happy birthday to me, part II

tra la la!  more fabulousness, and God is good!  i'm so grateful for my family & friends!  : )  


bret & i headed to osaka at 4:30.  traffic was abysmal, and i thought i was going to be late to my own party!  it worked out, tho, and we weren't the first to arrive but also not the last.  sherry was waiting & soon the aunts & uncle terry arrived.  next came erin, but she just stayed for a pepsi, then becca & finally juli & john.  they'd been at the other japanese steakhouse, wondering where everyone was!  d'oh!  lol 

the food was terrific, the company wonderful!  aunt nancy should be emailing me some other pictures, so i'll add those in soon.  i think she got some of our hibachi chef, and maybe one of me.  heh.  everyone did a great job picking out cards... aunt vicky wins for funniest, aunt judy for best (and only) song - the chicken dance, and sherry wins for cutest: 

after dinner, we headed over to the theatre for harry potter.  we didn't have to wait in line, and got to pick our perfect seats & hang out for 45 minutes before the show.  the movie was EXCELLENT!  really well done, and really enjoyable.  i can't wait to see it again on sunday!  : )  


when we got home - more vampire diaries.  and now it's 1am, and i'm soooo tired!  so i think i'll take my birthday butt to bed.  : )  thank you for all the birthday wishes & cards & gifts & friendships!  happy november 19th!!  


ttfn!

happy birthday to me, part I

today is going to be a most fabulous day!!!  : )  i slept til 10.  i took a LONG shower...well, as long as the basin would allow me to, as the drano apparently didn't work and all too soon there was a tub full of water... bah.  back to WM i go!  LOL  


yesterday i got lots of birthday wishes, and the BEST was from april!  she totally surprised me with the first season of The Vampire Diaries!!!  (and she was right, DUH, it's a GREAT show!  : )  )  actually, bret is also addicted now.  lol  he stayed up way later than me & watched many episodes.  i had to go to bed after 3, maybe 4.  idk, they're so good they all kinda run together.  *laugh*  


marty passed around a card for me & gave it to me yesterday since i wasn't going to be there today.  she did a great job picking it out - it's mary englebreit, and i LOVE ME!  : )  erm.  not me, ME, mary englebreit = ME.  lololol

i also got the cards from sarah & stephen - who also called me this morning & left a message saying happy birthday!  sweeties!  : )  

and in the unusual senders category, we have Marlboro sending me a pack of playing cards.  get it?  birthday cards!  LOLOL  : )  love it!  and my bank sent me a card, as well.  

i also got a couple postcrossings from canada & germany!  

so now today!  i need to break away from the vampire diaries & go to the PO, the bank, the theatre, kohl's, bath & body works, and... i forget where else, but i have to get home by like 3 so i can pick up bret for dinner at 5.  good times, right?!!  : )  i'll have birthday post part II soon!  : )  


ttfn

burned

happy hump day, party bloggy friends!!  : )  


i'm watching burn notice.  love love!  


(erm, in the midst of watching and writing, angel leaped up on the desk, as she sometimes does, and attempted to jump on top of the monitor - which she was used to doing w/ the behmoth i had before.  it didn't work out too well for her (or me!) with the flatscreen, however!  knocked the whole thing down, and THANK GOD it didn't break!  how much would that have sucked???  so, i picked it all back up, and now i'm watching CSI:NY.  *grin*)  


and then i'm going to bed, because wow i'm wiped!  


today was good, tho.  we had thanksgiving in the cafe & they had a delicious cornbread stuffing.  mmm!  and greenbeans w/ cranberries.  surprisingly tasty!  at the end of the day my pod was getting loopy, so it was a fun final hour!  


after work i picked up pumpkin curry for dinner.  mmmmm.  EXTRA pumpkin!  extra sweet pumpkin, too, tonight, making my favorite favorite!  : )  i will have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  woot!  oh, i had some nice mail, too.  birthday card from sarah & stephen & chase & mark.  : )  i'll try to remember to scan it in later.  


i'm so happy tomorrow is my friday!  i need to switch purses - oh, i bid on a harvey bag on ebay.  doubt i'll win it, as the auction goes for 5 more days, but we'll see!  i also have some prize packages to put together.  : )  that's exciting, yes?  


and, that's all i really have for today!  LOL  happy hump day again!  and goodnight.  


and, ttfn!  : )  

WINNERS!

hello, that's right, i sadi winnerS because it's my blog and i can have two if i wanna.  i did a regular drawing (comment number 1, Jana!) and then a drawing for the extra entries (comment number 28, Micaela!).  


Congratulations!!!  winners, please email me at gmail with your romantic genre preference and also jana i need your address.  : )  i'm a fan of several authors & genres, so i'll do my best to match you with something you're likely to enjoy, as winning something you don't want to read wouldn't be nearly as much fun!  lol  


*******
so, also winners - Prince William and his lovely bride-to-be!  how excited are you that they are FINALLY officially engaged??!?!  seriously, they are so adorable.  and don't pretend like you don't care about the royal family.  ; )  really, i'm not a royal "follower."  but i do like the idea of royalty.  i like that the princes are in the military.  i think that for all the press, kate middleton has handled herself brilliantly.  
*******
today was pretty spiffy, if i do say so myself.  some crazy stuff at work, but i got thru it!  : )  and we went to subway for lunch, the walk helped me to have a fab afternoon!  and also the cookie.  and perhaps the steak & cheese sub.  mmmmm.  


after work, i went to marshall's & found something that i am SO EXCITED to give to someone!  they had a whole section of random stationery & journals & books... it was like heaven!  i got some cuuuute Lily Pulitzer cards, some Oscar Wilde cards, and also Harriet The Spy!  : )  the movie, not stationery.  lol  picked up a thomas the train dvd for leyton.  saw some wine stoppers that will make great gifts if i get someone for secret santa (i didn't get them yet, because we're not drawing names until thursday).  : )  


i picked up some nuggets from chick fil a & a pumpkin chai from the bucks & then headed to the AMAZING Destino performance at the John Deere World Headquarters.  soooo much fun!  they're performing again this weekend, and i am planning to go on sunday.  loved it!  their voices and music are so beautiful, i cried.  like, really, brought me to tears.  i was thankful i had kleenex in my purse.  part of it, aside from their talent, was that i was remembering going to things like this performance w/ dad.  he brought me to see the ballet more than once, and he loved going to concerts & performances.  if he were still on earth with us, he would have been sitting right next to me.  yeah, i teared up.  after the concert, i wanted to go down & say hi.  but i didn't.  then, i thought... how dumb, i'm going to regret not going!  so i went back into the auditorium & went down the long stairs & said hello & thank you & wonderful job - through the panic attack my body was trying to have.  i may have seemed spazzy - i remember not being able to breathe, and i don't even remember what i said.  oye.  *laugh*  but the point, dear readers, is that I DID IT!  : )  i fought thru the panic attack and i went to meet performers i admired, and it didn't kill me.  


i got home around 8:30 or a little after that.  watched some Walker while bret played on the computer.  wrote out some more thanksgiving cards.  gotta finish those up here soon so everyone GETS them by thanksgiving!  LOL  matthew called at like 9:30 & we chatted til we got cut off.  i think his phone died, cuz he didn't call back & then bret needed to use the phone.  d'oh!  it was fun to chat, tho!  : )  


and now, i really REALLY need to sleep!  i'll leave you w/ the day's postcards - one from micaela, two from postcrossing (brazil & holland), and one from... my insurance agent!  heh.  i hope your tuesdays went well, and that all of our wednesdays are BLESSED and BEAUTIFUL!  *hugs*  


ttfn!

mooooonday

zzzzz


i'm about too tired to write tonight!  bret was on the computer when i got home & worked on bound for life stuff all night.  he left about 9:30 to go to WM & i hopped on to watch 2 episodes of Castle (nathan fillion, *heart*) and read some blogs & whatnot.  : )  oh, while he was online, i did manage to watch some walker, texas ranger and read both my People magazines, so it was a good thing anyway!  *laugh*  


i also got to chat w/ aunts nancy & judy, to kinda flesh out a plan for friday.  trish had me in panic mode that we needed to pre-order tickets, but then when i looked at the times available, it just wasn't working!  so, after talking to aunt nancy, i decided to see if the theatre adds times on friday (they usually do - or they did before they switched owners!), and then we can pre-order for the 7:30 or 8 o'clock show.  the two times offered right now are 7 & 10, and i really don't want to lock everyone in to 7 as i'm not sure we'll be done w/ dinner in time to make it to the theatre in good time to get in line.  and 10 is just too late for most of my party!!  especially as the movie is 2 1/2 hours long!  : )  (*pause*  *happy dance*  i getta see HP in just a few days!!!!  *happy dance*)  


okay, i don't even want to talk about my annoying lab appointment this morning (stupid news network stories, first of all - CA teen told he can't come to school (in AMERICA) w/ the American flag on his bike because it might "ignite tensions."  W.T.H???  next story - a teacher was disciplined for suspending a student making anti-gay remarks & a gay student stood up for the teacher.  okay, student standing up for teacher = good thing.  however - according to the teacher, the "anti-gay" remarks the other student made?  essentially just saying that they disagreed w/ the gay lifestyle because of their religious beliefs.  *boggle*  and that was enough to suspend someone?  i am hoping i missed something in the story, and it was actually about a different student who was really saying something slanderous, otherwise, that teacher deserved to be disciplined!  what has happened to our LOGIC in this country?  to our common sense?  to our common sense of DECENCY?  political correctness has ruined, and is continuing to ruin us, ppl.  wake up & smell the coffee!  you can't make one group of ppl free at another group's expense.  the only way this whole thing works is if everyone is FREE to live.  that means gay ppl.  that means Biblical Christians.  that means 13 year olds who want to fly our flag.  that also means the freedom to be modest.  there was an airport scanner/sexual harassment story... oye, i can't even get into it.  it's just too ridiculous the amount of freedoms we as americans have given up w/o even realizing it.  and we'll continue to lose freedoms until, as a nation, we stand up for it and FIGHT for it.  *cough*  sorry, LONG tangent... )... and apparently i DO want to talk about my lab appointment!


d'oh!  anyway, after all those news stories making me mad, the lab tech made me mad - i was fasting, but had a couple drinks of DIET (read: no sugar) Dr Pepper this morning.  stupid me, was honest when she asked if i'd been fasting, water only.  she then called the dr (not pepper) to see if it would be okay to still do the labs even though i had 2 drinks of DIET soda.  i heard her on the phone.  she told the dr i'd had REGULAR soda.  ARGH, woman!  annoying, right?  even more annoying?  when she came back & "lectured" me on needing my labs to be fasting & that meant NO SUGAR.  um, hello, last time i checked diet soda has NO SUGAR.  am i missing something here?  when counting carbs, i'm allowed to drink as much diet soda as i can, because it's not going to affect my blood sugar.  so... um... if it's not going to affect my bs, why are you giving me this BS?  lol  


*sigh*  anyway, so that was a wasted trip.  and of course they want me to reschedule, but i'm just done til january.  i can't take any more time off work for dr appts!  so i cancelled my appt w/ dr on friday, because what's the point of going in if she doesn't have labwork to check?  grrrr.  


i need a pick me up!  

that's better...  : )  i'm off to sleep, perchance to dream.  last night i dreamed that aunt jan met me for lunch & then abandoned me.  and mom was there, but too busy to eat w/ me.  so i just got my food to go & was leaving, but then some guy came in (from the war - what war?  idk!) & said jan had left on an emergency call of great importance & i should wait for her.  hmmmm... 


i hope your monday was nice!  : )  ttfn.  

Skyline

today was another busy and fun-filled day, praise the Lord!!  : )  leyton got up WAY too early, and unlike yesterday, he wouldn't let me pop in a video & go back to sleep.  lol  so, i got up, but brought my blankie & pillow into the living room & laid on the couch!  heh.  he let me get away w/ that for about an hour, but kept bringing me legos to fix.  smart kid, that one... "if i keep pestering aunt carrie, she'll get up."  heh...  


anywhoo, finally at 7:30 i let him call gramma, but she didn't hear the phone, so he left a message & i let him call back at 8.  we met mom at IHOP at 9 & had a fun breakfast!  i had strawberry crepes, which were supposed to be strawberry & banana, so i got a side of banana, and a side of bacon, which leyton shared w/ me.  or, i shared w/ him.  lol  


after breakfast, we went to the mall, but i forgot it doesn't open til noon on sundays.  so instead we came back here & played for an hour or so.

then it was time to take leyton back to jen's & meet mom at american to pick out her new recliner.  that was fun, too, except there was a sale associate who just wasn't getting the "we're just looking, and have already connected w/ another associate, so BACK OFF" thing.  she even went so far as to try to make the associate we were working w/ look bad.  srsly!  giving her the benefit of the doubt, perhaps she didn't realize that's what she was doing.  


mom did get a new recliner, tho, and i found one that i would LOOOOOVE to have.  sadly, it's almost $1000, and i don't need it, so ... it did not come home w/ me.  *laugh*  but if anyone wants to send me $899 for my birthday so i can get a squishy new chair, i wouldn't object.  ; ) 


after mom made her purchase, we had a little over an hour before the movie, so we decided to head down to the mall.  then we thought we wouldn't have time to get there, shop, and get back, so we stopped at kohl's instead.  i wanted to look at purses.  i did find a couple, but nothing perfect.  then i remembered i have a purse in the library that might be good for right now.  : )  


i don't remember what we were doing after kohl's - we still had 1/2 an hour or so... but on the way, we passed Sam's & i mentioned i was thinking about a membership.  mom said, "wanna go halves?" and so we went in & got a membership!  : )   we had to wait in line, which was fine, and when we got to the counter, everything was going swimmingly until the CSR mis-spoke & mom didn't hear her correct herself, and so she ordered something but then took it back RIGHT after it'd already been sent thru.  oye.  


after sam's, we headed to the cinema & saw Skyline.  i was expecting, from the previews, something along the lines of Independence Day or I Robot... it was more like I Am Legend, only the script sucked.  and there was no will smith.  i just realized that all 3 of those movies star will smith.  LOL  anyway, i wouldn't say skyline is good, but i did like it for the most part, and the end was VERY unusual!  i laughed SO HARD (and it's not a comedy)!!  : ) 


now, i'm gonna watch Bones & idk what else.  i finished part of V.  it's only 6:30 but feels like 10 already!  we'll see how late i make it.  


i hope your weekend was FABULOUS and fun!  : )  


ttfn!  

so much to do, so little time

that's what leyton kept saying today as we shopped.  which i found ironic since i'd just used a similar line for a blog title!  *laugh*  


today was SO MUCH FUN!  : )  leyton got up way too early, tho - like before 7.  i settled him on the couch w/ shrek & went back to bed.  not back to sleep, mind you.  my ears were awake!  about an hour or so later, i got up & fixed breakfast for us (waffles & eggs, w/ yogurt for leyton).  we finished watching shrek, putzed around for a bit, and headed out a little after 9.  we got petrol for chloe & then went to the post office to mail a batch of thanksgiving cards & postcrossings.  and a card to leyton from leyton (and aunt carrie lol).    


our first shopping stop was kohl's, where we found some Trio's - one of which i bought, it's true, because it has a turtle (which you can't see in these pictures...!).  

we also found some games, and ornaments.  leyton loved looking at and playing with all the different train decorations.  and the sparkly things - there was a plane that was all purple glitter, and he was covered after playing w/ it!  lol  i made the mistake of not grabbing a cart, though, so i didn't get as many ornaments as i wanted.  didn't really look at frames, either, because i couldn't carry anything more.  checked out the blankets/throws, but nothing really appealed.  looked at some purses & found a couple possibilities.  one of the ornaments i picked up didn't have a price tag, and the cashier wasn't really very ... helpful.  she was perfectly nice, but i think i caught her just before she went on break and she wasn't willing to even try to find out the price.  she suggested i go back & look or pick up another one.  um, what?  do you want my money?  then you'd better find out how much to charge me.  since she didn't, i just left it there.  however, it was a really cute hawkeye one that i really want (for me, or dave or jen or phil, idk!)!  we'll see, i earned $10 in kohl's cash, so i'll probably go back & pick it up later.  


i've never really LOOKED at ornaments before.  there are some really neat ones!  i love all the personalized ones - coffee cups & cell phones & crafts & sock monkeys.  actually, i'm wondering where the sudden influx of sock monkey memorabilia has come from, so if you know, please share!  


our next stop was next door, gordman's.  today was NOT the day for me to decide i didn't need my coat, and yet that's what i did.  BRRRRR!  the wind was brutal!  leyton didn't arrive in a winter coat, either, just a sweater jacket thing.  at least it had a hood, tho!  i was disappointed in gordman's because they didn't have ANY christmas blankets!  : (  they had lots when i was there a few weeks ago.  : (  *sigh*  will have to try again later, i guess.  i did find a cute billfold for mom, though, which i hope she likes!  leyton also wanted me to get a christmas tree, so i compromised & got these two beauties!  (he put them on my living room shelves when we got home.)  : )  

the plan was for the next stop to be toys r us, then lunch.  however, mom texted requesting me to get 3 gal of water for her, and WM was right down the road from gordman's, so we stopped there first.  i was suckered into buying some m&m-like candies from hershey's, but only let him eat a couple handfulls from the tube.  we also picked up a thomas christmas movie, Toy Story 3, some christmas cups & a new sweater.  : )  


leyton was kinda done & ready for lunch & a nap by the time we left WM - which was perfect timing for my original schedule!  however, he didn't want to delay toys r us any longer, and wouldn't listen to reason about it, of course.  *laugh*  so, off to TRU we went, w/ a stop at starbucks along the way because if he was going to be a crab apple, i needed coffee!  


thankfully, he was NOT a crab apple (much).  i found the cutest gum/candy containers for a couple ppl - the tins are shaped like an atari controller & pac man ghosts!!!  love it!  there was also a super mario bros star that i bought for someone - but then i dropped it in a basket & little stars scattered everywhere!!  d'oh!  this was, of course, at the most convenient time of taking leyton to the loo, and him saying w/ urgency, "aunt carrie, i have to potty!!"  LOL  he picked out a cute dinosaur train for his toy (fairly quickly, but not before going around the whole store).  


i have to give the kid props - he did AWESOME during all the shopping.  he is such a smart little boy, and it's just awesome to see him interacting w/ ppl, and his politeness and friendliness!  : )  


we stopped at BK for lunch, then went to gramma's to take a nap & play for a couple hours.  quite relaxing & lots of fun!  also, while he napped, i watched toy story 3.  oh my heck, what a tearjerker!!  the last 15 minutes or so, i was just in tears & blowing my nose so much that leyton (who woke up about 10 minutes before all that started) and mom were laughing at me!  well, mom was laughing because leyton was upset that i was sad, and i told him they were happy tears.  heh.  


when we got home, bret helped leyton put together one of his toys (as you could see above!  *laugh*).  his friend kenzie came over for cake (bret baked mom's midnight delight cake) & we all hung out & played & finished Madagascar.  then they went to borders & leyton & i watched thomas & played & then he went to bed!  


whew!!!  awesome but exhausting, ya know?!  : )  so, after he went to bed, i watched What Would You Do and Psych.  gooood!!!  


and wow now i am so ready to sleep!!  tomorrow we're meeting mom for breakfast whenever we're up & about.  idk what time i'm taking leyton home yet.  it's been a very nice weekend, and i am SO THANKFUL that i get to have him over!  : )  


i'll leave you w/ a couple more pictures of the evening's play.  i would have some super cute pictures of jumping off the bed into a pile of blankets, but i forgot to put a card in the camera for those.  so, as soon as i figure out how to add photos from my camera... don't hold your breath, tho... *laugh*  


ttfn!