Prep Work for Cold Days and Nights

So firewood at the stores is expensive. We saw a small bundle at HEB of about 6 small logs for $3.99. Wow! Thank goodness Tony's parents have land and have been chopping wood for us to have this winter.

When we went to have Thanksgiving with them Tony loaded up his truck and we brought it home yesterday. Today was the day to unload and we made a pretty good team.

Here it is in the truck.

Tony would bring it in the wheelbarrow like so:

Action shot so of course I like them blurry...

Then he'd dump them here:

My job was to stack them up away from the wood on our home so that hopefully if there are any termite buggies they won't find a new home in our home.

I think I did a pretty good job of stacking. I made it all the way to the last load before some tumbled but it was a quick fix. As soon as we finished it started to pour. The first cold front is supposed to come in tonight and from the sound of the pouring rain outside I think it's here. The good thing about a fireplace is it helps save you money on those cold winter days versus cranking up the heater. So you know we'll be having some fires going in this casa.

I really can't stay.....but baby it's cold outside....I got to go away....but baby it's cold outside... :)

The Reason They Call It Black Friday

Blurry, just like my eyes at this time.

You may have heard that Tony and I really, really wanted a new flat screen for our bedroom. We saved for it and agreed this would be our Christmas gift to each other this year. Ever since we got the Black Beauty in the living room my heart skips a beat when I pass its brothers and sisters at Best Buy or Sears. I'm in love with flat screens and I don't care who knows it!

So we decided this was the year we were going to fight the crowds and the darkness of morning to get the best deal for the TV we wanted. Of course there was lots of research online, price comparisons at stores the weeks before the actual sale, and all the other stuff that goes into making a large purchase in the Estes household.

So we set our alarm to 2:50 and I cried tears of exhaustion when it went off. We stumbled out of bed and into warm sweats and got in the car to head to Best Buy for its 5 am opening. As we were driving to the store we laughed at two scenarios: 1. no one being there at 3 am and 2. everyone in the city of Pflugerville there and waiting. What we saw was a happy medium.

Me thinking ok, a few people in front, not so bad...

This was the side of Best Buy when we showed up at 3am. Clearly some had been there overnight to get the first few spots.

At first it wasn't so cold. But the longer we waited (2 whole hours standing in line!) the chillier it got. I said a bunch of prayers for the homeless people out there because by the end of it I had lost feeling in my left pointer finger and I realized that even though it wasn't very cold the longer you're out there the more of a chill you get.

By 4:45 this was the line behind us. CRAZY!

As the doors opened we ran straight to our baby. We were able to get about a 40% discount off of the original price and that made us very happy!

Here she is about 5 minutes after being plugged in. She's a beauty! Also, here's a picture of Einstein bundled up in Tony's lap as he wraps a few Christmas presents.

Oh and one of Dwight on our new TV.

Christmas Time in the City...

Or the suburbs...

So yes, I'm aware that we've become one of those couples that crosses the line of decorating before the official time. We couldn't stand it though! Our friends Katy and Grant live behind us and last week we peeked out our back window and saw they had their Christmas tree up. Of course it got us in the spirit. So on Sunday after a lazy nap, Tony and I went up to the attic and brought out all the Christmas stuff we own.

Banister before...

Garland before...

Banister and garland after. This was an afternoon shot but it looks absolutely gorgeous at night! We're still not done putting the finishing touches on the garland because we want to put some red bows on it but this is a good start.

Living room window before...

With tree and lights...

Finished minus a star on top and a tree skirt.

Side view...

My view from the couch after a long day of work.

Tony's view from his side of the couch. Yes, Einstein has had a haircut since this picture. Poor guy could barely see under his eyebrows.

Of course you can see I'm also checking out new recipes while this picture was being taken. I'm hoping to try out a few new ones in the next few weeks so I'll post what I find. We also put up another larger tree in the office but I didn't get pictures of that one yet because it's really in the beginning stages of being finished. When we're finished with all the decorations I take some new pictures, but for now hopefully this is enough to get you in the holiday spirit! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

p.s. no clue why it decided to underline half of what I typed!

Babies, Bumps and Bottles

It's been a loooooong time!

A few Saturdays ago I helped host a baby shower for our good friend Laura. Laura is due in December (hopefully Christmas day!) and she and I used to work together (sadness in the "used to" part...but moving on.) We had a little trio last year with our friend Mary Ruth but that member sadly broke our hearts and moved away to be a good wife. To the tune of Frosty the Snowman I like to sing "She'll be back again somedaaayyy..."

Anyway, Mary Ruth surprised her and flew in from Virginia to be at the shower! And of course in the midst of the craziness of getting things ready, I didn't have time to delete pictures from my camera to make room for new ones. So unfortunately these are the only ones I got...not even a group picture of us! Just an excuse to see each other again soon I guess!

Some fall flowers and decorations for the day!

I wanted to get a picture of all the pretty food but the doorbell started ringing and it was a lost cause. By the time I had a chance to take a picture the food was half gone!

The one picture of Mary Ruth in it and she's looking out the window!

Lastly, the two baby bumps at the shower. Teeny tiny mommas!

It was a fun day and I'm so glad we got to see everyone! We finished the night with a trip to Trudy's which was delicious! We can't wait to meet baby Landon!