Mission Accomplished!

I never imagined I would be someone to get up crazy early on Black Friday to fight crowds to go shopping. And yet . . . Walmart at 5:10 a.m. amid the madness.

A few years ago, when I lived in California, I decided to brave shopping the day after Thanksgiving in order to buy as many Christmas gifts as I could and wrap and leave them in Georgia, to avoid the cost and hassle of packing and shipping everything. And it turned out to be so much fun, I go every year. The fun is due in part to tremendous sales (already established as my form of crack cocaine), in part to the sugar rush of McDonald’s apple pies (two for a dollar), but mostly to spending time with my fun dear cousins Shannon and Sarah.

We’ve developed a system. I won’t give away all our secrets, but I will say that there are walkie talkies involved, as well as code names. This year our primary mission was to get sale towels at Walmart. We named this mission Operation El Guapo. This year our code names were Dusty Bottoms, Lucky Day, and Ned Nederlander. This is the sunrise after our adventure at Walmart, just before we begin our search at the Dawsonville outlet mall. A few hours later, the second wave joined us–my mom, Joan, Ann, Connie, and Susan and Caroline.

We got some great deals, between our VIP status at the outlet mall and our online coupons and the early morning sales. The crowds weren’t even that bad, since the outlet mall opens at midnight the night before, so the crazy rush is long over. My best deals were at Maidenform, but I also got some cute shoes and a few Christmas gifts. (Yes, it’s true, I shop mostly for myself. I try to get my shopping done for the year. Truth is, on all other occasions, I despise shopping.) Here’s all our loot!

Yes, Sarah’s shirt does say “Geek Inside.” Next year we will have another new shopper in our ranks!

So, I bet you’re wondering: Did they get the towels? You bet we did. Mission accomplished.

All the while singing, “My Little Buttercup.”