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Laura at Goose Hill Farm Pumpkin Crunch

MEET ME ON MONDAY

Welcome to the 24th edition of
"Meet Me On Monday!"

Click on the button and join Java for Meet Me On Monday

Questions:

1. What is your favorite way to eat chicken?
I like it almost anyway it's cooked. My husband grills it with olive oil, caraway seed and S&P, it's delicious.

2. Have you decorated for Christmas yet?
Just started on my tree. I have over 700 ornaments and this year I am taking a picture of each one for my blog Debby's Tree so it's taking forever. Then the rest of the house will get done soon after the tree is done.

3. What is your favorite article of clothing?
Pajamas!

4. Do you pay your bills online or write checks the old way?
My husband pays the bills online. I still write checks for a few things.

5. Do you make Christmas cookies?
Yes I will be baking cookies and some other treats. It will all be last minute right before Christmas after all the packages have been wrapped, shipped, cards mailed and other gifts for the house are all wrapped and under the tree. Everyone has their favorites so I will make them for each person.

P.S. I am in Las Vegas so I may not get to meet you for a few days!

STYLISH BLOGGER AWARD

I received this beautiful award "Stylish Blogger Award" from BM Mom at Diary of a Brand-New Mom. Please go over to meet her and her family. Her son Gabriel is adorable! Thank you so much for my award.


In order to accept this award you must:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pay it forward to 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award

1. I enjoy going to bowling each week even though I suck at it. (love the girl talk)
2. I use to be a size "0" in High School.
3. I still have a crush on John Travolta.
4. I try to buy the decorative stamps for my cards. I don't like the Never Stamp!
5. I don't like picking up the poop in the yard but I love my Skye!
6. I often eat snacks at night to stay awake to watch my shows. Slap my hands please!
7. I am loving my new Glee Christmas CD.

I won't be passing this on because I have such a hard time choosing people because I love all of you and never want to leave anyone off. Please feel free to take this award because you are all very special to me.

JUST A FEW PICTURES TO SHARE

Me after dinner yesterday!

I was playing with my new camera and the big lens. I just love the moon.

This was Charlie's birthday celebration.

(he is my grand dog)

We had a rainbow on Sunday morning. Actually it's a double if you look really close.

Party on Saturday for Mark. See my tree was put up!

A man my husband works with bought a new camera. He also bought himself a backpack carrier so he gave me the bag that had come with it. So now I have a bag for my camera. Hooray!

The four of us are in L.A. today having a Thanksgiving dinner with our son, his girlfriend and her family. I made green bean casserole and we brought the rolls.

New post at Debby's Tree today.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Wishing everyone a beautiful day and may you be given many blessings to be thankful for.

I am thankful for your friendship.

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

Head on over to Joyce's place and join us!

1. If you had known what they knew then, would you have boarded the Mayflower?
Probably not, I'm not that adventurous.

2. How far have you traveled on a boat and how do you feel about boats in general?
I think the furthest is maybe a half hour, maybe a little longer. Boats are okay I just don't have the opportunity to be around them much.

3. What traditions have you kept, acquired thru marriage, and/or tossed? If you're single what are some of your family's favorite Thanksgiving traditions?
We kind of made our own traditions. Nothing special really, just the traditional meal of turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.

4. What time is dinner and how many will be round your table? And what is the one side dish you cannot do without on Thanksgiving day?
Well we are going a different direction this year. Normally it's just the six of us unless we have visitors in town. We normally would eat around 2pm. Usually a baked sweet potatoes for me!

5. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher? Do tell....
No I haven't but when our son was just an infant a bottle nipple fell on the heat element in the dishwasher and the whole house smelled horrible. We ran outside with him, we thought the house was on fire.

6. Tell about a situation that caused you dreadful trepidation and feet dragging, only to realize later it was a true blessing.
I can't think of one but I am sure that there are many since that is kind of how I handle a lot of things. God always shows me the blessing in each of my days, I often see them as they are happening. Kind of like why you turned left and not right. He is in control of my life.

7. Baked, sweet, mashed, hash browned or french fried...which one's your favorite?
Sweet!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off of your thighs!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

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GOBBLE TAG

GOBBLE TAG.....

My very good friend Amy sent me this tag. You can find Amy at Keeping Up With The Schultz Family. Thank you Amy for sending me this tag. If you haven't meet Amy yet head on over and visit with her.


Answer the questions below then tag a friend or two to and join in...

Do you like to cook your own Thanksgiving meal or go some place?
I really do enjoy cooking Thanksgiving dinner. It's really not that hard and the family loves it. I just hate all the clean-up involved.

Dark Meat or White Meat?
It's all white meat for me!

Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, or Pecan Pie for dessert?
I will take the Pumpkin pie please.

What is your favorite side dish to eat on Thanksgiving?
I've been enjoying Green Bean Casserole for several years now. I also like to bake a sweet potato for myself. (no one else likes them)

What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?
Well one year when I was divorced, we were living in Chicago, I took my children to Milwaukee to have dinner with my brother and his partner at the time. Well they had cleaned the stove and apparently put the knobs on wrong. Nothing would light. They ended up getting a cooker from a neighbor to make the turkey in as we waited for the gas company to come out. When we look back we laugh about it now!

What are you Thanksgiving plans this year?
I know I have answered this on other posts but here it is: My husband and I will have a small dinner at home, just the two of us. Our son is going out to eat with his girlfriends parents. Our daughter and son-in-law are going to his families house. On Friday we will all be together at our son & girlfriends condo in L.A. for a dinner with her family. It should be wonderful except for the traffic from people doing their Black Friday shopping.

What are you Thankful for this year?
My family, their health and their happiness. I am always beyond Thankful for having God in my life.

Sorry I'm being a poop head here and not passing this on. Feel free to play along if you want to.

MEET ME ON MONDAY

Welcome to the 23rd edition of
"Meet Me On Monday!"

Click on the button to join Java in Meet Me On Monday.

Questions:

1. How many pillows do you sleep with?
I sleep with two pillows. One of them is foam and I love it.

2. Where will you eat on Thanksgiving?
Well this year is different. We will be eating alone at home, just my husband and I. Our daughter and son-in-law will be going to his families house. Our son will be going out with his girlfriends family. Then on Friday we, daughter, SIL, husband and me, will be going to our son and his girlfriends condo in L.A. for a day after Thanksgiving feast!

3. Would you rather go to a party or host a party?
I would rather go to a party but we really don't do much of that. We are homebodies.

4. How many purses (for the guys..wallets) do you own?
I have always been a pretty big purse collector but I have slowed down since I started buying Louis Vuitton.

5. What is your favorite kind of seafood?
Lobster is my favorite.

STYLISH BLOGGER AWARD

Kathy at REFLECTION BY...KATHY has given me this beautiful Stylish Blogger Award. I was lucky enough to meet her at Meet Me On Monday. Kathy, I appreciate you passing this award on to me. So head on over and introduce yourself to her.

Rules for accepting this award are:
1. Thank & link back to the person who awarded you this.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pay it forward to 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award. Blog Award!

1. I love God and my family.
2. Risotto is my new found favorite food.
3. I love Christmas music and could listen to it all year long.
4. I desperately want to simplify my life.
5. I love to buy books but seldom read.
6. I seldom wear something without ironing it!
7. My favorite day of the year is Christmas. I treat each one like it's my last so they are always the best ever.

I am not going to pay it forward because I don't like to pick and choose. You know that you are all special to me. Over and out!

BECAUSE I LIKE YOU TO KNOW EVERY DETAIL OF MY LIFE!

Have I told you how much I love the Hallmark store I am shopping at. I had worked at a Hallmark store for 7 years but when we moved into our new home 4 years ago I only continued to work there for a year after the move. It was silly to continue working there when it was a 25 miles ride for part time work, however I did continue to shop there since I was in the area on Tuesday's for bowling and my daughter was still working there. Also the other reason was that after I left they offered me a 20% discount on anything I purchased. I was the number one customer when I worked there, even with my 25% off discount and they didn't want to lose me! I know what you are thinking and the answer is yes, I never made a cent because it all went right back into their store!

Well that Hallmark store closed last March so I was in search of a new one. I visited several stores closer to my house because being the ornament collector that I am I had to make sure someone was going to pre-pull and hold my ornaments before the big events. Well I hit the jackpot with this one. The manager and employee's are wonderful and they meet my every need. I can even say that they go above and beyond in their customer service. I do miss my discount but I am a firm believer that "when one door closes another door opens" even for the small things in life. I couldn't be happier with my decision.

I have been to each event since July when the ornaments first come out. (well except when I was in Florida helping my dad out but I called and paid for my items that day) I remember when I was working at Hallmark and people would come in asking for an ornament that they saw at some friends house. They were always disappointed and very surprised when they found out that each year the whole line is new! Okay I got off track there but I wanted you to know that. So this store offers a little card that you get stamped at each event and when it is completed you get $50. to spend in the store before the end of the year, hooray for me! So I purchased a few items that I had my eye on and a few additional things to make up the $50. dollars. Here are the two things I had my eye on:

This adorable reindeer

And this sweet piece to add to my Willow Tree collection.

It's called Surrounded by Love.

So if you have been reading my post it notes on Tuesday you know it's been a bit of a roller coaster ride about Thanksgiving. Well here is the plan, our daughter & SIL are going to his families house, our son is going out to dinner with his best girls family (which I wanted to go to) and my husband and I will be home alone! We will be making a small turkey because he gets one from work and their is no room in the freezer. (Speaking of that you would think that a $7,000. built in refrigerator would be awesome, right? No! because it's only as deep as the cabinets!!!) We will have a few fixings with it but very low key day which is okay with me. Then on Friday we are all going to our sons/girlfriend condo in Los Angeles for a turkey dinner. Then on Monday it's off to Vegas for 3 nights/4days!

In the meantime I will be working on my tree which is going up tomorrow when the kids are over to celebrate my husbands birthday. We are having Lou Malnati pizza that I ordered from Chicago, making Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake and we are going to try to take a family pictures. We haven't had one in years and I would love to include one in our Christmas cards this year. (if we get a good one I will post it even though the kids never want me to)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

New post over at Debby's Tree....

Guess what? Are you thinking really hard? My daughter got a job at the fabulous Hallmark that I shop at. It's just for the Christmas Holiday but isn't that awesome! She will fit right in having already worked for over six years at the store that closed. Believe me she needs to get out of the house, it's really good for her and it will help them with their Christmas shopping. Praise God. (of course she still needs to find time to clean for me, I so depend on her for that)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK

Today is my husbands birthday. He is out of town this week but we will be having a party on Saturday to celebrate his 59 years of life. This is the man I fell in love with in High School back in the late 60's. He is the man I married in 1972 38 years ago. He has always been a great provider for our family, keeps me laughing and loves his children with all his heart. He has had salt & pepper hair since his 20's and I adore him with grey hair. (I think his license still says brown!) Yes he is vain but am thankful he has never changed the color. He has the most beautiful blue eyes, I think they call them bedroom eyes!

We have had our ups and downs but I am thankful that he was brave enough to come back into my life after being divorced for six years 21 years ago. He really deserves a medal for that because I am not easy to live with! Thank you honey :)

Happy Birthday to the man I love.........

.....and will love for the rest of my life.

If you want to see some baby pictures of him you can go

here to last years post.

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

It's Wednesday Hodgepodge over at Joyce's place From This Side of the Pond. Head on over and join us. So here we go..................

1. What is the most amazing weather you've ever seen?
I am not sure other then some really big snow storms but I do remember the sky on 9-11-09 and it was amazing.

2. What is a sound or noise you love?
When a young child giggles, I can listen for hours.

3. Do you like seafood? What's your favorite seafood dish?
I usually eat Salmon but I do love lobster.

4. What part of your day requires the most patience?
You really want me to pick one part of my day. I want to say all of it. I think it's a menopause thing!

5. What's your favorite shade of blue?
Baby blue is my favorite but I do like Robin Egg blue too.

6. Do people underestimate you?
I don't know, you will have to ask them! Well actually I believe that people did when I got divorced, worked full time and had two little ones. I didn't want help, did it all myself. (except for the checks from the "x")

7. When was the last time you had butterflies in your stomach?
I don't remember, wait maybe I had some when we were in Chicago a few weeks ago, especially flying.

8. Insert your own random thought here, and remember...I have a wooden spoon and I'm not afraid to use it.
Go ahead and hit me with the wooden spoon because my random thought is that I would like another question.

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