Gotcha (Accidentally)

Shortly after posting this, I realized my mistake.

It's not an engagement ring. 

Chris bought me the ring Christmas of 2007. I've worn it basically every day since, but I didn't realize you guys had probably never seen it. So, to the 37 of you who immediately texted/FB'd/Messaged me somehow, no. It's not a ring. 

Yet. 

Maybe in 2012?

Greetings From

Our new MacBook Pro. 

We finally splurged and bought one. I'm having to forget all of my previous PC bad habits and re-learn how to be a Mac girl. 

When Chris and I first met, I'd never used anything but Macs, Then I was given a PC for college. And I haven't touched a Mac since (not by choice).

Chris had never used a Mac before he met me, he was PC's all the way. When we moved to Texas,  and there were Macs all over the house, he always used to say that he'd never be a Mac guy. Well, was he wrong or what? I've been hearing about him wanting this particular laptop for the last three years. Basically as soon as he started working at Apple he was hooked.

Smart man.

Now he can't stand the PC sitting on our desk at home. 

Anyway, it's kind of like riding a bike. I only ever had Mac desktops growing up, so this is my (our) first portable. I'm learning all the lingo and sending Chris texts while he's at work about how to work the trackpad. Is that even what it's called?

So yeah. Now I know how my grandma feels when she's trying to figure out something on her iPhone.

As soon as I figure out how to get the pictures off of my Canon and onto here I'm going to post a big fat end of the year with tons of pictures post..

Give me a few days. 

My Arms!

My arms were freaking out on Friday when I put on my new super soft long sleeved tee I picked up at Gap. 

For real, they were like what the heck?

I never wear sleeves. I'm to hot natured for that crap. And? I live in Texas, people. We have only a handful of days that are below 45 degrees.

So, I had to document the one day that I wore sleeves. Because it was kind of a big deal.

Helloooooo short fat fingers. Why couldn't I inherit my mom's long, SLIM fingers? Thanks, genes.

Happy second day after Christmas! I'm spending it with my dad and brothers. 

YES!

Santa Totally Delivered

I can cross TWO things off of my wish list. 

Santa totally outdid himself this year.

The first thing that I opened was an SD card. I didn't know what was going on so I don't have many pictures to document with.

I mean, when I saw it was an SD card, I kind of thought I would be getting cash to go buy the camera I've been wanting.

Then Chris handed me this. In a box of course.

And then I cried. And everyone got really quiet because they couldn't figure out why I was crying. Then Tyler said, "Awkward!" And I started laughing. I've been wanting this camera for years now, that's why on my wish list it's listed as a T2i. I am so excited. And grateful . I can't believe it's mine.

Thank you Dad, Sean and Chris! 

Then, I finally got to open the big one that has been under the tree for a whole month now.

What was it?

Best. Christmas. Ever.

Thank you Chris!

Shortly after opening those two things I got that feeling. You know, the one you get when you get those great/expensive gifts and realize the gift you got the person that spent so much on you, just isn't enough.

So, I waited. Waited for my brothers or someone to start getting that mopey face. You know the one. But it never happened. Everyone is just so excited to be all together this year that the gifts don't matter as much.

I love today.

Merry Christmas!

Today (this morning), we are celebrating Christmas at our house with my dad and brothers. There will be seven of us.

Later, we'll go over to my aunt's house and celebrate/have dinner with them. Count the stockings to find out how many of us there will be-

Twenty. 

Holy crazy house batman. It's sure to be loud. I can't wait to have everyone I love in the same house together though. This is the first Christmas since my grandpa passed away so I'm sure we'll have some sad moments, but we have so much to be thankful for and I know he'd want me to punch my brothers in the gut and be happy. 

So I will. 

I tried to get a picture of the Christmas tree at my aunt's house, but I couldn't get the whole tree on my phone. It's over the top. But the best thing about it?

All of those little gifts nestled in the tree branches. I love that.

And as for our little tree, I'll be sad when we take it down. I love that it gives us just the right amount of light in the evenings. 

Don't make fun of my bow-less gifts. I'm totally using my Jaycie as an excuse as to why we didn't use bows this year. She would have just played with them. 

So there. 

I'm glad we don't have to travel all over Texas on Christmas day. I can't imagine doing that when we have kids!

I'm Not Freaking Out

I'm really not. It's Christmas Eve for pete's sake. 

I'm not freaking out.

Yesterday I went with Chris to the doctor. He's been having some issues with his blood pressure being high off and on the last couple of years. We mainly have documentation of that when he was going through chemo. We're trying to figure out if the chemo had something to do with it.

So, we wanted to get that under control. Of course, when he had is BP taken yesterday it was perfect. Of course. 

So we'll just be monitoring that for the next month and if it gets high he'll be taking a diuretic.

And then he mentioned to Dr. N. about the headaches he's been having... Which he's been having basically since I've known him (nearly 6! years). They come a couple of times a week and hang around for a couple of days. I was just assuming that the headaches had something to do with the high blood pressure we thought he had. That would have been the easy answer right? 

That's not looking to be the likely case now.

And so he's having a CT scan of his brain on January 5th.

Oh. My. God.

That's how we found out about my mom's brain aneurysm. After she passed away I had to have one myself. Everything came back normal for me, and I can only hope that Chris has the same results.

I'm telling myself that this is just the way they weed out this big things that could be wrong, and that they'll end up diagnosing him with migraines. Not that those aren't a big thing, but an aneurysm is way bigger. 

I just want this to be done. It brings back way too many memories for both of us.

I do always jump to the worst possible conclusion with everything, but how can I not in this situation? He'll be fine. He better be fine. 

Merry Christmas Eve. Go hug the ones you love. And even the ones you don't.

Pizza FAIL

I had dinner with my aunt and grandma on Thursday night. They ordered pizza while I was driving home from work sitting in traffic.

When I got there this is what I saw-

Pizza. Fail.

That's a thin crust pizza with pepperoni and cheese on one side and sauce and nothing on the other.

Also known as cardboard.

Way to go pizzaplacethat'salsoknownasagame.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like

Fall. 

The trees around here are just now starting to turn golden and the leaves are starting to fall.

So what if Christmas is less than a week away?

We are Texans after all.

I snapped this while driving to my aunt's house last weekend. So pretty.

It might start looking like Christmas around here in February.

And then by March, the locals will be busting out their shorts and flip flops.

Who am I kidding? I wear flip flops year round. But still. We'll enjoy this while we have it!

He Wishes

A man can dream, right?

Chai Spiced Snickerdoodles

What you need-

1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 3/4 tsp ground cardamom 

A pinch of black pepper

2 3/4 cups AP flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

What you do-

Combine the first five ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and 1 tsp of the spice mix that's in the small bowl. 

Cream together the butter and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Add in the flour mixture in small amounts until the dough is combined.

Add the remaining 1/4 of the sugar into the spice mix that's in the small bowl.

Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for an hour or so.

When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the cookie dough into balls in your hands and then swish them around in the spice mixture. Repeat for remaining dough. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

I took all of the cookies to work and they stayed chewy and moist all day. 

Preparation

If you know me, you know I'm a planner. I've known for over a month that my dad and four brothers are coming for Christmas. I've been planning the meals I'll be making while they are here since the day I knew they were coming.

They get here on Christmas day!

Today I'm putting together the grocery list. The one that is over the top. It's actually two lists in one. Sam's and the regular grocery store that we go to weekly.

I'm freaking out over how much money we'll spend because I've been bad at clipping coupons recently. That, and the fact that my kitchen is super small and I'll be cooking at least two meals a day, for five days in it. 

Oh dear.

And? I'm trying a couple of new recipes while they are here. 

What am I thinking? 

So, today we are planning, shopping, and preparing.

We.

 I'm so thankful to have such a helpful other half. And he doesn't complain a bit.

Happy Day

My bff Arena, had baby Andrew one month ago today. He was born about 6 weeks early but he's home now. I bet it's a happy day around their house!

What a doll, right?

Happy one month Andrew!

I Hate It When This Happens

No kidding. 

Something like this always seems to happen to me after a really long and stressful day.

Damn cat food jumped right out of my hands.

And Jaycie didn't even help me clean it up!

Things That...

...have made me smile over the last few days.

Waking up and seeing this on my car windows=happy Ashley.

Giving in and spending nearly $4 on the best chai tea latte sbux has made me in a long while. Divine.

C agreeing that I shouldn't have to cook dinner one night last weekend because I had training all day, so we went out. Helllooo greasydelicious french fries. 

Opening the brownies the other night and seeing that C left me the edges. One of the many ways I know we're meant for each other.

For real.

And? Now I'm going to act like those last three things that made me smile weren't food related.

Yeah, that....

I'm Taking The Day Off

Chris and I are both taking today off. The goal today? Sleep in as late as possible and get my hair chopped off.

That's it. 

The hair appointment is made, so that part is easy. The hard part will be sleeping past 6 am, since I've been up that early every day for the last week and a half. I'll let you know how it goes.

Am I the only person who feels a teeny bit guilty when I take a day off? I do. So guilty in fact, that I've promised to bring my co workers snickerdoodles on Wednesday.

Oh dear.

So other than the two things listed above, I've got some other pretty important things to take care of today as well.

Going out to breakfast/brunch with C

Giving myself a pedicure

Buying the last of the Christmas gifts

Grocery shopping (which I actually enjoy!)

And three hours of trash TV in the evening

Yes, a good day off indeed.

I Got The Spirit

Less than 2 WEEKS until Christmas! 

I. AM. SO. READY.

All of our Christmas shopping is done! except for two people. I'm awesome like that.

As much as I look forward to Christmas and my family that is coming to town, I also dread when it is all over. I try not to think about it though. 

At work, we've been listening to the most obnoxious Christmas CD. So, I'm taking matters into my own hands and taking this one when I go back on Wednesday.

Multiple people told me how much they liked it, so I listened to the demos on iTunes...and I loooovvvveee it! So glad I bought it.

It doesn't hurt that it has my favorite Christmas song EVER on it either.

I tend to lean toward more instrumental music around the holidays. That's why the one we've been listening to is so obnoxious to me. This one is perfect. 

So yeah.

Go buy it. And stuff.

And? Finish your Christmas shopping/get everything wrapped. THAT makes me feel accomplished when I can look at the tree and the gifts that are wrapped. 

The rest is all about enjoyment!

While We're Away

Today, or should I say, this weekend, I have Montessori training. It was supposed to have been back in October but it was rescheduled. 

Bummer.

Anyway, while I'm doing that, and Chris is working overtime, crazy! Jaycie is probably sitting laying at home doing this.

She is the keeper of the Christmas tree.

Honestly? She's done way better with the tree than we ever would have imagined. This is the first year we've put a tree up since we've had her and it's still standing. If anything she was more interested in my awesome new tree skirt more than anything else. But since we've put gifts under the tree, that is no more.

I do think that sometimes she messes with the bottom layer of ribbon because IT. KEEPS. MOVING.

That, or we have a ghostie around here.

So she lays on the ottoman. And doesn't really mess with the tree. My co-worker on the other hand has had to pick her tree off of the floor multiple times, but she has a cat and a dog.

I blame it on the dog.

THE Sandwich

I really wish I had one of these-

You know. The sandwich.

The one you make with the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. Two days after Thanksgiving.

The one with piles of turkey and just a bit of mayo.

Yeah, that.

We are most likely going the non traditional route for dinner this Christmas. I'm thinking chili and tamales. Something good and easy and warm that feeds a lot of people. We are having a lot of people visit this year for Christmas. 

Chances are, I won't be having another one of these lovelies for about another year. 

How many days until Thanksgiving?

I Like The White One!

I'm not gonna lie. I usually average one soda a day. I wish it were less. You try wrangling 8 babies under the age of 1 for 9 hours a day. 

I feel like I need my caffeine. 

So I drink it. And try not to feel guilty about it then I drink 87 cups of water.

And? I totally yelled "Damnit!" right when I opened the 12 pack of cokes last weekend to see that the cans were white and silver and I thought I'd accidently bought diet.

Gasp!

Alas it's regular coke. And it tastes just the same. 

Yes, I'm blogging about a white coke can because soon, we'll never see another one.

When the white ones are gone, that's it. No more. 

I like the look of the white can! I like seeing the polar bears instead of seeing Santa's big face plastered all over the can.

Bah Humbug.

This.

This is the kind of weather I love. 

This makes me want to curl up in bed with a good book.

This makes me happy.

One Minute A Smile, The Next...Not So Much.

I really get into the spirit around the holidays. I do. We have so much to be thankful for this year that it is not even funny.

But there are things that people do/that happen around this time of the year that make me cringe.

Oh, you want examples? 

Okay.

Exhibit A. 

Now, I'm all into decorating everything/anything that doesn't move around the holidays but this? This drives me crazy. Please don't randomly put a bow on my car. It looks so tacky to me. And the antlers that you can put on your car windows? Please, people. Grow up.

Something that did put a big fat smile on my face was FINALLY finding a string of battery operated lights to add to the wreath I made 2349 years ago. 

That bad boy is hanging on our front door. And the best part? This $5 string of lights has a timer. It's amazing. I don't have to do anything. They come on for 6 hours and stay off for 18 hours. This makes the lazy in me happy. And? We haven't had to replace the batteries at all yet.

What else brings out my grinch face? Wrapping oddly shaped gifts. Like these-

Dear Fisher Price- Why can't you just make the box, a box? Why does it have to be all open and impossible to wrap? Please. Love-Ashley

I mean really? I don't like throwing gifts into gift sacks unless I have to. I like unwrapping gifts, so I figure most everyone else feels the same way.

This is the best I could do with those-

Stop laughing.

Something that really makes me happy? Is coming home from work to my warm house and seeing this every day-

You guys. We have a house. A warm one. We have nice things. We have this Christmas tree with lights and ribbon that I think the cat likes to re-arrange and family to be close to during the holidays.

It puts a big fat smile on my face.

I'm 5.

Really. Sometimes I act like a 5 year old. Especially around the holidays. 

For instance, so what if I woke up nearly every morning last week and ran to the tree to see if Chris had stuck any gifts under the tree for me? 

Who cares?

I'm like a 5 year old sometimes.  I admit it .

And you know what? One morning it paid off. Why? Because I found this-

Heck yes. There's only one thing on my wish list that needs a box this big.

Now, if only I can get through all of my holiday baking without Chris begging me to open it and use it using this bad boy...

My Sunday View

I'm spending today doing something I would rather not be doing on a rainy, cold, Sunday. Hunting down/ buying a new battery for my car.

I hate going to any auto repair place to have anything done to my car. I get really bad anxiety. I think it's because I always think that I'll get ripped off. Especially when I'm by myself. So today, Chris and I jumped in the car and headed to W-Mart because that's the only place that I thought would be open on a Sunday. 

Years later, and I still forget that I live in a suburb. I grew up in a small town where there was basically nothing but a W-Mart, so that's where we went for everything. I forget that there are other auto stores in the area that are open on a Sunday.

After a cry for help posted on FB, someone told me where else to try.

Long story short, after getting yelled at by the manager for standing in the wrong place while they were testing my battery, another guy calling 4 other W-Marts in the area (the battery I needed was sold out everywhere!), and driving to two other places...we finally found a battery and someone who would put it in for us.

And it wasn't at a W-Mart. 

Thank the Lord I got it figured out, (even after spending double what I would have at W-Mart) because I commute to work. I was scared to death I would get stranded far from home. That would have been no bueno.

Now I'm spending the day doing what I want to do- baking brownies and wrapping gifts!