Deck the Halls

I can’t believe Christmas is in a week. The elf I ordered to help me finish all of the things on my list has not arrived and I’m not quite sure when I’ll get it all done. It doesn’t help that I keep procrastinating certain things; for instance, right now I’m sitting here with my Christmas cards beside me and I’m blogging instead. I did finish most of my crafts this week (can’t tell you what they are because they are presents) and fortunately the only battle scar is that I singed off my fingerprints using the hot glue gun. I kept forgetting about the “hot” part and every time I glued something I would press it with my finger. Oops.

The girls are doing better with the Christmas decorations. I even got a small tree for my bedroom and miraculously they have left it alone. Everyday when I come home from work I expect to find the tree on the floor with ornaments scattered around the house. But, so far so good. I had to start using a squirt bottle in the living room though. Gabby refuses to leave the tree alone and has used my moving the ornaments higher as an excuse to accept the challenge of climbing higher. I’ve only had to actually squirt her once, and the rest of the times I just hold it and make the sound. If nothing else it tells me that Gabby is the instigator and Izzy is just the innocent bystander. Quite the opposite of what I had thought.

In keeping with the theme of this completely random post, there was a snow/ice storm today and of course it happened on a day when I had a dentist appointment at 8am. Luckily I have an awesome daddy who drove all the way across town to pick me up and drive me back into town for my appointment. He’s awesome like that. Did I mention that he’s awesome?

Well, I guess I should get back to Christmas cards. I’ll leave you with a photo blog of Gabby and Izzy’s Christmas adventures.

I'm just guarding it, I swear.

Why did you get a dog to babysit us?

Act natural; spit out the ornament when she's not looking...

Don't be mad Mom, we're really super sweet!

Basketball Follies

Last night I went to watch Sam play basketball for the first time. If you have never seen 6 year olds play basketball, you’re missing out. It was highly entertaining and way more fun that watching baseball (no offense, I like baseball too but this was hilarious). I felt like I was watching the running of the bulls mixed with a game of tag and keep-away. Someone would get the ball. Then they would all run like hell to the other end of the court, about-face, and assume the position (arms up, hands screaming “me! me!”). Pass the ball. Fight over ball (with opposing team or teammate, no discrimination) . Coach screams “shoot! shoot!” and kid launches ball towards the goal. Ball ricochets off backboard into a mosh pit of arms and hands and inevitably knocks someone upside the head. Someone gets the ball. All run like hell to the other end of the court. And so on and so on. This was the general flow of things with a few “extras” included. These extras consisted of: kid on the other team who (bless his heart) took the ball to our goal to shoot it every time he got the ball, another kid on the other team who would climb and hang from the goal all throughout the game, and the kid on our team who was a basketball ninja; darting in and out of the mosh pits, always stealing the ball, making all of his shots, and popping up to get a rebound when I swear one second before he was 10 feet away in another spot. If they made kiddie steroids, I’d suggest having him tested. Anyway, Sam played great and hit a great shot in the middle of the game. I cheered for him of course, and don’t really understand why my family turned and looked at me like I was crazy. All I screamed was “WOOOOOOO YEAH ALRIGHT SAM BAILEYYYYYY”. I’m supportive like that.

As I was sitting there watching his game, I was having flashbacks of when I played in that very same gym. I vividly remember getting the rebound (yay!), leading the pack to the other end of the court (go me!), hearing the whistle blow and interrupting what was sure to be a spectacular lay up… because I was carrying the ball neatly in my arms (doh!). Ok, so I wasn’t so great at basketball. Apparently height can only get you so far. I wasn’t so good at the multitasking back then. You want me to walk and dribble? Psshhh. Who has time for that? Not me! I think I only played one season, which was cut short because I had my appendix out. A blessing in disguise really, because I’m pretty sure I thought I was awesome.

That's a Wrap

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, how bare and ornament-less are your branches. Yes, I have a sad little tree this year. Most of my ornaments are still in the box, and the lower quarter of my tree is bare. Because SOME people can’t keep their paws off of it.

Tonight I had the brilliant idea to start wrapping presents. I was hoping that if I could occupy the space under my tree with presents, then maybe my crazy kitties would stop using it as a bunker. I got out the wrapping paper and discovered that this simple act alone of putting it in the living room floor was enough to send them into orbit. All of this paper?? On rolls?? Rolls and rolls of paper?? Let’s run back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and wrestle and run and jump and freak out! Woo!

Here’s a rundown of how things went after that:

Roll out paper.

Remove cat from paper.

Cut paper.

Remove cat from paper.

Tape one end of present.

Remove cat from paper.

Tape other end of present.

Start over. Cat has ripped open other end of present.

Curse.

Roll out paper (again).

Remove cat from paper.

Cut paper.

Remove cat from paper.

Tape one end of present.

Remove cat from paper.

Tape other end of present.

Start over (again). Curse. Cat has ripped paper (again).

Curse (again).

Roll out paper.

Remove cat from paper.

Cut paper.

Gently toss cat across room.

Tape one end of paper.

Toss cat again.

Realize that tossing of cat managed to rip the paper.

Tape %#@$&*$# paper because I’m tired of starting over.

Hope no one notices shotty wrapping job.

Move three presents that took an hour to wrap over to Christmas tree.

Strategically place presents so that kitties cannot access behind the tree.

Realize I have boxed Gabby in the corner.

Give up.

And even as I’m writing this, I hear the unpleasant sound of paper tearing. Gabby has stuck her foot into a present while trying to climb to the back of the tree. Gift bags anyone?

Death of the Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree, meet Gabby: your Destructor.

State your purpose! Who are you and what are you doing here?

I do not trust the tree...

Is this our new treehouse?

Attack!

Stare contest. Ready, 1, 2, 3, go!

The cats are going bat $hit crazy (the last time this happened they broke a lamp). I've come to the conclusion that my tree is made of catnip. Or, they are convinced I just gave them a really, really big toy. Either way, the outcome is not in my favor, or the tree's for that matter. And I think I can safely say that ornaments are out of the question. Hundreds of bright shiny things dangling above their heads just might send them into orbit.

Simply Saturday

First of all, I know I owe a blog post about our trip to Disney. I have just not had the time to sit down for what will undoubtedly be a few hours to write that post, so my apologies (aka MOM get off my back. Love ya mean it!). Or, it is simply a devilish ploy to keep my faithful readers engaged for a few more weeks. You decide; I am up to 10 followers now, watch out I’m headed for the big time now!

Today was a good day. It was one of my favorite kinds of days from the start, because it was a I-don’t-have-to-set-my-alarm day. I woke up three times before I actually got out of bed, each time falling back asleep while I was debating getting out of bed. Sheer bliss! Then it was time to watch my Wolfpack beat up on the Tarheels, and they came through with flying colors. They made me proud! Any day is a good day when UNC loses and it was that much sweeter to watch them lose to my Wolfpack for the 4th year in a row. Although it was a little hard watching the end of the game, because by that point I was at Ashley’s house. Sam was into watching the game, but Susan Claire not so much. I think in the last 5 minutes of the game she called my name 3957 times at about 1 second intervals. If you don’t answer her immediately within a fraction of a second, she repeatedly calls your name until you do, even if you’re looking at her. Needless to say, thank goodness for DVR and being able to rewind. Then we went outside to play some football, basketball, and play in the leaves. Susan Claire wanted me to play a game of duck-duck-goose with her even though I tried to explain to her that it would be tough with just the two of us. But Ashley joined in and when she tagged me to chase her, something strange happened. I started running after her and after about 4 or 5 steps I noticed something felt a little off. My legs just felt a little funny. I took two more strides and thought huh, I’m getting shorter. I am totally about to fall and I have no idea why or how to keep it from happening. So I did the only thing I could think of. I put my arms out Superman style and face-planted into the ground. Hard. Then I sat up and tried to figure out what the hell just happened. Bruised and scraped palms? Check. Grass stains on my jeans? Check. Hole in my favorite NC State shirt? Check (and pissed). Holding back tears out of sheer humiliation that I just bit it while playing duck-duck-goose? Check please.

The evening consisted of a yummy dinner (thanks Ash and Steve!) and then helping Ashley make Sam’s Indian costume for school next week. It was my brilliant idea to put beads on all of the fringe on the tunic; which would have been fine if Ashley had cut them all the same size. I have since lost the feeling in my index finger and thumb on each hand from trying to squeeze beads on the 3 foot wide pieces of fringe. Then I glued the feathers on the wrong side of his headdress. And after sitting on the floor for two hours stringing #%$&*@ beads on #%$&*@ fringe, I could hardly move. I think my injuries from my oh-so-graceful fall are a little more intense than I thought. There isn’t a joint in my entire body that isn’t throbbing at this point.

Come to think of it, this day wasn’t so much good as it was very painful.

It's Road Trip Time

Disney here we come! It's almost 11:00 Friday night and we're leaving in about an hour. I was going to take a little nap before we left since we're driving all night but I'm too excited to sleep (my bags may or may not have been packed since 6pm). And Ashley changed the itinerary and didn't send me the corrected copy, but I'm dealing with it. Anyway, I'm sure I'll have a fun update for you when I get back in a week. Until then, Mickey says Hi!

Tater Beer

I knew that for a few weeks at the end of October and the beginning of November things were going to be a bit of a whirlwind. Out of town 3 weekends, a Thursday night football game, schoolwork, dance, work, and a week in DISNEY!!!!! Yep, Disney World here we come! More on that in a minute. For now, here's what's been going on the last week or so.

1 - My beloved NC State Wolfpack sent the Florida State Seminoles crying all the way back home to Florida. What a game that was! I was so pumped it was ridiculous, and it was quite an emotional roller coaster (speaking of roller coasters, I'll be riding these at DISNEY!!). From beginning to end my emotions were something like this: yay! ugh. come on guys! oh brother. seriously? HELLO! -halftime- (during which we discussed going back to the car and having drinky drinks for the rest of the game) Yay! Let's Go Pack! Yay again! Ugh. OMG. Yay! omg. omg. OMGGGG. what?? AAAAHHHH!! happy dance happy dance happy dance!! THAT.JUST.HAPPENED. And by that I mean we just rocked your socks off baby. Best game I've been to in a long time! I love my Wolfpack!

2 - Me and 11 other fine ladies went to Savannah for my cousin Anderson's Bachelorette Weekend. We left the morning after the NCSU game but we were pumped even though we had very little sleep. My mom let me borrow her suburban, Darlene, for the trip. You undoubtedly already know this, because she was fussing on facebook all weekend about having to drive my "go-kart". Anyway, Savannah is one of my new favorite places! I had never been there before and it is just gorgeous. We had perfect weather all weekend and stayed right in the middle of downtown. My favorite part would probably be the fact that you can get your drinks "to go". I assure you this fact had no influence on my opinion of this fine city whatsoever. Picture this: getting ready to leave dinner, paying your tab, and what's that Mr. Waiter? Would I like a drinky drink to go? Don't mind if I do! In fact, we came back to that same restaurant the next day to get a drink while we were shopping. If you are going to Savannah anytime soon, go to Moon River and get the Tater Beer. It is sweet potato beer with pumpkin spice and a de-li-ci-ous graham cracker crumble around the rim of the cup. I must admit I feel a little like a cartoon character when I think about it, with my eyes and heart bouncing back and forth from my body. Needless to say, Tater beer is kind of awesome. Sigh... tater beer.... anyway, Savannah was a rockin' good time and we even managed not to get into any trouble.

3 - As soon as I got back from the trip to Savannah, I had schoolwork due. I am excited to say that we have turned in the rough draft of the first portion of our project! Ok, so we have about 2349 more things to do between now and May, but still! One thing turned in! Accomplishment!

4 - WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!! I am so excited!!! Yes, I realize I am not acting my age, but I plan on not acting any older than the age of 8 for this entire trip. Bring on the characters, rides, and yes, I want some Mickey Mouse ears with my name on them. I have a few memories from my first time going when I was 5, but I can't really remember. I remember that all I wanted to do was show Mickey that I got my ears pierced and then being irritated at him for not talking or being that excited when I showed him. Of course, this was when my hair was cut short like a boy (but thankfully before the at-home-perm days, good times Mom!) so maybe he just thought I was a weird little boy? And I remember getting lost, but I blame that on Ashley. Don't let her tell you ANY different, she was supposed to follow me! Obviously I'm super psyched about going, but it feels a little weird because I have done n-o-t-h-i-n-g to plan this trip. When we went to Europe 2 years ago, that was my baby down to every last detail. Disney has been Ashley's baby. I'm actually quite proud of myself for being able to sit back and let someone else do the work, what with my need to control everything around me and all (OCD much? Why yes I do). Although I did speak up when Ashley was showing me the itinerary she had written on a legal pad... I told her she had to type it or I would start twitching. She did, and I'm still fighting the urge to color code it. And break it down into hour blocks (she has it in paragraphs) and possibly shrink and laminate and put on lanyards. Just a thought. Anyway, we're leaving Friday night around midnight and driving all night. Mom, Dad, and I are thankfully taking a separate vehicle. Orlando here we come!!