not on the bandwagon

We had a great Thanksgiving. Last year, I went to the hospital to deliver Beckett on a unusually warm fall day. During my three days in the hospital, we celebrated our new baby, Thanksgiving happened, I ate one-and-a half pecan pies, and winter arrived. So it felt like I kind of skipped the holiday and headed straight for Christmas. Not that I minded, really. Anyway, this Thanksgiving was a bit more traditional, complete with wonderful friends, yummy food, and some family football.

And I forgot all about Black Friday until some friends mentioned it that evening.

I am not a fan of the early morning. Or lines. Or shopping. (Would I like shopping if it didn't make me feel guilty? Hmm) So I love a good deal, but not enough to wake up at 5:00 in the morning and go, well, anywhere. Maybe someday, when I sleep through the night whenever I want, I'll join the rest of the world and stimulate our economy with some serious Black Friday spending.

But not this year. This year, I woke up and made banana bread. And then, a new recipe that turned into a yummy-I-didn't-have-enough-pumpkin-on-Thanksgiving breakfast . I made some syrup to go on top- combination of some stuff I found on allrecipes.com. Some apple juice, pumpkin, karo syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg...and who knows what else. This was another one of those creations that drives Joel crazy. I didn't follow a recipe, which means I'm not entirely sure I can make it again. We have a few pasta dishes he loved that I am still trying to recreate...

$9.47

There is a serious threat to our family budget just minutes from our house. I can't really describe why it draws me in several times a week, or why I enjoy going there so much, but I do know it's exactly what the marketing folks at Target are working so hard to achieve. Draw her in for trash bags and hypnotize her, make her stay.

Getting out of Target for under $30 requires serious and constant focus. Walk past the dollar aisle, look away from the happy shirts and shorts, linger not at the clearance end-cap, walk around the children's clothing section, and so on.

Since I don't want to justify a Target category in our budget, I recently started limiting myself to a once a week fix, um, I mean shopping trip. No more recreational Targeting. I will go with a list, and I will follow it. Mostly. But getting out for under $10? I consider that a huge accomplishment. It may never happen again, but at least I can say I did it once. July 22, 2008. 4:44 PM.

a happy twenty

I love leftovers. Thankfully, so does my hubby.

I do not like, however, the precariously stacked assortment of bowls that end up in our fridge to hold all the leftovers. Not to mention, the fact that all the cereal bowls are sitting in there when I actually want to use one to eat cereal. And they're white, which means I forget what's in there and we end up with the occasional science experiment of unrecognizable food. And I'm tired of all the Saranwrap.

I've tried the Gladware and stuff, but it just doesn't feel healthy to heat our food in plastic. I don't want to store it in one dish, then heat it in another. So, I happily spent twenty dollars the other day on three of these little dishes. Clear. Glass. Sturdy. Stackable. With lids. Ready for the microwave, freezer, and oven.-ready.

Didn't our grandparents use these? Now I know why...

IN-N-OUT

On Thursday we headed to Paso Robles to visit more family. We were looking forward to a stop in Salinas for the much loved IN-N-OUT burgers. Yum!

Beckett really wanted my milkshake, or at least the straw.

He had some issues, and I was too busy trying to take a picture of him to notice that he was busy gagging on the straw. Until I saw the women at the table across from us looking kind of panicked- they were speaking Spanish, but it sounded urgent. Then I noticed. Oops!
Eli made good use of his straws while we waited for our food. He really concentrates when he does this. Notice the flared nostrils.

Ta-Da!!! There's that big finish.

And here come the burgers. Drum roll please...

if i blog about a shoe...

My hubby is sick of hearing about new shoes. This is because I talked about them for days and days before I actually pulled the trigger on the purchase. And then I asked him about 20 times if he liked them. Or really liked them. Or just kind of liked them.

We were out talking to the our neighbors the other night, and Joel casually mentioned how nice the weather was. Then he mentioned it again. I think he brought it up 5 or 6 times, and the last few times, I nodded and smiled right along with the neighbors. We teased him about.

I just told him that I blogged about my shoes.

He asked if I blogged about the weather.

Today was a beautiful day, and a nice warm evening. Breezy. Exactly as spring should be.

There.

maybe i shouldn't be so excited

On one hand, I have plenty of shoes. I don't really need new shoes. But I really wanted a miracle shoe. A default shoe I can wear most of the time, for most of what I do. Which is nothing special, but alot all at the same time. And I'm just not into coordinating my shoes with an outfit each day. I want a cute, comfy, well styled, no socks required, walk-to-park pushing-a-stroller, can-wear-with-a- skirt-or-pants-or a shorts shoe. See what I mean? A miracle shoe.

One REI dividend + one 20% coupon = one good candidate for miracle shoe.

This might be it.