Just order from the catalog!

This a quick summery of my day- when I got the crazy idea that because I somehow had misplaced the ink pad I wanted to use, I could quickly find a replacement at the craft store.

How does that saying go?  How many licks are there in a tootsie pop?  I need to know, because that is how long I have to shop!  When we enter the store I quickly dig out the pop and insert it into Elle’s mouth, then I take off for the scrapbook and stamping section like a crazed women with Elle’s curls blowing in the wind as she sits in the wagon, hanging onto her pop in one hand and the stroller, for dear life, with the other.  Once in the scrapping/stamping section I discover they have absolutely no selection of ink.  If you are not looking for a primary color you are out of luck.  I couldn’t believe the lack of selection.  This is where I made my second error in Judgment. “Of course A.C. Moore in Manchester would have what I needed.”

We exit Michael’s into the parking lot where the wind blasts us in the face and our skin freezes on contact.  Once my fingers are numb and I’ve gotten Elle buckled in her car seat, we head for Manchester.  Just as I am thinking to myself, “wow, there is a lot of traffic today”, slam, an accident occurs right in front of us and delays our trip further.  Once on our way again, I had to sift through the seats and cup holders to find change for the tolls.  It is okay though, the sun is shinning and it gets us out of the house, and surely A.C. Moore will have just what I’m looking for.

We arrive in Manchester, I open the door to the car and it is nearly blown off by the blowing wind.  Usually it is slightly warmer in Manchester than Concord, but not today.  We get into the store where I quickly search for a buggy…. no buggy is to be found, we walk to the mall entrance of the store in search of a buggy there… No buggy still, but just then Elle eyes the coin operated rides out in the mall, a break down ensues over the rides.  Finally, I find the carts hidden behind the entrance we had come in through.  Okay, so I still have a screaming child yelling about the fire truck and a buggy that feels as though it is going to tip over at any moment and is making a terrible noise.  As if the screaming child didn’t make enough racket! 

I drove my rickety old cart into the stamping section.  A.C. Moore does have slightly more ink, but not nearly the selection I am used to looking at in the Close To My Heart catalog and inevitably, they do not have the color I need. So I have to accept that I’ve just wasted the morning driving to Manchester for nothing!  We leave A.C. Moore empty handed and go for a spin on the coin operated fire truck! 

This is why I love Close To My Heart so much.  Yes, you have to wait for your things to arrive and sometimes lack of planning can leave you in a pinch, but really there is no comparison in quality or selection.  Today we left the house at 9:30 and we didn’t get back until 1:30.  We had to buy lunch while we were out and of course Elle’s nap schedule got totally thrown off.  If I had planned ahead and double checked my ink pads sooner, this entire waste of time and money could have been avoided!  What we wasted in time, fuel, and money certainly cost much more than having my items shipped straight to my door and in the end I came home empty handed and disappointed!