The husband (I have decided to call him H3 from now on) claims that it's impossible to please me. I think it's just an excuse for not trying. It's easier for H3 to say, "I would have bought you something for your birthday but you are so hard to please" than it is for him to really take the time to really understand me.

In August I put an obnoxiously big ring on layaway and then told him that I was going to make it easier to get me a birthday/anniversary/Christmas present this year. All he has to do is make the payments and remember to wrap it. Last year, we were shopping right before Christmas and I picked out a shirt and said "Here, you can get me this for Christmas." So he paid for it and I'll be dammed if he did not hand it to me in the same shopping bag on Christmas morning. When I mentioned that he could have at least wrapped it, H3 said "that would be stupid since you picked it out."

Maybe I am hard to please though. I'm not even sure I like the ring I put on layaway. How sad is it when you don't even like the present that you picked out for yourself. In my defense, it was an impulse buy. I don't even remember exactly what it looks like. All I remember is that it's really big, obnoxious big. I was feeling "girly" that day and wanted something "movie star" like. I don't know where the hell I will ever wear it, but I will have to act like I love it or else. I can hear H3 now -- you can't even please yourself, bla, bla, bla.

But there were two things that pleased me this weekend. Last night we went to this store by the Outlet Mall. It's this big place that caters to tourists and sells junky import stuff, cheap cigarettes and lots of other strange stuff. I was strolling past the biker section when I noticed these leather duffle style bags on sale. Most of them were the black motorcycle type but there was one bag that stood out. It was top quality leather with a deep rich brown color. It actually looks similar to leather Hartmann suitcase I have. When I opened it up to look inside I could not believe the brand.

The tag said J. Jill. I was silly excited because the price was dirt cheap. It does have a few minor scathes but nothing a good polish will not fix. I don't know how the heck it ended up there, but it's going to look great with my Hartmann set and it's the perfect size for an overnight trip.

Today we went to the "city" to do some more shopping. Actually we went to a town called Cary which has the highest income per capita in North Carolina. You really can't tell were Cary stops and Raleigh begins. Of course, this is the case with most of the towns around here. Anyway we went into Old Navy to get some t-shirts for the kid and H3 noticed that they now carry "Plus Size" clothes for women. I was so excited!

They had some great velour sweats and also some v-neck long-sleeve t-shirts for $10 each. While this may seem trivial, many of you probably don't understand how hard it is to get comfortable basic t-shirts in plus sizes without paying a fortune.

I ended up getting one in every color. I am really excited about my shopping finds. I guess I'm not that hard to please after all.