Blue Friday

I hate to call this day Black Friday when the sun is shining and we have cloudless blue skies.

I slept in and strolled into Wal-Mart at 8:30 a.m. and still managed to get a few deals. Unfortunately, the cheap movie supply was thoroughly picked over and I didn't find the exact ones I thought Carter would like. Found a few though. Can't pass up a DVD for $3.20!

Now the vehicle is packed and just waiting for me to get myself in order. Carter and I will be heading up the my twin sister's near Grantsburg/Siren today. Tonight we might catch a movie -- or just sit home. Tomorrow her house will be filled with the rest of our family for the annual Cookie Bake.

Since the women far outnumber the men, we are leaving hubby home to enjoy the silence (and the remote) for 3 full days! How's that for the best gift ever?? Hopefully, he'll get some shopping done for the big boys so that's off the list. But I'll leave that up to him.

Carter and I will miss him, sure, but will be so busy taste-testing cookies and playing games, I'm sure we'll still manage to have fun without him!

I'm not sure I'll get access to any Internet up there so this may be a 3-day break from my blog, too. I'm sure you'll survive. Eat a turkey sandwich and take a nap. That works every time.

Gotta go!

Cheers to the Cornucopia

You don't see that word Cornucopia much besides around Thanksgiving. It's sometimes referred to as the Horn of Plenty. And basically is just a symbol of abundance. Maybe initially abundance of food, but I like to think of it as an abundance of blessings we should be grateful for every day -- not just when there's a turkey on the table.

Not that there wasn't an abundance of food today...

There are a few days a year this blog should be called "On the Not-So-Light Side" -- definitely Thanksgiving and Christmas (times 2 for both family gatherings).

I am still so full from dinner at the in-laws and we ate hours ago. There was a point during the meal that I felt full already -- but I decided to power through it and clean my plate. If you'd ever tasted my mother-in-law's dressing, you'd know why. It's the best on the planet! I have never even asked how to make it. I'm pretty it would never turn out as good as hers. And her pumpkin pie is pretty darn tasty, too. Uff-da. Too much.

I even took a pre-emptive run today to ease the guilt and burn off calories ahead of time. Apparently, I felt no guilt. But I bet I wake up at 3 a.m. with a tummy ache. My fault, totally.

The good news is that I am not setting an alarm in the morning. Oh I'll venture out when I'm good and ready (sometime before 11 a.m.) but if they are out of the few items that caught my eye, I don't really care. I can live with it. It's just extra stuff anyway. You know me -- I can never be totally done buying for certain people in my house when bargains come along!

Well my fat fingers have burned enough calories to cover that glass of milk with dinner. I think I better give up and hit the sack. I have many things to thank God for tonight so that could take awhile.

Hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving, too!

Turkey Eve

My husband and I have been fortunate that our employer has always given us "Black Friday" off as a holiday so we have a 4-day weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving and shop (or whatever). The last few years, the company has given us Wednesday afternoon off, too. Great for people traveling. And those of us not leaving town just yet enjoy it, too.

I wasn't thinking we actually have a tradition for Thanksgiving Eve, but we do. Looking back, it appears we tend to either go to a movie or rent one that the 3 of us can watch. I think the first time we did this was renting the newer version of the Grinch movie years ago. Tonight we actually went to the theater.

It seems there is some sort of "kid movie" coming out every other weekend. The latest is Planet 51 -- a computer animated one that had a nice little story. Not a super movie, but OK. It was just nice to sit between my guys ... and hold the all-important popcorn bucket!

Now we're each doing our own thing as we ease into 4 days of quality family time. I did get the rest of my presents wrapped today and the cards dropped off at the post office. I feel great about that, but... I still have that one gift to buy yet and I am praying (seriously, pretty close to praying) that it is not something I'll have to set an alarm for at some ungodly hour on Friday. If I have to do that, it will be a black Friday!

I'll keep ya posted. In the meantime, I gotta get back to relaxing and bonding... and eating Peppermint Stick ice cream -- because I'm sure I won't get enough to eat in the next few days! Right.

We've Got Spirit

Shhhh... Can you hear that? It's the sound of Christmas spirit sneaking into the house. I've been waiting for it. But I'm not sure everyone's ready for it!

Jim took Carter to basketball practice tonight so I got 90 minutes to myself! Just enough time to call up my twin to talk about weekend Christmas Cookie Bake plans and make myself comfy on the couch to get into a new Christmas book. Yep, the excitement is quietly starting to bubble under the surface.

Of course, the guys came home and they have their own excitement building. Carter got his basketball schedule tonight. Starting next week, he'll play on Mondays through the beginning of February -- with time off during Christmas break, of course. They'll be playing area communities and two teams from the catholic school system in Rapids.

It's interesting that Carter's team is comprised of kids from several elementary schools and, actually, is the only Wisconsin Rapids public schools team. Really? It takes 8 elementary schools to have enough 6th-graders for one team? That just seems unreal. No one cares about hoops any more? Hopefully, the 11 kids on his team are as excited as Carter is to play.

This will be an entertaining winter, that's for sure. And I think it will be good to have something fun that sort of extends the spirit of the holidays. But let's not talk about that just yet. I haven't even mailed my cards yet (though they're ready for a change) and only half my presents are wrapped. We've still got a lot of spirit to enjoy this season!

Girl Trouble

I heard some disturbing news the other night. The kind a mother hopes she doesn't hear until like, say, maybe the night before her child's wedding. It's taken me 48 hours to process it and accept it, but I think I may just have processed it...

Apparently last week (and we have this good authority), on a day Carter came home on the bus instead of going to the sitter's, that redhead was in our neighborhood. Her mother apparently dropped her off next door, but when the parents of the girl next door got home, they saw their daughter in the road near our homes. They asked what she was doing and she apparently tattled that she was waiting for Carter and her redheaded friend. They were in the woods!

OK, nothing against redheads, I swear. But what kind of woman invites herself over and then sneaks over to take her man out to the woods? And why is this happening in 6th grade? And what exactly is happening in the woods? And do I really want to know?

Of course, in a firing squad of 4 parents around the campfire Saturday night, Carter completely, completely denied this. "What woods?" he asked. Oh really, we're playing that dumb?! Uff da. I needed to go lay down then and, as I type this, I don't think I've gotten over this yet. I am living in Denial Land thinking maybe, just maybe, I wasn't going to have to deal with this until junior high as least.

Deal with what, you ask?

Well here's the thing. Now Carter will be coming home for the next 3 weeks instead of going to the sitter's. They have a Christmas tree business that keeps them busy in December and, since Carter just completed that babysitting course, we thought we could have some peace of mind that he'd be OK by himself for 90 minutes after school.

But now. NOW. We have to worry less about whether he's going to burn the house down and more about trusting him not to let anything else heat up!

Seriously, I need to go lie down...

Too Good to Last?

I have a feeling that this mild streak is over, once and for all, and we won't see these Indian Summer type days again until Spring or the real Summer arrives. Today was in the mid-50s again. Really no excuse to be in the house ... but there were things to do.

Carter and I went to early church and Sunday School. Picked up a movie on the way home -- which was silly because why would we want to spend time indoors? We at least waited until dark to watch it.

Since the Vikings weren't on (we just don't get good television in central Wisconsin), I made some cookies, got supper going in the crock pot, then went for a run. Don't worry, I was ablaze in orange -- and stuck to very residential roads.

When I got home, Carter was playing next door so I quickly wrapped all his Christmas presents. He is officially done. Yay! Wrapped a few other things, too. I know I have time but I have a curious cat who will start digging into all those secret bags in the bedroom so I need to get those done sooner rather than later. Plus, I'm one of those sick people who loves wrapping presents!

While I was being a domestic goddess, or a fake Mrs. Claus anyway, Jim was next door helping with the early stages of construction on the sled run. If you recall my pictures and attempts at video this past winter, we have quite the Olympic luge setup. Looks like this year, the obsessed men who will be boys in our neighborhood have big plans in mind. I believe the word "double-wide" came up and they were not talking trailers. (This is the only time I will say I hope we get snow at some point!)

Today, though, I will enjoy the mild weather and push those thoughts to the back of my mind. Even if this weather is too good to last, I sure hope the Vikings run this season is just heating up!

A Successful Hunt

For the first time in years, we were not awakened at dawn by the sound of gunshots on opening day of deer hunting. A quick glance out the window told us why. It was pretty foggy out there until after 8 at least. Once the fog burned off, we were in business. And when I say we, I mean Carter and I went hunting, too.

Just not for deer.

We garbed ourselves in bright red (the better to see you with) and headed to Mad Town. Our mission was to hunt down some decent bargains and get some Christmas shopping done. But first, the more important reason for going...

My best friend from grade school and on lives on the south side of Madison. Yes, she's less than 2 hours away but no, we just don't make time in our busy lives to see each other very often. We were emailing a few weeks ago and, not for the first time, talked about how ridiculous that is. So we checked our calendars and circled Nov. 21. No pertinent obligations. And perfect travel weather, too. (We got lucky there.)

We met at the mall and drove over the TGI Friday's for a long lunch of visiting and looking through scrapbooks and catching up. We agreed it was good for the soul and something we should be doing much more often going forward. Why not once every few months? It's only 90 minutes, after all, from my driveway to the mall parking lot. There is no excuse. Plus, I miss her! It was like old times (not that we're old or anything).

After lunch, Julie headed home and Carter and I hit the mall. We spent several hours there and managed to get a few people crossed off our gift list. I even got a few things for Carter, too, and he didn't even know it. Yep, I wasn't even wearing blaze orange and I still had a successful hunt.

Now if I could just figure out what to buy hubby. If Mad Town didn't have it (whatever it is), who will? Yes, I am hunting for hints, clues, ideas. And yes, I'll wear blaze orange if I have, too...