Super Stocking Stuffers '08

My dad has taken it upon himself for the past few years to be "the one" to be the stocking stuffer. Last year he gave my brother and me this little gem: a CozyTunes! It's a "sneaker with a speaker," something you can plug your iPod into and listen away!

Here's some footage from this year:


The top right picture, the one of the package of gum is actually gum created "for hunters." Here's my favorite part of the package:

He's headed to San Antonio in January for a conference and will commence shopping for Stocking Stuffers '09.

And I can't wait. :)

Home, So Far

So far my holiday has been pretty uneventful. Today I "helped" Mom bake Christmas goodies (I got a little distracted though, trying to tie up some loose ends back in KY) and this evening Dusty and I went to McCoy's to eat dinner with my friend Rachel.

Tomorrow is the Christmas Eve service, and then it's time for Super.Stocking.Stuffers '08. But more on that later.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Me & Reba

Flying home is always an adventure. This time, I got to fly with Dusty, which may I just say, is hysterical. He's like a little kid; staring out the window with his nosed pressed against it, and yanking on my arms saying, "I can see the turbines, Em! The turbines!"

Then, there was Reba. I am not making up her name.

Let me back up and say that while we went through security there was a lady they had taken aside who had a wrapped Christmas present that was apparently "full of liquid." I thought nothing of it, though she really was giving the TSA lady a hard time.

Fast forward to the plane and this old lady with red hair and a smoker's laugh. She plops down next to me with a bag that I know would not qualify as a sizable bag to carry-on and a purse that looks like she skinned a rattlesnake and proceeds to tell me the story of how TSA owes her $60 because she bought her son-in-law a bottle of Polo cologne that they would not let her take on the plane. (My inner monologue, "Oh no! It's her!")

Then things got interesting:
--Flight attendant #1 made her put her TOO LARGE bag in an overhead bin...all the way at the back of the plane. Reba was not happy.

--Then flight attendant #2 made her put her purse in an overhead bin for takeoff. This made Reba even more unhappy.

--Then the inflight service starts and even though it's only 12:30 pm, Reba wants a rum and Coke. The flight attendant tells her that she can pay with debit or credit. Reba makes it known to everyone in a 5 seat radius that her debit card is in the bag that they made her put at the back of the plane!!! She then turns to me and says, "Well, there's no way I'm tellin' 'em that I left my cell phone on!"

Have I mentioned I'm afraid of flying? This did not help matters.

During landing they, again, made her put her purse away and Reba protested, saying it was more trouble than it was worth. Now, it just so happened that the overhead bin where we were all seated (Dusty still studying cloud formations at this time) was malfunctioning. The flight attendants had to practically beat on it to get it shut the whole flight. And our landing was not smooth. And guess what happened to Reba's purse? The bin flies open, the purse crashes down and hits the man sitting across the aisle in the head causing the flight attendant to have to stand for the rest of the (choppy, choppy) landing to hold the compartment closed.

And Reba settles back into her chair with a contented chuckle, looks at the flight attendant and says, "See. Told you so."

Spoiled Kid

Here are some fresh-from-this-evening pictures of Gabriella, just to make it even harder for me to get motivated to pack!

(The hat is from Grammie Laura, and the shirt is from yours truly.)

Procrastination

I. Hate. Packing.

Everytime I pack for a trip I think I do a really thorough job, then I get to my destination and find myself saying, "What the crap is all this?"

So, I'm blogging instead of packing. Take that empty suitcase that is staring me in the face.

Jamming to the new Killers album, "Day and Age." I got it for Dusty for Christmas and am benefiting from it. Haven't made any decisions on it yet, this is my first spin, but it will be nice to listen to the song Human not as a ringtone. That's what Dusty has on his phone right now, so all I know of it is, "Are we humaaaan? Or are are we danc.." "Hello?" <---- that's Dusty. My rad friend Andrea got me a birthday gift off Etsy (one of my favorite sites) and it came in the mail today. I'm wearing it right now actually. "What is it?" you are thinking? I just so happened to take a picture on my webcam! How convenient!

I would like for you to note three things:
1.) Apparently, felt is all the rage right now.
2.) You can still see the remnants of my black eye!
3.) I am not mad about anything, I just look like it in this picture. I'm really in quite a good mood!

I think I'm going to go scrounge up some felt and try to replicate it. You know, instead of packing.

This time tomorrow I will be in KC, barring any winter weather that may strand us in St. Louis. What a boring airport to be stranded in huh?

-----------e.

Gabby Visits Our Room

It pays to live upstairs from a baby, especially an incredibly adorable baby such as Gabriella Grace.

He Socked Me Good

Dusty gave me a black eye. No, this is not a case of spousal abuse. I see the remorse in his eyes everytime he looks at me. He feels really, really, really bad.

He was having a dream that people were chasing him, throwing knives at him, and then charging him. When the first guy charged, Dusty stepped over a meat cleaver and right hooked him!

When, in all actuality, he had right hooked me. It was the third worst pain I've ever been in coming in behind certain medical procedures and my nose piercing.

(this is my "well I'm stuck with it now" face.)

In Which Papa Tells A Story...

This is my Papa's account of the practical joke he played on his sister-in-law this past weeks. Please note the following things:

• There is a picture of Dusty and me on the table. This is not it's usual spot. We had just given them their Christmas gift and they hadn't moved it to the mantle yet.
  
• Note the Scrabble board, please. This is their passion, their past time, and something that ultimately binds them together on their journey of life. And my Papa is really, really good.
• Margaret (or Marge) is his sister-in-law, my great aunt. She's married to Papa's twin brother, Brady. (Or, as we affectionately call him, "Uncle Bad-Eye.")
• Enjoy!

T-Minus A Few Hours

We're packing up and leaving Campbellsville tomorrow. I honestly cannot believe it. This move has been months in the making, and Dusty and I have labored and prayed about what we are to do next. Here is some wisdom that I believe has been the catalyst to the whole move:

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.//And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.//From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.//God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.//'For in him we live and move and have our being.'

You see, I have to cling to that wisdom because we currently have no jobs, very little money, we're leaving our friends, my grandparents, and the town where we met and fell in love.

For the record, I'm not worried, just a little sad. I'm interested to see things come in to focus for us that are currently just lingering on the horizon. So far, the plan is:

1.) Dusty starts grad school in January online at Capella University. He's pursuing a degree in Industrial & Organizational Psychology.

2.) I start my nurse's aid course in January and, assuming I do well, will be certified in May and start my RN classes in August.

Aside from that, we're just waiting and praying and seeing what the Lord has in store.

Catching Up With You

I have not been blogging lately. I'm living at my grandparent's house right now and they do not have internet, but that's ok because their 42" HD tv more than makes up for it.

Except I haven't been blogging, but now, here are some blog-worthy highlights from my life lately:

1. My mom asked for a Led Zepplin cd for Christmas. I find this hysterical. Rock on, mom.
2. My grandma called Coca-Cola today to complain about the new lids on their plastic bottles. Normally I would find this kind of behavior absurd, but on this one, I totally agree. The lady is sending her a coupon for a free pack of Diet Coke. Ifind that this will onl ymake the problem worse as we will have even more Diet Coke that we can't open.
3. I have been "caffiene free" for about two weeks now. I hasn't been hard at all and that weird little lumpy that I felt on my rib a while back (news to you, I'm sure) is pretty much gone.
4. I just finished Twilight, I'm starting New Moon and I'm not lame. I don't wish I was married to Edward Cullen I just find it easy and interesting to read. So there. (Nah.)
5. Just got done with my class's Christmas program. Oh. My. Word. I was so proud of each and every one of them, they did fabulously. Go kids, go!
6. I got to leave work for 30 minutes today because one of my kids faceplanted a pew and blood was everywhere! It was all over my arms, my shirt, my jeans, my shoes, not to mention him, his shirt, and his face. I have never seen someone bleed so much. Ever.
7. Dusty is a salutatorian! He's graduating December 12th and I'm so proud of him!
8. Next Friday is my last day of work and I actually got a little sad today. Weird right? We'll see how I feel Friday, I may feel strangely emotional, even though I'm pretty sure it will come in the euphoric high of not having to deal with certain children/parents anymore.
9. Conversely, next Friday I will be unemployed. I'm scared. Those bills are still rollin' in you know? If anyone wants to hire me, it'd be greatly appreciated. Maybe I'll give piano lessons.

So there. Now we're all caught up and I can not-blog for another week or so. Happy weekend! Granny's making breakfast tomorrow. She is TOTALLY spoiling us by the way. Both of us. And she likes to brag about how she spoils Dusty. Not me, Dusty. She loves him.