Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New Playlist, Scrable,Nose Tent, Saved, Christmas Miracle

So this is going to be a all in one post. The past couple weeks I've said so many times, I should blog about that, but haven't! So here it is all in one!

First I have made a new play list. It's called "Back in the Day". I figured since it's the end of the year and a great time to reflect upon the past why not enjoy a little music from the past as well! I can almost guarantee that if you flipped though it you'd find multiple songs that take you back! There are some oldies but goodies on there! I dare to to look! Try not to find a song you once loved!!! There are over 100 songs! I'm sure you'll find something. I know over 100 songs a little excessive right, I got carried away, had too much fun! Brent also thought it was an extremely fun game for me to go through all the songs and he basically played name that tune. He's really good!!

Scrabble: I stink at scrabble! I don't spell very well so scrabble has never been a game I've loved. Brent on the other hand loves word games and LOVES scrabble. So we play. I usually will ask him what I can do a couple times during
the game and I always loose. That's not the point the point is we are together and doing something at least one of us loves. Well the other day we were playing and I was kicking some scrabble butt!! I got one word that was worth 42 points!! I've never done that! And I won the game! It made my day. As much as I love Brent and therefore play a game I always loose, I have a very competitive side so winning made my night!



Nose Tent: I've been congested for a couple weeks now. It doesn't really bother me during the day but at night my sinus dry out and are extremely painful! I pulled out our humidifier knowing that would most likely solve the problem only to find it broken!! So I then resort to my childhood fix of a nose tent. You may not have heard of this before, probably because I made it up! LOL So are you curious what a nose tent is? Let me enlighten you, a nose tent is made by placing a blanket or pillow over/around your nose so the moist air you exhale is trapped in it, thus creating moist air for you to inhale. The only problem with the nose tent is you feel a little oxygen deprived after a little bit!

Saved: The nose tent is clearly not very effective so we went and bought a new humidifier. It's not as nice as the old one that broke. That one had different settings and you could add eucalyptus (ahhhh) etc. It was nice!

The new one is the cheapest one they had (we have hopes of fixing the old one and so we didn't want to spend a lot of money again on a new one). It has no settings, no place to add nice smelling essential oils. It just chugs out moist air.

I have it on the floor just next to the bed. The other night I woke up as I turned over, this is not typical. I instantly thought where is my body pillow (also not typical I don't instantly think any thing when I first wake up). Then decided I didn't really need it and tried to go back to sleep. The I thought again, no find your body pillow. So I did and I'm SO glad I did. It had fallen off the bed right on top of the humidifier. It was so hot I'm sure it was on the verge of melting!! We were saved thanks to some loving promptings!

Christmas Miracle: I wanted snow for Christmas. Remember I live in the greater Phoenix area, it doesn't snow here! But I really wanted it, even prayed for it. Well Brent was taking the trash around and came and hollering "Terina come here quick!!!" I hurry down stairs and he says stand right here, a very exact spot. I stood there and he said, look. I looked and didn't see anything. He told me, you have to look in the light, very carefully. SNOW!!! It was barely there and only visible when looking at the area illuminated by our porch light and it disappeared before it hit the ground. But I saw it. I could only say Thank you!! To Brent for knowing that I wanted that and for a Heavenly Father who gave it to me!!!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Christmas Party!

I have no pics from the party but I think it was too amazing to NOT blog about! Some of my clients invited us to there Christmas party. It was amazing!!! They have a beautiful home that was decorated beautifully! Although I've been to there home probably at least 100 times I've never seen the back yard! HOLY COW!!!! There is a zip line, a two story play house probably as big as my house, a giant pool, two different playgrounds, a race track that goes under and over things with a hummer!! Unbelievable! It's every kids dream come true! Shoot it looked so cool I wanted to go play! The kicker, they only have 3 grand kids!! Anyway this post is not about there amazing back yard it's about their amazing Christmas party! As you arrived Santa was sitting out front to greet you. We found out later the husband normally sits out side for kids to come and tell their Christmas wish list too, but for that evening they had hired someone to take his place. Their neighborhood goes all out in the decorating. One person even transmits a radio station so you can tune your car radio to a certain station and the lights and music are coordinated! Too cool! (If you live in the area and want to check it out it is off Lindsay first road south of Houston on the West side of the street.) Ok back to the party, once again. There was tons of people there and food in every corner of the house! They had prime rib sandwiches being made (it was catered) sushi, fruit and veggies galore, meats and cheeses, pot stickers, chicken, shrimp, meatballs! A desert table with every desert imaginable, all in bit size pieces so you could try a little of everything and believe me I did!! The caterers did a great job, my plate was barely emptied and it was cleared away. They had an open bar, which served mediocre Shirley Temples :( It really was enchanting! They were such great hosts and everyone there was so very friendly!!! It was so fun to get dressed up a little and party! As we were leaving I said to Brent, I want to throw parties like this someday! The kind of party you feel lucky to have been invited to and will not soon forget! I'm grateful for wonderful clients who invite me and my husband to their fabulous Christmas parties!!

Christmas Cheer!

So I've had a little trouble feeling Christmas cheer this year. Between a puppy wanting to chew everything and all that's going on in life I've just not been feeling it. We decided to not put up a tree! Too late in the game, too much work to pull it out of the back of the storage closet, too much risk of it being destroyed. We also are not going to have presents to put under our tree, we got Christmas early with a beautiful camera, so we'll get a couple things in our stocking and that is all. So instead this is our Christmas tree!





Yes it is as itty bitty as it looks, maybe a foot!! It's one of the funny ones that changes color! Ha cracks me up. If I'm remembering right Brent got it for free at a work party. But it was easy and Rusty is not going to eat it, with it sitting on the counter!

We also put up these decorations, this is all! Hey at least it's something!


We also decorated a gingerbread house. This might be the first time I've ever done this! It was pretty fun. Thank you to Desiree and Royal for the ginger bread house! It was a gift from them when they were here for Thanksgiving, it had a card saying, "here's a house for you guys to say thank you for letting us use your house!" How cute are they!!









Do you not love the Snowman randomly floating in the air, or attached to the wall? Either way you look at it, a little funny!


As I was thinking about my lack of "Christmas Cheer" I realized that even though we didn't have a tree and lights and all that jazz I am still in the "CHRISTmas spirit" Which to me is the most important! I, as always during this time of year, have found Christ to be more at the forefront of my mind. I've been thinking about his miraculous birth, the gift that was first given to all of us, Our Savior, a gift from our Heavenly Father! I've been contemplating ways I can give to those around me rather then what I want. Being in this spirit and mindset Brent and I last night went and delivered some goodies to a few friends. It was raining all last night. We had great fun running from the car to people's doors in the rain. We brought an umbrella, but it staid in the car the whole time! It was so fun to see every one's faces when they opened the door and we were standing there with a plate a goodies and a bit of love and Christmas Spirit for them! My favorite were the kids! The beautiful innocence in them puts me in awe and makes me smile! For our goodies I had gone over to a good friends, Emily's and made some Harvest Loaf and chocolate balls. Baking is much more fun when it is with a friend, which baking is fun to begin with so you can only imagine how much fun we had!!
This was the final results.


In summation we have no real tree, no lights, very sparse decorations, and no presents under the tree. But our home has been filled with Christmas music, the spirit of Christ, giving, love and gratitude! So although it may not look like Christmas, it feels like it!

Welcome to the World Justin Wayne!!


On December 11th there was a new addition to our family. My Aunt Jeanette gave birth to Justin Wayne. I got to watch my cousins while they were at the hospital! We had a fun sleep over! Bosco and Rusty especially loved having them sleep over!! We got the text around 6 am telling us that Justin was here and everyone was fine! We got up and headed to the hospital. I've never seen those kiddos get up and ready so quickly or eagerly! When we got to the hospital it was such a surprise how small he was (6lbs something). I've seen plenty of newborns in my day but it seems every time it's a surprise how small they are! He is perfect! We love him already!






I also got to throw Jeanette a baby shower. It was lots of fun. We played a game where you get blind folded and have to find safety pins in a bowl of rice (much MUCH harder then you might think!!) Shawna loved it! In fact we were all done playing, some of us more then once and Shawna could not get enough so she too the bowl and sat and found them all!! It was lots of fun! We had just gotten our camera the day before so I hadn't figured out all the settings, so, all the pics are fuzzy!!! A little irritating but we're learning how to work the camera!








Posted by Picasa



Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Heather Gunnell Photography is AMAZING!

My friend Heather is an amazing photographer. We had a session with her the other day and got some amazing pics back! These are some of my favorites (it was very hard to pick favorites!!!)













To see all the pics from the session go to our online photo album

Monday, December 15, 2008

Just What You've Been Looking For! The Perfect Holiday Gift!

Hello Family and Friends! I have teamed up with some good friends and great professionals to create some amazing Holiday Packages! The pricing on these services are only for a limited time so take advantage of the holiday pricing and stock up. Massage, Facials, Manicure/Pedicures are a great gift for everyone! Ideal for the person who has everything! Give the gift of health, relaxation, and pampering! Or just tell that special someone that this is what they are getting you!
Contact me via email:
http://us.mc334.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=littlered527@yahoo.com
Or phone: 480.375.1455
For more information or to order your gift certificate today! Please feel free to pass this on to anyone and everyone you know who might be interested!!!



Christmas Packages
60 Min. Massage $50
90 Min. Massage $80
60 min. Facial $50
60 Min. Massage & 60 Min. Facial $100
90 Min. Massage & 60 Min. Facial $130
Manicure/Pedicure $50
60 Min. Massage & Facial, Mani/Pedi $150
Full Body Scrub $30
10 60 Min. Massages $500
5 60 Min. Massages $280
3 60 Min. Massages $185
Chemical Peel W/Product to take home $50
Free Eyebrow Wax W/Any Facial Package!! FREE
Or Build Your Own Package! Any service combo!
Add to any package: Box Sees Candy, Foot Scrub,
A Gold Canyon Candle to Take Home, Custom
Blended Massage Cream, Or Hot Stones $10

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Where are your reindeer?

Last night I dressed up as Santa for my sisters ward Christmas party. There were so may kids! Each one wanted to see Santa and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. The line formed and each parent wanted to get their kids picture taken with Santa. Almost every boy wanted either a Transformer or a Nintendo DS. Almost every girl wanted a Barbie. The little kids would just gather around and stare. One little girl asked for a Barbie Bake set, only I didn't hear the Bake set part and said, "ok I'll bring you a Barbie." A little while later I saw the girl crying in the corner telling my sister that Santa didn't hear her and is going to bring her a Barbie. She doen't want a Barbie! She wants a Barbie Bake set. So the little girl came back up and clarified what she wanted and went away happy. Another little girl came up and asked for a kitty cat for Christmas. After everything was over she came back up to clarify that she wanted a toy kitty cat, not a real one. Her mom came up too and said she was concerned that Santa would bring her a real one and it would be attacked by the dogs.

Anybody Want a Puppy??

I'll tell you the answer to that NO!!! You do not want a puppy!!! Please learn from my mistake and NEVER GET ONE!!!!! Trust me, you will thank me! But if for some reason you don't believe me that it's the worlds worst idea please come and get my puppy! I'm fearing for his safety right now! He is currently hiding out side, fearfully! He's not locked or shut out, he's to scared to come in the house! Yesterday he chewed up the air mattress! (that is a whole other post why it was out, I'll try and get that up soon!) We came home and there was a HUGE hole chewed into the air mattress. I just looked at him and yelled "This is why there is no Christmas in our home!!!" That's right, I'm Scrooge this year. We have nothing set up yet. At this point I'm wondering if it's too late in the game to decorate, is it even worth it for so little time? I digress back to the horrors of a puppy. This morning I get up, he chewed up a throw pillow! It looks like he attempted to chew off the buttons! I was angry enough about that, but at least it's easily replicable. I come up stairs to get going for the day and I hear Brent "Rusty this too???!!!???!!!" What else did he chew up I asked. Oh just the cables for the BRAND NEW CAMERA!!!!!!!!!!!! Fuming, I am FUMING!!! I'm upstairs, cooling off, trying to save puppy's life, swearing never again, NEVER AGAIN will I get a puppy! Then Brent says, "It looks like he chewed some other things." "What! What else could he have chewed!?!?!" I go back down stairs, Rusty chewed up our stool, that we use for Rock Band and I use for a piano bench. Not too bad I think, it's cheap it still functions and it's just a little spot on the leg. Then Brent says, and here...............and points to.............ONE OF THE CHAIRS LEGS FROM THE DINNING ROOM TABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not easily replaceable, not cheap, AT ALL, and yes it's a big deal. I am now LIVID!! No he will not come in the house! And I'm serious, if you want a puppy, come and get him! Craigslist is calling my name, I could get rid of him and find a new dog very easily and it would be a dog not a puppy! In fact I'm tempted to just take off his collar and let him run out the front door. He'll run for a good long time, I won't chase him this time, he's cute enough someone will find him, fall in love and save him. Little would they know he would destroy every thing of any value in their home! But they'd find out very quickly! So here's what's going to happen. I'm going to Petsmart buying a muzzle and coming home and decorating for Christmas! Rusty will not ruin Christmas, or anything else in my house. Since the kennel did not work perhaps a muzzle will. It feels very mean to me, but at this point it feel like the best option. Hopefully it will work and hopefully he will get his adult teeth in soon so this insatiable urge to chew will go away!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Arizonas Christmas City
























In case you were unaware Prescott (my home town) is the Christmas city of Arizona. I don't know who declared it to be such but I think they were right! There are so many fun Christmas activities to do in Prescott! One that is very dear to my heart is the court house lighting. It's something that I participated in for years! They decorate the court house square with lights and then have a lighting ceremony (think Rockefeller center down sized) where they tell the story of Christmas. All the school choirs sing carols and then they flip the switch and light it up! It is beautiful! The crowd sings along. My favorite part is that it is a Christ centered celebration despite it being a public activity. They tell the story from the bible and the carols they sing are not Rudolph, Jingle Bell Rock, or Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Instead they sing Away in a Manger, Hark the Harold Angels Sing, and Joy to the World! Here are a few pics from the court house lighting.























The choirs on the steps.


















Seth all bundled up! It was cold!














We tried to get a pic of us but Trenton was having trouble focusing. If you notice the tree behind us is in perfect focus!
We also didn't walk around to check it all out since there were a TON of people and we are going to be back up there for Christmas, so I'm sure there will be more pics of the decorations in a later post.


They also have the "Worlds Largest Gingerbread Village" Weather that is true or not I'm not sure but that is what the claim! And it is a pretty big village. It is a fun tradition to go check it out every year. There are lots of cool ones and a train driving through the village.
































While we were there we also visited my Grammy and Great Grammy. Yep Great Grammy! She's still kicking at 93! She has 8 daughters, 40 some odd Grandchildren 104 Great Grandchildren and 3 Great Great Grandchildren! What a legacy this woman has! She is so sweet and I love her! I remember staying the night with her when I was younger and she prayed for every member of her family by name!! Those are some long prayers. She must have knees of steel!















We also had a little fun with our new camera, a mini photo shoot you might say. There were a couple pics I just had to share!




I Love Des

I felt this picture deserved it's own post! Desiree is my best friend since about as long as I can remember! She has been there for me through just about every bump life has handed me, and has laughed with me over nothing. We were accused of spontaneous laughter with out speaking numerous times in our teenage years. This might be part of the reason why we laughed so much

I love Desiree so much! She has been such a blessing to me in my life!

Our Black Friday Baby!

So we got a baby on black Friday. And we are in love!!!!! Here is a pic of the new addition


























A Nikon D40 It is an amazing camera! We've had so much fun with it! There have been lots and lots of pictures of our dogs taken! We had taken nearly 300 pics of our house and our dogs! Sad I know! But when that's all you have to take pics of......... Any way we are way excited about it! So lots of great pics are sure to follow! Here are some of the good ones we got so far.







Rusty, still for just a moment! Actually not really, just the camera is quick!






I love this pic of Bosco, I don't know why, he looks so mean but it makes me laugh because he is such a lover and he looks so mean!
This is what Bosco and Rusty spend most of the day doing, playing, trying to eat each other and running through the house destroying things (like our vase which we came home from church yesterday to find broken on the floor!)



Bosco and Rusty got hand me down doggie beds. They are way too small for Bosco but he doesn't care, he loves it any way. Look at him he is falling out of it! Cracks me up!!!!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Bad Guys

The other day I picked up Gavin and McKinnley from preschool. We hit the road only to encounter a horrible driver. Since I've spent a year of my life with NY drivers and a while living in LA I really hold no reservations using my horn most of the time (a habit Brent has tried unsuccessfully to break me of for years ) So since they're driving like an idiot I honk my horn. This is the conversation that followed.

Gavin: Why did you beep?
Me: Because they were bad drivers!
Gavin: They were bad guys?!?!
Me: No they were just driving badly.
Gavin: They were driving bad guys?!?!?!
Me: No Gavin they were just not driving very good. They aren't bad guys, just bad drivers.
Gavin: Oh :( (Very disappointed!!!)

Moral: To kids sometimes bad guys are good/cool things!

Also we were making paper snowflakes. I was cutting, they were trying to cut (being only 3 and 4 it's hard to cut through a paper folded over six times) I got done with one, handed it to them to open. Gavin says "Oh wow Terina! That is beautiful!!" McKinnley says "That is so beautiful! Terina how did you make such a beautiful snowflake"

Moral: Appreciate the beauty, even when it's simple and homemade!!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

It DOESN'T look a lot like Christmas

I love to decorate for Christmas, since it is my favorite holiday and all. But here we are December 3rd and there are still no Christmas decorations up in my house. My blog is decorated for Christmas, so is my myspace page but my house no. Why, you may wonder has such a thing occurred. Rusty. That's right you can chalk up the bah humbug spirit to the puppy! I don't want to decorate and put all my nice decorations up with him still chewing on everything. I've had to move my plan, after replacing it because he won't stop trying to eat it! That's right he ruined one plant we replaced it then came home the next day to find my beautiful plant a casualty of the Rusty's teething stage! I'm still trying to nurse it back to life. I just want my home to be in full Christmas spirit but I don't want my puppy to ruin all my Christmas stuff that I love! What to do? What to do?