No more Bah Humbug

Well, now that Thanksgiving is over, I guess I can’t complain about the Christmas season being upon us. As you can see, I’ve updated my header image to reflect my new-found holiday spirit.

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday, eating our fill and then some. Emphasis on the “and then some” part. And we’re not finished yet—we’re not flying home until Tuesday, so that means we may still hit Big Bowl and/or Twin City Grill before we leave.

We spent our first few nights in Minnesota at Character Builder’s house, and Wednesday night we took the kids bowling.

Can you believe these shoes? I don’t know what size they were, but they were so cute! It was Lauren’s first time bowling, and she had a great time. She didn’t really need our help, but we did step in occasionally. If we hadn’t, I think we’d still be waiting for her first ball to hit the pins.

We ventured out to shop on Black Friday, but didn’t brave the 5:00 AM crowds. No, thank you. Not for me. We may have missed the best deals, but we were able to park in the same county as the mall. Most of our shopping for MN relatives is now complete. Tomorrow we just have to finish up a few little things, and then try to get the gifts wrapped while the kids are at school. Woohoo!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We’re in MN for the holiday, and we’re very thankful that we didn’t have to drive this time. Also, we’re thankful that there’s no snow here, and they’re forecasting record-high temps for today. Of course, that means 55 degrees, but we’ll take what we can get!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Insanity

As I was getting ready for work the other day, I heard a Christmas ad on the radio. I know that I need to face the facts and accept that the holidays are almost upon us, so the ad itself didn’t bother me. However the content of the ad kind of did.

There’s a mall in the area that’s opening at 3:00 AM on November 24. Three o’clock in the morning! They’re making it an event called Rockin’ Shoppin’ Eve, and the radio station’s morning drive DJ will be there to host. They’re having live music, Starbucks coffee, and a variety of prizes and giveaways. Honestly, I think it sounds like fun. I would never get up to be at the mall at 3 AM, but I might consider staying up to go there at that time.

But then there’s the other side of it. Character Builder’s husband is a manager (manager = salaried = no overtime pay) at a retail store. As it is, he has to be there at an ungodly hour on the day after Thanksgiving. And that’s just the first day in a six-week series of Very. Long. Days.

This is just crazy! Do we really need to start shopping earlier and earlier every year? I know Kmart is open on Thanksgiving Day itself, and they’ve been doing it for a few years now. I don’t think that it will be too many years before it becomes commonplace and acceptable for all stores to do it. There are already signs of the promotions and sales starting before Thanksgiving.

What’s your prediction—in what year will the Christmas sale promotions start November 1?

And my parents wonder . . .

. . . why we haven’t moved back to Minnesota. This is what my dad’s neighborhood looked like yesterday. It was 70 degrees at our house today. Our time is coming, but hopefully not for another month or two.

That flag whipping in the wind sends shivers down my spine.

Oh, to be a kid again

Ooooh . . . a Cracker Jack prize! Maybe it’s a temporary tattoo!

Well, that’s an odd tattoo, but the kid’s kind of cute.

Educational materials and a picture to fold? Are you kidding me?!? What kind of “prize” is that? Man, kids today are getting ripped OFF!