Short Saturday

Short post today, as I'm currently in LA, dropping off the little man for his week-long Thanksgiving break. This is the first time he's ever had a whole week off for Thanksgiving. Of course, we go back to LA next Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving, and are bringing him back that following Friday, so we really only get about 3-4 full days off without him. But hey-- a break is a break, right? And then it won't be long until the 2-week winter break.

Obviously, we enjoy school breaks because it gives us a change of pace in our routine. We get a break from parenthood, Todd gets to enjoy a different place full of different things not available in SB (like cable TV and twice as many toys) and gets to spend time with his grandparents. My parents get to see their grandson, though he's such a handful that I'm sure that by break's end they are ready for him to leave! ;-)

I also enjoy my trips back and forth to LA, picking him up and dropping him off, because it gives me a chance to do some shopping in places that simply don't exist in Santa Barbara. Here we are, city in paradise, population nearly 100K, and we have no bona-fide dollar store (I'm talking big chains like 99 Cents Only or Dollar Tree), there is no Wal-Mart, no Target, no JC Penney, no major discount grocery store (such as Food4Less), and, now that the big box bookstores have packed up, no more Borders or B&N. All we have is one rinky-dink K-Mart that USED to tout itself as a "Big" K-Mart (ha!), and where prices for an item are higher than the what the exact same item would cost at a faraway Wal-Mart or Target.

Even our Home Depot and OSH are pretty tiny, and have slim offerings compared to Lowe's (which we don't have) and Home Depots elsewhere. It can get a bit discouraging, not being able to find what you need!

So going down to LA, where such stores (and the corresponding savings they bring!) are abundant, is a great opportunity for me to stock up on things we need, and save money doing so. Off I go to get some household goods now!