Thanksgiving is over ...

It was so nice to have everyone home for the holiday weekend. As you can see from the picture .. the dishwashers are running none stop around here. Ashley and Doug were in Tuesday night, and were here on and off over the holiday. They left yesterday afternoon to head back home and get things done when they are not so busy. Brad and Kayla were in Wednesday, and Danny was here the whole week. Time is going by pretty quick around here with Christmas and the wedding coming up so fast.


Thanks Kayla for all your help with the tablecloth. I wish I would of thought of this when the kids were little, but as I've told them ... "In like 15 years .. this is going to be awesome" lol. I stole this idea from a scrapbooking friend, and I just love it. I bought a large white tablecloth, and Kayla painted a Thanksgiving design in the center. I plan to put it out every year, and everyone can sign it. They can draw a picture, or just write a message .. whatever they would like to do. As the years go by, and they get married, and have kids .. it will all show up on the tablecloth.

Happy Thanksgiving

update - It's 11 am here, and so far .. so good.

No injuries/events yet today.

It makes you wonder ...

When everything goes just a little "too" easy.

Everything is in -Thanksgiving is in 2 days, and the kids will all be home from school starting today mode-

So I'm getting everything done around here, getting ready for the holiday and long weekend with the kids home. It's so nice to have everyone home, even if it's just for a couple extra days.

This is the part that's starting to make me wonder a little bit. Went to the grocery store this morning. It was pouring rain out, but stopped as soon as I got to the store. Then started back up when I was inside, and stopped again when I came out. Soon as I got everything in the car ... pouring again. Since I never go out in the rain, your thinking .. wow good timing. (perhaps but it gets better)
So I get everything I need at the store for the holiday and all the specialized kid food, and it's all perfect .. fruits, veggies .. everything. And, they even have everything I need on the list. (now that's a little strange) This whole grocery store trip is just as easy as can be, no lines .. actually it was pretty empty. Come home, and everything fits into the fridge no problem. (hmmm) ... normally I'm rearranging for a half hour just trying to get it all in there good enough so it doesn't fall on you when you open the door.

So far, the Holiday weekend is just the easiest thing in the world. But, that isn't how it usually goes around here.

Thanksgiving is somewhat of a dangerous time for me. I've had a fire (not my fault), a flood (k that one was my fault, but I did learn you don't put potato peelings down the garbage disposal, (the plumber making .. I can't even imagine -quadruple- time shared that tip) And at least 2 trips to the clinic for stitches. All all this has happened in the last 5 ish years. Not to worry though, everyone else is safe on this holiday .. it's just me who has "issues".

Today I'm pondering ...

Why some things never change.

There are 3 weeks out of the entire year ... the fridge is really kind of spoken for... Thanksgiving, Christmas, & Easter. Yet Mark went to the grocery store yesterday .. and filled the fridge with "Mark food". Now Mark food is stuff no one else in the entire house will really eat. It's an incredible variety of veggies, cheeses, lunch meats, 5 different varieties of drinks, 2 kinds of yogurt, and this isn't including the ( I just counted them 39 different types of "prep" items ( sauces, oils, dressings ... etc etc etc.) and countless other items. The thing is .. when the kids aren't here .. we eat out alot.
Sooo, what is this little mini grocery store in the kitchen for exactly??
No one really knows. But that is my job today .. to sort through - all this stuff and try and figure out where I can put food for the other 5 of us (since everyone will be home for Thanksgiving) as well as Holiday food.
It looks like I have my work cut out for me .. as I have no clue where I'm going to make room in a place .. where there is no room.

But while I'm doing that .. I'll think about these other things that make no sense ..

How can there be an empty laundry basket/hamper surrounded by dirty clothes ??

How can Danny leave his school books here, for an entire week and not need them ??

Why do the cats always wait until I've just vacuumed/washed the floor - to throw up on it??

Why every week - I have to remind someone about taking the trash to the street. I mean really .. it's kinda like Valentines day ( always on February 14th) .. same day every week .. never changes.

And of course the biggie - How can I go to the grocery store and spend $300. and have everyone who opens the fridge say ... " How come we never have anything to eat here??"
(I'll be hearing that last one alot in the week ahead .. lol )

Sometimes .. you lose sight of the ball

That would be today. I was thinking this morning after I got up .. what I wanted to do today. I do have a scrapbooking class this afternoon, and there is a huge craft fair this weekend .. but other than that .. what to do .. what to do ?? Well, I figured, if and when Mark got up .. we could go out to breakfast. That would be nice and something we don't get to do too often. Then I was thinking ... hmmm if I get to scrapbooking early .. I could probably run by sams really quick. See if theres anything I need.
Oh wait .. that would be a terrible idea. The saturday before Thanksgiving .. that place will be crazy .. so I won't go anywhere near that place. But, if I did stop by Sams .. I could see what desserts they have for Thanksgiving .. wait .. what .. Thanksgiving is Thursday ... this Thursday ???
Here explains the title .. I have been so busy getting stuff done way in advance that .. opps .. forgot Thanksgiving was thursday .. Well no that isn't quite right .. I always knew Thanksgiving was thursday .. but that's forever away. Like "always next week sometime" .. maybe it would be a good idea to go to the store and get a turkey .. since they should be in the fridge thawing by when ... today or tomarrow ??
Wow .. thats a biggie .. you know I can see this happening. The kids all coming back from college .. getting stuff ready for thanksgiving and then .. opps .. forgot to buy the stuff to make dinner. The good part is .. we could sit around in our wedding clothes (which we have) and look at the house already decorated for Christmas. LOL

Yet - another - reason why scrapbooking saves the day. If I didn't have a class today, I would never of thought of going to Sam's .. and never realized that Thanksgiving was *this* Thursday.

The Nordstrom effect ...

or what I like to call ... the goodness factor. That really is the only explanation of how today went. As I have said before, I did go out looking for mom 0 bride dresses one other time .. didn't have any luck. Actually, I was shocked to hear that most stores (regular stores) don't even carry them in stock, you have to order them online .. etc etc etc. So last night, I was talking to my dad and Trish and she suggested ... Nordstorms. Hmmm ... I had thrown that one out to Mark for suggestions on where to go weeks ago, and he said it would be a total waste of time .. and that I couldn't get out of there for under a thousand bucks for a dress. Not quite what I was looking to spend .. so that's and easy one. But, after talking to Trish last night, I figured I have nothing to lose, so why not try it. Well went there this morning .. and 35 minutes later ... I have a dress and everything else I need, but the shoes ( which in the worst case scenario .. I can have in 5 minutes. ) So thank you .. thank you .. thank you Trish.
Love the dress.
Now what I've figured out since then is the reason Mark didn't want me to go there .. lol I have found a new favorite store that I really don't mind going shopping in. (bad news for him)
I don't like shopping, and it just kills me to go to the mall. That was pre-nordstorms ... now maybe I'll go everyday. lol I have never in my life, been to a store that was so helpful, and clean, and actually had everything in every size ... unbelievable. So after I left the store, having an incredibly easy time, getting a dress, I'm on my way to Kayla's school to listen to a study abroad informational lecture. I have a few minutes to kill .. figured I would stop and get her some fruit and muffins .. and guess what .. the Nordstorm effect kicks in .. I get the first parking spot by the door .. next stop .. Katie's school .. again the goodness of the day is still there .. get the first spot next to the door again. And, it's not just me ... Mark calls on his way home from work. We had talked about getting
Brad a certain gift for Christmas. The problem was .. we could never find it at the price we were willing to pay. He's looked for hours for this and what happens today ... He goes into a store he's been in a dozen times and the exact thing .. exactly as we wanted it, is there .. and on sale .. for that's right .. exactly what we were willing to spend.
Destiny or coincidence ... you be the judge.

Been busy ...

Just trying to get ahead of the game around here. With Ashley's wedding coming up ... pretty fast, I figured I would work on getting stuff done a little in advance. I had Mark and Danny bringing up all the Christmas decorations the other night, and I'm getting all that ready to go. I spent the day yesterday, getting it all put away. The bad part is ... I know of - a bunch of things - that aren't up here yet. Sooo thats the job today .. to go back downstairs and find the missing boxes. I did find one yesterday in my closet with the 20 snowmen in it I got from the craft fair last year ... so you can all relax, as those are no longer missing.
This picture was when I was unpacking .. I'll put the finished room on when I'm done. We passed on Christmas decorating last year because of cat issues. (we have 1 that takes it upon himself to become a tree cat for all of December) not a good thing. And I thought, taking a year off from decorating .. would maybe make him forget about the whole tree thing. This morning, however, I did find one broken ornament in front of the tree. Could gravity have taken over and just pulled the one ornament off ??
I'm guessing .. not likely.
This year I put all the unbreakable ones on the bottom half .. just in case. Kind of like when the girls were little and help my mom decorate their Christmas tree. Since they were little, they could only reach halfway up ... so thats where all the ornaments went .. at the bottom. Well I'm off to the basement ... in search of the missing decorations.

Bread, butter and salt club ...

When the girls were little, the electric breadmaker had just came out. I got one from mom and dad for Christmas one year, and started making bread all the time, at least 4-5 times a week. Last night, I started thinking about it .. and to be honest .. didn't know if I had sold mine in a garage sale. (everyone knows around here .. if it sits for a little bit without being used ... it's gone) Anyway, started digging around in the cupboards, and I found it.
So last night I made bread ... couldn't find the original instructions .. since those probably did get thrown out, but I found a breadmaker cookbook and gave it a try. It doesn't look like much, since I used too much yeast, and it didn't brown quite right, but ... it was fabulous. Which brings me back to the bread, butter and salt club. That's what the girls used to call having a snack of homemade bread. They would put butter on and the sprinkle it with salt. (never understood that part) I'm leaving the breadmaker out for now .. the kids will all be home for Thanksgiving soon ... and I think they will all be suprised to remember how good homemade bread is.

Happy Birthday Brad ...

I can't believe your 20 today!
It's hard when your away at school on your birthday ... and when your sick on your birthday ... it's even worse.
But, when your home on break you'll get to celebrate again.
Hope you have a great birthday, rest up and we'll see you soon.

Friday the 13th ...

Nothing too exciting is going on around here. Brad came back from college on Wednesday, he has swine flu. The nurse at school started him on the meds for it, but so far ... hes not getting any better. We haven't seen him, as he went to Beth's from school, but Danny stopped over there last night, and said he's never seen Brad this sick before. So hopefully, Brad will be alot better by this weekend. And I think, once you get over the flu, you won't get it again this year.

So thats the good news Brad, you'll be coasting for the rest of the winter on this flu thing. Get lots of rest ... and you'll be feeling better before you know it.

My favorite time of year ...

Is when the elfyourself site goes live.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Don't you just love it.

It's here ... it's here

Mark got me a tiny computer for my birthday .. and it arrived today. Now I know what your thinking, what in the heck is wrong with him. LOL
But, I saw one of these at the scrapbooking retreat a couple of months ago, and just thought it was the cutest thing ever. This lady at the retreat had her tiny computer hooked up to a tiny printer ... and omg it was awesome. So, I figured since my birthday was coming up ... this would be the perfect gift. Granted, I wish one of the kids were here to set the whole thing up, but I'm managing. I did after .. (for real 10 minutes)... figure out how to put the battery in the mouse. (it is a really dumb place to put the battery if that helps my case at all) I'm kinda stuck now, since I can't figure out how to log onto the internet, but ... Danny will be home in 3 hours so I'll just wait. The tiny computer is just perfect, and I love it. Thanks again hon for the gift. Love you

Finally got the puzzle swap back ...

Way back in June we went up north for a little visit. When we were up there, I found these puzzles in a dollar store. I thought they would be perfect for a puzzle swap at scrapbooking ... and they were. So I bought 13 (12 for the swap and 1 extra just in case ... lol) We swapped pieces about 3 months ago, and we all received our pieces back yesterday. My theme was black/cream collage. I love how it turned out. Everyone at class wants to do another one. So next time I go up ... bring back more puzzles.

I found some coasters at Michaels in the dollar bins ... brought them to class last night and thats our next swap.
Nothing else too exciting going on today. I was thinking ... I might go out dress shopping today. We'll see ....

Big news ...

Kayla called this afternoon with the results of her Major Acceptance Review. She was accepted ( yeah .. cheers and fireworks ) Now she is a legitimate art major, and she has a Spanish major as well. But the art major is the big news of the day. In honor of this achievement, I thought I would share some of Kayla's early works. This first piece of art was done in pencil. Actually, I believe she used a blue colored pencil, the blue (like the sky) signifies her infinite love of lambchop with its never ending boundaries. Notice the lines and circles, drawn with such emotion, and the keen likeness to the actual lambchop.


This next piece was from kindergarden. She began using much more color in her drawings, and this piece even has her signature. It's a very early version of the standard "art signature" she uses now.


Last but not least ... are the staple people. These fun loving creatures came about on the rainy afternoon. I think this was the start of the "found art" phase.



I know what you all are thinking ... the same thing I am. When Kayla becomes a famous artist .. all these works and more will be sought after collectibles. It just so happens I have entire boxes of masterpieces ... just like these. So when Kayla does hit the big time ... be sure to check back for your opportunity to own some of Kayla's early work.

Happy Birthday Robin -

Well I looked, and looked ... and I don't have any pictures of you. Ok, actually I do have one ... this one. I took this last year ... had to crop it a little to make it presentable lol ... but this is all I have. I really need to work on taking more pictures. Hope you have a great birthday Robin, and in the mean-time ... you should be wearing shorts to work .... showing off those legs.

Wood-a-licious

That would be how Kayla would describe today's craft fair. Craft fairs are my fall "thing". I go to everyone I can .. always knowing I will find the most awesome stuff in the world. And yes, today was no different. Today's big winners were Kayla and the cats. ( ok ... plus a bunch of food I probably shouldn't eat )These are my big finds from todays craft fair.
<--- For Kayla











<--- for Kayla for Christmas
shhhh










<---- I got 2 of these, one for the inside kitties ... and 1 for Oscar.

What luck ...

I was thinking about what to write about on the blog today ... and I came upon this. This was one of the girls favorite tv shows when they were little. I have always been pulling for Sandy, she was always my favorite.

'SpongeBob SquarePants' and Sandy Exchange 'I Dos' @ Y! TV

The parade is over ...

Had a wonderful birthday yesterday. ( would of been better if all the kids were home, but thats what happens when your birthday is during school) Mark and & went out to dinner at the Mexican restaurant, and watched the last game of the world series. This is my birthday cake ...

that I would of loved to of had. lol
No cake this year, just can't get past this gallbladder thing. I never thought there would ever be something that would curtail how much chocolate I eat .. well guess again.
Thanks again for all the birthday wishes.

Update to the earlier post ...

Well, I've been trying all day ... everytime I was in the car, and just can't figure it out. (how to change the clock in my car) I did however get the hour to flash when holding the time button ... but no luck on figuring out what to do from there. So Deb .. If you get a minute .. just give me a hint on which button it is to change the hour .. I've tried them all and ... as unbelievable as it might seem .. I was even going to look in the book to find out how. Opps ... guess they forgot to put that in the glovebox. lol

What time is it ... anyway ??

I have this problem every year, actually twice a year. They change the time either forward or backward an hour. That isn't really the problem. The problem is ... some of my clocks change automatically, others not, some I do when I first remember about the time change, others .. I forget I even have and they don't get changed at all. (I figure they'll be right again in about 6 months anyway) So for the first week or so after a time change, I could really flux 2 hours either way on things. And we don't even need to mention the car clock. (good thing Kayla's home this weekend, I'll put her on it)