We had a great time shopping in San Marcos on Friday. Got some great bargains. There were so many mark downs plus x% off plus an additional percentage off before noon, etc. I LOVE the pottery barn outlet store. They always have some wonderful deals. I bought a very pretty cut glass salad bowl with the matching individual bowls, original price for the large bowl was $30 and with the discount I thought it was gong to ring up as $12. It rang up at $7.97. With similar price cuts on the individual bowls, it was just too cheap not to get a second set to give as a gift so I had her ring up extras and ran back an got more. This same scenario has happened to me multiple times at that store. Bought a bunch more stuff, some needed, much not needed but all great deals. Then we went to dinner at a local steak place and that's where the trouble started. I got food poisoning. I started feeling bad about an hour into the drive home and ended up unswallowing all night and into the next morning. Ugh. Slept most of the day Sat and Sun, and although I'm at work today, my stomach and surrounding muscles are still sore and tender today. This morning on NPR, they had a story about the San Marcos outlets! The stores opened at midnight TG (we arrived at 845 am) and apparently there were MILES of cars waiting in line to get in. Most of that had cleared out by the time we arrived as we were able to get a parking space without much effort. I do love to shop, but waiting in that kind of traffic, no thanks! I think we have it timed just right!

It's only a matter of time before the big-box stores start selling camping gear, umbrellas, and jackets a week before Black Friday at steep discounts. Then they could sell $200 worth of stuff to everyone who camps out in line for 24 hours so they can be near the front of the line hoping to get a shot at buying one of the four $99 flat-screen TVs the store actually has in stock when the doors open at 5 a.m. That way they'd sell even more stuff people don't really need. That way, they can sell even more stuff we don't really need. Me, I decided I could save myself even more money by not buying anything this BF, although it's the first time I've done that this decade. The online sales are better; I don't have to wait in line for those (although they can be hard to log onto on BF, and they too run out of stuff quickly). Really, most of the stuff I bought on Black Friday was for myself, not gifts. I'm way too much of a procrastinator to have a Christmas list ready until mid-December, and these days I just buy slightly-used items online at even steeper discounts than BF sales offer. The real gift-shopping frenzy is usually on the Saturday before Christmas.

LOL Well, not much time to answer everything so I won't try but yes, I am having a great time reading this. Curious how the first to stomp is also the avid defender of telemarketers! Shall we start a thread on them again? Ruthie, you're quite a surprise. Didn't know you were one who likes to block aisles and doesn't understand the term "excuse me". I was raised to move if blocking the aisle and someone said excuse me. Perhaps it's a local thing? I guess we learn something every day don't we? Must be having a bad day when you have to make up things to complain about. "...post a long diatribe about everything including the number of hours the employees are allowed to work..." Uh, exactly where did I talk about employees long hours and the like! Did you accidentally get some fiberglass in the washer with your underwear? Fall down in the cockleburrs? Sheesh! LOL And of course the tyrades by the "holier than thou" who feel they should decide who posts, what they post about, and their overworn cliches, well it's interesting and dang amusing to read the posts. Don't worry. I'm not offended. If you haven't learned by now I have a very thick skin! Political correctness isn't high on my priority list. Being an old cripple I learned a long time ago that there's two things about certain people I don't like - their face. Curious to see how many must use multiple mirrors! Since this forum is so often the cyber church it's only appropriate isn't it for another deity to come out. The Walmart worshipers are likely on their knees praying to their deity-du-jour, pop open a bottle of Sam's Choice for communion, making up things to throw temper tantrums about and more. Guess following forum rules is a buffet thing these days. Take the ones you like and leave the rest. :) Happy shopping people!

When my mom wanted a new vehicle, I said I wanted my parents to be driving safe ones. And SUV's were so in. I researched at the library and read the consumer reports and wrote it all down to read and check over and then my dad and I went car looking for her and she wanted a RAV but we looked at it and said ugh too small and plus way too high for our dogs to jump in and out of safely. Then we tried the Honda CRV and I went this is the car for her, it drives like a car and has all the luxuries that she is used too. she even still had a choice between DVD or Cassette, she said cassette but never used it. What a huge mistake that was. Then dad I pushed as his station wagon car he had for years was getting dangerous driving it, unsafe and I said you need to buy one too. WE checked the SUV Subaru Forester which was perfect for him, both his and mom's were good for our long windy driveway and snow too. And dad's is number one safety vehicle. They still have them and great vehicles for both of them. Safe too. I went looking at what was out there and got consumer reports to look at hatchback cars and good on gas for myself. And my friend had gotten a Toyota Matrix and I loved it tons and tons. And so when dad and I went looking there was only two to testdrive, Matrix and Fit and it was the Matrix hands down. I love it and when you upgrade you get the luxuries which I wanted so bad, air-conditioning as we have gotten hot summers here and there and I cna't handle heat at all. And power windows, no more killing myself to reach over to passenger side to roll down the window or roll up. Side mirrors too drove me crazy if they were out of whack while driving and can't do anyting about it until you can stop and fix it. Also automatic, I wanted that for quite awhile as I was finding grear shifts were not my thing as I went along. I find that you check the consumer auto reports and also the internet. See what comments others say, ask people if you know they have bought a car that you are interested in or you like it because of them buying one. Also take your time to test drive and tell them you want to go on highway, you want to try this and that. And make sure the seat feels good when driving. Is it easy to manuever and the curves, how does it handle on them. corners, backing up. Also how fast does it go, small cars that is important to be able to zip out on the roads instead of sitting there forever and ever. Go back and test drive it again and then ask questions that you forget in the excitement of it. How about trade in cars? Do they take trade ins? What about colours, what do they have on the lot? Can you wait for the colour you want? Or take whatever is there? Can you make a deal on things thrown in, cut down on price? Are you good at doing that? And getting it? Find out if you have winter snow in your area how certain vehicles run during those times. My parents got me a pony hyundai as it was cheap, ( I Paid them back for it) and it was the worst car for winter, couldn't make it up the hills and we live with hills and that driveway that is long and windy. I had to have the neigbhours push my up the road we lived on and pushed me off the road, embarrasing that was. I hated that car with a passion and stuck with it for 10 years. This Matrix is zippy, has the luxuries with the upgrade and automatic and hatchback. It is everything I want. Plus they also had one last car with the colour I wanted, the nice blue, not navy blue. I loved too that I got the intermittent wipers, and back wiper and even a radio. With the Nissan Sentra, got none of that, not even a light for the trunk to see what was in it. And radio, no way would they put one in it for me. Said they do not do that. I couldn't believe it. so, had to go to this place and check them out and then go back and kill time while they put it in for me. so, those things are worthy finding out about. And also they give you a rental car to drive when you drop off your car. And with health issues, they are giving me plus I live quite a ways an extra day with the rental car so I drop off my car and then pick it up the next morning. Works for me much better. So, find out those things too ahead of time. Maintenance is huge in taking it in when you are supposed too, expensive but in the long run you have the car for tons of years running for you. Also the dealer, do you like it? Find out if people have had problems. I did with Nissan and took my car there only once for maintence, I was stuck all day because they told us that a truck blocked our cars plus too late in washing them. I never took it back there, took it to this good garage close to where I lived and got way better work there. So, find out and check about that. If you have to leave the car for a full day or so, then find out about rental car they give you and if they don't, find out how you will get back to work or home and back again. And how long too it will take you. If you don't work, then find out if they are close to malls or somewhere you can go to kill some hours and then go back and pick it up. What are you looking for in a car, carry just yourself, family, pet/s, kids, friends, what? I wanted another hatchback where the back seats came down to be able to buy things and carry them home. I had to borrow my parents or ask my friend who had a van then for help. when you have a two door car you can't put stuff in the back seat, won't fit. And the trunk isn't good even though its big, still won't fit I found. I check it all. Ask questions all the time and still asked even afterwards. It pays too, be happy and content when you get into that drivers seat after signing its yours and away you go and that is what you wanted fully in a car. Otherwise you will not be happy and live iwth a car you hate more and more each day if it doesn't live up to what you want to use it for or weather conditions too. Ask, ask, and read and ask tons more.