Thanksgiving Prep

Like I mentioned earlier this week, George and I had our Thanksgiving dinner tonight. I prepped most of the food last night and just had a few things to do when I got home from work today. I took a few pictures of my work in the kitchen last night. I must say, it was some pretty photogenic food!

One of my personal favorite Thanksgiving items, green beans!

I made FOUR Dutch Apple Pies last night (a couple for work, one to bring to AZ, and one for George). My hands were sore from peeling apples!

These two were waiting to be baked while the first two were in the oven. Got to love that crumb topping. I've looked at a ton of Dutch Apple Pie recipes online. This one seems to turn out the best and it happens to be the most simple one too! http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1737,149180-244207,00.html

George couldn't wait a day to try the pie so, he ate two pieces last night :)

I even made my own cranberry sauce for the first time...it is so easy!

Had to share this picture too. George and I went to a ski shop around here and purchased some new (used, but new to us) skis for George! They were a great deal...$99 for skis and bindings!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

AZ Weekend

Well, I woke up in Arizona this morning, flew into Ontario, CA, and arrived at work by 8:00am! I had a great weekend with family. I flew in on Friday night after a long week of work. I was greeted at the airport by my Mom and Dad, Emily, and Grandma Warren (Grandma Warren and my Dad flew in on Friday night too). Most of Saturday was spent at the craft sale. Here are some pictures from our booth:

The entire family went to the ASU vs. U of A game on Saturday night…Grandma and Paisley included. We left with about 10 minutes left in the game; ASU was winning by 3 or 4 points. 20 minutes after we left, they lost the game!!!!! Always embarrassing to have U of A beat ASU, especially in Sun Devil Stadium….glad we left :)

I had a chance to visit with the Lucases on Sunday afternoon. It was great to see them. I wish George could have been there to see them too! Poor George is entering his “busy time” at work. Apple blacks out the next month and a half so no one is allowed to request vacation during that period of time. The good news is that he is able to go to Colorado this year!!!!!

George and I are celebrating Thanksgiving this week here in California. I am driving out to Arizona on Thursday afternoon…can’t miss that Black Friday shopping!!! I have a meeting in Phoenix next Tuesday so I am planning to just stay in Phoenix through Tuesday. I will drive home and have just enough time to do laundry and pack for Denver (we leave for Denver next Thursday). Did anyone follow?? Haha, very confusing, I know!

Anyone else shopping on Black Friday?? I’m not going for anything specific, but I love being a part of “the action”. It is kind of a tradition now for my mom, sisters, and I to wake up super early and hit the stores.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!! Here are a few more pictures:

Paisley and Grandma Warren at the ASU game

Hannah trying to steal a kiss from Paisley....she wasn't having it :)

This big girl is feeding herself a little snack

Scootin' around the house...not quite crawling!

We tried to get her to look at the camera, but she was getting too distracted by everything else

"Bump" Info

George sent me the link to this article a couple of weeks ago. It is all about the ins and outs of getting bumped. And no, no...it wasn't written by a Warren ;)

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/04/travel/flight-bumping-tips/index.html?iref=allsearch

Also, I heard on NPR that this holiday season airlines overbooked flights more than normal. And if you think that overbooking is a bad thing, read the article.....it actually means chaaaa-ching! Haha

Monday Update

I have been meaning to mention my little advertisement on the left side of my blog. My sister has an Etsy shop with a friend of hers. Click on the "blog button" and it will take you to their Etsy page. Emily, you're welcome for the free advertising ;)

Last week FLEW, the weekend FLEW by, and the way things are going, I'm thinking that the same will be the case for this week. I head to Phoenix on Friday evening. My Grandma Warren will be in town too which is always an extra bonus!

We have the craft sale on Saturday morning/early afternoon at Scrapbooks, etc. I spent almost the entire weekend preparing for it. Here are some more things to look forward to at our booth...

Today is Sergio's birthday and we celebrated with him and Andi on Friday night at one of our favorite restaurants, Mama D's. I love their pasta with meat sauce.......and their bread.....their bread is so good. We try really hard to eat in during the week so I love going out to eat on Friday nights (I love eating out and trying new restaurants!!)

Oh, I have to run...I will post later this week.

Had to share this real quick. Seeing this picture that Emily posted on Facebook, made me miss my family so much!

Paisley and the family (minus my dad...he is traveling for business) are watching Hannah's marching band perform tonight (they had a fundraising event). She looks cozy in her cute little hat that Aunt Heather bought her :)

Meanwhile, back here in California, George and I enjoyed a tasty cinnamon cappuccino made by yours truly. I used our nifty Nespresso machine. And now that I am all nice and warm, I am off the gym.....

Burrrr

The weather is getting cold here....burrrr....temps were under 60 and rainy all weekend. It is a welcome change for most people around here. The summer temperatures were lingering too long! It's funny because on rainy days in Arizona/S. CA, everyone has something like, "I LOVE THIS WEATHER" on their Facebook. Which is opposite than those of you in upstate New York :)

I spent most of my weekend working on projects/crafts for an upcoming holiday boutique that my mom, sisters, and I are participating in. The holiday boutique will be held at Scrapbooks, Etc on Saturday, November 19 from 10am-3pm. It will feature vendors with all things homemade. Scrapbooks, Etc. is amazing....I LOVE going to this store :) http://scrapbooks-etc.com/ If you're in the area on the 19th, you should come check out our booth. Here is a little sneak peak of one of the baby/toddler skirts that I am making for it.

George and I enjoyed a FREE lunch yesterday at the Lazy Dog Cafe near our home. It is a local chain...we used to enjoy happy hour (half price appetizers...woot!) at their Irvine location, so I called the other day to see when their West Covina location was officially opening. Well, they just so happened to be having pre-opening event over the weekend and since I called, I scored us an invitation. The free meal included an appetizer, soup/salad, entree, dessert, and a drink! It was great.

The combination of the colder weather and early signs of Christmas time, are making me so excited for the holidays. I love Thanksgiving/Christmas time!!! Thanksgiving is just 3 weeks away and our Denver trip is another week after that! George and I have a lot of traveling in our near future.

I am off to the gym tonight.......again. I have been keeping up with the running pretty well and have average 10 or so miles per week. My gym has a "cardio cinema" which is basically just a movie theater with cardio equipment. So, I have seen 40 minutes of a bunch of movies over the past couple of months. Occasionally, I wait around for the end of the movie and get some extra exercise in. When it's a boring movie, the run feels much longer.

That's all for now. Have a great Monday night, everyone!