Black Friday Virgin No More

I have never gone Black Friday shopping before... until now. It was soooo cold at 5:30 in the morning standing outside Target, waiting for them to open the doors! L and C and I went to Target, Old Navy, Michaels, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, JoAnns, Macys, Burlington Coat Factory, Custom Wood Innovations, Claires, GNC, Applebees! It was sooo much fun!

I got lots of fun stuff for my neices and nephews and some cool things for the little guy for b-day and christmas!

I even got hubby some new ties and a dress shirt for his (HOPEFULLY!) new job... we are still waiting for an interview at the Albertsons' US Bank... we really want this job to work out... it's only 1/2 mile away!!! It has full-family benefits!!!

Pray, pray, pray!

The Trip Down South... Way South!

So... I haven't been around for awhile because I was recovering from my trip to my BIL's wedding in Jackson, Mississippi. Let me start by telling you how the weekend was supposed to go... and then I will tell you how it all went down.

We were scheduled to fly out of Boise at 7:40 am to arrive in Baton Rouge, LA at 3:30 pm. Then we were going to drive to Jackson with "Unca Blad" and go to "Unca Kiss'" house for a special family dinner of all the Shaw's in town -- including meeting our new SIL! Then we would hang out there for the evening, etc. Friday morning we would be visiting some more, as well as working on flower arrangements and general prep for the Rehearsal Dinner. Then we would meet up and go to the Rehearsal later on, followed by the dinner, and then we would all hang out somewhere and go back to Chris' house to sleep. Saturday morning=wedding. Saturday afternoon=visiting. Saturday evening was to be taken up by driving back to Baton Rouge, staying with a friend of the groom's family... and then going to the airport after catching some sleep at flying out at 5:45 am.

Here's what actually happened: we sat in the Boise Airport for FOUR HOURS. We finally left around 11:00am which caused us to miss our connecting flight to BR. We then spent EIGHT HOURS in the Denver airport with some silly little food vouchers and our DVD player. Then we flew to BR and arrived at midnight. 81/2 hours late. No ride to Jackson now! So they put us up in a Hilton hotel. Very nice. Would have loved to stay there much longer!!!

Friday morning we wake up after going to bed at 1:00 am--at 6:00 am. We eat another free meal (now I must say the free meals were nice... but given a choice...) and got shuttled back to the airport to pick up a Rental Car. We had to pay for it. No rental car vouchers allowed... We drove to Jackson and go there just before lunch. We rushed to get floral arrangements and eat a nice lunch with Grandma R and Mom S before getting ready for the Rehearsal... everything else went as planned (THE IMPORTANT STUFF!!!) until Saturday afternoon... when calling to find out about our flights... there was no record of us being on a plane to BR and no record of us flying out. We tried to change our flight so we could get some sleep but it woudl have cost $1000!!! So we just stayed up all night and drove back to BR at 12:00 am and got there around 4:00 am, got on our plane and got back to Boise... much, much, much tiredness was had.

Also much joy. I would do it again if I was asked to. I loved seeing my hubby's family. They are MY family. They're great. Love them.

And so it goes.

So... I recently posted again on my devotional blog, MoreThanJewels. Check it out if you want to... this time I around I had some questions that I would love to hear some answers to. :)


It seems like we have been pretty busy. Mostly because I helped my big sis with her Christmas Show at the Idaho Center in her Cathedral Soap booth. I spent several days over in her warehouse, wrapping soap, making kid soap kits, labeling shaving soaps, general encouragement to the artisan, etc. Then we went to the Idaho Center and spent a day setting up. Then there were three days of sales. I didn't sell on the third day, but I did arrive to help her clean up and pack up the van. I then brought the tables home and began setting up for my CM Open House. It seems like there is just one thing right after another during the Holiday Season, doesn't it!


We spent Thanksgiving with the Hoseley Clan (including Ralph and Dee who are FAB!) and we had a blast... we spent about three hours around the table, talking, drinking, eating, laughing like crazy! Then we rounded off the evening with a rousing game of Hand and Foot in which my niece and I slaughtered L and A... Hahahaha (evil laugh)...


Next on the schedule is the second Christmas Show down at the Boise Expo (repeat of above--just new venue) with periods of transcribing in between. Then it's off to Pittsburgh! Hoo-rah!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Been Up To...

So we've been doing a lot of things here on our property lately. You saw the pictures of the removal of bushes... that was followed by hanging siding on the front of our house and hanging the trim, caulking, etc. Then we concentrated on building a flower bed in the front yard (raised one with trimming stones) that is going to hold a Fringe Tree (something my hubby has really wanted to have) that we found out we can get from a local nursery. Hubby had a landscaping job that he did for a local realtor and he had leftover mulch, so he worked some more on the front yard and made a second bed and then mulched both. We have also started laying the tile on the kitchen countertops. It is soooo beautiful! It's been really fun working on the house together. We are going to take a break and go to Mississippi this weekend for Brother Brad's wedding. It's going to be a really fun weekend! The little guy is going to stay with his Auntie Wawa and Uncle Crud. ;o) I am going to post some pics of the flower beds and tile when we return. 'Till then!

Party on Wayne. Party on Garth.

Halloween Night

Here is our fun with pumpkins and two cuties in "not-so-cutie" wigs.
The cutie without a wig was a COWBOY!