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There's an excellent reason for all this trash talk - I freed myself from a burden that haunts me every December. The anxiety actually starts sometime in October. That's when the inevitable sinks in: Christmas is coming, and I've got to fight the crowds to buy thoughtful gifts for all my loved ones.

Wait, I'm lapsing into the old me. The new, improved me tackled the dreaded task of completing all of my Christmas shopping in one day - the day after Thanksgiving.

I don't mind admitting that going into this, I was afraid. Very afraid. I'm not your typical bust-down-the-door-for-bargains shopper. In fact, I avoid crowds. I didn't pitch this idea to my editor because I thought it would be easy. I suggested it because I thought it would be darn-near impossible.

This is the weak link in my usual shopping strategy, the reason the process takes me weeks - until just a day or two before Christmas - every year. When I can't come up with ideas, I aimlessly wander through stores, hoping something will catch my eye. But it rarely does. So I'll go home, sit on my couch and think some more - nothing! And then I'll go out on another fruitless retail expedition the next weekend.

Next, I spent Thanksgiving morning looking through the advertisements in The Journal Gazette, seeing if any of my preferred - or even secondary - gift ideas were on sale.

My philosophy is that I'd rather pay full retail price for a $30 item somebody really wants than spend $30 on a sale-priced $60 item that the recipient is lukewarm about. I found one item from my list on sale: a DVD player at Target. I decided to make that my first stop.

So, I planned my route, deciding which stores to visit and in which order, based on geography. I made yet another list at that point, including all the items I expected to find at each retailer under that store's heading. A red marker went into my pocket to allow me to mark off the items as I found them.

On Thursday, my anxiety level was off the charts, but I didn't know what else I could do to prepare. Just lots of sleep, a bottle of water, a banana and a bottle of Advil.

8:59 a.m. - I pull out of the garage and head for Target. About half my list is written under the Target heading in my notebook. The gifts include the kinds of things that could be found at nearly any department store, including earrings, a cardigan sweater, slippers, cookie sheets and an apron. I figure whatever I can't find will be bumped down the list to the next likely source.

I could just as easily have chosen J.C. Penney, Kohl's, Wal-Mart or another general merchandise retailer. It just so happens that Target returned my call Wednesday, granting permission for a photographer to follow me around the store.

9:20 a.m. - I arrived and started shopping, even though my photographer wouldn't arrive until 10. I knew I had enough on my list to keep me busy for more than an hour. I even got a decent parking space. Score!

As soon as I walked through the door, I came upon the dollar items. In lieu of drawing names for a gift exchange, my sisters-in-law ask the adults to each buy five items from a dollar store and wrap them. (Kids do the same thing separately.) Then we sit in the living room and choose from the big pile o'gifts until they're all gone. After that, the trading begins as people try to swap for more desirable items.

I'd planned to leave the dollar shopping for later, but the aisles were right in front of me, so I took a pass through them. I actually ended up with 20 assorted items - five each for me, my husband and two stepsons. My stepdaughter and her new husband are on their own now that they're married.

I went for the DVD player next. It was listed for only $29.97, so I figured there was a good chance they'd be gone. The crowd near the digital cameras was at least three customers deep all around the counter. I steered clear of that mess. But the DVD players were in stock. I think my friend Laura will like it.

Next I went to the DVDs to find the movie "Grease." My 8-year-old niece Megan is wishing on every star for that one. I couldn't believe it was right there on the shelf. And for only $9.44. My luck was really holding out.

I found poker chips for my dad and baking sheets for my husband, the expert cookie maker. I bought a brown, wooden jewelry box for my 11-year-old niece Emily, who just got her ears pierced. I also got her a pair of earrings. And I found the cutest National Geographic candy-making kit that allows kids to make several treats, including marshmallows and root beer. That wasn't on the list, but I'm flexible enough to pick up something cool that encourages their curiosity and science skills. I bought two for my nieces.

I found a couple of books my mom might like, including a John Grisham thriller. And I picked out picture frames for the prints we got back this week from our church directory photo session. My sister and my parents will like those. I'm also giving smaller prints to my grandmother and my aunt and uncle.

The only hairy moment in Target was in the toy section after I found the science kits. Suddenly I noticed there were three or four carts deep in every direction - and not one of them was moving. I actually started to get claustrophobic. Finally, somebody budged a little and I got the heck out of there.

I left about 90 minutes after I arrived - and about $300 poorer. I was even cocky enough to buy two baby gifts and get myself a Rachael Ray DVD with several cooking shows on it.

Next on the agenda was a couple of quick in-and-outs. I stopped at Lowe's for a gift certificate for my uncle Mike and at Barbara's New Beginnings for a gift certificate for my sister, Kathy. Barbara's specializes in fitting women with exactly the right size bra. My sister will probably hesitate after she unwraps it on Christmas - you know that awkward pause - then thank me. But she won't really appreciate how great this gift is until after she gets fitted. Those women work magic.

11:50 a.m. - I grabbed a chicken sandwich, cole slaw, mixed fruit and lemonade at Chick-fil-A and ate in my car in the Barnes & Noble parking lot at Jefferson Pointe. I never get tired of how polite the staff at Chick-fil-A is. After I placed my order and received the total, I answered back with an automatic "thank you." As always, the girl over the speaker responded "my pleasure."

12:10 p.m. - Almost as soon as I entered Barnes & Noble, I found terrific customer service again. I picked up a couple of books for my husband - he's into thrillers by Brad Thor and Vince Flynn - and went to the information desk for guidance on another one of his requests. The employee who helped me offered to get the item from the other end of the store and find me in the calendars.

He asked again what he could help me find. I mentioned a book by Landon Turner, former Indiana University basketball player. He checked the computer, which said the book was in stock, but after looking for about 10 minutes, neither of us could find it. So I thanked him and picked up two other sports books I thought my brother-in-law, Ed, would like. Once again, trying to be flexible.

I saved $10 on my purchase because I bought a member's card that gives me a 10 percent discount. For you non-math majors, that means my original total was right at $100.

After putting my purchases in the trunk of my car, I went to Williams-Sonoma. I was greeted by a cheerful woman offering samples of candy and encouraging me to try the hot apple cider on the other side of the counter. Yum!

12:55 p.m. - I arrive at Kohl's in Apple Glen. There were a couple of things I couldn't find at Target: a size 2x, light-colored cardigan for my aunt Lavera and slippers for my mother (the ones at Target were too fuzzy). I also wondered about jewelry boxes. The one I'd bought at Target was good. Fine. Boring, actually. Not what an 11-year-old girl would get excited about. I was close enough to the end of my list that I was willing to second-guess that purchase.

Best of all, I found a white jewelry box decorated in pink and purple. Now that's more like it. I have a month to take the other one back. And the slight inconvenience will be totally worth it.

I headed to the checkouts. They were swamped on one side of the store, so I headed to the other side, where they were just as bad. I counted customers as I walked to the end of the line. I was No. 31. There were eight registers on our end of the store, and even though it was tedious, the wait was only about 10 minutes.

If you're really paying attention, you might wonder about the slippers. Well, I forgot about them until I'd already been in line for several minutes. At that point, I decided I'd get them somewhere else or not at all.

1:20 p.m. - I drove over to the Dollar Tree store at Apple Glen to look for boxed birthday cards for my 95-year-old grandmother. It might seem like an odd gift, but Grandma Wendel lives in a nursing home in Huntington and has severely limited storage space in her room, so she wants only small, useful things. She brags that she's the favorite patient of many of the staff, and she is. She also has lots of friends among the patients. One reason? She gives each one a birthday card. And, of course, she always remembers to send cards to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

But they didn't have any at the Dollar Tree. Things were going so well on my shopping marathon that I decided to drive to New Haven to the Dollar Saver, a company I profiled in a recent article. The store had lots of nice stuff, but no boxed birthday cards. I decide to stroll down to the Dollar General store, a couple of doors away.

2:15 p.m. - My luck holds out as I find a front-row parking spot at Glenbrook Square. At that point I'd really finished my list, but no shopping excursion is complete without a trip to one of the largest malls in the state.

All the stores I've visited have been busy, but this place was absolutely swarming with shoppers. The expansive center walkways were filled with people, walking shoulder-to-shoulder.

I passed by Hickory Farms, making a mental note to stop on my way back. I went to Le Gourmet Chef, my husband's new favorite store. What I really wanted for him wasn't in the store, but I saw it on the Web site, so that would become another online purchase after I got to the office. I settled for a spoon rest - not too exciting, but he's been asking for one. Heck, I just use a saucer.

At Hickory Farms I picked up a party plate with beef stick bites, cheddar cheese, pretzels and mustard. I also got some of those heavenly, pastel Melt Away Mints. I plan to set them out when my stepchildren visit on Sunday for our belated Thanksgiving celebration.

2:40 p.m. - I left Glenbrook, picked up some hot vanilla chai at Firefly Cafe and headed to my computer. A few clicks later, I'd bought my husband's last couple of gifts.

It feels better than great. I learned some important lessons I'm going to use in the future: fanny packs rock. (Why do I ever carry a purse?) Also, do your homework. My lists guided me directly to the right departments. I didn't waste any time aimlessly browsing - my usual and wildly unsuccessful technique. And be flexible. I could have insisted on the Landon Turner book for my brother-in-law, but he'll like what I picked out just as well. And there's plenty of time to pass along that suggestion to my parents or even my sister. I saw the book at Border Books and Music a week or so ago.

Last, be willing to trade up, as I did with the jewelry box. I don't want to make another trip to Target during the holiday chaos to return the first one, but she'll love the girly jewelry box I got at Kohl's so much more.

•More than one-third of shoppers will pay for purchases with debit or check cards. Cash has become the second most-used payment form this holiday season, replacing credit cards.

•The day after Thanksgiving is called "Black Friday" because that's the day retailers traditionally went from being "in the red" (in debt) to being "in the black" (making a profit).

•The Monday following Thanksgiving has been dubbed "Cyber Monday" because a majority of online retailers report a jump in sales that day as shoppers return to work and their high-speed Internet connections.

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