Black Friday

Well, we just decided to venture out for the fun of it. Marie "rang" my cell phone once at 10 minutes to 4. "You still wanna go?" she whispered. We hadn't gotten to bed before 11 and the baby was up at least twice.

"I don't think so," I answered, and continued to have a hushed conversation for about 5 minutes. "Have fun," I said and hung up.

Screw that - if I don't fall back to sleep in ten minutes, I'm going....I think my mind was already made up. I nudged my husband, "Hey..I'm going."

"mhmmm," he mumbled.

"I'll be back by 8."

"mm..k..lvu"

I actually managed to brush my teeth, slip on my Nike's, and scoot out the door into the brisk, silvery night without waking a single soul (including the yellow-belly beast).

Marie showed up at Kohls with coffee and donuts for both of us. Kohls was packed. I have to admit, shopping at 4am, doesn't necessarily sound that desirable, but there was something about the day after thanksgiving that sparks excitement for me. I absolutely love Christmas. Most especially because of the kids and now that Massimo is almost 1, its even more exciting.

We had a few things in mind that we wanted to get - but no pressure - we took our time and cruised Kohl's for about an hour.

Then, off to Circuit City and Old Navy at 5:45. There were lines outside, people had been waiting since 6pm on Thanksgiving to get in. Old Navy was giving away free MP3 players with a purchase of $20 or more. I heard someone say they ran out in less than 10 minutes. So, you wait in line for an MP3?? It not even an Ipod. This did not make the least bit o' sense to me.

After waiting in line for almost 40 minutes to purchase a highly coveted item for DJ, my legs started to go weak, my blood sugar was low, I was daydreaming about a soy latte. Marie had Bon Jovi and Ozzy playing on her phone to liven the mood.

After we got to the front of the line she complimented the tall, lanky, young man who had put up with all the crap of the people who were waiting in the "camera-only" line and refused to leave it. He did have a lot of patience. One good samaritan, came up and asked him if he needed some food.

"No, thanks," he answered, "I have a lunch break at 12." It was 7:30!!! No wonder he was so skinny!

There is your Christmas spirit right there. Help others, serve others. Marie thought maybe it was his mom. Maybe - but I like to think that people like that still exist. I would like to try and be like that lady. If I was Terrence, I would have been like, "a venti soy latte and a lowfat blueberry muffin, please..and make it snappy, love!!"

We didn't participate in Black Friday to get super deals or trample our way over people trying to get that perfect toy, or wait in line in the cold. We just went for the curiosity, to get in the holiday mood, and just to have some good old-fashioned fun doing something we love - SHOPPING. Would I do it again??? Absolutely - you bet I would.

enjoy the Steely Dan video....I was singing the song all day long in a withering daze of very little sleep. Am I the only one who thinks Don Fagen is sexy in those sunglasses???

PINCH ME

Our son finally slept through the night. An accomplishment he has not acheived in several, SEVERAL months. He began sleeping through the night at the ripe old age of 2 months. Everybody told me how lucky I was. We must have made the perfect baby. As the summer months had worn on, however, and he began moving around, crawling, and standing, his waking became more frequent. Getting him to go back to sleep has been a challenge. Yet, its been a challenge I've accepted with heavy eyelids and moderate amounts of caffiene.

I actually slept LESS than usual last night because I kept waking up wondering why HE was still sleeping - peacefully. I kept tiptoeing in to his room to make sure he was okay. I've experienced many different kinds of joy in my life, but my own sleeping in such a state of tranquility, causes my heart to heat up and bubble over.

I repeadedtly told him how proud I was of him this morning, which he continued to answer, "e - i - e - uh" (Old McDonald is the tune of choice). Check back tomorrow, when I tell you that he woke up five or six times tonight.

11 MONTHS ON THE 11TH DAY OF THE 11 MONTH OF THE YEAR.

I'll be sure to make lots of wishes today....

WORD OF THE DAY

woolgathering \WOOL-gath-(uh)-ring\, noun:

"Indulgence in idle daydreaming"

I do so much of this.

PS - u have to at least be 30 years old to appreciate & remember this video