Thanksgiving & Black Friday BLISS.....

How was your Thanksgiving?  I told everyone, "it was just another day with a big meal."  I do have to say the high of my thanksgiving festivities was eating, OF COURSE, and having a white elephant gift exchange that has become a family tradition - with me receiving the BESTEST GIFT EVER!  A picture of my cousins husband in a swimsuit - totally scandalise!

Stud Muffin!

Basically what the day of giving thanks boils down to is that I am really grateful for food!  Between my Mommy and I, we made some dang good desserts.  She made her favorite southern cook - Paula Deen's gooey butter pumpkin cake (for me basically - caused I asked), and another favorite of Deen's an apple carmel cake.  I brought two made from scratch, from my Grandma Eastman's recipe, PeeeeeeCAN pie, and a new favorite - peaches and cream pie, also made from scratch.  The pie crusts were also made from scratch, and the whip topping was REAL.  Just saying - no fake stuff here!

Is this not the most beautiful pecan pie you have ever seen?

I feel I have finally perfected this divine dessert, and had people wanting more...those two pecan pies didn't last very long, and apparently two pies aren't enough for my glutenous family........The cousin, Summer, thinks that I have perfected my pie long ago, but I feel that this Thanksgiving I produced the best pecan pie ever.  From here on out my pecan pies are just going to get better!!!!  My Mother dearest has already put in an order for Christmas dinner.  It's a good thing we only eat these pies twice a year.

Doesn't she look scrumptious?  

Black Friday, Black Friday, Black Friday......
Let this be a lesson!  Black Friday is NOT bliss, Black Friday is HELL!  HELL, I tell you!  HELL!  Not only has this Satanist, greed filled, money hungry day taken over the world, but now it's seeping into one of our most wonderful holidays this country has to offer - Thanksgiving.  After hours of eating and visiting 9:00pm came along, and people started to leave.  I didn't want the party to end, so the Bro, the Sis and I decided to follow the rest of the family to see what all the hype was for this Black Friday madness.  We arrived at the local Wal-Mart about a quarter after 9:00pm.  The parking lot was packed to the rim, people were parking at the nearby Home Depot and walking to Wal-Mart (not that the Home Depot is very far away, but Wal-Mart's parking lot was stuffed as plump as a turkey - and on Thanksgiving day!) We walked into the store and found it was already chaos.  What on earth could be so appealing that people were literally sitting in lawn chairs down the isles?  I was in complete shock.  Luckily I had my iPod and started snapping pictures of this madness.  The Sis had actually came with some items in mind - DVDs.  We found our way to the "meat" department, yes meat department, where dozens of cardboard DVD cases were set up and being guarded by depressed Wal-Mart workers.  I walked up and down the isles of cases scanning the DVDs.  I figured that if the Sis was going to try to buy some DVDs then why not have her grab me some as she was going into the trenches???  DVDs really are a waste of money....ESPECIALLY when you have a Netflix account, but who can pass up $2.00 DVDs.  Yup, people sure are desperate for $2.00 DVDs - myself included, apparently?  So, for 45 minutes we stood guard of the precious cardboard cases, waiting patiently for the announcement over the intercom that we could start buying DVDs.  At exactly 10:00pm, Thanksgiving night, the first flood gates were opened, and people went ballistic.  I just sat back and watched, and of course video tapped the madness.  I got 3 out of the 4 DVDs that I JUST HAD TO HAVE...and as we were checking out the lady behind me with her arms full of junk, went through her stuff, and decided at the checkout what she wanted and didn't want. She had a DVD that I apparently HAD TO HAVE - "Crazy Stupid Love," remind me never to purchase a video without watching first.  Another first and last moment.  She said I could have it, and I ended up with four DVDs.  I will never, ever, ever support the Black Friday Madness ever again.  I felt so bad for the workers, and when I came upon one I would apologize saying, "I'm sorry I'm here, I'm sorry you have to work, I will never do this again."  They would only look at me weird.  I guess when you sign up to work for Wal-Mart it's a given that you will most likely be working on Black Friday.

Worn out and traumatized I still had to work on Black Friday.  I went to work at the local department store Christensen's.  (Same holiday job I had last year wrapping gifts.)  I'm grateful to have a second job this holiday season, and I truly love my 82 year old co-worker Jerry.  She makes this job very bearable.  However, she was out of the state over Thanksgiving and it ended up being just me wrapping gifts for eight hours.  Not miserable, but it's funny how people turn into amazingly RUDE people on this particular day.  I guess it's just a joy of working retail/customer service.

As my eight hour day was coming to an end my last customer of the day came to my wrapping station wanting her gifts wrapped.  I was helping some other folk.  She seemed impatient and just said she would leave her goods and she would be back later.  Before she took off I wanted to make sure I knew how and what to wrap her stuff in.  She had two piles and placed her hand on the one pile and said this pile in the red paper, the other pile in the blue.  That was it.  I finished with the current customers, then started and finished her packages before she got back.  She arrived back a few minutes before I was to leave, and asks where her packages were.  They were clearly in front of her, but she was confused.  She say's to me, "I didn't have two packages?"  I said, "Yes you did."  Then she has some sort of light bulb go off when she realizes I packaged the one pile in ONE BOX and the other pile in another box.  She then proceeds to swear at me and yell at me.  I immediately apologize, because apparently the customer is always right, and my job can be replaced in the drop of a hat.  As I am sincerely apologizing I ask her if I can re wrap and package the stuff for her.  "NO!"  She say's.  "Just give me some boxes and paper and I'll go home and do this myself!"  At this point I so badly wanted to remind her that the service I am doing is a FREE SERVICE from the store, and seriously you look like an idiot right now, but again I am truly sorry for this inconvenience.  As I continue the apologies I turn around to my wall of wrapping paper, take the boxes she will be using, and act like I am measuring out paper.  Little does she know I am shorting her on wrapping paper, and she will get home to wrap her precious gifts and not have enough paper!  Hee, hee, hee.

Then next day was a little bit better.  Although, I did start off the day with a woman who apparently didn't think I knew how to wrap.  So, she took it upon herself to come around the counter and wrap the present herself.  I just threw my hands up and saying "whatever" - stood back and let her do her thing.  She has never worked at Christensen's, she just was older and wiser apparently????  Great example she was to her granddaughter in toe!  Seriously people, really you act like this?  I'm amazed at the kind of people this world is producing.  I'm not trying to say that I am perfect by any means.  But, I feel like I have some sort of decency that I would not act as stupid/rude as most of the people I encountered during this Black Friday Bliss....

Lesson learned - NEVER AGAIN WILL I SHOP ON THANKSGIVING NIGHT, or Black Friday.  As one lady said, "Are we really this poor that we need to be out amongst all of this madness?"  No, I am not that poor that I need to spend my time fighting for DVDs or anything else for that matter.