Black Friday

Black Friday is less than a week away and the sales are better than ever. Most stores already have most of their sales started or they are getting ready for them. I work at Justice and to night we are getting ready for Black Friday. We are resetting up the store in a different way so that shoppers will be able to find what they want faster and easier. I have gotten my schedule and this week I work on Black Friday from 8:00 to 3:30. We are having a pot luck and I am bringing a veggie tray. I can't wait for Black Friday to come. Usually we are at my grandparents house and so I have never gone to or done Black Friday before. I hope that after I am done working I can go shopping with my mom. I want to go to American Eagle and victoria Secret because I love their cloths. I also would like to go Christmas shopping and knock some of that out of the way.

Let me know if you have heard of any great deals and what stores they go with. Have you been Black Friday shopping before? Let me know if you liked it before or not. Also let me know what your strategy is for the best way to get the best deals. Thanks, Emily.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving is four days away. I can’t wait. My siblings and I are going to go up on Wednesday instead of Thursday, to help my grandma with the baking and cooking. I am going to bring up some of my yarn so that I can knit and I am also going to bring up a book that I have to read for school (it is called The Kite Runner). My grandpa is going to be coming to get us. When we get there we are going to start baking right away. (this means that we are going to make sure that we have all the ingredient for the stuff that is needed for Thursday. Then we are going to make the dishes that are able to be made before hand.) I’m very excited because my relatives (cousins, aunts, and uncles) are going to be there as well. Usually, we have my grandpa’s homemade fish and fries the day before for supper. The fish is really special because my grandpa is the one who catches them and freezes them for us. Also the fries are homemade by my grandpa which makes them special too. The next day everyone is up early and in my grandparents study talking. Earlier my grandpa, dad, and uncle started the turkey. My grandma has the coffee maker running 24/7. Everyone has at least two cups of coffee because later in the day everyone needs to be wide awake. We talk about what has happened since the last time we all saw each other. We also talk about what is coming up. I usually tell my family members about last years show choir and this years show choir (including what our songs are and I show them our dances-they are on a special youtube channel), and we talk about how school is going for everyone. 

Once we are all caught up, the women in the family go up stairs to start the cooking and baking. I usually start getting the tables set up (there are so many people that some we need three or four tables.) I then find the table cloths and put them on the tables. Next I look for the white, glass plates and the sliver ware. Once all of it is found I set up the table. I then fill us the glasses with ice water and give everyone (even the kids) a wine glass. (The kids have sparkling cider.) At this time everyone starts showing up. We all say hi and ask how it is going. Pretty soon it is one o’clock at it is time to sit down and eat. We are all conversing while we eat. Once everyone is done eating, the guys take the dishes to the dishwasher and clean the dishes. Once everyone is ready for desert I help my grandma by taking everyones orders, cutting the pies, and serving it. After this the neighbors go home and everyone continues talking. Later at night we play card games and eat left overs. 

All in all it is a great day.

What do you do for Thanksgiving? Who comes to town? Let me know. Thanks, Emily.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Dinner. The meal we look forward to all year. Everyone has their own traditions, but everyone has a turkey. In my family, my grandma makes a turkey, a ham, and little chickens for all of the kids, so everyone can have their pick of what they want. In our family my cousins are allergic to almost everything. They can't have dairy, eggs, flours, etc. so my grandma has to make double of everything. I love that she can do all of this for us. My grandma makes the traditional buns with butter (special buns and not real butter), gravy, cranberry cause, broccoli casserole ( this is my favorite part of the thanksgiving meal besides green bean casserole), green bean casserole (i usually make this), potatoes, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, a jello salad, and more. Since we have double of everything everyone has to help in the kitchen. In the kitchen everyone is scrabbling around trying to get their dishes sone. While this is going on my dad, grandpa, and uncle are making the turkey, ham, and little chickens. They have to wake up really early to start the meats. When the meats are done my grandpa takes them up stairs to be cut. during this time my siblings and I sneak into the kitchen to steal the juiciest pieces of the turkey and ham. For the deserts my mom is in charge. My mom has made pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and chocolate pie. This year I would like cherry pie, and peach pie included in the mix. (my cousins have their own chocolate pie that they make for themselves. For the pies we also make home-made whip cream. For drinks, people bring a sparkling sider for all of the kids. ( We usually need a bottle for each kid. All of them will be gone by the time the day is over.) My grandparents neighbors also come over. They each bring a desert or two with them to share. By the time lunch is over we usually have left overs. In years past, we usually eat the left overs for supper. I think that most of the left overs are better after they have been warmed up again. If there are any leftovers for the next day, my family will take it home and we will eat it throughout the next week.

Also if you would like to have my grandma make something special you have to call or text her a few days earlier and tell her about it. She will most likely make it if she has time. ( this is why you tell her a few days sooner, so that she can make time to make it.)

Extra Gum

Recently I was watching a TV show and during one of the breaks, an adorable commercial came on. It is called 'The Story of Sarah and Juan'.  It had a background song of 'Can't Help Falling in Love'. In this commercial a boy and girl meat in school and start dating. They go on dates, but then the girl has to travel away from her boyfriend for awhile. The boy and girl stay in touch and  when the girl gets back they reunite. The boy tells the girl to meet him at a restaurant. When she gets there she sees that this whole time that every time that she gives him a piece of Extra Gum, he would document what they were doing. He then framed each and everyone of them. In the very last frame it shows him proposing to her. This hadn't happened yet. So she started crying and when she turned around, she saw him on his knee holding a ring. (I know that the boy and girl have names, but I don't feel like putting them in at the moment.)
I love this commercial so much. I love the song they put with it. ( The song is sung beautifully by a girl) I think the best part of the commercial is when the boy is staring at him girlfriend. He looks at her so lovingly. It makes the whole commercial work. The commercial site is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLpDiIVX0Wo .
I also think that Extra Gum has other great commercials. I would watch all of their commercials at once if I could. They are all inspirational and fun to watch. I showed this commercial to my sister Anna, and she has been singing 'Can't Help Falling in Love' over and over again. From this I can tell that she likes the commercial too.
Do you have a favorite commercial? Please share it and tell me why you love it. Also include a link so that I can look it up too. Thanks, Emily

Ferugson

Recently, my family and I have moved into a rental house. One night we heard some meowing. My brother looks outside and sees this adorable cat. I of-course have this great idea of putting some cat food out for it. (we own a cat named Ripley) My sister Anna told me to call my mom to see what we could do to help it because it is a stray cat. So, I called my mom and she told me to give it food and water, but to not touch it because it might have a bad disease. My sister and I were watching the cat from the window right beside the door. It was so cute.
The following day there was a storm on the forecast. It was only my brother, Adam, and I home. It started to lightning outside. The stray cat was back and so I went outside to try and get in the garage. By this time it had started sprinkling out. The cat wouldn't get into the garage. I then called my mom who said that if it didn't want to go inside that I should just leave it. At that point I started to hear the tornado sirens. I run inside and get y brother, dog, and cat down stairs, hoping that the stray cat found a good place to stray during the storm. After the storm was over I went upstairs to see if the cat was ok. It was sitting outside the door waiting for us cold and wet. My mom got home five minutes later. We let the cat in the garage with some new food and water and some dry towels.
The next night the cat came back. My mom was home at the time, so she took a stick thing (it belonged to a dusting thing). She went out to the front stoop to see if it was a nice cat. The cat walked up to my mom and tried to rub up against my mom. It just wanted love and a family. My mom used the duster thing to scratch the cat. It was rubbing against the stick, scratching itself. I gave it more food and water also. My siblings and I asked my mom if we could keep it. She said that she would schedule a vet appointment. The rest of the night my family and I were trying to think of named for the stray. Minki was thrown out there and dumped into the garbage. I remembered the name Ferguson from 'New Girl'. Everyone liked it. (If it was a girl it would have been Fergi, but I saw that it was a boy cat.)
So far we have a vet appointment on Tuesday and Ferguson is currently making his home in our garage.
Ferguson is not afraid of our dog, Clover. Through the glass, Ferguson will walk up to Clover and paw at the glass. We are going to have Ferguson declawed so that he will not hurt anyone acciedntily while he is playing around. So far, Ferguson is far more playful than Ripley. Ripley lays around all day sleeping, eating, and pooping. When ever we have bought Ripley toys, he hasn't played with them. So far, from what I have seen with Ferguson, he is way more playful. I am very exited that I finally get to buy fun new toys and play with my cat, Ferguson!
Let me know what you think of taking a cat or dog in. If you have, can I have some pointers? I can't wait to add an addition to our family. Thanks, Emily.

American Idol Finale

Can you believe that the year is finally here? It is American Idols last year. I was/am so sad to hear this. I remember when I was little, my mom and I would sit and watch this at night together on the couch. I would always tell my mom that I want to try out for American Idol. Its fascinated me. I thought it was so cool. My favorite judge was Simon. I thought he was the best because he was the hardest to impress and if you could impress Simon, you must have been amazing. I also think that if you make it through American Idol you could do anything.

One of my favorite seasons was the one where Adam Lambert won. I thought that it was awesome that he won because he was a little different than the other contestants. He is also one of my favorite singers still. My favorite song that he has song was ‘Mad World’. He had performed this during one of his performances on American Idol. ( We did this song for show choir last year and I loved it)

I am sad that this is the last season. I wish they would keep producing the show for a few more years. Every year I look forward to watching it with my mom and two sisters, Anna and Ella. My brother Adam also likes to watch American Idol with us too.

Do you watch American Idol with your family? What was your favorite season and who won? Why did you like that season? Would you like the producers of American Idol to keep making a few more seasons of American Idol? Please let me know. Thanks, Emily.

Fall Cloths

I absolutely love fall cloths. It is the time of year where you can wear a light jacket, adorable sweaters, leggings, jeans, long sleeved shirts, and adorable dress with tights.

I love wearing boots. They come in all shapes and sizes. You can wear combat boots, high heeled boots, knee tall boots, ankle boots and more. There are also the cute boot socks that I love wearing because they are cute yet warm at the same time. You can also wear either a cute skirt, dress, or skinny jeans.

It is also the time that you can wear sweaters every day and no one can judge you. I like the big wool sweaters that hang on you a little. They are warm and come in awesome new patterns and colors. I love the day in school when everyone gets to wear an ugly sweater to school. For winter shopping my mom and I will get so many sweaters that our closet overflows with them. The only bad thing about sweaters is that you can’t wash them a lot otherwise they get bally. Usually at this time you have to throw the sweater away because they no longer look good.

I also love wearing scarves. They come in infinity scarves, outside scarves, and more. The can be more for looks or more for warmth. My mom, sister Anna, and I combined have over forty scarves.

Fall is also the time that you can wear dresses with tights. They keep you a little warmer and they look really good on you.

Let me know what your favorite season is and why. Also let me know what you like to wear in your favorite season and Fall (unless Fall is your favorite season). Thanks, Emily.

Kitting Ideas

Kitting time everyone. If you don't know how to knit ask some one, look it up on YouTube, anything. It is fun to do to pass the time, for Christmas gifts, for yourself to keep you warm, etc.
I have made scarves for my American girl dolls before (back when I still use to play with them), scarves for myself and scarves for other people.
This year I plan on making a green or red sweater for my cat Ripley (he has a Santa bread attached to a red Santa hat that he wears. So he will be even more like Santa.). A few scarves for myself, a couple hats and mittens, and a couple scarves for other people for Christmas.
My friends and I have knitting parties together, that consist of us getting together, eating snacks, watching a Christmas movie, and knitting.

My mom is the one who taught me how to knit. A few years ago my mom sat down with my sister Anna and I and had shown us a few basic stitches. From then we have taught ourselves a few more stitches. Now my youngest sister Ella can also knit. On Sunday mornings, we will come down stairs in front of the fire, all curled up, drinking hot cocoa, while watching Christmas shows on Hallmark, knitting.

You can also give people a knitting set as a gift for Christmas.

Let me know what you like to knit. If you have any patterns that you would like me to try let me know. Thanks, Emily.

Family Photos

Halloween has past. Thanksgiving is only 18 days way and Christmas is 28 days after that. The year is almost over. Right now fall is slowly transitioning into the winter season and this means family photos. My mom is obsessed with photography. So, every year she makes my family and I stand out in the freezing cold to get a family picture.

In the past years my mom has bought huge plastic blow up earths that all four of us kids have held up (we wore blue shirts, jeans, and white hats and gloves. It was in the middle of winter. There was snow on the ground and by the time everyone had gotten back inside we all looked like Rudolph with a red nose.), huge light up candy canes (at this time we had our dog Clover who wore a red scarf, the kids wore a grey shirt, jeans, and red hats, scarfs, and gloves. It was also the middle of winter. ) Another year we were in Texas so my family and I had to improvise and make a snowman out of sand. (I can't remember what we wore that year.)

A few times my grandparents have taken family photos with us also. My mom will usually hire a photographer because it is easier. We also had brought our dog out with us the few times that we have done this.

A few times we have gone to a studio called Kliks. If we had gone there we would get to bring our cat Ripley and our dog Clover with us. ( I always got to hold our cat Ripley because he was too scared to be held by anyone else.)

We have also gone to a park in Marion, Iowa. It is beautiful out there when the leaves are just starting to fall. We have used both my moms camera and a photographer when we have gone out there. There is a certain bridge in the park that I love to have my photo taken on.

Most of the time we use my moms camera. She is an amazing photographer even if she doesn't think so. She has bought a special long lens that she uses for the family photos. With the photos that she prints she puts in her scrapebooks. She has so many scrapebooks that I have lost count. She decorates the page and when it is finally done we start into the Thanksgiving/Christmas spirit.

This year my mom has decided that we are going to take the photos in our backyard of our house that we are building. It is basically a field with beautiful trees in the background. For our outfits we have gone with the colors white, brown, and black. I am wearing a brown turtleneck, a multicolored brown and black scarf, a cute brown button down high-waisted skirt, black tights, and black high heeled ankle boots. My little sister, Ella, wore a brown flower lace shirt with a fuzzy brown and white mixed fur vest. She wore black pants and brown boots. My brother, Adam, wore a dark brown sweater with jeans and brown shoes. My other sister, Anna, wore a white long sleeved shirt with brown stretchy pants and adorable light brown high heeled ankle boots. My mom wore a white shirt with a brown sweater over it, black pants, and black boots. My dad wore a brown and white plaid shirt with a brown sweater over it, jeans and brown shoes. We got individuals of the kids, my mom and dad together, the kids together, my mom and I, my mom and my sister, and my whole family and I together. I was a bit chilly, but was fun over all.

Let me know if you take family photos, have taken family photos are are going to take family photos this year. What are you going to wear, where are you going to take them. Thanks, Emily.