November Highlights

Can you believe how FAST November flew by? Maybe it just seemed that way because we were so busy, but I don't know. I know that February is technically the shortest month of the year, but November always seems to be the quickest. Here's a re-cap of our November activities...

• BUNCO was at my house in November. It was a lot of fun but we didn't have enough people to play BUNCO, so we ended up playing a fun board game called Loaded Questions. It was a good way to get to know some of the ladies who aren't regulars. The guys came by for the "after-party" and we all hung out until very late - it was a lot of fun.
• Dawgs football is finally over. They lost their playoff game giving them an overall record of 8-2 which is really good. The 2 losses were to the same team - from Ahwatukee - who ended up going to the Nationals, and I don't think it was their first time. Three of Justin's teammates also made the all-star team and are in Florida right now playing their games. Next year we'll be going to High School games for Justin - he'll be a TIGER!
• Now that football is done, Eric and Justin are full blown into lacrosse. They are really enjoying it - games will begin in January. GO WILDCATS!
• I painted the kitchen! It is now a creamy pale yellow color. Very pretty and bright. I also put up a window treatment that I love. I will share before & after pictures or maybe a video sometime when I get around to it. Probably after I take down the Christmas decorations so it will be a better representation of our "regular" kitchen.
• Suzy took another trip to Michigan/Ohio and enjoyed Thanksgiving with her sisters and two of her other sons, grandkids, nieces, nephews, etc. her Alzheimer's is definitely progressing, and the family she visited with confirmed to us that she seemed to be a bit worse than on her previous trip only a few months ago. Aside from the 'normal' forgetfulness, she gets easily confused and mixes up details, though she seems to usually understand basic premises. She's been forgetting names and words for simple items, but then on another day can recall them perfectly while she forgets others. It's sad to see someone we love, slowly deteriorating in this way, especially for Eric and Justin.
• Thanksgiving for us was kind of odd without Suzy there, and with no other family or friends (other than one of Eric's good friends). Terry enjoyed the laid back feel of it, but I much prefer to have loved ones around on the holiday. Heck, I still have to do as much work with all the food, so why not have others over to enjoy it? Fortunately it looks like we'll have at least a few over for Christmas so maybe that will feel more like a holiday to me.
• The rest of Thanksgiving weekend (for me) was spent reading, watching movies and working on making Christmas presents. I finally saw Love, Actually for the first time - it was mostly a cute movie but I could have done without the anti-US stuff. I also saw No Reservations which I thought was cute though predictable and The Hurt Locker which I enjoyed but wouldn't give it a 10. It was an interesting story and well-written - best of all its ending was right on.
• I read Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier. It was just "ok" nothing mind-blowing. I absolutely loved her Girl with a Pearl Earring (book and movie) but this one just wasn't as good so I was a bit disappointed. I'm ready to read something less serious and more light-hearted - anyone have any suggestions?

Looking over all that, it doesn't seem like much, but we sure kept busy. Actually that's never a problem for us really. Coming up for December: More lacrosse, a trip to Austin to see my sisters and Christmas! That means holiday cooking and baking, and my annual cookie exchange. Plus I'll finally be able to share pictures of some of my homemade Christmas gifts. I can't until after the holidays of course!