This isn't a figment of your imagination.

With one of the biggest shopping days of the year coming up Friday, there were some interesting tidbits I couldn't squeeze into Monday's notebook.

Here's what to expect from the shopping world in the next couple of days.

With some retailers, there's no need to wait

For those who want to get a head start, or even avoid Black Friday alltogether, there are plenty of deals out there.

Borders Books will start its Thanksgiving weekend sale Friday, but today the store is offering those same deals to shoppers with one of its loyalty cards. And several retailers, including Radio Shack and Old Navy, will be open on Thanksgiving.

Many retailers are pushing cost-saving deals online. Amazon.com has been advertising some specials as part of its "Black Friday Week." Walmart plans to offer several discounts on its Web site on Thanksgiving.

When you should go out on Friday

It looks like Old Navy wins the award for earliest opening on Friday -- the clothing store will be open at 3 a.m. Yes, you read that right.

But other retailers won't be far behind. For Lower Valley shoppers, J.C. Penney in Sunnyside will be open by 4 a.m. At the Valley Mall in Union Gap, Sears will also open at 4 a.m. Several other Valley Mall stores including Macy's, Aeropostale and American Eagle will open their doors at 5 a.m. The rest of the Valley Mall will be open by 7 a.m., said Valley Mall manager Allie Stewart.

Holiday strategy

While shopping online for gifts is popular, it seems the Web is helping some local shoppers decide where to hunt for bargains.

Mark Sawyer, a 37-year-old Yakima shopper, decided he'll go to Walmart on Friday to buy a flat-screen television for the exercise room of his house. He made that determination by perusing Web sites that compile all the retailer deals planned for Black Friday.

Web sites are great for finding deals on smaller gifts, too, Sawyer said.

"(The Web sites) make me more prepared," he said. "I can sit back and enjoy my shopping and not worry if there's a big crowd and get the deals I want."

Sawyer isn't the only one using such sites -- more than 26 percent of shoppers surveyed recently said they use sites that track Black Friday sales to determine where they would shop for the day, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation.

There's a lot of sites out there, so my recommendation is to go to Google, type in "Black Friday deals" and find the one that suits your shopping strategy.

A political holiday

There's been a lot of attention surrounding an upcoming Tri-Cities visit by 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. She'll be in the area to spend Thanksgiving with relatives.

That visit, to the dismay of local fans, won't include a visit to a Yakima bookstore. Michelle Lara, manager of the Borders Books in Union Gap said the company tried to work out a visit with the publisher of Palin's book, "Going Rogue."

But Palin wanted to limit activities to the Tri-Cities area to maximize the time she would have with her family, Lara said.

A Yakima visit would have had a good turnout.

"Her book is selling like hotcakes," Lara said.

Looks like those fans will have to drive to the Tri-Cities instead. Palin will be signing her book at noon Sunday at Hastings Books, 1425 George Washington Way in Richland.

One more reminder ...

I'll be posting Black Friday updates on the Shop Talk blog (www.yakimaherald.com/shoptalk) and on Twitter (http://twitter.com/shoptalkexpress) all morning long. For those who are on Twitter and want to share Black Friday stories, mark updates with #yhrblackfriday09. Not on Twitter? Just e-mail me.

* Mai Hoang's Reporter's Notebook is published Mondays in the Your Money section. To reach her, call 509-577-7685 or e-mail mhoang@yakimaherald.com.