Thanksgiving and then some

This was our Thanksgiving feast on our somewhat cluttered table. Just the two of us this year. It was nice. Plenty of leftovers. I think we will be eatting ham until 2012! I made us cute little heart shapped cheesecakes for dessert. All was yummy.
Woke up at 4 a.m. on Friday to do some holiday shopping. I love the adrenaline rush you get from the swarms of people rushing into stores when they open. I stood in 2 lines and got what I needed to get at both stores. This is what I returned home to:



















I call it the Charlie Brown tree. I bought it last year on super clearance and never opened it to see what it looked like. I now understand why it was so cheap. We laughed at it a while and then decided to go find a fuller tree and new decorations. I also hauled out our smaller tree and decorated it in ivory & gold:

Christmas meme.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? hot chocolate!
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Just sets them, the elves wrap.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? We compromise, white on the tree, colored on the windows
4. Do you hang mistletoe? nope
5. When do you put up your decorations? Day after thanksgiving usually, I don't like to wait
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? there are actually dises?! I thought the holiday was all desserts!
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Trying to sneak a peak at the "elves" wrapping by using the floor vent in my room
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes!!
10. What kind of decorations are on your Christmas tree? light blue, dark blue and silver glittered bulbs and a few random ornaments that include a couple NASCAR cars and Homer holding a beer
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I like light snow, none of the dumpy stuff that makes the roads slick.
12. Can you ice skate? um, I did once
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My down comforter that I curled up in imediately along with the jumbo bottle of wine I got.
14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? spending time with the people I love.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? ritz crackers with peanut butter in the middle dipped in chocolate almond bark
16 What is your favorite holiday tradition? shopping in the cities with my brother
17. What tops your tree? nothing yet.
18. What is your favorite holiday book?
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? J-I-N-G-L-E Bells
20. Candy canes? the small ones are all I can handle

weekend recap

This weekend was full of fun.
Saturday Missy & I went down to DM and crushed grapes that we are making into wine that we will bottle in May.











For our wedding my brother got us tickets to the Chiefs/Raiders football game since My Man is a big Raiders fan. My brother also purchased 2 additional tickets for him and my dad since my dad also likes the Raiders. So Sunday was spent at the game. The weather was perfect, the stadium was awesome, and we were so close to winning.










And being in the car for 3 hours at a time gave me a chance to do some guilt-free knitting. I am starting to get the hang of dpns, it is slow moving but it is moving none the less. Here is the baby hat so far.

Thanks grandma

Thanks to my grandma our house could have been in flames last night. Grandma had given me a potato bag to make a baked potato in the microwave. I followed the directions exactly and 6 minutes into the cooking there were some not-so-good smells coming from the microwave. I pulled out the bag, tried to open it and smoke came pouring out. I opened the window and again attempted to open the bag but the smoke was too overpowering. So I took the bag out back into the chilly dark. I mananged to dump the potato out which was wrapped in a paper towel like the directions said and that is when I noticed the bag was on fire. Not flaming but burning reddish orange like kindling of campfire does. I couldn't believe it. I picked it up and yelled at hubby to look out the window at the potato bag I was holding and he yelled back to put it out. I dropped it and contemplated how to put it out since I didn't have shoes on. I found a good sized rock and hit at the burning bag. It was then that I remembered my potato. I unwrapped the potato and lo and behold it wasn't burnt! I brought it inside and it was completely cooked, so I ate it! Needless to say I threw the bag away and couldn't stop thinking about if I had been home alone and left the potato alone to cook, it could have been disasterous!















In other news having a mother-in-law that works for a landscaping company means free bulbs and some sweet deals. She gave me some paperwhite bulbs to grow for the holiday season! They are just starting out, I am hoping to keep you updated on their progress.

It's a good budget......really

Holy bovine, it costs a lot to have your wedding bouquet preserved. I knew for a long time that this is what I wanted but man, I didn't know it would be this much. I called for a price quote and it ended up being a pretty broad range since it depends on the size of the bouquet and the size & style of frame you want. When the woman told me last night how much it cost I almost crapped my pants! I had already paid $125 for the actual freeze drying and then last night she wanted me to pay 1/2 of what the final price was. I told her I didn't have my new debit/credit card yet so I couldn't pay (which was true). With Mike & I starting our budget and getting used to it I didn't know how I would tell him. Mom to the rescue. I was telling her the whole story and she mentioned how she wanted to get me a mother/daughter gift for the wedding but at that time I didn't need anything so......she is paying for 1/2 of my flowers! Thanks mom!
I got to see my dried flowers and they look so good! The calla lilies are a bit discolored but they said they could touch them up with some artificial color. My bouquet will be placed in a domed frame to hang on the wall.
In case you forgot, my flowers look like this:












Oh and did I mention that I won the contest put on by my SP9 hostes?!?! Well I did!!!! And I got the package in the mail on Saturday!!!!! I got some lovely yarn, knitting needles, and the cutest little tin of mini altoids that are sugar free!!!! I will post a pic soon.
This is our first month of being on a budget and I am proud to announce that I feel I am doing well with my "allowance" aka fun money. I can't spend as freely as I did before, I now have to ask myself if I really need it, which is hard b/c sometimes it is something that I really want but don't necessarily need, such as Jenni Bowlin's paper crafting kit, I have been getting her kits since June and it is kinda sad not getting it this month. This month is also a little more difficult since I want to shop the day after Thanksgiving! I know the budget is good for me though. We already paid off one credit card and our new matresses. Next we are aiming to pay off my car.
Being on a budget has caused me to have to cut some things out of my daily diet. No, not food completely but I have stopped getting my daily mochas and lattes (I still allow myself to splurge on a cinnamon roll now and then). Instead I bought a can of folgers coffe, I know, it's like the low of the lows, I figure if I can get through that can I can move up to more "gormet" coffees. The first couple of days I had to doctor up the folgers quite a bit with milk and fake sugar. It has been a couple of weeks and I no longer add sugar and I add just a hint of milk. I actually like regular coffee now! It is hard to believe but it has gotten to the point where I finish my cup at work (I make it at home) and I wish I could have more! It just tastes sooooo yummy!!!! I am totally addicted. It is probably a good thing we don't have a coffee pot here at work b/c I would be drinking coffee all day long!!!! So thanks budget for introducing me to regular coffee!!!