Friday, November 30, 2012

Our Thanksgiving Feast for 2.7

Another Thanksgiving has flown the coop.  We like to be different, so we celebrated Thanksgiving without the usual consumption of the turkey.  We gave thanks with a chicken instead.  Planning for our dinner, I did the math and found there would be only three of us eating (well, really only 2.7 when I broke it down):

1.0 Matt's portion
1.0 Deb's portion
0.5 Keaton's portion (he had to save room for half a portion with his girlfriend's family)
0.2 Cyrus's portion
2.7 Thanksgiving dinner portions/people

(Wow...I may be watching too much of The Big Bang Theory!)  So, another Thanksgiving has passed and we have lots of which to be thankful:  we're happy, healthy, and not eating leftover turkey for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!


Our bedroom before Cyrus decided to try his paw at decorating.
Our bedroom after Cyrus finished with his decorating project.


Cyrus is ready for some Thanksgiving football!

The guys in orange tackled the Black Friday sale ads...carefully studying the newspaper ads and online ads.
Cyrus is either a true Lions fan and couldn't tear his gaze from the game...or he was watching a commercial about food.


Three hours of cooking enjoyed in 20 min. of eating.


Cyrus enjoyed his 0.2 portion of the meal.


Before we ate dinner.


After we ate dinner.
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Yum!

Matt's still on the road to recovery.  Each day the pain is lessening and each night he's able to sleep a little more comfortably.  He's still slow moving around, but is able to stand a little more upright each day.  He's not shuffling along like a little old man anymore!  He's been eating well...probably better than most patients.  I made him Chex mix, brownies, caramel/chocolate-covered popcorn, and his beloved Oriental salad.  He's the luckiest man in the world...and I remind him daily.  ;-)

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Happy (Early) Thanksgiving!

Today we headed up to Matt's brother's house for a little pre-Thanksgiving celebration with his brothers and sister-in-law.  Keaton, his aunt, and the dog fell asleep watching football after lunch...all without eating any usual nap-inducing turkey.  Keaton, of course, slept the longest...even after the dog came to cuddle with him.




Friday, November 16, 2012

Nip/Tuck

Today's adventure was a trip to the hospital for Matt's hernia surgery...and I'm probably a large factor in causing it. I'll be the first to admit that I over-pack for everything and I can cram a lot of clothes and shoes in my bags for our trips.  Those bags get pretty heavy.  After 22 years of hauling my heavy stuff around, I guess I literally became a pain in Matt's side.  It's still better than being a pain somewhere else.  So, Matt was admitted at 7:30 a.m. and we were back home by 1:30 p.m.  Everything went well and now he just has to rest and not do any heavy lifting.  I guess we won't be able to take any trips for a while...or I'll have to cut down on my packing!


Matt's pre-op pose.
(You can't tell here, but he couldn't get his feet to fit on the bed unless his pillow and head hung off the bed.)
 
Matt's pretty souvenir bracelet.
 
I was bored and didn't have anything else to photograph while waiting.
 
Matt's post-op pose. 
(He was finally able to fit his pillow and head on the bed...but not his feet.)
 
 
 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

IT'S FINALLY OVER!!!

IT'S FINALLY OVER!!!  I'm sooooo happy not to see any more negative political ads on TV, get annoying phone calls all day and night, or receive TONS of political junk mail!  Life is good again!!  I just shudder to think of all the money candidates put into their advertising campaigns.  Billions of dollars wasted, in my opinion.  Just think of the better choice they all could have made by earmarking most of that advertising money for charity...instead of drumming their pleas on numb ears.  (I don't know about you all, but we totally tuned out all ads after the first week of being bombarded.)  With social media outlets (like facebook and twitter), candidates can get their message out to the voters...FOR FREE!!  Sure, not all voters utilize social media, so I'll even allow some TV ads, phone calls, and mailings.  But the political advertising blitz these last couple of months is unwanted, annoying, and a total waste of money.  It's definitely time for a change in campaign finances. Okay, I'm climbing off my soapbox now.

Keaton voted for his very first time...and we think he totally voted correctly.  I guess he really does listen to everything we've been saying over the years and we're so proud he shares our left-wing beliefs.  We're all thankful we live in a country where we're all entitled to our personal beliefs...however uptight, racist, homophobic, and wrong some people may be.  ;-)

Monday, November 5, 2012

Happy Halloween!

I know, I know...Halloween was last week, but I just now finally have some time to sit at the computer and update this.  While trying to tackle BOTH computers' serious issues (and creating some new curse words), carving pumpkins (well, Matt did...I cheated and glued buttons on mine), cheering on the Hornets at their game on Thursday, raking leaves, hosting a dinner party, and spending a day at Matt's brother's house, I just haven't had time.  I'm happy to announce that I think I have one computer fixed (pretty much) and my blood pressure is finally beginning to drop a bit. 
 



So, Halloween here was cold, wet, and gloomy.  We had about 160 trick-or-treaters (half of our usual 300+), so that means that we had some left-over candy...including a full bag of Snickers.  Darn.  Sports was our theme this year and we hung up our K College flag and WMU flag (I like how Matt says the U of M flag won't fit....hmmmm),  and dressed in our costumes (including Cyrus in his Detroit Lions jersey).  We tried to sit on the porch to pass out candy like we usually do, but we got too cold and had to wimp out and move inside.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I hit the store early the morning after Halloween to stock up on some discounted wigs and costumes for future photo opportunities.  Even Cyrus got a new costume...he'll be wise Yoda sometime.  Now I have to find some Star Wars costumes to fit into the theme.  And I'm not wearing the Princess Leia bikini...but maybe Matt will.

 


Basketball season is getting underway.  K had its first exhibition game against WMU on Thursday night.  The team and parents went out to dinner after the game and it was nice to meet some new parents and talk with the coaches a bit.  Oh, and to visit with Keaton for a bit.  ;-)


We hosted a fondue dinner for our friend's birthday on Saturday.  Three courses of yumminess...if I do say so myself.  I love fondue, but it definitely is a time commitment.  It took me an hour and a half to prepare everything (meat, veggies, fruit, bread, and dipping sauces) and then it took us about 2 hours to eat.  But, I definitely recommend a fondue dinner...when you have some serious time to be able to enjoy it!