Smokin'!

My credit card is on fire today!  I am just swiping it left and right.  Except that I haven't left my desk.  So I'm not really swiping it.  I'm more typing in the numbers over and over.  But you get the idea.

Mom and Dad's Christmas present?  Done.
Laura's (only) Christmas present? Done.  (Don't hate.  She's not even one.  And she has more aunts and uncles than I can count.  And she doesn't need anything.)
Nate's Christmas present?  Not quite done, but that's because we need to get our new TV(!) together.
Godson's Christmas present?  Done.
Brother's Christmas present?  Done.
Brother's-in-law Christmas present?  Not done, but I don't drew his name from the hat yesterday.

Most importantly, however, Christmas cards designed and ordered?  DONE.

You'd think that with the thousands of pictures I have taken of Laura over the last ten months, I could easily find something for our Christmas card.  Not so.  Some of the cutest pictures are months old, and you know how much babies change in a matter of minutes!  And there are very few pictures of all of us as a family.  We finally got some good pictures this weekend.  Next chore?  Choosing a company to make the cards!

I looked through Kodak Gallery.  Nothing caught my eye.  I loved almost everything on Tiny Prints, but really couldn't afford it.  Next stop, Shutterfly.  Good prices and some really cute cards!  I quickly called Nate to make sure he didn't care what the cards looked like and set to work.  I was even able to get pre-printed return address labels to match the card!  Worth every penny to not have to write those out over and over!

I went with "Oh Deer!" this year.  The cheerful colors and whimsical reindeer are so "us."  I love that I could change the written message on the card from "Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas" to something a little less Christmas-specific.  While I LOVE everything about Christmas, many of Nate's clients/friends are Jewish.  We welcome the holiday celebrations of all faiths in our house, and our cards reflect that sentiment.  Got a problem with that?!  Good.  Glad we're clear on that.

Smokin'!

My credit card is on fire today!  I am just swiping it left and right.  Except that I haven't left my desk.  So I'm not really swiping it.  I'm more typing in the numbers over and over.  But you get the idea.

Mom and Dad's Christmas present?  Done.
Laura's (only) Christmas present? Done.  (Don't hate.  She's not even one.  And she has more aunts and uncles than I can count.  And she doesn't need anything.)
Nate's Christmas present?  Not quite done, but that's because we need to get our new TV(!) together.
Godson's Christmas present?  Done.
Brother's Christmas present?  Done.
Brother's-in-law Christmas present?  Not done, but I don't drew his name from the hat yesterday.

Most importantly, however, Christmas cards designed and ordered?  DONE.

You'd think that with the thousands of pictures I have taken of Laura over the last ten months, I could easily find something for our Christmas card.  Not so.  Some of the cutest pictures are months old, and you know how much babies change in a matter of minutes!  And there are very few pictures of all of us as a family.  We finally got some good pictures this weekend.  Next chore?  Choosing a company to make the cards!

I looked through Kodak Gallery.  Nothing caught my eye.  I loved almost everything on Tiny Prints, but really couldn't afford it.  Next stop, Shutterfly.  Good prices and some really cute cards!  I quickly called Nate to make sure he didn't care what the cards looked like and set to work.  I was even able to get pre-printed return address labels to match the card!  Worth every penny to not have to write those out over and over!

I went with "Oh Deer!" this year.  The cheerful colors and whimsical reindeer are so "us."  I love that I could change the written message on the card from "Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas" to something a little less Christmas-specific.  While I LOVE everything about Christmas, many of Nate's clients/friends are Jewish.  We welcome the holiday celebrations of all faiths in our house, and our cards reflect that sentiment.  Got a problem with that?!  Good.  Glad we're clear on that.

Wherein my body hurts and I suck at Twitter

At several points over the holiday weekend I thought to myself, "I should be tweeting this.  This is insane.  I should be tweeting."

But I didn't.  Because I suck at twitter.  But here are some highlights of the weekend in non-tweeted form:

1) RV ride to Tennessee, an open-container state.  And we decided that since the open-container state was our destination, we could drink the whole way down.
2) Laura slept almost the whole way down!
3) Arrived with the sunrise Thanksgiving morning.  Hot coffee waiting for us.
4) Turkeys tossed on the smoker at 10am.
5) Family football game.  I watched from the sidelines.  I don't *DO* balls.
6) Dinner.  Three tables.  Thirty people.  Four turkeys.  One ham.
7) Nashville zoo!  Most of the animals were hiding, since it was so cold, but the Jungle Gym was worth the price of admission.
8) Pre-gaming (like college kids) before getting on a party bus into Nashville.
9) Party bus.  Lighted floor.  Revolving stripper poles.  OMG.
10) Drive-by of Opryland to see the lights - gorgeous!
11) Did I mention stripper poles?  Revolving stripper poles?
12) Bar #1: mechanical bull.  Yes.  I rode.
13) Bar #2: live music.  We danced on stage.
14) Bar #3: I'm getting tired. 
15) Back home: the babysitters have hot pizza waiting for us!  Best sitters ever!
16) OMG everything hurts.  Why are there bruises all over my legs?  What happened last night??
17) Oh yeah.  Stripper poles and mechanical bull.  Mystery solved.
18) Starting to pack up for the long ride home.
19) In-laws really beginning to grate on my nerves.
20) Crying in the bathroom.
21) Well-timed trip to Sonic for burgers and limeades.  My first ever Sonic trip!  And I have never needed a fast-food break so badly.
22) RV ready to go.  Except two in-laws refuse to stop watching a stupid football game to leave.
23) Fight ensues.
24) Laura, sister-in-law and I hide on RV
25) Remainder of family carries hold-outs onto RV.
26) RV finally on the road.
27) Arrive home at 7am.
28) I still hurt.

If I had actually been tweeting, I am sure there would have been tons more updates, in a much wittier fashion.  But since I'm exhausted and back at work, this is the best I can do.  You wouldn't believe the bruises.  But also?  That stripper pole was the best workout I have gotten in years.  I think I need one.

Wherein my body hurts and I suck at Twitter

At several points over the holiday weekend I thought to myself, "I should be tweeting this.  This is insane.  I should be tweeting."

But I didn't.  Because I suck at twitter.  But here are some highlights of the weekend in non-tweeted form:

1) RV ride to Tennessee, an open-container state.  And we decided that since the open-container state was our destination, we could drink the whole way down.
2) Laura slept almost the whole way down!
3) Arrived with the sunrise Thanksgiving morning.  Hot coffee waiting for us.
4) Turkeys tossed on the smoker at 10am.
5) Family football game.  I watched from the sidelines.  I don't *DO* balls.
6) Dinner.  Three tables.  Thirty people.  Four turkeys.  One ham.
7) Nashville zoo!  Most of the animals were hiding, since it was so cold, but the Jungle Gym was worth the price of admission.
8) Pre-gaming (like college kids) before getting on a party bus into Nashville.
9) Party bus.  Lighted floor.  Revolving stripper poles.  OMG.
10) Drive-by of Opryland to see the lights - gorgeous!
11) Did I mention stripper poles?  Revolving stripper poles?
12) Bar #1: mechanical bull.  Yes.  I rode.
13) Bar #2: live music.  We danced on stage.
14) Bar #3: I'm getting tired. 
15) Back home: the babysitters have hot pizza waiting for us!  Best sitters ever!
16) OMG everything hurts.  Why are there bruises all over my legs?  What happened last night??
17) Oh yeah.  Stripper poles and mechanical bull.  Mystery solved.
18) Starting to pack up for the long ride home.
19) In-laws really beginning to grate on my nerves.
20) Crying in the bathroom.
21) Well-timed trip to Sonic for burgers and limeades.  My first ever Sonic trip!  And I have never needed a fast-food break so badly.
22) RV ready to go.  Except two in-laws refuse to stop watching a stupid football game to leave.
23) Fight ensues.
24) Laura, sister-in-law and I hide on RV
25) Remainder of family carries hold-outs onto RV.
26) RV finally on the road.
27) Arrive home at 7am.
28) I still hurt.

If I had actually been tweeting, I am sure there would have been tons more updates, in a much wittier fashion.  But since I'm exhausted and back at work, this is the best I can do.  You wouldn't believe the bruises.  But also?  That stripper pole was the best workout I have gotten in years.  I think I need one.