Wow. . . Busy Week!!

Sorry there's been such a lag in between posts. One of the sweet little ladies in our church passed away last week. It was my honor to participate in her funeral service on Thursday evening. Then, on Friday and Saturday, we were up to our eyeballs in Edison's birthday shenanigans.

Oh, and Mark's new glasses. . . and the newfound confirmation that I don't need bifocals. . .yeah, it's all good. Let me try to recapture some of the magic. I might even add pictures. Hang on!!

On Friday, Edison had school. I officially declared it his "Half-Day of Eating Crap" celebration. Seriously. They watched a movie and ate junk food all morning. Mark had an eye appointment. Since he was going to pick out new glasses in the process, my presence was requested.

Side note: for 18 years now, Mark has admitted to being "fashion illiterate." I will not officially confirm or deny that diagnosis. I will, however, concede that I readily agreed to go with him to the eye appointment--knowing that new glasses were to be chosen.

Mark's appointment went well. . .a bit long, but it went well. I started reading, "Vanishing Acts" by Jodi Picoult. Wow. Gripped me from the first 8 pages. However, as you can imagine, I've been so busy, I haven't looked at it again since Saturday evening. It's still good. I highly recommend it -- and I'm only 1/3 of the way through.

After the eye doctor, we went to Lenscrafters in our mall. "Glasses in about 1 hour." Okay, let's be honest: the word "about" signifies that you'll be making a trip back to the mall on Saturday. But, I digress.

We found frames for him, and while we initially waited (thinking it was just going to be an hour--silly us) I decided to "pop" next door, and visit the eye doctor in the mall. Nice guy. But, he's an eye doctor in the mall. However, his diagnosis (as I previously mentioned) made me happy. It turns out my $6 reading glasses from Dollar General (or Target. . .or WalMart. . .or Walgreen's) will suffice for now. And, because they're cheap, I can be vain and buy them to match all my favorite outfits. Yes, I am that vain!

After my eye appointment, we dropped in on Chick Fil-A, Bath & Body Works, Williams-Sonoma, and a couple other stores. I was able to cash in my gift card from Tim & Natalie at Bath & Body Works. I found some "Twisted Peppermint" body wash/shampoo. (I know. . .it seems odd to me, too.) I like it .. . . a lot. I also got some new anti-bacterial hand soap--LEMON scented. YUM.

After shopping, we trudged back to Lenscrafters. . .only to learn that it would be Saturday when the glasses were actually done. Oh well. . .I had still gotten to pick out the (Brooks Brothers) eyeglass frames, so it was a beneficial trip for me.

Saturday evening, we dined on homemade soup (chicken corn chowder & chicken noodle) and sunflower oat bread. Unfortunately, when one forgets to put yeast in ones' bread recipe, it doesn't rise. Can you say breadsticks? They tasted good, but it's just not the same. Sigh.

Sunday was full--of course. I had a drama rehearsal (children's Christmas musical) after church. When that was done, I headed home, and started hatching a plan to work on Christmas presents. So, while Matt Kenseth sailed to victory in the final NASCAR race of the season, I stitched. That's right--I watched Jimmie Johnson capture the NASCAR championship for 2007 while putting quilt blocks together. There's still lots more work to do, but I'm getting closer.

Had a yummy dinner last night -- taquitos and queso dip. The taquitos were frozen, but the queso dip is homemade. Want the recipe? It's yummy, and so easy.

1 lb. ground beef (browned & drained)

1 jar mushrooms (drained & finely chopped)

1 can Rotel tomatoes (slightly drained)

1/2 block Velveeta Cheese

1/2 c. salsa

Mix all these together in a saucepan, and heat until the Velveeta melts. (I have a hard time calling it "cheese") Dip your favorite tortilla chips into this. It's delicious.

And yes, I was able to get all three Aubrey men to eat mushrooms this way!!

So tonight, we're hoping for dinner out. After that, I really must get back to Christmas present-preparations. I am going to work partial days on Tuesday and Wednesday. I have one more trip to the grocery store, and that should do it.

Oh, and tomorrow, I promised to take Edison out to lunch. He's off all week. So, as I continue my quest to get a million things done in five minutes, I leave you with a few pictures. Enjoy the week. Enjoy the season. Enjoy the pictures!!

The first pictures are from Edison's birthday celebration on Friday night. . .

The following picture is being posted for one reason, and one reason only. . . to show off myself i the celery-green sweater I wrote about the other day. I have to admit that I still can't believe I'm able to (finally) wear it!

My new kitchen table and chair arrived -- without incident -- on Thursday afternoon. Aren't they beautiful?!?! If necessary, leaves can be added to both ends, making this 6 foot table into a 9-foot table.

With the arrival of my new kitchen table, my old kitchen table is now being used as it's supposed to be used--as a drop-leaf table in my entryway. I love this table so much.

And this is what my table looks like with family surrounding it, and food embellishing it.

And one more picture for today. . . this is a view of our house from the other angle than what you see in the blog header. The trees are an amazing array of colors. . . of course, the back yard is full of leaves, too. Add "raking leaves" to my ever-growing list of things to do! (Maybe next week!)