I’ve spent my whole life shopping by what I can carry home — so my shopping budget is always mitigated by my two hands and maybe what my stroller could fit. Getting the car has suddenly changed how I shop. And it scares the shit out of me! I am not a happy shopper! As much as I like getting new things I am always trying to find the balance of Do We Really Need This vs. our bank account, which has little room for extra splurging.

Take yesterday, I went to Costco for the very first time. I was on a mission to get toilet paper & dish detergent… and found myself tossing in a set of king-sized flannel sheets into my cart (and another set for my daughter’s bed), a cheap sweater for pregnant belly coverage, YAHTZEE, and a bag of almonds that would have lasted me until I was 40. I eventually got rid of everything before I got to the check-out, save for the original items on my list and Yahtzee (it makes the Essentials list! )

I think my biggest qualm with shopping is this: it’s stuff. And stuff just starts to pile up and then you have to give it away/throw it out. Especially cheap stuff.. like the new sweater. That sweater would have looked good for two washes and then it would be useless. I guess this also brings me to the idea of quality over quantity and making things over buying them at this busy time. I know DIY can be just as expensive as the buying stuff, but to me, it means more even if it means that my hands will turn into lobster claws by the time I give out socks worth $100 in wool.

So: Black Friday. I heard about it for the first time when I was working for the online marketing company — and it is a BIG deal to online marketers. BIG. But, I personally choose not to participate. I have a hard enough time navigating the stuff in person! The internet?!? How many Black Friday emails did you get from your online subscriptions? So, I choose to ignore it.

I prefer to spend my time planning drinking games for the moment I’m not pregnant. Or feeling totally duped by a family that raised a wolf. Or laughing at the Target commercials. Or seeing really bad movies about Vampires and Werewolves. (*cough*)

How do you do Black Friday? or is it just TGIF with a bottle of wine?