Fun Friday: Home Alone 1 Edition

Hallelujah...just sayin'...even the dog is gone. No worries, she's with Robert, which is right where she wants to be, trust me. He's gone to Warren and she is probably about 6 inches from his body at this very moment...she loves that man...

All I'm saying is that sometimes, I need a little quiet time, is that such a crime? No, I think not.

Well, I have sad news: the house isn't finished. After my writing lunch yesterday, I opted for Christmas shopping. And it was successful. But, today, it should be done. Or at least by Monday, when you tune in again. Pinky Promise.

The above picture is from the Lumberton Christmas Parade. We had such a good time...after I finally found Katie and Charlotte. Apparently, this is a big deal in Lumberton. I've lived here for 7 years and had no idea. So, I was in the middle of making supper, which was an EPIC FAILURE, by the way, details later, when my daughter-in-law texted me and says, "OK, I've pulled over on XXX Road." It was an hour and 15 minutes before the parade was supposed to start. I'm like, "HUH?" She then told me that it would be very crowded and I shouldn't wait much longer to come. Of course...

So, I get it in high gear - gather chairs, make hot chocolate, grab snacks and run out the door. She told me where she was and I knew exactly where she meant. Except, no not really. I pulled down a couple of streets, but not the right one. All the while my sweet Katie is texting me, "Do you see me? I'm flashing my lights and waving out the window." Yes, but that would require me to be on the right street and all. Finally, I pulled down one of the wrong streets into a parking lot and almost started to cry, I was so mad. How could I have lived here for 7 years and not know where XXX Road is??

Then, I saw a policeman working the parade. Now, normally I'm not that happy to see a Lumberton policeman, because they are, shall we say, overly zealous about their jobs. I was once pulled over when Riley was about 5 because the officer said it looked like my inspection sticker had been taken off and put back on. Really. Anyway, last night, he was a sight for my sore eyes.

So, in just a few minutes, I'd found them and parked next to them. Our next worry was Robert. Who is always late. Always. So, I called him and told him how crowded it was, that he wouldn't be able to drive down XXX Road after 7, hurry up, etc. He works about 15-20 minutes away. 10 minutes later I called him back, he hadn't left yet. Charlotte kept asking where he was and I finally said, "I don't know, Sweetie. We'll watch for a white suburban IN THE PARADE." But, he zoomed down the street at about 6:55, parked at the primary school, then hoofed it back to us just as the police cars, ambulances and firetrucks were starting the parade. I thought maybe they were expecting an emergency, but Katie said they did this every year. Thank God for Katie.

Anyway, a good time was had by all. Riley's band played and Charlotte was so excited to see him. It was hard to tell which trombone he was in the dark, so we finally just picked someone on the outside and told her that was him. She was elated. She's also a little confused about Santa - who he is, when he's coming, and why there isn't snow.

Charlotte, these are all questions we've been trying to answer since the beginning of time. Welcome to the madness!!

Anyway, if you've never been to a lighted Christmas parade, try to attend one. They really are beautiful, with all the lights and a true small-town ambience. There are several other communities around this neck of the woods having a lighted parade this weekend - our church, Encounter Church, will actually have a float in the one in Groves tomorrow night - so check one out!

This week's recipe is a Christmas party favorite of mine. If you're like me, you'll be attending at least one holiday function this year where you'll need to bring a "goodie," right? So try Cheesy Christmas Trees - easy to make and yummy!! Happy weekend, see you on Monday!

Cheesy Christmas Trees

Ingredients:
1/2 C mayonnaise
1 T dry ranch-style salad dressing mix
1 C shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
12 slices firm white bread
1/4 C red bell pepper strips
1/4 C green bell pepper strips

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler to low. Combine mayonnaise and salad dressing mix in medium bowl. Add cheese; mix well.
2. Cut bread slices into Christmas tree shapes using large cookie cutter. Spread each tree with about 1 T mayonnaise mixture. Decorate with red and green bell pepper strips. Place on baking sheet.
3. Broil 4 inches from heat 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbling. Serve warm. Makes about 12 appetizers.

A Little Bit of This, and a Little Bit of That

OK, so I'm not quite finished decorating the house. Yes, yes, I hear you all gasping with shock and surprise. I'm just taking my time, being more methodical about it all, blah blah blah...whatever, it's just not finished. But the above picture, as poor quality as it is, is just a little taste of what's coming. Isn't it lovely? I did something a little different with the table this year. In years past I have put this long strand of garland with poinsettias, glitter, greenery and berries down the middle of the table. My men hate it. So, I tried something new and I like it. Go, me!

Angie and I had a great time yesterday and actually ran into another friend, Kris, the one I quoted yesterday about hump day, and had lunch with her, too! Isn't that funny? Anyway, Angie and I bought all the stuff for our wreaths, so cross your fingers that they turn out well. I think they will. The power of positive confession and all that...my pastor would be so proud if he read that statement!

On a less happy note, there's a lot of CYBER drama going on at Riley's high school. I won't go into any details, but it makes moms like me nervous for their children, even though Riley isn't involved at any level. It's too bad teenagers' hormones kick in BEFORE their ability to understand CONSEQUENCES does, huh? Geez...God, help the poor teenagers...

And, speaking of teenagers, our community parade is tonight, which I'll be attending with my Charlotte and my Katie. Riley's band is marching and it's supposed to be a "lighted parade." I have no idea what that means, but since it's happening after dark, I'd say lights are a good idea.

My take: This is a little on the short side today, but, you know, LOTS TO DO! See you tomorrow for a holiday recipe and hopefully pictures of a fully decorated house! Happy Thursday...there's not a littly rhyme about Thursday that I know of...sorry to disappoint...

Oooohhhh, We're Half-Way There...

Do you remember that song? Bon Jovi? I love that song! This children's camp that we used to go to would take the kids on a train ride the last night and would play that song. Good times...great song...and, who knew Jon Bon Jovi was so hot underneath all that hair?

Well, here's an update: after feeling completely AWFUL yesterday - headache and, yes FOOT PAIN...geez - I am proud to say that all the fall decorations are packed and the house is about half-way decorated for Christmas. Minus the "main" Christmas tree and who knows when we'll do that since Riley has a research paper due next week and we have something every night this week after last night. And, I spent last night sitting on the couch watching my husband sleep...even snore. Yay, me.

So, I finally turned on "A Christmas Carol: The Musical." I love that version of the Christmas Carol. I guess it's because it's a musical and, you know me, I love music!! Anyway, having that on helped me to only be half-way mad (apparently "half-way" is big for me today) that Robert was asleep on the couch on our only night at home this week. I feel the chill of tax season in the air...

On today's agenda is going with Angie to Hobby Lobby and to lunch. Yay! She left me, you know, during Thanksgiving week, so we have to catch up AND we've both decided we want to make the wreaths you're seeing around town with the Christmas balls hanging from ribbon inside a window or picture frame. Yes, I'm going to try this. Not sure why. I mean, they're gorgeous, but we've all seen my painting...enough said.

Then, I'm going to come home and work more on the house. Hopefully by tomorrow I will have pictures, so make sure you come back tomorrow. By the way, the picture I've posted the last 2 days is from Riley's All-Region Jazz Band concert. Aren't we a beautiful little family? I think we are!

Happy Hump Day! As my friend Kris always says, "Hump Day! Hump Day! Let's get over the hump!"

Somewhere in the World, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I went to my first holiday party last night and it was a huge success.

It was the women's department's party at my church. We had it at one of our lady's house. Her house is absolutely gorgeous, not to mention her backyard, which is to die for. The party was really laid back and fun, my favorite combination in a party. I'd say a good time was had by all.

So, on today's agenda: working out, undecorating and redecorating.

First, we'll discuss working out. Uh, yeah, it's not going well, and here's why.

I have pampered this stupid foot of mine for the past couple of weeks, after having the shot of blazing flame and fire put into it. I'd like to pause here and say how DISAPPOINTING it is that my foot is still hurting after enduring the shot. That, my friends, should be against the law. I mean, if you're willing to go through all that agony, isn't it only fair that it should actually HELP? That's all I'm saying...

Anyway, back to the working out. My doctor said I absolutely could not run right now, so I haven't, but I asked him about the elliptical and the stationary bike and HE said after a couple of weeks, it should be fine. Then, why, may I ask, did my foot hurt worse than ever after doing the bike and elliptical yesterday? (Yes, I did both, but only 15 minutes on each...remember, the elliptical is my arch enemy.) I'm a little discouraged, OK? I mean, how am I supposed to be able to eat all that I want to eat during the holidays if I can't work out? It's just going to mess everything up! Well, today is weights day, so maybe that will go better...

Moving on to the undecorating and redecorating. Here's the thing: I love decorating! It's so fun and you feel such a sense of accomplishment when you look at your home and it's so beautiful and festive, right? Yes, but here's another thing: I hate undecorating. It drives me crazy just thinking about it. It's so boring and I can never remember how everything was packed and there's always some box that is missing. Yuck.

But here's the problem, and there's no getting around it: you can't have harvest AND Christmas decorations up at the same time. This, I have been told. So, somewhere I have to muster up the courage and strength to take everything down so I can shout "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" to the world...even though it was 75 degrees at our Christmas party last night and we were all sweating since we had a fire in the fire bowl and were wearing sweaters and scarves. It's kind of like living in a magical world of make-believe, is it not?

My take: It would be so nice about now if I could twinkle my nose like Samantha did on Bewitched and all my harvest decorations would be gone. Magical world of make-believe!

A Week Off the Grid

So, I'll bet you guys think I've been carried off by the Turkey of Thanksgivings Past, huh? Well, here's what really happened...

I got up early Tuesday to get Riley off with his grandparents to Austin. Then, settled in with a cup of coffee to do my post - my normal routine. However, Blogger was apparently having issues and I could never get on. So, after about an hour, I just gave up.

Then, I cooked most of the day on Wednesday with my mom, we had an awesome time, and the rest of the week is kind of a blur. But, hey, it's the holidays, right? So, please forgive me for appearing to drop off the face of the earth...

How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was amazingly good! We, along with my parents, spent Thanksgiving Day with my in-laws and 3 of Robert's sisters and families. We had so much food, you would have thought we were a 5 star buffet. But, hey, who's complaining? Not me!!

Then, we spent the rest of the day visiting, playing games and planning our Black Friday shopping strategy. Yes, I'm one of THOSE people. My bonus daughter and daughter-in-law talked me into going Black Friday shopping 2 years ago and I was hooked. So, this year I talked my mom, MeMe, into going with us. She may never be the same, poor girl.

We went to Target at 9:00 and got there about 5 minutes before they opened the doors. Mom decided she'd push the cart, her with her eyes as big as saucers. We shopped for around an hour, then headed to the check-out line, which, of course, was wrapped all the way around beauty, pharmacy and grocery. MeMe decided to call Robert and ask him to come get her. And, thus concludes her Black Friday shopping debut.

My sisters-in-law and nieces and I continued on to Kohls and Macys after hitting Target and finally made it back to my in-laws' house around 3. I really did get some good deals, though, and have made a definite dent in my Christmas shopping. Definite dent, definite dent...

Then, Riley got home on Saturday, oh joy, oh happy day! I miss that guy when he's gone. He had a good time, too, and got to see some of the sisters-in-law before they left on Sunday. He DID NOT eat Thanksgiving Dinner at HOOTERS like I thought he said he was going to do, either. He had actually said HOOVERS, but I thought he'd said HOOTERS and had a small fit before I was coherent enough to realize he was shaking me, saying, "HOOVERS, MOM, HOOVERS!" Oh, well, that's altogether different. Anyway, I guess his dad wanted to avoid the whole issue and they went to The Austin Club instead. Good call...

Also, Robert and I went to see Lincoln last Wednesday night. It was a fantastic movie! It reminds me that Lincoln might be my favorite president. If you haven't seen it, GO. That's an order. OK, not an order, but a strong suggestion.

Anyway, we are back on somewhat of a regular schedule, with Robert back at work and Riley back at school for 3 more weeks.

My take: The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are NEVER normal, however, so I better get with it. The whole holiday depends on it, know what I mean? Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but sometimes I feel like it does!

Return of the Mötley Crew

So, today's post is about Riley. I'm posting a little later because I didn't get much sleep last night.

First of all, Riley made the all-region jazz band and his concert was last Thursday night. It was amazing! As Riley said, it was all "legit" music, very difficult, and the band performed very well. Their clinician, Bobby Guess, was great, took the all-guy band through kind of a history of jazz through the pieces he chose for them to play. He also spoke at length with them about being able to play jazz their entire lives, despite the careers they chose. It was great.

Riley will be going to Austin tomorrow for the rest of Thanksgiving break, so he wanted to have "the Bros" over again. So, we did. I cooked his favorite meal, made a few snacks, and they've had a great time. I fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 3:00am and realized they were all mostly asleep, except Zach, who was still hungry. Anyway, I went on to bed, and guess what? The house is still standing!

My take: I am so thankful that Riley has such great friends! I'm very proud of him and the choices he's making so far in so many areas. And all I have to say is, Thank God! This parenting thing is hard...

Fun Friday: Concerts, Movies, Pictures and Thanksgiving Edition

Well, this post may be late, but, as you can see, there's a lot going on in my life right now.

First of all, I made the symphony chorus, YAY!! It's been a long time since I've been a part of a classical music group, and, since I spent four years of my young adult life engrossed in it, I kinda miss it. So, I'm excited. Plus, we're going to perform one of my all-time favorite classical works, Carmina Burana, by Carol Orff. Yeah, it's awesome...

Secondly, here are the promised pictures.

I'll start with the painting that I told you all I had to paint. It's OK for a strictly no-talent individual like myself.

Next, we have some pictures of the hotel and its surroundings.

First, there's the Main Broadmoor hotel building. Beautiful, is it not?

Next, we have The Broadmoor West, where we stayed. Lovely, yes?

Then, I'll share just some outdoors pictures of the lake between the buildings, the mountains, etc. Just breathtaking...

And, last but definitely not least, here's the wonderful spa. Heaven!

And, there are my promised pictures! I hope they were worth the wait, I'm no photographer...

So, for Fun Friday, I'm SO EXCITED!!! I'm going to see Breaking Dawn, Part 2, with my former teaching partner/good friend!!! Yes, I'm a Twilight fan, it's just the romantic in me, I guess, seeing as how I'm not a fan of blood. But, Erin and I read the books tegether and have seen the movies together, so tonight is something I've really been looking forward to: a girly movie with a great friend. You can't go wrong!!

Finally, for this week's recipe, I've chosen a famiy Thanksgiving favorite: Cranberry Jello Salad. This was my grandma's recipe. Some of you may already have a similar recipe, but everybody loves this dish, even your picky kids, so if you need a good Thanksgiving recipe, try this one out. Have a great weekend, see you on Monday!

Cranberry Jello Salad

Ingredients:
1 lg. package red jello
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 sm can crushed pineapple, drained
2 medium bananas, mashed
2 C chopped nuts, optional
8 oz cream cheese, softened at room temperature
milk

Directions:
1. Mix jello with only 2 C boiling water. Stir well til dissolved, then refrigerate for 10 minutes. Save 1 Tbsp liquid in container
2. Add cranberry sauce, mix well, then refrigerate for 15 minutes.
3. Mix pineapple, bananas and nuts together and add to chilled jello mixture, then pour in glass casserole dish. Refrigerate until set.
4. Add the leftover tablespoon of liquid to cream cheese, then add just a little milk to make mixture spreadable
5. Spread over top of salad. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.