I made it.

I'm still alive. Survived yet another Black Friday. Thought about popping in here right before I left my house at 3:02am last Friday, but I didn't because after getting up at that awful hour I was certainly not going to risk arriving even a single solitary minute late. I also find it quite funny that I am way, way more likely to be seeing the front end of 3am because I've stayed up crafting than I am to be seeing 3am from the flip side. Our efforts were rewarded. Although Fry's implemented a new "no running" policy which made things much less exciting, I was all right with that since I value my life and the safety of it. After that came Wal-Mart, Kohl's, Target, Toys R Us, and Old Navy. Yes, I am a serious shopper, I know. In all honesty, though, it really doesn't have a whole lot to do with getting super great deals. Nor do I have a specific list of absolute must-haves outside of the one item Brian and I were standing in line at Fry's for. Don't get the wrong impression... I'm not the crazy lady elbowing innocent bystanders to get to the last one of anything. I'm just happy to be shopping so I'm usually chatting it up with random strangers in line (and, this year, buying a water bottle for the frazzled Wal-Mart checker who said to me "You'd think they'd at least bring us a bottle of water." I took that as a sign from the Lord that perhaps I should buy her a bottle of water. True story. And I only tell you that story because I felt kind of bad that I had never thought about doing that before on Black Friday. I'm going to remember that one for next year.) For me, it's really more about the productivity of it. Trust me, when you start shopping at 5am, and you shop all day, all by yourself, without a single child along with you... it is productive. I'm about 75% done with shopping. And I enjoyed it. I *love* productivity. The thought of having all the presents wrapped and looking pretty under the tree nice and early... it makes me happy. So happy that I came home, made a list of everything I purchased and for who, then checked each person off my list. Yup. I made a list just so that I could check things off of it. I love that. I can't be the only person who does that... right? So, in honor of the beginning of December...

{Card supplies are listed here if you're interested.} And let me share with you what I learned while making this card: 1. You should always, always, take the gift card out of the gift card holder while stitching the said gift card holder to the card... 2. because it is entirely possible to actually stitch through a plastic gift card, thus rendering it impossible to remove said gift card from the gift card holder. Yup. Did it. {sigh} At least I can cross that one off the list of mistakes I'll ever make again!

Later, friends!