chimesblog

After stuffing yourself silly with turkey and cranberries, it’s definitely time for a day-long shopping trip. After all, that is the new American tradition.

How about shopping locally instead of hitting the big box stores? Market Day’s Black Friday sale is from 9-2 on Friday, November 25. I’ll be there and I’m going to have a couple crazy sales.

All dishes are 50% off. And most are already a crazy low price because they are last season’s pieces. So snag a handpainted decorative plate or a mug for $5 or less.

My new wallets will be on sale for $25. Normally these are $35. $10 off is a STEAL for these. If you haven’t seen these awesome new wallets, they’ve got hidden magnetic snap closures and dividers with card slots. I may have kept the middle one (below) for myself. I’ve been LOVING this wallet and have gotten a ton of compliments on it since I started using it.

I’ll also have a couple of random things on super-duper sale. These are my old wallets, old teeny-tiny wallets (I changed the size) and a few miscellaneous items.

Come on down and check it out. This event is going to be chock full of awesome vendors!

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How about a Thanksgiving recipe? Okay. I’m on it. And it even involves booze.

Pumpkin Bourbon Frozen Yogurt
1 32 oz container of 0% Plain Chobani
1 small can of pumpkin (plain pumpkin)
1 c sugar (I used 3/4 at first, but Mark said to add a bit more)
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
2 t cinnamon
4-5 T bourbon
Optional: 1 vanilla bean

If using the vanilla bean … you should probably start making this recipe 3-4 days ahead of time. Why? Because you’re going to infuse the bourbon with the vanilla. Put your bourbon in an airtight container and throw in your bean. You could probably add a bit more bourbon if you wanted to have more of this saved for later.

Since I didn’t know any better, I mixed the two together and let them sit for about 6 hours. The bourbon was more vanilla-y but not quite what I had expected.

Okay — to make the yogurt you mix all the ingredients in a big bowl. I let them sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors mingle.

Pour the mixture in your ice cream maker and let it go to work. Should take 20-30 minutes.

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Here’s 21-40 of my thankful list …

1. coworkers that make your life easier
2. car insurance
3. knowing how to knit (and make warm winter apparel!)
4. knowing you’ve got people that have your back
5. MPR — the current
6. Having a 5-day weekend
7. my twitter peeps
8. friends with amazing music taste — introduced to the Screaming Females last weekend.
9. barbecue sauce
10. sugar cookies — not soft ones. and ones with lots of frosting
11. wearing jeans to work on a Tuesday (whoops!)
12. getting to use fun paper to print some cool holiday projects
13. post-it notes
14. having a family member that owns a truck
15. getting to work out for free at the Bell Center at Drake (even though the hours aren’t ideal)
16. Jillian Michaels
17. French paper
18. Skype!
19. a working cell phone
20. did I mention my fabulous beau?

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… that I only have a 2-day work week!

I may or may not have obviously failed miserably on the NaBloPoMo (national blog posting month) promise I made. Whoops. Sorry. But I’m sure that you were glad to not have to read random filler-type posts.

However, on that note, I think I’m going to copy my friend Stephanie and give you things I’m thankful for in the next few days. I’m going with 50. I think she did 100 last year. But I’m not that ambitious. So I give you 50.

Here are the first 20 things:

1. My amazing beau, Mark (let’s be honest, did you really think this was going to start out any other way?)
2. having equally amazing friends, family and coworkers
3. Barnabus Stinson, II (my doggie)
4. Iowa Girl Eats’ amazing blog (inspiring!)
5. nike+ running app on my iPod
6. emusic.com
7. owning a decently large collection of scarves and big earrings
8. chilly weather perfect for running
9. hot pink underarmour
10. bareMinerals makeup
11. Blowfish’s amazing selection of boots
12. netflix on demand
13. pinterest.com
14. owning my own car — it’s been in the shop for almost a month, and I can’t wait to have it back!
15. goat cheese
16. Talenti Gelato, specifically Tahitian Vanilla Bean
17. the Chicago Bears 2010-11 record (especially as compared to the Vikings!)
18. free laundry at my apartment
19. having a job (and one that I like to boot!)
20. Fong’s Pizza (if you lived in Des Moines, you would understand)

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i’m home for thanksgiving and that usually means logging a ton of miles on gravel with lotsa hills.

not with this stupid knee injury it doesn’t.

5 miles today on gravel.  no hills. definitely wore the spandex getup. i’m sure that started some sort of rumor around town (maybe i’m pregnant now? nope, sorry folks, that’s just all the baked goods i’ve been making and eating).  I’ll be anxious to hear.

i totally forgot i thought about doing that turkey trot tomorrow in DBQ, and I really shouldn’t run tomorrow cuz that’s 3 days in a row and 2 days in a row is currently pushing it. hallooooow elliptical machine in the basement and a video of slipknot live (cuz really, i honestly don’t have any other live dvds).

OOOH i almost forgot. today’s run pushed me over my goal of 5x runs in under 9:34/mi. way to go, chica. pat on the back. srsly. last month I didn’t think I could hit a 9:00 mile, and now I’m running nearly 8 minute miles. rockin.

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