Well, I survived "Black Friday". We were up at 3:30 yesterday morning. By the time we were ready and on the road, it was 5 instead of the planned 4 AM departure time. We got to Appleton, WI at around 7:30 and stopped at Home Depot first. They had a Rigid wet/dry vac on for $26, regularly over $60. I wanted to get one but we don't have anywhere to put it here. There was also a 4-pack of LED Husky flashlights for $20. There was a 5-pack of LED Husky flashlights in varying sizes (largest being the same size as a double-AA Maglite) for $7. There were also some good deals on 4 and 5-piece cordless tool sets from Milwaukee, Makita, etc. for ~$250 off their normal price. Next we went to Menards to pick up a foam alphabet mat for Teresa's niece. After that, we went to Toys 'R Us. THAT place was crazy. We went inside and looked around and saw that the line-up for checkout was halfway around the inside of the building. Needless to say, we didn't buy anything there. We walked from there over to the large mall that Appleton has. We walked around for way too long in there and bought nothing. The biggest reason was that nobody had any real great deals there. Once we left the mall, we went to Hooters for an appetizer and to rest from all the walking. Teresa got her nephew a t-shirt that says "Hooters wrecking crew" and a calendar for her boss that all the girls that work there signed. Hobby Lobby was next on our trip. Teresa bought a mosaic-style candle holder for her sister and a picture frame for her cousin. From there, we went to TJ Maxx, which is a store with major brand name items at a good discount. Teresa got some underwear for 75% of their retail price and I bought a pair of Union Bay cargo pants for $15 (retail price was $46). Our last stop of the day was Fleet Farm. Teresa got one nephew (the one with the Hooters shirt) a playmat so that he can use his Hot Wheels on it. She got her other nephew a Fisher Price car. Finally after being all done with that and driving, we got home around 9 or 9:30. I didn't have enough money to buy what I really wanted but the 2 things I really wanted to get were a Canon Rebel XT digital camera for $600 (regularly over $800) and a Nintendo Wii for $250.

Today is the day we're celebrating Thanksgiving with Teresa's family since her mom had to work on Thursday. The hospital that she works at was having free lunch so we went there and had some turkey, potatoes, vegetables and stuffing. I'm not sure what's on the menu today.

So that's my update. Until next time...