Where have I been ??

I have just completed two weeks of busyness that is finally over.  I had a women's group meeting that I planned and led.  We made Christmas tree ornaments and in order to save time I did all the prep work which took a few days.  I prepared a meal of homemade baked macaroni and cheese, salad and pumpkin streusel coffee cake to a group of around 25 people and then I took the remaining food to elderly members of our church.  There have been committee meetings at church to attend and plan.  I have filled in at the library when some employees had to be gone.  I'm trying to look back over the past two weeks and there were more activities that I took part in and it was two weeks of rushing and definitely over the top things to get done..

I attended a seminar at our local County Extension office on healthy meals in minutes and I am now attempting to cut the sodium in my diet and am going to make as many things as practical from scratch.  And then there was yesterday at noon when all my commitments ended and I got to go with my husband to Des Moines to Living History Farms for him to pick up his race packet for a cross country race that he is running right now.  A fun drive of 1 hour, just him and I, talking and enjoying each other's uninterrupted conversation and then a nice lunch in at the "Machine Shed" restaurant.  Then it was off to browse books at Barnes and Noble.  

Barnes and Noble is one of those places that have happy memories for our family.  About twice a year we would take a Saturday and drive to Des Moines to Barnes and Noble.  That was back when I was working and with two incomes it was nothing for us to spend at least $200 for our fill of books.  When we walked into Barnes and Noble yesterday I instantly was taken aback by the sudden happiness I was feeling.  It was the music, the displays of books and the smell of coffee and treats.  There is just something about it.  I looked at several books, making a list of several, so I could check and see if our library (yes the one that I now work at on Saturday afternoons) carries any of the titles.  It was an enjoyable hour of nostalgia and then it was time to get on the road and get home to feed our dogs.  

But wait, there's more.  My youngest son and I decided at 8:00 p.m. last night to drive around our community stopping at every convenience and grocery store looking for Twinkies.  With the Hostess company going bankrupt and with the good possibility that Twinkies will no longer be made, we decided that we needed one last Twinkie.  We were able to find two packages at our last stop.  Now, I haven't had a Twinkie in years because they are junk food and high in calories, but I just had to have one last one as a remembrance of my childhood.  So, we each had a package and we went home to eat them.  I have to say that they must have tasted better when I was a kid because I could have easily stopped after one bite.  Then I remembered that when I was a kid my mom couldn't afford the real Twinkies and we bought a cheaper competitor's brand that is still now being produced, which tastes better.  Oh well, it was fun to drive around in my husband's truck with my 19 year old son on a quest for Twinkies.

Now, it's over.  

I have the next 5 days to get ready for Thanksgiving and I have 5 weeks to prepare for Christmas.  I have already purchased 2 turkeys for the holidays.  A few good deals were to be found this week adn I have purchased nearly everything I need for baking goodies.  I need a sale on M & M's and then I am set to bake.  

I don't know how I did it, but I effectively got my schedule cleared in order to have time to prepare and celebrate the upcoming holidays AND BLOG!!!!!