Shop Victoriously!

One of my favorite advertising campaigns is Ebay's which states that is is "so much better when you win it" and to "shop victoriously." Today, I did just that, and it felt good. I arose at 6 this morning so I could go with my friend, Kara, to a ginormous neighborhood garage sale. Although the sale was not advertised to begin until 9, we arrived by seven, along with a few other insane bargain hunters. We were able to snag one of the few available parking spots and then able to grab a hold of the very best deals. Yes indeed, Kara and I did shop victoriously and some of my spoils of the battle are as follows:
A tricycle, a helmet, a wooden puzzle, a pop up tent, a cookie gun (to make shaped cookies), a wooden toddler rocking chair, several interactive toddler toys, a bucket of Duplos, plus more than 10 board books and a collection of "Madeline" books. Yes, all of this for under $17. I know, right? I even astound myself. When I got home, Macy thought that it was Christmas and kept yelling "Bicycle!" and "Rock, Chair!" along with "Hat!" for the helmet. She didn't know what to play with first. We had intended to give her a tricycle for her birthday but decided that we didn't want to take it away from her now. Her feet don't quite reach the peddles but she loves to sit on it and be pushed and to push it around from behind. I kept a few toys and books for her birthday and to give her as rewards when she goes poopy in the potty (once we start training). I am quite proud of my conquest!
Sorry the picture didn't turn out great, but this gives you an idea...

And here is the spoiled princess in a rocking action shot. It was very fun for me to get to see her be so excited.
And a special thanks to Justin for keeping both kids so I could battle the crowds uninhibited by the girls in a stroller. I failed to mention that by 9:30 (half hour after it was supposed to start) the best treasures were gone and there was very little that we had interest in. When we left the packed neighborhood we passed people with wagons, childless strollers, wheel barrows, rolling suitcases and giant carts that they had brought to deposit their purchases in to. There were also cars parked through the entire neighborhood and nearly a half mile up the main road that lead into it. Insanity, but thanks to Kara's suggestion to go early, we avoided most of the madness.

Justin is off camping with Randy tonight somewhere in the freezing cold (it still gets into the 30's at night). His idea of fun is often my idea of torture so I willingly urged him to go without me. :) Plus he hasn't worked since Monday night (due to scheduling and training conflicts) and next week is his week off so I figured we could spare him for one evening. He climbed inside of his sleeping bag during his packing and Macy thought that was about the funniest thing she had ever seen. Of course, she had to join him...