HA HA HA - Midnight Highway Madness Indeed!

I was done with my post-Thanksgiving shopping before 6 am, thankfully. The midnight thing never happened, though!

I had warned my MIL and SIL that the traffic would be stopped in the highway trying to get into the outlet, but we tried to go anyway. HA HA HA! One whole exit before the highway came to a standstill and it took us half an hour to reach the exit (driving through the shoulder) and turn back around.

It was nearly 2 am by then and some stores were going to open at 4 am and it wasn't worth going back home, so we went and parked at the mall and took naps. At 3:30 JCPenney opened and we ran in with a bunch of other people who had been waiting as well. My husband really, desperately needs a winter coat to go on his interviews (and to wear to work too), so 49 bucks on one was a great deal. I ended up getting a steam floor cleaner too, thinking I could return it later if I didn't want it, but I think it'll be really useful -- not to mention "environmentally friendly" :-).

We then did quick stops at Kohls (micro-plush blankets for my kids) and Target (micro plush robe for hubby) -- I LOVE micro plush, it all started with blankets a few years ago, but now we have a sheet set (for our king bed, no less), pajamas and robes. Then, we took MIL to Wal Mart (where she scored a Cuisinart stand mixer for 139!) and drove home in MIL's Corolla to have my BIL join her with the minivan because they're going to buy bulky items.

SIL has gone to bed already, but I drank tea before we left and then ate some dark chocolate (delicious! Godiva with raspberry filling, from Kohls checkout lane), so I'm very awake. It's pouring rain outside, but it's not really cold. I'm glad SIL and I were done so quickly with our shopping, but we're just sad that MIL didn't prioritize the TV she wanted/needed to get for her move back to Brazil so she didn't go stand in line at WM where she should have gone first to try and get the 500 bucks Sony TV (I think they might have had very few of those cause we were there only half an hour after the store opened and didn't see any TVs in people's carts).

The line to go into Target was ridiculous, BTW, we just couldn't believe it! All because of the noname brand TVs there. Every year for many years now the TVs are always everyone's first pick -- Americans love their TVs, right? Good thing at least the checkout lines were short there (not at Kohls -- we "divided and conquered" for that one).

I agree with you, MemeGRL, that people watching is quite fun on Black Friday. The people in their pajamas (one lady had black footie pajamas on, with shoes, obviously)! The folks who stayed up all night in line. The dishevelled hair and the bleary eyes! Yeah, it's lots of fun, but I'm glad I'm back home and that I spent very little.

Last, but not least, we're veteran Black Friday shoppers in this family, but I think we're doing less and less of it every year that goes by . Once upon a time K and K2 stayed up all night outside Circut City to buy a 400+ laptop, but no more! Online shopping is much more efficient these days.

OK, I'm getting sleepy, finally, so I'll go to bed! It'll be tough to manage four boys on no sleep, but SIL and I will take turns. I'm going to try to call K now, I think he's already arrived in Miami. I just don't know if he'll have his phone on.

Have a great day, everyone!