Hope you're enjoying this time of year. I'll be back soon!

I generally try to stay positive and focus on the good. You’re better off if you just cut people some slack and let the little things go. But MY GOD, could I just enter and exit the grocery store in peace? Shouldn’t I expect a no-harassment zone in front of the place that I must regularly visit to browse Us Weekly, I mean, feed my family?

Because as it stands, every five days or so I’m being shouted at as to whether I’m a registered voter so that I can sign a petition. And someone’s ringing a bell at me even though I’m already donating money to charities in other ways. Even cute children block my path to sell me things that I don’t want.

When I’m not rushed or I’m feeling particularly nice, I’ll talk to these people. They’re just doing their thing even if I don’t agree with their approach. Most days though, for the love of Pete, might I just go into the store in silence and do my business? It seems like a reasonable request to me.

I came across a blogger recently who mentioned that he’s taken to involving himself in fake cell phone calls so that he’ll be left alone. That’s a good idea except for when I’m with my four-year-old, who might think that mommy’s lost her mind. So for now, I’m perfecting my “don’t mess with me” look, which isn’t my natural inclination.

Last night I wore my black belted pea coat out to dinner (it’s finally getting cold around here) and found some things in the pockets from many months ago. On one side was a movie ticket stub for Pooh’s Heffalump, which I took the girls to see one afternoon, and from the pocket on the other side, a ticket stub from the San Francisco symphony that my husband and I attended almost a year ago. Two very different kinds of outings but both fun. Alas, I found no money in the old jacket as I often do.

Recently I organized my closet a bit and found some long lost items inside purses I haven’t used in awhile: a certain lipstick (MAC “O” I believe), a bag of cough drops that may come in handy this winter (though I hope not), and some Clean & Clear blotting papers. I wonder what I’d find if I went through all the purses and jackets in our coat closet downstairs. You just never know.

The current contents of my purse includes some cool things I’d kind of forgotten about too (I knew they were there but haven’t really thought about it much until I looked): half of a chocolate peanut butter power bar (good to have on hand for some protein instead of buying junk food), a free toothbrush and mini toothpaste from the dentist, and a coupon for a free drink at Starbucks, which they gave me when there was a problem with my order a month ago (I think I’ll save for a time I have need for a “venti” amount of caffeine vs. my usual “tall”).

You may want to go check your pockets and purses. There could be something interesting.