Thanksgiving, Advent 2021 begins, and lots of puppy snuggles...

 Hello everyone, and happy Advent 2021! I always LOVE and look forward to this season and a fresh start to our liturgical year, and this year, I have a brand new Advent wreath and candles! 🙌

Wreath is from Vermont Christmas Company

Our old one was porcelain, and various nativity scene members had lost limbs over time, so I thought the time was nigh to procure a new one. I did keep the centerpiece with the white candle for Christmas day from that set though, I always loved that, and don't see it in most Advent wreaths!

Besides decorating for Advent, we spent a lot of time just hanging out together and having fun cozy time over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. 🥰

Matching family and doggie jammies are from Muk Luks :)

Because who doesn't want to match their dog, am I right? :-0 Of course, I also did a little Black Friday shopping, one of my favorite pasttimes. ;-) And look what just came from Sock Religious!

3 Wisemen socks

I also have nativity socks and liturgical year black dress socks on the way. 😎 Definitely check out their seasonal offerings, such fun! And new cozy socks were especially helpful this week, when I was laid up for a few days:

Lots of knitting, Barney snuggling, and binge watching of Holiday Baking Championship on The Food Network. 😂 It was all quite delightful. 

How is your Advent starting out, everyone? So far, I'm keeping up with devotional reading and absolutely loving it!

First of our seasonal novenas set to begin next week!

TGIF everyone! The first of our planned community novenas is scheduled to start Wednesday, November 20th. And our gal up on deck is one of my very favorites, St. Therese!

We'll be praying the St. Therese Thanksgiving Novena, which is ever so lovely, and I had not heard of until my good friend Tracy directed me to it!

Link to Thanksgiving Novena prayers

Here's how this will work: I'll be posting a thread on Monday in our community Facebook group wherein people can add their intentions for the duration of this novena. If you're not on Facebook, you are welcome to leave your intention(s) in a comment to this post, and I can pop them in the thread over there so that everyone sees it. And of course, feel free to post "for a personal intention" if you do not feel comfortable revealing specifics.

On Wednesday, November 20th, I'll begin posting the daily prayers in the Facebook. I'll also put up a blog post on that particular Wednesday with the prayer for day 1 and also a link to the full pdf with all 9 days. After day 1, I'll only be posting the daily prayers in Facebook, it would be too tedious to do daily blog posts. But you'll have the link, so I would just keep that as an open tab on your browser or phone so that you can refer to it each day through Thanksgiving!

I think it is so lovely to pray together as a community, and to focus on the needs of others, especially at this time of year. I know that when my own intentions are clouding up my mind, my prayer time tends to get anxious (yikes!), but when I'm praying for the intentions of others, everything is all serenity and light. Win/win!

I hope that you will join us! *virtual hug*

A crafty Thanksgiving weekend...

Hello ALL! It's been a week since I talked to you last, and indeed, a lot happened. But do I have the ability to detail it all out in all its fascinating-ness? ;-) No, I do not, because I am in GRADING HELL. Alas. This should be the last bad week, to week and a half, and then I will be free. Free to not have to dread checking my email anymore, and free to do something, anything, other than teaching, grading, and clicking various and sundry things in our course management system.

Ugh.

I'll make it. In the meantime, I will regale you with photos of my craft projects from the weekend, and we will definitely have our Advent Anticipating Joy series on Wednesday, and Tea Time on Friday!

SO. Crafty Busy Bee over here, reporting in for duty! I had SUCH a restful, invigorating staycation last week. Being at home and free from work for that spell made me realize just how much I *needed* that space and creative shot in the arm. So, so badly, I needed it. I feel re-inspired by my crafting and my dancing, and I have lots of fun news on that front! Here we have my current in-the-basket project, which is the Harry Potter scarf for Henry, in Gryffindor colors:

It's so thick and soft, I kind of want to keep it for myself :0

I made a ton of progress on it this weekend. I think I'm up to 4 blocks of each color now. So I'm about halfway done, I'd estimate. It's made using Tunisian Knit Stitch, and I'm really loving this new technique! I also got my craft queue all straightened out, in terms of both holiday gifts and winter items for myself and Mike/the kids. I feel excited to start some of those projects!

My main house project goal for the week was to reupholster our kitchen chairs. They were DISGUSTING. This is what we're working with here:

*vomits*

Last Wednesday, Anne and I went to JoAnn's, procured new fabric, and now we have this:

Ta DA!

I'm quite thrilled with how they turned out, and the process was much easier than I thought it would be. I used this tutorial, if you're interested in refreshing your own chairs!

So, I was productive. We also hosted Thanksgiving dinner, I did a bunch of online Christmas shopping on Black Friday (online, because the alternative? *shudder*), we watched Gilmore Girls, and we procured our official Christmas tree of 2016:

It was a great staycation. How was *your* Thanksgiving?! I'd love to hear from you!

Of noncooperative turkeys and very inconvenient allergies: Thanksgiving fun 2015...

Hi all, and I'm glad to be back with you on this sunny post-Thanksgiving weekend Monday. This is never an enjoyable day to be back at work, no sir. But we persevere.

The last time I was with you prior to our Thanksgiving hiatus was last Tuesday, and I was S-I-C-K. Oh my. I was a little concerned about how I'd fare on my big day on Allison's show given how poorly I was feeling, and how congested I sounded. It went really well, but I had to *struggle* not to provide a hacking cough as the musical accompaniment throughout. It was extremely fun though, we talked about how I got started blogging, belly dancing, rosary praying, parenting adventures, all sorts of things! If you'd like to listen, you can download right over here!

All right, so I hope that you all had a very nice weekend! I'm a little rushy rushy today, as I had a very un-fun class this morning (what? it's the end of the semester? let's everybody PANIC and start asking for extra credit!) and I have more grading to do than you could swing a rosary at, so I'm feeling just a hair overwhelmed. But highlights? Let's see...

On Tuesday evening, Mike and I went out for what we call our "dating anniversary." Our wedding anniversary is January 8th, this November date is essentially an excuse for us to dine out and consume specialty martinis at the restaurant wherein we had our first date. It was smashing. Wednesday was filled with preparations for Thursday. The kids and I went to my parents' house to bake pies with my mom, which of course made the process infinitely more time consuming than if the adults had just done it ourselves, but alas. 

Thursday morning dawned with Anne wearing a super cute Thanksgiving turkey outfit:

...which she wore for an hour and then took off, refusing to put it back on, claiming to be "hot." Par for the course with her these days. We hosted dinner for our parents, my grandmother, and my older sister and family who were in town, and everything went very well. We had a minor turkey crisis during which time Mike started to carve the turkey and discovered that it was not fully done. It wasn't a big deal, we just had to put it back in the oven for a spell, but this is why I avoid cooking turkeys. I distracted everybody with wine as this was ongoing and all ended well.

The next day I did some fun online shopping, went out to lunch with my mom and sister, and put out our wintertime Scentsy wax warmer:

Isn't it lovely? It's making our whole kitchen smell like cinnamon currently. Such a relaxing and fun day. On Saturday, we fetched our Christmas tree, and here is where the story gets interesting. ;-) In the past, we've gotten a scotch pine. The one we selected last year, however, ended up looking somewhat homely, and we're hosting Christmas Eve this year, so Mike suggested that we splurge a bit and get a Fraser fir. I have to say, you can certainly tell a difference. Our whole house smells like a Christmas tree, and the needles are much softer than we're used to. The trunk is thicker and fit into our stand without any of the usual wrangling and edited swear words. It's thick and full and we love it. There's only one problem.

I think I may have an allergy to it. :0 Ever since we got it, I have been coughing and coughing and coughing. Granted, as I mentioned, I've been sick. But my cough was clearing and getting better, and then we got the tree, and suddenly it's tight and worse. This is the first time that we've ever gotten this type of tree. Could I be allergic to it?! It seems more likely that my cough is still related to my other illness, but I do have fairly strong seasonal allergies, and have developed new ones in recent years. (isn't getting older grand?) Soooooooo, I'm not sure. I've been taking my OTC allergy medication and I do seem better. But maybe my cold is just getting better? I'm already tired of winter illnesses and it's not even December yet!

#martyr!

We had a great time decorating the tree, regardless of it's potentially allergenic qualities, and we also put out our Advent decor. Ohhhhhhhh! That is our topic for either tomorrow or Wednesday, depending upon when I'm able to post. So get your Advent thoughts ready!

Advent is also the topic of my foray tomorrow in the Catholic Mom Hangout podcast! I'll give you the link to my episode when it's up, but it's being recorded tomorrow afternoon. Fun, right?!

All right, dear readers. All you Americans, how was your Thanksgiving? Or otherwise, how was your weekend? Anybody in your household navigating the Winter Cold From Hell? Do write in to commiserate with me. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

All! I am positively AGLOW from my chat time this morning with Allison Gingras on her show, A Seeking Heart! The podcast version will be up shortly, so if you'd like to download and listen over the holiday weekend, you can download from this page and it will appear there as soon as it's ready. Yay? Yay!

As you heard from my voice if you were able to listen to the live stream, I am SO SICK. I went to bed last night at 8 pm. Talk about a wet blanket. :0 But man. I just had nothing left to give. Mike had to teach, so I was home with the kids, and I barely managed to scrape something edible together for dinner, and then stay conscious until I put Anne to bed. Mike cut his class short so that he could get home earlier and be with Henry while I tucked into bed. I couldn't fall asleep right away, but I laid in there and listened to podcasts until I realized that I was nodding off and made it official. But *shudder*. It was a rough evening.

Overnight, I actually rested more or less comfortably. Although based upon my energy level one would think I had gotten a grand total of 10 minutes of sleep the whole night. I'm persevering.

Tonight, Mike and I are scheduled for a date night, so I need to wrangle up some color before then. Working on it! I also have the infamous fever rash today. Lovely, so lovely, I look today. I'm currently in the raised and splotchy texture phase. :0

This will be my last post for the week, as you and I will both be busy with Thanksgiving plans and family visiting. I will be with you again next Monday with amusing details, I am certain. And also to reflect on the First Sunday of Advent and other Advent plans! Until then, have a wonderful holiday weekend (those of you in the U.S. :-)) and I'll talk to you on Monday! May God bless you all!

A stuffing crisis and explosive poo - Thanksgiving 2012

I always aim to be funny on this blog, but let me just start out on a serious note by saying that I had an absolutely *fantastic* Thanksgiving weekend. I loved being home with Mike and the kids and it was just sublime. I feel very blessed that Mike and I both have such flexible jobs in that we get to be home so much with each other as a family.

Now I'm back at work and it's Cyber Monday and I'm shocked, SHOCKED I tell you to say that I don't know if I'll be doing my traditional sale yarn order. Could it be, dear reader, that I ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH YARN?! Let's be honest, I have a lot of yarn. But I can never resist sale yarn. However, what I knit most with is worsted weight wool and cotton, and nothing that I really wanted over at Knit Picks is on sale. There is a bunch of cotton on sale, but it's winter, and I really wanted some wool. It seems like mostly sport weight is on sale and I just rarely use sport weight. I mean, I can't believe this.

It's good, though. I bought a bunch of yarn during their summer sale and I can use the money toward Christmas gifts. Now that Advent starts this coming weekend, I'll talk a lot this week about the Christmas season, I have a lot on my mind about that lately. And I've missed you all! So expect lots of lengthy posts this week. :)

Ok, so a recap of this past weekend and the inevitable hilarity that ensues on holidays in my household. We were hosting Thanksgiving this year, and in my eagerness I decided to make stuffing from scratch, which I've never done before. I'm a big fan of Stove Top. But I wanted to feel all pioneer woman and since Mike mostly takes care of our turkey, I decided to contribute the stuffing.

I scoured the Internet for the perfect recipe. There are lots of delicious varieties out there, but I just wanted plain white bread stuffing. Turns out it's not so hard to make. I feel confident.

Wednesday night I saute up a big pan full of celery and onions. Smells delicious already. I break up the bread. I add everything into a big stock pot and pour in the required amount of chicken broth and add the poultry seasoning. Looks good. It seems a bit dry, so I add in some more butter (let's just agree - butter makes EVERYTHING BETTER) and a hair more broth. I stir and taste test. Oh yum. It's delicious. I feel that my existence as a woman is validated.

Except...hum. What started out as a full pot of stuffing had definitely shrunk in the moistening process. I spooned it around a bit, hoping for some loaves and fishes-type multiplication. Nope. I put it in a bowl to stash in the refrigerator overnight so that we could stuff the turkey first thing in the morning. The quantity was definitely less than what I expected based on the gigantic loaf of white bread that I used.

I panic. It's nearly Anne's bedtime and both kids are jammied up. I rush over to Mike.

"I think we need to run to the store."

"Why?"

"There isn't enough stuffing!"

THIS IS AN EMERGENCY.

I show him the bowl. He gets that look that he gets when he's going to try and talk me down from the ledge about something.

"I think it's fine, Sweetie. Plus, if you want to make more, can't we just run to the store tomorrow morning?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

*frustrated pause*

"Because I want to do it right now!"

I don't make much sense when I'm that much on a mission. I was in stuffing mode, and I wanted my mind set at ease about having enough. But in the end I knew that he was right.

I slept on the "stuffing situation," and in the end, decided not to make anymore. We had plenty. Not as much for leftovers as I would have liked (is there anything better than Thanksgiving leftovers?) but we had more than enough.

Crisis averted.

Thanksgiving was a huge success. The kids loved the Macy's parade, and we all enjoyed the dog show that followed. ("woof woof!") Dinner was enjoyed by everyone, and wine was consumed by all.

Black Friday dawned, and I stayed in and safely away from the stores. I was worried that the kids would go stir crazy, but the day was smashing. We ended up running to the public library where Anne played in the toy kitchen they have set up there and Henry got a few videos and books. That night, Henry was having a sleepover at the grandparents, and so it was just Mike, Anne and I. The house felt *quiet* only having 1 kid in it!

We put Anne to bed. We basked in our quiet time. Then we went to bed.

Around 2:30 am I hear Anne. I roll over figuring she will go back to sleep. She does not.

Sometime thereafter I feel Mike nudge me. I grunt at him.

"Should I go get Anne?"

"No, I'll do it."

I stumble out of the bedroom, martyr-like essence following in my wake. I peek through her keyhole (this is a sweet feature of having an older house). If she's laying down, chances are she'll fall back to sleep. She's standing up.

I sigh and open the door. Immediately, rancid air meets my nostrils.

"Hi Mama. Uh oh!" *points to diaper*

Oh, no problem. A poo diaper woke her. I go to fetch her. I spy a pool of brown liquid covering her crib sheet.

Uh oh, indeed.

I turn on the lights and assess the damage. I don't think I've ever seen so much poo in one sitting in all my years of diaper changing, and that's saying a lot. I grab her stuffed puppy dog. HE'S WET. He's immediately relegated to the laundry. I lift Anne out of the crib and strip the sheet off. I'm attempting to peel her sleeper off when Mike exits our bedroom down the hall.

"Oh wow." The smell has now permeated the entire upstairs.

Mike comes to investigate.

"Do you think we should give her a bath?"

"She needs a complete hose down."

Mike runs the bath and disinfects her mattress. The sleeper is so bad that I throw it in the garbage. I had to actually SCRUB DOWN THE OUTSIDE OF THE DIAPER PAIL due to debris while Mike bathed her.

After her bath, I get her in a fresh sleeper while Mike starts a load of laundry and throws the trash. We go downstairs to watch some tv in the darkened living room to let the upstairs...air out a bit.

I find a Friends marathon on Nick-at-Nite. And ugh! The commercials were depressing. The stores were advertising continuing sales for all "Black Friday weekend!"

It's a whole weekend now? Apparently so. The whole thing strikes me as so desperate, it makes me a little sad.

Anne fell back to sleep pretty quick. Somehow, the scent of poo lingered on my nostrils and I could not for the life of me uncover the source. I carried her up to her room and had to wrinkle my nose a bit in her room but most of the smell had dissipated.

Anne's statement on Black Friday? Not sure, but that was EPIC. Honestly though, I enjoyed that particular middle of the night session. Lots of sweet cuddle time and she slept the rest of the night after that. Except for the fact that the next morning I COULD STILL SMELL POO.

Going to take some time to really get rid of this one. But the rest of the weekend was great. I'm trying to do my Christmas shopping and stay within our budget, and I crocheted 12 gift dishcloths this weekend. Why? BECAUSE I'M INSANE. And I have all this yarn, so I should use it up, right?

More Christmas and Advent talk to come this week!

Shopping will abound

We're hosting our parents for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, so naturally I'll be doing lots of tornadoing around and obsessively cleaning and drinking wine. You know, the usual. I do love Thanksgiving. It's just such a warm and cozy kind of day. And I always take off the day after Thanksgiving. I usually lose my mind and meet my mom out to do a little shopping. I don't really need anything on Black Friday, but the experience (with a companion) can be kind of fun.

There is one place, however, that I will not go. And that is THE PLAZA. We have a shopping plaza near here that has grown exponentially in the past 5 years. Every time you turn around, a new popular store has been added into the configuration. Yet the parking lot remains the same size, kwim?

2 weeks ago, I left work early since I had some comp. time coming to me, so that I could run errands before heading home. So it was about 3 pm. And I wanted to stop at AC Moore to return something (Holiday Homespun yarn is gorgeous, but I cannot crochet with that stuff if you put a gun to my head; it's difficult to make anything when you literally cannot see the stitches you allegedly just made). As I neared THE PLAZA I noted the long traffic lines, but I figured things would clear by time I finished at AC Moore. Oh, silly, silly me.

I return the yarn, poke around for a bit (naturally) and then head to my car. It was just rainy and miserable and I was anxious to get home to Mike and my babies. I pull out of my parking space and toward the nearest exit. Oh dear. There appear to be about *30 cars* also trying to make left turns out of that exit as well. And I can see that the street onto which they hope to turn is also clogged up and the going is slow for those trying to add themselves into the line. I swivel and try the exit at the back, thinking I'll get to the back of that line of cars snaking toward the traffic light. Oh dear. The line of cars on the street snakes all the way past this exit as well, AND there are 20 additional cars trying to make lefts into it.

I say a bad word, and make my way toward yet a third exit out onto the main thoroughfare, accepting that it will simply take a few extra minutes to get out onto the street. There commences *20 minutes* of waiting in this line, since new cars are appearing at every nook and cranny trying to edge their way into the line, AND the cars out on the main road are all clogged up by non-synched red lights so maybe 2 cars are able to get out onto the road with every green light. I literally couldn't get out of that *insert bad word* parking lot.

I say another bad word. At one point, as I innocently drive straight in my line, a giant pickup truck appears from a side nook and tries to barrel through the line, nearly hitting me. I felt so shaken after that, I determined to go right home, instead of stopping off for my last errand. And I swore that I would NEVER GO TO THAT PLAZA AGAIN until after the holidays. And I mean it. I won't go back until January. I don't care how good a sale Target is having, I'd rather eat nails than go back there. They could give away free money for all I care. It's simply not worth it.

So therefore I'll be avoiding THAT PLAZA on Friday. But I'll probably end up meeting my mom at the crazy mall for lunch and a few stores. Because it's just not Black Friday for her unless we wait in line for 2 hours to eat at the Cheesecake Factory.

BUT. The really good news is that Knit Picks is having a Cyber Monday sale. OH.BABY. It starts at 9 am EST, so I'll have my tea at my work computer and will be obsessively reloading their page until the sale yarn comes up. Because I *need* more yarn, right? If it's on sale, it doesn't count. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

I'll be on a blogging break until aforementioned Cyber Monday, so have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!