Here We Go Again…

About this time of year, we all sit around and talk about what we are thankful for.

Doh!!!

There are so many things that I could talk about. I’m sure I could ramble for hours and hours on end but that would be boring and I’m sure that after you all eat your turkey, you’ll be ready for sleep anyways. So I’ll try to keep this short.

Melissa and I

First, and foremost, I’m thankful for my family. My kids, my wife, my parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins…the list goes on and on. Without family, I’m sure I wouldn’t be who I am today so it’s because of them that I have been pretty successful in my life so far.

The Family

Second, I’m just thankful to be where I am right now. There are so many people out there who are either without a home, a job, healthcare…etc…There are days where I get upset and think that I’m not happy with my life. But you have to put things in perspective and I pretty much have everything I could ever want. (OK, maybe a little more money in the bank would be good…but we’ll survive). 🙂

Caitlyn Bryce and Johnny Dutch

And I’m thankful to each and everyone of you reading this post…and all of the other posts I’ve put up over the past 14 months. I started this blog to give people an insight into the things that I find interesting. To post stories that I have read to foster discussion amongst other people. I was so thrilled when I hit 1,000 page views. I had a previous blog for a year and a half that only got about 500 total views. Now, here I sit approaching 700,000 and I’m just amazed everyday how many people stop by to check out what I’ve posted. It’s pretty cool actually 🙂

My Brothers and I

I’m really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. The food, the friends and the family. It should be great. I’m sure the kids will have a great time too! No trip to Petaluma this year. Staying here in San Jose with the family.

Good Friends!

Anyways, this Thanksgiving will be a time to reflect on the past, and look to the future. My Nana passed away on Thanksgiving night in 2003, so it sometimes can be a difficult day for me to celebrate. But, I think back to all the good times that we shared and it’s hard not to smile!

What does everyone have planned for Thanksgiving and the weekend? Are you clipping your Black Friday ads waiting for the best Black Friday sales?

Also…What are you thankful for?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

The Greatest Black Friday Deals for 2008

There are a ton of great deals in stores set to roll for Black Friday in just two days. The recession has made bargain hunters out of almost every consumer, and discounters of most every retailer this holiday season.

Will you be in position at 4 a.m. at Kohl’s (or wherever your favorite store may be), with your credit card in hand, ready to land one of those fantastic deals?

I won’t. But I’ve included a few links to some sites which have a great listing of Black Friday Ads and Black Friday Deals. Enjoy!

Black Friday Ads

Black Friday Info

There is also a great article from Digital Trends talking about you ten best bets for Black Friday.

From the article:

It takes some pretty spectacular deals to pry Americans out of their recliners late every Turkey Day and send them out into blistering cold parking lots to camp for hours, but retailers have it figured it out with Black Friday. And if you’re looking to score a big-screen TV for half of what it normally runs for, get a printer bundled with your camera for free, or pick up an MP3 player for the cost of a cup of coffee, you’ll be out there too. With the economy forcing consumers to pinch their pennies even more this year, and retailers trying even harder to open those cautiously held wallets, the deals are ripe for the picking. Here are a few of our favorite picks for this year.

Tom Tom One Third Edition Nav System
$69.99 at Pep Boys

Just like last year, Pep Boys remains the place to go if you’re looking for the absolute cheapest GPS system out there on Black Friday. Though the price drop from last year isn’t earth-shattering, the good news is that you’re actually ending up with a respectable name brand unit this year. TomTom’s One v.3 may be a no-frills system, but it’s compact, it’s in color, and it works.

HP Pavilion G50-112NR Notebook
$349.99 at Office Depot

Though some people will be disappointed that the price on budget notebooks hasn’t seemed to budge much further south this year, the hardware you get for the price has taken a huge leap forward. For the first time ever, $350 will buy you a notebook that not only has a dual-core Intel processor, but 3GB of RAM as well, which should be more than adequate for most peoples’ needs. And though it’s an obscure sale model, it carries the HP name as well.

Panasonic 42-inch 1080p VIERA Plasma HDTV
$899.99 at Circuit City

Skip all the ultra-budgets sets with names you’ve never heard of, and bag this model (which is bound to be a lot less disappointing in two months) instead. At $400 off MSRP, you’re still getting a huge discount, but with a much better quality TV. Panasonic’s plasma TVs are renowned for their black levels, and this particular set has received great reviews.