Happy Thank-MERRY CHRISTMAS

It never ceases to amaze me just how soon Santa is poking his big behind into Thanksgiving. But that doesn't stop me from blogging about it.

Thanksgiving was nice this year. It was a little uncertain what we were going to be walking into given all of the drama surrounding my sister and her relationship, but it ended up great! It was our family - mom, dad, sister and my hubby, and my mom's brother's family who live nearby. The food, as always, was awesome, and my pies got raving reviews! It was my first attempt at pumpkin pie and it turned out pretty well according to my relatives! Success! Pies might just become one of my new "things." I really like making them and they are for sure a challenge - the pie crust the most challenging in itself! One day you can do everything right and end up with a perfect crust, try the same thing a day or two later and it flops. Practice, practice, practice.

I cannot wait until we move into a house that is large enough to entertain more people - I think I would have Thanksgiving every single year for friends and family who were in the area with no place to go for Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday hands down.

After eating the large meal, most of us retreated to my parent's family room to watch the rest of the Packers/Lions game and sift through the gigantic pile of Black Friday ads from the paper. This year there was not too much that Derick and I looked through that we found much interest in. There were, however, a couple of things that caught our eye. One was a tablet on sale at Best Buy with about a half-price savings. Derick was very interested in this item, so we contemplated heading out to Best Buy at midnight that night. My sister also was convinced she wanted/needed one, so we were all going to caravan over there together.

My sister came over to our house around 10pm and we headed to a Best Buy we figured might be a little calmer than going into the heart of suburbia. Well, we were wrong. The line had wrapped around the front and side of the entire building and when we got in line, we were almost to the back of the building and we had about an hour and a half to wait outside. At least it was warm outside! I have never ever waited for a Black Friday sale, so this for sure, was quite the experience! While in line, we "met" a few friendly people who we laughed with and made the time pass more quickly.

Best Buy seemed to have things pretty well organized. Once in line, they had store associates walk up and down the line asking if people were here for item x, and item y and so-on from their ad. If you said yes, like we did for the tablet, they handed you a sheet of paper with a number at the top of the page. This item was a guarantee that if you had this ticket, you had until 4am to come in, claim and buy your item. That felt so good to get that piece of paper! So once we had that in our hands, we made a plan to go get other items that we knew we wanted. Derick and my sister were going to go back to the computer section to get Derick the keyboard dock for his tablet, and I was going to rush the video game section to get Derick his "Sharp Shooter" for the PS3 Move. Derick also wanted to get the Boy Meets World seasons 4-7, so that was going to be our meet-up location.

Once the doors opened, the line swiftly moved into the store. I was amazed to see all of the camping chairs and bikes just left outside the front of the building and all of the ads, food wrappers and garbage there were that we had to step over (no garbage cans in sight) to make it to the entrance. Once inside, there wasn't any pushing or shoving or grabbing items from each other, it seemed very FULL of people, but alright. I made my way back to the video games section where PS3 and Xbox's were flying off the rack like they cost $5. I found the Sharp Shooter and grabbed the last one in the stack. I clutched that thing as close to my short body as I could and tried to make my way back to the DVDs. Boy, was THAT a challenge! The store had blocked off most aisles so that you were forced to travel most of the main aisles and not deviate from that plan. Well, with all the people herding towards the video game area, I was almost trapped in the back corner. But, I was finally able to make it to an aisle where I stepped over one of the "boxed-off" walls and hurried over to the DVDs. The other two had found what they were looking for and I spotted the Boy Meets World DVDs. We grabbed those and then found out we had to make our way to another long line to claim and purchase our tablets. ugh. That line was probably one of the worst ones of the night. It did. not. move. After awhile of watching some crazy family interactions in front of us, we turned to a couple behind us and again, laughed and made small talk with them until finally, we reached the checkpoint and then the checkout counter.  Three hours from the time we got in line outside until the time we got back into the truck, we had our items.

My sister had to work the next morning at 9am, so we brought her back to our place so she could drive back home. There was one item at Walmart that I had wanted to get, so we decided to run over there quickly, and be done with our Black Friday craziness until later that day, when we were going to go to Gander Mountain to get the last of our items we wanted to get. Walmart was not crazy at all - there were a lot of people there, but it really seemed like a routine shopping trip. That might have been because they had opened their sales up at 10pm and by this time, it was almost 2am.

After Walmart, we came home and fell asleep. Later that afternoon, we woke up, and went to Gander Mountain to get the last of the items on "the list." Derick is now all set for his birthday and Christmas, so that is nice. I don't think he has put down that tablet since we got it home with us! I am very thankful for the nice, long weekend and being able to spend it with our family and purchase some of the items we had been looking for, for much cheaper than a normal shopping trip!

I hope that you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you feel as blessed as I do for who you have around you.

-LD

 As I have gotten older, it really has become more about the little things in life. Something that takes just a little less time, saves a little more money, makes me a little bit happier. Well, dear followers, I have found another little something. Now, usually I don’t go around promoting products on this blog, but for this item, it needs to be shared.

I have been fighting to get clean dishes since we moved into our townhouse. We even got a new dishwasher to see if that would help get our dishes clean. Now, I guess, you could say that they were getting clean in the regard that most of the food particles were being removed, but sometimes not entirely. The dishwasher would also leave the hard water deposits on every dish, glass and utensil placed within. I lived with the fact that nothing I did would take care of the white film on all of my dishes. Now, it didn’t help that we chose white dishes with a black band around them – the black almost seems grey most of the time, or just dirty looking. Sure – I had tried all different kinds, scents, colors, brands of dishwashing soap and not much change. The other night, we were over at my parent’s house to celebrate my sister’s birthday and my grandma was there. Derick was on my sister’s laptop playing “Family Tech Support,” when my grandma asked us to look up Lemi Shine. http://www.lemishine.com/

She said that she tried looking it up, but when she did, her page had errors and she could not see where they sold it. Apparently at the grocery store she regularly shops at, was not carrying the product at the time and she was in need of some. She said it did wonders for her dishes. I asked her if that was all she put in her dishwasher to make her dishes come out clean, and she said that she mixed ½ Cascade Gel dishwashing soap and ½ Lemi Shine in the main soap compartment of the dishwasher.

Well friends, I went and purchased my first bottle of the stuff and let me tell you – that stuff is A-MAZ-ING! I mean – I was taking out dishes, looking at them with the same expression of sheer dumfounded joy that you make fun of in the ads for the stuff. The glasses came out almost perfect! Just a couple that had a lot of the film on them needed another round. I took out all the dishes and then put all the bowls, plates and silverware in there for a dose of awesome sauce. SUCCESS! Next to enter were the pots and pans – those I had real doubts about, but lo and behold – they came out SO much better – so I threw them in for another round while I was at work.

So, since getting a bottle of the Lemi Shine, I have washed just about every dish, glass, pot, pan, and utensil in the kitchen and my dishes look amazing again! It even made our dishwasher cleaner! I swear it almost sparkles – now THAT is saying something!! I wish I had a before and after photo of some of the things that were really bad – maybe I can still take one of my clear Pyrex mixing bowls. I think those are the last things that need to go through the miracle wash cycle!  I thought it might be helpful, if any of you have had a similar issue – go save yourself the frustration and get a little bottle of happy! 

-LD

Fishtank Funkiness - Finally Finished

Well, about 98% of the way finished! Here is our latest phase of the project:

setting up the stand, Tucker observing the process, naturally

2 of 6 40-gallon tanks up and running

TA-DAA! (10-gallon "baby grow-out" tanks will go on either side on the bottom

Here we are today!

We are thinking of having a Doberstein Aquarium Grand Opening party soon!

Insomnia, take yawn

Here I sit at quarter to two in the morning. W-I-D-E Awake! Not really sure what caused this crazy alertness to set in, but I have bounced around some websites, played some solitaire and have been Facebook chatting with someone I just met at work. Interesting night/morning I guess.

In recent news: I can SEW again!!! My Grandma came over this afternoon to try and diagnose the issues I had been having with the old sewing machine she had given me of hers about 2 years ago. When she got here, we started in right away in project diagnosis. She was positive that I had flipped the fabric the "wrong" way and sewed in on the machine. But when SHE tried it out, she found the same issue I had been facing when it came to the Blind Hem sewing on the machine. You DO have to sew it backwards because the machine is wacked. But the good news is that we figured out how to use the machine to do it anyway, regardless if sewing the right or wrong way. I hemmed a total of 5 pairs of pants tonight - three of them myself, AND I re-covered a pillow that I had been waiting to do for quite some time now.

In other news, is anyone ready for the holidays? Friday during the day - at work, we saw snow flurries flying by the windows and I was a little excited. That, and trying to come up with some sort of "christmas wish list" for my mom and mother-in-law, can prove to get one in the holiday spirit. Did you know the Salvation Bell ringers are already out ringing?! I didn't realize it until I saw them out today!

In workplace news: Last week I experienced a couple firsts. One: I was asked for money from a homeless person while walking to my car, in the skyway, leaving work. That was awkward and boy, can some of those people spin a tale! Not to say that it might not have been true, but still...and then the next day after that, it was a chilly morning, and finding homeless people was like an Easter Egg hunt...there were a few sleeping in some of the most random, "creative" spots, and finding them was a little startling. I can only imagine this is only a start to what will be to come later this year after the snow flies.

Second "first" was venturing out to Shamrocks


OMG. INCREDIBLE burgers and SWEET POTATO FRIES!!! A coworker introduced me to the place and I love it. the atmosphere was great too. They have live bands on the weekends. I am sure it would be fun to check out then too! If you are ever near downtown St. Paul, I highly recommend this place. Delish!

Well, I think that is about all for the quick update! Stay tuned.

-LD

ADA's Step Out Walk to Stop Diabetes 2011

This year's Walk For Diabetes was indeed a success! The Camp Needlepoint team - the team I am a part of, won again this year for the most walker participants as well as the most money raised by a team! That was amazing. It was awesome to see the turnout this year - it seemed like a lot more than last year. I think for sure the weather played a huge part this year as it was cold in the morning at 6:15am setup, but then warmed up to be a pretty nice day outside!

Here are some pictures from the big day:

A view of the crowd just before the walk began

My mom, dad and me just before the walk started

My aunt and cousin also came for the day and helped raise an additional $170 for our team!

 

And what would a Halloween Walk be without the Walk Committee leader dressed up as Cat In The Hat?!

Winners! Team Camp Needlepoint (some of us)

 

Bug Juice 1/2 gallon "challenge"

 

Lauren is the winner! Sorry boys!

High fives all around

 

Can't wait to start planning for the walk event next year. Next up: The Annual Diabetes Gala.

-LD

Bus Adventures

So here starts my chronicles of my bus adventures. Mind you, yesterday was the first time I had ridden the bus to work at my new job.

[sidebar] I won’t be riding the bus again until my parking garage contract is up at the end of November, so you will just have to sit tight and wait for all my eye-opening adventures of the bus rides until December, but for now I can leave you with this:

I knew going into riding the bus that there were going to be some unique encounters. I guess I just didn’t expect to really see and experience as many as I did see yesterday.

I drove to a park and ride pretty close to my house. There were a few other options as far as the park and rides go, but after comparing the duration of the bus trips, driving to the one I selected saves me about 25-30 minutes one-way. So, I get to the park and ride, hop out of the car and wait for the next bus to show up. These buses should be coming about every 5 minutes, so it wasn’t long that I was in line behind one other person, and the next bus was entering the lot. I hopped on the bus, entered my cash fare and took a seat toward the back of the bus. I took out my phone to have the maps app follow the bus route so I knew a little better where the bus was going and when I should be getting off the bus.

At one of the stops on this stretch, a guy boarded the bus and stood directly across from me. He had one wandering eye, so I was trying not to be distracted. And PS, WHERE and WHAT are you supposed to look at in a bus without offending anyone or feeling that you are a creeper staring at them the entire ride? I didn’t have a book with me, and I didn’t really need to have my eyes glued to my phone the entire time, but I felt a little awkward the whole time, and felt like I was being watched.

The first length of the trip went pretty smoothly. I got off the bus in Mpls and walked to where I would transfer to another bus that would take me to St. Paul. This was where I had a small issue. My stop to pick up the next bus was located along Nicollet Mall. Well, a little background on Nicollet Mall – Buses come and go from both directions and many different ways. I went to where I thought the stop was, looked around but did not see a little bus stop sign. So, I walked another block to where I saw many buses coming and going, but that was not the correct street intersection. Luckily for me, there was a city worker cleaning the sidewalk. I finally went over and asked him where I should go to pick up the bus I was looking for. He was one of the nicest men ever. He told me that all I had to do was cross the street! I was THAT close! I just couldn’t see the sign because an awning was obstructing the view! I thanked him and hurried over to wait a few more minutes until my transfer bus arrived.

Once boarding the transfer bus, I struggled a second to find where to put the transfer ticket. They need some better labels for that area CASH here, TRANSFERS here, etc. But I think the next time I ride the bus I will have my “Go-To” card that I tap on the machine to board and pay my fare.

Once on the route, at one of the stops, a male with a HUGE duffle bag and I am assuming his girlfriend, boarded the bus together but had to sit separately. As my luck would have it, the guy sat next to me reeking of some of the most awful smoke I have smelled in my life. He had to get up a minute later to deposit his dead body bag more up front. You know how sometimes you get feelings about people the moment you come in contact with them? Well one word for this guy: oddball. He stood up to talk with the driver soon after boarding and the bus was in motion – about which bus he could take that would get him to Wisconsin. When he got his answer, he sit back down and only a few minutes later, stood up to ask the driver almost that same question again. After that, he did it another time, and I thought the bus driver was going to tell him to get off.

Meanwhile, on that same transfer bus, there was a guy who I am willing to bet – is what my younger cousin will look like in his early 20s. I kid you not. It was like an “older version doppelganger!” I was amused and a little intrigued at the same time.

When I got off the bus for the last time, it was a short little walk to the front of the building where I hopped in the elevator and it was off to work!

Honestly, once when I got to work, it took me almost an hour and a half to focus on work. My mind was buzzing! Must have been all of the nervousness, anxiety, anticipation and watching the bus route craziness that caused me to feel so frenzied!

Speaking of frenzied, that time of the year is upon us!

My mom just sent out an email for her side of the family’s annual Christmas Party – and White Elephant – that I have taken the initiative on and have been planning and executing for the past three years now. It is hilarious and quite possibly the new highlight of the party. It is awesome some of the things that people “re-gift” and one or two keep making the rounds! Derick got stuck with one of them last year, so we will need to be clever in how we get rid of it this year! So, there’s that which is already planned, and my mom and Derick’s mom have already been asking about Thanksgiving plans, Christmas wish lists and some other upcoming events like my sister’s college graduation and winterizing the boat and pulling the dock out of the water for the season. Whew! I cannot believe it is already the end of October! I think next year we should have a Halloween party at our house. I love seeing all the great costumes and decorating for the occasion! FUN!

Speaking of Halloween, I was just talking with my coworker today who was trying to get her boyfriend excited about dressing up – and looking for some good couple’s Halloween costume ideas. She said that once (I think last year) when they were in college, she dressed up as a white rabbit, and he surprised her by coming in as Elmer Fudd, complete with play-hunting gun! Cute! When I did a Google search for couple’s Halloween costumes, there were some interesting things, for sure, but one of my favorites was this one of Mary Poppins and Bert the Chimney Sweep, SO CUTE, and I think, easily do-able!