Christmas Pix 2008

Disclaimer: Before you begin looking at all these awesome pix, you might want to go get some trail mix and ration it out to tide you over. Oh, and go pee now.

Here it is! Without further ado... and with minimal commercial interruption. (i.e. me talking.) Christmas Pix 2008!

This is waaaay too many presents for a household with no one under the age of 19. We're spoiled!

My stepdad Joe!

My mom, Tammy, and Joe.

Stockings? By an actual chimney? With care? How adorably cliche!

Kiki, the fattest/bitchiest cat ever. I think everything my Mother raises turns out this way.

Momma and Grammie.

We ALWAYS leave fun notes when leaving or coming to the house.

My thuggish little brother, Joey. Yo.

Martha could seriously take some tips from Mom.

Multi-tasking...

Yes, I am chopping Oreos. No I am not sure how many actually made it into the recipie.

Making these adorable cookies in "mini" form didn't make me eat any less.

Present time!!

Bubba got me the Victoria Beckham perfume and lotion. I want to do myself every time I wear it.

Oh, and this is how he wrapped all his presents. Yes, that's packaging tape.

In all fairness, we DID run out at the last minute. Mom went through three six packs of tape this year.

Yay a cheese grater!

The best day of Mom's life. She's the lady who gets 90 points on one word. Later that day I put down the word "teen" and got 8 points.

We brought Bubba's XBox and our mini (32") HDTV so my stepdad would have something to do every second of every day.

See what I mean? You can guess what the boys did the whole time.

A new blender, mini broiling pans, new baking stuff....we got it ALL!

Fuzzy warm slippers!

Bubba being cute calling every one of his thirty gazillion family members.

Me too. That's my dad.

How did someone this gorgeous give birth to ME? I was adopted, I know it.

Mom: "Let me get your picture by the TREE!"

Joe can NEVER be serious in a photo. Thanks a lot!!

Oh wait, but BUBBA can't EITHER!!!! (This is his favorite pose for any pic.)

Out to dinner with my BFF since 3rd grade, Casi and her fiance Chris.

Happy because we're eating food :D

Ok, you can go pee now. Hope you liked the pictures!

What Up Yo (Awards!!)

Where the hell-o have I been??? At my sans-internet Momma's house for a long Christmas weekend. Not gonna lie, it was sort of nice not being on my lappy top 24 hours a day. Currently I am working on a super-mega-humongo Christmas post (namely with gazillions of *fun* pictures.) Not to mention I am also catching up on bloggy TLC for the most *amazing* people ever! Since the surgery, and finals week, and Christmas all happened in one month I've been such a slackey-mcslackerson and have gotten behind. But they are so understanding :D On the plus side, there's tons of new stuff I haven't showed you yet, and (get excited) FREE printable stuff! Oh yeah! I will be putting up FREE printable (high quality) calendars and other stuff for you to grab and print out yourself. (So put away that cat/dog/Hawaii calendar you got for Christmas because these are SAWEET!) Anywhoo, here's something fun...

Brandy at One Girl Revolution and Katy at Katy's Gonna Be a Mom BOTH gave me this award! (Yeah, double awards?? What??) The purpose of this award is to give it to someone who is showing gratitude or a good attitude (If life gives you lemons, make lemonade) within their life or blog. Just to emphasize how awesome it is that TWO people nominated me, I am going to put two awards up... (oh yeah, this is happening.) I guess that means it's true? BTW this makes my day. *happy*

So I have to nominate 10 blogs. And here they are in no particular order.

1. The M.I.L.K A newer bloggy, but totally award worthy, especially for this one, just because of the awesome idea behind her blog.

2. Merrianne Just about the peppiest and happiest blogger out there!

3. Mamarazzi Okay, she gets like every award I give out because she's awesome. But this one REALLY REALLY applies to her.

4. Nothing to it but to Jewett She's way fun and positive!

5. Kinzerella She's my 14 year old niece/best friend (secretly) and totally makes my life worth living...(heart)

6. Crumbs in the Minivan. I heart Cynthia. She's such a good writer and I love reading her blog.

7. Firelein tomFoolery. Frankly, she always grabs my attention with tons of pictures. And pictures are good...:D

8. Hearts Stars and Moons. I may have designed her layout, but she actually did all the hard work! Doesn't it look friggin awesome???

9. So Dazzling Blogs. She's going to offer free blog layouts, but the site isn't QUITE ready yet. But the bling is totally sweet...you should go look. I have a good feelin' about this one.

10. TeleTwenties. I love this blog... she totally reaches a good "niche."

If We're Being Honest...

...being married is tough. I've noticed that (even on my own blog) lots of other blogs I read are nothing but sunshine and roses when it comes to hubby. Well, I am coming right out and saying that husbands are a pain in the a$$.

Bubba and I do fight, and we've had some knock down drag outs (not physically...) now and then. Today was no exception, and we had a fight. Nothing much bigger than the ordinary weekly rant, but it got me thinking. I think a lot of us hide these parts of our lives because we don't want people to think we're "unhappy" or we want our friends and family to know that our marriage is perfect and blissful. Well, it is and it isn't. But I think we all know that no one's marriage is perfect. But I don't think it's supposed to be "perfect." Marriage is one of those things you have to work at to perfect.

Walking around the mall and Wal-Mart during the holidays, it's apparent that not everyone is gleefully linking arms with their spouses and golden-haired children humming carols and wearing reindeer sweaters like commercials and Lifetime movies suggest. "We can't spend that much" and "Why did you tell me I could buy it then?" and "It's taking you forever, hurry up!" and of course the infamous blood curdling scream of the toddler being dragged by his arm. This is just some of the dialogue going on between families (only that was the "G" rated version.)

Bubba and I really are no exception to the rule. My coworker recently didn't believe me when I told her that my husband has a foul mouth. It's really bad. Between the video games and ankle pains and working 12-14 hours shifts at Sears per day, he has his share of "eff this" moments. She didn't believe me at all, and assumed that Brad's "big teddy bear" appearance meant he was as jolly as St. Nick. He definetly can be around the right people, and if you catch him in the right mood. But like I said, not everything is sunshine and roses, yet we (including us) put on this front to hide everything.

While I am still fuming a little from our fight, I am pretty clear headed enough to know that fighting is a part of marriage that can be improved. Of course, I am not old enough to be spouting marriage advice, but there are a few things I DO know. First, we don't have to pretend our lives are always peachy keen when talking with friends and family. I am totally guilty of this, and from now on I am just going to come right out be honest with everyone I know. Grisly details aren't necessary, but I won't lie. Second, marriage isn't perfect. Of course I elaborated on this before, but we should all know (especially us young'uns) that just because you have a fight, it doesn't mean you need to run to the nearest courthouse to grab divorce papers. (Which I HAVE done...) Third, and this may not apply to all of you, but being married for "time and all eternity" doesn't mean you have to put up with eachother's crap because you have to be together forever. Many LDS (Mormon) people I know have miserable marriages because they assume 1) they aren't supposed to change and 2) being married for time and all eternity means you have to "put up with eachother" because it's too late now... (*giggle*) I guess that applies to a lot of different religions too. Lastly, marriage takes work. I think Ike Graham (Richard Gere) said it best in Runaway Bride.

"Look, I guarantee there'll be tough times. I guarantee that at some point, one
or both of us is gonna want to get out of this thing. But I also guarantee that
if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life, because I
know, in my heart, you're the only one for me."

Ahh, I feel better :D I think Brad and I are soulmates. As much as I want to smack him sometimes, and how annoyed I get (I COULD be PMSing right now too, more updates on that later...) he's still the only one for me. UGH....this is going to be a long long ride. But at least I'll be in good company.

The Most Ridiculous Christmas Gift EVER

I just got these gorgeous hand-made slippers from a co-worker...take a look.

Don't you think they'll be SO comfy?? Take a wild guess as to what they're made of... Look familiar? I'll give you a hint...these ones don't have wings!

16 Random Things About Me

I’ve secretly been waiting for a “random” tag because lately I’ve had a lot of good ones creep up. Thanks Wonder Woman, for tagging me!! So here are 16 random things you probably don’t know about me.

1. I shave my arms. Yeah, WTF right? It started in cheerleading and never stopped…*shrug* It’s nice though because my arms are always nice and soft. Oh, and you don’t get razor burn on arms as easily as you do legs.

2. You know how I said I am not OCD and don’t really have a routine? Well, I lied a little. There’s only one part of my day that’s completely the same every day, and that’s when I get ready in the morning. I wake up between 6:50 and 7:05. Allie lies on top of me, and Lulu is at my feet, so I strategically fling them off. I go to the bathroom and turn on the water in the tub to just a cold trickle so the cats can drink. Then I go potty, weigh myself, and pluck my eyebrows. Then I get in the shower, soak a little, lather my hair (in the most amazing new shampoo BTW, Pantene Beautiful Lengths), lather my face (Neutrogena grapefruit foaming scrub), lather my body (Olay beauty bar), wait a few minutes, rinse everything off, put in conditioner, lather face again, shave (sometimes), rinse, turn off shower, drip dry for a minute, towel off, wrap towel around head, slather body in Jergens Firming moisturizer while bathroom is still steamy, slather face in Olay moisturizer for oily skin with SPF 15, wait for it to soak in, open bathroom door to let steam out, use toilet paper to wipe off mirror, (still naked at this point), brush teeth with sonic toothbrush and Aquafresh while cleaning counter top, wipe hands off, apply foundation mixed with a little moisturizer for easy application, wash hands, apply blush, apply eye shadow (brown, gray, or gold), apply eyeliner (black or brown), apply mascara, wash hands, go into bedroom, warn Brad that the lights are coming on, put on clothes, go back to bathroom, put in hair volumizer, wash hands, turn head upside down, blow dry with paddle brush, flip up and style straight down with a part to my left, take a hot flat iron and run it down the ends to smooth fuziness, use gel to smooth flyaways, put lotion on hands, go downstairs, feed cats, run out and start car, come back in, check e-mail, put on coat, boots, and driving gloves, put on chap stick (Softlips raspberry), go to work at around 8:07am. That’s the way it is every day…

3. The rear view mirror in my car is always faced at myself, never behind me. It’s so strange, and sounds so vain. But when I look up and can’t see myself, I automatically think there’s something in my teeth or that my mascara I running or something. I even made a New Year’s resolution to never face my mirror at myself again, but somehow it always ends up back there.

4. I am allergic to tomatoes. My tongue ends up looking like someone burned it with a cigarette or something afterwards. This has been really bad since I’ve been eating tomato soup lately.

5. I’m a pretty good cook, but I don’t think I’ve made a single thing for over a month.

6. I’m not a jewelry wearer. I like it, I just always forget about it in the morning.

7. My birthday is January 17th. Which is the only reason I like January, and the only reason my favorite number is 7.

8. I go to bed around midnight every night. And it needs to be earlier!! Grr.

9. My mom has Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and an inoperable brain tumor. Brad’s mom has Rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. My dad was an alcoholic. His dad has heart disease. I don’t think we should be breeding…

10. My wedding ring is a .57 carat princess cut diamond set in white gold. Modest and simple :D This is exactly what it looks like.

11. Movies in which I can act out every scene by heart (and with proper accents): Nine Months, While You Were Sleeping, Father of the Bride Pt. 2, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Anne of Green Gables, Beetlejuice, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (old one).

12. I use too much toilet paper. So Brad says. I can’t help it, I just want to be cllleeeaaann! Hee, hee.

13. I wear a size 7 ring and shoe. Hopefully one day a size 7 pant too! J

14. I have been listening to the Christmas music station/CD since November 1st.

15. Both Brad’s dad and my dad are contractors, and both our moms were cosmetologists. And get this… my step mom is also a cosmetologist and my step dad was a contractor. My step sister is also a cosmetologist, and her husband is a contractor. LMAO!!!! Where were we during all this? I think we missed that boat entirely.

16. I don’t have a name for my blue Betta fish sitting on my office desk. Can you help me come up with one?? He's young and temperamental and stares at me.

I tag my TEN newest followers!!!!

My Final Projects:D

First of all, don't laugh. I've been a little absent since it's finals week. Since I am the Queen of the great land of Procrastination, of course I didn't start these projects until like....yesterday. Well, Monday. So they are a little umm...half assed to say the least. But I figured I ought to share my little projects since I've been neglecting Bloggy for like a whole...day.

The first assignment was to make a front page for our own website. I could have cheated and just taken a screenshot of Bloggy here, but I decided to go all out and make my own graphic design page! Cute?

My other project was to make an advertisement for any product I chose. I basically just took a photo of an average looking woman and photoshopped the holy crap out of her face. You can see what point I was trying to make with the tag lines. Not the best work I've ever done, but it gets the point across.

Makes you wonder if all the pictures you've seen of me are the real me, huh? Okay, I wouldn't Photoshop myself UGLY, so rest assured I haven't tampered with all my pix. If I did edit my photos, I would have made myself at least look hot.

Anyway, so there you have it.

I Got Promoted?! Holy Crap!!!

Yes, it's true. I mentioned in a previous post that there was a slight miniscule minute chance that I possibly perhaps maybe might be getting a sort of promotion. Well, it's official and I am now a Sales Assistant. I am not sure if it actually counts because I went from a position with the word "Executive" in the title to a position with the word "Assistant" in the title. But I will officially stop selling television advertising, and start making graphic presentations, doing commercial logs, traffic, TV schedules, makegoods, agency stuff, etc... All in all the job is much more detail oriented, organizational, and more work in general than my previous job. Which I don't mind, because sales is starting to get on my nerves. Especially in this economy. The general manager and my manager got together and decided I sort of have an aptitude for being able to handle stress and knack for creativity (which of course I took as a mondo compliment.)

The even better news is that this job is much more…umm…permanent. My sales job was very touch and go – if I don’t make budget I don’t have a job. In this job I have a feeling I will feel much more valuable. Plus all my awesome benefits will still apply, including 10 days of freeeekin vacation time!!! Woot!

Hmmm….now where am I going to go? I need to start vacation planning. Although I think I will take a vacay around next November sometime so I have plenty of time to get skinny and go to some warm tropical paradise type place while the snow starts falling here. Oh, oh. And another benefit….maternity leave! (Isn’t it horrible I just want a job for the benefits? LOL) Joking!

Also, instead of getting a third college degree…(ha) I will simply be taking a few classes online and in the evening that have absolutely nothing to do with graphic design. (They don’t offer graphics classes around an 8 to 5 job.) I will be taking Survey of Dance and Introduction to Ceramics. Don’t make fun, I love ceramics. And the dance class is online, so it’s like…the HISTORY of dance. *shrug* Hey at least I’ll get a little dinero out of the deal.

In the mean time I will be honing my graphic skills via the “…for Dummies” series and Google.

Again, I stole the "Seriously, So Blessed" tag. Maybe I will just do that every time my life rocks.

Our Christmas Card!

Here's the card we will be sending out this year! I designed it myself...yay! And my sister in law took the pics. Don't you just love cheap stuff? :D

Oh, and things are going much better for the both of us after our lap band surgery. The pain is almost gone! I haven't used any pain meds in two days! Just a little tenderness here and there. Brad's also doing much better. He actually had a RIB out of place (which he's had before) so he went to the chiropractor to get it worked out. All this past week we've been on clear liquids, and today we moved to full liquids. I had some tomato soup and hot coco, which was amazzziiinng since it snowed a good 4 or more inches (as you can see from the pics!) It warmed my soul..ahh. I also sneaked in a milkshake. But hey, I am healing here. I need some love. After the first three weeks of liquids I will be going back to a low carb diet so I can be sure to get the most out of my lap band. Hoorahhh! Plus I am actually really excited to start working out again. So far this week I have lots five pounds! And who knows how much Brad has lost...sheesh. We just really have to remember to eat right and NOT eat milkshakes!

Christmas Decor Pix!

Alrighty…so I am a trooper and went back to work yesterday and today. Brad's not taking the surgery too well, and as I recall he screamed "What the hell did I do to myself??!!" last night in agony. I however got lucky somehow, and am only in a small amount of agony. I kind of walk like I'm wearing chaps, half keeled over grunting a little. Then I get used to the standing position and it get's better. When I sit down I look like a pregnant lady, carefully holding my belly. I feel a little like my owies might rip open if I don't hold myself together. Other than that I feel pretty good for someone who just got done with surgery…for the first time ever! As long as I don't move, I am good.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to post pictures of my slightly tacky, mostly cute, a little half-assed Christmas decor. Just to update you, we had to take the Christmas tree down because my naughty cats decided it was their play thing. So we decided to nix the tree and make due with cat friendly stuff.

Brad came home with this mini tree. Aww.

Notice I tried to salvage my cute ornaments by hanging them on the garland.

I should have done the garland in red! Candy cane!

That's our change jar holding the decorative swirly sticks.

I put more ornaments in the wreath :) Hey what else am I going to do with them?

We're Alive!

Here's our Lap Band Adventure in pictures!!!

This is my sad/nervous face.

Brad in his very favorite shirt. After weigh in he'd lost a total of 56 lbs!

Cute and make-up less before surgery. I'm such a shorty.

Bubba waiting for me to go in.

Faking his own death...

" I'm too sexy for my hospital gown, too sexy for my hospital gown...."

Yay, my first IV ever!! It didn't even hurt!

I was in recovery at this point, where Brad's getting ready to go in!

Aww we're so cute together post-op.

I wasn't even dopey at all!! My tummy just hurt a little. (Kind of like I did a rigorous ab workout the day before.) When the wheeled me into the operating room, they covered me in nice warm blankies, then all of a sudden I must have passed out. I woke up in the recovery room and remembered everything. (Well, not the operation.) But it felt like nothing happend, and no time had passed! Other than my tummy pain of course.)

Yumm, Jell-O! Just a few bites and I was done!

And here's Bubba post-op. In a little more pain than me.

Aww, sad face.

These were like giant blood pressure cuff for my legs. I had to wear them the whole time to prevent bloog clots. Woo.

The next day, looking pretty pale. I got about 3 hours of sleep interuppted by some tummy pain. Still feelin' better than I thought I would.

WARNING: GROSS PART!

My nasty tummy! Ew! But here are the incision sites. Not too bad! Eh? That bigger one on the left hurts the most. It's where the "port" is, or the place where they'll stick me with a giant needle to fill up my band with saline.

Leaving the hospital! Yay!