What a wonderful super-sized weekend. My family arrived on Thursday (albeit earlier than expected - thank goodness I called to get an update!) and we had a wonderful visit. The food all came out good (orange juice and orange flavored craisins are a nice addition to stuffing, by the way) and the company was outstanding.
We started a new family tradition this year. We headed out at 11:30 pm and went to a local mall for Black Friday shopping. The weather was great, the bargains were plentiful and the costumed singers were melodious. I saw tons of people I knew and, while I didn't buy a ton of gifts, I did accomplish a little Christmas shopping. Some of the other shoppers were dressed up. Knowing my sister, I wouldn't be surprised if she shows up next year with something for us all to wear.
My favorite thing about our Thanksgiving is the opportunity to spend time with family as we live quite a distance apart. We usually spend some time playing games. This year, we had a rousing game of Bananagrams. It is a fun and easy-to-play game that is extremely portable. This evening, my son invited his father and me to play a game after dinner. How cool is that?
I got lots of ideas for gifts and have been on several shopping trips since they left Saturday morning. I have gone from 30% of my shopping done to about 75% done! Yeah! I cleaned up the guest room this morning and set up my "wrapping station" and wrapped several presents. I have a lot of things going on the next several weeks so it is a big sense of accomplishment to get things underway.
My son and husband are both 2nd degree black belts in karate. My son is unable to advance for several years because of his age. It has been hard to keep him interested because he isn't learning anything new and the dojo (karate school) is quite small and he keeps working with the same students. Basically, he is bored. In addition, this year he has had a great deal of homework and it has been difficult for him to make it to class 2 nights a week. However, his father and I hate to see him quit. This afternoon, we had a family discussion and came up with a solution. They are going to take private lessons and attend classes for black belt students once a month. It should be enough to keep him involved and keep his skills at a high level but not so much that he dreads going to class. I have my fingers crossed, anyway.
My niece received a Kindle for her birthday. When we were talking about them this weekend, she mentioned that Kindle gives you free access to the Internet. I realized that I could access Wikipedia but I didn't realize that I could access facebook,etc. I don't have Internet on my cell phone because I really don't need it and I am too cheap to pay for it but free Internet is right up my alley. Jen said that she found a recipe online that she wanted to try but she forgot it at home when she went shopping. She did have her Kindle with her and was able to look it up and get the ingredient list. I downloaded (and read) the latest Friday Night Knitting Club book by Kate Jacobs and the newest Alex Cross book by James Patterson. I also downloaded 5or more free books. Gotta love the free aspects of the Kindle. If you are looking for a gift to purchase for that hard to buy for person, I highly recommend the Kindle.
That's it for today, Folks. I hope everyone has a great Monday and a great week.
Here's to musings.
We started a new family tradition this year. We headed out at 11:30 pm and went to a local mall for Black Friday shopping. The weather was great, the bargains were plentiful and the costumed singers were melodious. I saw tons of people I knew and, while I didn't buy a ton of gifts, I did accomplish a little Christmas shopping. Some of the other shoppers were dressed up. Knowing my sister, I wouldn't be surprised if she shows up next year with something for us all to wear.
My favorite thing about our Thanksgiving is the opportunity to spend time with family as we live quite a distance apart. We usually spend some time playing games. This year, we had a rousing game of Bananagrams. It is a fun and easy-to-play game that is extremely portable. This evening, my son invited his father and me to play a game after dinner. How cool is that?
I got lots of ideas for gifts and have been on several shopping trips since they left Saturday morning. I have gone from 30% of my shopping done to about 75% done! Yeah! I cleaned up the guest room this morning and set up my "wrapping station" and wrapped several presents. I have a lot of things going on the next several weeks so it is a big sense of accomplishment to get things underway.
My son and husband are both 2nd degree black belts in karate. My son is unable to advance for several years because of his age. It has been hard to keep him interested because he isn't learning anything new and the dojo (karate school) is quite small and he keeps working with the same students. Basically, he is bored. In addition, this year he has had a great deal of homework and it has been difficult for him to make it to class 2 nights a week. However, his father and I hate to see him quit. This afternoon, we had a family discussion and came up with a solution. They are going to take private lessons and attend classes for black belt students once a month. It should be enough to keep him involved and keep his skills at a high level but not so much that he dreads going to class. I have my fingers crossed, anyway.
My niece received a Kindle for her birthday. When we were talking about them this weekend, she mentioned that Kindle gives you free access to the Internet. I realized that I could access Wikipedia but I didn't realize that I could access facebook,etc. I don't have Internet on my cell phone because I really don't need it and I am too cheap to pay for it but free Internet is right up my alley. Jen said that she found a recipe online that she wanted to try but she forgot it at home when she went shopping. She did have her Kindle with her and was able to look it up and get the ingredient list. I downloaded (and read) the latest Friday Night Knitting Club book by Kate Jacobs and the newest Alex Cross book by James Patterson. I also downloaded 5or more free books. Gotta love the free aspects of the Kindle. If you are looking for a gift to purchase for that hard to buy for person, I highly recommend the Kindle.
That's it for today, Folks. I hope everyone has a great Monday and a great week.
Here's to musings.
I am impressed that you went out at 11:30 for black Friday shopping!!! I am a much better morning person, so I went around 6. Now that the girls are getting older, it is harder to shop because they want expensive things. Glad that you had a nice THanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteWhat a whirlwind of a long weekend you had!
ReplyDeleteI have been eyeing that Kindle for myself, it would be so much easier for me to haul that around than a book or books. The price is just killing me right now, I am going to wait until the technology brings it closer to my budget. Thanks for the review on it though, it makes me want it that much more!
Glad you got to visit with your family!
The monthly black belt class is a great idea. Hope it gives him the balance of involvement he needs.
ReplyDeleteI want a Kindle!!!