Thanksgiving...and Shopping Part 2

...My love affair with Black Friday  started a few years ago.


   At the time we lived in the sticks, it was a 45 minute drive into town. Come This particular Thanksgiving morning we got the boys up, who were pre-teen at the time, got ready and headed into town to my Grandmothers house where we always spent the day until she passed away. (The woman could cook! I miss you Granny). She always had the news paper sitting out and the boys were amusing themselves by looking through the ads and letting anyone that would listen know what they wanted for Christmas. I was thinking "you have got to be kidding, what do I look like a bank"?


   Well when I finally got to look at the ads I figured as much as everything was discounted I could get some of the stuff on their never ending list. So later that night I sat with my list and ads in hand plotting what was to become my first game plan.


   I had to get up way too early, which turned out to not be early enough, and drive the 45 minutes into town. I fought the crowds for most of the day and got most of what was on my list. I was wore out when I finally got home later that afternoon...wore out but hooked.


   Fast forward 7 years and I'm still hooked.


   Alot has changed in that time. The process has changed over the years, it now starts weeks in advance with the web sites and now iPhone aps that warn when they get wind of new ads from different stores being "leaked", but you never really know whats going to be in the final ad until you get up Thanksgiving morning and open that long awaited news paper and get your hands on that stack of ads.


   For me that process is always the same. Drink my morning coffee and look casually through the stack of ads to get an idea whats in them. Spend the day with my family and as everyone is winding down for the day I drag my stack of ads back out and start working on the game plan.


   When the plan is comes together its off to bed early so I can get a few hours of sleep before the fun begins!


   This year was no different than any other. I was up at 3:30 (we live in town now so I don't have to get up as early). Unfortunately it had been raining all day on Thanksgiving and the temperature had drastically fallen over night. I headed out the door loaded down with my coffee, bottle of juice, game plan, and stack of ads only to find out that I couldn't get into the car. The doors were frozen shut!


   Well that was a monkey wrench in my plan right off the bat. It took me 30 minutes just to get IN  the car! After not so patiently patiently waiting for the windows to defrost I headed to my first stop and the race was on.


   I knew this year was going to be harder than any of the previous years. Its always tiring but add in my MS symptoms and the exhaustion is almost overwhelming. I was determined I wasn't going to let this horrible disease take this from me too. It took longer than usual, and I clearly didn't make as much progress as in earlier years but I did it! I got just about everything on my list and then rushed home for a much needed and well deserved nap! I didn't even unload the car first! HA!


   Black Friday is officially over and my body is sore. I'm recovering at home this morning wondering what cyber Monday has in store for us.


   I usually don't get involved in cyber Monday but I have to tell you I was sadly disappointed with the black Friday ads this year. Yes there were alot of big ticket items this year that were great deals, but for those of us that were actually shopping for Christmas presents and not personal presents it was kind of a let down. So I'm still on the look out for that special gift for several people on my list...


   SO....I'll hang up my running shoes moo moo boots and clip board for another year, and look forward to another black Friday, God willing...




   On a side note I have to say how proud of my youngest son I am, who I have taught well. He got to enjoy his first black Friday shopping event with his friends this year. He stood in line with his friends, in the freezing cold, for 4 hours outside of Best Buy so he could get video games that were going to be on sale. For those of you that don't know, for an 18 year old gammer that's a big deal! He too left with a game plan and although he didn't spend hours shopping, came home and fell into bed. When he woke up after a few hours he was so sore from standing in the freezing cold for 4 hours he didn't feel like doing anything except playing those very games!


  

Thanksgiving...and Shopping Part 1

  ...A wonderful combination.

   My Thanksgiving started out just as it has for the past few years with the exception this year I didn't have to run all over the country town in the pouring rain looking for a news paper thanks to a friend from school who happens to deliver papers. (Thank you)


   I enjoyed my first cup of coffee snuggled up nice and warm (and dry) on the couch making my way, for the first of many times, through the sale ads while the boys, who are both home from school slept snuggled in their beds, the cable guy watched old car shows on TV, and the dogs jockeyed for position on the couch.


   We went to my parents house for Thanksgiving dinner. Enjoyed, for the most part, spending time with my family. It always amazes me how so many people from the same family can be so different. That being said I am thankful I have a family to spend Thanksgiving with. There are so many people in the world that are alone in the world, and don't have family they can rely on and depend on. And for that I am thankful.


   After spending what seemed like an eternity hours cleaning up the kitchen and washing piles of dishes that seemed to never end(which in itself is weird since we ate on plastic!) we came home to settle in for another one of the best things about Thanksgiving dinner....that's right the post dinner NAP!


   I started working on my game plan for the big day other wise known as Black Friday...


  

  

It's Almost Here!

The day, well one of the days,I look forward to all year long.


No it's not my birthday


It's not the last day of the semester (which by the way cant get here soon enough)


It's not the first day of spring break


It's not even Christmas,YET.


It's almost BLACK FRIDAY!!


Anyone that knows me knows I love to shop but even more than that I love to get a good deal when I shop. There's somethin about gettin the ads Thanksgiving morning and plotting my route. Making my list and checking it twice! Getting up before the chickens and making my way to my first stop long before the sun comes up.


Last year I signed up to get email alerts about all the sale ads before they were posted so this year I kind of have an idea of whats coming on the *big day. I thought this was the most amazing thing, this year they went even bigger. They are sending tweets about big sales going on prior to black Friday. AND if that's not good enough....


There's an actual black Friday AP!


*Ad day (Thanksgiving)


Yes this year will be a little more alot more difficult because of my non-stop and ever changing MS symptoms but I'm determined to not let it slow me down...much.


The boys have been pre warned I need a list by Thanksgiving or you get socks and underwear for Christmas which means more money for me to spend on myself!


Its almost as exciting for me as Christmas day....almost...


Happy Shopping!

Just A Quick Update

   I just wanted to do a quick update.


   My mom was admitted to the hospital Friday night after spending most of the day in the ER. Lucky for her the trip to the ER was a quick one seeing she works in the hospital.


   The ER docs thought she was having a heart attack and once she was stabilized and they started testing they found that it wasn't a heart attack...yet. Her blood pressure was dangerously high and her heart rate dangerously low.


   She is having a cardiac catheterization sometime today, we have been told that all of the testing will take two days to complete and then the cardiologist would know where to go from there.

I'm So Ready...

...For a break!


   I need for this semester to be over, not because I'm like every other college student in America, but because I'm Tired.


   My body is tired, my brain is in a fog, and I have been sick for almost a month. I need a break.


   I HATE  MS!


   I hate what its doing to my body. I hate what its doing to my mind. I hate how its effecting not only me but the rest of my family. Alot of my previous symptoms are starting to show up again. The headache, the burning in my neck, the tightness in my shoulders and neck. I'm just waiting to wake up one morning and realize I'm numb again. Or worse.


   BUT the reality is I'm not getting a break any time soon. I still have to make it till December and get through finals with no major disasters.


   Pray I can hold on that long...

Election Crazed

   Well its that time of year again.


    The temperature is dropping, the leaves are dying changing color, and the freaking political signs are everywhere. Hopefully after today they will all disappear as quickly as they appeared. (with the exception of one local candidate who's signs were already taken down but more on that later)



   Do you get involved in politics (local or nationally)? Do you keep up with whats going on in the world as far as politics goes? Are you republican,democrat, conservative, liberal....or do you just not care?


   I have to be honest, until recently I would have said I just don't care. But theres alot of things that have happened to change my opinion about politics entirely.


   I think too much emphasis is put on voting for this person or that person just because of the party they represent. People don't take the time to do the research about the candidates running for office they just assume that because that person is a member of X party they must be the one to vote for. Its not like it takes a long time to do. If you can spend 2 hours on facebook a day you surly could spend 30 minutes googling the candidates and reading their platforms. I mean the computer is already on for goodness sake!

   I live in a predominately republican town. (yes I said that as if it were something nasty and distasteful if you were wondering) Most of the population of this town would be considered either upper middle class or upper class but there are a few of us here that are just middle class folks trying to make a living and fighting for whats right. I do love it here. It has the small town feel but is large enough to have a Wal-mart! HA There are times though, like election time, when I wish I lived anywhere but here.


   I get so tired of hearing about how the world is going to fall apart because we have a democratic president, or how the Democrats are trying are trying to take away their rights (and by their rights I'm talking about the affluent peoples rights). I just want to scream! I want to pull my hair out and yell at these people to turn the channel on the TV to something other than Fox news for a few min and get another view of the situation.


  People complain about the new insurance bill....my question to them is...have you read it? I mean really read it or are you just going off what you heard on the nightly news, because we all know how reliable the news can be. They would never skew the view one direction or the other and would never let their personal opinions get involved.(If you believe that I have some ocean front property for sale.) Granted its not all great but their are parts of it that are. The way I look at it is if I were buying a car and its the first year of the new design the manufacturer possibly hasn't worked out all the kinks and bugs yet, but once the cars on the road and up and running the kinks show themselves so they can be worked out. I don't think this insurance bill is getting a fare shake here but that doesn't mean I totally agree with it either....


   What would this country be like if we actually took into consideration what was good for everyone instead of whats best for ME.  Start asking how we can help everyone do better instead of worrying about how I can keep my money,my power my control...


   I get angry and frustrated about elections because anymore it has turned into a popularity contest instead of who the people think is capable of doing the best job.


   To all the people who say the world is going to fall apart because we have a democratic president or for those saying oh no what are we going to do if the republicans take over congress....

     This economic mess was started long before Obama took office and you cant dig out of a hole this big over night. It took years to make the hole its not going to miraculously fix itself overnight just because someone different moves into the big house on the hill.

    Take a few minuets out of your day and do a little research before you make a decision based on party lines.