jerica388

Good for you! We have to fight for our right to Shop!!

Ooh! My guess is 39!

I have been with the same company for the last 7 years, and BF is a contractual holiday so I have always had it off. This year we have a large order that needs to be filled by the end of the year and they are saying we might be working BF. Since it is a holiday in the contract that means they will be paying everyone holiday pay plus double time that day. I don't care. I save more than enough to make up for that. I told my boss last week that it doesn't matter if the company is open and working on BF - I will NOT be there. I will take vacation if necessary. We can only have one person per department out on vacation at a time but I happen to know that I am the only one in my department who has vacation time left! Ha! Seriously though, even if I wasn't going BF shopping I would still have to take the day off. My MIL always does Thanksgiving dinner Friday afternoon (so no one has to run around to multiple Thanksgiving dinners on the same day). That is one thing she does that I really appreciate. And she doesn't expect me to do a lot of prep for the meal - as long as I do her BF shopping. DEAL!

1) I wonder how mad she'll be if I leave her standing there on the curb and come back for her later. 2) Ooh, this scarf, these shoes, and what I've got in this little pink bag over here...I am going to look so HOT! 3) These Black Friday shoppers thought they'd take a nap. When they awoke, the line had grown by the hundreds, "Oh crap!"

I am a sucker for sappy commercials! One of my favorites is the Foldgers coffee one where the guy has been away from home. He comes in the house and the little girl sees him and whispers, "Everyone's asleep." Then he says, "I know how to wake 'em up," and smiles down at her. Then the parents smell the coffee brewing and they come down in the pjs and the woman's eyes light up and she says, "Oh Peter! Your home!" The best part of wakin' up... Don't know why but I have always liked that one :)

allshoppedout your enthusiasm makes me smile! Peyton Manning is my guy, but I have great respect for Ben Roethlisberger. I even like him a little better than baby brother (which is what we Colts fans call Eli Manning, of course). Okay, no more off-topic posts from me today....okay, well I'll try really hard anyway.

Yeah! Okay, I just wanted to see if I could be first with all right answers one time. :) Next list it will be someone else's turn to be first.

1) Myrrh 2) Italy 3) Post Office 4) White Christmas 5) The bannister 6) New York (Clement Clarke Moore)

Fair enough! I defer to the wisdom of the cards

1) Woolworth's 2) 12 3) Holly Jolly Christmas 4) Home Alone 1 5) Omaha 6) The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come * I just read a synopsis that said she moved to San Fransisco from Omaha. I am really not trying to be a twerp, I promise!

I don't get it. Since when is San Fransisco and East coast city?

1) Woolworth's 2) 12 3) Holly Jolly Christmas 4) Home Alone 1 (?) 5) New York City 6) The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

1) Woolworth's 2) 12 3) Holly Jolly Christmas 4) Home Alone 1 (?) 5) Boston (?) 6) The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come *Some of these are really hard! I wasn't sure of a couple of the answers and I can't look them up right now because of filters on the computer here. When I get home I am going to check my answers! (And I am also going to see if I can find a copy of "A Christmas Without Snow" - sounds good.

eve is right. Everyone is trying to stretch their money even farther this year, which will mean there will be a lot of people shopping on BF that have never done so before. It will probably be even crazier than years past.

My favorite book is Hold Tight by Harlan Coben.

Okay, this sounds a little kooky but I want a clarinet. I played clarinet in junior high and high school, and still played during college. The clarinet was purchased from a family friend and when her daughter decided to play she asked if she could buy it back from me. She wanted her daughter to play the same one she played. I totally understood, and sold it back to her for the same price she charged me all those years ago. It was a beautiful wooden Selmer clarinet and I still miss it. I would like my DH to get me one. For me its just as much about the fond memories as it is about playing it. I just can't see spending the money on myself but if it was a Christmas gift...

I am up for it. Listen to the sound of the Christmas spirit, can you hear it? Can you hear it? I can! Can't wait!

When I was in first grade my school hired an extra teacher pretty much at the last minute because they realized their 1st grade classrooms were going to be seriously over-crowded that year. On my first day of first grade this new teacher (Mrs. LOVE, if you believe that) stood up in front of us and said something to the effect of, "Hello, I'm Mrs. Love. I am so happy to have all of you in my class. We will have a lot of fun together this year. We will study hard but we will have games and holiday parties as well. Of course, you are all big boys and girls now and you know that there is no such thing as Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. But we can still celebrate the holidays and have a great time!" There were about 25 wide-eyed faces staring back at her in disbelief. A few burst into tears. About two weeks later the classes were consolidated and we ended up with an average of 38 students per first grade class that year. Mrs. Love was moved over to the 5th grade hall.

Oh, the Easter Bunny is a hotly discussed topic at my house. It has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember that each year you pick out your Easter basket and set it outside the back door before you go to bed the night before Easter. When you get up to get ready for sunrise service you peek out back and the basket has been filled. I think this started when my gma began giving us all Longanberger baskets a long time ago. Anyway, that is what we always did at our house too. Then last year my son informed me that the woman down the street told him that was silly, you don't pick your basket, the Easter bunny does and then he fills it and brings it to you. Well, I didn't know what to say to that. My dad did though. He told my son that the mom down the street must use non-union contractors to fill her Easter baskets. He said the Easter bunny is in a union and his contract states that he does not pick out the baskets, just fills them and hides eggs. My dad is a retired teamster and my mom, dh, and I are all in unions (in different job fields). My kids have heard so much talk about unions/contracts/negotiations over the years that my ds (7 at the time) accepted the explaination without batting an eye. Sometimes I am really glad my dad tells tall tales so convincingly!

Slightly off topic, but another bummer about kids getting older and figuring things out is that I have to be much sneakier. I remember when I could buy my kids Christmas presents while they were with me and just stick them in the bottom of the cart!

My dd8 absolutely still believes. There is not even a question in her mind. My ds10 is on the fence with the whole thing. Whenever I ask what they want from Santa or mention Santa in conversation I can hear the wheels turning in his head. Like some of you said before, I think he is pretty sure Santa is not a real person but he doesn't want to voice that opinion just yet.

kklracing, We have Robert Redford dessert EVERY holiday and my Mom and Dads, but ours isn't chocolate. My grandmother has always made it with pistachio pudding and then on top she uses crushed pecan sandies cookies instead of the Heath bars. In our family it never had an official name, we just always called it "Mom-O's Green Stuff", lol.

The number one traditional "can't have a holiday without it" dessert in my family I have always known as Pig Eatin' Good Cake. My grandma said that was the name because it tastes so good you eat like a pig. A few years ago I saw a recipe in a cook book that was really similar and it was called Hawaiian Delite Cake. Cake: 1 box butter or yellow cake mix (we like butter better) 1 can mandarine oranges (DO NOT DRAIN - dump the liquid and oranges into the cake mix) 1 envelope Dream Whip whipped topping mix 1/2 cup vegetable oil 4 eggs Combine all ingredients and beat for two full minutes. Spray sides and bottom of 10x13 cake pan and pour in batter. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. While cake is baking prepare topping. Topping: 12 oz. tub Cool Whip topping 1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix 1 can crushed pineapple, drained well Combine all three ingredients and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until cake is ready. When cake is completely cooled, cover with topping mixture. *When I make this for my husband's family I add 1 cup toasted pecans to the cake and 1 cup coconut to the topping. We don't do that for my side of the family because they don't all like coconut and pecans. I love it both ways!

That is too funny! We went to the Halloween store a few weeks ago and they had a "The King" from Burger King mask, and they were asking $30 for it! They said they had already sold 2 of them. Apparently your ds isn't the only one out there who is into this guy.

figarotigger that is a good idea. Maybe I will send something to his home for him and his new gf to enjoy together. That way she is included too and I don't have to worry about upsetting SIL. Knowing this BIL, I think he would be even happier with a gift he could share with his gf than if I got him something just for him - and I have made the gesture so I don't feel things are quite so one-ended. Thanks!