Archive for November, 2010
The Thrill of Black Friday
Nov 29th
It seems that everyone in the internet world has their opinions these days and is happy to share it. I am sure I have shared mine many times myself. This year I noticed so many people had something against Black Friday. They wanted everyone to know those who participate are crazy, stupid, some even going to far as to say things about how they would rather be with their family. I am all for spending time with family but I think were all granted some shopping time weather it be Black Friday or Tuesday.
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So why does one go Black Friday shopping? I think everyone has their own reasons but most fall under two reasons if not both.
1. To get an awesome deal.
2. The thrill of it.
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I go for both reasons.
It’s nice to get a good deal and sure I could get deals all year round but who the hell wants to attempt to try and hide Christmas gifts for more than a month from kids? It can be done, but I actually prefer not to. Tastes change as well I would rather be as close as possible to what my kids want at the time.
Then we have the thrill of it. For once this year my kids don’t really know what they want. Why is that? We haven’t spoiled them over the years. They have always appreciated everything we have given them no matter how little it was. We are finally able to give them more and they don’t ask for much compared to alot of kids. This is the first year I didn’t have to dart for the electronics counter to get a place in line and secure that DSI or whatever item of choice.
There were other things I did get for them and a few things for myself. I went for the thrill of it. This is the first year I went in alone. Chris hates shopping on a regular day but Black Friday forget it. He sits in the car. Usually I have my sister with me or a friend.
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So how did this year go?
I started at home by doing my ritual of looking through the ads in the paper. I had been looking at them for weeks on the computer but there is something about going through them after stuffing yourself with dinner on Thanskgiving on the couch.
I made my list by store and told Chris what time we would be leaving. He went off to bed to get some sleep while I gazed over the ads some more and watched tv.
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This year I purchased a Tshirt from Bfads where I get the ads early. Make sure to bookmark them for next year! The tshirt was only $10 including shipping and all proceeds went to charity. I put it on anxiously awaiting time to go faster. I was growing tired awake all by myself. There wasn’t anyone online anymore I am guessing they were already out shopping or in a turkey coma.
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It was pouring down raining outside not that the weather is ever nice on Black Friday. Last year it snowed and we froze in line. The year before I believe it was there was freezing rain and my sister and I almost got side swiped by a mac truck. But pouring rain and standing in line didn’t sound like fun especially since I didn’t need one of the must have’s you better be one of the first so many people in line to get. So I started waking Chris up at 3am. He was a bit pissy this year about it as many stores were opening earlier than ever and that meant earlier for him.
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We arrived at Target, my first stop, at 3:55 am. The line wrapped all the way around the back of the store. I got out of the truck and walked to the back of the line. A nice older gentleman offered to share his umbrella with me. We talked until it was our turn to enter the store where we wished each other good luck. There were no carts left so I started going around adding things in my arms. There got to be a point where I couldn’t carry anymore so I stacked it all up on the ground and started pushing it around the isles. I pushed until I reached the line for the cash register.
I was in and out of Target in 20 minutes. Chris never thought it would be that short. He parked in Home Depot parking lot as Target was over full. It didn’t take much time for him to arrive and pick me up. We went onto our next destination.
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My next stop was Walmart. I was a bit put off by their idea to put most items on sale starting at 12:01 am and the electronics at 5:00 am. I was expecting the earlier items to not be available and was worried that I was arriving right before the electronic madness. I have done Walmart on Black Friday when they started before, it wasn’t pretty. To my surprise all the items I had went for were available ! There were no carts here either buy hubby saw one in parking lot and brought it to me, then retired back to the vehicle. As I am putting stuff in the cart my phone starts to vibrate. Was it Chris? Who else would it be? It said Mom on the screen. It was 5am what the hell! Apparently my cell phone called her from my coat pocket and I wasn’t answering her saying hello. She hung up and called back. I felt so bad for that! She worked so hard on Thanksgiving dinner and I woke her up at 5am!
I ran into my daughters friends mom. She was in line for 7 hours to get a ticket to get into another line to pay for the item. A $200 laptop. She said I should get out soon as she over heard they didn’t have enough laptops for as many tickets they handed out. I was done anyway and got in line.
As I was walking away from the cashier the lights went out. I am in Walmart, On Black Friday, and the Lights Went Out! Walmart. Black Friday. No Lights! For the first time on Black Friday I was worried. The crowds didn’t worry me. The people who wanted to fight over stuff didn’t worry me as I wouldn’t fight back it’s not worth it. But in Walmart, in the dark, on Black Friday worried me. I imagined people running for the doors with stuff they didn’t pay for. The lights came back on long enough for me to call Chris and get past the security guard checking receipts as you left the store (also new this year). He met me at the front of the store and there was no stampede that I had been made aware of. The lights were out in the parking lot as well as other stores in the area. I saw a transformer in the distance spark like fireworks. I was just thankful to be out of there.
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So all that excitement was enough for me and I went to Kohls. I putted around. I was in no rush but was getting low on my Black Friday spending money. I probably looked at every item in the store at least once. The line was only half of what it was when I first went in after at least an hour so I figured it was my time to go.
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We stopped in Sams Club for breakfast. They had coffee, juice, water, muffins and danishes. This year they hid it in the back of the store but we found it! Smell out the coffee. Smart they are for making you walk through the store cause you know people only went there for the free breakfast not to buy anything. I spend enough money there so I justified my stopping for nothing more than my freebie.
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Well that was my day of adventure. For a mom who’s only adventure is what to make for dinner most days I enjoyed it and can’t wait for next year! Who is going with me?
Family
Nov 28th
Most of my family knows about my blog, weather they read it is another story. Hubby’s family I have never told, except his sister knows cause she is on Facebook tho I don’t know that she reads it. We really don’t talk to his family all that much so it really isn’t an issue. But with my family knowing about it I try to keep them out of what I blog about. I figure anything I am about to post is only going to piss people off that I don’t talk to anyway so no biggie. Just don’t tell my mother about it, I am not allowed to mention her on the internet remember?
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I’ve struggled over the years with my parents. I didn’t see my father that much especially once he moved to Florida when I was a kid. I was told many things about him but I could never understand how others felt as I never saw that side of my dad. So I don’t know if I was being lied to to try and spite him or if I just never saw it. I remember my dad well and wished I had spent more time with him before he passed away. I blamed him for not allowing anyone to tell me when he was sick so that I could spend time with him. I blamed myself for not putting more of an effort into seeing him. But I am glad that I remember the good things about him. And while it was the most difficult thing I ever had to do I am glad I was there when he passed on.
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My mom, whom I love dearly, is difficult. She is very negative but the positive side of that is you always know where you stand with her and how she feels. She holds nothing back. She tends to think she is the only right one in how to live, behave, dress, you name it. I used to fight and scream at her on the phone. I used to hang up crying at the things she said. I had to learn to let go as it wasn’t good for me. It took many years to learn to accept that she won’t change all I can do is love her, she is my mother. There have been a few times where she has crossed the line with my kids and those times weren’t taken lightly. Sometimes I didn’t talk to her for months. We definitely have a better relationship now than we did years ago and I am thankful for that.
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My step father gave me a bit of a hard time growing up. Ok more than a bit, but I have let go of all that. He wasn’t very nice to me when I was a kid. I think he felt obligated to financially care for me and it pissed him off. I recall him wanting to adopt me when I was a child and I said no. I couldn’t do that to my dad. I think that upset him. I really don’t know. Once I had grown up and moved out of the house we have a much better relationship. I think it was also easier for me to treat him like he is my dad when my dad had passed on. He knew I needed a father and I am glad he can be that. I am very thankful to have him in my life.
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I have always wanted a big family. I had imagined myself having more than 3 children unfortunatly my husband didn’t share that idea. It’s a bit of a shame that neither of our family’s do family reunion or big holiday gathering things. If they do we don’t know about it. I tried for a few years having everyone over christmas eve. We invited my mom and step-dad, both of my sisters, my grandparents, Chris’s mom and step-dad and his step dads mother over a couple years in a row. I cooked, baked and was excited about having everyone together at once. One year I even made homemade ornaments for everyone. Unfortunately I think it became a contest between our sets of parents on who could buy more for the kids. Not what I wanted at all. I stopped having his parents over with mine.
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When I met hubby he didn’t speak to his parents. He was living with a friends family and is a long story that doesn’t need told. He wound up calling and telling his mom and step-dad about us. I met them at some point and they were very nice. Hubby decided to go to the military and I got together with his parents while he was away. We had a good relationship over the years. They always wanted to see the kids and spend time with them when they were younger. They used to take them for a week in the summer to give us a break. Something happened somewhere and it seemed to have slowly started after our 3rd child was born. They have always treated her differently. She was too young to go places with them, she was too much of a pain to have overnight. They would make promises that she was next for a sleepover but that next time didn’t come. I tried to stay positive about it mostly because it was a sore spot for hubby. He never wanted to talk about it. The gifts for my oldest became more expensive and the most lavish while the other two, well, didn’t seem thought of much. Honestly I think they cling more to my oldest because they think she needs “saved”. I really am shocked after them pushing bible school on my kids for their week vacation at their house that my youngest decided to this year to be baptized catholic. She hated bible school. They would tell us that she couldn’t spend the week with them if she didn’t go and she was pissed. I think she needed to make that decision, not it be forced on her. I do think it is good for her though and supported her decision to do that. Even more wild she wanted my in-laws to be one of her god parents and sponsor. I hope she didn’t choose it in hopes to be closer to them. If she did I don’t think it worked once the ceremony was over.
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Hubby has spoken to his father off and on over the years. His step mother is a bitch. Plain and simple. I never liked her or the things she would say when we went to their house. We have barely spoken to them over the years which seemed to stem from something so trivial as a baby shower. My mother threw me a baby shower for my first daughter. Step-mom wasn’t invited. She didn’t want the tension between her and hubby’s mom. She apparently was pissed and said she had a gift for the baby but since she wasn’t invited we weren’t getting it. We made attempts anyway to keep them in our lives but we talked to them less and less. I think it’s sad that his father had to sneak out to see us so she wouldn’t know and it’s sad he didn’t stand up to her for his son. My kids barely know him. I found his sister on Facebook and have talked to her and we managed a few get together’s since. Of coarse his wife couldn’t know about it except the few times my husband went to his house. Other than bringing my kids to his sisters birthday outing at Dave and Busters he hasn’t seen them nor has invited us all over just hubby. Sadly we never felt a part of the family on that side. Hubby felt more like that side of the family so I know it hurts him.
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Can a relationship be healed after all these years? I know it can as I have done it with my own family. However it takes both sides willing to work on it for it to happen. It’s not perfect but it’s not gone. If you have the chance, try. I wish I had more time with my father before he passed on. I wish my kids knew him better than they did. My kids are growing up fast. Two are teens and it’s sad they didn’t have all their relatives in their lives. People who are alive and well.
I think part of my healing process is dealing with all this. As you get older you wish there were things you could change but more so you start to hope it’s not too late. Anything could happen, anyone could go just like that. For me being with family is more important than your job, your clean house, anything.
My next goal for my family is to try and have a relationship with my fathers family that still lives in Florida. I am happy I found so many of them on Facebook I just don’t know how to reach out to them and begin a relationship with them outside of Facebook.
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Take all of our experiences and turn that into us as parents. Were not perfect, no one is. However we have used that all into how we raise our kids. Spending time with them has always come first, at least for me. They are my world. I want my kids to talk to me, I want them to be able to have love and compassion for people, I want them to enjoy life. I think I have given that to them and hope that they appreciate that. I hope that I am always close with them no matter our differences.
All in one
Nov 24th
I have been busy. Probably not really the busy your thinking. Sure I have had busy days such as shopping Saturday for myself for once and grocery shopping Sunday. I have been busy being a worn down, pissed off, PITA. Re-doing the living room is wearing on me. It has been torn apart for about two weeks now and it’s barley been touched since we started. We have the TV, love seat and a chair left in that room kinda squashed in the middle so we could work around it. The dining room is full of what was in the dining room and what used to be in the living room. It’s just not getting done and new furniture is going to be delivered early December. I am getting pissed. Things I can’t even talk about online are going on and I am just tired of life getting screwed up. I am tired of not being able to talk about it. I am tired of feeling like “This is my life and it won’t ever get better.”
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One of the problems we did run into is the wiring after pulling the paneling off. Check this beautiful work out………
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I was going up this hill one day last week and it was a beautiful yellow. The tree’s, sidewalks, everything was a blanket of yellow. I wish I had taken a picture that day but didn’t get my camera out in time. I figured the next day it would still be there. Of coarse that night we had a wind storm that took most of the fall leaves off the tree’s. It was still yellow, just no where near as much as the day before. Use your imagination to add more to the picture….
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I didn’t know cats and dogs could get along so well until we put our two together. We have had the cat since he was a kitten and the dog we got this year. They are around the same age, about 15 months old. You should see them play with each other. At first we thought they were hurting each other but they roll all over the floor every morning. Here you can see them sharing a food bowl.
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I went to Light Up Night in Downtown Pittsburgh last Friday.
It was crowded. So crowded you couldn’t really do anything. You could barely walk around.
I managed to get a pic of the tree at the ice rink.
I called some guy an asshole. I apologize to all the children that had to hear me. He still was an asshole.
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I haven’t gone down to see the holiday windows in many years and it was Kaufman’s then. I remember the displays being of Christmas nature. I have some pictures on my phone but am unsuccessful at the moment emailing them to myself to show you. Someone put alot of work into them, they are paper scenes. They are not Christmas or holiday themed at all! Was a huge disappointment.
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There was a shooting right as we were leaving. Police cars just started pouring into town. I knew something had to have happened but didn’t know what until later that night at home. I don’t think I will be taking my children down there for an evening event again. It’s just not worth it. All we did was try to get through the crowd. That’s it. My mom wasn’t thrilled to hear I called some guy an asshole. She warned me that I could get shot.
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We walked to Station Square where we watched fireworks.
Pittsburgh Pix
Nov 16th
I am going to start a new installment of Pittsburgh Pics on my blog where I will share pictures taken from all over Pittsburgh.
Hope you enjoy!
This picture is of the Hot Metal Bridge Bike Path
Beginning Stages of Living Room
Nov 15th
Who thought that installing panelling was a good idea? I want to know who! Any that I have ever seen it’s ugly and looks cheap. The guy who owned our house prior must have thought panelling was the best thing since sliced bread cause my house is full of it. My living room, dining room, laundry room, one wall in computer room, and hallway off computer room. And it’s not just that he put panelling on the walls, that would be too simple. He installed customized cupboards with panelling and bi-fold doors that any hoarder would love. It sure made my hoarding worse I had places to hide things!
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So here we are keeping the lovely wall of shelves. I kept way too much on them before and did weed out alot of what was there. The shelves you see here are freshly painted in Plateau color. It’s a light creamy tan-ish color. The shelves were the dark brown you see in the shelves at the bottom. Those shelves are either going to be drywalled over or turned into cupboards. We haven’t decided yet.
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So the other side of the room we tore the panelling off. The left side shelving is being torn out and will be closed off and used to re-route heating ducts. The right side shelving is being torn out and made into a closet. With a real door and door knob LOL
The bad news is behind that glass area is a fireplace. The carpet in front of it when pulled back revealed concrete. The means no hard wood floor for me. We just don’t have the time to break the concrete up to make it level first so the room will be carpeted later.
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My dog apparently does not like the drill. She would not stop barking at it. She kept getting closer and closer to his hands. Major distraction! She needs to be kept out of the room when we are working.
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My dining room looks like an episode of hoarders with the stuff that belongs in the dining room on top of most of what was in the living room and the paint and drywall material. It’s a good thing we aren’t having thanksgiving dinner at my house this year!
