Thanksgiving...what can I say about a holiday where you eat more than you think you possibly can and then chill out and veg the rest of the day. Talk about awesome. This was my first Thanksgiving where I had to actually cook something. My Grandma has cooked for over 30 years and due to various reasons, the Thanksgiving tradition of Grandma slaving away for weeks on end to give all of us a great Thanksgiving came to an end this year. What!? We have to cook for ourselves? We'll never compare to Grandma! Talk about terrifying. Luckily for me, the cooking part ended up not being too bad. My mom had the hard part(s) and cooked the majority of it and also hosted everyone. It ended up being a great time. It'll never be like Grandma's, but we'll sure try!

I realized I did not mention things I am thankful for on my blog, so I will do so right now.

- my husband & kids
- my mom & dad and sisters
- our extended family

- our church and its leaders
- our friends and neighbors
- our home
- our good health
- good food
- technology, including but not limited to computers, the Internet, and as a result, online shopping
- our employment which funds the aforementioned online shopping
- memory foam (if you don't have it, you won't understand!)

a tag from courtnie...

This one was a challenge for me. I have THE WORST MEMORY!! So here goes...

Five things I was doing ten years ago:
1. Preparing myself to meet my hubby-to-be
2. Living in Holladay, Utah
3. Working at my first "real" paralegal job
4. Living up the single life
5. Going to school at the U

Five things on my to-do list today:
1. Tackle the laundry
2. Tackle cleaning the rest of the house
3. Shop for thanksgiving
4. Play with the kiddies and tell them I love them
5. Get some work/photoshop time in on the computer

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Crackers
2. String Cheese
3. Pretzels
4. Trail Mix
5. Granola bars
Yes, these might sound healthy, but the large quantities I consume equal my extra poundage!

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Pay off my house
2. Pay off our relatives' houses
3. Pay off the rest of our bills
4. Save for a rainy day
5. Take a fun trip!

Five places I have lived:
1. Layton, Utah
2. Orem, Utah
3. Provo, Utah
4. Salt Lake City, Utah
5. North Ogden, Utah
(I'm a Utah gal through-and-through!)

Five jobs I have had: (this is where it gets embarrassing)
1. J.C. Penney
2. Vanity
3. Old Navy
4. Tanning Salon
5. Last but not least, the hot dog stand at Sam's Club!

Five people I tag:
1. Brooke S.
2. Sandra D.
3. Ellie R.
4. Lindsay B.
5. Candace T.
(In other words, the only people who look at my blog on occasion!!!)

I am thankful for ... Twilight
Had to quickly blog to tell the cyber-world that I LOVED this movie! I thought it was very well done. It was kind of creepy how a lot of it matched my imagination perfectly -- maybe that's why I thought it was so awesome. A few picks that were not my favorite were Jasper and Dr. Cullen. They both could have been a lot better looking, I think. But other than that, I thought the actors were great. I didn't know quite what I thought about Edward when I saw the previews and articles, but he was so perfect. As was Bella. Edward could have had a few more muscles because the book presents him as this statuesque being, but I'm over it.
I have to quickly mention that I was SO GLAD I did not take my husband to the movie! For one, there were like three guys in the entire theatre. But for two, he would have thought I was so weird! A sparkly vampire? Who flies through the forest? What the... I guess you've gotta read the book to understand. He would have been even more mystified about my obsession. But he did mention he wants to come with me when I go see it again. (Yes, I will be seeing this for a second time in the theatre. Told ya I'm obsessed.) So I guess that will be another blog post at another time...

So maybe this isn't particularly blog-worthy to some, but I was so excited today because I saved $109.00 at Smith's! Wahoo! It actually says that I saved $131.00, so I don't know where the $109.00 came from, but who cares! I'm still excited!

I know there are MANY couponers who will outdo me by a long-shot, but this was my first "real" attempt at purchasing things with coupons, other than toothpaste and fruit snacks. That said, I'm obviously not very good at this whole coupon thing, but I thought I'd try it today. My husband asked, "Well, did you get anything we can REALLY eat?" I was so happy because I could respond, "Yes!" Check out my prized receipt, should I frame it? I sadly had to cut it apart so it would fit on one page.


Also, because it's on my mind, I wanted to quickly post that although I did not personally vote for Barack Obama, I am going to do my very best to honor and respect President Obama as the leader of our country. He is (or will be come January 20) the president of my country, and although I know I will disagree with a large number of his policies and opinions, the fact that he is my president deserves respect. I felt so much pride today as I listened to the election results, and I thought about how wonderful our democratic election process is. No matter if the candidates for whom I voted won or lost, and as corny as it might sound, I feel very proud to be an American today.

Even though Halloween is just a memory now, at least I still have pictures of my pumpkins... don't ask me why I like decorating pumpkins, just some weird fettish of mine I guess. The eyeball was the first prize winner in the neighborhood pumpkin contest!

Last year I also won first prize with this one - freaky, I know. I have issues.


Last night we went to the Jazz game, thanks to my sister's beau...it was so much fun! Have I mentioned how much I love this time of year? It's not only the cooler weather, but it's also so much fun to watch basketball and college football all at the same time. For some reason, I quite enjoy watching sports! Notice I said watching... Before the Jazz game started last night, we watched the end of the BYU game out in the hallway of the ESA, and then after the Jazz game ended we were able to catch a few minutes of the Utah game! What a night! Not to mention that all three of "our" teams won! Go Jazz and Utes! (And BYU for Shawn)

My boyfriend

Guess who!