Black Friday

I never thought that I would EVER go Black Friday shopping.  

But...alas...I went. 

It was quite the experience. There was pushing and shoving

Hot Wheels, moon dough, and $1 towels.

Our first stop was supposed to be at Toys R Us. (by us I mean Maggie and I)

We drove by to find the line ALL the way down by Hancock Furniture. (Which is almost a block long)

We decided to just wait and go to Wal Mart instead. On the way there we HAD to drive by by Best Buy just to see if anyone was there. 

There was people...in tents.

Seriously.

You can barely see it in the picture but Those are tents set up in front of the store.

We got to Wal Mart around 9pm and just walked around and looked at all the different things they had in the shrink wrapped bins. The one thing I was really out to get was the Hot Wheels for Stratton.

He loves Hot Wheels. Look anywhere in our house and you're bound to find at least one.

We got to Wal Mart and there really wasn't a whole lot of people there. There were a few people standing at the designated items that they wanted but maybe on a dozen or so. Then around 10:30 more people showed up, then 11:00 rolled around and the store was PACKED with carts and people. 

On a side note: I hate crowds. I have a slight problem with crowds. They make me have panic attacks. But, I was determined to get those dang hot wheels for Stratton. 

My friend Lauren came right around 11:20 and stood with Maggie. 

They were in charge of getting the hot wheels and the pillow pal with sleeping back. I was bound and determined to get my Paula Dean 12 piece cook wear set, hand mixer, and 2qt crock pot.

Twelve o' Clock on the dot the guy came across on the loud speaker that it was midnight. All heck broke loose. 

There were elbows flying, hand mixers flying, and people literally pushing me up against the stack of Paula Dean cook wear. It was seriously a mad house. In less than 30 seconds I received an eblow to the face and got pinned up against a stack of boxes with Paula Dean smiling at me like "Yea, you're an idiot."

Once I had my stuff which consisted of 2 hand mixers and a Paula Dean Cook wear set. I made my way back over to where a girl I went to high school with was holding some picture frames for me. We traded, I got here a hand mixer and crock pot while she got me a picture frame set. 

As soon as I got what I was looking for I called Maggie and Lauren to look for them. 

They got Stratton eight 10 packs of Hot Wheels and the sleeping back pillow pal! 

They did awesome! I was so glad that they came with me!

We made it out of there at 12:40. 

Here is our victory picture.

After we checked out we stopped by Toys R Us because there was a digital picture frame on sale that I really wanted. Of course they were cleaned out. So I settled on a family game and we left.

It was around 1am by the time we got out of Toys R Us and we were HUNGRY!

We went to Huddle House in Cape and stood there for a good 5 min after staring at 4 dirty tables and at least another 5-6 tables sitting with menus and no drinks. We didn't stay. We wound up going to Denny's and standing in line for about 20 min waiting for a table. We chatted it up with the people standing in line with us. There were a bunch of really nice ladies that stood and talked to us. 

We left Denny's like three stuffed ticks and headed to our next shopping destination.

Maggie parted ways with us and went to Sears to shop with her mom and brother. Lauren wanted to go to Khols so I dropped her off there while I set off to make one of the biggest buys I had made in a while. Derek has been bugging me for the last year or so for a new t.v. for the upstairs. We have a really nice one so I didn't really think we needed a new one. But he wanted to move the one that we had in the living room down stairs so he could play video games on it. 

So...I went BACK to Wal Mart and got the 42"Song Vizio television that he had been wanting.

I went back and got Lauren, dropped her off at her house and then headed HOME! Home sweet home.

It was 4:45 when I got home. I drug the huge box inside and propped it up next to a mattress we have in the basement and put a few coats over it then headed for BED!

Saturday morning Stratton woke me and Derek up at 8:30. Which is about usual for him. I woke up with him couldn't wait to surprise Derek with his new T.V. 

I let him get up and get dressed and then asked him to come back in the bedroom for a min. He hates when I do that. I asked him to go down and get my brown carhartt jacket from down stairs. He didn't want to and he complained about having to so he asked me why I needed it so bad. I was quick on my feet and said there was something in the pocket that I needed him to get for me. He drug his feet down the hall way and went down stairs. It took him a little bit so I got up and waited in the hallway for him. He checked all the pockets and didn't notice the huge t.v. box under the coat until he threw it back on top of it and another one fell. That's when I heard him SPRINT up the stairs. He gave me a huge hug and said how happy and thankful he was. It was definitely worth the lack of sleep to see him so happy about his new t.v. Not to mention I really like it too. The picture on it is amazingly clear and it feels like you're right there in the movie. It's so great.

So, overall it was a pretty good experience. Only a little tiny elbow to the face, a slight shove into some boxes, and a great big warm feeling seeing my husbands face light up.

I'm so thankful that I was able to save up the money for a really great Christmas this year. Working at the Halloween store really helped out. I'm also SO thankful for two of the best friends a girl could ask for. Thank you Lauren and Maggie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The day before Thanksgiving was super foggy. I got some really great pictures from my phone. I didn't have the good camera over the weekend so I didn't really get a lot of quality pictures.

 This was driving home form work on Wednesday after work.

 We went to Dale and Lisa's house first for Thanksgiving. It was our first stop of the day.
Stratton loves his Grandpa Dale and cousin Payne.

 This is my ADORABLE nephew Payne again. He is the sweetest little thing ever.
He has the cutest smile and is always so happy.

 Me and Steph on Thanksgiving. Love my hipstimatic app.

 Lisa and Kayden. She smiles so pretty.

 Payne and Grandma Mona. Payne was loving the sweet potatoes that we were feeding him.

 I love Thanksgiving. Does it get any tastier than this?

This is Jessie and Daniels youngest girl. Her name is Izzy. She is SO stinkin' cute!

 This is their oldest girl Alexis. She looks just like her daddy.
She is quite the artist too. Such a good drawer.

 Family lunch at Grandma Marges house was after eating at Dale and Lisa's.

 Auntie Pam got to join in on the festivities.

 My sister and Marcus acting funny.

 Sage was sitting SO pretty. She wanted food.

 Auntie Pam and Stratton were wrestling.

 My dad woke up early on Thanksgiving and got a few ducks.
I posted it on facebook with the line "Five ducks and a turkey under it"

 Me n Marcus. He's such a good guy.

 Sisters!

 Me and Grandma Marge

Love my Family!

Stratton found colors so he laid on the floor and colored.

This is my step Aunt Tammy and her little girl Jessie.

The whole Family on Thanksgiving.
Casey, Mom, Auntie Pam, Derek, Me, Stratton, Dad, Grandma Marge, and John.
Oh and half of Sage.

I had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. I love getting to see my family and spending quality time with them. Not to mention that I'm and really thankful for all the gifts that God has blessed us with.
I

Eight Things About Emily

1 - Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because I was coming into a huge new chapter in my life. I had found out I was pregnant and then decided to make the big decision to get married. I know I didn't do things in the "right" order but it's the way God had things laid out for me. I have a terrible memory. Just look in my planners from the last 4 years, I have everything written down (even date nights and movies I watched). I thought doing a blog would help me remember these fun/scary/new/exciting things that were happening.

2 - Who's the one blog friend that you would want to meet most in "real life"?
One blog friend that I would really like to meet in "real life" is a person that I just recently started following. (That sounds SO stalker-ish) She is affectionately known as J.Po. Her blog is called Crying Over Spilled Milk  She seems like a really great person and I would love to meet her one day.

3 - Why are you always concerned with losing that "extra 10 pounds" when chances are your husband/boyfriend/friends tell you that you look just fine the way you are?
I've never really been that kind of person. I've never been on the heavy side because I have always been very active. Derek on the other hand has put on a few in the last year or so since he quit working manual labor jobs. He's the one that has been worried about that "extra 10 pounds."

4 - What's the one thing you wish guys could understand about you?
I wish that people could understand that I NEVER intend to hurt anyone's feelings. Whether it be joking around or just being myself. I love more than anything to make people smile and be happy not hurt their feelings. I'm always the person who has to make sure everyone is happy and everything is going ok. On the other side I wish people understood how INCREDIBLY sensitive I am. I get my feelings hurt WAY too easy and I try to shake it off like I'm tough but I'm not always tough. I read a lot to keep my mind from getting "there." By "there" I mean back to that depressed person I used to be a long time ago.

5 - Tattoos. How many do you have and how many are visible when you wear your "everyday" clothes?
I have 7 tattoos. Yikes! Haha, I forgot I had that many. In the winter you can't see any of my tattoos.
In the fall and spring you can usually see the ones on my feet because I wear flip flops about 9 out of 12 months of the year. In the summer if I wear tank tops you can see the two on my shoulders, and the two on my feet.
1st tattoo: a star on my right hip above my butt.
2nd tattoo: the phrase "sat chit ananda" on my foot (which is a term used to express the ultimate experience of oneness: sat = Truth, Existence; chit = intelligence, consciousness; ananda = divine bliss.)
3rd tattoo: a hand print on my left outer hip with an infinity sign on the palm (my own handprint shrunk down)
4th tattoo: a set of wings and the phrase "alis volat propiis" (which means "she flies with her own wings"
5th & 6th tattoos: A set of sparrows on my shoulders one on the left is in all color with a banner that says Strattons name. The right is just the outline. I'm waiting for when/if we have baby #2 to get that one filled in.

6 - What was the best year of your life and why?
The best day of my life was when I had Stratton. My whole world felt so balanced and so real. It was like God had placed the best present ever right into my lap.

7 - Name three things you would do if you were a man for one day.
Haha, well. Lets just say I was Derek for a day.
1. I would totally have to try this whole pee standing up thing
2. Not going to lie I'd like to see what it felt like to "get personal" with a girl (Me since it would be Derek)
3. I'd love to go to the gym and see what it felt like to be STRONG

8 - What's your alcoholic drink of choice that usually raises a few eyebrows?
I'm not much of a drinker (ask Derek) but when I do let loose I like to drink...

Stag. There I said it.

I know! Don't judge me. I get it enough when I go to the bars.

The 5 Biggest Thanksgiving Myths

  1. Turkey makes you sleepy
If you find yourself nodding off on the couch after the Thanksgiving feast, don't blame the poor old turkey. While it's true that turkey contains tryptophan--an amino acid that's a precursor to calming, feel-good serotonin--there's not enough tryptophan in roasted turkey to tire you out. In fact, there's more tryptophan in cheese and chicken breast than there is in turkey. The real reason you're sleepy? It's likely the stress of the holiday, the hours spent cooking, the wine and spirits--and all the fat and calories you just consumed.

2. Fresh pumpkin is better than canned pumpkin
"Canned" isn't a bad word. Canned tuna and canned tomatoes have a place in the pantry of any great cook. The same rule goes for pumpkin. Canned pureed pumpkin from the grocery store often produces a more reliable and consistent result--especially in baking. If you insist on using fresh pumpkin (and, let's be honest, preventing your guests from enjoying the traditional flavors of Thanksgiving) be sure to use sugar pumpkins; the pumpkins you buy to carve at Halloween are watery, mealy, and not great for recipes. But I say long live canned pumpkin--at least one day a year.

3. The bigger the turkey, the better
When I was kid, my mom took me to the supermarket a week before Thanksgiving and let me pick out the frozen turkey. I went for the one with the biggest breasts. Done laughing? Here's the thing, the ones with big breasts don't have much flavor. According to Rick Rodgers, cooking teacher and author of Thanksgiving 101, you should compare the size of the breast to the size of the rest of the bird. "Larger-breasted turkeys are new breeds that were created to produce a larger amount of meat--not a better flavor. The smaller the ratio of breast meat to whole bird, the closer the turkey is to the original model and the more old-fashioned its flavor will be," he says. My advice, go with a fresh heritage turkey or crossbreed turkey.

4. Stuffing is the same as dressing
Dressing and stuffing are similar, but not the same. The difference lies in how they are prepared. Stuffing is, obviously, stuffed inside the bird, while dressing is usually cooked in a casserole dish. I've always preferred dressing since it has more surface area exposed in the oven, which means you get more crunchy, crusty bits. Stuffing is wet and soggy in my opinion. But there's another reason why you should cease stuffing your bird. Over to Alton Brown for an explanation. "Lot of things could go in there (the cavity of the bird)...in fact, only one thing shouldn't: stuffing. Stuffing is evil. Stuffing adds mass, so it slows the cooking. That's evil because the longer the bird cooks, the drier it will be. And since the cavity is a perfect haven for salmonella bacteria, you have to be absolutely certain that the cavity is heated through to 165° F, which means overcooking at least part of the bird....which is evil," he says. Uhh, looks like stuffing ain't such a good idea.

(via here)

12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge: Day 3

Day 3 - Meaningful/Memorable Gift(s)

I think the most memorable gift that I have received was last year when my mom, dad, and sister pulled together and Santa got me my very own sewing machine. Yes, I've only been able to use it a hand full of times. But, I love having it and being able to say that I got a BIG present that I asked for Christmas ON Christmas.

I'm always surprised at the amount of gifts that Derek, Stratton, and I receive on Christmas. We have such an amazing family that it's really great to know that there will always be presents under the tree.

Speaking of trees! Only 2 more days and I'll be putting mine up with Stratton and Derek! I seriously CAN NOT wait!