HanShotFirst

Headed to the Twin Cities tomorrow for a long weekend to include a trip of the Mall of America for my first time. I am so hoping I can find a few gifts there at stores I do not have access to down here.

I have a pair of Jaybird x2 Bluetooths. The info says you can get an 8 hour battery life but I cannot verify that since I havent had a need to use them for more than a couple of hours at a time since I got them Christmas 2016. I do love them though. They Have a great sound and I think they are easy to use. Plus they came with a storage case, which was a huge plus for me.

And we put a "grand prize" in the middle, usually a $15 gift card of some sort. I won it last year (iTunes) and the littles were not at all happy with me! Lol. Good times.

Interesting. The lines here are horrible. Of course, things would be better if the money order and bill pay business had its own area. I nearly always end up in a line behind someone paying bills or buying multiple money orders. I'm glad Walmart provides these services for the people that need them but keep the returns area and that area separate and I wouldn't mind standing in a line for returns only.

Mine goes up before Thanksgiving, depending on my work schedule. Healthcare scheduling is a free-for-all starting November so I do it when I have time. I love having it up when I return home from Thanksgiving festivities/shopping and/or working, depending on the year and if it is my turn to work. Interestingly enough, my birthday is mid-December and my mother would never put our tree up until after the 15th, even when I asked her if we could. Bless her for trying to separate my birthday and Christmas but I never really cared. I always wanted to have the tree up for my birthday parties I had at the house. LOL.

I noticed for the first time today at one of the local stores here signs at the registers stating no more price matching at this store. I never did it anyway so no big deal to me. I also got an email from Savings Catcher in September saying my balance would be transferred to an e-gift card soon, just in time for holiday shopping it said. There was no mention of discontinuing the program. I hope that doesn't happen although I have noticed I earn money back far less than I did at first.

I'm so glad my TV cabinet limits me to a certain size TV! No temptation to upgrade the size every year. LOL

I still haven't started and my list keeps getting longer.......things keep happening.

I've no doubt I'll be in the minority here but I actually enjoy Thanksgiving Day shopping and would hate to see Walmart decide to close on Thursday. My family has always eaten turkey dinner at noon so the boys can get to the deer woods for the weekend. I'm from a small town and the only stores we have access to on Thursday are Walmart and Dollar General. If we get these two out of the way then on Friday we can head out of town to where all the other stores are if we want to. My mom 73 and has issues standing for long periods of time so the more we can spread the shopping out the better for all of us.

Ready for the fun to start. Gift cards are always a win-win for me.

My goodness!! Finished?? Sweet. And I had to google the LOL big surprise ball. I must say that looks like a lot of fun!

The Lowe's I frequent is starting to get some Christmas decorations out. Mostly the outdoor decorations. No trees yet. I've already seen one thing I'm dying to have but I'm going to have to resist. [emoji16] I love campers.

latest "regular" iPad model in the $200-$250 range. Mine is old and so cranky right now that I'm not sure it will last another year like my long-range plans need it too. I also want to see a great deal on a Kindle Paperwhite and cover. I have no doubt there will be some kind of deal just hoping it is not a lightening deal! Seems I am never able to be around when something I want is on a lightening deal.... Could also stand to upgrade my cordless home phone system. It's not on my needed list but if someone throws out a cheap enough deal I might snag it. Yep, I still live in the dark ages with a landline. LOL.

Dirty Santa: gift cards, kitchen gadgets, candy dish filled with candy, small superhero/Star Wars toys, small lego set, holiday scented candle, bath gift basket, movie night gift basket, scratch offs, something from the "As Seen on TV" aisle, one of those Science DIY toy kits. As a grown woman, I'd be happy to get a toy! My cousins, their children, myself and my sister played the Saran Wrap ball game last Christmas. It was super fun and can be done with all ages.

It certainly does suck and my carrier (Verizon) charges more for a single line plan. All carriers may do that though? I don't really know. Unfortunately for me though, Verizon has the best coverage for my area and my travel habits. I'll be eligible for an upgrade during the holiday season but am going to have to think long and hard and probably visit a store for some assistance in deciding what, if anything, to do.

One of the two Walmart stores here has some Christmas stuff out in the Garden Center. The trees are out on display, plus lots more. Shelves were cleared out to make way for all the ornaments, lights, etc. There was still a few aisles of all the back to school things but it looked like associates were marking them down to clearance prices.

I don't know if this counts but I just put myself a new blu-ray player on layaway at Walmart. That's one thing of my list of gifts to myself.

Oh my, I love that snowman so much. Too bad there isn't a Costco around these parts!

OMG! That is tops on my list of Christmas movies! I watch it at least twice during the season, usually more.

Woo Hoo! Thanks Bopeep!

I enjoy it all too Michael's is already practically cleaned out of Halloween and their fall Knick-knacky decor items. They still have tons of fall flowers but not much else. Glad I got what I wanted for fall from them already. I'm honestly ready for the outdoor Christmas decorations to begin appearing though so I can figure out and budget for what I want this year, if anything,

There's just something about those paper ads isn't there? I'm the same way. Need the actual paper in my hand.

Luggage......the handle on my most used piece broke while I was in Orlando in December for my birthday. I told my mother right then and there at the airport as we were unpacking the darn thing to get inside to the innards of the handle that she was buying new luggage for me. So.....thanks to Kohl's it's a done deal already. I always love getting gift cards as well.

I would agree with the pre-BF sales. I got my new HP laptop last year from Sam's during their early/mid November sale. 15.6" with optical drive, intel core I5 7th generation, 12GB RAM and 1TB hard drive, HD display. There might have been a better deal on BF itself for these specs but honestly I was happy to get it at $379 and get it off my plate before the BF rush.

Family: 5-6 Close friends: 5 Coworkers: everyone gets a stocking so those get candy in them since there are about 50 stockings. Secret Santa here 2 Senior Tree recipients