Thanksgiving is over for this year and we have all suffered and even struggled through Black Friday, the Christmas decorations are coming out and most likely already in their respective places.
I always say that I'm not going to participate in Black Friday, not going to do it, you aren't going to catch me in a store! No way, no how, don't even ask because it ain't gonna happen. Then every year Cindy tricks me into going somewhere that involves a Black Friday sale...Yes folks she did it again this year.
She is getting pretty good at this, last year I once again thought we were going to Walgreens to pick up prescriptions and the next thing I knew I was standing in a line so long that you couldn't even see the registers holding an arm full of stuff that I didn't know we needed...but "Jimmy just look at these prices!" Hell I was still wondering how I got there.
This year on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Cindy and her dad were going through the grocery store ads, talking about things that we needed, you know things like food, milk, Cindy's Shasta cola, because now she does have a full 12 pack of damaged cans and it is time to restock.
After lunch every day Ray takes a nap, and after all the grocery store talk Cindy says to me. Hey Jimmy, I need to pick up a few things at the store, you want to ride along with me?...innocent enough of a question don't you think.
Next thing I know, we are pulling into the crowded parking lot of a store with Black Friday Sale proudly posted on the doors, I only need to go inside "just for a minute", Cindy explains. Because evidently she has a 10 dollar coupon that expires at 1pm and we just can't let a coupon go to waste.
The plan was to find a 10 dollar item, check out with the coupon before it expires, and be on our way. She even went so far as to tell me. It's not like I'm buying it, I'll be using my coupon so really it'll be like I'm getting it free. "It" would be the unknown 10 dollar item that she was going to find. I can now see that "It" was the coupon, and the coupon was this year's ploy to get me inside a Black Friday sale, and I again fell for it... yes it happened "again".
We didn't get a shopping cart when we first came in because "I'm only getting one thing" One thing turned into two sets of bedsheets, a new pillow, a pair of pajamas, and several other items that I honestly don't remember what she added to the armload of stuff that I didn't know we needed.
Cindy tells me. Just look at these prices Jimmy! You can't find bedsheets for this price. I reply but Cindy we have bedsheets, it's not like we need them! She shoves a partially opened package towards me and proudly states. I say we need them and I like them, just feel how soft these are. I agree they are soft. I mistakenly say. She lays the package on top of my ever increasing armload of stuff that I didn't even know we needed, and adds a second one. I just have to get two at this price!
The next thing I knew I was standing in a line so long that you couldn't even see the registers, still holding an arm full of stuff that I didn't know we needed. We really should have gotten a shopping cart Cindy! It's too bad that you didn't find a ten dollar item over in jewelry so we could have only gone there and left. I say to her, and just like that she walks away.
I have an idea! Cindy says as she is looking through a line of watches marked "Prices lowered, Today only" she holds one up. What do you think of this one? It's nice I say, and she turns and plops it down on the counter. Will that be all? The clerk asks Cindy. to which she points to me and replies, My husband has all of that stuff, can you check that out too? Sure thing the clerk tells her.
Cindy says to me, For nineteen bucks, you are getting a watch for Christmas and you don't even have to stand in that line. Remember to give her your coupon I say.
So for about one hundred and thirty bucks we supposedly saved two hundred and two dollars, Cindy used her coupon, I'm getting a watch for Christmas. Cindy told me. Now remember, you never saw this watch before, OK, and we never made it to a grocery store...I'm thinking that actually going to the grocery store was never part of the plan.
I always say that I'm not going to participate in Black Friday, not going to do it, you aren't going to catch me in a store! No way, no how, don't even ask because it ain't gonna happen. Then every year Cindy tricks me into going somewhere that involves a Black Friday sale...Yes folks she did it again this year.
She is getting pretty good at this, last year I once again thought we were going to Walgreens to pick up prescriptions and the next thing I knew I was standing in a line so long that you couldn't even see the registers holding an arm full of stuff that I didn't know we needed...but "Jimmy just look at these prices!" Hell I was still wondering how I got there.
This year on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Cindy and her dad were going through the grocery store ads, talking about things that we needed, you know things like food, milk, Cindy's Shasta cola, because now she does have a full 12 pack of damaged cans and it is time to restock.
After lunch every day Ray takes a nap, and after all the grocery store talk Cindy says to me. Hey Jimmy, I need to pick up a few things at the store, you want to ride along with me?...innocent enough of a question don't you think.
Next thing I know, we are pulling into the crowded parking lot of a store with Black Friday Sale proudly posted on the doors, I only need to go inside "just for a minute", Cindy explains. Because evidently she has a 10 dollar coupon that expires at 1pm and we just can't let a coupon go to waste.
The plan was to find a 10 dollar item, check out with the coupon before it expires, and be on our way. She even went so far as to tell me. It's not like I'm buying it, I'll be using my coupon so really it'll be like I'm getting it free. "It" would be the unknown 10 dollar item that she was going to find. I can now see that "It" was the coupon, and the coupon was this year's ploy to get me inside a Black Friday sale, and I again fell for it... yes it happened "again".
We didn't get a shopping cart when we first came in because "I'm only getting one thing" One thing turned into two sets of bedsheets, a new pillow, a pair of pajamas, and several other items that I honestly don't remember what she added to the armload of stuff that I didn't know we needed.
Cindy tells me. Just look at these prices Jimmy! You can't find bedsheets for this price. I reply but Cindy we have bedsheets, it's not like we need them! She shoves a partially opened package towards me and proudly states. I say we need them and I like them, just feel how soft these are. I agree they are soft. I mistakenly say. She lays the package on top of my ever increasing armload of stuff that I didn't even know we needed, and adds a second one. I just have to get two at this price!
The next thing I knew I was standing in a line so long that you couldn't even see the registers, still holding an arm full of stuff that I didn't know we needed. We really should have gotten a shopping cart Cindy! It's too bad that you didn't find a ten dollar item over in jewelry so we could have only gone there and left. I say to her, and just like that she walks away.
I have an idea! Cindy says as she is looking through a line of watches marked "Prices lowered, Today only" she holds one up. What do you think of this one? It's nice I say, and she turns and plops it down on the counter. Will that be all? The clerk asks Cindy. to which she points to me and replies, My husband has all of that stuff, can you check that out too? Sure thing the clerk tells her.
Cindy says to me, For nineteen bucks, you are getting a watch for Christmas and you don't even have to stand in that line. Remember to give her your coupon I say.
So for about one hundred and thirty bucks we supposedly saved two hundred and two dollars, Cindy used her coupon, I'm getting a watch for Christmas. Cindy told me. Now remember, you never saw this watch before, OK, and we never made it to a grocery store...I'm thinking that actually going to the grocery store was never part of the plan.
Fooled once again. You know she's going to do this again next year. I know you know that.
ReplyDeleteYou're getting a watch for Christmas, but you're not supposed to know that.
I linked this post to Silly Sunday, because I laughed all the way through this.
Have a fabulous day, Jimmy. ☺
Hey Sandee, You are right, she will trick me again, I'd just like to see it coming before it's too late, at least once ha ha.
DeleteThank you for linking my post I am very happy you enjoyed it.
You two are hilarious together and the photo at the top of right hand column perfectly matches your personalities as you re-create them here in Blogland. I love your writing style. You definitely know how to pace humor.
ReplyDeleteCould I ask you a technical question without it sound like it's a criticism? I'm truly just curious. Why don't you ever put dialog in quotations marks? I often use a ' when I should be using a " because I have trouble typing the upper cases sometimes and I'm wondering if you have a similar reason for skipping protocol.
Thank you Jean, I like that picture also, that was a fun day for us when that one was taken.
DeleteTo be honest with you Jean I really haven't thought about it, there is no particular reason that I skip using the quotation marks sometimes and use them others, I suppose that it would be easier to understand if I do use them more. No criticism taken Jean, I am always open for suggestions and never take offense for honest suggestions.
And this time Lucy will hold the ball for Charlie Brown to kick it.
ReplyDeleteIt's a tradition...I love it!
Exactly Joe! That is how it works, I have a feeling next year she will again be holding the ball on Black Friday.
DeleteLet's face it, a man's mind is no match for that of a woman. We evolved by tricking you into taking care of us.
ReplyDeleteVal I am slowly beginning to realize that.
DeleteYou two just have too much fun outwitting each other.
ReplyDeleteWait, maybe that's just Cindy :)
But you did get out of the long line up. It takes a smart woman to do that.
Yes Jenny it is Cindy doing most of the outwitting, I was so happy to get out of that line she probably could have picked up a few more things ;-)
DeleteAdmit it, she's smarter (or trickier) than you are!!
ReplyDeleteFran I have to admit that she is a smart woman.
DeleteSo really she just wants a pack horse for Black Friday shopping? Buy her one of these pull it behind you carts next Black Friday and then from then on just hand it to her and wave her off. (Unless of course you secretly love being bamboozled into going lol)
ReplyDeleteDelores if I were to buy her a pull behind cart I have a feeling that I'd be going along to pull it for her. Next time I probable should go ahead and grab a shopping cart and make it easier on this old pack horse.
Delete(I do enjoy spending time with her though.)
I am thinking you were right. Groceries are today's plan...
ReplyDeleteEC groceries are a possibility today ha ha.
DeleteI do all the BF crap online, only 3 items though. Some people go crazy with it
ReplyDeleteThey do make it so easy to get carried away buying things, congratulations to only buying 3 items Adam.
DeleteYou love your wife, that's why you go along each year.
ReplyDeleteInger you are so right, that has to be the reason I go along with her every time.
DeleteI got roped into going to Lowes for "just one little thing." Let's just say you and I spent about the same amount.
ReplyDeleteBijoux, It looks like you and I should have swapped places, you would have found more interest shopping with Cindy and I know that I would have liked being at Lowes a whole lot better.
DeleteOn Black Friday, we went for a walk downtown, had lunch at a coffee shop that's owned by some of my friends, and then I stopped in Tuesday Morning (a store) and got some Belgian chocolate and German honey. No lines, phew.
ReplyDeleteCindy always outsmarts you! :-)
It sounds like you had a very nice Black Friday, a very relaxing day indeed.
DeleteYes she does and I am afraid will continue to do so ;)
I've never done Black Friday. But I know a lady who does quite bit of her Christmas shopping at wal-greens and she finds the coolest stuff.
ReplyDeleteI did go out and got some gifts on small business Saturday.
Hello Dora, Black Friday isn't really all it's cracked up to be in my opinion, you still have to watch the prices because some of the supposed good deals I have seen really wern't.
DeleteSmall Business Saturday is a good thing, the little guys need a little help against the Big guys once in a while.
You make me laugh, I never ever shop with my partner, in fact we live very separate lives, but hey it works for us. Well it has done for 31 years. And I do virtually all my shopping online so I avoid any queues, you should suggest it to Cindy. :D
ReplyDeleteHey Joey, Since you both have been making it work well for 31 years I say you have it figured out. I have suggested the online shopping to Cindy but she does love the thrill of being in the Black Friday crowd.
DeleteThese days I'm always working the day after Thanksgiving. Saves me from thinking about going out to shop. Good deals out there, but really I don't like lines, crowded stores, etc. Thankfully my list is so small these days it can be handled in less than an hour and does include the purchasing of gift cards :)
ReplyDeletebetty
Betty, Gift cards actually aren't a bad idea, it gets to a point to where if you need something you go and get it during the year rather than wait for Christmas, this is what makes gift cards a smart idea.
DeleteMy kids and grandkids use their gift cards in the after Christmas sales, so they get twice as much for the money.
DeleteI think the after Christmas sales are better deals than Black Friday, your family has the right idea River, more bang for their gift card buck that way.
DeleteStill giggling here. Jimmy, I adore your true tales. As for Black Friday, I wonder who it was decided to introduce it in the UK?! Is nothing sacred?
ReplyDeleteI am glad you got a giggle out of our Black Friday shopping experience, I'm not sure who decided to introduce it in the UK, probably the same ones who introduced it in the US, I suppose they want to share it with us all.
DeleteI really don't get those mad Black Friday sales or any other sale I suppose where people go nuts buying stuff they don't need just because it's cheaper. I've only once ever attended sales where the store was so packed with people checkout lines stretched around the entire department. That was when my favourite department store was closing down and by the last few days things were as much as 90% off. Of course there wasn't much left by then. Another time a store was closing the sales weren't quite as hectic, but I did go because I needed a new washing machine. I found the one I wanted, it was $250 off, but when they checked the only one left was the floor display model. I asked "does it work?" they said "yes, but it has a few marks and scratches from being on display", so I bought it and they knocked off a further $200. This month that machine is 20 years old and still works like new.
ReplyDeleteThose scratch and dent floor model appliances are definitely great deals River, most of the time the scratches or dents are not even noticed after you get them home. It looks like you got a really good deal on your washing machine.
DeleteYou are such an entertaining writer! You should have a weekly newspaper column.
ReplyDeleteThank you Liz, I appreciate you my friend.
DeleteI'm not the doorbustin' type, but my kids have made it an adventure in recent years. I do strangely enjoy people watching on Black Friday, but I rarely buy anything. Just know there are people there just to watch you and Cindy!
ReplyDeleteAbby I am sure we make entertaining shoppers ha ha. I'd rather join you watching people than fighting the crowds.
DeleteHa ha, like Joe, I was thinking Lucy and the football. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. This seems to work for you two.
ReplyDeleteI thought the comparison Joe made of Lucy with the football was really funny. I agree Patti, it obviously ain't broke because this has been going on for a number of years for us.
DeleteI never shop on Black Friday, but on this one I drove to my favorite art supply store because they were handing out swag bags to the first fifty people passing through their door. When I got there, I counted seventy-five people in line so I drove home.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you for not standing in line for the swag bags Stephen, not much point with that many people and only fifty bags available.
DeleteMy wife and I did the 2:00am opening Black Friday shopping thing once. It was at the local Best Buy, and I admit around 1:00am I was wondering how in the hell did my wife talk me into going out that late/early.
ReplyDeleteWhat's remarkable was how well the Best Buy staff managed the crowd. Especially when several people who had waited in their cars until the store opened tried to bust through the line and get inside.
They actually camp outside the Best Buy here in tents waiting for the sale to begin, you have to give it to the staff who controls the crowds like you mentioned the ones who tried to bust through the line. I have not been at any of the sales that early myself...so far.
Deleteshe snookered you! LOL
ReplyDeleteYes Mam, I think you are 100% correct. lol
DeleteIm telling ya,you two crack me up. I enjoy your adventure stories. Your a good sport and Cindy is lucky to have you. Otherwise she would have needed a buggy. Lol
ReplyDeleteLisa
Lisa, If she didn't have me then she would definitely be pushing a buggy, at least I have a purpose in life. lol
DeleteOMG - I need to hang out with Cindy because like her I can't hold on to a coupon that allows me to get anything for FREE. Giving the cashier the item, then sliding over that coupon making it cost nothing is like a naughty little secret. (lol) I passed on the crowd this year, and now I have no idea what I'm getting for the 4 people I'm supposed to get gifts for. Thanks for sharing another adventure! Hugs...RO
ReplyDeleteRO, I have a feeling you and Cindy would be like two peas in a pod, coupons in hand and finding all the deals.
DeleteYou still have time to get something for the 4 people you are buying for, there is always Amazon if nothing else ;-)
I watched this year's movie "IT" and it was quite scary.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen that one, was probably as scary as Black Friday for some.
Deletehahaha poor you Jimmy haha
ReplyDeletei think Cindy is very interesting lady and very smart to drag you int the sale .
I laugh over your hate for going in such rushy sale places and i know it from my experience as my husband either does not like to be there ,best part about it is that either i always try to avoid being on such crowded sale markets yet i know how much ladies "feel " for slae place and go crazy for them .
I find the reason for buying bedsheets so "adorable" :)
I am glad that finally she was successful in using her coupon and got you a brand new watch !
obssession for such coupons exist here most ,sometimes ladies use them at even double cost but feel happy that thing came through the coupon lol
Yes Baili I agree that these types of sales you ladies seem to love more than us men, and those coupons are hard for me to keep up with, like you Cindy would be very happy just to use them, she tells me that she is "saving money by spending money" lol.
Delete