I Like Bunnies and Ostriches and Online Shopping

Several years ago, I was teaching Julia to write a paragraph where every sentence supported the topic sentence. To learn what it meant to write on topic, we did a little exercise.

Which sentence does not support the topic?

Topic: Spring

Spring is my favorite season.

The weather begins to get warmer.

Leaves appear on the trees.

Flowers start to bloom.

I like bunnies and ostriches.

It always made Julia laugh, and to this day, "I like bunnies and ostriches," is our code for random, off-topic comments.

Recently, Julia remarked that Stitch Fix is the "bunnies and ostriches" part of this blog.

In other words, what in the world does my trying on new clothes and having Julia take my picture have to do with anything?

I'm not sure, but my Stitch Fix posts are the most visited pages here at Death by Great Wall. Go figure.

And then, this November every time I sit down to write, I find myself wanting to share about shopping online. Stitch Fix was just the beginning. Then, I threw in a link for $20 off at Toms.com. Yesterday, I was raving about ThredUp. And honestly, there are still a couple of other deals I'm dying to share with you.

I'm supposed to be writing about older child adoption and family life.

And here I am. . . writing about bunnies and ostriches.

But the thing is, this is the time of year where shopping (which for me usually means shopping online) becomes a huge part of my family life. We're going to Alabama for Thanksgiving, and of course, every one of my kids has grown since last year. We wear flip-flops and shorts year round  in my neck of the woods, and all of the sudden all four kids need long pants and long sleeves and COATS. Yikes. Suddenly, saving money online becomes very on-topic for me.

And then there's Christmas. With four kids. You get the point.

So bear with me for the next few days, as I share another review or two and some of my favorite online shopping tips.

I promise to keep the older child adoption discussion going because I know that's why a lot of you are here.

But some days. . . it's just bunnies and ostriches. . . That's all I've got.