Weekend in review

Was this not the most amazing 4 day weekend ever (ok, maybe 5 in my case but really I didn't wanna rub it in!). I can't beleive it's over and it's back to work tomorrow.

Thanksgiving was amazing, it was pretty lowkey - we ended up having my sister in law and brother in law over & laughing the night away. Whether is was over my sad attempt at homemade apple pie or the "spicy" pumpkin pie I tried to pass off - we really had a great time. Every year, I get super stressed around the holidays and I always say "Next year, I'm not doing it again - we are eating out!" But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way! I love Thanksgiving & being with the family, truly there is nothing better & to think next year at this time littel Ian will be with us!

Friday instead of partaking in the craziness that is black friday, me and my sister-in law went on a babies r us run and then stopped at this local japanese store for her hubby's "shin bowel" soup. We were horrified to find, amongst the packages of spicy ramen soup - cow tongue, a pig's heart & chicken feet (toenails still attached!) - I mean, do people really eat that stuff??? And seriously, who eats heart? Ehhh.....I don't think she'll be going back there. Me - I love it because they have the BEST produce in our area, but I think I'll stay away from the tongue and heart.

Next we stopped at this new book store that's up the street from our house that opened about a month ago and we have been eyeing ever since. From the sign outside they said they had "new and used books" - so we decided to check it out. Unfortunately we didn't really find too many (or any at all) new books - but I walked out with 4 paperbacks (Bling, Lipstick Jungle, Running with Scissors & Julie and Julia) and 3 hardbacks (Second Chances, White Oleander & A Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing) for $21! What a steal! I can't wait to dig into them.

Last night the H and I watched Hancock (loved it, love Will Smith and Charlize Theron - if gay marriage was legal in PA I would have married her a long time ago, andwell we can't forget Jason Bateman?? Such a cutie!) and then The Strangers with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman (who will always be Ben to me). The movie sucked. Don't waste your $3.99 (luckily we rented for $1 so it wasn't a huge loss!). It actually started off ok, scary as hell but then, it just went nowhere. Very disaapointing. This morning the SIL and I headed up to Babies R Us again (we love that freaking store!!) and then I headed over to one of my BF's to babysit her 4 (!!) kids this afternoon. They are adorable, but my GOD are they a handful. She has 3 girls (13, 8, 3) and 1 boy (5). They are bonkers, but they make it for it in cuteness. Here's a shot of her two little ones:

After I made them dinner tonight, I gave them a snack of grapes - washed them off and put em in a bowel. Her little guy starts picking them off the branches & I said "Oh I forgot to take them off for you huh?" He goes "Yeah, my mom always does that - she knows a lot of stuff!" Haha! Perfect. Later on in the night he was being unruly, not really listening & her little girl says to him "You better be nice, K - B is MY BESTEST FRIEND!!!!!" Screaming in her cute little voice. When my friend and her husband came home the kids went running to them & said "can't you and dad go to dinner so B can stay and watch us some more???" If that's what it's like having kids I think I'm gonna be such a pushover!! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving & enjoyed a little time off this weekend. Here's to 3 more weeks until Christmas break - let the countdown begin!!!

Thankful - Survey Edition

Unfortunately, there's not too much going on right now - so I'll leave you with this fun survey - hope everyone has a happy thanksgiving!!!!


*Where will you be eating this Thanksgiving? At my house with my sister and brother in-law and two kids..... the h and I are cooking, or radther he's cooking and I'll be watching.

*Will you be watching a game this Thanksgiving? I won't but I'm sure the boys will - after all dinner is pretty much being planned around the game

*How long will you spend eating your thanksgiving meal? Definitely not as long as it'll take to prepare it - maybe a half an hour to fourty five minutes - dessert not included

*Are you worried about putting on weight this Thanksgiving? Ummm, not really. Isn't that what the holidays are all about?

*What do you normally eat at Thanksgiving? Turkey, stuffing, potatoes - you know the usual

*What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? Stuffing or Pumpkin Pie

*What will you be thankful for this Thanksgiving? My family

*Do you give cards or presents at Thanksgiving? Not usually

*Are you planning on going shopping the day after Thanksgiving? Not for Christmas gifts, if anything I might hit a few stores just to see what's out there, but I will not be one of those crazy people in line @ 4 am waiting to get into the mall. No, thanks!

*Will you be waking up early to hit the sales? Definitely not!

Seriously???

I mean, are you kidding me People? Hugh Jackman - sexiest man alive? Oye. I'm not saying he's not handsome, because he is but sexy? I just don't know. Two years in a row you have gotten wrong, all wrong! Last year Mario Lopez - was a stretch - I just don't get the attraction to him - maybe it's because of the whole cheating on his wife bit while they were on their honeymoon that makes him so skeevy in my eyes, but really he does nothing for me.

I think this year we had much better guys to choose from - I mean really the choices were endless - for example:

David Beckham, for starters - holy armani ad. I mean, ladies - you gotta give it to the guy, he's ridiculously hot. Plus he seems like a doting dad and a great husband & really - what's not attractive about that?

Ed Westwick - unbeleivable hot. Smoldering as Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl - which is my little guilty pleasure. He's like 23, which (I can't believe I'm saying it but it's pretty young!) but he's british - that has to make up for it a little bit.

Gerard Butler. Because if you're a girl you saw PS I love you & fell in love with his witty sense of humor and Irish charm.Last but not least - the only reason I'm still watching Grey's Anatomy is because of this guy, Eric Dane aka "McSteamy". I mean, you all remember the towel scene right? Hotness personified. The voice, the body - geez even the grey hair - so sexy!

So tell me were you ladies as disapointed as I was? Who's your pick for sexiest man alive? One of these guys? Someone different? Do share!!!

Nerves

Yep - they're getting the best of me. All this unemployment talk, and economy crap has me feeling a little overwhelmed. Am I the only one?? I mean, really - I didn't think much of it a few weeks ago - call me naive and young and stupid, whatever you will but I assumed things would get better. Instead, I hear this weekend DHL is laying off 9500 workers and GM & Ford are in bigger trouble than ever - this after Macy's reports they are down $44m last quarter.
These are scary times. I worry what if something happens to my job, what we will do? How will we make it? I don't know, but I wish I had all the answers.

You know what I do when I get stressed? I bake & I shop. Not neccessarily together in that order, but you know what I mean. Tonight - I made these beauties.



They are from a Paula (Hi YA'LL) Deen recipe that I doctored up a little. Chocolate Cake cookies. Mix together a box of chocolate cake mix (dry)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick of butter

Roll cookies in a ball and dip in powdered sugar. I added a bag of reese's peanut chips, because seriously everything is better w/PB. Bake @ 325 for around 10 minutes. They are ridiculously good. I think I'm gonna make em for my cookie swap!

Five

It’s so true what they say ya know. “As soon as your realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” I waited for my now husband, for too many years to ask me to marry him. When he finally did, I couldn’t make plans fast enough for us to get married. He proposed on Tuesday November 4th 2003. We were married exactly ten days later on Friday November 14th, 2003. My dress was a long white prom dress w/spaghetti straps picked up from (wait for this, are you ready……) Fashion Bug. It fit me perfectly, and the moment I saw it I knew it was my dress. I borrowed my jewelry, shoes and hair pins from three of my very best friends.
We got married at our local courthouse & I remember crying all the way there – blasting Bon Jovi’s “Bed of Roses” - because you know if there's any man I love as much or close to my husband it's Jon. Looking back now, I realize I was such an emotional mess not so much because I was scared, but because I was happy - so incredibly happy to be spending the rest of my life with him.
Marriage hasn't been easy, we've had tough times & dealt with things that no one should ever have to deal with but we've done it together & I couldn't imagine my life without him. It's an amazing feeling to have love and be loved & to know that no matter what happens, you always have someone in your corner cheering you on. So here's to the last five years, with hopes of many, many more to come. Happy Anniversary, Captain. I love you!!

Should've said no

I have a friend, a really, great friend - who is having an affair with a married man.
My friend found out after they ya know, did the deed. He didn't tell her willingly but instead waited for her to ask. Of course he says all the right things including the fact that him and his wife "are leading separate lives" and that he's never felt this way about another woman.
He's pretty smooth actually - which makes him even more of a creep.

What I don't understand is if they're leading separate lives why does he have to sneak around? Why can he only call my friend on the weekends or late at night - when he wants a booty call?
And seriously, what happened to the sanctity of marriage? I have a lot of friends, who I know have cheated or are currently cheating on their husbands or wives.....it just makes me feel like isn't anything sacred anymore? Did the vows that they took not mean anything? I'm married. I cannot imagine my husband sleeping with another woman. I can't even think about it to be honest.

She has so many excuses on why she keeps seeing this guy. She says the sex is fantastic & she wants to use him just like he's using her. I can't help but to feel like my friend is selling herself really, really short - playing second fiddle to a wife and a family just isn't a good idea. She's such a beautiful girl, with a great career & a great sense of humor.
Sadly, someones going to get hurt & I'd put money on it that it's not going to be him - it's going to be her. What to do? Do I tell her I think she's making a mistake? Do I wait for it to backfire in her face & comfort her when she needs it? I just don't know.

Truly Amazing

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.
But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand." President Elect Barack Obama.

Finally!!!

The shower for my sister in law was yesterday. Thank GOD everything went off without a hitch, because I was a nervous wreck all weekend. I just wanted everything to be perfect for her & it was.

We went with this whole choo choo theme w/the stars - blue & white. Simple, but cute.

Her cake - what a beauty!!!! Thanks Michelle!

Mom and Dad!!!

I think she might have been ready to kill us :)

The best idea - EVER!!!

Go PHILS! Ian's gonna love baseball whether he likes it or not :)

I know I promised D - but I couldn't help it!! Love the overalls!

Mama w/the Aunts - our first nephew, we are so excited????!!!

My favoritist girls!!! Dannielle & Michelle. Baby making machines :)

One of my favorite pictures, Gram. She is 90 - can you beleive it??? She makes me nuts but I love her so much!!

The day was perfect, we had a lot of people which I was really happy for - mom & dad got SO much stuff & they are pretty much set for the little guy to arrive. Two more months, I don't know if I can contain myself that long - I feel like a kid at Christmastime waiting for him to get here.

D - I love you & tommy more than I can put into words, you inspire me everyday with your strength & courage and the love that the two of you have for each other. You've given me something that I never thought I would have - a real family. I am so proud to call you my sister, but importantly my friend. I love you.

And now I'm crying, k - thanks. Goodnight.

Saturday Musings

I had all intentions of getting up early today, to get a head start on the weekend and get some things done that I've been putting off (like cleaning my bathroom and doing laundry!). But when the alarm went off at 5:30 and it was still dark outside (which really, really sucks) I decided ehh....bathroom and laundry can wait - I need sleep. You know how sometimes when you do that it's worse - it makes you feel worse? Yeah, well that was my morning. So I got a late start, and guess what didn't get done? Yep - all my house stuff. But I did manage to do some last minute shopping for my SIL'S shower, which is tomorrow (Dear God, Help ME!).

Got my nails and hair done & think I am in love w/my new hairdresser. Girls, you know how hard it is to find a good hairdresser - well I think I found her. She did an amazing job on my hair & I think I will going back to her in the future.

Tonight, the hubby and I are having a date night - he's cooking his most famous Tyler Florence burgers (seriously they are to die for) and potato wedges - then I think we are going to settle in and watch a movie. Hmmmm Iron Man or 88 minutes??