Thanksgiving & Black Friday

Well, Thanksgiving is over and it was pretty tasty here!!! Ya just gotta love the turkey and the super yummy gravy...we had different kind of stuffing this year and it was ok. We had LOTS of potatoes...and I do mean LOTS!! I keep telling everyone that we need a smaller turkey and yet every year we end up with quite a few left overs...which in a normal year isn't all that bad. This year though it was a little bit bad. My mom, dad, sister, and her fiancee are leaving town to go and go on a cruise.

Black Friday was just stupid crazy. There were so many cars parked at the Walmart store that you could almost stroll into the other stores...

You had to HUNT and HUNT for a parking spot and when my mom and I finally got into Walmart the line to check out was at least a 45 min wait cause the lines went all the way to the back of the store. Like I said stupid crazy. We didn't wait because it just didn't seem worth it to us to wait like that. We did manage to take advantage of at least one deal that was going on which was a plus.

I hope that all the rest of the people who went shopping this morning were able to get what they wanted and that they were able to avoid injury...I honestly have heard on the news about some injuries already occurring during the Black Friday Sales...

Hope you all had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!!! Enjoy the start of the Christmas Season...

Holiday Mix Up??

Starting last Saturday my favorite local radio station started playing Christmas music...I'm just not sure what to put after that but I am thinking that they are going on the banned music list until after Thanksgiving...every morning when I wake up and hear Christmas Music I just start to feel all dazed and disoriented cause I'm not really sure if Thursday is Thanksgiving or if it is really Christmas Day. I think it is sad because Thanksgiving is becoming just another day (because we don't buy presents at Thanksgiving is why I think retailers and others are trying to push it out of the picture). I think that Thanksgiving should ALWAYS be special!!! It is a time for giving thanks for all that you have...a time to reflect on the year and take a pause out of your busy life and just be with and think about friends and family. I know most people do that at Christmas but I am one who starts that sort of thinking at Thanksgiving time.

I think that Thanksgiving is the ONLY way to kick off the Christmas season! Without Thanksgiving...I'm just not sure if everyone would be in a truly thankful type of mood for Christmas. That and Christmas is NOT about the presents...I mean comon...you show your kids how much you love them by how much you get them??? That is beyond stupid and absurd!!

I think I am going to go kill our radios or else change them to the country stations until after Thursday because the lady DJ who started the whole let's play Christmas music before Thanksgiving thinks that this is totally wonderful that they are playing the music now...I usually find it a treat when on Friday, black Friday, I get up and I can listen to Christmas Music while I beat my way through the crowds....not really....JK!!!! I do like to listen to it while I am waiting for that one store that I was going to go to opens...it is nice...but this year it has just been ruined for me with them playing the Christmas music sooo early!!

Ok I guess I am done ranting and raving...plus I still have to go help my Grandma clean up her kitchen to get it ready for Thursday... have fun and don't zonk out too bad from the ultra yummy turkey!!!!

Work Type Updates

Max's work schedule is just all over the place and I guess the recession that is going on has "finally hit home" and so they are going to be shutting down the plant for a few weeks between now and April.

In November he will be "laid off" on the 24 & 25 for the 26th he has vacation.

In December it is 3, 4, 5 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31. Yea that's a lot of days I know but there are a few days with holiday pay and I didn't put them on here.

In January it is 2, 15, 16, 19, 20 and possibly 21, 22, 23. This month is subject to change though.

In February it is 2.

In March it is 23, 24, 25, 26, & 27.

From January on it is subject to change though. About the only week that is really kind of set is the week in March. What I mean by change is they might change their mind and have more weeks off or they might change their minds and have more lines up and running.

As Heinz's usual type thing they usually give out Turkeys and this year because the whole factory will be shut down they are instead giving away turkey certificates good for one turkey up to 18 lbs but you do have to ask the receptionist for this certificate. We are going to redeem ours and donate our HUGE turkey from last year because of all the many many reports of how empty the food banks are. I know that we could keep the thing and cook it but it is about 30 lbs and I just don't think that we could really handle eating all of a 30 lb turkey for just three of us!

Decisions Decisions

Yesterday I went to the Orthodontist and got new bands put on my teeth so they pull once again. He also decided that he wants me to have 2 more teeth pulled so that my front teeth will be able to slide back...yes slide back so I will have my braces on longer and I was hoping he might tell me that I might have them off for Christmas this year. Yay my hopes have been shot down = ( . I'm just not sure if I should have my other teeth pulled I mean really gosh! The ONLY reason why I have braces in the first place is because of some quack dentist who drilled too deep and caused a tooth to abscess (he thought he would get a lot of money by putting a crown on it) and so I had it and my baby tooth pulled, the baby tooth just never had an adult one to replace it. I guess if I do have them pulled I won't be looking at getting more screws put into my jaw, yes I said screws. I guess because my lower jaw is set back far (I didn't realize this, dang I hate it when people point out physical flaws like that and make me feel all weird about it) that I couldn't afford to loose anymore um I guess...well I dunno I guess I just couldn't do what is usually done and having the teeth meet in the middle when they close a gap; here is where the screws come in. They are anchored in my jaw so they won't move and then they attach powerful bands to my back teeth and pull them forward. It only hurt a bit, Tylenol is my best friend now, and the gaps have been totally closed. My orthodontist isn't pleased with my overbite. I told him that I have always had one but he wants me to think about having 2 of my upper teeth pulled and I just really am not sure! I don't know what the heck to do cause I know that if I agree my smile will be a bit better but on the down side it means more pain because of the gaping holes that will be created in my jaw. Yes those holes will be filled faster because my teeth will be pulled back into them and they won't have a chance like on the bottom to fill in on their own. Woe is me? If I don't have the teeth pulled then he will just work with what I have and I might end up with a bite that slips a bit because it doesn't match up quite right. Dang it I wish I wasn't faced with these kinds of decisions. I'll probably end up getting the teeth pulled cause I want my bite to be good again and I'll probably just have to put up with the pain I just wish he hadn't suggested it...I hate that. Curse you Summers! He knows I don't really mean it. I am at least going to see if I can get a lot of the stuff that needs to be done when he pulls the teeth. How I am going to pay for it is a whole other matter but I'll probably just have them pulled and stop worrying about it.

Other News

I found out that my Grandma needs some help so I am thinking that I am going to see what I can do to find Lowell something that will hold his attention and then go up to my Grandma's house and pull all her bedding off her bed and send Max home with it to wash it and while it is washing have him do his online learning that he is getting behind on. Then while Lowell and I are up there I would do laundry for her up there and possibly even see what I can do to make sure she gets a shower because she just doesn't feel safe without someone standing outside the bathroom door as a just in case type of thing. I am just hoping that my plan will work and I would also not only wash her clothes but I would make sure that they ALL got put away such as hung up, her closet is standing almost empty right now, or put into their proper drawers. I figure it is something that I can do to kind of repay her for all that she has done for me.

I am going to give it a try and we shall see what happens.

Halloween

Halloween has come and gone and I'm not sure if I am glad. This year has gone by so fast I just don't know what to do anymore.

Lowell went as Thomas the Train again this year. This year however the costume fit better than it did last year.

He was posing for the pictures but he was also trying to watch the Adventures of Ichabod Crane

He got quite a bit of candy cause we went to Main St. and did the business Trick or Treating that they usually do. It was so crowded that it was almost like a small scale New York City. I told Max that that was how it was in NYC and he just couldn't believe me esp the part where I told him that the sidewalks are wider and yet still full and that the pedestrians CAN and WILL stop ALL traffic because there are so many ppl crossing.

I haven't been posting because I have been playing Puzzle Pirates. They had a REALLY fun Halloween competition and I was busy working on getting the biggest prize which is the Overstuffed Pillowcase of Candy and I got it after working on it for most of the week leading up to Halloween! Then I even got proof that I got the Trophy so that no one could say that I didn't cause not too many pirates got this trophy.

2 Things today

Yesterday a scary thing happened. Ok well it wasn't THAT scary but it was more than a little weird. I typed up and started the Thanksgiving sign-up sheet. The one that is done every year for Thanksgiving Dinner so everyone knows who is doing what. Yea I know we haven't even had Halloween but I guess everyone just wanted to get a head start on the thing.

The other thing is today is Payday. Costco is opening. And we are going shopping. This will be VERY different cause I am hoping to take quite a bit of money so we can get a LOT of groceries cause I know that we need them. Max says he is going to bring a big stick to beat off the people cause this is kind of like their grand opening. I am going to have to see what we can get for a decent price cause we need the groceries. We already have the membership...Heinz does a special for their employees which is awesome!

Hope you all have fun days too!

P.S. Oh yea...tomorrow we get our NEW washer & dryer!!!! WOOHOO!!!!! We have almost no clean clothes to wear cause the old one died when we were already behind, sucky = (

New Washer and Dryer

On Sunday oh joy we had our washer die on us. We are not talking mess around die we are talking 2" of standing water on the kitchen floor and spreading die. I was so totally and unbelievably stressed out yesterday it wasn't even funny. The only nice part is that we decided to finally get the washer and dryer that we have been looking at getting for quite some time. We did the Lowe's credit card with the 12 months no payments and no interest.

I still almost can't believe we got approved on the spot, our credit has been bad.

We got approved and still had to come up with $188 for the rest of it. I am SOOO happy we are getting them we can afford to w/ 12 months to get up the balance.

Here are the store's pics of the new washer and dryer, we are going to stack them so that they will fit in our laundry closet, and it really is a closet w/ doors and everything.

This is the washer and yes it is energy star efficent.

This is the dryer. I did look for a matching pair = )

New Hair Cut

On Wednesday I got a haircut at ISU Cosmetology I think they did a really good job!

I am liking the cut cause it is just soooo easy to take care of. I don't even have to comb it if I don't want to! I'm watching the morning news cause yesterday I couldn't listen to the radio so I just sort of gave up on that for right now. I wasn't standing on my left foot with my right in my butt touching my ring finger on my left hand to the tip of my nose so it didn't want to work for me.

I know everyone has heard about this whole switch to DTV in Feb 09 and Max and I have decided that we are just going to find other ways of getting our news cause we don't want to have to buy one of those boxes even with the coupon. That is why our movie collection is so big is so that we can watch TV without having to get the converter box. Yes we do realize that we might miss out on some important stuff but it seems like everyone and every thing is going online now and like this morning if I really feel the need to watch the news I can go to the NBC News Channel 6 web site so that I can watch the news online they stream it live which is very helpful sadly it is ONLY the news and I wish it was more but oh well I guess.

Hope everyone likes my new haircut as much as I do!!!!

Mother Goose Comics

Ok these pretty much say it all....I'm sure most of you can either relate or you know of someone who these apply to! Hope you enjoy and have a good laugh break!!!

Comics (everyone needs a break right?)

Here are some comics I found.

This is how I feel at times but I try not to.

I am sure all of us feel like this!!!!!

Man I wish I had the reverse of this illness!!

Hehe thought it was a good one!

Can't leave....awww too bad.

Haven't you ever had a day that you felt like this?

Eating out with kids...need I really say more?

The Snow

Sadly yesterday most of the snow that was here melted so it is mostly gone but I managed to get a few good pictures of it! I even got one that I am thinking I am going to use for our Christmas cards cause it just looks cool! I am thinking that today the rest is going to melt because it is suppose to warm up quite a bit.

Poor plant! It grows right by our front door.

Lowell saw me with the camera so he was saying cheese and wanting me to take his picture so I did.

This is a pine tree to the west of the house not the same one that is behind Lowell. I thought it just looked really awesome with all the snow on it.

Max brushing off the car and getting it ready for our trip. Our car wasn't as covered as the neighbors who hadn't parked under a tree.

Yes this last one is REALLY YELLOWSTONE!!!! We couldn't believe how DEAD it was and it was un-plowed or so it looked!

My grandma has been a bit sick but she says she is feeling better and she sure is acting like she is feeling better! I hope that she does start doing her Albuterol treatments regularly cause I know that last year they sure did seem to help! I noticed that she didn't cough even half as much as she would "normally". She seems to have a cough that comes and stays in the winter time and the treatments seem to help she with that in making sure that she doesn't get sick!


I have been thinking that it is about time that I got back to work on making all the movie case covers. I make my own because we use a smaller more compact case than the standard...we don't use just the slims but they are about as tall as a CD jewel case but they are the black poly carbonate plastic that the other movie cases are made out of.

Yes I finished A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 13: The End.

I kind of liked the ending even though it was REALLY weird! I am hoping to buy this series it is good enough that I would like to own my own copy! I had it finished before leaving for Challis because I just didn't want to have to worry about getting it back in time. I didn't know at the time that I wouldn't even be spending a week there. I had originally planned on being there until the 27th of October but Max had a shift change again off of 3rd, aka graveyards, and so I decided that Lowell and I should come back to Pocatello because Max could spend a lot more time with us.

Fun in Challis

Well I went to Challis with Lowell it was ok. We had fun and then it snowed and we only hand sandals and I only had shorts and it was pretty darn cold! I helped my mom and dad on their job and just in general got a break from city life. I also saw two people I didn't expct, former class mates, Jace James and Ryan Greene. I knew they looked familiar but I just couldn't put my finger on who they were until they started talking. Well that is it for now have a nice day!!! I'll post some snow pics later!!!

Mundane

I guess that I just post the normal boring every day type of stuff that quite a few people would probably rather not hear about but I do feel so much better having put it all to words rather than hanging onto it. I am sure that everyone has felt left out, pushed around, stepped on, and generally just not cared about; wow that took a turn for the worse guess I am just not in a happy mood right now. I am worried about my friend's daughter who is VERY sick right now and Max is gone to work = P sucky. I am worried about how I haven't packed anything and I am not totally sure on what I should pack because I haven't made up a list of stuff that "needs" to go with us yet...we could be gone for as long as 3 weeks to Challis, we being Lowell and myself. My mom's b-day is tomorrow or rather today by the time I post this blog and I haven't gotten her anything for it which TOTALLY SUCKS!!! I know what I want to get her I just haven't done it yet and I would have to wrap it up and everything. I also need to print up cards for both her and Buddy, Buddy is my uncle and my mom's twin. I probably should still call him uncle Buddy but I haven't called my aunts or uncles by those titles since I was 13 and I just don't see any reason to start now I guess. I encourage Lowell to called them by the aunt or uncle title and I don't think that it makes them feel too old cause I don't tell him that they are really his great aunts and great uncles; besides being called all the time by your mom's name I guess sort of helps bridge the gap or something like that I dunno.

I have so gotten use to being called Pam or Sue that I don't even bat an eye when they do that I just get a bit confused when Pam or my mom, aka Sue, are there and so I am not totally sure to whom my Grandma is talking to. One of the many reasons why I don't mind being called Pam or Sue is because I dunno maybe because one of my great aunts had a bit of comfort because she thought she was talking to Sue when she was really talking to me. I would far rather be called Pam or Sue than Christine or Christina (I REALLY REALLY REALLY HATE being called that!). I would rather that you call me Chris or Sue or Pam if you can't say Christie. I am beginning to think that maybe I should get away from telling ppl to call me Chris because there seem to be getting quite a few Chris' in my "family". There is Chris Crook, Max's older brother, and then there is Chris Barnes, the guy that my sister is going to marry in December. I dunno I don't care, heck you might even get away with calling me Ces (pronounced phonetically ssess) but I would prefer that you keep that to chatting with me online and not real life.

Wow I have a lot on my mind right now eh?

I guess just typing all this stuff out helps a lot and makes me feel a bit better knowing that I wrote it down so I can forget some of it (not all cause I do still have to pack and do the cards). I kind of forgot that I also have to show VJ her announcements because I own a printing company therefore I am going to print up her reception announcements.

I would really love to move to Wyoming but it just seems like that is out of reach for us right now because Max has a contract with Heinz where he gets trained for 2 years then after his training is up he has to stay on and work there for 2 more years before he can even consider quitting and finding a job somewhere else. I know that in a way it is nice because Heinz wouldn't fire him because then they would be breaking their end of the contract (unless he does something really stupid which he won't) and then they would be out all of the money that they spent on training him and sending him to all the classes and everything.

Don't you just love it when you hit the spell check button and it just pops up all green and says done and you have 0 errors on your page? I know that I sure do. My mom was forever trying to help me get my spelling down and it appears as though some of it actually stuck in my brain! I am so glad esp because I would fail like EVERY SINGLE vocab test that was given to me unless it was in a sentence (which wasn't often). Yes I was a crappy English student. I just don't know what to tell you about that one.

BTW I did finish Book 12: The Penultimate Peril

It was a really good read and now I am off to read Book 13: The End

I hope that everyone who reads this has a good day or night!!! (yea I know tough words coming from me after I just had you read like 3 pages on what is bugging me but I do hope that you will walk away from this with a good feeling!)

ok ok so it's been awhile since I last posted

I know that it has been a while since I last posted but a lot of things have been going on like getting more movies for our movie collection. I have been reading quite a bit too and I have finished reading Book 10: The Slippery Slope

and Book 11: The Grim Grotto

I have also given Lowell haircut. He was starting to need one cause his ears were covered and it was looking shaggy.

Max is still working the stupid night shift and is still all screwed up on his sleeping and awake times. I am packing and getting ready to go to Challis for a while because we just need to get away for a while. Max needs his sleep and Lowell needs to leave him alone to sleep.

Lowell is watching Madagascar and I tell you what that is one FUNNY movie. I think that it is how the whole penguin craze got started cause the penguins in this movie are just soo funny and all the puns that are made and everything it is a riot!

well I think that that pretty much brings you up to date on what's been going on here. I hope you all have a fun time!

Tired much?

Today we decided that today would be a good day to get some stuff done because Max had the night before off so he was a little bit more rested than ususal. I decided that since how I was finally over my migraine of 2 days that I should wear my contacts so I could wear my sunglasses cause it was really bright outside. I just had one of those MAJOR moments when you just look in the mirror and there is a dead tired person looking back at you and all you can do is sigh slide on the sunglasses and head out the door cause there is no other choice. By the way I love my sunglasses cause they can hide at least a bit how tired I look all the time now. I did feel a little better about the whole thing though because when I came walking out wearing my sunglasses Lowell made sure that everyone else was wearing theirs as well. He even made Max go all the way back inside just to get his yellow sunglasses so he could wear his sunglasses like I was.

I feel sorry for Max lately working 6 days a week and I am wondering if Lowell is coming down with something and then sharing with everyone else because he has been stuffed up and then his nose runs a lot and now Max is saying that his throat just doesn't feel good. He is even thinking about calling in tonight so that he can stay at home and rest up a bit and if he does call in then I know that he is feeling bad because he wouldn't call in over just ANYTHING!

Decisions Decisions

just sittin here all bored and stuff thinking about picking out a movie but I just CAN'T decide what to watch....I mean...we have only like 847 movies and TV shows to pick from. I was thinking that I might just sit here and watch Vegas Vacation....

it is pretty funny and I could use a good laugh and it is one of the "new" movies but I just am not totally sure that I want to watch it right now...I might just go back to reading the book I've been working on for the past day and a half....Book 9 in the Series of Unfortunate Events...

This one is called the Carnivorus Carnival and wow does the plot thicken! I saw the movie and decided it was high time I started reading the books and darn it if I am not TOTALLY hooked on them! I was more than a little sad to discover that the movie only covered 3 of the books and they didn't even do it proper meaning they broke book one in half and did half at the beginning of the movie and the other half at the end (so sad) they could have done what the Harry Potter books to movies have done and had a movie for EACH book they are so detailed and awesomely good!

I am thinking that after looking at the time and realizing that it is now 11:16 PM that I should probably go to bed, and read first of course, and call it a day for working and playing on the computer. I hope that tomorrow things will be going good I have the beans that are cooking in the crock pot to make into the re-fried beans and we are going to have tacos tomorrow cause I just feel like it, plus Max had a big pot luck breakfast and he bought 60 tortillas and no one ate hardly any so we have LOTS and LOTS left!

Have a wonderful day/night!! **WAVES**