black friday?

somehow it seems it should be called freaky friday? if you're one of those crazy enough to venture out and fight the masses to grab some holiday bargains...i wish you the best of luck!

as for us, we're still recovering from the bountiful thanksgiving meal we had yesterday at my brother's house. having a brother with cheffin' experience is a good thing if you're as domestically challenged as i.

here's a little collage of the afternoon. turkey breast, green bean casserole, garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, warm bread, stuffing, and LOTS of red wine. perfection. then we just zoned out on the couch and watched The Godfather marathon on cable until our bellies gave us permission to add coffee, pumpkin & apple pies to the collection. *sigh* happy, grateful times.

waiting for the ups man today - he's supposed to be bringing my blank but beautifully printed cd's so i can get started burning 100+ copies of "heidi's jingle bell jam!" we've got the cover art ready to print as well, might get started on that this evening, too. it's quite a process putting together a holiday cd each year, but it always makes a neat gift, and i really enjoy the process of doing most of it by hand. the playlist won't be graced by the ethereal voices of kirk and i this year, we just didn't have time to record a holiday song...but being the 10th anniversary edition, i'm pretty pleased with the songlist this year.

i'll be starting on some other holiday projects this weekend, too - trying for another year of primarily DIY or thrifted gifts...

no decorations this weekend, but will probably break those boxes out next week sometime. the holidays are upon us, once again, and i LOVE it.

tryptophan, and other things on my thankful list this year

in no particular order, this is the short list of gratitude this year:

kirk's sense of humor
memories of a safe and playful childhood
flannel sheets
art supplies
vacations
the rolling stones
parents that love me & raised me with care
brother that's a chef and willing to make t-day dinner for us
patterned paper
books
being married to my best friend
friends to share hobbies and laughs with
peppermint mocha creamer
people dedicated to finding the truth
candles
comfy knitted socks
foster youth
generous donors to help foster youth
jeans
caffe americanos
ipod
freshly baked bread
rock and roll
hulu
health
sleeping in late

...NOT cooking Thanksgiving turkey, and a husband who loves me despite the fact that i'm domestically challenged and embrace that disability with warm and open arms.

I hope your list is even longer this thanksgiving day.

it's 90 degrees on nov 1

...i suppose southern california never really wants to let go of summer. but - with the fall, the warm santa ana winds have blown all of the smoggy gook out of the skies and the inland empire is just beautiful this time of year! sometimes i forget there are hills and mountains around riverside, and it's this season that reminds me they're out there!

i'll admit, i'm a little jealous of the blizzard conditions my family are lamenting in CO and i long for a little bit of snow - but to be honest, we've still got blooming flowers and blue skies, and i'm okay with that! plus, no yucky piles of dirty snow will be left over in a few days.

not much going on the creative front - still finishing up my mysteries of me album, i'll share photos when it's complete. getting ready to start on my december daily project a'la ali edwards, and will be digging into the holiday music stash this afternoon to get started on heidi's jingle bell jam - the tenth, and possibly final, edition.

anyway - here are some of my photos from the last 30 days...i've been learning more and more about my camera and how to use editing software all the time! loving it!here's to a lovely november for you, too. :)