Deck the halls!

I know, I know... It's NOVEMBER 19TH. That's not even remotely, excusably December. But we decked our halls. Literally with balls of holly and Christmas decor!

Don't be mad... yet. Read on.

We are both very anti-Christmas before December and Thanksgiving. In fact, growing up NO CHRISTMAS movies, songs, or decorations were allowed before Thanksgiving. It was only on Thanksgiving day that we were allowed to break out the infamous childhood Christmas films like Tennessee Tuxedo and the Christmas Pageant and The Grinch. I used to scream and run from the room if I heard talk of early Christmas. It's a coveted holiday.

HOWEVER, Charlie and I have crazy lives, and decorating for Christmas just wasn't in the cards this year. It's a good two hours of work with getting out everything and putting the rest away!

I got home from school today, and after 60 graded exams, plopped on the couch. I got to thinking that the weeks before Christmas are filling up....

This Friday we are going to a bar concert, Saturday we have shopping for Siesta and dinner with friends, Sunday is church/volunteering, entering grades (I take home quite a bit of work these days), and packing for Siesta. Monday is a crazy day of school and I have to get ready for Tuesday, whenI will have a sub! On Tuesday I go to the DMV early in the morning, and then we drive 10 hours to Siesta.

Now, this part--to be fair-- is very relaxing. We have 5 glorious days of beach time. But we aren't home to decorate! We come back late Sunday night, and I have to get up and teach on Monday. Bla. I'll come back to an undoubtedly gross room with piles of "busy work" to grade, and a whole week to teach. By then it's December 1st. I probably won't get to decorating until the 5th, which is our "Nut Party!"

Then, we leave for Michigan on the 22nd. What's the point of having decorations up for 17 days? We'll be in Michigan for the holiday!

This is why I chose to start early.

I have to say, though... it wasn't easy.

I walked to the closet...opened a box...then put it away. I got out our fake tree. Took a look at it and put it away.

I sat on the couch and watched a bit of TV after which point a glance at the calendar stirred me to move again. The dog was starting to become interested as I pulled new smells from the closet.

Here is the before with three boxes of Christmas stuff! Charlie was at karate and I finally got up the courage!

Luna looks like demon dog ;) She was really into it!

Our Stockings! We still need one for Luna. Possible X-mas gift, anyone? LOL.

I decorated the top of our cabinets with our white lights. :)

Our Nativity from the Beyersdorfs in the entryway!


Merry Novembermas!

Obsessions of the Moment.

LOST used to be our obsession. We had the DVDs on loan from Vicki and Chuck, and randomly picked them up one day. We were hooked at episode one. By season four (a mere 2 months later), we vowed we would wait until the 5th season came out on DVD to watch any more, but we eventually caved and bought them on Best Buy online. After watching every single episode up until (spoiler alert) the ENTIRE ISLAND is swallowed by the glowing light of an anomoly (yes, we know!!!), we were devastated at the prospect that we coudln't watch any more until Season 6 in December.

So, with some "time for relaxation" free-time on our hands, we decided to focus are addiction elsewhere....

Here's what we have so far:

1) Documentaries. The beauty of Netflix. Our favorite so far was called "The King of Kong" World-famous Donky Kong champ meets the underdog middle school teacher from middle America who can beat the high score, but the corrupt gaming coorporation stips the new champ of his title, accusing him of cheating. You can't write this stuff. The nerds in us loved it.




2) Glee. So many of our friends said we had to watch it... I think the combination of musical interludes and dry, stupid humor that got us. Go Cherrios!



3) Chinese Takeout. We never eat out any more, but when we dont' feel like cooking, takeout seems like the thing to do. The gooeyness of the crab rangoons is even making my mouth water right now. But boy, Luna hates the delivery guy.

4) Books on tape. Did you know you can download them for free from the library?? Amazing stuff. I'm listening to the Great Gatspy and Charlie finished Aragon a few weeks ago, or as I like to call it, "Nerd Dragon Book" ;)

H1N1 and Joy

What a title! No, these two things are not related. Hehe.

Charlie and I got our Swine Flu shots today-- it was painful to say the least, but I'm glad we got them out of the way. Earlier today, neither of us had intentions of getting the vaccine, due to inconvenience, cost, and the unknown effectiveness, but considering we are 24--the age group that is "high priority"--we decided that we should get them. Besides, I felt like a quick Target shopping trip was in order. :) We now sport matching band-aids and sore arms.

In other news... Charlie and I have missed several Sundays of church due to crazy schedules, so I've been catching up by watching them online. There has been a series on Philippians on the subject of joy. Pastor Steven really captured my attention with these words:

"Happiness is a symptom of circumstances, but joy is a product of perspective."

It caused me to think how many times I lightly complain about the world, my job, and how hard life is, when really, it isn't at all. We have so much-- especially when you put it into perspective seeing what so much of the world DOESN'T have.

Pastor challenged us to make an "Ugly Jar" and for seven days, have a "complaining fast", where each time we utter a complaint, $1 goes in the jar to charity. Oddly enough, we just got a free super-ugly-piggy-bank from Petco during their grand opening. The jar was so ugly, and I thought...what are we going to do with this? Perfect.

Here is the ugly pig that sits in our kitchen. Yes, we drew a face because he needed one! He has to be UGLY!


We'll update you in seven days. This week is long for both of us, so it will be refreshing to be positive! :)

Cards in the yard.

Today was the most perfect weather you could imagine...perhaps summer wanted to make one final appearance before she took her winter hiatus. So, after church and a few errands, we decided that rather than watching the Lions lose, we would take the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air outside the complex. There aren't any benches or seating, so we spread our picnic blanket on the grass, soaked in the late afternoon rays, and played a game of the now infamous Double Bexley...



...which was promptly ruined by the dog.

Ballooning, Baby!

So today, thanks to Laura, we experienced a hot air balloon! It was fabulous-- a trip of a lifetime, and so incredibly peaceful.

That huge balloon fits in such a tiny bag.

We drove out to the Lake Norman area to the "take-off" site. Ursula and Marc are the couple who owns the company. An endearing, intelligent pair, they explained how the balloon works-- from propane to air displacement--and how North Carolina is actually a mecca of ballooners.

It was a divine day to be on the farm...a comfortable 73 degrees. Their property rolled on forever--over grass, trees, and acres of land. They are an animal-loving couple with two horses, a dog, two cats, three ducks, and a chicken...just to name a few. They fell in love with balloon riding their first time up, and now, after more than 2,500 rides under his belt, Marc was the "captain" who took us up for the ride!

Charlie and Ursula filling the balloon with air!

Take-off as described by Marc is as peaceful as the "earth gently moving away from the basket." And it was just so. The ride was breathtakingly beautiful, with clear views for 50 miles (we had the perfect November day). There was hardly any wind, so at times our balloon drifted along at a very, VERY slow 1 mph. But, with views like that, I can't complain. The air is so quiet and peaceful, and the sounds of nature were only interjected by the smooth blasts of the propane tank to take us higher into the air!

I can't say I much enjoyed the landing. After one failed attempt to land in a grassy field, we went onward and upward (literally)! We floated past a very tall tree (I could have touched the branches...too close for comfort) and over a grove of trees, and landed in someone's backyard. The landing was two giant "bounces" and a large tip of the basket. I didn't want to spill out!



A startled couple opened their doors and said, "DID YOU CRASH!?!!?" and then proceeded to take cell phone camera documentation of the bizarre moment. I suppose that's just it about hot air balloons...you never know when you are going to land, and you can't control the wind!

After about a 10 minute ride back to Ursula and Marc's home (we didn't fly far), we drank some champagne and signed their memory book. The sun was just disappearing!

It was a perfect day. Charlie and I can now say we stole a kiss at 2,000 ft. elevation!

We captured the day using a handy-dany video camera...enjoy :)

Honoring Our Veterans

Having Veteran's Day off has been soooo nice. I've been able to relax, read, create this blog, and even sleep in!

However, I can't help but think about why today is so important. It honors the military servicemen and women who have given their dedication, time, and lives for the safety of our country. Originally, it celebrated the end of WWI in 1919, but now it recognizes ALL veterans.

I can't help but think of the people in our lives who have made a difference serving our country. Our friend Chris, who fought in Iraq and currently serves in the US Military, and our friend Katy's brother, who has just been deployed.

My grandfather served in the U.S. Navy for a number of years, and was stationed in Hawaii during the birth of my mother. He was an excellent pilot.

Grandparents and Charlie and I on wedding day!

Charlie's Grandmother Gen at our wedding in July

Charlie's grandmother also served in the U.S. Marines. She was stationed in North Carolina during WWII. Charlie's grandfather who passed away, was also a member of the Army, who was an engineer who fought in Iwojima and Okinawa.

Their story is incredibly romantic because they first met 3 weeks before his grandfather's deployment, but feel and love and wrote letters to one another for his entire deployment (Charlie's mother has most of their letters). When he returned, they married, and were husband and wife for over 50 years. It's a beautiful story and a true testament of love.

Happy Veteran's Day! May we all take time today to honor those who have served our country.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Thanks to a hurricane Ida, we are getting 4 days STRAIGHT of rain! I actually love it when it rains...I find it really peaceful. However, so much rain can be exhausting...especially on my day off. I hate getting into my car, already soaked, because closing my umbrella at the door dumped a bucket of water on my lap. I hope I'm not the only one this happens to.

To make matters worse, our poor little pup was freezing her tail off last night and this morning, and even withholding her bowel movements because of the weather!

So much to my husband's chagrin, I went on PetsMart.com and found this cute little raincoat! (above)

I brought it home, and tried it on Luna...perfect. Bring on the flash floods. ;)