So where did we leave off?  Oh yes, I was in my car singing FREEEDOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!  And then I took off for that money guzzler, Target.  Why is it that you can’t get out of that store for less than $100?  Can anyone solve this mystery?

My mission today was school clothes.  CHEAP school clothes, preferably.  Remember, we have reinstituted Operation No Frivolous Spending around here for the rest of 2007.  That means I can only shop off of sale racks and for clothes the kids actually need.  So I thought Tar-Jay was a good place to start.  And of course I needed various and sundry other household items and school supplies.  Many birds, one stone.  I’m all about efficiency, you know.

I struck gold at T@rget with a bunch of shorts and pants for D and a couple of skirts and tops for C.  (C has specifically requested skirts since, mean mommy that I am, I recently packed away all her ultra-summery skirts and dresses, among them her two very favorite outfits in the whole wide world and beyond.)

I also found adorable black patent leather vinyl shoes for both girls for church this fall and winter, since it is past Labor Day, after all, and yall know how I am about adhering to The Rules.  So the old, scuffed white shoes went where all outgrown and out-of-season shoes go to die, my kitchen trash can, and two pair of shiny new black patents took up residence in our coat closet. 

After I spent enough money at T@rget to feed a child in a third world country for life, I decided to brave the mall.  I like to keep tabs on the Gap sale rack because they often have great markdowns. 

Unfortunately the mall is a minefield of opportunities for frivolous spending.  But I was determined to head straight for the Gap and not look to the right or to the left until I was out of the danger zone.  I parked, put R in the stroller, and walked resolutely toward the mall, armed and ready for combat.  (In a flash of brilliance, I left my wallet in the car and only brought my Gap card into the mall.  Aha!  Clever, aren’t I?)

I scored a really cute outfit, one C actually picked out and begged for back in August, but I had denied her at the time.  See, I’m a veritable bastion of self-control!  Anyway, today it was on sale, so I snagged it.  Here, look.  Cute, huh?  (And for some reason, these pieces were marked down much further than that in the store today.)

Then it was time to make the dangerous walk through the minefield mall on my way back to the car.  But the next thing I knew, I found a powerful magnetic force was dragging me against my will into the Lucky Brand Jeans store.  Seriously, yall, the mall is a dangerous place.  Be very, very afraid.

I discovered the Lucky store when I was on a search for blue jeans last winter.  While jeans are their bread and butter, they also have some great tops.  Their stuff is a little edgy, the kind of thing I really want to wear but am not sure I can pull off.  They’re also usually out of my price range, but I like to try their stuff on.  It indulges my inner rock star.  And I figured, hey, how much damage can a girl do in the Lucky store with a Gap credit card? 

So I succumbed to the pressure and took a little stroll around the store.  I even tried on a few tops, just for fun of course.  Ahem. I found one that I’d looooove to have, but I can’t find a link online to show you.  Let’s just say, it’s a good thing my credit card was in the car or I’d have been sorely tempted to break my vow.  I know, I’m pathetic.  This is only the first week.  I should wait until at least the second week month before I start cheating. 

So anyway, suffice it to say, I left the store empty-handed, although I think I may have had a small tear in my eye as I walked away.  Or maybe it was just the aberrant eyelash that was floating on my lower lid.

Well, to wrap this up, because seriously, yall have better things to do, I’m sure.  I think we can consider Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 a success on all counts.  School clothes purchased, spending policy adhered to, and most importantly, a new school year off to a rollicking good start!