Black Friday

I am sitting by a crackling fire with my feet up listening to the sound of Wes getting pounded by my little brother in Mario Kart...it has been a good day. I am exhausted. But it was so worth it.

We left the house at 3:30am this morning in the blustery cold. I had such a thanksgiving dinner "hangover" I wasn't too sure I was going to be able to keep my eyes open on the drive in to Asheville for the shopping madness. But Wes, in his nocturnal way, had been up for about an hour already researching the last of the good deals. And he was ready to go. Even had the car warm.

He had a plan...I needed Starbucks.

By 3:55 we were in line outside of Sears waiting to make a mad dash in the store for the 4am opening. Bouncing around like a cheerleader on red bull to keep warm, I said to Wes, "I think this is the first time I have EVER stood in line for a store to open"...The lady in front of us turned around and said, "Me too...this is nuts!"...she turned back around and, *I kid you not*, continued the process of activating a new credit card so she could shop. Maybe it is just us, but a $10 toolbox is not worth going in debt over...if it ain't paid in cash, it ain't bought. :-)

We finally got through the door....and to the tools....We ran into my Dad about 4:30 in the router section....He is also a good early morning shopper!
We walked out about 20 min later with a reciprocating saw (Christmas present for my brother) and a toolbox for Wes.

NEXT...

To Kohl's, where we literally walked once around the store, *the lines were ridiculous!*, and back to the car where we were on to...

SAM's....honestly, we saw in their ad that they were offering a free breakfast at 5am...so that is why we headed there....we again found ourselves standing outside 5 min before opening...Call me weird, but it is fun to do that....people were surprisingly nice...flurries were floating through the air...it got me in the Christmas spirit for sure.
Sam's defiantly worked their magic on us and we walked out with a few things...(don't want to mention them on here...they are Christmas Presents...and those family members read this blog...but we got EXCELLENT deals!) We got our free breakfast (*and coffee* ahhhh) where we proceeded on our way to...

LOWE'S...again, 5 min before their 6am opening...in line...people being nice...a chill in the air....I am telling you, it was a pleasant morning.

Walked out with some Christmas gifts for Wes....(a shop vac for $29 and a drill bit set for $10...he picked them out...now I just wrap and put under the tree....we don't do everything that way, but these deals were too good to pass up and both were things he had been eyeing anyways...and they were both "door buster" items)
We also walked out with 4 poinsettia's for $4....for me :-)

On to DICKS....nothing...that wasn't on sale before today...Wes just wanted to check out the guns...

The sun was rising as we walked to the car and I was DEFIANTLY feeling the lack o sleep at this point...adrenaline and coffee were both wearing off...

One more stop though...HOME DEPOT...where we found some $1 Christmas lights and batteries...

Our eyes were going closed on the drive home...exhaustion had set in....So we came home and lit a fire and took a very nice warm nap....ahhh....sleep....

The rest of the day was spent with family....out and about...laughing, eating some more, and passing Ethan around like a football.
(Jason and Liz made the trip up from Florida to surprise Mom and Dad for Thanksgiving...we had known for weeks...they knew nothing....it was classic...we even hid the car...Mom and Dad pretty much dropped the turkey and the rest of the food in her hands in the doorway and ran to Ethan...never to return to the food, other than to eat it, the rest of the day...it was great...He is such a little blessing to our lives. A baby has a way of changing the holiday's for sure! It makes it all the more sweeter...)

And that, was our day...

For those of you who avoid Black Friday, you simply have the wrong way and idea of your execution of the morning...I am just saying...
A few tips:
Avoid Target and Wal-Mart like the plague....I would add Kohl's to that list too..
Do your research on what items are actually on sale that morning...
Read the fine print...
Go in with no expectations of actually getting those 'limited quantity' door busters...
Try your best...
Take advantage of free breakfasts....and let the morning suprise you....

Just make memories...Wes and I have really had fun all the times we have done it...it isn't worth killing yourself on this one day to get all your shopping done...Black Friday will become an event to look forward to if you have the right attitude. It isn't worth it if you go in cranky.

Well, off to bed...Grandpa and Grandma come tomorrow. More shopping,....more eating....more laughing....I am blessed.