Wal-Mart Greatness

I re-discovered Wal-Mart this morning. I say "re-discovered" because we used to shop there regularly when we lived close to it in Plano. Since we moved to Allen, I lost touch with my old pal and fell in love with Target. Don't get me wrong, I loooooooove me some Target. My debit card can atest to that. But I went in to Wal-Mart this morning after dropping off Abby at MDO, prepared to just look for a rug (Matt didn't care too much for my other one. Oh well.), and it was like walking into heaven. Well, "heaven" may be too strong of a word. The floors could use some polishing, and the lights could be dimmed a bit. Oh, and there was a bird flying around the store. But forget all those things; Wal-Mart rocks!

How fabulous is it that you can buy a gallon of paint, a tire for your car, a swimsuit, meat for Hamburger Helper, and a shirt for your child--all in one stop?? How American is that? Greatness. I only spent an hour in there, but I could have stayed until noon! Fabric, shampoo, Hannah Montana backpacks, deli meat, wine, lingerie, canned fruit...it's a wonderland of items.

And Wal-Mart attracts all kinds of people from all walks of life: I saw little old ladies sitting on the benches by the front door, a painter, a guy who could have passed for Jay-Z, firemen, moms, dads, a husband buying his wife a giant teddy bear (I swear I almost told him that grown women don't really want that for Valentine's, but I thought better of it), grandparents, kids, and I even had a conversation with a nice lady on the detergent aisle. We discussed forgetting our grocery lists at home. We bonded over visually remembering what we wrote down. And you know what else? I only heard two crying babies the entire time I was in there. And only one mom yelled at her kid. Based on my previous trips to Wal-Mart, I would say that's a new record.

I bought a Diaper Genie refill for 5 bucks. That's cheap. Chips for less than 2 bucks. Amazing. I bought a picture frame for 3 dollars. Holy cow! And I bought Abby a shirt for $3.50. The clothes were super cute and super cheap. Hello, my name is Cathy, and I am frugal. :)

Don't worry, Target: I am not leaving you. You either, Kroger. But every once in a while, I may have to make a trip down to Plano to good ol' Wal-Mart. I think my wallet will thank me for it. :)