What's The Number For Weight Watchers?

I ate way too much. Not only on Thanksgiving - I ate way too much all weekend long. And I'm going to regret it because Friday is our first holiday party and I'm going to have to squeeze into clothes that are suddenly too tight. Lovely.

In other news, I'm tired. Really, really tired. Lots of food (as previously mentioned), shopping, football, and relatives will do that to a person. The house is a huge disaster, but the tree is up so that's something. I suppose that tomorrow I should do something about the house. And the two Christmas gifts I need to make in the next three weeks. And the editing I need to do for work. And the planning for the book fair that I need to do.

Whine much?

Black Friday Recap

It's amazing. 364 days a year, I fight to stay under my covers as long as possible and am rarely out of bed before 7:00. On the day after Thanksgiving, I'm up and at 'em before the alarm clock goes off and out the door 20 minutes later. We were at Wal*mart at 4:30 this morning.

I'm happy to report that there was no trampling, no screaming, no fighting... everywhere I went, I stood in orderly lines of people waiting patiently to buy gifts for their loved ones, laughing over the cold noses and frozen fingers, and slowly starting to droop once the sun finally came up. I'm so sad and disgusted to see the story of the store employee in New York who was trampled to death by a crowd of shoppers. For us, the day after Thanksgiving is a fun tradition - a way to get a head start on the Christmas shopping, grab a few deals, and enjoy each other's company. We try not to take ourselves too seriously and, if someone else gets the deal before us, then we're off to the next store. Our local retail and big box stores do a nice job of crowd control, often using police officers to watch the lines right before opening time. But generally, we're with a bunch of good-natured folks who acknowledge that we're all idiots to be standing around in the cold several hours before dawn to spend money.

Idiot or not, I achieved almost all of my goals for the day. Over the next three weeks, I'll pick up those last few items and then I'll start wrapping presents. I don't have a lot of skill in that arena. My gifts never ever look like Martha Stewart wrapped them... more like I entrusted my gift wrapping to someome Martha Stewart was in prison with, come to think of it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My wish for you this Thanksgiving Day:

I hope your turkey was more cooperative than Cousin Reginald's.

Revised Holiday Schedule

Evidently, there were some incorrect dates on the previous schedule because this new schedule has been released showing all of our favorite shows for the 2008 holiday season.

http://television.aol.com/insidetv/2008/11/20/holiday-tv-schedule/

Ahem. I should say almost all of our favorite shows. A Smoky Mountain Christmas is sadly missing from the list. I am very very sad.

Are YOU Ready For Black Friday?

Ohmygosh, it's only three days away. That wonderful day of the year when I get up at an ungodly hour, shiver myself into an icicle standing outside of a store with a few hundred people, and then die of heat exhaustion while standing in the checkout line under the 17 layers of clothing meant to keep me warm in the great outdoors. The husband has a plan for keeping the kids busy, I've been mapping out my shopping strategy at bfads.net, and we've got the menu figured out so the husband can toss things into crockpots and feed the masses. My mother-in-law and I should be home in time to watch Nebraska take on Colorado at 2:30.

Life is good.

I've done Black Friday almost every year since I've been married. To me, it's the official start of the holiday season. Yes, the sales are great and I get the majority of my Christmas shopping done, but it's also the Christmas music piped into all of the stores, the grins on the faces of everyone else stupid enough to get up that early (at least until noon or so, when people start to get very, very grouchy), and the fun my mother-in-law and I have planning the adventure. It's been an even better day when my sisters-in-law or mom have joined us, but this year it's going to be the two of us, heading out into the fray in search of bargains.

I'm counting down. Three more days!!!

Another Change...

Leigh, does this blog background work better for you? I want you to be happy :)

Now... you owe me a post on your blog. WITH pictures. Ha!

Baby Sign Language

Today, Miss P had another visit with the parents-as-teachers therapist. The activities today focused primarily on problem solving and puzzles, and it was so cool to watch P's mind work to discover a solution to the puzzles set in front of her. For instance, the therapist brought a six-cup muffin pan and seven tennis balls. You hand them to the child one at a time and then observe them as they figure out what to do with that seventh ball. Some kids move the balls around for ten minutes, picking up one ball and replacing it with the one in their hand continuously. Some kids balance the extra ball in the space between two other balls.

What did P do? She handed the seventh ball back to the therapist with a disgusted look on her face. Can't fool this child!

As always, her physical development is exactly on target, her problem solving/processing is ahead of the curve, and her ability to verbalize still behind. The therapist wants us to try some baby sign language. P is a visual learner - show her something once and she's got it. However, the therapist's theory is that P's brain isn't making 'pictures' to go with words, so it's harder for her to use words consistently and appropriately. By using sign language for a few of the common words we use at home, we'll provide a physical action that is associated with each word, evidently helping to draw that picture in her head.

Okey dokey. :)

The therapist kept saying that using signs also would cut down on P's frustration in communicating with us. The thing is, I don't think she gets all that frustrated. We have a pretty good understanding of what her noises and gestures mean, and she's an independent little cuss so if we're not immediately responsive, she just does whatever on her own. Plus, she does say 'okay' and 'thanks' and she nods her head 'yes' or 'no', so we do just fine with the basic stuff. P understands absolutely everything and can follow direction (if she chooses). She also occasionally pops out with words like 'cracker', or 'milk', or - my favorite - 'stinky'. But she doesn't use any words, other than 'ma' or 'da' and 'thanks', consistently.

So, I'm all for doing what I can to create the pictures so the little monster can tell me that she prefers the sliced turkey over the sliced cheese. Right now, she communicates her desires by feeding the cheese to the dog.

Politics Redux

The election is over, the talking is done.
My party lost, your party won.
So let us be friends, let arguments pass.
I'll hug my elephant, you kiss your a . . . hem.

Oh. My. Gosh. That is just about the funniest thing I've ever read. And you know where I saw it? Over at http://www.allthenewsthatfits.wordpress.com/. It's a blog devoted to conservative political issues and it's written collaboratively by a bunch of bright, funny, fiery women. I'm excited to say that two of the writers are my friends and, even if I don't agree with all of their political views, I'll be following along and arguing passionately.

Because I think I speak for almost no one when I say: I miss all of those bickering political ads.

Identity Crisis

I'm having a blog identity crisis. I can't figure out what I want to do about a background. I'm playing with the idea of having one custom-designed, since I'm not smart enough to do anything graphically on my own. Plus, I need a couple of buttons for linked pages, and I can't figure that out either. Until I magically learn all I need to know about graphic design for the web... or come up with a little cash to pay someone to do it for me... I think we'll go with this lovely holiday-inspired theme.

At least until I get bored with it and look for something else.

You'll also notice the BlogHer ads over there in the sidebar. I hate to go all commercial on you, but it's for a really, really good reason. I promise! I just can't tell you what it is yet. But it's really cool! And you're going to be so excited! Sometime in early 2009 :)

What IS A Meme Anyway?

Despite my ignorance on the subject of memes, I'm always up for a good book post. Christina tagged me to participate in this little game!

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open it to page 56.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence along with these instructions.
5. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

I'm currently re-reading all of the Jane Austen mysteries by Stephanie Barron. The ninth one just came out but it's been a bit since I've read the first eight so...

Page 56, fifth sentence: "Talk of war and the Navy, however, soon gave way to the subect of the Captain's tenancy of a country house some two miles distant, on the Charmouth road, and of our own Wings cottage." - from the 2nd book, Jane and the Man of the Cloth

Obviously I did not 'dig' for the cool or intellectual book. Heh. However, they are light, enjoyable mysteries and I love the Jane Austen character. Barron actually does a nice job of emulating the Austen style and the books are never short on the requisite rake. According to Barron, even 19th century novelists liked the bad boys.

Let's keep this lovely game going by tagging Meredith (who needs a distraction), Jess, and Erin. What book lies close to your computer keyboard, ladies?

For Laura... And Others Wanting Free Loot

It's been a while since I've registered at Type-A Mom, so I had to go check out all of the procedures again :)

It looks like registration requires first and last name, user name, and email. Name and email are not visible in your profile, or when you post. I believe you can safely register, and then use your user name to enter the contest without revealing personal details. A blog address is not required in the registration process.

To get contest entries, you do NOT have to post on your blog, twitter, stumble, write an article or any of that other stuff. Those things DO get you additional entries, but are not necessary.

Today's giveaways are all for mom! Cute totes, jewelry, perfume, a framed picture... If you win this, you're covered if hubby doesn't come through with the good Christmas gifts :)

Giveaway Reminder

I know I'm hounding you about this, but the last couple of giveaways have had fewer than 40 people entering over at Type-A Mom (http://www.typeamom.net/). That would seem to me to be pretty darn good odds, if one were so inclined to enter.

Also, I'm working on my Adoption Gift Guide, with stuff for munchkin and mom. I've got a pretty impressive list, if I do say so myself... and obviously, I do! But if you have something to add, let me know. I consider myself a darn good shopper, but I don't want to miss a really great gift idea!

Yep, Yesterday Sucked

As anticipated, yesterday was not a fun day. Did you know that you can ruin a pair of contacts by crying too much? I held it together pretty well until I left work early to take Cleo to the vet. I cried all the way home. I cried while driving to the vet's office. And when I got up to the desk to tell them why I was there, I was sobbing so hard I couldn't speak. Luckily, our vet's wife was working the front desk and she knew who I was, so she handed me a bunch of kleenex and took care of the paperwork without my help.

Our vet is a complete sweetheart. He took us back to a private room and loved on my kitty while his assistant prepared the needle. He told me he was surprised that she survived as long as she did and that, with her illness, I was making the right decision for her. And, just like that, my Cleo went to sleep. I sobbed a little more and said goodbye.

Yes, she was a cat. And yes, I'm overly emotional as a rule. But Cleo gave me 16 years of fairly loyal kitty love and I'm going to miss her.

Adoption Rollercoaster

I think it's been well-established that adoption is a rollercoaster. Huge ups. Huge downs. With hopefully a smooth ending where no one has fallen out of the car thanks to the safety belts.

In the last week, my friends Julie and Chris have FINALLY, after ELEVEN months, received permission to travel to Vietnam to meet their son, Bennett. This is, obviously, a massive 'up'. I was excited! I was dancing in my living room!

And then my friends Meredith and Joe... details removed by me... please, please take a minute to add them to your prayers. This is one rollercoaster ride that needs to have a smooth ending.

Goodbye Kitty Cat

Tomorrow, Cleo will be put to sleep. I've been avoiding this as long as possible, but today it was apparent that she wasn't feeling well. She's been crying all day and the poor kitty is so thin. I don't want her to be miserable, so tomorrow is it.

Tomorrow is going to suck.

On The First Day of Christmas...

Well, that lasted... what? A week? Four days? Yes, last week I was irritated by the early advent of Christmas but this week? I'm ready! Bring on the reindeer and the holiday lights and the eggnog and the snow (ummm... forget the snow)! I'm ready for the fat man in the red suit! Let's hear some Christmas carols!

What caused this seemingly radical change in thought? The Black Friday ads are being leaked!!! Slowly but surely, I'm getting a wonderous glimpse of the sales that will greet my tired eyes on the day after Thanksgiving. I'm making my lists! I'm checking them twice! I'm gonna find out if I go to Kohls or Target first on that cold, dark morning!

If you, too, are ready to shop shop shop until you just can't shop no more, check out http://www.bfads.net/. And if I accidentally run you over on my way to the toy department on the day after Turkey Day, remember that all's fair in love and holiday shopping.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Too Connected

I was completely panicked this morning. When I went to leave the house, I couldn't find my cell phone. Seriously, it was like I was missing an arm! I drove the kids to school and headed to work, trying frantically to remember when I'd used it last and where it might be. I was completely nonfunctional at work, until my boss finally told me to go look for it.

After digging through every room of my house and tearing apart the car, I found it in the parking lot of the school, where I must have dropped it after N's basketball practice last night. I have no idea how it wasn't run over, but I'll take whatever miracles I can get.

The frantic, panicked feeling receeded but that huge level of stress this morning is really making me think about my excessive need for that cell phone. Since I work from home three days a week, the cell is how all of my work contacts get a hold of me. Since I'm on the run quite a bit, the cell is how my husband finds me, and the school finds me, and everyone else finds me. But maybe I'm making myself too easy to be found! Maybe if I disconnected a bit from technology (I know! How dare I even type it?!?!), I'd find my stress levels going down, instead of feeling them zing through the roof when I hear the cell and wonder who needs what now.

Then again, I might miss something important. Like a call telling me that Open House at the school tonight is from 6:30 - 7:30, not 5:30 - 6:30 as I had said in the email I sent to my fellow PTO exec board members.

Do You Twitter?

Social networking is the latest and greatest thing on the internet. That's what I hear anyway. At my age, sometimes I think the 'latest and greatest' has passed me by, that I'm too old to jump into all this twittering and facebooking and such. Still, I don't want to be old so I allowed myself to be sucked into Facebook. I thought having Bejewelled on my computer was bad, but now? Now I have access to Word Challenge and Who Has the Biggest Brain! I finally had to restrict my Facebook time and I'm now only allowed to try to beat my friends' scores after my children have gone to bed. Still, it's been fun to connect with people I haven't talked to in years and to keep up with my Dillon adoption buddies in a less formal way. E-mail is, like, sooooooo yesterday!

Then, because Facebook isn't enough social networking for one person (can you tell I like to say 'social networking'?), I decided to take a peek at Twitter. I don't even know how to explain Twitter, other than it's sort of like instant messaging 8 billion people at once. The constant input is overwhelming at times, but I can see how Twitter would be an amazing marketing tool for driving traffic to web sites. It's also a huge time waste and I've been forced to restrict my activities there, too.

And then there's LinkedIn, which is more of a business/professional networking site and I haven't quite figured out that one yet. But I have learned a couple of things about myself in this quest to become more aware of the latest and greatest on the internet:

1) I'm not too old to figure out social networking sites, and
2) I have no self-control when it comes to time wasting activities.

If YOU have no self-control and feel like being sucked into one more massive time wasting activity, twitter me @mamainpajamas. I'll feel better about myself if I drag all of my friends into my latest addiction. :)

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

I was at the mall last week and the stores were playing Christmas music. The holiday decorations were up throughout the mall and Santa's throne was already in place. And, although I love love love the holiday season, I can't help but think...

Can't we wait until Thanksgiving is over?

Don't get me wrong. The day after Thanksgiving, I'm ready! One of our local radio stations switches over to holiday music 24/7 until New Year's Eve. I am up at 4:30 a.m., ready for the Black Friday sales! Our family Christmas tree is decorated, the outdoor decorations go up, and I'm frantically working on our holiday letter. I dive into the season with great enthusiasm!

But why can't I celebrate Thanksgiving first? Why can't I spend a few days being thankful for my friends and family? Why can't I stuff myself with turkey and lounge in front of the television watching football and THEN dive into Christmas?

Who do I write? Is there someone I can call? Is there someone in charge of the national calendar who can gently suggest that we celebrate holidays one at a time? I love Christmas... I do... but not when the season starts in October.

Technical Problems

If you're having trouble registering, try this link...

http://typeamom.net/12-Days-of-Christmas-Giveaways/On-the-1st-Day-of-Giveaways.html

In other news, I had the world's greasiest patty melt for lunch and it was soooooo good. Now I feel like I should exercise, but maybe a nap would be better!

It's Starting!

The 12 Days of Giveaways on Type-A Mom (http://www.typeamom.net/) starts today! Since I'm an editor, I can't win any of this fun stuff but YOU should hop on over right this minute and enter. Go on... you want free goodies, right???

The Whoppers Win

I never thought I'd say this, but after 10 days of Halloween candy...

I can't eat another Whopper.

Those little chocolate balls of malty goodness are one of my very favorite candies. I didn't think it was even possible to get enough of them. But a small quirk of fate in the candy-handing-out procedures this year left a surfeit of Whoppers and not enough Hershey bars. I've been stuffing those things in my mouth like a squirrel hoarding nuts for the winter, but I'm finally done. I can't eat another one. All that leaves is Skittles in the ol' Halloween candy bowl and I'm not a Skittles fan. There is a bright side though! It's possible that my hands will stop jittering once finally I come off my sugar high. We can always hope.

Hamster Impossible

We have a new family member. He's small. He's furry. And he thinks he's Tom Cruise. Meet Theodore, the black bear hamster:

The previous hamster-in-residence, Buster, quietly passed away in his sleep a few weeks ago. After several days of Miss A asking if Buster was 'dead forever', we decided a new hamster might be an excellent distraction.

However, if Theodore insists on continuing with his death-defying acts, he may not be long for this world either. How do you explain hamster suicide to a 4 year old?

I'm In Love With Glittens

Yes, I said glittens. What is a glitten you ask? Well, I'm thrilled to explain! Because I think glittens are the most wonderful invention E.V.E.R. Except for maybe red wine and incredibly soft socks.

My sister and I went to a college football game on Saturday (don't worry... I'm getting to the glitten part... I'm just keeping you in suspense....). It was cold. I'm not kidding - it was in the upper 30s at kickoff and it definitely wasn't in the upper 30s when we got out of the stadium at 5:00. So we had sweatshirts and parkas and scarves and hats and a blanket. But what saved us... what keps us from freezing to death along with 85,000 of our closest friends... was glittens.

Did I mention that I love them?

A glitten is a mitten. With a glove inside. And a little zipper pouch to hold hand warmers.

Say it with me now. Oooooooooooooooooooohhh.

My sis and I both had a pair and we kept busy showing our friends in the surrounding seats these wonderful inventions. We occasionally took a break to watch the game and scream and shout and generally jump up and down in excitement, but mostly we just marveled at the brilliance of glittens. We could do our own informercial, I kid you not.

Hurry and get yourself a pair of glittens. I'm starting a fan club and you don't want to be left out! Glittens for President! Oh wait... Obama got that job. I wonder if he has glittens???

That's Better

Well, that's definitely prettier. It will do for now!

The New Digs

Hmmm... I like it. Maybe some new paint on the walls. A cozy rug might be nice. Definitely need a few pictures on the wall. But I think this will be a nice place to settle in for long chats. Welcome.

Happy G&R Day!

P, we love you so much. You're the perfect fit for our family and we'll be forever grateful to your birthmother, the Vietnamese government, and Dillon International for helping us all find our way to each other. We'll be thinking of your birthmom today, knowing that as we celebrate the day you legally became ours, she lost you and you lost her. I hope she knows that you are loved beyond measure.

It's Finally Here!

Election Day! Whoooooo!

I have to work today, but by 5:00 I plan to be ensconced on my couch with a glass of wine... umm, well maybe I'll wait until 7:00 or so for the wine... but anyway, ensconced on my couch for the duration. I'll be flipping frantically between MSNBC, Fox, and CNN, for the latest spin coming from the presidential race, and our local channels, for those tiny numbers scrolling at the bottom of the screen. (WHY can't they make those dang things legible???)

Today is an important day not only because a new leader will be chosen for our country. There also are critical elections happening at the state and local levels. These men and women elected at the state and local levels will help drive judicial interpretation of laws already on the books, are critical to an economic turnaround, and will affect local roads, emergency services, and taxes.

So go vote. I don't care if you are an Obama Mama or a McCain supporter. Use your voice.

Don't Miss It This Year

I know y'all were just dying last year when you missed the Dolly Parton/Lee Majors extravaganza that is A Smoky Mountain Christmas. So this year, I want you to be prepared:

A Smoky Mountain Christmas
CMT
Sat., Nov. 24, 11PM ET

If you're wondering when your favorite shows will be on, go here. I've also scoped out Twas the Night Before Christmas, because I cry when the little mouse confesses that he messed with the clock.

Type-A Mom

You may have seen the Type-A Mom widget in the sidebar of my blog. Type-A Mom is a new-ish community for moms, with articles written by you or me or whoever is in the mood to jot down 500 words on an appropriate topic. I'm the new Adoption Editor over there and, so far, it's been a fun gig. I write an adoption-related article once a week (in theory). It's not a paid position, unless AdSense revenue kicks in someday. So far, I think I'm up to 64 cents, so obviously I'll be retiring from my full time job any moment. *snort*

However, it's fun to have one more place on which to promote adoption, and I'm enjoying reading articles by the other editors/writers. Plus, there are side benefits. Over the next few weeks, I'll be reviewing nifty products for the Type-A Mom holiday gift guide. People who want to sell stuff are sending me swag for free - whoo!

But, since I love you all, I think you should be able to get swag, too, so I'm coming out of the closet to tell you about the 12 Days of Giveaways. I don't think the widget in my sidebar goes anywhere yet... one of the downsides of a community run by moms is that the technical aspects are sometimes prempted by diaper changes... however, I do know this much:

Beginning Tuesday, November 11th, Type-A Mom will have a huge pack of goodies for our readers to win. Each day has a Target group: Dads, Moms, Toddlers, Teens, so forth. The contests will be open for 24 hours only and have one winner.

The managing editor in charge of these goodies has assured us that she has tons of items lined up for each day. Since I know what some of those items are (thanks to my swag-reviewer status), I'm just sayin' that you might want to be checkin' it out. You can thank me later.

One Year Ago Today...

... my mom and I were on a plane, on our way to Vietnam. Over the next few days, we would meet three couples who I'll always consider family, become oblivious to the danger we faced every time we crossed the street, and fall in love with a country located halfway around the world.