Christmas in Arizona

The squirrel and I went to Arizona for a Christmas visit and have our own celebration there. We exchanged gifts and went shopping together, did some cooking and then, of course A had to get sick. I don't mean just any kind of sick, but really very sick. The last two days we were there we had to just stay around the house pretty much and watched movies together. I got to help my dad with his new digital camera, which was a really cool one. It's got a lot more bells and whistles than mine. Their house they're in now is a new one. They've got it all moved in and decorated so it was really very cozy. It had the touch of a model home, yet cozy too. I got to meet with an old friend for lunch and visit the bus yard I used to work at when we lived there. We went and ate at P.F. Chang's for lunch the day we got there. It was great, then off to the mall to walk around and just take in all the hustle and bustle. Also, trying to get the Christmas feeling going since it wasn't quite Christmas yet. The stay was a bit short, but we both really enjoyed ourselves and left feeling it had been a big success. The bummer part was that on the way back from PHX to our house, we got stuck in Dallas since the plane we were on left late out of PHX and American Airlines wasn't nice enough to wait for us to connect in Dallas to get home. It was the last flight out of Dallas to where we needed to go and the squirrel had a fever of about 103 by that time. I had to call and have G pick us up at the airport in Dallas which is at least 2 hours away. So, we waited for him for that 2 hours, then had to ride another 2 hours to get home. It was about 2:30a when we finally got in the door at home. But, home sweet home!

A quick Christmas in Texas post

Well, it's been a wonderful Christmas season. It's not completely over yet. Today, the 3 of us are going out to get firecrackers of sorts to set off tonight for our little festivities. These pictures were taken at my neice's house. Most of my husbands side of the family was here with an exception of his brother in Florida and his sister in Louisiana. We missed them being there, but wish them the best of everything for the coming year. I wanted to get a quick post in to show I am still around and we've been kind of busy with returning some of the gifts I got for G. I got him cowboy boots (ostrach ones). They are really hard to get the right size without the person being there. So then of course we had to get some boot cut jeans to go with them since his one pair of jeans looked funny. Then, of course you need a belt to hold up the pants that goes with the boots. Oh, and I almost forgot.... a nice long sleeved button up shirt to go with since all he had was work shirts. He made out pretty well for Christmas, and his birthday too which was yesterday... the 30th.
For his birthday, we went to Shogun's and it was delicious. It's a place where they cook the chinese food right in front of you! The cook we got was full of personality, so we just really had a blast. Then we went for a drink at TGI Friday's. I hope y'alls Christmas was great. I've got a little more to post for Christmas, but for now... chow.

I just thought this was thought provoking...

"Your true character is how you act when no one is looking". I just saw this neat little saying and wanted to share it with y'all. I know there's a lot of different sayings that make a really good statement and are very obvious in their point. This one however, to me struck a cord. I think since it's the New Year right around the corner, this is a good phrase to reflect on. Maybe you have something you think is important to reflect on in the New Year and would like to share it.
As the year comes to a close here in a few days, I am reminded how blessed I am.
I've been away from the blogging world for a while, but of course you know I haven't forgotten you- anyone. I've got some catching up to do reading your blogs, but look forward to doing that this weekend.
Let me know what you think about the phrase I came across. I know the New Year means a lot of different things to everyone, so I'd love to hear from you. I'm off to bed ... good night.

Would you believe this is the only picture we took?

Does anyone know how to lighten up the pictures after you've downloaded them from the digital camera to the computer? I would love to know how to do that. This was of course taken at night, in Natchochis, LA. Our little family of 3 went there for a couple of hours to walk around and look at the pretty Christmas lights, eat turkey legs like our squirrel is in the picture, cotton candy, and of course the famous meat pie. This was only about an hour or so from his parents house, so we went and stayed the night with them. We had a very nice visit with them. We go there at least every other month to visit and catch up on stuff. His Mom isn't feeling well at all. She's been sick with this and that for some time. She's been going through a bunch of tests for the health workers to figure out what's wrong with her. No one has found anything to make her feel as horrible as she has been feeling. Blood tests, MRI's, X-ray's, an angiogram, and lots of other fun tests that have done nothing but make her even more uncomfortable for a while after the procedure. I hate that word, "procedure", don't you? It's really just a nice word for "something really horrible that you should dread all night the night before you get it done",

So, Angelina is pregnant with Brad's baby?!?!? Whatever, I have to see it for myself. And, now to get even I guess--- Jen and "Slick" are going to plan to have a baby within the year also. Oh, and now Nicole Kidman is getting Tom Cruise back by marrying Keith Urban. I guess there have been worse crimes, but who ever heard of getting even by doing stuff like this? I guess they're getting even, it sure couldn't be because they love each other.

My little family has gotten rid of the puppy named, "Katie". We sold her, and went to this other town about 30 miles from our house to get another puppy. Katie was really just about the dumbest dog I'd ever met. She pee'd every time you even looked like you were coming her way to pet her or pick her up, or whatever. Plus, she was really rough with MY dog- Elvis. She'd bit and chew on him to 'play', but it left him with sores and scabs all over the place. Elvis is really way too nice. I would've eaten her for lunch by now, but he's a gentleman. Daisy- the puppy we have now (and will keep forever) is a border collie mix. I think she's mixed with an australian shepherd, but they never got a look at the "milk man". She is just the sweetest thing, with an awesome disposition. I know she'll learn fast, and really already is a great dog. We just have to do some fine tuning on her "house training". She's 4 months old and was born on Oct. 15th. Get this, my husband even likes her. We could've gotten her when I get back from AZ, but he said he doesn't mind watching her. He even sounded somewhat excited to get to do it. Daisy sits on his lap a lot and falls asleep.

I've been working every day for the past week at the Gap. It's good I guess because I'll have some money left over after Christmas. Lots of drama going on at the other job- the school bus job. It sucks, but I like the bus and the kids. Just not the people or "kind" of people I work with. I'll probably get all kinds of comments for that, but it really is awful the way these people act, and they're grown! So, I'm gonna go to bed now so I can pretend I'm going to sleep until my alarm goes off at about 4:30a to get us up and headed off to the airport. I'll keep up with the blog though probably while I'm there. Chow for now!

Broken Bow was a blast!

What a beautiful time! Broken Bow is in Oklahoma for those of you that didn't know. I didn't know either until this year. Everything was awesome and we had so much fun relaxing and just being together. I missed my parents that are in Arizona though. At least I get to go see them with my little squirrel in a few weeks. It's been a while. Anyway, this family get together was a lot of my husbands side of the family. His parents, one of his sisters and her husband, their daughter and her husband and daughter, his brother and his wife and their kids, and a few of the friends of the kids. We had nature walks, fires outside and inside, great food, and played a few games that were really cool. Time just flew by. I hate that because the day you have to go home comes so quickly. I hope y'all had a great time with your family/friends too! Tonight our little family of 3 put the tree up and decorated it and the house too. I'll post a picture or two of that tomorrow, but for now I just wanted to take the time to share my memories we made at Broken Bow. I will never forget seeing the leaves actually falling from the trees as the wind blew around. The colors of the leaves were so vibrant and I've got that in my mind forever. Thanks to God for all the beauty there was to enjoy out there. Good night.

Thanksgiving and all of it's fun

This was a day that will never be forgotten. The squirrel had a Thanksgiving presentation that her class made up. Both myself and G got to go to it since he's off work already for the rest of the holiday week and I was between my shifts. The class did somewhat of a musical/play and it was so sweet to watch. You could just tell how much it meant to her to be in it and have both of us there to watch her show off.
We leave for Oklahoma tomorrow to meet up with most of G's family. Of course they're my family too, anyway- it's going to be a great time. We're staying in cabins and we'll have campfires, roast marshmallows and make smores. The adults will probably play cards and sip a few cocktails. There are a few kids here and there, even a baby. It's going to be a memorable experience and I'll be taking all kinds of pictures. I've never been to the place we're going in Oklahoma, but most everyone in the family has been there before and says it's fabulous. So, enjoy your Thanksgiving with your family! We'll be gone until late Saturday. Toodles.

Being cheap can bite you in the butt sometimes

Okay, so we've got the first fire of the season going and we've got a count down to Christmas snowman on the tv. The only problem is, I bought the thing at the dollar store. It's sooo cute and has the little number cubes in it so you can rotate them to change the days left. So, there's not a 4 on the cube. Neither cube actually. So, today there's 34 days left until Christmas and we have to leave it at 35. We'll just know to add one I guess. The squirrel is modeling one of her outfits she got from her Nene in Arizona. By the fireplace, she's just got her PJ's on.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Import and export headquarters

Yes, that's a squirrel and I do have a way to get the title of this entry and the squirrel to come together. However, you have to hear about something else and give me your feedback first. Okay, so Howard Stern was on Letterman tonight. He was non-stop plugging his new station(s) on satelite radio. I have to admit, I used to be an avid Howard Stern listener in my hay day. Yeah, partied a lot and listened to his filth. So what. So, my question to you would be; would you or do you pay the 12.00/month for satelite radio? It's a lot to consider I think. I'm pretty sure I would IF I got rid of my overpriced COX internet connection and went with the alternative we have here in my neck of the woods which is half the cost even for high speed. That way, the two would equal the cost I'm forking over now for the one service. Just a little economics for those of you who care. So, let me know what you think.

Back to square one. I have officially declared my house the headquarters for the neighborhoods' import and export of nuts...etc... What? Those of you who are not familiar with the idea, allow me to explain. About a week ago or so, I hear some really weird noise on my roof. Wasn't a woodpecker as I've experienced those before. It was more of a scratching and quick feet kind of a sound. First I thought of the worst, we have rats! No we don't have rats! My neighbor informed me that it's squirrels and they do that all the time on my roof since it's the corner lot and a lot of telephone lines are attached to my house. I use the word "attached" loosley since they look like they could come crashing down at any moment. They seem to do pretty well though under the pressure of whatever a squirrel weighs. Folks here and in surrounding areas consider it a delacacy to munch on squirrel soup. My thought was to catch as many as I could and set up a stand somewhere with high traffic and sell them. It'd be a great money making business since the "imports" are always plentiful and then I could assist with the exports. They're very cute to the novest, I will admit. I mean, when I was young... I remember going to the Grand Canyon and seeing all the squirrels and thinking how neat it would be to have them around our house. To feed, and maybe even train and just really have fun with. What a dream, to have yer very own rodent who likes to nest in attics during the winter. After all, they don't need much sleep and I think are awake all the friggin' time. I woke up this morning fer instance to the sound of the Indianapolis Raceway on my roof. Really, if I closed my eyes for long enough... I could actually invision the laps they were doing on the roof. No shit! Really I could. The temperature was about 31 degrees at that hour and all I can figure is that they forgot their secret entry way to the attic while collecting their nuts and insects and mold. Yes, that's their diet. I know since I got on the internet to see if I could learn a few things about my new tenants. Although, it did say that they have very good memories and can most always remember where they've stored their food. So, my theory as to what they were frantically doing up there this morning is blown to heck.

Well, I've talked your ear off about my fine furry friends. I can't sleep right now since I've taken the daily dose of Guifenesin and Pseudifed to relieve the pressure in my sinuses that was driving me to insanity. Went to the doctor this morning becuase I woke up with a head splitting headache and just had to get rid of it. Turns out, I had a 100 degree fever, an ear infection and a sinus infection. This may be my demise. Vitamin C anyone?

I leave you with this... Squirrels are generally clever and persistent animals; in residential neighborhoods they are notorious for eating out of bird feeders, digging in potted plants either to bury or recover food, and for setting up house in sheltered areas including attics. (Per the online encyclopedia)

The life of an only child

What a sweetie this baby is. She's not a baby anymore I know, but she's my baby. I love her more than anything. Well, you know- I have God at the top, but then you know- she's flesh and blood. She's got a scarf wrapped around that poor pony's neck and is romping around her "playroom" pretending she's a cowgirl. We need to get her some boots and a hat cause she's already working on a southern accent. Her Daddy and I are very proud of her. She's getting all A's in her subjects, even Math!

I've started working at The Gap Baby/Kid and of course I find everything that would look great on her. We get a kick butt discount on everything there. 50% for our own stuff and 30% for the family stuff. Old Navy- we get a 20% discount since it's under the Gap Inc. umbrella.

Enough about work, although it is what has made me more sentimental about my time with A and G. I've been lacking at blogging these days because I'm trying to focus more on family when I can, when I'm not working. I'm not used to working full time, so between the two part time jobs, I am finished by 5p everyday. Saturday I work about 5-7 hours and then NO work on Sunday.

G is working on getting his physical training certification so he can go to gyms and train people who have nothing better to do with their money. He loves the physical fitness stuff. I, not so much. I should, but no. Gotta go cause I need to see when I work today and get some lunch for the fam. Thanks for visiting y'all! And for all the comments!

Toodles!

Our first print

I stumbled upon this print on the internet. I don't know really what site I got it from or I'd tell you. The point is though, this is the print that I gave to G on our first Christmas together. We have been married 10 years in May and still have it hanging over our bed.

So, this weekend has been a really nice one. I've been feeling a little better finally from this whole upper respiratory junk that has been bothering me for over a month now. Yesterday, G, A, and myself went to the Dallas Galleria. It was absolutely the most amazing mall I've ever seen in my life! It's got 4 levels to it, and an ice skating rink on the bottom level which you can look down and see from any of the other levels. We first drove to the Outlet Stores in Terrell. Then, we decided to keep going the extra 30 miles or so to Dallas. The drive home was murder, but it was worth the experience. For a born shopper, it was a dream. I got a great pair of Levi's at the Galleria, and got two long sleeve shirts from The Gap and Old Navy. They were outlet prices plus like 40% off. Got them for about 5 dollars each. That's about my budget.
Hope all of your weekends' are going well and that you're in good health. Lots of flu stuff going around. Take care......

Monarch Butterfly Costume

It was fun to meet the neighbors while trick or treating last night, but we could've done without the constant drizzle of rain and the 45 degree weather. We're not used to that yet. I did however, get the clever idea to drive around in the truck with the heater on and jump out when we saw a porch light. There weren't many of them because I think they assumed no one would be in their right mind to go out and do the Halloween thing. Leave it to us though! I wasn't about to dissapoint A after we'd gotten her costume and orange hair spray. We just had to go to plan B.
I hope y'all had a great night celebrating last night. Or, if you're not the Halloween type, I hope you at least gave candy!!! LOL

Butterfly season

Today we went to the Childrens Park down the street from our house. There were a lot of butterflies out and about. This one stood still long enough for me to get a good shot of it.