I took my daughter and two of her friends out yesterday. We started at 3 am at Kohl's. I spent $212 there on gifts for 6 1/2 people (got part of my brother's present there, got him more stuff later). Per their receipts, I saved $322. Plus I got $40 in Kohl cash that I will use during the week to buy my son more shirts for school (not Christmas presents, just need). We waited in line for an hour to pay. We dropped that stuff at home, grabbed some breakfast and headed to a big mall about 45 minutes away. We got a primo parking spot there because some people were already leaving.
I hit Bath and Body Works and spent $80 and saved $137. They had Buy 3, Get 3 Free so we bought things for my SIL and picked out the free stuff for us. Plus I picked up more of their antibacterial soap and their hand sanitizers too, which I was almost out of anyway. I got a really nice VIP bag filled with goodies, including a Wallflower for $20 when it usually sells for $119. Their line was very organized with staff dedicated to keeping the line organized. Line wait time, 15 minutes. Not bad at all.
A local radio station was broadcasting from that mall so I decided to hang out and watch the broadcast while the 3 teenage girls shopped. Shortly after I got there, one of the publicity people came over and told me to pick a paper from a stocking. I got 4 tickets to the Meadowbrook Holiday Walk.. an $80.00 value. Meadowbrook is the 110 room mansion that the Dodge family owned.
http://www.oakland.edu/?id=3102&sid=87
I continued sitting there and eventually the show's producer came over and asked if I would participate in a pop culture trivia game on the radio. I'm awful with pop culture, but I said sure because I knew they usually give prizes to anybody who participates. So it was me and one other woman. The questions were pretty easy, thanks to GreekChat.
1) Who sang at the halftime show during the Thanksgiving Day football game in Detroit?
I started to say I had no idea.. I didn't start watching the game until the 3rd quarter but then the DJ said "Which Detroit rocker performed..." and I said "Kid Rock?" and I was right
Thanks for the hint!
2) Who won Dancing With the Stars this week? I knew this one, not because I watch Dancing with the Stars but because I had a conversation with a friend about the show and how it would be unfair if Jennifer Grey had won because she had professional dancing training for Dirty Dancing. Because of that conversation, I watched the finale to find out who won...lol.
3) What movie starred Will Ferrel who grew up at the North Pole... ? I knew this one! Elf!
We tied, so there was a tie breaker. I knew the answer to the tie breaker, but I didn't get my name out first. The question was about what they call the day after Thanksgiving because it is the busiest shopping day of the year. Obviously, "Black Friday".
I got a gift certificate to Buffalo Wild Wings though
I don't know how much that one is for. I have to go to the station this week to pick up both prizes. I was so excited! I was on the radio for the first time ever! I doubt anybody I know heard me, but I did text my daughter and her friends so they would come and watch while I was doing it.
After all that excitement, I shopped some more. I got a "My First Christmas" personalized ornament for my 3 month old niece. I found a Sparky Anderson Bobblehead that I bought for my brother. I met up with my daughter at Aerie and we picked out a cute t-shirt and tank, for my step-niece, for half of what we thought we were going to be paying!
My absolute best deal though, was found online. One of our local TV stations had a Deal of the Day going. The deal right now is that you can buy a $20 gift voucher for ACO Hardware stores (not sure if those are local or national) for $10. I bought 8, so I got $160 in vouchers for $80. The gift vouchers expire at the end of May but I easily spend that much at the hardware store on salt, wood, fertilizer, etc. That is a gift to me
We got home around noon and I had to go order more contacts so I did that while my daughter crashed. I came home and slept from 12:30 til 3, picked up my son at 4 and we got dinner.
Then my daughter wanted to go shop again. She had $100 burning a hole in her pocket and hadn't bought anything at Kohl's or the mall! She had regretted bringing her friends because she thought they were getting annoyed with her. They weren't really buying anything, they were just checking things out but she wanted to buy stuff. She is really annoying to shop with because she tries stuff on, wants it, then decides to wait, then goes back to other stores to look at other stuff she wanted.. it goes on and on and on. It's awful to shop with her. I always get annoyed too so I wasn't surprised that her friends who were tired from not enough sleep, getting hungry, and had been on the go for 7 hours already were getting impatient with her.
So, I took her shopping to an outdoor type strip mall.. but a really big, newer one. We went to Famous Footwear and she found the perfect black ankle boots that she had been searching for. We went to Old Navy and she tried on a bunch of stuff but didn't want to commit to any of it. Then Lane Bryant where she did end up buying two bras, BOGO. THEN we had to go grocery shopping. I honestly felt like I was going to collapse from exhaustion after Lane Bryant but on the drive home, I decided it was better to just do it and get it done because things would be busier Saturday morning than Friday night. So we hit Walmart to grocery shop at 8 pm. The place was EMPTY thank goodness
We got it done quickly and we came home. I collapsed into bed by 10:30, totally wiped out.
My feet hurt so bad today that I can barely walk..lol. I hate being old. I am sore all over. This is so bizarre. It was a good day though.. a really good day!