Golden Anniversary Party

Tonight was my parent's 50th Anniversary Party. I still need to touch up some photos for red eye, but here's a few snapshots.










Check out the Hawaii photo on the board! Just the striped tube socks are missing!

Happy Thanksgiving! (a day late)

We went to my parent's house for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. James was busy building a Jenga tower. Forget about playing the game, it makes a great building set.

Liz was reading while she's home from college.

Matt was borrowing Grandpa's computer. So much better than home with a flat panel screen.
Rachel had to wait for her turn on the computer. Only ONE computer in their house - unthinkable! :)
The kids helped Grandma and Grandpa get their Christmas decorations out of the crawl space. Who would think it could be this much fun? But it's something we don't have (a crawl space), so it's interesting. Too bad they didn't find buried treasure in there!

Snow doll

A week off of school for the kids. The boys had a friend over in the morning, who brought along Guitar Hero World Tour. Andrew sat and played for several hours. This is the kid (oops, teenager) who's theme song is "Start a Band" by Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. (at least I have him listening to Keith - some DECENT music)
I left them to play and did childcare at a church this morning. Came home and did an hour of phone calling for my marketing job in the afternoon. Took Rachel shopping for a new t-shirt at Kohls, and I bought one , too. Bought some pies for Thanksgiving at Jewel tonight. Thought I would beat the crowds that will be at the store tomorrow.

Now it's to list a couple candle mats and a snowman doll on ebay tonight. Isn't he cute?

more pumpkins

Well, the squirrels go to the pumpkins yesterday. I'm sure they are busy digging holes all over the yard. This past spring my neighbor's yard looked like a war zone. Tons of holes the squirrels had dug during the winter. I'm sure it will be the same this year.

I finally finished purchasing all the goodies for the Operation Christmas Child boxes. They have to be turned in this weekend, so I still have a few days to wrap them.


I was driving home from MOPS childcare this morning, and was passing a Trader Joe's. I have never been in there before, so decided to stop. (uh, oh, I'm getting like my crazy cousin who blogs about food) Here's what I bought:
Matt and Rachel were making orange juice from the oranges. We'll try the manderine orange chicken for something different tonight. I can never make everyone happy at dinner, so I've given up trying.

Tomorrow is the last day of school before having an entire week off. I was suppose to work at food service, but they canceled me for tomorrow. : ( I guess I'll have to do more Christmas shopping!

Snow

As I was leaving to pick up James from school today, it began snowing! *~***~**. It didn't stick to the driveway or sidewalks, but it did stick to the roof.


When I got to school, it was snowing even harder. James thought it was a blizzard. He would be happy with a blizzard, as he loves playing in the snow for hours. His Christmas list includes a snow block maker, a snow ball maker, a ski mask, and ski goggles (so he can play in the yard without getting snow in his eyes). I need to find a store that has these items. Maybe a trip to Cabelas, as they sent a coupon for $10 off anything. Matt wants to go to Cabelas to browse. He thinks the store is really cool (and he's the one who doesn't shoot or enjoy the outdoors. But the store has "features").


Got home, and enough snow to cover the pumpkins. The one is looking pretty yucky on the bottom. The day after Thanksgiving, it's outta here.

Flowers anyone?

It was finally time to get rid of the flowers outside this week. Even the ones that are protected by the house got hit with hard freezes. So, put away the terra cotta pots until next spring. I did leave out the pumpkins until Thanksgiving.

I only worked on Tuesday this week. My Bible study on Wednesday was even canceled. So, I had lots of extra time on my hands. I used it to do a LOT of Christmas shopping. I can't share the details (my kids read this) or take photos, but it's only over a month until Christmas. My goal is to be done by Thanksgiving this year. Last year I went out on Black Friday. This year I want to stay home in my nice warm bed and not wait in line to get into a store, and then have to wait to check out. Seems like many of the stores are offering deals early to entice shoppers to buy this year. There are way too many empty store fronts around here, and it's only going to get worse. Circuit City will be closing, Linens and Things will be closing, the old Walmart has been closed (waiting to Penneys to renovate and open), Garden Fresh Market is closed, and even Deals (a dollar store) closed. The only store expanding is Hobby Lobby. They have a grand re-opening in another week or so. Anyone else going to to finished by Thanksgiving?

Got a few new items to list on ebay this week. A couple snowman candle mats and a snowman pillow.

decorating help needed

Last night I put up a 3M hook (the kind that is suppose to not leave a mark on the wall). I wanted to test out how a wreath would look about my china cabinet in the living room. I let it set overnight, hung the wreath this morning, and it immediately fell and took a chunk of paint with it. So, now I really have to find something to fill in the space on that wall. The wreath was something that was given to me, and a bit too small for the wall. I'm not sure what else I should hang there- maybe a shelf, mirror, ??? Any other suggestions (ones that don't involve a lot of money!)? I know, the walls are plain off white, but it sure beats the peach floral wallpaper that was there when we moved in 8 1/2 years ago. It's a tall wall and needs an accent, but what?

Legos and Leftovers

Legos. James is a boy of few words, but MANY (and I do mean MANY) Legos. Here's a ship he built this past week. Of course, there are many Legos on his Christmas list. He really likes the big sets (also big $), but that is what he loves and can build himself. I think we need to build an addition just to have a room for building and storing his sets.


I have left overs (but not too many) from the craft fair. The last day of the fair was Friday, but it wasn't as busy as the previous Saturday. Since it was the first time she has opened her shed barn, it's difficult to know what to expect. I now am in the process of getting some listings ready for ebay tomorrow evening. I only have 1 pillow left, but 3 candle mats, some bowl fillers, and stockings. The stockings aren't prim, so I'm not sure how they'll sell on ebay. I might try putting them under a different category, like crafts/handmade holiday items, to see what happens.

This coming week I don't have as many jobs lined up (childcare, lunch lady at school). I'm hoping to get some Christmas shopping done, as I know the following week, I have jobs lined up each day. It's finally cold out, so it's easier to think about shopping. We saw some snow flurries yesterday, but nothing was sticking to the ground (unlike South Dakota that got dumped with a blizzard). Maybe I'll stitch up some snowmen crafts this week.

Vote

I hope everyone got out and voted today. I managed to get to the fire station (polling place) and there wasn't a line! I was done and out the door in a few minutes. The election results will be the only thing on the news this evening, so I'll have to keep busy stitching. I managed to complete 4 candle mats for the show on Friday, 2 pillow fronts, and still working on the 3rd pillow. Should be easy to finish.

Andrew said they had a vote today at lunch for president. He voted for Chuck Norris! What a kid.

Craft show

This past Saturday I did a small craft show in a barn with a few other crafters. It was a last minute decision for me, as I didn't have much inventory. Since I didn't have to fill an entire table/booth, this show was worth it for me. I did sell a few items (all of my stitchery items - pillows and candle mats), and am busily making more for the last sale date on this Friday. If I only had a few more hours each day.....

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 50th Anniversary to my parents!!! If you know them, drop them a note or give them a call.