NaBloPoMo 2007

I've signed up to participate in NaBloPoMo '07, which requires me to post every single day for the entire month of November. If you've read here, you know I have a tendency to kind of forget about my ol' bloggy friend here and I go MIA for awhile.

If all goes as planned, you'll be seeing a whole lot of me for the next 30 days.

I figured I should set up some sort of 'format' to follow along with, otherwise I'll get writer's block and be staring at my computer screen until I go blind.

So, I've come up with a weekly calendar to follow and a brief explanation of what each day will be.

Menu Monday (A recipe of course! I will try to keep them to dishes I've already prepared, but I can be culinarily (is that a word?) challenged, so I may just post things I'd like to make)

True Confession Tuesday (Hold onto your hats, folks! Learn more things about me than you've ever liked to have known.)

Wisdom Wednesday (This will actually consist of the "Ponder This" category I have already been brainstorming about and will consist of a question that I'll answer, and expect your answers in my comments (hey, it's a two-way street you know, start spilling!)

Thankful Thursday (What a more perfect topic for the month of November, as we stroll along towards Thanksgiving)

Foto Friday (Pictures of course!)

Snarkalicious Saturday (A free-for-all of anything goes, from Ms. Snarky herself)

Stargazing Sunday (Daydreaming, desires, or maybe just a fictional tale.)

Black Friday

Where will you be the day after Thanksgiving?

I likely won't have the flexibility to take the day off work, so if I want to do any butt-crack of dawn shopping this year, I'll need to do it and then head off to the office so I can be there at 8am. I've done it that way before - being a die-hard shopper and all.

Whether or not I'll be dragging myself out of bed at 4am will all depend on the Black Friday ads this year.

I've already started my Christmas shopping, and I'm actually late with it this year. But I've started brainstorming and getting ideas on what to buy everyone, in hopes of having my shopping completed by December 1st.

So tell me .... will you be out bright and early bargain hunting? Or still hunkered down in your bed snoring blissfully?

Where's my pole?

Life is so unfair

I'm sure you all recall my post about my friend Katrina's friend, Dana, being murdered not too long ago, right?

Well, with deep and utter sadness that I write this ... Katrina's father passed away this morning.

All was normal this morning, and I was busy with the normal Monday routine at work when my cell phone bleeped that I had a text message. I flip open my phone and see that it's from Katrina, and I'm thinking she's just going to be sending a Monday Morning greeting. Until I open it and read these simple words:

"My dad died this a.m."

How can I just send a text message back to that? I immediately called her back, the tears already springing to my eyes and when I heard her voice, I lost it. The tears fell quickly, I could no longer hold them back. My heart was breaking apart for her, and I still feel an ache, knowing just what she must be going through right now.

I thought back to how unfair I thought it was that my husband at almost 30 lost his mother. How much more unfair that my good friend lost her father when she was just 28? I'm pretty sure her folks are younger than mine - maybe not by a tremendous amount, but my folks are not quite 60 yet. There's still a couple years until the big 6-0.

I feel helpless....like I should be doing something more for her. I told her how sorry I was, and that if she needed anything, to call me. I guess that's all I can do at this point, while she grieves with her family and helps to make the arrangements.

My heart is hurting.

Pumpkin Heads

Tonight was pumpkin carving night. The kids kept picking the 'challenging' stencils, and I had to decline. I'm not willing to have a throbbing arm for days just for pumpkin carving. It's fun and all, but not thatfun.

So, we settled on a ghost. Looks pretty good if I do say so myself. This year we also picked up a Mr. Potato Head set (or in this case, Mrs.) that you just stick into the pumpkin and viola! ... instead festive pumpkin, no guts necessary!

The Things Kids Say

So a few evenings ago we're sitting down and eating some leftover pizza for dinner.

Braeden reaches over to grab some of Grandpa's cheese (apparently when it's on someone else's plate it's different from what you have sitting in front of you).

The conversation goes something like this:

Grandpa: Hey! You've got your own cheese, leave mine alone!

Braeden: It's just cheese, Grandpa. Not the end of the world.

Yeah, much laughter proceeded that line.

What kind of ice cream flavor are you?

Hey man, that's about right! :)

What kind of cookie are you?