Kerri’s Awesome ‘Blog

No, I’m not talking about Friday the 13th, I’m referring to the day after Thanksgiving.

“The term “Black Friday” originated in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. More recently, merchants and the media have used it instead to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers go from being in the red (i.e., posting a loss on the books) to being in the black (i.e., turning a profit).”  Thanks Wikipedia!

Black Friday is the most insane of all insane sale days.

Oh, yes it is!

So, Thanksgiving morning, the newspapers and mailboxes are full of the store brochures advertising their specials.  So those who say that Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks and ALL about the turkey….. they’re lying!

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SALE PLANNING!

It takes you all day to go through the damned brochures and I finally bit the bullet and set up a spread sheet.  I know.  I KNOW!

So, the sales start at different times and are all over the freaking place, so you have to carefully plot your course, however there are some traps for young players!

Sears opens at 4am and has all the kitchen appliances a girl could ever need at never to be seen again prices. J C Penney opens at 5am, Kohls at 6am etc etc  Walmart sale starts at 5am, however Walmart are open all night and if you are keen on something at Walmart (ie: TomToms for $59 and $89), you really should stand by it all night to make sure you get one once they release the goods.

Obviously there are choices to be made and many risks to be taken!

We learned by accident that if you want one of the most popular sale items from Walmart, they sell tickets at 3am… but getting a ticket doesn’t mean you can leave, in fact if you go missing for more than 15 minutes, you lose your spot. Harsh.

One solution I learned from a serious Black Friday shopper (while standing for 3 hours in the TomTom line) is to  co-ordinate with friends and family.  She had people EVERYWHERE in that fucking store.

You also need a runner for snacks, coffee and to stand in line for you for pee breaks.

We had to do a run home after being at Walmart to empty the car for another  stab at the sales.  We’re setting up house, ok???

So, Walmart shoppers, what bargains did YOU grab on Black Friday?

***Photo courtesy of Black Friday 411***

I’m not sure if any of you are aware, but I have stopped smoking.

There were several deciding factors, but the main one was receiving the results of a chest x-ray, which was completely clear.  After smoking for 35 years, I was utterly floored.

I decided that this was my second chance.

Brad and I were recommended a book (thanks Simon!) called ‘Allen Carr’s Easy to Way To Stop Smoking” and we both read it.  It was the turning point in both our lives.  This book made it ridiculously easy to stop.  It’s impossible to explain, you have to read it for yourself. If you are ready to stop smoking, read it, I promise it will change your way of thinking about stopping.

Brad and I are both overweight, and have wanted to go back on The Zone diet for some time now, but have lacked the motivation.  Now that we have stopped travelling and are settling into a routine here, we have started the diet and are feeling SO good….. so good in fact that we did the unthinkable this week.

WE SIGNED UP AT A GYM!  I love that it has a pool and I can swim for fitness. At this stage I am able to swim 650 metres after doing 10 minutes on a fucking Elipter *shudder*.  I couldn’t have done 50 metres 3 months ago.  I’m stoked!

Elipter’s need to die a horrible death, also the person who invented them, and their dog.

I want to puke just thinking about all this healthy shit…. but it feels so GOOD to feel good!

Today was the start of my All American Weekend.  We started with breakfast at IHOP (the International House of Pancakes), eating a ridiculous amount of food and revving up on caffeine to fuel ourselves for the day ahead.

Hickam Air Force Base held it’s Open Day today.

Dayum!

Americans know how to entertain the masses.  It was incredible.

The highlight of the day were the Thunderbirds.

I’ve always loved aircraft,  I could watch planes take off and land all day long. Seriously.

Thunderbirds, unsurprisingly, turned out to be something frighteningly close to orgasmic.

Tomorrow… barbecue and football.  Stay tuned.

Yes, you read it here first, cricket is coming to Hawaii and I have the pictures to prove it!

The boys are going to need a little more practice, methinks. 

This is what I have been waiting for.  I have one, and you probably don’t!  It sucks to be you! 

Yesterday my eldest graduated from Sydney University with a Masters Degree in Education.

She had an army of adoring fans there to witness the event.  She looked beautiful and we were all SO proud.

Enough of the study, can someone please teach her how to cook?

Avenue Q

Originally uploaded by Kerri McCrorey

This musical has it all:

Muppet love

Muppet daily dramas

Muppet heartbreak

Muppet sex

It’s the funniest damned thing I have ever seen. If you haven’t seen it and you ever get the opportunity… do it. You won’t regret it!

On Tuesday 20 January, 2009, we attended the Inauguration of Barack Obama.

OH.MY.GOD!

It was a massive day - we were picked up from our hotel in New York at 2:30am, dumped at the airport at 4:00am, caught a plane to Washinton DC at 6:20am….

*taking a deep breath*

We arrived at Dulles airport at 7:20

It was at this point that I started to feel human and realised I had my camera with me.

Caught a bus to the Metro station at 9:15

Lined up for an hour to get a train ticket.

Travelled for 50 minutes in a packed train

Walked 1 mile from Foggy Bottom station

to the park right between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Memorial to where there were part of the 2 million strong contingent who had the same stupid idea we had.

I lined up for half an hour to use a porta-loo on the way there to find that there were a million of them with no lines at our destination.  D’oh!

We found our spot, behind a tree that pretty much completely obstructed our view of the Jumbotron.

Our spot WAS, however, perfect from a crowd point of view and to be honest, I dont think there would have been anywhere on that day that wasn’t perfect. The crowd was amazing.  I was feelin’ the love!  See the woman on the left of the photo below?  We were crying and hugging before the day was out.

Not even the Jebus Freaks could spoil the atmosphere!

First, Biden was sworn in…

We were all waiting and watching patiently..

Then Aretha sang….  what was up with that damned hat?

Finally, the time had come….  “Are you prepared to take the oath Senator?”

It was at about that time that I forgot I had a camera again, oops!

That afternoon we repeated the journey, in reverse, back to new York.  We arrived at our hotel at around 9:30pm, exhausted and elated.  It had been an amazing day.

You hear about it all the time, but until you experience it, you just can’t know.  The people in the South are just awesome!

There’s Valerie at The Cupboard restaurant, Nikita at the front desk at La Quinta on Millbranch, Michelle at Marlowe’s Ribs and Restaurant on Elvis Presley Boulevard, the incredible and vast amount of staff at Graceland. Then there’s gorgeous and outrageously funny strippers from Crystal’s I met while having a cigarette outside BB King’s Blues Club on Beale Street, and all the people I have run into, been served by, randoms I have asked questions of….. they have all been incredibly sweet, well above and beyond the call of duty.

Having an Australian accent down here always makes for a spirited conversation.  I have chatted to all sorts of people, including street people asking for money (of which there are many).  They just LOVE the accent, it really makes people smile.  Awesome!

I love the South…. I never want to leave.

Family fun for New Year’s Eve.