Friday Funnies

This and That Thursday

So I shared my Target experience yesterday. What I didn't share is what I didn't buy. Target has some really awesome stuff---if you need anything. Here are some of my favorites.

 If you want to do "Elf on the Shelf" without much of an investment, Target has this cute little guy for under $3.00.

 All of the candle holders are super cute and great, non traditional Christmas colors. They would work all year round. The stockings are really cute too.

 And then, of course, Target sets up booby traps throughout the store. These trees literally jump out at you and catch on your cart or clothes. The next thing you know, you've drug a bunch off the shelf!

 These are adorable--tiny ornaments. They call them gift toppers, but if you had one of those little trees above, these ornaments would work perfectly. They are ceramic too---not plastic.

You can't beat the dollar bins where not much is a dollar anymore. Most things are $3.00 or $5.00. These cute appetizer plates come in sets of two for 3 bucks. Same with the ornament placemats. Really cute.

 Colorful bottlebrush trees were a dollar. The package of large pom pots were $3.00. Thinking I could make a wreath with them, but I don't need any wreaths.

 These little twinkle lights are cute for $3.00. They are perfect to add to your table or mantle decorations.

I picked up a box of the pumpkin twinkle lights only to discover that I already bought a box the last time I was there!

 The placemats were really worth it---5 of them for a buck. Paper, but still really nice.

 I was very excited about these place card holders. $3.00 for a pack of two. Tiny mason jars with winter snow themes. These are going to be on my Christmas table.

 Target had so many different star tree toppers. This picture does not do them justice.

Such a large selection---these would be hard to pick from.

These candles were in the dollar bins for $3.00. They smell divine. I didn't buy any, so I don't know if they would continue to smell once they are lit. If they do, then they are quite a bargain.

 The wrapping section has some really cute papers and tissue.

 These glasses are plastic, but still, a pretty good bargain at $3.00 a pair.

 This ornament tree was really nice as were the glitter reindeer. I already have some other glitter reindeer, but I particularly liked the white ones.

 Low and behold, someone creating for Target stole my idea for those pom poms. I was really tempted to bring some of them home. The girls love craft projects. Getting us together to do them is the bigger challenge.

These ornaments were really stunning. Since I need an ornament for the upcoming exchange, I thought I'd get one of these light up glass ones. Turns out this is just a display for the different lights they carry. When I asked the stock person about them, she took me over to some smaller, crappy, cheap, clear plastic ones that she said I could pry open, fill with these lights and glue back together. I looked at her like she was nuts. Did she really think I would go to all that trouble? Plus, she failed to mention that there would have to be a cord and a battery pack sticking out somewhere! What a dumb idea. Just sell these. That's a missed opportunity if you ask me (which no one did).

The furry throws and those dotty pillows were adorable. But, I have all of my needlepoint pillows, so wouldn't have anyplace to put them. I do love that little tabletop tree too!

So there is my report of fun and festive things that Target has right now. If you need anything, you better not wait. They go fast. Seems I'm not the only one who can't resist things.

I'll be posting some decorations of mine, family and friends soon. I love doing that. If you have anything you'd like to share, send me your pics and I'll post them!

What I Buy Wednesdays

This is going to be a long one, so you might want to get your coffee or tea and settle in.
🎶Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip...🎶🎶*

It all started Monday when I put a chuck roast in the crock pot for dinner for my book club. When I got home in the afternoon, the house smelled like burnt meat. I thought, "ohnomymealisruined; howcanyouburnsomethinginthecrockpot?; I'llhavetogotoCorky'sandpickupbarbecue!" All that crossed my mind in about 3 seconds. I checked the meat, it was fine. It wasn't until after book club when I was cleaning up that I discovered this:

When I lifted out the crock, there was a liquidy, burned on mess in the part of the crockpot that cannot be immersed in water---the part that NEVER comes in contact with the food. This must be what I smelled burning. I don't even know how this is possible. For one thing, I use a crock pot liner---so all you do is throw away the bag and there's no clean up. So where did this come from? I thought it meant there might be a crack in the crock (say that quickly 5 times). But, again, I used a liner, so nothing could leak out. I should have used this for Monday Mystery since that's what it is. I told Butch that I was throwing the whole thing away.

That brings me to yesterday morning. I got up at 4:30 a.m. because I like getting up early because, A. I love the early morning hours because, B. I like the dark and quiet because, C. sleeping is a waste of time because, D. I like getting up early because, E. I get more hours out of my day that way and because, F. I can.

I decided I was going to Target to get a new crock pot. I told Butch of my plan and asked if he'd spent the $15.00 in rewards we've accumulated. He said "no" but that I should check to see if the crocks were on sale. Well, I told him that crock pots are cheap. Still, I checked the Target website to find that, yes, indeed the crock pots were on sale. The same one I already had is normally $19.99 on sale for $17.99.

I finished my morning routine and headed out the door around 8:15. One of the things I love about Target is that they open at 8 a.m.

Now, you've heard me say before that Target is deadly for me. And it is. I try really hard to resist.

Anyway, I started browsing around. That's my mistake. I need to wear blinders and just go for what I come for. As I was shopping, my lips felt a little dry. I smacked them together and realized I hadn't put on any lipstick. My mind went back to getting ready and remembered being interrupted with a phone call. That's when I realized, I hadn't put any makeup on AT ALL! Sheesh. I think I'm really starting to lose it (although I don't want to jinx myself).

When I was finished shopping, I checked out and followed the instructions on the key pad. I removed my card when the reader said to. The cashier continued with my check out. When she was finished, she took the sheet that had my rewards and said, "hurry up and put your card back in. Oooops, too late, it's already gone through. You took your card out too soon!" I quickly (and irritatedly) responded, "I was following the instructions on the key pad!" To which she replied, "well, I'm sorry, you'll have to go to customer service."

OMGosh! That did not make me happy. I started over to customer service, but the line was backed up all the way to the door. I thought, "what the heck? It's not even Christmas yet. Did all these people change their minds from Black Friday and now have tons of returns?" I decided that I wasn't going to wait in that line. I went over to Starbucks instead---it's inside the store. By the time I got my tea, the line was down to just one person. I went ahead and went over. The gal did not know how to handle my situation. She called a supervisor. The supervisor apologized all over the place. When she finished, she handed my paper that had my credit on it. She said, "I'm so sorry this happened. I made a mistake and there is still $8.67 on this. Just enjoy it on your next visit." My thought was, "hmmm, okay, it was worth it."

Oh and the reason it was so busy at customer service? Cyber Monday. Apparently, you order your stuff online and then just pick it up in the store. That accounts for this:

I thought these were all returns. They lined the other side on the left too. They were the pick ups. OMGosh, I wonder how many people they had putting the orders together on Monday. What I don't understand is why people would bother to pick up when Target offers free shipping. You can have everything delivered right to your door!

 So this is what I went for.

This is what I came home with! And this is nothing compared to what I resisted! And those slippers--who could resist? They look so cuddly and warm (which they are. I have them on as I type this. Butch noticed them right away and said, "so, you went to Target!" He knows me so well).

 And the slippers came with a bonus.

 I cut off the hanger part.

And voila'---a free chip clip! Gotta love that!

On a disappointing note: apparently, the supervisor didn't know what she was doing after all. I just checked my Visa and I did not get my credit at all. Now I'll have to go back and "fight" with them---if I can even get anybody to understand what happened. With Target you never know.

As it stands right now, I went in just for the crock pot which would have been $18 and some change---minus my $15.00 credit. I should have only spent $3.00 and some change. Instead, I spent a little over $80.00 and instead of getting any sort of credit, I lost $6.33 of the credit I had with nothing to show for it! No telling what it would have been had I not resisted! At least many of the things I bought are Christmas gifts.

🎶So join us here each week my friend, you're sure to get a smile...🎶*

*Bragging rights if you can name the song!

Thanksgiving Day

Since we had all the food prep out of the way, we were able to watch the entire Macy's Day Parade. We always love to do that, but kitchen chores usually get in the way. We like to eat early---12:30 and we were right on target---unlike the year the electricity went out about a half hour before the dinner was finished.

We always try to take some family pictures. We got some, but need to change the timing. The "kids" aren't usually ready until it's about time to sit down. As a result, Sandy was busy in the kitchen with the last minute stuff to get the meal on the table. We got some of the pictures the next night.

Sandy sets a beautiful table. I told her that we messed up by having 13 in the family as 10 is the perfect number! Mindy and Justin were with his family this year and Jordan stayed out in California. She'll be home for Morgan's pinning ceremony in December and then again at Christmas. There was plenty of room to spread out!

Our table favors (we always have to have them) contained Dove chocolates and a wine charm that we used for the weekend.

Dinner was delicious---12 items this year. Morgan made her other grandmother's sweet potato casserole. It could have been sweet potato pie! Everybody liked it. After dinner, Sandy had a little game---sort of like "Left Right Center" except with M&M's. She had a prize for the winner.

Sandy always tries to come up with fun activities for us. This year, she had us each purchase a mug. We were to bring them wrapped for a "rob your neighbor" type game.

The mugs were all so cute---and thoughtful! Morgan brought the one that looks like a pill bottle---perfect for the nurse to be. Steph got hers in New York from Macy's and is about the parade. Probably, the most unusual one was the one Nicky found. Morgan got it. It's the Bob Ross mug on the right. When you put your hot beverage in it, a painting appears! It was a lot of fun. Sandy is going to be a hard act to follow!

The rest of the afternoon was napping, football and good conversation. Then the games began. We played all evening.

Elizabeth wanted to experience Black Friday shopping at the mall, so I went with her and Sandy. We left at 5:30 a.m. We pulled in to a nearly empty parking lot and were able to park right near the door. The place was a ghost town. Hardly anyone was there. Elizabeth wanted to go to Victoria's Secret. There were quite a few people there as they had some good sales going. We hit the jackpot at Bath and Bodyworks---really great sales and specials before 8 a.m. Other than that, the sales didn't seem all that good. We were home by 8:30. It was a little disappointing in that Sandy had really built it up to Elizabeth about what to expect. Of course, it's been years since we've actually gone.

We made a big breakfast and had a family craft.

Sandy bought white ceramic ornaments. We used paint to make thumbprint reindeer.

I had planned that we would have the whole family add their prints, but Greg messed it up, so I wiped it off and decided to forget that idea. Instead, Butch and I (he's much more artistic than me) added a thumbprint Christmas tree on the back.

As you can tell from the picture, Sandy forced Mitchell to participate! He opted for a "devil" reindeer and highlighted his name: MitcHELL! Since we are a family of girls, we don't have a lot of experience with boys. He keeps us in stitches. He is so hilarious!! You just never know what he's going to say or do. The other boys in the family are better sports---if they know what's good for them!

They all turned out so cute.

We ended our holidays with dinner at a really good German restaurant---they are hard to find these days. The guys watched the Oklahoma/West Virginia game---Butch's and Nicky's team respectively. We girls went in the living room to play games. Steph said I was nicer than she was as she was going to "make" Nicky play games. I told her that we had already played a ton of games. Plus, this football game was important to them. There's no way I'd want them to miss it!

Anyway, after a dismal (on my part) trivia game, the holiday was officially over. We got on the road at 5:30 a.m. (4:30 Nashville time) We were home by 11 a.m.!

And that's the way we roll!

Thanksgiving Recap

This very well might have been our best Thanksgiving yet!

It all started on Tuesday. Morgan has spent the night. We got on the road at 5:15 a.m. with our first stop at Starbucks. I let Morgan ride up front for the first part of the trip. She is quite a delightful little chatterbox! You would have thought that she was a little kid---asking when we were going to stop, she was hungry, telling us she eats a lot! She asked if I'd brought snacks. I didn't. I offered her a mint I had in my purse. She saw the cooler and wanted to know what was in it. I told her, "nothing." She saw the muffins I was taking to Sandy. She wanted one. Butch said, "just give her one!" Anyway, she finally fell asleep. I asked Butch if he was enjoying the quiet!!

It really was exactly like taking a trip with a little kid rather than a 23 year old. Still, it was really fun to have so much time with her.

We arrived at Sandy's. We had a nice evening. Mitchell got home and we pretty much just sat around catching up. Stephanie and Nicky weren't arriving until around midnight. Then their flight was delayed. They planned to take a Lyft from the airport. It was a good thing because they didn't get to the house until 3:30 a.m.!! Yep, you read that right. They were late getting out of Nashville, By the time they arrived in Charlotte---1 a.m., the airport was closed! They had to wait on the plane until they could call in two workers who had to do everything---guide in the plane, move the jetway, unload the plane and put the luggage on the carousel. We couldn't believe an airport could just shut down when they still had a plane on the way!

Wednesday morning, we headed downtown to do the Liberty Walk. We had never been downtown Charlotte before What a beautiful city!

 There were many fun things to see along the way. We also found a couple caches. We had lunch downtown at a place called Sea Level. The food was good, but the service was poor.

The guys did this for the afternoon---just relaxed---while we girls did all the food prep for Thanksgiving day. It only took about an hour with everyone helping. After, I napped (I always do). We spent the evening around the fire pit. We had hotdogs and smores. Sandy had made her delicious hot chocolate recipe in the crock pot that some of us added Bailey's to. It's so good! When I asked Mitchell to make me a second cup, it turned out that the hot chocolate was about gone. For that second one, it was Bailey's with a shot of hot chocolate! It was still good. After about 5 hours, I was ready for bed. The rest of the gang stayed out another couple of hours. It was almost 11 when I went in. I tend to be the first to bed, but you can see, it's not like it's 9 p.m.!

More to come.