9 1/2 hours later...

As stated in my previous vlog (aka video blog) Mom, the sisters and I all went Black Friday shopping. We were out of the door at 4am (Yes Holli and Lisa it would have been sooner had I not been waiting to upload the aforementioned video that by the way was having major issues). The things I do for my people in blogland. :)

So our first stop was JC Penney. I wasn't really looking for anything there and all we ended up buying were a pair of slippers for mom for Christmas. We were really waiting for the rest of the mall to open. Everything in American Eagle was 25% off before 11a or something and Gap had a great deal of buy one sweater get another one FREE! Holli and Lisa were tickled to death. I of course was excited, but as always walked out empty handed. :( I am seriously not meant to shop for clothing under pressure. I can barely buy clothes under normal conditions. Oh well, the girls got something and we moved on to American Eagle. Again, I tried to buy a sweater. Again, I walked out empty handed. :( So I gave up on sweaters the rest of the day. After the mall it was about 5:50a and we headed over to Target which opened at 6a.

Oh my word.

I should have taken a picture or done video of where we had to park and just the parking lot itself. Who am I kidding, I should have shared with you the monstrous LINE we had to get in. Ridiculous! If you live near me you will appreciate it when I tell you that the line started at Target's doors and went all the way down to Big Lots. And it wasn't just an ordinary single file line. It was five people deep! I don't know how many times Lisa uttered the words, "this is nuts!". It indeed was quite insane. We finally get inside at 6:04am and there were already people checking out! Are you joking?! How can you get what you need and already be checking out in all of FOUR minutes?? That is true power shopping.
Holli and I split off in two different directions to get to the dvd's. We are seriously certifiable. I somehow got there before her and I kept saying "oh my. oh my." under my breath as I looked for her and fought through the crowd. I remember as Holli darted off I looked back at mom and said, "Either you run with me, or I'm leaving you behind." Haha. Forget the motto "Never leave a [wo]man behind". I darted off and forgot all about her until I emerged in a haze a couple minutes later. Anyway... back to the madness in the dvd section. Holli was looking for a tv show on dvd (Psych) because it was only $8 or something crazy like that. Well I'm pushing through people and she finally comes up next to me so we're quickly scanning the dvd's for the box set. The fear of someone potentially finding it before you is unnerving. I finally spotted it and snatched it up. The last one! Hooray for me! If there was room I would have done a victory dance. :) So Hol turns around and spots another tv show box set. She turns to me and says "Is this one on sale too?" I turned back and saw that it was, also spotting there was one box set left of season five, and I knew she was by 20+ of the 4th season (the exact seasons she needed). She quickly grabbed a 4th season one and said "Are there any 5th season?" (I kid you not this next part happened in slow motion for me.) I turned back to that lone box set I had seen just seconds earlier and instead of no one being in my way just before, two women were in front of me. In a split second I was trying to figure out how to crawl over them and get that last dvd that we wanted. As I'm trying to reach through I was praying just then that God had birthed me with go-go gadget arms. My arms were too short! I didn't even have time to push through them as I saw an older woman reaching for it. In my head I'm thinking "Nooooo!!" She leisurely picks it up and shows the person she's with. Then she says, "Is this it?" I'm praying, "Please say no. Please say NO!" Alas, it was the one... for her and I. (Resume normal time). I turned to Holli and screamed, "Someone took the last one! These women wouldn't get out of my way!" Of course it was a dull whisper compared to the crowd. We battled our way out and I was overcome with defeat. Why had I not grabbed it when I had the chance?? Sadness. Atleast she got the other two box sets she wanted. Still, I will remember this for many Black Fridays to come.
After that I was in serious need of coffee and food so while Holli waited for Mom and Lisa while I ran off for sustenance. All I have to say is thank the man who decided it would be a good idea to put a Starbucks in Target. Bless him! I stood in line for 10 minutes or so and when I finally got all of our drinks and cranberry bliss bars (Yes folks, they are back for the season! YUM!) I waited by the door for the rest of the fam. We were out of there and on our way to our car by 6:35a.

Next stop... Kohl's. Oops... too busy. The 4am crowd was still there. We'll come back....

Off to Bergner's we go! I really don't know what we were looking for there either. Nothing really. My mom ended up getting a work gift exchange present, a new iron because ours is about to kick the ol' bucket and we also got some kitchen stuff for mom (all for Christmas of course). Holli got a pair of pans and I got some new sheets.

(Waiting to get into New York and Co at 7:45a. The sun is still coming up!)

New York and Co was next. They had sweaters and pants, Buy one get one 75% off. Mom got four sweaters, Lisa got two, Holli got two, and I got two long sleeved tees. Atleast I left this store with some new clothes. This store was presented with musical entertainment. I got HORRIFIC hiccups in this store. I was so embarrassed! I was trying to muffle them with my scarf, but they lasted for close to 10 minutes and they were so LOUD! I was glad when we got to leave that store.

(We really put Lisa's car to the test. Verdict: Adequate, but not ideal for Black Friday shopping)

(Mom and I huddle in the back seat, halfway through the madness.)

Next...Pier 1. Mom got something to sit on her dresser in her room, Holli got Christmas deco to sit on her entertainment center and a very fuzzy blanket for her couch. I didn't get anything, but I really didn't want anything from there anyway.

Next... Berean. I got a book. Mom got Lisa and I some cd's for Christmas and Holli got something too I think, but I don't remember what exactly.

By this time we were VERY hungry. I think it was almost 10a by then. We made a pitstop at Panera. Sadly their soup was not ready for the day. :( I was so looking forward to it too. I settled for a 1/2 sandwich and a small caesar salad. After we were recharged we headed to Kohl's. The parking lot was still incredulous, but atleast the 4am crowd was gone (atleast I hope they were gone by then). We weren't there too long, but Mom got some socks and shirts for Dad and gift for a friend, Lisa got two pairs of shoes, and I got a fleece blanket. Off to Kmart in our town...

Nothing much to be said about this. Lisa got a few little things for Christmas gifts, mom finally found a table runner and napkin set she was looking for, and I left empty handed...again. I really was looking for a wireless mouse today, but no such luck. I thought it was on sale somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. Bummer...

Then we went to Bergner's...again. We looked around for what seemed like forever and all we ended up getting were these cool airtight containers and gloves for Holli. Nothing else.

Sears here we come! Turns out they don't sell computer accessories (which is why we went in there), so we promptly left.

By this time (which was after 1p) home was calling my name. We had been at it for 9 1/2 HOURS! That's more than some people put in a work day. Exhaustion was setting in and we were all ready to call it quits. Holli and Lisa dropped Mom and I off at home, helped us in with our bags and left.

I had to go pick up my car (because it got new tires) and then Mom and I went to wish my grandma a happy birthday and give her the birthday gift we got her. Then, back home which is where we end this story. :) You're all probably exhausted now. Well let me tell you... living it is even more exhausting.

So now you can say the four of us are just a few among all the "crazies" out on Black Friday. We found good deals though, and we had a great time together, so that's all that matters. :) Who knows... maybe we'll do it again next year....

Until..........................................