And so it begins...

The day after Thanksgiving.  To some, a day of fighting the crowds and finding the best parking space.  To others, a day of dread as they are the ones who have to work and put up with the crowds.

Are the sales worth it?  The lack of sleep, sudden loss of large amounts of money, rubbing elbows with people who haven't showered in days from standing in line hoping to get in first?  Is it worth the $499.00 52" flat screen that will be outdated in a couple of years anyway?  Or the latest and greatest Elmo animated doll that does what--laughs, rolls, dances, sings?  Frankly, they should make that thing able to do chores around the house and help out, then I'll pay the fortune it costs to buy.  A robot vacuum is more exciting.

My favorite way to spend the early morning of Black Friday is with a hot cup of coffee, my laptop, and quiet house.  I got just that this morning.  Hubs and Peanut are still asleep, the dogs snuggled up beside them, and Bammers is chilling on the couch watching Scooby Doo cartoons.  I'm enjoying my cup of home brewed Dunkin Donuts coffee with a side of leftover Mississippi Mud Pie. 

My Christmas shopping? Online.  My budget?  Thankfully cheap this year with the ever changing "must haves" of a 13 year old boy who has all the gadgets, now just wants the accessories; a soon-to-be 4 year old who gets overwhelmed two weeks before Christmas with his birthday, so the "less is more" theme works Christmas morning. 

All you die hard Black Friday shoppers have one less person to contend with for that Must-Have-Item this year.  Good luck on getting the best deals and GOD BLESS, for the Christmas season has officially began.

A Little Giving of Thanks

All my loved ones and millions around the Nation are celebrating Thanksgiving.  For the past few weeks friends and family have posted thier #days of Thanks on social networking sites, blogs and news groups have started butting in with Christmas shopping on Black Friday, and schools have let out for the week/few days to observe the holiday--leaving parents who don't get off rushing to find childcare or drag thier kids with them on the mad rush to get the best shopping deals. 

I have mixed feelings with Thanksgiving.  A little history lesson of how the day came about is redundant as no one wants to hear of the carnage and chaos that occurred between new settlers and the Native Americans.  What people want to hear is how thankful you are for what you have.  Well...here goes:

I'm thankful to have a rich culture of Native American and Irish from my mother's side, and Lord only knows what on my father's side.  Family has hinted at coonass, but I refuse to be the lone child born in cajun country to admit it!  (Bran and T.J. tried to convince me I was adopted from a banjo family in the swamps--I have all my teeth and more sass so I know better).

I'm thankful for my husband, though we have little time together and usually talk best through text, supports and loves me for the workaholic I am. 

I'm thankful for the giant teenager that calls me mom and I call 'Peanut' though he towers over my 5'10" frame.

I'm thanful for the minature replica of the tasmanian devil known as Bam that also calls me mom and reminds me how precious every ounce of the day with him and my Peanut is. 

I'm thankful for the four-legged furbabies I call '#$%*&', '#$&%' and '^&$*&#' on a daily basis for eating something of mine or leaving a leggo mess of puke on my wood floors. 

I'm thankful for my family and friends who seem to pick up where we left off even after years of being apart.


I'm thankful for my job that allows me to serve my community---no sarcasm, I really love my job and am damn lucky to have one.

I'm am humbled and honored for the service members that sacrifice miles, months/years, and a lot of memories with loved ones to protect my freedoms. 

I'm thankful for my sorrows that make my joys so much better.

I'm thankful for my hard times that make my easy ones that much easier.

I'm thankful for my mistakes because they remind me to learn something new every day.

I am so very thankful for the amazing life I have been blessed with. 

And a big thanks to those who read this and are thankful to be able to READ!

Know-vember to Remember

There are numerous reasons to be thankful.  The whole month of November leads up to just that, Thanksgiving.  Considering the education level of my readers I feel comfortable in assuming everyone knows the basic history of Thanksgiving.  You know, the Pilgrims and Indians sitting down for a feast to give thanks that the Indians didn't scalp them when they should have?  So I'm a little off on the details.  The point of this post isn't about Thanksgiving though.  It's about NOVEMBER.  What certain days represent in history, events that shaped our future, and some really cool trivia that I am still researching and discovering. 

For instance, November retained its name from the Latin novem meaning "nine" when January and February were added to the Roman calendar.  November starts on the same day of the week as February in common years, and March every year. November ends on the same day of the week as August every year. 

Some "on this day in history" trivia: In 1842 Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in Springfield, IL; In 2000 my dear friends, Joe and Ginger, married in Illinois. 

On November 4th, 1980: Former Hollywood actor and Republican Ronald Reagan wins the US presidential elections beating Democrat Jimmy Carter with a huge majority.  (And on this day in 2008 the current president was elected.)

One of the neat religious facts I found: November 4th is the feast day for St. Charles Borremeo, the patron saint of learning and the arts.  Let's eat!  er...read? 

Stick around for some more KNOW-vember :)

All Saints Day

All Saints Day is a tradition as old as...well, time.  The following is credited to: New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia (and no, I am not Catholic.  Just inherently curious about world religions and knowledge it has to offer.)

The vigil of this feast is popularly called "Hallowe'en" or "Halloween".  Solemnity celebrated on the first of November. It is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year.

In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring dioceses began to interchange feasts, to transfer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast; as is shown by the invitation of St. Basil of Caesarea (397) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of this we find in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. We also find mention of a common day in a sermon of St. Ephrem the Syrian (373), and in the 74th homily of St. John Chrysostom (407).

At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honoured by a special day. Other saints were added gradually, and increased in number when a regular process of canonization was established; still, as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Calendar a "Commemoratio Confessorum" for the Friday after Easter. In the West Boniface IV, 13 May, 609, or 610, consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary. Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for 1 November. A basilica of the Apostles already existed in Rome, and its dedication was annually remembered on 1 May. Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as early as the feast itself. The octave was added by Sixtus IV (1471-84).

**The best part of today is that my beautiful niece was born on it 19 years ago.  Happy Birthday "Lyss".  May your birthday forever hold as much honor and celebration as the date itself :)