Things I've Learned on My Christmas Vacation...

12.27.2007


* I find it hilarious to hear our two year old say, "I wuv my Pez."

* Our laundry gets together, has one heck of a party, and multiplies during the night.

* The PC version of Scrabble is addictive.

* I got to practice my You've Got To Be Kidding Me look when our eight year old asked if he could get on the computer mere minutes after he'd unwrapped a pile of new gifts.

* If I waited to buy it after Christmas because it would be on sale....it is sold out.

* If I paid full price for it because I was certain it would be sold out....there are plenty left.

* It is almost impossible for me to unwind and relax. If I'm not doing something, I am thinking about what I should be doing.

*I went to the office for 4 hours today.

* My passion for reading is still there. I've nearly finished a 400-pager!

* I'd like to slap the Suite Life right out of of Zac and Cody.

* I've grown to love the Robo Raptor. I think it could become my new pet. I wonder if I could teach him to do laundry?

* Laughter really is the best medicine.

Bought, Wrapped, Tied, Baked, and Decked

12.21.2007

Today is officially the first day of my twelve day Christmas break. Yipee!

For some odd reason I thought this would be a good week for tile to be installed in our dining room. What was supposed to take two days took four. But it looks beautiful. And the buffet is no longer in the middle of our library. Thank goodness.

This morning I made a finally sweep through Target and the grocery store. I told Doug if we haven't bought it by now, we don't need it.

This afternoon I visited Franco, my hairdresser, and I am all set to celebrate the season as a natural blonde once again.

I know this time of year isn't festive for everyone. Maybe you are all alone. Maybe you have lost a loved one, or lost a job. If you were here I'd invite you over to share the holidays with my family. I'd give you a hug. Since I can't do that, please know I care and know I am saying a prayer for you.

To all of you who have made this year so fun, funny, thoughtful and blessed: Merry Christmas!

Boo Mama's Christmas Tour of Homes 2007

12.17.2007


Welcome to my little corner of Boo Mama's Christmas Tour of Homes. Come on in and stay awhile, the coffee's on and the cookies are warm.




Our family - taken this fall.




This is the keeping room - the epicenter of our house - built as a new addition this summer. The area with the chairs was previously a screened in porch. The area with the sectional is a new addition. This is taken from my kitchen. My regular readers got the week-by-week rundown of this house project. We finally finished painting and furnishing the room this fall. (My mom and sister-in-law are anxiously awaiting these photos!)





More shots of the new keeping room...




I don't do lots of big decorating, but I do like to do little vignettes around the house. Here are a couple of my favorite santas and the little tree I used to use in my apartment in my single days. I've added picks of berries and pine cones.




This is my snowman collection - I have nearly 80. I've purchased a few, but the majority have been given to me as gifts. They are really getting A LOT of attention this year from a certain 2-year old little boy. If it gets too quiet in the house causing me to say, "Where are you, Adam?" A little voice replies, "Touchin' mama's no-men."




Every year my husband and I have been married we have a custom picture frame made to hold that year's Christmas photo. Here are 2003 (left) and 2004.




Here are 2005 (left) and 2006. 2005 was a very special year. Our son Adam was born December 16th so our Christmas card was used as the birth announcement. The message said "Look what we found under our tree."




My favorite decorating project is doing the mantle for Christmas. Stockings hold a special childhood memory for me. We had a fireplace and mantle growing up, but our stockings were always hung on either side of the window behind our TV.




And finally, my home tour ends with our tree. I love every single picture of a Christmas tree I've ever seen. And the blog world this year has been filled with pictures and stories of favorite ornaments, and I love every single one of those, too. Our tree holds ornaments we've purchased or have been given since we were married in 2003 (our anniversary is New Year's Eve!)


Thanks for stopping by.

From our family to yours - Have a very Merry Christmas!

Two Glorious Years

12.16.2007

big blue eyes 23 pounds football jellybeansrunnin' fast

"You go time OUT!" Curious George 33 inches "weed books" picky eater

blonde hair parts to the right mesmerized by the phone Winnie the Pooh

rock-rock Mama "peez have hold you"crocs backpack

kisses only if we cry first BIG Digder poor sleeper JUICE!

Elmo & Grover jumpin' on the bed prayers "all fall down"

swimmin' in the bathtub don't drink the water!



More Than I'd Ever Hoped For
Happy Birthday, Son

HIGH FIVE

12.13.2007

Dear blogging friend, and fellow B Club member, Tonja tagged me for this:

5 THINGS I WAS DOING 10 YEARS AGO
1. Getting used to turning 30. If only I knew how easy it was back then!

2. Working at a big annual meeting in Florida. This particular year it was at Disney and we experienced rain - pouring rain! - every single day we were there. The sun came out the day we left.

3. Making plans to fly to Iowa to visit my family for the holidays.

4. Running 4 to 6 miles almost every day. Imagine!

5. Putting up a little artificial table-top tree in my apartment.


5 THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST
1. Finish buying Christmas gifts.
2. Buy groceries.
3. Get meals and baking lists organized for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
4. Get my hair cut and colored.
5. Attend to final details of Sunday School Christmas Party.

5 THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE
1. Give, give, give...especially to children
2. Build a dream home and buy a vacation home.
3. Hire as much household staff as I wanted, including a hairdresser and masseuse
4. Travel
5. Invest to grow my money even more

5 THINGS I WILL NEVER WEAR
1. Big, permed hair
2. Anything off-the-shoulder
3. Anything that says "Hillary for President"
4. Puffer jacket
5. Legwarmers

5 FAVORITE TOYS
1. Computer
2. iPod
3. Camera
4. Blackberry
5. Is a toddler a toy?

Consider yourself tagged if you'd like to join in.

Even on a Bad Day....

12.11.2007


Yesterday, Adam was bitten on the cheek by a playmate
and then came down with pink eye.

In the mommy world we have bad hair days.

In the toddler world they have bad face days.

That's why, in the mommy world we have toddlers

and in the toddler world they have mommies.

He Loves Me, Therefore He Shops

12.10.2007

Last Friday Doug and I took the day off for the sole purpose of going Christmas shopping. Specifically, we planned to start and finish our shopping all in one day.

Now, this Day of Shopping was especially noteworthy because shopping at any time of year, let alone on a Friday during Christmas Season, is so far down on Doug's list of things he likes to do it can't even be seen with the naked eye. The only thing lower on that list would be spending any amount of money with more than one zero at the end.

So you can imagine my state of bliss when, for six glorious hours on December 7, my Red Hot Smokin' Husband became my Red Hot Shoppin' Husband.

Early Friday morning we plotted our course, made our lists and left the house about 9:30am destined for Target. We chose to go there first because we could also get double-huge-triple-caff-coffees to give us some much needed shopping endurance.

In addition to toys, games and clothing we also stocked up on nearly every kind of over-the-counter remedy known to man. This is also known as the "Annual Spend Down the Medical Savings Account Extravaganza". If you need fleece, Transformers, pain reliever or dental floss, let me know. I have a stash.

Two hours, two cart-fulls, and many zeros later we headed for the outdoor shopping center.


When we got there Doug said he could see I was really beginning to hit my shopping stride. I had to agree. I'm like a distance runner when it comes to shopping. I've been sharpening and refining my skills for years. It takes awhile for my heart to get pumping and, when it does, I can go for a loooong time. Doug, on the other hand, is like a sprinter. One quick run through a store and he's at the finish line.

This year everyone in the family is getting pajamas, which we will open on Christmas Eve and mostly likely lounge around in most of Christmas Day. Everyone's pjs have been purchased except mine. So I thought it might be interesting to give Doug some shopping incentive see what Victoria's Secret had to offer for 40-year old mamas who don't like to show a lot of skin.

Ummmm... no...I don't think so.


Ummmmm...no....doesn't look very comfy.


ahhhh...yes! Perfect neck-to-toe coverage!

Our next stop was Sports Authority, which was a nice respite for Doug. I don't think he minded shopping there. We went our separate ways. He was looking for an in-ground basketball goal and I was looking for cold weather work-out gear. I freely admit it's as much about the look as the work-out. And, as far as cold weather goes, that one is still up in the air since it's nearly 80 degrees as I'm typing this.

It took Doug all of 10 minutes to find the goals, choose one, and get the paperwork completed. By that time I had barely begun to hone in on all the various choices in thermal layered jackets. Not only do I have to hem and haw about the style, I also have to carry on and on about the color. He was patient - oh so patient - and helped me decide on a black pair of pants, a celedon green turtle neck and white jacket.

After that, the only possible choice was sustenance in the form of food and drink at Cheeseburger in Paradise.

"Wanna go back to Victoria's Secret?"


"Maybe next year after I put that workout gear to good use. Now, I wish she'd hurry up and bring those onion rings."


Happily fed and watered, we headed home to unload. It was quite a haul, if I do say so myself. And, after Adam went to bed that night I wrapped every single thing in pretty paper and frilly bows made a cup of hot tea, heated up a cinnamon scone and laid on the sofa until I fell asleep.


How's your holiday shopping going?

The B Club Takes Birmingham

12.04.2007

left to right:
Rhoda - Southern Hospitality
Tracey - Show Me State...of Mind
Kat - Just a Beachkat
Sandi (behind Kat) - Whistlestop Cafe Cooking
Tonja - Gatherings
me - behind Tonja
Dianne - Glasses of Grace


Last Saturday I rose early, slathered on concealer, drove-thru for a triple hazelnut latte, and headed west to Birmingham to meet some dear blogging friends in person (my first IRL blog meeting, by the way).

I wasn't one bit nervous, since, as I told them later, I met my husband online. I'm an old pro at walking into a place and looking left, then right, then left again for a face I've seen before on a computer screen.

All I felt when I walked into Panera at The Summit was excitement. These ladies had become dear friends to me, even if I hadn't met them before face-to-face.

We live in different cities. We are new moms and grandmothers. We are recently married and married for years. But we all have so much in common. Kat said, and we all agreed, everyone was just like they seem to be in their blog....and better!

To each and every one of the B Ladies...thank you for being you and for being so fun and so wonderful!

I'll be looking forward to our next get together!

Jill's Book Bag #6 - **WINNER**

12.02.2007


Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:35
Timestamp: 2007-12-02 20:33:52 UTC


I'm a day late with this, but happy to announce Nadine at Just Being Me (comment #35) as this month's Jill's Book Bag winner. Nadine, please email me your mailing information.


Thanks so much to all of you for visiting and leaving a comment and participating.

December will mark my final book bag giveaway.

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