Mmmmmm, Turkey!!!

I woke up in a cold sweat this morning, after dreaming that it was Thanksgiving TODAY, and I didn't have the turkey thawed out, and I wondered what the hell I was going to do because it had to be in the oven in a few hours. Yikes. I was in a panic. I had no clue how I was going to bake a frozen turkey, and I thought my wonderful day was ruined. BUT........thank goodness it was just a dream. So, I am going to do a top seven of what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving, and #1 is that I still have one more day left to thaw my yummy turkey. Here is the rest...

#2 I thank my lucky stars every single day that Danielle has weathered this transition well. Moving to a new house is always tough, especially when she lived in our other home for her whole life. How does a new home compare to an old, familiar, comforting, and favorite old one? We have come to realize that it doesn't, but is a "good" different, as she will always love her "other" home, but she has transitioned perfectly. Much better than we would have ever imagined. Who knew that Danielle was stronger than her mother? Believe me, she is.

#3 I am SOOOOO greatful that I have a wonderful husband that goes to work every single day just to make our lives better. It is actually really humbling to think about how much he does for us every single day. Thank you so much honey, I love you!!!

#4 I thankful for the wonderful view I see every time I look out our windows. Joe made my dreams come true when he bought us this house, and I truly think we will never move again. This is where we want to be.

#5 We are so blessed this year with good health. For the most part, our whole family has been very healthy this year. No major illnesses to speak of. What a wonderful gift!!

#6 I am greatful for our family. Though I wish some of us could get together more often, we truly are lucky to live in an area where most of us live no more than an hour apart, and we can see each other pretty regularly. I really do wish for more of a close-ness with certain members of our family, and hopefully we can all turn a new leaf as the new year approaches, but for the most part we are on the right track.

#7 I thank God every day that we are lucky enough to be living in a warm home, driving reliable cars and eating food that is plentiful. As the economy is falling, we are more aware of the number of families that don't have these "luxuries". This year we will continue our tradition of giving to local charities in need.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, I hope you will be with your family tomorrow, and after dinner you will be miserably full. Like me.

Construction.....

I am sitting here on my computer, listening to the sweet sounds of the contractor tearing a wall out downstairs. Normally, I would be annoyed by the loud bang's and pound's, but it is music to my ears. It's just one step closer to a finished first level. Yeah!!!! So, I need to get on the phone with the carpet guys, so they can come measure and get us on their schedule. The wall should be removed and ready to go by late this week. Hooray!!! The picture I posted has a line in the middle of the room on the floor, and that is where the wall used to be. They need to put up a beam and a post as it is a bearing wall....but the room already looks HUGE, compared to two little rooms seperated by a wall.

Veterans Day.....

Yesterday was veterans day, and it is a tradition at Danielle's school to have an assembly to honor those who have served our great country. My mom and I got ready and drove to the school to attend this service. Little did I know that the songs the children sang,..(Proud to be an American, My country ti's of thee..etc), and the slide show followed by music would bring us to tears. I think alot of it was that there were veterans standing all around us and there were children who attend school there that actually have parents that are currently serving our country in Iraq. As we speak! It just really brought it home for me. For US, I should say. Anyway, it was an awesome assembly, the kids worked really hard to make it special, and they succeeded! Thanks for the hard work guys!!! And thanks to all the men and women who have served and are currently serving our country!!

Back to Normal......

Oh it feels good to be home. Nothing is better than sitting in my living room, watching the news and drinking coffee I brewed MYSELF. Oh, the "perks" of being home.....(no pun intended....lol)

We did have a great time in Vegas. It was awesome while it lasted, but we are sick of living like "high-rollers". Landing in Spokane yesterday afternoon never felt so good. I couldn't wait till I got some true "home-cookin'". We spent 5 days eating at many high priced restaurants in Vegas.........Emeril Lagasse's restaurant, a super spendy steak-house, a 5 star restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere that actually spins around while you eat...(not fast, thank god). But let me tell you, I really prefer my OWN cooking. I know, that sounds terrible, and especially since I do NOT claim to be a good cook......but I just like regular stuff. I mean, in these restaurants you can't get anything "normal". I mean, who wants to go to a restaurant to eat pheasant, venison, rabbit, and who knows what else. ( half the time I couldn't even understand the menu....).

It was a great experience though. I loved rolling up to a spendy place in a limo. It made me feel like a star for a day. Oh, and the suite we stayed in......beautiful view, in a five star resort. Loved it. Except for the fact that they don't have coffee pots in the rooms. I realized it's because they want you to go downstairs and pay $7.00 for a cup of freshly brewed stuff. But I swear I am drinking my own freshly brewed coffee this morning in my own house for like 10 cents a cup. I can't tell the difference????

So, we went to the Cirque show called "O". It was awesome. Truly awesome. Most of the show was set in the water, as the stage miraculously comes and goes, and a huge pool of water appears where the stage was for the majority of the show. I can't explain how great it was. So much fun.

One night we went to a comedy/variety show with Wayne Brady. (you know, the guy on "whose line is it anyway".....It was awesome too. We were in the front row, and we got to participate in the show a bit. Joe's boss performed the role of Randy in American Idol, I was Paula (and I don't know if I was quite drunk enough to play her very well....lol..), and Joe got to be good old Simon. It was so much fun. And in the end we got to go back stage and get our pictures taken with him, and we all got autographs. I made sure to get one for Danielle, and he happily wrote a comment for her....."Danielle......Where were you? Take care sweetie, Wayne Brady". It was sweet, and she was super happy to get it.

So, enough about our Vegas trip.......I haven't been able to post about the election. I must say that last Tuesday night I broke down in tears when Obama was declared the President elect. It really just hit me that only years ago, African Americans were not even ABLE to vote, and now Obama will be our next president. It was just really emotional for me. I hope this can do wonders for race relations in our country, and I hope we can mend our broken foreign relations in other countries also. So, I wasn't just jubilant that he was voted into office, it really was bitter sweet to me. Very emotional. Joe was looking at me like..."why the hell are you crying??". :-)

Anyway, I better go and check my email, my space and face book sites, and get back into the swing of "regular" life. Have a great week everyone!!!!! Oh, and here are some pics.......
Here is one pic of our suite...

Here is a pic of me and Wayne. (we are tight.....let me tell ya...lol Oh, and is he smaller than I thought, or am I just bigger than I thought?? )

This is the view from our suite...

This is a pic from the strip....

This is our hotel.....