Week 47

November 20
After talking to my mom and Bill, I decided to fly back to Oregon to see my grandpa. We just made the decision and bought a ticket online...for tomorrow! I can't believe I'm buying a ticket one day and flying the next! This changes all our plans for Thanksgiving and vacation, but it's important.

November 21
Here I am in Houston. Just waiting for my next flight to take off. That's my plane out there waiting for me!

November 22
Back in America! Shopping at Costco to prepare for Thanksgiving. They had PALLETS OF PIES!! It was unbelievable. People were buying so many pies...one guy had about 10 in his cart. There were so many pies! This picture isn't even all of them - the pumpkin pies were behind me in the refrigerated section. They were disappearing about as fast as the employees could restock them. And, they are actually really good pies - considering they only cost $5.99.

November 23
Enjoying my dad's pancakes for breakfast with my family. It was good to be with everyone and the pancakes were delicious too!

November 24
Thanksgiving dinner. This picture doesn't even begin to capture all the food we had. It was a delicious feast with my extended family. We have so much to be thankful for! I wish Bill and the rest of my family could have been with us.

November 25
My mom and I decided to get up early for Black Friday shopping...my first time. We missed my sister - who is the real expert. It would have been more fun if she was with us. We didn't need much, but we were out there and got the good deals (on socks) and free donuts. In the evening, we went out again and I snagged the last TV on sale at Target. I pretended it was early morning and I was fighting off the crowds as I rushed thru the store with the big box in my cart. Good times! (The TV was an early merry Christmas gift for my dad!)

November 26
One of the best things about a big Thanksgiving is the leftovers. We enjoyed turkey sandwiches and all the extras!

Week 46

November 13
Abby came over and we had a BBQ. I made Quinoa and Black Beans...it was really yummy and went well with our polish sausages and chorizo. It was a great meal!

November 14
Bill returned from a 3-day dive trip. He had a lot of fun. And, like a responsible adult, he washed and rinsed his dive gear before putting it away. Good job!

November 15
I got my new camera today...I'm hoping it helps me take better pictures. Although, if the problem with my pictures is the way I take them, then a new camera might not help. Either way, it was fun to play around with it and practice different focal points.

November 16
Still playing with my camera. So far, I think the pictures are better. Ubi looks so cute!!

November 17
I asked Bill to pick up the dog's towel, but when he got downstairs, the cat had claimed it. She decided it was a cozy place to rest.

November 18
We treated ourselves to lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant. It was so good...I'm hungry just thinking about it! It's one of the few places I will miss when we leave here.

November 19
We ordered a pizza and it came cut like this...with lots of itty bitty pieces. Maybe the person cutting the pizza was new. It was actually more convenient for me to eat it this way so I appreciated it.

New Camera

I got my new camera this week and spent some time playing around with it. I can't decide yet if it will be that much better than my old camera, but it's fun to play with. I've been taking a lot of random, silly pictures. I took a few shots that look cool with the foreground in focus and the background blurry. I think they're fun. Maybe you'll notice a difference in my pictures for the rest of the year...and maybe you won't!

My leg...and blurry foot

Bacon was curious about the new toy!

Ubi wanted attention.

Another cool shot with different points in focus!

Ubi still needs attention.

Week 45

November 6
After church, I went out for Dim Sum with Abby, Cathy, Amber, and Mami. I'm not a very adventurous eater so this was good for me. I ate things that I did not recognize...and they were good. We had a lot of fun!

November 7
I decided to buy a new camera because the pictures on mine aren't that great. I've been spending a lot of time researching this decision. It's hard to know what to get without spending too much money!!

November 8
The first pumpkin pie I've made this year isn't even for me. Someone requested it at work for their birthday dessert. It looked and smelled SO delicious. I'll just have to make another one to enjoy at home!

November 9
My mom is here!! She has come for a visit and is already unpacked and settled in. We're so happy she's here!

November 10
Surprise - another picture of me! I looked back at the pictures of myself the other day and I look pretty much the same. Other than the length of my hair, I don't think I've changed much. Just 1 more month to go.

November 11
Of course I had to take a picture of the clock today. Other than being Veteran's Day - today is 11/11/11...so I took a picture at 11:11. I couldn't pass it up!

November 12
Big football game today. My mom and I watched the Stanford vs. Oregon game and cheered our Ducks to victory! It was a good game, but why do they have to start so late??

Week 44

October 30
It was late...my camera was downstairs and I didn't feel like getting it. I also had no ideas for what my picture of the day should be. So, Bill went downstairs and took a picture of a picture of himself. It was silly...but it was better than anything I would have come up with. So, here is my picture of the day - but it's really Bill's picture.

October 31
It was a very rough day! I stayed home alone watching Monday Night Football (Bill had to go to the airport). It was good for me to have some alone time.

November 1
I love Fall because I love everything pumpkin. Tonight I took pumpkin bars to Bible Study. They were yummy! I'm looking forward to more pumpkin treats in the coming month.

November 2
I love looking at November on the calendar...it makes me happy. That's because we have 6 (SIX) holidays in November! So many days off makes me very, very happy. We get November 3, 4, 10, 11, 24, and 28 off. And, I'm taking more time off at the end of the month so that's even better. It's a good month!

November 3
Happy Birthday, Abby!!! We had a huge *surprise* party for Abby and everything was PURPLE. It was so much fun planning it and everything came together beautifully. So many people helped to make the party a big success. Abby was surprised and everyone really enjoyed themselves. It was fun!! Welcome to the 30's, Abby!

November 4
Abby and I went to a movie. At the mall, each entrance has an animal name (it's a huge mall) and there is an animal statue by each door. We decided to get a quick photo as we exited the Hippo door.

November 5
Bill and I went to the Marine Ball, to celebrate the birthday of the Marine Corps. It is an annual formal event that the Marines host. It was fun. (Inspired by the purple party earlier in the week, I bought a purple dress!)