That's One Way to Get my Steps in!

 

Good day to all of you out there!

To those of you who celebrate Christmas:  Merry Christmas and get shopping! LOL

To those of you who celebrate Hanukkah: Happy Hanukkah!

To those of you who celebrate something else: Happy Holidays and the Best Season's Greetings!

Okay, so this year for my birthday I got a gift card to Kohls from my dear mother-in-law. She's been very supportive through my weight loss journey (down 27 pounds since May, thank you #Noom!  And now, I'm not on Dr. Now's diet because, well, I like food! LOL)

Anyway, she got me the gift card because she wanted me to get some new clothes for my new size, which I did. I found a really nifty pair of smaller sized jeans.  But, since it's Kohl's, they were on clearance plus I had a coupon plus there was another discount which meant I had money on the GC for something else.

I'm really not in need of anything that much, but I figured a new purse would be nice. I've been using the same two purses for years. One I got at St. Vincent de Paul and it's big and bulky and heavy. The other one is a touch too small for everything I need to carry around, plus it's getting old too.

So, I bought a purse. A nice, stylish, moderately large purse.  And then I put my stuff in it.

And now it weighs about fifty pounds.

Don't believe me, ask my friend, Buttercup!  She hefted it recently while we were waiting in line to get our CDs signed by everyone at the Bob and Brian Show.  (It's something we do every year. Not sure what it is, or who Bob and Brian are?  Click on the link or read past posts on this blog!  LOL)   

Anyway, so, what I'm saying is, my purse is heavy.

 I've emptied that thing half a dozen times, trimmed down what's in it, and it still weighs a ton.  And I've only had it a few weeks.

Well, I like it, so I'll live with it. 

Or that's what I thought...until yesterday.  

See, I have this really organized wallet. It's pink, it's cute, it holds all my cards and whatever stray cash I might actually have and then it's in the purse all nice and ready to go.

The problem, as it usually is, is with me. When I use a card at a store, I rarely, if ever, put it back in the wallet.  Half the time I put the card in a little open side pocket that's really there to hold a phone or gum or maybe a packet of tissues.  NOT a tiny little credit/debit card.  Half the time I just drop it in the purse, which, as we've established, is large and full of mystery stuff.

So yesterday I was returning from a trip to the grocery store, and it doesn't really matter which one, where I used my debit card.  I also used the self-check which is kind of a high stress situation for me.  I don't respond well to machines, I tend to yell at them. If my phone rings, I yell at it.  If my alarm clock on my phone goes off, I mentally yell at it.  I talk to my car all the time.  Most of the time, if Hubby or one of the kids isn't sure whom I'm yelling at, I'll say I'm talking to the cats. In reality, I'm probably yelling at a machine.

So it is with self-check.  That creepy automated voice makes me angry.  And that's what happened yesterday. I bought three things, all of which were tiny and light weight. I scanned them and put them in the bagging area.

And Creepy Automated Voice (CAV) said, "Put item in bagging area."

"I did put the item in the bagging area."

CAV:  Put item in the bagging area.

Sarah: I DID PUT THE ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA.

CAV: Put item in the bagging area.

Sarah (picking up the item and slamming it on the bagging area: THERE NOW IT'S IN THE BAGGING AREA YOU #%#%&.  

This conversation continued for all three items.

By the time I was done, I was sweating, angry, and quite possibly banned from the grocery store.  (On a side note, I should mention that with the influx of self-check machines in stores there's also been an influx of "out of order" signs for self-check machines. something to think about.)

What this means is that my debit card was simply dumped into the pit of despair...I mean, my purse.

When I got home, I opened the car door and grabbed my purse, which was on the passenger seat next to me.  (I know, I know.  I'm not supposed to put it there because robbers and whatnot.)  In grabbing the strap, the purse itself, which was unzipped and open, caught on the parking brake bar and upended, dumping untold items of varying sizes and weights in the tiny space between the seats and the parking brake.

Sigh.

I gathered up what I could and stuffed it back into my purse and then went about the rest of my day.

That's not the end of the story.

Of course it isn't.

Later in the day I had to go to my first physical therapy session. Yes, this is for treatment on the knee I injured back in SEPTEMBER when I fell at Sam's Club. And yes, I know it's December.  I thought it would get better by itself. Then it didn't. Then it was NANOWRIMO. Then we had Covid in the House. Then it was Thanksgiving. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?

Anyway...

Before heading out to the therapy place (and believe me, there will be blogs about that) I figured I should make sure I had everything I needed. Bottle of water. Mask.  Debit card just in case there was some weird charge I didn't know about.

Debit card.   Hmmmmmm....where is that?  Not in my wallet. Not in the purse.  Not in my pants pocket.  I head outside to double check the car. I look under the seats. Nope. I look around the floor mats. Nope.  I look under the seats again.

I go back in the house. I check all the usual place where I drop stuff: my desk. The kitchen counter.  The end table on my end of the couch. The bathroom magazine basket.  (Shut up. It's where I find my phone half the time.)

Oh yeah, I'm racking up the steps!  

I then check the car again.  I check the kitchen again. I look in all the pockets of my new purse AGAIN.  Nothing.

I'm about to call my back when I decide to check the wallet one more time. And there...tucked nicely in its normal spot, right behind the Kwik Trip card...my debit card.