Black Friday Virgins

One cannot quite prepare for their first Black Friday experience, although I did try.  I did my research, and I asked lots of questions to those I would consider to be Black Friday Experts.  I figured it would be a piece of cake considering there were only a couple of things we wanted to get.

We finished Thanksgiving lunch about 2:00 PM, and I headed out to Best Buy.  The only place that had the item I wanted... needed... the item I'd already countless hours into trying to find.  My sister didn't want me to sit alone (because she's amazing and wonderful in every way) so she came with me.  She only intended to sit with me until someone came to relieve her.  Little did she know she'd end up riding Black Friday to the end!

We came well prepared for the most part.  We had lawn chairs, a blanket, our reusable shopping bags, our sack of Black Friday ads, and a camera.  What we didn't take we had brought to us.  We later learned those who bring you items while you are out are called your "Support".  Our support was amazing.  They provided us with extra blankets, gloves, hats, fuzzy socks, warm slippers, a game of "bags", hot chocolate, and pie!  Having good Support is essential in having a quality and successful Black Friday experience.  

So by 2:30 PM we were at Best Buy.  About 30 back in line.  Our list of items to purchase had grown as we received requests from those who found out we were in line.  Also, having that much spare time to go through the ads over and over gives you plenty of time to find more things you want to buy at such an incredible price.  We met a lot of people.  We asked a lot of questions from those who had frequented this particular Best Buy before.  We were set.

In the mean time, Josh was preparing to tackle Walmart.  He arrived there around 8 PM.  Rachel and I went to visit him (when we needed a restroom to use), and checked on how he was doing.  He was in position and ready to go.  My confidence that he would be successful was much greater than my confidence that he would be.  The way Walmart works is that you can stand by whatever item you want in the store.  You just have to wait until the time comes to grab it.  His hands were on the items we needed.  The entire store was a mad house.  I was happy to be camped out at Best Buy instead of being on Walmart duty.  (Have I mentioned lately how incredibly my man is?!?)

Back at Best Buy were were freezing cold.  People were driving by taking pictures and videos.  Some even stopped to talk to us.  Time was slowly ticking by as we waited for them to begin handing out vouchers for their big ticket items.  At 10:00 PM they lined everyone up in a single file line.  It was amazing how many people tried to sneak in the line who had just arrived.  Unfortunately for them we all knew who had been there because we'd all spent so much time together.  They were ridiculed out of line.  First they handed out ads and store maps.  Then came the vouchers.  The hot item to get was the 42" TV for $199.  There were only 18 of them, and every person from 1 - 18 got one.  One family had brought several kids with them to get one.  They were the second family in line so it didn't take long for those to go.  Fortunately, that isn't what we were there for.  

After the vouchers were handed out, time went a little quicker.  Josh had arrived from Walmart, and his trip had been a success!  He joined us in line, and so did our neighbor who we had gotten a voucher for.  At midnight the Best Buy staff started yelling and getting everyone all hyped up to go in!  They were great and very enthusiastic.  And just like that they started letting people in.  

They let in about 10 at a time, waited a few seconds for them to disperse, and then let the next group in.  I was prepared to run to the back of the store to get my item because I had been told by the manager there were only five of them.  So it was time... our turn.  We walked through the front doors, and just like that we were no longer Black Friday Virgins.  

We were official Black Friday shoppers!  I ran to the back of the store in my pink fuzzy slippers.  At first I didn't see the item I wanted and grabbed the alternative item I had chosen.  Then I saw it... the last one.  My heart stopped.  I had put so many hours into getting this.  I grabbed it immediately and put it in my reusable shopping bag.  I even got a little choked up.  For those of you who know me, you know that's how I am.  It doesn't take much to get me teary.  Every hour I'd spent searching, calling, driving, sitting outside, and freezing for had just became worth it!  It was such a rush!  Then in a matter of seconds someone walked up behind me looking for that same item.  I got it because I ran for it.  It was my day!


Losing your Black Friday virginity is a lot like losing your real virginity.  Anticipation, nervousness, excitement, and a flood of emotions after it's all said and done.  I just can't believe I waited so long to experience it!


Needless to say, I'm hooked.  Our trips were successful.  And we are so much wiser now.  Next year, I want to go big.  I envision matching sweat shirts, a team name, and a tent!  Our team will be scattered at different stores so that we can make the most of the experience and the money saving deals!  It will be amazing!  





 

Advent Calendar

After a nice Thanksgiving dinner surrounded by family and friends and our first Black Friday shopping experience (more on that later), I have finally had time to slow down and get some things done.  Last night we began putting up our Christmas decorations.  Currently, our house looks like a tornado hit it because we still haven't finished putting everything up, and boxes are everywhere.  

However, I did get a chance to complete my Advent Calendar project.  I wasn't willing to spend tons of money on a calendar I wasn't totally crazy about.  So I began brainstorming.  I looked through Pinterest.  And finally I just went to Hobby Lobby hoping something would jump out at me.  And this is the end result (with the various pictures of items used):

First, I found the small brown envelopes.  I decided random decoration would be best.  So I chose four different scrapbook papers, stickers, some some poinsettias that had brads (so they were easy to put on), and some ribbon.  Seemed easy enough!  Then I found some tiny clothespins that came 24 to a pack, which was the perfect amount!  I knew this was going to hang under the opening that looks from the window to the living room so I needed something to put all of this on.  I chose the gold rope because it didn't stretch.  I didn't want something that was going to stretch when I hung stuff on it.


When I got home I divided up the envelopes by which ones would get stickers, paper, poinsettias, etc.  Then I started putting them together with whatever struck me as a good idea at that moment.  I laid them out in the order I wanted to hang them in and put tiny numbers on the back so I would know what day they were for and what order they went in.  I did debate putting numbers on the front (as most Advent Calendars have numbers on the front), but I decided against it.


Next, I hung up my rope and tied the ribbon on randomly.  Then I filled it in with the envelopes.  I'm really happy with the way it turned out!  I can't wait for the kids to pull look inside the envelope each day to find out what fun activity we will be doing to spend time as a family and prepare for the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

More Hair

My sweet girl, Lexie, has come to expect some type of "fancy" hair for every occasion now.  I'm not all that great at doing hair.  That's more my mom's department.  So when she came to me on Thanksgiving and asked what type of hairstyle I was going to give her for the day, it threw me for a loop.  I had nothing prepared.  I decided to go with something simple since I didn't have lots of time to do a hairstyle, and this is what we came up with!

I had seen a "knot" hairstyle on Pinterest that we had tried one night.  It took a long time, and I had yet to perfect it.  So I took that and simplified.

First, I parted off a little bit of hair in the front.  Then, I split it into two sections and tied it (like the first part of tying your shoes).  Next, I grabbed some more hair to add to each section and tied it again.  After that "knot" I put in a clear ponytail holder and called it good.  Her hair stayed great and she loved it.  The best part was it only took me about 3-5 minutes!

I think we'll do this one again.  Cute, easy, and a great alternative to the normal "half up and half down" that I do to keep the hair out of her face.

 

Living With a Third Grader

*WARNING - Parents, grandparents, and other family members may find this blog post troublesome.  Read at your own risk.*

"But your kids are in second grade."  Yes, you are correct.  And that would be a fair correction if that was who I was referencing.  But no, this post would be about the man I am CHOOSING to spend the rest of my life with.  Call me crazy... 

Early this afternoon Josh and I exchanged some texts deciding that we'd take a bubble bath together tonight.  It's been cold and rainy here so it sounded like the ideal way to get some alone time together since most of our cuddle time at night is interrupted by the most precious two year old in town.

Jump to tonight.  I tell Josh I'm going to get the bath ready.  Little Foot was asleep so all he had to do was get the big kids in front of a movie, and we were set.  After about ten minutes he joined me in the tub.  We got snuggled in the tub, and I was nice and relaxed enjoying the sound of the rain.  Perfection.

Or so I thought.  After about five minutes, Josh busts out laughing.  It's a laugh I know well.  One he only uses when there is a certain subject on his mind.  One that was entirely inappropriate for this situation.  But curiosity killed that cat, and well, "meow"... I had to ask.  "What are you laughing about?"  He just laughs harder.  I ask again, more sternly this time, "What are you laughing about?"  He just keep laughing.  In my mind, I confirm that my guess is correct, but again I pry.  "What is so funny?"  At this point, grown man transforms into a third grade boy and replies, "I was just thinking about how if I farted then the bubbles would hit you in the back."  

That should have been my clue to exit the tub.  But no.  Instead, I roll my eyes in the dark so only I know how irritated I am.  He continues to laugh.  I immediately decide this bath will take an entirely different route that the texts from earlier in the day indicated it might.  Finally his laughter subsides and we sit, once again in silence.  Just us and the rain.  


After about five more minutes, Third Grade Boy gets fidgety.  He begins to tap his fingers against the tub.  I begin to think how I was more excited to get felt up in the back seat of my boyfriend's parent's suburban in 7th grade than I am at this very moment.  I ask him if he's ready to get out since he seems bored.  He informs me he's relaxed and that if he was tapping his fingers because he was bored it would sound like this.  (insert really loud and annoying tapping noise)  Again, I roll my eyes.  The silence resumes.


Like most women, I can only sit in silence for so long without the inevitable occurring.  So against my better judgement, I say it.  "What are you thinking about?"  After all he is sitting in the bathtub with me having some much needed alone time.  Surely he's thinking how wonderful this moment is.  "I was thinking about times I could run without having to get up too early or stay up too late."  My second clue that exiting the tub is probably a good idea.  Yet, I stay.


I think to myself how it doesn't matter whether or not he figures out the times.  He isn't going to run.  But, I try to stay positive and we continue sitting in this bathtub together.  The conversation never getting more mature.  Never getting more meaningful.  Third Grade Boy never reappearing as the grown man that I could have sworn got in the tub.

We carry on with more meaningless conversation.  We shift around.  We discuss four feet deep bath tubs.  And other inappropriate comments about things going four feet deep.  We shift around some more.  He tells me he can feel my hairy legs on his legs.  I inform him that my legs aren't even near his legs.  I make a mental note that he's slightly delusional, but that I'll go ahead and shave tomorrow morning anyway.


Finally, the discussion of water birth comes up.  (That one was my fault.)  We agree how absolutely disgusting that would be.  We laugh.  We're having a good time.  After all, if you can't beat 'em, join em.  Or so I thought.  Water birth conversation comes to an end.  There is a silence.  But only for a moment because Third Grade Boy has another thought on the subject... "Well, it is kind of cool because they can swim around and stuff after they are born."


I get up and step out of the tub.  I realize this bath adventure will never turn itself around.  (Not to mention how misinformed Third Grade Boy is about water birth.)  While I dry off I realize that maybe it wasn't the time I envisioned this afternoon when we were sending texts back and forth like high school kids.  But it was our time.  It was a true representation of us.  

Maybe every night doesn't have a Hollywood ending.  But it ends with the one I love filling my life with memories that I'll never forget.  For that I am thankful... oh, and for the fact that he didn't hit me in the back with fart bubbles... I'm thankful for that too.

Are You "Pinterested" in Some Cute Hair?!?

Like most of my friends, my newest addiction has become Pinterest.  I've found so many wonderful things there so gradually I've begun trying them.  

First, I wanted to try curling Lexie's hair by twisting it up really tight.  I started by having her wash her hair.  I figured it would be easier to get tight if it was wet.  However, I was concerned about it not drying overnight before we took it down.  (More on that in a minute.)  So after washing it, I divided it into sections.  The tutorial I was using did four sections, but Lexie has long hair so I ended up with seven sections.  So with seven little pony tails in, I started one at a time.  I used pomade to help it hold while at the same time maintaining flexibility.  Then I began twisting really tightly.  As I twisted it automatically coiled itself so I just followed it's lead and put wrapped it around going closer to her head each time.  I then took a few bobby pins and secured the ends.  Here is what it looked like after I had finished her entire head.

 Of course, Hadlie wanted her hair done like "Shishy" so I repeated the same thing with her hair.  I only did four sections with her hair though.

 The end result was FANTASTIC!  My concern about Lexie's hair not drying was legitimate.  Her hair was still damp when we took it down.  (Next time I will partially dry her hair before doing it or use the dryer on it before taking it down.)  However, it stayed curly all day long.  I am absolutely sick over the fact that I didn't stop and take pictures before I sent her to school.  So I have nothing to show for her precious curly hair.  Needless to say, we'll be doing it again soon so I can have "before" and "after" pictures!

*Side Note:  Hadlie's hair fell out in her sleep.  I'll have to test out some things to see what might hold that fine baby hair in through the night.  Especially because she's a crazy sleeper!


The next hair style we wanted to try was making a heart out of the hair.  The idea we had seen was of two pony tails (doggy ears, pig tails, whatever you wanna call 'em) resulting in a heart on each side of the head.  We decided to go for the "mature eight year old" version.  And here is the end result.  Again, Hadlie wanted her's done as well once Lexie's was finished.  Hadlie's was harder to do because she has shorter hair.  However, had I not been in a rush to get Lexie to a birthday party on time, I could have gotten it up there nicely. 

 Here is Lexie's hair.  Please excuse the "fly aways".  Like I mentioned, we were in a hurry so this took me about 3-5 minutes each.  It did stay up perfectly for an ice skating party though!  


I used clear pony tail holders so they were not as obvious.  I made the first pony tail and pulled it apart where I did an upside down pull through.  I then divided the hair that I pulled through into two sections and twisted them as I shaped them into a heart.  I used another clear pony tail holder to gather it at the bottom.  Lexie's hair is quite long so we didn't pull the hair all the way through at the end because it would have left quite a bit hanging down.  We were very pleased with the outcome, and she got a lot of compliments!  We'll definitely be doing it again!

 I did Hadlie's the same way.  Her hair is short so I left it in a little pony tail at the bottom.  I will probably use some water and pomade next time to make them look a little "cleaner". 

All in all, I loved the two hair styles we tried.  I can't wait to do them again.  The best part is they were super easy!

Advent Activities

I've spent most of my day being completely and utterly unproductive.  In fact, I'm still in my pajamas.  However, I did manage to complete the list of activities we will be doing to celebrate this Advent season.  I've yet to decide how exactly we will be displaying our Advent Calendar this year, but with the help of Pinterest I have a ton of ideas so we will just have to see where that takes us.  I'll post pictures of our finished product later in the week, but for now I present... The Marick Family Advent Activities.

Have Hot Chocolate

Write a letter to Santa

Open your special ornament,

and hang it on the tree

Decorate the playroom 

Begin Reading

“The Best Christmas

Pageant Ever” 

Pick 3 toys to donate to CCA

Go visit Santa

Attend Jingle Bell Skate Night

Make Christmas Placemats 

Attend the

Flower Mound Christmas Parade 

Tell the Christmas Story using the Nativity Set

Sing Christmas Carols

Decorate your door like a present

Dress fancy for dinner

Wrap a gift for your teacher 

Family Christmas Movie Night

Decorate Gingerbread Houses

Indoor Snowball Fight! 

Read by the fire 

Long Distance Christmas Caroling

Sing “Away in a Manger” for

Nanny & Granddaddy

Look at Christmas Lights

Paint our nails Christmas colors

Make & Decorate Cookies for Santa

Unwrap your special

Christmas Pajamas

Read the story about the

birth of Jesus

I'd love to hear what you and your family will be doing to spend time together this Advent season while you prepare for the birthday celebration of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Recap

It's been a little over a week since I completed my second Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, and I'm finally taking a few moments to recap the amazing experience that it was!


My sister and I walk together.  We call ourselves The Mammary Clan.  (You can find out more about us on our 3-day website or follow us on Facebook.)  Here is a little about our journey...


We started off this 3-day season a little less enthused than we were our first year.  We were slow to get started in getting our fundraising letters sent out.  We had trouble getting motivated to train.  And we used our conflicting schedules as the perfect excuse.  So needless to say, at the last minute we were still scrambling!  (We are still raising money for this year's walk.  You can donate here.)  Fortunately, we knew what to expect so packing came with less stress and more ease.  We got all our our Ziplock baggies out and started labeling, stuffing, and sucking the air out of them.  After all, one bag weighing only 35 lbs. is not a lot when you have to fit EVERYTHING into it.

We finished packing at a reasonable hour (11:00 PM) the night before our walk.  By 5:45 AM we were in the car headed to Collin Creek Mall in Plano, TX for the Opening Ceremonies.  The Opening Ceremonies were cold, crowded, and absolutely wonderful!  Rachel and I had gotten there early so we were right at the front.  Words cannot express the feelings the Opening Ceremonies give a person.  But it makes you ache in the depths of your soul for those who have been lost.  It makes you fiercely determined for those who are still fighting.  And it makes you inspired... motivated... to make a difference.  At that very moment there is a mixture of emotion that leaves you knowing there is no where in the world you'd rather be at that very moment, yet at the same time longing for the day you no longer need to be there.

 

As far as walking... well, at times it was long and monotonous.  There were those moments that you thought it would never end.  And there were definitely those moments you would look at your route card (the card provided with mileage, pit stops, etc. each day) and curse the person who clearly meant 4 miles when they typed 2 on the card.  But overall, walking is an amazing experience!  The community support is AMAZING!  From walker stalkers, to cheering stations, to those people who spend their entire weekend out there supporting you at various points on the route, they are all so wonderful.  The came with drinks, snacks, necklaces, bracelets, stickers, candy, kleenex, medicine, hot chocolate, and donuts!  We had mimosas one morning.  There was beer and margaritas.  Wine, cheese, and grapes.  And Smoothie King... oh Smoothie King.  Little smoothie shots that came at the most perfect times along the route.  In addition to all of this they would be out there cheering, giving us high fives, dressed in costumes, and holding signs (both hilarious and inspiring).  Sixty miles would not be possible without these people.... the community!


The 3-day crew were amazing as well.  They were always there with a smile a high five and an encouraging word.  They are there to make sure your every need is met, and they do it with such cheer!  They wake up long before the walkers and they go to sleep long after.  They may possibly work harder than we do as walkers.  They are the heart and soul of this experience!  

Camp is one of my favorite parts of the 3-day.  The staff does an amazing job setting up camp and putting together entertainment for us.  This year we weren't near as tired and aching as we were our first year so we were able to enjoy camp a lot more!  We shopped, got our mail, and had a blast at the camp show each night!

The 3-day was wrapped up by a wonderful Closing Ceremony experience.  Rachel and I finished fairly early in the day so we had plenty of time to cheer in other walkers.  It is so moving to watch people cross that finish line!  We then got in line with some precious girls to walk into Closing with.  Dr. Sheri (the national spokesperson for the 3-day) ended the event with all of the determination, inspiration, and laughter that she began our journey with.  What a wonderful woman she is!  

There is so much more I could say about this experience!  So many more wonderful moments that I could share.  The one thing I can say without a shadow of a doubt is this:  it doesn't matter what you do, but do something!  You won't regret it!  Whether you walk for a cause you care about, or cheer on others who are... whether you donate money or give your time in a fundraiser... it doesn't matter what you do, just do something!  Make a difference for something that matters to you!  We chose the 3-day in 2010, and it grabbed our heartstrings and brings us back each year.  Find what matters to you!  And if you are interested in joining us in this life changing experience, let me know (themammaryclan@gmail.com)!  The Mammary Clan would love to have you!