I attempted to shop on Black Friday only one time. We loaded in the car and headed north only to be stuck in a traffic jam on I-65 at least 2 miles from the exit we were planning to take for the outlet mall. It was pure pandemonium — there were cars stopped on the ramp. At first opportunity, we turned around and headed home without even getting out of the car. The following year, I gave a friend $50 to buy me a ‘black Friday’ TV and felt grateful. It helped her out and I got what I wanted. Win! Win!
This year, Wal-mart is obviously confused because their Black Friday is on Thursday… Thanksgiving. Not only do they fail to fall into the “closed on Thanksgiving so our employees can be with their families” list, but they also make it the busiest day of the year! That means they require just about every employee to work the holiday (and the day after for cleanup). It’s been said that in Seymour, Department Managers work noon to 9:00 PM on T’day (followed on Friday by their regular shift hours). If true, their family gathering options are limited to… ummmm… I guess they are screwed. Obviously, shoppers don’t care that Black Friday is on Thursday (a holiday), because Wal-mart’s ad is #1 in the most popular list.
I “get it” that restaurants, gas stations, and plenty of other businesses remain open on holidays, but I sure hope they do a better job at alternating shift requirements. And then, I think about my places of employment and realize that I’ve never, ever worked a Thanksgiving Day. That’s probably why I’m fat.
For today’s time capsule Tuesday, I’m sharing a photo that was taken ten loooooong years ago about this same time of year. Back when I was blonde (naturally, of course).
Obviously, I’m not a fan of change. It’s apparent in the photo I shared on Facebook today (#tbt) because my hair looks the same right this second as it did a whole bunch of years ago…
…the only difference is that in the above photo my hair color was real and now it’s probably Loving Care®.
To make up for sharing that, here’s something you might really find useful if you’re the proud owner of an iPhone — 15 things you didn’t know your phone could do. There were a couple items on the list I didn’t know, and I hope you find at least one useful thing there too.
Another birthday for me — and it was truly wonderful. The celebration started on Saturday… carried over into Sunday… and flowed right on over to the real birthday date — St. Patrick’s Day.
During my first cup of coffee this morning I opened up my new iPad Air (thanks, Perry!!) popped on Facebook and read my brother’s status post proclaiming he has the best sister in the whole world. With a smile on my face, I fixed a slice of toast and as I was carrying it to the office I saw a delivery truck pull into the driveway. I closed the office door with the dogs inside so the delivery guy didn’t leave with a missing limb — and when I came back, both dogs had peanut butter breath and my toast had disappeared! But I had a gorgeous flower arrangement! Sherry is that friend that you don’t get the chance to chat with often but it doesn’t really matter because she would still help you hide the body. And, she’d make the casket spray too. 😉
Not long afterward my BFF, Alisa, and her son, Patrick, showed up smelling like onions. I knew Alisa would bring some kind of food over for my birthday (she never forgets my special day and always brings goodies) but I guessed it would be ding dong cupcakes. No ding dong cupcakes for me this year! Nope… it was even better! I had homemade sliders, crack potatoes and criss-cross something-or-others that I can’t remember the exact name of. (Please don’t start thinking you’ll sneak over here to steal one for yourself… they are now ALL GONE.) It made my whole day to know that she would spend her morning cooking, and then drive to Seymour to deliver the goodies. It was even more awesome that Patrick came since it was his only day off from school/work.
Alisa and Patrick were barely out of sight when my favorite son called. Just the mention of Alisa’s cooking and he and Coco arrived in a flash and bellied-up to the table. Coco demanded a green carnation from Sherry’s flower arrangement and drank orange juice with her criss-cross thing (two things I wouldn’t dream of mixing together!!) that Alisa made. I’m pretty sure Perry and my entire family enjoyed my special day almost as much as I did.
And then my crazy phone took the day off. I missed an important call (no doubt a birthday wish) from Florida, one from a classmate, and another from my brother. My phone didn’t ring for any of the calls, and the “missed call” notices all came in at the same time — around 11:00 PM tonight even though all calls were placed during the day. Leave it up to a modern technology to screw stuff up. Still, I can’t wait until next year — just wish I could figure out how to do this birthday thing without actually getting older!
This year, Wal-mart is obviously confused because their Black Friday is on Thursday… Thanksgiving. Not only do they fail to fall into the “closed on Thanksgiving so our employees can be with their families” list, but they also make it the busiest day of the year! That means they require just about every employee to work the holiday (and the day after for cleanup). It’s been said that in Seymour, Department Managers work noon to 9:00 PM on T’day (followed on Friday by their regular shift hours). If true, their family gathering options are limited to… ummmm… I guess they are screwed. Obviously, shoppers don’t care that Black Friday is on Thursday (a holiday), because Wal-mart’s ad is #1 in the most popular list.
