Black Friday

I have to admit that I love Black Friday, waking up before the break of dawn, standing in line in the crisp morning air (and freezing), planning my strategies, and most of all the joy of the hunt (I am a sucker for a good deal). Hey what can I say, I am doing my part to help out the economy in these hard times.
My sister Monique and I have been doing this for years (starting almost 10 years ago before the popularity of cell phones- we would use 2 way radios to talk to each other in different parts of the store while grabbing the hot ticket items).
Probably the most memorable Black Friday for me was in 2001 when I was nine months pregnant (one week before I delivered), it was freezing cold and snowing, and I had to drag my 4 year old and 1 year old kids around with me. We ended up buying so much stuff (and really heavy things) that we ended up carrying the kids and filling up the stroller with all our items (we weren't able to get a shopping cart and though I was pregnant with small children, that didn't give me any sort of advantage- nobody cares about that stuff on Black Friday, it's every man for himself). I made it to 4 different stores that year, and vowed I will never take kids with me again (luckily they are old enough to leave at home now).
This year was pretty mild in comparison to previous seasons. The weather wasn't too bad, but stores are starting their sales earlier and earlier. This year we started at Kohls (which opened at 4 o'clock in the morning- meaning we were there in line by 3:30 A.M.). I didn't even end up getting anything at Kohls, so I was kind of bummed that I lost an hour of sleep for nothing. After that I headed to Walmart for some toys and clothes. I pretty much got everything that I really wanted (luckily I didn't need anything in the electronics section like Monique did, because that is where the real action/violence was). Most people were enjoying themselves, but there were a few that tried to elbow their way to the front of the lines. Some people were upset and yelling. I even accidentally bumped into a woman with my shopping cart and when I apologized, she yelled at me to watch where I was going and then shoved my cart. To all those people who don't shop for fun or have manners, I say poo to you and stay home!!! The two other stores I visited after that were pretty uneventful and even enjoyable (how can you not enjoy yourself while dining on donuts and shopping for socks at Smith's Marketplace). Unfortunately I still have a lot of shopping to do, but at least this gave me a good start on things. Happy shopping!

(I stole these pictures from Tawnie's blog, but Monique and I were actually there in this crowd somewhere- and this is exactly what things were like when it hit 5 o'clock at Walmart- crazy I know, but I love it)