Black Friday...

...Equals crash Saturday in my book.

Could it get any busier? Yesterday, I got up around 3:05 am. That's right. Since stores open at 4 am, that's what time I got up. Add to that getting two little girls ready and getting to the store just a few short minutes after 4. Yes, this is a tradition. This would qualify as the earliest I have ever gone out on Black Friday.

When we arrived, we saw my parents to which my dad said, "you really are hard core". Yes, I guess we are. All in all, we had fun and the girls did remarkably well for the early hour. I made sure to prep Aliyah by explaining what we do on Black Friday and the tradition. I know she understood because as we were eating breakfast at 6 am, she asked me "Mom, did we find a lot of good deals"? I told her that we did. We do not go to stores such as WMT or Target or Best Buy. I have done the Target & Best Buy thing in past years and determined to never again. There isn't anything that important to me to wait in line that long to get or have to squeeze in with hundreds of people to compete for. Not Oprah, not EHM, not any of that stuff. I'm not really a line waiter or a person who arrives way ahead to sit and wait. Sit and wait is a waste of time by me.

So, after Bergners--our first stop, I headed over to a neighboring city to the mall and another Bergners. For us, Black Friday isn't really gift shopping so much as it is finding stuff that we as a family need or would use at a great deal--I'll explain. My finds consisted of: Paula Deen spatulas with wooden handles two of them for $2.16 including tax, Paula Deen saucepan (red mottled enamel) for $4.32, 6 pack of socks for me for $1.35, 2 pairs of tights--one brown, one black for FREE, a 3 pack of earrings for $4.32, Dora Crocs with 2 Jibbitz for $10.79...the list goes on and on. You get the idea.

You could tell that stores were making the deals a little sweeter this year. American Eagle had their tops BOGO at 50% off plus 25% off your whole order, Gymboree had 30% off your entire order in addition to any coupon you had that you may want to use (I also had a 20% off coupon) plus earned Gymbucks. After shopping, I met my family for lunch at Firehouse where Josh joined us. He went in to work at 5 am. Following lunch and arriving back home my house looked like a Christmas/shopping mess.

We went out last night for dinner and then back to Bergners and a few other stores. This time, we were pretty much the only shoppers. I had told Josh that I would like a new bedding set for the bed for Christmas. We decided to look since they were on sale due to the obvious. After looking, we thought we had decided on a set. I took another look around and saw one that I had been looking at online. Not only that, it was on CLEARANCE--shout for joy! We took it up to the counter and had them check the price--yep getting that one. The next thing was curtains to match & pillows if any. This is a neutral color set so we could mix other sets with it. After debating, I decided to look at the shelves of clearance where I found the matching curtains & pillows to the set I was getting--another shout for joy!! We ended up getting the bedding set, curtains, pillows and two rugs for LESS than what just the bedding set in the other type was by itself! Hooray!

I took last evening to clean, put away, wrap gifts, finish some decorating, do the new bedding items, and crash into bed.

Today, Josh is working on the bathroom and feels like he is under the gun. He goes on business the next few days so he will be gone. I am working on laundry, cleaning, Christmas stuff, ordering Shutterfly, and a whole host of other things that just need done. AAGGHH!! It's one of those days where no matter what I do get done, I can't get it all done. I'm chipping away at it, chipping away at it.

Giving Thanks

There really are so many things to be thankful for, I hardly know where to begin. This year, I have made a concentrated effort to be thankful way more often than just during the Thanksgiving season. In fact, many times I feel guilty about not being thankful enough and complaining too much. Life becomes much more bearable and positive when you remember the many things we are privileged to enjoy.
It has become glaringly obvious over the past year that we really do have much for which to give thanks. Even the shortfalls of our economy have amplified what we have compared to everywhere else. No one else has that many things to worry about since they do not have it at all. Life is much simpler. No stocks, bonds, CD's 401K's, credit cards, bank collapses or such things to lose sleep over.
With that in mind, here is a short list of things that we are blessed with:

• a God who loves/blesses us in spite of ourselves
• a loving family
• sweet children
• wonderful loving husband who works hard
• jobs
• a home that is warm and comfortable
• friends
• health
• plenty of food

The list could go on and on and we wouldn't run out. So, in this Thanksgiving season as well as any season, remember to be thankful. It truly gives life perspective when things get tougher!

Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours!!!

Festive

So, I'm trying to go festive here. Yay for adding a Christmas feel to the music, new pics, and a new color. Last night while setting up the tree, I realized I wasn't feeling overly Christmas-y. Music usually does the trick and it has started to make me feel more in the Christmas spirit.
I don't know if it's the overall rough times you hear too much of or what?? Maybe the fact that my oldest feels like Christmas just won't be as good without all of those expensive toys on the commercials. It seems over the top this time around--those commercials.

A few things I absolutely love about this time of year:

• Christmas music--my favorite kind of music. I can't get enough of it. I love falling asleep at night to Josh Groban's Noel CD.
• driving around to see Christmas lights/displays
• the wonder in little one's eyes
• family to share laughter with
• surprises
• yummy food

I have several things to get done today to get ready for Christmas...

order pics from Shutterfly

finish our window display

clean

wash windows--they look awful and hey it's like 40 degrees--lol

think of something to get my sweetie-pie for Christmas

Raise your egg nog to the Christmas spirit and my hopes of accomplishments today!

Thankfulness

**Add ons**
http://www.drpepper.com/freeDrPepper/
A freebie-- Yes this is my downfall =). Enjoy a free soda on them anyway. Pass it along!

I couldn't resist this story...
Josh was helping a lady today and he directed her to someone else to further help her. The person who helped her last came back to Josh and informed him that the lady thought he was really hot & sexy. Apparently, she went on and on...
Josh said, "she must not remember me, that was my homeroom teacher my soph. year of HS". LOL!!!

Since this is Thanksgiving week, I want to remember thankfulness in my posts. I took 5 minutes and updated some pics on my blog as well as blogs on my list. I know I need to add to that playlist, but busy-ness = not much blog time lately.

I'm excited that Aliyah and I have the week off school for Thanksgiving this week. It is a busy week for us, although fun. Josh has to work quite a bit, but hey I'm thankful that he has a job and gets hours. We will begin the indoor decorating tomorrow evening--officially. We will not "flip the switch" until Thanksgiving evening.

I'm glad to have Thanksgiving Day--a time of reflection and time with family--a break from a crazy routine called life =).

Friday is our traditional Black Friday shopping. Do any of you do that? We have been for as long as I can remember--this year is no different.

In other news, I hear Josh using some type of tool upstairs and it is 10:30pm. Yes, he did just work all day, but he uses his spare seconds to work on the bath. We got to use the WHOLE ENTIRE bathroom last night. It was SOOO EXCITING. I will post pics once he finishes the grouting.

I'm just wondering, is anyone else extremely tired of the commercial force-feeding of toys to their children? I know, the only way to not have it is to turn off the television. The toys they are marketing to the kids this year are pretty high dollar if you ask me. These kids feel like they really need these and life will not be complete or Christmas will not be happy without them. E.g. --Biscuit the dog--ranges anywhere from $150. to $200. Who knows, the one at the store didn't even work. Pixos--not expensive initially, however the reviews weren't very good. You have to keep buying the refills--which would cause it to become expensive. Some kind of Lion/Tiger Cub thing that moves--ranges from $50-$70. Yes, every toy that we have heard as a result of these commercials is pretty pricey. Many of these things that I have seen are simply over-priced garbage. One thing I have noticed, toys and Christmas decs seem overly pricey this year. Glad I don't have to buy any Christmas decorations. Our alternative to these commercials--go green--turn the TV off =). Well, the kids don't really watch TV at home, but we have asked that the cartoons be off at grandma's. It gives them more time with books anyway=).

Have a great week!

Ideas

I'm full of ideas at the moment--poor Josh! We've had a full but fun day. Our day started with Christmas pictures. This is normally a stressful event. Get up, get dressed, hair fixed, make sure everyone looks their best. This involves more than a typical get up and get dressed day as it includes the girl's Christmas dresses. They are absolutely adorable in them I might add. Following the getting ready part, we normally would head about 25 minutes away to JCP to wait for our turn. That's the worst part...hot studio, tons of people and cranky kids waiting for Christmas portraits. The other bad part...here let's pose everyone then jump up and down and make goofy faces so your kids will smile--yeah right. Right around this point, one child has a meltdown and it's all over as mom and dad are sweating and stressing. NOT TODAY=)!

We got ready, and our doorbell rang. It was our neighbor, M. She came over and photographed us in our house in our comfort zone and on our schedule. How do you get any better. I have a feeling she probably got some very nice photos. Now, this isn't to belittle her photography skills at all, however I am afraid of my own pictures--yikes. Either way, I'm confident there are great Christmas pics of at least everyone else.

Following lunch, we ran a few errands--grocery store, gas, & Walgreens. Here I am again, all excited about getting gas. Why? We filled up our car for $19.50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was what gas cost when we were newly married--over 8 years ago!!!

We arrived home to straighten the house before I headed out again. My neighbor, M and I went to make some Stampin' Up cards. We had a fun time and made some super cute cards--only $1 each. People, you can't even really buy the cheap ugly cards for $1! Josh went to Panera & Bible study with some friends.

I forgot to mention that we now have a fully functioning bathtub upstairs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The grout and some remaining tiles await. Of course, something popped into my head just this morning about the kitchen that needs done. I have been pondering for awhile how to gain more cabinet/counter space in my kitchen. My first few ideas weren't do-able. Well, I asked Josh & his cabinet expertise about putting cabinets/moulding all the way to the ceiling. This would at least give me more cabinet space. If you have ever seen my kitchen, you know that it is probably the smallest cabinet-wise that you could have. He measured and decided this will work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will even get a valance thing as well as lights in the upper-upper cabinets. I wouldn't want him to have any down-time when it comes to projects ya know--LOL.

So, the day is winding down, however my brain is going 100 mph. Next week is exciting as the holidays approach =). Have a great Friday & weekend too. It's BRRRR way to cold here for November.

Love =>

This post is all for you, sweetie!!
This morning was a rather "rough" morning. One where the little ones don't exactly cooperate with your plan of getting ready and out the door. My hair was right with them--wouldn't cooperate either. I pulled it back and thought, "ugh". Oh well, what else are you gonna do when you don't have anymore time?
I got home from work and Josh (having not seen me all day) said, "your hair looks cute". I was like, "wow" I thought it was terrible all day. He gave me a hug and was happy to show me what he accomplished before I got home. I belly laughed as I saw the Christmas decorations. You see, he doesn't remember how I arrange them outside. They were just kind of --well anywhere. He knew they weren't in the right place, but happily took my direction for the proper spot.
He took me upstairs to proudly show me the progress on the bathroom. We have a faucet and everything on the tub. Now, all we are waiting for is grout, the front tiles and baseboards. That's ALL!!
He totally brightened my day when I got home. I appreciate him and his work like he will never know. Most of all, I treasure his love, companionship, and friendship. I always tell him he is a closet comedian. He's hilarious, but you wouldn't know it unless you know him well. He could write for SNL or be a stand-up comedian like Leno, Conan, you name it. I love to laugh--so that's great!
So, all that to say "I love you, Josh"!!!!!!!

Fortune Cookie

I just ate the fortune cookie that I brought home from PF Changs...it said "Good luck is the result of good planning". I will nod in agreement to that one.
In good news, I got a message from a friend today that they are NOT going to get divorced. They are going for counselling and such. If you think of it, please pray for my friend.
Josh has made progress again in the bathroom. He has grouting, the faucet, and baseboards left to do. I think that's all!!

The weekend was a gloriously fun-filled and packed one. I feel like a lot was accomplished and we even had time together.
In school news, Aliyah is well over half-way through and we are looking toward Thanksgiving break--I know I am. I am giving her 4 days off. That week is pretty busy for us with Josh working a lot of hours, putting up the Christmas decs, and of course--Black Friday shopping!! It's weird because it is like a week later this year.
In restaurant news, my FAVORITE pizza restaurant opens in our city TOMORROW!!!!!! It is a place called Firehouse Pizza. Prior to this, they only had one location and it was kind of far. What do I like about it? They have a special sauce (their own secret recipe) made fresh at the location, the crust tastes great, and it is all fresh and SUPERB!! MMMMMM
In Monday evening news, there is lots to do tonight including Aliyah's schoolwork. I need to get that free Shutterfly book finished as today is the deadline!
Hope you enjoyed my many thoughts and ramblings for today!

Experiences

I'm tired!! The day started early--5 am. As usual, the trip was packed full of "experiences". One never knows what they will see, hear, or experience in Chicago.

As soon as the train arrived, a cab whisked us away and quickly dropped us off at Water Tower Place. American Girl has moved there and seems to be quite a high octane dosage of estrogen particularly on weekends. I was thrilled to get the girl's Christmas dresses--in the correct size. The online portion said they were sold out of several sizes. Fortunately, the store had just what I wanted =). We meandered through the crowd in the store as I grabbed the things that I needed to get. Do I wish I had skipped wearing a coat!! I was practically sweating and I felt like the abominable snowman. With all of those people and the temperature they keep the stores, it's enough to make you think you've stepped back into summer.

We entered another store (super cool one which shall remain nameless) and I proceeded to choose a Christmas gift. It didn't take long to choose, however the person waiting on me must have wrapped it in 100 pieces of multi-colored tissue paper. It took FOREVER to say the least! After a few more purchases and too many bags later, we began walking toward our lunch destination.

Lunch was awesome at PF Changs--mmm. We finished off with dessert shots--mine was S'mores--I think I can still taste it! Our table was on the second floor off in a corner where two large windows met and overlooked the street corner--cool!

Following lunch, we visited Northbridge Mall. They had some mega-beauty event at Nordstrom which I got sucked into as they had a wonderful Clinique gift. I quickly picked out my makeup. The lady couldn't figure out how to properly swipe my card. It also took FOREVER. The girls I was with were beginning to think I was experiencing some Chicago curse. She did give me free lipstick, however. We headed out to Michigan Ave. to the next "experience"--little did we realize... A few people in front of us had signs and such. I noticed TV cameras--we quickly moved off to the side and then slipped into a Corner Cafe Bakery as the GAY PRIDE PARADE marched down the sidewalk with signs/flags/banners/chants--you name it. I haven't ever experienced such a thing and can't say that I care to again. It was distasteful on so many levels to me. I don't hold up signs and march down the street declaring my "straightness" to people. There's not a special flag for me either because I'm traditionally married. Honestly, I wouldn't want such a thing. These people appear that they are on an anger rant ready to hurt people that aren't a part of their group. Granted, there were police on foot and in cars, but it was odd.

After my problem of not being able to find gifts last night, I feel much better. I am VERY CLOSE to being finished with finding gifts! I'm tired and ready for some rest.

Tech Rescue

Thanks to my bloggy gifted aunt Juju, I now have a signature as well as a playlist, and buttons. I feel button-retarded. She showed me the thing I was doing wrong on adding buttons--duh to me! Anyway, after my shopping trip to Chicago and my Snapfish & Shutterfly creations are complete, I will develop my playlist. Add to that list some more buttons and other stuff. Yeah, I will get this blog up to speed one of these days.
I am a wee bit frustrated as EVERY ITEM I was looking for was OUT OF STOCK! These are CHRISTMAS gifts PEOPLE! I will keep looking and I WILL FIND THEM!!!
Does anyone have any ideas for a gift to get my wonderful husband?? I just can't come up with anything =(.
Well, I need to go to bed earlier tonight as Chicago will come bright and early =).
Have a great weekend everyone!!

Outside

Basically, we spent our whole day outside. We needed to take advantage of having weather in the mid-50's today and SUN. Our yard is now WINTERIZED. The flowers are all gone, pots are put away and leaves have been cleaned up. I'm sure more leaves will come, however MOST of the leaves are gone anyway.
Since we seemed to be in the yard-working landscaping mood, we moved several edgers. I have a re-landscaping bug going on inside my head that doesn't want to wait until spring. We are removing a flower bed to make more yard space in the back since we have the trampoline now. I was able to move my coral bells. They look great in their new spot. I'm so excited because when I planted them this year from another spot in my yard, they were really tiny and I didn't even know if they would make it. They did beautifully!
Following our yard clean-up, we began getting the outside of the house ready for CHRISTMAS! Lest you think we skip over and don't fully celebrate Thanksgiving, let me explain. It can get very cold and snowy here in the next couple of weeks. When the ground is frozen and the wind is blowing it is NOT ideal to go outside on the roof and put up lights. We have them on the house, but they will not be lit until the day after Thanksgiving (which is kind of late this year). I guess having it late is kinda good for the electric bill right??? We are now crossing our fingers that all of the lights we put up actually work. Last year we had the problem many times over where we put up NEW lights and they would only work for a few days or a week. Can you believe that??
We had a nice warm & spicy chili for supper. It hit the spot after all of the work outside.
Josh is going to work in the new bathroom and I'm going to do housework stuff. Dishes, laundry, vacuuming, dusting, and bathrooms are calling my name. Yes it has and continues to be a full day! We plan to have some Starbucks here pretty soon to top it all off--how's that?!?

Free Shutterfly

All right, not to be outdone, Shutterfly also has a free book as well
http://shutterfly.recp.messages2.co...TYxSO&mt=1&rt=O

You have to pay shipping and order by Nov. 17th. However, if you order $25.00 in other stuff, shipping is free. This is a great deal if you need pictures or Christmas cards or whatever!
HURRY and get those books uploaded. Everyone in our family loves them!

Free!

Two posts today!! I always like to share the news when there's something good for free...
go to this link: http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20081029_tows_messyhouse/7
and get started on your FREE Snapfish book. I'm guessing this is like Shutterfly. I haven't used Snapfish for this before, but hey it's free. You do have to pay shipping. The digital photobook must be completed and ordered by Sunday, November 16. This is a $29.99 offer. Just click on GET YOUR FREE BOOK once on Oprah's site. I have just started so hope you can get one too!!!

Too Early

...for winter! I am not ready for it to be this cold already. I'm also still not used to the days being so short. I can tell that our outdoor playing has ended. We are getting much more running around in the evenings as a result. I am suspecting that it will be cold this weekend in Chicago as well. Oh well, that's what winter coats and hot cocoa are made for right??
I have a few specific places I would like to make it to in Chicago...American Girl (to finish my girl's Christmas shopping), Coach, Teavana, and well as many stores as possible I guess.

We have a fair amount of things to work on tomorrow's day off. I have to finish pulling the now dead flowers from the windowboxes, Josh needs to mow up leaves, we need to begin putting up outside Christmas decs before the roof is frosty and the ground is frozen, and Josh needs to make some progress on the tile around our new bathtub. In addition, I would like to go to Toys 'R Us in hopes of getting some Christmas shopping done. There are a few gifts this year that I feel like I am striking out on. I get these ideas and then can't find what I want--ugh!! The goal every year is to be mostly finished by Thanksgiving. I still have two weeks right?

Now that we are inside a whole lot more, I am thinking about our next projects in the house. I keep having to remind myself not to get too ahead of myself as Josh needs to finish the one he is working on first. My kitchen and main floor bath flooring is next =). Well, I'm off for now to make something of the evening. ...Wishing for a Starbucks salted caramel hot chocolate...

Coloring Contest

The Radio City Rockettes are coming to a neighboring city next week. We had looked into tickets, however they were pretty pricey. We decided to wait on getting them. A few days later, we saw a coloring contest in one of the local newspapers--the winners get 4 tickets to see the show. Aliyah has won several coloring contests with our local newspaper so we thought we would give it a shot. She was SUPER excited to work on it. I would say she spent a good hour to hour and a half on this picture. It started out with just a tree with some gifts underneath. She decorated the tree and added a fireplace and stockings. It looked amazing.
Well, I figured we hadn't won anything since we didn't hear anything. We came home tonight and had a message on the machine--you won 2nd place. She gets a $25.00 gift card to Toys "R Us. Granted it's not the Rockettes, but she's excited anyway. I can't wait to see the other entries because they must be something else! I will have to post a pic later!
I guess we weren't supposed to see the Rockettes =).

Small World

Our church is large-ish I suppose at least to me. It has 1700-2000 people. I guess large/small is all relative isn't it? Anyway, our guest speaker today was our pastor's brother. He has lived in Australia for 20 years--yeah different continent.
He starts speaking and after telling us about "tea" in Australia, he begins telling a story. Oddly enough, the person who he is telling the story about are people that were in my parent's wedding & vice versa. I wasn't positive so I confirmed details with my mother and it was the same person. I guess I just thought that was noteworthy considering the people do not live in the US anymore and do not live in Australia either =).

It's a chilly one! There has been a good 30-40 degree swing from what we had afew days ago to now. We're trying to adjust and get used to it. I am hoping for milder weather for Chicago next weekend. You see, it can be windy here, however nothing compares to Chicago windy.

I received a letter excusing me from jury duty!! Thanks Juju!

It feels like kind of a non-productive weekend. Maybe my blood is too cold to get much done, IDK. I may get my motivation back this evening and get some cleaning and odds/ends stuff done before Josh gets home. I know that the rest of November and all of December will be full o non-stop stuff. Maybe a restful weekend isn't so bad. Next weekend while I'm away, Josh plans to crank out some major work on the bath as well as put up outside Christmas lights. We do not turn them on until after Thanksgiving, however putting them up ahead of time can help save the pain of the cold. Many times we get a MAJOR snow on December 1st!

Well, I'm off. This getting dark at 5 pm stuff is enough to throw one's schedule out of whack.

Friday

The new color has arrived!! I like it and it is indeed easy on the eyes.

The work day flew by as there was many things to do. A HUGE THANK YOU to my boss who decided that we should leave early today. This was wonderful as I was able to go home and clean out my flowerbeds before dark as well as before picking up the kiddos!! I filled two complete garbage cans. I know it doesn't sound exciting, however being able to do it before it gets even colder was great.

Not much else besides a rather uneventful evening. Aliyah is doing two lessons this evening since we didn't do schoolwork yesterday. I am happy to say we just finished lesson 91 and we are OVER halfway finished =). Hubby is working all weekend. Chicago is next weekend for me!

On a side note...
While I haven't quit watching TV completely, I have limited it quite a bit. This means taking out almost ALL programs relating to news and such. I've simply had enough for awhile. I think I'm down to about 3-4 shows per week. I watch DWTS, Amazing Race and a couple other reality shows. Every now and then I catch Kath and Kim or SNL. Since I don't watch the Today show or any morning show for that matter, getting ready is very quiet and peaceful. I really like it I must confess. I figure I catch up on any news when I open my computer. I can see the headlines and read or leave it!

That's all for Friday. Have a happy weekend!!

GA$

Let's see if this works...I haven't settled on a color yet. Maybe white will have to be the one.
I am excited to report that gas has FINALLY reached the point where there is a 1 in front of it again here in my area--YIPPEE! We paid $1.98 today and I felt like doing a dance right there at the station. My car which previously took over $52.00 was only $22.00 today!! Now, the last time I am positive that gas was that price was in the year 2000 after Josh and I got married. I remember we were thinking how expensive it was when we filled up the rental car on our honeymoor. WOW--how times have changed! I never thought I would see it in the $2 range again much less $1.98!!
We had a nice day today. Josh made us a yummy breakfast before we went to do our errands. We got some wonderful deals at the grocery store =). Although it rained today, the SUN came out this afternoon and it didn't get extremely cold like they had thought. I'm always up for mild weather.
I also have progress to report on our bathroom--yes can you believe it?? Josh is pretty close to the finish line. I can't wait! Now, there is a wee bit of extra motivation to get it done once and for all. You see, we have decided to have a Christmas party and that was one of my contingencies =). Poor Josh, who knows what else I will come up with before it takes place.
I was happy that I had time to get a haircut today. I am one of those people that could probably fall asleep while getting my hair cut. When I was little, I would ask my mom to just rub my hair if I was sick. It was always relaxing.
Other than that, I had some nice cuddle/lovey time with Keirah this morning as I sat in the chair. She curled up next to me and gave me lots of hugs and kisses and "I love you's". Nothing warms your heart quite like that! She is quite the mommy's girl and a girly girl at that. She stands right next to me as I get ready in the morning and wants pretty hair, hairspray, and pretty "wips". Keirah gets out my makeup and all kinds of other things as I get ready at my vanity. She also loves to wear TONS of bracelets--actually all that she can find and all at once.
Well, I am hoping for a tiny bit of mild weather this weekend so I can complete the "winterizing of my flower beds". We'll see! TGIF--soon!

Faves

So, the color on yesterday's post is NOT my fave. I'm trying a new one now. Today I am listing some of my favorite things--you know the everyday things you use at your home or just simply "have to have".

1. the weather that we have experienced for the last 5 days or so--LOVE IT!!

2. Tide laundry soap--I love the smell so much that I get excited about laundry and folding--yeah I'm nuts I think!

3. Huggies wipes--NO OTHER WIPES compare. The thickness/moisture/scent etc--is perfect by me. I use them for more than the obvious, though. They work great as stain removers on clothes, carpet you name it. They also clean things nicely as well--baseboards.

4. Gymboree clothes--so cute and cool and by the time they have their wonderful sales it ends up cheaper than Wal-Mart or Target. They have great re-sale value on ebay also =). Also great to pass down.

5. Hanna Andersson Pj's & stuff--so comfy, cute, and warm--they are VERY durable.

6. Coach purses & their new Legacy perfume--LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It has a honeysuckle base and I happen to LOVE honeysuckle. It grows on a beautiful vine outside in my yard.

7. Nice people who make you laugh and smile--this does your body and soul good!

8. My Rainbow Light vitamins--man they give me a boost like no other!

9. Shutterfly--love their photo books and my little girls do too!

10. Frank's Hot Sauce--I love SPICY and this is my favorite kind!

11. Firehouse Pizza--no words necessary if you have ever tried it!

12. Kroger, Sears, & Target--all three of these get my vote for having GREAT deals/clearance as well as cool stuff.

13. American Girl--they make the CUTEST items and my girls LOVE playing with it all of the time!

14. The colors brown, salmon, pink, ocean blue--not all together--I just like them.

15. My sweet girls and their laughter & love.

16. Josh--last but not least--my hottie husband--need I say more!!

D Day

So, I changed my color for today because someone wrote that they couldn't read my blog with the salmon and brown. IDK, I don't havve trouble seeing it but maybe that's just me. I want to stick with one color so we'll see what color I decide to stick with after this.

In the way of elections, I am SO GLAD to be finished hearing commercials and pundits and swing states and all of the election jargon--I hope!!! It wouldn't surprise me however if the next candidates announce they are running for 2012 say Friday or so. After all, this has been practically a 2 year journey and WAY TOO LONG! I'm amazed at the amount of money wasted...oops spent--on campaigning. I bet a lot of people everywhere could do so much with all of that $$. Regardless of the outcome, its not something to live life fretting about.

I'm happy that we have had beautiful weather. It has given us a chance to clean up leaves and play outside. The time change has made our time outside shorter, though.

Okay, so I have some things that I'm praying for...if you would like, please pray for these as well... I won't mention names b/c I didn't ask these people prior to doing this.

1. friends that are pregnant with their first after quite a journey--healthy pregnancy!
2. friends that are facing a job loss very soon--a new job and provision for their needs!
3. friends that have a lot going on right now--calm & peace amidst the chaos and quickness to settle everything.

If you are reading this and saw your situation listed above, please know that I am praying for you and love you.

By the way, I did vote and did not have to wait in line! I don't know if I even dare turn on the TV tonight since it's all election coverage. If you are where I'm at--I'm tired of hearing about it.

Beetles

"Scientist Girl" a.k.a Aliyah has decided to collect and study beetles. WHAT?? She is a girl! I didn't think girls were THAT interested in bugs, especially gross ones. Not only that, but she gets Keirah interested in them as well. BTW, she claims that bugs and animals are not scared of her because she is a "scientist girl".
Josh looked up the type of beetles that have been in the yard and answered her questions. Before we looked it up, she originally thought it was a "whirlygig beetle". Now, don't ask me where she learned that because I don't know. There really are whirlygig beetles, but this isn't that type. I would have to ask Josh what they are called. They apparently like dead/decaying leaves. That might explain why we have seen them appear lately.
As if liking and learning about them weren't enough, she COLLECTS them!! We do NOT allow them into the house as they are gross honestly. I mean who wants a bunch of scary beetles in a jar in their house? Aliyah actually PICKS THEM UP to put them in her little contianer. After that, she climbs this little tree in our yard and hangs the little bottle as high as she can. She has put leaves, grass, and flowers in the bottle for their food. I don't even really like to look at them. She freaked out yesterday because a little one was on the big one's back. She was afraid the one would eat the other. She then freaked out because she was trying to remove the little one from the big one's back when the 3rd one crawled out. I mean freaked out as in TEARS. Josh captured the other one for her.
Keep in mind, this is the same girl that LOVES American Girl and who just got finished watching Kit Kittredge & Tinkerbell a few days ago!! I really don't know where this interest came from as neither Josh nor I were ever interested in bugs--EVER!
Thankfully, the beetle family is high up in the tree and the girls are enjoying some warm weather jumping on the trampoline. After all, I thought it was boys who collected creepy crawlies!

Etc..

Once again, weekends aren't ever long enough to get it all done =).

Aliyah was able to have the joy of turning in her shoebox for Operation Christmas Child today at church. If you are unfamiliar with this, it is an organization through Samaritan's Purse--Franklin Graham's ministry. Our church is involved with the shoeboxes and such. We sent 650 last year and they hope to do even more this year. Even as an adult it was such a fun thing to work on with her. The thought of children that do not get a single gift sometimes their entire lifetime. It is amazing what you can fit into a shoebox. We did a girly theme of course and made up one for a girl around Aliyah's age. We had several Hello Kitty items, some little dolls, and pens and such. They send the shoeboxes off to all different countries and tell the children about Jesus in addition to giving them their very own shoebox of gifts.

Today, the weather reminded me of November weather in Florida. That's how nice it was here! I could go for a winter of this weather any day. It was around 73 degrees I think.

In other items of note, we filled our gas tank from literally empty for $36.00!! That is awesome considering gas is about 50% cheaper than it was 6 weeks ago!!

I am considering hosting a Christmas party this year, however we have to determine if the upstairs bath will be finished by then. Maybe that would be a great incentive to complete it!! The downsides for me are the small size of my kitchen and the menu.

Other than that, I have 5 totes in my living room just staring at me. I am going to organize them again so that they have the correct items/sizes in each tote. I will also take out the things that we are no longer going to keep. This is one of my husband's favorite things for me to do--NOT!

The extra hour of sleep from the time change was definitely welcomed! It's almost time for the Amazing Race--love that show and I need to get those totes tackled.

Delightful!

DelightFULL would accurately describe our week. It seems like forever since I have posted and it's only been like 4 days. Where to begin?

There are several exciting things we learned this week and did. First of all, we learned that 2 of our good friends are having babies in MAY!! One set of friends have been waiting to hear this news for so long and it is so great to rejoice with them!! Congrats to all of you if you are reading the blog, however I won't mention names because I think they are kinda keeping it a secret for now!! We love to hear great news like that.

Let's see, a blog I have been reading for about 4 months now had a healthy baby after some major heart issues and a lengthy hospital stay. They gave a prognosis at 24 weeks that the baby would surely die. What a pure joy it was to read the good news all week on her blog--it has lifted my spirits every time--such a miracle!

Yesterday was busy and full of fun! We had two beautiful butterflies, although the wings and antennas are hard to see. The picture is compliments of my neighbor who also painted their faces.

We have more candy than we could imagine.

Today, we got to spend the day with our former neighbors. We enjoyed a lot of time out in the GORGEOUS November weather. This is simply awesome in my book. I love it!! The girls all enjoyed playing while we adults simply caught up. We even enjoyed a walk together for old time's sake. Really, it makes me wish that they still lived here even more. We miss them a lot!!

Tonight, we ran some errands--ALONE. The girls wanted to visit grandma for a bit. Josh and I got some SB salted caramel hot chocolate--pure delight! We shopped a bit and bought a Christmas gift or two.

Well, I will wrap up with some more pics from our week and our day. I love the roses. They are GREEN--ok they are technically called jade, but the color is so unusual on roses and they are gorgeous. I liked Aliyah's outfit in the one pic. Enjoy!!