Menu Plan Monday: Dec. 7th

I'm a little bit late posting my Menu Plan this week. I've had the menu done since Saturday, but sometimes, life just gets in the way! And it's still Monday, so I guess I'm not that late.

So here we go... it'll be a simple week. Lots of favorites, and nothing out of the ordinary.

Monday: Baked Haddock, Rice, Corn
Tuesday: DIY Night (track practice)
Wednesday: Ham Steak and Baked Mac 'n Cheese
Thursday: Make your own Pizza night
Friday: Potato Soup
Saturday: Boyd's Holiday Party

As always, please check out Organizing Junkie for more great Menu Planning ideas!

In other news, I think winter is here. We were on our 285th day in a row with less than 1" of snow. Which is quite the record for Syracuse, NY! But I think that's about to change. It's snowing right now. The photo above was just taken in our front yard. I'm not sure if we'll get an inch of snow tonight... but I would be willing to bet, that by the end of the week, we will be buried with snow. (It's going to snow everyday from now until April... mark my words!)

Yesterday, Eric and Kelsey put together a Gingerbread house. I think they had a nice time doing the project together.

Didn't it turn out really cute?! Looks good enough to eat!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Eric is very excited about Christmas! And for our beautifully decorated tree...

I added the ribbon this year as an extra finishing touch.

Last night Alex and I went to the SU / Maine basketball game at the Carrier Dome.

We had a great time... it was quite the blow-out. But it was still fun to watch.

Final score was 101-55.

Oh, Christmas Tree

Our glorious 9' tall Christmas tree has been assembled (by Eric) and has been lit (by me and Eric).

And it now awaits the decoration process. Which will most likely get done this weekend. Does everyone have their tree up yet??

Tis the Season

I've started to decorate the house for Christmas. I picked up a few new decorations this year...

This cute snowman was given to me by my neighbor Judy before I moved here. Isn't he adorable? I forgot to put him out last year, but found him in a box over the summer. So it's kind of like he's new, right?

Paula gave me this cute Christmas Tree candle for my birthday. I can't wait to light it and enjoy Christmas scent. (Since our tree is 'artificial', anything will help!)

I bought this Snowman on Black Friday when I went shopping with my mom at TJ Maxx. He didn't have a price tag, so we convinced the store clerk that he was really cheap... and she believed us. So he's now mine.

And this cute snowman was also purchased on Black Friday. At Jo-Ann Fabric. He was 50% off to begin with and we had a 20% off coupon on top of that. I couldn't leave him there!

We're planning on putting up the 9' tree this weekend. Well, I'm planning on it... and I'm hoping the rest of the family will help! It's an awfully big tree...

Practice at Manley

This evening I took Alex up to his first practice at Manley Field House at the S.U. campus. He joined the Syracuse Chargers Track Club and they had their first practice tonight. They hold an informal practice once a week and have a meet once a month. It's a great program - for all ages. (I know, I know... I should join too... )

I was very impressed with the facility. I used to run at the Field House at the University of Maine and this facility is huge compared to that one. I love how open everything is. The pictures don't really do it justice. So you'll have to take my word for it! I tried to piece a few photos together to show how big it is.

I loved the seats above the track. (Alex is the one running in the yellow shirt.)

After his practice, we walked around the Carmelo Anthony Basketball Center. It's attached to Manley Field House. It was pretty impressive.

I think Alex is getting pretty tired of me taking pictures of him... but I couldn't resist! I think that giant "S" would look great in his S.U. room.

Scenes from a Flea Market

Today was my parents' last day in town, so we did what they love to do most. We went to the Regional Flea Market. It's a weekly, year-round, indoor-outdoor flea market. And this being almost the last day of November, you'd think it would only have been an indoor flea market. But because the weather was beautiful (for Nov. 29th in Syracuse) it was both inside and out!

This is my dad's favorite beer. Or is it just a beer named after my dad?

This was an interesting box of old treasures.

This was the "find" of the day. Dad thought it was quite amusing. You'll have to click on the photo to see what it is. (And no, he didn't buy it!)

It's not a flea market without fried dough and (good) coffee!

And apparently the flea market is the home of the 2nd Best Meatballs in Syracuse! Who knew!?

But the best reason on earth to go to the Regional Market are these little donuts... Mmmm!

Up Next: Christmas

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I can start thinking about Christmas! I refuse to start decorating, shopping, or listening to Christmas music before or even during Thanksgiving. Once it's over however, I'm all about Christmas.

My parents have been visiting since Thursday and we've been doing lots of shopping during the last 2 days. Today we stopped at Chuck Hafner's in N. Syracuse for some Christmas wreaths. I hadn't been to the new Hafner's before today... it's gigantic!

They have hundreds of decorated Christmas trees inside.

That you are allowed to "undress" as you like. (aka: buy the ornaments on the trees).

They have thousands of decorations too.

And of course poinsettias. (And trees and wreaths and garland... and any other Christmas decoration you can think of!)

They also had some colorful artificial trees. I think Kelsey would like one of the pink ones.

Personally, I liked all the Red Sox Christmas decor.

Yesterday's shopping included going to Herb Phillipsons. My mom and I sort of fell in love with the same sweater... so we each got one, in a different color. Kind of reminiscent of when I was 2 and she used to dress me up in a toddler version of a dress that she would wear.