Catsup

Oh wait I mean Catch up! That's right I need to catch up! I haven't blogged in a while and I've thought so many times I want to write this down! So here it goes a long catch up post!

Valentines day! For the the first time we really did Valentines day. I don't normally buy into Valentines day. I just feel it's a lame excuse for cooperate America to suck more money out of you, on flowers that magically quadruple in price, and chocolates. I even saw a commercial for a heart shaped pizza that could be delivered to your door. Will someone please tell me how a heart shaped pizza says I love you? Anyway I think Brent and I both do a really good job of showing our love to each other through out the year so Valentines day has never been a big deal. We might go out to dinner, but NEVER on V-day, too crowded and crazy. But this year a friend of mine had a great idea for a gift and I figured if I'm doing a gift maybe we can just do a full blown V-day. So we did. All be it over the course of like 2 weeks! LOL We got a room at a nice resort in Scottsdale which thanks to priceline was only $64! Great deal for a 4 star resort! (This was more for practicality then romance initially. We want to redo our floors since the carpet is trashed. We decided why not do it V-day weekend and get a room since we won't be able to walk on them for 3 days when we are done. But we have put the floors on hold due to "funding" for the moment and so then the room was kind of unnecessary but could not be canceled because it was booked on priceline! Way to go! So we were forced to have a romantic night out! Silly)Then we spent the day window shopping at the Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall. Some guy actually tried to sell Brent a 2.5 million dollar watch. That's right I said MILLION!!! Who? Why? When? Would anyone buy that watch? Beats me but apparently this sales man thought Brent might be the guy. Crazy! Brent made me a delicious dinner on V-day. And the next week we went to The Melting Pot for dinner! It is a wonderful fondue restaurant that we have hear people rave about. We've wanted to go but it's pretty pricey. Well we got a gift certificate and some coupons for Christmas and so we decided to go for V-day. It lived up to all the hype! It was delicious! And a wonderful dining experience! We ate for 2 1/2 hrs!!!! I was so full when we were done I could barley move or breath! It was very private and romantic! Perfect night out for a special occasion. Although I'd love to go with some friends, that could be really fun too! Although I don't know that we would go for the "big night out" again if we didn't have a gift certificate and coupons. Since the total was $130 for the two of us once we left a tip!!! So V-day was lots of fun but I still don't think I'm sold on the whole concept of flowers and chocolates cheesy cards etc! Just say I love you and do sweet things all year and that's good enough with me!

You are definitely going to think we are crazy when you read this next part. Last week we babysat 7 kids at one time, 3 of them were 1 yr. old! I was a little worried despite the fact that I'm the oldest of 7 and I've had lots of experience babysititng a lot of kids at once. But they were never all very young! The oldest was 8 followed by 5, 4, 3 and then 4 1 yr olds! But I am proud to report that when the parents arrived no one was seriously injured, all children were alive and happy. Two of the kids were in bed. All were in their pj's and had teeth brushed. The house was clean. And call the kids were calmly listening to a story! Yes we gave ourselves a big pat on the back. As well as saying, "man when we have 1 it will be a piece of cake!" Now we get another "parenting test" this week. The parents of the family I nanny for are going to be out of town starting tomorrow morning and they will be getting back Tuesday evening. So 4 kids 24-7 for almost a week! Wish us luck! I'm not really that concerned I'm with these kids all the time. I love them and they are great kids. I'm mostly worried about Sunday, 8 am church is going to be painful! Especially since Brent and I have a hard time getting to church on time just the two of us! And dealing with 1 yr old twins! Yikes! Thankfully my sweet friend Mary said her and her hubby would sit with us during church! It will be interesting since Brent teaches Sunday School and I'm in Young Womens. Not quite sure how that is going to work! Also Thurs and Mon nights will be fun since Brent will have class both nights so I'll get to do dinner and bed time by myself. Anyone want to come hang out??? LOL I told Brent if we survive 7 hrs with 7 kids and 6 days with 4 we should be pretty confidant that parenting will be ok!

I also don't think I've mentioned on here that I'm going to be the camp director for my ward this year! I'm so excited! I LOVED camp as a young women and hope to be able to help them have as great an experience as I had. I'm sure it will be a lot of work, but at this point I'm wondering what I even need to do! I guess I'll figure it out!

So look for updates of if we survived this coming week and how girls camp plans are coming!

*WARNING*

Watch the DIY (do it yourself) network at your own risk. Doing so may induce thoughts of ones ability to do home improvement projects by them self! The following is the result of watching the DIY network!

Before

(ok so we forgot to take before pics and this is all we got!)

During

Tearing up the laminate

Where the toilet used to be.

Protective gear

The toilet found a new home in the entry way for about a week!

After

Ta Da!

Learning

I love that the little ones I get to play with are constantly learning and saying cute things. Example during our ride home from preschool the other day the following conversation took place.

Gavin: Terina you know what I want to be when I grow up?
Me: Gavin what do you want to be?
Gavin: I want to be a policeman & a builder.
Me: That is great! Gavin those are both really great things to be!
McKinley: I want to be Tinker Bell & Aurora!
Me: Kinney that is awesome!
Gavin: Kinney you can't be that!
McKinley: Yes I CAN!
Gavin: No you can't they are not real!
McKinley: Terina tell Gavin I can be Tinker Bell & Aurora! *spoken with tears in her voice*
Me: Gavin if McKinley wants to be Tinker Bell & Aurora when she grows up then she can! McKinley, you can be what ever you want, you already are a princess so Tinker Bell & Aurora will not be a problem!

Then we talked about how Gavin's B-day is coming up he tells me how he's going to be older!
McKinley: Terina I'm older now, before I was older I was I was baby like Gage & Marley. And before that I was in Mommy's tummy!
Me: (with a laugh) Yes McKinley that's right you were. Then seeing a teaching opportunity I ask "Where were you before you were in Mommy's tummy?"
Both Gavin & McKinley *confused silence* I don't know where?
Me: You were with Heavenly Father in heaven!
Gavin: Oh yeah that's right! I learned that in primary, there's a song about that.
McKinley: I think Heavenly Father tickled us! A lot!!
Me: Silent hysteric laughter!
Gavin: I think he must have changed our diapers too! Man that must have been a lot of diapers!
Me: Uncontrolled laughter! Where do they come up with these things?!?!?!?!?!?

Benefits

Most of the time when you are considering a job the benefits are a major weighing factor. Unfortunately that is not something you think of as much when you are single and don't have a family, and that is usually when you are "deciding what to do with the rest of you life" Well if benefits had been a major weighing factor (or even a factor at all for that matter) I may have thought twice about becoming a Massage Therapist. Which maybe makes me grateful I was none the wiser at the ripe old age of 21 when I started massage school! I love the knowledge I've gained and experiences I've had as a Massage Therapist. BUT Massage Therapy is not exactly known for it's incredible benefits. Neither is being a Nanny! Which is what I spend my time doing, nannying and massaging! Traditional benefits of a job usually include, medical, dental, vision, paid time off, holidays, etc. I feel very luck that Brent has a job with amazing benefits so that I can feel perfectly justified in enjoying the benefits of my job, which really don't help him out at all, unlike the many time's I've offered a prayer of gratitude for Brent's amazing benefits! Though not traditional I've come up with a good list of benefits from my current employment, and self employment, here's the list

Food: Random right but regularly during the summer I would get a call from Angie "I'm at Bahama Bucks, what do you want?" It is also common to hear, "I'm getting ______for lunch what do you want?" Brent and I get Free pizza or Panda Express every Thursday night of baby sitting. And I often hear "I've cooked too much _______ for dinner do you want to take some home with you," or "I have leftovers do you want some?" Love hearing that when I have no idea what I'm going to fix for dinner.

Free hand me down odds & ends: I love that I hear, I've got such and such I don't want/use any more do you think you guys can use it? My dogs have been grateful for hand me down dogie beds, our couch has been grateful for new throw pillows. And many other things!

Life Lessons: It has been my philosophy for years that if I can learn from others mistakes then maybe, just maybe I can learn some valuable lessons with out having to go through all the hard knocks! Which is a great philosophy much easier spoken then applied! But I try! So one of the great benefits of massage is the life lessons I learn from such a broad range of people from a multitude of backgrounds and life experiences. I've gotten wonderful advice and learned so much from conversations with people about, finance, investing, business, motherhood, children, parents, family relationships, religion/spirituality, marriage, self, and the list could go on and on! It's amazing the things that will come out of peoples mouths when the feel safe and relaxed! Many valuable gems of wisdom can be gathered when you really listen to what people say and not just the words that come out of their mouths! Or when you take a moment to ask a thoughtful question.

Quiet Moments of Introspection: Massage clients often like to chat but just as often they just want to relax and "zone out." It is in those moments of quite I have had some of the best quality time with myself! A Dark, quiet, atmosphere with gentle music, is perfect place to ponder life's mysteries! I've done some good soul searching while giving a good massage!

Restored Youthfulness: As we age we loose the carefree feeling that is childhood. It is my firm belief that if we can hold on to at least an aspect of that life will be less stressful, more enjoyable, and a whole lot more fun! Being around children reminds me to appreciate the little things. Like a seed pod on the ground (McKinley would pick one up in the drive way of her preschool every day before getting in the car to go home, thought it was the greatest thing in the world!). They also remind you to laugh! Laughter is abounding in little children! It's contagious so it's inevitable that being around them will make you smile at the least! Kids also realize there is no time like the present! They take advantage of every moment of life as the treasure it is! Relishing even 5 minutes of swinging on the swing or playing out side before nap time calls! Why is it I can grump about only having 5 minutes to do something I love and they can be ecstatic they even get the chance to play?!?! Children are also extremely resilient! They can be crying because the end of their world just came on SECOND and the next be laughing! If only I could move on so quickly and easily!!!

Entertainment: Children and massage clients will say and do the funniest things! A lot of those life lessons are shared in very funny antidotes! And kids! My goodness the things they come up with to say are never ending! McKinley's new favorite hair do is Hippo hair?!?!?!? Just a pony tail done in any way, one, two, doesn't matter, that's hippo hair and she loves it! Oh and massage client thank you for sharing how your mother in law walked in on you naked after a shower when she was visiting!!! The stories are never ending!!!

Practice: I get to practice being a parent on someone else's children! Observe what they do and what works and doesn't. Hopefully that way my oldest child will not end up being too much of a guinny pig!!! I get to practice listening and compassion as people share intimate details of their life with me. Tragedy knows no race, social status, religion, or finical position. A persons true character is revealed as their spirit is being tested. Most of the time I've found a beautiful person come shining through! With that tragedy comes great forgiveness. It amazes me then things people are able to forgive! Just as Christ has taught us to be like little children if we can be as forgiving we will truly be more Christ like! They hold no grudges!!!

Lust for Knowledge: Kids have an intense desire for knowledge. I love how learning is fun! Gavin has been working on adding numbers. He successfully conquered 1+any number up to 20 so I thought 2 is not that much harder. He was afraid it might be too hard for him but with a little persuasion quickly grasped the concept f 2+__ He said to me, "this is fun can we do it some more!" How much wiser would I be if I was as excited and anxious to learn! On then other end massage allows me the opportunity to gain knowledge about human instinct. I love meeting new people, learning their stories, and finding out what makes them tick! I love learning how we as humans are all the same, and all uniquely different. Massage has allowed me to do this much more then I ever did before!

So although I do not have any of the traditional benefits of employment I feel the ones I do have make up for it!!

This is Why We Live in The Great Phoenix Area

That's what I keep telling myself. This is why I endure 110+ degree weather in the summer. For 77 in January. But here's the sad part. I'm not really enjoying it! It's beautiful don't get me wrong. But I have so many cute scarves and gloves and hats and a love affair with outer wear! So rather then relishing the glorious weather I'm lamenting not being able to bundle up, see my breath and barely feel my nose. I was especially bitter when I had to turn on the AC last night to be able to sleep. It was 80 degrees in our house. Right now current temp 82 this is after putting a fan in the window to suck in some cool air from out side! It was 83. Makes me want to cry a little bit!

One Missed Call

Let me start out this blog by saying that I am a very imaginative person. I can get completely taken away in stories. I get lost in books, transported to different places, eras, a different life (saved me as a teenager!) Same thing with movies, I fall in love with them, I hurt with them, I get terrified with them! Having a shining imagination can be a great thing, life is interesting and fun. But on occasion, getting caught up in fiction and carried away to another place can get me in trouble. A TV show that I watch can keep me lying awake in bed wondering about their lives. So silly I know! Well this comes in especially detrimental to me when watching scary movies! My heart pounds, I get completely freaked out! Even after the movie is over all the lights have to stay on till I'm safely in bed, and I keep Brent with in arms length! To protect me from what ever evil I just got engrossed in.

Well over the weekend we watch One Missed Call. It was a really good scary movie. Not too gory, not too freaky, and it had a semi decent ending (the ending is always where scary movies fall apart!). In case you haven't seen the movie the premise is you get a missed call and a voicemail. The voicemail is your voice and it is dated in the future. The date it is set for is when you die and the voicemail is your final words (or screams). The movie is over, Brent and I go up stairs to get ready for bed and I decide I need a drink of water. I go down stairs turning on every light on my way. I get some water just as the home phone rings. It only rings once, which is quite odd because not very many people have our home number and the ones who do know not to call us late, and it was 10:30. Late! At least for us anyway. So if someone was calling late it should be for something important, not to hang up after one ring. I come back upstairs to check the phone. Brent is laying in bed right where I left him. I pick up the phone and check the Caller ID, and is says 1 MISSED CALL FROM TERINA!!!!! I had a missed call from myself! I'm sure I'm going to die in a day or two (not really but my heart did drop and I got really freaked out!) I say "Oh my gosh you have got to be freaking kidding me!!!" I'm wondering how did I call myself! I never called myself! What!?!?! Then Brent busts up laughing. Yes my wonderful loving husband was a jerk and called the home phone from my cell phone while I was getting a drink of water! He thinks he's hilarious! The past few days he's just started laughing for no reason. I'd ask what's so funny? Oh just remembering the other night! Laugh it up chuckles, laugh it up! Just watch your back Brent! Your next!

Retail Ridiculousness

The following post is a little lengthy but funny and worth the read, as least I think so.

So all I hear on the news is how horrible the economy is, which I know and feel (in my bank account) to be true! Mentioned with this is how retailers are desperate to get customers and make deals. They are slashing prices and offering huge discounts in attempt to get people in the door. Which is why the following situations baffled me.

The Exchange

I got a gift for Christmas which was perfectly fine. I did like it. It was a gift set of body sprays from Victoria's Secret. Although I liked it I'm overly frugal and practical. Brent had gotten me some perfume (stiletto musk yum) for Christmas so I thought "I don't really need a half dozen body sprays, but I could return it and use it toward a Valentines Day gift *wink wink* I figured this would be no problem since the receipt was in the bag. (I never did figure out if this was intentional or accidental) Total purchase price $13.45. Not enough to get a V day present but that combined with the Semi Annual Sale should make for an affordable gift from VS. I get to VS and see that all 3 registers are open! Yea! I am encouraged this will be quick! I also see one lady who already has a bag, and is handing cash to the cashier. Perfect! I hop in line behind her, only to realize she's starting over, handing the cashier new product! She then got rung up, and paid, then pulled out MORE product to purchase! I stood in line, at least 10 minutes while she repeated this process over and over! The whole time I'm standing there thinking THIS has got to be the last time, but it just continued. In the mean time I'm getting more and more irritated by the second! I start mumbling to myself about how stupid is VS that they don't have one main line that then flows to the next ava. register?!?! That way I could have been done ages ago!! I finally hop lines to the one next to crazy million transactions lady, as soon as I do some girls, (who by the way looked to be maybe 10 years old! WHAT are they doing in VS,) hopped in line behind crazy lady? Anyway I was tempted to tell them you don't want to be in that line, but then I noticed the Coach bags hanging off their arms and decided, nah I'll just let them figure it out, at least they have each other! HA Also right after I hopped lines the lady pulled out more cash and I though so help me if she is done!!!! But no she was not, process repeated again! FINALLY my turn. I get to the cashier and hand her my gift set and receipt.
Me: I'd like to return this, cash back would be great but if not store credit is fine.
Cashier: Do you have the card it was purchased on?
Me: No it was a gift. So she pulls out a VS gift card fiddles with the register and hands me the card.
Cashier: Here you go, you have $3.45.
Me: What? $3.45 (I'm sure I must have heard her wrong, or she misspoke)
Cashier: Yeah that's what you get back.
Me (I'm confused!!!!) Well it said on the receipt it was $13.45.
Cashier: Oh well when she purchased it she used a coupon for $10 off so you only get $3.45 back.
Ok well there goes all frugality. Clearly the gift set is worth well more then $3.45
Me: Well never mind then. If that's all I get back then I don't want to return it.
Cashier: Well it's already been returned so you'll have to repurchase it......at full price.
Me: Excuse me!?!?!?! All I want is just to take it back and not return it any more.
Cashier: Well you've already returned it so if you still want it you'll have to repurchase it, and it's full price.
Me: No, sorry but that's not happening!
Cashier: Sorry there is nothing I can do.
At this point it is taking great control to not be completely rude, I was already irritated about crazy lady and bad line set up now this. Ok remain calm, remind myself to not take it out on cashier.
Me: Ok well then can you call your manager and we can see if they can take care of this.
Cashier: Calls manager....................awkward silence
Me: (I feel a little bad that I was a little short with her) I'm sorry I didn't realize I would only get $3.45 back, if I'd know that I wouldn't have ever returned it.
Cashier: NOTHING.........she says nothing!!! She then after standing there with a disgusted look on her face for quite a while does something with the register, hands me the gift set with a receipt. "Here"
Me: So we're all squared away?
Cashier: Yes (very grumpy tone)
Me: Well thank you so much have a great day!
Cashier: No words, just a dirty look!
Ok for retailers wanting customers so badly, that was some awful customer service. And who in their right mind would just process an exchange like that and not at least mention......You do realized you'll only get $3.45 back right? A little thoughtfulness on her part and this whole situation could have been avoided! Ridiculous! Oh and in case you were wondering, crazy lady was still repeating the process when I left!

Reservations

For Christmas we got a gift certificate for The Melting Pot. Very excited about this! We've heard nothing but good things and it sounds like great food and a great environment. The Melting Pot is pretty pricey though, a dinner for 2 can easily go over $100, so we have always thought it would have to be a special occasion! So we decided to go for Valentines Day, even with a gift certificate it's got to be a special occasion! With the gift certificate we also got a couple coupons, which is awesome, we could probably squeeze out two nights out if we are frugal, which as previously mentioned I am. But one of the coupons says it's not valid on weekends, or holidays. Well Valentines day is on Sat. and for sure a holiday. So we thought we'll just go the Thurs before. I don't think we've ever gone out on Valentines day anyway. It always end up being the weekend before or after. Which is fine with me, the whole point of V day is to remember the ones you love so to us the exact day does not matter. So I call to make reservations, yes I called in December but this place is really popular and I didn't want to miss out because I waited to long to call. I encounter a very rude hostess on the other end of the phone. Who tells me that they are not accepting reservations for V day till the 2nd week in Jan. Also the entire week before V day is considered a holiday. Again a very rude tone and she did not end with a so please call back then, or any other salutation of good customer service. So again, why such bad customer service if places are hurting so badly??

The good news: I have a wonderful gift set from VS that smells delicious! And we will celebrate V day early, over a week early. More time to celebrate our love right!!?!! Also, maybe we should celebrate holidays like the Melting Pot, for a whole week!!

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!!!

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!