Bargains Galore...Anyone else partaking in the festivities??

I am one of those crazies who get up at the ass-crack of dawn to stand in line in the cold to be one of the first customers inside Target or Walmart.

It all started the holiday season after my daughter was born. I had heard of Black Friday before, but had never gone. Being in retail, I always had to work that day. But I worked in a flower shop, so it's not like we had people camped outside our doorstep. It was a regular day for us, but I still had to work. Then I had my daughter and left my job and my sister in law asked if I wanted to go shopping with her. I said "sure". I love to shop and I love a good bargain. I was prepared, having heard of extreme cases on tv and such. Nothing like that happened to us, but it was an interesting morning. There were rude people and insane people and we just sat back and watched them and laughed. We got some of the things we needed/wanted, but didn't get too upset for the things we didn't. Most of the people were pleasant and nice and they had the same attitude we did. It was an experience and I really enjoyed it.

I've gone every year since then (this will be #8), but my shopping partners have changed. My sister in law had to work some years and this year she is off but is going with someone else. I started going with my cousin a few years ago and we have a great time. We are usually done by 8-8:30 and go have breakfast.

As much fun as we do have, the main motivation is still the bargains. With the help of websites such as BFads.net, you can view the ads days, even weeks, before Thanksgiving day, when the actual paper ads come in the newspaper. Helps immensely for planning purposes! These days, our budget is extremely tight and though the holiday season is not about gifts and spending tons and tons of money, this is really the only time of year we get to buy presents for our kids and family members and we really enjoy the gift-giving.

So how about you??? You gonna be in line anywhere at 3 am this Friday??? I'll be at Target! And I'm being even crazier this year and have decided to go to Toys R Us on Thanksgiving night. They will be opening at 10 pm. There are a ton of great deals there for me this year...I just can't pass up the opportunity!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Deals and Bargains Galore!!!!

I admit it...I am a shopaholic. But at least I have the good sense to only buy things when they are on sale with an awesome coupon! And 90% of the time, I limit myself to things I absolutely need.

So in the mail a few days ago I got a mystery coupon from Kohl's. Had to peel it open to see my discount: 15, 20 or 30% off your entire purchase. Lucky me...it was 30%!!

I went today and got some really great deals. Everything I bought was already on sale. And Kohl's lets you use coupons on everything in the store! Hubby needed a new dress shirt and tie, so he picked those out. My son needed pants for fall/winter. He outgrew all of his from last year. So I grabbed him two pairs of jeans, a pair of khakis and some loungy type pants. And also a couple hooded sweatshirts. I browsed the shoe department and got my son a pair of shoes, so he has something other than sneakers to wear. And I found a fab pair of black boots for me :) I needed a new pair of slippers and a new purse and also some sports bras. I browsed the jewelry department and I am such a sucker for cute necklaces and earring sets. And they were on sale for $10 plus the extra 30% off!!!!! But I told myself "no"....I really didn't need them. And then when I was all cashed out, I received $40 in Kohl's cash to use during the last week of September, I think. If you're not familiar with Kohl's cash...basically, it's like a $40 gift certificate...no minimum purchase...use it on anything I want in the store!! :)

But my shopping addiction isn't even limited to clothes and shoes...I even love food shopping. I'm sure I'm in the minority on that one! I just love buying things an coming home and filling my pantry! It looks so nice when it's fully stocked!! And I love having lots of different foods to eat! Hate when it's toward the end of the week and there's nothing left that's any good!

**Edited to add...had to go back the next day cause I got the wrong color tie for hubby. And he saw their suits were on sale....for $100, jacket and pants. Plus the 30% off (cause I got to keep my coupon and reuse it!! How awesome is that???) Hubby has needed a new suit for years!

What makes you happy??? Here is what makes me happy!

A HUGE thanks to Dawn Simon at Plotting and Scheming for honoring me with this award!!!!! Check her out!!!

So now, without further ado, my list of 10 things that make me truly, utterly, head over heels happy (in no particular order...just randomly as they pop into my head):


#1: My husband, who has been incredibly supportive in this literary journey I have embarked on...way more supportive than he was when I had my floral business...which to this day still puzzles me since the flower thing actually did bring in cash..... But anyway, he spoils me and gives me the freedom to create.



#2: My kids, who never cease to put a smile on my face. Well, no, that's a lie. I do not smile when my daughter gets in her little almost 7 attitude or when my son acts like the little devil he can be.



#3: My forthcoming novel, A Bitch Named Karma. I am doing a full read through after this second round of copy edits before I send it back to my editor...and let me tell you...I am still soooooooooooo in love with this story!!!

#4: Walt Disney World. I cannot help it. I LOVE that place. We feel so free and relaxed when we're there. We can have fun with the kids and leave all worries at home. I truly feel like I've been whisked away to some magical land! We love it so much, hubby and I are even sneaking away just us for a few days in April!



#5: Scrapbooking. Been so busy the past year that I have hardly had time for it, but I so love it! I have always been a crafty kind of gal, but I found craft perfection when I found scrapbooking. I am very much into pictures and photo albums and combining that with crafting is nirvana for me!!



#6: Dancing. I love to dance. This is my 11th year taking an adult jazz class...we even perform in the yearly recital! I've done ballet and competition classes too...can't do that anymore :( And I'd love to take ballroom lessons if I had the cash...even compete too. That would be so so fun!



#7: Shopping...I can't help it. If I'm sad, buying soemthing totally cheers me up. I love getting new things, especially when I get a bargain!!!!



#8: Food scented body wash and lotion. YUM!!!

#9: Having parents who don't criticize or tell me how I should live my life. (Though dad does get something in every once in a while.) They are such a breath of fresh air when I see how other people's parents are. They're not perfect, but I am very lucky!!

#10: Going out to eat! Though I love to cook...I love going out to different restaurants and trying new things! It's nice to sit back and relax and have someone else have to clean up!

Okay...Now to pick some bloggers to give this award to! You must pass it on to others and post 10 things that make you happy!!

Roni at Fiction Groupie: Love reading your posts and you don't have this award yet!!
Anne at Piedmont Writer: We are so so alike!!
Stephanie Damore: Always love your posts!!

The Old Lady section

I have been on the search for new jeans for a while now...seems I could not find anything that was right for my body shape.

My first look was in the junior/younger women's sections, where I buy some of my clothes. At 5'3" and right at the ideal weight for a woman my size, most clothing in that section fits and I like to stay trendy and somewhat hip, but not like I'm trying to look 16. So of course, there are a lot of racks in those sections that I completely skip over. But on the racks of jeans, nearly every pair is so low cut that unless you have zero body fat and/or have never had a child, you cannot possibly wear them without getting that "muffin" affect. I see so many young girls wearing these ultra low rise jeans and they just DO NOT look good!!!! Even the really skinny girls! These jeans take a nice looking body and make them look fat!!! Stacy and Clinton have pointed this out to numerous women with major fashion faux pas. I love them, they are my style consultants, so everything they say is law!

I searched for jeans at my favorite stores...places like Old Navy, GAP and NY&Co. Nothin' there either. Old Navy's jeans have gotten so cheaply made and are just too darn low in the waist....plus every pair seems to be made for a woman with junk in trunk...and that is just not me. There's nothing in my trunk. NY&Co...averages are a mile too long, while petites are floods on me..go figure. GAP....I just cannot sanely pay $60-70 for ill-fitting jeans.

And so my quest for the perfect jeans continued with a trip to one of the larger department stores- JCPenny. I had hope....they have a wide selection of denim. I skipped right over the juniors section and headed toward women's clothing. Grabbed a dozen pairs in different cuts and sizes. Found a few that semi fit. One pair was good but a smidge too big but when I went down a size, it seemed the waist dropped like 2 inches....way too low rise for me. Others were just too big in the hips and thighs and butt, even though they fit fine in the waist. I sighed and put them all back. Hubby was so great....offering words of encouragement...we'd keep looking until I found the right ones!

I checked Kohl's today......and walked to the Old Lady section. I browsed a couple tables with folded jeans on them....miscellaneous brands of taper leg jeans...I shuddered at the mental picture of me wearing them, recalling my freshman year of high school. I looked some more and to my surprise, it seems the high-waisted Old Lady jeans are long gone. A sigh of relief. Most of the jeans have a mid rise waist....exactly what I want...still well below my belly button, but my underwear, ass crack....or worse...doesn't show. Speaking of.......there was a youngish girl in the grocery store last night...probably around 20...wearing a pair of polyester type workout pants...ultra low rise..... with her crack totally in plain view for all Wegmans shoppers to see. It's like a train wreck...how do you walk by and not look???? But unlike a train wreck, I laughed...and wondered how on earth someone could walk around and not know their butt was hanging out!! I prayed my almost 6 year old didn't say "Mommy, look at that girl's bum crack!" So anyway...my point is...CRACK KILLS!! No one wants to see it.

So back to Kohl's. I spied a table of Levi's...not my first choice because of price. Now I am no where near being a cheap person...but I am a huge bargain hunter. I almost never ever buy anything unless it's on sale or I have a coupon and usually the coupon is used on things that are on sale. I hate buying anything unless I can get at least 30% off it's full retail price. No matter what it is...even a $10 tee shirt. I hate paying full price. So, even though $34.99 is not an insane price for jeans, it wasn't really what I wanted to pay. The last jeans I bought were at Old Navy on a crazy sale day for only $12.....but I need to keep reminding myself of the above reasons for why I no longer buy jeans at Old Navy. So anyway, I try on a bunch of jeans, including some Levis and some Old Lady brands- Gloria Vanderbilt and Lee. And they all were pretty decent...except the Levis....they were perfectly amazing. I went back to the table....I had the one and only pair in my size.

And speaking of size...shopping in the Old Lady section has it's advantages.....I was in a size smaller than I normally wear everywhere else!

I leftKohl's with my one amazing pair of jeans. Now that I found what I like, I can start the bargain hunt to find them elsewhere for less money!!!!