Spin Cycle--I've Been Good Girl

It's that time of year again.  With Christmas fast approaching, writing a letter to Santa is in order.  So here goes:

Dear Santa,

Hi!  Seems this letter thing is becoming an annual tradition.  Thought I'd ask how you are?  Doing well?  I hope so.  Both the boys are eagerly waiting for your visit. They have lots of hopes that you will deliver the goods Christmas morning.
Now for me. I've tried to be good this year. there have been times when I've been snapish and irritable, but I have been trying to make those moment be few and far between.  I know asking for anything seems greedy, but if you don't ask, you could end up with underwear.  No one wants underwear for Christmas.(Well, there are some exceptions to this rule, but Nick can take care of that OK?) So now to a short list:

• Bruiser to be fully and completely potty trained.  I can't say how much I want this one.  He's working on it, but still needs to perfect the process.
• A four cup glass measuring cup. 
• A programmable Crock Pot.  I start things in the crock pot early in the morning.  Having the ability to have the pot turn to keep warm would expand the recipe choices. Using the crock pot is so very convenient, I'd like to be able to use it more.
• Fun fuzzy socks.
• A new watch.  My current one has stopped changing the date.  I never knew how much I used the date function until it stopped working.  I need it to be a bit rugged, I'm hard on watches.  It needs to have a traditional face and the date function. 
• A hot beverage travel mug--that holds 20 oz. at least.
• Something sparkly--a necklace or ring.  It might be nice to get a peridot ring in sterling silver to replace the one I lost this summer under the deck.  I looked for it, but it is most definitely gone.
• A pretty, warm sweater.
• A cool candle holder, or a nice smelling Yankee Candle.
• A soft warm blanket to cuddle up under.
• New, pretty wine glasses.
• Funky, fun garbage bowl for scraps when cooking.
• Time.  I know I ask for this every year, but I really wish time could slow down or at least I could have more of it to enjoy my boys and husband.  Right now I keep blinking and the kids are growing and time keeps slipping by so fast.

OK, so maybe not so short a list.  But the more ideas the more chance of getting something good. Anyway Santa, we are all looking forward to seeing you this Christmas. Hope your trip is uneventful and smooth.
Until next year,
Vandy

Now what would your letter to Santa look like?  Spin it up and link up with Gretchen and Ginny Marie, they would love to have you!

WWTK--Christmas Movie Time

Just a quick Wednesday post--love the questions this week:



1. Dinner and a movie: what do you eat and what kind of movie do you watch? We don't go out for dinner and a movie all that much.  Dinner on occasion, but rarely do we go to the movies.  I'm never comfortable in a movie theater, I freeze. And they are so very expensive.  So we watch movies at home on DVD.  As for going out--we just don't have all that many options, or options that are good anyway.  We eat at home far more often.

2. Name your favorite actor and actress. I really like Matt Damon.  Bruce Willis is a favorite.  Mary Lousie Parker and Helen Murrin top my list of favorite actresses. Of course I don't really get to crazy about an actor, I like the story that is told better.

3. Will you watch any old Christmas movie or do you stick to the classics? We stick to the classics, some old some newer.  We still have to watch A Christmas Story, The Santa Clause, Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty. Nick and I need to find time to watch Scrooged. It's still a bit intense for the kids.

4. What is your favorite holiday movie? Oh, tough one.  If pressed, I'd go with White Christmas for me.  For the family, The Santa Clause, and for Nick, A Christmas Story.

5. Tell us one holiday tradition you have. We leave Christmas milk (egg nog), cookies, and carrots out for Santa.  The carrots are for the reindeer. Although if Santa wanted the carrots instead he can do that too.

Grab the questions and play along!
Link up with Kensie and Scriptor.  They would love to have you join in.

Random Tuesday Thinking

And we have come to Tuesday.  It's windy here. And still cold, but not subzero, so that's an improvement. Shall we got on with the random?

• Our tree is up, but has no presents yet.  There just hasn't been time to wrap.  Or opportunity. Wrapping really is a very time consuming project.  Even the way we do it.  No bows (the cat eats them), no labels (we just write on the wrapping paper with a sharpie), just wrapping paper. We're classy like that.
• Love these scandalous snowmen (and women?)

• We have a bit of shopping left to do--most;y for the kids and more for Bruiser than Turbo.  I've collected  few things for Turbo as the fall passed, but stuff for Bruiser has been less easy to come by. Who knew it would be hard to shop for a four, almost five year old?  And the whole thing is complicated by the fact that his birthday falls a month after Christmas. Present challenge level: expert.
• Turbo is off the the orthodontist again today.  Probably for the braces on the lower teeth.  He's not nearly as excited about these as he was when he got the upper ones on.  He knows more now. He will most likely be on a soup diet for the next few days.
• Turbo has a band concert tonight.  He's been struggling a bit with the reading of the music, but he's working on it.

Stacy is being the Random Rebel, so link up your random!

Lazy but Fun and MMMM

So we had a lazy weekend, mostly. With the exception of the party we went to Saturday night. More on that in a moment.
Friday night we wrangled the boys and made them make Christmas lists.  Turbo's was more focused than Bruiser's but they each made a list.  Now to get them to write a letter to Santa. They both have videos waiting for them from Santa.  Just need to get  a line on what Santa is bringing them.
Saturday was kind of lazy, but busy.  Let me explain: I got the grocery shopping done, started laundry, made white chicken chili, Turbo went to a birthday party, and we went to a party/get together that I had made said chili for.  We spent the evening with friends and family and had a marvelous time.
Bruiser did decide that eating anything other than crackers was not something he wanted to do, and with all the excitement, he tossed his cookies, threw up, vomited, yakked, what ever you want to call it all over his bed at about 11:30. World's fastest bed change and back to sleep for all.
The down side is that Nick has had a relapse of his bronchitis.  Not as bad as before, but he's really annoyed by it. Because of this, Sunday was a pretty quiet day.  I finished laundry and we watched several Christmas movies Sunday afternoon.  Nick vacuumed, which was really nice. We got a new toilet seat (little boys slamming it down take a toll) and as a result, the bathroom got more than a swipe and promise.
The Christmas movies included both a Muppet Christmas Carole and A Very Merry Muppet Christmas (which is as close as I want to get to It's a Wonderful Life). In honor of that here are some Muppet Christmas songs:

And:

Hope these make you smile just a bit.

Frigid Friday Confessions

Baby it's cold outside.  Very cold.  Like -20° F cold. That's what we woke up to this morning.  That is d@#$ cold. And we have more snow in the forecast for this weekend.  Winter has arrived.
Let's confess, shall we:

• Wednesday I looked at my wedding ring and discovered that I had lost a diamond.
• I was upset to say the least.
• The jeweler was able to fix it that day.  
• It's only a small diamond, but it meant a lot to me.

• Now it's all better.
• All polished and shiny.
• Bruiser has been experimenting with swearing.
• I have absolutely no idea where he has gotten it from. ~shifty eyes~
• We did get on him and he's not doing it so much now.
• He is asking for words he can say.
• Dang and darn have been OK'd.
• He's not so thrilled with them.
• I am totally ready to go home and snuggle in and watch Christmas movies tonight.
• I will be doing laundry, vacuuming, and other household chores this weekend.
• Oh, and I get to send out my 12 Days of Christmas swap package. 
• Just a couple of things to get and then packing it all up tonight.
• Shipping tomorrow.
• Yeah, just a bit of procrastination going on--but the weather has really put a crimp in my schedule.

So do you have any confessions for this very cold Friday?
So what are your weekend plans? Link up with Aubrey and confess it all.

Review Extravaganza--January to March

I'm joining in the Review Extravaganza 2013.  I love getting to look back at my blogging year.  This week it's January to March!
January

• Instead of Resolutions I did Promises. 
• The biggest thing I had going was The Talk I had to give at the end of the month.  I hate public speaking.  But I survived the build up, the execution and aftermath. The support from everyone helped so much.
• I spun about Clean, Winter, Driving and  Color.
• Bruiser had a birthday!

February:

•  Insomnia did not start February well.
• A few mid winter weekends, Superbowl, blah.
• Spun about Pet Peeves, Love, Dream vacations, and a Sometimes post.
• Valentines Day happened.
• I colored my hair.

The kids table at the annual get together.

March:

• The month started with the annual visit of some dear friends.
• We took an epic Spring Break trip.
• I spun about Why, Advice, Songs, and Futility.
• I complained about Bra shopping, and the time change.
• Easter happened.

Spring Break in Death Valley

Meeting Gretchen on Spring Break

Grand Canyon Spring Break Stop.

And that my friends, is the first part of this year in recap. Come back next week for the second part.

Spin Cycle--California Dreams

This week Gretchen and Ginny are asking what the weather is like where we are, or do you have dreams of being somewhere else? 
The weather here is very cold right now.  It was -23 degrees this morning.  That is beyond cold to fracking cold. Wind chills were in the -40 or colder. We have about 8-9 inches of snow on the ground.  It is a winter wonderland for sure.  Nice to look out the window at and not so nice to be out in.  It's just so blinking cold.
To be honest, I like it, maybe not so cold but I like winter and snow and how pretty things look when the ugly is covered up with a blanket of white.

Not that by February I won't be longing for a beach and the warmth that goes along with it, but the snow is so pretty. And it should be snowy this time of year. And while the below zero temps usually come in January, having it cold means the snow sticks around and looks nice for longer.

But a visit to California does sound nice--especially if we get to visit the lovely Gretchen again.

What would be your California dream?  Spin it up and link up with Gretchen and Ginny Marie, they would love to have you!

WWTK and 14 Things

That's 14 things about me.  Some you know , some maybe not:

1. I am an avid reader and have been since I was about 9. The list of books I've read is miles long, I have 751 listed as read on Goodreads and that is not nearly all of the books I have read.
2. I must do something with my hands--twist knots in my hair, pick at my nails, fiddle with my necklace, something. 
3. I like going camping.  I like going to the mountains for drives.  Lucky me I have a hubby who likes doing that too.
4. I have two sons, Turbo who is 10 and Bruiser who is 4.  I was very relieved to have boys. I'm not terribly girly and would have had a interesting time trying to raise a girl.
5. I like cats. I have always had at least one cat, sometimes two.
6. I like to cook, but coming up with a weekly menu isn't easy.  I tend to be kind of lazy and really wish someone else would plan the meals and then I could just cook them. But then my pickiness rears it's ugly head and I wouldn't want to cook what was on the menu.
7. I hate bugs and spiders.  Anything with more than four legs is cause for full body shivers and murderous urges.  Especially when they want to live in my house with me.
8. I like it when it snows, unless it's May and really shouldn't be, but does because we live at 7000 feet elevation in Wyoming.  Snow in October is perfectly fine and normal.
9. Crunchy, salty snacks are my downfall.  Not a sweet loving girl, except for dark chocolate.
10. If I had to choose a superpower I think it would be the ability to be in two places at once.  Think how efficient, one of me could go to work, the other could stay home and take care of the kiddos and the house.
11. I'm not a great sleeper.  Insomnia come to visit far more than I want it to. 
12. I don't wear much jewelry, but I like jewelry.  I always have a necklace on, but not very often is it coordinated with my outfit.  I wear a ring on both hands, wedding ring and whatever fits my fancy on the right hand. I have my ears double pierced, but hardly ever change from studs.
13. I enjoy word games and logic puzzles.  I like video games--Tomb Raider, Doom, the Lego games, and Hidden Object games.  I like to do Word Searches before I go to sleep--it helps my brain shut down.
14. I enjoy visiting the beach, but prefer to live close to the mountains.  I will never be able to live some where flat.  The mountains are too much a part of me to ever leave them.

 If you wnat a number ask for one.  It was kind of interesting coming up with things about myself. Could be fun to learn more about my readers.

Now for We Want To Know:

1. Would you rather eat at a fancy restaurant or eat a good home-cooked meal? We tend to do the home cooked meal more often, but every now and then I do like to go out and have someone else do the cooking and clean up.

2. Would you rather go on a road trip to a big city or go to the country? Go to the country. Nick doesn't do big crowds all that well, so the country hold far more appeal for us.

3. Would you rather receive $100 a day or $100,000 right now? Does the $100 a day last forever?  If so I'd go that route. If not, then the $100,000 and pay some bills off.

4. Would you rather it be summer all year round or winter? Oh tough one.  I like aspects of both, but if made to choose, summer edges out winter only just slightly.

5. Would you rather watch TV or listen to music? Depends on what I doing.  I like music when we are outside doing building projects and such.  For relaxing and down time, the TV is better.

Link up with Kensie and Scriptor.  They would love to have you join in.

Random Traditions

Today I think, while it is random Tuesday and I'll get to that, I want to share a few traditions we have here at the Jones abode.
We still do our snow dance before big storms--makes the snow a bit more fun.  It's also fun watching Turbo and Bruiser shake, jump and twist and wiggle.  When it results in snow--everyone is excited!

I make ham and swiss crescent rolls for Thanksgiving morning to eat while we watch the parade on TV. We also make Christmas morning breakfast for the family.  Papa and Nana come over and my mom comes over.  We have a good time and then everyone heads home before lunch.  It's nice.

We almost always head to another cousin's house Christmas afternoon.  The kids have fun hanging out with their cousins and we have fun relaxing with friends (who happen to be family).

We go to the mountains after a Christmas tree.  This is something we have done since Nick and I had our first Christmas, 20 years ago.  There have been years when time didn't allow or a baby didn't allow for a real tree (the kid would have tried to eat it). But when we could, we have gone up after a tree.  It's a very fun way to get a tree and they always have a slightly Charlie Brown quality to them. They always look so pretty when decorated and they look as great as the tree does at the end of Charlie Brown.

Our first tree

Last years tree.

We have our New Year's Seafood Feast.  Whether it's on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, the feast that lasts all evening or all day has become an anticipated part of the holiday for us.

Watching A Christmas Story is a tradition for us and I'm going to start a new twist to the watching.  I want to make a meatloaf dinner with mashed potatoes and red cabbage like in the movie.  I will refrain from having Bruiser eat like a piggy, but it should be fun.

We have meat and cheese and crackers on the evening before Thanksgiving. It's a nice light snack sort of dinner before the big meal to come the next day.

Christmas eve is spent at the Grandparents house. The kids get to open presents, have some fun and it takes the pressure off the anticipation for the presents at home. This year, we might have a family Christmas Eve party to go to as well.

The boys always get to open one present when we get home Christmas Eve.  I get to choose the present--pajamas. Well, who doesn't sleep better in new jammies while waiting for Santa?

I send the boys a video from Santa from the Portable North Pole.  The video is personalized and fun for the boys to get. Turbo is almost too old to get it, but Bruiser still believes and I think even after they don't Believe any more I'll still send the the video.

We also watch Santa's progress on NORAD's Santa Tracker every year. It's a good way to pass time on Christmas eve day and when he gets close to the US it's very good incentive to get little boys to put out the cookies and milk and carrots (for the reindeer of course!) for his visit.

OK, so this hasn't been really random.  Anytraditions, what are your traditions?
Stacy is being the Random Rebel, so link up your random!

Lovely Long Weekend

This last weekend was more a mini vacation (or staycation) than a long weekend, but we really enjoyed it.
Both Nick and I took an extra day off to be home with the kiddos on Wednesday last week.  We puttered around the house, got the bird prepped, I made dinner rolls for Thursday and we had some fun with the boys.
Thursady we did the traditional Thanksgiving things--put the bird on the grill, watched the parade, had everyone over and ate way too much good food.  The turkey came out fantastic:

Bird going on the grill.

The results--very tasty!

The grandparents on each side live in town so everyone gathered at our house. 

I'm the blur in the middle--about how Nick and I spent the day making sure everyone had what they needed.

The food was fantastic and the turkey, which seems to last for ever most years, isn't lasting all that long this year.  We might get one more meal out of it.
The unconventional thing the guys did was go launch some rockets. they got three launches, but one of the rockets didn't fly that well. This does give us some idea of Christmas presents for Turbo.
Friday, I got up early and headed out to see what deals I could find--no real crowds except at Kohls.  I refuse to go on Thanksgiving, but shopping on Friday with a friend can be fun.
Saturday we went to the mountains to get a Christmas tree.

Not tons of snow, but enough to have some fun in.

The dogs loved getting out and running.

Then on Sunday we decorated the tree.  It's mostly done now, lights, ornaments, but I still have to put the garland on.  Just strings of silver beads, but it completes the tree.

So how was your thanksgiving weekend?  Long and relaxing or too short?  I wasn't thrilled to head back to work today, but it was just about time.
Now for Monday's Music Moves Me.  Christmas music is the theme--what else could it be now that December is here?
Silver bells by Bing Crosby:

Bing Crosby again with White Christmas:

And again with It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas:

So a bit of nostalgia for The beginning of Christmas season.