My Life as a Novel

I found some cranberries on a pretty good sale today. So I bought three 12 oz. bags and this is what I've got so far:

Labels: holidays

1. A quiet night at home tonight. Supper, a book, and the spot on the couch next to the Christmas tree. It'll be my "home base" for the next month or so. :)
   
   
2. It's becoming acceptable to listen to Christmas music openly. (Which brings up another subject: I'm looking for some recommendations for new holiday tunes. They'll move into heavy rotation in two weeks and I need to be prepared!)
   
   
3. I got something this morning that's going to make someone's Christmas present awesome. And it was free. :-D
   
   
4. THANKSGIVING is next week!! My family will be at my sister's house and we'll decorate her house and watch a Christmas movie and eat lots of good food and be together. And it will be my favorite day of the year.
   
   
5. It's cold outside. I'm ignoring the fact that it's supposed to warm back up this weekend. Right now, it's cold and that makes me happy.
   
   
6. Got my electric bill in this morning. $105! Which is a big deal!! That's LOW!! It's been too close to $400 for comfort in recent history.
   
   
7. This soup my mom brought me for lunch is pretty awesome. :)
   
   
8. I'm finishing up some projects that I've been working on in the next couple of days. Pretty great feeling to put that check on the checklist. (I was starting to feel I'd been very ambitious with my Christmas Crafting and design project list, but I'm moving along at a comfortable pace now and feel good about getting everything finished up.)
   
   
9. Is it ok to be excited about the holidays again? Even though I've included ideas of that already in numbers 1, 2, 3 & 4? :)
   
   
10. Australia.
    

I did it. I put up the trees. First of all, we insulated our attic this past weekend. (Just in time for it to get good and cold. Yay, Chris Mattingly! You're my hero!)

So all the boxes were down anyway. And I was not about to put them back up in the attic only to bring them back down in two weeks. And my house is not spacious enough to have big boxes sitting around in the way all the time.

Really, all these are just excuses to appeal to my pragmatic side. Ultimately, I wanted my Christmas tree up, so I put it up! :)

And here are the pictures!

The Living Room:

The Blue Room.

I debated about using colored lights on my big living room tree this year. But I like the white lights for that room, so I bought this little tinsel tree with some colored lights for the blue room (my crafting room and a guest room). And it makes me happy! :-D

Labels: holidays, photo

You know how every church has a "secret bathroom"? It's true. I think it's a secret that church architects share - that every church should have a Staff Only Bathroom. In the church where I work, the "secret bathroom" is in the Pastor's Study. Therefore, when he's at work, it's not accessible. So we share the hallway bathroom with a bunch of potty-training two- and three-year olds. Can be quite frustrating.

But when he's NOT here, the "secret bathroom" is fair play for any of the other office staff.

I'm pretty sure Hal knows what's up, even though it's not a verbal policy. Though, I do feel a little awkward, sometimes, walking into his office. Maybe there are "secret pastor things" in there that maybe I'm not supposed to see. So I maintain focus, eyes straight ahead, with one purpose in mind. In and out. As quick as possible. Grateful, every second, that I'm not in the Toddler Bathroom.

But, you see. There's this duck.

(Weren't expecting that one, were you?)

No, it's not a live duck, though it may have been at one time. I've never gotten close enough to investigate. Because it stares at me. Every time I'm in there. And it creeps me out.

It sits on top of a filing cabinet just outside the "secret bathroom" door. And glares at me with its beady red eyes as I walk in. And he's the first to notice if I emerge with toilet paper stuck to my shoe.

I would've taken a picture to accompany this post, but for some I've convinced myself that this duck can really see me. That if I took a camera back there and stuck it in his face, he'd bite at me or something. And THAT would really creep me out.

But you've seen a duck before. So use your imagination.

Labels: Good for a laugh

by watching this awesome video.

I have to give Kyle Polk some much-deserved credit.


Saturday sucked MOST of the day (except for a few hours during a birthday cookout at my parents' house). I mean, I made the most of all situations that made the day sucky, but mostly ... it just flat-out sucked. And I didn't get a lot of sleep, which apparently alters my mood more drastically than I realized.

Kyle spent most of the day at home. He did several loads of dishes, sorted laundry, cleaned the laundry room, gave Oliver a bath, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned floors, and many other things that I'm probably forgetting to name. And he also, quite patiently, put up with my awful grouchiness. (I mean, it was BAD!)

We live together, so we see the good and the bad in high concentration. And it's easy to focus on the bad and make generalizations. (Me: "You NEVER help with the dishes!" or "You ALWAYS unfold all the clean clothes!", Him: " You NEVER wash my socks!" or "You ALWAYS have to make the bed up while I'm in it!" [ok, that last one may actually be true.])

But I'm here to tell everyone that I married a good man. And we love each other. A lot. Mark this marriage down as one of my best decisions. Hands down.

Labels: family, The Hubby

photo taken in honor of a dear friend, Andrew Lewis


Amos, the baby Jersey cow


BABY PIGLETS!!!


and a baby bunny


and a really big cow

I've been tagged. And, according to the rules on Tasha's blog, I have to tell you six things that make me happy. And then I have to tag six people to tell me six things that make them happy and then tag six other people. Sounds like fun. Let's get this started.

1. Quiet Friday nights at home with the hubby. When there's nothing to do on Saturday morning but sleep in and we can do whatever we want to do at home on Friday nights, that's a good time. Usually it means slummin' around the house in our PJ's, eating junk food for dinner, and watching a movie.

2. Autumn. It's my favorite.

3. A clean, well-organized kitchen. Our kitchen and dining room are at the center of our house. And so when it's messy, it affects the whole house. But when it's clean and you can actually use the dining room table for its intended purpose, that's nice.

4. My Journey Group. It's true that it's the best Journey group there is.* The girls in my group each bring something different to the table. And I learn things from them all the time.

5. The Family Calendar. It was established in our home out of a desperate cry (from me) for some organization in our lives. Kyle and I would run different directions every day and meet like ships passing in the night. So the dry erase board calendar was purchased and hung on the kitchen wall. Makes our lives so much better! Kyle agrees!

6. Weekends. Need I say more?


To Tag. Let's see. How about Sarah, Mandi, Amy, Mendy, Cassie, & Page.



*(not based on actual scientific research)

(Yes, in a post about politics, I just referenced a movie about a character who tries to overthrow the government. Enjoy the irony.)

Whether you voted for Obama or not, you cannot disagree that history was made last night. And while I voted for Obama and am excited that he won the election, this morning my role is just the same: To pray for our new leadership.

As Jon from SCL puts it, "God is good and has provided. He is still in control. Everything is going to be alright."

I fully agree.

Labels: politics

Labels: family, photo

A few weekends ago, Kyle and I went to Hampton to visit his mom. That same weekend, my sister was singing at Jamie's church (also in Hampton), so we got to hang-out with her and Derek for a while.

Joy -- I can't believe how big she's getting!! -- & Heather


Mendy & Derek -- he'd just gotten home from a tour (do we call it a tour?) under the water.




Joy played a drum solo for us. It was, as you might expect, amazing.


I got a haircut/color.




his words, not mine


BUDDIES!!!

And that same weekend, I had my camera so I took some pictures while the band was practicing for church service.

Tarah - rockin' out!


Jeremy


Layna

And then last night, Kyle and I went to the fair with Craig (my brother) and Amy. The pictures from last night deserve their own post, which I shall provide soon, but for right now, a preview:

I picked the first ride, one which I thought was pretty tame - the ferris wheel where everybody rides in the same, round seat. Apparently this was something we should've worked up to. Who knew?

Labels: family, photo

Hardly anyone who reads this blog will remember the post I'm "following-up" on, but that's cool. In the spirit of "giving credit where it's due", I shall post anyway.

Piper & Ethan's pumpkins




What could've very easily become the Middle School Make-Out Corner ... remained a roasting (and occasionally tossing) marshmallow corner. I also watched one of these kids pull a small pack of Pop Rocks out of the edge of the fire pit. He really wanted those Pop Rocks.





Last night, our small group hosted a Halloween Party at Leslie and Katherine's house. They have the perfect lot for a party like the one we had. We had a small fire pit for roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, hot chocolate, sodas, and, of course, CANDY! And we also showed "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" on the side of their house. I believe it's safe to say the party was a hit. We met lots of their neighbors, saw all kinds of cute costumes, and had a LOT of fun!!

Labels: holidays, Journey Church, photo