A looooooooooooooong weekend!

S and I took the Amtrak up to Fullerton CA where her fam was having the gathering.

Big nice house, nice yard and a bunch of people. Most of the people were relatives, but there were also some friends.

I sat with the ladies from El Salvador because I think they're fun and funny. I think one is in her 70's and the other in her 60's. When they clicked into speaking Spanish, I was actually able to get the gist of what they were saying. One time though, just for humor's sake, I exclaimed, "did you just tell me to shut up?!" We all laughed.

Having taken the train, we were on a schedule; that's a good thing. That way it is easy to not overstay the visit or have super long goodbyes. This family has very very long goodbyes.

It was great! With our full bellies, we sat on the train for about two hours and headed back to SD.

I set my alarm for 4am Friday! Can you believe it? My neighbor/friend and her Mom in law had planned on being at the early sale and I decided to go with them. I had no great plans for purchase; I just wanted the experience. I had thought about doing it in past years, but never did. We were there at 4:30 and the line was already wrapped around the parking lot.

Chik Fil-A is smart because they took food and coffee out to the line and were selling it. Later they gave the food away; that's when I got some of course. They also gave out coupons for later.

Inside the store, which really didn't take long, it was crowded. Luckily there were not any fights. My neighbor was not able to get her t.v. because some people were buying 15 at a time. I, however, purchased an off brand portable DVD player for $68 and a toaster oven which I was going to get anyway turned out to be $8.77 less than I thought. The DVD player also connects to the t.v. so I have a two in one there.

Now, being in the mood to shop, I told S I was going to Target and the grocery store. I ended up buying the cable I needed for the DVD player to connect to the t.v. , a headphone splitter and some games that S expressed earlier she might be willing to play. I had fun, came home (decided to go to grocery store later) and told S that it's Christmas now - Why wrap the games? S will be away (for an acupuncture course) for a week, so we're not getting a tree yet; by the time she comes back, we may not see a reason for it. We'll see.

Happy HOLIDAYS!

Monday Madness on MONDAY!

1. I have little or no patience when it comes to ............. too many things, but I try to let it go when stupid people are bugging me because no good comes from getting all riled up.

2. I wish I could spend more time ...... sorry, I don't have a great answer for this; my life is pretty good.

3. The most productive thing I accomplished this past weekend was cooking dinner - yup I cooked rice and salmon. I'm actually more productive during the week than on weekends.

4. The most enjoyable thing I did this weekend was eat the dinner I cooked. The simplest things in life please me most.

5. I've always wanted to learn how to ...... I wouldn't say I've always wanted to, but I do still want to learn to speak Spanish fluently.

6. If money weren't an issue, I'd buy a Honda Element tomorrow and my Timberline geodesic dome home the next day.

7. I blog because I can..................... mostly because I think it's a good way for people who care to keep track of me and my life.

I don't ever watch extreme home makeover; I watched it a few times in the past, but now I change the channel as soon as it begins because I don't want to be discouraged in applying on Mom's behalf. I haven't done anything because I've been slowly but surely taking care of other business. I still believe there is a possibility that we could get it; I just need to write my one page reason very carefully. I have been thinking about that a lot. I've thought about beginning it something like this..... This is a simple story of life, love and death. Once I get that done, I will figure out what to do about the video.

It's Thursday already and here is my Monday Madness!
choose a letter of the alphabet and answer each of the following with a word/group of words that begins with the letter you've chosen...

1. Name one color. Blue
2. Name one song. Bad Moon Rising
3. Name one movie. Benny and Joon - I enjoyed that movie
4. Name one vehicle. Bug! you know the VW Beetle
5. Name one food. Bug! just kidding okay for real now - Burger
6. Name one household item. Blender - I love a good blender
7. Name one book. Bible comes to mind; I even tried to read it a few times - I have two or three versions. One was given to me by a nun, another is like a simple version and the other? Maybe i'll try to read it again.

It's Wednesday, but I'm doing Monday Madness!

Sometimes I wish I could just......fly around in the air like a butterfly (not a bird because that would be too high and scary.) I imagine it feels similar to swimming, so perhaps I should just go swimming?

2. If I could take a long weekend visiting friends and family every weekend, I'd be very happy.

3. The world would be a better place if more people would "just say what you mean, don't mean what you say!" Tell it like it is! Call a spade a spade. There's nothing wrong with being literal.

4. One of my greatest qualities is my straight forwardness. but is it?

5. The one thing about me that I need to work on is procrastination -Just Do It!

6. Happiness is doing what you love!

so.......................... I missed a few episodes of The Apprentice - Martha Stewart when it conflicted with Lost. I later discovered that I could catch the show the following day on the other NBC (cable.) As soon as I discover that I can watch both shows, Lost plays reruns in no logical order! Is Lost lost? Are they helping Martha out? What's up with Lost?

Tonight's episode of Martha was great! I'm enjoying this Apprentice better than Trumps.

While I was attending GSU (Georgia Southern University), I actually wrote a paper about "the Donald." I earned an A of course.

Monday Madness ..............

1. Name 1 comedy movie you've seen. Strangely, I don't generally pay the big bucks for comedies; rented from the cable company though - "Meet the Fockers."

2. Name 2 black and white films you remember seeing. Ummmmmmmmmmmm can't think of any.

3. Name 3 dramas you thought were worth watching. I have a hard time flashing back to movies that I've seen, because I generally watch them for the moment's entertainment. Many are worth watching, but you're not missing out big if you don't see them . Rowanda was good - that one sticks out a bit.

4. Name 4 television shows you watch on a regular (or semi-regular) basis. Apprentice - Martha which this season, I think is better than Trump's. Apprentice - Trump, Lost (currently my favorite show even though they frustrate me.), and I am still faithful to The amazing race.

5. Name 5 things that, in your opinion, are advertised on television too frequently. Food, drink, sundries, cars and lawyers - everything really!