What A Man!

Let me tell you what a good man I've got. On Thursday night, he took me on an early Valentine's date at James at the Mill. It was a sweet, romantic dinner. Saturday, he sent me these gorgeous flowers. I love them.


But the sweetest thing he did for me wasn't for Vday. I was recovering from sinus infection. He was suppose to have Monday off for President's day, but he had to work, so he took his holiday yesterday. On his day off, he got Nick up and ready for MDO and dropped him off. After that, he went grocery shopping for me. I sent a list w/ him and he didn't miss a thing. After he picked Nick up from school, he took Nick out to the mall for the rest of the afternoon so I could rest. They rode the escalator, threw pennies in the water fountain, got jellybeans at the candy store, went to the bookstore AND he changed Nick's poopy pull-up. All this on his day off and w/out complaint. I know he enjoyed his time w/ Nick, but he certainly didn't have to do any of it. So thank you to my wonderful hubby. I love you!

One Mean Blog

I know we all do it. We click on links from our friends' blog to other people's blogs, people we don't even know. It's really entertaining when you've got the time. Don't remember where I found this particular one, but it has been one of my absolute favorites. She will crack you up! If only I could be half as entertaining.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Can you believe it's that time of year again? A time for jubilation, rejoicing and stuffing your face. We all know I'm talking about... my birthday. I'd also like to take a moment to give a shout out to Kim, who shares the same birthday. May you get the turkey neck (if you like that sort of stuff) on your special day. I've always been thankful that my birthday occurs around a holiday that's all about being with people you love and eating. I'm thankful it's not around Christmas, those people get the shaft when it comes to presents.

In all seriousness, I want to take a quick moment to let all my friends and family know how truly blessed I feel having you in my life and how grateful I am for each and every one of you. Have a safe trip to those traveling this week. I leave everyone with a picture that needs no explanation. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good night.

Nutcrackers

I'm normally not a collector... with one exception. Nutcrackers. Scott's mom bought me my first one several years back and it has become a tradition to receive at least one from her every year. Scott has even bought me a couple. My collection is not huge, yet. But I love it, as each one was selected specifically for me. Not that there's anything wrong with buying some yourself, but there's just something special about it to me because of the tradition. I look forward to it every year.

Well, we dragged out our Xmas decorations from storage over the weekend. The nutcrackers are usually the first things to get unpacked, and this year was no exception. I get so excited unwrapping each one and looking at details I had forgotten. I love them all, and thought I'd share a few of them with you.

Fragile (Frah gee lay)

Due to some serious insomnia the last few nights, I came across this really cool website called SpringWidgets and they have all sorts of , you guessed it, widgets. I've attached my favorite. I just need a Red Ryder BB Gun...

Be sure to click on the chain.

Change It Up

Many of you are probably wondering what's up with all the new backgrounds. Or maybe you're not, but thought I'd share at any rate. There are so many pretty backgrounds for fall and Christmas, I'm not gonna be able to stick with just one. I'm changing it every week. I know how to spice things up, huh? This latest one is from Scrap-e-blog, which Christina found. Lots of cute free backgrounds. You can even get a matching header made specifically for you.

Read This

We've all heard people ask the question, "what's on your i-pod?" They say it can be quite revealing. In my case, it would reveal that I don't have an i-pod. I'm telling you, sports radio.

(warning: Digression) I'm not without music in my life, however. My little buddy loves to sing... songs that will drive you nuts. Let's see... highly annoying song that will stay in your head for days? Check. Singing this highly annoying song incessantly? Check. Replacing highly annoying song with another equally annoying song the moment you become numb and tune first one out (purely survival instincts.) Check. Like London Bridges? Come hang out w/ us for an afternoon.

Anyway, since I can't really relate to the whole i-pod thing, I like asking people what they're reading. I found this neat website called Shelfari that allows you to display what's on your "bookshelf." I'm not reading anything currently, but thought I could share some of our favorite books. I put our "bookshelf" on the sidebar. The top shelf is Scott's, middle is mine and bottom is Nick's. I'll change it from time to time. So check out ours and hopefully, you'll share what's on your bookshelf.

Is Nothing Sacred?

I read an article last night that caused extreme incredulity, disgust and outrage. Are you sitting down? Apparently, they are going to remake the Karate Kid (wait, it gets better) with Will Smith's son, Jaden. What the?!?! The kid (who's really very smug looking in his pic btw) is only 10. What is wrong with these people? While I may not be the biggest fan of Karate Kid (actually, I make fun of Scott every time he watches it on TV), I can admit it has a certain charm. Scott would argue that it transcends time. And the soundtrack can best be described as... inspirational. I fear once Scott hears about this, he will curl into the fetal position.

Read the rest of the article here , then post your outrage!

On Like Donkey Kong

I love board and electronic games, especially the ones that require you to think. And I'm not talking about Sorry! or Trouble. I read an article in Real Simple magazine the other day about hosting game night. It listed several great games. They all sound like so much fun, I thought I'd share. Put your game faces on!

Board Games
Apples to Apples: Make split-second matches between nouns and adjectives—for example, “hair transplants” and “unnatural.” For 4 to 10 players.

Wits and Wagers: A trivia game in which you don’t have to be a know-it-all. Just bet on the right answer. For 4 to 20 players.

Say Anything: Answer questions like “Which movie should never have been made?” A judge picks the best. Combines the best element of Apples to Apples and Wits and Wagers. For 3 to 8 players.

The Chain Game: Use your creativity to link common idioms. A player draws a card with a phrase. He or she must use one of the words on the card to come up with a new phrase. The next player does the same with the first player’s phrase, and so on. The group tries to go through as many phrases as possible before the timer goes off. An example of a common-phrase chain: “final exam,” “that’s final,” “that’s life,” “wildlife,” “wild and crazy,” “stir-crazy.” For 3 to 10 players.


Electronic Games
Catch Phrase: Classic Password enters the digital age with this handheld version. For 4 to 20 players.

Scene-It TV Edition: Test your pop-culture prowess with this DVD trivia game. For 2 players or 2 teams. (we have this on the Xbox and love it)

Wii Carnival Games: Try your luck at the ring toss and 25 other attractions that you can re-create with the Wii remote. For 1 to 4 players.

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree: Test your smarts and see how you measure up in five categories of brain-teasers: Identify, Memorize, Analyze, Compute, and Visualize. Participants play mini-games in a random sequence. At the end, they are awarded scores in the form of brain weights (the heavier, the better) and career paths (hello, improv actor), based on their accuracy and speed. For example, in one visualizing game, the player is presented with an incomplete painting and must use the Wii remote to finish it. For 1 to 8 players.

What's Cookin'?

Since I've started blogging, a whole new world has opened up to me. I'm always on the lookout for yummy recipes. I just love perusing recipes (they gotta have pics though). This is not to suggest that I would actually make any of these dishes, I like to think that it just gets made somehow by someone else (that's why the pics come in handy). Well, there are tons and tons of blogs dedicated to cooking. Who knew? One of my favorites right now is Prudence Pennywise. She has a huge collection of recipes, along with links to dozens of other cooking sites. She'll make a recipe, and not only give you her feedback, but an estimated cost as well. The Butternut Squash Lasagna with Rosemary and Garlic sounds delish. Be sure to call me if you decide to try this out.

Follow The Herd

I was listening to music on the radio in the car and you know what? With the exception of the soft rock station (b/c I'm all about soft rock and let's be honest, who isn't?), I didn't recognize any of the songs playing. Can't quite remember when it happened, but all I listen to now is sports talk radio. The reason I'm talking about this is b/c one of my fave shows is back on, and I'm overjoyed. It actually switched stations, but it never crossed my mind to look for it on another station. I love The Herd with Colin Cowherd show. It's the best 3 hours on radio (I get 10-15mins snippets these days). He talks about sports, of course, but he also talks about really random and sometimes irrelevant topics. It's great. If you're local, you can catch him from 9-12 on AM1390 or listen to him online.

Globetrotting

A favorite pastime of mine during the holiday season is looking at the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. They just released this year's catalog. A trademark of their book is a section for indulgent, over the top, overpriced (you be the judge) gifts. And really, who couldn't use some of that during these tough economic times? Below is one of my faves, what's yours?

Harlem Globetrotters® On-court Experience

How cool is that?! I had given up on my dream of pursuing a career with the Globetrotters years ago. There were many roadblocks... being 5'3" with no discernible athletic ability, tops the list. You can help make my dream a reality.

I'm Nuts For You

I have found a new love. Nutella. I've heard of it for many years, and know it's very popular in Europe. But what do those across the pond know anyway? I've seen Giada on Everyday Italian cook with it. And on occasion hear my friend, Heidi (who is a very good sport btw, see 4 posts down), extolling it's virtue. She has even rhapsodized about it on her blog. I wanted to see what the fuss was about.

Sheer bliss. I thought immediately, this is a Ferrero Rocher, in heavenly form. Turns out it's made by the same company. You'll be surprised to learn, however, that it has little to no nutritional value.

Click here for a chance to win a free case (1 week supply) of Nutella.

My Wish For You

The posts on this blog are normally about Nicholas. However, my friend, Beth, has inspired me to post a few things about moi. Namely, things I would like to be "surprised" with by my wonderful husband and family. I always see things I think would be cool to have, but I can never remember during very crucial times, such as my birthday, x-mas, anniversary, flag day, etc... So I've decided to start my very own wish list. Once I've generated a long enough list, I'll compile them on the sidebar (for easy reference, of course.) The very first item on my list is...

The ProCaulk Tool Kit

Hysterical

Everybody has songs that are associated w/ certain memories of an event or person when they hear it. I had one of those moments today listening to the radio in the car and just had to share it. Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me came on and I laughed out loud. Not only b/c it's Def Leppard, but b/c I always think of our neighbor, Cliff, growing up. Cliff, with your Freddie Mercury-esque looks, always washing your Pontiac Fiero in your cut offs while blasting this song, this post goes out to you.