tropical something-or-other in another place.

Shopping with me takes some getting used to: we never stop for ice cream. Each time we get back into the car, we hear a Rihanna song. Kara says all these places to shop are just a Rihanna song apart.

We mark success with a shout of "Scores!" Near-misses/ D-list possibilities I call hitting the post. Score a little more in the evening. Develop some strong Plan B alternatives.

In the morning Kara gets to sleep in because I have a dentist appointment, plus I get fitted for the knee brace, which buys her a few more z's. Freezer surprise for lunch and we're out again. We bravely face some disappointments, celebrate some large scores and fill out comment cards for Mina, the salesclerk who went the extra mile. We're not only finding the things Kara needs, but we're winning the parking spot wars too! We remind ourselves to keep it all in check; let's not jinx it.

Confident and with the list relatively small, Andrew suggests we knock off what's left and celebrate with a movie. We're scoring something every 11 minutes. Looks like our record's about to be interrupted, when a few quick successes come up and our record improves to 8-1/2 minutes! Got it. Got it. Got it.

Transfer the haul from the car to the living room. It looks like Christmas! Open the secret hatch and surprise ourselves with items we'd forgotten about altogether.

Catch the late show. Kara calls home. It takes an hour to update the list. One necessity left to get. One extra. And one item in-between.

Line of the day: Salesclerk: "Can I help you find something in particular?"
Me: "Yes. We're looking for an accent rug that will match this perfectly," holding up the pillow case from Kara's set.
Casualty: Part-time employee was fired at the front of the store during our sales transaction.