Semi-Homemade with Debra Lee

Sandra Lee has nothing on me. I did my Christmas "baking" a few days ago. I do not enjoy the monotony of baking cookies but I like making them "pretty". So, I don't bake--I buy! I love dipping and decorating marshmallows, Oreos, Nutter Butters, and pretzels. And, my OCD won't let me have more than 4 treats decorated in the same way. Here are some of the plates I made up to give to friends and family.

Birthday Time

So, my niece and nephew turned 8 a couple weeks ago. I can't believe they are that old already. They wanted brisket for dinner ( they may have left Texas behind but not the good Texas BBQ). I made them an ice-cream cake for the family dinner and then the next day they had a friend party in the park behind their house. There was a bouncer, a ton of kids, and a precious photo cake.

This isn't the greatest picture but they got video game chairs and Kam really wanted Shel Silversteins' Where The Sidewalk Ends.

Here is their cake from Sam's Club. 1/2 boy and 1/2 girl with their picture on it. It was the greatest cake!

Jared the goof ball.

Kam and some friends on the bouncer/slide.

A New Twist

Alright, instead of sending this to my email friends I decided to just post it here. The ones that are bold are the things I have done. All you need to do is copy and paste this list in your blog and let everyone know how much more exciting your life is than mine.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band--in 4th or 5th Grade
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped--although it is last on my list of things to do before I die
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked--only because my tire blew, pre-cell phone era
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon--but I did a triathlon back in the day
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors--Springfield, IL and Mason, MI :-)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to the drive in
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving--see number 11
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Black Friday - aka Wal-mart Sucks!

So, we went out at 4:45 yesterday morning. Late for some people, but we have the mind-set that if we get the deals, great! If not, that's fine . . . they'll go on sale again. We hadn't been to Wal-Mart on Black Friday for a few years and now I know why. They suck! We got there at about 10 minutes til 5 and there were a crapload of people already there. The problem was in Wal-Mart's organization. They didn't know where the cameras were but they were going to print up twenty tickets to give to people to claim them later. However, there were well over 100 people in line for the camera. They only had 16 Nintendo DS bundles. The topper was that many of the people shopping at Wal-Mart were in FOUL moods. Mixed in with all of the KIDS there and it was no fun at all.
So, we cut our losses and headed to the new Super Target. It was a breath of fresh air. They had a nice line forming and we were handed a map of the store, indicating where certain items could be found. The Security team kept people from cutting our line when the doors opened and the employees and customers were in friendly moods. We got what we needed there and went on our merry way.
Eight and a half hours later, we were done! I didn't get all of my shopping done, but I made a good dent in it. I also got a lot of my mom's shopping done for her--it's always fun shopping with someone else's money!
Our best deals were at Bath and Body Works. I spent $46 and saved $110!!! I am so stocked up with Wall-Flowers now but you can't beat getting them for $5.
We already have our plans for next year. We will go to Target first and take our laptops to shop Wal-Mart online. Only 364 more days!

It's Official

OK, I am back on the Weight Watchers Wagon tomorrow! I even put a handy dandy little weight loss tracker on the side of the page. Hopefully, that butterfly will make his way across the daisies sooner rather than later.
I was going to start today BUT (you know there is always a but) one of my sweet students and her mom brought me lunch. Homemade rice, beef and tortillas. It was soooo good but so not a good choice. Oh well, at least I enjoyed it.
My devil's advocate (AKA Leslie) asked why I would try to lose weight during the Holidays. My answer is that if I don't try to lose, I will gain at least 15 by the New Year. Yikes!
So if anyone wants to say a prayer that I can stick with it, I would appreciate it.

Update: I have now removed the weight loss tracker because if you click on it you are taken to the site and it shows my starting weight. That is classified information!

Cruise

I finally got the pictures from our cruise onto my computer. And I'm also attempting my first slideshow--wish me luck!

Between the three cameras on our trip, I think we had about 300+ pictures. I made a 23 minute video slideshow for us but thought that was overkill for my blog. Enter Slide! I think I narrowed it down to about 24 pictures here. I hope you all enjoy.

Happy Fall

I guess that covers me in case I don't update until Thanksgiving. Not that I am a slacker on my blog or anything!

Here's what's been happening lately.

• We went on a cruise over Fall break. My parents had booked it for us over the summer and we went to Cabo San Lucas (beautiful) and Ensenada (yuck). We had such a good time and it was just what we needed after all the emotions of losing Gramps. We invited Grams to go with us but she thought it was just too soon and she wouldn't be able to enjoy herself. I guess that means we'll have to go again so that she can go. You gotta do what you gotta do. :-) I'm going to do a post with pictures as soon as I get them transferred over.
• We celebrated Grams' 81st birthday on Wednesday. We wanted to make it special for her and I think she had a good day. Her favorite part was the 97 cent blinking tiara that we gave her from Wal-Mart. She wore it all night!
• I have been on a non-stop eating binge for the last month. I wish that I was one of those people who don't eat when they are upset but, unfortunately, I am the opposite. We had so much funeral food and meals and they all included dessert! We were so blessed by so many people who provided for our family after Gramps' passing but I needed to practice some moderation. So . . . it is back on the bandwagon tomorrow! I may actually have to turn my blog into my accountability journal. Even if no one else is reading it, I would feel like I needed to make good choices if it was going to be posted. Anyone want to be my food accountability partner?