TGIF

Greetings!

It has been quite the week. I'm grateful to be sitting my home, sort of being productive, but not doing anything for work. We actually have the Charlie Brown Christmas movie on and I'm considering moving to my bed after this blog entry is finished.

Here are my random thoughts for the week:

--I'm sorry Adele but I'm getting really sick of your music on the radio. They are overplaying her music (and that's an understatement). I'd probably enjoy her music if I listened to not-so-popular songs but alas I don't have any of her albums.

--I am not a huge fan of The Fray but they have a great new song out. I believe it may be called "Heartbeat". It's under strong contention for an Itunes purchase. I'm also enjoying Coldplay's latest release "Paradise".

--I ventured to many stores today to try and complete my remaining Christmas shopping. For the first time in a year (or longer) I went to the Dollar General here in Ames. I wish I had gone elsewhere and paid more money for my items. The Dollar General is located close to one of the busiest intersections of Ames. It was super difficult to get close to the store, I made traffic back up as I waited to turn into the parking lot, and for the first time I severely bottomed out my car in their horrible parking lot. The store was crowded and dirty. Even the employees looked dirty consider the cashier's yellow polo shirt was a dingy shade of gray. I got my wrapping paper and got the heck out of there quickly.

--I'm proud on the amount of money I saved today. I used a kickass coupon at JCPenney and used my birthday gift card at Payless to get some new black shoes for work. I also saved quite a bit of money at the GAP thanks to a great sale. The only wrench in the evening was trying to locate roller blades for Gavin. I was shocked that Walmart does not carry adult-sized roller blades. Target had a few pairs but they were red. Gavin made it clear that red was not the desired color. I'm hoping to find a good pair in a store in Ankeny tomorrow.

--Gavin had his first social gathering at school today. They had a 6th grade party with games, dancing, pizza, etc. I had to snag him and his buddy Thomas early since they had basketball practice. He's really starting to grow up fast. Pretty soon he'll be out on many Friday or Saturday nights. Or he'll be playing sports and I'll be sitting at his games.

--I'm excited to start wrapping presents. I think I'm truly an adult now. I'm excited to see others open their gifts...I'm not worried at all about what I get. I actually feel really good about the fact that Jon and I aren't exchanging gifts. I'm actually hoping for miminal gifts this year. I won't lie...a gift card to Hy-Vee or Wal-Mart would rock. My wish list isn't extensive.

--As you probably saw on Facebook, the Christmas tree has been erected at Jon's house. He had a fun time the other night around midnight. He was awakened to a loud noise in the living room and the dog went bonkers too. He thought someone was breaking into the house. He discovered the Christmas tree lying on the floor. The stand appears to have broken and the tree went down like a ton of bricks. I feel bad because only one ornament broke. It was a glass ball Jon collected and has a Chicago theme. He used the tree stand designed for a real tree to fix the tree and so far it's working.

--I had some emotional eating in my life again this week. I had a lot of Red Cross related stress on Wednesday. Even while on the phone with them I kept thinking about cheesy potatoes. On the way home I picked up some from the Hy-Vee. I overate and didn't feel great in the evening. I hate how negative situations/stress trigger my hunger and cravings. So frustrating! I'm really going to need to get that under control in addition to my urge to snack late at night.

--Jon and I went to the Steeler's game last weekend. I love the atmosphere of a football game whether it's high school, college, or pro. Now it was very cool at Arrowhead Stadium since the Chief's fans were peppy. We tailgated and had very good seats. We weren't in the nosebleeds but we weren't in the lower level. I didn't get cold until the 3rd quarter. I knew the Steeler's were going to win but I had expected higher scores and a bigger difference. We decided to head to Iowa immediately afterwards and not get a hotel. When getting on one of the major highways/interstates we noticed a lot of law enforcement and actually saw the Steelers' buses and caravan get escorted toward the airport. It's crazy that much security needs to be used just to get a football team on their way. It was a long trip back to Iowa and I slept well after all that.

Here are some more things I'm excited about this month:
(forgive me if there are repeats)

--introducing Jon to the popcorn ball making process
--possibly sledding if my lower back and tailbone will permit it
--the candlelight service on Christmas Eve at my home church
--making a gingerbread house that is pimped out with goodies

Ok, that's all I have for now.