Went shopping yesterday and joined the ranks of the "black Friday" bargain hunter. I DID find some great bargains along with some wild people.

Probably the funniest thing I saw was a woman pushing a Target cart through Kohls. She made it to the inside of the store and was about to head down a main aisle but was stopped by some workers who told her she couldn't bring the Target cart inside. It was a strange scene. She had the cart piled full of Target bags.

The best part was the look of confusion she had on her face when they told her she had to turn around and leave the cart outside. My cousin and I had a pretty good laugh.

I am ALMOST finished with my Christmas shopping. Have to order the Wii fit from gamespot today, buy my grandpa and uncle a flashlight and my niece a game. DH is getting his dad a Lowes gift certificate and his mom a computer game and then guess what? WE ARE DONE! And it isn't even December!! yay!

The busiest 2 stores in the mall yesterday morning were
1. Charlotte Russe
2. American Eagle

I spent $67 in Charlotte Russe and got so much stuff I don't know where to start. You got 30% off your grand total plus the entire store was already on sale! Yeah, it isn't the most high quality clothing out there but for my girls, my cousin and my niece, it will be great because these are girls who tear through clothes at ridiculous speed.

I spent $85 at American Eagle where all tops and jewelry were buy one get one 50% off (even on sale items) and then another 25% off your grand total. I got a pair of clogs, 2 shirts, 2 necklaces and a pair of pants. For American Eagle this is pretty good.

The lines in American Eagle and Charlotte Russe were a good 45 minutes long.

After these two stores we checked out Hollister....boring and of course NOTHING on sale. There wasn't even much of a line. They need to consider offering better sales. Next we went to Aeropostale where I bought one item that E. wanted, a zip hoodie. It was cute but completely overpriced at almost $50. (and that was with a 50% discount!) I didnt find anything else in Aeropostale worth buying.

I visited Express and bought C. a pink scarf, black cardigan sweater and a beautiful camisole/tank. I had to argue with the cashier who insisted the stores 20% off the total was more than the 15$ gift certificate I had. It wasn't.

After leaving the mall we headed to Old Navy (second trip in a week) where I bought my cousin's present plus a winter coat for DH. I spent almost $50 on cousin's gift...had budgeted $15! But, I couldn't have gotten my shopping done without him. He patiently stood in lines for me while I shopped. He carried all my stuff etc...I honestly couldn't have done it without him so I wanted to get him something he really wanted. He picked out a thick zip hoodie/jacket and a scarf.

The last store we visited was Borders where I spent $50. Got E. hardback of the third twilight series book...can't remember the name, and got C. Uncle Tom's Cabin, a Jodi Picoult novel and Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions.

We ate at Taco Bell before heading home and I spent $5. It was an expensive day but we had a blast and I did find some pretty good bargains...nothing too earth shattering but that's ok.

I have saved all my receipts this Christmas and am tracking my spending very carefully. So far, I have not used any credit cards...all cash. (Well, cash transferred to the checking account to pay the AMEX) My ultimate goal was to keep this year below $1000.00. I don't think that is going to happen because I have already spent $856 and still have another 150-200 dollars to go. Still, I am happy because in the last few years I have NEVER spent this little at Christmas and I have always put the majority of it on my credit card. So, this is progress.

Right now I am grappling with the temptation of adorable Juicy Couture earrings for E. and C. but so far I have resisted! I think I will save them for their birthday.

Well, that is all from the land of shopping. I had to work today and had a few stressful, cursing, delusional residents to deal with. Luckily, I was making rounds with the psychiatrist so he helped me defuse a potentially violent situation.

Well, him and some Haldol and Ativan!

DH is grilling in 40 degree weather tonight because I am too lazy and tired to even think about doing anything but sitting on the couch. Thank God for helpful husbands!

E. CLEANED her room. There are no dirty dishes with rotting milk, the carpet is cleaned and vacuumed and DH helped her move her furniture around. It looks awesome. Now we need to get C. to clean hers and we'll be in business.

I have an insanely busy week coming up. I have picked up quite a few hours to pay for all these presents!