Random Catch All

Alternate Post Title: Playing Catch Up

I guess it hasn't been that long since I blogged, but it's been just long enough that I feel the need to catch up. The problem is...there's quite a few little things, but nothing that I can seem to make into its own post..so we are going to go at this, random-style. {Not to be confused with Gangnam Style..just sayin'}

Sitting it out:
My body decided that it was a good time to shut down and demand that I rest. It did this by spiking an unexpected fever. So rest I did...for almost 5 days. Exciting news..I know. It is what it is, I suppose. The worst part, aside from being sick, is the fact that ever since my year-long illness last year, my body does not handle even something as simple as the sniffles all that well. It's those nasty virus's. They get me every time..sending my body into a tail spin. A less than desirable side-effect I may just have to get used to.

Shock and Awe:
I recently participated in Activisions Family Game Summit. As part of that I won a 'goody bag'. Which, in reality, turned out to be more of a PRIZE PACKAGE. Seriously. Check it out..

The best part...the Skylanders Giants for Wii is THE ITEM that my boys have been asking for, for Christmas this year. When I saw that sitting in the bottom of the box I was in shock. I am still in shock.

Prepping for the Holiday Season:
I am getting VERY excited for the Christmas season to be in full swing. I am not usually one to rush things..but I am in this year. It may have a lot to do with the fact that while I was sick in bed recently {see above,} I laid around watching sappy holiday movies on the Hallmark Channel, ABC Family, and Lifetime Movie Network. {Dont' judge. One can get desperate when left home alone during the day for that long}.

In fact, our Christmas tree has been up for close to two weeks. Although the rest of the decor didn't make it up until today. {I didn't want to rush things too much}. Speaking of putting the tree up....I allowed my boys to literally throw the ornaments on the tree. I have video proof of the event, but I can't seem to figure out how to get it from my cellular phone to my laptop to share it. For the record, when I say ornaments, I am only referring to some pine cones and poinsettia's. I wouldn't actually let them throw my  memory laden ornaments from years past at the tree.

Turkey Day:
We had family {who live out of state} return home for a visit. So we spent Thanksgiving with Hubby's family, which is a rare treat. I can't remember an actual Thanksgiving, since I started dating him, that his family has done Thanksgiving. It was enjoyable, and nice to have the ENTIRE family all in one place.

Black Friday Shopping:
We entered the land of CrAZy and hit the Black Friday sales. The original plan was to hit the sales and hopefully get a good deal on Skylanders {see above}. When it showed up unexpectedly in the mail, we decided we would still hit the sales and finish off our shopping anyways....with the attitude of  "if we get good deals, all is well, if it's too crazy we call it quits and all will still be well".

Everything went well...until I almost got arrested. Okay. Okay. I didn't come anywhere close to being arrested, but I DID get reprimanded by the long arm of the law. I jumped a "line" that wasn't really a line {if you ask me}. I was just following the crowd as everyone swarmed and made fools of themselves, when an officer grabbed me by the elbow and made me put back the item {DVD player} I had snagged..telling me "you weren't in line".

It all worked out in the end because hubby WAS in line. In-fact, he grabbed the LAST ONE. It got crazy, however when another shopper {who had also jumped the line} tried to grab said item from hubby..ripping the packaging. The officer, however, jumped in, forcing the line-jumper out and handed things back to hubby. The whole thing was surreal and something you just don't usually experience.

We did make the mistake of hitting one store {which shall remain nameless, but may or may not rhyme with Schmarget}..What a nightmare. The line started in front of the store, wrapped clear around  and behind the building then snaked back to the parking lot {in front of the store}. We never did make it inside either. Things got stressful too when hubby and I got separated from each other and we were unable to contact each other via cell phone. There was such a high concentration of people and craziness that cell phones were virtually useless. It was entertaining to watch people hitting redial over and over, all while cussing their network. It's a wonder we didn't crash all the networks.

In the end we managed to finish 75-80% of our shopping...all while having some fun. Because we weren't dead set on 'must-haves' we were able to get what we needed and sit back and laugh at the crazies that shop for the deals like their lives depend on it.

Not your average bird:
As a follow-up to having family in town {from out of state}, we {hubbys family} got together today for one last get-together. The guys started the day with a pheasant hunt and then we all came together, later in the day, for dinner.

For the record, hubbys kill was NOT dinner. We opted for a more traditional meal. {Not all of us like to be acquainted with our food prior to it hitting the frozen food section of the grocery store}.

Soon to be crafting:
Thanks to a long-time acquantaince I scored a SWEET deal on a Silhouette SD. Can you say excited? Because I am! I have soooo many craft projects planned for this newest addition. Don't be surprised if you all get crafty projects dressed up with made-by-me vinyl additions.

Phew! and I think that is it..for now. All caught up!