Christmas Day

We went to church with my mom at Oakhurst Baptist last night AND this morning! I love the choir there; some of their members even sing with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra! This is the church where we got married, so I had to get pictures of us in front of the tree. Thanks to mom's friend Renee for playing photographer-- a friend is going to touch up the first one, so I'll re-post when she's done. 

Mom got us a SoniCare toothbrush for Christmas which is pretty exciting-- our dentist says it's the best thing that we could do for our teeth, and we found it on sale for $40 which is nearly half price! I don't know how we would have afforded it otherwise, so THANKS mom! She also gave me some lavender epsom salts, and a little dremel type tool for Jeremy-- he has a big bad one, but this will be good for if he wants to take it to work or on the road so he doesn't have to worry about losing/breaking it. 

I got Jeremy "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig and "Shop Class as Soulcraft" by Matthew Crawford, as well as "Cowboys and Aliens" and a couple of other things that I'm holding off on... he hasn't gotten anything for me, which I don't mind, but he's making himself feel bad about it so I don't want to give him the big surprise and make him feel really bad :\ I'll wait on that one until our first road trip, he'll be thrilled! 

Christmas with the Kids

We went and spent Christmas Eve Morning with the kids since Santa visited them early so they could go to Knoxville and see Michael's sister and her family. Grandma Patty sent more than enough presents, so we helped them figure out which presents went to which child (though Julian opened both of theirs from us and wondered why he got a pink fish!) and Jeremy played the good uncle and took all the packaging off from grandma's presents.

And we're off!

Regan got Violet a little kid laptop! 

"Open it! I play with it now!"

Auntie Margaret put tons of tape on, so I had to help V open them

Michael helps V open a particularly sticky package

Julian making a fish face and Violet liking the sparkles

She was very amused by the nose on the elephant ornament!

We finally got her to rip some of the wrapping paper!

It was a fun morning, and the kids got some really neat stuff. Julian got an Angler fish and when he pretended like it was going to bite Violet SHE bit the FISH! That girl is fearless! She got some more stuff for her play kitchen, and a little dollhouse that goes with a book series, several books, and of course ornaments from me and Jeremy. It will be interesting to see what gets donated and what they end up keeping! (every year, Grandma Patty gets them way too much stuff for their tiny house, so Michael will put some of it up in the attic for when they grow out of their current toys, and some of them go to the thrift stores for other kids to enjoy!) Who knows, maybe next year they'll have a little Clark baby to help open their presents!

Anniversary/Housewarming

We finally had a housewarming party that we combined with our anniversary and Christmas because... well, why not. We're broke and we wanted to throw a party! Because of the time of year, we didn't have a great turnout. I'm really hating our anniversary date right now-- don't ever plan your wedding around someone else, it leads to a lot of bitterness pretty quickly. 

Anyway, the food was delicious-- I made a Greek layer dip, a cheesy bean dip, and some guacamole that turned out really really well! Alexandros brought some amazing cold cuts with him that were just amazing! The sangria was awesome, the punch was great (prosecco + sherbet + grenadine) and my cousin Kim and her husband and little girl came, so it was great to see them! 

I abandoned my Hulu!!

Um, wow, soooo I totally abandoned my Hulu! I just checked in and there are 127 shows on my queue!!

Definitely moving that Google TV up on my want list so I can stream my Hulu Plus through the TV instead of counting on my little computer-- I mean, god forbid I stop Facebooking long enough to watch something, right?

I kid, I kid-- but seriously, I need to watch my Hulu! I'm dying to catch up on Haven and Fringe before they all expire-- Jeremy's mom said I was DEFINITELY behind on Fringe and I'm missing some major plot points...

In other news, I went to see The Muppets today with Holly. IT WAS SO GOOD! I grew up with The Muppet Show, and it was a real tradition with us, and the movie was something Jim Henson would have been really proud of. As for the charges by Fox news that it's got a liberal agenda, it's just further proof they don't know how to make friends-- The Muppets just want to be together and do what they love with who they love! It's the most basic thing in the world, and I can't recommend the movie enough. I will be lining up to buy it on DVD the day of its release :)

That's really about all for today-- still in recovery and exhausted, pushing the boundaries more than I ought to most days, but that's just how I am.

Other Versions of Me on the Web...
I'm going to try and do this once a week so there aren't SO many links... if you see something you like, or that you think a friend would like, please pass them on!

My New Shop on Etsy:
Vintage Style Pearl Necklace


Agape Events Blog:
NewlyMaid Update
Fall-ing In Love
Simple Centerpieces
Gorgeous Gourds
Winter Wonderland
Running of the Bargains
Luscious Libations


Pinterest Projects:
Dino Nails
Ana's A
Failure is an Option
Improvement
Emma Frost Nails
Mini Fritatas
Poel's Pearls
Candle in the Microwave
Pinspiration Nails
Thanksgiving Special-- Greens
A Rose Ever Blooming
Pretty in Pink
Just for Fun/Upgrade Me

Waaaaaaant...

There are very few things that I "Waaaaaant"-- there are things we need (like a reliable car, enough money to pay for our dental work over the coming year, and a consistent job for Jeremy), or things that would be nice to have (like a TV that isn't 6 years old), but there are very few frivolous things...

Rosie, a 2 year old Pit Mix at AHS

Coco Chanel, a 4mo old Pit Mix at AHS

Ravishing in Red Dress at ModCloth

Got it Parade Dress in Caramel at ModCloth

Dazzling Party Dress in Red at ModCloth

$500 is what I would need to get all of these things. Granted, the dogs would require a minimum of $60/mo in food and would limit our ability to travel, but they're SO CUTE. 

We'll probably get $500 for Christmas, and we'll do the responsible thing-- we'll put it in savings, pay off the rental car we had to get to see everyone at Thanksgiving, and maybe go to dinner at the U-Joint. 

I realize every day how lucky we are to have what we have. A roof over our heads, food in our pantry, gas in our tanks, and things that are honestly luxuries like internet, TV, and computers. Most of the world doesn't have these things, and I really do feel lucky to be where I am. 

All that being said... wouldn't it be nice to have disposable income? To be able to adopt a puppy (which I've wanted to do for SO long) or get a nice dress? (to be 100% honest, I'd really be happy if I could just get the Caramel one-- I'd never have anywhere to wear the other two!) 

Really, I want the puppies. Even just one. But in addition to the $100 adoption fee, there's the monthly food expense, plus any other shots or medicines that they haven't gotten already (though the AHS is pretty good about getting them all fixed up), plus whatever deposit our landlord decides he needs for this house IF he's OK with us having a dog! Average is about $300. And that's also if he doesn't have breed restrictions against Pits. 

*sigh*

I look around at others and I know how blessed we are, but then I look at others still and think-- we really don't want that much, to be honest we even give what we can charitably. We could afford a dog if we cut back on charitable spending, but I'd rather buy food for families who don't have any. But this is America, right? Why can't we get even just a little extra a month to afford this one little thing? And what does it mean for when we want to have children? Will we ever be able to afford it? 

#firstworldproblems

Thanksgiving Pt. III

We went to Oliver Winery while we were up in IN, which is just the prettiest place around! They also have some very tasty wine, and we took the tour and got to see behind the scenes :)

Bajillion gallon tanks for wine making

The smaller tanks were the original, they're being used to cold stabilize at the moment which is why there are rings of ice around the outside!

It was a great trip and we ended up with some great wine to share with friends and some delicious dip to share with Josh and Sarah (who don't really like wine that much) that night while we watched... CondorMan. A crazy movie from the early 80's that was Josh and Jeremy's favorite childhood memory, it would seem!

All in all, it was a pretty great day after Thanksgiving! We love seeing Josh and Sarah and with any luck, we'll get to see them again this summer!

Tonsils OUT!

Well, kids, I'm posting from the other side of surgery-- MY TONSILS ARE GONE!!! I had them out Wednesday morning, 11/30 at 7:50a-ish and I couldn't be happier about it!

I was really really nervous about the recovery period, the surgeon's PA made a big deal about how much it would hurt and how miserable I was going to be, and though there is still plenty of time between now and the official end of my recovery it really hasn't been too horrible yet! The first day was a little rocky what with the leftover anesthesia, blood, and an empty stomach but they let me take some of my anti-nausea medicine and that put me back to sleep long enough to get the bleh out of my system. The next day, I was already on to smashed up ramen in addition to my popsicles! Yesterday, I even went for miso soup with tofu! And last night Jeremy made crescent rolls, which were delicious :)

There has been some minor discomfort, and if I start getting dehydrated the area where they used to be swells a tinsy bit, but that goes away the second I start drinking my water/gatorade combo again AND it's nowhere near as painful as my throat was before the surgery so I'm hoping the good luck keeps up.

$1500 is a lot to be out of pocket, but thank goodness for Beth who has helped me figure out my FSA stuff to get reimbursed quickly for it, and thank goodness that even though I know I'm exhausted and sore from the surgery, I know that I am truly well on my way to a better lifestyle!!

I'm so glad I decided to go through with this surgery, and what a blessing that recovery has gone so smoothly so far!

Whoops...

So I was going to schedule the posts on blogger to make myself look more impressive, and I did a great job until I scheduled post III and didn't schedule post IV... don't worry, I haven't forgotten that three comes before four! You'll just get that one tomorrow...

Thanksgiving Pt. IV

Saturday after Thanksgiving we went out to the Traylor's house-- we were sad Earl wasn't there, but I still got to wander around and see the animals and we got to see Grandma and Joyce again!

Tu and Lady (Tu is the adorable puppy seen here a year and a half ago)

I adore Tu-- she's my favorite! I wanted to take her home, but Grandma wouldn't let me!

The horses were actually really good at following me around!

"HEY! You there! C'mere!"

They were generally disappointed that I didn't have treats for them since James had been giving them pears all day long.

Loooooooove the horses! I'm so going back up there to ride them!

Diego is Earl's horse, of course I can't remember what Glenda's horse is named...

Tiniest Christmas tree ever!

Tu and Lady run off in to the pasture

Rooster!

Buckawk!

While I was wandering around outside, Jeremy, Josh, and Grandma made sugar twists!

There aren't pictures of the finished product because... we ate them all really quickly. They were delicious.

Thanksgiving Pt. II

Driving over the line to Arkansas-- I wanted to take a picture of each state sign, but the weather was so crummy I couldn't see half the signs!

There are lots of cool old bridges, though!

Illinois gave us some good weather... for about ten minutes.

When we got there, I cooked Greens for Thanksgiving... which apparently Nala loves!

I mean REALLY loves!

All of us at Joyce's for Thanksgiving lunch