Monday, December 1, 2014

Food bust, weary walkers and trees of yore

How is it December already??

Well it wasn't our best weekend for food.  But it's not unexpected.  You couple Thanksgiving Day with the weekend of the big game and the 'spread' the Mr begins talking about in May and it's a recipe for gluttony.  The spread basically consists of some of our favorite appetizers that we eat once a year. 


Yes, that's an app size chicken and waffle sammich you see there.  I saw that on Pinterest and knew that was getting made.  But it's a new day and we're back on the wagon and trying to get rid of our vienna sausage finger o' sodium.

We spent all day Sunday walking and I'm talking about 6 miles worth or more.  We went to a huge antique show at the expo center and I found some antique skis I was looking for and scored a sweet deal on them so I'll be working on getting them in order and hung for the winter.  So excited!  After walking there for 2 hours with aching hips, we took some ibuprofen and grabbed lunch at Panera.

Then I wanted to walk the historic district for our workout because I felt like our lack of actual walking by doing WATP was holding me back a bit.  When I first wanted to go to the antique show, my foot stopped me dead in my tracks.  The tugging in my toe hurt pretty bad but I was able to walk it off in a few minutes so I felt a good, long walk would do me good and I wanted to take it while the ibuprofen was in effect.

The district was bustling with activity of residents getting over the deflation of the Thanksgiving and Black Friday...


...and readying their abodes with flower boxes full of greens, ornaments and birch logs.  It certainly helped get me in the spirit (like I need help) and we made a few pit stops to grab some last minute gifts.

But one of the funniest things I saw on our stroll was this.


Hilarious!

We stopped by a tree farm and I guess I'm glad we don't do 'real' trees because,while they all smelled heavenly, they seemed like they were pretty dry already or had big holes in spots.



It did remind me of my paternal grandma's Christmas tree when I was a kid.  She always chose the shortest, roundest tree and would put it up on this huge table in the corner and then stack all of the presents on the floor in front of it.  They'd use the great big, old school C9 bulbs that were multi-colored and opaque.  (I thought they were for the outdoors but it didn't matter to her) and this plastic candy garland of lollipops, candy canes and life savers.  Let me see if I can find it...ahhhh, I found it!

(via)
As a kid, I was in love just watching the tree with the lights off, much like I'm doing now.  There is a peace and calm it brings me and I love remembering the trees from my childhood.

Now the Mr and I are feeling crippled from all of the walking on asphalt and uneven brick streets but I suppose it was good for my legs.  I'm going to have to ask the chiro for an extra zap or two of the laser this week.  This coming weekend is a super busy one for us.  We've got a Christmas concert coming up Friday, a Christmas road trip during the day and early evening and then the Mr wants to be back to watch playoff games and Sunday is a delightful gathering with my in-laws.  I should probably temporarily take up drinking.

What did you guys do this weekend?  Do you do artificial or real trees?

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7 comments:

  1. What a weekend! Surprised I could even walk this morning. Thanks for making the game spread so awesome, that was wonderful! It was nice looking at the xmas trees even if we had no intention of buying one, I guess it's just nice to share in the season.

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  2. I gave up on real trees quite a few years ago. I miss the smell, but not the mess. Although, judging from the little green strips (artificial tree sheddings) that show up everywhere from now until the Fourth of July, these artificial trees produce a unique mess of their own. The fake trees are easier to decorate, the branches are numerous and bendy, and with all the ornaments I have, I appreciate that. So which game was the "Big Game" at your house? Our big football news in Nebraska was the firing of our Coach. No championships in Nebraska equals NO JOB.

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  3. Catching up on all your posts from over the holiday. So glad I have some "what you're reading this week" links to help me through this first day back at work!

    Those cupcake turkeys were really cute! As was the story of your cousins fighting over them and your other desserts. LOL

    Walking is really just the best way get your work out on during the holidays. Plus there are so many fun ways to fit it in: go see a tree lighting, go walk the malls and take in all the crazy shoppers,walk around the neighborhood to get away from the relatives...You're working out without officially "hitting the gym."

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  4. Usually we do artificial trees, but this year we are going to go a completely different route. My daughter is going to string up lights on the living room ceiling and that is going to be our tree. Hope it works, cause gravity is a bitch

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  5. We go back and forth - sometimes artificial, sometimes real. I enjoy both. Spent the weekend enjoying having my son in town! The weather was lovely, so it was nice to be able to get outside some as well. :-) Glad you enjoyed your weekend!

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  6. I like real trees, but the convenience of a pre-lighted artificial tree has won out. It didn't help the cause of the real trees that the prices just kept rising either.

    This weekend was a big meal, some family visits, and some homework. Hubby has been sick, I started coming down with it yesterday, and then overnight the little guy woke up complaining of a sore throat and a cough. 4:30 (yes, that's AM) saw me at the school pulling together lesson plans for a sub. Ick.

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  7. That dog sign is hilarious!!! I worked on Saturday morning (my last Saturday there as I'll be starting my new job at the end of the month!) and I walked out those doors with a big grin on my face! I did house stuff when I got home and was pretty tanked from work. Sunday was up early to grocery shop and bake for mom as I was seeing her the next day. I was up at 3am Monday morning and out the door at 4:30am to get to her house around 5:30am and took her downtown Chicago to the hospital for her PET scan. We got back into town mid-morning and had a pumpkin muffin at Panera and made our way to a restaurant at lunchtime. Then it was back to her house where I helped her put up her Christmas lights on the tree (she can't lift her arms above her head because it fatigues her immediately). Her face just lit up when it was all done (it's a huge tree) and she said that having her tree up makes part of her childhood dream come true. She said she thought she'd have a big family with these lovely perfect holidays. She chuckled and said while she didn't get that, having that tree up and lit brings her incredible joy. It was so hard for me to sit there and not cry but I squeaked by. She's going to work on the ornaments a little each day and I've offered to help with all of that, so I'm hoping she'll take me up on it. I got home at 5:30pm and was practically comatose after virtually no sleep. It was a very good day and I was glad to be able to go to bed and sleep pretty well for a change.

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