The Shafferland Shuffle

Greetings from a very decked and happy Shafferland!! Hope you've had a good week - and hope you're recovering from the turkey/carb/dessert overload of the week! Here's a look at what we've been up to this week.

* I awakened last Sunday morning to find that someone had been supplementing the décor in our home. (Or else the spaghetti squash came to life overnight. I'm not sure which.) Ha! We weren't sure if Ryan's mom would be coming back to stay with us that evening (after a weekend at home) or if she would come on Monday, so that afternoon, we hurried to finish decorating the house for Christmas. We had just finished when she called to say she'd just be staying at home, and the family had come up with a rotation of people to help stay with her. So I guess we didn't need to hurry, but we were glad to have the decorating done.

* One of our friends stopped by on Monday with a big batch of Scotcharoos (or as Ryan calls them: smoochies) for us. She wanted us to feel loved in the midst of our caretaking duties, and even though they had just ended, she still let us have the treats. She ended up staying for lunch with us, which I loved! That evening, Ryan got to kick back on the couch for the first time in a couple of weeks, and he was so happy to relax! I was busy in the kitchen - making a trifle for his work Thanksgiving lunch.

* Tuesday was the aforementioned work Thanksgiving lunch. Ryan got the turkey leg. LOL! He was pretty excited about that. We went to his mom's house that night to see her and take the remainder of her things that were still at our house. Ryan's brother and his family were there when we arrived, so I ended up hanging out with the kids, helping to build a Lego ambulance. Believe it or not, this was my first time to build with Legos. Yes. I am 40.

* I had a hard time getting motivated on Wednesday. I tried to crank out the work, but there was also a lot of coffee and Hallmarking happening. :) I worked out that night and DETERMINED to complete three miles, even though I wanted to quit after one. I had told my sister I was running three, so I stuck with it JUST so I could send her this picture. Whatever works, right? Braeya? No three miles for her. She's found her little Christmas nest. This is where she spends most of her time now.

* Thursday was Thanksgiving, which you already read about. A busy day with stops at three gatherings! We started out at my parents' house for lunch, stopped by to visit some friends at their Thanksgiving, and ended the day at Ryan's extended family extravaganza. It was a good Thanksgiving!

* Ryan had Friday off work, and we actually had a FREE day. What?!!?!?!? We don't do Black Friday shopping on account of my fear of being trampled by overzealous bargain-hunters, but we did wait until the afternoon (when we hoped crowds would have died down a bit) and headed out in search of a few deals. (And we found some!) Then we went to the Carmel Christkindlmarkt (more on this later) for a date! It was our first time to go, and we had a fun time.

* Ryan worked yesterday...and so did I! I have a big writing project due soon, so I worked on it...along with the help of my trusty sidekick, Miss Phoebe. She stayed with us for just a few hours yesterday. When Ryan got home from work, he assembled the impromptu Black Friday decoration deal we found, and our house looks even more festive now. If we lived in Florida, I'd be sitting on the sidewalk staring at it with adoration. A good way to wrap up the week!