***DU it. Give it Up! Post your BLACK FRIDAY PURCHASES Right Here in this Handy Thread!!!***stars.

[Baitball Blogger]

188. We go to a factory mall each year where the world is as it will be in 50 years.

A mix of all races and cultures. Makes me feel like home. This year I had to drive because hubby is injured and taking pain medicine, so how mom was going to tackle the parking on a day where there are ten cars per parking lot was the first test. Frantic, frantic, frantic. After five minutes, the strategy was to stay in a parking line and wait for someone to come out. After five more minutes of waiting it was frantic, frantic frantic.

So I see someone's light at the end of the line of parked cars go on and I race to put my blinker on. But this person goes no where for another few minutes. The conversation in the car goes dire. "You should have stayed and waited, look, behind us someone is backing out." So I stand my ground because the person in the car still has her rear lights on. While we're still waiting two cars down from her a family arrives and begins to load the car with packages. The mother looks at me apologetically as she takes down a baby crib that's built like a transformer.

Then, the car that was waiting forever begins to back out, straight out, and from there, begins a seven point turn to drive the car away from us.

We finally park to the tune, of "Next year mom isn't going to drive. Dad, you're not allowed to get injured again."

It was a great experience, except that we saw vestiges of what life will be like during the Apocalypse. My husband had a chance to order the last three slices of pieces at Sbarros, and when the lady put them up on the counter, some woman came up from the back and said, "I was waiting for those" and took them and quickly paid for them. My husband was not quick enough to figure out he got bested. What can I say. He's on medication. But the same thing happened to me at Starbucks. I wanted a coffee to make sure I would be alert driving back. The woman behind me jumped the line and grabbed someone else's drink. The system is that imperfect.

Best gift ever: I think I bought a knock off Sketcher Topsider, that was sold at real Sketcher prices, but it was too adorable to pass up. They're black with side panel in black and white houndstooth. Also, white soles. It's a x-mas gift, and, since we're on a budget, I got to decide if I wanted it because once we hit our limit, we're done. The good news was that hubby encouraged me to get the real brown knock-off that was sold as a knock-off for 25 dollars. They make great dog walking shows, except I don't like to wear the expensive ones because they wear down too quickly.