Thanksgiving Pics and New Look

This is gonna be a long one. First off, I want to thank Danielle for the new blog look. Didn't she do a fabulous job? Right now she is donating $5.00 for every blog she designs to Souls for Soles. If you have been thinking about a blog makeover, now is the perfect time to do it! She also re-did my friend DeAnn's blog, which turned out beautiful too.

On to the pictures. The first are from Thanksgiving Day. My brother-in-law cooked up a fantastic meal, as usual.
Thanksgiving table




Joe anxiously awaiting turkey

Gizmo is hoping for some turkey of her own

Ditto for Buster


Gracie wanted to be in the picture too. I swear we did spend time with my nephew too. He just wasn't interested in the camera :)

This is what constitutes holiday decor in one the store windows in downtown Burlingame. Nice. Joe wanted to know if we could do something like that at our house. I said No.

On Saturday night Lisa got a babysitter and we went into the city to check out the tree at Union Square. The weather was beautiful. Not too cold!
Tree in Union Square

Macy's

We stopped in here for a drink and to admire the view. It is on the 21st floor and we could see all of the city from up there. Beautiful!
Union Square from the Starlight Lounge. Lisa has much better pics than I do. I'll have to get them from her since she has given up blogging :(


Skating Rink in Union Square from the Starlight Lounge


I love the window displays



We thought these were funny. Joe has one of these little men but his is wood colored.


Every year Macy's teams up with the SPCA and has animals for adoption in their front windows. The windows are decorated like little houses, with couches and everything and the animals play in there and people can adopt them. So cute! I didn't get any pictures of the animals because there were too many people but I did get this one of one of the surrounding windows that I thought was sooooo cute.



It was a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now I must find the energy to gear up for Christmas. I'm having a hard time doing that this year. Some years are like that for me. Joe said he will help me put up the tree tomorrow.

Christmas Card Contenders

Lisa took some good shots of us today. There a few that I think I like enough to use on or Christmas cards. We were going to do something formal, with me wearing a dress and Joe wearing dress slacks and tie but it was too much hassle so we decided to go more casual and just do jeans.

Here are the ones I think came out the best:



We also took a few that I am keeping a surprise for now :)

We just finished eating turkey sandwiches and leftovers for lunch and now Lisa and Grace are decorating the house for Christmas. The men are watching t.v. and playing on the computer(s). (There are no less than five laptops in this house right now!)

I am contemplating a nap.

Happy Black Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving

Taken with the Macbook, so the quality is not great. Tomorrow we will attempt to take family pictures. We'll see how that goes. I'm off to enjoy my turkey coma. :)

Road Trip

If all goes well, by the time this posts we will be an hour or so into our 7 hour drive on our way up to San Francisco to be with my sister and family(and Dad) for Thanksgiving.

Dad got to fly up yesterday evening. Lucky.

We had to wait until Joe got off of work this morning at 5:30 a.m. before we could leave. Joe will sleep all the way up while I drive so hopefully will be well rested by the time we arrive.

I usually do most of the driving, for a number of reasons. I can never sleep in the car and I get bored easily when I am not driving. I can read for a period of time but sometimes get carsick. If there is beautiful scenery to look at I don't mind just gazing out the window for hours at a time, but the way we go there is a long stretch of highway that has nothing but flat fields for miles and miles and miles. For like 3 and a half hours. Boring.

Also, the rule in our car is that whoever is driving gets to choose the music, so for seven hours straight I control the C.D. player. What do I listen to when I am driving? Every James Taylor album known to man, the soundtrack from "Rent", Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban and Tracy Chapman. Also, Jason, Mraz, and Sugarland, the Eagles, Indigo Girls, and the Weepies. I just made a C.D. of Taylor Swift to add to the mix. And I am loving Ben Lee right now too, thanks to my sister. I know, there is a lot of country in there. But that's what I listen to almost consistently whenever I am in the car. I was raised on it. I had a horse growing up, o.k.? :) We did make an agreement that no Christmas music would be played until the trip home. We both agree. No Christmas music before turkey!

I wish we could have left yesterday, as I was off of work, but my husband is not able to take time off from his part time job around the holidays. If fact, they forbid it! This is the busiest time for the retail industry after all. Possibly not this year, with the economy tanking and all. But still no time off is allowed.



It's a quick trip(we're coming home on Sunday), so I'm not sure if we'll get a chance to to see this:

We do have a trip to the city planned, and are going to try and meet up this fun family,

and plan on doing lots of eating and spending time with family. That's what Thanksgiving is all about, right?



Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Yesterday also marked our 25th month of being logged in with China. I have nothing else to say about that.

Wacky Wednesday

I am constantly stealing these from Dannye.

They're kind of fun.

What Your Thanksgiving Meal Says About You

When it comes to the holidays, you follow and love the big traditions. You look forward to them every year. You see the holidays as a time to think about what's important to you. It's a good time to reflect and regroup. You like the more adult aspects of the holidays - parties, cocktails, and having time off from work. During the holidays, you are likely to feel comforted. At your worst, you feel a bit over-indulgent. You consider yourself to be a bit of a purist, and you're proud of it. You tend to spend your holidays doing everything and anything. You really get into the holiday spirit.

What Does Your Thanksgiving Meal Say About You?

50,000 pairs of shoes in 50 days Challenge

I learned about this from one of my favorite bloggers and I knew I just had to be part of it.

Soles for Souls (Click on the link to check it out)

Their goal is to provide 50, 000 pairs of shoes to needy people in 50 days.

For $5.00 you can provide two pairs of shoes to people who have. no. shoes.

Can you imagine having no shoes to wear? I can't. That's why I just donated.

This is taken from their website:

Footwear - it is a basic need that most of us take for granted every day. While most of the world does not have one adequate pairs of shoes, Americans have an abundance of footwear sitting idle in our closets. Your consideration of simply cleaning out your closets can make a significant difference in the quality of life of someone in need.

For us, comfort and style are the primary reasons for the footwear we select. For those without shoes the healthcare benefits is the most urgent reason footwear is so desperately needed. A quality pair of shoes protects their foot from scrapes, cuts, and contaminants that lead to potentially serious healthcare issues.

Soles4Souls along with its many distribution partners are working “around the corner and around the world” to make a difference with the gift of shoes. We are presently working in over 45 states and 61 countries. See how your shoes could make a difference in our own back yard as well as globally.

And if you feel moved to do so, you should too! $5.00 for two pairs of shoes. That's one trip to Star.buck's. It's the least I can do.

Go here for more details. Thank you.

***Update***I just found out that Danielle is giving a discount on her blor make overs and donating $5.00 for each one to this cause. Her blogs are beautiful and the sale price is only $55.00, which is a great deal! Visit her website for more info:


Blogs by Danielle


P.S. I have been corresponding with Danielle for a couple of weeks now, so don't be surprised if you see a change around here very soon! :)

I saw this "Meme" on Brandi's blog a few days ago and I have decided to play along.

Bold the items that you have done(or will admit to doing).

I pretty much let it all hang out around here, so there really wasn't anything on the list that I was afraid to admit.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states(close to it though)
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country(Mexico counts, right?)
44. Watched whales
42. Had amazing friends
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China(not yet!)
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour(not exactly, but I did see James Taylor three times on the same tour when he came to my CA once. We even flew to S.F. and saw him there.
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking with the windows open
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show( I won a trip to Hawaii on the radio though)
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you(jewelry is art, right?)
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life


I was surprised by how many of those things I have done. I haven't travelled outside of the country beyond China, Mexico and Canada, so I didn't get to check any of those. Perhaps one day.

Let me know if you play along!

Why I Love Thursdays

I love Thursdays. It is becoming one of my favorite days of the week.

Why, you ask?

1. It is the day after Wednesday, which is my day off, so sometimes I wake up thinking it is Monday but it isn't. It's Thursday!

2. I don't have to go into work until 9:00 on Thursdays, instead of 8:00 like the other three days that I work. An extra hour to sleep in. What's not to love about that?

3. It is the day before Friday. Who doesn't love Fridays? Even if my Thursday isn't going well I can always tell myself "Well at least tomorrow is Friday".

Thanks for all the nice comments about "my girls" in the picture below. Well, except for anonymous. Because worrying about how I look in the picture wasn't enough. Now I have to worry about what Mickey thought of my boobs too. Thanks for that.

**When I was telling Joe the comment anonymous left about my boobs he replied
"And why are you talking about your boobs on the internet?"

Good question honey. Good question.

Sometimes you just need someone else to be the voice of reason, you know? :)

Disneyland

Yesterday Joe and I spent a few hours at Disneyland.

Joe had to work last night so we really didn't stay long but we had one more ticket to use that I had gotten at the CHOC walk and yesterday was the last day to use it.

We were able to use the price of that ticket towards the basic So. CA annual pass, so now we can go back anytime.

Well, not on the weekends or in the summer, but we don't go during those times anyway. Too many people! Yesterday it wasn't crowded at all.

They had most of the holiday decorations up, as Friday is the official start of their holiday season. We are already planning another trip back to see them in full holiday mode.

I only took a few pictures.

From the Finding Nemo ride. This was the first time we had been on it since it opened, as the lines are always way long. Yesterday we only waited 15 minutes.

It was cute. The rest of the pictures didn't turn out great. They don't allow flash.
Joe on the Matterhorn


Me on the Materhorn
Joe on the Matterhorn again. Being a dork.
Minnie's Christmas tree and wreath

Castle

Main street

Mickey. We did not wait at all for this. Just walked right in.

I am unhappy with the way my boobs look in this picture. Too much information? Perhaps.

We had fun

Wordless Wednesday

And also, would it be wrong if I found this to be funny?


I'm not saying that I think it's funny. I'm just asking. Hypothetically, of course.


You may not want to click on that link if you have any children near your computer. Unless you want to have an interesting conversation with them. But if that were to happen I would totally want to hear about it :)

You know it's time to change your hormone patch when.......

You shed a little tear because Cody Linley got voted off of "Dancing with the Stars" tonight.

Not that that happened or anything.

I'm just saying.

That would be a pretty good indicator.



*Note to self: Pick up Hormone Patch prescription from Costco tomorrow.

It is hot, dry and windy here(almost 90 yesterday). I know people are having snow in other places of the world and are jealous of our weather but it is not pleasant. It is wildfire season and there are fires near where we live. Not near enough to put us in danger, but near enough that the sky was brown and it smelled like smoke. I had to close all of the windows and put the air conditioning on because the smoke was bothering me. Many people have lost their homes. So sad and it happens every year around this time.

I received an Iced Tea maker from Free.Cycle yesterday. Since I don't drink anything that has carbonation in it, iced tea is a staple around our house. I have made 2 pitchers already and they were excellent. The maker itself was in almost new condition. I love Free.cycle. I used it to get rid of a whole bunch of stuff after we cleaned the house yesterday and I have gotten some really cool things myself from it. Here's something that bugs me though. Whenever I request an item from a someone, I always send a nice, polite response. I am not always chosen(sometimes several dozen people respond to one item), but I always make sure I thank the person for offering it and let them know why I would like the item, and when I will be available to pick it up. Today I listed something and this is the e-mail response I got:

I WANT THIS ITEM. COULD PICK UP IN AM.

First of all, there is no need to yell. Secondly, could you be more rude? I will most likely not choose this person. I have had three other offers already. Perhaps I am being petty. All I know is, politeness will go a long way with me. It's common courtesy. Sheesh.

Yesterday after I(we) cleaned the house I got into a crafting mood. I should have sat down and worked on my Christmas gifts but I was in the mood to do some beading instead. I started with name bracelets for the doctor's little girls. I didn't want to stop so I continued making a bracelet for Gracie. Then I went really crazy and made a bunch for blogger friends who I have met.
Recognize any of those names?

Then I was on a roll, so I started making them for bloggers I have been reading for a long time but haven't met! Beading is something that makes me feel better when I am upset or stressed. I must have been really upset yesterday :)

I am going to try and get those out in the mail next week.
Here are a few of the other names I am working on:

Amelia(she had a birthday yesterday, and she has a handsome little brother, Jack), Ursula, Lauren, Kylie, Kailee, Sarah, Naomi, Lesley and Tate.

I hope to finish the rest of the them today. Happy Sunday!

*****Hey, I decided I need something to do to keep my mind off of this long wait. If you know what your child's name is going to be(or you already have your child-adopted or not), make a comment on this post and I'll make one for you too! I ran out of beads last night so you may not get your bracelet until after Thanksgiving, but I love making them and it really only takes me 15-20 minutes to make each one. If you prefer not to comment, just drop me an e-mail at scrappermg@cox.net. Don't forget to tell me your child's name and include your address. Thanks!*****

I still have nothing. Here's some  more randomness for you

--Right now I am supposed to be in Temecula, wine tasting with a bunch of my girlfriends to celebrate one of their 40th birthdays.  It had to be cancelled at the last minute.  I am disappointed.  I need a weekend of fun!

--We received some disappointing news yesterday regarding my husband's part time job.  It has put me in a foul mood and has caused fighting between us ever since.  Fun.  

--I jammed my arm(hard) into the door handle at work and now my arm is tender and sore.  I expect a bruise to pop up at any moment.  Ouch.

--Bloglines is not working properly and is not updating the blogs I read on a daily basis so sometimes I go a whole week without realizing you all have posted and then it shows like a thousands posts and I can't get caught up, let alone leave any comments.  Bloglines stinks.

--Instead of wine tasting my husband and I have to go to an appointment later and then I have to come home and clean up some around the apartment.  I would rather be wine tasting.

--Today is the 15th, which usually means payday for me, but since it is Saturday  I don't get paid until Monday.  I hate that. I could really use my paycheck.  Today.

--China only referred 2 days this month and at the rate they are going, the estimate for my referral is (are you ready for this?)        June 2012  

Some days I'm not sure if we'll make it to the end of this.  Today is one of those days.

--Most of that was whining and I'm sorry.  

I'm off to try and find my happy place.

******Yes, I realize that nobody can accurately estimate when China will get to us and I need to take everything I read with a grain of salt. But 2012?  Seriously?  I cried when I read that. 

Wacky Wednesday

What Part of Fall are You?

You Are Changing Leaves

Pretty, but soon dead.

What Part of Fall Are You?

I was looking for something mindless to post here since I have nothing to say. I found this quiz and decided to take it.

I was a little surprised by the results.

Let's hope they aren't true!

It is my day off. I have done nothing.

Not. One. Thing.****

I am feeling slightly guilty about that.

Not guilty enough to get up and do something about it.

Joe is sleeping. I am resisting the urge to wake him up.

I am bored.

That's all.



**Unless you count laying around and watching t.v. as something. Which I don't.

I was looking for a a good quote for Veteran’s Day and I found so many that spoke to me that I had to include them all.

Thank you so much to all the service men and women who have served, and are serving our country.

~As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

~We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick

~How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! ~Maya Angelou

~When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them. ~Chinese Proverb

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die. ~G.K. Chesterton


All quotes are taken from this website.

Hug a veteran today if you can!