I'm {We're"} Crazy!

Well I finally, almost feel "normal" again after the whole black friday madness! I talked a few friends into joining me at Wal-mart to pull an all-nighter! We got there at 11, walked our carts right up to the registers and parked it! We cruised around the store as they were working to set things up, so we knew where we needed to be when they dropped the ropes. Then we busted out the chairs and got comfy for the long-haul! We took advantage of the magazines at the registers and are now all caught up on the entertainment/fashion industry! (and of course my little point and shoot was dead, so I only had my phone with me, so these are the only pics!)

Alissa managed to get a short nap after borrowing a pillow and a "blanket" to sleep with.

Amber just couldn't get comfortable, even with the pillow and "blanket". It was just too light to sleep! (Covering the head just didn't work either!)

I thought I would hit a tired point, but I just never did! I was just too excited! Nikelle managed to read an entire book while sitting in line for 6 hours!!

I would have loved to take pictures of the "before" and "after"! Everything was in such nice stacks. And when they dropped the ropes, a lady right by us, (intentionally?) knocked a bunch of mercandise onto the floor when she took off running, and people were tripping all over the place! I was out in front of her, so it didn't slow me down, but other people were! When the commotion died down, it was a complete disaster in there!

So after sitting in WM for 6 hours, we checked out at 5:02!! It's a long wait, but when you can be one of the first out, it is worth it!

So then we split up to go to different stores (OR go home and go to bed-Amber!) I went and hit the toys-r-us! And I think that was even crazier than WM! But even though the line took me an hour, I managed to get the ONE thing that I went for, and it was THE LAST ONE! So I had to guard it!!

Then I came home (at 6:30), crawled in bed, and crashed until 1:00! Then I got up and went back out for some more shopping! And to pick up Nikelle from her school's craft fair fundraiser! She only slept for about an hour before she had to be there! I don't know how she kept going....oh, to be 14 again! I'm pretty much done with my shopping and hopefully I can enjoy the preparations a bit more instead of spending all the time shopping for "things" that we really don't need!

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving! So many things in my life to be grateful for! I'm looking forward to Christmas this year, now that Carissa is old enough to understand a bit better! (And she's excited for her birthday too!) So now I've got the christmas play list going on my playlist, and I've switched the radio station in the van to the christmas one! (I refuse to do it before thanksgiving!) Now to just get the tree up! Any volunteers????

The Concert

The concert was AMAZING! Not only is he fun to watch in person, but he is so entertaining and fun to listen to! I was able to sit 3 feet away from him to take pictures! It was fun to try and work with the low light and his amazingly fast hands! If you haven't checked out the video on my last post, take a minute to listen. He is an amazing musician and an even more amazing person. He and his wife travel the world doing charity concerts to raise money in different parts of the world. He is truly a great example about giving back and sharing our talents at the same time.

Rather than using finger picks, he has acrylic nails on all his nails. It's kinda wierd to see, but when you see what those nails do on the strings, it's totally understandable! Almost like a banjo player that "picks" the strings instead of strumming. But he strums, picks and slaps all at the same time! AMAZING!

See his hands flying over that neck? The only times I could get a decent shot was when he was tuning!

(See him tuning with all 5 Capos on there! He actually plays all around them! Something so hard to imagine someone doing with only 2 hands!)

I really blew it at the end. Donavan was getting his poster signed. We were talking and joking around. Then we said thanks and walked away. It didn't occur to me until I was downloading the pictures, that I didn't get one of him with Donavan!!! I don't know how I managaed that one! I mean really! I just love to take pictures of people in their natural element and really hate the "posed" look. Even though something would have been better than nothing!

This is my absolute FAVORITE shot from the night. He would smile while he was playing, usually when the crowd would clap about something. And it wouldn't even slow him down at all!

Fundraiser Concert

My kids have the amazing opportunity to have a wonderful musician put on a fundraiser concert tomorrow night at their school. Part of the proceeds will go to a youth charity organization, (not sure which one) and the rest goes to purchasing sound equipment for the school. (which they are in desperate need of! At the last band concert the teachers had to shout for the audience to hear them! ) So if you can come out to the school, COME! It should be alot of fun!




The artist's name is Trace Bundy. You may not have heard of him, but his style inspired the music in the movie "August Rush". He is so amazing! Something you have to see to believe. Just go to his web site to see some amazing videos. If you click on the little ticket on the right side, it will give you the address of the school. It is located just east of the district, behind Harmon's/Target. Let me know and I can try and get you tickets in advance, but even at the door they are only 12.00, so that is a great price for a fun night!

Ok, Donavan has kicked Mom out of the all-powerful computer chair and he is typing now. Come see the show. Seriously. This guy is incredibly amazing. Did you know that he has never had a guitar lession in his life? How's that for blowing your mind? I've met the guy personally, and I've seen him play. He graduated with a music theory major, and he taught himself theory before he went to college! I know, huh? Un.Be.Le.Vi.Ble. His playing style is very non-traditional, if you watch the video, you'll see what I mean. He doen't even hold it the way you're supposed to! But, I guess when you're that good, it doesn't really matter how you hold it. Go check out his website. He's all over YouTube, too. Yes, you can buy his music on, like, iTunes and stuff. Come see the show. It starts at 7:00, but you'll want to get there early, like, 6:00 to get good seats; if you can't see him play the magic is gone. Now that I've thoroughly typed your ear off, here's my Mom ...

Can you tell he's just a TAD excited to see this guy in concert????? By excited I mean, he's already saying he's not going to sleep tonight.......like it's CHRISTMAS!!!!! Even I was blown away when I watched the videos, so I can just imagine how awesome he is in concert! Let me know if anyone is able to come! See ya there!

Changes

I know Thanksgiving is coming, and I totally had intentions to change my blog to represent the Turkey Day Holiday....and even made a new blog banner......but then I saw this blog background that celebrates the new TWILIGHT movie. And since that is happening before Thanksgiving, I thought I would give it the celebration first! ONLY 15 more days!! I'm trying to decide if I will be "movie Nerd" and dress up for the midnight show! Anyone else out there feel like dressing up with me????



Carissa got a little cold before Halloween and found out yesterday that it has turned to another ear infection. But now that the antibiotics are kickin in, she's much happier, and that makes us ALL much happier!

Halloween FUN!

The first thing out of Carissa's mouth this morning was, "Is it Halloween today?". So of course once I told her yes, she wanted to go trick-or-treating that very instant! Funny thing is, is that by the time it was ready to get ready (which involved washing the hair and doing it) she wasn't so keen on going and was asking if she could just stay home. Well I fought her to take the bath, and do the hair, and then as soon as the costume was on, she was ready to GO!

Problem was it was only 4:30....so the waiting began........AGAIN!

Decided since it was "Happy TinkerBell DAy" that it was only appropriate to bust out the new Tinkerbell movie! So that kept her happy until it was over, but it still wasn't quite dark yet. (Which is a really cute little movie and done really well!)

Once it was finally time to go. She caught on REALLY quick! So fast that I couldn't even keep up with her! She was cutting across lawns like the big kids do just to get there faster! (Sorry about that guys!)

Here she is running to the next house with her loot!

Here is Andrew! I'm going to title this one "Third House"! See.....he's already busting into her candy!

Check out that cute Tinkerbell back there! I decided that since all the pictures were blurry of her running around, that I should keep the one that looks like I did it on purpose (which I did!)

This one summs up the constant running. Look at my neighbor Mary, who was being so cute and trying to talk to Carissa about her costume. (Carissa took a baby sign class from her, so they are buds) and look at her, she just wants to get going....no time for chit chat Miss Mary! (this one really makes me laugh)

Then when we got home, we brought one of her friends and her brother home with us. The kids pulled up chairs in front of the TV and watched a Strawberry Shortcake movie while they tried to sneak the candy! She was so cute looking at all the candy. She pulled out a box of "dots" and promptly told us, "I don't like these, take them away"! Then she ate way more than she should have (so have I!) but I think she had a great time.

Bats & Cobwebs......yummy!

I found this recipe from Martha Stewart a few years back. And it has become a favorite, any time of the year, but especially at Halloween! This is not one of those "low fat" ones. This one is full of yummy cheese, and gooy-ness! This is what you'll need.

1 box of bow tie pasta

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced (or a bit more if you're trying to keep the vampire's away! )

1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes in puree

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes (can buy the seasoned, but I usually add my own)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil (unless you have fresh around)

1/8 teaspoon sugar

salt

1 pound of chicken breasts, diced (or you can use canned chicken-that's the way Kelle likes it)

(Martha's recipe originally called for chicken sausages........um....no thanks!)

8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (I usually just use the whole dang 16 ounce...cause it just makes it goo-ier!)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese ( I REALLY like to use the shredded, but you can use grated if that's all you have)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain; set aside. Meanwhile, while the water boils, cook your chicken, season to taste. (I like to use a salt-free all purpose seasoning and some pepper) Set cooked chicken aside.

2. Meanwhile, in the same large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add garlic, cook until fragrant, about one minute. Add tomatoes, oregano, basil, and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer; cook, stirring and breaking up tomatoes until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt.

3. Add pasta, chicken, and HALF of the mozzarella; toss to combine. Transfer to a 9x11 pan. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until bubbly and top is lightly browned 10-15 minutes.

**Just remember that if you make this ahead of time (like I did tonight), when you bake it, just put some foil over the top and cook it a bit longer. Then remove foil and put the rest of the cheese on. That way you won't get the blobs of cheese that aren't quite melty enough to make cobwebs, but the tips of the pasta were starting to burn! OOPSIE! **

The magic happens when you dish it out and the cheese sticks to the noodles. Really hard to capture that on film, so you'll just have to make it and see for yourself!

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You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great
importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be
sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and
appreciate the kind way you always handle things.


Well I've got my tickets to the November 21st showing! I'm super excited! I just hope it does the book justice!

Go take the quiz!