"You're Missing Your Sales"

This quote came from my sister, Adrienne's brother-in-law, Shawn.  That would be Harry's brother, for those of you who know him.  Many years ago, I was a lonely child sitting in the rocking chair in the living room.  The time: 3:18 AM.  The day: the day after Thanksgiving.  The attire: I was all bundled up in thermals, boots, 2 sets of gloves, sweatshirt and pants, heavy winter coat, and 2 pairs of pants on top of the thermals. The circumstances: I was all ready and psyched to go Black Friday shopping.  But I could not drive yet.  Adrienne and Harry were going to come get me 18 minutes ago.  What to do?  What to do?  I'd tried calling them multiple times.  No answer.  Finally, their white Alero pulled in my driveway, and I ran out, wiping the tears.  Soon, the tears froze to my cheeks as we waited in line at Mervyn's.  So freezing cold!  But so totally worth it.  Thank goodness Shawn (who was visiting them Thanksgiving that year) heard their cell phones ringing, and he said in a morning, hoarse voice, "You're missing your sales."

Over the past 7 years or so, my sister and I have bonded through a tradition that my mom wants no part of.  That is, waking up at the crack of dawn to spend a lot of money, but save even more.

It all starts on Thanksgiving Day...
We make lists.  We check them twice.  We compare ads.  We cut coupons.  We make game plans.  We decide how much time to spend at each store before driving like crazy to the next store before they open.  We should've looked at the floor plans of each store this year because there were electronics hidden in the clothing section!, but we did not.  We will next year for sure.

Two years ago, Adrienne was puking the whole time because of morning sickness (from Silly Lily).  She is dedicated to the cause.  I am always up and ready at the exact time we are supposed to leave, no matter how late Adrienne is to pick me up.  I am dedicated to the cause.  Long live Black Friday!

My wins from 2010:

Target - Nikon digital camera, 12 MP, 4x zoom.  $79. 
Sears - nice shirt and tie for Charles when he gets a new job - $15.  Awesome bench press - $89
Kohls - Queen size reversible down comforter - $25.  Luxury bath towels - $5.

Thank You! Gracias! Merci!

My Thanksgiving was just as normal as the rest.  Food.  Family.  Fun.  And yet, it was wonderful because I had those 3 things... and so much more.  I'm so grateful!  Writing statuses (stati?) for Facebook for the 25 day countdown to Thanksgiving helped me realize the little blessings in my day-to-day life.  Of course I am always grateful for family, food, friends, a home, a car, being adopted, etc.  But I think it's important to "recognize the Lord's hand" in our everyday life.

Some things that I considered tender mercies in November:
1. The law of tithing.  We paid off Charles' OUT-OF-STATE student loans.  Not cheap.  I've never actually been so poor in my life (Charles didn't really have any savings before we got married... I did, so guess where the bulk of money came from?).  And yet we're not, because we pay our tithing.  Money appeared out of nowhere in our savings account.  I have no idea how that happened, honestly.  It doesn't say where it came from.

2. I was able to have a smaller patient load one night, which was good because one of my patients was totally freaking out!  Anxiety attack to the extreme over a milk-and-molasses enema.  Ok, I would probably freak out, too.  But in the end, my patient said, "I just need some fresh air."  Me, too!  I enjoyed a nice midnight stroll outside on the patio and got to see the lights all over the Salt Lake Valley.  Beautiful.

3. Game nights with friends.  Games just make life so much more fun!  We much more enjoy that than sitting and watching a movie.  We could do that by ourselves!  Thank you to the creators of "Harry Potter Clue" especially. 

And many more.  But anyway, here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving.

My cubie shelves all decked out in Thanksgiving decor!  I made the plate.  :-)

I love painting wood stuff!

The Iron Chef... in hot pink and lime green oven mitts.

I 'helped" my grandma to make pies when I was younger.  I ate so much dough!  I then learned how to really make good pies and homemade pie crust thanks to my mom when I was a little older and Grandma was gone.  I always think of her when I'm baking.  I miss her.

Silly Lily!

My family.  I sure do love them.

My Family.  Sure do love them.

Mmm... Tryptophan.

Hope you had a very happy Turkey Day!

 

HP7

I feel like my life is about to end.  Officially, Harry Potter has been a part of 1/2 of my life.  I was 11 when he was 11.  I remember reading "HP and the Sorcerer's Stone" in 6th grade, Ms. Pace's class, sharing a book with Amanda, who sped read faster than I could ever hope to be able to.

Each time a new book came out, I only surfaced from my room to use the bathroom and grab something portable to eat that could easily be eaten with one hand and not need much attention paid to it.  As I realized the last few pages of the books were within my view, I was filled with mixed emotions.  So excited to just finish it and find out how all the 3895 problems throughout the book were solved and anxious to see what new problem the next book would start with.  And so depressed that I would have to wait at least another year before the anticipation of opening pages full of surprises would happen. 

I don't even remember thinking what HP, Hermione, and Ron looked like before the movies came out.  But I remember thinking they all looked like they were supposed to.  I loved hearing the audience laugh when they saw an actor acting just as the character in the book should, saying the things in just the right tones and inflections that they should.  It was amazing to see the real-life action, see the emotions in their faces, watch the incredible graphics that made the unreal things in our muggle world come to life on the big screen.

So, as I went to see the first part of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," I felt a sense of loss.  It is almost over.  The war has almost ended.  The kids are grown, they are falling in love, they are dealing with deaths of dear friends.  Although my circumstances didn't allow me to see it at midnight, I kind of didn't want to.  I didn't want it be over.  I know there's the second half of #7 to come, and I'm dreading it.  The only consolation comes in that this collection of 7 books and movies will be a family favorite in the Burt household, and Charles and I will get to see our kids' excitement as they learn about the legendary Harry Potter for the very first time.  "I'm a wizard?  But I'm Harry.  Just Harry."

  

Voldemort Plays Fetch

Once upon a time there was a cuddly kitten.  He had beautiful white fur and big blue eyes. 

He was very sick, but he got better with medicine.  A little too better.  He turned into a very mean kitty.  His eyes started shining red, and they named him Voldemort.

He started biting his owners who loved him very much.  He then attacked important papers, chewed off strings off clothing, made the house a mess, and was just plain MEAN!  His owners started to not like him very much.  But because they are animal-lovers, they tolerated him.

"Hey that's a cookie shaped like me! ... wait, don't you guys EAT cookies?"

They just kept around him to tease and torment (in a nice animal-loving way).  They fed him his daily rations, and kept him watered.  But one day, Voldemort started to feel bad that they didn't like him.  So, he did something amazing.  He decided to show them he was a special kitty who was unique.  He played fetch!!!

Now Charles and Chandra LOVE Voldemort.  Ok, that's a stretch.  They tolerate him more! 

He's such a good kitty-dog! 

And in the end... everyone lived happily ever after.  And Voldemort gained 10 lbs from getting extra treats.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was one of my 5 non-major holidays this year at work, so I got to celebrate with lots of sick kiddos!  Pretty sure I ate the candy that they couldn't d/t dietary restrictions. 

But nevertheless, I still got into the halloween spirit and decorated the whole house (in September!).  Here's some pics of our Halloween!

My cubie shelf that I'm going to keep decorated for the holidays.

Mine, Charles and Voldemort's pumpkins

Parvati Patil and Ron Weasley

Mechanic Girl.  Costume #2 for work.

Taken early morning October 27th.  Apparently autumn is over?

Hope your Halloween was full of sweet treats!