Good Day: Photo #215

1.  Got very good medical test results news from Dad. 

2.  Made another cupcake cake.

3.  Celebrated the best Mom ever’s  birthday with the family.

A good day 🙂

Old Habits: Photo #214

He looks sweet and innocent here, but don’t let him fool you. 

 

I’m going to savor the tree as it looks in this photo- because I have a feeling it won’t last long.

 

The tree has been trimmed for less than one full day and Einstein has already reverted back to his old habits from last year.  He knocks the ornaments down for Zipper to play with and then kill.  I think she must have worked out a deal with him – she gives him some of her kibble in exchange for supplying her with victims.

Christmas Nest: Photo #213

Shopping for this year’s tree, we saw this one and realized that it had an old bird’s nest hiding in the inner branches.  We thought that was a good sign and almost picked it as our tree.  But then we remembered the cats.  And decided that maybe it wouldn’t be such a good thing to have bird scents emanating from the already enticing tree in the middle of the living room.  So we picked a different one – a jolly, fat tree we’ve named Chester.  Pictures of him tomorrow.

Black Friday: Photo #212

My emotions spilled out today all over everything.  I was still out-of-town, visiting family, in a house-full of 20 people when I lost it and melted down.  The normal stress of the holiday combined with my grief over how different I thought things would be for me this Thanksgiving washed over my brain and I couldn’t stop it.  It was sort of a bad dream scenario for me – like when you are little and throw up all over the floor of your classroom.  You know that you didn’t do it on purpose and it was caused by something you can’t control, but you can’t help but be embarrassed, and you have to go home in shame and sleep it off.  So Randy and I came home early, dropped by the kennel to pick up a very grateful Zipper, and spent the evening snuggling on the couch, watching Elf, and decompressing.  I was glad to be home, in private, where I could contemplate how I got here.  I never wanted to be this person.  I can’t believe I failed Thanksgiving.  I was contemplating all these things when….  

… GIANT RANDY showed up to try and  lift my spirits a little.  It worked.

Tanksgiving: Photo #211

My extended family has grown big enough to need three separate tables for dinner, and the table where Randy and I sat came complete with entertainment.  This little spider ran laps around the candle for the entire meal.  We were mesmerized and couldn’t take our eyes off him.  Stuffing and sweet potatoes, good conversation with family, and a dinner show – what more could you want from Thanksgiving?

Misplaced Anticipation: Photo #210

She doesn’t yet realize that she is on her way to the kennel – not over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s house with us…

Got Served: Photo #209

In case you are keeping score, I found out today that Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken serves actual honey, not honey sauce.

Dinner in Bed: Photo #208

Randy strained or pulled something in his back 😦 so he decided to spend the day in bed to give it time to rest and heal.  Tonight was dinner-in-bed night.  We used to do this all the time back when I was recovering from all my surgeries in 2004 but we hadn’t really done it since then.  We even let the kitties join the party.  So cozy.  So perfect.

Spelling Fails: Photo #207

I’ll be the first to admit that my spelling is not always top-notch and that I’d be up a creek without spell-check (and sometimes even with it).  So it seems hypocritical that I get so much glee from noticing spelling mistakes made by professionals.  So I was amused when I saw this package of peanut brittle at the grocery store today:

And then I was positively giddy when I got home and opened up this coupon mailer and saw Panera’s offer. 

 I think I may always call them ‘bogels’ from now on.  Or maybe I’ll go and redeem my coupon and then voice my disappointment: “awww – these look just like bagels – I thought I was getting bogles!”

Crafty Supermarket: Photo #206

Today was the Crafty Supermarket and it was a bigger success than anyone involved could have imagined.  More than 1000 people came out to shop from the 19 indie craft vendors.  There was a line around the block to get in when we opened, and there was rarely a time when we didn’t have people at our booth.  I sold: a knitted baby hat, a flannel receiving blanket, three tote bags, an embroidered t-shirt, and two reusable party banners.  It was so gratifying to see people really liking my work – a good self-esteem boost during a long stretch when mine has been lacking, and also inspiring to see the awesome work of others.  Thanks to Chris of The Boiled Peanut and Fabricate for arranging our participation!