As soon as the weather became brisker apparel sales went up. Jewelry is also popular because a lot of men purchase jewelry as a last minute gift. Expect a lot of traffic in that area.

Sales have sky rocketed on mall-wide gift cards, and often times they will come back in the week after Christmas.

We're continuing to see retailers cite the weather for either making or breaking their sales numbers. Frankly, I think is an excuse tailored to satisfy Wall Street. Wall Street is a little more forgiving if a major retailer blames weather for disappointing sales.

Kmart's sales for October were on plan despite softer apparel sales due to unseasonably warm weather during the latter half of the month. Sales volumes for the third quarter were near expectations. Categories showing particular strength for the month included home appliances and electronics, do-it-yourself, home decor, cosmetics and fragrances, consumables, stationery and pharmaceuticals.

No matter how she was feeling or what the weather was doing, she would always be out there.

Our next regular meeting is in November and we're going to be getting into bad weather before then, so we really need to be making a decision before then.