A wonderful Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful day yesterday. I hope you did, too. It was rather low-key, but equally enjoyable. We had Chad's parents over. We spent the day watching movies, playing games, putting up the tree and talking. Always a bit of Medeiros humor(notice the picture of turkey). I think I've found the key to the perfect, low stress Thanksgiving dinner: part homemade....and part, well, not homemade! Seriously, if you can find delicious rolls and potatoes made by someone else, why not? Cuts my time and stress way down! I did however, make the turkey, stuffing, apple pie and appetizers. Chad's mom helped with the yams, cranberry sauce and other treats. It was a delicious dinner. This year, my friend suggested I add sausage to the stuffing. Have you tried that? Mmm...very good! We really had a great time just hanging out together. At the end of the night, Peggy and I made a pact to go two weeks without sugar (I have to take baby steps!). I have never, ever committed to something like this...please wish me luck!

PS...Can anyone help with Photoshop? I went to to my normal canvas/photo collage and after cropping the photos and trying to move them to the new canvas, they are huge! I checked the crop and canvas size and everything looks right...any suggestions?? I hate not being able to do the photo collages.

A week in review...

It's that time of year where everything seems to accelerate, doesn't it? Here are a some of the pictures I captured from the last week.

-Grammy spent the afternoon with Jenna. Ohhhh did she love that! With Grammy's undivided attention, the read book after book.

-I had a girls weekend in Midway with some women from the neighborhood. Would you believe the only pictures I captured were of the junk food and Andrea and Gaby in the opposing school sweatshirts? (it was the "big" game that day) Pictures or not, we had a great time!

-As family, we went to high school's production of "Hello Dolly." Can you just say, "Hello! It was good?!" I was seriously impressed and not just because we knew some of the kids in the play. What a great production. Don't some of those hats look great? ;) I got to help with a few of the costumes! I know Sarah really enjoyed it because this morning she said, "Mom, is a moment really less than a second?" (taken from the play) Too cute.

-Andrew played in the 4th grade talent show...he did a great job!

-I have been making BIG messes! For the last week, I've been stripping, sanding and staining. I have been working on the kitchen table, kitchen island and powder bath cabinets. I will post pics when I'm done.

-We are getting ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow. We are so excited to be doing it here. Chad's parents will be joining us. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday!

I am too old for this!

So last night...or umm, I mean this morning was the opening of Twilight. And some of the girls in the neighborhood had the brilliant idea of going to the opening show. At midnight. I am old. This is much past my bedtime. But, I knew it would be fun. We all laughed as we hopped into the car...all commenting that we felt like we were sneaking out. Apparently we were far from the the only ones up to no good. I have never seen the theater so full...even on a weekend. They were showing the movie on 20 (twenty!!) screens and all of them were sold out! It was crazy...girls in prom dresses, picture booths, and pajamas. Crazy. The movie was good (not great). Not as good as the book. Some things I think they did really well and others, well just didn't work. I mean how could they successfully create some of the effects that are in the book? I kept wondering what people will think of the movie who haven't read the book. I enjoyed it (didn't love it)...makes me want to read the book again. Now, I know many of you have seen it...what did you think?

Got milk?

So, last Friday I open up the fridge and look what wonderful surprise was waiting for me! Sarah is the queen of pictures and notes. New friends, old friends, G'parents, siblings and especially mom and dad are the recipients of her artistic expressions of love. She usually leaves these notes on a pillow or bathroom sink...she out did herself with this one. This note was extra special. It was a pouch, actually, filled with pennies and another note. Thank you, Sarah...Happy November to YOU, too! I love you!

What's the best jumpstart for your heart in morning?

The sound of the garbage truck coming earlier than it usually does!
I was caught off guard as I heard the roar of the truck...much earlier than usual. I quickly threw in the Halloween pumpkins and rushed down the driveway. As I glanced down the street, I saw half a dozen of my neighbors frantically doing the same thing! It was hilarious...all of us half dressed running for the curb!

Last month, Josh reached the Star ranking in scouts. He has been working hard and it's exciting to see his merit badges adding up! He also received a special walking stick for earning the most service beads at scout camp this summer. We have great scout leaders...so grateful for that! At the Court of Honor, it was fun to see Josh conducting. He does such a good job. Keep it up Josh and you'll be getting your Eagle in no time!