HAPPY 2011!

just a quick one!  i'm watching Inception, which is so good, but so confusing!  *laugh*  no, that's the wrong word.  i understand what's happening, i'm not confused.  it's just ... complicated plotting.  *laugh*  and i have this niggling in the back of my head that the end is going to have some sort of "aha" or major confusion, which i think is messing w/ my mind.  


so i think i'll go to bed & pick it up in the morning.


tonight was FABULOUS!  God is soooo good!  : )  waiting for becca at the restaurant was a little nerve-wracking, as everyone & their sister were out at osaka it seemed.  i found a little pocket of space & stood as still as i could til she came in the door.  dinner was wonderful & i'm always so happy to hang out w/ becks!  also happy to hang out w/ dawny & my B's!  i stopped at mom's to use the loo on my way out to the country, and leyton was in the tub.  heh.  i chatted w/ them for a few minutes.  aunt carol is going w/ mom to KC this weekend to pick up bret & misha!  hallelujah!  i'd decided not to make the trip because i'm still tired of being in the car!  *laugh*  but i didn't really feel comfortable w/ her going on her own (not for any reason - i travel by myself all the time, so i know it can be good!), so when i heard aunt carol wanted to go, i said a quick prayer that it'd work out.  


funny (interesting) sidebar - mom & carol are twins, but they've never been on a trip alone together!  so i really really really think this'll be good for both of them!  


*ahem*  so, after the pit stop, i made it to my B's.  the party was in full swing, but i had some visiting time w/ boo, bran, bay, dawn & brad.  i don't think blake was home (work) & bub was being the host w/ the most.  : )  the girls & brad & dawn opened their presents & really liked the blankets, journals and coffee, hallelujah!  it seriously gives my heart a lift when ppl enjoy the gifts i give!  (anthony didn't enjoy any of the gifts i gave him for christmas, and it ripped a hole in my heart.  *sigh*)  we just hung out for awhile, catching up quickly, and then the convergence of ppl... and bay brought some ppl in to play apples to apples, which i'd never played/seen played, so i watched for awhile.  


i had a sense of lots of ppl, but i was sitting on the loveseat by dawn, and i'd been in the fam (family room) for awhile and was fairly comfortable.  i played the game of not looking left & i was okay.  (if you don't know, and idk how often or if i've mentioned it before, my eyes don't work together.  so, when i'm focusing with one eye, i can kinda shut out what's going on w/ the other one.  it's like i see everything because of my excellent peripheral, but if i want to, i can ignore what i'm seeing.  for instance, i'm looking at the screen w/ my left eye, but i can see the movie as well w/o moving my head. and my right eye sees jana's photograph and part of my door, but unless i think about it, i don't really "see" them.  is that too weird?  it's just my reality, so idk.  anyway, as long as i faced my cousins who were all to my right, and looked at them w/ my left eye, i could block out the ppl piling into the room to my left.)


then, rather suddenly, something caused me to look left & i noticed all the ppl in the room.  oh, i think someone came in & dawn asked them for the time.  after that, i only lasted about another 10 minutes, because i'd seen all the ppl!  which is really quite sad, because honestly i was having a really grand time, and the apples to apples game was FUN, and i'd just been debating if i could stay til midnight.  


ah well, the time i had with them was blessed, and i'm grateful for it!  


and now, i'll leave you with an Irish blessing for you in 2011:  


May neighbours respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.


ttfn - and HAPPY NEW YEAR!  :  )  

end of an era

tomorrow will be 1/1/11.  the beginning of a new decade.  well, depending on how you look at these things, i guess.  some ppl count the new decade on the 00's and some on the 1's.  i'm a 1'er, obviously.  my reasoning for this?  well, we start counting with ONE.  so, to me, 2000 was like the number 10.  2011 is starting over at 1.  : )  


anyway, this has been quite an interesting year, 2010.  i've both gained and lost ppl i love.  i've been stressed beyond belief.  i've been happy beyond measure.  it all evens out, really.  but i'm going to focus on the positives!!  


one of my favorite things about 2010 is that it's the year leyton got to start spending the night with me on a regular basis.  we get to hang out, have conversations, watch A LOT of thomas.  lol  it was the year of the road trip with him & mom, as well!  

January

February 

March 

April 

May

June

July

August 

september

October

November

December

Amazing what a year can do, eh?  : ) 

i've met new friends through postcrossing and the blogging world.  i've gained a new roommate, and been given opportunities to help.  : ) 


for 2011, i have goals, but not really.  *laugh*  i mean, i would like to have 20 blog followers, and finish my leyton book.  i'd also like to somehow get into food reviewing for reals.  i know my menu blog is just kind of a hodge podge, but i think it'd be neat to actually get paid for reviewing restaurants!  heh.  i hope to get healthier, to continue losing weight and get back on track with my food journal.  (i ran out of room in the book i was using shortly before christmas, and haven't been keeping track for the past two weeks.  i've still been trying to make wise choices, but i tell you what - actually WRITING DOWN everything you eat does give you a clearer head on the matter.  so, i have a new journal and i will begin using it tomorrow.)  i want to be a better friend, to make sure i'm available whenever someone needs to talk.  i want to spend more time with my aunts & uncles & cousins.  i want to get to know each of them better... i have so many, some get back burner'd, and i'd like to make time for more of them in 2011.  


so you see, there are goals, but they're not quite ... idk.  *laugh*  


anywhoo - what's on your agenda for tonight?  are you going to party it up?  are you like my friend corey & going to multiple parties?  or are you just going to stay home & snuggle up to a good book/movie/kids/hubby/pet?  as usual for me, i'm doing a little bit of everything.  *laugh*  i'm meeting becca at osaka for dinner, then stopping by my B's to deliver hugs & gifties, then coming home to watch Inception & probably go to bed before the ball drops.  : )  (now that i've said that, i'll probably be up til 3.  oh well, i can sleep in tomorrow!)


today has been really good so far.  leyton got up about 7, but he let me sleep til 8.  : )  i fixed eggs & sausage & cereal & pudding (he was hungry!!) & we watched Thomas & just hung out til about 10.  
and of course there was couch jumping... *giggle*  

then we went to target, and taco bell for lunch, and gordman's.  took us forever to get out of the gordman's parking lot, too.  ugh!  oh, and when we started out this morning, it was BRRRRR and rainy.  by the time we left the last store, it was nearly 60 degrees out!  nutty.  *laugh*  we picked up some food for jen & chatted w/ marianne & went home.  


whew!  i can't believe it's only 5 o'clock!  i could go to bed right now!  : )  


ttfn!  

despicable

i finally got to see Despicable Me & oh my heck, it's ADORABLE!  : ) 


before that, there was PIRATE COW.  seriously, leyton loves the chick fil a cow, and i do, too!  it's so cute and whoever's in the suit does a great job interacting.  

 "i'm going to play, guys!" 

 love this expression!  and those are skull & crossbone candies.  

 pirate cow approaches 

 closer... 

 and then the cow tapped leyton on the shoulder... LOL  he was so surprised he slipped out of the chair & on his butt.  he was fine, tho, and laughing.  : )  

we had SO MUCH FUN and once again, the word that comes to mind is just... THANKFUL.


i'm also thankful for this beautiful journal micaela gave me.  it has scriptures throughout, and i am going to love writing in it!  : )  

i hope your evening went as well.  


ttfn!


p.s.
two cute leyton stories... i gave him the pens & chocolate that micaela sent for him, and he immediately said, "can we call caela to say thank you?"  awwww!  later, while we watched our movie, i pulled up her FB, and said, "see this girl here?" and he asked, "is that caela?"  when i said yes, he shouted, "THANK YOU CAELA!"  : )  


i called georgette to chat about her upcoming wedding (Saturday!  exciting!), and she told me a story about her dog catching a rabbit.  it made me laugh, leyton asked why i was laughing, so i told him, and then he wanted to talk to georgette.  he said he wanted to be a dog for halloween & pretend to eat a rabbit.  ROTFL.  seriously, this kid cracks me up.  


ta again!  ; )  

darklight aka i totally don't match & i totally don't care : )

i was up early this morning.  i'd been dreaming of odd things, which i don't remember now because i didn't write them down right away.  *sigh*  i need to keep that notebook by my bed again, i guess.  fixed a little breakfast & tried to go back to bed, to no avail.  so i took the opportunity to catch up on some bloggy blogs!  : )  i've missed all my darlings.  that's what each blog is, a darling!  i love to read about ppl's lives, see photos, peer into psyches.  


around 1, i left to meet aunt judy & cousin jenni for lunch at granite city.  you can read about it here if you haven't checked out the menu yet!  : )  it was an amazing hour & a half, especially because aunt nancy & uncle gene joined us, which was a surprise to me!  i have been soooo blessed with this family, and i'm so grateful!


after lunch, i stopped at TJ Maxx in the hopes of finding something for my B's.  i had a specific something in mind, and PTL i found EXACTLY what i'd been looking for!  sweeeetness!  : )  my plan after that was to go to gordman's & hallmark, but i once again forgot to put a new check pack in my purse, and so i just went to the bucks & then home to watch Chuck.  i think the entire cast of firefly has been on this show, except maybe nathan.  anyone know for sure off the tops of their heads?  


oh, postcrossing in the mail from north carolina when i got home.  

and mom & leyton will be picking me up soon, to go be pirates at chick fil a.  then leyton bug's gonna spend the night, so we'll play w/ stuff.  idk what stuff, that's up to him!  he's always got some sort of plan up his sleeve.  but it was so cute when mom told him - he said "Yaaaay!" really loud.  *grin*  


tomorrow i'll do the rest of my shopping, and i hope he'll want to come with me, but we'll see.  *laugh*  then tomorrow night i get to see my B's, and i'm excited!  it's a big house party, so i'm sure i won't stay long, cuz there'll be lots of ppl.  but just long enough to play santa & get some hugs.  : )  


ttfn!


oh yeah - and my totally not matching... i'm wearing christmas tree PJ pants and pink & white striped fuzzy socks.  and i totally don't care.  : )  LOVE!!!

Kansas City Trip - With Photos! : )

it's very nice to be home, after so much time in the car!!  and especially because the trip home was done almost exclusively in this pea-soup-like FOG.  oye.  *laugh*  the Lord got us safely home.  : ) 


sunday, as you know, i was driving around & my windshield got cracked, and of course i took a picture w/ my phone but not my camera, and idk how to get the phone pictures to the computer.  LOL  so, monday i took it to the glass place to have it repaired  - Satin NorthPark Glass did an AWESOME job!  and they even washed the car.  : )  i love when places do that.  mom & i ran some errands while waiting, and picked misha up.  we met back at my house to pick up bret.  first thing, bret & misha were at each other's throats!  agh!  they got over it quickly & pretty soon things looked like this in the back seat... 

yes, she's painting his nails - black & white!

we stopped at subway for dinner & gave the boys there a good time.  LOL  really, i think we were the most fun they'd had all day.  : )  the drive down to KC went really well, and we found gaia's house, where the kids were to stay, fairly easily thanks to penelope.  heh!  then mom & i went to the staybridge in independence - but they wanted nearly $200 a night!  then we went to a holiday inn express, but they wanted $144 a night for a standard room.  right next door, however, was a comfort inn, which only charged $90 a night for a suite.  : )  AWESOME!  

above the inn was this really pretty church.

these pictures were taken today - we didn't get in to KC monday til after midnight, or at least not to the hotels!  of course the first thing i did was get a shot of mr bear in his home away from home.  : )  

and some others of the room before we made it too messy.  ; )  it was a nice room, very comfortable, and LOTS of channel options on the TV.  heh.  and yeah, the dates are messed up, sorry bout that.  LOL  mom & i slept very soundly monday night & i didn't get up til 11:30ish, i think.  mom was up & taking advantage of the gym.  heh.  we got going early afternoon & went to master wok for lunch, WM for some stuff, tim & amy's to drop off shawna's stuff, and then drove around trying to find the convention center... penelope was not very helpful in this regard!

we finally decided to give up & see a movie, which was a very good movie!  How Do You Know, starring my favorite reese witherspoon, paul rudd, jack nicholson, and a few others whose names i can't think of but i love them in everything they're in... it was a very different romcom, but good.  and the popcorn was delicioso!


today we were going to do lunch at the rib crib, which i was looking forward to some BBQ, but my tummy was just not up to anything spicy or remotely different!  so we went to IHOP the pancake house, not to be confused w/ IHOP the prayer place.  altho we're always praying!  : )  and we didn't actually eat pancakes... i had banana bread french toast, which is my new favorite dish, and CRISPY bacon.  i really forget how much i love crispy bacon until i have some.  heh.  


the drive home was, as i said, quite foggy.  before we got out of missouri, tho, we made some interesting stops... 

 so... you took out the phone, why keep the booth up??

that last one is a car dealership, and involved a bathroom of one sort or another.  *laugh*  


once we got back into town, we were going to Sancho's, but then mom was too tired.  so instead we stopped at blockbuster & then taco john's.  we each got 2 movies, When In Rome & WWJD for me, and Despicable Me & something else for mom.  When In Rome is one of my all time FAVORITE romantic comedies, and i will own it one of these days.  : )  josh duhamel.  josh duhamel.  JOSH DUHAMEL!!!!!!  *ahem*  sorry, did i mention i like this guy?  

image

then there was, What Would Jesus Do? is a really great message movie, and if you haven't seen it, rent it!  it really makes you think about how the little decisions you make and the big ones can all be made with that thought in mind.  


what else?  oh!  i'd like to say a big HELLO and THANK YOU to all the new followers, and for all the comments on the giveaway!  i'll be picking a winner next week, so YOU still have time to enter, as well!  ; )  


and that's all i got for now!  movie's over & i think sleep will be calling soon.  ttfn!!  love!  


p.s.
before we left monday, i got some lovely postcrossings, and an AMAZING christmas package from micaela - THANK YOU SO MUCH!  : )  she even sent chocolates & Cars pens for leyton bug, how sweet was that??  (also, in the background you can see one of the cute magnets marianne sent me that their mama made for me a little while ago *grin*)

 whoops, forgot to turn that around... it's from poland.  

 this one's from estonia.  love!!

and micaela's card, fitting right in to the tree theme...!