Oh Fuuudge!

I was having a hard time figuring out what to get Ryan for Christmas. He gave me a few not-so-great ideas, one of which was a router table (whatever that is!). I could get him a shirt or two for work but other than that I couldn't think of anything on my own or anything that was exciting. So I went out and got him the router table. He needs it to put in a sliding shelf in my armoire so he'd be buying one sooner or later regardless. Besides, I'm cheap. I'm saving us money in the long run by buying it as a Christmas gift. I wasn't excited about it but I got it anyway.

When I got it home I stashed it in the garage after taking a picture of it. I printed out the picture so I could wrap it up and give it to him for the present (there's no way I'm hauling the big ol' box to and from Modesto!). As soon as I printed out the picture I quickly forgot about it and left it sitting on the desk. When Ryan came home we were sitting around talking and I spotted it! I had a knee-jerk reaction and quickly swiped it away. By doing this I got Ryan's attention and he saw the picture.

Yep, that's right, he now knows what I got for him. Had I quietly taken the picture and not drawn attention to what I was doing then I could have gotten away with the deed. Alas, I did not. And I am not returning it either (remember, I'm saving money here!). So I got him a i-tunes gift card to go with it.

As I am not excited about his gift in the least, at least the task has been accomplished! Now all I gotta do is wrap it.

Did You Hear That?

I couldn't find Isabel's shoes today. I looked all over the house. Well, just about everywhere. Who knows where they are, they could be anywhere! So we went to Target after picking Caleb up from school.

Isabel it two. Remember? She shouldn't care what shoes she gets, right? I tried to put two different pairs of shoes on her and she SCREAMED and writhed in the cart until I either stopped trying or she got them off as soon as I put them on. I don't think there was a soul in the store who didn't hear her. Part of me was laughing and the other, well, was not. (oh, and another part was saying 'I'm so blogging this!')

I finally started showing her the shoes and she'd say 'no', 'no'. Then she finally said 'yes' to a pair I held up, and she let me try them on her. No screaming or writhing in agony. Huh. Well how 'bout that, she's got a mind of her own (phooey!). At this point I didn't care too much how they fit, they were close enough, so we got them. Sheesh! It shouldn't have to be this hard! She's two, remember?

Dental Appointment - DONE!!!

I survived yet another visit to The Chair and all went well. I thought I was going to have a deep cleaning, I was wrong. I had a medicated cleaning, which is a much easier procedure (no whole-mouth numbing required) Whew! I felt better right then when the dentist corrected me! Praise the Lord!!!!

Speaking of The Lord.....we had some good quality time together this morning. It would have been nice to spend that time praying for other people, but to be honest I was selfish and prayed mostly for myself. Also, I took my new pocket bible with me (I read a little while in the waiting room....Philippians 4:4-7 was a good one for me this morning!). I didn't intend to hold onto it the whole time, but I did. It's the perfect size to clutch in situations like these. I love my new bible!

Of course no dental visit is complete without leaving with another appointment to return. The service was good, but not that good as to go back again! But return I must (or so they say). I go back in four months for a check up to see if my 'pockets' are better. If so, then I can go to a regular six month schedule (and empty my pockets only twice a year).

A great big Thank you to those who prayed for me this morning! I appreciate it more than I can say. And I know that the Lord honored those prayers, for I didn't make a spectacle of myself and was in a relative peaceful state of being while in the chair.

Dental Woes

I am not looking forward to tomorrow. I'm just not. Why, you ask? I have a dental appointment, that's why! It's no secret that I am not thrilled to go to the dentist. And when I am there I am not a model client. It's just not pretty when I am sitting in the chair. I've had my share of dental work, more than I care to ever experience again and I do not desire to return. Ever! But return I must.

Tomorrow I will be going in for a deep cleaning, a fix on an existing filling, and a bonding on one tooth. This will require my entire mouth to be numb (which I am thankful, but really why can't they just knock me out completely? I would be more thankful for that!). The good thing (really, there is a good part to this....at least this is what I keep telling myself) is that I am told that my appointment will only take an hour. Oh please let this be true!!!

I will be doing a lot of praying tomorrow. A lot. Feel free to join me.

In the mean time, here's a fun video of Bill Cosby and his take on dentists.

November Movie Review

Whoops, forgive my tardiness! I usually write my reviews and post them at the first of the month, but I forgot. Let me do that now.

Here is what we watched last month:

1. Lost (season 1) - We had started watching this back in October and were able to finish it. Of course, I've seen it already but Ryan has not. I can't tell you how much I enjoy watching it a second time. It's fun to watch it with someone who is is new to it and doesn't know what is going on! I love it when Ryan says "What?! What was that?" or "What is he DOING?!" hee hee Well, I know, but I'm not gonna tell! nee-ner nee-ner nee-ner!

2. Lost (season 2, well part of it) - Again, we only got about half way through. It's good man and I can't wait for Ryan to see how this season ends! Can't wait!

3. Amazing Grace - This was a recounting of the life of William Wilberforce during his time in Parliment and his actions that resulted in the end of the slave trade in England. I enjoyed it very much and thought it was well done. I like watching these kinds of movies, the kind that recount factual events. I highly recommend this one!

4. Spiderman 3 - Well, can't get much different from Amazing Grace now can we? What can I say about Spidey other than he was a big blockbuster film, was the third in the series, and I needed closure. The movie was fine. It was dark, as I had heard, but not bad. It still feels open ended, leaving room for yet another sequel. Phooey!

My favorite, by far, was Amazing Grace (not that didn't enjoy Lost, I did, but hey I can only have one favorite!). I would like to see more films like this. Anyone have any suggestions?

Photo Meme

I saw this meme on Amanda's blog and thought I'd give it a whirl! Here's how it works; just type in the answers to the questions on google images. Then paste the first picture that comes up. (ok, so I cheated on that part, but hey....my pics look great!)

1. Age at my next birthday



2. Place I’d like to travel



3. Favorite place



4. Favorite objects



5. Favorite food



6. Favorite color



7. Nickname



8. Place I was born



Consider yourself tagged, if you wanna play, and let me know in the comments so I can see your pics! (by the way....I think I love Googe Images!! That was fun!)

Toddlered Out!

I just spent a couple hours shopping.

With Isabel.

Now I'm mentally and emotionally exhausted! Isabel's new thing is that she insists on not sitting in the shopping cart seat and very much wants to be in the basket part of the cart.

This is a problem.

If I were to allow her to sit in the basket then she is constantly grabbing things off the shelves or anything her little arms will allow her to reach, touch and grab. When she is not reaching, touching or grabbing she is trying to climb out of the cart. This is why I prefer her to sit (as tightly bucked as possible) in the front of the cart. This she does not like. And getting her to physically sit in the seat is nigh impossible these days anyway. In fact I think we make quite a spectacle! If you can imagine trying to get a cat in a toilet then you can pretty much understand what it is like for me to get Isabel to sit and get buckled into a shopping cart!

Today I had two stores to go to. That's all. Just two. Costco and Target. Now, Costco's basket is shallow compared to your typical grocery store carts, so having Isabel in the basket is not an option at this store for I fear she would fall out while reaching, touching and grabbing. The only thing that pacified her (after being forced into the seat and buckled) was to hold the boxes that were Caleb's birthday and Christmas presents. Good thing she has a limited understanding and vocabulary.....I think the presents will remain a secret this year, but next year I will have to do my shopping alone (gee, what a bummer). Once we reached the cashier and the boxes were on the conveyor belt, Isabel was twisting and climbing out of her seat. I had no choice but to hold her (this too is no joy, for either of us).

Next stop, Target. This time I allowed her to be in the basket part of the cart. Once down in the bowels of the toy isles I let her grab a toy to keep her entertained (it was removed/returned before leaving that section). Again, I'm not surprised, by the time we reached the cashier she was ready to be out. It is difficult to keep her in the cart, not to grab anything off the conveyor belt AND pay. While in the midst of this juggling act I missed that one of the items I purchased had a higher price than I thought (by about thirty bucks!). I can't concentrate with Isabel and the whole cart issue thing going on! Now I have to return the high-priced item. I think I'll go at night, by myself! I'll brave the crowded stores with horrendous lines for the chance to be 'alone' while shopping.

But for now, I'm toddlered out and ready for an empty nest. *sighs and walks toward the bedroom to take a long, much deserved, nap*

My Favorite One

Oh Amanda is doing a photo-tag about our favorite ornaments and the winner get a gift certificate for Hallmark! Our tree is sparse this year due to the fact that we have not really ever bought ornaments because we've only had a Christmas tree twice in our 11 years of marriage. So the ornaments we do have come from when I was a kid, the ones my mom let me take that is, and they also come from a small box of decorations that was given to us as a wedding present (great gift idea, by the way, for those starting out!).

As I look around the tree to pick out my favorite ornament I came across this one:



I got this when I was in sixth grade, when I played the violin for a year. It may look like a guitar but it's not, it's a violin! My brother also got an instrument ornament that year in the same style and color, but I can't remember what it was! Was it a trumpet? I don't remember!!! Anyway, as much as I like this ornament (I'm a sucker for most things red), it is not my favorite. Close, but not my fav.

Then I saw this one:

This is a little stocking made of angora, my grandmother crocheted it and gave it to me when I was in junior high (I think? there's that memory thing again!). It is incredibly soft, I could hold it and stroke it all day! So I think this one is my favorite. It makes me think of my sweet grandmother and of long ago days when I was younger (much much younger) and I'd spend the day with just her. We would do all kinds of things, like make sweet, sweet ice tea, and sew, and play in their trailer (well, I played as she prepared it for their next trip). My Grandmother taught me many things and was always such a joy to be with. Yep! This ornament is my favorite!

Deckin' the Halls

This past weekend we bought ourselves a fake Christmas tree. It just made sense for our family since we tend to travel for the holiday and do not want a fire hazard left behind while we're gone. The great thing is that these artificial trees nowadays are being sold pre-lit! Score! The downside is that we now have an enormous box to store all year. I should also mention that it is quite heavy too, Ryan and I made quite a spectacle of ourselves trying to manuver the big-o-box into the cart at Costco. Thankfully a friendly employee helped out (**note to self: I really need to start working on my upper body strength next time I go to the gym).

So, Saturday night I pulled down the few boxes of decorations and let the kids decorate the tree. I have since pulled out a few other decorations and placed them around the house. I feel a song coming on........It's starting to feel a lot like Christmas.......

Mae putting the angel on the top

whoops, it's a little crooked

ornament hanging duo!

tree-decorating bliss!