My 12 year old nephew, Connor, asked if he could come with me so the two of us hit the road and arrived at our first store at 4:40am. We stood in 38 degree temperatures waiting for the doors to open. We were probably 20th in line or so. We started talking to a guy behind us. He and the three people with him hadn't gone to sleep yet. They played games all night and were at Kohl's at 4 am when the doors opened. According to him, it was crazy there.
I started thinking that anyone who was out at that hour had to be crazy. Then I realized I'm one of the crazies. I do this every year. I love it. I truly am insane.
We had a few must get items at the first store, Fred Meyers. Two of them were Nintendo DS packages for my sister. (Yes, I take requests from friends and family members.) My nephew ran ahead and got those as I manuevered the cart. Some guy with a 37" LCD TV on sale for $599 nearly took him out though. Good thing my nephew's an athlete and quick on his feet.
I can't say what else I got (here or anywhere due to who may read this blog), but I saved a bundle. Plus there was no line to check out! I was very happy. And I did buy a couple of things for myself. They had some DVDs for $5. I got Cutting Edge (love that movie) and Galaxy Quest.
Next stop, across the river to Jantzen Beach in Oregon where there is a Target, Toys R Us and Michaels. We arrived there a little before six. The line to get into Target wrapped around the building. We decided to check out Toys R Us instead. We walked in and saw lines of people. Those were the hardy souls who had arrived at 5 am. Estimated time to checkout 2+ hours. I looked at my nephew and said I only was going to look at two things here. It's not worth it. We headed to Target instead.
The hot item at Target seemed to be this guitar game for a video game unit. Not the Wii so it might have been the Xbox or Sony one. People were also snapping up chairs to play video games as well as LCD TVs. I saw many people carrying stacks of DVDs, too. My nephew proved a great partner as he got to items I couldn't with the cart. I got everything I wanted at Target, but the checkout lines were so long. It seemed to take forever, but as we were walking back to the car, my nephew wondered what time it was. It was only 7:19 am.
The stream of people walking out of Toys R Us empty-handed sent us next door to Michael's. I love Michael's. I could go their every single day and always find something to buy. If I didn't write I'm sure I'd be a crafter extraordinaire. I love all that stuff, but have no time to do it. But that doesn't stop me from buy supplies in case I happen to have a chunk of free time to craft. Today though I skipped the crafty stuff and bought a bunch of frames. I want to get pictures on the wall! I know as soon as I hang something hubby will decide it's time to paint. (I really want the walls painted, too!) So I'm hoping somehow this will get me exactly what I wanted pictures in frames hanging on painted walls. Fingers crossed.
I found the most adorable custom basket the floral department had made. Think stuffed reindeer, greenery, candy canes. So cute! I saw it when we walked in and kept thinking about it the entire time we shopped. It was 40% off. Finally I put it into the cart. I knew hubby would say something about it. He did. But oh, well, what can I say? I love Christmas decorations.
After Michael's we headed back to Washington. We swung by Joe's Sporting Goods. Then I bought my nephew breakfast at McDonalds. We stopped at another Michael's though I didn't buy anything. My nephew did! Then it was off to Walmart. Then home around 11:00 am.
I was planning to just drop off packages and bags and my nephew, but decided I should see everything I'd purchased so far. I even dragged the presents I'd bought earlier downstairs and made piles. It was good to see what was there and cross reference the stacks with my list. Then I left the boys (hubby and nephew) and headed out once again.
This time I hit Kohls. The line was long, but there was this baby doll I just had to buy for someone so it was worth the wait. I then headed to the mall. I found matching pajamas for all five of us at the Disney Store. (We open one gift on Christmas Eve and it's always pajamas.) The pjs were 50% off, too! And they'll be great to bring with us on our trip to Disneyland. I bought one my nephews a Swiss Army knife at another store. I swung by Sees Candy and Hallmark, too. Then I drove to Borders and finally the Target on this side of the river. A long, but productive shopping day.
I rolled home a little before 5 pm. Hubby heated me up a plate of leftovers. I realized except for two Zone Perfect Bars, I hadn't eaten all day. But now I'm fed and full and need to write.
All the walking and driving and shopping was worth it. Hubby will be gone for 2 weeks (different weeks thank goodness) before Christmas and I really need to have everything done before he goes. I won't have a lot of time without the kidlets when he's gone. Plus after cooking Thanksgiving dinner yesterday and working so hard on the book, this was a nice treat for me. (My parents took my three kids last night so we just had our nephew, too!)
Now it's time to get to work and finish the book! Did any of you brave the sales today? If so what did you get? If not, what did you do?
