By the way... working around holidays when most other ppl take off? Awesome. Quiet. Productive. DARK! It's 2:15pm and no one has turned on the overhead lights to this point.

Holy crap! I need to put Drake away today! I can't believe I was able to run the Tib the whole month of November. I did bring him to work today. We'll stop for a quick car wash on the way home and away he'll go.

Thanksgiving was, not by any fault of my Favorite Egg's family - they were fantastic, like an odd get together day.  It just didn't feel like Thanksgiving without seeing Mom.  I got my rear out of work on Wednesday, worked out, and hit the road.  I was expecting the highway to be a bit busier than it was, so that was a pleasant surprise.  Couple that with how great the weather is/was and boom.

We prepped the corn dish and his traditional mulled cider Thursday morning and headed to his Aunt and Uncle's for the bigger gathering.  Everything was delightful, as it was last year.  Friday was all about re-arranging his living room and doing a full turnover cleaning.  It looks great and smelled like spring had sprung.  My body was a bit achy from it, but not as bad as I had expected.  Saturday we did a little bit more post re-arranging cleanup on odds and ends and then readied to head to the smaller holiday celebration with his family.  Part of that family was already out due to circumstances, but then another chunk ended up sick, so it was much smaller than normal.  It too was still a nice visit, hampered only slightly by the rain.

Sunday is, of course, pancake day!  That and a few episodes of a series on Netflix and it was time for me to make the drive back.  The girls were happy to see me, and they're pretty wiped out this evening.  I guess I need to go back to that place tomorrow.

It's one of those days when I realize I need more single/local friends.  There really isn't anyone to call on for a last minute "hey, let's go out and grab a bite".  I'm tired of dining by myself out of necessity. Now I'm going to go drown my moment of sadness in fresh chips and salsa from Rey's.

Saturday I stayed slightly motivated.  After doing a little bit of shopping/running I came back and started another batch of limoncello, this one with half the liquor, so it won't be as strong.  The reaction from most on the last batch indicates my friends are weak... no no, I mean my friends would prefer something a little less potent.

The other running did include some shopping, in part to grab something I need for my sister's big gift, and just as part of a normal I feel like shopping around Saturday afternoon.  I also stopped and finished taking photos of the one section at Richland Cemetery, since the last time I was there sundown came to quickly to allow me to finish.  I should have more than enough photos to stay busy on cold dark winter nights.

The bed was also fully stripped, including the skirt (it would be a way easier task for two people when there is a queen sized bed involved), and washed.  I put the new mattress cover on.  I know the old one had a long warranty, but I didn't keep track.  This one is for 10 years and I bought it through Amazon, so it should be easier to keep track.

Speaking of Amazon, I've been itching for another nicer pair of diamond earrings/hoops.  I spotted the extra 20% off on Amazon for a pair I was fond of, so I leapt, buying my Christmas gift to me a bit early.

The ornaments are now on the tree, but not without incident.  I had a vibe about breakage early on, but I didn't heed it, and sure enough, the Pitt ornament I bought my freshman year of college went tumbling off of the top and shattered.  Today I also hung command strips on the outside windows and put up the wreaths.  The Christmas cards are also all ready to go and I'm hoping to wrap a couple more gifts that have arrived this evening, even though there are a couple of items still in the mail.

Dear Kitchen Clock,
While I appreciate the work you do, I simply do not understand how you can eat through batteries the way you do.  I mean, you have a couple of gears and your task is pretty straightforward and simple.  I know it's not just you, as every clock before you did the same thing (and then they quickly stopped working properly), but I want to understand where the issue is.  I mean, the previous battery is still sitting on the table waiting to be properly disposed of and you've already burned through another.  At a minimum, can you stop leaving a grayish black smudge on my wall?  That would be super.

I don't know what got into me but I've been moving along all evening.  I swung through the mall snagging another Christmas gift quickly and jetted to the post office to get some things out before they closed.  After getting home I fired up the big pot and made another batch of pasta sauce using up the last of my fresh basil, the tomatoes I've been gathering for a while (fresh frozen), and the last pepper off of one of my pepper plants.  While it cooked I got my workout in, which was very necessary since I missed last night due to a Norwex party for Mrs. Davey T.

Normally after eating I'd expect to sit for a little while, heck I should sit still and get some researching done that is on my to do list.  Instead I put away the autumn leaves decorations, and started pulling out the Christmas decorations.  Since I wanted to put a few things out I had to dust.  The tree is in position without ornaments and the stockings are hung at this point.  It's early for me, but I had the time and the motivation so it happened.

I then went to take the tupperware containers of cooled sauce to the basement and suddenly I found myself chipping away at the ice on that freezer.  I really need to totally defrost it, but until we have some truly cold weather so I can put food outside I just needed a quicky fix.  Since I was doing that I pulled a couple of things out of there and tossed them to the trash as well.  TWO CLEAN FREEZERS, can you believe it?  I also found couple more baggies of tomatoes *rats* so I'll need to make another small batch of sauce in the near term.

I also found another pie.  I should be ashamed of this, but I refuse to be - after all we thought we had eaten the last of Mom's pies.

No too shabby for a Friday evening.

Last night I had a much needed massage after work. I noticed my shoulders, not my neck (which is odd for me) were pretty tight this past weekend. I suspect it was something compensating for a sore spot at the left of my hips/butt that had been forming. I felt better immediately last night and my hips/butt wasn't sore during my workout.

We'll label this post shameless promotion for my friend Ben Miller at Body and Soul Massage here in Jtown. He has deals going on in November and December, so go get on that. I'm blessed to know him and pretty sure I'd be a cripple if I didn't.

It is Monday once again. It was abundantly clear to me when I turned into the parking lot and realized I forgot my badge. As a result, I am rocking the Turkey today. It's the equivalent of the cone of shame for dogs.

My Favorite Egg was in this weekend. Our big adventure was trying a couple of recipes out. I find all of the food postings on FB a blessing and a curse. First up was a "corn pudding". Frankly, it needs a better name as this was pretty darn tasty, and easy. Butter, two cans of corn (one creamed one not), sour cream, eggs, and corn bread mix. This one might make an appearance at a Thanksgiving dinner as a side. The other a spinach and artichoke dip stuffed garlic bread. Between Saturday dinner and leftovers on Sunday night we darn near polished an entire French bread of this stuff.

All of the food wasn't our only adventure. We did leave the house and found Cassandra PA for a Gun raffle. I wasn't anywhere near as lucky as I was at the last raffle I attended, but I wasn't taking as many shots at pull tabs either. We left before they finished pulling the door prizes, so I guess we could still get a call saying we won. Fingers crossed.

Other oddities in the past 24 hours:
Last night while on the treadmill I realized I was missing the front of one of my batman tragus earrings. I was quite displeased. After all, who knows when it fell out and what are the chances of finding it? But being who I am I couldn't finish my workout, I had to pause it and go look. I walked straight to the front of the couch and looked down and boom, right there I spotted the tiny little black top. I couldn't believe it when I reached down and it was my earring, not just a fuzzy. It also went straight back in without a fight. I guess the universe wanted me to get back to that workout.

This morning the dogs were having a fit to come back in. You'd swear something that wanted to eat them was only a few steps behind. They then raced around the house like they were looking for something. I wonder who or what they thought came in the house.

Well that damn near scared the bejezus out of me.  I'm watching TV and about ready to turn it off and head to bed and I hear a noise in the kitchen.  At first I thought it was a dog nose on a plastic bag (any dog owner knows what I'm talking about and immediately wants to join me in a chorus of "hey, what are you doing?").

Danika is under the coffee table.  I call for Saffy and she walks over from behind the couch.  Hmm.  I mute the TV and can hear the sound more clearly, it sounds like something rustling about, but in a pattern.  I stick my head into the kitchen, like the psycho killer who likes to lure his victims with rhythmic noises wouldn't just chop my head off right there.  It's coming from under the fridge.

I move closer and notice that the freezer door didn't quite close right earlier tonight.  Rats.  I pull it open assuming it is a dripping sound is and quickly realize it is a sizzling sound from the bottom.  I kneel down and see a glow coming from an opening to the back behind the bottom shelf/drawer.  The drawer was removed pretty darn fast and I could feel a warmth to the metal in front of it.  I wouldn't have bet my life on it, but I am pretty sure the only light in the freezer is up at the top.

In a partial panic I pulled the fridge out from the wall and unplugged it.  Then I pulled a couple of other shelves worth of food out.  The sizzling and glow continues but dies out.  With thanks to Beff and her man I had a plan.  Plug it back in, keep the door closed and let it get cold again.  See if all is well.  In the mean time I sorted the stuff I pulled out and did some freezer clean out.  I also wiped up the dust from the floor under and the wall behind the fridge.

Needless to say I'm going to check it again here shortly before I retire... and again in the morning.

Lessons learned:
Yes.  There is only the one light at the top of the freezer but some of the light does peek out from the bottom of the metal panel.

Seriously.  Stop putting single chicken breasts in there if you don't cook them before they'd go bad.  Just cook it up and give it to the dogs.  They'd appreciate it and heaven knows you'll never use it otherwise.

I have a butt ton of frozen fruit that I keep tossing in there before it goes bad.  I really need to make (many) smoothies soon.

I also have enough tomatoes to make another batch of sauce easy.

If you can't remember the last time you pulled out the fridge to clean under it, you probably need to.  Immediately.  Ew.  You can reward yourself with a smoothie.

Going back after a mid-week day off is always rough. I rolled back over for a little while, arriving an hour later than I normally do (I normally get in before the normal core hours anyhow). I still managed to beat several people by (at this point) at least 45 minutes. How do some folks get their time in? I can't imagine needing to stay as everyone else is bailing at the end of the day.

To the rainbow bridge another angel.  Much love sweet sweet Alice.

This past weekend I headed my Favorite Egg's direction, picking him up and going a bit south to West Virginia. Niecey Poo had requested to work the Tech/WVU game, so I had the chance to see her the evening before and see the game, so I took advantage. We were able to share a meal, a drink, and chat for a while the evening before. Saturday morning I had her wake extra early so I could take her on a Sheetz breakfast run (she loves the place and they haven't made it anywhere near Texas just yet).

The mayhem trying to get to the game - just wow. The GPS had no idea where the stadium was by address, the campus is poorly marked for the parking areas, and of course there was so many people wandering the streets it was a bit stressful to get in there. We left after half time to avoid the craziness and stopped at the Morgantown mall to check out a game shop before returning north for the remainder of the weekend. With all of that running Serafina was beyond the need for her first oil change so I made a (not so) quick trip in to get that taken care of Monday morning.

Last night Beff had another appointment at a bridal shop, this one in Greensburg, so we headed back out on the road. There was several more dresses - and then it happened! My gal found the right one and it's amazingly blingy and beautiful. What's next on the planning list?

Now to catch up...
As I mentioned - I was on Grandeur for the Halloween sailing.  I headed to Baltimore on Friday the 23rd, where I met up with my sister and we went to have dinner with Rex at DuClaw!  I finally got to try a Sweet Baby Jesus (a chocolate peanut butter porter).  We were up and moving to meet our gal on Saturday.  There was a day at sea, a stop in Port Canaveral (where we stayed on the ship), a stop in Nassau (where we did a little shopping and wandering around), a stop in Cococay (where we relaxed on beach chairs and hammocks), and a stop in Key West (where we walked along Duval, shopped, had a bite and a drink, and then grabbed a chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick from Kermit's), and two more days at sea.  We returned on Sunday, the 1st.

I did a good job not planning for this trip.  You have to realize how incredibly rare that is for me.  We just did what we felt like doing.  I took along a costume from last year for the Halloween celebration.  Most of our evenings were spent enjoying the view from the concierge lounge with a vodka cranberry.  We didn't have table mates per se as we had a table for two, but it was in between other tables for two and the folks on both sides were awesome to talk to.  More cruise family has been made!  It was a great escape.

While we were away, the new owners did, in fact, close on Mom's house.  As of the 30th, my childhood home is no longer ours.  I really don't have much else to say about that.  Everything and anything you can think of has gone through my head on the subject.

I'm back in the phase where every night seems to evaporate.  By the time I get home, make food, and work out, I'm pooped and ready for bed.  I did work out all but one day on the cruise (I took the Cococay day off and I'm counting all of the walking in Key West as a workout).

Yes, I just walked out of work, but I don't need someone up my butt immediately.  SERIOUSLY.  Give people time to get home from work and have a minute.  Eeesh.

Last night I went wedding dress shopping with Beff in Altoona! I've never had that experience and it was fun once we got past her nerves (poor Beff). In an hour and a half appointment you don't get to try on too terribly much, but at least she got to check out some different shapes and get a better vibe for what she might want. We do have another appointment in a Greensburg shop scheduled. I've heard they have a huge selection, so I'm hoping Beff will have her moment.

I am alive and well, I promise. I am back from 8 nights onboard my beloved Grandeur of the Seas with my crystal block (210 cruise points award presentation) in hand. I have more to say about it, which I'll do in a later post just as soon as I get things back in order. But for now I'll say this was the most mellow and low-key trip I've taken. I left with nothing specific planned - heck, I didn't even have notes for each port. I had been to all of the ports before if you couldn't guess.

The girls are home and feeling sassy with the autumn weather. They enjoyed laying in the leaves for quite a while last night, which is abnormal since they usually sleep like champs after returning from camp.