And they're back!

This morning I tried to finish up my cleaning so it doesn't look a mess when Jerry walks in.  And also to hide the gifts I've been wrapping.
I don't drive today! Awesome!
Spend some time with Sooz and Mom on the phone, it makes me feel a bit lonely for them. Visit planned with  Mom for Christmas and then with Sooz for 12/27ish, so I don't have long to wait. We dish out Thanksgiving dinner round 2 when the travelers arrive, then they go to church. Danny and I start to unpack the village and get our planning going. I will post pictures when we have it set up. :)

Saturday 11/25/11 Cleaning Machine!

I set my alarm for 6:45 and jumped right at the bathrooms, before I lost my enthusiasm. By 10am they were all done, including sorting and clearing the linen closets. That takes time, doesn't show, but needed to be done. I also sort and actually take some of the Christmas decorations that I never use and put them in the Sally's bag. I will not pack them up again! Other than 5pm mass, and walking the dog,  I don't leave the house. But I feel like I accomplished alot.

Black Friday Fun

Jer came out with me-I think he felt sorry for me because I don't have any shopping pals here. We headed out at about 7am. We went to Art Van and got the bunk bed for the lake and a new pub style table for the basement. There was a line of about 2 hours, and so Jer asks the guy if we can come back and  pay later, and he says that I can call with the credit card info later! So out with go, see you later all those people on the line! We went to Staples, Loews and Wal-mart and were home drinking coffee at 10am! It was awesome. Then Jerry took the kids to the lake til Sunday! Double awesome! I have time to shop a bit but mostly I clean and do the Christmas stuff. I am the one who has so many decorations, so it is my job to haul it all out and decorate! I get a bunch of wrapping done and watch a funny corny movie called My Families Wedding.

Thanksgiving Day--I am Thankful!

Well, at 5am I didn't feel quite as thankful as I might have...we are up and off to downtown Detroit. The weather, which was supposed to be warm and sunny, was foggy and chilly. Oh well! The coolest thing was the skyscraper, the RenCen, basically disappeared into the fog  before our very eyes! My slick Detroit boy zoomed us downtown and into a parking garage right at the foot of Woodward Ave. We were at the start within minutes! Jack Reilly was super happy to see Molly and welcomed her back to the event. While she waited for her cue, Jen and her husband Buddy arrived and cheered her on. Charlotte,Danny and I joined her on the dais and helped her recite the oath. Suddenly there are Sam and Eric Stewart..they followed the sound of Molly voice! They cheered Molly on too! I say hooray for friends!  Molly did a great job with the oath, then we all got into our corral to wait for the start of the race. With 21,000 runners we had a bit of a wait! Molly took off and ran a 1.00, Danny was next with a 1.01, and Charlotte, Jen and I rolled in at 1.07. Yes, I did a cartwheel at the finish line, at Charlotte's request! We headed home and Jer made a mess of scrambled eggs while I got the turkey in the oven. Then I took a hot shower and cooked the rest of the sides. I served around 3:30pm(and everyone was happy to get away from the Lions horrendous performance!) The meal was great, and later that evening I even made a Michael's run to use my 30% coupon for some Christmas shopping. I am thankful for my family here, for Jake, for my NJ family, for our house, for my church, for so much. I am a lucky girl!

my runners!

Ready to eat!

here is my dinner!

says it all! Start!

Shopping and decorating for an early start to Christmas

I guess I'm thinkin Christmas! After mass this am, Danny,Molly and I went home to change and grab Charlotte. We dropped Mol off at Ashley Court to help out with church service and coffee and donuts. Danny Charlotte and I continued on to the library to drop off our giving tree gift and to get books. Then we hit Marshalls and Target to do some Christmas shopping and get ideas. It was fun! Home for lunch, then Molly went back to AC for a couple more hours to assist with the Thanksgiving craft project. Go Molly! Danny and I enjoyed the great weather, warm and mid 50's , by playing with the dog, shooting baskets,raking and hanging outside lights. Our house is looking good. Danny did night 3 of TKD and I got the clothes ready for our 5:30 am departure for the big race. Turkey is defrosted, potatoes mashed and carrots cooked and glazed. It should be a great Thanksgiving.

Danny suits up for daily mass

Danny kneeling in his altar garb and behind him, Dan Oleksa mentoring him through solo altar serving. They looked so cute together! Danny did an awesome job and we prayed for Aunt Reg, who is back in the hospital. We stayed after and did the perpetual help devotion too. Snuck in a Joanne's run, then went to piano. Then I got to meet Judy Parsons for coffee at DD! A great break for me. Throw in Ryan Arbor play date, TKD and a trip to Wal-marto in the driving rain, and you have my Tuesday!!

The intrepid traveler returns! No Thanks to US Airways!

UGH! In spite of arranging with US Airways to have a companion accompany Charlotte from  gate to gate in Philly, They Don't! Charlotte asked the attendant what she should do and the attendant told her to take the tram=and that was it! So Charlotte set off across the airport on foot and by tram, and made it to her gate. By the grace of God though, and the watchful eye of Grandpa I believe! I really think that US Air needs to get their game on when it comes to travelers with disabilities, how do they communicate the information that you put in the computer to the flight staff?  You KNOW I will be finding this out.

i made it!

In other news, Danny ran six miles with Jer and Charlotte and then went to Taekwando! What a nut! And we baked 15 loaves of pumpkin bread for teachers and other friends. Boy does the house smell good! And whilst hurriedly scooping refried beans from the can for our tacos, I slice open a knuckle. The food was fine--my hand, not so much! Tried stopping the bleeding, and band-aids, but it kept on bleeding. Check out my awesome bandage!