A special trip to Austin

Yesterday was my nephew Jonah's blessing. And, of course I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I got up at 7 and since it takes me forever to get ready, it was 9 o'clock when I finally got on the road. I took my mom with me and thankfully we made really good time (3 hours). When we got to the house I had to go immediately and see Jonah, who was asleep. I tried flicking his feet so he would get up, but no. He wanted to wait til his mommy got in the shower. He is a freakin' cutie pie! So chubby and cuddly and my favorite part- he's a REDHEAD! We all got ready (Jesse's parents and sister were there as well) and headed to church. The blessing was very sweet, Jesse did a good job. I am sure he was a tiny bit nervous, but you couldn't tell. It was hard not to feel the Spirit and get teary eyed.
After church we headed back to A & J's so we could change and catch part of the Cowboy's game. And, Jonah needed to be "topped off" (fed a little- Amy's words not mine- but darn funny!) before we headed to lunch. We then went to Trudy's for some yummy Mexican food. Seriously so good, can't even explain. After a few pictures and hugs goodbye, we headed back to Fort Worth. Of course, being a true shop-a-holic I had to stop at The Famous Christmas store to check out the goods. I was still on the hunt for a nativity set and a new Christmas tree. The mice in our barn got into what was gonna be my rustic tree and chewed the wires and made more than 1 nest- yuck! Well, their trees were way too expensive, starting at $375 and going for more than $2500. So, I passed on those but did end up finding a nativity that was 40% off. After that we stopped at Target and looked at trees. It was after 7 when we got on the road. I spent the first hour of our drive calling every store I could think of looking for a tree. Finally at 10 (I was hauling butt) we stopped at a Grand Prairie Target so I could get my tree and a few food items for breakfast and school lunches. I finally made it back home at 11:15. I was so tired I think I was hallucinating.... and, my tree had a whole section of broken lights- ugghh! I got to sleep at 1:30 and have spent all day today in pajamas. But, I am almost all done decorating. Thanks Jon for exchanging my tree. Thanks Amy and Jesse for having us over on y'alls special day. Thanks for riding with me mom and not back seat driving. And, Kel- I am sorry I haven't made it over yet. I am trying. I hope Fynn is all better.

Happy Family


I got a pic of Jonah smiling!!


And, Jonah sleeping... aww!


My new nativity and my nativity snow globe. I am now obsessed with getting more and more nativity sets. There was one in the Christmas store in Austin that cost $25,000!!!


P.S. Yes, I shopped and ate out on the Sabbath, I am working on that... For the record it seemed strange shopping for a nativity set on a Sunday.

Under construction...

Ok, so I am behind on all things Christmas. Normally I would have decorated, done picures and cards, shopped, and re-vamped my blog Christmas style by now. But, I have been busy otherwise: 2 roadtrips, dog surgery, dentist appointments, a baby blessing, and 1 science fair project to be exact. So, today I am in the process of getting alot of it done. The outside of the house is decorated, finally. Half the inside is done and half the blog is done. So, I am getting there. Since I am computer challenged, my friend Shannon is doing my blog for me. Thanks Shannon! Hopefully between her creativity and my input we can get it all done up soon!

Winners!!

So, I forgot about the drawing, oops! Should have already done this yesterday.... But, in my defense I left for Austin at 9 o'clock and got home after 11 last night, yikes!! I will be blogging about it all later, since I know you are dying to find out about my day... Anyway- I finally got around to doing the drawing and the winners are:

Vanessa


Sarah


Amanda

So, shoot me an email with your address and I will get them sent out tomorrow. Congrats!

I wasn't kidding

Yep, we really do have 6 trees. To me they are prettier than the pictures show. And, some of them look shorter than they really are. Of course I love them all. And, I confess: the kids trees are new and different this year and the other three pictures were taken last year. But, they will look exactly like they do in these photos. I just haven't done them yet. Let's pretend that I took all of these tonight. Okay? The pictures really don't show what they look like in person, but I may be a little biased. Let me know what you think.

The master bedroom tree. It matches our black, white, and red toile bedroom.



Our game/TV room tree. I remember from last year that my kiddos had been fiddling with things, so it's kinda crooked. We put popcorn strings, movies tickets, etc. on it. This year I might add some mini candy boxes....



The western/rustic living room tree



Chan's music tree. Guitar picks, guitars, silver music notes, and sheet music fabric.



Hunter and Hayden's beach tree. Their room is done in surf stuff. So, I did sunglasses, paper umbrellas, leis, and a starfish topper.


Chloe's tree. Pink, black, high heel shoes, pearls, and ribbon.

'Tis the Season

Well, I am off to a roaring start. I have been to the mall 2 times, Hobby Lobby 3 times, Wal-Mart 4 times, and Target 7 times and I have bought 1 gift. Umm yeah, I need to work on that... I have been mainly looking at decorations, ornaments, cards, lights, etc. Normally I would have decorated my house and then some by now, but I can't get Scrooge (Jon) to get his butt in gear, he keeps my Christmas stuff in the scary place- the attic. And, I don't do the attic. Ever. So, I have just been accumulating more decor than I need. I am hoping he'll get the hint. Hmmm, we'll see. So, while I am on the subject of Christmas, I thought I would ramble on about a few things I have noticed/encountered the past few days.

First, other than a beautiful snow globe depicting The Nativity, I have never actually owned one. So, I am on a mission to find the most beautiful set I can afford, hopefully no more than $100. I have been checking out all the stores I have been in and nada. Hobby Lobby had some nice ones and they were on sale, but the prettiest ones were gone. I went in Michael's tonight and searched and searched, but again- nothing. So, I asked the girl at the front counter if they had any, and she didn't know what I was talking about!! I am not even kidding. And I said to her, in one giant run on sentence: "Are you for real, seriously, you have got to be kidding me, you don't know what a nativity set is???" I am stunned.

Second- I am a little nervous to go out shopping this year. I have heard countless stories of people being mugged or robbed, some at gunpoint. I know it happens, but this year seems worse than ever! I have never been afraid to go out at night, I do it all the time. But, I am changing that this year. Today I went shopping and left my purse at home. Felt very weird, but I am gonna keep doing it or drag Jon shopping with me. Which, is pretty painful. He just shuffles along, looking bored, hands in his pockets. I can practically see the dollar signs flying out of his ears. I really think he would rather get his chest hairs hot waxed than shop. Men, is it really that bad? I just love it. My heart really does skip a beat when I pull into Target.

Third- Yes, I know all the Santa stories and legends, etc. But, when exactly did Christmas turn into what it is today? Not much more I can say about this, but I think you know what I mean. Even though I am a Christian (yes, it's true) I had never before focused on the true meaning of Christmas, especially since I had been inactive for so long. I mean I did, but not as much as I should have. But, I have learned alot this past year and I am more thankful now than ever for the gift of our Savior. So, Christmas will have a much deeper meaning for me and my family than ever before. We will still do all the same stuff we normally do: Santa, cookies, presents, etc. But, we will be focusing alot more on Christ. And, on a sorta side note: does anyone know if Santa Claus was one of the three wise men? I didn't think so. Because, I kid you not, I saw a decoration that is Mr. Claus looking down at baby Jesus in his manger. Seriously.

And last but not least: I am missing 1 antler from my car reindeer costume. Remember from last year? Enjoy last year's giant reindeer post here. And yes, I am gonna use it again this year. Instantly embarrasses children, one of my favorite past times.

Blog Post #499!

Holy cow, I just noticed that I am 1 away from 500, DANG! WOW! SERIOUSLY! That's alot of talking and writing.

Tonight, I am gonna do one of my all-in-one posts, just because I feel this overwhelming urge to blog. Not really. Just sounded good. So, here's what's up:

I haven't started decorating for Christmas yet. If you know me, this is a shocker! I just haven't had the chance, I am just getting things running smooth since our trip and today was so windy, that the outside decorations were a no go. I will decorate by Monday morning. I have put myself on a deadline! I have 6 Christmas trees that are itching to be decorated. Yep, 6 of them.

Coco got "fixed" today. I never thought I would ever see that dog this calm. She is not doing so hot. She still won't eat or drink and she is very lethargic, even though her surgery was over 12 hours ago. Daisy is beside herself without her buddy. I finally had to put their kennels nose to nose so they could look at each other. Daisy seems so worried about Coco which is sweet. The funniest thing is Coco's buster collar, which keeps getting hooked on things like door frames and laundry baskets. The next 2 weeks are gonna be interesting.

My beautiful new boots came in the mail today. Cheers! But, they don't freaking fit!! I am bummed beyond belief. And, I am not even sure how big the extended calf of the boot was. Because the only thing stopping me from trying them on is called a BUNION! Oh man, I was ticked. That is putting it mildly. I was already creating lovely outfits in my brain, but it just wasn't meant to be. I'll just stare at chicks in knee boots and daydream. Hopefully no one gets the wrong message.

I am super excited about this weekend. My sweet little nephew Jonah is getting blessed on Sunday. So, I will be heading to Austin to see him and his Mommy and Daddy on their special day. I can't wait to see how much he's grown. I kinda feel bad about church though. I haven't been to my new ward in over 2 weeks and Sunday will make it 3. Hopefully no one forgot my name! I am really enjoying the friendships I have made and the people I have met so far. If anyone from FW 3rd is reading: I'll be back! Promise!

I am halfway through Eclipse, and I am enjoying the books more than I thought I would. I really love to read and there aren't too many books I won't read. I had heard these books were cheesy and teenagery, but so am I! Sure, there are some far-fetched parts and there have been some dull moments, but so far they are good. I am gonna go see Twilight tomorrow evening, and I am looking forward to it. And, I have promised my boys that I will start the Harry Potter books next. I have read the first book, back in 2001. Which seems forever ago, so I will be starting all over again soon.

I have moved from the fat ladies department (as my mom likes to call it) to the not fat ladies department at Dillards. I was actually able to fit into a size 14 dress tonight. Granted, I couldn't breathe or feel my breasts, but still. I have been shopping at Lane Bryant for years, so it's nice to have other options, even an XL. I was feeling pretty ick about dieting and stuff, but tonight recharged my weight loss batteries. I have a new goal of size 8 by next Summer, help me!

And, last but not least. I have been approached by a website about posting an article about popular toys for the holidays. So, if you see an article pop up in the next few days, don't be alarmed. It's just a guest blogger. And, I am getting paid. Pretty cool huh?

So, there you have it. Today's pot of blogger soup. Come back and see me real soon, ya hear?

FREE Chocolate!!

Awhile back I blogged about my love of the new Chex Mix Bars, maybe you remember? Well, imagine my surprise when I was contacted by this chick who does PR for Chex and she offered me 3 free boxes of Chex Mix turtle flavor bars to give away! Yeah, I'll take those. As a bonus I got my very own box. So, I am doing every one's favorite: a no-strings attached GIVEAWAY! Three of my lovely readers will win their very own box, to eat, share, save, or whatever you feel like doing with them.... Personally, I eat them when I am craving a candy bar. I also give them to the kids as a snack either after school or to take to school. Plus, they have WHOLE GRAINS! So, what are you waiting for? Hurry! Enter, as often as you'd like. I will pick a winner sometime Sunday. So, you have til Sunday morning. Winner will be notified via a blog post and an email from moi! Good luck!