Ground Breaking News

Ohhhh I just can't wait until this is finished!
Yes, this is the ground breaking of the CVS that is going to be not too far from home!!!! 

EEEEK!

Poof

And just like that a month has almost past by since I've blogged last.  I don't know where the days go.  Seriously.

I'm getting ready for the holidays coming up.  Finding all the best deals for all those Christmas presents that I'm purchasing on an unemployment income.  Yep... I'm stretching it the best I can but it's getting to the point where it's not covering cost that are in our house.  Now mind you... I've found great deals.  Really really great deals.  But I really hope Santa leaves me a big stash of money in my stocking this year. 

I can't get into all the really great deals since some of my readers may be getting them... or their children may be getting them.  I had a ton of luck on Black Friday as always finding many items for the kiddos on my list. 

Here's where I ended up.  I started my day at Walgreen's.  At Walgreen's and CVS on Thanksgiving Day they have a BUNCH of stuff for free (after their cash coupon that spits out).  I got everything that was on my list from there and headed home to work on my Thanksgiving lunch sides. 

After we ate our turkey and took our long food coma nap I started my night at 10pm at Walmart.  Yes... 10pm on Thanksgiving Day night.  Walmart had two sales.  One at midnight and the other at 5am.  I started grabbing stuff and putting it into my cart at 10:05pm.  The store was not ready for people to be scoping out the midnight sale items yet.  By 11:05 I had all my items in my cart that I wanted for the midnight sale.  By 11:40 I was the first person in line to check out once midnight struck.  Score!

Then I headed home to help Jerome with a few online orders that he wanted to place.  We ended up running to an electronics store and staying there for a long time.  Thankfully we drove separately so I wasn't stuck there.  Instead I scoped out the area Targets.  Yeah... the good thing about being in the Cities is that we have multiples of stores in a very close proximity.  I swung by three and ended up staying at the last one that I swung past.  Target was giving customers in line coffee, snack bars, coupons and maps to the store.  This was by far the best customer service!  Yet again, I scored everything on my list.

I then headed back to Walmart for the 5am sale.  You guessed it... scored everything again.

Then it was time for the trouble location.  Menard's.  There was no way I was going to get into line there.  I've stood in that line.  It's not worth it.  People cut.  People get mad.  People fight.  I was one of those people who cut... who made people mad.   But, I scored everything and was out the door lickity split.

I jumped over to Sears for an item and then crashed for all of 30 minuets before I had to watch my Hubby's grandson.  Whew.  Thankfully that little boy was in need of a very long nap as was I :)

It's that time again...

Are you ready? Don't forget to check out my Black Friday tips from last year.

I'm thinking I will be hitting up Target.  Their ad scans can be found here.  I love the fuzzy blanket that we bought last year and I think we need another for our spare room (page 12).  I may need one or two of those area rugs too.  I'll be in search of the external hard drives too.

What are you in search of? 

Let's Dish!

So tonight Jerome and I went to Let's Dish. It's a place where you can go and prep meals that you take home and put in the freezer until you are ready to cook them. They have all the ingredients chopped and cleaned for you. It was super fast and fun! We strapped on our aprons and made four meals that we were able to split into 8 meals since there is just the two of us. So eight meals headed to the freezer.

Of course, when we got home and settled in the question came up as to what we were doing for dinner. We usually go out on Friday nights with friends but they had other plans. So... back down to the deep freezer I went to pull one of the meals from the freezer. Chicken Low Mien was our dish for the night and boy was it good. Next time we go if it's available we would add more pea pods and more sauce. But we were quite happy with the results!

Freebie here. Freebie there. Freebies everywhere.

So today JT and I headed over to Ihop for 3 free pancakes each for National Pancake Day. Yup... you heard that right... FREE. They had Channel 9 News there... we're hoping we didn't make the cut. They were there because Miss Minnesota was there... but she wasn't eating pancakes.

The other week we headed to Denny's for a free Grand Slam (pancakes, bacon, eggs). I must say... Denny's was the much better deal and a much better experience. No news people, no chicks in crowns, warmer food, not to mention better food and a cheaper bill.

I'm kinda surprised at all the freebies I've been finding lately. Facebook keeps me on my toes and I try to alert my friends... now if they appreciate it or not I'm not sure... but I hope someone does!

Yesterday when I went to Target I had a stack of coupons to use... anything from a free bottle of International Delight Coffee Creamer to $4 off a DiGiorno pizza and everything in between. When my total rang up and I saw a $35 savings I was pretty pleased at myself for cutting and hunting for those coupons.

This Friday I'll be trying my hand at Let's Dish. We received a gift certificate from my family to help with some meals while the hubs is on the mend from surgery. Should be interesting to go and prep it and then take it home and toss in the freezer till we're ready to eat it. We have a friend of a friend who is a manager at the location where we are going... hopefully she will give us some tips since she already gave us a hook up on a great coupon :) Thanks Cheri!

Bad Blogger...

Sorry.
I've neglected you.
Again.

I just don't know where the time has gone... oh wait... yes I do... stupid Facebook. Yeah... I'm addicted.

Let's catch up.

First off...


Yep... My niece turned double digits last year and well.. she's only two more years away from being a TEENAGER! Holy cow lady... slow down!

Jerome and I had a pretty successful garage sale again this year. We were open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 8am - 5pm and then on Sunday we were open till noon and had most items at 1/2 price. It was pretty slow Saturday and almost dead on Sunday. Thursday was SUPER busy. Seriously I had MAYBE 5 minuets when someone wasn't on our property. And those 5 minuets were stretched out with 30 seconds here and a minuet there. Not 5 back to back minuets. Crazy... and because of that our biggest selling day.

I had a few families bring stuff over for us to sell as well... Micaela from Striving Green along with her mom, Linda and Amy, Lisa, and my fellow blockhead Tiff.

We sold so much stuff from dumpster diving. I just don't get why people throw this stuff out there for me to pick up, but I'm not complaining. Keep doing it... I'll keep making money off of you people! :) Here's some pics from the sale, holy cow there was a ton of stuff:

COMING SOON!

NOTE TO SELF: next year just do Thursday and Friday full days and make Saturday be till noon and 1/2 price.

With our new found cash we purchased a new digital camera. After all the concerts this year our Kodak camera was starting to die. Buttons were no longer working, the rechargeable and pretty expensive batteries weren't keeping long charges any more, and well it was old. It was great when it was brand new, but I've learned a few photography things since having it and it's not functioning to the best of my abilities, so time for an upgrade.

We ended up with this, a Canon PowerShot SX110 IS. I haven't had the chance to really play with it yet except at the store and a few shots of Pork Chop at home.

I will be giving it a good work out very soon though. The rest of our sale money is taking us to Jerome's annual family reunion. Yep, it's that time of the year again. This year it's being held in the home state of the family. Should be hot, humid, but fun as always.

Jerome and I will be spending a night in the French Quarter so I can stop complaining that I've never been to New Orleans. I'm hoping to do some fantastic people watching, drink a Hurricane at Pat O'Breins, take a guided tour of the city to see all the hot spots and architecture. My excitement is being held back a little but, I can not wait to since my teeth in to a shrimp Po'Boy and some Beignets from Cafe Du Monde. Yum-o!

We'll also be attending the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. We'll be going with Jerome's parents, his two sisters and their families. Beyonce, John Legend, Salt and Pepa, and Neyo you better watch out for us!




What else? Well we've been taking in a ton of movies for free. I'm not talking like renting a DVD... an actual movie in the theatre. The Hangover, My Life in Ruins, The Proposal, Phalem 1, 2, 3, Imagine That, Terminator just to name a few. Some good, some bad, only one had me crying, smiling and everything in between and that was The Proposal. Go see it.

Tis the season!

To help you with all your yard sales, garage sale, treasure sales, junk sales... whatever you call them...

This site you can plug in your City and State at it will populate all the yard sales ads that are on Craigslist! Totally great find if I do say so myself... Thanks Striving Green!

Ghetto Walmart

It's official... Ghetto Walmart is trying to come clean. Yes, Ghetto Walmart where we got our big screen TV the day after Thanksgiving is closing down. Well... for 4 to 10 months... starting on February 1st! Everything is on sale... go now... buy now... it may not be there tomorrow. Everything has got to go so that I can get a brand new Walmart.

I can not believe I'm going to have an entire post dedicated to Walmart. I hate Walmart. I'm a Target girl. But Ghetto Walmart is closer to me. And when it's redone they're going to have fresh produce in it... I may never go to Cub. Yeah right.

Well... I may never go to Cub... I gotta be honest. I went into Lund's the other day and it was soooooooo much nicer. No fork lifts, no screaming babies, just peace, in it's low light carpeted goodness. Again... it's further way from me so who knows.

In other news... so that this post isn't entirely about Walmart... I'm planning a shin dig for my fellow Blockhead girls. Should be fun. A night with NKOTB, drinks and food. How can you go wrong?

Two weeks... wowsers!

So it looks like I took yet again another break from this here blog. Sorry my followers... if there are any out there! Let's see... what did I do in the past two weeks... hummmm....

I was off most of the week of Christmas... Tuesday I worked from home, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I was on PTO. We didn't do much with our time off... honestly. I didn't put a tree up. I didn't decorate for Christmas. Heck I barely got the few gifts that I bought wrapped. I just wasn't in it this year. I don't know why... I don't know how. I did manage to make MORE candy. Yeah... that became an issue too... a huge breakout from all the chocolate. Aren't I 31? Should that still be effecting me? I guess it does :(

We didn't do much for Christmas Eve - except a fantastic dinner of Lobster tails! YUM.

Christmas day we grilled up some T Bone steaks, bake potatoes and salads. Another delicious meal. Probably my favorite. And please, pass me a full bottle of A1.

Of course the day after Christmas I went out shopping. I purchased a mini tree (3 feet tall) at Kohl's for $8. So, next year... I have to put up a tree. If I didn't I would be stupid. Especially since it is pre-light.

I bought clothes for myself, you know I'm still trying to build my winter wardrobe back up from the flood. The other highlight is that we purchased a Play Station 2. Yes, I know... not a Wii. Not even a PS3. I know. But, for way under $200 we got the game system, two guitars, and a few games. We can now rock out guitar hero style in our own home. And I must admit... I'm addicted. A little too much for Jerome's liking. So much so that I managed to go through all GH3 on easy. Now I have to work up to the next harder level. It will take practice... but next time you're here... GAME ON!

Let's see... that next Monday and Tuesday I came back into the office and then was off for the next three! Goodness I love holidays and PTO time! We cleaned up the house and had a few people over on New Year's Eve for a mini celebration. One fella in particular was amazed that we had free alcohol. Yeah.... well... it is a party at the Thompson's... that's what we do. And we expect that you won't just stand at the table with all the bottles taste testing each and every kind. We expect you make yourself a good drink... sit down... chat... eat... drink... and get up and make yourself another drink damn it. Next time you are here... DRINK A DAMN DRINK!

Friday I hopped into the office - or more specifically the parking lot of the office and got the pager. Why our team has a pager, I'm not quite sure still. But... it was my weekend to have pager duty... basically every other weekend I will have it. Trading off with Josh... which reminds me... we should probably figure out what we are going to do once his wife Molly has baby #3 and he takes leave. Ugh... I do not want it each and every weekend. No... I won't do it. Someone else has got to join me. Thankfully we don't have to have it during the week. We leave that duty to the new girl Kate!

I picked up a few more super deals at Target this weekend, especially since their Christmas items are 90% off... yeah you heard that right... 90% off! Crazy. I loved every bit of it.

Okay... so here's a new years resolution.... I will blog at least once a week. I will. It's a resolution... I have to do it... I will. I can. I will. Get on me if I don't!

It's beginning to smell and taste like Christmas...

So today I spent the day starting my holiday baking. I started off with Chex Mix, then went straight into Puppy Chow. I haven't made or eaten Puppy Chow for YEARS. It doesn't taste the same to me unfortunately... It's good... but not what I thought I remembered.

Then I started gathering ingredients for my next few recipes... I was missing something from each and every recipe. Grrr. I didn't want to leave because I was also on call for work to launch a few things as soon as testing was done. I had been writing down my grocery list as I gathered ingredients...and debated what we were doing for dinner. Never mind the fact that I still didn't take a show for the day. Well... they didn't call me until about 4:30pm. Grrrr. This really ticked me off since they were suppose to call me around 1pm.

I tossed a pizza in the oven and jumped in the shower. I ate a few pieces of pizza and was on my way to the store. Holy Hannah. Everyone was there and everyone was in the same section that I wanted to be in... the baking section, the nuts section, the candy section. Grrrr.

I finally made it home around 7:30pm. I debated on if I wanted to start and then bit the bullet and made some cornflake cookies, then Jerome's Pecan Candy, and some peanut clusters. I think that's a wrap for the day... unless I can't sleep later. My feet hurt from standing in the kitchen all day... and at the grocery store.

Time to take a breather... eat a peanut cluster and check out what's on TV.

Black Friday 2008 Recap

Here's the run down:

Kohl's - 4am door opening, arrived at 3amThought I was first in line while lining up at the usual first door like the last three years. Started the line and a group came up to line up behind me. But they read the signs on the door stating that these doors wouldn't be open, so around the corner we went. 15th in line and still got my Roomba and earrings. But my card was declined when I tried to purchase the Roomba 5 minuets after purchasing the earrings and GPS unit on the first floor. Wells Fargo thought my card was stolen and locked it.

Walmart while JT was at Sears and Target in Burnsville - 5am door opening but I arrive around 4:45am
First off, it's Ghetto Walmart. Everyone and their brother was at this Walmart. Ugh. Since I was already at Kohl's and also tried to get cash out of an ATM in the opposite direction of Walmart I was not going to get "in line". I parked my car, called Jerome and told him the situation with my card. He was in line at Sears and told me that after Target he would meet me at Walmart. People were pissed when others from the parking lot thought they would stroll up to the doors. People in line started yelling and pointing to the back of a line in a chant of "Back of the Line, Back of the Line!" when the parking lot shoppers chatted back "Hell no we won't go". I had to laugh, knowing I was standing in the middle of both of these groups. Check out the video I took with my phone once we all crammed to the closed doors... it was a blast yet very scary. I ran through with my Ikea bags in hand, dumping all the items on our list into the bags. This was a great idea. Glad I grabbed two and not just one single bag. Eventually I had everything on our list and then was waiting on Jerome. There I sat at Ghetto Walmart for a total of 2 hours waiting on Jerome to bail me out by bringing me cash after he went to Sears and Target in Burnsville.

Sam's Club
Picked up some noise canceling headphones for my man.

Target
I had items on my list that Jerome wasn't able to find when he was in Burnsville. I got everything with the exception of a Charging or Docking Station for cell phones, ipods, and bluetooths.

Kmart
Picked up some b1g1 free booster seats for Tink

Best Buy
Norton Anti Virus for 2009, a gift for a family member and another item

Toys R Us
Toy for Tink

Bed Bath and Beyond
I had a $10 gift certificate and a $5 off coupon plus the 20% off coupon that I received at the door. Usually this would not be on my list of places to go, but with $15 I knew I could find something. I got a table for my laptop... but once getting it home I will be taking it back... sigh.

The Avenue
$5 sweaters that I could not pass up. Sweet!

Ultimate Electronics
Again, not on my list of places to go... but I did it for Jerome even though I don't think he needs more speakers even if they are b1g1 free.

Old Navy
Got Pork Chop a toy

2nd Target of the Day
Found the docking station!

Casual Male
Had a coupon for $25 off a purchase plus a 10% discount. Got a few sweaters for Jerome.

Petco
The only store that I came out empty handed. No sale :(

World Market
Found a better docking station!

Sears
Found Jerome's car jack that he wasn't able to find in the Burnsville store.

This took me 12 hours. This included one trip back into the 2nd Target to the bathroom and a brunch date with Tiff and Sarah at Perkins - I think that was about an hour.

Note to self: Next year... bring cash - screw the cards, that's two years in a row that we had issues. Bring Ikea bags again - I got tons of "that's a smart move" from fellow shoppers, thanks Micaela for the idea!

****** Pictures and Video coming soon *******

4 more days

Till the Dollar Tree opens up near me! FINALLY.

Who wants something free? I do I do!

So I pretty much suck. I've forgotten to update my blog - or didn't really have anything interesting to say for a whole week. I've also slacked on my blogrolling posts for some time... FORGIVE ME. Today... a two for one plus a deal...

So Amy over at MomAdvice.com tipped me off on a tripod. Now I know what you're thinking... what on earth is Kim doing buying a tripod.... well... I hope to use it on my camera for taking excellent shots of Tinker and perhaps I'll use it at PST's wedding next summer (bomb dropping there... I'll post more about this soon!) for taking video with my camera. And it's FREE.

My note on how to get it completely free is included in both Amy's post and Heather's over at Freebies 4 Mom. Just take note that you need to not have ordered thru Google Checkout (if you have... sign up your hubby!) and change the shipping date to the 7-9 day delivery, resulting in free shipping. ENJOY! I will in 7-9 days :)

Monty's Gone Wild...

Sorry, I had to!

The Monty Crew showed up on our doorstep on Friday night... with four sleepy kids and two adults who shoulda had a drink. Jerome and I had small conversations with each adult at one point... then poof they were gone... into rooms to attempt to get children asleep. We had Delaney under control in the living room.

Saturday I awoke to the sound of some little footsteps or something. I noticed that the door to downstairs was opened... there was Andy and Miles... hangin out. I joined them for a bit... then came Trisha and Delaney and Dawson. Then Jerome. The only one missing... Mads.

I went upstairs to cook breakfast - pancakes and sausage links. We all ate. Trisha was wanting to go to Target and the Dollar Tree... she had mentioned wanting to get bins for the shelf that Andy just built.... got me thinking of Storables. We made our way over there... ohhhhh I love this store... I need to get there more often!

We found these bins and tossed one in her cart. She wanted to get the Crew's approval before buying all the ones that she needed. We headed to Target and picked up some groceries and then off to Dollar Tree. All that in two hours. Whew!

When we returned we had pizza for lunch. The guys, Jerome and Andy left for Burnsville to go to a wood working shop... Me thinks Jerome will be going back there some day!

When they got home we hung out for a bit and then started on dinner. We grilled out - brats, burgers, and hot dogs. Baked beans, carrots and ranch dip too. It was delish.

The Crew stayed until Sunday morning. There was a brief episode when the eggs wouldn't cook on the burner for me... which then ended with me running to Walmart for more eggs. The Crew packed up and took off back home.

I'm surprised at how well Pork Chop handled all the kids being in his space. And Dawson took such a liking to him... even feeding him some Cheetos and sticking his tiny fingers in his mouth and pulling his cheeks. Such a good puppy. He didn't eat much though... that is until life was back to normal in our house. He's pack to nipping at me and doing naughty naughty naughty things with his Multipet Terry Loofa toy.

I've never been so excited about a store!

Okay, so I'll be honest... I went to the grand opening of Ikea here in Minnesota. I was there. I went to the new Super Target the day that it opened. I was there too. But this... this is the best thing....

Just around the corner from my house is an old Walgreens. Walgreens left out of this strip mall and move to the other side of the street to a new location. Guess what is finally going to fill the space that has been vacant for over a year????

DOLLAR TREE! Not just some dollar store... my favorite kind of dollar store... I'm so flipping excited. Yes... everything for a buck excites me... what can I get for a dollar.... a whole lot. And now... it's going to be within walking distance for me!!!! Oh man...

Who let the dog out... woof woof woof

So today I went home for "lunch" aka take Pork Chop outside. When I got there he was in his cage just sitting there. There were no accidents. But there was one shredded piece of newspaper. I should have taken a picture of it - now in hind sight.

I took him outside in the freezing cold. We were out for about 5 to 7 minuets... when I had enough. We went inside and he ate his lunch. I took him back outside after that and he got "everything" out. He was shivering by the time we went back in.

I ran to Walmart in search of booties and a jacket for him. Jerome has allowed me to "dress the pup". Tee hee :) They didn't have a good selection - yes I'm being picky about dog clothes. And the only size shoe that they had was xxs = too small for Pork Chop. I ran over to the baby section and found a pair of newborn shoes... I'm going to see if they're the right size when we get home.

We've got his "within four days" vet check tonight at 6pm. Should be interesting.

He is tuckering me out. Last night we were all down stairs after dinner. He played a bit and then got cozy and simmered down. I wanted to lay on the floor right with him and take a nap.

I'll try to post more pics tonight of him.

Day After Chrismas Shopping

So I met up with Santa... we shopped from 7:3o am until 3:30 pm the day after his big night. We started off at the new Super Target. Getting some holiday stuff that was on 50% off. Then it was off to the Walmart that is right by our house for some bath baskets and such, also 50% off.

After Walmart I made my way over to Kohl's to use my $20 coupon that I received from purchasing some Christmas presents for the girls and Jerome there a few days earlier. I got myself a cute hat and mittens. Then, I headed to Herberger's. Man was that place packed! I want to say I've only been there about two times... I think that was two times too many. In the ads there was a $10 coupon for an item $10 or more. I found a Yankee candle that was originally $24. Since it was a holiday fragrance it was 60% off... I had the coupon for $10.... so I got it for like a dollar fifty!

After dealing with the crowds there I headed to The Avenue to see if I could find some warm sweaters for myself. I'm still trying to find warm sweaters since my were ruined in the flood. I only found some sweat pants there which I also needed. Since that was such a bust I went to Lane Bryant. Thankfully I found three sweaters that I liked and they were 50% off plus I had a coupon! I also picked up some holiday pjs there.

I decided to check out another Target (not a super Target... just a "regular one") and another Walmart (this one was a super instead of the "regular one" I had already been at near the house). A few more holiday items picked up there as well. I also ran into the Mall of America to see if Lane Bryant there had anything else that was on the super sale that I wanted... but I came out with nothing.

Of everything I bought only two things weren't on sale... two bottles of water! Everything else was anywhere from 50% - 70% off! It was so much fun... thanks Santa!

I can't wait...

I'm like a kid on Christmas Eve trying to sleep... oh wait... it is Christmas.... you know what that means! I'm waiting for the day after Christmas shopping!!! Christmas decor at 60% off... Holiday pajama sets on sale... perfume and lotions and potions at half price. Love it!

So where are you going shopping tomorrow? What time are you starting?

I plan on heading to Target, Walmart, Kohl's and Lane Bryant... who knows where else I'll go or how many Targets I will go to! I don't know what time I'll start either... since Jerome has to work perhaps I'll start early?

Black Friday Card Trouble...

So yesterday Jerome and I ran to Target and picked up a few necessities - aka plastic storage bags and Kleenex. Jerome told me to try my card for our joint account to see if it worked because the one he used on Black Friday was our joint card - with his name on it. Mine worked. No problem. So he called the bank to find out what was up with his card not working correctly.

They stated that they thought someone had stole the card and was making large purchases on Black Friday with it. Thus, why it went through the first two times but nothing after that. Apparently because Jerome never uses the joint card it fell inactive. Yet mine was still active since that's what I use to pay bills and such.

So... moral of the story... use your card or you'll look like you have no money! :)

Sorry!

Two weeks pasted just like that?!?!? Whoa.

Sorry to my people who are looking in each and every day to see if something new has come up. I honestly can't say I was doing much of anything special. Let me ponder on the last two weeks and find out what I was really doing...........





Okay... here's something. Jerome, JST, Tinker and I went to Jerome's other daughter PST's apartment for Thanksgiving. The story goes that Jerome and I left home right when we got home from work. Jerome was in the driver's seat of the Neon... he decided that he didn't want to take the main highway that runs all around the cities because he thought it would be packed with rush hour and all. Then the phone rang. JST was wondering when we were going to be picking her up. Jerome thought she wasn't coming with thus why we had already left - without picking her up. He got off the phone and I told him he should go get her. That if he didn't he would be feeling it later.

We turned around and picked up JST and Tinker. Yep, we were still in the Neon. But now I know what it'll be like with a little one in the back... hopefully when we have kids ours will be as calm as Tink was. She didn't make a peep the whole time... and when I say whole time it should have been only three hours... but it ended up being a five hour tour. Ugh. It was rush hour, it was the day before Thanksgiving, it was snowing - only flurries though.

We arrived around 12:30 or so at night. Whew. We made it. Jerome and I claimed the couch while PST and her boyfriend CT claimed their room. I'm not actually even sure where JST and Tink ended up honestly... ? The girls stayed up giggling and talking while Jerome and I dozed off into sleep.

When we woke in the morning I let Jerome know that I needed a paper... for the BEST HOLIDAY paper EVER. Yup... Black Friday. True, not a real holiday... but I celebrate it none the less! Jerome left to pick up my paper and came back to pass the sacred paper to me. It smelled of fresh printed ink. Tasty! I studied each and every paper. Searching for the must have deals. I had already looked online at some of the ads thru Black Friday websites... but it's something about the actual paper. Once I had gone thru we decided to shower and pack up to head back to the Cities.

When I got out of the shower I was informed that PST was coming back to the Cities with us. Wha? How? Oh my... will we all fit in the Neon???? Truth be told, yes... we all could fit. Now were we all comfortable... that I can't say. I bet Tink had the best spot in the car! We made it back and dropped off all the girls at JST and PST's mom's house. Jerome and I headed to a gas station to pick up a City paper to view and make sure we received all of the same ads as in PST's neck of the woods. Then we headed to Lisa's husband's family feast.

We weren't sure if we were going to make it, so we hadn't prepared anything. I felt a little bad until we walked in and saw all of the food. Most people had already eaten and people were getting to the point of making their "to go" plates. Jerome and I piled our plates, ate, and then piled up our own "to go" plates.

We headed home. We went downstairs to watch TV and I sat in my chair to study. I got out the flags to tag the pages in the ad. And stuck a post it note on the front of each place where there was something that I wanted with what that item was, the store name and what time the store opened. I also circled the item in the ad. I was set. The only problem was that a few of the stores where I wanted to go were opening at the same time... I enlisted Jerome to help me out. What a great hubby!

Here's the run down:
4am:

• Kim at Kohl's for the opening (standing in line) for an 18 qt. roasting crock pot (didn't get - they sold out on Wednesday b/c they were apparently open then - GRRRR), ear muffs, and flash lights that don't require batteries.
• Jerome at JC Penny for the opening (standing in line) for Queen size air mattress with pump and Adidas sweat pants (didn't get since they didn't have the right size and color combination)
  

5am:

• Kim at Toys R Us for the opening (standing in line) for a few Xmas presents for my nieces and a little something for Tink to borrow when she is at our house
• After Toys R Us Kim heads to Walmart for 2 pk Gerber sleepers for Tink, digital picture frame for my xmas present to myself, a portable DVD player (which was returned later on in the day after I thought about it a bit), GWM Xmas present, a few DVDs and a fry daddy for Jerome (was returned - see Kmart)
• After Walmart Kim heads to Kmart for Xmas presents for Nieces and a Grand Daddy Fry Daddy for a dollar more than the Walmart Fry Daddy
  
• Jerome at the small Best Buy for the opening (standing in line) for a 500 GB external hard drive (which was returned - see Target) and either blank CDs or DVDs
  
• After Best Buy Jerome headed to Target for a different 500 GB external hard drive that was $15 cheaper and either some blank CDs or DVDs. Jerome calls Kim to say his card isn't working. WHAT? Kim heads to Target to make his purchases with her card and also pick up phones for PJM. (More details in the next post)

Now since we had to meet up we are off schedule. Not really that big of a deal. We both head to Office Max to pick up some Anti Virus and also a Wireless Router which we aren't sure if we are keeping yet or not.

Then we went to Menard's for some light and cheap snow shovels, and a few other things. We thought we were done so we went to Perkins for breakfast and to discuss our purchases. We got everything that was on our list with the exception of the roaster at Kohl's and the Adidas pants. Pretty good I think.

Then it was off to bed. We both took a good long nap. When we woke up Jerome headed over to see PST and Tink and I headed out to Walmart to make returns. We met up afterwards and headed to Lowe's to see about ladder that was on sale as well.

I found out when I went to work on Monday that one of my co-workers was in my dust trail. She started her day at the same Kohl's and Toys R Us. Funny! She should have picked up the phone to call since I started with my phone calls to Lisa at 4:10am and receiving a call from PJM around 4:30 am! It was so much fun! I can't wait till the day after Christmas :)