No Mo' NaBloPoMo

Well kids, November has come to a chilly close.  As we get out all the Christmas decorations and have sugar plum dreams, we must say goodbye to National Blog Posting Month.  Courtney has a fine farewell to the challenge over HERE.  I certainly did NOT post something every day....shall we list some other things that I did NOT do every day?  Cook?  Check.  Shower?  Check.  Keep all kids happy all day? Check, check and check.  But, I did blog more than usual, so I'll give myself a small pat on the back.

This past weekend was a whirlwind of activity in our neck of the woods including: Hosting Thanksgiving for 16, hosting a post Thanksgiving dinner,  Jay's 20 year high school reunion (can you believe it?!?), and hanging out with visiting family!  I need a nap just typing all that...The kids have stayed up waaaay past their bedtime for the past week, as have I.  Jay and I are typically night owls, but I'll tell ya...I could use a 10 p.m. bedtime instead of 1 a.m. or later.

Enjoy some pictures of the weekend activities....

We had to flip flop the living room and dining room to have everyone sit together...Baby Trey was none too pleased about the switch and let us know his displeasure ALL DAY.

drink table...

Our wall of thanks....

Oh yeah....a birthday celebration for our soldier fresh out of boot camp!

As everyone left and the kids were barely hanging on by a thread....Bella emerges from the basement like this.  A girl is never too tired to dress for an occasion.

Yeah for a fun date night!!

The semi annual cousin picture...though we're missing 2 cousins because of school and hunting.

See you guys in December!

Happy Turkey Day!

Out With The Old....

I knew I needed new "gym" shoes when I started working out regularly...that was a year ago.  Plus, I cannot remember when I bought these shoes.  I think I may have moved into our house with them (gasp!) 11 years ago.  I don't know if it was spending the money that deterred me, or maybe it was because I LOVE my old beat up kicks (that's what the kids call them, right?)  They fit like feet gloves, even the shoelaces have a fabric version of muscle memory and tie the same way every time.  But alas, when Gorilla Tape is needed to hold the old deformed rubber together, and water seeps in through the soles (and not because of some newfangled design structure) it's time to retire them.  A different pair tried to replace these a few years ago, but after filling them with my blood (from blisters, not some weird shoe ritual), I decided they were not for me and went back to Old Faithful.

                                                            Goodbye Old...Hello New!!!
Does this mean I have to throw the old ones away? Say no, say no!!!  I could use them for something, right?

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire!!!

It's pretty well known that I have more than a few pet peeves in life, some more than others.  Right at the top of the list is the use of false time promises.  FTP is characterized by statements like "I'm running to the store and I'll be back in 5 minutes."  Really?  Will you?  5 minutes?  I'll time you and bet it takes you longer, pal.  "This will only take a minute."  What in life actually takes one minute?  Not even Minute Rice!!!  And the promise is IN THE NAME!  Ahhhh, but I digress....

This particular rant is brought to you by "Starting statements with a big fat lie".  I can think of three off the top of my head...feel free to add more.  Let's break it down, shall we?

1. "I love her to death..."  When I hear these words uttered, I cringe inwardly and admittedly sometimes outwardly.  The whole statement is first of all, a lie...What does that actually mean?  Does it mean that you love that person sooooo much that they could literally die from being crushed by your out pouring of love?  You loved them to death?  Or does it mean that you love them soooo much that you would die for them?  Either way, I pull the hyperbole card!  Secondly, when starting a sentence with that phrase inevitably means that your going to say something not so nice.  "I love her to death, but she needs to work on her writing skills!"  "I love him to death, but...."  If you really loved someone enough to kill them with affection or throw yourself in front of a train for them, should the natural follow up be an insult?  Hmmmm....

2.  "I'm not trying to be mean..."  If you have to preempt your next statement with an apology, you should probably think twice about what you're going to say.  I would love it if people were honest enough to say something like "I would like to say something nice right now, but I can't because of this glaring fault of yours that I need to point out.  Oh, don't mind the plank in my eye, just focus up here on my forehead.  Hopefully, we're in front of a large group of people who will back up my negative statement with phrases like 'Well, it is kinda true.' and 'It needed to be said.' to help me validate my need to come across as nice and not, in fact, mean.  Why are you crying?"

3. "I'm not trying to be racist or anything..."  Ugh!  This is the worst offender to me.  Really?  You're trying not to be racist?  Well, then let me stop you there and help you not reveal how racist you are.  Stop talking and say nothing negative about another race or culture. Do not incorporate some out dated stereotype in a comedic way to try to prove that "you're not the only one".  Do not mention any minority group that you might be a member of in order to garner the right to insult a different minority group.  Here is an actual conversation Jay had the pleasure of encountering the other day....
Two 8th grade girls that Jay knows were chatting as he walked by and heard: Sue's pretty thick for a Chinese girl.
Jay: Wait, what did you just say?
Girl: Oh, I'm not trying to be racist or anything.  But you know how all Chinese girls are skinny 'cause all they eat is rice.
Jay: Do you even know if Sue is Chinese?
Girl: Yeah.  She told me her grandparents are from Vietnam.
Jay: That's not Chinese.
Girl: Well, whatever...all those "ese's" are the same anyway.
Jay: Look, you're pretty smart right?
Girl: Well, yeah!
Jay: Annnnnd humble?
Girl: What's that mean?
Jay had to walk away lest his brain explode all over the girls or he laugh directly in the girls face.  You don't get gifts handed to you like that every day, people! 

I get it, I get it...with all of these statements, we're merely trying to soften the blow of what is coming next.  But, I think that might be my whole point.  Should we be saying things either directly to the person or behind their back that need to be softened?  So, maybe it's not the statements themselves, but the concept of speaking badly about someone...

If you and I are ever having a conversation and you use one the above "Starting statements with a big fat lie", I promise, I won't get mad or freak out.  It's more of an internal pet peeve thing, if you will.  Unless I know you well enough, then I'm just going to bury you into the ground.  And, if you ever hear me use one of the "SSWABFL", feel free to point it out blatantly.  Publicly even.

Can you think of any other "SSWABFL"?

It should also be noted that other pet peeves I have include: open cabinet doors, mouth breathing, and opening the bathroom door when I'm in the shower....

Better late than never....

For a SYTYCD recap...walk on tall cotton right on over to Crafty P's blog-o-fun!

Shhhhh....don't tell!

So this our couch baby.  Isn't he cute?  Actually, he's not a baby anymore...he's 11 years old. (In couch years, that's like 77)  And, if we're being technical, he's not a couch either.  He's a chair and a half.  When Jay and I started to build our furniture family, we didn't know what to expect.  Sure, we would have been happy with an average love seat and sofa set.  But, deep down, I think we were both hoping for something that we could label "special".  Conventional methods just didn't seem to be working in our favor, so we turned to an alternative source.  This End Up turned out to be that successful source, it was rich with pieces just waiting for a good home.  While Jay and I discussed the idea of bringing an over-sized couch and an unheard of chair and a half into our home, we felt encouraged by the sale price, the further discount for choosing a discontinued fabric and if we opened a store credit card....well, who knows when we would've stopped adding to our nest?

The new furniture fit right in!  They became very popular, very quickly.  Good ol' chair and a half has held years worth of friends, family, dogs, crumbs, spills, jumps, tackles and naps.  Sometimes he wouldn't even let pregnant women or elderly folk stand up.

Awww!  See how happy he is cradling Hannah, Liz and Ashley?  If only they knew the truth....

Under his tough exterior, this is what hides beneath....

Look, he's all torn up inside....

 

 

This would be a pile of staples that we can only assume are used to hold him together at the seams that fell out as we shook the old chair. 

This showcases his broken support beam....how much weight can he continue to bear?

The truth is, probably not too much more.  But, unless we win the lottery or the couch stork pays us a visit, we'll continue to cover him up.  Don't tell....

p.s. In a few months, Liz (in the pic above) will be one of those women that can't get out of the chair!  She's having a baby in June!!!!

Wordless Wednesday...