12.31.2009

Once In a Blue Moon...




Tonight, there will be a Blue Moon. We've always heard that rare things happen "once in a blue moon". And I'm here to tell you, that's actually true! Today I've had things happen that almost never happen - it HAS to be because of the Blue Moon.

Once in a Blue Moon...

...............I make it to work on time every day for a whole week!
.....Neurosurgeons write orders and I can actually read their handwriting!
.......................I drive through traffic and don't threaten to kill ANYONE!
.........I find something located exactly where I thought it was, the very first place I looked!

....and perhaps most amazing of all, a certain delinquent father I know actually.paid.a tiny bit of Child.Support.!

No doubt, it's a Blue Moon!


12.30.2009

WordFUL Wednesday - Mother/Daughter Love

Christmas 2008

My 14 year old daughter, Shelbie, bought a Christmas card for me this year.
Yes, you read that right. My teenage daughter...on her own...with her money...on purpose...bought a Christmas Card for me, her mother.
Not only that, but it was one of the sweetest, most touching cards I've ever received - and I'm so proud of it that I had to share it.

A Christmas Letter for My Mother
You'll never know how much it means to be your daughter,
to share my thoughts and feelings with you,
the person who probably knows me better than anyone...
You have a special way of understanding me,
and you always seem to know exactly what I need -
tough-love advice, a stress-relieving laugh, a sympathetic hug...
And even though I don't tell you often enough,
want you to know you mean the world to me,
and I can't imagine my life without your love in it.
Merry Christmas

Did you get anything especially touching this year?

Visit Angie for more WordFUL Wednesdays!


12.29.2009

Random Acts of Kindness


After I mentioned on here a couple of weeks ago that we were doing a 50's Party for Elayna's 9th Birthday, I got an email from a reader. She had a 50's Party herself and had downloaded music for the party. She kindly offered to burn a CD for me of 50's music! She would not allow me to reimburse her. She made the CD and sent it to me, I just got it yesterday!
Perfect example of a Random Act of Kindness. =)
Have you practiced, received, or seen any Random Acts of Kindness lately? Leave me a comment and/or Link Up!

12.28.2009

Holiday Weekend WrapUp



I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!
Ours was great. Of course, I haven't uploaded pics yet, big surprise! But, we had a great Christmas.
On Thursday, we celebrated Christmas with the in-laws.
Then on Friday, we celebrated at home, and my parents came over. The kids had a great time and of course, they loved all of their gifts. Elayna was SO excited while opening her gifts that her legs were shaking! It was so cute. Their 'big' gift from us was tickets to Busch Gardens. They are excited! My favorite gifts were soft, warm PJs from MIL, a personalized ornament from my niece with all of our names on it, a new bible from my mom, and HoMedics massager from John, the kind you put in a chair and sit on. It's heated, too. Mmm!
On Saturday, my kids went to their dad's for the week and Andrew went to his grandma's for the week. (his "mother" hasn't even called over the holidays; we haven't heard from her in months so it wasn't a big surprise, but...ugh.) We went to my parents' house Saturday evening because my brother & his family were visiting. We went out for pizza and hung out with them.
Also on Saturday night, we got shocking news - that Urban Meyer, head coach of the Florida Gators, was resigning for health reasons! We are passionate Gator fans, so we were absolutely devastated. However....
On Sunday, we found out that he has changed his mind and will not be resigning after all, but taking an indefinite leave of absence. We are praying for his health. The rest of Sunday was spent doing next to nothing. I napped a lot, since I had to work Sunday night.
And now, here I am! I also changed my blog background tonight....you like?

Hope you had a Wonderful Weekend!

12.26.2009

Post-Christmas Fragments


It's....Saturday?! And yes, that means it's time to do Friday Fragments. Are we confused? Nope, Mrs 4444s just gave us a Christmas Break!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, or whatever Holiday you celebrate!

~*~ We are SO playing the lottery! Last Friday when I fragged, I told you about the great prizes I'd recently won. Well, since then, I've won TWO more awesome prizes, and John won a ham from work! I won Pajamas & Coffee from none other than Pajamas & Coffee herself! I got first prize for my remix of Santa Baby. Then I also won a wonderful wine basket from Stacy's Random Thoughts. I don't know how I got so lucky! Maybe it's some GOOD Karma coming my way? Hmmmm......

~*~ My niece got engaged for Christmas! My girls have already chosen their roles in the wedding. Little do they know it won't be for over a year. Ha ha!

~*~ One of the gifts we got our kids for Christmas was a movie pack. We put a DVD, a plastic popcorn bucket, and a bag of microwave popcorn in a gift bag for each kid. John chose Andrew's DVD - Team America. We had no idea what it was about and didn't look at the rating on the back.
Have you seen Team America? Let's just say this was a HUGE parenting FAIL! Fortunately the teenage son noticed the rating so we previewed it last night after the kids went to bed.
Funny movie. VERY adult movie! Andrew will be getting a DIFFERENT DVD very soon!

~*~ Christmas Dinner was yummy!
Even Christmas Eve at the in-laws was good. Their Brit foods are usually a little...um...off-putting? (have you ever had parsnips? *gag*) But this year was yummy.
My Christmas Dinner turned out great.

~*~ The holiday was very relaxing and mellow, which is absolutely the best if you ask me. I napped a lot! And that's one of my favorite activities.

~*~ The kids are now gone for a week. It will be nice to get as much sleep as I want and need, and mostly uninterrupted sleep! But I will miss them a lot.

I can't wait to read your post-Christmas posts!

12.24.2009

Christmas Blessings


John proposed to me on Christmas Eve, 2004. He just could not wait for Christmas!
That is one of the biggest Christmas Blessings I have ever received.
My mother was born on Christmas Day. A Christmas Blessing from many years ago.
My first daughter was born on December 19th, 1995. I was so scared I'd be in the hospital for Christmas, recovering from the c-section. I had a 2 year old son to go home to! But I went home on December 23rd, with another Christmas Blessing.
I am 36 years old. I've had many Christmases. Mostly good. Some years, it was harder to get into the Christmas spirit. But I did my best for my kids.
But the past six Christmases have been the best ever. They're the ones I've spent with John.
He has brought the magic of Christmas back into my life. He loves Christmas and really gets into the season. We have given to charity every year. We always choose a real tree - John loves them. We shop together and have so much fun choosing things that will make our children and other family members smile. He gives the best gifts, not because of their cost but because of the thought and care he puts into them.
This year, we will be celebrating Christmas at our home with all four of our children, and my parents. They are all healthy, happy, and loving.
I have wonderful, supportive friends who know me very well....and love me anyway.
This year, we found a church that we love and a wonderful church family. More and more Christmas Blessings!
We are blessed to have a warm, comfortable home and plenty of food on our table. When we sit down at that table to eat our Christmas Dinner, we will have so very many Christmas Blessings to be thankful for. I could not ask for more.

Our Christmas Menu:
pineapple glazed ham
cheesy potatoes
broccoli cheese casserole
fordhook lima beans
glazed carrots
pretzel turtles
chocolate peanut butter bars
red velvet cake
eggnog
and whatever my mom brings. I requested she bring bread and fudge. I don't care about anything else!

Merry Christmas from the DysFUNctional Family!




12.23.2009

Isn't There Anyone Who Knows What Christmas is All About?





"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

LUKE 2:8-14


That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.


P.S. Tomorrow I'm going to post my Christmas 2009 post, Christmas Blessings, about all of the blessings in my life this Christmas Season. I'll have a McKlinky so that if you also post about your Christmas Blessings, you can link up!

12.22.2009

It may be winter, but it's harvest time up in here.



You know, I tried not to do it.
I really would like to be one of those extremely forgiving, zen people. One of those people who does not derive pleasure from seeing Karma bite people in their butts.
But when those people have been just utterly vile and horrible to me and my family.....I can't help but be quite pleased to see them get knocked off of their high horses.
Hard.
I'm just not at that enlightened state of consciousness that would allow me to feel sorry for these people, or not giggle maniacally a little bit at their misfortune.
Because these people have been viciously nasty to me for years. They have pretended to be so very superior to me. And I knew, all along, that they were fake. I was secure in my knowledge that I was not the horrible mother or evil person they portrayed me to be. And that their day would come. I even tried to warn them.
But they did not listen. They just went on their miserable little way, doing what they did best.
And now....it's come full circle.
Oh, they won't change. They'll keep running their mouths. Pretending to be better. Wondering why life keeps kicking them in the ass. They'll never learn.


*Random Acts of Kindness was cancelled this week so that I could be b*tchy. It will return next week. I'll put some extra money in the Salvation Army bucket to make up for it, promise!*

12.21.2009

Meatless/MeatFree Monday



Tonight, for Meatless/Meat Free Monday, I am making Classy Chaos's Polish Pickle Soup.
I can't wait to try it!
I'll update later....

***UPDATE*** It was DELICOUS!! If you like pickles, you gotta try it. YUM!

Holiday Weekend WrapUp


Hola, amigos! It was a very busy but wonderful weekend at Casa de DysFUNction.
We got all of our Christmas shopping done. I think everyone is going to be thrilled with their gifts. We had SO much fun shopping!
We started Friday after I got off work. We ran 40 zillion errands, dropped Andrew off to MIL, had lunch, then shopped some more. This is all after working all night, remember. I thought for sure I'd crash when hubby left for work, since I was home alone (my kids were with their dad). But I didn't - I stayed up and watched a movie and finished all of my Christmas cards!
On Saturday, we slept late, then got up and started shopping again. My brother & his family came into town, so we also met up with them. We got all of our shopping done, and when we got home we did some organizing and wrapping, and then watched a movie, before finally crashing.
So on Sunday, we slept late and missed church - woops! But we had a few more little things to do, which I'll be blogging about later. We also did all of our grocery shopping for Christmas dinner, so I won't have to be out in that mad rush! We finally got our Christmas tree, and got it set up before picking my kids up from their Dad.
When we all got home, we decorated the tree and made Pretzel Turtles. I found the recipe at OurBestBites.com and they were incredibly easy and delicious. We topped ours with cashews, honey roasted peanuts, M&M's, and Reese's Pieces. So far we've given some to our neighbor, Shelbie's Acteens leader, and I brought a bunch to work. Big hit!
And now, here I am at work, starting another week. But it's a short week since the holiday is at the end!
It feels so good to totally enjoy the holidays. I haven't always, but in recent years, I have so much joy in my life, and the Christmas season just seems to emphasize it all.
I hope you're enjoying the holidays as well!
If you want to WrapUp your Weekend and link up - be my guest!

12.19.2009

The Great Interview Experiment

This year I decided to take part in Citizen of the Month's Great Interview Experiment. This is the third year that Neil (or @neilochka, as I think of him) has hosted this project and my first time joining in.
I was interviewed by Elly at BugginWord, and you can read that interview here.
I had the honor of interviewing Lynn at Human Being Blog. Both Lynn and her blog are fascinating and I highly recommend checking them out!
Here is Lynn's interview. Enjoy!

1. I see that you got married recently. How did you meet your husband, and how did he propose?
We met online on chemistry.com. It was a brand-new dating site, and when I searched for "men 38-45 within 200 miles of Denver," he was one of two people and the only one with a picture. We talked by email for several weeks because I was juggling multiple guys who, one by one, stood me up at Starbucks. (Seriously. Every one. At Starbucks.) I was pissed, and officially "done" with dating, so Steve was going to be my last date. We had lunch on 12/29/2005, and he took me to a very nice restaurant. I ordered wine, appetizers, the most expensive entree thinking, so-long sucker. But then, he was really cute. And the conversation was great. And three hours (!) in, he asked for a second date. And he kissed me at my car, and my knees actually buckled. So, he WAS my last date. We've been together ever since.

He asked me to marry him on 06/07/08, when I finally was ready. (I did a lot of hemming and hawing for two years before that.) We'd had an incredibly romantic date in month 4 of our relationship that involved moongazing on Denver's Millennium Bridge, and it became an iconic location for us. On that June day, he took me on a date in downtown Denver and we wound up on the bridge. I suspected what he was up to, but I tried to play down my suspicions. We play a silly game on occasion in which I flash him in semi-public places. (My mom doesn't read your blog, so I'll tell the real story here.) I had my back to him, and when I turned around to flash him, I found him on one knee flashing ME ... with my ring. I don't really remember the whole proposal. First, I had to cover my boobs and fast, and second, the whole thing was otherworldly. I did say yes!

We tried to get married on the bridge, but there was just too much red tape. Instead we got married just beyond it on top of a hill in Denver's Commons Park that has a gigantic granite sundial/compass set into it. Perfect.


2. How did Days of Grace begin?

I started doing a gratitude list on Facebook, and a friend there pointed me to Schmutzie's blog. She started the Grace in Small Things project, and I joined in. I don't remember why I changed it to Days of Grace. The project has been a real life-changer for me, especially on those really shitty days when everything sucks. Some days I can only be grateful that I'm breathing, the Earth hasn't slipped into the sun, that I have a roof over my head and Internet access. Or for chocolate. I can be grateful for chocolate every day of my life. Here at the end (tonight I posted #255) it's gotten harder to post consistently, but I'm going to plug through to 365/365. After that, I'll re-evaluate starting again. The cool thing is I have about a half-dozen friends who are now doing Days of Grace too.


3. Tell me about your light box.

Ah, you mean my drug of choice! (Besides sugar. And crack. But cheaper and easier to get.)

I have slow-cycling bipolar disorder that plunges me into depression in the winter and into mania in the summer. It's fun! Many studies have shown that seasonal depression--the "winter blues" if you will--can be helped with specific wavelengths and intensities of light early in the morning. I've been using a lightbox every morning from September through March for the past 10 years. Some years it helps. Some years it doesn't help so much. Right now, I'm using it for an hour each morning right now, and by February I'll be using it 2-3 hours a day. When my daughter Lauren is 18, I'm moving to some equatorial country so I don't have to deal with this anymore, I've decided. Maybe Guatemala.


4. "Perfect Pizza - One I don't eat." WHAT?? If you don't like pizza, what is your favorite food?

It's not that I don't like pizza, it's that pizza doesn't like me. Or people don't like being in the same room with me after I've eaten pizza, especially my husband. I've been experimenting with lactase pills and have successfully consumed pizza without contaminating the house. But my favorite food is sushi. I can eat sushi every day, twice a day, and still want more. And sushi? Loves me back.


5. I see that you recently read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I could NOT get interested in that book. Should I try again? Can you give us a review?

Edgar Sawtelle is a love-it or hate-it book, in my opinion. First, I have to say that the author is a member of my very large writing community here in Denver, so my desire to read the work of a bestselling author who I can actually meet without standing in a long line made the more difficult parts of the book worth working through. Here's what I loved: The language. The imagery. The descriptions of how dogs are trained. The allusions to Hamlet. (I was an English minor--creative writing, and Hamlet's one of my favorite plays.) I love how we readers were able to get into the dog's head. I love that Edgar goes on an epic journey. I also love that the book was a challenging read. As a writer who aspires to also write literary novels--like Sawtelle--I actually read it twice: once for pleasure and a second time to look at craft. I do admit that I skimmed some of the letters included in the book (and if I were his editor, I would have cut a lot of that). In the end of both readings, I came away from the story thinking about the Sawtelle dogs and wondering how they are. That, to me, is the sign of a great book. (I still wonder about Jane Eyre, and if she ever got sick of Mr. Rochester, too.)


6. How is step-parenting/blended family life going? Are you one big Brady Bunch happy family, or has the road been bumpy?

Oh, step-parenting is the most difficult thing in the world. It's bumpy, and I don't write about it a lot because a) my stepson is 12 and is entitled to his privacy b) Steve and I don't see eye-to-eye on how I parent his son and c) I totally suck at it. Steve does a good job with Lauren. I just don't do a great job with his son. If it ever gets to the point of being funny I may write about it, but it remains in the realm of pain-I-am-ashamed of. That's a realm I don't reveal in public.


7. How did you get interested in salsa dancing?

I've always been a dancer. I started ballet when I was 3 and danced until I was 25, including leading my high school pom squad for four years. I met my first husband while country-western dancing, then when CW fell out of vogue, I quit for about 8 years. Right after my divorce, I was dating a latin jazz drummer who often played at salsa clubs, and he wanted to take classes. He invited me to join him for a 4-week class, and I fell in love on that first night. With salsa, not him. That was in 2005. I love the music. I love moving my body. I love to flirt (and yes, Steve knows and couldn't care less because I always come home to him). I love the workout. I've tried other types of partner dancing recently, and I keep coming back to salsa. Now I'm in a performance group.


8. I couldn't help but laugh at the pink hair fiasco. My 8 year old daughter would LOVE it! Was it the color you wanted by your wedding day?

We were going for this multilayered red/auburn/gold gloriousness of hair. The mistake was the lowlight color, which was on the pink side of red, vs the orange side of red. There was a lot of it and in the sun, I looked like a freak show. I love my stylist, and she made it all better. But I was panicked for a few days. (And laughing too.)


9. I'm fascinated by your adoption story. Have you seen the new ABC show, Find My Family? If so, do you like it, or does it seem a little too much like TV endings and not real life?

I haven't seen that show, but it does intrigue me. Not everyone who is adopted is willing to search. Searching is scary, because as an adoptee, you usually are completely fucked up with abandonment. And even if you know that your birthmother was a crackhead whore who would have left you starving in the gutter while she gave $5 blowjobs, and your adopted family was Bill Gates, you still wonder what was so wrong with YOU that your birthmother gave you away. And, if you find said crackwhore and she doesn't want anything to do with you, then all that money you've spent on therapy was wasted because likely you'll have to spend it again.

That said, I'm really glad I searched and found. Because I have a relationship with my birthmother, who is SO LIKE ME it's scary, and my brother Eric came to my wedding and Thanksgiving. I love them in a cautious way. And, I have all of my family medical history, which came in handy when I had melanoma (I learned it's hereditary on both sides of my family, so I am now especially careful to watch my skin and Lauren's) and also in understanding my mental illness (I have two uncles who are schizophrenic, and first and second-degree relatives with bipolar disorder, major depression and panic disorder). And, I've been able to let go of the fantasies most adoptees have--admitting them is another story--about the life they missed out on.


10. What made you decide to start blogging?

I've been blogging on different platforms for about four years now. My blog before this one was on a membership site for adults, where I joke that I was as popular as Dooce. Ha! Mostly it's because I write erotica under a pen name, and I published a lot of it there in my blog. But I found that I wanted to write about the rest of my life, not just my sex life, and those posts were too far off-topic for that audience. I fumbled around on Facebook for a while, then a friend turned me onto Dooce, who led me to hundreds of other female bloggers who not only wrote about their lives, but some actually made money from it (which I've decided not to do--for now). I've read a lot of books like ProBlogger that talk about finding a blogging niche, but I've decided that my niche is me, and working my shit out in public, and telling stories I want to tell. I get emails frequently from people who tell me I'm brave for putting myself out there, and I get equal numbers of comments and emails telling me that what I write about helps them feel not so alone. I know that other people struggle with the same things I do, and I also know one reason I'm here this time around is to share my story. When I started human, being, I intended to take a more spiritual tack--how we're all spiritual beings having a human experience, and writing about trying to be less of a human "doing" and more of a human "being"--but it hasn't gone that way, necessarily. The bottom line is that I write because I have to--it's truly a compulsion, has been all of my life--and for some odd reason, I'm more honest when I know I have an audience who can call bullshit on me. human, being will be one year old in a couple of weeks, and I feel like it's still evolving. But then, aren't we all.

We certainly are, Lynn. Thank you so much for taking time to answer my questions so openly and honestly. I really enjoyed exploring your blog!

12.18.2009

Friday Fragments

Mommy's Idea

I am so glad it's Friday. Not only for the obvious reasons; I'm off tonight, the weekend is almost here, etc. But also? My brain is so totally overflowing with Fragments! And now it's finally time to empty my brain here, for Friday Fragments. Whew! What a relief. It was starting to hurt!

~ So, I mentioned earlier this week that I've won some cool giveaways recently. I thought today, I'd show you my winnings!

I won this lovely jewelery from Mary Mac of Pajamas and Coffee fame. I heart her.



Aaaaand I won this DVD from Tiaras & Tantrums. I heart her too, and now my kids do as well!



~ I actually survived Shelbie's 14th Birthday party! The girls were actually wonderful. I particularly love a couple of her friends who came over. Awesome kids! And Tim did not bother the girls at all. Except for one little thing. The girls were playing volleyball in the garage, and they suddenly came running in shrieking, saying they had heard something outside. It was probably a cat or something, who knows. Anyway, they all went into Shelbie's bedroom after that. So Tim just HAD to go outside and knock on the bedroom window. Seriously, it was just too great of a temptation for an older brother to resist! I wasn't mad, in fact I told him I'd have been disappointed in him if he hadn't done it! The girls were appropriately terrified and it was really funny.

~ Something terrible happened this week. I lost a wiener. Seriously. I lost one of my dogs, my 16 year old little dachshund, Suzie. I have never, ever lost a dog before and it was terrifying. And here's the part where I admit to being the worst doggie mama EVER - I took her out to pee (for her to pee, that is, not me), and I forgot about her. I always stay outside with her so that she doesn't wander off. Well, I was getting a box fixed up that was full of Christmas decorations I was giving away on Freecycle (I promise I really was, I'm not just throwing that in to make me sound less awful). And when I finished with the box, I went inside. Totally forgetting that Suzie was outside. Then, we all LEFT!! We took John to work, all the way in another town. We got home over an hour later, then I proceeded to fix dinner, STILL forgetting about my sweet old lady. It wasn't until the kids were eating and I started to feed the dogs that I realized she was missing, and then it hit me....Oh.My.GOD. I forgot about Suzie!! I went outside with a flashlight, searching frantically. No Suzie, but I swore I heard her barking off in the distance.
The kids and I jumped in the car and started driving around. I saw a man in his yard and as I stopped to ask if he'd seen her, an SUV was driving by and she stopped and asked me if I'd lost a dog! She had my Suzie! She'd seen her wandering the streets (sniff, my poor baby), picked her up and took her to her house. Suzie was in a kennel in this lady's backyard, barking her poor little face off! She was SO happy to see us. She was cold, shaking and so scared. She licked my face off! And I? Still feel awful. I gave her people food when we got home to try to make it up to her a little bit. Needless to say, I will no longer take my eyes off of her when she is outside doing her business! I never want to lose a wiener again; it's quite traumatizing.

This is Suzie, only she has a lot of gray in her muzzle now, she's at least 16 years old. She's a shelter rescue and my little shadow.


~ Tonight on the way to work, John and I were worried about something. The song "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley came on, the one where he says "Don't worry, about a thing. Cause every little thing, is gonna be alright." I said to John, "See honey? Don't worry about a thing, every little thing is gonna be alright." Shortly after getting to work, I found out that the thing we were worrying about was fine. So, Bob Marley really was right! I've been listening to reggae on Pandora all night, there's just something so peaceful and relaxing about this music.

~ We'll be finishing our Christmas shopping this weekend! I started really early (for me) this year and actually don't have much left. Which makes me VERY happy!

Whew! I think my brain is now officially dumped. I hope y'all have a great weekend and can keep the Christmas spirit, even if other shoppers make you slightly homicidal!



Visit Half Past Kissin' Time for more Fantastic Friday Fragments!

12.17.2009

Santa Baby

Dear Santa,
I've been a really good girl all year. I did not kill, choke, or stab anyone, despite being seriously tried and tempted. Not even one person! Are you proud of me? Because I'm quite proud of myself.
I haven't asked for much, Santa Claus. I am really a low-maintenance girl, and quite easy to please.
So here's a song for you.
Love,
Cyndy

Santa baby, just slip a Netbook under the tree, for me
Been an awful good girl,
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight!

Santa baby, a Mustang convertible too, or TWO,
Son's a Mustang fan too,
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight!

Think of all the revenge I've missed,
Think of all the butts that I haven't kicked!
Next year I could be just as good
If you check off my Christmas list...

Santa baby, what good's a Netbook without Wifi? Oh my.
Been an angel all year,
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight!

Santa honey, one little thing that I really need, some cash,
Just a nice little stash,
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight!

Santa cutie, and fill my stocking with a nice cruise, and booze,
Sign your x on the line
Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight!

Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some cute stuff that I don't even need!
I really do believe in you,
Let's see if you believe in me...

Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring,
And yes I do mean a phone,
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight!

12.16.2009

Wordful Wednesday Weekend WrapUp

Say that three times fast!
Yeah, I know, it's already Thursday AND I'm way late on my Weekend WrapUp. But I'm always late. That's how I roll.
This post is going to be wordful and picture-ful. I have lots to share!



On Friday night, we had Shelbie's 14th Birthday party. I gave them the camera and they apparently forgot they are teenage girls, because they took very few pictures! But I did get a couple.



I get her a monkey every year for our birthday. She loves them and it's our little thing!



She said she wanted to highlight her hair for her birthday, so we got her highlighters. She doesn't seemed pleased, oddly enough. Teenage girls; who can figure them out?!

On Saturday, both our town and our neighboring town had a Christmas Parade. Ours is during the day, the neighboring town has theirs at night. The weather held out for us; it rained much of the day but was mostly clear for the parades, with a little bit of misting.


Our day parade...








...and their night parade. (yes, theirs is cooler, I know.)

And now, let me tell you about Sunday. After church, we went to the site of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition which was being done in the town near us. Both of the older kids were at parties, but the little ones went with us and we had a blast! We also went back on Monday for the big reveal.

Ty Pennington on the roof. The girl in front of us screamed "I LOVE YOU TY!", so he was waving at her.
and this is him on the roof, pretending to do some work for the cameras!

This is Paulie, greeting the Gator mascots, Albert and Alberta.

Paulie was super-friendly and posed for pics with Elayna and Andrew!

Here, Paulie is chatting with Andrew.

This is Eduardo, Ty, Paulie, and Didi, standing in front of the house.

Alberta giving Andrew a hug.

Didi signing Andrew's shirt on Monday.

The Gator Marching Band.

Alberta entertaining the kids....as you can see we were FRONT ROW of the crowd!

...the house...

Ty, watching the limo pull up with the family inside...


this is the limo pulling up with the family!

And this is the family waiting for them to MOVE THAT BUS!




This is the family just after seeing their new home for the first time!

I can't wait to see the inside of the house when the show airs in February. We had a really good time, and Paulie and Didi were especially friendly. It was a unique experience for all of us and I'm really glad we did it!

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Visit Angie at Seven Clown Circus for more WordFUL Wednesday posts!