Yes, that’s right, candles. Tobacco and candles are a rather odd combination for a store to sell, but that’s what they specialize in. And they’ve got some really awesome candles in dozens of heavenly scents and every size you can imagine. Unlike those cheap discount store candles, they burn very evenly and throw out plenty of scent until they’re gone. They’re not cheap, but they’re worth every penny they cost.

I need to get some pillar candles for this set of large vintage candleholders my mom gave me. I’ve had them for a while, and I had some cheapo candles in them, but after burning them a few times they looked horrid. So they just sat there collecting dust, and removing dust from crappy candles is next to impossible. I ended up throwing those out, and my pretty candleholders look so lonely sitting there empty.

The next time I have some cash to spare, I’m going in and picking up a couple of nice scented pillars. And maybe a few votives while I’m at it. I firmly believe that you can never have too many candles.

I’ve been busting my butt to accumulate as many Amazon gift certificates as I can. And I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for Gap or Old Navy or Abercrombie or Urban Outfitters coupons in hopes of getting some killer deals on clothes for Pumpkin and maybe Hubby. I also have some credit available if worse comes to worst, but I’m hoping I won’t have to use it much or at all.

Am I the only goofball who’s thinking this far ahead? Let me know in the comments!

She’s getting too old for toys, but she’s not quite old enough to really appreciate gifts you’d buy for teenagers. I guess that’s part of the reason they call them the tween years, huh?

I was looking at some Casio cameras digital (not film like the one her aunt got her a couple of years ago and she’s never used). She has a super-cheap digital camera that works with those password journals, but she has said she wants one with a screen. It’s been a while since she talked about it, though, so I’m not sure if she’s still interested or not.

The only thing I’ve been able to come up with is clothes. And maybe a good pair of earrings if I can find some that are affordable. The Simply Whispers ones I got her last year are starting to bother her ears, so I guess I need to go with 14 karat gold.

I’m hoping I can think of something to get her from Amazon. I’ve been earning as many points as possible from Swagbucks and ordering Amazon gift cards with them. So far I’ve racked up $15 worth in the past week, plus I’ve already got a $20 balance in my account. If I keep going maybe I can get her something nice.

If you have any other tween gift ideas, I’d love to hear them!

Anyway, I guess I’m going to have to shop for some new ones for her. Locally, we don’t really have many options when it comes to shopping for clothing. So I’ll be looking online. I may check out Target.com, since I’ve had luck finding stuff that fits her well there in the past. (There’s’ no Target close by here.) They’ve got some Target coupons at dropdowndeals that I could use to save some money if I order from there, too.

She could use some more t-shirts, too, so maybe I’ll see if they have any good deals on those as well. Heck, I might even find something for me. I could always use some new clothes.

The top priorities on my list are a new computer chair and a new light fixture for the kitchen. My back troubles have finally gotten to the point where I definitely need to get a better chair to prevent permanent damage (or at least any more permanent damage than has already been done). I’m not nearly as bad off as Hubby as far as back problems go, but I have no desire to get that way, either.

As far as the light fixture for the kitchen, the one I bought at a yard sale a year or two ago is getting to be more trouble than it’s worth. The tiny bulbs it takes are expensive and don’t throw out much light, and they blow way too quickly. And the fixture itself is cheaply made – the sockets are too loose to hold the bulbs securely, so they’re constantly loosening up and going out. I think the expense of a new fixture is very much justified.

I need a new frying pan, too. My old one is on its last legs. I think I found one on Amazon that suits my needs, though, and I’ll have enough gift certificates to almost pay for it.

I think that’s all I need for now. I hope so anyway, because I’d like to save up some money if there’s any left after paying the bills and buying those things. Finances have been stressing me out in a big way lately, and a little more breathing room would be nice.

Needless to say, he’s getting rather anxious. He says he’s going up there tomorrow, and one way or another he’s coming back with his gun. I can’t say I blame him. They could have just been honest with him if it was going to take longer than that. He probably would have given them his business anyway. But now, once he gets his gun back, he probably won’t ever buy anything there again.

If I decide to buy him any hunting stuff for his birthday or Christmas, I’ll probably go elsewhere as well. Maybe I’ll go online and order him a nice Uncle Mikes belt pouch for his ammo or something. I’m all for supporting local businesses, but when they take their customers for granted, it’s time to go elsewhere.

We picked her up and asked if she was still feeling okay, and she said she did, so we headed for Big Lots. On the way there, I noticed that she had a pretty bad cough, but still said she felt fine, so I figured it was just the phlegm in her throat loosening up that was causing it. We forged ahead.

We got there and looked around, and we didn’t find a dresser at a price that was acceptable to Hubby. I did, however, find a set of dishes and some nonstick cookie pans. Pumpkin spent her money on a remote control car for herself, and a whatnot for me. She went behind my back and bought that, the little stinker.

After we got home, she started coughing more and started running a fever again. I had a feeling that she wasn’t feeling as good as she said. She just wanted to go spend her money. I dug through the medicine cabinet, through all of my and Hubby’s prescriptions, the allergy medications, and some expired fat burner supplements and finally found her some cough syrup.

The medicine helped with the cough, and Hubby gave her a Tylenol for the fever she was starting to run. And she’s been asleep on the couch since then. I hate to see her like this. I’ll bet she had a rough day at school, but she stayed just because she knew we wouldn’t go shopping if she had to come home. She’s way too much like her mama.

But after paying the bills, the first thing on the agenda was getting Hubby a hunting rifle. He’s been dying for one since we got married, and probably longer than that. He wouldn’t come off of the money to buy one back when we had it to spare, and then he ended up regretting it when money got tight. So I promised him that this year, if we got enough back on our taxes, after the bills were paid that was the first thing we would buy.

He kept trying to talk himself out of it, but I told him that if he didn’t buy himself one, I would. So we finally went out yesterday and he picked out a gun and a scope and bought it. While we were out, I made it a point to look at clothes for Pumpkin. I didn’t find much, but I managed to pick up a couple of things for her.

This coming weekend, we’re going to Big Lots to see if we can find a dresser for Pumpkin’s room. The one that’s in there has been completely unusable for some time now. It was a Wally World special, and while it worked fine for her baby clothes, it just couldn’t stand the weight of her big girl clothes. All of the drawers have fallen apart, and it has served as nothing but a really ugly TV stand for several months. So it’s definitely on the must-get list.

Besides that, I plan on looking there for some clothes for her, and going somewhere else if I have to. She could use some new jeans and shirts, and probably some shorts for summer. Hubby needs some new jeans, too. Those things are next on the list of priorities.

There are plenty of things that I could use. Some new clothes would be nice, and I’d like to find some effective adult acne treatments to try. But I haven’t even bothered looking yet, and I probably won’t until Hubby and Pumpkin’s needs are taken care of. Heck, there are a couple of non-necessities that I’d like to get for Pumpkin that I might look at before I do any shopping for myself. By the time it’s all over, I may not even spend a dime on anything for me.

To me, it feels better to see them get things that make them happy than to get stuff myself. Not that a little something for me wouldn’t be nice. But I’ve got a roof over my head, clothes to wear, food to eat, and most importantly an awesome family. What more do I really need?

So today is Black Friday. For those of you who went shopping, I hope you caught some killer deals. As for me, I haven’t left the house. I had hoped to get some shopping done from home, taking advantage of sales and online coupons from my favorite etailers. But it was not to be. Pretty much everything that was on sale was out of my price range, even if it was deeply discounted. And the few things I found that I could have bought, I had no use for. Oh well. There’s still a month until Christmas.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll probably be doing a great deal of my shopping at Dollar Tree. All the kids on Hubby’s side of the family are very rough on toys, so it wouldn’t do to buy them anything expensive anyway. Hubby will probably buy his parents and brothers cigarettes like he usually does, so all I’ll have left to worry about are Pumpkin, Hubby and the kids on my side of the family, since I’ve already got plans for my mom’s gift. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I’d love to be browsing for killer prices on Disney vacations, but there’s no way that would be within the budget this year. And besides, that would be as much for me as it was her, so I’d kind of feel bad doing that for her birthday, as much as she’d probably enjoy it. But anyway, what I’m trying to get her is a PSP.

I’ve been on eBay off and on all day, bidding on the blasted things. So far, someone has sniped me on every single one that I’ve bid on. I’ve even waited until the last few seconds to bid, trying to beat them at their own game, to no avail.

I found one that looked good that was a Buy It Now or Best Offer deal, so I submitted an offer. I have yet to hear back on that, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’m determined to find a used one for less than $100, unless it has several games or some great accessories with it. If I can’t do that fairly soon, I may just break down and buy her a new one, if I can talk Hubby into it. Amazon has them on sale for $149 right now, and that’s $20 cheaper than usual.

One way or another, I’m going to get that girl a PSP. Mark my words.