Thanksgiving Has Come & Gone

Well, folks that wraps up Thanksgiving. Next up - Christmas.

WAIT - wasn't it just Halloween? The older I get, the faster my life goes by. Truly amazing. I continue to be in awe of God's work in my life and the lives of those around me.

Spending time with the family is always wonderful. Smaller group this year, but still nice. Each of us brought a side dish or two so it wound up being quite the feast!

I even did my fair share of Black Friday shopping. Which brings me to my next topic... Macys.com. I was sitting around at, oh a little before midnight, doing a little online shopping. I found two great deals so I picked out my colors and put them in my shopping cart. Then I went about shopping for other things but didn't see anything else I just couldn't live without, so I went to the online checkout. Then, what to my wondering eyes, should appear? Big red letters saying: "Please remove this item from your cart. It is no longer available."

Are. You. SERIOUS??

Apparently I was supposed to pick my Black Friday deals and checkout one at a time... I wouldn't get to take advantage of the "Free Shipping on Orders $99 or more" and I would actually have wound up paying for shipping TWICE. Really? Lucky for me, I was still able to get one of the deals at Macy's at the mall before 1 pm but the other deal is sold out - trust me I keep checking the website. Boo on you Macys.com.

Ok, that's my Black Friday rant for this year... on to better things, my Cricut.

Have you seen the results that come up on Amazon.com when you search for Cricut? I feel like there's this whole new Cricut world out there that I'm just now stumbling into. Apparently scrapbooking - and Michael's Black Friday sale - to satisfy my paper addiction is the gateway to getting me hooked on the Cricut. So naturally, I found things that I didn't even know I needed, like the Cricut tote bag, cartridge case, and of course cartridges that I didn't even know existed... oh the possibilities. 

Time to play catch up on Thankfulness List: Things I am thankful for...

#22 - Beautiful weather. The weather was fantastic on Thanksgiving Day. It was nice enough to not need a jacket during the day, and we were able to open the windows and let in the cool air in the evening because cooking the Thanksgiving Feast warmed up the house.

#23 - That I am NOT a crazy Black Friday shopper. Don't get me wrong, I do my fair share of shopping with the locals on Black Friday, but Black Friday news stories are crazy! From the man who left his girlfriend's child in the car while he bought a big screen TV at Best Buy and then took the TV home and left his car in the parking lot of the store. To the Black Friday shoppers that were nearly run over in the parking lot by a drunk driver. And of course, the regular parking lot campers who are intent on being the first one through the door. Most of the time these news stories have me shaking my head...

#24 - My family and friends are safe this Thanksgiving. I was shocked and sad after hearing about the crazy pile up outside of Houston, 2 people died and 80 injured. Yes, I probably found out about the story a little late, but at least I finally heard about it. I'm pretty much burned out on the news after the pre-election, during-election, and post-election crazy-beyond-crazy frenzy. Definitely praying for those involved and their families. 

#25 - Four day weekends. This little break really gave me some time to hang out with the family, get some much needed rest & relaxation, and get some cleaning done. It was starting to look like squatters were living here. Ok, maybe it wasn't that bad but it sure did feel like it. Now, if I can stay focused and get the Christmas tree up and decorated tomorrow before heading back to work on Monday...

Thanks, Gracias, & Salamat

#17 - All day crops. I'm thankful that I found a regular crop that I enjoy. The ladies are sweet and always chatty. I love that it is for the entire Saturday, I can get a lot accomplished. Fun, relaxing, and a creative outlet that I haven't had regularly for a while now.

#18 - Black Friday prices. I just scored a Cricut Expression 2 with a bonus cartridge for a Black Friday price. Plus 4 cartridges that were half price. I walked out of there with all of that for what it would have cost me to buy just the machine at regular price. Oh, did I mention that I got it in this really cute teal color?

#19 - Patience, it's an art I'm telling you. When you're sitting around in the middle of the night with a two year old who won't sleep and you have to get up for work at 6 am, it takes a lot of patience. I lost count of how many times I counted to 10 and took so many deep breaths that I felt faint. I think God gave me my two year old for the sole purpose of teaching me patience... bless her heart, or my heart, or whatever it is that southern women say...

Update on the Gingerbread latte - it was pretty good. A little sweetener wouldn't have hurt, but I drank it as is. I must say that Starbucks usually has outstanding service, however this time was different. Once I finally got to the window to receive and pay for my coffee. The young lady asked if I needed a receipt. To which I replied, "No, just a napkin please." She handed me my coffee and napkin, and I handed her my card. In a few seconds, without even glancing in my direction, she holds my card out of the window so I take it and wait for her to acknowledge that the card was accepted. (Not that I expected it to be declined, I just thought it polite to wait for a response.) After about 30 seconds I leaned out of the window and said, "Excuse me..." to which not one single person that passed by the drive through window responded. So I said it again, a little louder this time. No response. Me again, a lot louder this time. Still nothing, nada, zilch. Practically yelling this time, "HELLO???"

A very surprised, shell-shocked, overwhelmed-looking Starbucks employee turned and looked at me. "Uh, yes ma'am? Do you need something?" 

Me: "Do you need anything else from me?" 

Her: "No, you just had one latte, right? Did I give your card back?" 

Me: "Yes but you didn't even look at me when you gave it back." 

Her: "Oh, sorry I was doing this" as she points to her earpiece.  

Me shaking my head: "Oh right, have a nice day."

What is this world coming to? Chivalry is dead, customer service is dying, and common sense is definitely on the endangered list...