THANKSGIVING THURSDAY THIRTEEN

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

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1. God

2. Jade, my eldest, my friend, my heart

3. AC, my boy, my football hero, my soul

4. KT, my girl, my sunshine, my life

5. T, the kindest sweetest best friend anyone could ever have

6. Mom, my hero

7. Dad, my foundation

8. Kathy and Patti, my sisters, always sticking together through thick and thin

9. Meg, the bestest internet friend EVER! My conscience, my sounding board, my cheerleader

10. Pruda and George, the most wonderful, kind in-laws. I am so blessed to have had them be a part of my life before they passed.

11. Chris, my mentor, my partner, my cheerleader

12. a great job with unbelievable perks and benefits

13. my own home

BLACK BOTTOM CUPCAKES

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I posted the recipe for Black Bottom Cupcakes on my recipe blog.
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WEEKLY WRAP-UP

WEEKLY WRAP-UP

11/17-11/23

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WEATHER: warm, nice

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SUNDAY SERMON: we had a guest pastor, James Merritt. He spoke on the book of Ecclesiastes and how nothing in life is worth anything without God.

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LIFE LESSONS: kids are not immune to hard work; just trust God in everything and He will take care of you, do not fear.

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FAVORITE MEAL: cheese pizza squares

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TREASURED MOMENT(S): playing games with the kids (I am the War queen!!!), working on the yard with the kids.

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WHAT WE WATCHED: the usual tv shows; VeggieTale's The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything; Sixteen Candles; Baby Mama

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BLESSINGS: my kids rock!! They went above and beyond what I had asked them to do in the yard.

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CHALLENGES: none really

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS: think I've finally found my groove with things. It's been an awesomely simple week and week-end, but I got everything done that I wanted to, didn't feel too busy, didn't feel too lazy. I finally feel balance in my life.

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FAMILY HAPPENINGS: the kids and I had fun this weekend, playing games and watching movies and working together in the yard. We made dog biscuits together yesterday, also. They both have this week off. KT will be going to Jade's today and staying until Thurs morning.

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MY PROJECT 365 PICTURES FOR THE WEEK:

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Black Bottom Cupcakes (these were the yummiest!!! recipe will come on my recipe blog in a few days.)

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Homemade Chicken Nuggets (one of our favorite meals)

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My baby

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A few more of my babies:

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sunrise

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clouds

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sunrise ( I couldn't help it, we had majorly beautiful skies last week):

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1/2 of my desk at work:

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My new boots:

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AC and KT went out and played football yesterday together, too!

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

FOOTBALL SEASON IS OVER.

We will really miss it. Until next year.

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WEEKLY WRAP-UP

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WEATHER: started out nice, around 80 then by the weekend it was close to 100 and windy. Fires all around.

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SUNDAY SERMON: Pastor Greg talked about the "Problem of Pain". That just because we're Christians doesn't mean we are going to have a struggle-free, pain-free life.

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LIFE LESSONS: It's so nice to have wonderful friends.

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FAVORITE MEAL: early Thanksgiving dinner yesterday.

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TREASURED MOMENTS: watching AC play; calling my mom in MN last night and asking her if she knew who won the Dallas game because she's 2 hours ahead of us so it should be finished up there already, even though it was still on here. I haven't laughed so hard in a looong time!

Playing 10 games of Disney Guess Who? with KT.

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THINGS I READ: just the usual

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WHAT WE WATCHED: besides the usual weekly shows the kids and I watched "Get Smart" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth"

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PLACES WE WENT: to AC's game, Walmart, Uncle D and Aunt W's house for an early Thanksgiving.

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BUDGET SAVERS/BUSTERS: I only spent about $70 on groceries; KT and I went to ColdStone for ice cream on Sat, had a B1G1 free coupon; bought a few things on walmart.com on clearance for $1-$4!!

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BLESSINGS: wonderful children; my beautiful BLONDE mother!

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FAMILY HAPPENINGS: Friday night AC went to the last varsity game while KT and I stayed home and played games. Sat AC got to go to the movies with a friend while KT went to the carwash with T and I took a nap!!! Yesterday we went to T's aunt and uncle's house for an early Thanksgiving. It was very nice and the food was wonderful!!!

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PICTURES:

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AC is #40, pushing on #73.

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On the way to his game on Thurs, KT and I saw a car-b-que on the freeway.


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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

At first I thought it looked like an angel, but then it started looking more sinister to me.

WEEKLY WRAP-UP

WEATHER: everything...hot and dry and windy (in the 90's) to cold and cloudy (low 60's)

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FAVORITE MEAL: chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes & gravy

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TREASURED MOMENT(S): watching AC play in his game on Thurs.

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TALKED WITH: mom

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THINGS I READ: The Christian in Complete Armor

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WHAT I WATCHED: Intervention, Celebrity Rehab, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, FOOTBALL

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PLACES WE WENT: AC's football game, taco night, the cemetary, Walmart, AC went to a motorcycle race, casino

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BUDGET SAVERS/BUSTERS: won at the casino

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BLESSINGS: AC got to play, won at the casino, a few really nice quiet evenings

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CHALLENGES: none really

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS: I took a walk every day but Thurs & Fri!

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FAMILY HAPPENINGS: we all went to see AC play and went to taco night afterward; we went to the cemetary on Sat to leave flowers on Pruda's grave, it was the 3rd anniversary of her death; Josh invited AC to go to our friend's motorcycle race on Sunday

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Here are some pictures I took during the week:

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Yesterday it was really cloudy. This one looked kinda like a bull:

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OK, I have a thing for clouds. These were kinda stacked on top of each other:

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She gets really pissy when I try to take her picture:

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This is for Nicole. This is my entire collection of McDonald's Happy Meal Madame Alexander Wizard of Oz dolls:


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This is a really cool Halloween decoration I saw on one of my walks:

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FRIDAY FILL-INS

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1. My blueprint for success includes being kind to others.
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2. A good old-fashioned plain Hershey's bar was the last candy I ate.
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3. The best facial moisturizer I've ever used is...I don't know what the best is but right now I'm using Oil of Olay.
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4. Quiet time in the Bible can be good therapy. I am always lifted up after I read the Bible.
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5. I'd like to tell you about the fact that today is 90 DAYS!!!!!!!! since I last drank any alcohol!!!!!!
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6. My loyalty is my strongest characteristic.
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7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'll take and pick up AC from the varsity football game and just hang out;
tomorrow my plans include errands and the grocery store, maybe some yardwork;
and Sunday is church for me, then laundry, kid's chores and football!!!
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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY #22

The few pictures I took on Halloween:

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The boy is a dork!!

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I was driving home and this struck me funny:
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My old boss is also a dork.

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7 RANDOM THINGS

I was tagged by Jenny at DailyDose of Motherhood ( http://dailydoseofmotherhood.blogspot.com/ ) (sorry I don't know how else to do links).

Hmmmmm, 7 random things about myself......

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1. Like, Jenny, I am really, really shy. It's gotten alot better as I get older but new people can almost always bring on panic.
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2. I can't seem to sleep past 6am EVER! No matter how late I was up the night before, I will wake before 6am.
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3. I want to go back to school and be an addiction counselor.
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4. I'm pretty short. 5'1" to be exact. All 3 of my kids are now taller than me (and getting more so by the day I think).
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5. I have a thing for lists and calendars and menus and such. Even if I don't follow them exactly, I like having things written down.
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6. I'm in the middle of planning my Thanksgiving menu. I think I'll keep it simple this year. Last year I went a little fancy with the side dishes and it didn't go over too well.
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7. I recently collected all of the McDonald's Happy Meal Madame Alexander Wizard of Oz dolls. Even going so far as buying the only one I missed on Ebay. I love them!!!
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Consider yourself tagged if you read this!!!!

WEEKLY WRAP-UP

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WEATHER: all the way from 100 and really dry down to the 60's and rainy.
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LIFE LESSONS: Wellbutrin is NOT the drug for me
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FAVORITE MEALS: for me, probably the Chik Fil A strips with polynesian sauce for lunch on Saturday.
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TREASURED MOMENTS: the fact that I didn't have to go trick or treating this year!!!
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TALKED WITH: mom
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THINGS I READ: nothing, I barely cracked open my bible
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WHAT I WATCHED: just my Thursday shows
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PLACES WE WENT: AC's football game, the kids went to see High School Musical 3, KT spent the night and trick or treated at a friend's house
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BUDGET SAVERS/BUSTERS: Winco had some really awesome deals this week
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BLESSINGS: I didn't have to trick or treat!!
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CHALLENGES: most of my week was spent in a haze on a new medication that was way too strong for me
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS: nothing really, I was too out of it
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FAMILY HAPPENINGS: My dr apparently misunderstood why I was on a low dose of Paxil (for the real bad depression I get with PMS) and thought that Wellbutrin would be good for me. BIG mistake! I was whacked out most of the week. I finally called her on Wed and asked to stop. I did. Other than that, not much really went on.
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Saturday was Brutus' 4th birthday!!!!!
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