The introverted extrovert.

You'd never know it when I'm out dancing with friends, chatting loudly, cackling with laughter, being the loud one with the sailor mouth...you know, the extroverted social one, that there is absolutely another side of me, ala Sybil, who is very much quite the introvert. I love to be completely & utterly alone. Alone in a book, alone in my thoughts, alone while shopping. Solitude. Alone. Alone. Alone.

I guess I don't know which side of my personality I favor more. I know I wouldn't be me if I didn't have both though. I'm a complicated mix of uncomplicatedness. (oh that sounds good!)

After a very social baby shower yesterday afternoon, I ventured to a mall that was near the shower, which was more than an hour away from my home.

I spent the next 4 hours alone. I loved every single millisecond of it.

I found myself back at the mall that Tiffany & I had conquered over the 4th of July weekend. This time, I was walking. No wheelchair for me. "Weeeeeee! I'm no longer flying!" (you had to be there).

As I pulled into the parking lot, I immediately eyeballed a store I didn't remember seeing when we were there last. The North Face. Oh snap. I've been searching for the right The North Face jacket for about 3 years now. I'm picky. I wanted the right fit, the right color, the right sale price. I've yet to be able to line up all of those dynamics together.

I found it! There isn't even a holiday in the near future to claim it as a gift to commemorate. I didn't care - I'd found it! I ended up spending a whopping $40 less than I was even willing to! Chocolatey brown yumminess and it's finally mine. It was shaping up to be a great shopping trip and the shopping trip had just begun.

Ultimately I ended up with quite some great deals. It was an outlet mall after all - just hundreds of deals waiting to be found...by me.

I walked away with my The North Face jacket, 2 pairs of shoes, a pair of capris and a pair of dress slacks for me, an outfit for school for Jackson, an outfit for school plus 2 shirts for Wilson and 2 pairs of jeans for Brenden. I also got my stepmom her birthday present - which we're celebrating today, nothing like waiting until the 11th hour to score that one, and a birthday present for my neice.

A day where the weather was beautiful, where I met Nadia's new baby (& Molly's too) and then spent a majority of its remainder completely alone doing what I do best (shopping) was wonderfully splendid and just what the PMS doctor ordered.