It's Ladies Night, oh what a night!

So for those of you not familiar with Utah culture, a lot of female-centric stores around the valley have instituted "Ladies' Night" special events during the time of the Priesthood Session of General Conference. I started going to some of them about 5 years ago, when I actually won a prize, and I continue to go every 6 months with the hope that I will win again. Alas, as time goes on, more and more people are finding out about the nights, and my luck has gone down dramatically. And yet, I still go hoping that this time will be different. In addition to prizes, a lot of places will also do free "make and takes" which involve making a craft and then taking it home, hence the title. So, this year my sister Mandy and I signed up for one at Roberts' about 3 weeks ago. We left the house at 4:45, to be one of the first at Deseret Book. When we got there, we found about 15 people already there, but realized the event didn't start for another hour. We saw the free prize for the first 100 people, and decided it wasn't cute enough to warrant standing in line with a very tired and cranky Lily, who had refused to take a nap. We then decided to go to Heartland Paper, a new favorite scrapbooking store. They have a lot of stuff that you can't get at the chains (like Stickles!). They had a free make and take that you didn't have to sign up for, that was pretty cute. We did that and then basically wandered the store waiting for the next make and take to start, and hoping to win a prize. We ended up buying some grab bags (was the stuff inside REALLY worth $20? I have my doubts) and some Big Bird stickers that Lily grabbed a hold of before I could stop her. We didn't win on the number walk, although Mandy thought she did (#8, whoo-hoo!). We then ran over to Joann's, where they didn't have anything), then back to Heartland for another make and take. We also saw a demo of the Bind-it-All, which I think may have to be my next scrapbook purchase. Then it was time to head to Roberts for our class we signed up for. Before we made it down the street, Lily was asleep, which was great considering all the crying, screaming, and running away she had indulged in for the last hour, but I was worried she would wake up crankier. We got to Roberts, and Lily actually stayed asleep while Mandy did the class, even when ladies started screaming right in her ear because they was excited about the possibility of winning a prize. I just got a kit to make later (along with the other hundred projects I need to do), and held Lily while we waited for Mandy. She woke up just as the festivities were winding down, and we left without buying a thing, but with some cute projects. We then decided to stop for some cheap corn dogs, forgetting about the other tradition of men going for ice cream after Priesthood. The window of Ab's showed it was completely full of men in suits, so we had to wait a while for our dogs, but they were worth the wait. And so, our Ladies' Night ended, not to be seen for another 6 months, when I will vow not to get sucked in to all the hype, but I probably will. I can never resist a good deal and the possibility of a big prize!