Wednesday, 11/1/2017 – November started off quickly!  Josh and I were both off work to drive back to Pennsylvania after the Halloweeny wedding.  We headed to pick up new glasses, contacts and a few groceries on our way back before Josh hopped back in the truck to head to camp for the rest of the week.  Turkey, deer and bear were all legal to take this week so the guys took advantage of the opportunity and had some success!

Thursday, 11/2/2017 – A solo trip to the Co-Op, this time to pick up our check for the second half of October while the guys are hunting.  From the 15th – 31st of October, we made $50.73, bringing our total profit, after October’s rent, to $154.34.  (This was reflected in October’s extra income, despite picking up the check today.)  The second half of the month check was pretty low, but, we’ve been trying to sell the stand down in order to make room for Christmas stuff, so, I’m not too bummed about it.  We made enough to cover rent, got rid of a bunch of stuff and made a little profit.  Overall mission accomplished!  But, now it’s time to start digging through the piles of Christmas stuff.  The Co-Op is having a holiday sale from 11/16 – 11/26 which should be a great time to unload a lot of Christmas on unsuspecting junk connoisseurs!

Monday, 11/6/2017 – 206 Monday’s to go!

Tuesday, 11/7/2017 – This was Tuesday afternoon…

The first snowflakes of the winter fell for a few hours this afternoon (booo!) so it was kind of weird driving home in the snow to put on our swimming suits.  But, not even the first snow of the year was going to keep us from going to Discover Scuba class!  Discover Scuba class was from 6:30 – 9:30 at the West Shore YMCA and definitely deserved it’s own post, right here.

Friday, 11/10/2017 – Alexis was off work for Veterans Day and spent the day petting the dog and getting Christmas stuff organized, priced and ready to go for sale at our Co-Op stand.  Fortunately, the amount of Christmas stuff we had to get rid of was significantly less than we expected, so it went pretty quickly.

Thursday, 11/16/2017 – So happy to say that the last of the Christmas stuff that we’re getting rid of (for now) was sorted, priced and taken up to the Co-Op stand!  We have two plastic totes of Christmas stuff left at the house, most of which is lights and decorations for the tree.  I’m feeling really good about minimizing the hoard of Christmas knickknacks!

Friday, 11/17/2017 – Sunday, 11/19/2017 – Josh was at camp hunting bears.  (Sadly, no luck for the guys this time.)  Alexis spent the weekend working around the house.  And, finally tackled scanning a box full of family history documents into the computer that had been sitting in the living room for the past few months.  I also got notice that the service we use to prepare our taxes each year, FreeTaxUSA, was ready for 2017 taxes, so I took some time to get that set up and ready to go.  Nerd Alert: I cannot wait to do our taxes each year!

Wednesday, 11/22/2017 – Josh’s mom invited everyone to dinner at her place, as she had to work on Thanksgiving Day.  We left in plenty of time to make it to dinner on time but ended up being late.  While we were stopped at a red light not far from our house, Betty, in her Honda Civic, failed to stop before rear ending the truck.  Betty said her foot “slipped off the pedal,” didn’t offer any type of apology and seemed pretty confused about the whole event, saying she didn’t understand what the problem was.  After Betty offered up her expired insurance card, the local cop was summoned.  We got moving again pretty quickly – the truck undamaged (we think) and Betty’s Civic sporting a new hitch receiver stamp on it’s front bumper.

Thursday, 11/23/2017 – Thanksgiving Day 2017.  Today actually marked the first time since we discontinued our satellite TV service that I went to watch something and remembered we’re out of that loop.  The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!  Luckily, after a quick Google search, I found a live stream of the parade on YouTube.  Since our internet service is horrible (but the only option for internet at our house), I watched bits and pieces and got my fill for this year.  The monthly satellite savings is well worth the YouTube buffering.  We spent the rest of the day surrounded by family and giving thanks for our many, many blessings.  I can’t help but excitedly wonder what Thanksgiving might look like for us a few years from now…

Friday, 11/24/2017 – Time for some disconnection and rejuvenation.  That’s right…it’s time for camp!  We loaded the truck and headed to camp for a long weekend.  Turkey was in season on Saturday and rifle season started on Monday, 11/27/2017.  Spoiler Alert: no animals were harmed during our weekend at camp, despite a good effort and many hours in the woods.  Let the record show that I was up at 3am and dressed and in the woods hunting by 5:15am on Monday morning.  I’m even kind of proud of myself!  😀 

Tuesday, 11/28/2017 – We got home from camp early in the afternoon, leaving plenty of time for unpacking and relaxing before heading back to the grind tomorrow.  Being without internet and cell service while we’re at camp is a FANTASTIC opportunity to reset and refocus, but, dealing with the consequences upon returning to the overly-connected “real world” is TOUGH!  On the bright side, we received a coupon code for the 2018 Annapolis Boat Shows, so, I bought Josh an early Christmas present – super cheap tickets to the Annapolis Spring Sailboat Show.