How Did I Get Here Already?!

Sometime late last Spring or early Summer I blogged about wanting to have multiple Christmas trees at some point in my life. I included the link to a woman who has over 12 trees in her home. I stated that I thought I would be satisfied with eventually having five trees. I tried to find that post, but I must have put it on the Christmas Corner page and it's gone now.

The point of my post was that I have a main tree and a little two or three ft. tree for Dan's office. I decided to buy a "primitive" style tree for the guest room and decorate it in a snow theme. When Hobby Lobby put their trees on 50% off last month, I splurged and bought two new trees. A three foot for Dan's office, but in the primitive style and a four foot for the guest room.

Well, I didn't think to realize that now I have four trees, counting the one I'm replacing in Dan's office.

This past Saturday we were at Big Lots and Dan said "did you see your Christmas tree?". I said no, show it to me and he took me over to this beautiful lavender aluminum tree! It is the most gorgeous shade of purple. I laughed and said I have no where to put that tree and how would I decorate it anyway? He said they only have one in stock and I think you should get it.

So, now I'm the proud owner of five Christmas trees. One of which is a four foot lavender aluminum tree pre-lit with clear lights. I didn't realize I would reach my goal this quickly... especially in a house that's barely big enough for my seven foot main tree!

My plan for now is to have the three foot primitive in Dan's office. The four foot primitive in our bedroom. The main tree in the living room. The purple tree in the guest room. The old two or three foot office tree in the window seat of the dining room (if it's not too wide). All of a sudden I'm really excited, thinking about themes for each tree, what I'll use for tree skirts, etc.

I'm ready to start decorating...

My Weekend

Despite my lingering sore throat I had a good weekend. We started Saturday by standing in a short line at the Hallmark store so I could pick up the rest of my pre-ordered ornaments. Of course, I couldn't leave the store without purchasing a few more ornaments that were premiering that weekend! We also bought one of the "The Night Before Christmas" recordable books. Our plan is to each read a page and then give the book to Katie. We'd like to buy one for each of our kids to have in the future for any grandkids that might come along. We'll see... they're kind of expensive.

After leaving the Hallmark store, we stopped at Border's (bought 2 gifts), Joann's, Home Goods (bought 1 gift), Hobby Lobby (bought Christmas decor), Big Lots (more Christmas decor), Costco (groceries), met Jessica for lunch at Corner Bakery, and finished up with a stop at Kirkland's where I bought a lamp that I can use to see better to cross-stitch. It was in the 80s on Saturday, so the weather was perfect.

Sunday was low-key and now here we are at the start of a new week! Hope your weekend was terrific too...

Forty-nine Days 'til Black Friday

Ooh, I got my first Black Friday email yesterday. Plus last night we went to dinner at Golden Corral and they had a huge banner up advertising their Black Friday Breakfast Special. It must be a sign... Seriously, if you want a head start on planning your shopping strategy for Black Friday, go to http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/ and sign up for their e-mail alerts. They post the Black Friday ads as they come out, sometimes weeks ahead of the big day. The email said they're expecting some of the ads to start posting as early as next week. If you're a bargain hunter, this is a tool you've gotta have!

Thursday Thoughts

Still praying - for Teresa over at Grammy Girlfriend. Her husband Jack is still in Baylor Medical Center, although they're hoping to transfer him to a rehab center in Shreveport, LA soon. It is so encouraging to me to read the comments on her blog of all the people praying for them. Especially the ones that begin "I only know you through your blog...". I think it's so cool that ministry takes place on the Internet through blogs and other social media. Kind of makes up for all the really scary stuff you hear about.

Weather - Today the high for the Phoenix area is only going to be in the upper 80s. Yippee! We have our doors and windows open and our A/C is off. I love the fresh air! We'll probably have to turn it back on for the weekend when the temps head back up into the 90s, but last night was great sleeping weather with the windows open.

Daisy - This item is probably more for my kids than anyone else. We took Daisy (our little chihuahua) to the vet today. She has a cataract in her eye (her other eye was removed before we rescued her), her hearing is definitely almost gone, and she may have diabetes. We did some limited lab work on her and are waiting for the results. Then we will decide how to proceed. The vet talked to us about what kind of issues to look for in an aging pet. We don't want to selfishly keep her alive once she becomes miserable. Right now, she still plays occasionally (especially with Sunny!) and has really good days. Don't worry, we will not spend a ton of money on her. Although I love her to pieces, I know she's a pet, not a child. We told the vet that she seems to hear Sunny's voice the best and he said she's probably lost her lower register of hearing. Guess I'll have to teach Sunny to say more real words so we can use her as an interpreter for Daisy!

Whining - You may not want to read this part, I'm going to whine. I've had a sore throat since Saturday. It is driving me nuts. It burns and scratches and nothing I do helps. I've drunk so much cold water and hot tea that I spend half my time in the bathroom. I wish someone would invent a cure for the sore throat. Soon.

Vacation - Dan is on vacation from Sam's Club through 10/18. We scheduled the vacation because we planned a trip to SC to visit JD & Janel, but Dan's appraisal work has increased so much that we didn't want to miss the opportunity for income. We're hoping that he'll get tons of work this next several days, but I also hope he'll be able to sleep in a couple of days and that we'll have time for some fun stuff.

Enjoy the day!

Christmas Corner Update

Check out today's update for Step 5 on the road to a stress-free Christmas...

Meeting the Brills

Last night we enjoyed meeting my son-in-law Adam's family. They're in town for the week visiting Jessica and Adam and seeing the desert. Last night we enjoyed fun, food, football, and family. They're off to Tombstone today, will visit sights around the valley this week, finishing with a trip to Grand Canyon at the end of the week and then on home to Indiana.

 Jessica and Zach

 Jessica, Katie, Ashley

 Jessica, Katie, Ashley, Vicki, Bonita

 Ashley and Sunny

 Glen, Adam, Alex, Andrew, Bonita

 This shopping cart is the best $10 I ever spent!

Gramps and Sunny

 Gabe, Sunny, Katie

The Moms!

Urgent Prayer Request

Please pray for Jack, husband of Teresa over at Grammy Girlfriend blog. He had a stroke this morning in Waxahachie TX and was airlifted to Dallas. She drove from Shreveport, LA to be with him. Thanks!