TGIBF

TGIBF?? Am I really thankful it's Black Friday?? Well, yes, for a variety of reasons...

Holiday: Naturally I love that my company gives us the day after Thanksgiving off so we can enjoy an extended weekend with family, friends and a disgruntled shopper or two.

Deal or No Deal (the Brown version): OK, we weren't planning to shop on Brown Thursday or Black Friday, but we took the bait. Last night after our dinner guests left, Jim, Carter and I ventured to Wal-Mart to witness the strange humanity that encompasses the hunt for the "DEAL"! Jim suggested we just hang around and watch. I wasn't in that mood after the long day and I wasn't dying for any deal. Carter did have something on his list so we got that without too much trouble or waiting and got the heck out of there unscathed.

Deal or No Deal (the Black version): As is tradition, we drew names among us adults in Jim's family. There were a few items that were Black Friday and Grey (?) Saturday deals. He got his taken care of this morning and I got mine done this afternoon. No craziness involved with that at all. And we can cross that off our list. I must confess, though, I did set my alarm...

Deal or No Deal (Caving to Pressure :: Part 1): OK, so I got up by 6:30 a.m. to be at the cell phone store by 6:45 a.m. for their 7 a.m. opening. I got there with my long underwear, boots and coat but did not have to wait outside. They opened early! So I got to wait in line -- and be all toasty and over-warm -- inside! After much discussion and/or debate, Mr. and Mrs. Claus decided to add Carter to our smartphone plan. We were going to wait until it was closer to his birthday in May since we would want him to have a reliable phone when he gets his driver's license. But the big DEAL today allowed me to get his phone for "free" (ha) with a few extras thrown in, plus a reduced amount for his monthly charge, etc. So I caved to pressure. And it gets worse...

Caving to Pressure (Part II): Once you have a phone activated, you really can't sit around and not use it for a month. If we waited 'til Christmas, we'd be so close to that 30-day trial period, it wouldn't be smart or prudent consumer move in case something was wrong. This is what I told Mr. and Mrs. Claus. So we caved and gave it to him today. I put his phone on a chair and called it and said, "Hey, Carter, isn't that your phone ringing?" He's like, "No, not mine." I said, "Are you sure? Look at it!" So he picks it up with a big smile and answers the only number programmed in there, of course -- mine! -- and I say "Merry Christmas!" I actually got a free-will hug out of that one!

Cranberry Classic: We didn't just go sauntering about spending money all day. Honest. This weekend every year is the Cranberry Classic basketball tournament at Assumption. So while Carter plopped down on the couch to figure out his new "toy" all day, Jim and I had to work concession 10:30-12:30. We stayed for the girls' varsity game after that. Our defending state champions won quite handily, thank you very much. I don't always get to see much of the tourney because Carter and I are usually heading Up North for the cookie bake. But since he had to work tonight, we will leave in the morning.

All Work, No Play? No Way: While Carter was working at the golf course restaurant washing dishes, Jim and I were there in one of the banquet halls for a 40th wedding anniversary party. We just had to have Carter come find us when he was done working and see if we were done playing.Since it wss 10, we were definitely done.

Family: I am still riding a high of having all three of our boys together last night for the first time in 2 years. It warmed my heart and will carry me through the Thanksgiving weekend and beyond. As I mentioned, I also get to see MY side of the family this weekend, too. We'll head up to my twin's house -- Hedberg Cookie Bake Headquarters -- tomorrow and leave Dad home alone for his "Jimmy Weekend." It's our annual tradition. And he hasn't once over the years complained that he was too lonely. Nothing black about his weekend outlook!

Pitch Black: Finally, it is only fitting on this particular "black" Friday that I express how thankful I am to a higher power and some very special people who saved me in my darkest (probably pitch black) hours 15 years ago on this date. I have been blessed with second chances and people who have supported me on a sometimes rocky journey to where I am today. I am blessed beyond measure and so thankful God (not me) is in charge of my life!

I love it "on the light side."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well our Internet is down at home for some reason.  Probably jammed with all the Black Friday shoppers mapping out their morning routes.

I am taking it as a sign I can take a holiday from blogging,  rather than type it all from my phone!

So I'll just say for now I had a blessed Thanksgiving and enjoyed hosting Jim's family for dinner. The big boys came, too, and that made my day.

That and the fact I pulled off a tasty turkey dinner with no help from Martha Stewart. Even my sister called me for some advice on mashed potatoes.  Now you know the world is coming to an end!

Good thing this undomestic goddess got in one final, albeit abbreviated, blog.

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope it was a blessed day for you,  too!

Maximizing Your Minutes

Just to be clear. A day off is not necessarily a vacation day. But, as far as productivity goes, it was a good thing I had the day "off."

My ETD (estimated time of departure) from the house was 11:15 a.m. No, that did not entail sleeping in. That just meant I had things to get done on the homefront while I was, well, home. Then it was go time. I had to maximize my minutes to get everything done.

I did manage to get the sweeping, dusting and vacuuming finished before leaving on my errand run. That involved several stops: dropping hubby off at an establishment for "lunch" with the Armory boys, then delivering an Advent calendar in town, stopping off at school to drop off an envelope Carter forgot on the kitchen table this morning, dropping off a few household items at Goodwill, doing a fact-gathering mission at the cell phone store, then getting milk and pickles for Thanksgiving dinner (my remaining two items!).

By the time I got home, it was time go get hubby, run him home, start on some basement cleaning then go get Carter from school. Let me tell you. By 5:30, I felt no guilt sitting down and watching back-to-back Hallmark movies I'd DVR'd. No ice cream (this time) but they were enjoyable nonetheless. It was good to have a few minutes of down time.

I have to remind myself that maximizing your minutes does not always mean squeezing the most into each one, but making the most of each of them.

Today marks 6 months since my dad passed away. At times it feels like years since I've seen him. Then other times, like this morning when I realized the significance of the date, I feel like it just happened and I shed some tears.

I miss him. Want to see him. Want to hear him talk silly. Want to feel his firm hugs.

I am also saddened by his absence. And by the fact that I did not maximize my time with him. Sure, I saw him at the end. But he was so sick. That was not good quality time. I regret that I didn't see the need to make our relationship more of a priority early on. When there would have been better minutes to maximize.

But we all make mistakes, right? The point is to learn from them.

I am keeping in much better contact with my mom now. I'm not making the 4-hour trek up to see her any more often, but we talk on the phone regularly. Part of it is to check up on her and part of it is to just let her know I care. My whole family does. At the end of each call, she says how much it means to hear from me. I could say the same.

Thankfully, God gives us more minutes to make things right.

Time to Chill

I will thank you in advance for not judging me... For eating ice cream when it's 11 degrees out.

Hey, it's the limited edition Peppermint Stick. And hey, you did kind of commit to not judging me, didn't you? Plus, I have something to celebrate. I am officially out of the office until Dec. 4. It is time to chill out!

I got the items on my work "to do" list crossed off so I can take a half day off tomorrow, enjoy the paid holiday in the afternoon, Thursday and Friday and then a must-use-or-lose vacation day on Monday. I have to work in the home office next Tuesday since I have a church meeting over lunch hour. So really, I am "off" the premises for a week.

Whoo-Hoo!

I'm not going to get too excited. It's going to be a whirlwind of a pre-Winter Break.

I am going to couch potato it tonight. Tomorrow I'll have to do some cleaning and prep work for Turkey Day. Thursday we'll have Jim's family over. Friday I will pack, maybe catch some high school hoops at Assumption, hopefully not HAVE to do any Black Friday Shopping. Then Saturday and Sunday are Up North for Cookie Bake.

Come Monday,  I will need a day to chill out... On the couch... Under a warm blanket... Watching Christmas movies...

With Peppermint Stick ice cream.

Monday Mission

I haven't heard too many reports on how the opening weekend of deer hunting went, but apparently they got them all. I didn't see a single deer on the road, ditch or nearby fields on my way to and from work. And that's a first in quite some time.

Hope that means it was good for the hunters. Or that they at least scared the deer deep, deep into the wild -- as far away from the roads as possible. That's just a bonus for us drivers if it lasts all hunting season. Not that I am commuting much this week.

We get Wednesday afternoon plus all of Thanksgiving and Friday off as company holidays. It sounds good -- except the part where you are squeezing 5 days of work into 2.5. Or in my case, 2 (if I'm lucky).

I was on a mission today. Well, actually starting last week, trying to get things done ahead so I can enjoy all of Wednesday off, not just a half day. Since our almost-weekly magazine will have a rare Monday off next week, I am hoping to make it a 5-day weekend.

My mission, though, if I choose to accept it, will involve wrapping up a whole lot of details and projects tomorrow. Worst case scenario, I will have to work from home Wednesday morning to finish up. But I do not plan to spend two hours driving for a four-hour shift.

So I should probably get to bed early, go in early and stay until my impossible mission is accomplished.

Just knowing there is pumpkin pie at the end of the tunnel is pretty good incentive. Throw in family time and some Christmas cookies, too, and we are on a mission to complete this mission!

It's go time!

Let's Call It Even

It's Border Battle Sunday! The good news is that the Packers didn't win. The bad news is that the Vikings didn't either.

I was witness to my first NFL tie.

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. On TV anyway. Typical of the Packer-Viking battle, anything can happen. They beat us once this year and today, when we had a significant lead, I thought, "Could this really be happening?"

Then the Vikings answered: "Of course not."

They blew their lead and it went into overtime. Under new rules I had to acquaint myself with, if either team scored a touchdown in OT, they'd win. They didn't. Both teams did score a field goal but time ran out before anyone crossed a goal line.

Weird.

In the past, my dad and I would have called each other, the winner giving the loser some grief. When the Pack won, he'd call and say, "How 'bout them Packers?" I'd innocently reply, "What? Was there a game today?" I'm not sure how our conversation would have went this year. I'd give anything to find out, though.

I was actually content with the game results. Sure I'd prefer a win, but the Packer fans can't say they beat us this time. And we, thankfully, don't have to add yet another one to our loss column. Oh, and thankful, too, I could watch on TV and not sit for some 4-6 hours in below-freezing temperatures!

When Carter and I left for church this morning, he informed me it was exactly zero degrees. What a good day to sit under a blanket and watch football. And maybe even a Christmas movie if I log off the computer.

Funny how those Hallmark movies are just like a Packer-Viking game. Everybody wins!

Cookie Monster

The opening day of the Wisconsin gun-deer season is the perfect day to stay inside. That and the fact the temperatures were in the single digits. God bless the hunters, but I prefer to gather my food in the warmth of my home!

I had one simple mission today: Make the last of my cookies for the upcoming family Cookie Bake / Exchange and get the plates of treats in order.

Mission accomplished.

While I did not reveal the other treats I made for the participants, I have to share this one. I made Monster Cookies for the first time.

Now Monster Cookies get their name for several reasons: One, people often make them monster-sized (which I chose not to do since they would have to bake longer and I'd be concerned they'd burn on the edges and be raw in the middle). Two, the amount of ingredients for the allegedly "standard' batch is monstrous. And three, there's a monster amount of tasty flavor in them!

You know I love to bake, but this recipe created quite a challenge. I found the two biggest mixing bowls I had and used one for dry ingredients and the other for the soft stuff -- like, for example, the pound of butter, 3 pounds of peanut butter and dozen eggs this recipe called for. When I mixed the dry ingredients -- which included 4 cups white sugar, 2 pounds brown sugar and 18 cups of oatmeal -- it didn't take long to fill up one of the mixing bowls. And I hadn't even added the pound of chocolate chips and Christmas-colored M&M's.

If both monstrous bowls were full, how was I to marry the two?

I called my girlfriend who gave me the recipe and she suggested a pot like our big soup stock pot. Not big enough. I ended up taking out the Nesco roaster pan and mixing it all up in that. That worked smoothly. And 17 1/2 dozen cookies later, I had more than enough for the Cookie Bake, a handful of neighbors and any holiday-related potluck in the foreseeable future.

Needless to say, nothing else got done today. I didn't even squeeze in a Hallmark Christmas movie! Thought I did DVR about 5 of them.

Guess I'll have to enjoy one of them tomorrow with milk and Monster Cookies -- to recover from a certain football game that is bound to get ugly. I don't think our Purple People Eaters are big enough monsters.

But I hope I'm wrong.

The Week in Brief

Just a few things...

Slip Slidin' Away: The overnight drizzle left a lot of icy slush on the roads. I'm very thankful for surviving my first slippery solo flight to work today. And especially grateful that my car slid to a stop just in time so I really didn't have to choose between tagging the car ahead of me or the group of school children in the cross walk. Whew! This is going to be one, long winter!

Waiting Game: In the category of "Get a life"... No offense to "gamers" out there, but last night on my way home from work I stopped at Best Buy and saw a handful of guys -- I'd say early 20s -- sitting outside the entrance in lawn chairs. When I asked in the store what they were waiting for, an associate told me the midnight release of the new XBox gaming system. I checked my phone. 5:21 p.m. 32 degrees. More than six hours to go. Would they even be able to use their frozen fingers to play later? I guess I just don't get it.

Da Tirty Pointer: I realize that some people who prefer real-life challenges are pretty excited about the deer-hunting season getting here tomorrow. I'm not one of them, but do wish good luck to all you mighty hunters and pray for your safety. It's supposed to be about 18 degrees in these parts with a low of 6. Me and my heated mattress pad will be thinking of you!

Strung Out: Ready to deck your halls? When you dig out your Christmas decorations, don't curse over those burned out strings of lights. Instead, donate them to Carter's German Club. They recycle them somewhere special for cash to help fund their trip. We'll be happy to pick up your dysfunctional lights and get those darn things out of your way so you can enjoy your merry and bright holidays!

(By the way, our Advent calendars are sold out. Thank you for your support. If you want to receive news alerts of Carter's current fundraisers, just let me know. Ha. There's always something!)

  

A Quick Word from our Sponsor

Just got home from back-to-back meetings and I have been away from the house nearly 4 hours. I am tired and want to go to bed.

Hubby has reminded me that the sun always comes up the next day -- even if I don't blog. However, since I haven't seen the sun in days, I just don't want to take a chance. Plus I had one more important commercial message!

Yup, Carter is selling something. Again. He actually was required to sell 24 advent calendars to help raise money for his Germany trip in summer of 2015. I sold off the first two dozen quickly at work. So I asked for another dozen and they went. Finally, I asked for one more dozen since I had 4 people waiting for theirs.

I didn't even put it on my blog since these have been practically selling themselves. And why not? It's good chocolate! Anyway, I have 4 left so I am giving you readers one quick, last chance. First come, first served.

For $3 it's a cute way to countdown to Christmas and support a good cause.

And now back to regular programming. Next up, my favorite episode of Sweet Dreams!

G'night!

State of Denial or Wisconsin?

Let's go back to Sesame Street a moment and exercise our skills of logic. One of these things is not like the other...

I think you are smart enough to figure it out! I can tell you right now the picture that doesn't belong is the only one I'd prefer to belong in my life right now! And that picture was just taken in Hawaii last week by my sister Rayna, who is back home -- in Texas -- where she doesn't have to see the other two pictures in person!

Lucky.

I guess this is what happens when you have eggnog for breakfast. Christmas comes early.

Well, I did seriously have eggnog with my cereal since we were out of milk. (Who knew Fiber One could taste so good?) And while I've had eggnog in stock for weeks, I am still in a state of denial that we are this close to winter. Even though reality is telling me that the temps will be in the single digits by Saturday and reality is showing me this white stuff, I just can't accept it!

That doesn't change anything, does it?

At least I can say I survived my first winter commute. No need to high five me. It was just starting to precipitate when I left work and nothing was clinging to the roads yet. But there's a rumor we'll get an inch of snow tonight so I may have to work from home tomorrow.

Joking, of course. I have more than 8 hours of Hallmark movies DVR'd and I'm pretty sure I don't have the fortitude to deny them. It's best I go to the office -- no matter how long it takes me to get there.

And I'm pretty sure the weather man will be wrong anyway. Hopefully for the next 120 days at least!

Deny, deny, deny!

Buzzer Beater

Our off-season between football / cross country and basketball seemed short-lived. Due to a scheduling change, one of the boys' games was moved up to tonight already. So we had our season opener vs. Northland Lutheran.

Typically, us poor Lutherans don't stand a chance against Assumption. And after our AHS JV team handily won by some 20 or maybe 30 points, we figured it was going to be a repeat.

That was not the case with varsity, however.

Northland kept pace with AHS throughout the game and even took the lead at times. This was not what I was expecting. I just thought I could sit there catching up with "the girls" while our team dominated. Instead we kept our chit-chatting to a minimum so we could watch the back-and-forth action.

For the last full minute of the game, we were tied. Then Northland got the ball and scored with less than a second to go, I believe. One of those painful buzzer beaters when you are on the wrong side of it. We lost 59-57.

I'm glad we went, though. As the first game of the season, it was interesting to see which of Carter's classmates would make varsity this year and which would start at JV. We certainly have depth on the bench at both levels so it will be interesting to see who or what shifts after tonight.

We've got the talent. It will be a fun season watching how it all comes together and gels.

And let's hope the next buzzer beater is on OUR side!

Ringin' in the New Week

Wherever two or more are gathered... watching a Hallmark Christmas movie... that is the signal for the start of a new holiday season!

Or just a new week!

Since hubby was in Chicago on business today and my BFF's hubby was bowling, we took advantage of a free night -- remembering that friends don't let friends watch Christmas movies alone!

We both have been DVR-ing whatever we can on both the Hallmark and Lifetime channels. So tonight she came over, we found a 2013 movie we both hadn't watched yet and enjoyed a peaceful evening... except for a handful of interrupting phone calls.

Since I took Carter to Culver's for supper after school (that's what you do when the chief cook and bottle washer is out of town), he was content to stay in the basement and work on homework. Trust me, homework is more appealing than Hallmark to that kid!

And I am OK with that. I'd rather share the experience with someone who appreciates it!

Cheers to a new week! (This might have to become a Monday night tradition!)

Sun-less Sunday

I think I have an inkling what it's like to live in Seattle or other places it reportedly rains every day. And I don't like it.

Just another dreary day that never really got light enough for me not to think it was almost time to go to bed! I wasn't tired, though. I got to sleep in since Carter and I went to 10:30 church today so we could attend a luncheon afterward.

High school kids (and their parents) interested in participating in another mission trip this next summer met to eat pizza and discuss options. This past summer we went through the YouthWorks program and it was just an amazing experience. It was just the right group of kids. The right staff at YouthWorks. And the right combination of mission work.

The challenge now is that several of my girls from last year are expecting this next year to be the same. I don't want to trample all over their enthusiasm, but the reality is that experiences like that can't be replicated. For one, it will be a different location -- likely on an Indian reservation in South Dakota. And secondly, it will be a different group. There's a new crop of high schoolers wanting to go and I think that's great.

We'll see what transpires. It's going to be heavily one-sided with Carter and maybe two other boys -- and many more girls. I would go again as a chaperone in a heartbeat. But I, too, would probably expect somewhat of a repeat from last summer. And, frankly, I really want to give another mom a chance to go. It's an experience she won't forget.

After the meeting, I was informed from my ice cream hotline, that it was our Dairy Queen's last day of business until February or so. Naturally, we had to stop. I mean Carter was driving so I was just along for the ride! Ha.

Came home and threw some potatoes in to a crock pot for a new recipe I am trying out for Thanksgiving. Since we are hosting Jim's family, I wanted to be sure these were good, they were enough and they were somewhat easy. Having most of the work done 4 hours ahead is pretty nice. And they were tasty so that's one less thing to worry about that day.

Now to practice pie making!

Didn't do much else today. Vikings weren't on TV here and once again, that's probably for the best. Ugh. Moved a few things from the basement up to my scrap room. Should probably go back down there and work on that some more.

Despite the absence of Mr. Sun all day, I do still have a few more hours left before bedtime. Could potentially even catch another Hallmark movie while sorting through stuff. Now there's a plan!

I should have started earlier...

Hallmark Moment

I had a 7-hour Hallmark moment today.

That's how long I had the house to myself. With the cat, of course. Hubby was off to take son #1 Christmas shopping in Eau Claire. And Carter was off to a friend's house and a first visit to a shooting range. (His buddy will be deer hunting next week.)

So what's a woman to do with her own time??

I can sum it up nicely: 1 hour of cleaning, 6 dozen Christmas cookies baked and 3 (yes 3) Hallmark holiday movies!

Yup. That's pretty much how my TV screen looked all day! After I was cleaning and finishing up my Cookie Bake goodies, I also squeezed in a trip to the grocery store, too. Oh, and did some laundry. So I wasn't completely lazy, just a merry multi-tasker!

I didn't expect Carter to be gone all day, but since he was, I just kept my butt planted on the couch. It was raining all day anyway so I was not about to go for a walk or run.

Carter had fun with his friend and also enjoyed the shooting range. He brought home a surprise for me since Dad gave him 10 bucks when he dropped him off this morning.

Nice coffee mug, huh? I don't know what was started today, but he's already talking about hunter safety and deer hunting in 2014. Does he know that you can't kill a deer with a coffee mug? Or that kind of gun? Yikes. This will be interesting.

I'll see if he changes his mind before I'm done watching Hallmark movies.

And that'll be awhile.

You Are Mine

Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine
~ " You Are Mine" by David Haas

The bond between a parent and child can seem one-sided at times. Typically, that seems to occur when our children hit the teen years. Though we have been warned by other parents dozens of times, it still comes as a surprise.

We the parents (a.k.a. Rule Makers and Enforcers) are seen as the enemy. And it's easy for that poor, disadvantaged teen to take out their stress from school "drama" and the mountains of homework on us. Either a sullen attitude or sarcastic tone. We are on the receiving end. And it's not fair.

Not that we didn't do the same, right?

I see a mini-Me in my son and know this is just the beginning of what could be the typical battle between teens and parents. I have to remember this is just a phase, albeit a long one. And that deep down he loves us -- even if he doesn't run to me and jump in my arms for a hug like he did when he was 3.

Probably wouldn't work now since he's 4 inches taller than me. But I miss those mutual displays of unconditional love.

Still, without fail, I give him a kiss on the head while he's eating his cereal in the morning and tell him I love him on my way out the door. Sometimes he'll answer with a grunt, other times a "yup," and once in awhile a "you too!"

I'll take what I can get and treasure it.

And remember not to take it for granted.

I attended a funeral for an 18-year-old boy today. He was the older brother of one of "my girls" from our summer mission trip to the Ozarks. The death came as a shock so there was an abundance of grief, anger and guilt felt by my girl and the other survivors.

Still, she didn't fall apart in my arms when I hugged her. And still, more than half a dozen friends found courage to get up and share special memories of their buddy. Some sobbing uncontrollably as they did so, but determined that the hundreds in attendance would now how special this boy was.

Needless to say, I was bawling through much of it. Feeling a touch of the heart-breaking sorrow I imagine I would experience as a grieving sister or, Lord help me, as a parent. Add to that, some raw emotions floating near the surface since my dad's passing and I was pretty much an emotional wreck. But I was the lucky one who still could go home to her son.

At the end of the service, they played a recording of one of my favorite hymns, "You Are Mine." This song always brings a tear of joy and sorrow at the same time. When I hear it I am often reminded of a scene in the book The Shack, when the main character questions how God could love the man who killed his daughter. And God reminds him that we are each one of His children. Sometimes we are bad (or have an attitude or lie or disrespect our parents), but He still loves us. Unconditionally. Forever.

Just as we as parents love our children no matter how difficult they make it some days.

And I wouldn't trade it for the world. Especially after today.

Do not be afraid, son. I am with you. I love you and you are mine.

Drama Queen

Just for giggles sometimes, I look back at my old diaries to see what I was doing "on this date in history." Wow I got a good laugh out of my junior year of high school. I must warn Carter that girls have been drama queens since I was in high school.

And I was one of them.

In November of 1984, I was 16 but still didn't have my license yet. Neither did my twin. I guess we just didn't get enough behind-the-wheel time between the two of us. (I'll have to remind Carter how good he has it!) So 29 years ago on this date, I actually had to get my permit renewed so that I could still practice. As it turned out, I ended up testing that Nov. 21st and getting my license on my first try!

I couldn't go anywhere, though.

Listen to this dramatic excerpt: "My weekend was such a bummer. Everything went wrong! And to top it off, Mom grounded Raylene and I from going anyplace for a whole month!! Except for things that are necessary. Well, to me, everything I do is necessary! But I'm sure my mom doesn't see it like that. What a bummer!"

Oh the horror. How did I survive?

I can tell you that we evil twins were grounded "for a month" so many times in our teen-hood that we are probably still grounded! Somehow, though, we still got to do things. I sneaked a peek ahead in that journal and saw that 3 weeks into my "sentence" Mom let me go to a basketball game.

That was a "necessary" event -- critical even -- since I had a crush (that week anyway) on a basketball player and was excited to see him in shorts! "I must say it was an amazing sight," I wrote.

Good lord. If I was that boy-crazy as a teen, I pity Carter and the drama he must have to deal with today. Honestly, it's there in black and white. A lot of different initials of "who I like now." Not that any of them liked me back. Then there really might have been some drama!

Wow. Lots more fun to look forward to in Carter's teen years. Thankfully, he's a boy. Not that he doesn't have his dramatic moments and not that he isn't plenty like me in many ways, but hopefully we get a few less Oscar-winning performances.

Hopefully. But I am not counting on it.

I've already seen the writing on the wall, er, paper.

Fact or Fiction?

Those of you who are Facebook users are quite aware there are hundreds of "games" that can suck you in and waste your time -- even more than Facebook already does!

Speaking for myself, that is.

There's everything from running a farm or bakery to playing virtual Candy slot machines. I have not tried any of them and do not plan to -- though I am highly tempted by Family Feud and Words with Friends. I may break down yet.

There are other interesting amusements to play along with, though.

Tonight a friend had listed 6 random facts about himself and instructed people to LIKE his post and he would assign them a number of facts to share, too. I decided to give it a try. He gave me 7 -- so here is what came to mind first...

Seven facts about me:

• 1. I live with the 2 greatest guys in the world.
• 2. I am spiritual but not necessarily religious.
• 3. I love to bake!
• 4. I hate to cook because I don't know how!
• 5. I have no athletic ability - so I write.
• 6. I eat ice cream almost 365 days a year.
• 7. I have been kissed by The Fonz AND Ponch

I'm pretty sure longtime readers of this inconsequential blog know all of that. But if you'd like to play along, let me know and I'll send you a number so you can share next!

It doesn't have to be real serious or real interesting, just real honest. I have plenty of facts in my life that many would think are "fiction," but we'll save that for another day.

Unless YOU want to go first...

Home Office

When I agreed to serve on a committee at church last January, I was pretty sure I could handle the commitment since this particular group only meets 4-6 times per year.

Then I found out their meetings are at 11:30 a.m. on a weekday. Was I the only working, non-retired one in the bunch??

Turns out there are at least two others working full time who work near enough to our church they can just use our typically short meeting as their lunch hour. I decided to do the same.

I am so grateful I work for a company that allows me to work from the home office as needed. Typically, I try to one day a week just to save on gas. And in the winter, well, that could jump to a few days a week now that this winter driving chicken has lost her chauffeur.

It's not a vacation day to work at home. Though I envision it like this photo! I can dial into my computer at work and basically pretend I am right there... without the candy dish or funny comments from co-workers. Well, now I actually do have a "co-worker" in the office next door. We actually didn't really talk today, though. Business is booming for hubby's new job so he is plenty busy. That's a good thing.

I worked in the a.m., went to the committee meeting, which was a half hour, then stopped at the library a half-block away from there to return my audio book and check out a few new ones. Then back home to work until Carter called later from school.

He got some drive time today, driving us home from school with a stop in the bank drive-thru (with no dents or scratches to show for it), then picking up Dad and taking us all out for pizza at Polito's. He drove home, too, to get a taste of night driving. Can't really avoid that now that it's dark at 5 p.m.

Tonight, we had company for a bit and now I am going to watch The Voice. I have spent enough time on the computer today and not nearly enough time in the "hammock."

Though, with wake-up temps at 15 degrees, I would have passed on that opportunity today anyway.

Too hard to concentrate, you know?

Veteran Salute

We don't give our veterans enough thanks and respect, in my opinion. If they hadn't selflessly given of their time, mental and physical dedication and, sometimes lives, we wouldn't have any of the freedoms we hold so dear. And yet, take for granted.

And I am 100% guilty of that. I try to do better and am thankful we have enough flag-waving holidays during the year to kick my thoughts correctly into gear.

I am also glad that Carter's school does their part -- through music at least -- to include the next generation and educate them about respect and gratitude for these brave men and women.

Carter and the Assumption High School Band played military favorites at our city's annual Veterans Day program in Veterans Park along the river.

My work-at-home hubby was able to escape the office today and play the part of supporter and parental photographer. He now knows what I go through to get a photo of our son in "action." Typical Carter, he put his big baritone in front of his face and even moved to the back of the pack so Dad couldn't take his picture. So I had to rely on a newspaper photographer's pictures on Facebook to show you the event at least.

Carter is in back on the left side of that tree. I recognize his face but I don't expect you to see him unless you have a magnifying glass. Trust me, he's there. He complained about the windchill! At least there wasn't rain like last year.

And, as they were reminded, their lives were not in danger and today's conditions were nothing like what the veterans they were playing for had to endure. I don't even think they could imagine it.

Even I can't. But I do know from stories and history books and movies what it might have been like.

And I respect them for that beyond what any song can portray.

Thank you, veterans!

NO-vember

Finally, we had an actual weekend where the "nothing going on this weekend" statement was pretty close to the truth.

Yesterday, I spent half the day in the kitchen. With nothing tasty to show for it. There are some clean appliances, organized cupboards and a box of coffee mugs heading to Goodwill to show, though.

We just had the birthday party later and then Carter had a post-party party (well gathering of a few friends just "hanging out"). Today, though, there was nothing concrete on the agenda.

Went to 8 o'clock church, then stopped at the Holiday Expo in town to do a little browsing. I am not in the mood for holiday shopping. And why should I be? Isn't it still September? Not dealing well with the quick passage of time these days!

I am just saying "NO" to November until I am ready for it.

When I got home, though, I felt compelled to start on my Christmas treats for our family Cookie Exchange on Thanksgiving weekend. I prefer to make them ahead, freeze them and just enjoy that day visiting and playing games.

We have to make a plate of a dozen goodies for each participant. That ranges from 7 siblings to more than a dozen folks when nieces and nephews are thrown in. I am not a person who could sit and make 12 dozen of anything without getting bored so I usually have 3 or 4 types of treats on each plate.

I won't tell you what I am making yet. (Nothing major, trust me.) I did not get everything made today either, but at least two parts of it. One I made early in the afternoon and the other after supper since the oven was already on. All are in the freezer and hopefully hubby- and Carter-proof.

I swear I did not listen to Christmas music while I was in the kitchen. But it was almost tempting.

Almost.

Since it was still nice out and not like November, in my opinion, I did manage to get an afternoon walk in yesterday and today. I have to admit the brisk wind definitely felt like November. And I know it's coming.

I just saw our forecast for the week. High of only 29 tomorrow and not much warmer the following days -- which means lows in the teens!

No wonder Mr. Deck Chair flew south already.

I miss him.

Family Matters

If there is one thing I've learned since losing my dad, it's to treasure the loved ones I still have here with me.

Especially my other "dad."

Today is my father-in-law's birthday. We had a party this afternoon and evening at Jim's parents' house to not only celebrate his dad's birthday but son Clay's recent 21st birthday, too.

The birthdays themselves were not necessarily milestones, well 21 is, but the event itself was.

In my mind.

One, it was good to spend time with my other dad. And two, I hadn't seen Clay in almost 2 years and it was just so good to be together as a family again. Just good to hear his voice. Just good to see those dimples again in person.

It was a like a birthday present for all of us.

Family matters. A lot.

And I'm grateful for each and every member of both of mine.

Story Time

Taking some advice, I decided to make a trip to the library and check out an "audio book" to listen to on my lonely commute.

I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. I mean, would it help the 45 miles go faster or would the book serve as a worse distraction than a cell phone?

Playing it safe (I hope), I opted for a "light" book of the Nicholas Sparks variety so I would potentially enjoy the story but not have to concentrate too hard on it.

My mistake is that I waited too late in the week to get this process started.

Yes, it did help the drive go quickly (without speeding) and was more entertaining than flipping through stations on the radio, looking for a good song. But, now I get home on Friday and am just starting disc 4 of 10... And I am into the book.

And I cannot wait until Monday to continue.

So I had to hunt down a CD player in the house to "read" tonight. Just so you know, not only can I drive and "read" at the same time, I can also blog and "read" simultaneously.

I am sure my extraordinary talents have left you speechless.

I'll let you recover and I'll get back to you.

In the Crib

It's always nice to have surprise visitors -- especially the long-distance type. And by long distance, I mean from Colorado.

Today, an old (using term nicely) friend and classmate of hubby's stopped by our "crib." He flew into Minneapolis today, drove to central Wisconsin for a business appointment, then stopped here to say "hello" and, of course, play a game of cribbage.

We figured Jim and Pete have probably been playing cribbage for some 30 years. Lots of beers around the board when they played during summers off from college, I've heard. We won't guess at their record, so we'll call it tied. I also won't reveal who won their game this evening. They both enjoyed just sitting opposite each other with the board between them.

By the way, Pete made that beautiful cribbage board by hand and gave it to Jim eons ago. It's gorgeous!

Speaking of gorgeous, I promised Pete that the next time Jim goes out to see him in Colorado, I'm going with! After seeing the pictures from when Jim went out there to see The Who with Pete, I knew I'd have to add it to my short Bucket List.

Well, my List isn't short, but there are things on it I'd like to get to in a Short time from now!

Next summer might be a good time to fly on out to their crib. Pete could use the home field advantage.

Not that that is telling you anything.

Random Acts of Blog-ness

Time to get off the Proud Mother topic. And cover all the other ones randomly traveling through my mind.

Ground Cover: While it rained here all last evening and through the overnight, my friends and family to the northwest got a little more solid precipitation. Some call is snow. I call it "way the heck too soon." Those caught in the line of icy/snow mix fared the worst. One of my nephews got into a minor fender-bender with a a tree. His mom sure posted a pretty picture of the snow, though! I am completely not ready for it so I hope it doesn't find its way here.

Errand Day with Dad: When hubby picked up Carter after school, he had a few errands to run. Since Carter wisely had his permit on him, he got to do the driving. All over town. Guess he didn't do too badly.

Errand Day with Mom: During my errands in town after work, I went by myself. Just a quick stop in a parking lot to drop off some stuff I sold online, then popped into the pharmacy for a refill, stopped at the library to check out an audio book to listen to on my commute, then just happened to swing by Dairy Queen. When I realized Pumpkin Pie Blizzards are back AND our DQ is closing for the winter in 10 days, I figured it was my duty to stop.

Animal Attraction: As much as we love our cat, we get doggy envy any time we are hanging around our neighbors and their adorable little guys. We know, though, that our princess will not share the pedestal with anyone or anything. Especially not a mangy ol' dog. Tonight Murphy stopped by and poked his head in the front window. He was animated and wanted to meet our girl, but Sylvester was not a fan. She just backed away slowly and waited for his departure.

Still, we absolutely adore our little neighbor boy. Shhhh... Just don't tell kitty!

Music to Our Ears

Not that I am trying to turn this into "brag about my kid" week. It's just turning out that way and we'll run with it while it lasts!

We learned a few weeks ago that Carter was named to the All-Conference Band for the entire Marawood Conference. That's 15 schools! Yesterday he told me there were just 6 from Assumption High School selected.  Wow. Very cool.

This evening, on our way up to Spencer High School for the concert, hubby tells me Carter is the only non-senior chosen from AHS. Officially really proud and impressed now.

The Honors Band (and Choir) kids actually spent the whole day up in Spencer (about an hour away) to practice.

Before the concert started, they showed scenes from the day. Carter made the big screen at least twice!

We got there early,  which was good, because it filled up quickly.  I did manage to get one concert picture of Carter and then I was there to listen.

The approximately 90-member band sounded awesome! Very loud but right in tune. Carter pointed out on the way home that it was kind of crazy to spend all day practicing and have it all over in 18 minutes. It was a quality 18 minutes, though.

And he had a good time.

The Honors Choir sounded excellent, too, with one of our AHS girls getting a solo part in one of the songs. How awesome. Much to be proud of in our little corner of the world.

So glad it just happened that we could be a part of it.

Burnin' Daylight

Don't ask me how I would know such a thing, but in the John Wayne movie The Cowboys, he always tried to get the young 'uns on the trail in the early morning and he'd grouchily say, "C'mon, we're burnin' daylight!"

That's how I feel with the Daylight Savings transition. Get out there early because we are burnin' daylight. It won't last long!

I was a bit screwed up this morning with the change, but I think it's worse in the spring. The rooster at the farm around the corner is way off schedule. He was crowing this morning an hour late at least. I never hear him after 6:30. Maybe he just had a long weekend and overslept (like we all want to do on Mondays).

It was nice to have it be light out for my morning commute, though. Especially when four big ol' turkeys decided to cross the road in front of my car, apparently preferring suicide over death by hatchet in a few weeks. Don't worry. They lived to gobble another day.

When I last saw them, that is.

On the way home, darkness starting to fall around 4:30 p.m., I saw no less than a dozen deer in a field by the road. Three had crossed in front of me -- but thankfully a good quarter of a mile ahead of me. This is that fun driving time of the year.

When it's dark by 5:30, I am thinking bedtime thoughts by 7 p.m.

Hey, we've already burned daylight, might as well save the "midnight oil" for another occasion!

Not Bad, Not Bad

It may not be a very saintly bribe, but I told Carter if he made sure to get up and go to 8 o'clock church with me this morning, he could drive home.

It must have helped to have plenty of time to pray about it ahead of time, because I was somewhat at ease.

I said somewhat, not completely.

We had to stop to get gas so he learned how to do that. And then we were on the 4-lane for awhile but did not get anywhere up to 65 mph, thank God. Then home. He really did pretty good.

In fact, he was concentrating so hard, he did not even know I snapped a picture! That's good.

He got a chance to drive some more a little bit later, too. After hubby got home from church, the three of us went over to Appleton to visit a dear friend who is in a nursing home recovering from surgery. She and her husband used to babysit Carter once in awhile way back when he was just 2 years old and living on root beer and Popsicles -- when he could get away with it. So they've seen him grow up and it was good we could bring him along.

On the way home, he got to drive the final 5 or 6 miles. He needs to slow down a bit around the corners (two-wheeling won't be good in winter time), but otherwise did just fine.

Tonight we had the end of season cross country banquet. I use the work "banquet" loosely. It was just a sort of potluck collaboration with good food and the coach's awards. The coach was very proud of what our young team (5 sophomores and 3 freshman) accomplished this year -- as individuals and a team. Carter lettered again so that was nice.

The MVP award went to one of the freshman who consistently finished first among our team AND with really good times. The MIP (Most Improved) went to a kid who managed to shave off more than 4 minutes from his PR of last season.

That kid was Carter Austin.

Proud parent moment, that's for sure! He says it's probably because last year he was just that bad. But we think part of it is his dedication and commitment this year. He really wanted to do well, and tried. He definitely is going out again next year.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday. Seeing our son drive. And seeing him driven.

Fallin' Back

When I created this cartoon, I had the intention of doing just that with the overrated extra hour we get tonight as we "fall back" the clocks one hour during our transition to Daylight Savings.

I was looking for this extra hour all day and never managed to cross paths with it.

Part of it, I suppose, was that I stayed in bed until after 9 a.m. Hey it was a late night. Then I really eased into Saturday chores (wow, on a Saturday even) and got in a walk. Carter spent most of his day at the State Cross Country meet, conveniently located just 5 minutes away from home.

Since he was unavailable to work in the German Club booth at a church arts and crafts fair in Nekoosa, I drove down there to take his place. Since they had an adult and enough kids on hand for Carter's shift, I ended up not having to help much more than a half hour.

After that, it was a stop at Wal-Mart to pick up beverages for our cross country banquet tomorrow night, then home to get ready for another date night. This one wasn't quite as intimate as last night's. And by "intimate" I mean small and cozy in numbers. There were 11 of us in all.

We ate at the Branding Iron Supper Club and I am still stuffed from the yummy stuffed shrimp I ate. All the food was good and the company was GREAT! Had a really nice time there and at our followup "session" at the bowling alley in town.

The cool thing is that we got home in plenty of time to set the clocks back before turning in -- And, perhasps finally getting to that Book!

Where to Start...

In my book, November is Gratitude Month. Thanksgiving should not be the only day we give thanks, should it?

I challenge each of you to take a moment each day and find something for which you are grateful. It can be big or small or serious or silly. Just pause and thank God for it. Then, if you feel like it, share it with others -- especially those who give you that attitude of gratitude.

Today I whipped together a little GRATITUDE collage of some of the first people who came to mind...

It's a mix of family mostly and some longtime friends. If you are not pictured, please don't take offense. I grabbed whatever photos I had handy.

If I had a wall size to deal with it, I could fit even more family on both sides, my awesome Assumption family (Brenda-squared and more), my church friends and running friends and work friends and scrapbooking friends and golfing friends and ... wow. I have like 30 things to be grateful for right there and it's only Day One. I better pace myself.

I think you get the idea.

Specifically today, on All Saints Day, I am grateful for time I was able to have with my dad -- and thankful there is more time yet with my mom.

I pray for the victims of the shooting at the Los Angeles Airport and so grateful, by the grace of God, it happened hours AFTER my sister and brother-in-law flew out of there to Hawaii.

I am thankful that our love as a family can be readily seen by others. The photographer for the church picture session tonight says, "You guys are fun." Yup. We do have a good time.

I think I am grateful that Carter -- officially 15 1/2 years old today -- aced his tests at the DMV and got his temporary driving permit. Yikes!

Right now, I am thankful that as soon as I sign off, hubby and I have a movie date! We're seeing Last Vegas and expect to have some good belly laughs... and a belly full of scrumptiously buttered movie theater popcorn.

Good night. And thank YOU for reading!