Cue Mission Impossible Music

Aaaauuuggghhh! I am so far behind on my commenting! Ok, so participants if you have e-mail notification for your comments this is your warning that I may get blocked as spam today. Between the grocery store, Mount Laundry and Blog Catch Up you will be seeing a lot of me today. Just a warning.

So you're wondering about my title are you? Well, read on curious ones - read on.

Sponsors: Day Eight Blog Party Question is Brought to you by Koshas, Leapfrog and Soda Club.

VIP BLOGS to visit are Parent Reviewers , Mom Most Traveled, Mommy Zabs, MomStart, HipposToes, Run DMT

::Dum. Dum. Dum dum. Dum. Dum. Dum Dum. Dum. Dum. Dum dum. Dum. Dum. Dum dum. (all together now) Doo Doo Doo. Doo Doo Doo. Dum. Dum. Daaaaaaaaaaaaah!::

Do you shop on Black Friday? What time do you start? Do you finish all your shopping on that day? What’s the best deal you have found? What’s your shopping strategy?

Hah! Sorry I just shot eggnog out my nose. Really? You want to know if I shop on Black Friday? Well, in case you missed my feelings on shopping in general you should probably pop back here.

Ok. So we have established that I do NOT shop on Black Friday. It goes beyond just my total lack of a shopping gene. The angst of crowds sends me scrambling for my oxygen tank. The snippy attitudes of clerks and shoppers make me question my stance on gun control. And the small children who beg for everything they lay eyes on (my own included) make me want to duct tape them to a wall until Valentine’s Day. Did I mention that I do not like shopping?

I DO complete my shopping all in one day – just not Black Friday. And I have managed to get some deals my way too. I have occasionally come across some managers of small stores who are fearful that they are going to miss my $20 so they start some sales a little earlier than their competitors. What were they? Maybe my brother in law’s pajamas last year? Listen! I try to forget the shopping experience almost before it is over ok! You can’t fault me for not remembering some super deal.

My strategy is simple. I almost feel like a member of an elite Black Ops shopping team. Get in. Get your stuff. Get out and don’t make eye contact. The less they see of you, the less they can guilt you into buying and the less you will go over budget.

Now if only I could get Lion to adopt my strategy. Every year he manages to go out for his night of shopping and in his aimless wanderings he gets “Sold” on something. Then he calls me and confesses that he just got sold and he frets for the entire Christmas season. Black Ops, Lion. Black Ops. Get in and get out.

Now if you are in the market for a shopping buddy you might want to head over to MomDot and check out the other bloggers take on this. I'm sure they could give you some much better tips than I. But remember if all else fails Black Ops!

This blog will self destruct in....Who am I kidding? It went down a long time ago!

As if You Didn't Think I was Strange Enough...

Let me just go ahead and show you just HOW off the beaten path I am! It's Day 3 of the Mom Dot Blog Party (just in case you missed that big #3 over there <) and I am still rockin! This has been a lot of fun! I have found some really great ladies out there who make me look a little more normal - until I get done posting today.

Sponsors: Day Three Blog Party Question is Brought to you by Appledonia, Hippos Toes and My Bag

VIP BLOGS to visit are Parent Reviewers , Mom Most Traveled, Mommy Zabs, MomStart, HipposToes, Run DMT

And the Question of the day?

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Do you budget for the holidays? Do you always stick to your budget? Share with us any budgeting tips you may have!

Newsflash campers. There are probably very few things on the planet that I despise more than shopping. And not Christmas shopping – I mean shopping in general. I cringe as I go through the grocery store. I grind my teeth anytime Beloved even looks at my closet with the “you need some clothes” face. I become physically ill if I have no choice but to go to the mall. I. Hate. Shopping.

That being said. When I am approaching Christmas shopping I am methodical. I am precise and I am on a mission. I make a list of who I am buying for, what I am buying and where I have to go to get it. I plan out the order of the stores and I may even go so far as to go online and see if they have a store map so I know where in the store I have to go. Then I take one day and I go. I do it all at once (even trying to get the stocking stuffers in there too) and I come home.

Newsflash part two. I am cheap. I will do anything I can to stretch a dollar so if I can make a bathrobe at home for less than I could buy it I will invest the time before I will go buy it. Why? Because that’s how much I hate shopping. I would rather crouch over a sewing machine for three hours and tear out seams twice than go shopping. That being said, I can stay pretty close to our budget. We set a ball park and if I go over it is usually for Daddy before it is for the children. They get plenty from the extended family so we usually only do a few toys and some clothes from us.

As I write this I am wondering if Part Two could be a contributing factor to Part One. Or could it be that those five years of retail right out of college sapped me of all my retail strength?

(I know baby! I try to hide from it too!)

But that's just my take on it! I'm certainly not the expert so why don't you go see what the other Party Animals have to say about it. MomDot is your Party Headquarters!