. . . giving of thanks . . .

. . . the main dish

is highly overrated . . .

{in my opinion}

{thanks, mary!}

. . . not to worry, though . . .

. . . you can bet my plate

will be piled high

with delicious side dishes . . .

. . . one day a year

simply isn't enough

for my mom's

amazing dressing . . .

{NEVER EVER to be confused with stuffing! blech!}

. . . her perfectly salty gravy . . .

{made in tiny individual batches ~

she says making one large batch would ruin it}

. . . the sweet potato casserole that

{let's be honest}

should be

on the dessert table . . .

. . . my aunt's rolls . . .

{i really hope she makes them!}

. . . and molly's pumpkin roll

with cream cheese filling . . .

. . . what's your favorite item

on the thanksgiving menu? . . .

. . . good thing all of that

happens after

the 8am turkey trot . . .

. . . maybe amanda will let me

push the double stroller . . .

{#needtoburncalories}

. . . mission accomplished . . .

. . . almost . . .

. . . i wanted to have

all the decorating done

before thanksgiving . . .

. . . most of it is finished . . .

. . . we haven't put lights

on the house yet . . .

. . . we're doing family photos here

on friday . . .

. . . i didn't want lights and wreaths

in the background . . .

. . . hopefully those will be up

before the weekend's over . . .

. . . i still need

to get the nativities set up . . .

. . . love them . . .

. . . hate the styrofoam . . .

. . . :( . . .

. . . so ~ the biggest difference

this year? . . .

. . . the entry . . .

. . . here's 2007 . . .

. . . and 2011 . . .

. . . the tree ca. 2007 . . .

. . . the tree today . . .

. . . no big changes . . .

. . . i just shined everything up

and moved a few things around

a little . . .

. . . and took out

most of the black/white stuff . . .

. . . still trying to calm down

about the random dark spots

on the tree

where the lights just won't light

any more . . .

. . . but thankful

~ oh, so thankful ~

it's done . . .

. . . *needing so much more than dusting . . .

{*second beauty and the beast reference of the month ~

which character sings this line?}

. . . there's a really high shelf

in the living room . . .

. . . quite a handy spot

for a cranberry glass collection . . .

. . . it's kind of waaaaay up there . . .

. . . and i really only think about

it once a year . . .

. . . i probably oughta check it

a little more often . . .

. . . and maybe it's time to have

the a/c ducts cleaned . . .

. . . dang summer haboobs . . .

. . . sowing some oats . . .

. . . i'm a little tardy for this party . . .

. . . and even though

they say

it's really good for you . . .

. . . i've never liked oatmeal . . .

. . . especially the instant variety . . .

. . . double yuck/slimy . . .

. . . now, steel cut oats . . .

. . . they're a whole different animal . . .

. . . such nutty, chewy deliciousness . . .

. . . love 'em! . . .

. . . the thing is . . .

. . . they do take a while to cook . . .

. . . however long it takes

to boil the water . . .

. . . plus thirty minutes more . . .

. . . so ~ a little planning ahead

is required . . .

. . . i usually start them

right after a shower . . .

. . . then by the time

i've finished hair/makeup . . .

. . . they're hot and ready . . .

. . . just add a splash of milk,

a little brown sugar,

and/or fresh berries,

peanut butter,

craisins,

pecans etc . . .

. . . a real stick-to-your-ribs breakfast . . .

. . . the formula: use four times

as much water as oats

and don't forget to add

a pinch of kosher salt . . .

. . . have you tried steel cut oats? . . .

{i'm investigating the overnight crockpot method.

if you're cooking for a crowd, this will work great.

i, on the other hand, would need a smaller crockpot}

. . . house parts . . .

. . . a three-part post . . .

. . . and yes ~

i do remember all three parts . . .

{part one}

. . . drew was sixteen . . .

. . . he was in the midst

of a round of accutane . . .

{a wonderful/awful drug}

. . . a much higher dosage

than he should have been on,

we later discovered . . .

. . . that stuff is strong! . . .

. . . good thing he turned out pretty

in the end . . .

. . . but, during? . . .

. . . oh, my ~ his poor fingers . . .

. . . the tissue around

every single nailbed

was swollen, inflamed, infected,

and {shall we say?} oozy . . .

. . . an extremely painful/messy condition

for a basketball player . . .

. . . but only when you need

to dribble, catch or shoot . . .

. . . his body was

in such a state of stress

that this happened . . .

{please don't be jealous that

a professional photographer documented this momentous occasion

in the middle of our family photo shoot}

. . . you'll recognize this as shingles . . .

. . . and a belly button . . .

. . . drew referred to this condition

as fingles . . .

{you can thank me later for tastefully cropping!}

{part two}

. . . sixteen years earlier . . .

. . . we were at a romney family party . . .

. . . lots of aunts, uncles, cousins . . .

. . . amanda was five . . .

. . . she showed all of us

a rash forming on her tummy . . .

. . . then ~ exactly two weeks later . . .

. . . i was in labor

waiting for drew to be born . . .

. . . when we got a call

at the hospital

telling us that three-year-old amelia

and all the little romney cousins her age

were breaking out in chicken pox . . .

. . . amanda'd already had them

a couple of years before . . .

. . . but the herpes zoster virus

lives forever . . .

. . . her shingles had exposed

all her relatives

to chicken pox . . .

. . . we like to share! . . .

. . . my favorite part of this story,

though, is that

amanda loved telling

anyone who would listen

that her ouchy rash

was called "shutters" . . .

{part three}

. . . our home celebrated her

twenty-eighth birthday

this week . . .

. . . i'm just not

a very good gift giver . . .

. . . it's hard to come up

with exactly the right thing . . .

. . . this year, we decided we'd go

with something practical . . .

. . . so, she got

a fresh coat of black paint

on her shutters . . .

. . . you say shingles {or fingles} . . .

. . . i say shutters . . .

. . . parts is parts, i guess . . .

. . . photosynthesis . . .

. . . big word ~ no? . . .

. . . impressed? . . .

. . . don't be . . .

. . . i remember a biology term

from thirty-five years ago . . .

. . . but i'm not sure

what i did yesterday . . .

. . . i thought about photosynthesis

this morning . . .

. . . watering and thinking . . .

. . . i've got these pots

along the pool fence . . .

. . . each one potted

with three geraniums . . .

. . . and five alyssum plants . . .

{they smell heavenly, by the way}

. . . they all started out

exactly the same . . .

. . . but now ~ watch the alyssum

{the tiny white flowers}

from pot to pot . . .

exhibit A

exhibit B

exhibit C

exhibit D

. . . why the difference? . . .

. . . the sun, of course . . .

. . . light, if you will . . .

. . . the sun hits pot A

first thing in the morning . . .

. . . that life sustaining light

shines on it all day long . . .

. . . it is flourishing . . .

. . . pot D

~ shaded most of the time ~

looks okay . . .

. . . it's nice and green . . .

. . . but, as far as blooms go . . .

. . . you know ~

the reason we plant flowers . . .

. . . it is sorely lacking . . .

. . . plants need the sun . . .

. . . they derive

life and energy from it . . .

. . . without it

they don't accomplish much . . .

. . . watering and thinking

this morning . . .

. . . do you know

what else i thought? . . .

. . . i need the Son . . .

. . . that's where

my life and energy

come from . . .

. . . without Him

i don't accomplish much . . .

. . . i can't bloom and grow

without relying on Him . . .

. . . He is the Gardener . . .

{thanks for the link to this wonderful talk, daughter ~

it was just what i needed}

. . . easily amused . . .

. . . seriously . . .

. . . whenever this happens . . .

{and it only happens because we usually buy costco gas

and forget to use our REWARD POINTS}

. . . i say to myself . . .

. . . "remember all those

expensive groceries

you bought to 'save' ten dollars

on this tank of gas" . . .

. . . then i'm tickled pink

about it anyway . . .

. . . such a deal! . . .

***ALSO***

. . . you guys . . .

. . . why did no one warn me? . . .

. . . i went to target today . . .

. . . needing a few staples . . .

•birthday gift for elliott

•tweezers

•michael buble christmas cd

{review coming soon}

. . . i hadn't shopped there

in over a month . . .

. . . certainly not since

the grand opening

of the much advertised

and highly touted

fresh grocery section . . .

. . . so

~ with list in hand ~

i thought i'd check it out

and finish my weekly shopping

all in one stop . . .

. . . you guys . . .

. . . in my mind,

i'd pictured a lovely

super target experience . . .

. . . EPIC FAIL! . . .

. . . this was a glorified circle k . . .

. . . produce section? . . .

. . . ha ha ha ha ha ha . . .

. . . PLUS ~ i think

the general merchandise

area and selection . . .

{you know ~ the stuff you really go to target for}

. . . has shrunk! . . .

. . . on a scale of one to ten? . . .

. . . highly dissatisfied . . .

. . . oh, well . . .

. . . at least now i know . . .

. . . next time ~ please advise . . .

. . . and spare me the trip . . .

. . . saving grace? . . .

. . . michael buble christmas cd . . .

{review coming soon, remember?}

. . . with extra tracks . . .

. . . available only at

{you guessed it}

tar-jhay . . .

. . . chillin' with colby . . .

. . . colby and i had

a pretty laid back day today . . .

. . . we stayed in our jammies . . .

. . . and caught up

on our favorite dvr'd shows . . .

. . . we couldn't believe

the amazing thanksgiving feast

the iron chefs prepared

in just one hour . . .

. . . burn notice

might have been

just a little too intense

for a three-month-old . . .

. . . and he was super shocked

to learn that

tomorrow is regis' final day . . .

. . . then this happened

by the time

we got around

to watching

the real housewives . . .

. . . come again on monday . . .

. . . i'll record the

american music awards . . .

. . . heaven's sakes! is that a spot? . . .

. . . quick! . . .

. . . name that tune . . .

. . . spent some time today

shining up

my cheap glassware . . .

. . . getting ready to fill 'em up . . .

. . . and i found

it is impossible

to not appear

in a photograph

of what are essentially

spherical mirrors . . .

. . . the age of retirement . . .

. . . many years ago . . .

. . . i built three topiaries . . .

. . . they've sat

on my kitchen table

every christmas since . . .

. . . which makes them

practically vintage . . .

. . . the pots were painted by me . . .

. . . i tied all the bows . . .

. . . i personally squoze {squeezed?}

every bit of hot glue

they're held together with . . .

. . . the candy is real . . .

{can you imagine how many boxes of dots

you have to buy

to get that many red and green ones?}

. . . and is a total testament

to the power of preservatives . . .

. . . here's the thing . . .

. . . it's time for me to move on . . .

. . . my question is ~ . . .

. . . does anyone want these? . . .

. . . first come . . .

. . . first served . . .

. . . sorry i can't ship them . . .

. . . besides, my post office

is closing

and won't ship packages

any more . . .

{first bashas' ~ now the post office}

. . . if they're still here friday . . .

. . . they'll be donated

to my neighborhood exchange

this weekend . . .

. . . let me know . . .

{update: the topiaries have gone

to a happy new home.

kayola is quick!}