Christmas Picture Photoshoot

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we had our Christmas pictures made! It was a perfect day. The sun was shining, it was chilly but not too cold and the wind wasn't blowing. We headed to a cozy little State Park nearby for our photo shoot. I finally got the disc yesterday and thought I'd share my favorites...Hope everyone is having a great week!!

Blog Giveaway Winner!

Quick, go grab some cheese to go with the whine that is about to spew forth from this blog post...before I announce the winner, that is...

Have you had one of THOSE days? I did. Yesterday. Blah!

I was getting ready for work and got my hair fixed, then realized that I had no hairspray. GREAT! And it was cute, too. Well, until it plastered itself to my head for the day...

Go to work with the intention of cashing my paycheck and running errands on my lunch hour. Go out to the Bronco and it won't start. I look and see that the lights have been left on. Although it was 10:00 when I went to work and I can't remember even needing or using my lights...alrighty then...I was stranded at work and none of my errands got accomplished. Of course, one of my errands was the infamous blood draw (I was okay with that one) My sweet hubby comes and saves the day and gets it started. I decided to take my break early so I could at least go and cash my check before the bank closed only to find the battery dead AGAIN. Thankfully I found out before I was alone in the parking lot at the end of the day. My manager gave me a ride home and Michael got the Bronco up and running this morning. Last night I was ready to get home and in my grubbies so the day would just go away.

I kept thinking about this book that my sister and I had when we were little describing "the terrible, awful, no good, very bad day". What was that little kid's name? I could swear that it was Pierre something (or something Pierre) Anyhow, Pierre was in it. It finally drove me crazy enough that I googled it and I got the name Alexander. What! That is NOT the name I remember. Oh well.

Anyway, today was my day off, so it HAD to be better, right? And it was. Got my paycheck cashed and got my errands done (even the PT\INR). Got my kiddo from school and his homework done. Then the laptop decided to go nuts when I was trying to figure out random.org. I had pretty much decided that after my bad day yesterday I didn't want to mess with anything complicated on my day off, (heck, I didn't even mess with my hair or makeup today!) then the laptop kind of made the decision for me. So, picture me typing this on my blackberry. There are twelve names on little slips of paper being put into a bowl and mixed up and Kyle wants to do the honors. Whose name does he draw??

MIMI from He & Me + 3!!!

YAY Mimi!

You can email me your info and I'll put your Christmas Cheer in the mail! Thanks everyone for helping me celebrate my one year blogiversary! Bloggy friends ROCK!

My 1 Year Blogiversary And A Giveaway!

One year ago I started my blog and have had a blast! It's been so much fun keeping "far away" family updated and it's been so great meeting all of my blog buddies!

In order to celebrate the one year anniversary of my new obsession...um, I mean hobby...I thought I would host my very first giveaway! Just a little somethin' somethin' to brighten your holidays. What are you going to win?? It's a surprise! How do you enter to win??

Simply leave me a comment. If you're a follower, leave me a second comment. I'll announce the winner Tuesday night. Which, uh, gives me two days to figure out how to use Random.org to pick the winner...wish me luck and I'll be wishing you luck!

Here's some pictures of us putting up the tree last night! Without the drama of last year, thankfully! You can read about last year's escapades here and here! Hey, at least it made for some very funny first blog posts! :D

Here's the guys putting up the tree last night. They decorated for a few minutes then went on to other things, leaving me to finish it up...stinkers!





Since I had to finish it up by myself, I made them stand in front of it for a picture. Could they have done it without picking on each other? Ummmm....no.



Have a great week!!

Friday Frittering

Happy Friday!!! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We went to my Grandma's house. My Dad and Step-Mom, my Uncle and my Step-Brother were there and it was great to see all of them! The food was all yummy and I finally got my pecan pie so all is well! HOORAY!

Sunday we had our Christmas pictures taken in a state park nearby and it was such a perfect day for it, too! The sun was shining, it wasn't cold and the wind wasn't blowing. Hopefully I'll get the CD with the pictures on it tomorrow. I can't wait to see them!

I went and had my blood drawn at the lab Monday. My doctor's assistant didn't call me with any instructions (which is very odd...she always calls to tell me whether or not to change my dose and when to have it checked again) Tuesday afternoon I called her to make sure that she had received my results, and the lab hadn't faxed them over. I had to call the lab twice (TWICE!) to get them to finally get it to them. They actually had the nerve to ask me for the fax number. I was just slightly ticked. I mean, helloooooooo, don't you people have it on file!!! I get to go visit the lab again on Monday...bummer...but my stuff WILL get to my doctor this time!

Did you see it? I finally did a twitpic on my twitter! It's only been set up for a month and it only took me three tries to get the caption on it, but I'm proud of myself! Now that I know what to do, I'll post twitpics more often, You're going to be so glad I learned this new trick!! ;D

How did you spend Black Friday?? Shop til you dropped? Stay at home? I had to work today and boy I am tired! Hope you all have a great weekend!!

The ABC's Thanksgiving Style

Christy Rose did this on her blog and it looked like fun! Come up with something you are thankful for, using each letter of the alphabet. Here goes! You can play along, too, if you want!

ALL OF MY BLESSINGS...we have received so many!
BLOGGY FRIENDS...I have "met" some awesome people through my little 'ol blog!!
COMFY CLOTHES...I LOVE relaxing in my grubbies!
DOCTORS...I have such excellent ones
EVERY DAY...is a gift
FAMILY...Those I will hug in person today and those I will hug in my heart!
GOD'S LOVE AND FORGIVENESS...He is so faithful!
HOT SHOWERS...They feel so good!
IPOD...I love listening to it while I'm walking
JOBS...I am thankful that both Michael and I are working
KYLE...He is my dream come true!
LAUGHTER...I love listening to the two people I love most laughing together!
MICHAEL...My other dream come true!
NINTENDO...It keeps my child from being so boooooorrrred
OLD FRIENDS...The kind that seems like you just spoke to yesterday, even if it's been a while
PECAN PIE...I'm finally getting some today! WOOHOO!
QUAKER OATMEAL...one of my favorite comfort foods when I am sick
READING...I always enjoy reading a good book!
SHOES...Can you ever have too many of them??
TACO BELL VALUE MENU...YUM!
UMBRELLA...even if it is rarely where I need it to be
VANILLA CAPPUCCINO...warms me up on a cold day
WARM WEATHER...I'd much rather be warm than cold
XRAYS...Hooray! A medical procedure that does not require an owie!! :D
YANKEE CANDLES...they smell so yummy!
ZERO CALORIE SPRITE...so refreshing!


I hope all of you have a terrific Thanksgiving!!!

You Are Being Loved...

I love music, pretty much a little bit of everything. My favorite, however, is Contemporary Christian and one of my favorite radio stations is KLOVE. Early this afternoon, I was on the treadmill listening to my ipod, and Steven Curtis Chapman's song "You Are Being Loved" came on. It has been in my head and heart ever since.

Which brings to mind a conversation that I had with Michael recently. We were talking about the trials we have been through together (and there have been many). Instead of feeling alone, the times when things were the worst were when I felt loved the most. While I have so many examples to choose from, the most overwhelming one was when I had my heart surgery. Michael had broken his back in a car accident two weeks before and we were in the process of moving. Neither of us was physically able to unpack boxes and put stuff away. My family dropped everything and stayed up at the hospital during the two weeks I was there. My Grandma made plans to stay with me for six weeks after I was released since I couldn't be alone. When I finally came home from the hospital, our Sunday School class had not only unpacked everything, but had bought us two pieces of furniture. They arranged for food to be brought to us the first week I was home. They took care of our yard for us. They replaced towels that got lost in the move. My ex-inlaws brought food and books to read while I was recovering.

I wasn't able to go out very much, and definitely not to crowded places where I could get sick. When I was finally allowed to go back to church, they had a surprise housewarming party for us (which had been postponed because I was in the hospital).

Almost four years later, I am still awed by the prayers said for us by people I have never met and by those special acts of kindness by friends and family. I can't hear that song by Steven Curtis Chapman and NOT think of how wonderfully we have been loved during some very tough times. I am finally getting into the holiday spirit and this Thanksgiving, I am feeling very blessed! I hope that I can always recognize during rough times those moments that I am being loved.

Friday Frittering

Hooray!!! I'm actually frittering ON Friday this time! And boy has it been one of those weeks!

Monday, as promised, I went to the lab for my blood draw. WOOHOO!! What makes this trip so fritter-worthy is that there was a nursing student there and the lab tech was training her. The technician got me all prepped, then brought the student over so she could feel the vein in my arm.

Technician to student: Can you feel it?

Student: I sure can.

Technician to me: Can she do the blood draw?

Me: (gulp) Okay.

My mouth said okay, but I felt my veins go into hiding, and sure enough...

Student to Technician: I can't feel it anymore.

(Great, that's just lovely!)

So they went with an alternate vein...one that was too stupid to run and hide like the other ones. I have only had one student do a blood draw on me and she was far enough along in her training that the technician didn't have to be right there beside her. Only after she got it on the first try did she tell me that she was a student...smart girl. Anyhow, I went to my happy place (ya know, the one where I FORGET that she can probably count on her fingers how many times she has done this before...) but she got it on the first try, too, so all was well. So far, nursing students rock! I go on Monday again for another PT/INR blood draw...then hopefully that will be it for a month.

I picked pecans out of my yard and decided on Sunday that I was in the mood to bake a pecan pie. I spent probably two hours shelling them, but there was a bunch and I can freeze them for all kinds of things (like the chocolate chip pecan pancakes I made Wednesday) But, anyway, back to this story...I was so excited, that I Facebooked about it, Twittered about it, and even mentioned it on the phone to my Dad while we were discussing Thanksgiving plans...bottom line...this chick was wanting some pecan pie! Then sadly I realized that I had no Karo syrup. I decided to pick some up the next day and bake the pie then. So, I started dinner instead. Michael and Kyle offered to go to the store and get the syrup so YAY, I was still going to get my pie! They called me from the store to tell me that they had the syrup but it wasn't Karo and is that okay. That's fine. Do you know what these two cheeseballs came home with? Salad and cheddar cheese to go with dinner, neopolitan icecream, chocolate syrup, and waffle cone bowls. No corn syrup. None. I don't know who the guilty party is because they are both pointing their fingers and blaming the other one. As good as the waffle bowl sundaes were, it wasn't pecan pie. And my son says, "Sucks for you, Mom" and he's still breathing...'cause I'm all nice like that...

Do you want to know what Boy Wonder did this morning? We woke up late, so while he got dressed, I made him some cinnamon toast. He eats while I make his lunch. He walks to the refrigerator and pulls out the jar of pickles and says he wants one. Okay, I'll put one in your lunch. No folks, he wanted it right then. Do you think he got it??? Ummm...no. GROSS! Who IS this child?!

Oooh, oooh guess what I got today?! I won a giveaway over at Shawn's blog and my package came today while I was home on my lunch hour. It is SO cute! She sent me some festive holiday plates and napkins and a picture frame which is a.dor.a.ble and a sweet gift bag!! And then I saw them...oh, yes I did! And I knew exactly what they were. She blogged about them a week or so ago and they looked yummy! (In fact I went to the kitchen right after reading about them to see if I had the stuff to make them.) When I pulled the package out of the box and started gleefully shouting, my husband is like "What is it!?" It's Monster Cookieeeeesssss!! He asked what they were and I shoved one in his mouth and told him to try one. These things are SO good!! Thank you SO much for my package, Shawn! I love it ALL! And if you haven't tried these cookies, go here for the recipe...they are DA BOMB!! Doesn't this all look awesome!




Hope you all have a great weekend!! nmmm, nmmm, nmmm......