Friday, December 5, 2014

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas Exploded

Has this week flown by for everyone else, or just me? There's something about being exceedingly busy that makes the days go by in a flash, and next thing I know, it's Sunday night and I haven't written a word for my Ten Things of Thankful post. But not this week! I'm not waiting until the last minute! I really hate having done so the last two weekends, because I can never get caught up at that point. BUT I'M ON IT THIS WEEK, THOUGH, BABY! 

1. I got all my Christmas stuff out of the attic (correction: my son and husband got the stuff out of the attic while I supervised), unpacked everything but the ornaments, and had my son return the empty containers to the attic before he went back to school. This by no means implies that I finished decorating the house, because I didn't and I haven't, but at least it's all out (and by "out" I mean all over the downstairs in much disarray).

2. I took my son back to college on Sunday afternoon and did a little shopping while I was in town. Ever been to a Garden Ridge store? They are AWESOME, and there is now one in the town where my son goes to school (the name of the store has changed to At Home, and boy, was I!). I found a couple of Christmas gifts, plus just some other things that I was sure I needed, including a new drying rack for the laundry room, as the old, wooden one I have had for over 20 years broke and was held together with popsicle sticks and duct tape (no lie).

3. Dinner and one-on-one time with the college boy. Can't get enough of that!

4. Oncology appointment this week. They now ask if you have traveled to Africa within the past 21 days, been in contact with anyone who has Ebola or if you have any symptoms of the disease yourself, to which, thankfully, I could answer "no." However, I DID point out that the medical personnel in the doctor's office were MUCH more likely to come in contact with someone who had been exposed to Ebola than I was and that perhaps I should be the one asking the questions. And, thankfully, they were able to answer all the questions "no" as well.


Don't you love the care they took to have this printed?
My MOTHER could do a better job making a photocopy
than whoever did this (no offense, Mom).
5.That last one counts as two.

6. And everything was fine at my appointment, the best part being when I visited with a couple in the infusion center. The woman was receiving a double treatment of chemo that day and had been there since 8:30 that morning (it was 3:00 when we were chatting). She told me she was going to be 75 this month, and she just looked marvelous and I told her so. She was so positive about her treatments and was just delightful (her husband was scheming to steal the bag of caramel popcorn I brought to the nurses and I WISHED I had another one with me to give him, he was so darling!). Remember, people, a happy heart is good medicine!

7. Pandora Traditional Christmas station.

8. After much blood, sweat and tears (literally!), I FINALLY got the lighted greenery and ribbon hung up around my front door. This was something I saw on Pinterest last year and replicated (Pinterest WIN) and thought I could just take down carefully, intact, put away, and put back up this year, but I was kind of wrong. After taking the whole thing apart, I got it reassembled and hung and it makes me happy to look at it.




9. I won a ham at a volunteer appreciation Christmas dinner. When I texted my son with the good news (ham is one of his favorite things), he asked me if I got an entire ham. No, son, just a slice....

10. I had wasabi edamame, a double dip of peppermint ice cream in a waffle cone, and a diet coke for lunch today and lived to tell about it (so far).

How was YOUR week? Did you eat anything that should have killed you? Get the house decorated for Christmas? Link up below and spill it.


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31 comments:

  1. Awesome list.... you are on top of this stuff this week! Of course im fixated on the peppermint ice cream....

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    1. Totally on it. I hate being behind and knowing it's impossible to catch up on all the reading.
      Braum's peppermint ice cream is pretty delicious. I'll have some for you next time.

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  2. I think the weeks always pass by quickly these days. Winning a ham is awesome! I was thinking I really should get out my Christmas stuff and get decorating. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Too fast, sometimes.
      Free ham is always awesome! My son can eat a whole one in a matter of a couple of days, if I let him.
      Now that Al can get around on his crutches, hopefully you'll have more free time for such things as Christmas decorations!

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  3. The week has gone by so fast and we have been busy so maybe thats why we feel on top of it now? Because we know how quickly time can get away from us? WEll thats my story and I am sticking to it.


    Wow good points about the Ebola!

    Glad to hear your apt went fine!

    Happy heart does indeed provide great medicine!

    Oh man that door! THAT DOOR! I love it. I love everything about it! I bet it looks amazing at night too! I love the soft light of christmas lights!

    Well I wouldn't be able to handle the wasabi and I don't drink diet anything, but the rest of it sounds good. I had an attack today. It was a case of emergency need of pie. I had pie and ice cream for lunch today. Possibly I also had it for dinner too.

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    1. I thought they were good points about the Ebola! Seriously, who is more likely to have contact with someone who has Ebola - the preschool teacher or the medical staff at a doctor's office? Appointment was fine. I'm a pretty dull patient.
      I'm pretty pleased with that door! It looks SO PRETTY at night!
      There wasn't a lot of wasabi on the edamame, but there was enough, and now I'm kind of regretting it. I see nothing wrong with pie and ice cream for lunch and possibly for dinner. And it reminds me that I need to try to make a new kind of pie this weekend. Thinking cherry.

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  4. What a wonderful week!! That doorway is heavenly! Love the shape, I would be tempted to leave that up all year :)
    Congrats on the ham. Nothing like free ham! You just reminded me of a thankful I left off my post. My sister gave me a ham & I leaned to make split pea & ham soup. Easier than I thought and my kids ate it, because: HAM!
    I would've been shamelessly flirting with that charming older husband! Sounds adorable. I answered your question about the play snow, kind of a long answer but basically as long as you have a box for each kid, some spoons or cups or toys and a towel for each, it should be do-able. Messy. But fun!

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    1. I'm pressing my luck to leave it up all month; my husband steps on the end of it when he goes in and out the door and one of the cats likes to chew the same spot and then yarf it up on the rug.
      That ham will feed a college boy for a couple of days!
      I make split pea soup with diced turkey kielbasa. Works great.
      They were such a cute couple!
      We might try it in January. My assistant might kill me....

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  5. HA! You lived to tell about it- LOVE.

    I just love your list of thankfuls! I especially love the precious couple you shared time with... what a treasure when we are able to open our hearts to other, and see and learn and feel that connection.

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    1. Made it through the edamame/peppermint ice cream/diet coke unscathed!
      That couple was so sweet! The woman never complained, except to say she'd been there all day, but that was okay, because it meant she was getting life.

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  6. Your front door looks marvelous.

    'Wasabi edamame...'-- Is that what I think it is? ... I know this is a very silly question, but I can't help asking.

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    1. Thank you! It was worth all the trouble!
      The edamame is dry roasted, just the bean, not the pod. And it has a bit of a coating that has wasabi in it. They are crunchy and delicious and burn the inside of your nose if you're not careful! If you'd email me your address, I'd love to send you some!

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  7. I just left a comment but I don't know if you got it because I was signed in as my daughter since she used my computer last night, but in the event this is not a duplicate, I think the shape of your front door makes it lovely for the decorations. My house looks the same - boxes everywhere, but hey, we'll get there. And I want to write a haiku about wasabi edamame, or at least say it a million times. It just rolls off the tongue.

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  8. #4? I will give you $5.00 if, the for your next appointment (provided they still have that sign) that you arrive wearing a pith helmut (with or without mosquito netting), and whatever they call those khaki clothes, with the shorts that you see in the movies. (and extra $5.00 if you find and rent a small monkey to sit on your shoulder). it would totally be worth it.

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    1. Dyanne, I'm sure you could get double-duty out of an outfit like that by doing a Curious George literature unit at the preschool! You might need to trade the helmet for a yellow hat, though.

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  9. I LOVE your door- how cool is that??? The garland/ribbon is definitely a Pinterest win. Wasabi edamame sounds amazing, and stomach churning when combined with a coke. We don't have Garden Ridge stores around here,but it sounds like something I'd really love. I'm so happy to hear your appointment went well. I am also all about the Pandora Christmas stations. Traditional and Swinging are my faves!

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  10. LOVE your front door and that the oncology visit went so well! I must say your menu makes me wonder if you might want to check in with a dr of another sort, because those foods together sound like one funky craving! ~May@Achieving Clarity

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  11. Look at you, you early bird!!! You and Zoe switched places this week.
    Your lights look great! And congrats on that (slice of) ham! :)
    Yay, for traditional Xmas music. Yes!
    All is decorated but the tree at our home. That's today.
    I loved your #10 meal.

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  12. I am so glad your appointment went well and a happy heart is indeed good medicine. You are so wise, you!
    Can you please come to my house and do up our stairway banister? I'll put the Pandora on - oh, wait, it's on all the time anyway so win! I think I figured out that if you like particular Christmas stations and then ask it to play simply the Christmas station, it will pull from all of them which is awe-some.
    We are decorated but the aftermath of boxes is everywhere. I will continue to pick up odds and ends all month as the clearance sales go down and just generally futz with everything. I like futzing now that I actually have the time to do it!
    I suppose I should clean my toilets now that I have time to do that more regularly, too...hmm...
    I split a McDonald's Happy Meal with Kidzilla one day after school - she wanted fries and the toy; I wanted the cheeseburger because I made the mistake of skipping anything that resembled real lunch. That stuff really tastes like ass and I can't believe I caved.

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  13. #9 made me laugh!
    I also like the front door. It reminds me of a church stained glass window. Window as door. I like it! It is crazy scary how fast time is passing. I keep having to look at a calendar to figure out what day it is:)
    I'm happy to hear you are a "dull" patient Dyanne. Speaking of dull, I kind of envy everyone trying to get their decorations up. Personally, I like having a bunch of opened boxes laying around with stuff half hanging out of them. Always a challenge to get started decorating....what to put up first?!

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  14. Hey Dyanne! When/how do I get on the "approved" list of commenters!!

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  15. HeycAyenne, pass some of Chatham along! Yum!

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    1. I know auto correct is responsible, but this comment makes me laugh.

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  16. I mean, that ham. Sorry, auto correct!

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  17. I'm so glad that your appointment went well. You are right about a happy heart!

    Blood, sweat, and tears? May I suggest packing a box of bandages and Kleenex with the decorations for easier assembly next year? The final results are beautiful, though. Like everyone else, I love the shape of the door!

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  18. You Pinterest-maven! My attempts on replicating anything off Pinterest would be more of the "nailed it" version :-) I'm glad that your oncologist appointment went well, none of the nurses had Ebola, and you got to meet nice people there. Caramel popcorn sounds delicious!!!

    Have a wonderful week, Dyanne!

    PS: Calvin says "hoowaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

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  19. Such a bful decor... Christmas though is in winter makes one so WARM . am desperately waiting for holidays... Your door is so welcoming and so warm :)
    Wish u and ur family good health and merry xmas and a happy new year
    <3

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  20. Sounds like such a great week. You taking your time to decorate reminds me of the times I do things like that. Sigh. :) Number 4 sounds so scary! You have every right to think the people in the hospital have been more likely to have been in contact with ebola. They probably chuckled at you asking them the questions, but hey, we see the hospital workers who have gotten the disease!

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  21. Lookit YOU all fristy frist and ready for Christmas! Great stuff, lady! And the ham! Wow - that should save a good deal on your christmas shop, right? Those things aren't cheap.

    What's an edamame? I need to find out now.

    YAY PINTREST DOOR!

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  22. Nice list.
    When I had breast cancer, I blogged and read. It kept my mind busy. Happy blogging.

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