Another Black Friday

Once again I have returned, virtually unscathed, from a morning of Black Friday shopping. It was a little different this year yet again. It was a solo mission this year and, as in previous years, I had checked all of the sales flyers and written a very detailed list. I was in somewhat of a quandary with regard to my starting point. There was no need to fret over it though, because when I arrived at my sister's house for pre-Thanksgiving dinner cocktails, my plans were made for me.

My sister and her husband gave me the dreadful news... black ice on Black Friday. Damn! All of those plans! All of those hopes and dreams! Wait... that means I can just sleep in. I'm o.k. with that. I'll just go later.

I woke up at around 6:30 and decided to take a look outside and see what it was like. It was 37 degrees and the drizzle appeared to have stopped. YES! I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out the door.

I feel that I must remind you that since the adults in my family don't exchange gifts, most of the items that I purchase on Black Friday are not gifts. I like to try to get deals on things that we need for ourselves or the house. That being said, my first stop was at Lowes. I bought two 18 gallon totes, 3 poinsettias and a string of lights all for $10! That's insanely cheap! So here's the best part... I was in and out of the store in just 5 minutes! Now I'm starting to think that there's absolutely no reason for getting up at 3 a.m. to go shopping. There is no way that I would have been in and out of there that fast if I had gone as soon as they opened.

After that successful adventure, I decided it was time to hit the mall. JCPenney had the usual "doorbuster" deals that couldn't be passed up, but it was Old Navy that really made me happy. I bought myself two pairs of jeans for only $30. After sashaying through a few more stores, I hit Target. Oof. Not a good idea. The place looked like a bomb had gone off. It was the same at Walmart. Bad choices on my part to be sure. After a major money-saver at Staples, I decided to reward myself with a little breakfast at Perkins. That didn't turn out so well. After waiting for 40 minutes, I left without eating.

It was nothing a pistachio muffin from Hannaford couldn't fix. Overall it was another successful Black Friday. I think I'll sleep in again next year. No sense losing sleep, right?