{here we go....}

it's a start.....hard to believe this season is so short this year.....only 3 weeks until christmas.

celebration of trees is thursday night t 6:30 p.m.

tickets are $30 each.....at the door if you want to walk up, or call me ahead and i will get you on the list so you don't have to wait as long.

all my shopping is done with the exception of j's mom. i am leaving that one up to him. i have bought her one thing and i am leaving him with the job to find one more thing.

and to be perfectly honest.....i am out of money and energy.

i got everything wrapped except for a few bows on packages. i am taking 2 days off next week, so will make bows then.

i'm so happy i am done. looking forward to baking and having time to just browse the stores, go out to coffee with my hubby, and do a little holiday site seeing without the hassle of trying to shop.

my only last minute panic will be this week when i try and find something to wear for thursday night. i may just end up wearing a holiday sweater. ha. ha.

{i miss her}

i miss my bff.....

{i love this}

find this and other great prints at etsy.

{black friday.....}

obviously i can't post much about what i purchased today {i have visitors to this site},

but let me just say.......the economy most definitely cleared out the stores in albany.

pulled into target at 8:00 {with j} expecting the worst and found a parking spot right up front. o.k......that was kind of lucky. the store has got to be packed. over to the section we were hoping beyond hope to find what we were looking for. scored everything. are you kidding me? 2 hours late for the opening of the store? walked up to the check stand to stand in a mile long line. nothing. not one person in front of us. score again.

drove over to starbucks. no line. no wait.......

over to get gas. no line. no wait......

then proceeded to eugene {valley river}.....first in line at a favorite store. no crowds. first one's in line at 11:00 a.m. for lunch at chilis. it was so calm. it was weird. john had 2 beers.....i know.....11:00 a.m., but it made for a great shopping companion.

came home and just wrapped everything.

didn't get around to decorating the house yesterday, but i think i will do it tomorrow. i got so much accomplished today. only about 5 more things to buy. i will finish it all this weekend.....before december 1.

don't hate. my life will be hell this week with my event if it makes you feel better.

peace out.

{today}

for the last several years my thanksgiving tradition has gone something like this......

• sleep in {just a little}
• john brings me the ads from the paper and i map out my route
• lay in bed and watch {listen} to the macy's thanksgiving day parade.
• go over to mom and dad's house for dinner around 2:00

so far i have broke all traditions.

• slept in until almost 10:45
• went downstairs to read the ads
• haven't even turned the t.v. on yet this morning

now i'm patiently waiting my turn for the shower. number 4 in line......i'm next. zac already went on a run this morning with megan at 7:00 a.m. we are dog sitting for their dog {zac and megan's} foxxie tonight. pray for no peeing on the carpet.

going to mom's shortly, eating at 2:00, visiting with family, and then coming home to decorate for christmas. that makes me really excited and happy.

then i'm going to sit by the christmas tree, watch my dvr, and map out my plan of attack tomorrow.

anyway......just wanted to drop in and tell everyone happy thanksgiving {the half dozen of you that read this}.....

and thanks anne for paying it forward. i'm so excited to do the same when i get to work on monday.

{happy thanksgiving}

i just wanted to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving.

i will be a little preoccupied with eating tomorrow....and then

feeling like a fatty tomorrow night......so, thought i should post in case i get lazy.

i am so thankful for my family and my friends. i have an abundance of both and that is all i need.

sigh.

{if only......}

in a former life i was a buyer for a great little store.

i got paid to shop.....can you believe it?

you heard me right. paid. to. shop.

....which is ironic because i hate to shop, but my theory is that i just hate to shop for myself, but love to shop for other people.

i ran across this blog a couple of months ago, but just re-visited it and i die.

red shoes.

even the name is stinkin' cute.

if i were to open another store......it would totally have this flavor.

not that i would, but i'm just sayin'......

sigh.

in the mean time i just want my house to look like this for the holidays.

looks like i am heading to the feed store this weekend for a trough for the front porch.

john will have to give in because he says no christmas lights on the house this year......

this will be a great compromise.

dontcha' think.

{burrito tuesday}

it's burrito tuesday....and my lunch date is at eagle crest.

and to make it worse, the atlanta housewives smack down

is on tonight and she is going to miss it.

i love bravo.....it makes me very happy.

{sp-eidi}

just so you stay in the "reality show" loop, bff.

i would be crying too if i married that idiot.

um.....so, the house in redmond. are you kidding me right now? we are so moving.

ask the neighbors if they want to sell.

{what are you thankful for?}

when i say my prayers tonight, i will most defintely be thanking God for elastic waist bands.

amen.

{twilight}

dropping the girls off to see {twilight} tonight......i wasn't invited. shocking.

the boys are watching the arizona/oregon state game. i think i am going to go and read my twilight book and sit by the fire.

can't wait for the Christmas season to start. went shopping with my mom today {hi, mom} and found some really cute stuff. plugged in my new cinnamon candle. it's beginning to smell a lot like the holidays.

you don't even know how tempting it is to put up one of my trees tomorrow.

who would know, right?

{oh, and by the way}

cleaning out my office today and had to take a note down from my bulletin board.

finnley. greyson.

two names i love.....o.k., now i can throw the scratch piece of paper away.

oh, and by the way.....

picked up my certified copy of my marriage certificate today. something that was holding me back from moving forward.

not anymore.

{hot dog alert}

so.....here is some background information about john.

he is an elementary school principal at 2 schools in town.

he never tells me anything about work.

he is dressing up like a hotdog at school next week.

kids will be throwing condiments on him at an assembly.

don't you think that is something you would tell your wife?

if for nothing else, so i can go and throw condiments at him too!!

missy told me {her son goes to one of his schools}......

we will be attending.....with ketchup bottles in hand.

can't wait.

{thanks ali}

thanks for my baby fix for the week.

i'm so in love.

{today}

• christmas shopping with my favorite girl {at target}
• starbucks with my favorite girl
• costco with my favorite girl
• lunch with my favorite girl

lazy day with my favorite girl.

my favorite boy is in bed with another sprained ankle after last night's game. lots of time to recover before baseball though.....so, besides his ankle hurting like hell......his heart and head seem to be fine.

i went to check on him and he was watching football holding his baseball bat.

total sports nut. gotta love him.

{more idaho love}

i really miss the girlies hanging out. we need to change that.

they are screwballs together.....fo sho.

still trying to dig out of my hole of blah!

i will write more when i am more ambitious.

thanks for the card the other day anne. that was really thoughtful.

thanks for calling me every day missy.

thanks for going to eugene with me last weekend mom.

thanks for the sweet comments on my blog susan.

thanks for being my partner in crime at work jessie. i am so glad you are upstairs now.

this is my support system right now. today. november 11, 2008....i am really lucky.

{idaho road trip}

struttin' her stuff on the cat walk!

my favorite girls.....you don't even know.....this is SO madison!

shoes......forget about it.

beautiful.

chilaxin' on the way to idaho.

thanks corn-diggity-dog for the pictures.

more to come.......this makes me happy.

{pug-o-rama]

the pug i posted the other day really is part of my family.

and....she really is kind of famous in vegas.

she normally wins the longest tongue contest at the annual pug-o-rama.

this year she got taken down but some other pug. dumb dog.

susanne......you can check out the story here....you should take your dogs next year.
.....and i wrapped 8 presents tonight.

still feeling funky.....waiting for that feeling to pass.

can't really take a break because i have an event in 3 weeks.....i think taking off about 3 months would help. have felt sick most of the day and hope i'm not getting the flu. i have 2 huge meetings this week.

{it's a beautiful day}

i'm so excited. the jon & kate plus 8 wedding is tonight.

have you seen the new commercial on tlc? love. double love. this is the real band. the whole version and below is the grainy little youtube version....i want a video with my beautiful family. i'm getting more and more un-gloomy just listening to the song.

{gearing up......}

to get back on track.......and start blogging again.

this is a start.

it's my famous {niece}......and her uber long tongue.

{re-post}

{here is an explanation of the phrase "the bird is chirpping......}

for the record.....
there is a phrase i never want to hear again as long as i live.....
"lexie just ran under the fence with a bird in her mouth and it was still chirping!"
from now on whenever there is a crisis it will be referred to in code as
"the bird is chirping"
gross.

{the bird is chirping}

'nuff said.

{black friday}

you do know what black friday is, right?

it's the day after thanksgiving....the day most retailers hope to be in the "black."

if you have never seen this site you need to check it out often between now and thanksgiving.

they just posted bath and body works and a couple others tonight.

it's the ads for black friday.

another reason to get excited for christmas.

deck the halls. fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.

{miss josie}

let me introduce you to the darling miss josie buoy.

she's my cousin luke's beautiful little girl.

can't wait to meet you.....wish you were going to see your grammy carol for thanksgiving!

{giveaway winner}

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers: 7

Timestamp: 2008-11-05 02:58:57 UTC

looks like it's you miss jessie lou!

i will be hookin' you up shortly.....you don't need to send me your address because your desk lives next door to me.

{sick girl}

workshop all day in eugene yesterday.
home with my sick girl today.
going to work tomorrow.

out of the 3 i much prefer the {home} part of today.

{blogs are like myspace for old people}

1. WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING? 5:30 {when zac came in to say he was sick}
2. DIAMONDS OR PEARLS? Neither, but if I had to pick....diamonds. fo sho.
3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA? That movie with Shia Labuff..... I ate a kids pack.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? John and Kate Plus Eight
5. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? Venti Coffee Light Frappacino
6. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? Marie
7. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE? Mushrooms......and much, much more!
8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CD? Dave Matthews Band
9. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? Chevy Tracker, but my hubby drives an H3 Hummer, how is that fair?
10. FAVORITE SANDWICH ? Grilled Cheese
11. WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU DESPISE? Snobby people
12. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING? Jammie Bottoms on the weekend
IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? My house
14. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHROOM? Tan and White
15. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING? Banana Republic
16. WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TO? maybe Eugene.....I love college towns
17. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY? My 30th
18. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? anything my kids are playing
19. FURTHEST PLACE YOU ARE SENDING THIS? Corvallis.....that's the farthest away anyone reads this.
20. WHO DO YOU LEAST EXPECT TO BLOG THIS? dont know
21. PERSON YOU EXPECT TO BLOG IT FIRST? Anne....because she is a stalker.
22. FAVORITE SAYING? hot mess....newest favorite "I can't stand fake-ass girls."
24. ARE YOU A MORNING OR NIGHT PERSON? Definitely not morning, but not really night either....early afternoon kind of gal
25. WHAT IS YOUR SHOE SIZE? 7
26. PETS? Yes
27. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? Turning in adoption paperwork tomorrow.
28. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE? A mommy
29. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? Tired
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY? reeses peanut butter cups
31. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER? Pink Peonies wrapped in newsprint......I die.
32. WHAT IS A DAY ON THE CALENDAR YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO? December 24th
34. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? a mini snickers bar
35. DO YOU WISH ON STARS? no
36. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Turquoise {and I would be next to Firecracker Red in the box}
37. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? rainy
38. FAVORITE SOFT DRINK? diet pepsi with lime and lots of crushed ice
39. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Mexican in Two rivers (Burrito Tuesday place), sad I don't know the name, but my car drives itself there
40. SIBLINGS?1 bro
41. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Christmas Morning
42. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHild? Little People
43. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter
44. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
45. COFFEE OR TEA? coffee {frappacino only}
46. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? vanilla
47. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO BLOG THIS? duh
48. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? last night watching "extreme makeover"
49. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED? carpet
50. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU HAVE HAD THE LONGEST? BFF Missy (love her to death!!)
51. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? Went out to dinner at Red Robin with my hubby
52. FAVORITE SMELL? newly mowed grass or the smell of ouside after it rains for the first time in the fall
53. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? something happening to my kids or husband and hay bale head people
54. SALTY OR SWEET? SALTY, SALTY, SALTY
55. HOW MANY KEYS ON YOUR RING? 5
57. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? any day I might get to sleep in
58. HOW MANY TOWNS HAVE YOU LIVED IN? 4
59. DO YOU MAKE FRIENDS EASILY? Easy to make them, but very picky about who I share my time with.
56. HOW MANY YEARS AT YOUR CURRENT JOB? almost 3

{psalm 23}

this is why it breaks my heart that we didn't have a video camera when the kids were little.

and....here is a little known fact about me. to this day i can't watch "america's funniest videos" because it gives me so very much guilt.

{vote}

tuesday. november 4th.

{this young house}

this young house.

my favorite blog find of the weekend.

ahhhh.........

{who....}

who takes their wife to a metallica concert for a date?

oh, that would be my corndog and my bff.

hope the hotel was nice and cozy and your ears aren't still ringing.

maybe the ringing will block out all of the snoring.

oy vey.

{giveaway}

at lunch the other day with the girls we asked this question.......

does anyone even read our blogs besides us? lol!!

seriously, i think we are the only ones.

i think i need a giveaway.

leave me a comment and tell me what YOUR favorite blog is and why.....

i will draw a name at random on tuesday, november 4th and send you a treat to get you inspired for the holidays.

it's a surprise.

i guarantee it will only be my 5 blog friends who will post, so your chances are pretty good.

throw me a bone people!

{lil devil}

remember when your kids were little and you would take like a kazillion pictures of them?

sitting by the pumpkin, sitting by their candy all spread out on the floor, by the hay bale, etc?

this is what it has come down to. my daughter's 12 year old friend taking a blurry picture on a camera phone {with my dog's ass in the shot} while her mom and dad are at a football game.

oh well. at least i got a picture. she trick or treated {or, mostly ran around the hood} with some friends and came home in one piece, so that will have to be good enough for me this year.

bah humbug.

i am in a horrible mood today. i feel fat and nothing fits and just about everyone is annoying me.

people need to get a clue..........or i am going to freak out!

* see what a little editing can do?