All Day Thursday we poured over the ads in the newspapers. We were on a mission. We had shopping to do bright and early the next morning.
"What? Are you crazy? It's not so bright since the sun doesn't come up until two whole hours after the stores open! What person in their right mind shops that early in the morning?"
These kind of crazy girls that don't get to see each other very often and want to have some wild and crazy fun together! Most years we are back before everyone at the house is awake. This year almost everyone was still asleep. Not only did we hit three stores but we had a nice sit-down breakfast at the local Cracker Barrel, the best breakfast in the area.
One of the funnest things about going shopping early is watching all the other people. There are always a few people that stand in line for a while and then go home. They are usually new to the experience and are not expecting the crowds that amass on Predawn Black Friday shopping. There are others that have a whole crew at their disposal. Several stand in line, while others get coffee/hot chocolate and donuts, and often they have walkie talkies so they can communicate with each other in the madness of the shopping crowds. No normal cell phone can be heard these morning except in the empty bathrooms.
This year we had a treat at Target, our favorite Black Friday store. There are always security guards but this year wehad a female who had obviously shopped on Black Friday before. As the late crowds started forming in the parking lots, hoping to walk in with the crowds that had been waiting for over an hour she let them have it. She would point her finger at the crowd and holler, "I'm watching you guys! You can't butt in line with these guys, you need to go to the back of the line!" She did this a few times, endearing her to the lines of people already waiting.
Then, just before the store opened, a regular police officer pulled into the Target parking lot and parked right in front of the entrance. Just before the store opened he got out and lounged in the lane, just daring people to cut in line.
Then the doors finally opened!!!! We all pushed forward, trying to get the people in front of us to move a little faster. The people in the parking lot started moving forward. Sister Homemaker & I yelled the normal "To the back of the line!" Sister Accountant, having lived in New York City for three years and another in Chicago, regressed to her big city days. "Copper, get your gun out! People are trying to butt in line!"
Finally, we were in the store! We had a game plan. Sister Accountant headed for the video games, Sister Homemaker headed for the toys, & I headed for domestics, I was in charge of acquiring several king size blankets. We were planning on meeting by the DVDs on sale at the front of the store but we found each other before then. Pregnant Sister Accountant said some man had tried to push her out of his way with his big old belly. Of course, she stood her ground and got what she needed. Sister Homemaker got all the toys she wanted with a few extra. I had found and gotten all the blankets we needed. Of course there were only brown and white in King size. Being practical, I got all brown. We all have children and I knew how long a white blanket would stay clean. At my house it would be in the washer more than on the sofa.
I mentioned I wanted to look at the movies until Sister Accountant pointed to the mass of people around the racks. I took one look at that and said "Let's go!" We were out of the store before 6:10. We are pretty proud of getting in and getting out. No wasted time here! Several years ago we were in line at Toys R Us. We knew exactly what we wanted, got it, and checked out. When we left the store we gleefully noted that not everyone in line was in the store yet! We always have a lot of fun and get a few things on a great deal every Black Friday.
11.30.2008
11.24.2008
Meatball Sandwiches
Last week Olaf made Meatball Sandwiches for dinner. This is a good dinner because 75% of the family likes this meal. Normally, it seems as though at least 25% of our family doesn't like what we're having for dinner. But this one is almost a winner.
As we're eating Olaf starts snickering. "What?" the kids ask.
"Reminds me of the Testicle Festival up in Montana," he replies as he snickers some more.
"What are testicles?" both the boys ask.
"I'll tell you after dinner," he answered.
But the boys couldn't wait and kept pestering. They even guessed a few ridiculous body parts like elbows, toes, ears, etc.
Finally I couldn't help myself. "They're your nuts!" I giggled.
"OOOHH!" and they both squeeze their legs together as tight as possible. I love watching men and boys cringe as they think of their nether regions!
Fast Forward to Friday morning at school. Baby's Best Friend and his Mom are presenting their country to the class, Italy. The presentation went pretty well, until Baby's mind starts thinking in boy circles.
He raises his hand and when called upon asks, "Do they have meatballs in Italy?"
If you had been a mouse in my kitchen several nights ago, you could only see one direction for this conversation to go, but no one else in class had heard our lovely dinner conversation.
"Yes, they do," replies the Mom.
Baby raises his hand again. Once again he is called on. "My Dad told me what meatballs are made out of," he proudly announces.
"We don't want to know what their made of," his teacher very quickly responds and then she steers the discussion in a different direction. She's obviously had that child of mine in her class too long!
Maybe we should start watching TV during dinner like most American families. This whole conversation thing is obviously overrated. It only gets us in trouble!
As we're eating Olaf starts snickering. "What?" the kids ask.
"Reminds me of the Testicle Festival up in Montana," he replies as he snickers some more.
"What are testicles?" both the boys ask.
"I'll tell you after dinner," he answered.
But the boys couldn't wait and kept pestering. They even guessed a few ridiculous body parts like elbows, toes, ears, etc.
Finally I couldn't help myself. "They're your nuts!" I giggled.
"OOOHH!" and they both squeeze their legs together as tight as possible. I love watching men and boys cringe as they think of their nether regions!
Fast Forward to Friday morning at school. Baby's Best Friend and his Mom are presenting their country to the class, Italy. The presentation went pretty well, until Baby's mind starts thinking in boy circles.
He raises his hand and when called upon asks, "Do they have meatballs in Italy?"
If you had been a mouse in my kitchen several nights ago, you could only see one direction for this conversation to go, but no one else in class had heard our lovely dinner conversation.
"Yes, they do," replies the Mom.
Baby raises his hand again. Once again he is called on. "My Dad told me what meatballs are made out of," he proudly announces.
"We don't want to know what their made of," his teacher very quickly responds and then she steers the discussion in a different direction. She's obviously had that child of mine in her class too long!
Maybe we should start watching TV during dinner like most American families. This whole conversation thing is obviously overrated. It only gets us in trouble!
11.22.2008
The Hysteria
Over a week ago a good friend of mine bought me a ticket to see the long-awaited-for-by-girls-of-all-ages movie Twilight. I use the term ‘girls’ loosely in regards to this movie. There were plenty of grown women just as excited as their teenage counterparts, even wearing the movie-sanctioned t-shirt.
Then, last week another good friend brought the book over for me to read and tried to get me to go with a bunch of women from our neighborhood that were attending the midnight showing Thursday night/Friday morning. I laughed and declined, claiming if I didn’t do that for the Bond movie there was no way I was missing sleep for a different movie.
I read the book during the week. It was easy reading, I think my seven-year-old could read the book. He’d hate it, but he would be able to read it without a problem. I only made it to page 312 before I saw the movie, but then I didn’t dedicate much time to reading, maybe three hours worth during the week. I was a little surprised at how popular these books have become. The writing was quite poor for a book of this acclaim. The reading was somewhat entertaining, if you’re into romance, which I’m not so much. I enjoy a romance in the book, but not as the whole story. And at 312 pages there had been nothing but romance! I didn’t quite see what they could put in the movie and was really beginning to dread it.
Friday night I headed to the theater amid hundreds of screaming fans. We sat near the front and I watched the movie. It was actually pretty good. They used the last 180 pages that I hadn’t read as the main story line. While it didn’t ruin the book, which I finished last night to see how it differed, it was enjoyable.
But the best part was all the girls and women squealing during the movie! It felt like a concert full of teenage girls with their favorite rock star. Every time someone new came on the screen there were squeals of delight heard throughout the audience. I wasn’t quite prepared for the hyperness of the grown women! I guess love makes people feel young.
Then, last week another good friend brought the book over for me to read and tried to get me to go with a bunch of women from our neighborhood that were attending the midnight showing Thursday night/Friday morning. I laughed and declined, claiming if I didn’t do that for the Bond movie there was no way I was missing sleep for a different movie.
I read the book during the week. It was easy reading, I think my seven-year-old could read the book. He’d hate it, but he would be able to read it without a problem. I only made it to page 312 before I saw the movie, but then I didn’t dedicate much time to reading, maybe three hours worth during the week. I was a little surprised at how popular these books have become. The writing was quite poor for a book of this acclaim. The reading was somewhat entertaining, if you’re into romance, which I’m not so much. I enjoy a romance in the book, but not as the whole story. And at 312 pages there had been nothing but romance! I didn’t quite see what they could put in the movie and was really beginning to dread it.
Friday night I headed to the theater amid hundreds of screaming fans. We sat near the front and I watched the movie. It was actually pretty good. They used the last 180 pages that I hadn’t read as the main story line. While it didn’t ruin the book, which I finished last night to see how it differed, it was enjoyable.
But the best part was all the girls and women squealing during the movie! It felt like a concert full of teenage girls with their favorite rock star. Every time someone new came on the screen there were squeals of delight heard throughout the audience. I wasn’t quite prepared for the hyperness of the grown women! I guess love makes people feel young.
11.19.2008
Sun
I just barely got my sunglasses back from the optical shop and the sun decides to hide behind the mountains until after I get to work and it disappears on the other side just before I leave! That dang sun makes it hard to show off my stylish new specs. And to make matters worse it will be like this for at least two months. The winter solstice this year is December 21, 2008 at 7:04 am eastern standard time. It will take at least another month to get to this same length of day.
Whenever I get sad about the shortness of days I try to count my blessings. I'm glad I don't live in Alaska where the days are MUCH shorter. And on the flip side, how do you ever go to sleep at night while it's still light outside? When I was in England the sun came up around 4 or 5 in the morning. We had no problem getting up at 6:30 in order to get an early start on sightseeing.
I'm also glad I live in the Northern Hemisphere. It would be so unseasonable to have Christmas in the middle of Summer. I may not love the cold but it doesn't seem right if Christmas doesn't have some snow. I remember reading an article that said even in South America Christmas cards had snowy pictures on them, imitating the north!
I must stay positive as we hit this time of year. I must not succumb to the depression that sets in so readily as the days shorten and shrink. I will come out of this winter happy and alive!
Whenever I get sad about the shortness of days I try to count my blessings. I'm glad I don't live in Alaska where the days are MUCH shorter. And on the flip side, how do you ever go to sleep at night while it's still light outside? When I was in England the sun came up around 4 or 5 in the morning. We had no problem getting up at 6:30 in order to get an early start on sightseeing.
I'm also glad I live in the Northern Hemisphere. It would be so unseasonable to have Christmas in the middle of Summer. I may not love the cold but it doesn't seem right if Christmas doesn't have some snow. I remember reading an article that said even in South America Christmas cards had snowy pictures on them, imitating the north!
I must stay positive as we hit this time of year. I must not succumb to the depression that sets in so readily as the days shorten and shrink. I will come out of this winter happy and alive!
11.15.2008
Fielding the New Territory
I've been having lots of different kinds of thoughts lately and I was beginning to think I was going a little crazy. I've only known one person close to me that has died and that was a long time ago. I really didn't know what was normal. And, yes I know, nothing is normal about grieving. But I was worried and confused about how I was feeling. Olaf, being the considerate husband he is, made an appointment with a counselor so we could talk about things. He told me "It went against every man bone in my body."
We had absolutely no idea what to expect. Olaf works with a bunch of therapists and considers most of it pointless and useless. But he wanted to make me happy. We both went together and were kind of a little worried about talking to a stranger about personal feelings, but I at least knew I needed to talk to someone about how I was feeling.
We were pleasantly surprised by this visit. It was very helpful. I was worried about different things than Olaf and he had no idea I was worried about the things I was concerned about. For one, I was worried that I wasn't sad enough or crying enough (I'm not much of a crier to begin with) or depressed enough. I would catch myself having fun and joking around and then I would question myself "How can you be happy at all? How can you laugh?" I was also concerned that I wasn't caught up with any guilt that I should have been a better Mother. But once again I don't believe in the "Mother Guilt Syndrome" that plagues our nation. I think it puts way too much pressure on people and I just don't need that in my life. But I was worried because it's glorified to lay in bed for weeks and bemoan the fact that we're not better people and always feel guilty for not doing something differently. Olaf had no idea I thought these things and I informed him they're Woman Worries, definitely not Man Thoughts.
The therapist told me that it was good I was not caught up in the "Mother Guilt Syndrome" because it's not healthy. He said it's healthy for me to be happy and laugh and joke around. He reassured me that I'm dealing with Calvin's untimely death in a very healthy manner. I will still have days when I wish the world would cave in on me, but not every day anymore. When we left I felt like I had a new lease on life, I WAS allowed to be happy again. I didn't know if I'd ever get to that point again but it's finally come and I don't want to be depressed all the time. That doesn't mean I won't be depressed some days but I get to be happy most of the time. That knowledge alone made me happy.
We had absolutely no idea what to expect. Olaf works with a bunch of therapists and considers most of it pointless and useless. But he wanted to make me happy. We both went together and were kind of a little worried about talking to a stranger about personal feelings, but I at least knew I needed to talk to someone about how I was feeling.
We were pleasantly surprised by this visit. It was very helpful. I was worried about different things than Olaf and he had no idea I was worried about the things I was concerned about. For one, I was worried that I wasn't sad enough or crying enough (I'm not much of a crier to begin with) or depressed enough. I would catch myself having fun and joking around and then I would question myself "How can you be happy at all? How can you laugh?" I was also concerned that I wasn't caught up with any guilt that I should have been a better Mother. But once again I don't believe in the "Mother Guilt Syndrome" that plagues our nation. I think it puts way too much pressure on people and I just don't need that in my life. But I was worried because it's glorified to lay in bed for weeks and bemoan the fact that we're not better people and always feel guilty for not doing something differently. Olaf had no idea I thought these things and I informed him they're Woman Worries, definitely not Man Thoughts.
The therapist told me that it was good I was not caught up in the "Mother Guilt Syndrome" because it's not healthy. He said it's healthy for me to be happy and laugh and joke around. He reassured me that I'm dealing with Calvin's untimely death in a very healthy manner. I will still have days when I wish the world would cave in on me, but not every day anymore. When we left I felt like I had a new lease on life, I WAS allowed to be happy again. I didn't know if I'd ever get to that point again but it's finally come and I don't want to be depressed all the time. That doesn't mean I won't be depressed some days but I get to be happy most of the time. That knowledge alone made me happy.
11.14.2008
11.13.2008
WoW, It's Late!
Last night as Olaf was sending Middle Child to bed he said several times "Midnight comes really soon!"
Huh? Midnight always comes at midnight and since we're usually sleeping, especially the children, why do we care?
Little did I know that Olaf had promised Middle Child that he would come and wake him up before Midnight, the magical hour, and whisk him off to WalMart to purchase the new World of Warcraft (WoW) extension!
As I went to bed, Olaf crawled in next to me. I asked "Is this a good idea? You have to get up soon!" But I felt him get up sometime later and since Middle Child said they were at the store on time, I know it was before midnight. Middle Child was tickled pink to get the new game. Of course he hasn't played it yet, but he knows it's there!
Huh? Midnight always comes at midnight and since we're usually sleeping, especially the children, why do we care?
Little did I know that Olaf had promised Middle Child that he would come and wake him up before Midnight, the magical hour, and whisk him off to WalMart to purchase the new World of Warcraft (WoW) extension!
As I went to bed, Olaf crawled in next to me. I asked "Is this a good idea? You have to get up soon!" But I felt him get up sometime later and since Middle Child said they were at the store on time, I know it was before midnight. Middle Child was tickled pink to get the new game. Of course he hasn't played it yet, but he knows it's there!
11.11.2008
Baby Owns This
Baby came home from school a couple of weeks ago and PROUDLY announced:
"I am the second-shortest kid in the class!"
Baby got back from Basketball tonight:
"I made two baskets! But I'm still afraid of the ball. I'm afraid of the soccer ball too. But I'm not afraid of the football!"
Randomly:
"I LOVE Froggy!" and he takes him places all the time.
And all the time:
"I Love Star Wars! I wish I could be Commander Cody!"
The child is all about the fun things in life. We should all take a lesson and be proud of all our accomplishments.
"I am the second-shortest kid in the class!"
Baby got back from Basketball tonight:
"I made two baskets! But I'm still afraid of the ball. I'm afraid of the soccer ball too. But I'm not afraid of the football!"
Randomly:
"I LOVE Froggy!" and he takes him places all the time.
And all the time:
"I Love Star Wars! I wish I could be Commander Cody!"
The child is all about the fun things in life. We should all take a lesson and be proud of all our accomplishments.
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