the perfect score

*Disclaimer: For all the boys who read my blog, please change the word “shoes” to “xbox” or whatever item guys lust over, willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money for no matter how unnecessary. Only than will you truly be able to understand the awesomeness of this story.*

I haven’t been feeling super these past few days and have decided to forgo my usual run to gym for the daily workout in hopes to conserve my energy and to thus, get better quicker. (Again, I don’t have health insurance so anything I can do to avoid a dreaded doctor’s appointment is crucial.) Anyway, without having my usual routine filling up my lunch hour, I have been searching around town to find ways to blow sixty minutes. As I expected in Alabama… there isn’t many.

Sure, there are endless stores to shop in. I can find numerous boutiques or even a section of land posing as a ‘mall’ (but basically hold random hobby shops and discount chain stores that doesn’t even equal a good strip mall), but getting shopping gets old. I can only window shop for so long before I somehow convince myself that I need to purchase whatever item I have stumbled upon. No my dog does not need another sweater, no I do not need another picture frame, no I do not need another comfy t-shirt… what I need to be doing is saving my money. Yet another reason why I go to the gym every day for lunch: not only am I staying in shape, but staying on budget. Staying away from stores and away from boredom helps me stay away from pulling out that damned credit card.

But back to the issue at hand: I couldn’t go to the gym. So what should I do to pass the time? Again, my options are limited so sure enough I find myself browsing the poser mall and boutiques. I even wind up in TJ Maxx which I try at all costs to avoid because surprisingly, they have great designer clothes and accessories for only a fraction of the cost. (Who would have guessed?! Way to go TJ Maxx!) But still, I don’t need a $100 Prada purse, even if I am saving $200. Those hundred dollars should go to the cable bill or my car’s desperately needed new brakes. God, how I hate living paycheck to paycheck.

So there I am, wandering the aisles of TJ Maxx and I stumble upon an awesome pair of Steve Madden black ballet flat shoes. They are cute, not super cute, but likeable enough and completely functional which is more than I can say for half my stilettos. A great pair of comfy work shoes or something I could throw on for a lazy weekend running errands. But they are Steve Maddens’ so I can assume that even while on sale, they will still be out of my price range. Just humoring myself I mentally decided what I would actually pay for them: ten dollars. I have convinced myself that these shoes would make a great addition to my closest… but only if they are being sold for ten dollars which is a joke because never will you find a pair of shoes at TJ Maxx for that cheap.

I turn the shoe over expecting to wince at the price, but instead I do a double take. $5.00?! No way! I don’t believe it! This can’t be! So I scan the aisles to find the exact same shoe to compare prices. I find one, same size and all, flip it over to see the price is actually $60. So I look back at the shoes in my hand convinced I had been mistaken. But sure enough, I was right. The shoes had simply been miss-marked and the $55 over sight would be my gain. Still skeptical, I walked over to the registers. I felt as if this whole plan would blow up in my face and the cashier would ring up the shoes at normal price or even notice the huge discount and call a manager over to inform me of the mistake. I was actually nervous over a $5 pair of shoes; I was afraid TJ Maxx would think I was trying to pull a fast one on them. That I was the ring leader of the discount Steve Madden shoes scam. That I was a bad person.

But, nope, none of that happened. The cashier rang up my shoes, I happily paid my five dollars, and ran to the car to call my NY fashionista friend about my score. Five dollars for a pair of shoes?! That never happens! Not even at Payless could I score such a deal for knock offs, let alone designer kicks.

So here I sit at work thoroughly enjoying my new shoes as a glance at them under my desk. Is it lame to be so happy over a simple pair of shoes? Probably. But hey, you have to love the little things in life or you will be just waiting around for the big things letting life pass you by. Not only that, but technically I got the shoes for 85% off and who wouldn’t be happy about saving money?!

Yes, I do realize I have posted an entire blog about how the Alabama TJ Maxx just rocked my world and made my day. Never thought I would see the day…