Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Okay...a little late in wishing you a happy turkey day, but it's been a busy few days!  Emilie is home from college, mom and dad came up from Iowa, and we hit the ground running from start to finish.

Mom and dad are now on their way home, Emilie and family are decorating the house for Christmas, and I have a few minutes to reflect on how much FUN we had!  Starting with dinner on Wednesday at Robin and Dave's (yum!), through Thanksgiving brunch at the St. Paul Hotel (yum again!)...from lounging about Thanksgiving afternoon, through a mad dash to a bunch of stores on Thanksgiving night to take care of a few Christmas presents...from more shopping Friday morning (occasional stores...much less chaotic that Target, Herbergers, Kohls, etc. the night before), through grocery shopping and cooking the rest of the day for everyone to come here for dinner on Friday night to celebrate by birthday (how did I end up doing the cooking and making the cake for my birthday?! Ha!)....a good time was had by all!

Not a lot of photos of the fast and furious few days, but here are some from the St. Paul Hotel...

Here's hoping YOU had a great Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it!), and that you are ready for the oncoming chaos of Christmas (if you celebrate it!!) too!!

There Be PLAGUE Here!

Ugh!  Two days before Thanksgiving break, and the stomach flu is running rampant through the elementary school at which I work.  Students (and teachers) are dropping like flies, and the calls of "custodian for extraction in room _ _ _" chime over the walkie talkie every couple of minutes.

I knew it was bad, but, after seeing a custodian with a canister strapped to his back on Friday afternoon, spraying all surfaces with disinfectant, am just hoping to make it to Wednesday (and through Thanksgiving) without succumbing to the plague...

Did I say UGH yet???!!

Here's hoping YOU are healthy, and germ free too!!

My Plants Are Confused...

This unseasonably (yet FABULOUS!) warm weather has been a little confusing to the remaining plants on my deck.  The gooseberry bush is "leafing out", and I just had another rose bloom!

That first snowfall is going to be U-G-L-Y!!!

Here's hoping YOU are enjoying unseasonably AWESOME weather too!!!!

A Final Drive Before "Winterizing"

Duane and I took the Riv out for a drive one last time yesterday before storing it for the winter...amazing warm, sunny November day...amazing car...amazing time!!!!!

Here's hoping YOU were able to enjoy a beautiful day recently too!!!

Ugh...

Yep...this is pretty much how I feel right now...headache...sore throat...stuffy nose...raspy cough...

Yay...really...yay...

Here's hoping YOU haven't been TAKEN OUT by the germs and viruses swirling around YOUR world too...

Attempting to Get Back on Track!!!

A dear friend recently starting blogging again, after a two year hiatus, and it's motivated me to try to get back on track with my own blog!  If you look at the number of posts in the sidebar, you'll see that there's been a real "slowdown" in posting this year.

Many fun and interesting things continue to happen, but I just haven't been motivated enough to sit down and share them with you.

For instance...I didn't post about our super fun trip to the North Shore over Memorial Day weekend...

..or anything about performing in "Les Miserables" in June...truly one of the most AMAZING experiences of my theatrical "career", and one of the most challenging roles I've ever played...

...or about how much fun I had seeing my friend Tena in "Honk", and hanging out in Fairfield in early July (even though it was REALLY hot and humid), and then spending a few quiet days in Tingley...

...or how I went BACK to Fairfield a few weeks later to perform with great friends in a variety show called "Coming Home, Coming Together" at the Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts (and where I had the opportunity to reconnect (briefly) with SO MANY AMAZING PEOPLE)...

...or photos and details of Duane's and my trip to Seattle mid-August...

...or about going to mom and dad's for Labor Day...

...or the fun we had with Duane's friend Jenny at the "Taste of Greece" Festival at St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church...

...or the FABULOUS, and WONDERFUL addition of TWO Hy-Vee stores to the metro area (with one slated to open here in Eagan in the next year or two!)...

...or Duane's and my adventures at Minnesota's Largest Candy Store in Jordan...

...or adventures on the road in the '78 Riviera to explore some of the amazing parks around the area...

...our our quick trip to Taylor's Falls to see the fall "colors"...which weren't quite there yet...even though the local news said they were...

...or our adventures at the Minneapolis Farmer's Market during mom and dad's fun visit a few weeks ago...

...or how much fun my friend Betty and I had harvesting the last of the produce and "winterizing" the courtyard at school...

...or about selling the jelly we made at the Fall Festival this past Friday night at my school...!!!!

 

The truth is...I get busy, and the blog just doesn't "make the cut".  So...in an effort to ONCE AGAIN bore you all with my weekly adventures (or lack thereof), I'm implementing new guidelines...

ONE...A limit of FIVE photos per post (I think that's what really put me over the edge before.  It takes SO LONG to upload photos to this blog...!!!).

TWO...I can't...actually...think of anything else...that first one might be all it takes to get me back on track...so we'll stick with ONE, I guess...!!!

Here's hoping YOU have been able to get back to something that you enjoy, and are making it work for you too!!!!