#30!!!

This, ladies and gentlemen, is post number thirty for the month of November. As you can see by the fancy, flashy, shiny new badge on the left side of my post.

Right here
<----
No, down a bit more.

Isn't it fun?! And kind of snarky/sarcastic?! Love it.

I also love that I made it to the end of the month with 30 posts! I didn't quite get one posted every day but I doubled up several days to make up for it. 30 posts, 30 days. Never done before by this blog.

I hope you've enjoyed them! Some were silly and done with very little effort and some of them meant a lot. This one, too. And this one, definitely.

I don't think I could have done it without blogging pressure (only the good kind, of course) from Debbi, Amerika, Jenn and Eric. It really is true it's easier to do things with others. There were quite a few other people doing NaBloPoMo and I hope there are even more if we do it in February!

Edited to add: my friend Megan in Japan was just 5 posts away! So close!
And another Megan (in Lawrence) was part of the fun, too.

But can you believe it? December is tomorrow. TOMORROW!

What I'm excited about in December:

• my goal of commenting more on other blogs
• working on my own website (this is a maybe or a Jan/Feb sort of thing- my computer access is limited in a few weeks)
• spending Christmas with this goofy guy
• the first snow fall (I LIKE snow. Don't hate.)
• holiday baking fest 2010
• hopefully, a possible job interview (my grandma and I keep dreaming about it - that's gotta mean something, right?!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Writing from my grandma's kitchen in Des Moines. I just helped her with the turkey and it is now in the oven. Drinking some coffee and looking through the ads (stack is twice as large as the actual paper). I don't think I can actually afford anything but hoping to get an idea of what to get my Dad for Christmas. He's always the hardest to shop for. I can never tell if he likes what I get him. He should be over soon to my grandma's soon and we'll start the other food for our planned 3:30 feast.

Did I mention the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade is on?

Turkey, parade, cold weather. I'm a fan of tradition. Especially when so many people across the country are doing the same thing.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend! Happy Thanksgiving!

Gift time!

I love giving gifts. I especially love finding a gift I know is perfect for someone.

This year, I hope the majority of my holiday gifts come from these places:

http://www.charitablegiftgiving.com/

or

http://coolpeoplecare.org/

or

http://www.lawrence.com/news/2010/nov/18/need-presents-try-some-lawrence-originals-and-give/
Most of my family is in Iowa so I think bringing some local Lawrence wine (Holy Field) or treats is unique, too. Something they don't get everyday.

or anything on etsy.com. Anything there is going to be unique and I like the idea of supporting someone making their own creations and doing their own thing.

Another addition: I just discovered LOLA. Their Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=136574016393582

Veterans Day

Stopped by Hy-Vee this morning before work to get some breakfast and lunch for the office this week.
They had a sign up that they would be offering veterans free breakfast on Veterans Day (tomorrow).

I kept looking at the sign as I walked towards the entrance and thought, "huh, I really like that".

It seemed simple and I couldn't quite place my approval of this offer on anything in particular. Later in the morning it hit me. This wasn't a Hy-Vee junk food extravaganza in which all junk food is 50% off for everyone.* It's a meal. On Veterans Day. To honor VETERANS for their service. Why do all the other places have "SALES" for everyone on a day when we should be thanking our veterans?  We don't.

So please "other stores". Stop using Veterans Day as a sales gimmick. It's rather distasteful.

Nice work, Hy-Vee.

B

*As far as I know, there has never been a junk food extravaganza at Hy-Vee. I just made that up for dramatic effect.

edited to add: