Saturday, November 27, 2010

Eating and Shopping

Hello!! Are you are still in turkey-induced resting mode, or are you coming down from a Black Friday shopping high? Or perhaps a little of both? :o)

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. My Aunt and Uncle didn't come down because Aunt got sick and didn't want to make the rest of us sick. We missed them but the huge turkey she gave us was already thawing and it needed to be cooked! 22 pounds of lovely turkey went in the oven and between the seven of us, we didn't even finish half of a breast. Talk about leftovers!! the other breast went into the freezer for future meals, and then I picked over the rest of the turkey for pot pies this week.

Andrew and I make such a great team in the kitchen-- he helped me peel potatoes from our garden and we made sure to cook extra potatoes for breakfast later this week, and also made sure there would be leftover mashed potatoes for a shepard's pie as well. When we chopped carrots; he peeled, I chopped; we cooked extra for the pot pies. Then we danced around the turkey as he made gravy from the drippings and I sliced up the meat for our meal. We couldn't have planned it better, there were hardly any leftovers except for what we wanted and we also didn't over stuff ourselves and become miserable for the rest of the night.

I confess, I love Black Friday. I grew up going through the sales papers on Thanksgiving with my mom and sister, hunting for the best bargains and waking early on Friday to hit the stores. I dragged Andrew with me the first year we lived together and it was his first time shopping on Black Friday-- his mom never participated in that event. Andrew went with me a couple times after that, then quit when one year, we waited in line for hours and people were rude and loud and he told me that he had better things to do with his time than to deal with crazy people! I stopped for awhile, too, since we had everything we needed at the time, and then we had no money to shop either.

Ironically, that first time I took Andrew with me to shop on Black Friday, it was for a sewing machine. It was the only thing I wanted that day, so we got up at 4:30 am and made it to the store by 5 am when the doors opened. I got my sewing machine and all was good. This year, that sewing machine finally called it quits on me, and I need a new sewing machine. Lo and behold, Walmart has a sewing machine for $50 and the sale starts at midnight.

I like the midnight start time. That means I don't have to wake up the kids and drag 'em with me and then worry about them the whole time I'm there, making sure they're safe with me and they don't get lost in the crowds. We did this last year, because Andrew had to work, and it was a nightmare making sure the kids were safe, dealing with the pushy people, long lines, and hungry/tired/cranky kids who just want to go back to bed. Midnight shopping means I can leave the kids asleep in their beds, leave the husband to keep our bed warm, and Mom and I are free to shop.

I got my sewing machine! We got there around 11 pm and I'm glad we did, they did something different this year and let people shop for those sale items, but not pay until after 12:01 am for the sale prices. I made a beeline for the sewing machine and already the pallet was half-gone by then. We picked up a few more things and we were done by 12:15 am. Lucky us, someone directed us to the jewelry counter to pay so we bypassed the long lines and we were out the door by 12:30 am. It was a good night and I'm glad the crowds weren't so bad. Maybe they were all still in a good mood from good eatin'.

Now I can finish my advent calendar and sew the tree and pockets on the backing . We are in the middle of putting up the tree and decorations, and then after the kids go to bed, I'll start sewing with my new machine! It's not a fancy machine, but then, that first sewing machine I bought on Black Friday 13 years ago wasn't either and it lasted me this long. Here's to another 13 years or more with this one.

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5 comments:

Sugar said...

This year we did not have turkey! Instead, we enjoyed a delicious beef brisket. And never have we indulged in Black Friday. Instead an afternoon spent at a museum checking out art was our fun thing.
Reading your blog...who taught you to sew? Do you sell your crafts?

jenny said...

Sugar-- Mmmm! Beef brisket! We debated having meatloaf in place of turkey when I found out my Aunt was sick, but as I said, I had it out since Monday and it was already thawing, and I have a 2nd turkey still in the freezer.. so a raincheck on turkey dinner with the aunt and uncle and we went ahead at ate this one.

I had home ec. classes when I was in 7th and 8th grade, then Mom showed me some on her sewing machine and then gave it to me when I was 16. I picked it up pretty well, and just went on from there. In high school, I took sewing class and the teacher said I was too advanced for her class, but they didn't have advanced sewing, so she let me work on individual projects. I would sew more, but with the kids... I squeeze in sewing when I can.

I sell some things now and then.. anything you're interested in?

Sugar said...

Oh nothing for me at this time..but got to wondering why you didn't have an Etsy site to sell your crafts, but then I keep forgetting that with 4 young children, it would be a little hard to craft & manage an Etsy shop. I have older kids, but funny they still keep me busy! And I brought a new Brother sewing machine (beginner sew) thinking I would have time! :) Go figure! :)

finlake said...

What sewing machine you got?

we did black friday shopping, and it was the first time for myself. we got a washer and dryer for a grand instead of two grands. however, about a day later or so, things kinda gone awry plus another better deal came up, so we dropped the one we were "supposed" to get last friday and got a cheaper and better deal the next day, as in WHITE Saturday!

jenny said...

Sugar-- I do have an etsy site, just nothing in there right now. Last winter I sold some fleece puzzles and bibs and burpcloths I made, jams and a few other items. I haven't been able to do much crafting for sale items this year. Seems like time just gets away from me lately. I try to sew after the kids go to bed, but I have so many irons in the fire that I can't always sew. :o) I hope I'll be able to sew during the day when Peter gets older and learns not to play with all my sewing stuff while I sew. Wait and see...

Finlake-- Yes, Black Friday isn't always cheapest, but there ARE goos deals to be found if you know where to look! Glad you found good prices on the washing machine and dryer! The sewing machine is a Brother.. plain and simple. I'd love one of those fancier ones, but my budget just doesn't allow for it. I probably wouldn't know what to do with all those fancy stitches on the fancy machine, though! LOL