Wish me luck!

I have joined a bodypump class at our local rec center. I start tomorrow morning. Class is three mornings a week, from 8 to 9 am.

I am so nervous! I hate feeling flabby and uncoordinated. I just hope the rest of the class are not all sporty and in super cheerful...

Plus I know I will be very sore for days after, so I am not looking forward to that.

Twilight

was such a terrible movie. But Jonathan and I really appreciated getting out for a date. We kept looking at each other and giggling throughout the movie. It was just so bad.

Christmas

We are having such a wonderful time with my Mom. I am so blessed that my husband and my mother get along so well. They really get each other.

We had a lovely Christmas. The kids were so excited on Christmas Eve -- for the first time in a looooong time they went right to bed.  Blue practically tore her freakin' clothes off to get into her Christmas jammies and lay in her bed, flat on her back with her eyes tightly shut, just willing herself to sleep. Very cute.

decorating the cookies for Santa with Grandma

Lion's cookie for Santa

We were very tired and full from eating cookies and sandwiches and more and more cookies all day so we had a simple dinner of Caprese salad and Italian bread on Christmas Eve. And it was delicious.

The kids got so many toys on Christmas morning. It was a little ridiculous.


I think they were overwhelmed.


But they've recovered. And even though the new chairs were our gift to each other, Jonathan still managed to give me some lovely things I had been wanting: the newest Philippa Gregory book, some vanilla bubblebath, the new Weezer album, the "Sun & Sand" Yankee Candle I have been wanting but have been too cheap to buy, some nerdy logic puzzles to feed my sad little addiction and an adorable Starbucks ornament, among other things.

He got me this book, too, which is really cool:

It is a collection of found items -- grocery lists, hateful notes left on cars, random doodles ... I am loving it. And I am wondering how many people have found any of the lists I tend to lose in Target. And laughed at me.

We rested and read books and magazines and napped all day ("we" being the adults -- the kids did not nap) and Jonathan made fettuccine for dinner and we had more Caprese salad. Then after dinner, we piled into the Pilot (the kids wore the Christmas jammies that they had on all day) and drove through the neighborhood admiring everyone's Christmas lights. Except for Lion smacking his forehead on his bookcase and getting a gorgeous, lumpy scrape right between his eyes, it was a perfect day.

Today we went out to Target, looking for amazing deals. And I have to say I am proud of the restraint I showed. Mom wanted to but me everything in the store, anything I so much as looked at, so I spent the trip talking her out of buying me things. I did let her buy me two different outrageously expensive Oil of Olay moisturizers -- for my birthday. So I will let you know if they are worth the exorbitant prices. (Maybe it is just me, but $20 for 2 ounces of lotion seems like a lot of money.)

Jonathan cooked all day for us, making a full "Thanksgiving" dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, giblet gravy, green bean casserole ... everything. And now Mom and the kids are in bed and we are going out to see Twilight at 11pm. So. Another perfect day.

Tomorrow we are taking Mom to see Boulder and Estes Park, because this is her second trip here and we haven't taken her anywhere. We just hang out and talk and she plays with the kids. But tomorrow we are actually going to show her a bit more of Colorado. I cannot wait to see what she thinks.

she's here!

My mom's flight finally landed in Colorado Springs at half past 2 in the morning. So she and Jonny got here around 4:30 am, after a pit stop at 711 for (get this) jalapeno taquitos at 4 am.

So she is here. And taking a nap. And then we are going out to a couple of stores with the kids (who are so excited to see their Grandma) and tonight we are making fettuccine alfredo and caprese salad.

I just watched "The Holiday" the other night with Jonathan.

In the movie Kate Winslet and Jack Black have fettuccine on Christmas Eve and I guess I liked the idea because I went out and bought all the ingredients ("all" meaning all three: the cream, the butter and a block of Parmesan) and didn't even realize I was copying the movie until Jonathan pointed it out to me.

I have to agree with Olivia's assessment of "The Holiday." Jude Law and Cameron Diaz are so lame. Pretty, but completely unnecessary. The movie would have been so much better without them in it, but they are pretty and I guess drew in more moviegoers. So the movie is pretty flat. But I just love Jack Black. He is so flippin' funny.

random question

Can anyone recommend an incredibly moisturizing moisturizer? The air is so dry out here that I need some major help!

So far I have tried:

Aveeno Ultra Calming Night Cream

which was nice but wasn't exactly what I need, as I need something I can apply day and night. And I'm not sure if I need "calming" cream so much as a dewy, softening cream.

Since then I keep buying:
Garnier Nutrisse Skin Renew Daily Regenerating Moisture Cream

which sounded extremely promising and exactly like what I need, but I don't know... it smells very pretty and doesn't feel heavy or greasy on my face, but I spackle the stuff on and my face looks dull and dry within a few minutes. So not really the results I am hoping for.

I want dewy, soft skin like Mandy Moore. So, help! Tell me what to buy.

will she ever get here?????

My mom is flying in to visit for Christmas!

The problem is she is flying in today and has a stopover in Chicago. Do you know what that means? All day on MSNBC they have been reporting all of the cancellations and delays at O'Hare. So that means my Mom was supposed to be here at 1:30 this afternoon. And as of 10 minutes ago (because Jonny checks the status of her flight every fifteen minutes or so) she will be arriving at 1 in the morning. In Colorado Springs instead of Denver. So she will come rolling into our driveway around 3 am. Good times.

Finding Nemo

It has been a pain in the ass to blog lately. Every other time I pick up the laptop and try to log on, I cannot. There is something wrong with our router or something and I need to go upstairs and unplug and then wait and then plug in some cables and I am just too lazy. Grrr...

But it's working now so here I am! We took the kids to the mall today to sit on Santa's lap. And I waited in line for two hours. Insane, I know. Jonathan took the kids around the mall while I waited. And he brought me a mocha from Starbucks that was almost as tall as I am.

I was very anxious to see how the Lion would handle Santa, since he cried last year:

and since he was pretty whiny and clingy when he and Blue and Daddy joined me for the very last part of the wait, but he sat there on Santa's lap and seemed pretty calm. And then when Blue climbed down from Santa's lap, the Lion slid down and stood in front of Santa, leaning back onto the man's legs, just shooting the breeze. So that was pretty cute.

Jonathan is the best dad ever. Seriously.

I'll tell you why.

A few months ago, we were shopping at the Castlerock Outlets and we wandered into a toy store. This place had some dusty old toy cameras by the registers and one of these was a Finding Nemo camera. Lion played with it while we were in the store but then we put the camera back into the bin by the register and left without it.

About a month ago, when asking the Lion what he wanted for Christmas, he mentioned a "Nemo camyra." It took Jonathan and I a while to even figure out where he had seen a Nemo camera since the movie came out years ago. And then we remembered. In the toy store at the outlet mall that is over 45 minutes away from our new house.

So I have been waiting for Lion to forget all about the Nemo camera. And getting him every other thing he mentions wanting Santa to bring. Like Thomas the Train. And a guitar.  But cringing every time he mentions a "Nemo camyra."

So what does he tell Santa in the mall today? "I want a Thomas the Train and a Nemo camyra." So after the photo op, we came home and I made the kids some lunch and Jonathan got back into the car and drove all the way to the Castlerock Outlets to find a Nemo camera. And the cashier at the toy store helped him look and they found the last one at the bottom of a bin.


I cannot wait to see Lion's little face when he gets his Nemo camera. And he had better be appropriately wowed. But even if he isn't, I sure am. I just love my Jonathan so much. After all the joking that we were going to tell Lion the "Nemo camyra" must have fallen out of Santa's sleigh, or that we should just buy some crappy little camera and put some Nemo stickers on it, he drove for an hour in Christmas traffic to pick up a $5 camera and then drive all the way back. The Lion had better not lose this camera. He is bringing it to college with him.

eight days...

I am in such a Christmasy mood. Maybe because it is so freakin' cold outside. Maybe because Christmas is right around the corner. Whatever the reason, I am in the mood. I have been blasting Christmas carols while I paint our kitchen cabinets and the powder room walls. I have made Christmas cookies for the neighbors. And I have spent much time admiring the tree.


My favorite Christmas song this year isn't even a Christmas song. It's a Hanukkah song by the Barenaked Ladies, which I sing (and, yes, I do sing in Hebrew) as loud as I can and which always, always makes me tear up.

A water pipe in our backyard burst today. I guess the real estate agents who listed the house and claimed it had been "winterized" forgot to winterize the pipes for the irrigation system. So our burst pipe spewed water all over the back yard (at least it was outside, right?) and I freaked out and could not turn the water off or get a hold of poor Jonathan who finally got a billion frantic messages and "911" texts from his crazed wife when he checked his cell phone. I finally got the water turned off (after the utility company was on their way) and when Jonathan came racing home shortly after we called a plumber who came out this evening in the freezing cold and who cost way less than we had feared. So, it could have been a lot worse. I know this. But it still sucks.

So I am going to go stare at the tree some more.

sledding in the back yard

P.U.

The only thing stinkier than an unwashed Mabel is a wet Mabel.

nice

I bought the cheapest Christmas cards ever at Target. They are all bent and crooked and the envelopes are pasted on the outside of the flap rather than the inside.

They look awful, but I just am sticking envelope seals on the flaps and calling it done. Until Jonathan pointed out that if they get wet, all of my envelopes will stick together in the mail.

Christmastime is here...

The minute I started to feel less nauseous and achy, I began to panic over the impending holiday. Mom says I am being silly because I still have plenty of time (at least, that's what she said a week ago, now probably not so much) but as someone who usually has all the cards in the mail and presents wrapped by December first (I know, I know, annoying) I am officially in Panic Mode.

I sent out the change of address cards last week. I had them addressed and stamped before we moved so of course could not find them after the chaos of moving day. Grrr. My mother asked me why I didn't just put the new address on my Christmas cards (good question) but what can I say? I am anal. And in my world, the two needed to be separate. I sent change of address postcards to waaaaaay more people than I send Christmas cards to anyway. So there's that.

So my Christmas cards are lying around, waiting to be addressed. I am only halfway finished with the presents for friends and family and panicking over that because these things need to be mailed. Last year, even if I had been late in shopping, it wouldn't have mattered since the gifts would be exchanged on or near Christmas morning.

Jonny and I put up the tree last night. Finally. And it is so pretty. He bought a new one at Lowes, one of the ones that are pre-lit and WOW, is all we can both say about that. He used to take hours, h-o-u-r-s to string all of the lights on the tree every year, because every branch had to be lit just so. This year, he took the tree out of the box and within 20 minutes we were hanging ornaments! Crazy! We listened to the old Johnny Mathis Christmas CD he stole from his parents when he moved out and that we listen to every year while decorating the tree. And we both had several moments where we got choked up -- over missing our parents and realizing that this is the first Christmas in our lives where he will not see his parents and I will not see my Dad. And when we unwrapped the little ornament of a black lab because that damn punkass Hank ran away just before Christmas two years ago.

I am going to put up our old tree in the family room today. With all of the kids ornaments and colored lights. They helped us put their ornaments on the new tree last night, and after they went to bed I took them off (they were basically all clustered together on 2 branches at the bottom anyway) so they could put them on their own tree. This way we will have a tree in the dining room, with all of the breakable ornaments since we are not in there very often and then the "fun" tree downstairs in the room where we spend most of our time. Because otherwise we had waaaaaay too many ornaments on the tree upstairs. And the kids get to hang their ornaments twice. Don't know what I'll do tomorrow when they expect to hang ornaments yet again, but we'll deal with that tomorrow...

Jonny and I have decided not to really get much for each other this year. What with the house renovation expenses and then we bought ourselves a present last week: 2 leather club chairs for our breakfast nook. Since we only have one dining room table, the breakfast nook in the kitchen has been empty and I decided I would rather have 2 large leather chairs and a small end table there than another dining table and chairs. I figure if we had two tables, our dining room would only be used once or twice a year, but if I have 2 large, comfy chairs in my kitchen I can curl up there in the mornings with my coffee and a book and that would just be such a luxury. So these chairs were on sale at Target

and we went ahead and ordered them as our big Christmas gift to each other and I cannot wait for them to arrive! We will just exchange stockings and watch the kids open all of their presents from Santa and sit in our chairs Christmas morning and that will be enough.

grumble, grumble

Now that I am finally feeling better, a slight depression has crept in to make me feel like crap in a whole new and improved way. I had made some plans for last week. Jonathan and I finally caught up with Jason, my old dear friend from my Richmond days last Sunday night. And he asked us to come to his parents' house in Evergreen for a huge, happy Thanksgiving day feast. So we were really looking forward to that. Sigh.

And then I invited my new friend, Shannon, to come over on Friday with her kids to decorate some gingerbread houses. We are forever making plans to get together and then I am forever cancelling for one reason or another. So, again, sigh.

So I am feeling very lonely and isolated in our new home. With the holidays approaching, I really, really miss my family. And my friends. Who I would no doubt be asking over all the time to watch Love Actually with me for the billionth time and drink something alcoholic and eat baked goods. I really have such awesome friends back home.

And then there is Glenbogle house. Which seems so overwhelming sometimes. It really sucks, living this way. With boxes and disorder in every room still. And all of our kitchen items all over the place -- some piled on the dining room table, some on an endtable in the breakfast nook, most still in boxes in the sunroom. We have not had a working kitchen sink in two days. There are dirty dishes in a pile on the dining room floor. At which Mabel, bless her heart, has not so much as glanced.

I will spend hours painting the horrible dark brown beadboard in the family room, knowing it will still need an infinite number of coats to finally be truly white, and I will sit up to stretch my back and see the half-painted bookcase, the windows that need cleaning and trim-painting, the still-dark brown doors everywhere, the kitchen cabinets with no doors and that also need priming and painting, the dirty dingy ceiling, the ugly brown seventies banister that will need hours, days, weeks, probably months of priming and painting and I could just scream. And I do. Mostly at poor Mabel and the restless kids. To get away from the wet paint, to get all of their toys off the stairs, to leave the dog alone, to keep their hands to themselves...

But tomorrow we are taking a break from renovations. And we are going to the Aquarium. Because the kids need a bit of a fun day, too. And we are meeting up with Shannon and her children there, thanks to Jonny's plotting, so I can hardly wait. Should be a great day.

Jonathan came in here and told me to let him deal with the kids, put them to bed and all that, and that I should just go lay in bed with a good book and I snapped at the poor man! And realized what I had done and laughed at myself for being such a jerk and apologized. And then told him to get out of here before I punched him in the face.

renovations

So we have been super busy here at Glenbogle house. I am back on my feet at last, after over a week of illnesses. And I am most eager to help my poor husband with renovating our new home. I am also officially freaking out about Christmas because what with the two moves and being so sick I am seriously behind on shopping, organizing, decorating, Everything. But that is another story.

We had basic beige carpeting installed in the upstairs the day before we moved in. Then Jonathan and the movers put all of our bedroom and office furniture in the upstairs and the rest of our furniture in either the sunroom or the garage, since the entire downstairs had no floor. Or at least, had a painted subfloor.

This week we had pergo installed in the downstairs. It looks awesome. It is a dark wood, very dark brown, like coffee, and it has been completely dusty and dirty ever since installation. Because the dude was here installing it all week, so sawdust everywhere.

And Jonny has been sanding the kitchen cabinets so we can prime them -- so more dust.

And today our new (gorgeous) kitchen countertop was installed so yet more sawdust. I cannot wait to clean them up and unearth them in all their glory, but the dude is coming back to put some of the baseboards on on Monday, so I may just wait a little while longer.



We call the flooring contractor "the dude" because we never did catch his name until the final day of installation this week. You know how once you don't get someone's name and time passes it starts to become way too late to ask them for their name? I have been watching a lot of Love Actually this week so the line where Hugh Grant asks Natalie to tell him about herself ("I'm starting to feel ... uncomfortable about us working so closely every day and me knowing so little about you; it seems elitist and wrong") has been running through my head with much significance.

Now we know his name (it's Brandon) but we still call him "the dude" out of habit.

He finished the pergo installation and even under the dust and debris everyone (all contractors) who has been to the house and seen it has commented on it, saying how gorgeous it looks. Our cable/phone hooker-upper guy even took a small piece home with him to show his wife. So that is nice.

I would post some photos, but Jonathan is being secretive. He doesn't want anyone to see any during pictures so that when we post the after photos, everyone will be totally blown away by the beauty of Glenbogle house. But I am not that patient, so photos will be posted soon, most likely!

Tonight I primed the bottom cabinets. We are painting the cabinets a pretty, deep turquoise color. The inspiration for the entire house (well, the downstairs, at least) is the fabric I used to upholster the kitchen chairs
which so far really seems to suit our retro house.

My mom is coming out to visit for Christmas and I cannot wait to see what she thinks. Because she saw the house in all of its smelly, shag-carpeted glory. Good times.

recuperating ... slowly ... oh, so slowly

I mean me, not my dear stepbrother, Brian. Brian, by all accounts, is recovering magnificently! He may not need any follow-up treatment to the removal of his tumor except for an MRI every few months to check his beautiful head for any future changes. But other than that, AWESOME! No radiation, no chemo, just lovely Brian and his amazing brain.

I meant that I am recuperating slowly. Grrr. Oh, so freakin' slowly.

WARNING: This entire post is about myself and is extremely self-pitying. Just sayin.'


Last week has been horrible. I woke up in the night last Monday -- well, more like 4am on Tuesday morning, Tuesday being Moving Day, to hover over our bathroom toilet and do some sad business.

So all of moving day passed in a blur for me -- of lying on a pile of pillows and comforters in Blue's room, shivering and dragging myself to a toilet to vomit. Or some other thing. I had a horrible fever and was very weak. Poor Jonathan helped the movers and watched the kids and monitored my sorry state, all by himself. That night, he had gotten most of our things stowed in Glenbogle house and then came back to the apartment to pick up his wretched wife. I don't remember much of that ride, just that I was so cold and that I was clenching my teeth the entire time that I didn't throw up all over myself. Or worse.

Jonathan cooked us all a lovely Thanksgiving dinner, after unpacking for 2 days straight. I managed to sit with the others and even eat some mashed potatoes and stuffing. My husband is the greatest, by the way.

So now, fast forward to today, through one of the longest weeks of my life it seems. I am still not quite right. I am still pretty weak and don't have much of an appetite -- and I have a sour stomach all day and outright nausea after eating. And then there is the hate-hate relationship with my toilet. My mom thinks I have the norovirus. Me being prone to drama, I have been convinced I have Crohn's disease or an ulcer or appendicitis or something more horrible and probably fatal. Whatever I have, I just thank God the rest of the family has been spared.