Yuppies in Cashmere and poodles in sportswear...these are a few of my favorite things

It might be the premenstrual syndrome. It might be the Trimspa, the mood elevators, or the antioxidants. It might be the love of a good man. It might be sheer exhaustion. Whatever the reason, I am in the Christmas mood.

I took the day off from working today (I haven't left the house except to go to school and to the grocery store in a couple of weeks). I happily left the house today to go Christmas shopping in Union Square.

Union Square has a bunch of little boutiques this time of year all for holiday shopping. It's like a micro-outdoor version of Affair of the Heart. I was all about it. I got a few things there for the "hard to shop for" people.

Surprisingly, the crowd was in a pretty good mood too. I could tell the holiday season was upon us. The women had traded in their summer, tiered flowing skirt uniform for fuzzy boots and himalayan hats with flaps. For those of you looking to make fashion waves in your hometown this year, think "Strange Brew" and you'll be set. See, skinny bitches have a harder time keeping warm in the colder months. But I digress.

I went into Sephora to go shopping for the mom and mom-in-law-to-be. What fun that place is. Holy crap. It's got the look of a duty free shop, except that it's all stuff that I want. I don't know why. I don't NEED any of it. But I was filled with holiday greed the second I walked in.

In order to combat the desire to buy a bunch of crap for myself, I pampered the women in my life. They will be smelling of eggnogg, apple cider, gingerbread man, cocoa, and candy canes for the next thouand years. Buy for others. Less guilt involved.

In any case, I thorouhly enjoyed myself. I pet several itty bitty dogs, and made small talk with vendors. Tonight I am going to a hockey game. Can today rock harder?

The only sadness I have to report is that I have barely seen my honey since we have both been body slammed with work. I think I may have to call in one day for reasons of mistletoe.

Oh, and John Spencer died. He is Russ's favorite character on the West Wing, and my dog is named after that character. West Wing will never be the same without Leo. At least he'll live on in DVD's.