Pretend This Post Is Made Of Linen

25 November 2009 by

Normally we go out of town for Thanksgiving Day, but this year we’re staying home. We’re having a wee-little gathering at our house, and with the help of the fine people at Honeybaked Ham, I’m doing all the cooking. I love doing all the cooking, by the way. Especially when all the cooking doesn’t involve a big ole dried-up turkey.

(To be clear, I am a turkey fan.)

(However, I have never had much success cooking a turkey.)

(Mainly because one time our friend Benji deep fried one for T’giving, and I have been RUINED by its deliciousness ever since. Baked turkey stands in the shadow of fried turkey and cowers.)

Anyway.

This morning I looked at the date on my computer and thought it rang a little bit of a mental bell – and sure enough, I looked back at my posts and realized that I started my blog four years ago today. That is so hard for me to believe. Especially since this is what Alex looked like in the blog’s early days.

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Did you just hear me sigh? Because I sighed really, really loudly.

And while I could sit here and wax nostalgic for a sweet forever, I’m going to resist that temptation and say this instead: I am so grateful for every single one of you who stops by here to read every now and again. Your kindness and your hilarious comments and your tolerance of my never-ending obsession with Mississippi State football and basketball have been an incredible blessing in my life and my family’s life. I cannot say “thank you” enough.

I hope y’all have a wonderful Thanksgiving – and I hope you’re surrounded by people you love.

I also hope you’re surrounded by some really good casseroles. And maybe even some homemade chocolate pies.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Filed Under: Rambling

Sharing Crazy With The Internet Since 2005

23 November 2009 by

When I get into nesting mode, I cannot do anything else. NOTHING ELSE. I mean, I may look all laid-back and casual when I’m moving, say, a vase from one room to the next, but DO NOT BE DECEIVED. Because secretly I am hoping that I can get the vase moved before I see a dust bunny out of the corner of my eye since CLEARLY THE DUST BUNNY REQUIRES ME TO STOP AND VACUUM AND THE WHOLE VASE-MOVING SYSTEM IS RUINED.

Perhaps this is why I try to warn innocent bystanders when I sense a fit of nesting on the horizon.

Over the weekend I pulled out all of our Christmas decorations and set up a few things (I know. I know. It’s early. But I’m trying to seize pockets of decorating time when I can because the next two weeks = craziness). I put together a new centerpiece for the breakfast room table, put my feather trees on my dining room table, looked through a few storage bins to take a quick mental inventory of decorations, and then I decided that I really – truly – needed to rearrange some furniture.

Yes. It is a sickness. Thank you for asking.

The rearranging was complicated by the fact that Saturday was just a tremendous day for SEC football fans – State held on with Arkansas until the 4th quarter, and the LSU/Ole Miss game was probably the best SEC game I’ve watched all year. Alex was so into that game that it made me laugh my head off, and at one point, when things didn’t go the way he wanted, he actually stood up and STOMPED OUT OF THE ROOM. We had to have a little talk about keeping the football game in perspective, but I’ll tell you right now that the whole time we were talking to him, I was smiling and clapping my hands way deep down in my heart.

(You have to understand that having a child who loves SEC football and basketball just DELIGHTS ME TO MY TOES.)

(Personally I think we should all pause at this juncture and give the Lord a handclap of praise.)

(IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY.)

In the midst of Saturday’s rearranging and game watching I decided that OBVIOUSLY I needed to paint the desk in my office area a fun shade of green and/or turquoise and/or green-y turquoise, and I think we can all agree that when you’re trying to get your house ready for Christmas, it is always VERY wise to start a completely new project, preferably one that involves a good bit of acrylic paint.

(Maybe once I finish the desk I’ll just go ahead and re-tile the guest bath. Then construct some sort of stone walkway from the street to the front door while I’m at it.)

(Oh, I kid.)

(I think.)

Yesterday I didn’t get anything done around the house because of church and such, but David did put up the Christmas tree. It’s supposed to be pre-lit, but the lights were apparently too tired to twinkle this year, so D took all the old lights off of the tree. That whole taking-the-original-lights-off-the-tree thing looked like a SUPER fun task, by the way, and I’m hoping to try it myself sometime really soon in the near NEVER.

Tonight was great, though – we listened to Travis’ Christmas CD (it’s our all-time favorite, hands-down) while David put lights on the Christmas tree and Alex helped and I watched (I haven’t put lights on a tree since 1998 – it’s a sad, tragic tale that involves many tangled cords as well as an impressive amount of tears). Now the tree has pretty new lights (that work!), and it’s waiting patiently on some ornaments. The ornaments are next on my list. Just as soon as I get that desk painted and cook Thanksgiving dinner.

So there you have it. All the news that approximately four people care about, and it is really so sweet for them to care since we’re related and all.

The end.

Filed Under: Family Fun, Rambling

Kohl’s Gift Card Winner

21 November 2009 by

Picture 1

Picture 2

And the winner is…

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Congratulations, Nancy – you’ll have an email from me shortly with information about how to claim your prize.

And thanks, everybody, for the great response!

Filed Under: Giveaways

Thank You And Please Continue To Call Me Mr. Scott

19 November 2009 by

Honestly, I’m Somewhat Concerned about my ability to stay awake during tonight’s episode of “The Office.” It hasn’t just been a long week. It’s been a looooooong week, and the sleep, OH how the sleep does call me. But since I love to laugh even more than I love to sleep, and since I almost always laugh a lot when I watch “The Office,” well, TV WINS AGAIN!

As well it should be.

Amen.

1) “BOW DOWN BEFORE RECYCLOPS!”

2) “I thought you was killed by Polluticorn.”

3) “God bless you, Cyclops, and your cold, robot heart.”

4) “Don’t do the twirl.” // “Lose the twirl.”

5) “A limousine is something that a company sends when there is cause for celebration. And in this case, I think we’re celebrating me.”

6) “That’s like what high school kids take to prom on TV shows.”

7) “Ah. Your eminence.”

8) “…I wanted to swing by the garment district and pick up a few crates of my shirts.”

9) “How is he gonna have grandkids?”

10) “I’ve always been the guy who can rally other people to rebel.”

11) “I’m sorry. These are not criminals. They are nice. They invited me to come here today. They invited me to their hospitality suite, where I had free food, and it was delicious. You know how nice they are? They sent a stretch limo all the way to pick me up in Scranton.”

12) “It’s a 45 day, 45 point, 1 point per day plan – we get to 45 points, we’re back in business! And you can take that to the bank! And little old lady, we are going completely carbon neutral!”

13) “I’m such a perfectionist that I’d really rather not do it at all.”

14) “…he knows economics as well as he knows bullfighting, and I am going to call in a little favor.”

15) “Well. That was a waste of a text.”

All in all I thought that it was sort of a weird episode – heavy on the awkward and easy on the endearing. It was fun to watch Michael rally the troops at the meeting, but if you’ve seen this show more than once, you knew right off the bat that his popularity was going to be short-lived. He seemed to enjoy his three minutes in the spotlight, though.

What did y’all think?

Filed Under: TV Is My Friend

An Unexpected Giveaway

18 November 2009 by

Yesterday – not two hours after I posted about all my pre-Christmas excitement – I got an email about doing a gift card giveaway for a department store whose name rhymes with “soles” (or “Sohl’s,” as it were). And since I’d pretty much stirred the pot about YAY! CHRISTMAS! only a couple of hours before, I figured it was only right and good for me to see if I could provide one of y’all with some extra holiday change for your post-Thanksgiving shopping.

As it turns out, yes. There is extra holiday change to be had. Or won, if you will. From “Sohl’s.” And you can find out all the details over on my giveaways page.

Edited to add: you can use the gift card to shop online even if you don’t have a “Sohl’s” in your area. Just FYI.

Filed Under: Giveaways

All In The Interest Of Research, You Understand

17 November 2009 by

Last night after supper I was sitting in the living room, clicking around on the computer while my husband flipped around on the remote. At some point between shows D stood up to go fix himself a Coke, and as he walked past me, he stopped for just a second and stared.

Trust me when I tell you that he did not stop and stare to meditate upon my loveliness. I was wearing sweats and had my hair pulled back with a clippie. JUST LIKE I LIKE IT.

(Attractive.)

“Is everything okay?” he asked. “I mean, you’re sitting in the living room and playing a game on the computer. Why aren’t you writing a blog post? Is something wrong? Are you okay? You seem weird.”

“I’m caught up.”

“Huh?”

“I’m caught up. I’ve written my blog stuff. Finished my deadline stuff. Answered my email. Cleaned up the kitchen. Clothes are in the dryer. I’m caught up.”

And then I sort of stared off into space.

“So, does being caught up make you weird?”

“I THINK IT DOES!”

But then I remembered all the mail that was waiting on me when I got home Sunday afternoon. And I remembered what was in the mail. And I realized that I was missing out on one of my favorite pre-Christmas activities in the whole wide world because YOU CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE HOW HAPPY IT MAKES ME.

Seriously. Two Christmas magazines and some post-it notes for bookmarks. WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE?

I spent the next couple of hours flipping through the magazines, marking the pages that have recipes or decorating ideas that I want to try this year. And when I was finished – at least with the first read-through – here’s what the magazines looked like.

I found some great new recipes to try (that cake on the Southern Living cover is first on the list), and I also found a little inspiration for decorating our front porch.

And don’t think for one second that I won’t be dragging out some of our Christmas decorations this weekend. Because I TOTALLY AM. Thanksgiving weekend and the first weekend in December are going to be a little cuckoo around here, so Mama needs a jump start. I can’t wait!

What about y’all? Any pre-Christmas preparations underway? Found any good ideas in your favorite magazines or on your favorite websites?

I’m all ears.

(Or eyes, as it were.)

(Because I guess I’ll be reading as opposed to listening. Since I can’t really hear you over the internet.)

(Bye bye.)

Filed Under: Decorating, Family Fun
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