we like to dance in our family

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tis the season to be jolly!

the Christmas season has arrived, and i couldn't be more excited. last saturday juC and i put up the decorations. one of my most favorite things to do is go shopping for Christmas decorations after Christmas when they are super cheap. then i get so excited for the next year when I get to use them.

a few things that i was really excited to put up this year that i got after Christmas last year.....

this dr. suess-ish tree.

this santa belt ornament.and this, possibly my favorite. santa and his clothes hanging out to dry.we also went to some thrift stores last weekend, which is the best place ever to get Christmas decorations. i fell in love with this, for only 50 cents.and i fell in love with these, for only 50 cents per plate.have i mentioned how much i love Chirstmas decorations??

falling down

i don't wanna rake. not because i'm lazy (that's only a small portion of the reason) but because i think our yard is far prettier with all those leaves.

it would probably be best to let juC do it, since i'm too emotionally attached to those leaves.

and the winner is....

LoW!! who should feel lucky that i didn't rig this, since you expressed your disdain in being "told what to do" even though it's MY blog, and it's my right to tell people what to do if they want to win something i make. and if i want you to tell me i'm great, or to list things you are grateful for, well by golly, you should do it with all jolly heart!! it is the thanksgiving season after all!!

maybe my next thanks giving giveaway will be a new attitude. and hopefully jud will enter that one.

thanks giving winner, AND.....

first of all, i would like to thank all of you for looking deep within your hearts and finding the good in me. i know it must have been hard for some of you, i know that some of you had to make things up, and i know there are some people out there who didn't even enter because they just couldn't think of anything.

second, although i appreciate that some people thought of more than 5 things that are great about me (darla), you were still only supposed to enter up to 5 times. and some of you (mom) felt the need to post a comment about your chances decreasing, which was also a no-no. so after creating a very complex spreadsheet and ridding it of the illegal comments, i used random.org to pick a random number.

and wouldn't you know, number 17 is the one and only kathy! who wrote a very nice poem, but only made one comment instead of 5. her chances were slim but she succeded.

kathy, you can expect your scarf within the next 5-10 years. email me what color/s you'd like and the address you will be at in 5 years.

and i have to admit, of all people to win, she was one of the ones i was scared of winning because she'll know it's not right.

NOW...to all of you none winners (and winners). worry not. i'm still showing thanks by doing another giveaway.

this week, you will have a chance to win some aniC original magnets. everyones dream.

to enter:

once again every can enter up to 5 times. 5 IS THE MAX. leave 5 seperate comments telling me the things you are thankful for.

a winner will be picked....sometime next week. good luck!

thanks giving

it's november. which means that thanksgiving is coming up. i like to call thanksgiving the forgotten holiday. halloween ends, and people automatically jump to Christmas. not that Christmas is a bad thing, but thanksgiving is pretty dang important too!

in honor of this month of thanksgiving, i'm going to have a giveaway. i give thanks to my friend megan for teaching me how to crochet, so i'm giving away a crochet masterpiece (and all of the imperfections that come with it).

it's easy(ish) to enter.

here's how:

leave 5 seperate comments. (everyone can enter 5 times, and you can figure out your strategy. bunch 5 together, or space them out)

here's the catch:

in every comment you leave, you have to say something that's great about me.

hey...just because i'm thankful and giving doesn't mean i can't be selfish and make you work for it a little bit.

also, make sure that in the first comment you leave, you also tell me what you'd like me to make. baby blanket, throw, scarf, pot holder, etc.(keep in mind my skills are simple)

examples of all 3 things i've ever made.

my throw that i'm still working on:

baby blankets:

a winner will be chosen using random.org next friday.

good luck.

fuzzy wuzzy

even my eyebrows aren't recession proof.

i'd like to think i'm not high maintainence. however, every month or two, i like to go get my eyebrows waxed. there was a lovely nail salon across the street that meet my eyebrow monthly maintainence needs. 10 bucks did the job.

unfortunately, i went one day, and it was nothing but an empty building.

i was forced to venture a little further. i found myself another nail salon that did the job for 10 bucks.

i drove by last week. it's nothing but an empty building.

my eyebrows current state are proof that this economy affects everything.

a letter

dear people at my gym who bring a sweat towel with them,

tell me how this makes sense:
you bring a towel with you, and you work out really hard and you are nasty sweaty, and you wipe your sweat off with the towel, THEN you wipe the machine off with that same towel. really? do you think that works? all you are doing is spreading your sweat around even more.
how bout using that disinfectant they provide for us?

sincerely,
the girl with the grossed out look on her face at the gym

what a girls gotta do

saturday while making dinner for friends, i realized something. i needed an apron. how did i not have an apron? sure, i don't cook very often. but i'd like to. and perhaps if i had an apron i'd cook more.

so this week i was on a mission. i was on a mission to find the perfect apron. it turned out to be simple to find the perfect apron. a little too simple. so simple it was easy to find more than one perfect apron.

i went to marshalls, and there i found two that i loved. tell me people, how is a girl supposed to choose between this...

and this....

since they were only $7.99, i decided a girl shouldn't have to decide. so i got both.

after i was done in marshalls, i walked next door to bed bath and beyond. the aprons were $30 there. thank goodness i dodged that bullet. and they weren't even nearly as cute.

but almost as exciting as the aprons was the book i bought at marshalls. his poems and drawings make me feel happy inside.

because

the blogging desire isn't burning within me very much anymore. but i feel the need to post something.

in my dreams

i have a very deep and abiding love for old farms and old houses. so when i was out with my friend marci one day several weeks ago, and we eyed this barn with a cute old house on the property, i fell in love!!

i want it to be mine with all of my heart. i showed it to juC and we did the research and it appears the land belongs to some developers who will most likely be replacing the beautiful barn and house with new houses one day when the economy is better. it truly makes my heart hurt.

so if anyone ever asks me what i'd do if i won a million dollars, my answer would be that i would buy this barn and the house and make it into my home. i'm not asking for a lot.

what do you think? isn't it the most amazing barn?

(click on picture to enlarge.)

indescribable

today my little jC turned 1. i'm not sure how this has happened. but surely it has, since last year it was 2008, and he was born. and now it's 2009 on the same day. which equates to him being a year old. i just don't understand how it happened so quickly. and also so slowly. how is it possible that quick and slow proceed at the same speed?

you know how people talk to you before you have a child, and they say things like "being a mother is hard." and you say "yeah, i know!" but the thing is, you don't really know. you know an assumption of hard, not a reality of hard.

you know how before you have a child, people say "being a mother is the best thing in the world." and you say "i know, i can't wait." you don't really know that either. it's another one of those things that's an assumption, not a reality. really, truely, words cannot describe the greatness of having a child.

every day i watch little jT as he discovers new things and learns new tricks. every day i sit and stare at him at some point in time, and wish i could freeze that moment into my memory forever. a certain look he gives me. a certain sound he makes. the way he attacks and loves on every stuffed animal he gets his hands on. the way he throws himself back on the floor to lay and relax for approximately 3 seconds before getting up and being busy again. the way he waddles as fast as he can to the front door when his dad comes in from work. the sounds of joy he makes when he tries a new food he really enjoys.

i wish with all of my heart that i can remember all of those moments in my mind with a perfect clarity.

words honestly can't describe the love and joy. i couldn't even possibly try. but i know i can say that i am so thankful for him, and the blessing that it is to be a mother.

our blog dropped

i don't know what i'm thinking. i have a disease i think. i dont know if a name has come out for it yet, but it should be blogasitis.


my sister and i have started a new blog. together. it's called "letters between two sisters" it's located at http://www.lettersbetweentwosisters.blogspot.com/

(or you can just click on the picture to the left that says the title)

catchy, huh?

we'll be writing each other letters every day. and lucky you, you get to read them too.

clearing the air

ok. i'll admit it. for forever now my one and only goal in life was to get my dear, sweet, un-comment making husband to make a comment. that is what all of my efforts went in to.
i realized, finally, that i was going about it all wrong. i was "attacking" him, when what i needed to do was pretend he "attacked" me. so i did what any other female would do. i said he called me fat.

he didn't. but he did finally post a comment on my blog!! i knew he couldn't just let that one alone.

and now i know...he loves me!! he really loves me!

now if i could only get him to woo me. that's another story for another day.

well....

my husband thinks i'm fat.