I am sure Mrs. Fiero will be proud...

I took the opportunity to purchase a fake Christmas tree for the Amersons whilst doing my Black Friday shopping. It was originally $199, but marked down to $49, so we went for it. Ethan mostly had fake trees growing up, so he was a pro at putting it together. And quite impressed with the advancements in fake tree technology. I wanted a clear light tree, but they only had 2 left and they were both colored lights, so I snatched it up. We will decorate it with our meager supply of ornaments tonight. (Ethan just got called into work to fix a lock in the psych ward that a patient has destroyed).

I also purchased my White Elephant gifts for this year's "Cooper Kids Coast Christmas" exchange, and got gifts for the neices and nephew. I do enjoy Black Friday. I get the paper the day before, then read through all of the ads and see what is massively on sale. I cut out the ads for things I want to get, then glue them all to a piece of paper with the store name and time they open. Then I figure out which store to hit first, and I am set. Today my plan was Toys R Us first, but I got there and there was a line all they way around the block and ZERO parking in their teeny lot. Since I knew the gifts I bought were not doorbusters (but WERE on deep discount for Friday only), I knew I could afford to come back in 45 minutes or so once that line disappeared. So, I headed over to the mall to hit Sears. Got exactly what I came for, utilized the checkout stand in the women's clothing department (the line was 15-20 people deep to checkout in the electronics department upstairs, but NO wait on the first floor), and headed out.

I drove past Toys R Us to Old Navy, since you have to take a left out of the TOys R Us parking lot to get to the area where Old Navy is, and there is no stoplight to help. It totally sucks. So I hit up Old Navy, got a couple great $5 shirts and sweaters, then headed back to Toys R Us. No line to get inside now. I got the gift I was looking for, then stood in a line that snaked throughout the entire store as I waited to checkout. I did the remainder of my Christmas shopping as the line moved along.

After that, I headed to the Home Depot near my house, bought my tree and called it a day. I was home around 9am.

A few of my favorite things

Whenever Ethan and I go on vacation, we try to get some sort of souvenir to bring home to memorialize our trip. Here are a couple of things we have come home with.....
This is a hand carved wooden walking stick we got while on our honeymoon in Jamaica. Ethan is NOT a haggler, and he had a heck of a time working out the deal on this. I was getting my hair braided at the time, and I remember seeing him go walking past with a troupe of villagers in his wake, all offering him their wares...

......which is probably why he ended up getting THIS as change

This is a handmade knife and sheath we also got in Jamaica

A Christmas ornament from the resort we stayed at in Jamaica

A ladle rest/dripcatcher from Mazatlan

Some shot glasses Ethan brought home from Rome, London, Las Vegas, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan. My favorite is the hand painted green one from Puerto Vallarta.

We got a set of six of these handpainted/handblown glasses, along with a big handpainted lemonade pitcher and a wrought iron stand to display them all. One of the glasses did not survive the flight home, but I was able to glue the large pieces of glass back together, and while it is not drink-out-of-able, it is not readily apparent that it was broken.

A vase with a beaded necklace wrapped around the top, both from our honeymoon in Jamaica

A didgeridoo from Australia. Handpainted in the Aboriginal dot painting style

A set of maracas from Cuba (when I went with mom in 1996)

A clay tile from Iraq-a wedding gift from our friend Jamaar, who was in the Middle East for 6 months in 2003, returning just days before our wedding, just in time to be in the wedding party.

A bonsai tree from Maui. We need to trim off some of the taller branches to keep it bonsai-like, but I have been scared to do it!

Cool project that I made at the scrapbook convention this weekend

I love the colors of the papers, and had fun putting it all together. It is now hanging in my hallway.

Seahawks

Imagine hearing this blasted at full volume while you and eighty thousand of your closest friends scream their heads off.

The music is Bittersweet Symphony, by the Verve. Without the lyrics, and with the bass pumped up, they start playing this for the Seahawk players to emerge from the tunnel.

They start up the song, a little slowed down. They they have an Auger hawk named Taima (local Native American word meaning Thunder) who flies out of the tunnel and lands on her trainer's outstretched (gloved) hand, to the roar of the crowd.

Then, the offense or defense (they alternate each game) comes running out all at once. Once they form a 'tunnel' of players, the remaining players are announced one by one, and each runs the gauntlet of players and gets everyone all pumped up. Generally, there is at least one player who comes out with a '12th man' flag and gets the crowd riled up. For those of you not in the know, the 12th man is something very special here in Seattle. Years ago, the number 12 jersey was retired from this team in honor of the fans--the 12th man. Today, we lead the league in total false starts for opponents in our stadium. The fans scream so loud, the offense can't hear the play call or the cadence and they jump early. There was some concern that this stadium wouldn't be nearly as loud as the Kingdome with it's enclosed roof, but we have proven that not to be an issue.

Oops......I did it again.

My hair is now the shortest it has been since I was a teenager. Not even bra-strap length. I got about 5 inches cut off, and some highlights added.

Unity is where we are headed....

I remember watching this live--the first time I ever heard this song. I remember the feelings of pride and unity I felt at this horrific time.

This song has always made me cry. Even thinking the lyrics in my head does it. And now I can play it again. I am proud of the decisions my country made yesterday. I am proud we looked at our country, and dedicated ourselves to making a change. I am proud to be an American.

Our election night

Pictures from my birth-control-weekend

I spent a lovely weekend in Redmond with the Fieros and Merritts, and here are the pictures to prove it! The kids were adorable and fun and loud and oh so cute and I enjoyed every minute of my brief stay. Payton helped me out especially on my way to the airport. Thanks, Payton!! You made my stay a success!!