Thanksgiving and Black Friday have past and I came out relatively unscathed.

Other than having sore legs from standing in line for two-and-a-half hours waiting to get the major gifts on my list, it was an enjoyable holiday weekend.

On Thanksgiving, we had some of your traditional dishes like green-bean casserole and mashed potatoes, but tried something new with the main course -- the turkey.

Rather than baking it straight or frying it, we attempted to make beer can turkey.

It was the same concept as beer can chicken, but the size difference between the birds made things interesting.

For one, the turkey was a little top heavy so it ended up being angled. Also, at the odd angle, the turkey ended up falling apart -- bones and all -- as it cooked in the oven, but nonetheless, it came out delicious.

Then came what I believe I will refer to as "Turkey Madness" from this point forward.

Once again, I decided to get up extra early and -- this time -- headed for the mall to catch those amazing early deals.

After waiting a few minutes for the mall doors to open at 4 a.m., I rushed in and made surprisingly quick work at the first store I entered, and was able to move to my next destination within a half hour.

Then the waiting game occurred.

On Thanksgiving, I made sure I bought a paper filled with all the ads to plan out my "Turkey Madness" morning.

This particular store had just about everything on my list I needed, but did not list the time they were going to open. I visited the web site and called the store -- knowing no one would be there -- trying to see if the recording had any special hours, but alas, none were listed.

After about 45 minutes of waiting, I managed to stop a member of the mall's management, who told me the stores had the choice of opening anywhere between 4 and 7 a.m.

Given I was near the front of the line, I decided to wait it out.

At about 6:20 a.m., employees of this store showed up with donuts and coffee in hand -- for themselves -- and that's when the crowd and anticipation began to grow.

Everyone in line anxiously watched their every move, trying to predict if they were heading to front to open the door a few minutes early and groaning with disappointment when they did not.

Then, at 7 a.m., on the dot, the store manager opened the door and, like a tsunami wave, everyone rushed through the door, some ducking under -- including myself -- before the door was completely opened.

Initially told to go to the counter to seize a couple of the precious gifts, I was redirected to the back of the store where they were handing out the items from the employee's room.

It was a frantic 20 minutes but I was able to come away with most of the things I was looking for.

Now, the next few weeks will be spent trying to lock down the best deal on those items "lost" in the madness, if I can find them at all.