Yep!  While we’re all deep into December and Christmas, I’m taking some time to look back at my November.  I actually started putting this post together on the last day of November, while I was at the doctor’s office getting Moh’s surgery.

The doctor had already taken one slice of skin off my nose, and I was waiting the hour to 90 minutes it would take to get the results back.  Thought I might as well try to use the time productively.  When he came back and told me he needed to take another slice, my blog post intentions got buried.  Thankfully after two slices, I was done, got stitched up and sent home.

I spent the next week babying my wound, which had to be kept slathered in Vaseline and covered for a full week.  Exercise or lifting anything over 10 pounds was prohibited in order to protect the stitches.  I wasn’t told not to blog.  And I was basically having to hibernate, so I had plenty of time to write a post.  But I was too busy having a pity party for myself.  Procrastination is already my forte, so it doesn’t take much for me to find a reason to put something off.

However, now the fog has lifted, there’s marked improvement in how my nose is looking, and I’m getting back to normal life.  Big Eagle and I had a wonderful dinner out at Reata to celebrate our 49th anniversary last Thursday night.  I’ve done a few workouts at Orangetheory Fitness.  Getting my Christmas shopping done.  So it’s high time to get this post done, as well.

It’s pretty ridiculous when you really think about it.  There are so many others with much worse problems than my little Moh’s surgery.  So here I go…reflecting on the blessings of happy times last month…

Favorite #1

Last month I included Helen in my favorites post as she received the student of the month award at her school.  Well, at the beginning of November, Edie received the student of the month award at HER school!

These granddaughters of mine!  I’m so proud of them!  Congratulations, Edie! 😘

 

Favorite #2

This is a bittersweet favorite, as our sweet friend Juli, who is included in it, passed away early this morning.  Little did I know that this would be the last picture taken of the three of us together.

The first Saturday of the month, Lynn, Juli, and I went on an outing together to a special holiday open house of several of the popular boutiques in Old Town Burleson.  Here we had just finished at our first stop: a boutique called Accents.  Lynn asked another shopper if she would take our picture, and I’m so glad she did.

 

Favorite #3

That same weekend, Big Eagle and I received confirmation of our travel reservations to go to Antarctica!

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would visit Antarctica!  Keeping our fingers crossed that nothing gets in the way of this dream coming true! 🤞

 

Favorite #4

The updating of our bedroom continues!  We found a table we love to take up residence between the 2 chairs we bought the month before.  It’s actually two tables, since one is nested under the other.

Now for some curtains, lamps, wall decor, and a new nightstand.  It’s a work-in-progress.

 

Favorite #5

Okay, this one just warmed my heart so much!  The mom of two of my former students, sisters that I had in my class a few years apart, sent me a message with pictures of an art project I had done with them.  She was letting me know that they still hang this particular piece of art on their Christmas tree every year!

During the Christmas season, I showed the students how to make these, and when they were done I would hang all these goofy-looking Santas from the ceiling of my classroom.

 

It was extra special to me when this mom shared her pictures, because I am a major keeper of my kids’ Christmas art.  This particular project was inspired by artwork that my own daughter Cara brought home when she was in elementary school.  I still hang it on the wall every year.  Here it is this year:

This particular piece is over 30 years old!

 

Favorite #6

One of my holiday traditions is to make a big batch of Chex mix.  I make sure we have it on hand pretty much from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

In recent years, I haven’t always been able to find all three kinds of Chex cereal at one store, so I was thrilled when Big Eagle and I were in Costco, and we saw this:

All three kinds in ONE box!  Oh, yeah…we snatched that one up and added it to our cart for sure!

 

Favorite #7

Thanksgiving Day, of course, is a favorite!  Thanksgiving may actually be my favorite holiday.  It was quiet this year, since Cara and her family stayed home in Louisiana, and Danny and Erin were on the other side of the world in Lithuania.  So it was just Big Eagle and me.

I got in a good workout at Orangetheory that morning.

They posted this picture on FB!  Two of my favorite co-OTFer’s were there as well right behind me in this pic!

Then that evening, instead of turkey or ham, Big Eagle and I had broiled oysters for our Thanksgiving feast!  We had done these many years ago.  At that time, we had no clue what we were doing, and just used a paring knife to shuck the oysters.  This year, we upped our game and ordered shucking knives from Amazon, and it was a really smart move on our part!

Here’s Big Eagle shucking the oysters while I was making the breading:

 

He had them all shucked before I was done, so I didn’t even get to try my hand, but he did a fantastic job!

Here are the oysters when finished:

 

They got a little darker than we had intended, but they weren’t burnt, and the oysters were cooked to perfection.  Yum! 😋😋

While we were enjoying oysters, Danny and Erin were enjoying pizza in Lithuania for their Thanksgiving night.

Danny texted us this picture!  They had a more traditional Thanksgiving dinner the following weekend with friends.

 

Favorite #8

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, I went for a late morning workout at OTF.  Little did I know that it was a 90-minute workout!  I thought it was a regular 60-minute workout until almost 60 minutes in!

That workout kicked my butt!  So what makes it a favorite?  That 1000 calorie burn, baby!  Yeah!

 

That’s it for my belated November favorites.  I started this post feeling crappy about my messed-up-looking nose, and I’m finishing it thinking about my sweet friend Juli and her family.  I have nothing to feel crappy about compared to that.  I just want to embrace life, embrace my loved ones and friends, and realize that we need to seize the moment we’re in and be thankful for the good moments we’ve had.