Oh Little Girl...

I took on the task of watching Tic Tac for a few days.  Boy oh boy... I forget how much work it is... especially since we are afraid of monsters and sleeping by ourselves and say that we don't like mac and cheese, chicken, pizza, or anything else that we know she usually eats.  Ugh.


I made Monster Spray the very first day.  Thankfully I remembered where to find the recipe for it.   Whew!

We made a count down so Tic Tac would know when she would be going home.  Too bad she didn't really get it and kept asking if the weekend was over and if she was going home each and every day... multiple times a day...

 

There was lots of coloring...

 

There was even painting of little fingers and toes in Shrek colored paint...

And I got my hair "did" by Tic Tac too...

I'm sure I'll be worn out to the fullest once she's gone!

Cooking with Kay Kay and Tink

So the other day I was watching Tink during the day. The night before I had a craving for some homemade chocolate chip cookies. I keep wanting to try more recipes that are friendly for the hubby so I opted to try out sugar free chocolate chip cookies. They turned out pretty fab... not exactly like "real" cookies... but my craving was fixed.

I of course took pictures cuz it's just so fun to see someone who's not even three yet cooking up a storm!

Slacker... I know.

So... ummm yeah. I haven't blogged since July.

Of course, I have been saying oh I need to blog, in the back of my head. Honestly. I just know that I've been down in the dumps and didn't feel the need to share. So, I'm going to move past these last few days, weeks, months and start blogging again, hopefully on a more regular basis.

Since I've been out of work I've done my share of traveling. I spent some time in Wisconsin with my family there. I even managed to see some old high school friends... gosh I miss them!

When I returned from Wisconsin I was home for a few days and then I was on my way to Colorado. I spent some time there being my nieces nanny for 9 days before their school started. We did a ton of stuff... one day the girls and I went to a movie and shopping, a day at a fantastic zoo, a long round of mini golfing (I even got two holes in one!).

When I got back from Colorado it was time for me to tackle my resume. I'm working with a company who help with this transition in my life. I attended a workshop and learned a few things along the way.

Jerome and I ended up heading down South for a second time this summer, his grandmother passed away and we of course wanted to attend the funeral. I think I surprised Jerome when I managed to drive all the way to St. Louis there and back... heck I surprised myself! We had company in the car though.... JST and Tink came along with us for the ride. While we were there PST arrived with the newest addition to the clan, her son. It was so nice to hold a baby again :)

Jerome and I have become serious movie goers. Since we live in a metro area there are screenings of movies that are coming out about a week before. I never knew of these until recently when I did a little research. Boy oh boy have we taken in the flicks this year!

Tink turned two a few days ago and I was lucky enough to capture a few pictures of her the day before. If I do say so myself they turned out pretty good!





Laney, my goddaughter also turned two... check out her cute little pics on her mama's site!

What else....
I've also managed to rack up another godchild... but this time... A BOY! LOL. Anna, one of my bridesmaids has made Jerome and I the godparents of her son Jordan. That makes four for me! Wowsers! We haven't had his baptism yet... but soon.

I think that's about it for now... hope to post again real soon!

Southern Comfort

Photos coming soon.

Jerome and I took a flight down to Mississippi over the fourth from his family reunion. The difference this time than any other is that we brought Tink with us. I was a little worried about the flight. I hoped that she wouldn't scream uncontrollably. She thankfully fell asleep on our first flight which was our longer one of the two. She even remained asleep until we were walking off the plane. On the second flight she just played, colored, and looked out the window a time or two.

We picked up our car and were on our way to Jerome's parents house. For some reason Tink had a very disgruntle look on her face for most of the way... perhaps that's from being awake at 3am... who knows but it was funny to us.

We arrived and quickly settled in. Jerome's mom and dad were amazed at Tink... how big she got, what she could say and how she acted. We figured out who would be watching Tink Thursday and Friday. We packed her a bag and also ourselves and we were on our way to New Orleans Thursday.

We checked into our hotel - The Holiday in the French Quarter called Chateau LeMoyne. It was a beautiful hotel, nice and clean and only a block off our Bourban Street. After getting settled in we made our way out into the French Quarter for some sight seeing. We had dinner at The House of Blues. We made our way down to Cafe Du Monde for a fantastic dessert of beignets... ohhhhh so delicious! We had hoped to get to the French Market for some shopping but it was already closed for the day.

We headed back towards the hotel, stopping at Pat O'Briens per two people's recommendations for a hurricane and a bowl of gumbo before tromping through the puddles on Bourban Street. Yes, it was raining. But it was fun... or perhaps that was the hurricane talking for me! :) We got back to the hotel and settled in for the night.


View French Quarter, LA in a larger map

The next day we awoke, packed everything up and checked out of the hotel. We then took a trolley down Canal Street and then walked a few blocks to Mother's Restaurant. I had the early bird special: eggs, grits, too spicy for me sausage, a biscuit and OJ. Jerome had an omelet with grits and a biscuit. I'm not sure if I would go back there again, but at least I can say I was there and say it was fun... packed... but fun.

After breakfast we took another trolley down the Riverwalk to the French Market. We walked through... I picked up a fan at the first booth... it was sweltering hot there! I wish now that I would have picked up the purse that I debated on... oh well... guess I'll have to get it next time :)

We made our way back up to Jackson Square, where we found a tour guide in a horse and buggy. For $12 each we were taken all around the French Quarter horsey style... Ha! We shared the buggy with a family from Florida. The guy in that family knew a few details too as he was originally from New Orleans so it's almost as if we had two tour guides for the price of one.

After the tour we went for a sammie at a place that the tour guide mentioned and then headed across the street for one last round of beignets before heading to my sister in laws house.

We got ourselves dress for the Essence Music Festival that night. We jumped in our car, my sister in law and her boys in theirs and went to the Superdome. We parked and had hoped to jump right in line to get inside. Too bad I had ALL the tickets! Yeah... we weren't thinking. I had the tickets for my other sister in law, her husband and her daughter plus Jerome's parents. UGH! They were running late and the show had already started by the time we got a hold of them.

Man oh man. We missed most of Salt and Pepa... one of the groups I really wanted to see :( I did manage to hear just a bit of them singing but only saw them for about 1/2 a song. Neyo was on, then John Legend and the Beyonce herself. Yeah ugh... I could toss out Beyonce any day... but whatev.

After the show we headed back to Jerome's parents house. I could not keep my eyes open though. So I dozed off here and there and everywhere! Thankfully my hubby is a night driver and had no issues until we pulled into the driveway. We both passed out in the car because Jerome's parents were actually behind us in driving. When they arrived I woke up, nudged Jerome and we went inside to sleep.

The next day we awoke, got dressed and had to go pick up Tink at her Great Aunt's house. While walking out to the car I fell. I sunk into an ant hole up to my thigh! I screeched, Jerome came around the car and saw me on the ground. He kept asking if I broke anything. I didn't but I was full of dirt and saw red ant swarming all around. UGH. It put me in a mood.

We drove over, met Jerome's mom to get the car seat and let her know about the hole in the yard that I fell in. I was still in a mood.

We picked up Tink, stopped in the house for a bit for a sip of water and chat. I of course, still in a mood. Ugh. I had to get out of the funk. We drove back to Jerome's parent's house. We put on our family reunion shirts - red ones this year, and headed into town for the festivities.

Tink didn't get a nap in... and boy could we tell. She didn't want to listen, she didn't want to sit, and sure didn't want to be told to come by us. She knew we would try to rock her to sleep. Boy oh boy did she run around with her little cousins.

After we ate we headed back to the house to grab a few items and then headed over to Jerome's Grandmother's land. People were set up outside playing cards, watching movies and just plain chatting. We took up a spot and joined in on the discussion.

The host family has a home right near where we were. They were going to be shooting off fireworks over their pond that night. We of course were going to watch from where we were. We pulled our chairs out from under the trees to see the fireworks as they started. I started to complain of mosquitoes biting me and thankfully the show was done so that I could go inside. Ends up I must have disturbed a red ant hill... and had those biting me instead of mosquitoes. Yeah... 20 RED ANT BITES :( Ugh. I was miserable.

My feet instantly began to itch and swell. Of course, we are out in the sticks and nothing is open. I suffer through the night. The next day, being Sunday, everything was still pretty much closed. Jerome's mom, his sister and I headed to Dollar General. Of course... they didn't have what I was looking for either, but I did manage to get some Benadryl that had more symptoms than I had to take. It knocked me out.

Monday we got our stuff packed up as we would be leaving around midnight to drive back down to catch our early morning flight Tuesday morning. We talked and shared stories and then headed to bed. Thankfully Tink was in the mood to sleep when we went.

When we got up and ready we picked her up to take her to the car and she woke up... wide awake. OH BOY :( Well, thankfully on the car ride down she fell back asleep. We checked our car into the rental lot and headed to the airport with all of our bags and baby gear and Tink. Someone should have checked (hey... I can't be expected to do everything right!) but the airport was closed until an hour before our flight. So there we sat... at the entrance to the airport... waiting on someone to open the doors. Of course, by the time the doors opened Tink was wide awake from all the commotion.

We headed in, checked our baggage and went to find our departure gate. We grabbed a little breakfast and hoped Tink would sleep on the plane. We left out... and yes, she fell asleep... but about 10 minuets before we landed. Ugh.

On our second plane we had an unattended child sitting in front of us. She was about 11 or so and turned around and started playing with Tink to keep herself entertained. We of course were a little ticked since she needed to sleep. When it came time for us to take off Tink became mad, screaming bloody murder because the girl had to sit in her seat for take off. Tink wanted to sit in the seat next to her, we told her no, and she threw a fit. Ugh. We were those people. I'm sorry anyone on that flight.

She finally calmed down. I hung up her blanket so she couldn't see the girl in the seat in front of us (thank you for the tip internet!). She was calm and content coloring. Whew! She was so sleepy though. Eventually I pulled her into my lap and she fell asleep. And continued to sleep for the landing, departure of the aircraft and getting our bags from baggage claim. Holy cats.

We were glad to be back. To sleep in our own beds. To give Tink back to her mama... but of course work came way to soon for us. Thankfully we did take an extra day off just to have a break from our vacation before heading back to work. It still came too soon.

Glad to be home.

Bronchitis

Ugh.... so I went to the doctor today to see if I could get something for this cold that I caught from Tink... ohhhh or maybe it was Nicole... oh man. Ends up my doctor thinks I have Bronchitis. The last time I had this was back in college. I knew that meant I would be getting an inhaler. Finally I'll be able to breath better. Sweet.

So yeah... ick. I've been washing my hands constantly and have the antibacterial wipes for cleaning up around here.

Happy Holidays....

Look who's getting big

and doing exactly what I did... yep... those are my shoes that Miss Tink is stepping into...

Whew... only two more sleeps

Until I see NKOTB again! I leave tomorrow for Chicago. While I'm there I'll stay with my college buddy Melba and her hubby. I also meet the cutest little peanut who's already 2 years old, Nicole, their daughter. Melba is actually going to the show with me... it should be a fantastic time! But I don't think she knows what she's in for!

Anyways... we had a pretty busy weekend this past weekend. On Friday we had a family photo shoot with a coworker of mine who's just starting her photography business. Which family you ask... well... Me, Jerome, his girls, and Tink. Yep... my family. I don't have the proofs yet... but when I do I'll post a few... to hold you over I give you this gem...

The girls stayed at our house then Friday night. It was fun to hang out with the girls for more than a few hours. Then on Saturday was Tink's first birthday party. Yup... that little chickadee is a whole year old. Check out her very own blog for photos.

Sunday I had yet another Blockhead party. We actually were getting together at Tiff's house to watch the VH1 special on them. She had a great spread of food and beverages... which reminds me... Tiff... send me those recipes! We had a great time, and of course missed those who weren't able to make it.

I'll be posting again once I get back from Chicago! See you soon!

I cut my hair, a rug, and my finger...

So Saturday morning I dragged my butt out of bed and headed over to Fantastic Sam's for a haircut. I had planned to get it cut on Friday but cleaning for the Monty Crew took longer than expected...

So here is the back before (with Tinker):

And here is after:














Whatcha think?

So, that's cutting of the hair... as far as cutting a rug... Saturday night was another NKOTB fan bash. We went to Major's in Bloomington this time around. We had a few new Blockheads show up which was quite fun, Trisha being one. And how did I cut a rug you ask? Well... we asked the DJ to play NKOTB... and he did!



So... that's the hair and the rug... that only means one more thing... the finger. Yes, your PC consultant sliced her finger. I was making dinner last night and was cutting butter (in my hand no less) to put into the rice. You guessed it... I sliced my finger and had to go to the ER for 6 stitches. My guess is that there could have really been one more in there in a spot.

Here's the story: Jerome was watching tv and I went into the kitchen to make dinner... I had the chicken in the stove, the water on the stove to start boiling for the beans and was putting the rice in the microwave... stupid rice needs two tablespoons of butter in it... So there I was butter in hand... sliced the first chunk and went back for the 2nd chunk of butter with the stupid $1.25 paring knife from PC and got more than that.

I immediately put my finger under running water and said something to the effect of "Jerome I need stitches". He jumped up from the couch and came over to see what I did and then put the dog in his crate. I asked him to get me a darker towel while I applied pressure to my finger. Good lord it was a gusher.

We headed to the ER, Jerome dropped me off while he went to park the truck. I checked in but it didn't seem like they were in any sort of hurry to help me with my bleeding finger. They didn't ask too much at check in either... just told me to go sit in the lobby. WHAT?!?!?! Yeah... so back to the lobby we went... me giving the middle finger to everyone above my head... Yes... I sliced my middle finger of all fingers!

The took me into a room eventually... of course that was when Jerome left to get cash for parking since neither of us grabbed any while going out the door. He eventually made it back into the room just as the doctor was coming in to numb my hand. He watched as she stuck a good sized needle in the base of my finger in three spots.

Then the doctor left and the tech or nurse came in to clean out the cut. Oh my goodness... My finger was not numb! It hurt like hell! She told the doctor that I needed more near the actual cut... and boy did I get it. I again, wasn't looking at my hand but Jerome was. He said that she stuck a needle in once on each side of the cut and then two to three times IN the actual cut. Oh boy did that hurt too... but then... it was numb.

I ended up with six stitches on my middle finger palm side of my left hand. They wrapped it up and the first thing out of Jerome's mouth was Spiderman!

Trip in review

The day started off not like any other. At 12:01 am I was wide awake thinking of all the things that I did or didn’t do yet and if I forgot something or needed to remove something to lighten the load. I stayed awake debating on if I should just get up and go check the luggage or stay in bed and make myself go to sleep.

I opted for staying in bed because I had just finished painting my toes in a bright shade of pink and didn’t want to have to redo them. I tossed and turned. Jerome was snoring away.

I’m not sure when I feel asleep but I suddenly woke up to find Jerome with Pork Chop outside. He came inside the house and cooked himself an egg and a bagel and I did the same for myself. Jerome left for work, Pork Chop went back in his crate and I went back to bed.

I was awaken by my alarm clock, jumped up and headed for the shower. I let Pork Chop out one last time, scooted him back to his crate and gave him a treat.

I ended up leaving early and was to work all too early. So early that Richard asked me if I came in early just because of the move. (Our team moved from one floor to another yesterday – but our computers and boxes never made it to our new floor by the time I left yesterday.) Ughhh I hate it when people notice what time I come and go!

I set up my desk to my liking. Putting up pictures and notes, my white board and posters. Everything was just right. I notice it was almost 1pm when I looked up. I had planned to leave at 1:30… but that didn’t happen… 2pm I was out of there. Wishing everyone a great holiday weekend.

I went home, checked the mail and gathered Pork Chops baggage. We were off to drop him off at the Puppy Hotel – his vet and also place where his puppy class was held. Pork Chop is spending a week at the puppy hotel and suite where he will be pampered beyond recognition I would guess. Thankfully the tech told me to call any time I wanted to check in on him. Poor guy… momma misses you!

Then it was off to the grocery store to purchase a bag of ice for the cooler and cash a check that came in the mail the day before for Pampered Chef. Back home I went. I carried all the bags into the garage when I noticed our neighbor across the street leaving. I went to the end of the drive to let her know that we would be out of town to watch over the place and call me if anything goes wrong. She of course said she would.

Then the wait began. I was waiting for Jerome to show up with our rented Mini Van to haul us away… us being the two of us, PST, JST and Tinker. Yup, all of us are heading out of town to Mississippi for his family reunion. This will be Tinkers first extra long trip and first time down South.

When the girls arrived I took a look at both of their extra large suitcases and wondered what could possibly inside of them. Were they packed correctly? Would they all fit? These were all good questions.

I started loading the van, first the pack and play for Tinker, then PST hard sided suitcase that I got her for her graduation a few years ago and then Jerome and my carryon rolly suitcases. JST’s wasn’t fitting. Ughhhh. It was so large and flat vs. wide. We ended up switching out her bag for one of our other ones… everything fit just fine – even though I’m sure she’s upset that we just tossed her stuff into the new fitting suitcase.

And we’re off. I was driving, Jerome was shotgun. Behind me was Tinker and behind Jerome was JST. In the way back was PST and the cooler. We turned back around before we even were a block away double checking to see if the door was locked.

We stopped at Stout to fill our bellies on Wendy’s and stretch our legs. Back into the van we were loosing daylight. I drove until about 10pm when I decided that I should get my night vision checked and we were at a ½ a tank of gas!

Oh… I didn’t tell you… the Mini Van that we picked up had 15 miles on it when we left… yup… BRAND NEW! It even has a DVD player in it for watching movies which everyone did while I was driving for the most part, until everyone fell asleep. It’s funny because I called it a movie on tape since they were watching movies that I hadn’t seen yet and I was making up my own pictures in my head of what was going on.

Anyways… back to the switch. We stopped at a gas station to top off the gas and empty bladders and garbage from the van. Jerome started the drive and I became the co pilot. We were good to go… until we remembered that we didn’t bring any change for the tolls. Shoot. Thank goodness PST knew that her pop would forget the change and brought some with her. The girls fell back to sleep and Jerome and I chatted.

I made us ham and turkey sandwiches with tomatoes and cheese from stuff that I knew wouldn’t last at home. It started to rain… and then we got sleepy. We pulled over to a rest area to go to the bathroom and maybe take a snooze. But since it was still raining when we came back from the bathroom we both felt pretty revived… but then again became sleepy.

It’s time to pull over… and since I’m writing this in the van as we drive it’s 2 miles to the next rest stop where we will be stopping for a brief nap. We’re about 70 miles away from St. Louis.

Honestly... nothing

Nothing much is going on... I know... pitiful.

We're getting ready to head south for Jerome's family reunion. We being myself and Jerome and his girls PST and JST and Tinker. A full carload going down. Yes, we are driving. So I know once I return there will be things to post! Pork Chop isn't attending the reunion with us though... he's going to be safe and sound at his vets boarding facility.

I worked outside a bit this weekend, cleaning gutters and such. I didn't get around to trimming the bushes.

We've finally met our backyard neighbor, a single woman who adores Pork Chop. Her daughter and son-in-law and brand new grand-baby have moved in with her while they search for a house in the area. Come to find out they have a pup that is Pork Chops new friend. They play in the backyard chasing each other along the fence. It's pretty cute.

Tomorrow my team will move to a different floor - not the entire department... just my team :( Sad. I'll still have a window view from cubeland and will even face the window this time. That's about the only selling point.

Who wants something free? I do I do!

So I pretty much suck. I've forgotten to update my blog - or didn't really have anything interesting to say for a whole week. I've also slacked on my blogrolling posts for some time... FORGIVE ME. Today... a two for one plus a deal...

So Amy over at MomAdvice.com tipped me off on a tripod. Now I know what you're thinking... what on earth is Kim doing buying a tripod.... well... I hope to use it on my camera for taking excellent shots of Tinker and perhaps I'll use it at PST's wedding next summer (bomb dropping there... I'll post more about this soon!) for taking video with my camera. And it's FREE.

My note on how to get it completely free is included in both Amy's post and Heather's over at Freebies 4 Mom. Just take note that you need to not have ordered thru Google Checkout (if you have... sign up your hubby!) and change the shipping date to the 7-9 day delivery, resulting in free shipping. ENJOY! I will in 7-9 days :)

Guess who's 3 months old today???

A few favorites of mine from the photoshoot...

Happy Holidays...

So last Thursday Jerome and I had the cutest little company. Tink came to our house for the night while her momma went on a date. It was fun to play with her all night long, we even did a little photo shoot. She slept like a log till about 3:30am. She woke up kicking in the bassinet. Jerome brought her into bed and she fell right back to sleep till about 7am.

Her mom, JST, called at about 8:3o am the next day - Friday morning. I guess Jerome told her that we would bring Tink back to her at 8am. Needless to say Momma was missing her baby :) She and PST came to our house to pick her up instead of waiting for us to finish breakfast and get dressed and then drive over that way.

Once they left Jerome and I drove to Minneapolis. I know, I know... I'm naughty. I should have done this a long long time ago... like a year and half ago... we finally went to get my social security card/number updated with my married name. Jeesh. We did some other running around and then headed for home.

Saturday I made a turkey and all the fixings. Mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese and green beans. PST came over to chow down on it with us. We watched Rush Hour 3 (yeah... shhhh!) and a few other movies. She left to pick up JST and Tink and headed to their mom's house for the night.

Sunday the girls (PST, JST, Tink) came over to open their Christmas presents. They got some pretty practical items for the most part and then some slippers with some sparkles on them. We hung out and had chicken and pizza for dinner... ends up the roads got kinda bad so they stayed the night! It was pretty fun. We watched movie after movie after movie.

Monday, Christmas Eve, the girls left in too big of a rush forgetting a few items. Jerome called but ended up taking the stuff over to them. After he returned we took a short nap and then got up and got ready to pick Anna up from work. We hung out with her and her family eating some tasty ham! We headed for home and Jerome managed to fall asleep on the couch within about 15 minuets. I've sent him off to bed and then jumped online to see that no one in my Yahoo Messenger group was online.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

This past weekend I got the tree put up and the holiday decorations out. There was a bit of a debate as to where to put the tree this year since we have some additional furniture in the living room - the two striped chairs and ottomans. Ends up that I put it in the same exact spot as last year in front of the side window.

The tree went up with the same decorations as years pasts... with the exception of two. The first is one that I didn't put up... Lily's paw printed ornament up. But what I did put up brought a smile to my face... what do you think?


On Saturday it snowed our first "storm" of the season. We got about 7 to 8 inches of snow plus drifts in places. And today it's snowed another 3 to 4 inches already... and is still snowing. Ugh. I would be complaining more... but.... I have to say that dumpster diving paid off this past year. Remember that snow blower that I said I picked up and hoped that it would work... well... IT DOES! Yahooo! Free snow blower!

The girls ended up not coming over this weekend... so... I didn't get as much candy making done as I had hoped. (I was thinking I could teach them some of the recipes for what my family makes this time of the year.) Needless to say, I still got some done.... chex mix, chocolate covered pretzels, peanut clusters, cornflake cookies, cashew turtles, and Jerome pecan candy. I had wanted to also do some of Ella's sugar cookies, Oreo Balls and who knows what else... but I'll have to do that some other time. Check out the new recipe blog for recipes and photos.

I did also make the lasagna that I had planned on - even without the extra mouths but I didn't get to the point of wrapping presents... which I need to do before we head to Wisconsin so I don't have to ship GWM and MJM's presents.

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow...

So the cities are under a winter storm watch. We could get up to a foot of snow by Sunday...

To make it a bit more like the holidays the girls should be coming over for the weekend all three: PST, JST, and Tink. I plan to make Christmas candy this weekend and put up the tree and other decor. I'm even planning on wrapping up the presents for shipping out (oh to be ahead of the game... you think it will happen????).

I think I'll also put together some lasagna this weekend... with all the mouths we'll be feeding it will probably go quickly.

Sorry!

Two weeks pasted just like that?!?!? Whoa.

Sorry to my people who are looking in each and every day to see if something new has come up. I honestly can't say I was doing much of anything special. Let me ponder on the last two weeks and find out what I was really doing...........





Okay... here's something. Jerome, JST, Tinker and I went to Jerome's other daughter PST's apartment for Thanksgiving. The story goes that Jerome and I left home right when we got home from work. Jerome was in the driver's seat of the Neon... he decided that he didn't want to take the main highway that runs all around the cities because he thought it would be packed with rush hour and all. Then the phone rang. JST was wondering when we were going to be picking her up. Jerome thought she wasn't coming with thus why we had already left - without picking her up. He got off the phone and I told him he should go get her. That if he didn't he would be feeling it later.

We turned around and picked up JST and Tinker. Yep, we were still in the Neon. But now I know what it'll be like with a little one in the back... hopefully when we have kids ours will be as calm as Tink was. She didn't make a peep the whole time... and when I say whole time it should have been only three hours... but it ended up being a five hour tour. Ugh. It was rush hour, it was the day before Thanksgiving, it was snowing - only flurries though.

We arrived around 12:30 or so at night. Whew. We made it. Jerome and I claimed the couch while PST and her boyfriend CT claimed their room. I'm not actually even sure where JST and Tink ended up honestly... ? The girls stayed up giggling and talking while Jerome and I dozed off into sleep.

When we woke in the morning I let Jerome know that I needed a paper... for the BEST HOLIDAY paper EVER. Yup... Black Friday. True, not a real holiday... but I celebrate it none the less! Jerome left to pick up my paper and came back to pass the sacred paper to me. It smelled of fresh printed ink. Tasty! I studied each and every paper. Searching for the must have deals. I had already looked online at some of the ads thru Black Friday websites... but it's something about the actual paper. Once I had gone thru we decided to shower and pack up to head back to the Cities.

When I got out of the shower I was informed that PST was coming back to the Cities with us. Wha? How? Oh my... will we all fit in the Neon???? Truth be told, yes... we all could fit. Now were we all comfortable... that I can't say. I bet Tink had the best spot in the car! We made it back and dropped off all the girls at JST and PST's mom's house. Jerome and I headed to a gas station to pick up a City paper to view and make sure we received all of the same ads as in PST's neck of the woods. Then we headed to Lisa's husband's family feast.

We weren't sure if we were going to make it, so we hadn't prepared anything. I felt a little bad until we walked in and saw all of the food. Most people had already eaten and people were getting to the point of making their "to go" plates. Jerome and I piled our plates, ate, and then piled up our own "to go" plates.

We headed home. We went downstairs to watch TV and I sat in my chair to study. I got out the flags to tag the pages in the ad. And stuck a post it note on the front of each place where there was something that I wanted with what that item was, the store name and what time the store opened. I also circled the item in the ad. I was set. The only problem was that a few of the stores where I wanted to go were opening at the same time... I enlisted Jerome to help me out. What a great hubby!

Here's the run down:
4am:

• Kim at Kohl's for the opening (standing in line) for an 18 qt. roasting crock pot (didn't get - they sold out on Wednesday b/c they were apparently open then - GRRRR), ear muffs, and flash lights that don't require batteries.
• Jerome at JC Penny for the opening (standing in line) for Queen size air mattress with pump and Adidas sweat pants (didn't get since they didn't have the right size and color combination)
  

5am:

• Kim at Toys R Us for the opening (standing in line) for a few Xmas presents for my nieces and a little something for Tink to borrow when she is at our house
• After Toys R Us Kim heads to Walmart for 2 pk Gerber sleepers for Tink, digital picture frame for my xmas present to myself, a portable DVD player (which was returned later on in the day after I thought about it a bit), GWM Xmas present, a few DVDs and a fry daddy for Jerome (was returned - see Kmart)
• After Walmart Kim heads to Kmart for Xmas presents for Nieces and a Grand Daddy Fry Daddy for a dollar more than the Walmart Fry Daddy
  
• Jerome at the small Best Buy for the opening (standing in line) for a 500 GB external hard drive (which was returned - see Target) and either blank CDs or DVDs
  
• After Best Buy Jerome headed to Target for a different 500 GB external hard drive that was $15 cheaper and either some blank CDs or DVDs. Jerome calls Kim to say his card isn't working. WHAT? Kim heads to Target to make his purchases with her card and also pick up phones for PJM. (More details in the next post)

Now since we had to meet up we are off schedule. Not really that big of a deal. We both head to Office Max to pick up some Anti Virus and also a Wireless Router which we aren't sure if we are keeping yet or not.

Then we went to Menard's for some light and cheap snow shovels, and a few other things. We thought we were done so we went to Perkins for breakfast and to discuss our purchases. We got everything that was on our list with the exception of the roaster at Kohl's and the Adidas pants. Pretty good I think.

Then it was off to bed. We both took a good long nap. When we woke up Jerome headed over to see PST and Tink and I headed out to Walmart to make returns. We met up afterwards and headed to Lowe's to see about ladder that was on sale as well.

I found out when I went to work on Monday that one of my co-workers was in my dust trail. She started her day at the same Kohl's and Toys R Us. Funny! She should have picked up the phone to call since I started with my phone calls to Lisa at 4:10am and receiving a call from PJM around 4:30 am! It was so much fun! I can't wait till the day after Christmas :)

I got the bug last night...

No I'm not sick... just annoyed.

I managed to pull all of my clothes out of my closet that were either hanging or (dare I say this?) on the floor and ordered them back into the closet where and how they were suppose to be. I went through all my hanging clothes and made sure that if I hadn't worn it all summer long that I probably won't ware it next year (especially with hopes of a little one they wouldn't even fit).

I pulled out an entire basket full of clothes that either have holes, stains, are out of shape, just don't fit right, or I just don't like. I'll keep a few of the shirts for painting and yard work but the rest has got to go.

Now how did I get this all accomplished... well, honestly Jerome was over at JST's place with her and Tinker. I had the house to myself... and apparently this is what I choose to do with that time. Not to mention I cussed myself out when I was tripping over my shoes that were falling out of my closet. There was no one to blame but myself.

I worked on my armoire too. I need to hit it a little harder... perhaps tonight.... who knows. It'll only happen when the mood hits me. I really am looking at attacking our sock drawer next. It's horrible. Who knows if we have matching socks, what I do know is that we have a ton of mismatched ones with holes in them!

She's already a SUPER STAR!

There was a segment on KSTP news about all the babies that were born last Thursday at Regions Hospital... as you know that's when Jerome's Grand Baby Tinker was born.

Here's the story and on the right hand side is the video. We taped it as well if this should go down we've got a copy.