black friday 2007 is coming our way. Soon! To a shopping plaza near you! Or just to your computer screen, while you huddle down in the wee morning hours while sniffing your coffee and wondering if there's any pie left in the fridge. Christmas preparations in this house and in the budget are starting to take more concrete shape. The memories of that Black Friday I spent working retail are still fresh in my mind. My feet hurt just thinking back to it. While on one hand it was an easy day (didn't have to schmooze customers) it was brutal... ring, ring, ring up the sales. One after another all day long for hours and hours and God help me if I had to pee...

There is another child to plan for now, and I know what I'm having. A girl and a boy by next christmas. We will need to do even more planning of a meaningful nature. Is it the media that tells me that I'm a bad mother if there aren't a bunch of presents under the tree? I know the Boy will also feel this way, if not more so- he never had a lot of toys at the holiday and feels the money crunch harder than I do when it comes to gift giving events. We can't even say that by next year the kids can be sharing most of their gifts -girls and boys, so different when they get a little older...

When I was younger and on the East Coast I knew all about Black Friday. It was the highlight of my year. The Sales! The Crowds! The Stuff! (The Headaches, the Aching Feet!) And then I was feeling bored so I went and nosed around and found black friday which is a great way to plan your Black Friday shopping both in store and online way ahead of time. As in, far enough in advance to start putting the money away for it? Not having to put the holiday on plastic? Overstock Specials! ToysRUs sales for limited hours (like the ever-popular 9-11 time frames, designed to snarl traffic and tempers) The email alerts are of particular interest to me right now. I may not have time to read every one, but I can rest assured that I'll know about stuff even if I don't have time or ability to act on it.