Black Friday!

I had good intentions of going out early... but no such luck, Jay had to be up early to go to work and no way was I shopping those crowds with a toddler in tow so we slept in instead. Linda (MIL) called around 8 and said she'd watch Liz while I shopped - awesome. So we got ready and headed out around 9:30, dropped my kiddo off and headed to Kohls first (no way was I fighting mall traffic yesterday). I'd scoured the BF ads and found some good deals at Kohls, so off I went. I found a parking space pretty easily as I had some help from some friends I caught up with in the parking lot - they flag waved the space down for me and so I was really close to the doors instead of the mile walk most people were making. LOL Thanks Abby and Sean! :D Also I figured carts would be scarse so I grabbed my stroller... very glad I did that. It came in handy in both stores when there were NO carts to be found. I knew what I wanted so I didn't take a lot of time browsing... looking back there were some good deals that I missed, but I had a budget and was determined to stick to it! First on my list, a new beard trimmer for Jay - he'd been wanting a good quality one and those things aren't cheap - well Kohls had a Remmington for 65% off.... and I managed to dig out the last one! :D Love that! On to the Kids clothes, I found Liz 2 new pairs of pants and 2 shirts to match, then I found my sister a shirt for her birthday in the maternity dept... those were all 65% off so I was able to find something more $$ than I had planned for the price I had budgeted! Then I got my MIL taken care of (I won't post what I got her as she reads my blog. LOL) anyway... I walked out of there saving over $100 and not spending anywhere close to that much! The line was long but not unbearable, about 20 minutes - they had it moving pretty quick. I ran into some friends so it wasn't a big deal... not to mention i was kidless so it was rather peaceful even amoung the chaos. :P

On to Target! (next door) Again, I knew what I was looking for so I didn't stray too much. I found a sweater for my BIL, 2 more shirts for Liz, some stocking stuffers for Jay and Lizzy and some PJ pants for Jay (our Christmas Eve tradition). I also found something for mom and my grandma while I was there, but again - i won't post what as they read this. LOL I wasn't there long but managed to get a lot done, all in all I made a good dent in our Christmas shopping, and didn't break our budget!

And... I got it ALL done in under an hour! By 10 am I was pulling out of my parking space with treasures in tow, headed back to my MIL's to pick up Liz. We all met for lunch about an hour and 1/2 later at my favorite Mexican place and then Liz and I came home and napped while Jay went back to work. We celebrated Beth's birthday last night, so Jay watched Liz so I could have some "me" time with my family. Jay and Liz went to Jay's favorite pizza place and ate Calazone's. (He's forever trying to talk me into going there but it's just not my thing.) So they had a good time, no worries. I on the other hand had a GREAT time. We went over to Mt. P to Fonduly Yours, this fun little Fondu place that looks like a hole in the wall on the outside but is actually a really neat low light restaurant inside. (we think it's low light to hide all the grease stains) Anyway, they started us out with a YUMMY beer cheese appetizer, followed by a fantastic chef's salad with my favorite sweet and sour dressing. I ordered the Terriyaki Steak though by the time it came I was nearly full from the salad and cheese dip app. I gave it an old college try and managed to eat about half of it. (No batter for mine thank you, saved about 500 calories there!) :D The thing that I like (when kidless) about this restaurant is that it takes a loooong time to eat so it's a relaxing enjoyable meal, and no matter how full you were when you entree came, but the time they get around to dessert - you always have room. So we got a milk chocolate fondue with a shot of Bailey's Irish Creme... *swoon* We dipped cherries, marshmellows, pineapple, apples, pretzels, and pound cake in the chocolate. OMG YUM! I walked out of there 5 lbs heavier I'm sure. It was all so yummy! Anyway, it was a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate Beth's special day. :)

So that was my Black Friday. Maddeline was pretty laid back yesterday, no kicking my bladder at inopportune moments or getting so rowdy I thought I might revisit my dinner... all in all she was wiggling around, but let me enjoy my day. :D