Insane Random Ramblings

I generally buy myself something small for Christmas every year. This year I’m supposed to buy myself a Ipod Touch. The mid-range one costs around $280. I have about $180 in internet gift codes to use so I only have to kick out $100. But since I’m on this buy a house kick, I’m using some of the extra money that I would have had and adding it to my savings. So my extra check will be pretty light this year.

I haven’t decided what to do yet. I may wait and accrue gift cards and pay for it in full with that. But it may be February or March before I actually have enough for it. I will check out some of the websites that I’ve learned about from Triangle Direct. They work with a lot of internet companies that I had never heard of before. After researching them, I found that they give good service and have good prices.

I don’t want to go with one of the giant companies out there if there is another company that will serve my needs even better.

I think I’m really in denial about how many gifts I actually need this year. I generally just send my mom and my brother money and call it a day. This year both of my nieces have children that I have to buy for. I also need to get both of the nieces gifts as well. I really need a payday advance loan to be able to afford all of this stuff.

I’m getting the babies savings bonds and that’s that. They are too young to understand what’s going on anyway. All they’ll see is shiny paper and noise makers. I’m buying one of my nieces a phone but I don’t know what I’m buying her sister yet. I don’t want to give them money even though I know that’s what they both want. And you really can’t go wrong with giving teens money.

I have exactly one month to get this all together.

Generally I only have about 3 people to buy gifts for during the holiday season. This year I have my niece and her daughter to add to the list. I also have to add one of my good friends from college to the list. Now she’ll be easy. We’re going on vacation next year and she wants a rfid blocking wallet to take with us. Basically no one can steal the frequency from your credit cards or passport as long as they’re in this wallet. Luckily I know just where to find this so I’ve already got her scratched off of the list.

My niece on the other hand wants a bunch of electronics. She wants a phone, a I-pod or mp3 player, cash and some other stuff. That doesn’t even include the clothes and toys that I’ll buy for her daughter. I also want to get the baby a savings bond or two. I already know that the rest of the family won’t think of them because they don’t think too heavily about the future.

All I know is this is gonna be one expensive Christmas.

I love Swagbucks. They’re a search engine that makes searching the internet fun. They give away what they call “Swagbucks” on random searches. Then you save the bucks and turn them in for neat prizes. Starting Black Friday and lasting until January 1st, they’re going to blow out a different gift card every day.

You can even get the same gift card on different days for a different blow out price. So you may get Amazon one day for 25% off then the next week it may be 40% off of the regular price. Now when I say price, I mean swagbucks price because you don’t pay for them.

I really want the SouthWest gift card to go half off so I can get a discount on my next trip. But I surely won’t turn down a discounted Amazon gift card, I can get  a WII fit or a collectible gold coin. They’re both things that I want and have been saving for but to get them with a free gift card is even better.

I can’t wait to see what gift cards will be available.

It’s not for another couple of weeks but I need to start shopping now. I wanted to go in with a couple of people and get a big present like one of those neat strollers that I’ve seen. I saw one for $80.00. No one wants to do that though. I don’t know why, it’s a nice stroller. I love the color and it will hold the baby until he’s over a year. The baby will get a ton of use from it. I don’t know if they want to go cheaper or what. I don’t think that’s too much money split before 3 or 4 people. But that’s just me. I don’t tend to skimp on gifts.

Since I can’t find anyone to do that with me, I’ll just look around and see if they have brand of clothes that she wants. I’ll have to ask her again which one she wants. I think she said Halo but I’m not sure. I’ll confuse her though by asking her about the bedding set that she wants and then switch it to clothes. She’ll be so confused that she’ll just start blurting out answers.

I really want her to be surprised and like her gifts.

I’m glad the Economic Stimulus is coming. I have to buy my Mom a gift for Mother’s Day. I have several different things in mind. We both play the lottery instant scratch off tickets so I’ll get her some of those. I’ll mix and match them up in $1, $2 and maybe a $5 ticket.

For her gift I don’t want to give her money this year, so I’ll try to get her a real gift. I had thought about cell phone amplifiers but I don’t know if she would like that. I saw a really pretty wind chime type of thing that I think she will like. It’s more of a sun-catcher than a wind-chime. It’s burgundy and gold when light hits it. I told her to put up a hook in her backyard so she can hang it up. When she sits in the yard, it will be there for her to see.

Picking gifts for other people is really hard. I never know if I should get something useful or a knick-knack. I just hope she likes it.

My coworker that’s training me is not from this country. She’s originally from Croatia but she lived in Germany just before she came here. She’s going home to visit her relatives (in both countries) this weekend. Today she went shopping to get gifts to take home to them.

She got a Tommy Hilfiger belt, some designer sunglasses, a Timberland wallet, and a bunch of other stuff. For her father-in-law she got a monogrammed handkerchief set. She was surprised that you could find obscure initals like KVM, but she decided to just get his first initial. She also got a newsboy cap for her father.

I’m glad that I got the opportunity to have her train me before she left. She will be gone for an entire month and I shudder to think who would have trained me if I had started 2 weeks later than I did.

I’m really not that good at picking presents. I try to do my best but I never think it’s good enough. Even if the person that I buy the gift for loves what I get, I always second guess myself.

I’m just going to come out and ask John what he wants instead of trying to buy him something. I know he loves the games for his PSP or Nintendo DS. But I don’t want to get him a game that he already has. Even worse would be to get him something that he doesn’t want.

I really hate shopping for other people. Oh and Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.

My mom is busy asking me want I want for Christmas. The truth is I don’t really want anything. I don’t want clothes because I’m trying to lose weight and they either won’t fit now or won’t fit later. I’d rather wait until I get to my goal weight to shop. I don’t want jewelry or raymond weil watches because I always lose them.

She did buy me an ipod shuffle, but I already have one so she has to take it back. I do have my eye on a Coach bag but it’s over $200 and there’s no way she’s paying $200 for a purse. Hmmm, I should ask her to pay for my tuition in the spring. Now that would be a present.

I had no sooner wrote that I was gonna get my mom a gag gift for Christmas when she called me to tell me that she had gotten her neighbor a gag gift. What did she get her? How about incontinence supplies? Which is just about what I wanted to get her. When I asked her why, she started laughing and said it was a funny thing to do. I think she’s been reading my blog and figured that she would get me before I got her.

Now I have to think of something else to get. Well besides her lottery tickets that is. Those are a given.