thanksgiving

It’s Just Life & It’s Good! (Pictures, Long)

Oh, hi y’all. As you know, I haven’t updated in a while, so I apologize in advance for the longevity of this post. I’ve been around, as those of you who are on my Facebook know, but typically it’s been a busy few months, what with four quarter at Schawk (can’t believe another one has passed), family visiting, friends visiting, and just… life, really.

Which is great, by the way. So much to be thankful for these days. :)

Earlier this month, Aidan came to visit for several days. It was awesome! He’s so mature and smart. And he’s turning out to be quite the bookworm. Hmm, wonder where he could have possibly gotten that? Seriously, one day, he read five books. Impressive! Anyway, when he was here, I took a day off from work to spend time with him. He loved that. I took him downtown to look at the Macy’s store windows, and he got to see Santa Claus!

Macy's State Street Windows

Aidan and Santa

Poor thing was totally tongue tied when Santa hugged him, but it was such a sweet scene. I had to keep blinking back tears. Santa was an absolute sweetheart to Aidan. :) Aidan also wrote and sent a letter to Santa that day, and he was beside himself when we peeked into the news studio (a couple of them have their windows uncovered and passersby can watch live broadcasts) and someone inside waved at him. The most random thing happened to me that day, too. We were looking at the windows and interacting or whatever, and a stranger came up to me, told me I was a good mom, and gave me a hug! :)

Later that week, Adam’s family came to town to visit. They loved spending time with Aidan and he loved spending time with them:

Family Pix

Aidan went home that Sunday, and I was sad to see him go. He is always excited to fly alone, so the good-byes aren’t terrible (for him).

That Monday, I scarfed down a cheeseburger from Portillo’s and saw the burger again a few hours later. :( I woke up Tuesday morning feeling sort of OK, so I headed out to work, only to end up exhausted and weak from the commute. I ended up leaving a few hours early. I wasn’t feeling good at all. Wednesday morning, I woke up feeling sort of OK, so I decided to brave it again even though my brain/body was telling me not to. I was 100% worn out when I got to work. I must have looked like hell. My manager eventually came and suggested that I go home. I left work at one, and was in bed by two. Thursday morning, I woke up very hungry, ate a big breakfast, and was back to normal by Thursday afternoon.

The next weekend, I got to hang out with Ricky Luna. For those of you who have known me for some time, you’ll know that I’ve been a fan of this former Mouseketeer for several years now. We had an awesome time together. He, his manager and family, and Adam and I just hung out, doing the touristy thing. Navy Pier (mmm churros), Pizzeria Due, parade, and then we came back here and hung out for hours. It was one of the best days ever.

Ricky & Me

Ricky just recently dropped an album that is super amazing. If you love electronica, you’ll love his music. The album’s called Electro Bomba, and I seriously cannot stop moving when I listen to it. I can’t even describe it, except to call it Electro Bomba, but it has a lot of what I like in good dance music. You can download a free 45-minute mix here, and you can buy the album here on iTunes. If you want to only get selected tracks, I recommend My Fitted Hat (Raw Mix) and Eyes Wide Shut and Smile (Sonrisa). Arms In The Air is also pretty damn awesome, as is the title track. Seriously, trying to choose a favorite on this album is like trying to pick a favorite child. I can’t do it. I don’t say that about a lot of music. So, download the free mix. What have you got to lose?

After all that excitement, last Monday, Adam took me to the American Girl store, where he had me pick out my birthday present. Yes, it was about a month too early, but he knew I’d want to pick her out myself, and neither of us wanted to deal with the store as the Christmas holiday draws closer. And when your husband is Adam Selzer and he asks you if you want to go to American Girl Place, you say yes!

Anyway, I came home with …….

Me & Julie
Julie!

Julie is the 1974 doll, which is special to me because that’s the year I was born. So it was cool to get a doll for my birthday who represents my birth year. And she’s so pretty. Why did I wait so long to get her? I’m in LOVE with that doll! :) I think she is going to be the one doll I actually keep in her time period. She’ll be my 70s girl.

Last Wednesday was my last day at Schawk 2009. I made it through this fourth quarter with no printed errors (Go Ronni!). It’s kind of weird knowing I don’t have to go to work tomorrow–all I have scheduled is a 2:30 massage at the Cortiva Institute. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be a homemaker, something I’ve never been! I mean, I stayed home with Aidan when he was a newborn, but this will be different. For one thing, I’m not sure where my next job will come from, or when. But Adam’s working full time now, so it’s going to be my job to keep the house, which he’s been doing all this time. I’m excited about it.

I figured that I need to make a schedule, though. Else I’ll end up playing FarmVille, Cafe World, and The Sims all day. So, here are things I MUST do every day:

1. exercise for at least 45 minutes (conveniently, the Electro Bomba free mix is 45 minutes)
2. write for at least an hour
3. some sort of special project (with Christmas coming up, this will be easy)

I’m actually going to write stuff down in my planner and hold myself accountable. It’s important.

Thanksgiving was awesome. Jeff and Deborah came over and we ate GOOD food. Four different kinds of dressing/stuffing, cheddar mashed potatoes, corn, pumpkin peanut butter soup, macaroni & cheese, and of course, a nice, juicy turkey. We played Super Mario Bros. for Wii (awesome game), and hung out and had a good time. Friday, I stayed in. Had to avoid those crowds, but Adam and I went out on Saturday. Dropped off laundry, and I just about finished Aidan’s Christmas. I’d like to get him something EPIC though. We’ll see. I haven’t begun to shop for most people. Will wait until December 1st. Same to put up my tree and decorations.

I’m looking forward to having December off from work. Just me recovering, and getting things done around the house. It’s going to be nice. And it’s my favorite season! It’s going to be more awesome because Aidan will be here in Chicago! YAY!!!

With that, I’m off. The ZzzzZZzzzZs are catching up with me. Til next time!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Thankful for…

1. Having a roof over my head, food to eat, clothing to wear, and material goods;

2. A perfect little boy;

3. Friends and family who love me;

4. Books to read;

5. A God who doesn’t give up on me no matter how angry I get at Him, no matter how much I push Him away;

6. A job I like.

…for letting me open my eyes today
for hearing all the things that I couldn’t say
for being strong when I thought I was going to break
for never letting me go
I just want you to know
I’m grateful….

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I’m fighting a cold now, compliments of my little one. I’ve been trying to get a lot of rest, but not drinking enough fluids. The thing is–the OJ I got free from Meijer smells like armpits. Who wants to drink that? Ugh.

But if it’s not spoiled or rancid or whatever happens to OJ, I will go ahead and drink it. Anything to get this annoying feeling of bleh out of me.

———————–


Aidan really wants the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for Christmas. After watching the show on Saturday morning, I can see the appeal. It’s such a colorful and pretty show, perfect for preschoolers and their mommies who happen to like Mickey Mouse as well. :) But the clubhouse is back ordered 8 weeks! And the people selling it on eBay or Amazon are charging twice as much. My mother said not to worry, that she’ll get it for him somehow. And the show really is cute. And Aidan deserves it. He’s going through a lot now even though he doesn’t really know it, and he’s such a little trooper. He’s been so great. So great. Such a good sport.

That’s the hardest thing to deal with. Leaving him. I enjoy the breaks, but leaving him is hard. Last night was hard, but I didn’t cry on the way to my apartment like I have in the past. I know he’s okay, but I’m a mom. And moms always feel some sort of guilt. At least, this mom does.

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I’m off to bed again. First I’ll drink some OJ, then take some meds, plus my other pills. Work tomorrow is a tossup. We’ll see how I feel. I don’t have much sick time, though. This morning I went in with a fever. Eep.

‘Til next time…

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Thanksgiving Part 2

Yesterday, I drove up to my mom’s to have some of HER yummy cooking, and to get Aidan after his week-long vacation with her.

THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD. It had been a year since I’d had it and it was worth the wait. It really was. Mmm. She sent a bunch home with me today. Wheee!

Other good things of yesterday:

1. Great weather and traffic for the drive.
2. The Christmas List on ABC Family. (I’d thought this movie was gone for good!! I’m so glad they played it again!)
3. Free wireless internet from my mom’s neighbors. Ha!

The bad thing:

– Aidan is sick. He has a horrible cough and gets cranky, a fever at times, and a very runny nose. Poor little guy.

No pictures again, I was too hungry to go and get my camera, but I had mustard/turnip greens, dressing, macaroni and cheese, turkey, ham, and gravy over everything. Dinner rolls too, one with butter, the other with apple jelly and butter.

It was a good weekend. πŸ™‚

And now I am tired. I shall sleep well tonight.

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Thanksgiving!

I forgot my camera, so I didn’t get to take a picture of my meal, which consisted of mashed potatoes, corn, green beans w/bacon, Honey Baked Ham, rolls, turkey, and gravy. Yummmmm. I didn’t eat myself into a food coma, but it was delicious. Dessert was hot apple pie with (real) whipped cream! πŸ™‚

Had fun hanging out with family members who are absolutely crazy and perverted. Good times, good times. I laughed a LOT today. And still felt as welcome and loved as ever.

The drive back to my place was gorgeous! The sky was clear and the sun had just dipped below the horizon, so there was that blue, then orange, all accented with one of my favorite kind of moon–the waxing cresent. (I also love the waning cresent).

I might or might not have picked up a very small amount of holiday gifts today for people. πŸ™‚ I also just browsed and got ideas for other people. The Christmas section was crowded at Meijer today. Lots of people buying decorations. I got lights for 99 cents a box.

I got ahold of the new Josh Groban CD today. WOW. Just… wow. What a beautiful voice that man has.

Dude. I am so addicted to the Highlights hidden pictures games. You can play them online here: Hidden Pictures! I get frustrated with the ones in the magazine, but some of these have sound and animation. That makes it fun.

As if I needed another online/computer game to become addicted to, right?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! πŸ™‚

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