I Have a Confession

Last Friday...the day after Thanksgiving...the day that is referred to as Black Friday...

(okay, here is where I hang my head in shame)

...found me (the woman who does NOT like to shop AT ALL!)....

...at the store that I dislike the most. And then after a brief stop at home, I went to yet another store.

There. I've said it. I'm still trying to come to terms with it.

Last Thursday night, after everyone had left and after I'd taken a shower and was all comfy in my recliner in the bedroom, I went through the sale ads for Friday. I'd looked at them earlier, but this time really looked at them, to see if there was anything at all I absolutely HAD to HAVE.

I tend to be a list maker, so out came the pen and paper. Before I knew it, I had several things written down for Wal*Mart (I hate Wal*Mart), Kohls, and something for Staples. I decided that I needed to check out the GPS system at Wal*Mart, along with a few other things that the kids wanted for Christmas. There were a few things at Kohls that I needed to look at too, and then there was a different GPS system at Staples.

HOWEVER, I was NOT getting up at FOUR FREAKING A.M. to venture out in the cold and dark to these stores. If they still had what I wanted when I got there, then fine, and if not, then that was fine too.

I got to Wal*Mart around 9:30 or so and they still had a ton of the GPS systems. In fact, they still had everything that I was interested in, with the exception of one item. I was surprised. And to top it off, it was NOT that busy there! I was in and out of the store in less than half an hour.

After stopping at home to drop things off and check on the progress of the menfolk (Ted, Joey, and Alex) as they were working on the outside Christmas decorations, I decided to again venture out, this time to Kohls. I was able to cross Staples off my list, as I didn't need to check out the GPS system there since I had gotten one at Wal*Mart.

At Kohls, they were out of one item I wanted, but they had something very similar still left, so I altered my plan a little. They had everything else on my list, so I was able to quickly get in line to check out. OH MAN. The checkout line weaved throughout the store. Was it worth it? Did I really need these things THAT bad??

I decided to get in line and see how quickly it moved. We were almost in constant motion. The longest that I went without moving was about 20-30 seconds. There was one line and when you got to the front of it, an employee told you which checkout lane to go to. This kept things moving fast and there was no "second guessing" about whether or not you got in the fastest moving lane. All in all, I was only in line about 20 minutes. Not bad.

Once I got home and things were unloaded and placed into the depths of my closet, I went to the computer and continued my shopping, but this time it was on MY terms! I probably do 80% of my shopping online. Believe it or not, it can be cheaper that way. One place that Alex wanted some things from was having a sale...they had 50% EVERYTHING! In addition to that, there was free shipping if you spent over $75, which I did, AND you got a free stuffed bear if you spent over $100, which I also did! I got some REAL bargains at that site, as well as at several other sites.

Okay, so Friday was my big shopping day, and I feel so much better now that I've confessed it to the world!