Deer Widow Day...

Happy Deer Widow Day! Today is the day Deer Hunting Season starts up here in NW Penn, and it is a crazy day. No School today because of it, and lots of shops open early to accomodate the "Deer Widows" for extra shopping. Deer Widow is a term for the wife of a deer hunter.

So how was your Thanksgiving? Ours was pretty great! We headed over to Nate's parent's on Wednesday night. We woke up, and hung out till about noon. Nate's aunt, uncle, Gram, and some various cousins showe up around 1 pm or so, and that was when the cooking started. We had 2 kinds of turkey, 1 traditional, 1 deep fried. We also had 2 kinds of stuffing, 1 oven baked, 1 bird stuffed. The table was a smorgasboard of yummies, and to be honest... after my meal I was miserable! I had eaten way too much, and baby bean wasn't leaving much room to digest.

Isn't Seth cute? This is him coloring before we ate.


I tried to get in a nap for my dreaded Black Friday Shift, and I was able to relax, but sleep eluded me.

As for Black Friday..... it was pure h-e-double-hockeysticks.

We left close to 10 pm, knowing that it would take us about 1 hour 30-40 minutes for Nate to drop me off at work. (He wanted to drop me off, b/c he didn't want me driving the morning after.)

Around 11:30 pm we hit the "Grove City 2 Miles" sign on 79 south.... and came to a stand still. The traffic was already unreal.... at about 12:15 we had only crept a half mile! I also really, really had to use the restroom. And I wasn't about to go in the woods, and I couldn't wait much longer. I had just finished telling Nate to drive me up to the bottom of the ramp (only the right lane was backed up) and I could walk the rest of the way, when I noticed some people walking already. Nate was tired, Seth was sleeping, and I was stressed about being so late, and very uncomfortable, that I kissed Nate goodbye, and hopped out of the car.

I caught up to the walkers, asked if I could keep them company, and walked a mile and half to the Ramp. It turned out that this couple had run out of gas 2 miles back, so they had actually walked almost 4 miles.

I made it into the Outlets, where I saw lines waiting to get inside stores, and I was only 45 min. late for work. I called Nate to let him know I was alright, and he said that driving home, the traffic was backed up for at least 5 or 6 miles!!

Working was insane. I have never seen so many people in that store. The line for checkout was doubled, from wall to wall. They gave me the nice job of greeting near the door, and I did that non-stop for about 4 hours. I saw a bazillion nose-rings that night, LOL! I saw people look in the door and get so mad that there was a long line and then refuse to come in. (Why did you come shopping then?)

I also had my first stranger belly rub. Some women came in, and I greeted them, and one said "Awww! Poor you! How are you feeling?" I replied, "I am tired!" She preceded to put her hand on my belly, rub it Buddha style and said "I bet you are!" Niiiiice. Thanks lady.

It was very busy, but finally slowed to a steady flow about 5 am. Which was where the staff did alot of restocking items and refilling shelves.

I was never more happy to see the sun come up. All of us on staff were EXHAUSTED. 9 am finally rolled around and Nate was waiting for me by the curb. I went home, took a bath to unwind a bit and got in bed by 10 am.

I only slept till 1 pm. I started some layouts to pass the time that afternoon. Then Nate decided to surprise me and he said we could go eat at Red Lobster for dinner! We hardly ever eat there, b/c Nate doesn't care for it much. I think the last time was when Seth was an infant. We also did a bit of shopping ourselves, but I think I'll save that for tomorrow.

If you are interested, here is a news report about that traffic.....

Grove City Report

It took me all weekend to recover. I slept all night Friday night, and didn't open my eyes till 9:30 am. I worked from 12-5 pm, and then came home, slept again from 11 pm till 7:30 am. I took in a 3 hour nap yesterday afternoon, and still fell asleep around 11:30 pm. We didn't get up till 9 this morning either. My feet have really bothered me this weekend too. My ankle is really sore, and overall... I am just really uncomfortable.

Only 3 weeks of work left, LOL!