Shop Til You Drop

I'm exhausted and it's only 9 PM. As always, my Mom and I got up at an
obscenely early hour for our annual Christmas shopping extravaganza. We
decided to stay in town for the kickoff, which was at 5:30 AM, and then
go on to Columbia after that for the main part of the day. Otherwise
we'd have to get up at like 2, and then, really, what's the point of
going to bed at all.

We made our first purchase by 5:34 and then went on to our second
planned stop in Florence, which was Sears. Mom was really enthused
about the $10 gift certificates they were giving away, so we stood out
in the cold for 25 minutes so that we might be one of the first 200
people. At 6 AM, they opened the doors and that is when we found out
they were only giving the cards away at the jewelry counter, which was
not near our entrance. All four entrances, in fact, had hordes of
people waiting a long time, so it is a small miracle that no tear gas
was required for the mess that ensued. I got my gift certificate card,
but let's just say that it could have been a little more
well-organized.

After that we charged on to Columbia, where we spent the next 8 hours or
so chasing bargains. I got a few presents for others, a ton of ideas
for what to get Mom, and, despite all promises I'd made to myself, a few
things for myself. I got 7 used CDs for less than $30. Some of these
will replace some tapes that I dearly loved but no longer listen to
because they are...tapes. Some I've never heard. Never fear: reviews
are forthcoming.

A one day sale in an empty Dillards had, amazingly, sale items from
Target. I got an adorable notepad, some matching post-it notes, and a
cute little notebook for $4.

We left the house at 5:10 AM and did not arrive back home till close to
6 PM. It was a long day. So, I'm gonna be a wimp now and go to
sleep...