Happy Black Friday!

We went ahead and did the Black Friday thing. We actually did very well. My mother-in-law met us at our house at 6:30am, where we had pumpkin coffee waiting. We headed out and hit Target first (got a new vacuum cleaner, sorely needed) and then Best Buy (nothing bought). We then braved the mall, hitting Toojays for breakfast first before trekking through. I am of the mindset with these kinds of sales that if it's not there when I get there, it wasn't meant to be. We got a train set from KBToys for under the tree, and some clothes for Spencer and a $20 bluetooth headset for me from Sears. I got a cute pair of earrrings at some cheesy mall store. The piece de resistance was a ring, for me, for Christmas. I'm so freaking excited for Christmas now :) I mean, I was for Spencer but I never really cared about what I was getting because my husband had a habit of waiting until the last minute. I get lots of cookbooks. I always hint for something shiny, but I don't usually get it. I don't really mind, but anyhow, this time! This time I picked out my own shiny trinket. Whitehall Jewelers is going out of business and I picked out the most beautiful garnet and diamond ring. It was 70% off! It was still a little expensive, but I don't mind if I get nothing else. I'm content.

(something like this, but the middle stone is prettier)

Christen also got a Jawbone headset for himself, on sale for about 1/3 of the normal price, and we got a few odds and ends clothes at Old Navy and a bouncy ball for Spencer at Toys R Us. We didn't go overboard, and we didn't buy things just because they were on sale. We did, however, spend far too much time in the mall so we didn't get to some of the places we wanted to hit because we were just too tired. We might go a few places tomorrow, especially the places that are going out of business anyhow (read: Sound Advice) to see if we can get good deals on anything we have been in the market for, but generally, we're happy. I'm happy, so we're happy. :)

Thanksgiving and the holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It was an interesting first Thanksgiving for Mr. Man. We had lunch time meal at Cracker Barrel, and there was a little bit of a blow-up which cut our party from 15 to 10 and begat a whole lot of unneeded grief. Unfortunately some family members (well, one) doesn't know when to shut up. Spencer was cranky from lack of nap and teething issues, everyone was cranky from the previously blow-up, and the food was really so-so. It was good to see everyone though -- we really shouldn't wait so long between visits. We all live in Tampa, for goodness sakes.

For the second meal, we trekked out to Zephyrhills bearing wine, rolls and apple dumplings (they're good, but I'll be, I'm actually getting a little tired of them since we seem to bring them to every gathering). Spencer had still not had a nap but he finally fell asleep part way there and got 45 minutes in before playing with cousin Avery (11 months) and Dylan (not exactly sure who Dylan is, but he's 3 and his fam was there too ...). He ate a lot of dinner off my plate instead of eating his jarred stuff and he really liked it. Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, olives (he loves black olives), rolls, turkey and part of a pickle. Also he got a little ice cream for dessert!

Next year it's been discussed by both sides of Christen's fam that Thanksgiving might be at our house. I personally would welcome it. I love doing the cooking, and miss it. It's been years since I was able to do any of that. Visions of turkey brines and stuffing and cranberry sauces dance in my head ...

Sirius started playing Christmas music last week, and I've been a faithful listener. It's awesome! Not much repeats, beautiful music ... My absolute favorite is Greg Lake's I Believe in Father Christmas. There are a lot of great songs out there. Baby, it's Cold Outside, the Bells song from Home Alone, and really anything that puts you in the mood for Christmas. What's your favorite holiday song?

A beautiful day with plenty of clouds

The cooler air has come through Florida, and while there was about a week of near-freezing temperatures, it's now hovering around 70 degrees. The air and heat is off, the windows are open, and it feels great. I started chili in the crock pot, but really only because I promised Christen. We even eat chili in the summer, so it's not really a reflection of the weather although I'm hoping it gets a little chilly tonight so I really enjoy my dinner.

I also have a loaf of banana cranberry bread in the oven. I messed with the recipe a lot, so I'm hoping it comes out well. Last week I picked up a full bunch of bananas figuring I would have leftovers by this weekend for bread. Christen almost threw them away thinking they were bad (no, they're perfect!) but huzzah, I saved them.

Spencer has decided he does not need naps anymore. I think 9 1/2 months is a little early to stop taking naps, but tell that to the little one. Yesterday he took 20 minutes while I carried him through the mall and that was it. Today we're still trying to get him to sleep some. He has been sleeping a lot at night -- 7:30 last night until 8:30 this morning. Still, please?

Last week was a rough week. I started my new position, which was a lot harder than I thought it would be and I broke down and cried by Thursday. I'm fully overwhelmed and feeling under-confident about my abilities. I'm sure it will get better (all things do, right?) but right now I'm just dreading every day I go in. When I came back from maternity leave it was difficult for awhile until I got my confidence back. I'm hoping it's the same here, I'm just hoping it takes less than 2 months to feel good about my job again.

I'm getting excited about the holidays, but everytime I start feeling good about them something family-related happens to make me feel more like throwing up. My sister and mother fight so much, and my sister runs away I just don't know what to do about everything. I'm afraid I'm going to lose my sister, that she's decided her friends are more important than her family. She's going to end up dead or in jail, and I just want to cry. Why can't everyone start acting normal again?

I got to see Shelley again Friday, and that was nice. It was refreshing how easy it was to go back to how things were before. We're not the same people we were, and our friendship will never be like it was, but it was nice easy conversation and it was good to know that we can still be there for each other. I can't believe she's moving to Texas ...

Anyhow, now that I'm perfectly depressed, I'm going to go clean house before I cry. Toodles.

Catching up

It's been a long time. Sometimes I just decide I don't have enough time to update, and then by the time I get around to it, so much has happened that I don't know how to update without going through everything that has happened.

But really, a lot has happened and nothing has happened. Spencer is still cutting his third tooth. It's been a painful experience for all of us. I start my new job on Monday, which will be a welcome change from right now, as I've had a foot in each position for the past month and I've been working with a constant state of anxiety, afraid that I'm going to miss something on one desk or the other. I have a case of senioritis right now, and I'm staring at files that should be worked but I can't stand to open them. The important stuff gets done, but the follow up ... eh, the next person can do that. It will get her fully acclimated to my files. Hehe.

The past few weekends have been really nice. It's just chilly enough in the mornings that Christen has been making fires in the fireplace and we've hung out at home in the mornings, eating muffins and playing Fallout 3. It's picturesque, really. We went to Art Harvest with Dad and Zana two weekends ago, and I went to NKOTB with the girls that Sunday night ... awesome! Super cheesy and fun! I stayed out far too late and stopped drinking right when I felt like another sip would make me hurl. It was great! I was not the DD, thank god, and I had a great time. This past weekend we shopped for baby clothes (never enough!) and I went to the Junior League gift boutique sale and got some great jewelry cleaner (Shea and Suzanne also got the same stuff ... it rocked!) Anyhow, nice weekends with just enough stuff to do to not feel like I spent all weekend indoors, but not too much that I felt like I needed a vacation from my weekend. No matter what my Facebook status may have said :)

Last night I made Mexican Lasagna and it was delicious! The only change I made was that I used black beans instead of refried (yuck) and I used larger wheat flour tortillas so I only needed 4. Yummy! We ate tons last night, and then each brought some for lunch today at work, and there are two more portions in my fridge.

I can't believe it's almost Christmas! Two and a half weeks until Thanksgiving ... what's that all about? I want to decorate my house this year. I haven't decorated in years, and I never feel Christmasy. This year it's Spencer's first Christmas, and I'm super excited! I want those huge ornaments I can hang in my palm trees ... ha!