Black Friday

I went made the choice to brave the stores and the cold starting at 430 this morning after not getting home until almost midnight last night from Sea World. I wasn't planning shopping this morning but my friend wanted to go and I'm a sucker for a bargain.

She picked me up at 430 and we headed to this place called Movie Stop for super cheap movies. We drove by the masses at Circuit City to have no one waiting at the movie store (which we figured) so we waited warmly in the car. I went in search of Polar Express since it was advertised at only $1.99 and House was 50% off. House wasn't as cheap as it was at Target so I passed on that one. I ended up spending $20 and some change for 6 movies (Polar Express, Jarhead, World Trade Center, Cellular, Lizzie McQuire Movie, & Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events). Not too shabby.

Sitting in the turn lane I convinced my friend to go straight when the light changed so I could stop at Penney's for my free snowglobe (no purchase necessary). We got the 2007 one last year for Lexi, so I had to get this one too. I know she will love it. I think that puts her collection up over 30 now.

After that we drove by Office Depot. My friend wanted a laptop that was an excellent deal but there were 60+ people already waiting in line so she opted to fore go that deal. The line was crazy long and there were people sleeping in camping chairs and one person even camped out in a tent. Funny thing is he wasn't even the first in line, he was like THIRD! I'm not sure there is anything worth camping out in front of a store for.

We then stopped at Starbucks to get breakfast and a hot drink to keep us warm. That proved to be needed as we got to Target and the line was all the way to the mall entrance (a far stretch). We didn't stand in that line long because we figured we were already way back that it didn't matter if we went to another store to look around. So we went to AC Moore to see what kinds of deals they had. They had Thomas the Tank Engine stuff buy one get one free but they were still too expensive for my friend's taste so we skipped that and went to stand in the line that was at the mall entrance of Target. It was already after opening time and we saw the outside line was already moving so we got back in that line and went in with all the craziness. This guy came running up behind us with his wife and kids and started yelling at people to get to the end of the line cause he thought they were gonna cut (they were waiting for the line to end so they could go in after but the line was pretty much never ending). We headed straight for the outdoor/bikes/etc area so I could get a Razor A scooter for Jacob. Grabbed one of those and headed to the toy section to check out the Fly Fusion Pen. Got one of those for $29 (regular $80) plus a journal and two "games" to go with it. I think Lexi will like it. I got stuck in a cart jam since I was standing by electronics and I heard crazy guy again. This time he was telling his son that there was no sale good enough to make him forget about him (I'm guessing they got separated or something). I made my way out of the chaos and found my friend looking at Thomas stuff. We went to check out before the lines got crazy so we could go over to Bass Pro Shop so my friend could get her husband some thermal underwear that was super cheap.

We asked a lady where we could find them and she directed us downstairs. Not finding them we searched for another employee. That was harder than one would imagine being Black Friday. I went in search one way, and my friend went the other way. Finally found the underroos within minutes of each other and got in the longest short line in history. This lady apparently grabbed the wrong item and we had to wait for her to get the right one.

We walked out into the mall and hit up Gymboree for some killer sales. Their outerwear was $14 but they barely had anything left that didn't sell at full price... nothing in my kids' sizes. They also had fleece hoodies for $12 plus an extra 30% off so they came out to $8.50 a piece (the ones in the Walmart ad were $8 and these are much higher quality, so great deal there). I could have spent way more there than I did but I was a good girl. I stuck to 5 fleece hoodies and two hair accessories to put me over $50 so I could get some more Gymbucks (love those things)!

After Gymboree we went back over to Target so I could look at the movies that I forgot about earlier. I got 3 seasons of House for less than the price of ONE! I also got 27 Dresses, Iron Man and Happy Feet for relatively cheap. We stood in line for a long time this time. We were going to wait at the Jewelry counter but that line was super long... so we went to the express lanes. I wouldn't have had to wait as long if people didn't keep cutting. The way their lines are set up you have to wait in 1 line but people were just walking and jumping up when they saw an open register before those of us waiting in line could even budge. I wasn't in a hurry or anything and the line moved pretty quickly anyways so it was alright, but still... very rude, people! We finally left Target and headed over to Kmart to see if they had any tool sets left. No such luck, but I did pick up some laundry detergent and Carmex lip balm while we were there. We then went over to the store that bought out Kmart, and my place of employment...

Upon arriving to Sears we noticed there was NO WHERE to park. When I say no where, I don't just mean those spots out in the middle of no where... I really mean, NO.FREAKING.PARKING.SPOTS. People were even parking in the grass along the side of the road. There was no where in creation to park that wouldn't get us a ticket I made the decision to go on home. I had just wanted to look at the tools that I thought were on sale tomorrow too... turns out the one I wanted was a door buster and I should have just ran in and checked while my friend circled the parking lot. Oh well... I will see what they have tomorrow before I go in to work.

I got home and stayed awake as long as I could. I ended up taking a cap nap in the recliner because I just couldn't keep my eyes open. I then fed the kids lunch and John and I watched Fool's Gold (watch for that review come Monday). I never got to the grocery store like I wanted. Guess it will have to wait til tomorrow morning or something.

After the movie we got the kids ready to head out with the intention of grocery shopping. However, we spent way too much time in Target. Yup, I dragged all 5 kids and a reluctant husband into Target on the day after Thanksgiving. It wasn't as bad as earlier, except the parking lot was much fuller. I printed off my sister-in-law's baby registry and got her a couple things. Lexi picked up a gift for her friend's brother's birthday party next weekend and also a Christmas gift for her friend. John found some cd's he wanted to get and I restocked our diaper supply. All in all today I spent a grand total of just under $300 at Target... saving almost as much.

We left there about 5 and the kids were getting hungry so instead of going grocery shopping with 5 hungry heathens we headed home. I had John stop at Walgreen's on the way so I could pick up some BOG2 (buy one get TWO) wrapping paper and some raspberry iced tea. I left there with 9 rolls of wrapping paper, a 5 pack of scotch tape, a 100 pack of self adhesive gift tags and 4 cans of iced tea for just over $15 including tax.

I saved so much money today it is crazy. Granted I could have saved lots more if I had just stayed home but come on, where is the fun in that! I think I might do all my shopping on Black Friday next year... want to come honey?! HAHAHAHA!