Times I want to strangle my cats.

They are few and far between. But I have to say... cats and xmas trees do NOT mix. I've had the bastards climbing the tree, knocking of decorations and dragging or chasing them around for HOURS. They've thought it great fun. I have not.

All I had planned today was to go to work in the AM, come home, and wash my sheets. Maybe prep my vegies for tomorrow. No biggie. I'd done most of the cleaning yesterday arvo in between drinking and blogging. I get home, unwind, pop a pimple or two, the usual.

And then I find it. Something shiny and curved on my floor. I pick it up, turn it over and my heart quickly leaps to the back of my mouth, and just as fast plummets down past my stomach. Its a decorated and personalised tree ornament that a workmate gave my roomie. And it was gorgeous. Until the cats took it for a test drive.

I grab my bag and phone and hit the door. Still wearing the clothes I wore to work - jeans from three days ago, that have food spilt on them, a nice top but its got a darker stain on the stomch, and the bra that doesn't do anything. Yep. It was washing day.

Living so close to Westfield I can walk there. They have a little stand where they make these ornaments. But when I get there I can't find the stand. I ask the information desk. Apparently they ran out of baubles only yesterday and have packed up and moved on. But they do have another stall at Castle Hill. Its only one bus ride there.

I miss the bus by about 2 minutes. I missed the HOURLY bus by about 2 mintues. I have nothing better to do but wait for the next one. Halfway through the wait another bus pulls up. Final destination - Castle Hill Shops. But its going to take at least 50 minutes. Its still better than waiting. I'm not sure if it was the roughness of the bus ride or the freezing status of the air con that had my teeth rattling on the journey. And of course by this stage the pieces of the ornament have magically turned to shards. The damn thing is sooo fragile.

Get to the shops, and find myself an information desk. Holding the shards in my hand I babble some incoherant story at the lady on the other side of the desk. She doesn't wait for me to get my story out. Which is kinda a goosd idea, because it would've taken forever. She points me in the correct direction and gives me the most obvious landmark - its next to santa.

I find the stall with no problems. While waiting to be served one of the friends of the people working there spies my ever increasing number of small shiny pieces, and comments that it doesn't look to healthy. I show them the shards that were once my roomies gift. They immediately tell me (without me having to display the pattern), that they don't have any snowmen in stock, and definitely none in pink. But they tell me to look at the others and see if I can't find something suitable for her. I do. And I purchase a pink bauble with a beautiful angel, and get her name written on it. All this hassle for a stupid but adorable $11 ornament!

And I'm guilt tripping so bad by this stage, and I'm not sure if she'll like this one as much, that I buy her another. The next one is a blue ornament with a fishing snowman. You know, just in case she doesn't like the first one. And she still has a pink ornament, and an ornament with a snowman.

Breathe a huge sigh of relief. And happily go to catch the bus back. Only I don't know where the direct bus leaves from. Back to the information desk for directions. It seems easy enough to find.

Waiting at the traffic lights to cross the road, and it starts to rain. Big drops, but not alot of them. I shake my head. What else can go wrong? Then it starts rainging harder. I actually laugh. I like the rain. And right now I'm so stressed if I don't laugh I'm going to cry. The lights cahnge just as it begins to flood from above. It was pissing down so hard I actually sought shelter, Waiting for the rain to ease. I finally bolt across the road and locate the bus stop. To find I've missed the bus by mere minutes. I've missed the HOURLY bus by mere minutes. Again.

I decide to explore the mall nearby. I'm soaked to the skin. And I'm covered in what was once a dirty roadside puddle. There is a clothes shop in the mall. I decide to buy some clothes and wear them straight from the shop. But I can't find anything that fits, or looks good, or doesn't look slutty. So I go without, and drag my tired, wet butt back to the bus stop. Where I caught a bus that had the air con set to about 11 C. Freaking bloody cold bus ride, even if I wasn't wet.

And thats the story of yesterday. My housemate and I both think its funny. And i decide not to put the new ornaments on the tree.