Because I'm a girl ...

... I like shopping :) Or maybe I should say, I like buying things. I honestly, truly, have very very little patience for strolling around looking at things I'm never going to buy.

I used to enjoy it ... way back when my folks still lived in Auckland just around the corner from us, my mother and I used to while away many Saturdays by wandering the local malls and shops, investigating and exploring, meandering through uncharted territory and not buying a thing except maybe a coffee when our poor exhausted feet demanded a break ...

I think maybe my time is more valuable now, and there's always something else to do ... so I just want to run in, buy what I need, and run out to do something more interesting. Shopping is more a necessary evil than a hobby.

The MOTH and I wandered town this morning / afternoon, however, for several glorious hours, unencumbered by rugrats while we shopped for K's birthday presents. It felt quite bizarre to not have to be anywhere or do anything, even if just for a few hours.

He will not be the proud owner of a cell phone, a digital camera or a stunt bike this year. But we did manage to find the following ...

Assorted Holden racing paraphenalia
Sea Monkeys
Brainbox (electronic kitset full of tools, circuit boards, lights, switches and bells and whistles so he can make his own doorbell, burglar alarm, fan etc etc)
And the piece de resistance ... a BMX "pit bike" ... one of the tiny little "clown bikes" that they have as feature races at some of the national meetings ... which, although it's a bit of a joke ... will actually help him with his balance and coordination :)
With the new racing gear he'll be getting shortly, we figure that's a pretty good haul for an eight year old.

Oh ... by the way ... I bought myself a mountain bike. As it appears we are going to be living and breathing BMX for the next few months (or should that be years ?) I figured that it would probably be a good thing if I could go for a ride with the MOTH and the rugrats when they head out to the park.

It's all a bit scary though. I think the last time I was on a bike I was about 12. I nearly ran over the man in the bike shop when I was trying it out for size :( So would not imagine I will be trying out any BMX tracks or challenging either K or the MOTH to a race in the immediate future ...