An Insubstantial Blog

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving.

As for me, my parents still go through heavy empty nest syndrome despite me not having lived at home until recently for the past 4 years. My mother has been horrified at the prospect of not being around for Christmas. That caused Christmas to be moved until Thanksgiving day. And in blogging tradition, this calls for a list of the booty.

-hiking backpack! This was really all I asked for. Check it out.
For anyone thinking of backpacking around Europe, I really want to recommend this backpack. You can find it for around $140. Obviously, that's not cheap but it's a sturdy well-made pack. It is also made out of recycled plastic bottles. It's designed specifically for women. It also has a detachable mini backpack. You can leave the huge pack at the hostel but still carry everything you need for the day. Annnnd it has a front open zipper. That means you don't have to repack as you can access everything! It expands to 48 liters which should be enough room unless you plan on bringing your whole closet.

-DVDs such as Juno, Kung Fu Panda, Wall-E and season 1 of Flight of the Conchords. Score! I have now made my family watch Wall-E and they approve.

-Merril hiking boots. Anyone who knows me knows I need some good shoes. I just didn't own any. Now I have one good solid pair to supplement my Birkenstocks.

-Books! The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalinist Russia because I'm still on my communist history kick. And 2001 Cross Stitch Designs which is awesome! It's 2000 small stock patterns that you can mix and match into any designs. The patterns are really great and some are even pretty! And that's hard to do as 95% of cross-stitch patterns are tacky as hell.

- Travel sized everything. My mother does not understand the concept of London not being in a 3rd world country. Therefore, I am stocked up on travel-size toothpaste, kleenex, and dryer sheets. My mom never ever lets me leave the country without kleenex. Yes, seriously.

-A tripod for my camera! I've always wanted a tripod to take cool photos but did not want one due to perceived dorkiness and general pain in the assness of carrying one around. Then, I found this thing. This tripod is even smaller than it looks and completely bendable. It's genius! I can even take it backpacking and now will be able to do fancy slow shutter time shots. Oooo.

-$55 in itunes, $25 for amazon.com, and $500 from an overly generous aunt. As my grandparents seem to think I will also be in a third world country without access to communication or mail service, I received small gifts for Christmas AND my birthday...in January. As for the $500, I'm envisioning a week in Scotland. I could put it towards student loans but that would be so boring.

-Although not technically a present, my mom also paid for 3 months of all that damn medication I take and am no longer covered for. And that's something I am ridiculously grateful for.

-And duh, I almost forgot! I got the cutest purse EVER. However, after deciding the color scheme was ridiculously cute but ridiculously impractical, I traded it in for the SECOND cutest purse EVER. Same purse, different color. Now it's gray. More matchable, more Londonish. Perfect! I may not always be into fashion but I will always be into purses. It's hereditary.

In other news, I will be finished up one more cross-stitch as well as posting some others I've fallen behind on. I also have to finish 3 mostly finished books before I leave! Oh...and that packing thing...

I'm dreading the flight as I was unable to procure any sleeping pills and I'm hoping I'm just imagining a cold coming on. Luckily, I've armed myself with 3 new cds from itunes and Twilight. Yes, I'm going to read a YA novel about vampires. Shun me if you will but suppressed teenage sexuality may just keep me interested enough to occupy me for an hour or two.