Halloween!

It's Halloween! When I was a kid, we did the dress up and Trick-or-Treat thing but it definitely wasn't the biggest holiday. You all know that Christmas is my fave. But that's ok, Halloween is the one that's here now so we'll discuss it.

Lots of people at my office dress up every year, but this year Tiffanie and I (the loan officer I work with) got busy and just ran out of time. However, lots of other people dressed up and it was quite amusing.

Construction was 'Hurricane Ike survivors' and they decorated their office with Ike hating signs, lanterns, lots of debris, etc. It was awesome. Tilson were prisoners. They hung bars on their door and wore bright orange prison uniforms and chained themselves together with black construction paper rings. Also excellent one. Another good one was Sarah Palin, a perfect replica. Everyone did a really really good job, it's a fun day with a change of pace.

Tonight is Trunk or Treat at church! Patrick and I are decorating our 'trunk' with camping gear. Our small group is going to convene together beforehand so we can have our trunks together, and so far we have a camping themed trunk, a pirate themed trunk, and two other themes that I don't remember. But we will definitely post pictures. Has anyone else noticed how ridiculously expensive candy is?! We spent $20 on candy last week for our trunk and it did not get us very far. But we're glad we can do it.

We are also going to the A&M game this weekend. We haven't been to a game yet this season, which really wasn't our plan from the beginning but you know... it's been a rough season. Rebuilding, if you will. The Aggies play Colorado, and this and Baylor are pretty much their two chances left for winning (hopefully). So we shall see! We haven't been to the great city of College Station since May when Patrick graduated, so we are actually pretty excited to go up there. We miss it.

I'm off. Tiffanie made some AMAZING cake balls that I need to snatch up before they are all gone. Happy Halloween!

Becky doesn't put her pants on one leg at a time. She's not like most people.

Thanks to Stephen Colbert for that line.

So I had to work a little more today and Becky had to work a little less. I had to go to some training for work for an upcoming project and I didn't get done with that until 7. Becky had a doctor's appointment and was home a little earlier than normal. Which worked out to be especially wonderful when I got home and the house smelled of wonderful, home cooked aromas. Becky was in workout shorts because she had gone running (albeit only to the end of the block and back, or about 1/4 mile). She had cleaned the house, made the bed, and picked up the dry cleaning.

In the oven were chicken crescent rolls. I'll type that again. In the oven were chicken crescent rolls. If you haven't had any of Becky's CCR's (all things CCR are good), you haven't lived. They're delicious and this is the first time she's made them since we've been married.

I am sooo excited. I'm going to eat.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that somewhere she's stashed a pie.

Life is best when you meet at the dinner table

I love eating. I love talking. I love meeting new people. I love laughing. I love doing them all at the same time.

My (Patrick) family grew up eating dinner together. Some of my most fond memories are of my family eating at the dinner table and my dad laughing at the things we do/ say. My mother is a great cook and my brother and I have the guts to prove it. Eating dinner with the family wasn't really a choice, it was really sort of expected that if other activities weren't keeping you away from the dinner table, you were going to eat with the fam.

Now, the discussions on who was going to do the dishes are a completely different topic. I believe the 8th Amendment protects us from Cruel and Unusual Punishment. My mother and father did not define doing the dishes as Cruel and Unusual Punishment, but to each his own.

This mindset completely reinforces the first paragraph. I have had some good mealtime conversations this week. I had lunch with Chris, dinner with Isaac and Christina, breakfast with Chris (again) and Jon, and now I'm going on a date with my wife.

I love Chris. Chris and I are both nerdy (in the cool way). He is infinitely smarter than me and can always put me in a conversational "hold" that leaves me screaming "Uncle!" like the kid getting his arm twisted in the alley scene of A Christmas Story. However, he usually lets me finish my thought before entirely correcting me in a humble way. Our discussions are as often as they are various. One day we might be discussing emerging technological trends and the next day it might be focused around economic policy. However, you should be warned: I have yet to find a topic upon which Chris is not a foremost knowledge-authority. Converse at your own risk.

As Nadine McCampbell would say: Patrick and Becky Gilgour had dinner Friday night with Isaac Johnson and his girlfriend Christina at Chuy's in Houston. A good time was had by all. We had the longest dinner ever and I think we laughed the whole time. Isaac and Christina are a lot of fun. I think we each told our funniest stories on our first double date, which means our next double date might be filled with repeats. The Funniest Story of the Night goes to Isaac, who is an excellent photographer.

Breakfast with Jon and Chris was also good. We met at House of Pies (or Guys, whatever), where the food is half as good as the conversations and the pie flows like wine. We talked about how some people just don't understand the real issues and that there is a moral obligation to vote beyond two issues (thanks to Chris for this idea).

Well, I'm out to have a meal with my favorite conversation partner, my beautiful wife Becky!

Fall is upon us!

The high yesterday was 70 degrees! And the low was in the 40's last night! YAY! I was born in Baltimore, but not with thick skin. I do not like super cold weather. But the changes in season I do love.

My extended family is mostly on the east coast, so of course Christmas always comes with cold weather. I am already thinking about what to pack and what to get people and I already have a present for Patrick! That I think was pretty thoughtful and I am pretty excited about. I am very impressed with my spreading out my holiday expenses this year. I already have ideas for lots of people so it should be perfect!

Thanksgiving day, the day of the Christmas tree, is only 34 days away! (Edit: I just talked to someone at work who puts up their Christmas stuff the weekend before Thanksgiving. I am definitely taking this into consideration. AND Garden Ridge is having a 50% off Christmas decorations sale this weekend. Hmm...)

Since we are going to see my family for the holidays, we are going to Missouri to visit Patrick's grandparents in February. We looked at plane tickets yesterday. It's far away enough that they are still pretty reasonably priced. So yay for another trip! However, we are waiting to buy them until this weekend because....













PATRICK IS PAYING OFF HIS STUDENT LOAN THIS WEEKEND!!! We will be officially debt free. You better believe we are calling into Dave Ramsey's radio show to yell it.



I woke up to the doorbell ringing this morning. Patrick was already up and ready for work, but not I. Working 4 minutes from home gives me that advantage. :-) We have a leak in the guest bedroom ceiling, and the owner had sent someone out to check it out and work on some electrical socket stuff that I honestly don't think needs to be fixed but whatever. Well apparently the number she has for us is one number off, so when she called to tell us they would be there bright and early we didn't get that message. (Kind of like on the cell phone commercials when he gets stuck in the hostel with the crazy dancing Europeans because he doesn't have cell phone service.) Anyway, so they had to shut the power off to the house to do the electrical work and so I hurried to get ready for work. Down side: less sleeping in on a Friday morning than usual. Up side: I had to come in to work early so I can leave early! And I used some of my extra time to go to Starbucks and get a piece of blueberry coffee cake. Starbucks on a cold morning = greatness.

Friday mornings are the best. We both sleep in a little bit later, and this morning it was pretty cold so we we had the blankets piled on top, AND Friday is normally 'go out to lunch day' which means no lunches need to be made in the morning. Weekends in general are the best.

Ok that's enough rambling for today.

62 days until Christmas!!

I'll come up with a cool Title later

Probably not, but nothing fun is coming to me.

Becky and I went to Costco tonight. If you haven't ever been to Costco your life is probably miserable. The only person I know that's cool that hasn't been to Costco is Jesus. All man, all God. I guess he gets a free pass.

Costco has everything you need. They have stuffed horses, adult diapers, a 1995 cabaret, frozen shrimp, tires, advil, underwear (and outerwear), video games, vegetables, 1/4 lb. hot dogs, and everything else. Basically, if they don't have it, you don't need it (I should clarify: if they don't have it and REI doesn't have it or its not a round, flaky-crust, fruit or cream dessert, you don't need it).

We got some groceries and this amazing crab and shrimp penne pasta dish. It was nom nom nom good. I won't give you the details because you're probably not a Costco member and you can't get it anyway and if I told you it would just make you hungry and you couldn't get it and that would just be mean. Whew.

Costco also has pie. Tonight they had a whole section of pumpkin pie, the Pilgrim's choice of pie. I will concur with the Pilgrims. Although, I'm of firm belief that John Smith was a cake man. I can't put my finger on it, but I really think he's a cake eater.

Going to Costco is kind of like going to the mall (they sell clothes), going to Best Buy (they sell TV's), going to the sports store (they sell golf clubs), and going to the grocery store (hint: they sell food). Its awesome. Plus, they only sell one kind of each item and its big, so you don't have to "price shop" and you don't have to go back quickly, although you'll want to go back quickly.

Oh, and do your ears a favor and stream Resurrection Letters, Vol. II right now here.

Patrick, lover of all things camping

Ok, I'm going to do a little bragging.

As you read, we went camping last night. If you know Patrick, you know he LOVES camping. He loves camping in slightly more fun places than we went last night... Grand Canyon, Glacier, Big Bend, etc. But he's been wanting me to go camping with him forever, and we only had one night, so Brazos Bend it was. He prepared for the trip all week. He was so worried about me enjoying myself that he packed a whole tub full of 'surprises' for when we got there.

He wound up with a migraine on Friday morning, but of course that didn't delay our camping trip. He still spent the afternoon getting things ready, and I left work early and we were on our way.

He thought of EVERYTHING. I know it was the cushiest camping trip he has ever taken. When we got there, he set up the tent and chairs and everything and then got the grill at our campsite fired up and made some hot dogs for dinner. Afterward, he busted out the makings of s'mores and had even bought this kettle thing the night before to take with us so he could boil water and make us hot chocolate. Of course it had been dark for awhile by then, so he had a lantern set up and we played Travel Scrabble by lantern light until we were sleepy. He even blew up an air mattress for us to sleep on! Seriously, if you know him, you know that's not something he would normally do. Not "roughing it" at all. But he did and laid out our sleeping bags and other blankets and it was so cozy and comfy. We could see the stars and the weather was SO nice.

He had packed all the toiletries and everything, so he walked me to the bathroom and waited out there while I used the toothpaste and facewash and everything and then we went and cuddled up under the stars! Patrick is a 'fall asleep when my head hits the pillow' type but he even stayed up and laid there and talked to me before we went to sleep which is definitely a treat.

There were some hiccups after that... none of which his fault (mostly mine). And he was great the whole time. He took really good care of me and thought of absolutely everything to make a perfect camping evening.

I got no pictures. :-( I forgot. I'm sure he's bummed about that too.

But I just wanted to brag a little and say how very thankful I am to have a husband who thinks to take care of me like that. I, Becky Gilgour, promise to go camping more often with my camping-loving husband!

For your viewing pleasure

Patrick again.

If you didn't know already, I really enjoy photography.  I think its fun to try to capture one glimpse of history and then pass along that emotion to someone else.  I'm basically pushing my photos on you.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our trip to San Antonio for Becky's birthday.

Teacher, my head hurts. Can I go to the nurse?

Patrick here.

I had a migraine today.  Ouch.  I woke up, took a shower, drove to work, everything was fine.  I started testing some spreadsheets and I could not get my eyes to focus on the computer.  I just need coffee, right?  Wrong.  Coffee doesn't help.  I need to turn off the desk light, right?  Wrong.  That doesn't help.  I need to take a quick break, right?  Wrong.  There's nothing to do escape the pain.  But Patrick, you didn't break down and take medicine did you?  Yes, I'm a sellout.  I took Excedrin Migraine.  That's legit stuff.  Its Tylenol, Bayer, and No-Doz in a two pill punch.  Please don't tell Quanah Parker.  He's going to kick me out of his club.

I drove home and only the Lord knows how.  You have to be a Calvinist to drive home at 75 mph when you can't even tell how close another car may (or may not) be in front of you, but I made it.  I basically turned the lights off and slept like a log.  I woke up when Becky came home for lunch and made me a sandwich.  Now I feel 99% better.  However, I did miss my free lunch, but Becky made a turkey sandwich.  

On a side note: Becky makes a great sandwich.  If this recession gets worse, I'm going to have her make sandwiches to sell for 3 quarters each.  Take that, Hoover (Herbert Hoover, that is).

Work this week has been rough.  It's not that I've had too much to do, it's just the opposite.  I haven't had enough to do.  It's been kind of nice having the afternoon off, even if I did have to feel like one of the guys from the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan for two hours.

We're going camping this weekend!  I am so excited.  The truck is already loaded up and ready to go (it has been for at least an hour) and Becky doesn't even get off work for another hour.  Did I tell you I was excited?  I have a few things planned that Becky doesn't know about, but I think she's going to real

ly enjoy them.  

Hopefully, this will be us in a few hours:

The week is halfway over!

I can't believe Patrick hasn't posted about this yet. We are going camping this weekend! We are going to buy a cheap skillet thing for him to make me pancakes in on Saturday morning. The weather should be perfect for it, lows in the 50's so it will be cool at night and highs in the 70s so we won't sweat when the sun comes up. We're going to Brazos Bend and I know Patrick is pretty excited.

We're just going for Friday night. Saturday evening we have a couples shower for Justin and Kacy in the Woodlands. I have a gift already! And it's wrapped. That is being really on top of things for me. Which is a good thing becuase tonight is church and always a crazy night and tomorrow will be our one down night, and we need to go to Costco becuase we are critically low on peanut m&m's and orange juice! Patrick buys extra pulp orange juice becuase he loves orange juice. I drink orange juice because I feel like I should but don't really like it, so I buy the kind that is mixed with pineapple and banana. Which is apparently girly orange juice and he won't have anything to do with it. So we have to go buy some of the chunky stuff. :-)

Last night we had joint effort quesadillas. If you have never made quesadillas with mozzarella cheese, you are seriously missing out. They are SO so good. I got a recipe for them awhile back and I will never return to my grated cheese quesadillas. We had some leftover fajita meat so we worked with that and the mozzarella that I have to use this week (doesn't last very long, you have to buy it fresh) and it was yummy. Tonight will be Chick Fil A night becuase it's close to church and we don't have much time on Wednesdays.

Fun times with my grandmother last weekend, pictures to come. OH and our wedding pictures FINALLY came so I will post some of those too. :-) yay!!

Blog War 2008

We're in the middle of a post war.  Its my turn to attack.  

Since Becky's grandma was coming in town we decided we would finally take care of the guest room/ office.  It is definite a slash room.  You know what a slash room is, right?  It's something/ something-else-totally-unrelated-but-your-out-of-space-and-still-want-to-have-room-for-it-so-you-put-it-in-the-same-room.  I might have gotten a little carried away.  

Becky's side (before slash) is cute.  We set up a faux bed with cute pillows and decorating magazines.

Patrick's side (post slash) is where warriors prepare for battle.  We're talking William Wallace posters, Apple products, machetes, and a Hullabaloo tray.

This room totally defines our relationship and I love it.

I might post pictures of it someday.

Taking back my territory!

I apologize for the bombarding of crazy blog posts here lately. Patrick is taking over the blog, so I need to post!

Speaking of Patrick... I have been making fun of him because he went and played dodgeball last night at church with the youth, and he is always incredibly sore afterward. I've been trying to convince him to take some preventative advil beforehand but so far he refuses. Being a superior being and all... who needs advil?

The fam came over for dinner tonight, and Patrick made us some yummy fajitas. When we go to Baltimore, we always eat our share of east coast greatness, such as crabs. So we figured it was fitting to show my grandmother some Texas food. And she seemed to really like it.

I no longer have flu-like symptoms! But tomorrow is back to work as usual and that is never exciting! Or sometimes it is too exciting and that's the problem.

Remember our dishonest Craigslist poster? Well, someone else has the exact same coffee table listed. So there. It does not have the matching end table but that is ok. I will find one. So we are probably going to go over there tomorrow or Thursday to check it out. YAY! I am seriously lacking places to display things in this house. We have some super cute built ins that I love and of course the entertainment center but apparently I have more things to display than I thought. So I need a coffee table because I want to have a vase or bowl that changes with seasons. My mom gave me a vase from Pottery Barn with a candle and some spring-like flowers. So they have new stuff to put in the vase for fall that I need to check out. But I'm cheap... so I'll probably browse Pottery Barn for ideas and then find something similar somewhere else. :-)

Our family dinner tonight delayed my Jon and Kate Plus 8 watching. On the nights they show it, they theme the night "large family night" apparently and so there are always shows for the Duggers. And I do not have strong feelings toward the Duggers like I do Jon and Kate so I am very disappointed by this. I would prefer a marathon. She wrote a book by the way that would make an excellent Christmas gift for anyone who is reading this and wanting to get me a gift! I love those kids. And this is good for me! I am just recently liking small children. Well that's not true, I have always liked kids through about kindergarten, and then I'm done with them until they are in high school. But they're growing on me.

Ok, well I have a new book from Amazon.com, so I am going to do a little bit of reading before Jon and Kate come on again. By the way, I have had many people recommend the Twilight books.
Your thoughts?

I'll do my civic duty...

... and lead you to this. Whoever you vote for, please make sure you understand why. I'm not supporting the Howard Stern Show, I find him crude and vulgar, but this clip is clean.

Dodgeball is good

I decided that since I was working with the youth, I would go volunteer on dodgeball night. I thought it might be a good way to bond with my youth. You know, who doesn't want their "mentor" humming a rubber four square ball at their face as fast as they possibly can? I think Jesus played dodgeball. In fact, I know Jesus played dodgeball.

Now my right arm hurts so bad. I can't even imagine what it will feel like in the morning, but it was all worth it. I love dodgeball. I'm a little older, but a little more competitive, too. I'm not very good at "playing for fun" and I think "playing for fun" is worthless. I think winning is fun. I think losing sucks.

Maybe that's why I can't feel my arm.

Patrick is a superior specimen

Patrick is a superior being. He is smarter, better looking, and healthier than most above average beings. He does not get sick. He spent the winter of 1872 on the Blackfoot Reservation cuddled in his government-issue blanket keeping his said government-issue blanket warm. The rest of his tribe died of small pox. Patrick did not. Then they tried large pox. Patrick still did not die. Patrick is superior. Patrick is healthy.


Patrick is full of crap.

flu=death

My father is dead set on not getting the flu shot. He says the only times he has ever gotten it, he got the flu. Well I had the flu last year and it was the most miserable week of my life. So I was determined to get the flu shot this year. They were doing them at church this morning, and I signed myself up. The lady did an excellent job. She was a wonderful shot giver, minus telling me I had "been a very good girl" at the end. She assured me there was no possible way to get the flu from the shot because it's a dead virus.


Well we went and had a free Mission Burrito with Brandon, as mentioned by Patrick, and I ate the whole thing which I was very impressed with. Then we went home for a bit and ran to the mall this afternoon. Got some work clothes, great trip. Tonight's small group dinner theme was pie, and we had no time to make anything, so we ran to the store and got oatmeal cream pies and a salad. And then it happened. We left the grocery store, and I started feeling terrible. It started in my throat and then moved to the achy-ness. And here I am, sitting on the couch, waiting for Patrick to bring me some lactose-free ice cream to ease my flu symptoms. I'm sure it's just side effects from the vaccine, at least it better be, but either way it is no fun. Hopefully I wake up in the morning everything will be back to normal. I may pass on the flu shot next year. :-/

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself

Blog readers, I apologize for my wife's lackadaisical attitude in blogging. (For the record, I spelled lackadaisical correct the first time. No spell check needed.)

The Gilgour's have been very busy people this last week. We have been working with Young Life on Monday nights. We have really enjoyed this experience. T

uesday is a free night. This Tuesday I took a spin through Terry Hershey Park. It was great. I rode as hard as I could for an hour. It felt amazing.

Wednesday nights we work with the youth at our church. We really enjoy working with the youth here. Becky has 10th grade girls and I have 10th grade guys.

Thursday night is the Office night and thus the most important night of the week. To make this Thursday even better, I went to Happie Hour with Chris at House of Pies. I used to enjoy going to get a drink for Happy Hour, but I think a slice of pie is even better. Becky's grandma got in Thursday night as well. So we've been eating with her parents and grandma this weekend.

Friday night we went to the family theatre and saw Driving Miss Daisy. It was actually really good. I thought it was fun.

Saturday we went to lunch/ brunch, Wal-Mart, and then to the mall. We were going to buy a coffee and end table off of Craigslist (our favorite shopping medium), but we were unable to make a deal because I found the poster to be dishonest. (Dave Ramsey, my personal financial adviser, advises not to deal with dishonest people, no matter how good the deal.)

Today, Sunday, we went to church and got a free Mission Burrito. Our week was good.

Married life is starting to be more "normal". Its not getting routine or mundane, but the idea of being married and going home together at night is not as strange as it used to be.

Oh, and I have chocolate pie in my fridge.

Thanksgiving is a great holiday

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Its quite simple to understand: the abundance of food. I love food, however my washboard abs don't make this fact known to many.

My favorite kind of food is pie. I actually have a "pie stomach" that is only for pie. It is never empty and never full. Like Chuck Norris, it just waits. And my favorite kind of pie is Lotsuvv. I like Lotsuvv Pie. Well, I actually like Lotsuvv and Anneychind. Those are my two favorite pies.

Pie should be easy to eat, not too hot and not too cold. Depending on the occasion, a la mode is appropriate (fruit pies only). One should never use a knife or spoon while consuming wonderful pie, only a fork is required. It is necessary to always begin on the side opposite the hypotenuse. When eating a fruit pie, it is acceptable to hold the fork parallel to the plate and use the non-prong side of the fork to cut through the crust, filling, and top (if present). A bite of cream pie should always be selected with the prong side going into the pie vertically. Pie can be substituted for cake, but cake can never be substituted for pie. A candle may be placed in the pie for celebrations of age enlargements. Above all else, a bite of pie can never be left on the plate (unless that plate is one from Pine Country Restaurant on historic Route 66 in Williams, Arizona).

It is permissible to stack multiple fruits into one pie, but a pie containing both fruit and cream should never be baked. Only the choicest adjectives should be used in the description of pie. These adjectives should clear and concise, allowing the connoisseur to focus on the taste (fruit and cream), texture (fruit and cream), freshness of produce (fruit only), and consistency (cream only). In certain areas of the country, nuts are placed in pies (such as pecan). This is acceptable, but only in the Deep South.

A gracious Thanksgiving host will inform his (or her) guests that pie is available before second servings of meat, vegetables, casseroles, and rolls are offered. A simple, "Patrick, we have pie for dessert, but you're more than welcome to help yourself to more (insert traditional Thanksgiving entree/ side dish here)." This will allow the guest to decide for themselves. The favor of this traditional line is still appreciated even if the guest has a "pie stomach".

In the event that only one piece of pie is left in the pan, the parties requesting pie must dual. Yes, it really is that important.

The most appropriate time to eat pie is with friends.

I hope you enjoy pie as much as I do!

(Lotsuvv is Lots-of and Anneychind is Any-kind).

church galore

So, the Gilgours have a slight dilemma.

When we started talking about where to live, we originally wanted to live in the Heights (north of downtown). We LOVE the Heights, and still would love to eventually live there. The houses are old and beautiful and the area has a lot more character than the suburbs. However... the prices reflect all that. And at that time, none of I10 was open, so it would have taken me a good hour and a half to get home from work, and probably a ridiculous amount of time to get there. (Even though I would be going AGAINST traffic. Houston is ridiculous.) Anyway, so we passed over the Heights and moved to Memorial. Which has its perks. We moved there because it is close to work for me and not quite as far from church and our families as being closer in would be. Our reasoning was that we drive to work every day and to church once a week, so living further out, which is where church is and where most of our small group lives, would also not make sense. But things changed, and we have committed to being at church 3 times a week at a minimum. (By a minimum, I mean we are out there twice on Sundays and twice during the week. But sometimes we only make the drive once on Sundays because we just stay out there from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm instead of going home in the middle.) Which means we make the Memorial to Copperfield drive, and back, at least 3 times a week, and at least two of those are in rush hour. Everything we are doing we enjoy, but we are not 'show up and go home' people. So we wind up staying and visiting pretty late each time, and then the next morning getting up for work is pretty rough. And it leaves us with little 'just the two of us' time. And with even less time to spend with friends outside of church. Thus our dilemma. We ended the summer deciding it was time to be more involved, and here we are. Over-involved. Maybe. We will give it some time still and see if we need to just get into a routine and get used to it. But so far... I spend a lot of time around teenagers feeling very old and tired. :-) That's just what they are looking for, right?

On another note, I am desperate for a hair cut. The guy who normally does it is booked (I really should think of these things a little further in advance) so now I'm really really needing a hair cut and have no one to do it! I have one more person to check on, so hopefully it comes through.

Can you believe it's October?! The mornings and evenings are very cool these days, although of course it's still in the 80s in the afternoon. And currently, it's forecasted to stay in the 80s for the next couple of weeks at least. But the nights and mornings are in the 50s and that's fun. And the onset of fall brought about my fall decorations! YAY! We now have pumpkin decorations out. In a couple of weeks, I will bust out the Halloween decorations and I have way more of those for whatever reason, so we we will be fully decked out in holiday mode. Then when the Halloween ones come down, the Thanksgiving ones go up (which I severely lack) and then when they come down... CHRISTMAS ones go up!!!!!! Patrick and I decided last night that we will get up Thanksgiving morning and put up our Christmas tree. :-) And we plan to leave it up for quite some time after Christmas becuase January is just so depressing sometimes. You take down the decorations, Christmas is over, and it's just winter. So the Christmas deocorations will have to stretch out until it's acceptable to put up Valentines ones.

Has anyone else noticed everyone seems to be putting out their Christmas merchandise pretty early this year? (And Wal-Mart is calling it Christmas. Not a family holiday or whatever.) I thought that was crazy when we were at Target last week, and then this morning on the news they were saying it was because people are having a difficult time financially and so they are trying to spread out their spending and threfore the stores hope that if they put things out early, people will buy early. Apparently this Christmas should see the lowest spending since 2002. I don't know what was so special about 2002 but apparently Christmas sales were down.

Ok, enough for now. You can see I'm somewhat bored at work this morning.

51 days until Thanksgiving
84 days to Christmas