Secret blessings

Imagine our surprise when we took down the giant mirror in one of our bathrooms, to find this secret blessing written to us.  I wonder if the message writer dreamed that one of the finders wouldn't even be born for another year and a half.

Vacation days

The house deconstruction has begun.  Harry has made loads of trips to the park.  C-man continues to build his Legos and his marble run.  And we're planning on going to see Yogi Bear later today.  Let the fun continue.

Getting my PhD in Lego

Merry Christmas!

C-man once again won the hidden pickle find and was awarded a snowball blaster for his efforts.

Decorated cookies, milk, carrots, and a Merry Christmas note were left out for the fat man.

C-man got more presents than he can play with in a day week month.

Santa even remembered to bring the penguin pillow pet.  And Santa's so funny, he hid it in the ficus tree.

May your day be filled with joy and your Christmas wishes granted.

Christmas Eve

The gingerbread men are decorated.  The tree is lit. The presents are wrapped.  Harry is groomed.  The pickle is hidden on the tree.  The computer is tracking Santa's progress around the world. (Did you know he stopped at the International Space Station?  I wonder if Rudolph needed a space suit?) A final trip through the absolute ZOO of the grocery store was made.  Christmas music  is playing.  And the beef bourguignon is ready to go.

Bring it on, Santa.

Thursday Thirteen things I love about Christmas

Chilly the Penguin, created by C-man in art class

1. Watching Christmas movies as a family.  House favorites include: A Christmas Story, Frosty the Snowman, and A Cricket on the Hearth.
2. Nighttime when the Christmas tree is on and everything in the house is quiet.
3. Paging through toy catalogs with C-man, watching him circle just about everything in it.
4. Hearing Ave Maria at Christmas mass
5. Putting together the family Christmas card.
6. Receiving other peoples' Christmas cards and taping them on the wall.
7. Screams of joy Christmas morning as the wrapping paper flies
8. Watching C-man beat Beerman at finding the pickle on the tree yet again.
9. Christmas day lunch at a Chinese restaurant
10. Days off work
11. C-man's Christmas concert
12. Playing Christmas music on the piano while C-man sings along
13. Opening gifts given to me
    

Christmas Concert

Last night was the annual C-man's school Christmas concert. C-man was very serious about this, and after weeks of practicing in the shower, sang his little heart out. I can't help but get a little choked up every year.  Sentimental, I know.  But it's just so stinking sweet, it's almost unavoidable.

 

 

The countdown

It's the 4th week of Advent, which means Christmas is almost here.  Tonight, C-man has his Christmas concert.  And tomorrow, he has a half-day of school in his pajamas while I start my vacation.  I can almost feel the stress going away...

Around the world in an ornament

I don't know how it started, but every time we go somewhere significant, we get a Christmas tree ornament. They're my favorites to pull out each year, because our various trips become trips down memory lane.  And we're getting enough of them that after I put them up, just when I think I've found them all, I find another one.  So here they are:

I think our first one was from Sanibel Island.  A birthday trip gift to Beerman before we were married.  It was a really lovely trip, and we were soooo in looooove.

I got this guy last year in Fussen, Germany, when I went to hike above Ludwig's castle. C-man loves to pull on the string to make him move.

During that same trip we got this guy from a shop in Luzern, Switzerland.  It was after having come down Pilates mountain, and we'd listened to the cowbells ring through the fog the entire way.

We picked up this one in Siena, Italy. A day trip from Florence that we enjoyed thoroughly.

This one we got years ago while in Sedona, Arizona. A trip with my parents to see the Packers lose to play the Cardinals.  It was a really fun trip to a place I'd never been. (Favre with a famous interception to end the game).

This was acquired on a lovely anniversary trip to Bayfield, Wisconsin.

This one we got from a beautiful store in Gaborone, Botswana.  We bought it right after I'd made us drive all the way to the Kalahari and back, our car's air conditioning unable to keep up with the heat, to get some pottery. (On a side note, that Kalahari looks nothing like the Wisconsin Dells Kalahari.  Someday, someone is going to have to explain to me how a hot ass desert was the name chosen for a midwest waterpark.)

This ornament we got in our arrival basket at a friend's wedding while in South Africa.  Beaded wire ornaments like this are a local tradition.

This guy's all Big Island of Hawaii.  That was a lovely trip we took with Beerman's family and grandparents.

And this guy is all New Orleans.  That crazy trip we took so I could stand up in a vampire-esque wedding (The dress was corset-like complete with laces up the back and I was 6 months pregnant). Apparently we went through a funny Santa kick around this time?

And our latest installment this year is the one got one from the San Diego Zoo.  We never saw the Pandas, because the line was outrageous, and at the time I was really struggling physically so couldn't stand that long.  But C-man wanted the panda ornament, so of course, we have the panda ornament.

Next year?  Here's hoping we get new ones from New Mexico and Thailand!

Pelotapalooza

Familyfest

Cousinfest

Sisterfest

Presentfest

Legofest

Dollfest

The Situationfest

Gigglefest

Brisketfest

Lovefest

Poolfest

A manifesto

I find so many of these hokey or kitchy, or just plain dumb. But this one... this one I like. Maybe because "Travel Often" is large and bold.  Or because it says that you should appreciate what you eat.  Or that you should quit your sucky job. Or... well, you get the picture.  So as I make my way north to festively celebrate the holidays with my family, I'm going to share it with you.

Let them eat cake

Presents and pizza and bowling (I got 6 gutter balls and 4 strikes in my 3rd game) are great.  But the best part about celebrating birthdays in the house? It's ALWAYS the cake.

Because good things come in threes, too

Happy birthday to my husband... You are the smile to my day.

Happy birthday dear "elder" sister....  You are the peas to my carrots

 

And of course, Happy birthday, sweet nephew. You are the peaNUT in my peanut butter.

A really fun guy

A momma tomato, a papa tomato, and a baby tomato all went for a walk together one afternoon.But the little baby tomato was lagging behind.  So, the papa tomato went back and stomped on the little baby tomato and said "Catch up!"

What do you get hanging from banana trees?

Sore arms

Two fish swimming along.  One hits a concrete wall and says to the other "dam!"

A priest, a rabbi, a nun, two goats and a giraffe walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, "What is this? Some kind of joke?" 

Why did the punk rocker cross the road? He had a chicken stapled to his face!

What do you call a deaf dog???

Doesn't matter, it won't come anyway.

How do you tell if an elephant has been in your fridge?

Foot prints in the butter.

What are prehistoric monsters called when they sleep?
A dinosnore!

What does a snail say while on a turtle's back?

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

And  my absolute favorite:

What's the last thing that goes through a bug's mind when it hits the windshield?

It's ass. 

On trees

As the poet said, "Only God can make a tree" - probably because it's so hard to figure out how to get the bark on.  -Woody Allen

Oh goody, it's Monday.

Week 2 of antibiotics, and I think I'm getting better.  Although those around me at Saturday's showing of Spamalot would have disagreed, as it seemed I coughed the entire time.  (Spamalot, incidentally, was quite hilarious.  2 full hours of my favorite type of humor.)  Saturday was crazy busy though, with C-man having a friend over, having a birthday party to attend at the IMAX (I bought a ticket for the friend and me to go too, to kill the time, and ended up freaking the friend out at potential nightmarish proportions because it was Bugs, and the kid apparently hates bugs, including close up shots of a praying mantis ripping the head off a fly and eating it), us getting ready to go out, eating dinner and enjoying a few beers at the Old German Beer hall, and then seeing the show.

Sunday, conversely, was the laziest day ever.  Harry got a park run and a bath.  But the rain-sleet-snow combination kept us firmly inside, leaving us grocery shopping-less and those last few Christmas and birthday errand-less.  It did, however, mean I couldn't procrastinate on the laundry anymore, which was probably a good thing.  The bad thing is I had to do it in front of the awful Packers game.  And it also meant when we got ready to go this morning, Beerman's car doors were iced shut.  I finally pried one open so he could get in and muscle the drivers side open, but it was a bitter reminder that winter is here and here to stay.  At least we're not Minnesota, I guess.  (Although I could say that any day of the year!)

And now, it's Monday.  The day of rainbows and sunshine drudging through endless meetings.  Tally ho!

Old Man Winter has arrived

Morning visitor

Things have been incredibly busy lately, and I just don't feel like writing much.  In the meantime, I'll share my view out my living room window with you.

Thursday Thirteen: Songs I can listen to over and over again

 Oh, how I miss the colors of summer...

In no particular order, this is a brief look into the randomness that is my head:

1. One, U2
2. Boy With a Coin, Iron and Wine
3. I Would Walk 500 Miles, the Proclaimers
4. Ode to Joy, Beethoven
5. Moonlight Sonata, Beethoven
6. Bamboleo, Gipsy Kings
7. Hallelujah, Jeff Buckley
8. Free Fallin, Tom Petty
9. Eu Sei, Marisa Monte
10. Crocodile Rock, Elton John
11. Black, Pearl Jam (MUCH to the chagrin of my husband)
12. Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd (Cliche, I know)
13. Where the Streets Have No Name, U2

If you'd like to have a listen, here you go: