December is here at last or perhaps suddenly. Feels more like suddenly this year doesn’t it? We have lots on our December calendar and I’m excited for it.

However, first I think I’ll take a minute to look back at the whirlwind last week of November. Isn’t it weird how sometimes a week with nothing special on the calendar can speed by as fast as one that’s super busy?

MONDAY AND TUESDAY

Nothing too exciting happened on Monday except my usual grocery store trip. I guess I’m officially a “regular” as that’s how the lunchmeat counter manager referred to me. “I’m seeing all my regulars today.” HA. It’s true though, I typically shop on Mondays and get the same things from that counter.

Tuesday, J had his class and I took a snowy hike through some of the nature center trails. You can see the post about that here. 

I worked for just a few hours on Tuesday afternoon. It was definitely a bit more chilly in the late afternoon on the playground than it had been on the nature center trails. And so muddy! Ugh. However, I still enjoyed seeing the kids. J didn’t have his evening class so our evening was fairly relaxed, I mostly read in my book and watched a bit of TV.

WEDNESDAY

With lots of sunshine and warmer weather, I opted to drive out to a nature center on the east side of town and do a bit of walking. I didn’t take my boots so mostly stayed on the paved trails. I had the best time seeing a new (to me) bird as well as some eagles flying over head! The eagle picture turned out blurry but here’s my new tiny bird friend:

A bit of real life: Unfortunately, the evening ended on a bit of a sour note as J and I came home starving from his class and my husband had not even bothered to start dinner. He’d been home a decent amount of time, saying “I didn’t know what you wanted.” I’d written two options on our menu board. My temper flared a bit as I made dinner (loudly) but everyone was fed. I ended up making sausage, orzo, & broccoli. 

Maybe I’d come home in a bit of worse mood as I’d finished reading Holly by Stephen King and found myself quite disappointed in it.

Life and dinners go on…

THURSDAY

Yesterday, I went hiking at the closer nature center trails again. Wore my boots and was glad I did as a lot of the snow melted into slippery leaves and mud.

So strange to see how the weather and trails can change in a matter of two days. This is the same spot 2 days apart:

I also finally managed to get to the library and pick up my on hold books (as well as return my overdue ones). Also picked up a few new cookbooks, not sure if I’ve mentioned it but the library is such a great place to grab cookbooks to preview. In my current collection, I have Trisha Yearwood’s cookbook as well as one by Chrissy Teigen plus a couple random ones.

Not from a cookbook but last night we made these banana pancakes for dinner. Whatever you’re planning for your next meal, change it and make these instead! So good. We added mini chocolate chips to ours. They really didn’t even need syrup. Next time, I think I’d like to add blueberries instead of the chocolate chips.

Ended my November watching, not a Christmas movie but an old dateline special about Jonestown. Why? And then, I turned on the football game but fell asleep.

Our Weekend Plans

And now it’s December! Ours is a bit busier than normal but after a few years of quiet holidays, I’m excited about it.

Prior to this post, I took a moment to enjoy a cup of hazelnut coffee as the Keurig is plugged in for the holiday season. It only comes out for hunting season/Christmas, the rest of the year is the regular coffee maker coffee which I also had a cup of earlier in the morning.

And read the first day of Simply Christmas, a favorite devotional for this month. While it’s geared to moms with younger children, I still find wisdom in the pages.

Tonight we have J’s college Christmas concert to attend. Tomorrow, our first of the month dinner/game night with friends. We’ve not had a proper game night in a while so I do hope we actually play a few games tomorrow. And then, Sunday night is the Chiefs game. Between all that fun, I am hoping to get the rest of the house decorated for Christmas, maybe do a bit of shopping or baking, and taking some time to enjoy the start of the Christmas season.

If the sun shines, you know I’ll be out taking a walk with my camera soaking it in while I can. I’ve told myself every time I can be out walking and enjoying the sunshine in the next few months, I’m going to do it.

Do you have any exciting weekend plans?

I’m having a bit of a red, green, and black Friday over here. Shopping or not, it’s still red Friday for the Chiefs game on Sunday. Of course, all my Chiefs gear is in the wash so I’m wearing a red Grinch t-shirt. Bit of a green Friday happening as well since I have no intention of leaving the house today & have added a green cardigan with a Christmas tree design to my ensemble since it’s chilly in here. Finally, I am doing a bit of online black Friday bargaining. Mostly, it involves streaming deals.

However, I thought I’d take a quick break from not really doing much to share about my week.

Monday and Tuesday

The weather was fairly nice to start the week. I worked on Monday and Tuesday both. Though I only worked in the afternoon on Tuesday, it felt like a full day. Those kids were a bit crazy! It was nice that I was able to enjoy afternoon birthday celebrations both days. However, can I just suggest…IF you want to make your child’s birthday treat (it’s fine and allowed at our school) and make some sort of bars/cake/rice krispie treats, PLEASE cut them into pieces before bringing them to school. Couldn’t really help the teacher with the kids during the celebration as I was cutting the birthday treats into 20 servings. Anyway, did I mention Tuesday was a crazy day at my work? The main teacher actually sent me a text later that night thanking me for my help. A super nice thing to do.

Pre-Thanksgiving (AKA Wednesday)

Wednesday was a pretty easy day as none of us had anywhere we needed to be. Such a change from the days of traveling to Oklahoma! Maybe that’s why I had the itch to go somewhere later in the afternoon so hopped in the car to brave Target. I did actually need a few items there plus wanted to look for the flavored whipped creams I’d read about somewhere (salted caramel sounded like a great addition to my apple pie but alas they were out of it).

I took some time before going into the craziness of Target to stop at a different local nature center and quickly walk just their short (.25 mile, I think) paved trail. Didn’t bring my camera so these photos I’m sharing are all from my phone. Since it was a bright sunny day, I had on my sunglasses and forgot to switch back to regular glasses before setting off into the woods. Oops! I definitely need to go back there with my good camera and without my sunglasses.

One last thing to mention about my hike, I really think taking the walk before going into a crowded store helped me be a bit less stressed. I don’t do crowds well and I really think having some time in nature prior to the crowded indoor excursion helped.

Thanksgiving

Did I forget to take any pictures at all? I did indeed! Even the photo of my cranberry relish in progress was from Wednesday.

It was such a nice and relaxing day! I can’t remember the last time we’ve had such a nice Thanksgiving in these parts. My brother’s dinner wasn’t until 4 so I had all day to make my pies. Had a wonderful dinner and visit with my 3  brothers and two of my nieces and their families. And political talk was at a minimum barely happening at all (I’m beyond thankful for that one!). G took the car (we all rode together) to go feed a friend’s cat and took J with him around 7ish so dropped J off at home. J’s not the most social so we try to respect that. The rest of us stayed and visited until almost 11!

Today

Today’s weather was slightly different when I woke up this morning. A feels like temperature of 18 degrees! What? It’s 35 now but not supposed to get any warmer and they’re still calling for snow (just a dusting) overnight.

My plans for today were to start decorating for Christmas but all I’ve managed so far is to take down the fall decor and add in a few Christmas bathroom towels. Oh, and I pulled out my Christmas sweaters and a few warm sweatshirts, putting away the shorts finally.

My plans for the rest of the weekend are fairly open, finish decorating for Christmas (hopefully), G’s offered to get me a McRib since our McD’s has them right now (I’ll probably be disappointed but I still want one), and hopefully watch maybe a Christmas movie plus the Chiefs game on Sunday. Nothing too exciting which is fine as our December is shaping up to be a busy one (with all good stuff though)!

What color is your Friday? Big plans for the rest of the weekend?

First thing is I really need to work on my blog titles. Can you believe another week’s gone by? What happened in your week? Here’s a glimpse into mine.

CATNAP NEEDED

I’m going to start with this morning’s adventure. I thought it would be going to get my haircut but no, this little cat had other plans:

Let her outside early because she was fussing. Few minutes later heard a ruckus, opened the door and thought I saw her over toward the neighbor’s house. Didn’t worry too much, figured things had worked themselves out (sometimes other little cats come to play and they don’t always play nice). Later in the morning, went to let her back inside as it was quite chilly and glance to the side and….she’s up in the elm tree that sits between our house and the neighbors. SIGH.

Husband had trimmed some branches over the summer (something about them falling and hitting our roof if a good wind happened). And now, the cat struggled to get down the tree. So picture me (sorry no actual footage for you), bright and early on a Saturday morning, outside in a sweatshirt and pajama bottoms giving a pep talk to get the cat back down the tree. Husband is off hunting and I really thought I was going to have to find someone with a ladder to help us. However, she managed and is now tucked into our bed in front of the heater.

AROUND THE FRONT YARD

J slept through his Thursday classes so I missed out on my morning walk, unless you count Menards where I had a few errands. It’s a big store but walking through the artificial Christmas trees is not quite as relaxing as walking in the wooded areas. Thought I’d make it up on Friday but was called into work. I was glad to go though as I had things to drop off for a teacher gift basket. Here’s a few images I took on Thursday afternoon just to have a moment with my camera at least.

Pansies are enduring through the crazy up and down temperatures. Full view of the hanging basket is not quite as pretty.

A couple images from the flower garden around the basket. The late stage of the coneflower is very striking to me.

And the very end of the brown-eyed Susans. I admit, I did cut quite a few of them down a bit this year (had to as I needed to reach the bee balm that I also cut down due to disease). They’ll be back next year I’m sure.

IN THE BACKYARD

Not our tree but I just love this sweet gum tree that belongs to the neighbor. The leaves seem much smaller this year, probably because of the drought.

Thursday was a fairly quiet day and while I had lots I needed to do, I didn’t do much of it.

CAKE

This cake, I’ve made it for so many years now. And it seldom comes out perfect. Actually, I don’t know that it’s ever come out perfect. There is a certain beauty to an imperfect homemade cake, I think.

J had a nice birthday, I think. Birthdays are different in those young adult times. He had class still so we didn’t do much other than the standard dinner, presents, and cake with the four of us. He seemed to like his gifts, a lightweight zip up hoodie (strange weather, he needed something lightweight), a box of “full price” cheez its, peppermint lifesavers and a large Three Musketeers bar. Of course, his large present was the symphony tickets for all of us later in December.

(Monday and Tuesday of this week are a bit of a blur, I think I was probably running around doing pre-birthday things for J.)

THIS WEEKEND

Last night, I was too tired to do much of anything and opted to watch a movie. Just in case you don’t know, Fast X has a sequel. I was not happy about that though I did actually enjoy the movie (I’ve never sat and watched 1-9 of the Fast and Furious movies so don’t ask why I opted to watch the 10th installment). Jason Momoa should play a villian in all movies, he was a great villain in this!

After the cat drama this morning, I still managed to go get my haircut and then, came down here to finish this post. I’m feeling the pull to clean, bake, and decorate for Christmas though I’m not “allowed” to decorate until after Thanksgiving. I’ll probably spend the afternoon cleaning out the fridge, putting together the Mexican lasagna that I didn’t make yesterday, and reading in my book. Or maybe I’ll go for a walk as the weather is supposed to be nice today before taking a cold turn moving forward into the holiday week.

What are your plans for this Saturday?

Hey, another 2 posts week! Hooray. Thought I’d just do this post in the Five on Friday style.

ONE: RAIN DELAY

I barely got a quick walk in on Tuesday morning before the rain started. We finally had a few days of decent rainfall. It rained all day on Tuesday and Wednesday. Much needed. Speaking of delays, I am sharing this picture I didn’t get a chance to share in my Monday post. It’s just a random zinnia picture from our yard and I really like it. Maybe you’ll like it as well.

TWO: HAPPY LITTLE SURPRISES

Am I channeling Bob Ross?  Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday were work days for me. It’s nice being home more. However, it’s such a joy to go into work and see the kids as well. Tuesday was just a few hours in the pre-primary classroom, just slightly crazy because of the rainy day. And thankfully, we did get to go outside for a few minutes while I was there.

Wednesday, I worked in the kitchen. Ugh, not my thing. At home or at work. I’d even given one of my shifts away to another sub who was in need of more hours. However, upon arrival, I learned that they’d fixed the dishwasher. It’d been broken for a long time. If you’ve worked in any sort of commercial kitchen, you’ll relate to the “joy” of the three part handwashing sinks…wash, rinse, sanitize. Kills the hands. So hooray for commercial sanitizing dishwashers that are quick and efficient!

The regular cook had left the two of us who were supposed to be in there the most a little gift as well! These lemon wafer cookies might be my new favorites! 

And of course, spending some time in the primary classroom areas was such a joy. The kids asking me: when was I going to be back in their classroom made my day. Along with the hugs, overhearing little conversations (and on occasion stepping away from my kitchen duties to offer a bit of input–no, you should not hide from your teacher! ).

THREE: OUTDOOR CHORES

Another surprise yesterday, my husband had a day off work. We mainly did outdoor things. And frankly, I prefer to bring my plants in for the season when he’s not home. There is not such a thing as too many plants is there?  Funny, I never used to be a plant person as far as indoors. However, I can’t bear to let my plants go for the winter. Especially the clearance bargains I “rescued” from the garden center.

The weather people predict a hard freeze for us over the weekend so I spent all day yesterday (thankfully, it was a warm day with the rain leaving) bringing in my plants. Did you know that if you vacation your houseplants outside over the summer, they grow?!

This monstera (a bargain from Sam’s Club two years ago, husband says it’s the worst $8 he ever spent) is getting so big…not sure if you can see the top of the rocking chair back there. Basically, this thing is halfway covering the window in height.

I also made this little pot of begonias for our bedroom. The ladies at one of my favorite flower stores told me they would keep over the winter. Worth a try. I neglected them all summer, never even taking them out of their garden center containers. And they just continued to bloom. 

I also harvested up the rest of our garden “bounty” ha. More herb drying in my future.

FOUR: INDOOR DECOR

I woke up to a quiet dark house so I plugged in my little ghost lights.

My leaf lights finally gave out and I’ve struggled to find new ones so this year for fun, I hung up the little ghost lights. We’ve had these since the boys were little. Usually, I put them around the window frame but was in the mood for something different.  Also, lit my pumpkin clove candle for a bit. And yes, it smells as good as you think it might. 

Here’s my fun basket filler found at Target that doesn’t really work because I didn’t buy enough but I still like it.

FIVE: WEEKEND PLANS

So, I bought bulbs a couple weeks ago. And while I was in Menards, our yard grew! Oops. Does that happen to anyone else?

My weekend plans include:

• watching a Halloween movie (or two), the boys think it’s funny that I’d like to see Five Nights At Freddy’s. I’ve been told “it’s a generational thing” and I’m not sure how to take that.
• Finding homes for all the plants I moved indoors yesterday
• Visiting some of the last Farmer’s Markets of the season. Last week I went to one a bit further out and had the best honey lavender latte, hoping the mobile coffee place is there again. Might be worth the drive!
• Planting 114 flower bulbs (maybe not that many but that’s apparently how many I bought) if it’s not raining
• Cheering on the Chiefs!

We still aren’t sure if we’re going to a bonfire tomorrow night, thinking my husband isn’t overly enthused. Do you have any fun weekend plans?

Just thought I’d do a random chit chat type post today and just throw in a hodgepodge of pictures to go along with it.

It’s been a bit of an odd week where there were a few days where I wasn’t even sure what day it actually was. J didn’t have classes on Tuesday so I think that’s what threw me off a bit.  And I’ve never managed to get it right. Just realized today that this is not the last week of October. Geez. Do you ever get the days and weeks mixed up? Please tell me I’m not alone in doing this.

I’ll also blame the stores. Had some errands to run and felt like Rip Van Winkle. Wondering if I slept through Halloween and Thanksgiving because it’s Christmas!

MONDAY and TUESDAY

Monday, I ended up not working. A bit of a communication mix up. While I didn’t mind not working, the lack of communication frustrated me a bit. Tuesday was walking day (I shared photos from my walk here) We did not have enough players for our Bunco night so four of us went out for dinner instead.

It was okay, the company was nice but the food was just average. And with the price of dining out/food lately, that was a bit disappointing. I did get a complimentary drink with my dinner since they were out of my first choice of an adult “beverage.” So not all bad.

WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY

Wednesday, I didn’t do much of anything. Posted here, watched the season finale of Daryl Dixon. Have you been watching it? I’m not sure what to make of the episode…The last episodes of Fear the Walking Dead start on Sunday so I’ll be watching that now. Don’t even ask me to explain how I can’t do scary but love the zombie shows.  Oh, I forgot I did make this apple cake minus the custard sauce (too many egg yolks for me, melted ice cream works fine) though it turned out a bit dry. My husband and the boys weren’t big fans. It’s not super sweet so I’ve just ate it for breakfast the past two days.

Thursday, I went on another walk in the morning. Worked in the afternoon. And in the evening a friend and I went to see the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour movie. Really enjoyed it. Not a big Swiftie but she is super talented and I’d go to that movie again. Wow, I imagine it was a spectacular live show.  My friend and I did wonder if at the live show the time between sets might have been a bit longer. After the movie, we stood in the parking lot visiting for a bit. Then, at home, J wanted to talk. Not about anything serious. However, I feel like if your older kid wants to share things with you, you listen even if the pillow is begging for your attention as well.

FRIDAY (TODAY)

I’m calling it Frittata Friday instead of red Friday because somehow all my Chiefs gear is in the wash. SIGH. At least I’ll have a shirt ready for Sunday. Actually, I was proud of the frittata as we used the last of a bag of mini peppers which means I managed to not let it go bad. We had a pepper popper pizza (recipe off the bag) for lunch one day, pepper steak for dinner another night, and then the frittata for lunch. Oh, I should probably share that I use this recipe for my frittata base. We don’t care for potatoes in our frittatas so leave them out.

And after running to the store earlier, it seems like prices went up again? And how about a sale on Halloween candy?  I had to run to the store because I’m making ranch chicken enchiladas using the slow cooker for dinner tonight and had somehow picked up a Hidden Valley Ranch “Dill” dip mix instead of the original stuff. Thought that probably wouldn’t work so went and picked up the right mix plus some yellow rice (forgot it on Monday), chips, and salsa to round out our meal. Curious to see how it turns out.

WEEKEND PLANS

Tonight after J and I return from his class (he goes to class, I sit in a sunny/shady spot in the car and read), I’ll probably not do much. TV viewing I imagine, the new episode of Loki is out so I’ll watch that and maybe a not too scary Halloween movie.

Now that I know it’s not the last week of the month, our weekend is open as our friends won’t be hosting a bonfire until next weekend. Tomorrow morning I’ll visit the local farmer’s markets in search of some good bread, maybe do some more yard work and work on getting more plants ready to transition inside.

Sunday’s the Chiefs game in the afternoon and then, depending on whether J wants to drive himself to band practice or not, a Target trip in the evening.

A pretty low-key weekend on our horizon and I’m okay with that. Do you have exciting weekend plans?