Terrible Blogger

I am really terrible at this. Most of the time I feel like whatever I might have to say isn't worth saying out loud, or in writing, because no one cares about it but me. So then I talk myself into not writing anything and end up with a blog that hasn't been updated since November. Well. Sorry. How about a general catchup...

We smoked two turkeys for both sides of the family on Thanksgiving which was delicious and fun. I went out that night with my aunt-in-law and mother-in-law for some black friday..or brown thursday as I prefer to call it..shopping. I bought a couple small gifts but didn't find much and fighting the people was not worth it. I did find the perfect comforter set for my bed though, on sale, at JCPenney. I love it. It's the Galaxy 10-pc Comforter Set and I did NOT pay that price for it. It looks fantastic on my bed because the walls are the cream color and my curtains are the brown..and green is my favorite color, so it's perfect. I almost didn't buy it, but my cohorts convinced me I could always return it if it didn't work vs not buying it and it going out of stock or something. So they were right. I love it.

Christmas was crazy. We planned to smoke about 16 pounds of pork shoulder for a large husband-side dinner/birthday/Christmas but the weather cancelled those plans. So we still smoked some pork, the gathering was just smaller. Still delicious. The husband's sister and her husband and toddler came up from GA to visit and it was really great. To see them and see how big she's getting. I got a Hoodie Footie from the husband and some really nice silver hoop earrings. The girls got me more socks (I love socks for some reason) and bath&body soaps. The girls got what they've always wanted, Deluxe Webkinz accounts and stuffed Boo animals, among other things. It was a great week.

New Years was uneventful, the kids spent the night with the grandparents, and we played Final Fantasy XIV most of the night. On New Years day we headed over to the in-laws to watch a bowl game (Go Hawkeyes! they lost.) and do some puzzles. I love doing puzzles, I just never make the time to do it.

School break started a day early due to snow..and was extended by two days due to super super super freezing temperatures. It was -40F here at some point with the windchill, -27 without...it was a little crazy. So the kids stayed home, the rest of us worked and they finally went back to school last Wednesday.

We tried a new restaurant with some friends recently - saturday night - which was really great fun. However, I woke up at 230am on Sunday with what I think was food poisoning. I don't know whether to blame the pork belly from the restaurant or the frozen yogurt from the dessert place. Either way, I'll be avoiding both for awhile. After three days of queasyness - which feels disturbingly like morning sickness - today my stomach seems much better. So Monday I stayed home sick, and I kept the 6yo home as well because she's working on a cough/cold. Tuesday it was super super windy here, which was freezing some roadways, so school was delayed by 2 hours. So the 6yo agreed to ride the bus, since she had plenty of time to get ready and read and play beforehand. So loved it and Grandpa loved getting her hug when she got off. So this morning, she wanted to ride the bus again...and she did. So it's possible (shhh don't jinx it) she might be fully ok with school now. I'll still drive her anytime she feels like sleeping in a little, but it was really great to see her ready and happy to ride the bus with her friends. Now if she could just stop catching colds from all of them.