Fakesgiving…

This year we opted out of the traditional Thanksgiving, to celebrate the life and loved ones we are thankful for while Lucas was home on R & R, from Afghanistan. We had some friends (who are basically family) over and Lucas’s girlfriend flew out from Michigan. 
It was, overall, really lovely. Good food, good conversation, lots of laughter and smiles. 
After our shared meal and stuffed bellies were ready, we shoved dessert in our mouths and headed for the movies. 
Wreck It Ralph was our destination and it was well loved by our group!
You know me, typically I have food photos and face photos… 
sadly, this was as far as I got. I took three pre-celebratory shots and my back spasmed to a point that my mind forgot to focus on capturing anything else. 
So sorry… 
You’ll have to take it from me- it was really a great fake holiday…

And the gratitude was completely genuine. I am so blessed… 

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The stuff on my election day mind…

It’s nearly midnight on what many feel to be the night before the most important day of the year… 
Things weigh heavily upon what will happen tomorrow, at the polls. 
I wanted to take a moment to talk about the things that are on my mind lately… 
Like, for instance… This- 

 Are you a watcher?
If not, you are really missing out. Yes, it’s a little gory… But it is not scary and it is just so incredibly well written… And Sunday’s episode. Oh. My. Gosh.
I now have PTSD…

On to brighter topics…
Have you used these?

 I am OBSESSED!
I Love these! I have one of each and think they are amazing. My best friend Deb got me hooked on them, and I have spread the joy to several friends. In fact, I got my mom completely addicted to them while we were in New Mexico. (and Shh… Don’t tell anyone, but Chw LOVES them too.)

Since I was lucky enough to make an autumnal trip to trader joe’s when I was in Phoenix, I stumbled upon this.
Holy freaking deliciousness…

 Yum.
Seriously… there is nothing else.

Speaking of chai…

 Wish this soap was going to be an all around scent because it’s wonderful… (as is the autumnal pear dish soap.)

This was a gift given to us some months ago, and oh my goodness…

It’s incredible… INCREDIBLE. 
I was a skeptic, but now I’m a fan… Do you have one? I totally need to know what type of flavor to make next! 
Now, pardon me while I go vote… 
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Eleven…

Me– 
– recovering from this back injury and getting to a whole point where I can be active again.
– trying not to take the ability to do simple things like cook dinner and fold laundry, for granted again.

Reading
– My manuscript (for editing purposes, when my son isn’t home.) 
Watching
– the Walking Dead.
– Christmas movies 
Us
– spending time with Lucas!!!
– Meeting his girlfriend, who is flying in from the Midwest.
– having a lovely Thanksgiving while Lucas is home on R & R.
– Lucas really is our main November focus/priority and we aren’t thinking much beyond the time he is home because we want it to last forever… 
Heart
– Getting back into a disciplined quiet time with God. (it’s amazing how quickly I get out of that habit. Hate it.) 
Create
– Finish a few Christmas gifts that we have going on.
– some sort of a sofa table.
– a wall collage.
– a few photo sessions.
– Christmas cards. 
Home
– Finishing up the family room.
– adorning home for the holidays. 
Health
– Back care.
– Water.
– Stretching.
– destressing. 
Love– 
– a date would be lovely. I’ll work on that.
– Devotions together.

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the not-so-incredible…

I guess 36 is a little too old to sit in a car for close to ten hours and not move. Weird right? 
Apparently I thought I could just hop out of that car, at the end of the trip and go about my normal agenda… 
In all fairness, the reason I attempted not to move was because I was on day four of a killer migraine and hadn’t slept in equally as long. Suddenly, in the car, I couldn’t stay away and when I did wake up, (at opportune times to get out and stretch) my head was pounding so hard that I chose to continue trying to sleep and killing the headache. 
SOMEONE should have smacked some sense into me… 
Aside from the headache, which continue to wreak havoc, I was pretty ok UNTIL I got into my husband’s tiny little hybrid (Which is what we made our ginormous long road trip to NM (and back) in. Now, it appears something as harmless as simply sitting in that seat again, after a few days out of it, has thrown my back out. 
It’s ridiculous. 
It’s ludicrous. 
It’s one hundred percent true. 
It has been one heck of a hard week, (and is exactly why I don’t have photos up yet of this) but the good news is that my chiropractor will be back in the office tomorrow, after a long trip over seas… 
so maybe this is pretty incredible after all! 
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Something incredible happened…

Chw and I are just an average couple. I am sure I could gather ya’ll in a circle and tell you any old story and you fellow wives (or husbands?) would sit back nodding, saying your mmmhmms, because you’ve likely been there… 
So when I tell you (for the hundred millionth, bazillionth time) that i love to decorate, most of you will totally understand. 
What I have been slow to mention here is the great sadness that our beautiful, wonderful and amazing daughter Amanda moved to the midwestern part of our United States last week- (*insert moment of sad silence here*). 
Something else I have (i think) been slow to mention is that I am unbelievably behind on editing my novel for publication because it is a freaking oven, in my office, at any point past ten in the morning… 
So, recap: 
– love to decorate. 
– Amanda (frown) moved away. 
– office=inferno roughly 19 hours a day. 
Surely you see where I’m going with this… Wednesday evening the husband says to me, “Wife, what do you want to do with Amanda’s depressingly empty room?” He left a cushion moment for tears and sobbing (from me) and then continued with “I think we should move your office downstairs.” 
DING DING… 
I consoled myself with thoughts on decor that wouldn’t cost a dime. (I am pretty skilled like that.) And then we came to the crashing realization that my black, grey and yellow office EVERYTHING wasn’t going to fit in with her denim colored walls AT ALL… And you know what- that wouldn’t be a huge deal except- well, except I am petty about dumb, shallow things like that and it would drive me crazy… PLUS, as a writer, I need a good, creative and harmonious space. So yeah… It was replace office EVERYTHING, or paint. 
For $12 he bought a beautiful can of paint. 
Here’s where the incredible starts to surface… 
You see, my man, he is an AMAZING man. He is a GREAT man. He is a hard worker and super perfectionist extraordinaire… 
My man is also a wee bit of a procrastinator. 
The biggest thing he puts off (for eternities of time) is painting… 
Point 2: My dear, sweet husband NEVER likes the paint colors i choose, until they are on the wall. Then, he loves them… But before, i hear all about how horrible they are going to look and what an apocalyptic nightmare this is going to be… 
My office is painted. {Woo Hoo!!!} 
It’s a shade pretty close to Almost Black. I thought he’d have a heart attack when I suggested it, via paint chip, and slowly psyched myself for CPR. 
But it’s done. it’s almost black… And true to form- he LOVES it… 
What incredible sorts of somethings did your weekend hold? 
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