Hello and happy Monday Friends ~
And happy November! I know I'm a broken record, but I can't believe how rapidly this year is flying by. Here we are only one month away from the Christmas season. Wowzers! Being gone so much makes it harder for my brain to compute what time of the year it actually is. But my planner sure had cute scenes in it as I opened to this new month:
So many seem to want to skip over this month. I hear young people say "forget Thanksgiving" - just focus on Christmas now. But I really love this month. It's a time of preparing, anticipating, and most of all being thankful and reflective on so many gifts. It's not to say that having some of Christmas in your heart is a bad thing during this month. I'm already listening to Christmas music as it's my fave and 1 month isn't long enough - I need 2 months to really enjoy. 😉 And I may even decorate outside earlier this year to avoid doing it in the snow. And maybe put up my trees even if I don't decorate them yet. Thanksgiving is so late this year - so I think it's just being smart.
I just mean not to skip Thanksgiving all together. The time for gathering with loved ones. Eating the best meal of the year (and leftovers!) and sharing our thankful hearts. That shouldn't be missed. 🙏🏻🍂
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We took a visit a few hours away to see my son Aaron and his sweet Jill. We went to a Wild hockey game, ate great meals, played games at their cute apartment, they belatedly celebrated mine and Matt's October bdays, and we just had a great catch up in general. Their place is so nice and right along the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities area of MN. They're loving it and doing so well!
Matt and I stayed at a hotel in the Mall of America. We did some Christmas shopping and probably walked 4 miles over the course of the weekend. It was so much fun!
This week I will do a post or 2 (depending on length) of our recent Europe trip and being on the Queen Mary 2. I will share info and pics. So stay tuned!
THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:
fasting for a labs appointment so no coffee either :(
ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:
labs appt, MD appt, errands later in the week & groceries, work on putting away summer and Fall decorations outside, clear off the deck for winter, clean out the dryer vent from outside (Matt does each year), home projects, hospice work
THINKING ABOUT:
I'm so glad Matt and I went and voted early last week. I have a feeling it's going to be crazy tomorrow!
AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE
It's warm and cozy. It's been gray and rainy all morning. I have a fire going in the fireplace and I'm listening to Amy Grant holiday radio on my Alexa echo show. Sipping pumpkin spice Republic of Tea and listening to Bubba purr next to me. Pure contentment ☺️
CURRENTLY READING
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
*I have a confession to make: i forgot my kindle on the plane from the Europe trip, and didn't remember until it was too late. 🙈 When Matt and I were shopping this weekend we got each other some Christmas gifts. He got me an ipad mini and I'm just loving it! And the nice thing is I have the kindle app on there and can still finish my book!!
ON THE TV TODAY:
Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, Great British Bake Off, Jeopardy, Golden Bachelorette, Ghosts, Shark Tank, Grey's Anatomy, Love is Blind, cooking shows, Walking Dead catch up
ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
MONDAY - leftover ham & scalloped potatoes, spinach salad with veggies, dried apple, cheese crisps and raspberry walnut vinaigrette
TUESDAY - tacos we didn't make last week
WEDNESDAY - pork chops, roasted veggies with balsamic glaze
THURSDAY - keto breakfast sandwiches, fruit, fun coffees
FRIDAY - out for dinner with my Bro & SIL
TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:
read, play with new ipad & pen doing a new game on there, crafting
TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:
FROM THE CAMERA:
Some hockey pics and I took a few of some of Aaron & Jill's apartment:
crossing the mighty Mississippi
that pathway out their window, goes right down to the Mississippi River and those trees are along it - so you're seeing the river in that pic even though I didn't get a good shot out the window
a few pics in the MOA:
even frost on the ground one morning
sleepy Ruby and a little color out our bedroom yet
