Home is where my stuff is

So for Thanksgiving my husband and I traveled up to Indianapolis to spend time with my mom, my friends, and my home church. And to shop. And to eat! We had such a great time!

My husband worked half-day on Wednesday and then we headed for the great state of Indiana. That morning we loaded the car. That is the worst part of traveling for me. It makes me so very thankful that I married such a great guy. I pack and pack and sort all of the stuff and he lugs it all to the car. We finally got on our way after a stop at Five Guys. (BEST BURGER EVER!)

We eventually arrived late Wednesday and soon went to sleep. We stayed with my best friend and awoke the next morning to begin cooking for the big feast. I had really planned and prepped and things went very smoothly for our dinner. Everything turned out pretty well, except no one loved the asparagus casserole. Oh well, live and learn. After eating an enormous amount of food, we napped and then got up to graze a little more. I love Thanksgiving leftovers. There is just something magical about eating leftover turkey on a leftover roll that makes me happy! Then it was off to bed after an evening filled with good conversation and good movies.

Then, at the crack of 3am, my BFF Karen and I awoke for the most glorious day ever! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I do mean Black Friday! I love to browse the ads, find the deals, map out a plan, and race in with all of the other crazies! We had a small list of the things we wanted to get, and an order to which we would visit the stores. We arrived at Target about 20 minutes before the store opened and there was a HUGE line. We decided to see if the deals were available online, and surprisingly one of them was! I ordered it online and got the same price I would have gotten in the store and checked one thing off my list. Then, as the doors opened and the mass of humanity began racing into the store, Karen and I joined them. It was CHAOS!! One woman was providing a service to the community by simply screaming at everyone who came in the store that, "them TVs is gone!" Of course we were headed to the electronics section, which was the most chaotic place in the store, but upon taking a detour, we located one of the items on our list. We quickly got our items, got in line and got out of there! Then it was off to Best Buy, because they opened an hour after Target. We grabbed some coffee and then we split up. I decided to go to Lane Bryant because they were opening early and I hoped that they would be giving something away like coupons or freebies. Karen went to Best Buy to run with the crowd while I went down to the LB. I was the 1st person there! They unlocked the doors and I had to fight the urge to run in with the same excitement as all of the other shoppers...but there were no other shoppers!! I was the only one there! I feel like I should have gotten a prize simply for being the first shopper! Karen was successful again and we clutched our bags like they were gold medals we had won in the Olympics! We were champions! We had braved Black Friday! We had saved some money! We had gotten the items we wanted!!

Then it was back to bed!

When we awoke, Karen was dying to play with her new Wii. This was her Christmas present to herself. We played all day long! It was great! I have never enjoyed video games, but I really loved it! I have learned that I am an AMAZING Wii bowler, swordfighter, frisbee thrower. I also found out that I look like a crazy person when I play Wii Boxing. It was a nice, relaxing day.

Saturday we spent the day lounging and shopping. Then in the evening we met up with some great friends for dinner. We laughed and laughed and had such a great time catching up. It was the perfect evening!

On Sunday morning, we went to church. I was sooooooo excited to see everyone! I love to visit when I am home! It is so good to see those that I have know for so many years! It is just good to be where people know me and love me. Then, all too soon, it was time to hit the road.

I hated to say goodbye again so soon, but the memories that I made this weekend will last a lifetime! Then, as we got on the interstate, I began to realize that we were headed home. How odd for me to call this place home. I call Indy home too. Then, I realized that home is where my stuff is. I love Indianapolis and it will always be my home. But, now my home is somewhere else. And one day it may move to yet another place, but for me, home is where my husband is and where my stuff is. As much as I love to travel, I love to come back home. I love to have a place for everything, a routine, familiar surroundings, and to have all of my stuff together. I feel so relaxed knowing that tonight I get to sleep in my own bed, next to the man who brought in all the stuff from the car. I get to sleep in my own room, in my own house, surrounded by my stuff.