Thanksgiving Hangover

I'm sure many of us woke up suffering from a Thanksgiving hangover this morning.  I know that I did.  And I think Moo did too because she didn't get up at usual time.  Not complaining about that though.  All I know is that when the Mr woke me up to tell me he was headed out to barber's, all I could due was throw up the peace sign.

To say I was feeling sluggish would have been an understatement.  My body felt like it weighed a million pounds.  All I could do was snuggle up next to my JJ and sleep my hangover off.  Thankfully by the time the Mr got back, I was able to make it out of the bed.  He had braved the long Black Friday lines still at Walmart and picked up a few gifts for the kids.  So, I wrapped and threw a few bows on those while I waited for our brunch to cook.

Of course, Moo was up by this time and tried to sneak a peak at the gifts.  I was quick covered everything up before she could see it.  Sadly, my baby can't keep a secret sometimes because she would have surely told JJ what his gift was.  I know it wouldn't have been a big deal because he would have been clueless as to what she was talking about but still we're going to have to work on the whole keeping gifts a secret concept.

I decided to stay inside.  No braving the Black Friday madness for me.  Instead, I curled up with my Vampire Empire series and Fifty Shades Freed.  It felt good to enjoy a good paperback as opposed to reading books with my Kindle app on my phone or laptop.  Something about physically being able to turn the pages that heightens the experience for me. 

Yeah, I'm a nerdy bookworm like that.  *Shrugs* And now I'm enjoying some more snuggle time with the kiddies while we wait for Frosty The Snowman to come on.  Oh the joy of the simple things!

Did you participate in Black Friday or were you suffering from a Thanksgiving hangover too?

Thanksgiving Recap

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I know that I did.  It got to a rocky start because my mom's car broke down the night before Thanksgiving Eve.  It was just a whole lot of stress that I didn't really need or want.  Anyways, the situation got worked out.

I ended up cooking a full Thanksgiving dinner that consisted of a small turkey (lemon & herbs seasoning), mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, corn bread, stuffing, apple pie and a sweet potato pie complete with a scratch made crust.  Let me just say that my first attempt at making a pie crust did not turn out too well.  I think that I didn't put enough flour in it.

Thankfully, my second attempt was a success.  Moo enjoyed playing in the flour and kneading the dough.  She's really been taking an interest in helping me cook.  I'm thinking about getting a little step stool and apron for her.

My brother and baby sister spent the night Thanksgiving Eve.  We had a blast catching up and telling funny stories while I finished the pies and wrapped up Christmas presents for the kids.  It had been three months since I'd seen my brother and one month since I last saw my sister.  We do enjoy being spread out in different cities but we miss being in each other's company too.

Thanksgiving day was fun.  We went to my younger sister and her husband's apartment for dinner.  Moo was beyond happy to see her Grandma and my niece.  JJ wasn't too thrilled to be away from his bouncer seat.  Not to mention, with all his teething, he just wasn't having it.

We made back home in time to see the Mr off to work.  I hated that he had to go but it's life.  That's the one thing I don't miss about working in retail. Working on the holidays.  And I'm looking forward to the day when my husband won't have to either.

I didn't even bother going out for Black Friday.  It's not what it's cracked up to be.  I can personally say that half stuff that was on sale will be cheaper after Christmas or after New Year's.  When I worked in retail I loved being able to give my family and friends a heads up on what stuff to wait on.  I think that a lot of people just blow Black Friday out of portion.

You had grown people behaving like rabid animals for some video games, toys and clothing.  That to me is just plain disgusting.  Especially, when some of those people know they can't afford any of the stuff they got and will end up returning or pawning it.

Anyways, I'm glad that my family and I are able to keep the holidays in perspective.  I'm looking forward to Christmas and being with my loved ones again.

How was your Thanksgiving?

Like A Turkey

Well, Thanksgiving is literally a little over 24 hours away!! Aren't you excited?  We are!!  We're having house guests.  My brother and baby sister will be crashing here at my spot since we're doing Thanksgiving at my younger sister's place.

I'm also running around like a turkey with my head cut off trying to clean up and make sure that everything is straight.  I'm also getting together all my ingredients for the dishes that I'm making.  I have to hunt down a recipe for a pie crust and finish cutting up my collard greens.  While we're on the subject of collard greens, how come the ham bits seemed hella expensive this Thanksgiving?  Anyways, I will still be having some pork dripping to season my greens with.

Source

We're planning on going Black Friday people watching.  I don't buy into the whole savings scam.  You'll find the same things you're getting enticed into buying will be even cheaper the week before and of Christmas.  When I worked in retail, I used to try to share this with my friends who I knew would be racing to store to get something.  A lot of stores will say that they won't get those items back in stock but that's just another ploy to get you to shell out big bucks.

But that doesn't mean that I can't check out the craziness that will be surely going down.  I also have a lovely gift card from Starbucks that I won over at Mrs. AOK's blog.  I will be using it to enjoy some yummy coffee and a cheese danish.

Oh, I enjoyed my few days of being unplugged from the internet.  I had a blast spending time down at my mom's house with her and my niece and seeing the Christmas parade.  And did you all notice the Holiday Gift Guide Posts from last week?

What are you running around like a turkey doing last minute?

About That Time

This week is coming to a close and it's about time for families to get together and break bread, carve turkey and prepare for all those Black Friday sales.  I'm especially excited because my baby sister and younger brother will be crashing at my spot.  Yeah, it's going to be a tight fit but we always have a bomb ass time when we're together.  I'm talking about laughing to our stomach hurts over funny stories from the past and present.

There's no denying that being around my family brings me great joy.  I hope that my kids will have an even stronger bond than I have with my brother and sisters.  I'm looking forward to capturing some memories to go in the scrapbooks.  It's not often that we get together since we all live in different cities now (and states too).

Anyways, I'm hoping to wrap up my food shopping tomorrow.  I'm responsible for doing pies, mashed potatoes, gravy and a homemade punch.  Not sure what kind of punch yet but I've got a few recipes flowing through my mind.  Then of course, I'm cooking something for husband because he has to work.  Booo..... but that's just the way it is.

Source

His job is important and he's contributing to making society a better place.  So, I won't complain.  I decided to skip the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn and wait to see it with my brother and sister when they get here.  It'll be JJ's first movie theater experience.  Hopefully, he'll do well I won't have to watch the movie from the door.  Moo will be fine. All she needs are some snacks and a soda juice to keep her quiet.

Have you gotten started on your Thanksgiving plans, menu, etc?

Black Friday

Unlike my mom, I decided to avoid all the Black Friday shopping madness at the stores and enjoy some Black Friday deals from the comforts of my own home.  So, check out some of the Black Friday deals listed below.



Ed Hardy

ALL Specialty Caps Buy 1, Get 1 Free at Ed Hardy! Valid from Nov. 26th through Nov. 28th!

Infinity Shoes

Get $10 off all orders over $100 with coupon code LSSAVE10

Get $20 off on all orders over $200 with coupon code LSSAVE20

Happy Shopping!!!

Homesick

Well, it's week three of me and Moo being at Grandma's house and I'm finally getting a little bit homesick.  Don't get me wrong we have had a wonderful time chilling out, laughing and traveling with the family, but I miss my hubby and my own space.   And to make the situation worse, my treo decided to up and die on me.  Ok so it's not dead in the sense that it won't come on because it will.  However, it cuts itself right back off and none of my buttons work.

And if you know me personally then you know that I'm always on my treo.  That thing was my lifeline to my distant friends and relatives.  Not to mention how I stayed connected to Twitter and Facebook throughout the day.  After all it's just not possible for me to stay glued to the computer all day with a busy almost 2 year old. I'm not going to complain too much though because I've already told Santa that I'd like a new phone for Christmas.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to this weekend when I will reunite with the hubby and my stuff until Christmas week.  Hope that everyone had a blessed weekend and will have a lovely Thanksgiving holiday.  Let's not forget the things we have to be truly thankful for.  And for those of you looking for some Black Friday sales, stay tuned because I will be posting some sales codes from my sponsors that you can use online instead of rushing to the stores.

And don't forget that I am still looking for sponsors to help YUMMommy donate to the Sponsor-A-Child charity mission going on at the Wallace Family Life Center.  They have roughly 45 families who are in need this year.  If you would like to adopt a child, family or even just send a Visa gift card contact me and let me know.  This is a great opportunity to help get your brand out their as an article and list of all businesses and brands and individuals will be published in the local newspaper.  I will also highlight those brands that assist YUMMommy in donating to this great cause in blog post after December 19th.