Christmas Elf or Christmas Maid

Today while I was instant messaging with my sister, she asked if I could send my Christmas Elf to her house.  What?!  Are you kidding me?  Heck no!  I let my sister know that my favorite Christmas Elf and I were very busy.  Today of course is "Clean the House Thursday" and you can never miss "Clean the House Thursday". It must happen.  And who was by my side all day long? My Christmas Elf of course!  She is the very best assistant anyone could every ask for.  She is filled with Christmas happiness and smiles all day long. We were having a good time cleaning the house together. Well I mean - as good of a time as you can have while vacuuming, making beds, dusting and cleaning.  Well my sister offered to have MY Christmas Elf go to her house. IN VERMONT!  She tried to BRIBE my Christmas Elf!  She promised my elf cookies!  She promised my elf presents!  She promised my elf homemade mints! She also promised my elf that she would be treated like a princess with NO WORK AT ALL! She asked me, "What is your daughter? A Christmas Elf or a Christmas Maid!?"  I said, "BOTH OF COURSE!"  Who doesn't love a Christmas helper!? I relayed my sister's invitation to my daughter and thankfully, despite all the puppy work and cleaning work and Christmas work.....my elf is happy right here at Yesteryear Acres. Whew!  I am so glad because Saturday is cookie day!  My elf loves to bake!!!! I love my Christmas Elf!!!!!

We are getting there!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was definitely a get it done kind of day and today was more of the same!  Christmas progress is happening.  Despite the 1,000,000 interruptions to  our perfectly laid out plan - things are finally moving towards Christmas Happiness! Mr. Yesteryear Acres got our beautiful deer with white lights out in the backyard and now whenever I look out my window I see my little deer grazing in the grass. I love that.  We have bows and ribbons hung and I think there just may be a Santa Claus in every room!  I believe by Saturday the Yesteryear Acres Christmas bake-a-thon can begin which of course means CHRISTMAS COOKIES!!!!  Oh I can't wait for that day! I love Christmas!

Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care

Our Christmas tree. Every ornament a beautiful memory.

I love our tree with all the lights twinkling

My favorite Christmas Elf. 

She is Christmas to me!

Mistletoe - Yesteryear Acres style!

5 days, 20 hours, 22 minutes and 31 seconds until Santa comes!

The Really Cool People

I was told that the cool people put their tree up on Monday but the REALLY cool people put their tree up on Tuesday.  My goal of course is to be REALLY cool and so just in order to satisfy the cool requirement....TODAY is put the tree up day! Yesterday, unbeknownst to me was "have the internet server station crash and be on the phone with technical support for hours only to find out it is a server outage and then have no internet until 4pm making me crazy because how can I update my website day".  Yesterday was also, "Why do all electronics hate me day" and "The end of the Survivor Finale did not record day" and "Mr. Yesteryear Acres will spend 6 hours at Urgent Care for a seriously infected knee day". It was definitely a NONE OF THIS is on my list day. I didn't even eat dinner last night until 9:30pm.  Monday was not funday.  Today is already MUCH better and this morning we began decorating our tree. We had the Christmas music playing and our spirits were merry and bright and by tonight we will have our Living Room officially ready for Christmas.

Here's my favorite Christmas Elf making Christmas happen

And of course we always have doodle help in all that we do.....

Never forgetting our soldiers who keep us safe even through the holidays. 

We can't wait for the day ours can come home. 

Christmas Puppy Pictures

Happy One Week Until Christmas!!!!!!  Look at our holiday cuties.....

Is Santa here yet?!

Do I have to share?

Okay....I'll share

I'll have an eggnog please!

"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth"

"All I want for Christmas....Is You!"

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

"On the Sixth Day of Christmas, My True Love Sent To Me

Six Pups a-laying"

"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas....."

Happy One Week Until Christmas!

Put the tree up day

Today - no matter what - is put the tree up day.  This is our ONLY thing we MUST do today.  We have a definitive timeline where the tree will be put in the living room and will be fully decorated.  We will not deviate from this plan. So far my day has been filled with a sliding adjustment of the tree schedule.  At first it was... if we start the tree by 9am and we take 3 hours to decorate the tree - we will be done by lunch!!!!  PERFECT!  Then morning work took much longer than anticipated and a few doodle doggies needed some baths and we had other doodle doggie and puppy things to do.  So then it was clearly - if we start the tree by noon and we take 3 hours to decorate the tree- we will be done by 3:00pm!  But then we were hungry and needed lunch and as soon as we were done with lunch, Mr. Yesteryear Acres called us outside to help fix the well.

As if fixing the well was on my very scheduled very important PUT THE TREE UP DAY list.  So obviously after we worked on the well it became - if we start the tree at 3:00 and it takes 3 hours to decorate the tree - we will be done before dinner!  But then I had to start the homemade chicken noodle soup and I had to bake a loaf of bread which made it - if we start the tree at 4:00 and we take TWO hours to decorate the tree- we will still be done by dinner! But then my son needed help studying for exams and Mr. Yesteryear Acres needed help with wiring.  So now it is 5:30 and the tree hasn't been started so clearly it has become

If we start the tree after dinner

and we take all night to decorate it

when the sun rises in the morning.....

we will be done.

Making a list - checking it twice

Whose list is long for the Christmas Must-Do things? I mean seriously - have you ever stopped to think about just how many things we must get done in order to make the magic of the season happen? The magic of the season is ..... that we get it all done! I have such a long list of things to get done within the next 10 days! Or should I say NINE DAYS!  For all of you that are ALL done with everything Christmas and everything Holiday - that is awesome. I am so proud of you.  I rejoice in your ability to rock out the Holiday season all month long. In fact, I wish I were one of you.  I wish that on December 1st that my house was all decorated, my tree twinkling with bright tiny white lights, my Christmas gifts all wrapped, my stocking hung by the Chimney with care......but......I am not that person.  I am the person that cares for doodle doggies all day long.  I am the person that is up early and goes to bed late and has a full schedule and has to somehow squeeze an extra 2 weeks of work into the month of December just to make the magic happen. So right now, I am making a list and checking it twice.  Calmly.  I am not at all worried. I am not at all thinking that I have to.....
Unpack all the Christmas boxes from the attic
Clean the house
Decorate the house
Put up the tree
Decorate the tree
Wrap all the presents
Bake
Cook
Bake
Cook
and Bake some more
Did I mention Bake?
And of course have it all done swiftly so that my work is merely effortless and magical. Mr. Yesteryear Acres said, "If you aren't short on sleep, overworked, too much to get done and if you don't have wrapping paper tape stuck all over you - it isn't Christmas!" Guess I am doing it right!

All I can do is cry

As I sat eating my lunch today and watched the horrific events of the Connecticut school shooting unfold, I sat and cried. I could not stop crying for the longest time.  I am just horrified at the very thought.  I can't imagine how scared those little children were. I think of an elementary school filled with little kids full of Christmas happiness and goodness and innocence and then having someone come and end that.  I can't imagine anyone filled with that much hatred that would choose to kill little innocent children. My heart cries out to those parents who lost their children.  Every single one must have sent their child to school this morning thinking that it was just an ordinary Friday. Just an ordinary day right before the holidays with nothing too significant or important about it.  And then they got the call. I am filled with tears for each and every one of them.  I can't imagine the depths of their despair.  I can't imagine how scared all the children were who witnessed that tragedy. The whole thing is just unbelievably heartbreaking. Hug your loved ones a little closer tonight. Tell them you love them.  Tell them how lucky you are to have them in your life.  Never let a moment go by without realizing how precious life is and be thankful for every moment you are given.

Just a Little off the Top

Today I noticed that one of my doodle doggies couldn't see very well.  Her hair had grown too long and was hanging in her eyes.  I quickly grabbed my scissors and trimmed around her eyes.  There.  Much better.  Now she can see! Then I thought, "Hmmmmmmmmm now I think her top knot is just a bit too tall and long. "  So I trimmed the hair all around the top of her head.  PERFECT!  She looks great! "Hmmmmmmmm now her beard looks way too long".   So of course I trimmed that.  Then "Hmmmmm now her head looks WAY too small for her body".  So I started trimming her coat.  And trimming. And trimming. Then her back looked great but the hair on her stomach was way too long. So I started trimming some more.  And more. And more.  Then of course, the hair on her legs was WAY too long for the rest of her and she looked like she was wearing sherpa boots so I started trimming her legs which made her feet look gigantic dust mops so I had to trim her feet. 2 hours later.............ACK!  I have a naked doodle!  Poor doodle doggie.  I called my daughter who said, "WAH!  WHY DID YOU MAKE HER NAKED FOR CHRISTMAS?"  What could I say?   So I began, "Well the doodle doggie couldn't see, so I trimmed her eyes....... You know.....  If You Give A Mouse A Cookie......but with Doodle hair!!!!! Hey at least now the muddy brown doodle paw prints are MUCH smaller! Just a little off the top! Perfect!

12-12-12

Today is a once in a lifetime event!  It is 12-12-12. The last of its kind for our lifetime.  All day yesterday I wondered how to celebrate such an auspicious occasion.  I wondered what to write about for my blog.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres suggested we celebrate the halfway mark - 12 days into December.....12 days until Christmas Eve. He even sang, "On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me".  He is full of the Christmas spirit.  He whistles and sings Christmas songs all day long and promptly starts the non-stop Christmas music the second Thanksgiving is over.  Our puppies know the words to every Christmas carol.  I am definitely NOT allowed to switch the radio station as it is Christmas music all day - every day.  As I was preparing to write today's blog I saw my friend post  "12-12-12 Count Dozens of Blessings Today".  The second I saw that - I knew that was exactly how I wanted to spend my 12-12-12.
So my one dozen blessings for today:

12. Doodle Doggies and Doodle Puppies - Puppy snuggles are always a blessing and so are my doodle doggie families and friends.

11. The lovely view out my back door - I have the prettiest back yard ever and the prettiest house ever.  I love Yesteryear Acres.

10. My fresh veggies from the garden - all that hard work will be SO enjoyed all winter long.

9.  My Christmas Shopping is done - YEA! Now the wrapping begins!

8.  Our Christmas Tree - it is a tree of family love. Every ornament is a heart felt smile of memories.

7.  My daily video from my younger daughter - she makes me laugh every day

6.  The fact that all three of my kids still like to talk to me.....even my big tall son.  I KNOW how fortunate I am to have 3 grown children that still talk to me about anything and everything.

5.  Christmas GOODIES! - mmmmm fudge, cookies, candy.  Christmas Happiness right there!!!! I LOVE CHRISTMAS GOODIES!

4.  The love of my family - they complete me.

3.  My Midmom friends - I would be so lost without them!

2.  My children - I love them to the depths of my soul.

1.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres - totally self explanatory - We loved with a love that was more than love.  ~Edgar Allan Poe

I hope you have dozens and dozens of blessings on your 12-12-12!

See what I did there?

I AM SO POWERFUL!!!! I never knew I possessed such awesome and amazing powers but....I.............MADE............IT.............SNOW! Merely two short days ago I remarked how there were no "I am dreaming of a BROWN Christmas" songs and then this morning.....VOILA!!!! SNOW!  Now it wasn't a snowstorm.  It was even an accumulating snow.  But it was snow.  I saw at least 100 snowflakes!  I ran to the window with my face pressed against the glass and yelled, "IT'S SNOWING!"  I was a like a little kid on a snow day from school.  I ran outside and watched the few flakes fall from the sky.  It was a beautiful sight. I then called my daughter at school and told her that I MADE IT SNOW!  She was emphatic that I in fact did NOT make it snow but right as she was saying that......SNOW FELL FROM THE SKY!  It was a great moment.  There she was on the phone telling me, there is no snow, I did not make it snow and VOILA!  Snowflakes fell at that very moment. She felt them on her face.  She got maybe 5 snowflakes but they were there! There is hope!  There is hope for a White Christmas but even if it is not a White Christmas, maybe, just maybe, it won't be a brown Christmas.  Snowmen, snow ice cream, ice skating, sleigh rides, icicles, frosted windowpanes, Silver Bells, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!!!!!!!  Come on - everyone - let's do the Christmas Snow Dance!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bring on the SNOW!

Snuggle Buddy

One of the very best things about raising puppies is that you always have a snuggle buddy. You always have a constant companion AND your constant companion has a happy wagging tail! Puppies are simply love in a furry package.
Here are some of our lovebugs

"I find that my paws stay clean if I stand on Mr. Yesteryear Acres feet"

"I totally know how to work the camera"

"Dear Santa......Can I have a bone for Christmas?"

"Ahhhhhh. This snuggle buddy is JUST RIGHT!"

zzzzzz Visions of Sugar Plums......

I had someone remark that our chocolate double doodle is a little camera shy.  Here is this week's best picture of Mr. Chocolate Boy.  He is REALLY working the camera! Ha ha ha

"I hate mornings"

"Do what I do.....Hit the snooze!"

Happy Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not a Snowstorm but.......

Every April we have what we have endearingly termed "Mud Season".  You know the adage - "April Showers bring..."  Here at Yesteryear Acres April Showers bring MUD.  Lots and Lots of Mud.
Mud + Doodle Doggies = MORE MUD.
It is a full onslaught of mud season.  Muddy paws, muddy kitchen, muddy pants, muddy shoes, muddy doodle doggie legs.  We have come to accept that Mud Season comes without fail every spring.  We may even go as far as to embrace Mud Season as it prepares our garden for a bountiful planting season.  What we are not prepared to embrace however is MUDDY CHRISTMAS.  I have never heard a Christmas song with the word "BROWN" or "MUD" or "DRIPPING MUDDY DOODLE DOGGIES THAT USED TO BE WHITE BUT ARE NOW CHOCOLATE" on the radio EVER.  It is all "White Christmas" and "FROSTY the SNOWman" and "Let it SNOW, Let it SNOW, Let it SNOW".  Nowhere is MUD mentioned.  Looking out my window, all I see is RAIN and MUD.  It has been raining here forever.  I mean the weather isn't at all Christmaslike.  It isn't particularly cold. It definitely isn't frosty. And in NO WAY is it white.  Not at all.  You have to watch every step outside because the mud is so slippery and we all know that last year I slipped in the mud and BROKE my ankle!  I do NOT want a repeat!!!!!  I walk like a very old woman outside placing each step precisely with care, for fear that I will slip down mud mountain and end up on crutches again.  sigh.  I am not saying I want a blizzard, not a snowstorm but...how about some snow.  And more snow.  And cold.  And more snow after that.  Okay.  Okay. I AM asking for a snowstorm!  I am dreaming of a White Christmas! AND I am going to use the MUDDY weather as a definitive and accepted excuse as to why all my Christmas decorations are still in the attic. I have to make that mud good for something!!!!!

WALK FOR THE COOKIE!

I admit it.  I AM COOKIE MONSTER.   I love cookies.  I love them so much! If I were at a fancy restaurant and they had some to die for 7 layer chocolate ganache cake OR a plate of cookies......cookies would win! I could eat cookies for breakfast (Not that I would know that a molasses cookie and a cup of coffee are HEAVENLY together), for lunch, for snack, for dinner and of course for late night snack.  Mmmmm. COOKIES!  What is the very very very BEST thing about the Holiday Season?????? YES!  IT IS ALMOST COOKIE TIME!  I am already planning on my festive cookie eating. My favorite Christmas Cookies are Mexican Wedding Cake cookies. A dear friend of mine always use to make me a gigantic tin of them for Christmas. I looked forward to that gift every year! I would savor each delectable bite! I also am very fond of
Iced Christmas Cookies
Snickers Cookies
Cracker Cookies
Raspberry Filled Cookies
Snickerdoodle Cookies
Toffee Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Molasses Oatmeal Cookies
Turtle Cookies
as well as
EVERY OTHER KIND OF COOKIE!!!!
See? I wasn't kidding.  In preparation what is soon to be my most favorite festive Christmas cookie eating ritual, I am doubling down on my treadmill efforts.  Whenever I feel like taking a day off, I think, "WALK FOR THE COOKIE! WALK FOR THE COOKIE!" It is a great motivator.  So today, in the dreary rainy no cookie in sight kind of day.... "I WILL WALK FOR THE COOKIE!' Cookie Season is ALMOST HERE!

December 7th

Today is a day to honor the men and women who bravely served our country 71 years ago and faced the horrors of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I am sure many of them awoke on that quiet Sunday morning thinking that it would be a day just like any day.  Little did they know it would be a date that would live in infamy. It is crucial to never forget what happened that day.  It is vital to honor the memory of those that served, those that said goodbye to loved ones, those that didn't survive. I think about that.  About how tragedy often strikes with no warning, no time for preparation, no last minute to do those things you always wished you could do.  I am sure many servicemen and servicewomen think of that as well. No one is guaranteed endless tomorrrows.  No one is guaranteed the same ole same ole will always apply. Never hesitate to let those you love know how much they mean to you.  Never push off important dreams and aspirations.  Live every day to its fullest.  Be grateful for all your blessings. Life flies by in a blink of an eye and every day is a precious gift. And remember to thank those that serve. Your freedom is because of their sacrifices. December 7th, Pearl Harbor, Never Forgotten.

Scaramouche Scaramouche! You are Welcome!

I am often afflicted with the "THAT SONG IS STUCK IN MY HEAD" syndrome.  It isn't so bad when let's say Jack Johnson is stuck in my head.  I rather enjoy hearing him over and over.  The reality is that it is hardly ever Jack Johnson or Ben Taylor or something I really love. The song that will inevitably be stuck in my head will be a jingle from a Check Cashing or insurance commercial or a single line from a song that will repeat itself over and over over in my brain.  I have suffered from this affliction all my life.  This past Thanksgiving break my younger daughter took it upon herself to play a OH SO FUN game with me and get Bohemian Rhapsody stuck in my head.  Why Bohemian Rhapsody? I HAVE NO IDEA! We were in the kitchen cooking all day and she would randomly sing lines from the song, and then I retaliated with my lines and then it was her turn and so forth.  Our entire cooking day sounded something like this:
"Mama just killed a man"
"Anyway the wind blows"
"Easy come, easy go"
"Thunderbolt and Lightning, very very frightning ME"
and of course we both had to throw in
"Bismillah! No we will not let you go!"
This went on all day. We cooked and Bohemian Rhapsodied each other until it was time for bed. Just this week, I FINALLY got rid of the song and as it was oddly replaced by Bare Naked Ladies singing "Chickity China the Chinese Chicken" again and again.  Thank goodness I am watchin X-Files with no lights on, dans la maison! So last night my daughter sent me an email.
The subject: Mommy I can't wait to see you!
And when I opened the email....
yes you guessed it
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality.
Open your eyes, Look up to the skies and see,
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,
Because I'm easy come, easy go, Little high, little low,
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me.


Oh she is sooooooo funny. So of COURSE IT IS STUCK IN MY HEAD AGAIN!  My retaliation?  Oh yes.  I just sent her a video of me....singing Bohemian Rhapsody to her.  I know she will just love it!
Scaramouche Scaramouche will you do the fandango
and for all of you tortured by this same affliction
"Nothing Really Matters.  Anyone can see.  Nothing Really Matters,
Nothing Really Matters........
to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"
You are welcome!

Exciting Dinner Conversations

Oh my - our dinner conversations here at Yesteryear Acres are SO exciting!  As soon as my daughters left after Thanksgiving break the dinner conversations have just become more and more riveting.  I do NOT miss my daughters AT all as I am completely enthralled by our evening topics of discussion. When my daughters were home we talked about boring things like what's happening on our favorite TV shows and shopping and fashion and catching up on life and our favorite memories and future plans.  Now that my daughters are gone - boring discussions such as those are a thing of the past.  Just tonight I sat and listened to a 30 minute discussion on the ERG valve repair in my son's diesel truck.  GASP!  I know you had to sit down over the excitement of that one!  O-rings, gaskets, wire brushes for cleaning....the thrilling nature of this discussion cannot be overrated.  That was only slightly more interesting than the other night's talk over torque power, how many hay bales our trailer can hold and/or the cutting blade length of the mower deck.  How I can just sit all night and listen to them talk about the towing capacity of a trailer. It is better than the movies!  The only thing better than our dinner discussions is our nightly ritual of looking up gasoline and diesel prices to see who has the best price. The anticipation that builds to see just WHO has the best gas prices - oh my...that experience is priceless.  Dear daughters, I am not at all counting the days until you come home for Christmas break.  I am so content sitting here listening to Mr. Yesteryear Acres and your brother talk about the 7-pin connector for a whoozywhatzit for the dieselfluxcapacitorrealtrucksdon'thavesparkplugs.  Simply riveting.

Command and Control Officer in the House!

Today the long awaited news arrived!  My daughter found out her MOS for the Marine Corps.  MOS stands for Military Occupational Specialty which is basically the job she will hold for the Marine Corps after she graduates from TBS in January. I have literally been sitting by my computer with my phone by my side all day long.  Of course I wore all my Marine Corps gear today to be sure to bring good luck to the MOS assignment. My son likes to remind me that wearing my Marine Corps gear has absolutely NO bearing on how well my daughter will fare but I say he is wrong.  The day my daughter was being gassed with gas grenades - I wore my Marine Corps gear and she made it. When she slept out in the open field for an entire week with no rain gear, no sleeping bag, no comforts whatsoever, I wore my Marine Corps gear. When my daughter had to face the 15 mile hump in full gear (weighing around 100lbs) I wore all my Marine Corps gear and did she pass? OF COURSE!  Obviously my Marine Corps gear is the ticket to her success!  It is so obvious! I don't know why my son can't see it.  When he came home from school he took one look at me in my Marine Corps gear and said, "You know that does NOTHING!" but we all know he is wrong.  So today, I sat, in full Marine Corps gear and waited for the call.  Such agony!  Even though my daughter said she was so glad to be a Marine that she would gladly take any MOS, I knew that she had a few that she was really hoping for.  Finally the call arrived.  She will now be a Command and Control Officer for the United States Marine Corps.  It was her second choice and she is really happy.  I am too.  It makes her graduation from TBS at the end of January that much closer.  Way to go my 2nd Lieutenant! I am so proud of you!  Command and Control Officer!  PROUD DAY!

Happy First Monday of December!

Happy First Monday of December! Monday can only mean one thing......PUPPY PICTURES!  Here are our first December puppy update photos....

Scarlet and McGyver have awesome big butterball babies! 

They are so big and fluffy!

They have huge blocky heads and sweet tender hearts

They melt when you pick them up. Awwwww.

Our rainbow litter of double doodle puppies are so adorable

You can already see little crinkle curly coats on the new babies

Our red caramel babies are doing great

They love to snuggle in big puppy piles

Puppy Pyramid of Love!

HAPPY Monday!

The Magic of Videos

Every day I have a smile waiting for me on my phone.  A guaranteed huge smile mixed in with a laugh or two.  My younger daughter and I have been sharing videos back and forth to one another.  She started the whole thing by sending me this hysterical video of her doing one of my suggested workouts.  I returned the favor by sending her a video of me attempting a difficult workout. This began our whole sending each other videos every day which has made the distance between us shrink considerably.  I send her videos from the doggies, from Mr. Yesteryear Acres, from her brother.  Nothing special.  Nothing planned.  Just hey - look what we are doing now kind of things.  By the way, her doggie Penny is VERY good at sending videos.  Mostly Penny sends them from her doggie bed that is nestled next to the radiator.  Penny says things like, "Life is SO tough around here!"  Blossom has been known to send a video or two as well.  Blossom mostly says, "Uh Where are my ice cubes?"  I have to say that my daughter's idea of a video every day has made our time apart so much better!  We plan to keep it up while she is in Europe studying next semester.  With the big timezone difference - I will be able to wake up in the morning and find a video waiting for me with half  of her day's adventures already on it.  When she wakes up she can see all the happenings from the day before at home.  The magic of videos.....guaranteed smiles all day long!

Happy December 1st!

At exactly 12:00:00am Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I received a text from our younger daughter, "Happy December First!" Yes.  Our daughter won the Happy December First contest.  She even added in Christmas Trees, Snowmen and Snowflake emoticons to her text. Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I just laughed.  We had both been trying to win this month's Christmas Happy First Day of the Month and our daughter beat us both.  We are officially ready to start the holiday season.  So Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I told our son that tonight WE ARE GOING OUT.  My son about fell out of his chair.  "You and Dad are GOING OUT?!! As in leaving the house together?  As in on a DATE?"  You can see how often we go out.  It is earth shattering stuff here.  Then my son asked, "Where are you going? Are you going out to dinner? A movie?" No. No. No. No.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I are going to not only ONE but TWO Home Improvement stores!  And then we are going to Walmart!"  Man.  Are we living on the edge or what?  Mr. Yesteryear Acres actually referred to our outing as a date.  TWO HOME IMPROVEMENT STORES!  TWO!  Can you imagine my overwhelmingly enthusiastic reaction?  I am so lucky.  Maybe I will get to stand in the nuts and bolts section for hours while he finds just the right fitting!  OH MY! I wonder what I should wear?!  I better get busy finding JUST the right outfit. I want to look especially nice for our December Date night!!!!! With any luck we will have dinner early - like by 7:00pm and then, we will be off.  Date night at Lowe's AND Home Depot.  I am living the dream!!!!! I better start getting ready now!!!!!