Weekend Happenings

Good Friday afternoon!

The Gallery Pics are a few from our Black Friday adventure. Good times! Good times!

Oh... And the giant picture at the top of the page is the Scarecrow Cupcake Cake Roxie prepared for her Aunt Becky's birthday. Didn't she do an excellent job? (I love that Bev and I have trained Katie and Roxie to bake all of our birthday cakes. That's what good parenting is all about... teaching the kids to take over the "big" stuff!)

RANDOMNESS #1 - We spent Thanksgiving Day with Mikie's family, so we had two very Southern Thanksgiving celebrations this year. Turkey, ham, dressing and ALL the fixings... Sunday AND Thursday. (And yet, I'm still wondering what I want for dinner tonight. I should be full until this time next week.)

Matthew is the perfect age for "everything" holiday. At three, he gets it. Everything is so exciting. We had Otto, the Elf on the Shelf, watching over our Thanksgiving festivities. Matthew and I played several spirited hands of Go Fish and Memory... and he won every time.

Because I am truly a great-aunt, I didn't let it ruin my day, and I clapped for his victories... and I'm practicing for Christmas Eve when I will see him for a re-match.

Lauren, my new great-niece, is oh-so-precious. She is a tiny bundle of sweetness, and the rest of the family let the Faulkner Five hold her to our hearts' content... and that wasn't even enough!

At six weeks, she enjoys looking around and being told over and over how pretty she is. We were more than happy to do her bidding. Once again, Brandi and Jared done good.

RANDOMNESS #2 - Black Friday was a lot of fun. Roxie and I met Amy, Monica, Bev and Katie at the Wynfrey and the party began. There was lots of giggling and catching up... and the girls seemed to have a good time, too.

We decided not to shop until 6:00 a.m. this year. (Last year, we hit the 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. DOORBUSTERS. It almost killed us, and I didn't save as much last year as the year before... probably because I was walking around in a 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. fog.)

We obviously had the right idea this year. We didn't have huge crowds or long lines (except for Starbucks around 10:00 a.m.). When I asked salespeople if they thought there were less shoppers this year, they wearily shook their heads and said, "No. Everyone was here at 4:00 a.m." Ahhh. As a 6:00 a.m. shopper, I was thrilled, I tell you!

I haven't figured up my savings yet, but I do know I am FINISHED with Roxie's list and getting close to being finished with the OVERALL LIST! It feels GOOD!

I'll let you know my total Black Friday savings Monday morning. (I will make sure it is worth my sleep deprivation... which means it needs to be somewhere around the $200 mark. We'll see. We'll see.)

Weekend Happenings

In just an hour, I'll be tromping all over Pine Hill Tree Farms looking for the family tree with the Faulkner Five. Josh was called into work today, but he'll help us... if we give him a big tip!

Saturday will be a catch-up day for me. Catch-up with the laundry, the dusting, the vacuuming, etc., etc. Roxie may be tailgating with a friend at the Alabama/Auburn game. Josh will be working at the tree farm. (The day after the day after Thanksgiving may be one of the busiest days of the year for him!) Mikie and Austin will be watching the game from the comfort of our home... and I think I'm gonna be cookin' man food for them to eat during and after. Yeah. That's the ticket!

Sunday is a little up in the air for Roxie, but I think the rest of us have our plans and we're sticking to them. (It's supposed to rain Sunday, which means we're supposed to nap after church. It's some kind of Southern law, I think.)

Thanksgiving Day 2011 is in the books, and Christmas 2011 is just beginning. Let the festivities begin.

I'll be back Monday with Mindless Monday pics. Christmas traditions, parties, dates, recipes, etc. will be featured on A Simple Life during the next few weeks. Feel free to share any of your traditions and ideas via e-mail (mfaulkner1306@charter.net), and I'll be more than happy to share them on the blog!

Take care, and I'll talk to you next week.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda