Jasper Jones

One reason I try to stay out of convenience stores is that they have such a tempting display of snack foods, candies and gum. It is really hard for me to go inside a convenience store and stand in line at the register while staring at the racks of snacks and not pick up something as a treat. Those kinds of snacks are just a quick and temporary feel good. They are not healthy for your body or teeth and the calories just go to unwanted weight gain.

The candies and gums are bad for your teeth. I was shocked to see that the price of a candy bar has gone up to $1.41 for a regular sized candy bar. That’s a lot of money for a quick sugar rush and future cavities. Those things need to be under a dollar for me to grab up in an impulse purchase. When it gets that expensive it’s easy to think of additional good reasons to not buy it.

The woman who cuts my hair has been at the same hair salon ever since I was a kid. I don’t trust anyone but Sherri to cut my hair, and I call ahead to make sure she is there before I driver over to her salon. I hate to call it a salon - that sounds awfully feminine. I don’t know what else to call it. It’s a little chain store that only charges $10 for a haircut, which is a good price for the little bit of hair that I need cut, since I keep it very short anyway.

With me away at school I haven’t seen Sherri for months and I have to say that I was shocked at how much weight she is putting on. I mean, she is only in her 30’s and she weighs what I’d guess as close to 300 pounds. Now that kind of weight gain is going to have a lot of health complications, like diabetes and strain on your ankles and knees. Another problem that overweight people have is a condition called sleep apnea. This is when you are asleep and your body stops breathing for a short period.

Sure enough, Sherri mentioned to me that she is having trouble sleeping and is tired all day long. That is a typical symptom of sleep apnea. The web site “Sleep Disorders Guide.com” is a good place to read up on the problems associated with sleep apnea and how to find a sleep center with the medical specialists to help.

My mother dropped a couple hints this morning about taking pictures tonight and tomorrow while all the family is together and the house is decorated so nicely. That pictures are something to treasure over the years the come, and that you will often look back and say - what was I wearing? Why did I have that hairstyle? Look at those funky glasses!

So, again with the hints about looking good and looking your best and all that. So eventually it dawned on me - she wants me to go get a haircut! So I’m outta here and looking for my gal Sherri to cut my hair and spiff me up. For mom’s sake.

At the bar last night we were talking about Christmas memories as little kids and how some of the toys that we wished for and some of the toys that we actually got might have shaped our destinies. For example, I always wanted army men and had a huge collection of little plastic warriors, tanks, planes, jeeps, etc. and so did Robby, my friend a few houses down. We spent a lot of time playing war and later moved into cowboys and indians, cops and robbers, and even EMT Rescue. To be honest, I don’t think that today’s kids play those games any more. I doubt that they are considered politically correct.

But the fact that both Robby and I like military and police type of games did influence our destiny. Robby is in his fourth year with the Marines and I’m planning to be an EMT when I get out of college in the spring. So it was very cool to hook up with Robby last night and laugh about childhood adventures.

With our interests in all things military, I think that both of us are very easy to buy gifts for. We both love all the grown up military gear - everything from tactical clothing to weapons and survival gear. I dropped a serious hint with my mother that I wanted and needed several pairs of 5.11 EMS Pants and even showed her the LA Police Gear.com web site so she would buy the right brand. Of course, she already knows my size, so it should have been the easiest Christmas chopping on her list!

Everyone has pretty much finished up their Christmas shopping by now, although I’m sure there will be a rush of last minute bargain hunters and the procrastinators who need to buy more gifts on Christmas Eve. The problem with shopping this late is that the stores close early on Christmas Eve, most of them will be closed at 6:00 tonight. A lot of businesses also close early on Christmas Eve, some of them an hour earlier than normal, and some even close at lunch. All of this makes it hard to take care of business today and adds to the stress of shopping at the last minute.

Brian told me that he had to get a nice gift for his grandmother, but he gets some extra time to buy that gift, as she and his grandfather have gone to England for the Christmas holidays and won’t be back in the States until January 2. So they will come see the family the weekend after New Year’s for a late Christmas celebration. That gives him the perfect opportunity to find something nice for them, like a nice watch.

My mom has always said that a nice gift for someone is a quality watch, like the ones at thewatchery.com and I think Brian could easily shop online at this web site to find great gifts. They have such a great selection of quality name brand luxury timepieces that he could have bought all his gifts from this site. They have a nice holiday gift guide and some clearance deals that are up to 90% off the original prices. So this was a great find at the last minute for the last of his shopping list.