Click photos to enlarge.

She is modeling one of her favorite sweaters. It fits her perfectly and is not too tight. She loves this sweater.

Only, we have a secret…

It is not a sweater.

It is a tunic that we got for her to wear in our Holiday Photo Card photo from 2006.

YES! November 2006!!

These pictures were taken Thanksgiving Weekend TWO YEARS AGO.  Claire wasn’t even a year old yet!  I remember choosing the 18- to 24-month size and knowing she would grow into it.  I remember wondering how long she’d be able to wear it.  It was such a pretty tunic, and little kids grow out of clothes so quickly.  Would we get our money’s worth?

Well, I think we did…and then some!

Shhhh. Don’t tell!  We didn’t mean for this to happen!  The tunic eluded detection and missed out on a couple rounds of sorting.  It had been hangin’ out in the sweater drawer for so long, it started to think it was a sweater!

So, what can we learn from all this? Regardless of whether it’s a tunic or a sweater, if it fits, it doesn’t matter what the tag says…

Today is Day 28 of 30 in the NaBloPoMo Challenge! Only two more days to go!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Day 27 of 30 in the NaBloPoMo Challenge! Check it out!

Claire’s Third Birthday?  Six! (as in less than a week!)

The Holiday Letters go out with a December 1st Postmark?  Seven! (as in a week exactly!)

And then the ball starts rolling so fast that it won’t stop until it drops in Times Square on the 31st of December (or a couple hours later…such is life here in the Mountain Time Zone…).

Things are starting to move at a breakneck speed. Every day, we have packages arriving that need to be sorted by elves: Birthday ones in one pile and Christmas ones in another. Mixed in are packages that have final destinations across the country. Those packages need to be undone, wrapped, packaged and shipped. Then, we’ll have guests arriving by land and by air. Meals and activities are being planned. And, I’m in the process of organizing Santa’s schedule so that his visit can be timed like clockwork.

Like everyone else, I’m dealing with all of these things in addition to my other duties. But you know what? I’m not stressed. Not only am I thinking positive thoughts and vibrating with a positive energy, I’ve got my To Do List under control.

All of this excitement energizes me!  The power to multitask and get things done intoxicates me!  Muuuuu-ah-ah-ah.

*ahem*
But I digress…

Thanksgiving is going to be a breeze this year. This year, it’s just the three of us, and I’m so excited! We’re breaking from tradition a little bit and will be trying out new recipes. We’ll do our signature ham for our guests in December, and in the meantime, I’m finding new recipes to try on Thanksgiving. Speaking of which, The Noble Pig has a pumpkin cake recipe that I’m dying to try!!

The gifts for The Birthday Girl are purchased and need to be assembled. This won’t be too difficult and will just take time. We’re limited to naptime to do this covert operation, but we’re skilled at this maneuver.

The Birthday Girl Party Invites went out, and the cake is ordered, and the goodie bags are waiting to be filled with various Birthday Girlie Items. I just need to pick up the balloons and the cake the day before The Big Day, and we’re set!

After the Thanksgiving Meal is cleared, we can really focus on the decorations for that affair.

The Holiday Letter Photos are shot, printed, and tucked inside Holiday Letters that are composed, printed, prettied-up and stuffed into envelopes that are addressed. We just have to add Claire’s Three Year Photo, and the appointment for that photo shoot is already made! Stamping and sealing should be a quick and fun activity, and we’re right on schedule for my December 1st Deadline!

The Holiday Gift Lists are made and checked twice. As soon as the last package arrives, joining the things we purchased locally, we’ll get them wrapped, boxed up and ready for distribution.

Thanksgiving passes the baton to Birthday who passes the torch to Christmas, and then the Guest Room (aka The Gift Storage Room) will be livable again, just in time for our guests to arrive. After the Birthday Party, we’ll put up the tree, set out the presents, and enjoy the ride.

And then, as soon as January gets here, I can start working on our Valentines.

Just kidding!

Kinda…

Today is Day 24 of 30 in the NaBloPoMo Challenge! Check it out! A post for day 24 AND a recurring To Do List Item checked off The List for today and added to tomorrow’s…yes!

The game was so much fun that we accidentally played for FIVE HOURS straight! We went downstairs to our entertainment room to play around 3pm (after we’d all stuffed ourselves with wonderful food), and at around 8pm we realized it may be time to eat again. We’d been playing that whole time! Needless to say, we ROCKED.

After another round at the dinner table, we played for another THREE HOURS. Yes, we spent the equivalent of a typical work day in a band, and it was awesome.

Claire and I were able to do some more singing in the game throughout the weekend.

Here are some pictures of the character I “created” in the rock band. (The pictures may not be very crisp, because my character keeps moving around and I can’t use the flash to take the picture…) She is aptly named, ‘momma,’ since that’s what is screamed at me all day anyway. Plus, that makes Claire’s little pleas of “Sing it again, Momma! Sing again!” so cute…and appropriate.

I’m not sure what the score means, but it sure looks impressive.

Here is another picture, because you can’t see my rockin’ boots in the first one.

We named our band Nebulon 6, which is an inside joke. In fact, before Claire was born, our name for her was “Nebulona Roku,” (Neb-you-lawn-uh Roh-koo) which is a female version of Nebulon and the number 6 in Japanese.

But, after playing for a total of EIGHT HOURS on Thursday, we were in pain the next day! We realized that maybe we should rename our band The Oldtimers.

Today is Thanksgiving, and in honor of all things I’m thankful for (family, friends, food and fun – and not necessarily in that order…just kidding…) I’m posting a poem from one of my best friends. It’s ironic that it’s entitled “No Lists,” since I just listed a bunch of things for which I’m thankful.

She and I met in college and were partners in crime roommates for a while, and we’ve been close friends ever since. We have since both moved away, but not apart. We’ve both grown up and become rather domesticated, but that’s okay. I still think about all the fun and crazy times we had in college, and it makes me smile.

Yes, I know she reads this blog, so that was my chance to really butter her up. Just kidding.

I did ask her permission before posting this poem, but I didn’t tell her what poem it was! This should be a nice surprise for her. My introduction is written on page 216 of my old journal. She has written the actual poem on page 217 in her own handwriting. (You can see the picture posted below.)

Without further ado, here is the poem:

NO LISTS: BY [ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS] by me (Jan. 25, 1993, Mon.)
The following poem is a creation by [one of my best friends]. It is written in her own hand, so it is really authentic. I think it is a great poem…Can you see all the different meanings? Well, here it is:

NO LISTS
i want exposure;
the eyes; the presence;
more friends;
not much more
than friends;
words in passing;
some flirtation.
i don’t need
seriousness;
facetiousness;
self-consciousness.
It’s Infatuation!
To be a part,
yet not apart,
is to have
those who lack fear
of delight in games
become future companions.
If not with one,
then i shall smile and muse
upon another and consider
the former friend and brother.

¡estoy libre!

[her initials] 1-25-93 9:25pm
ROBERT BURNS’ DAY
[her signature]

Note: I have written in the margin of page 215, of the day before, “NOTE: January 25, 1759 is Robert Burns’ birthday, and he would be 234 years old tomorrow!”

Click to enlarge…

I love this poem. It reminds me of nearly every college “relationship” I had. So simple, yet so complicated! Yet, it’s much more than that. You can really get lost in a poem like this, and that’s what I love about it. To the poetess, thank you for letting me post this for the world (or at least my tiny part of the Internet) to see!

So, Happy Thanksgiving! May (all) your day(s) be filled with family, friends, food and fun.

I’d better get going…I have a lot of singing to do!