Our weekend has been okay. We intended to stay home, but somehow we ended up here in Fairfield, visiting with my parents. Friday night we just hung out at home....watching TV and doing not much of anything. it was nice to be lazy, especially since i felt crummy. oh, and we bought a movie off pay-per-view.....so we all watched 'Journey to the center of the Earth'......not bad. The kids liked the dinosaurs and the other strange animals. I'm thinking I should read that book one of these days! So that was Friday.
Saturday, I had to go to the dentist, which is always fun. Note to self: don't break a crown and you won't have to have it replaced! :P Thankfully I'd gone through all the miserable parts, so this was a quick visit.....Karl got to take all the kids to swimming lessons in Alton. As soon as I was done, I went down there to meet them. It was so hot in the swimming pool area, we abandoned our seats for the comfort of the lobby and played out there with Zach and then Matthew and Zach once Alaina's class started. After swimming, we went to Steak N Shake for lunch, as cheesy fries are a Herman 5th food group! After a yummy lunch (milkshakes and cheese fries......so healthy!) we went to the mall for a little retail therapy for me.
I had a crummy week. CRUMMY. I'm past the initial shock of the whole reassignment thing at work and now I've moved on to the hurt/bitterness stage. BUT, I've decided to just do what I can to find a job in another department. I've applied for 8 openings already, and my boss said she'd contact the hiring managers for me. So I'm fairly optimistic about finding another job before January. What I'm afraid of is not liking where I end up. I've been in departments where there's nobody under the age of 40 and everybody has a chip on their shoulder about something. *sigh*.....I'm going to really miss the guys I work with now. So pray for me, friends! Say a quick prayer that I land on my feet in a fun group where I'm not stuck mucking through paperwork for the Department of Defense....BAH!
oh, and while I'm asking for prayers, keep my SIL Stacy in mind as well.....she had an even worse week than moi, as she found out Wednesday that she was fired. No severance, and the boss is probably going to fight her on drawing unemployment. BOO! :*( So if anybody has any leads for a graphic designer to find a job quick-like in St. Louis, let me know! What a way to start off the holiday season, huh?
So anyways, back to my retail therapy. Karl, my fashion-conscious hubby, had a coupon to Macy's, so we hit their sales. I wanted a dress for Christmas for me and for Alaina. I'd found the boys matching sweater-vest outfits at Target, so I was hoping for something to match/compliment their outfits (since I always like to TRY to match for pictures).......I didn't find any dresses I liked since I already have 4 black dresses, and seriously, how many more black dresses does a gal need? I didn't want black! But I did find a skirt and a sweater I liked, so I got those.....then we went to the girls' section and Alaina went nuts........and I gotta hand it to the marketing geniuses here.....they definitely pulled one over on the parents this time...
In the girls' section, they had some dresses on this one rack (which of course was more expensive than others) that had a matching American Girl doll dress attached to it. Seriously, how smart is that? The INSTANT Alaina saw those matching doll dresses, she was sold. Forget all the other frilly/sparkly dresses on the next rack....she HAD to have a dress that had a matching one for her doll. HAD TO. And I'm a sucker for giving my daughter what she wants, and Karl's an even bigger sucker, so she got the dress...........she's ecstatic.
Then we had to head to another store at the mall to continue the quest for a dress for me. I didn't want black.....I didn't want red. For holiday dresses, that eliminated 99% of the choices! Sheesh! I must be the oddball that doesn't want a red dress at Christmas! I found a blue one, tried it on, and that's the one i got. So now our family won't really MATCH, but we won't look completely stupid. I hope.
oh, funny sidestory from our trip to the mall.....I was either still browsing the racks or dealing with the kids, 'cuz Karl was doing the paying (I tend to chicken out when totals come across the screen and put everything back....Karl, however, just pays the bill......he's good to take shopping for that exact reason!)......and halfway through the checkout procedure, the cashier looks at him and says, "your name is Karl Herman?"...and Karl's like, 'yes....'.......and she started freaking out saying, "Oh My God, this is SO WIERD!"........at the register right next to Karl was another guy making a purchase, and his name was Herman Karl. Yeah. The irony confounds the mind, doesn't it? So Karl Herman went over and introduced himself to Herman Karl.......everybody found it ridiculously funny.........when Karl told me later on what had happened, I just started humming the theme to "it's a small world".........
oh, and we also went to another store in the mall where I bought more clothes I really didn't NEED....but I got a couple cute tops, one of which I'll be wearing to the New Kids on the Block concert tomorrow night........yes, that's right......my new top will TOTALLY catch the attention of my longtime crush, DONNIE WAHLBERG! OH YEAH! I got a couple new pairs of jeans and a pair of pants for work....and then decided that since I don't absolutely, positively have a job after the end of the year, I should probably curtain the unecessary spending for one day! :P
After my shopping spree, we headed home....and having talked off and on all day about it, decided to drive out to Fairfield to visit my parents. Saturday night was the congregation's annual Turkey Supper, so that was one reason to come out and visit........the other reason was that the following day, Sunday, was going to be a special service up at Brush Creek for my uncle Bill and aunt Lill Caudle. And we kinda thought we should be there for it. So after quickly packing, we headed off to Fairfield.
We got into town to catch the tail end of the turkey supper, so our dinner was turkey and all the trimmings...the kids weren't thrilled except for the pumpkin pie! then we went back to my parents' house and hung out. I sent Karl to walmart (which happens every time we visit since I ALWAYS forget SOMETHING) for cold meds and pantyhose......we just hung out here and talked with my parents. We stayed up pretty late talking and then everybody went to bed.....Zach didn't sleep much...he kept hollering for me in the night (all 3 of them were in the living room on the sleeper sofa....the arrangement didn't work out so well), so I think I got up probably 5 or 6 times to deal with him.....so I basically got zero sleep!
This morning, we had to carefully orchestrate bathroom time, as my parents new house only has 1 bathroom! Once we were all ready, we loaded up and headed to Brush Creek for services. Gosh I miss going to Brush Creek more often! I'm really thinking we should try to make it up there for reunion this summer......cross your fingers I get a cool boss so it's a possibility! We had our service to honor uncle Bill and aunt Lill....then they had potluck afterwards. I met a few relatives I didn't recognize....saw a few cousins I don't ever get to see....introduced my kids to some kids of cousins (which would make them something insane like 6th or 7th cousins I think if we did the math).......The kids went and ran off outside to play on the playground they just built......it was FREEZING outside, so I'm sure they'll all be sick by morning! I went outside and took some pictures of the campground since I haven't been up there in awhile....adn I don't recall ever taking pictures in the fall of the lake, etc. Then we headed back here to hang out again at my parents' house. They're sitting around now talking, and I'm sitting here blogging........we're going to order some pizza for dinner and then we'll head home. uncle bill and aunt lill are supposed to show up for dinner........so my grand plans for getting the hallway floor done ain't happening this weekend at all! But that's okay, we've had a fun weekend anyways.
And now, lemme see what pages I've done this week for posting.....
Here's Matthew's Halloween costume and class party one.....made using one of Sya's new templates, from her November Grab bag. He was Darth Vader, obviously:
And Alaina was a Pirate Princess....
And this is of the kids trick or treating... with another of Sya's templates:
The other day, everybody was outside while I was in the kitchen and I heard Karl laughing and hollering at me to "come look at this!".....I went into the garage and found Matthew underneath one of the Power Wheels pretending to work on it like a mechanic.....
And this is in honor of Napoleon Dynamite......Karl convinced Matthew to take a 'sweet jump' with his bike......the first one, which was pretty low, wasn't too hard and he did just fine....then Karl raised the ramp up a little higher....and the result was pretty disastrous, just like in the film! And us rotten parents were laughing ourselves silly....Karl had the video camera going and I was taking pictures.......Matthew's on the ground crying and we're laughing. We're such rotten parents sometimes, but GOSH that was FUNNY! This was again with one of Sya's templates from her November grab bag:
These last two are from our UK trip this past summer....I'm nowhere near done scrapping this, but I hadn't done any pages in awhile, and I decided to go through Mrs. Pohlman's pictures that she'd taken and given us copies of....and I came across this one of me and Karl in our wool hats that we bought in Blarney (I'm thinking I'll be wearing my hat this week as it's turned FREEZING here overnight it seems!)....this is using one of Sya's older templates ("the chosen one") and Vicki's new kit, "Enchanted Forest".....I'm trying to multitask my CT duties here! :P
And this is of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We didn't go to the 'main' area where they do the big dog and pony show....this was at some side entrance. I'm glad we weren't late, 'cuz the whole thing was over in like 5 mintues! It was neat to see though....they're very regimented, as all military are......the kids just loved those "fuzzy hats"!!! I used Sya's template "Totally square" for this one, but moved stuff around so much I dunno how much it resembles the original anymore!
And lastly my blessing for the week.....in honor of what has transpired this week....I chose my right to vote as my blessing. I did this layout before the election results were known, as I didn't want my journaling to be skewed with who ended up winning....and I was nice and gave equal space (well, almost equal) to the McCain/Palin logo even.....but anyways...it's the RIGHT to vote that was the blessing....not who was running!
Journaling: "Today we make History... I’m blessed to be an American. I’m priviledged to have the right to vote...to have my voice heard at each election I choose to participate in. Voting is important, and this year it’s more important thanever. This year we have the opportunity to be a part of history. We will elect either the first African-American President, or the first female Vice President. That is huge for our country, and I’m so happy to have a part in the whole process. My great-grandmother never had the right to vote...I do. So in her honor and for all the women who wanted to vote but were never allowed....and for all the soldiers who have died to defend our freedom to vote...and for my children who will live with the consequences of my vote, I voted today. I made my choice and my voice was heard."
so that's it for now....hope everybody had a great weekend.....I'm off to find some more cough drops! Tomorrow night, it's NKOTB in St. Louis! My SIL Nicole and her friend Emily are headed down and we're going to have a tug-of-war over the rights to swoon over Donnie! We all went to the Madonna concert together up in Chicago a couple weeks ago and had a great time, so tomorrow night should be fun! Can't wait! If I manage to sneak a camera in, I'll post pics in a few days.......TTYL!
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