Thanksgiving dinner(s) and Black Friday 2009

Well, I didn't plan to go out this year.... you see, I had a VERY busy two days to start the Thanksgiving weekend, so I CERTAINLY wouldn't have time.. (HA!) Well, my pleasant experience last year at Kohl's made me think I could do this!! And besides, I was home last year by 7am... plenty of time to get stuff done for today.

Well, let's back up.... a little history of our recent Thanksgivings. About 6 years ago, our two daughters were going to respective boyfriend's homes to eat turkey dinner. Well, I for one, wasn't cooking a whole turkey dinner for just Lee & I, so I told the girls we'd have it on Friday when they were home. Worked for everyone involved. Since my dear husband always worked that day, it would give me the whole day to plan and make dinner. (What a treat!) Our church recently started having a 'blessing of the bread' service on Thanksgiving eve, so while I was waiting for my better half near the church doors, I spotted a newspaper article asking for volunteers to work at a bread company on Main St in town. The owner of Great Harvest Bread Co, of Manchester, was baking hundreds of loaves (this year was 500) and turning them over to the director of MACC (local charity) to be sold-- all profits going to them. They would sell coffee, water, cookies, scones (leftovers from the baking on Wed at the bread place), the loaves at $5 a loaf.

There is always a HUGE turnout of spectators and runners on Thanksgiving Day at our local (shall I say international) road race (photo courtesy of the Hartford courant) where the start/finish line is a few stores up from the bread store, and while we haven't ALWAYS run/walked in it, or even watched it every year, this would be the perfect place and the perfect day to help out AND watch the race! (And isn't that what He put us here for? Helping each other?).... Well, let me tell you what a wonderful time we had!!! We met some great people, volunteers and customers and decided right then and there, THAT is where we would spend our Thanksgivings (as long as the bread place continued this).... Six years later, we love it still! And it works out fine, now that one daughter lives out of state and goes to her fiancee's family's for T-day.

Okay, so our Thursday is set... work at the Bread co, come home and relax, work on pies for our dinner the next day, watch Survivor (maybe)... until my mom decided she was able to put on a dinner for all her kids (4) and their families-- now she's 81 yrs old, and of course, we'll all help. Okay, NOW I have to do some prep work for THAT dinner. Of course, I'll bring the bread (helping mom AND the charity), I'll get some cheesecake, and I'll make my cranberry orange relish--easy!

Maybe that's why I figured I'd be able to do the Black Friday thing. And I think I did pretty well.... I automatically woke up at 3:15am. Maybe because I was thinking about it when I got home from my mom's... in any case, I was up, dressed, and out the door by 3:35am (who needs a shower to shop?)! I didn't even grab my tea, because I knew they would have  my friend's lunch truck there. I brought an umbrella, because it was a little drizzly. ...DRAT! The lunch truck wasn't here...a little drizzle scared them away? Oh well, the line was around the store (per usual), but within 10 mins, the doors were open and in we went rather quickly. I got my DEALS (!) and was out in 45 mins!!
Are you ready for the deals? Digital Camera for my mom (and my present from dear hubby), reg $130, BF sale $60; GPS for youngest daughter $200, BF sale $70 ( I bought an extra one at that price- not sure for who!); riding toy for my 1 yr old grandson- reg $50, BF sale $20...a few other odds and ends....minus $5 cpn, plus I now have $60 to spend of Kohl's cash by next week. Saved $501.00!!!! Great!
Now, I thought I'd just be driving home now.... awww, why not go to Best Buy? Hubby wanted a boxed set of DVD's (Firefly) and following movie (Serenity). Found both in BB, not realizing they were both on sale... When I got home at 6:10am, I met my husband Lee coming into the kitchen for his coffee. As I got on the computer in the den, he starts showing me the 'great deal' on Amazon for 'his gift'. "Honey, it's on sale from $49 to $38 and the extra movie is on sale from $20 to $15". Nice.... (I went in the other room to see what kind of a BF deal I got on the receipt). His $55 boxed set (Amazon), which was $39 in BB... on SALE for $13 (even though the online site quoted $10.99-- not going back to store for $2)!! and the additional movie was $9.99!! Whoooo Hooooo! (Damn, I'm good!)

Now I have to go finish MY Thanksgiving dinner making...Hope you all had a great holiday so far (I hope to even get in some quilting!!)

Real Black Friday Virgin

Okay, Maybe the title of this post is misleading, since I have gone shopping on Black Friday, but I was in the stores by 7am. That doesn't really count, does it? Not after reading this post, okay? I just wish I'd brought my camera.

While at my sister's house on Thanksgiving (for dessert), Black Friday happened to be a subject that came up in conversation. (I'd gone early, just once, with my daughter Leslie, but not REALLY early. After all, I'm up usually at 5:30-6:30am every day, sans alarm clock.) Not ever slept out/camped out at the stores. Not even stood on those lonnngggggg lines! Til this year. A friend asked my husband "What's the chance that Nancy will make it out of the house AND be at Kohl's at 4am when they opened their doors?" When my husband made a 'zero' with his fingers, that clinched it for me!

I set my alarm (haven't used the alarm in YEARS, and did it without my glasses) for 3:15am, since I didn't have to do anything but 'throw' my clothes on and head out the driveway, ... and Kohl's is only 6-7 minutes from the house. I was so nervous that I'd oversleep and my DH would hear the alarm first, that I woke up on my own at 2:45am. I think I shut the alarm off, to keep it from going off later (in the dark, still no glasses on), snuck downstairs (DH is such a light sleeper), had my clothes on (no bra and no deodorant--Hey, I had on a sweatshirt!- am I sharing too much?) and was in the car by 3:25am. THIS was GOOD! Driving on the highway (two exits away) was a breeze- not much traffic at all,... a few trucks, but really nothing.

Kohl's is about 1/8th of a mile off the exit ramp, just on the other side of the Toyota dealer (which you are next to as you get to the end of the ramp). Once I got in sight of Kohl's store (at 3:35am, I might add), I realized why no one was on the highway.... THEY WERE ALL AT KOHL'S!! The parking lot, in front, was completely full! Along the side, it wasn't any better, as maybe 1/2--2/3 was full, also. I found a spot quickly enough, but the line was already along the front and down the side almost to the middle of this HUGE store! I would have jumped in line immediately, but -- I spied a 'lunch truck' right in front of the store...BREAKFAST! I didn't have my tea (or even grab a coffee to go) before I left and having breakfast, even a bagel, would have slowed me down, because you see, I wanted to BE at Kohl's early. So, I got a coffee AND a bagel breakfast sandwich (that's a treat!), with egg cheese and bacon!! Whooo Hooo! (I even knew the lunch truck ladies, since they used to come to our workplace in the next town over). Well, now... this could be fun!

I ate breakfast in line and it was done by the time the line started moving into Kohl's, ... I headed into the store, grabbed the GPS unit I was contemplating ($76.00), got a few other items on their Early bird sales and saw a 'WonderPets FlyBoat" for a GS , snagged it, then got in line. The LONG line. The one that you have to wait in if you want to check out. THE ONE LONG LINE!! But, in comparison to where I went next, this line actively moved... slowly, but it moved. I chatted with the lady in front of me, off and on, and even though I was getting tired on carrying my selections in my arms all the time (forget getting a carriage when you get in the store, they never have enough on a normal day), I managed to ask her to pick something off a rack we just passed and add it to my pile (for my mom). I even asked one of the 'line managers' to put a few pairs of 'something' (can't say in case the kids read this blog) on my pile. Okay, NOW I can't see much over the pile! One item, I had clutched under my armpit (and it goes to the floor!). I'd been hiking this 'thing' (can't tell you what, again) up and down, clunking it under my armpit, moving along in the line and it's starting to irritate me, BUT it's a GREAT sale, so .... oh, well, I'm almost at the registers. The cashiers have 'pom-poms' to shake to alert the 'line manager' they are open, and we got 'herded to the next open one'..... It moved along rather well, I thought (and I complimented the management on the 'breakfast trunk AND their system of handling the line inside....VERY nice experience!)

Okay, off to the next store.... and it's only 4:51am! Not bad timing, eh? (So I thought)

Up the road and into the 'mall area' (that should have told me something), I headed to Walmart. I always hear the horror stories of the line at Walmart, but I forgot how early it was. They didn't open until 5am, so the lines were actively in place. I thought Kohl's was long.....HA! What was deceiving, was that the line LOOPED (ever been to Disney? or in a queue at the movies?) a few times on the 'blind' side of the store. And what you COULD see from the parking lit was already long enough! Okay, in I went (to the line).... and once the store opened, the line went VERY quickly!! I got a few items (one for DH, since he needed this item - as his present one, died the other day- still can't tell you all yet), another GPS unit (Garmin, $97.00 this time- I'll compare them and return one) and headed for the register at the back of the store( I was parked near this exit door-- at the farthest end, but near here). This experience was one that I will say, I won't ever do again, ... at least not HERE anyway!

At the back near the garden area, one of two registers died! The human lines converged, Oh, GOD!.... Then some of the people started heading back through our line (what now!) with their bagged stuff. I guess the store people weren't opening the outside doors beyond the registers, so you had to weave yourself, with bags, through the craziness of the store to the doors at the front!! Oh, Hell, if that's the case, I'm going in the front lines (BIG MISTAKE). I must have stood in a line (in the front,... yeah right) FOREVER!! We 'inched (and I mean inched!) our way along this ling line and once I was able to see the registers.....OMG... the 'sea of humanity'!! I wish I had an aerial view of the 25 lines of humans converging to the 18 registers!! Standing in line, at some point, I heard someone say the back doors were now opened but I wasn't moving!! Not Again!

I DID make it out alive, but I vowed to NEVER do that store again! No matter WHAT is on sale! I even warned a few people in the parking lot that were headed for the entrance, of the check-out lines! But the nice thing, ... I was home by 6:45am! And I got gifts for 7-8 on my list. And I was fed.

Long post, but hope you enjoyed my adventure... I can now say, I've done "Black Friday" the way you should!