Momof3gurlz

We’ve spent the past two days and overnight last night up in New Hampshire doing some tax free Christmas shopping. We found a great new outdoor shopping area called Tuscan Village in Salem NH, which includes a brand new Marriott Bonvoy hotel. It’s also next to nice, large mall and about 20-30 minutes from an outlet center. I’m happy to say we’re about 75% done with our gift buying. The tax savings was definitely offset by the hotel stay and dinner last night, but it was a nice little getaway. I’ve been following the cable tv/YouTube tv discussion closely. Andy’s going to sit down and do a price comparison because we’re fed up with our provider, Cox Communications. Rates increase every year and although Andy’s usually able to negotiate them down a little, it’s getting old year after year. My question for the tech experts (actually it’s Andy’s question) is, we would probably need to update/upgrade our router. Does this mean every single device - phones, computers, automatic thermostats, outdoor cameras, etc will need to be reset?

That’s a great holiday miracle story Larry! Happy for you, Andi and Maxx. He looks like he’s just as happy to be home as you are to have him there.

Deck 10, 4D cabin booked for us.

So sorry Greg. I really hope you both can get things resolved in order to keep your Beyond cruise.

Just sent my inquiry to the TA! Probably just the 8 night Southern for us.

Great picture Maryann!

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving! Bella 3.0 itineraries were posted in the other place that not everyone follows. 1/24/26 Oasis 8 night Southern Caribbean from FLL. 2/1/26 Oasis 6 night Western Caribbean from FLL. Two options to join the fun or you could book as a B2B. The prices seem good especially considering they’re refundable deposits. We’ll probably book the 8 nighter. I hope everyone has a great day and safe travels to those not staying home.

You’re not the only one Maryann. We put up one tree, an artificial one, usually the first week of December. I feel like a real slacker compared to some here! Safe travels tomorrow and enjoy your day.

These are adorable Dani! I’m glad you’ve found something to make you smile.

Beautiful trees, I love the starfish one!

Like many of you, I have a busy day in the kitchen today. We’re going to DD Jessica’s house In Massachusetts tomorrow but I’m bringing quite a few dishes to help out. She has just reached the 12 week point in her pregnancy and no longer feels sick but still very tired. I’m bringing traditional herb bread stuffing, sausage stuffing, a carrot casserole, pumpkin pie and a charcuterie board. I spent more for the charcuterie ingredients than everything else combined! I offered to host Thanksgiving this year but they want to show off their new kitchen. My SIL will make a roast turkey, a smaller deep fried turkey and a smoked turkey breast. With 11 adults and three kids under 5 there should be plenty! It’s a rainy, windy day here making it a good one to stay home and cook. I’ll also be staying home Friday, You couldn’t pay me to go out to a store on Black Friday. Now online shopping is another story 🙂. Re: weight and weight loss, I was always very thin. Almost 5’7” and I never weighed over 125 lbs except during my pregnancies. I also went quickly back to that weight after each of the girls were born. Then along came menopause and she brought 15 lbs with her. They are the most stubborn 15 lbs that just will not go away, even with eating healthy and walking regularly, so I guess they’re here to stay.

@brillohead I agree wholeheartedly that gift giving can get out of hand. We only give gifts to our daughters, SIL’s, the grandkids and my MIL who is the only one of our parents still with us. The girls & SIL’s always get a little cash because who can’t use that, but I like to have “something under the tree” for them to open as well. That’s where I drive myself crazy because it can’t be a sweater or shirt, etc. One year it was cocktail smokers for the SIL’s, another year it was leather sunglass straps engraved with their initials. The girls usually get a couple of books or cookbooks or a unique piece of jewelry. For the grandkids, we follow the rule of “something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read”. The kids don’t buy us gifts per we - they give us framed photos of the grandkids which is perfect. So we’re really not overdoing it with gifting, it’s more that I put pressure on myself by wanting their gift to be different/something they’d probably not buy for themselves. Maybe I should consider that they would just like a new sweater 🤣🤪!!

I don’t know if you follow the Bella thread or not but poster barbeyg was having the same issue recently. As OB said, it’s not a setting but rather something Apple needs to find a fix for. I haven’t read over there recently to see if she’s still having the problem.

@Ocean Boy there’s an article in the online version of Channel 10 News today about that cruise themed to your old neighbor. You booking it 😉😇😂?!

She’s adorable Marietta!

@George C I’m so sorry for the loss of your sweet JoeBob 💔. @Arzeena I hope you and RJ have a great cruise and look forward to seeing some pictures. We have a pretty nice stretch of weather coming up here in RI, especially for mid-November. Leaves are still falling which is keeping Andy busy. I’m trying to work on Christmas shopping but just can’t seem to get into it this year. It’s so hard to figure out what to get everyone, especially when they don’t really need anything! And I make myself crazy trying to come up with thoughtful, creative gifts. I’m my own worst enemy I guess!

@taznremmy Pat, so sorry about your knee! Hope you’re able to enjoy the rest of your cruise and you can take care of the issue without too much trouble once you’re home.

Same from us Dani. I’m so very, very sorry. No words, but plenty of prayers 🙏.

We’re kind of in the same place Greg. No plans to abandon Royal BUT, their itineraries are getting a bit stale and their prices are crazy. Now that we’re Diamond the four vouchers are nice but not if other lines are including drinks, tips and WiFi for a similar price such as the deal Mark has. I also like the idea of trying some new ships and ports.

No I had to scratch the chocolate martinis. Not sure if it’s folks gearing up for the holidays or continuing supply issues but I couldn’t find chocolate liqueur at 3 different stores I tried. I have an almost full bottle of Baileys so I’m making Bailey’s martinis instead. I appreciate you sharing your recipe and if I can ever get my hands on some chocolate liqueur I’ll give it a try.

No deals for us in today’s fake sale LOL. I’m hoping maybe there will be a real sale on actual Black Friday, but not holding my breath. I’ve been recipe testing today. We’re going out to dinner Saturday night with newish friends then having them back to our house for dessert. I made an Olive Oil Pumpkin Cake which I had several weeks ago at a girlfriends house. Sounds strange but it was delicious. The other recipe I tried is a Baileys Chocolate Cream Pie. So bottom line is Andy and I have a couple of desserts to test tonight after dinner. The leftovers will go to my neighbor who doesn’t bake but loves sweets. I sure don’t want them here along with the leftover Halloween candy!

We have our two granddaughters spending the weekend with us along with our grand dog, Kona. Middle DD Jessica and SIL Sam are going away for the weekend to celebrate their 7th anniversary. The ‘celebrating’ maybe be slightly one-sided since we recently learned they are expecting baby #3, our 6th grandchild. Love her “flying nun” ears.

Glad to see your almost smiling face and thumbs up. Hope you have an easier recovery this time around. Also, my prayers to Linda 😉😇😂!!

Adding my wishes for a successful surgery tomorrow. May this be the beginning of the end of your knee issues 🙏🤞!!

I’ve been M.I.A. since we returned from our Adventure cruise on Saturday. No particular reason, just busy unpacking, doing laundry and finishing the seasonal clothing switchover which also prompted me to do some closet reorganizing. I know I’ve missed a lot of birthdays, anniversaries, health news, etc, so Happy, Happy and I hope anyone not feeling well is better soon and/or gets good news. @dani negreanu continued thoughts & prayers for you and your family as well as @BonTexasNY Bonnie and Jacks. @lenquixote66 hope your daughter is better and you’re doing okay. We had only 11 trick or treaters last night, also mostly younger kids. I can’t believe it’s November 1st already! Time to start thinking about Christmas shopping 😬.