Pre Thanksgiving Party

We are lucky enough to share season tickets with Zach’s siblings and his parents again this year for the Jazz games.  This season one of the games we picked were the Jazz vs. Lakers.  Oh, the Lakers…the team we all love to hate.  The game was Wednesday night and you would NOT believe how many Laker fans come out of the woodwork.

Kobe himself – I have never seen him play in real life before.

Yes, we have matching jerseys.  We decided to make the investment because we will be attending a few more games this season.  And by investment I mean we spent $5 on XL child size jerseys with a player that just got traded.  We also felt like we were going to Sadie Hawkins – with the whole matching ensemble and everything.

I drove to work in a complete white-out this week – I couldn’t believe the snow!

Over the weekend we had plans to drive up to Zach’s cabin and stay with some friends, but our plans got canceled last minute.  So we improvised and decided to get some clam chowder at Market Street [as the storm continued] and catch a late movie.

The clam chowder was delicious – the movie? A little tip, perhaps:  NEVER go to a movie about a plane crash when you are about to board a plane in less than a week.  It was pretty intense.  We did run into some friends, however, and managed to sit next to them during the flick!  That was pretty much the only thing that wasn’t depressing about the film.

Saturday it continued to snow – and we awoke to this…

We attended a neighbor and friend’s baptism in the afternoon and then ran our errands afterwards while the snow took a short break.  I also completed all my neighbor Christmas gifts.  It is amazing how snow can get you into the holiday spirit!

That night, since we didn’t go to the cabin, my friends and I went out to dinner at Stoneground.  I love these ladies – some of my favorite people in the whole world!  It was so fun to be with them!

Sunday, since Zach and I will be gone over Thanksgiving, my family had an early Thanksgiving dinner for us!  There was everything – including pumpkin and apple pie for dessert!  We haven’t had an official Thanksgiving dinner in almost four years [because the holiday always ends up being on or near our anniversary] and we were so grateful to be with some family to celebrate the holiday early.

Even though there was a massive snow storm, some cancelled plans, and an epic stomach ache from consuming too much gravy and pie…this week was pretty great.  What are we thankful for?  To be blessed with amazing family and friends.

Girls’ Weekend in Costa Mesa

It’s tradition in the Henderson family that the men go on a hunting trip and the ladies go on a shopping trip.  Or as my sister-in-law puts it:  “The men hunt for elk, the women hunt for deals!”  For the past three years we have gone to Orange County and stayed at a hotel near the South Coast Plaza – probably one of the best malls on earth.  The have every store imaginable – and more!

I flew solo to meet my mother-in-law and sister-in-laws late Friday night.  But don’t worry, I had company:  Kris Jenner sat across the aisle from me.

Just kidding.  But seriously…doesn’t it look JUST like her?!  I did the unthinkable and stared at her over and over – each time my eyes lingering too long.

And for your convenience, a brief overview of our weekend:

Staying up late talking + watching coverage of the election

Haagen-Dazs visits

Lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe

Browsing through Madewell and Zara, two of my favorites!

Relaxing and reading a fantastic book – thanks for the recommendation Angie!

“Hunting” for the perfect pair of winter boots

Walking through some of my favorite furniture stores

Margherita Pizza

Sleeping in

Watching a movie in our hotel room

Purchasing my new favorite winter coat

 Overall, I’d say we got the “big one” when it comes to shopping and dealing.  I even got a picture to prove it…

I know, I failed at taking pictures this weekend – and the ones I did take are not flattering.

On our way home, my sister-in-law Kristi and I sat across from a man who would not stop picking his nose and eating his findings, scratching his manhood constantly – I retract that statement:  DIGGING is the more appropriate verb, and talking to himself in gibberish.  Holy cow.  I’ve joked with Zach about writing a book on air travel (the dos and don’ts), but after this incident I think it should be mandatory for every passenger to read before they board their aircraft.  It’s happening.  There will be a whole chapter on why bringing ethnic food on a long plane ride is totally inappropriate.  Also, a small chapter on basic hygiene to observe before leaving for the airport.

I had such a fantastic weekend with these ladies.  Good conversation, great food, amazing shopping skillz, and the best company.  I love them all so much!  Thank you Jeanene for a great weekend with fun and family – already can’t wait until next year!

 

 

Henderson Halloween

I’ll be honest – Halloween was not my favorite day this week.

Zach was finally coming home from Florida late afternoon Wed, and that was the only thing that was keeping me going through my work day.  Because work sucked.  It sucked so hardcore.  When 5:00 pm hit I finished up some pending tasks and then left the office.  Not even 15 minutes later, stopped [waiting my turn] at a stop sign – I got rear-ended.  I’m telling you, it was not my day.  Turns out this beautiful girl, who ran right into the back of my sweet Mazdarati, had been in another accident earlier this week.  I felt for her, seriously.  I have had my fair share of accidents in my short 9 years of driving history.  I was surprisingly calm, which shocked me because of the horrid day I had just experienced.

Then I arrived home.  I got to see my sweet husband – who assessed the damage immediately after giving me a big hug/kiss.  It instantly made my whole day better just to be with him.  I didn’t feel like going out anymore.  We had plans, but I begged Zach to cancel them and he obliged – so we ordered food, got in our sweats, and handed out candy to the darling trick-or-treaters while watching the Jazz game.

We barely had a handful of kiddies last year, and we weren’t prepared for this year’s turn-out.  We ran out of sugar sweets and started giving out snack packs of chips/Cheetos from our pantry.  Turns out pre-teens LOVE Cheetos, so that was a plus.

My favorite costume of the night?  Garret, our neighbor, in his T-Rex costume that he made himself out of cardboard and craft paint.  It was humongous and it had an ingenious design.  You stuck the candy in it’s mouth and it “swallowed” it into a pillow case of a stomach.  This kid is an artistic genius!

We didn’t dress up.  We didn’t attend any parties.  We didn’t even execute the elaborate spooky prank we had planned.  But after being apart from him for almost a week and a half (except a few days in between) – I was grateful to have him home.  So we were together, for the weirdest Halloween I can recall in my entire life and that was it.

Also, something that made me smile…only 15 more days until we leave for our anniversary trip.  I’ve never been more excited and grateful to see the month of November turn up!  Yes, we do lame count-downs on our kitchen chalkboard…