Bah Humbug

So I was really getting in the mood for Christmas this year, really getting excited, etc., and then WHAM! Hubby calls to tell me the reason our car is in the driveway and not at the office with him today is because the transmission went out this morning. :( Why, why, why do things like this keep happening to us? Why now, when we already have scraped together money for presents and started spending it does this have to occur? Why can we never have a month or two without something breaking down, wrecking or frying? What did we do? Who in the world did we tick off that is now controlling our destiny and our finances? Are we destined to never have a spare dime, never have anything nice because we can't afford it? Are we always going to have to rely on the generosity of friends and family to give us their slightly used stuff so we can fix it up and get as much life out of it as humanly possible?

Does everyone experience this, or are we just the lucky ones? There is always something; the car, the truck, the computer, the dishwasher, the toaster oven, the clock, the air conditioner, the lawn mower....we never catch a break it seems. I feel like if everything could just hold on without breaking for about 6 months, we just might be able to get on top of things. I hate this.

Sorry, I just need to vent.

Turkey Travels part 3

Ok, so I left off in Dallas...after pictures in the square we headed back to the apartment for lunch. Kiddo was none too happy when his Happy got in a different car for the ride back. That boy LOVES his Happy. (probably because he is a constant source of laughter and rough-housing!) Anyway, Thanksgiving lunch was a yummy brisket with green bean casserole and salad, all prepared by the lovely Miss A. She is the hostess with the mostess! Grammy prepared two wonderful desserts and once we were stuffed to the point of impending explosion we jumped in the car to head to lew-si-anna. The 3 hour drive to my parents house was pretty uneventful (just how I like it) and we managed to make it in time for dinner.

We stayed with my parents for a few days, enjoying a wonderful, traditional Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday (turkey, dressing, all the fixin's - YUM!), and a failed attempt at shopping in an outdoor "mall" with Kiddo on Friday (note to self - BRING A STROLLER next time!). Kiddo so enjoyed torturing my mom's geriatric cats (sorry Miss. Kitty) and feeding bones to the neighbor's dog, Thor. After passing around my mom's traditional Thanksgiving cold and a couple of sleepless nights with Kiddo kicking us and wailing all night,we decided to head home Saturday. This is where I have to interject; portable DVD players are the most wonderful invention in my life right now! 7 hours in the car with a Kiddo that hates riding in the car would surely kill us all had we not had the DVD player.

We made it home without much fuss and spent Sunday doing absolutely nothing - pure bliss!

Overall I think it was a great holiday!
Later,
D :)

Turkey Travels part 2

Ok, so as I was saying, we went outside to take some pics. The main goal was to get a good shot of Hubby's sister and her hubby, a good family pic, and for someone, anyone to take a good shot of Hubby, Kiddo and I for our holiday cards. I have been pestering my beautiful sister-in-law (it seems weird to say the in-law part - she's like a sister to me) for months now to let me take some pictures of her, and since it is near impossible to organize our family for anything in a short amount of time, I was able to do a mini session with her while Kiddo ran off some steam with Happy, Hubby and his sis' hubby took photos of the buildings and Grammy watched all of us do our thing.

So here is a shot of my super model sister, A...

See why I've been after her to do some pictures?

I also got a good one of Grammy with A. Grammy usually dodges my camera every time I come near her...

While I was shooting A, Hubby took a shot of me! No one ever takes pics of me!

Ha ha! I bet you were thinking you'd finally get to see my face! Oh well, at least you can see me; even though I am wearing my frumpy Carefree Conference Resort jacket (I worked there briefly when we lived in Phoenix). It was cold people!

Super Model Cover Shot - :D

We got some great family shots as well, but I need to work on them a bit before I post them. I just had to share my beautiful family first!

Until,

D :)

Turkey Travels part 1

We had a great week last week traveling too and fro visiting family on the holiday. Our first stop was the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. We went there to see Hubby's sister and her husband. The inlaws met us there and we all camped out in the apartment that night. The next morning we ventured into downtown Dallas. Hubby's sister, A, wanted to introduce us to Thanksgiving Square, a wonderful spot in the heart of downtown that is host to a lovely little park and a most unusual chapel. After taking a gander at the amazing stained glass in the tiny chapel, I headed outside to take some pictures of A and her hubby. Before we got ourselves organized, I was able to snap a few of my little Cutie playing around with his granddad whom he calls Happy.


They are like two peas in a pod, yes?

"No Happy, don't toss me in the water!"

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There's Mommy, she'll save me!

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Since Blogger doesn't like it when I upload more than 3 or 4 pics, I have to continue this later! Stay tuned for more from the park; super model A makes an appearance, and a never-before-seen photo of yours truly will be featured!

Until,

D ;)

Three Things Meme

I was tagged for this meme by Karrie
1. 3 Things that scare me: flying, some heights or unsafe drop-offs, success
2. 3 People who make me laugh: my Kiddo, my friend Kelley and very often Miss Karrie!
3. 3 Things I love: My family, coffee, the ocean (I couldn't change a thing there!).
4. 3 Things I hate: cooked carrots, cleaning toilets, exercise
5. 3 Things I don’t understand: coveting the latest PlayStation(or other soon-to-be-obsolete gadget), contestants on Fear factor (do you really fear eating intestines?), my Kiddo's latest favorite phrase (it sounds like he's saying "Mommy, don't die" and it freaks me out)
6. 3 Things on my desk: a box of tissues, a client print order and cookies.
7. 3 Things I’m doing right now: Blogging, drinking tea, eating leftover potato casserole
8. 3 Things I want to do before I die: Publish, own a brand new car, take a cruise
9. 3 Things I can do: sing opera, drive a motorcycle, play pool (billiards) well
10. 3 Things I can’t do: burp (no, really, I can't), touch my toes, eat watermelon
11. 3 Things I think you should listen to: a child's laugh, your instinct, God
12. 3 Things you should never listen to: Tom Cruise, total strangers, celebrity politics.
13. 3 Things I’d like to learn: to really play the guitar, to cook gourmet, how to write
14. 3 Favorite foods: crab legs, chocolate and mom's fried chicken
15. 3 Beverages I drink regularly: Coffee, water and Dr. Pepper
16. 3 Shows I watched as a kid: Looney Toons, The Cosby Show, The Beverly Hillbillies
17. 3 People I’m tagging (to do this meme): Genie (because she must need double tagging), Karen, and Lane.