Thanksgiving Hodgepodge

Made it to answer Joyce's questions this week. I give thanks that every week she comes up with them and lets us play along.

1. Besides U.S. Thanksgiving, it's also National Game and Puzzle Week...what game have you played most recently, and who were you with? Have you worked a puzzle of any kind in the past week?

This is the puzzle I finished this weekend. I play Frozen on my ipad all the time (rather obsessively).

2. What is one place you were thankful for this year?
Maui. You can't argue with sunsets like these.

3. Take a nap, watch football, go for an after dinner walk, or hit the stores...which ONE is on your must-do list for Thanksgiving day? For those of you playing along who aren't in the US, answer as it relates to any big holiday meal.

I'm going for a before dinner walk by doing a 5K Thanksgiving morning.

4. Besides Thanksgiving, what's your favorite home cooked meal?

Ham with broccoli and scalloped potatoes.

5. What product from an infomercial would you most like to own?

Well I did own a topsy turvy tomato grower. It worked for awhile until I overwatered it. But it sure was heavy with all the dirt in it. You would never be able to just hang it from any overhang like in the infomercial.

6. Christmas shopping? Have you begun? Finished? Will you shop on Black Friday? How do you feel about stores opening on Thanksgiving Day? What percentage of your Christmas shopping is done online?

I've started all online. I've also bough the foster kids gifts that we adopt every year by going to a store. I avoid the Black Friday shopping or anything similar to it. Too many people. There is no need to open early because sales start way earlier than Thanksgiving now. I think it is just a sport to some people.

7. What are you most grateful for that adds beauty to your everyday life?

My hair. That sounds funny but coming from a family where the women have thinning hair when they get to be my age I don't take my full head for granted.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I hope to have all my decorating done by being off work for four days. I won't have any time for fun stuff for awhile so I must get it done.

A Cold Hodgepodge

Joyce was off last week moving her daughter back home before she goes and gets married and moves all the way across the country. She deserved a break. But she came back this week with more questions.

1. We celebrate Veteran's Day in the US of A on November 11th. When did you last interact with a member of the armed forces (either currently serving or retired)? Have you ever written a letter to a soldier, bought a meal or coffee for a solider, said an unprompted thank you to a soldier you encountered out and about somewhere? If you're not in the US, comment on a similar holiday in your own country.

I work with a few retired veterans but I never think of them that way. I appreciate what they've done for our country but I've never done anything like those listed.

2. You can have fifty pounds of anything at all (except money)...what would you choose?

I won a 10 pound chocolate bar once and that was way too much chocolate. Maybe 50 pounds of wine? I wouldn't need to buy any wine for at least a year.

3. When did you last receive an invitation in the 'real' mail? What was it for and did you attend? When it comes to RSVP-ing, are you an 'early responder' or a 'last minute, barely-under-the-wire' kind of guest?

I got a wedding invitation this summer. I don't like to wait until the last minute to RSVP. I should be able to make up my mind quickly if I can go to something or not.

4. What's something you really don't like to waste?

I hate to waste anything I paid for. LOL

5. Cheers, Friends, MASH, Seinfeld...of the ones listed, your favorite long-running sitcom?

Of those I was a huge MASH fan. It was a family event to watch it. I remember the final episode still (the highest rated single show ever). You know...before you could DVR it and watch on your own schedule.

6. What decision are you glad you made?

Going back and getting my masters degree. It definitely has propelled by career and helped expand my mind.

7. In this month of 'Thanksgiving' what is one thing that's different today than it was a year ago that you're grateful for?

I'm thankful that there is only one more time to pay tuition! Whitney's last semester starts next January and then she'll be a college graduate.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm joining up with Rebecca Jo on her winter reading challenge. I probably read 4-5 books a week on my kindle app so this will be great. Go check it out!

Friday Fragments

Time to join Mrs. 4444 for Friday Fragments.

This weekend is homecoming at Whitney's college and they are doing parent's day at her sorority. She's in charge so we'll be going up to see her. Plus we need to take her winter coat to her since next week the cold air is coming. She hoped she could wait until Thanksgiving for it but Mother Nature had other plans.

We will be stopping by the Christmas store on our way home to get some extra poinsettia flowers for our tree. We got them last year and need some more and that's the only place that had these specific ones. I'm also on the hunt for a new tree topper after our fiasco of last year and not having one at all the year before.

Today is my assistant's last day. The good news is I got my hiring freeze approved one week earlier than I thought so maybe I can get someone to start working in December. With the winter holiday here I thought it might be January before I could hire someone. Crossing my fingers.

I still haven't cooked my spaghetti or acorn squash. I keep meaning to and it just is too late when I get home. Last weekend didn't work because we had company. Good thing they last a long time.

Since when did tv series have fall finales? All the shows I'm watching are doing this. Is it another way to get people excited to wait over a month for a new show?

Stupid criminal was a guy who got arrested for burglary. It wasn't the fact he did it, it was the shirt he was wearing. A monopoly shirt with Go Directly to Jail all over the front of it. The police had to do what the shirt said, right?

Hawaii - Part 4

Boy my blogging about Hawaii is taking longer than the actual trip.

We left for Maui and it was quite an adventure. We took Island Air because their flights were cheapest. It was a propeller plane! And they were very serious about the weight of both your checked bag and carryon roller bag. After much moving of stuff we finally got the two bags right (we had to check both of them). Then getting a car turned out to be a production. We upgraded when we got there and had to have a car switched out. Just when I thought we were set, the helicopter place called and our flight was cancelled due to weather. We rescheduled for a couple of days later.

Driving to our condo was easy (it's an island after all). We were able to check in a little bit early and then get a late lunch. I was starving at that point so happy to find a little sandwich shop right at the condo. That place was so friendly. You could tell the locals liked to go to the bar there. A big group was watching Thursday night football which starts at 3 in Hawaii! Our condo was so nice. The view from the lanai was out of this world.

After unloading our luggage we decided to go grocery shopping. Boy are things more expensive there. But definitely cheaper than eating out all our meals. We got our first load in the elevator and that's when things went bad. We got stuck in the elevator! Like really stuck. We had to use the call button and then the power went out and we had no lights. No cell phone coverage. We were on the first floor so we didn't worry about the elevator dropping but it was hot. Like dripping water off of us. After 20 minutes someone came and started to try and open the doors but he didn't know how to do it. The maintenance guy was going to be another 45 minutes away. We were way to hot for this so I told them to call 911 and get the fire department to come. That took another 15 minutes. They were able to get the door open a bit and at least get some air circulating. They could squeeze a couple of water bottles through the door also. After 45 minutes stuck in the elevator, they were talked through how to cut the power to the door and it opened. Phew. Unfortunately we had missed sunset. They fire department was nice enough to help us carry up our groceries four flights. They checked Dan out because he was sweating so much but he was fine. By this time we were ready for a break so we just hung out in the condo the rest of the night.

More adventures to come!

Quick Catch Up

Just a quick little catch up on a rainy election day.

I voted on my way to work and there was a line. Normally the only time there is a line is for Presidential elections. So it was nice to see people there. I had done my research so was in and out in 10 minutes.

This weekend we took my mom out to brunch for her birthday on Sunday. It was very nice (lobster benedict for me) and then we went back to her apartment to move some furniture and Dan installed a towel bar. Simple things but when you are older you need some help.

Saturday we had company for the OU game. My friend brought chips and ranch dip. Oh my, I hadn't had that for a long time. I just kept standing in the kitchen eating chip after chip. I was glad when the first bag was empty...it made me stop.

Fall showed up finally. No more air conditioning!

I made the mistake of going grocery shopping later on Sunday. The lines were crazy. I came to find out while I was checking out that it was food stamp day and everyone who got it had huge baskets. I'll remember not to do that again.