Deal of the Day

If you don't know this about me, this won't surprise you I'm sure...yep...I'm a Black Friday shopper. It's a long running tradition for my mom and I for at least 12 years, maybe longer. I must say, we've perfected the day over time. This year was another success: early mornings, good deals, and great fun. Even with a nasty stomach virus that infected the Shad Shack the day before. Yep, I was a little wimpy, but I still went shopping for 20 hours! I'll take a phrase from my dear friend, Rachael Ray and road map this year's day out for you: 3am: Tanger; 5am: grab breakfast and head up the road; 6am: arrive at NorthPoint mall; 4pm: leave mall and hit surrounding stores (Crate and Barrel, Micheal's, Toys-R-Us,Target, Ann Taylor, sports shops..can't be too specific due to nosy readers); 10pm: head for home; 11pm: unload, divide bags, and CRASH!! This is serious stuff I'm talking about here. We ate snacks but never even stopped for lunch (not to mention I probably would've lost mine anyway). Mom and I noticed this year how as the gift list changes, so does the plan for the day. While we used to spend a majority of the day at the mall, we found the need to leave and get gifts at Toys-R-Us and such this year. It doesn't matter the store- it's still a blast.

You need to know about our annual deal of the day. Each year, we pick one item purchased between the two of us that will be our talked about deal of the day. It's the highlight and we usually know it the moment we check out. This year's deal was found at a department store (again, I can't be too specific). We were looking for a pair of dress pants for a special someone, when my mom found a pair on the clearance rack. In all actuality, we needed two pair, but we first found the one pair. Mom headed to get in line while I searched for the second pair (time is of the essence on Black Friday). I saw her checking out, but still continued my search. She called over all the crowds, "You better find another pair!" "I'm looking," I called, knowing that they retailed for $60, thinking the great deal was the $18 clearance price tag. "No, really!" she said. I didn't find the second pair but at least we got one pair for the astounding price of............are you ready?..............a penny. That's right! One cent!!!! Those pants that were originally $60 were just one red cent, literally. How, you ask? We have no idea. Don't ask questions when you see your deal of the day. The girl ringing them up even said so. Just thank the cashier nicely, walk away, and then post it on your blog!

So there you have it, ladies and gentleman. And if you're the lucky person who receives the 2008 Deal of the Day, you'll certainly know it when you open the gift at Christmas! I just gotta know- is there anyone out there that got a better deal than that on Friday?