So THAT'S what those big parking lots are for

I went shopping this morning. It was a sight to behold, something that I couldn't possibly have been prepared for. You see, I've never been much of a Black Friday shopper mostly because my mom wasn't. For my entire childhood and through college, we spent every Thanksgiving with my dad's family in Kelseyville, a tiny town in northern California with a population that must be in the hundreds. There weren't a whole lot of door busters there. We have been spending Thanksgiving closer to home for the last few years and so last year, I thought I'd check out this whole early morning shopping thing. I set my alarm and was prepared to go. When my alarm went off the next morning, it was WAY to early and I slept in for another hour or so and then headed out without any real design or place to go. I mostly just wanted to see what it was all about. I don't think that I bought anything at all.

This year, I was determined. I made my mom drive around to several stores yesterday looking for a newspaper to make sure I had the ads. I had everything mapped out and I was going to be there at 5:00 AM to make sure that I got a particular gift for Jane. The alarm went off, I got up, got dressed, fed the baby and got to the store before they opened. It was a lot of work for nothing. There must have been like 5 Leapsters in the store because by the time I even got back there, they were all gone. These people are die hard, I totally underestimated the determination of an indivual looking for a good deal. Now, it's not even 7:00 and I am left with no Leapster, a massive headache, a stomach ache from eating a greezy (and delicious) hashbrown from McDonald's WAY too early in the morning and the prospect of my kids waking up at any moment. On the bright side, I did get a bunch of half priced socks, which is a lot more rewarding than I had anticipated. I'm not sure I'll be doing this again next year. Oh who am I kidding? Next year, I'll just have to get up at 3:00.

...and Lizzy's awake.