Brunch and a Zhu Zhu

This morning I went with two friends to a holiday brunch to thank volunteers at the Economy Shop for their work. They had a nice spread of quiches, fruit and sweet rolls. I've been volunteering in the Women's Casuals room at the Economy Shop since my friend N invited me to come along with her last spring. We go in, sort through boxes of donated items (sweaters, blouses, shirts, pants, jeans and coats in our room), and hang what appears to be in good shape. In exchange for our work, we get to shop the entire store before the public gets in. It's a great way to reuse and recycle.

One of the most sought after Christmas gifts this season is the Zhu Zhu Hamster. Whenever we looked for them in the stores, the shelves were bare. Though they retail for about $10, they're selling on ebay for at least $20. I'm not crazy enough to do that.

Over the weekend, I got an e-mail from Toys R Us, saying they would be selling 100 of the little, fuzzy toy hamsters in each store at 3 p.m. The e-mail said "get there early." I had no intention of standing in line at a Toys R Us store with a bunch of crazy-eyed shoppers, but we happened to be near a Toys R Us store at about 2:45 p.m. that afternoon. What the heck? I stood in line, not really caring if I could nab one for L or not. Surprisingly, I was handed ticket No. 53 of the 100 they were handing out for the Zhu Zhu. I went through the check-out line and then got to pick out the hamster of my choice. I have to say, that was pretty painless.