Thanksgiving Feast

I'm up at my Mom and Dad's and we have a full house. All of my sisters and I are home for the holiday and my aunt is here also. Adding to that mix is Micah, Joe--Alex's friend, Jodie--Mary's friend (just coming for dinner), Dinah--Alex's cat, and my precious Bonnie Blue. We have been up since the early morning hours (9 a.m. for me) cooking and getting ready. We are also going to take our Christmas card picture at West Fork, then onto eating around 3 p.m. We are going to have a lot of great stuff. Most of us came in yesterday and my Momma cooked some great Ham soup. I made some bread and both loaves were inhaled by everyone. Today I made the chocolate pie and then I'm going to make some green bean bundles that my friend Jamie told me how to make them. They are going to be delicious. We are having turkey, ham, duck, oyster dressing, horseradish cranberry sauce, regular cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, green bean bundles, sweet potatoes, sourdough bread, rice, chocolate pie, pumpkin pie, hummingbird cake, chocolate pecan pie, and custard pie. I'll post pics later.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Check it out

Go check out Hui's Joys and see my cool turkey place card for the THANKSGIVING FEAST.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I've started the wonderful process of decorating for Christmas by changing the background on my blog. I love the colors on this one and I like the "Ho, ho, ho!". One of my best friends, Jamie, has the sweetest little boy--James Paul. When James Paul was little, we tried to come up with a great little 'name' for me, since I would be major important in his life. (wink) Jamie calls me 'Jenni H' and we tried and tried to have James Paul say that. The only sound we could get him to make was "Ho". Thus, my name became "Ho-Ho". It was pretty funny when we went to Walgreen's right after this naming and James Paul yelled up and down the aisles for "Ho-Ho". Then, when I would appear, he would say, "Ho-Ho!" with a great, big smile. The name has stuck and James Paul even knows when his mom talks about her friend, Jennifer, that that is his "Ho-Ho". He is super smart. ;)

Next weekend, I'm going to decorate the house for Christmas. I am going to 'clean out' some of the decorations I don't use and either give them away or take them up to school and decorate with them there. I am going to take my huge tree and my white Christmas tree up to my rooms at school. Then, Micah is going to let me have his Christmas tree and so I'll decorate that! I'm going to find my camera cord, so I will take pics and then post them.

Sundays with Sissy

Every Sunday I sing at Mass at 12:05 and 5:30 p.m. In between Masses, I hang out with my Sissy. My Sissy is my aunt, but she is also one of my BEST friends. She is my Mom's younger sister and I'm so glad that we live close to each other. Usually we hang out at her house, but today we went out to eat at Outback Steakhouse and then shopping for holiday crafts. Our plans were reversed because Outback does not open until 3 p.m. So, being the ever easy-going people we are, we went holiday shopping and then out to eat. We went to Michael's Arts and Crafts store, Hallmark, and then Tuesday Morning. We had a blast and worked up quite an appetite for our mid-day meal at Outback.

Here is a pic of all my booty that I scored today. Totally awesome!

Sorry for the poor pic quality--had to take with cell b/c I couldn't find my cord to transfer pics from the camera to the computer.

Deck the Halls with.........

Okay. I have issues with people who like to push the holidays, namely the whole shopping industry. It was the Friday before HALLOWEEN and there were CHRISTMAS decorations up all around the stores. Before a holiday even arrives, it's already been cast aside for the next upcoming attraction. When I was heading to my house last night, I noticed a house in my neighborhood that had their Christmas lights turned on and their manger out front. It was a beautiful sight, however, Thanksgiving is not for another couple of weeks.

Well, despite all this griping, I think I'm going to join these early greeters of the Holidays and join in the Holiday fun. Is that bad? I plan to get my Christmas tree next week. Micah is letting me have his and we are going to decorate it at my house over Thanksgiving break. We are spending Thanksgiving with my parents, sisters, and Sissy, but once we get back to Conway--Christmas decorating will commence. I'm almost done with my shopping and I'm way excited about my gifts this year.

I will refrain from posting any pics of Christmas gifts, lest someone tries to see what Santa is bringing this year. However, most will be made by my own two hands! So, while the weather outside is not frightful and it's too hot to have a fire, know that the Christams spirit is stirring in my soul.

Tonight I have a date with wonderful Micah. Could life get any better?

Beat It

I know we all have songs that we hear and we are taken back to the first time we heard that song, etc., etc. I had a total trip down memory lane the other night. I was driving along in my car and all of sudden "Beat It" came on. Well, if you are like me, then you immediately think back to the 2nd grade and start doing your France Stokes dance. I loved that routine. I have had several memory flashes with other songs--Mony, Mony, Hippy-Hippy Shake, Pumps and a Bump (remember that one Kate?), Wild, Wild West, the list goes on and on. I cannot wait until I have kids and I can put them in dance and then I can tell stories about when their Momma, all their aunts, and Momma-Momma were in dance and how we rocked it!

Whew!

What a week! My second graders put on a play yesterday, "A Barnyard Moosical". It was a hit! They were the cutest grade and everyone raved and raved about it. I will let you know when we go on tour.

Tonight, I am vegging at my house. I am watching Sex and the City--the movie and am cleaning up various things from around the house. I have changed my Halloween decorations to pumpkins, turkeys, and pilgrims--oh my.

Not very exciting, but I'm still content for the moment. Later this evening, my Micah will call to check on me and see how my day was and then my whole day will be complete.