Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Happy Thanksgiving!!

O Christmas Tree...O Christmas TreeMy M

My Mom's Tree

This weekend my brother was in from England. He had to come to the states for work and decided to make a jaunt down for a long weekend visit. It was nice to see him. I miss him. And we had a lot of fun and laughs. He through us for a loop on Friday because he said he wasn't getting here until 8:00 pm and he showed up at 4:30 pm. But it worked well. We had a lovely dinner and spent some time at Mom's house which was fun.

Saturday I had to work in the morning. So my brother had breakfast with our Dad and then Mom, D (my brother) and I went and did some shopping after I got off work. Then we had dinner at a yummy BBQ place. 

On Sunday we decided we'd have a later start because we wanted to go across the water to do some shopping. D bought Mom and I's Christmas presents while he was here. (it's hard knowing what's under the tree and not being able to play with it) Shopping and lunch took longer than expected because the restaurant was slow and Pandora (our main shopping destination) was crowded beyond belief. We decided later we should have started there not ended there. But oh well. We came back to this side of the water and had yummy Mexican food at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Then we went back to Mom's and decorated the tree. 

Mom hadn't put up a tree for the past two years due to the divorce she just wasn't feeling it. This year it was nice because we decorated it as a family. Although Mom and D gave up hanging ornaments and just unpacked them so I did a lot of the "decorating." But it was fun and it made Mom happy. She says she really likes having a tree back. 

J and I haven't put up a tree together. We haven't quite figured out where we would put it. But we also don't have a tree. This year when I was helping Mom pick out her tree at Walmart I saw a tree that I think would be cool. I may go get it so we have it for next year. It is a black Christmas tree with white lights. 

Have you put up your tree yet? Do you do it the weekend of Thanksgiving? Do you wait? Do you take it down New Year's Day? 

The Beginning of the "Lasts"

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It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is Thursday. How time has flown. And yet in some aspects of my life time has moved slowly. On September 28th of 2010 I put my husband on a plane for Japan to begin his 3 year geo bachelor tour. This year begins the beginning of the end. This Thanksgiving will be the last Thanksgiving I spend without him before he is scheduled to come home from Japan. It is hard to believe. It seemed like such a long time to have him gone and it was. But the light at the end of the tunnel is visible. For those of you with loved ones near by appreciate them and let them know you love them. For those of you with loved ones far away you are in my thoughts. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Black Thursday?

Jingle All the Way...Source

I love shopping I do. And I love a bargain as much as the next girl or guy. But I also believe that holidays are a time to be rest and recuperate and spend time with friends and family. I was in hhGregg the other day and the manager commented about "black Thursday." I was puzzled. I knew sales started crazy early on Friday but somehow I had missed them starting Thursday. I know our economy needs a boost. I get that. And I know that Thanksgiving weekend is the biggest shopping weekend of the year. I get that too. But I'm not sure I can fully support the shopping industry having their stores open at 8:00, 10:00, etc on Thursday night. Now I suppose some employees might not mind having to work. Maybe they don't have Thanksgiving plans but still I'm sure there are some who really would rather have a full day off. As for me I'm blessed to work somewhere where I have Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday off next weekend. 

What are your thoughts?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Peanuts by Charles M. Schultz

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!! Let us remember to give thanks!

Happy Halloween!!

In honor of Halloween, I was watching the movie The Rite with Anthony Hopkins but I admit I'm not a scary movie person and when it involves things like demons it freaks me out even more so I'm not sure if I'll make it through it. I like campy scary movies like Friday the 13th (no pun intended) or Nightmare on Elm Street because they are so over the top that the scary factor isn't too bad. But the creepy movies like the Omen or the Orphan those mess with me because the images will pop back into my head. I'm really more the It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown kind of girl.

What about you what kind of movies do you like?

As for Halloween plans, I went to a crazy Halloween party on Saturday and had a great time!! And tonight I plan to hand out candy if I get home in time.

What about you what do/did you do for Halloween?

Halloween

I can't believe Saturday starts October...where did the year go? But do you know what this means? We are closer to Halloween!! Halloween is one of my favorite seasons second only to Christmas. I like the trick or treaters, the costumes, the decorations, the parties, etc. I love the cutesy and the scarey Halloween stuff. I can't wait to dig out my Halloween decorations and this year I'm decorating the house. My neighbor and I have made a pact. My only concern with decorating is having someone mess with it. But we'll see how it goes.

So what is your favorite season? Do you decorate for Halloween? If so what do you do? 

Holidays Recap

Ok so I'm a tad behind on this but you'll see why...

•  Christmas Eve - I work in a church so I've often had to work on Christmas Eve but over the past few years my boss has generously given us Christmas Eve off. So I spent most of my day finishing a purse for my mom for Christmas. I finished wrapping gifts. Then I went to pick her up and we went to dinner with my friend S. Then the three of us went to church. Following the service S went home, I dropped off Mom, and I went to my friends annual Christmas Eve party which is always a blast. 
• Christmas Day - I got up and puttered around the house. Then I got ready and went over to Mom's to exchange gifts. We exchanged gifts. Then we watched Charlie Brown's Christmas. Then we headed to Williamsburg for our Christmas Dinner in the tavern. If you have never done this I recommend it. The food was amazing and the service was even better. After dinner we were going to go see Chronicles of Narnia Voyage of the Dawn Treader but it started to snow and Mom was tired. So I took her home for a nap. And then came back to her place to watch The Chipmonk's Christmas. Then I went to my friend's house to drop off Christmas presents. I headed home early because it was snowing pretty heavily. 
• The Day after Christmas - lower VA got snowed in. We got 12 inches of snow. It was pretty but clearing it and dealing with it...not so pretty. 
• The Days between Christmas and New Year's - I had Monday off...then back to work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We got off work at 3:00 PM on Thursday so I decided to extend the olive branch to my father and go bowling with him. It was pleasant. A tad awkward. Ares had shredded a suede handbag or so I thought...turns out he ate pieces. He threw up on Monday and then again on Thursday morning. I called the vet they said to keep an eye on him and if he threw up again bring him in. He did fine all day Thursday and Friday so no vet trip. 
• New Year's Eve - I spent most of the day home with the dogs sleeping on the couch. Then went to meet Mom for dinner. Then home to check on the puppies. Then off to my friends New Year's Eve party. The party was laid back and fun. We played Win, Lose, or Draw. And I headed home around 3:00 AM. All was good until I was awakened by Ares throwing up at 4:00 AM. So we got up and I tried giving him some food. He got sick again.  
• New Year's Day So I called one emergency vet...they said not to feed him until dinner time and to keep an eye on him. He kept whimpering and hiding in his crate. This is not my dog he is so social it is scary. I decided to take him in. I called my vet and they sent me to a different emergency vet. Ares had a blockage in his stomach and intestine and ended up having surgery. In an effort to keep myself occupied Mom and I went to the outlets to do some returns and some shopping. I got the call around dinner time that he was doing well and in recovery.
• Day after New Year's - I called the vet in the morning to check on him. He was doing well so they said I could bring him home later that day. I called Mom and we went to see Chronicles of Narnia's Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Great movie!! Then we went to Barnes and Noble. Then I went to get my baby!! I had the uphill battle of keeping him calm and settled down. He is on a restrictive diet and activity schedule but he is on the mend and doing well. I'm so glad!!

Whirlwind weekend...

 The Griffin at Busch Gardens

As I mentioned my brother and his girlfriend (now fiance) surprised us for the weekend by coming in on Thursday. Whenever they come it is always a bit of hectic weekend but it is a blast. So Friday I took a half day at work we already leave at 3:00 PM on Fridays but I left at 12:30 PM. Then they decided they wanted to go to Busch Gardens (a local theme park) so we said we could go on base to get tickets cheaper than at the gate of the park. (a good $20 cheaper a person) And the base MWR (Morale, Welfare, & Recreation Office) we found open on the start of a holiday weekend was at the Weapons Station. A piece of advice...don't take a British citizen onto a military base on 4th of July weekend. We all showed ID and then the guard said..."Oh, she's a foreign national we have to take her ID and call the Master of Arms." So we waited and waited and waited...finally after some paperwork and some brief interviews for her and J we were allowed to go buy tickets. But in the future we will go get the tickets separate. Busch Gardens was a blast. But it was tiring. After Busch Gardens we came home and took Mom to Dairy Queen for ice cream for her birthday. My brother and his fiance wanted to go shopping at the Outlets near us Saturday morning. My brother wanted to get there first thing in the morning so he said he wanted to leave at 9:30 AM sharp. So we agreed, then we went home to take care of the dogs.

 Prime Outlets Williamsburg

 

Saturday we got up early to take care of the dogs. J worked on my car stereo that was having problems and we got ready to go. We pulled into the driveway at 9:30 AM. We beat my brother and his fiance. They arrived at 10:00 AM. So then we were on the road. The outlets were amazingly empty. So shopping was pleasant. But I found nothing I needed or wanted. My brother found some things then we headed back to Mom and Dad's. We went to lunch at 5 Guys. It was yummy! Then we came home and played the game Mrs. & Mr. it is like the newlywed game. J and I won...150 to 90 it was tricky but we know each other well. Then we decided since we had had a late lunch that we would have cheesecake (made by moi) for dinner. Then we called it a night and said good bye. They were heading out Sunday morning.

Sunday we were going to get up and go to church but we hit a wall. I know not a good excuse but we were exhausted. So we puttered around the house. J worked outside and I sewed a quilt (well part of it) I will post pictures later. Then we got ready and went to get Mom and Dad to head to our church for fireworks. There was a band playing and then the fireworks started at 9:00PM. They were really good!! Then we dropped Mom and Dad off and went home.

Yesterday we went to the grocery store to stock up for my planned menus. And had a nice relaxing day around the house. After dinner we took the Harley out for a ride. It had been a while...it was fun but a bit warm because we always wear jeans. Nice night all and all. And it brought the end to our whirlwind weekend of fun.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

Thank You to all of the men and women who have served our country we appreciate your sacrifice for our country and freedom! Have a happy and safe 4th of July!!

Merry Christmas

Sorry I disappeared...I work in a church...last week was as crazy as it can get in a week. So we were blessed with a shorter work week for Christmas...which meant...2 1/2 days at work=good....and 2 1/2 days to get all four Christmas Eve bulletins and a Sunday bulletin created, edited, and run off. It was a lot of work but we got it all done by 2:00 PM on the 23rd.

Then I went to the bank, etc. And then J and I headed to the "outlets" to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Crazy...crazy...crazy...and yet the mood was festive so it wasn't too bad. We picked up some stuff for my Dad, my brother, and J. All and all a good trip.

Christmas Eve we were awakened by Ares at 7:00 in the morning. We live near a Shipyard and they have a 7:00 a.m. whistle to start the morning. Well apparently Ares thinks this is for him. So he wakes up and makes a ton of noise until we come down and let him out. We got up...got dressed and went to run a few errands. We went to the pet store and the grocery store for food for all. Harris Teeter is a fun grocery store except around the holidays and then it is evil. But we got what we needed then we came home for some relaxing before going to meet Mom and Dad for dinner. I didn't relax so much...I made a cheesecake and my spinach-artichoke dip.We were going to go to Schlotsky's but they were closed so we went to Kelly's instead. Then Mom, J, and I went to our church for Christmas Eve service. Mom had never been...and she loved it. Then we took Mom home and went to our friends annual Christmas Eve gathering. It was great!

Christmas morning we slept in a bit...so I was late starting our pull-apart bread breakfast. Which meant in turn we were late getting to Mom and Dad's. Unfortunately I hadn't wrapped any gifts so I also had to do that before leaving. I know I know...Christmas comes every year on the same day and yet it always sneaks up on me. And I had to get a shower...definately needed. We got to Mom and Dad's had breakfast while opening gifts. We got a couple things we needed, a couple we wanted, and a couple surprises. We got the Pictionary Man game...oh my gosh it is so much fun but hard. After opening gifts we watched Star Trek, one of J's gifts while munching on more food. I fell asleep. Running around on little sleep will do that to you...then Mom made Beef Stroganoff....it was yummy! Then we went and drove around looking at lights but it started to rain so we came home and had delish...and I mean delish Chocolate Cheesecake (made by moi). It was so rich you couldn't eat a lot. Then J and I packed up and came home.

It was a good Christmas!!