This marks my official start of the X-Mas season! I put up my tree tomorrow (after shopping), start shopping at 10pm tonight for early Black Friday sales, and for the rest of the day, we will be munching away on this spread:
from bottom to top, left to right we have:
Cinnamon Baked Apples, Sweet Potato Suffle, noodles w/scampi dressing, chicken rice, Jell-O cheesecake, crescent rolls, mashed potatoes, bacon mac and cheese, pineapples, corn, peas, green beans, gravy, cornbread stuffing, and ham.
It's my first year making Thanksgiving, and even though most of it was microwaved, I think it's the thought and effort that counts more than precisely where the food comes from.
And special love to our HoneyBaked Ham. Delicious, but very expensive (it's been 20 years since my last taste of HBH, so don't think I indulge like this too often, haha).
Be happy, be safe, be thankful, and be full of food today. <3
Anyone else notice how YouTube has spread out a partnership program to most users through Google AdSense? Confused on how to check your earnings balance? See video:
And, not using Royalty Free music (or not giving the proper credits)? Watch my frustration here:
Well, long story short, after a lot of protest, my husband basically ignored me and got a dog anyways. But, I do have to say that she is the cutest dog in the universe. This is Moxie, and she's a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Very smart, trainable, agreeable dogs, and she has really been a big change of pace to our last dog, who hated kids and was afraid of everybody.
Moxie is going to branch out into her own blog at followthatcorgi.blogspot.com
So, 2011 is winding down, almost time to cut the Turkey (or Honey Baked Ham if you're at my house), and that means we are in countdown mode to Black Friday savings. If you are like me, retail price is a dirty word for most items. I buy my Blu-Rays for $20 on the date of release at Wal-Mart, or for $13 at Blockbuster (great deal, but no DVD copy if you store does this offer), I see two values for everything - the worth-my-time price, and the pass-it-up price. Usually, anything less than 20% off is a pass for me, as 15% or less barely covers the taxes and is not worth my time.
You would probably think that I am Black Friday crazy then, getting in line for the mega deals at midnight the night before. Alas, I am not. I have learned that, all too often, a mega deal (like a $2,000 TV for $500) is not going to last and be in extremely short supply. So, odds are, I will not get one, even if I did wait in line all night. Secondly, I hate waiting in line, and after 10am, most stores have almost no line, but most of their specials still going on. For example, last year I bought my daughter a 7 piece Disney doll set, $50 blu-ray player, and even the on sale cookware at 7pm on Black Friday. There were pallets full of most of the specials, enough so that many items were still available on Saturday and Sunday.
In short, if you're after televisions and computers - come early and wait if you think you have good odds to get the item you're after. If you are looking for toys, Blu-Rays, DVDs, games, and smaller-scale items - they will likely be waiting long after midnight/5am (except for the hot toys, but again, they usually only get in a few units per store, so odds are not favorable).
My strategy this year is a little different, because I have some particular items that I am after, and I'm not sure what the supply will look like. As such, I will be there at midnight (when the stores open this year, instead of when the lines start at Wal-Mart as it was in the past) and fight through the crowds to capture an illusive 3DS holiday bundle pack. I'm hoping that there won't be such a rush for that smaller item, and that people fight over laptops while I sneak to the cashier with a X-mas victory for my son. :)
Here is what is, or will hopefully be, under my tree this year:
And don't forget about the lesser-publicized Cyber Monday on the 28th! Check Amazon and other online shops for specials or items that you missed over the weekend.
After much silence, here is our disappointing update on foster care adoption. This will likely be our last update unless we either move to a new area and decide to put ourselves through the ringer again.
Secondly, this is possibly the luckiest day of the century. 11-11-11 - that date only happens once every hundred years, so even if you think it's silly and supersticious, make a wish just in case! My daughter's wish is to become a pop star mermaid, so she made this video:
Since the vlog part pretty much sums it all up, I'll just add in these photos for your extended fanboy/fangirl enjoyment. The coin is still in the sleeve with the Batman information printed on top of it - because I'm a good little collector like that.
I tried to edit these to fit nicely within the blogging area, but Photobucket or Blogger, whichever, decided to spit on that plan and ignore my cropped and rotated photos. At least that's how it shows up for me, hopefully you all see them beautifully displayed:
And, yes, before anyone freaks out, I admit that I took this item away from my son. BUT I did buy it from him, and for a lot more than he wanted, so at least I didn't rob him. And, in the end, I'll die and he'll get it back either way, I just don't want him to demolish it or lose it in his room, so there you go.
