let’s get all potluck-y

It is Monday. I survived Black Friday. This calls for a celebration… Let’s get all potluck-y! (I don’t know what that means either, please just roll with it.) Ryan(9) and I have an annual Black Friday date.   He calls it – Get Up in the Middle of the Night and Go Shopping Time.   It started when he was 2. Yes, I took a two year old out in the wee hours of Black Friday…don’t judge me. Ryan has been an early riser since birth.   He would prefer that the day start at 5:30 am.   My night owl body would prefer that I go to bed a few hours prior to that.   It has made for a few changes in my life…like going to bed early and waking up early. So, back to when he was two.   He woke up really, really early and didn’t look sleepy at all.   I tried to put him back to bed without luck.   I then realized it was Black Friday and that OTHER PEOPLE were up at this ungodly hour so I wrapped him up and took him to the mall. The tradition stuck. We now go out around 4:30 and hit all the hot spots.   We are more social shoppers than REAL shoppers.   If there is a really long line, then we are outta there.   Last Friday we stopped by Toys ‘R Us, the mall and then IHOP for the annual G.U.I.T.M.O.T.N.A.G.S.T. breakfast and then headed back to the mall when more stores opened.   We then went to JC Penney, Target, Pier 1 and were home by 9.   I couldn’t believe how much I got done this year.   It might have something to do with the fact that shopping with a 9 year old with 7 years of Black Friday experience is much easier than toting a toddler through the crowds. I am really excited to announce that I am joining The Mom Loop as a community leader. The Mom Loop is a forum that anyone can join.   Obviously, if you are a mom you might find some of the topics of conversation more compelling than if you are not. There are tons of conversations for all things mommy.   If you are a blogger, there are some mom blogging-related threads as well including a series of holiday link-ups and a popular Friday Comment Follow event that will weekly past the holidays. It is easy to make friends and get lost in the conversations over there…so you have been warned. The sweet people at Mom it Forward asked me to guest post on “how to have a better attitude with your personal style” and I wrote an article about my obsession with color in decor. I might have even admitted to sneaking over to hang out in paint departments stealing sampling paint colors. Here it is:   Adding Color to Your Interior Design Please go visit…here is a sample of what you will see: Let’s find out who is Commenter of the Week here at the Nirvana! This comment was left on Kit, Cat, Sacks and Wives where Reid kept asking “Where is St. Ives?” –Justine actually left me a Google map of St. Ives. Genius! For that bit of awesomeness, you now have the worldwide* bragging rights for the next seven days of Commenter of the Week. *may not be available in portions of Canada. Whew…we have traveled all over the place today in potluckland (totally a word, spellcheck)(oh, and spellcheck is totally a word, spellcheck). It is time to get back to basics and find out… *drum roll* What is in Holly’s Fruit Bowl? –seven metal ornament hangars, a Wacky Pack Guinness Book of World Records (Sports), a remote control to who knows what, and an envelope with orange sofa fabric samples. May your Monday be extra potluck-y.