Gingerbread House

Alys & Sean (Lane's sister & her husband) were in town for Thanksgiving & we got a chance to hang out together. And what better way to pass the time than to build a gingerbread house! Brenda was nice enough to buy it for us. Everyone put in their share of effort, except for maybe me. My only real contribution was adding the things on the tip of the roof.

Lane couldn't resist this one picture above. Here's the final result!

Staying Busy

Today we stopped by the Mid-American Museum. There was a bunch of hands on activities to do, so we stayed pretty entertained. Behind us was this huge contraption that I thought was really neat.

Here Lane is drinking out of the toilet. Don't worry, it has never been used before!

Tonight we went to a magic show. I've never been to one before. Lane was so excited to go. I was expecting the guy to saw someone in half, but there was none of that. He did the whole card trick thing & disappearing act. They were good as well.

Arkansas Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we went with my family to Arkansas. Before we got to where we were going to stay, we stopped by the farm. During the Hurricane this huge tree was blown into the house. Here's what the damage looks like. It was really sad to see. Here's the tree that did the damage. It was my favorite tree. There used to be a rope swing that we would play on for hours.

While we were here, we took advantage of the chance to shoot guns. My dad just bought a new gun & got his Concealed Hand Gun license, so he was itching to try it out. Here's Lane taking some shots. It was kind of funny because every time he got ready to shoot the clip would fall out. Eventually he got the hang of it. Here's Lane, my dad & Patrick holding up their targets.

We finally got to the condo we rented in Hot Springs, but of course there was drama that came along with it. When we walked in there was no electricity. Lane had to search for the breaker box. Once that was taken care of, we discovered there were no tvs in the place! They were supposed to have a nice 40" flat screen in the living room & another in one of the bedrooms, but they were gone. So I call the owner & let him know. He had some other condos in the complex & said he would check to see if they were available for us to switch with. Well the jerk never called back! I didn't bother calling him back because it was the night before Thanksgiving & he lives in Louisiana, so I knew there was nothing he could do. But you better believe I'm calling on Monday to get a refund! Besides that, you could see the place was really nice. I loved the decor.

Well if you know my family, you know that it's not surprising that we went to the local Walmart & bought a tv. There was no way we were going to miss the Cowboys Thanksgiving game. It's no 40", but a very cute 19" flat screen. It made us a lot happier today.

Here she is in all her glory.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of Thanksgiving, I have compiled a list of my Top 5 favorite turkey dishes:
Cajun Deep Fried Turkey
Turkey Bacon Guacamole (Quiznos)
Turkey & Cheddar Panini
Turkey Avacado Wrap w/ Honey Mustard Dressing
Turkey Leg from a Fair

Gobble 'Til You Wobble!

My Quirks

I was tagged by Katie...so here are 6 things about me.

1. I can't stand it when doors are left open. This goes for any door, especially cabinet doors. Lane tends to do this A LOT & doesn't even realize it. At first I would always remind him, but it was no use, so I just go around behind him shutting every door!

2. When I make a decision, I want to do it NOW! Some may call this impulsive, but whenever we say we're going to do something, I can't stand waiting for it to get done. Example: we had enough points to get 2 free flights. After we talked about the when & where I was ready to get online & book them. Lane on the otherhand, was like, "let's think about for a week."

3. Whenever I'm in the car & there's telephone poles on the side of the road, I have to count them by chomping my teeth every time we pass one. The same thing goes for stripes on the road. As you can imagine the stripes are a bit more difficult to keep up with. I've done this since I was little.

4. Every time I pass a grave yard I have to hold my breath. Some of you probably did this when you were younger. I on the other hand am still going strong.

5. After I finish eating I have to wash my dishes & put them in the dishwasher. You may think, what's wrong with that? But I do it even when other people aren't done eating. And as each person finishes, I do the same to theirs. Maybe I just don't want to have a stack to do all at once? I don't know.

6. I have a tendency to eat all the sides on my plate before digging into the main dish. I don't know why I do this. Maybe I like the sides better?

I tag- Regina, Amy, Marianne, Jami, Jaymie and anyone else that wants to do this!

Twilight-C

I went to the much awaited Twilight movie. I even bought my tickets early. I thought it would be stupid, but secretly hoped to be surprised. However I was not. I give this movie a "C". None of the characters were how I pictured them except for maybe Bella & Jessica. Edward wasn't smooth & charming at all! However the first time he came on the screen the entire audience swooned! I totally thought the high school kids overacted in the cheesiest way possible. I was actually embarrassed for them! Even the dads tried to act cool when their characters in the book were completely opposite. The acting was unbearable! I thought about walking out. It just felt awkward the whole time. I will say that it got slightly better when Edward asked Bella to meet his parents. But only a little. The special affects were horrible. When Edward was running through the forest & climbing trees, it looked so fake. My favorite part of the whole movie was the baseball game. Sorry to totally pan this movie, but it is what it is. I'll still go see the sequels. They can only get better, right?

Ridiculous!

I just saw the most ridiculous commercial! Usually I LOVE info-mercials & always am tempted to pick up the phone after one airs. But this time, I burst into laughter after seeing them try to make this thing sound cool. It's called the "Snuggie". It looks like an oversized pancho that a treky would wear! They even had a scene where a whole family was wearing them at a sporting event, giving each other high fives. Check out this website to see for yourself: www.getsnuggie.com . Hilarious!

Twilight Party

I've been waiting for this day to come for a LONG time now & it finally did! My Twilight party! It all started when Regina went to one in Dallas. After she told me all about it, I couldn't wait to start planning mine. I used the same games they had at theirs because they were so great I knew I couldn't come up with anything better. It turned out so much better than I thought!

Here are the invitations.

Here's some of the decorations. The tiny red things you see on the walls are quotes from the book. The Jeopardy game was a big hit!

Here we are playing a candy game. I think my favorite decorations were the paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. I would keep them up all the time if they matched my walls. We all had a great time & can't wait for the movie!

My Latest Craze

The one in the middle is from Old Navy & the ends are Target.

Today I went to Target to get a wedding gift for a friend & was distracted by these cute holiday shirts! Yes, I'm one of THOSE people who buys a shirt for every holiday, sometimes more than one! I get them from Old Navy & Target, but this year Target has a new brand called L.O.L. Vintage which has made me so happy! It's hard to resist them...especially when they're only $10. So snag you one! These are just the tip of the iceberg. I have a Halloween, Valentine's Day, & 2 more Christmas shirts sitting in my closet. The ones above are just the recently purchased ones.

Well Look Who It Is

Lane went to hear a naval doctor speak & lo & behold it was the bachelor, Andy Baldwin! It was just a small group of people he was speaking to about the benefits of enlisting in the Navy & being their doctor. At the end, all the girls were taking pictures with him & Lane was like, "What about me? I swear I'm not gay, but my wife won't believe me unless there's proof." So here you have it. I was pretty excited to see the picture & hear that he's not all "Mr. Magoo" like he acted on the Bachelor.

Our New President

President Vice President

I woke up this morning feeling sick...and for good reason. We now have a new President and it wasn't who I was hoping for. America has chosen Barack Obama, a man with only 2 years of experience as a Senator, as our president for the next 4 years. They've chosen someone who wants to get rid of the flag and Pledge of Allegiance. I guess that is the "change" they've been waiting for. Just because a man can speak eloquently and very persuasively, does NOT qualify him for president. He's just a great public speaker that makes things sound better than they really are. I can make an ice cream sundae sound like the best choice for you. But in the end, it's STILL an ice cream sundae full of fat and too many calories! Barack Obama is just an ice cream sundae, and his cherry on top is Joe Biden, a man who on more than one occasion has published works that have been plagerized. Good choice America. I hope things don't turn out as badly as speculated in the next 4 years. But I have a feeling Republicans are going to get to say a big fat I TOLD YOU SO!

26 Years Young

I can't believe I'm actually 26! I should feel all mature, but I don't & I'm not. I still feel like I'm 22 with a few exceptions. Maybe my mind will stay at that age. Here's the awesome cake Lane made for me. I'm still impressed how he got the sprinkles in the shape of 26.

This afternoon we had a picnic at a park while listening to a jazz band play. The weather was so nice & it was great to relax. The location was pretty cool because it's in the middle of downtown, you have all the tall buildings around you.

Tonight we ate cake & opened presents (my favorite part). One of my favorite cards I received was from my mom. It has a picture of a dachshund, which resembles my dog when she was younger. It was so cute! I got lots of gifts including money (always need that!), a movie, gift cards for ice cream & makeup (yea!), an apron (I've been wanting to make one, but this makes it so much easier!). Lane got me a jewelry cleaner & a pair of jeans that I've been wanting forever!

All in all, my birthday was wonderful. In fact I'm sad that it's ending :( Thank you to all of you who made it great by calling, sending cards & gifts & being great friends!

Pre-Birthday

Every year for my birthday, my dad gives me yellow roses. I thought I wasn't going to get them this year since I'm in Houston, but my dad surprised me with a beautiful delivery! I was so happy to get them! This is the first time I've spent my birthday away from my family, so I'm sad I will be missing out on a few traditions. But at least this one was not lost. Thanks dad!

Since my birthday falls on a Sunday this year, it kind of puts a damper on things. We have to go to church, which won't be over until 2pm. Plus, we can't go to dinner since it's Sunday. So...we had a pre-birthday dinner on Saturday. We went to El Tiempo Cantina & gorged ourselves on fajitas. They were SO good! One interesting thing happened while we were at dinner. An old guy who works there comes up to our table for no reason & starts talking. What he said was quite surprising... "When life gives you limes, make a glass of sweet lemonade & ____ everyone!" Thank you for that! Just what we wanted to hear on our night out.

MURDER at the Juice Joint

Last night we celebrated Halloween with a murder mystery. Everyone played a character & had
to complete different objectives throughout the night. It took place at Rosie's speakeasy. Her husband was shot in the head & found dead at the bottom of the river. Above is the newspaper & invitation everyone received. Then you have the "Rosie's" sign along with the wall of gangsters. The whole night turned out great. Everyone did such a good job getting into their characters.

Notorious Nick (Northside Mob Boss) was killed at the party.

Rosie, owner of the Juice Joint.

Chief Cameron..aka..Murderer!

P.I. Pinkerton taping off the body. Bernie Booze in the background.

Kitty Cocktail & Cy Ramsey

Southside Sal(Southside Mob Boss) & Cindy Butt(Cigarette Girl)

Notorious Nick & Molly Moll (gold digger)

So in the end, Chief Cameron killed Notorious Nick because he found out Nick was going to replace him with Cy Ramsey as Chief. The funny thing is that no one accused the Chief! I guess we would all fail as private investigators.