Thanksgiving is finished. Thank goodness/ and here come the holidays...
I hope that I can be sensible around the black friday frenzy. My plan is to record my spending, to go shopping with a friend (most of my crazy shopping is done by myself) and to stop early for some exercise.
This holiday has been a little different without my Dad. He'd been gone (except for his sweet nature) for almost 5 years with his encroaching dementia. I'm sure he's some place with lots of fishing, lots of good food, Where old guys can tell wild stories on the bank of a river where no one's back hurts...Not too bad a place to go when you're tired.

Thank goodness the weather settled down a little. I'm home from work and enjoying fishsticks and wine. Fishsticks in their many forms are my favorite kind of junk food. These were waiting in the freezer after being picked up from our local grocery outlet. Wine from there too.
I'm attempting to clean out the pantry and freezer to prepare for the new year. I'll have to find recipes for canned beans, olives, hotdogs and lots of chicken parts. The focus for the next week will be the turkey defrosting in the refrigerator. The plan is to cook the bird this week-end and have thanksgiving in 2 session- this Sunday and again on Thursday. I have all food for the sides stockpiled over the last week. I was actually able to use a few coupons other than the ones that the grocery stores have in their weekly flyers.
update:
**got 60 minutes of cardio tonight after work, running around the lake.
**got the thank you notes out
**scheduled dental appt-- next opening was 1/20/10
Friday-
1. deposit reconveyance refund check (we're still not sure what it means- but it must have come from the HELOC)
2. 60 min cardio
3. schedule car maintenance-ouch
4. look for change
5. clean out hygiene products we'll never use

My entry last night didn't go through because of the storm. Internet reception is poor at my house in the best circumstances-- but apparently something about the wind, power outage and sheets of rain affected my coverage.
So the update:
**bought stamps to send out thank you cards, almost $8.00
**didn't get 60 min of cardio--
**spent $11.00 at Goodwill-- prices there are getting too high( almost new pair of running shoes, nine west jacket)
**made dinner by candlelight(thank goodness for a gas stove, woodstove and city water. About 2 years ago our neighborhood was able to get a grant to upgrade our failing water system)