Wordless Wednesday: Turkey Project Edition

finally

It finally feels like winter in North Texas!  It's like we skipped fall and went from temps in the 70s for most of last week to temps in the 30s starting on Friday.  What's more, the forecast calls for snow in the coming days.  Snow in November would be a first for me in Texas.  I think we're supposed to be back in the 50s next weekend, so maybe we'll still get a little fall after all.

Thanksgiving is late this year, and I can feel it, can't you?  I am ready for the break, and the Christmas prep and excitement that follows.  I've already seen lots of Christmas lights and decorations up at homes in the neighborhood, but we always wait until after Thanksgiving.  Our outdoor lights will present a new challenge this year since we're in a new house with a different roof line.  Good thing Steve has a little Clark Griswold in his blood.  We'll have help setting up this year since my parents will be in town.

They will be driving down, arriving here on Tuesday.  When they made the plans originally, it was contingent on weather up north -- as long as the roads were supposed to remain pretty clear, they would head our way.  None of us anticipated that the bad roads may be here instead of there.  Regardless, we plan to see them Tuesday evening.  Sara has been counting down the days!

She and I finished (I think) our Thanksgiving grocery shopping today.  Tar-jay was PACKED.  I guess I knew it would be, but ... geez.  Anyway, on the menu: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries, green beans, rolls, and pumpkin pie.  As always, I hoping for plenty of leftovers, too.

I have no plans for Black Friday shopping.  It just doesn't interest me, and I'm not willing to get up in the middle of the night to fight over a handful of the available "hot" items.  I'm looking forward to a quiet day around the house, decorating for Christmas, and hopefully a nice walk or trip to the park.  In fact, except for a grocery and/or Target trip, I don't anticipate doing any shopping next weekend. 

A couple nights ago I was able to get out for a couple of hours to enjoy dinner and some drinks with my friend, Erica.  I tend to give myself a hard time about being away from home on evenings and weekends, but I felt so refreshed after my short break the other night.  A little grown-up time was just what I needed.

The next few weeks should be a whirlwind; I'm sure you can relate.  Steve and I both have holiday gatherings for work, I have cooking to do for a couple of potlucks, and I have to go searching for an ugly sweater (Goodwill?).  Also, Steve will be running his second marathon, Sara has a dance recital, a school program, and - of course - we'll be celebrating her *big* birthday. 

For tonight, though, we're enjoying sitting by the fire watching the big prime time match up between the Cyclones and the Jayhawks (in case you aren't familiar with either team's season, this game is a total joke all the way around).  In kid news, Sara is sleeping on the top bunk for the first time, and Emma slept til 8:00 this morning so I'm totally hoping for a repeat tomorrow (and she is now sleeping soundly without a bedtime bottle ... hurray!). 

Hope your holiday season is off to a great start.  We're upon my very favorite time of the year!

Wordless Wednesday

on my mind

• I'm considering ending my Facebook tenure.  I've been a member for a little over two years, and its novelty is wearing off.  Although it's a good way to keep in touch with people, I find myself spending too much time scrolling through and reading about people/events/etc. that have no meaning to me.  I'm just pretty over it.  I'm not totally ready to press "delete" on my account, but I'm thinking about it.
• Every morning when we hop in the car, I hold my breath as I wait to hear whether the Christmas carols have started on 103.7.  As of this morning, they hadn't.  I sure hope tomorrow's the big day.  The station keeps it a secret and changes up the start date every year ... c'mon, already.
• I'm getting a little anxious about Christmas shopping.  I've done a tiny bit online, but I really need to get out and do some looking.  I don't have many good ideas yet, so I need some time to shop around before I find myself with only a couple of weeks to spare.  The biggest obstacle I'm facing this is the fact that we don't need one more toy in this house ... can Santa just bring clothes and shoes this year?
• I did get our Christmas cards ordered today, and it felt good to cross that off my list.  I'm excited for them to arrive in the orange Shutterfly box.  
• My parents have decided to make a road trip to Dallas for Thanksgiving.  It will be fun to have them here for a few days, and I'm excited that we'll be together for our annual Thanksgiving night viewing of "Clark" aka "Christmas Vacation".  Gosh, I'm ready to watch that again!
• There is currently a very large pile of clean laundry sitting in my bedroom.  I'm saving it to fold while I watch "Parenthood" tonight if I can stay up that late (yep, it's on a 9:00).  I used to just do laundry on the weekends, but those days have passed.
• I had to stop by our old house today because a package somehow arrived there instead of here.  The house looked good and the new owner had some cute fall pumpkins out front, which made me happy.
• We had a big election in our city this week.  The school board was asking for a tax rate increase to help keep programing in our schools.  I'm happy to say that it passed; if it hadn't, we would have lost 350+ teachers, counseling staff, nursing staff, special education and ESL staffing, GT programs, fine arts programs, etc.  It would have been detrimental to our schools and our kids.  I'm so glad to live in a city that makes public school a priority.  Even residents without kids in the schools understand the impact of strong schools on a community.
• Tomorrow is Friday.  Hallelujah.

Book Talk

After hearing intriguing feedback, I picked up Orange is the New Black at Half Price Books not long ago.  Maybe you're familiar with the Netflix version (I'm not, but apparently it's a hit).  In this memoir, Piper Kerman recounts her year+ in a federal prison, a sentence she's serving for being convicted of drug trafficking a decade after the actual events occurred.  Her story is so fascinating because she's so ... normal.  She could be anyone you or I know, and here she is in a prison jumpsuit, befriending women from all walks of life who have somehow or another ended up behind bars for varying lengths of time.  Her story is funny, sad, endearing, and totally worth reading.

 The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters was a random selection from my mom's bookshelf when I was in MN last month.  The story is written in letters, all from Olivia, a Hollywood film producer, to various people in her life - from friends to family to Hollywood execs to her on-again-off-again-ex.  Olivia's letters tell the story of her little sister's final days as she battles cancer.  Although I really enjoyed this book, I didn't really care much for Olivia ... it didn't turn out to be a huge issue other than I think I would have been a bigger fan of the story if I had found a way to really like the main character.

When we were in MN last summer, my aunt, Jane, recommended Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living from a Forensic Pathologist. It sounded interesting, so I gave it a try ... and then read the whole thing in a weekend.  The stories of encounters with death, as well as the experiences of loved ones left behind, were fascinating.  This book, from the forensic pathologist's point of view, explores the visions, synchronicities (aka signs), and communications to those and from those who are on the brink of death or who have passed.  I absolutely believe the stories that were relayed in the book because, to some degree, such experiences have been part of my own life.  Incredibly interesting and heartfelt, I absolutely recommend this book.

"That is a good book which is opened with expectation and closed with profit."

Amos Bronson Alcott

Halloween, cont.

Ready for Halloween parties at school on Thursday ...

 Sara enjoyed the fact that her costume lit up and played "Under the Sea".  I love how it made her do this little mermaid sway every time she turned it on!

Sara was thrilled that she was finally able to talk me into inflatable decor for the front yard. 

 

And the haul (with peanut items pulled out) ...

Steve took today off of work, and it worked out perfectly that Sara was able to stay home with him and sleep in after all of the excitement of last night.  They had a special day together complete with lunch at BWW, a trip to the mall, and some R&R.  Now that it's November, I'm ready for Christmas carols to start playing on the radio.  But first, I'm especially ready to "fall back" and add an extra hour to this weekend!