Not grasping the concept...

Definitions of Ban on the Web:
A ban is, generally, any decree that prohibits something.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ban (law)

Hmmm...so by reading that, it SHOULD lead me to the conclusion that a shopping ban would be the prohibition of shopping. I see how the concept can relate to each other, just not how it pertains to me.

....BWAHAHAHAHAHA...

I guess I'm just not cut out for bans - it's totally NO fun! Note to self: remove ban declaration from The Board signature.

And this is what I did with my day off:

I got this at a not-so LSS a couple cities away and had no idea what to do with them. I saw some of her examples hanging up and thought it was kind of cool. They're peel-offs, which is basically outline stickers and you can leave them as-is, or colour them with permanent markers, and then colour the inside spaces as well. I'm not doing a very good job explaining, but when I got home I had to try it out, so you'll see something about it a little bit later.

Stopped off at WM to have a peek at their carts...very bad selection (if you can count two of the same cartridges a selection, even...) but I nipped over to the scrapbooking aisle and found these babies. I also read that there is a sealer for glitter, so I'm going to pop into Michaels to see if I can find it.

My Bellas! To be fair, these don't count against today because I ordered them last week (can't believe they came so fast!). They are so nice and fit in with the rest of my grab bag stamps in their CD cases. Fabulous!

Now, the showstopper. The number one reason I was trying not to do wriggling happy dances in the Michael's aisle...

*SQUEALS* Aren't they so FABULOUS! Let me tell you, I walked into that Michael's not knowing where anything was. I did THREE laps around the whole store looking for the bin and was just about to leave all pouting, thinking they didn't have any, when I spotted them - just beside the EXIT! WOOHOO! Twelve packs of stamps that I don't already have, I must have looked a little psychotic sitting there on the ground giggling to myself. Meh...I took my little preciousessss (if you've seen the Lord of the Rings, I think I might remind you a little bit of Gollum right about now)to the register and got in line behind this lady who I think only JUST discovered scrapbooking.

From her cart she was pulling, stacks upon stacks of..well, stacks...and embellishments gallore and TWO cartridges and the request for CDS! She started asking the cashier questions and when she got a sort of blank, panicked kind of look, I thought I would step in and tell her it was FABULOUS and I loved mine, but I also got it for 50% less than what she was about to pay now. And her eyes got all wide and she was like, really? and I asked if she was part of the Cricut Messageboard and she said no, and I think my jaw dropped.

How could she NOT be? Who ISN'T?! Well, she ended up just buying it anyway and I tried not to listen, but her bill was over $400! I was jealous of all her shopping bags though because she had a LOT of goodies! Looked like she was partial to the K&Co. paper stacks. *sighs* Oooh, to just be starting out again..

CURRENT MOOD: CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: UNWRITTEN - NATASHA BEDDINGFIELD

Of bans and bumpers...

...so. Today was THE day. M's put their Cricut carts on sale for $49.99 ($39.99 in the US - why couldn't I live in the US at critical moments like these?!)

And where was I, you ask? I was at an all-day web training session out of town. ALL DAY. From 9 am - 4 pm. That was SEVEN hours of good shopping time!

Anyways, there was actually good news in that. Since it was an hour and a half out of town, I was able to shop at a different M's than the ones around here (which, if I haven't said so already, suck).

So as soon as the session is over - at least I HOPE it was over...I kind of just assumed it was wrapping up. I grabbed The Mister and booted it to the nearest M's. I already knew where I was headed because I Google mapped the address during the training session. (Can I just say that I already KNEW all the stuff that was going on - they should have specified that it was for like...BEGINNERS who didn't even know what websites WERE. I should say they were for beginners and everyone except me and The Mister were all over 50.)

ANYWAYS, here we are zooming into the M's parking lot and I am completely wriggling around in my seat from the anticipation. I pull into a parking spot and run out - only to have to turn back and yell to The Mister that I forgot the keys in the ignition. NO lies!

So he goes back to get them and I run into the store, stop just inside the entrance to look wildly around for the scrapbooking section and make a beeline for the cartridges! I see an endcap with like, 5 different carts and I wrinkle my nose in disgust. 5. FIVE?!?! Then I round the corner and...*cue Handel's Messiah chorus here* There they aaaall are (all except JOTS for crying out loud). I grab WIMG and OA and now that the adrenaline has peaked, I walk around slowly to look at everything else. In the end, I put back OA as I just realized I'm supposed to be on a ban and as I head over to the register, I see the $1.50 basket (it's the $1.00 in the US which leads me AGAIN to the question why do I not live in the US for moments like these?!). I idly look over and *once again, cue the chorus* there are Studio G stamps staring at me.

I have NO idea why I have SUCH an addiction to Studio G stamps. Maybe because they're so cute and little and you get multiple stamps in one little packet. Anyways, of COURSE the basket has to be right near the floor so after crouching, I end up sitting right there on the floor digging through those items like I lost my first-born child in there.

A little eye-candy if you will...

The wood-mounted Studio G's don't count against my ban because I made The Mister buy them and I said I wasn't going to be paying him back. LOL...

So at last I have reached the end of my shopping spree and I'm considering asking The Mister if he wouldn't mind stopping at another M's located in the same city, but before I can voice the request out loud...

BAM.

Oh-my-freaking-lanta...I have reversed into a pole. While Cricut flowers and clear acrylic stamps danced before my eyes, I failed to see the big, freakin' pole behind me. I run out to check and it's not too bad. No dent, but some scratches in the paint.

It's punishment for breaking my ban. Karma is SO petty. I just know it...

CURRENT MOOD: CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: FOUR IN THE MORNING - GWEN STEFANI

It's THE ban...

...so since I already posted it on The Board, it's already pretty official so I'm going to announce that I have started my April ban!

It's a lenient ban though as I am allowing myself $20 in ADHESIVES only. I haven't broken down and let myself yearn for an ATG just yet, as I have gotten pretty attached to these adhesive tape-runners from the dollar store. It goes pretty far considering it was only $1, but now that I'm starting to make more things, I'm still going through them.

Ummm...CONFESSION #1 (while on the ban)
I dragged The Mister to Michael's today because I got all confused about the cart sale. I had intended to make him buy a cart for me as a gift to get around the ban. The only reason why I'm still all nice and sin free one this so-far-one-day ban is because the carts aren't actually on sale this week.

YES, I am that weak. 29 more days to go...

CURRENT MOOD: CURRENTLY LISENTING TO: CAN'T FIGHT THE MOONLIGHT - LEANNE RHIMES