black friday...

first i just have to say how amazing thanksgiving dinner was! we ate on time (major miracle for us...we're usually 2 hours behind my original "plans"), the kitchen was cleaned up immediately after dinner (another record...we usually leave the dishes until later and just put the food in the fridge), and we were finished with both by 2:30 p.m. and had plenty of time to catch naps!

another record was broken...the tree was up with lights on it on thanksgiving evening. (we usually put the tree together so late at night that i end up putting on the lights the next evening, and then we end up decorating on a third evening...making it sunday night at the earliest before it's completely finished.) part two of that record was broken too, it's fully decorated and it's only friday afternoon!!! we're way ahead of schedule! now i can enjoy the rest of my weekend off!

now back to black friday...

i ended up not going to bed at all last night! i was going to but i got sidetracked doing a couple of things and time got away from me. i woke up elisabeth at 3:30, she threw on her clothes and we headed out. we went to target first and it was a total mad house! we grabbed some hot chocolate and a white chocolate peppermint mocha latte at starbucks on the way out the door. next we headed over to walmart. after one super quick stop back at target (forgot something), we went to jcpenney's. i am now the proud owner of a coffee maker (mine got so clogged up that it wouldn't work at all a few weeks ago...it was pure torture to go without it!) and a toaster (which we haven't had since the move back in may). these are both actually better than the ones we had and once i get my mail-in rebates, they're $10 each (usually $40ish or so)!

and just to verify the ridiculousness of some people, here's a pic of what we saw on the way out of penney's...



...that's just as silly as the woman wearing 4"+ heels in line at target!!!

people watching is 95% of the fun of black friday...most definitely!

my facebook status this afternoon: Thanksgiving highlights...kids cooking, toddler singing "Happy Birthday" over the phone to grandma (when he heard us say "Happy Thanksgiving"), shopping with my daughter, naps...and the Christmas tree fully decorated!

happy thanksgiving!!!

as i sit here awake at 3:00 a.m., i am reflecting on the goings-on of our family activities over the past 24 hours and i am grateful for my family, my doctors, my health, and all of the blessings in my life.

i had a trip to the dermatologist, which revealed a possible problem spot on my foot...so it was biopsied. that concerns me a little, but whatever comes of it i am sure it will be fine. i am trusting that if it is malignant, it's an early detection and we'll take care of things. following that, i went to my chiropractor. it was a trip that was well over due, but was accelerated due to a couple of recent "happenings" regarding my back being jarred. it was a great session and i really need to do some follow-up, which i don't love financially, but need to do so that i can function at my best. i want to be able to start working out and things, so i think it will be necessary to bite the bullet and just fork over the co-pays. i have to say, i definitely felt much better afterward! thankfully the things that led up to it weren't as bad as they could've been and this is just a little side effect of being jarred around a few times.

when i got home, we sat down as a family and planned out the schedule and assignments of getting things ready for turkey day. my kids just jumped in and did everything they signed up for, which was absolutely amazing! things accomplished for thanksgiving dinner by my kids: chocolate meringue pie, fresh (not canned) pumpkin pie, 5 lbs of potatoes peeled, and side dishes put together and ready to bake include: sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, arkansas green beans, cream cheese corn bake. it was amazing how much we accomplished, they were amazing!

i woke up around 2:00 a.m. to check on the turkey, which was thawing in the kitchen sink, to find it was done early. what to do? the fridge was full and i wasn't sure everything would fit with the bird back in there too...but it did! the rub and dressing were amazing, if i do say so myself! i mixed sage, rosemary, dill weed, thyme, salt, pepper, onion powder, worcestershire sauce and crushed garlic together, squeezed in some fresh orange and lemon juice, and rubbed it under the breast skin and all over the skin of the turkey. it smells so good! i then put cut-up orange, lemon, apple, celery, onion and carrots inside the bird and around it in the pan and poured in a can of chicken broth. now it's sitting in the fridge, soaking in all of that savory goodness, ready to be popped into the oven first thing in the morning.

all that's left now is to cook and mash the potatoes, make the gravy and dressing, and make homemade rolls...we are ready for a feast!!!

...and my hubby just woke up and is wandering around the house looking for change so he can buy me a paper with all of the black friday ads...love him!!!

wow, time flies when you're having fun!

my life has gotten a little bit more crazy in the past month or so.

i accepted a teaching position at a different school than where i had been working. it was a bittersweet decision, i loved my old school, my daughter was there, i'd seen all of the kids grow from K-5th, my coworkers had been coworkers for 7 years...but i was getting a foot in the door, better pay, and experience (though not my own classroom). i am a "floating" kindergarten teacher...i move throughout the kindergarten wing at my school, which consists of 6 classrooms of 20+ students. it's not ideal (for teachers or students) but the teachers seem to be amazing, the school seems to be well run, and i am getting used to it. talk about living life "off the beaten path"...how many kindergarten teachers do you know who float and don't have their own classroom? the key for me is to stay organized and flexible. i do better at the latter one, need improvement on the first. i am planning a trip to the local "teacher" store this week and will be purchasing a rolling cart with an organizer. if they don't have one, i will be buying a scrapbooking storage cart on wheels from michael's.

so now i'm looking forward to planning for the holidays and getting re-focused on building our business (which got put on the backburner awhile back due to varying circumstances). time to make some more positive progress in our lives!

up next...holiday planning, stay tuned!