The Simple Life - Day 9

One of the things that I'm missing from my holiday shopping routine (and its only been 9 DAYS!!) is Starbucks' GingerBread Lattes (although, 2 weeks ago I discovered that I like the CoffeeBean version much better, but that's beside the point).  So today, I splurged on a canister of CoffeeMate Gingerbread Latte Cream ($2.46).  Honestly, it was a bad idea, because I'm allergic to high fructose corn syrup, and that stuff is loaded with it, along with all sorts junk that's bad for my body.  But, its the cheapest alternative that I could think of while wandering aimlessly in a caffeine-deprived haze.  So, I will just have to live with the cystic zits that are sure to erupt all over my face and body.  Really?  What was I thinking?

Other then the high fructose corn syrup dilemma, today was a great day.  Jacqui and I went to a holiday party at the Capital Grille for people that work at the PDC.  The food was good, cocktails were tasty, the ambiance lovely and all for free!  Plus, as an added bonus the Capital Grille hooked each of us up with a $50 gift certificate for a future visit to the restaurant.  Guess who is going back?  Got to love the holiday season!

After a couple cocktails,  we decided it was time to meet up with Ray to help pick out his Christmas tree.  Unfortunately, we showed up 2 minutes after OSH had closed their xmas tree lot.  But with a tiny bit of persuading, we were able to purchase a fine 5 foot tree that I've named "Douglas the Noble Fir".  He is so perfect, I almost kept him for myself, instead of letting Ray take him home.  But alas, this is supposed to be Ray's perfect holiday season, and with that in mind, getting a tree was only step one of our little plan.  Of course when we went inside the store to pick out lights, a stand, and ornaments the electricity in the store cut out and they promptly directed us to the exits.  I had always wondered what I would do in a situation like that, would I comply with the store personnel or would I start stuffing things in my pockets and run?  Apparently, I have a moral compass of some sort, because I didn't even think about doing anything besides exiting the store.  I guess that's good to know.

As a reward for our help and good behaviour, Ray took Jacqui and I out for drinks at the White Horse Inn.  Gotta love a place that not only looks like your Aunt Mae's basement rec room, but also serves delicious snacks (microwave popcorn, cheezy chips, and Keebler cookies) to go with your beer.  Fantastic!

Today's Menu
~Thanksgiving Dinner Soup (where I took all the leftover rotisserie chicken, sweet potatoes and green beans and mix them in pot of corn/pepper bisque from Trader Joes....not bad, actually it was delicious!)
~Faux Gingerbread Latte (Balinese coffee mixed with CoffeeMate Gingerbread latte flavored cream.)
~Stoli Pineapple Martinis (courtesy of Capital Grille)
~assortment of appetizers (cheese platter, jumbo shrimp soaked in ginger, mushroom bruschetta, lox and pita chips, and the most amazing coconut creme pie tartlets...all courtesy of the Capital Grille)

Total spent today: $2.46
Total spent this week: $57.53
Total remaining for this week: $17.47