Christmas Vacation Has Started

Today is the official start of my Christmas vacation. Yesterday I discovered I had as many vacation hours as I could accumulate and in order to receive more hours I had to take some time off. I was already planning to take three days of vacation next week for the three non –holiday days of the week, but went ahead and decided to take today off as well.

I began my vacation with a doctor’s appointment. This morning the two stitches remaining in my foot were taken out and I now do not have to return to the foot doctor for another nine weeks. The foot is healing quite nicely and I plan to return to the gym on Monday. I’m able to walk a little better every day which is really great because walking is quite important, you know.

I haven’t updated you all on Charlie, my neighbor, in a while and you will be pleased to know that Charlie put up a Christmas tree and has it lit in his front window every night. It only has blue lights but looks really nice. I took Charlie some peanut butter fudge on Tuesday and he said he liked peanut butter so hopefully he will enjoy the fudge as well. These days Charlie is driving a mini-van and I’m not quite sure why. I thought the mini-van belonged to his girlfriend but maybe not. I have no idea where the Porche has gone; maybe he retired it for the winter.

Right now I am using the free internet access at Panera and after I leave here I will run by Target and Publix for medicine and groceries. Then it’s back home to do some Christmas cooking and some Christmas napping and maybe even some Christmas movie watching. I hope to update again before Santa arrives. I hope you all have a great Christmas Eve Eve!

Voices of the Faithful - Book Review

Well folks, Christmas is in just three days! Three days, can you believe it? It seems just like yesterday that we were celebrating the beginning of 2010 and soon we will be celebrating the beginning of 2011.

I hope all of you have finished your Christmas shopping; but, if not I have a last minute gift idea for some of the ladies on your list. As you may recall, I made it a goal to be a daily Bible reader in 2010 and with the exception of a few days here and there, I have been completely successful and by the time December 31 rolls around, I will have read the whole Bible front to cover in 2010 and next year I plan to do the same thing.

Some people, however, had rather read a daily devotional rather than a long passage from the Bible and that’s where today’s last minute gift idea comes in to play. I received a copy of “Voices of the Faithful – Inspiring Stories of Courage from Christians Serving around the World”. The book is obviously a compilation of stories which were put together by Kim P. Davis. The book is introduced by Beth Moore who, as you may know, has written a lot of Christian books and studies for women.

What drew me to this book was that each of the stories are written by people who are serving God all across the world – missionaries who are in foreign fields bringing people to Christ. That’s encouraging in and of itself; and, as you may know, I have a lot of friends in the mission field (Caroline, Allison, Kimberly) and this book makes me think of them as well.

There is one devotional reading for each day that starts off with a scripture and then a story by one of the missionaries. There is a theme for each month of the year:

January: God’s Character
February: God’s Word
March: Prayer
April: God’s Grace
May: Witnessing
June: Persecution
July: God Working
August: Contentment
September: God Before Me
October: Spiritual Warfare
November: Compassion
December: Christmas Around the World

This devotional book would be a great gift for the Christian woman on your Christmas list – especially someone who enjoys reading stories and being inspired by the work of others. It’s available at Amazon for less than $12; but if you need it right away, I’m sure you can find it at the local book store of your choice.

This book review was written in coordination with my association with BookSneeze. All reviews are my own opinion. I was not paid for this review, however I did receive a free copy of the book.

Thought You Might Like This

Someone at work sent me a Christmas e-card and I thought it was so cute that I wanted to share it with you all. It reminded me a little of The Tide, only I don’t think she’s as well behaved as this dog or at least not as disciplined – I’m pretty sure she would have eaten all the cookies before Santa got there. Here's the link.

Monday Movie Review: Narnia - Voyage of the Dawn Treader

On Sunday, I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Lindlee and Nic went with me. You may remember that Nic has been my tag along for all the Harry Potter movies but ditched me this year because now that he’s 15 he wanted to go see it with a girl. I couldn’t believe it! His sister, Lindlee went with me instead and afterwards made plans to go see Narnia together. When I called Lindlee on Saturday to finalize our plans, she said Nic wanted to know if he could come and he was sorry for ditching me last time. So, out of the kindness of our hearts, we decided we would let Nic come long to see Narnia with us.

After church Sunday morning, we came back to my house and had a lunch of tacos. The kids watched Toy Story 3 while I cooked lunch. After we ate, we were running short on time and had to change our movie theater from Rave to Hollywood 18. Well, when we got to Hollywood 18 for the 1:15 movie, we discovered it was the 3D version that started at 1:15. I think Lindlee was excited. I didn’t really care to see it in 3D because 3D doesn’t really do it for me and it’s more expensive, but we didn’t have any other options so we went ahead and bought our tickets.

The movie was good – on par with the other Narnia movies. In actuality this was probably my least favorite of the three. I think I still like the first one best of all. I don’t know if it was because we saw this movie on a Sunday afternoon when I’m usually napping or if the movie itself was kind of slow, but there were times when I just wanted to shut my eyes and fall asleep. I’m pretty sure it had to do with it being Sunday afternoon and the fact that I was missing my required nap. This movie is great for kids and despite my wanting to fall asleep at times; it also had a lot of action in it. If you are a lover of all things Narnia, then you will probably like this movie as well. I won’t give away the plot or anything because I know some of my readers are planning to go see it later in the week. The ending was a little sad and if I hadn’t been so tired I might have cried.

I wasn’t too impressed with the 3D. The only thing I like about 3D is when things look like they are coming at you and there wasn’t much of that in this film, plus I had to keep adjusting my glasses which was annoying. I would say go see it in 2D; but as mentioned, 3D doesn’t do it for me. I really don’t see what all the fuss is about.

One of the oddest and funniest moments of the day was that a lady and her son were sitting on the row behind us and she would shush us anytime we opened a candy wrapper or got a piece of gum or anything of the sort. We were kind of afraid to even move in our chairs for fear that she might get up and stab us with her stilettos. With about 20 minutes to go in the movie they got up and sat on the row in front of us. We don’t know why – it was really strange. We started shushing them whenever they moved and of course it gave us a case of the laughs.

After the movie we came back to my house to pass the time until evening service and the kids finished watching Toy Story 3 while I made a batch of peanut butter fudge. It was a lovely afternoon enjoyed by all – if only we could have squeezed in a nap.

A Fun and Chaotic Christmas

Last night I had Christmas with Jackie, Troy and Ashlyn. I’ve had Christmas with Jackie and her family for as long as I can remember. You may remember too since I’ve posted the picture below several times before.

Christmas 1992

This year, Jackie’s mom is running around like crazy and has been super busy and couldn’t find a time that was good for all of us to get together for Christmas so this year, I hosted Jackie and the kids at my house instead. It was weird not to have Tim and Jan with us and also weird to have it at my house, but we still had a good time and that’s really all that mattered.

I cooked dinner for us and of course had to throw some chicken fingers in the oven for the kids since they are a little pickier than me and their mother. We had to put The Tide back in the bedroom, now known as “Tide’s Lair”, while we ate so she wouldn’t be drooling all over our plates.

After eating, Jackie and I cleaned up the kitchen and then we got out the Christmas presents which was the whole reason we were together, right? Well, the kids thought so anyway. I got to open my presents first since I had slaved over the dinner – ha! I opened Ashlyn’s gift first. She had picked out a Christmas decoration of a church building for me. It is very pretty.

Not an endorsement for IHop

My lazy eye is looking really lazy in these photos.

Ashlyn looks nice though -  a lovely smile!

Troy’s gift to me was next and he had picked out two Christmas ornaments which were snowflakes. We were going to find a place to hang them on the tree, but that became a thought of the past once he opened his gift.

What's inside the bag?

This is a good photo of Troy. Nice smile, buddy!

We like it when you smile for real - it's way better than the fake smile!

The gift from Jackie was next and she had gotten me a cute Alabama necklace which I knew about because I was with her when she got it. I know, I know. She also surprised me with a pair of candy cane socks that are supposed to moisturize your feet and also a gift certificate to one of my favorite eateries, Sam and Greg’s.

As you can tell I dressed up for the occasion with my finest Rudolph Run 5K shirt and sweats.

Hey, I worked all day and was ready to be comfy!

Tim and Jan sent their gift with Jackie and it was the last one I opened. They usually get me movie passes and when I reached in the bag I thought that’s what it was going to be, but I was surprised to find a gift certificate to Huntsville Massage Professionals for a facial. I’m really excited about this! I love facials and massages and anything else that involves pampering. All the gifts were wonderful – I am really blessed to have such a great family of friends.

Troy is reading what the gift certificate says.

We then moved on to the kids’ presents and I asked them to go one at a time so we could see their reactions when they opened their gifts. Ashlyn went first and received two Fancy Nancy books. I had asked Jackie a while back if Ashlyn liked these and decided to go ahead and get them and then a few weeks later Jackie said Ashlyn said she wanted some more Fancy Nancy books so it was a good gift, indeed.

As for Troy, I was really excited about the gift I got him and wouldn’t mind having one myself. It’s a book called "Harry Potter Film Wizardry" and it has all sorts of information and pullouts regarding the Harry Potter films. It even has a Marauder’s Map! Awesome! Not long after I got the book, Troy saw one in Target and asked Jackie to get it for him. There was only one copy and he was so afraid it wouldn’t be there any longer if she didn’t get it right then and there. So, we figured he would be excited about it and he was. He looked at it for most of the rest of the night except for the five minutes I was able to snatch it from him and look at it myself.

I had gotten Jackie a birthday/Christmas combo present back in September, but I always like to get her a little something else so she will have a gift to open when we have Christmas together. She received luggage tags and a passport holder which will come in handy should she get that big fat Christmas bonus I asked Santa to send her. Here she is trying to figure out what her gift is.

After the present opening was over and I threw some of the boxes in the garbage can, Ashlyn let The Tide out of her lair and gave her a stocking full of dog toys which she proceeded to rip the stuffing out of and tear to shreds. It was probably the most fun she’s had in a while, and yes, she is clearly feeling better since the weather has warmed up some.

Unfortunately, as I had a feeling I would, I forgot to give Jackie my gifts to her parents to take with her but I plan to run them by her office this afternoon. Hopefully they will like their gifts as well.

It was a great night filled with food, family, friends, fun, screaming, laughter, dog barking and everything in between and I fell asleep five minutes after they were out the door. Okay, maybe 10.

My Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I hope this letter finds you doing well. It’s only nine days until Christmas, and eight until Christmas Eve. I hope your elves have all the toys built and the sleigh ready to go for your big night.

I was wondering Santa, why is it you never eat the cookies or drink the milk I leave out for you at my house. Is it because you are already full from all the other houses? Perhaps if you took just one small bite and one small sip and every house then you would have room to do the same at mine. I assure you that my cookies are very good. But get there quickly or The Tide might jump up and eat them before you have a chance.

The Tide has been pretty good this year, Santa, and I hope you will bring her lots of treats and maybe a big bag of Iams Weight Management dog food so that I won’t have to purchase one for a little while longer. Dog food can get expensive you know and I’m saving up for the big trip to France, after all. The Tide has lost another four pounds this past year making it a total of 20 pounds lost over the last five years! I’m so proud of her so make sure those treats are low fat if you don’t mind.

Speaking of France, Santa, if you could see fit, please allow Jackie to receive a big fat Christmas bonus so she can join me in Paris for a week this July. There’s nothing like being in the most romantic city in the world with your best friend who’s just as cynical about love as you are, or at least that’s what I’m guessing since I’ve never been.

For myself, I would like a new car, but I know that you’re not really into giving out cars at Christmas, or at least as long as I’ve known you, you haven’t been. So, if you could sprinkle some of your magic Santa dust and give my car enough spunk to last until August, I would appreciate it. That way I won’t have to worry with purchasing another automobile until I get back from France. Funny how everything revolves around France isn’t it?

I would also like a new toiletry stand or whatever you want to call it for my bathroom, but I know your elves don’t have time to make it and my dad hasn’t started on it either so I’m pretty sure I won’t be getting one even though I’ve done my best to be good this year. So, instead if you would just bring some surprises that would be nice. Oh and some skillets. I’ve needed some new skillets for quite some time and had planned on adding them to my wedding registry next year, but I think you probably know how that turned out. So, I would like to add that to the Christmas list instead.

I guess that’s it for now Santa. I hope Mrs. Claus has your suit all mended and ready to go for your big trip next week! The Tide and I will be waiting for you and I’ve instructed her not to bark when you arrive since you are obviously harmless and will be bringing us presents. Don’t forget to eat the cookies and drink the milk this year, Santa. I’ll be so disappointed if you don’t. Oh and we will leave out some carrots for Rudolph and the other reindeer as well. Be sure and stop by to see all of my friends as well. Fly safe!

Your loyal friend,

Natasha

With the Exception of My Car, Life Continues to be Uneventful

Blue was towed to the mechanic yesterday and I haven’t heard yet what the damage is; but I’m sure I’ll end up owing hundreds of dollars and then I’ll have a big cry fest. Please pray for me; and while you’re at it, pray for The Tide too. She’s having a lot of problems with pain in her hips during these cold days. As you may know if you read this post last year, The Tide has had both of her hips operated on and when the weather is cold or a front moves through the area, she has a lot of problems with pain and walking and getting on and off the couch, etc. The past couple of days have been especially bad and this morning she was just so pitiful. She didn’t even want any treats! So, say a little prayer for my not-so-little dog if you don’t mind.

I wish there was something more exciting to write about so that you may actually want to come back to this site, but I’m here to tell you, things have been the epitome of boring lately. This past weekend, other than the car troubles, I spent sleeping and doing a little cleaning. I also did some reading and some TV watching. Oh and I took a bath at my parents’ house because their bathtub is bigger and easier to maneuver in, which is a huge help when you have to hang one foot off the side of the tub. So, clearly there’s not much detail to write about because the previous sentences sum it all up. I’m also fairly certain you don’t care to read about how I bought some meat to make spaghetti over the weekend and by the time I finally got around to pulling it out of the fridge to cook it (last night) the meat was no longer good and I ended up cooking a frozen pizza instead. See how exciting things are these days! Have no fear though, I plan to buy some more meat today and make spaghetti for tonight’s dinner.

In case you are wondering about the foot, it is healing up quite nicely and I am able to walk without the cane most of the time. I am still using it at work though because we have concrete floors and it causes me a lot of pain and I don’t want to topple over because I’m sure there would be some people here that would think that’s the funniest thing ever. Come to think of it, Jackie would probably find that funny too, which thinking about that makes me laugh as I am typing this. I get two of my stitches out on Thursday and the rest on the 23rd! So, I should truly be able to take a shower for Christmas and I’m pretty excited about that.

Thursday night I am having Christmas with Jackie and the kids and that should give you something to look forward to reading about because I will have done something other than nothing for a change.

It’s 11 degrees in Huntsville right now. 11 degrees! And it’s not even January! I’m really amazed at how cold it has gotten. I keep waiting for the roads to freeze over so I won’t have to drive in to work but I guess you have to have precipitation for that to happen.

I guess this about sums up all the boringness for today. If you have any subjects you’d like for me to write about please let me know in the comments. Otherwise I may write a post about doing laundry and then I may lose the only two readers I have left!

Have a good Tuesday, ya’ll!