The Food and the Fashion

Look Brenda and Vicky! I got Isabel Chihuahua duds.

We were invited over to one of my sister's houses for Thanksgiving. We turned her down. David really really wanted to cook a turkey this year. He loves cooking turkey. We invited some people, but due to work conflicts, they could not come, so it was a quiet family Thanksgiving. I slept til 10 a.m. (thank you David) while David prepared the turkey and put it in the oven. When I finally managed to drag myself out of bed, this is what the gang was doing.

Playing Little Big Planet which we rented, which btw, is so cute!

















The turkey was in the oven. Beautiful.




















Jake had to be kept away from the stuffing. (Note....he's taller than the fridge.)


Then I got to work on the green bean casserole, sweet potatoes (that no one but I ate) and the rolls. The rolls. Check it out.
















What does that bag say? Ten. Ten rolls. Count them people. Grrrr. They were yummy though.
















David took the turkey out, made homemade gravy from the drippings, and I put the pie in the oven. Dinner was delicious.


And just because it's funny....





Friday we went to Downtown Disney because a) it's free and b) David had to work and we were bored. Isabel decided she wanted to look like "Minnie the Mouse" so she insisted I put the bow there.

Many the Miles

I picked up Sara Bareilles' album, Little Voice, this past September with some gift cards I got. I really like this album. So much, that it's bugging the heck out of Jacob because it's forever in my cd player. There are 12 songs on the disc and only two that I skip because I'm not that into them. The rest I love. (My favorite is "One Sweet Love," followed by "Many the Miles" and "Gravity."

Here are the lyrics to "Many the Miles." Click here to hear it in its entirety off her site. It's # 10 on the list. Just click the song name and it will start playing for you.

There’s too many things that I haven’t done yet, Too many sunsets I haven’t seen. You can’t waste the day wishing it’d slow down. You would have thought by now I’d have learned something.

I made up my mind when I was a young girl, I’ve been given this one world, I won’t worry it away. But now and again I lose sight of the good life, I
get stuck in a low light. But then Love comes in.

CHORUS: How far do I have to go to get to you? Many the Miles, Many the Miles. How far do I have to go to get to you? Many the Miles, But send me the miles, and I’ll be happy to Follow you Love.

I do what I can wherever I end up, To keep giving my good love and spreading it
around. ‘Cause I’ve had my fair share of take care and goodbyes, I’ve learned how to cry, And I’m better for that.

CHORUS: How far do I have to go to get to you? Many the Miles, Many the Miles. How far do I have to go to get to you? Many the Miles, But send me the miles, and I’ll be happy to Follow you Love.

Red letter day, and I’m in a blue mood, Wishing that blue would just carry me away. I’ve been talking to God, don’t know if it’s helping or not. But surely something has got to got to got to give’, Cause I can’t keep waiting to live.

CHORUS: How far do I have to go to get to you?Many the Miles, Many the Miles. How far do I have to go to get to you? Many the Miles, But send me the miles, and I’ll be happy toFollow you Love

There’s too many things I haven’t done yet. Too many sunsets I haven’t seen.

I like this song a lot, so imagine my happy surprise to hear my baby girl sing the chorus, loudly and with a huge smile. I thought "Wow, she likes one of my favorites, how cool!"

Yesterday, in the car with the whole family, the song played (because, the cd is forever in the car) and Isabel sang it. At the chorus, David started laughing. He said "You DO know what she's (Isabel) saying, right?" I was confused and said "Many the Miles." He laughed and said "No, listen!"

She wasn't saying "Many the Miles." She was singing "How far do I have to go to get to you, Minnie the Mouse, Minnie the Mouse!" HA HA HA HA!!! Listen to the chorus. Now sing it with "Minnie the Mouse." Of course that's what her 4 year old brain heard. and that's how we will forever sing it, Sara. :)

Shopping...

I went shopping at 2:30 p.m. today. I got butter, milk, peanut butter, eggs, two boxes of cereal and some sponges. That's it, and the store was not even busy.

I don't get Black Friday. The last time I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving was exactly 14 years ago. Jake was in a stroller and I spent breakfast, lunch and dinner at the mall with Jake's grandma and aunt (my ex's family). I spent zero $$ as we were broker than broke and watched as they shopped and shopped. I've never set foot in a mall on Black Friday since. I've never even purchased presents on Black Friday.

I have a co-worker who gets very excited about it. He and his wife scour the ads and set up a game plan as to who is going where. I told him just this Wednesday that I did not understand it. Why is he all excited about getting a tv for sale, when he has 3 already? Or the really cheap laptop, when last year, he camped out for another really cheap laptop? I told our boss that for me, if I'm buying a major item, it has to be a need, not a want. Like when the washing machine died last spring.

During a drive somewhere last weekend, David asked "If we see a flat panel/screen tv for less than a thousand, can we buy it?" and crickets chirped. "Are you crazy??" I finally said. He actually had a confused look on his face. Under a thousand, la di da, we must be rich.

A NEED is like today, when I had the septic tank company come over (love them, by the way, for not charging extra for same day service) to empty our tank. As our washer upstairs would empty, or a person took an upstairs shower, I could hear either the toilet downstairs or sink downstairs go "gloooop gloooop gloooop." I knew water was having problems getting out. I called them today, they came out today , the guy was super cool and said "You were smart to call us now. It was right on the verge of back-flowing into the house." That need was $189.00 and we had the "need" money for it.

Last year, I asked to draw names for the adults but no one else wanted to. We bought for us and the kids. The end, no one else. As did two of my sisters and their families. Financially, I was not interested in going into debt to buy gifts for everyone. We have always paid cash for Christmas and last year was tight enough for me to say no.

This year? We have not made the choice yet. The lists are out there, but we haven't made up our minds.

The Lunatic Cafe

This is book 4 of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. I'm not sure how I feel about this series anymore. David's already on book # 8 or 9 and he's over it. He's borrowing copies from a co-worker, my copy is from paperback swap. The author tends to describe what people are wearing in way too much detail. We're talking almost "Wheel of Time" detail here. Every time the lead walks into a room, restaurant, whatever, we have to hear what each and every person is wearing. Just feels like filler to me.

This story itself wasn't a bad one. These books deal with an alternate Earth, where there have always been vampires, gargoyles, zombies, ghosts, gnomes, fairies, werewolves, wererats, were-anything. Vampires and Lycanthropes (the were-people) have been given legal rights. As long as they behave, i.e. don't kill people, they have rights. Anita is a raiser of zombies for a living. If you need clarification on dead uncle Schmo's will, you call Anita to raise him so you can ask Schmo the question. She is also a Legal Executioner. She is allowed to kill vampires that the state deems need putting down.

So that's the back story. The rest of the series deals with her and the master of the vampires, Jean Claude, who is way to femme for me to seem like the kind of person she would dig, which she does. It deals with her cases, right now she's in love with a Werewolf too. There's a lot of sexual tension with her and both men, but no sex as of yet. I read comments on line where the author, in a few books from now, takes a weird turn and puts a "spell" on Anita so that all she wants to do is have sex. Um, what? I'm not sure I want to continue to soft porn. A co-worker once told me she thought "How could this woman (Anita) possibly eat, sleep or work anymore?" She quit reading the series too.

Thankful

Is it old-hat to do a "Thankful" list? I hope not!

I am thankful for my husband. He's cute. His eyes are so blue. He's intelligent and can keep up with our insane/inane conversations. He's my map. He has fantastic gams. He's a nerd, but not as nerdy as me. He took me to see 'Twilight,' after he read all 4 books in less than a month. He calls me a lot with random things to say. He thinks I am hot and lets me get away with a lot of stuff. He has nice lips. His nickname is Lips to his college buddies. He grabs my butt in public, I smack him, he laughs. He's getting better with the grill.

I am thankful for my son. He's cute too. He is caring. He is nerdier than me. He is a royal pain in my keister (Mr. Gotta Have the Last word). He is musically talented and has really long piano-fingers. He's uber-smart. One day, he'll be smarter than me. But that time is not now, so go put those rubber bands on and for the love of my sanity, pick up your dirty clothes! (I am thankful that I have him to yell those things to.)

I am thankful for my daughter. She's this little bundle of energy. She beautiful. She's sensitive. She's easy (now). She doesn't eat anything. She loves, LOVES to draw. She's into Mario... and Luigi too. She squeals "Mommy's Home!!" when she hears the door from the garage to the kitchen open. She tells me I look like a princess on the rare occasions I wear makeup. She snores like her dad. She looks like me, only blond and blue-eyed.

I am thankful for the rest of our families; the sane and not-so-sane-ones, and the ones who look sane, but really aren't. Thankful especially for my sisters.

I am thankful for my friends. My real live ones, my long-distance ones, my "imaginary" (on-line) ones. You get me (or not, no matter. You're there).

I am thankful to God. For everything listed above and everything I haven't, which He knows, because He can see my heart.

Happy Thanksgiving.