it's the little things...

So I marked something off the Life List today...

“Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings.” --J. Robert Moskin

It was a nice, mellow weekend at The Boyfriend's place. Since I had to work in town on Friday, I just stuck around here. And since The Boyfriend has had a few rough weeks at work, I packed up stuff for dinner and grabbed a few movies so we could settle in for a relaxing evening. He had some obligations on Saturday and I had some free time for crafting. I made a fun little wreath for Christmas and got started on Christmas cards. I'm really trying to not cram everything in at the last minute this year. Seems like that's the only way I've been getting anything done lately. But I'm proud of my progress so far. I've even purchased a few gifts already. On Saturday evening we went to a Two-step/Polka dance class. While we've both country danced before (hello, we live in Texas), we've never had official lessons together. Between that class and my obsession with Dancing With the Stars , I think it would be nice to take ongoing lessons. This was just a o...

So it's been almost a week since I last wrote. Thing is, I don't have a lot of coherent things to say. Another braindump it is. There are some active little squirrels around my yard today. In other wildlife news, I had two raccoons walk across my porch while I was watching tv the other night. One just looked in at me. Freaked me out a little. Something (maybe them) have been digging in my newly weed-free (mostly) front bed. Hey, whatever. Just don't eat any new plants (if I ever get around to planting them). I am now planning on visiting one of my good high school friends when we go to DC in December. Yea! I haven't seen her or her husband since they got married in 2000. Is that right?! Crazy. Also get to meet their daughter. Even though my schedule this week has been slightly better than expected (because I rearranged some things), it's still been nuts. That said, I was very happy to get home at 9:15 last night instead of 11:30. It was only a 16-hour da...

I'm sitting here eating lunch and I ordered hot soup and iced tea in the same meal. Do you think that ever happens up north? I'm guessing no. Also? While sitting on the patio eating and drinking the above items, I'm hearing my first Christmas song of the season. Two things. 1) This is later than last year. I mean, come on, it's mid-November. Perhaps next year they'll actually wait till an appropriate time. Yeah, I don't think they will either. And 2), I'm able to sit outside comfortably and listen to Christmas music. I think there's something wrong with that, too.

Work requires me to be gone at least 8 days per month. I'm often gone much more than that. This month, however, I'm just squeaking by..you know, what with Election Day and the Thanksgiving holiday and one meeting day and a dentist appointment and fighting my increased property taxes. As it turns out, between this week and next, I'm getting in 7 of those 8 days. Sheesh. One could really use a break that weekend in between. Not me. I'm going to camp. Not let's-pitch-a-tent camp. (Praise tiny baby Jesus; it's going to be freakin' cold this weekend!) We're staying in cabins, and it's for my volunteer gig. The kids get to do all sorts of fun activities this weekend. Hopefully it will be a good time for everyone and everything will run smoothly. I'll get back on Sunday and will head to Corpus on Monday, Lake Charles on Tuesday, and Albuquerque on Wednesday before I get a day at home. I think I'm going to need a nap.

This year, we're going up north for Christmas. Back to the lakehouse . But before we head up there, The Boyfriend and I are going here for a few days: (Photo courtesy of San Francisco Sentinel .) Too bad I won't be able to say hi to Obama. But maybe W's dog can bite me.

I was actually out of town on Friday so my weekend got started a little later than usual. I made it home in time to veg in front of the tv and catch up on the week's shows and a few home improvement programs. Saturday morning I woke up early and did a little work and then worked in the yard for awhile. I decided I really needed to pot a few pansies so I made a quick Home Depot run. The porch looks a bit more seasonal now. And I'm knocking out those weeds. I tell ya, I'm motivated this season. This place is going to look good inside and out. Visited briefly with The Brother and SIL. Found out that one of the SIL's friends has breast cancer. At 30. Sheesh. I sincerely hope things work out for her. Then a quick trip to the scrapbooking store for paper for a project I wanted to try. While I was there I became a little freaked out about the relative nearness of Christmas. And I had zero Christmas card ideas. I've since gotten a little something in my head. I'm again ...

I'd like to refer you to Pigs . That's what I'm talkin' about.

I was excited yesterday. Excited to vote. Excited to see how things would turn out. Don't get me wrong. I know the color of this state, and I know a lot of people are probably angry or sad or disappointed or whatever this morning. But what's done is done. Move on. How I see it, this is a pretty interesting time for our country. Obviously things haven't been going all that well. The economy. The war. The attitude other countries have towards us. It hasn't felt like things were moving in a positive direction and regardless of your party affiliation, something needs to change. I think there's no arguing that last night we got change. What makes it exciting to me is that so many people got involved in this election. So many people felt connected to one of the sides. They donated money. They volunteered their time. They did something. And ultimately, it looks like over 131 million of them voted. It will be interesting to see what happens from here. To see what policy ge...

And there wasn't even a line!

Since I had a Halloween party this year and actually made my house look a little scary, I had intentions of taking a picture of the creepy front porch to post on Friday. You know, wishing you a happy Halloween. But I didn't. And then the rest of the weekend came along and I didn't feel all that productive but I did take down the decorations. Without taking pictures. So, um, yeah... The party was fun. I like it when adults dress up and almost everyone did. And my favorite thing about being Pippi Longstocking was that in the pictures it just looks like my head is constantly in motion because, really, who has hair that sticks out when you're still? Also at the party I got to meet a very cute 4-month-old Boxer puppy who could be my puppy if I wanted him. Who doesn't want a cute Boxer puppy? Who, rationally, shouldn't take one? Someone who travels out of town every week, who also volunteers, who lives alone, who has a potential puppy support system (except that...