I've NEVER done this before!

Oddly enough no Christmas carols are rotating in my head, but rather I'm thinking about the "Noble Duke of York", you know, the one with 10,000 men.  Fast forward to the chorus.

"When you're up you're up,

and when you're down you're down.

But, when you're only half way up

you're neither up nor down."

We dragged a few Christmas items from the attic.

(each year I bring down fewer & fewer)

What a mess we make until it's all unpacked

and put into place.

Right now we're "Neither up nor down"!

However, the Nutcrackers are in place and keeping watch over the process.

I.HAVE.NEVER.PUT.CHRISTMAS.THINGS.

OUT.BEFORE. DECEMBER.1.

Mister & Lil' Mama share the same birthday, Nov. 30 and I've always made it a rule to celebrate their birthdays before we jump into the Christmas season; however this year, since Mom will be coming back here on Thanksgiving, I know I'll need every minute between Thanksgiving and Christmas to assist her with her Christmas shopping.  It'll be a big help to have Christmas already in place when we return home after being in Tulsa for Thanksgiving.  So, out with the old timing and in with the new.  I haven't been Christmas shopping with my Mom in many years.

It will be fun!

(And, not to worry, we'll still find time to celebrate the birthdays)

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Haylee Kate turned 8 months old a few days ago.  She was not as cooperative about the monthly photo shoot as she has been in times past.  This is how it went down.

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When do you put up your Christmas decorations?
Any particular reason for choosing that time?

I promised to tell you. . .

about my "Bloggy Friend Meet-Up".

If you inhale deeply I'm pretty sure you can smell this Chicken Fried Steak.
Mmmmm!

And how about this beautiful Salad Assortment?!
A feast for the eyes and the waistline. 

What a great time we had at lunch!

But it all paled by comparison with actually  getting to "Meet Up" with one of my very favorite Bloggers, "Nonnie"  over at "Nonnie's Random Thoughts".  If you've never visited her Blog you'll want to. She's an amazing, beautiful, funny, humble, Godly person who has traveled far and wide and has a life story that will  make you realize just how very special and unique she is.  Nonnie and I go back far beyond our blogging days.  We went to high school together!  Who knew we would reconnect through blogging after all these years?!  What a fun surprise!!

We had a great lunch.
We each drove 100 miles to "meet in the middle".
The "middle" was Tyler, TX.

My Mister and her Dear Heart were instant friends.
(I just KNEW they would be!)

Both of them are funny, chatty, and have an air of mischievousness about them.  Perhaps that's how they manage to put up with their Bloggy wives who like to share information on line.  Gotta love a guy with a great sense of humor!

So glad we got to do this!  This was something we'd been wanting to do for some time.  Time, schedules, and distance made it a bit tricky to pull off.  It was worth the planning and scheduling to make it all happen.  The lesson - don't put off things you really want to do. There's no time like NOW!

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 I'm enjoying the last rose blooms of the season.  Tonight we're supposed to have our first freeze, so my roses will probably be history by tomorrow.

Backyard roses.

Good bye to this beauty too.

Front yard roses.

"Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile."

~William Cullen Bryant

AWOL

I have been AWOL from Blogging, tho seldom a day passes that I don't think of my Bloggy friends.  Life takes "time", doesn't it?!  With my Mom visiting in Tulsa I've been working on some things I've neglected for a while.  Still much to do, but moving forward.

Haylee Kate takes a great deal of my time now that she no longer sleeps most of the day.  She is a busy girl, which means I am an especially busy YaYa on the days her Mom is at school.  Busy, but fun times!

I've also been working hard on losing weight and getting fit.  It takes "time" to walk, but most days you'll find me walking in the neighborhood at some point.  I've also been working on my "diet".  I've been in diet mode for a month now and have lost 6 lbs.  It's a slow process (after menopause,) but I'm DETERMINED.  I want to take off 14 more lbs!!

I can't end this post without at least hinting at something I'm really looking forward to - a "meet up" with a Bloggy friend!!  It's scheduled for next weekend and you can be sure I'll be posting photos and sharing the fun with you here.  That's all I can say.
I LOVE having a secret!

Thanks for stopping by!