Making the most of the end of 2010.

Well, it's New Years Eve.  My life is full this evening.  I have a full belly and I've had an evening full of Lifetime movie watching. This girl is crazy! Somebody stop me! It's unusually warm for it being the day before January.  The high was 64 today.  I'm not complaining--that's the kind of weather this girl loves, but I'm hot.  To cool off I'm sitting in my recliner in my bra while typing this little blog.  Did that give you a good visual?  I'm sure it did.  Alright, that's enough.  You can stop thinking about it now.
I've been home all day nursing my sick dog back to health.  Why is it that animals feel the need to puke on carpet?  I have hardwood and tile in multiple areas of my house.  She goes for the carpet.  Every. Stinkin'. Time.  Daisy is much, much better.  I think she's licked this thing.  I ran to the grocery tonight to buy some rice and ground beef to make for her since it would be an easy first meal on her stomach.
While at the grocery, I picked up several things for myself as well.  I decided I would have a Fat Fest tonight to ring out 2010.  I bought things to make tacos, a bean dip, and little smokies.  Yeah.  I made all of that. For myself.
Who knew the grocery store was such a hopping place on NYE?  I guess everybody was planning on having Fat Fest.  I'm telling you all.  The grocery store is where I need to be going to find a man (this is another blog post in itself).  I helped two attractive men find the canned chicken tonight. Glad I was there to offer some assistance.  Too bad I was in my school hoodie (that's a shock) and had two blood shot eyeballs.  I looked pretty.
Is it lame to sit at home completely alone on New Years Eve?  Perhaps.  Honestly, I don't mind it at all.  It's just another night in.  Staying in is the new going out, haven't you heard?  I've never really gotten into the whole New Year's Eve hype.  The past six years or so of NYE's have been kinda blah.  I got engaged one New Year's.  We all see how that turned out.  I spent one in Gatlinburg with my friend Alison.  That one wasn't blah.  It was probably my favorite.  I can't really remember the others, and, no, that's not because I was too blown out to remember.  Hardly.  It just shows they were obviously lowkey and uneventful like this one.  Glad I have my blog to record my exciting life so I never forget the events of NYE 2010!  Woo!
Last year I hung out with my brother.  We just stayed in at my house.  It was pretty fun.  I was actually dating someone last year but still didn't get a stinkin' NYE kiss.  I was bitter.  One of the new year sayings is that if you fail to smooch your significant other at the stroke of midnight, you set the stage for a year of coldness.  Guess that proves to be true because we see how well that relationship turned out too.
New Year's SchmooYear's.  Oh well.  At least I've got my favorite girl by my side this evening.  I'm gonna pucker up and kiss the heck out of the top of Daisy's head.  It'll be great.
Starting tomorrow my blog posts are going to say 2011.  That's crazy.  That makes me old.  That means I've been out of high school ten whole years.  Geez.
Good bye 2010.  You've been a good one, but here's to a new year that is hopefully full of change and great things!

My kid is sick.

Poor Daisy Mae is sick.  She's thrown up five times today.  She's always had a sensitive stomach, but seeing the frequency is starting to make me a little nervous.  I'm just praying it stops soon.  Other times in the past when she's been this way, she's ended with a trip to the vet for overnight stays for fluids.  Yeah, we don't need all that right now, so I'm crossing my fingers she'll be better by tomorrow.  I've been babying her today by letting her sleep on my heated blanket. She's enjoyed that.  As I type this, she's beside me getting warm on the blanket but her stomach is making some righteous noises that just won't quit.  Great.  I'm going to take her snoring as a sign that she's not in total pain and misery.
Here's hoping this soon will pass.

I'm getting closer...

I'm getting closer to being all caught up on Dexter.  Oh happy day.  During Thanksgiving break I started watching the first season and became instantly hooked.  My brother received season 4 for Christmas and as soon as he unwrapped it, I quickly snatched it away.  I started watching the first episode of season 4 around 8:00 last night.  I was up until 5:15 this morning.  Ridiculous.  I'm well aware.  I just couldn't stop.  I went to sleep for a bit and began watching the other half of the season around 11:30.  I was finished before 5:30 tonight.  Yep.  I finished season 4 in less than 24 hours.  I think it's pretty safe to say that I'm beyond in love with this show.  Also it's safe to say that I was indeed a lazy loser since I did absolutely nothing but watch Dexter for an entire day.
I can't stop thinking about this stinkin' show and Dexter Morgan.  Dang him and that opening that is played at the beginning of every episode.  You know what I'm talking about.  He's getting ready in the morning and pulling that white shirt over his head.  Oh. My. Word.  I feel that I need to be slapped and have cold water poured on my face just to cool down a bit after I watch it.  Major swoon.  Lawsee.

Christmas 2010 Recap.

I woke up stupid early on Christmas.  Like at 5:15.  I was the first one awake in the house.  I was awake a whole hour and a half before I was felt it was a decent hour to wake anyone else up.  Yes, I can't lie that I still get excited about Christmas, but I think I just couldn't sleep.  Now that I've been gone from my parents house for so long it's strange being back and sleeping upstairs.  If I stay out there for whatever reason, I typically crash on the couch.  I just like it better.  Christmas Eve night I couldn't be downstairs to disturb Santa doin' his thing, so I slept in the guest room upstairs.  Being back upstairs just seems unnatural.  I'm in a 'guest' room.  Nothing is familiar.  It's not even my old bedroom.  None of my old furniture or things surround me up there.  The sounds of the heat kicking on and off were even keeping me up.  Don't get me wrong, I love being at home.  I guess things are just different after moving out of my home for good.

I had a good Christmas this year.  It was a white one!  First one since '93.  Pretty sure that's the Christmas the sliding door fell off our Astro van.

I can tell I'm getting older because my Christmas list requests this year were appliances.  I received a toaster oven, a microwave for school (my old one blew up), and Dad is going to take me shopping for a new dryer (which also bit the dust).  Yes, wish list items have changed quite a bit.  I also got a purse from my sister that I love, a couple movies, a new Bible, a heated blanket, a couple of candles, and a Kentucky glass from Catstudio that I've been wanting for a long time.  

My favorite gift is probably my heated blanket.  Saying that makes me sound like an old lady.  Maybe I am.  This thing is awesome.  It's like an electric blanket for the bed but it's meant to be used as a blanket for when you're hanging out in your recliner watching Dexter like I do.  You crank the heat up on that sucker and you're set.  It's heavenly.


Santa didn't bring me my all-expense paid vacation to Australia, but we can't have everything, can we?


What was your favorite Christmas gift? A heated blanket? A toaster oven? Hmm?

Who's going to be the winner?

We play Dirty Santa with my Dad's side of the family.  I always enjoy watching the guys gift exchange--mainly to see the reaction from the person that opens my brothers gift.  My brother always includes a gift card (usually to Best Buy) and then something stupid.  It might be a bottle of half-used Axe shower gel among other random assortments of junk.  It's always a fun treat for the recipient.

This year he gave a gift card to Best Buy and included these items as a bonus:

He sold some stuff.  To the kid in 4C.  "A few baseball cards, a sack of marbles, [cough] Petey."

Hilarious.  

Challenge time.  Who's going to be the first to comment below and name that movie? 

GO!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Lovelies!

     Hopefully everyone had a great day.  We know we sure did!  Santa was good to me and Daisy has her belly full of treats.  All is good.  One more Christmas tomorrow and then we're all finished until next year.   


Bring us some figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer,
     Sarah and Daisy Mae

I love my BTF and the gifts she gave me.

I'm going to share with you the Christmas gifts that I received from my BTF because I loved them all so much.  I will say that she knows me quite well based on her selection of gifts for me.

I received this lovely blanket:

My favorite colors are pink and black, so this blanket is perfect.  Plus it's so soft and warm.  It will be a nice addition to the teacher's recess bench during the upcoming cold months.

This beautiful scarf:

I LOVE houndstooth.  The fact that this is pink is beyond words.   Angels were rejoicing in heaven the day this scarf came to be.

And I got a stocking full of goodies.  The stocking had Sharpies (teachers can never have enough), M&Ms, two tubs of Carmex (I go through it like crazy!), and the next items deserve pictures because they are too awesome for words.

All things poop erasers.  How incredible are these!?!  Yes.  That little brown eraser is indeed a poop squirt.  Awesome. I LOVE these.

A t-shirt clip!  I have been mourning the fact that I no longer had one for the all of the 80s dress-up days that I've done in the past few years.  I'll be darned if she didn't find a two-pack at The Mighty Dollar.  I can't wait for the next excuse to dress in my 80s gear again.  This clip is going to make the outfit magic.

So, BTF wins the prize as giving me the best gifts of all time.  She incorporated all of my favorite things.  Pink, black, houndstooth, turds, bad 80s accessories, and more.  That's a best friend for life.

These are a few of my favorite things: Christmas style.

It's no secret that I love lists.  Here's a list of all my favorite Christmas things.

Favorite Christmas animated movie: A Year without a Santa Claus.
Heat Miser and Snow Miser?  "I'm too much".  I love those guys!

Favorite Christmas movie: There are too many that I love.  Here's a sampling: Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, Home Alone, and The Holiday.

Favorite Christmas song: Carol of the Bells.  Hands-down my favorite.  It has been since my middle school choir days.

Favorite Christmas cd: Jessica Simpson: Rejoyce the Christmas Album.  The "Baby, It's Cold Outside" duet with Nick Lachey is fabulous.  I love the lyrics of that song.  Such a great little classic diddy of a man that just can't get enough of his woman.
Make fun all you want, but I heart Jessica Simpson despite her failed movie-making attempts.  I've always had a girl crush on her.  If you ever wanna borrow The Newlyweds DVDs, I've got 'em.

Favorite Christmas drink: Eggnog.  Lurrrrrrv this stuff.

Favorite Christmas meal: breakfast that my Momma makes on Christmas Day.  Breakfast casserole, hashbrown casserole, cheese grits, biscuits and gravy.  So good.

Favorite Christmas Tradition: Growing up I always liked when we read the passages from the Bible and did the lighting of our Advent Wreath together as a family on the Sundays leading up to Christmas day.

I also love having a chocolate advent calendar each year.  Last year I wrote this post about advent calendars.  I still get one even now that I'm "grown".  This year is probably my favorite one I've ever had in my life.  The chocolates are wrapped like packages and taste so good.  Plus when you open the window it gives a cutesy little rhyme.  The kindergarten teacher in me wishes all of my students had one.  It's a great tool for number recognition (up to the # 24--woo doggies!) and it gives a great rhyme behind each numbered window.  Math and reading skills!  And a chocolatey snack as a reward for learning!  It's a win-win!

Here's an example of a window rhyme.  Of course I'd already snatched the chocolate out of there before I snapped the pic.

I've also liked the whole tradition of Christmas Eve a lot.  Each Christmas Eve we attend our church candlelight service as a family.  After the church service we go to the same restaurant for dinner each year.  Then we go home and open up sibling gifts and our annual new pair of pajamas.
I also get to see my friend, Alison on Christmas Eve.  We've seen each other and exchanged gifts every Christmas Eve since elementary school.

I also like that we still put out cookies and milk for Santa.  We even leave a little bit of cheese for Santa Mouse.

Favorite Christmas Memory: This is a tough one.  There are so many great stories.  To me favorite coincides with funny, so it'd probably be the Christmas that the sliding door flew off of the hinges on our Astro mini-van and fell off in a parking lot.  That was pretty great.

Favorite Christmas Book: An Idiot Girl's Christmas by Laurie Notaro

Favorite Christmas Decoration: Besides my beautimous black Christmas tree, our family nativity scene.

It is displayed at my parents house.  We've had this nativity scene since I was little.  My Godmother made it for us.  I used to love playing with all the pieces.  This is definitely one thing that I'd like to inherit someday.  I think I was particularly fond of this particular set because:

Mary and Baby Jesus were blonde!  Jesus was like me as a babe!  A little blondie!  Who knew?

I asked my Mom what she thought my favorite Christmas decorative item was that she has in her house.  She didn't guess the nativity.  She guessed this little thing:

When she mentioned this little gingerbread wagon I cracked up.  I had honestly forgotten about it this year, but every year I talk about this wagon.  Something about it cracks me up and I love it.  It's something with the little heart-carved wheels.  I can also picture Daisy riding down the sidewalk in it--perhaps a bigger version--and it's a glorious image in my brain.
I told Mom I'm going to take this wagon someday too.

Favorite Christmas Sweet: My Granny M's chocolate dipped peanut butter crackers.

Favorite Starbucks Christmas treats: Peppermint Mochas and Cranberry Bliss Bars

Booyah!  These are so good.

So, there you have it.  Even though I can have a Grinchy heart when it comes to shopping and giving and I'm probably a bit of a Scrooge at times, I do truly love Christmas.  I love putting up my tree (way early), I love the traditions, the nostalgia of it all, the family time, and of course, remembering what Christmas is truly all about--Jesus.
I love the feeling of anticipation leading up to Christmas day.  This will be my 27th Christmas and I still get excited on Christmas Eve night...I can't lie.  It's fun waking up on Christmas and remembering those 'kid feelings' again.  Opening presents and a stocking isn't half bad either.  :)

You can't tell me nothin' today.

All my Christmas shopping is done!  I got ma hair did today...goodbye 3 inch roots.  I just discovered that I have LMN.  That's Lifetime Movie Network, ladies.  I'm feeling pretty good. Plus I'm getting to spend lots of time with my favorite girl:

My word.  How cute is that face?

AND...look what I found in the Target dollar aisle!  An Australian calendar, mates!

 Each month has a fabulous Australian picture (my favorite is the koala featured in the month of May) and 'Aussie Slanguage' as pictured below.  I love it.  Probably my favorite calendar ever.  And it was only $1!  Now if I can just find me an Aussie man to go with it...

Grinch Heart.

I've discovered during this Christmas season that I don't have a very giving heart.  Up until the middle of last week my Christmas tree was bare underneath.  I procrastinate a bit in all areas of life.  Why should Christmas shopping be any different?  The night that I started my Christmas shopping, I purchased about three gifts for others but the rest was stuff for myself.  I bought a pair of jeans, pajama pants, a pair of flats, and a random assortment of jewelry (it was cheaply priced jewelry from F21, don't worry)....all for me.  I go out to shop this time of year knowing that I need to buy for others but typically end up buying more for myself.  There's just so much great stuff in my face with sale prices and I just can't resist.  I suddenly find so much stuff that I want and need.
I mean, I don't even give spare change to the Salvation Army bell ringers.  I never have.  I asked my family if they give change to the bell ringers.  They said they do.  Almost always.  Because it's cold and they're volunteering their time and it's the right thing to do.  Oh.  I just hear an annoying bell and think about how I don't feel like scrounging through the crap in my purse to find the change at the very bottom.  See.  I have a Grinch heart.
Today when I was in Target a little girl asked her mom if she could get a book.  The mom just gave her daughter 'the look'.  The little girl obviously understood that look because she quickly said, "Oh yeah.  Christmas is a time of giving to others."  That girl gets it.  She gave me a little reminder today that I need to shift my focus off of myself and onto others more often.  It would do me and my Grinch heart some good.

Typical Sarah Style.

I had the pleasure of having my brother spend Saturday night and all of Sunday with me at my house.  We had to be out at our parents house for a Christmas gathering Sunday evening, so we just hung around my house until then.  I did laundry and cleaned my closet.  He watched football.  Typical stuff.  Around 5:30 I gathered up my stuff (which includes Daisy, of course) and went out to the garage to get in my car to head out to my parents.  Adam couldn't pull himself away from the football game, so he was going to wait and come a little later.  I started my car and noticed my gas light was still on.  I was grumbling inside my head about having to stop in the cold and get gas.  I put my car in reverse and backed on out of the garage.  I didn't make it very far until I heard metal on metal--BAM!  "Oh my Lord, what did I just hit!?!"  Daisy's face was priceless.  She was sitting in her seat (the passenger seat) and looked scared to death.  I then realized that Adam was at my house, which means his truck was in my driveway, which meant that I just hit his truck.  Crap.  I'm just used to backin' on out my garage as fast as I please because nothing is ever in my way.  This time something was in my way and it was a huge Tundra.  I mean, I slammed into it.  It's really unfortunate that one of my neighbors wasn't out in their yard with a video camera.  They would have won a cash prize.  I bet it was hilarious seeing me back out of my garage all fuming because I had to go get gas only to slam ferociously into the front of my brother's truck.
Well, after the hit, I pulled back into my garage and shut off my car.  I wasn't too worried about Adam's truck.  I figured it would be fine.  I was afraid to get out of the car though because I just knew my bumper was probably all smashed in.  Leave it to me.  That's the kind of wreck I get into.  One in my own driveway.
I got out and inspected both of our cars.  Nothing.  No paint transfer, no ding, no dents.  Nothing.  'Tis the season to be jolly and praise God from whom all blessings flow!  Woo!
I went back inside my house where Adam was still watching football.  I came in and said, "Yeah, I forgot all about your truck being parked directly behind my car".  He says, "It's a good thing you remembered it was there."  To which I reply, "No, Adam, I didn't remember.  I hit your truck."  That snapped him out of his football coma.  He flew up off my recliner and went running outside.  I told him to relax because nothing happened.  It was all good and he was relieved.  I actually laughed about my little car slam the whole way to my parents.

It's just a typical Sarah situation.  Only me.

Here's another little funny for your Monday.  As I was typing this little story, I was doing so sitting on the floor leaning against the front of my recliner.  Daisy was sitting on the floor beside me.  A huge wave of gas exited my bottom and the way I was perched on the floor made it extra loud.  Daisy was so scared that she jumped.  Seriously all four paws off the ground.  Once she landed back safely on the ground, she cocked her head to the side in that cute dog fashion while starring at my butt.  I imagine her thoughts were something along the line of, "My, that butt made a loud sound".  Then she did the typical dog thing and started to sniff the air.  I'm sure it smelled delicious.  That made my Monday.  Fart stories make every day for me though.  I hope in some strange way it brought you delight as well.

Koala Claws.

I was a bit neglectful at getting Daisy's nails trimmed.  Like, five months neglectful.  I feel bad about that, but they are all trimmed and as they should be now.  Here's a little before/after action:

Pretty bad, huh?  They went clickity-clack on the hardwood floors for sure.  I called her long nails her koala claws.  See, koala claws:

I mean, you all know how much I've always wanted a koala kid...
My Mom thought Daisy's claws looked more like "the varmit in Tailypo" as she put it. It's a children's book that has always been one of her favorites to read to her classes (she's a librarian).  Here's a picture from the book Tailypo:

Notice the tailypo's claws on the bedspread.  I agree with Mom.  Pretty Daisy-like.
Koala claws, tailypo claws, whatever the comparison may be, they were pretty long.  Please don't threaten to remove my dog from my home (like my parents did in a loving, joking way...I think) because I went a little overdue on her nail trimming schedule.  I really do love my dog.

"Your life is right now!"

“Your life is right now! It’s not later! It’s not in that time of retirement. It’s not when the lover gets here. It’s not when you’ve moved into the new house. It’s not when you get the better job. Your life is right now. 
It will always be right now. You might as well decide to start enjoying your life right now, because it’s not ever going to get better than right now–until it gets better right now!”

- Esther Hicks


I love this. It's a good reminder for everyone, but especially for a single lady.  While an engagement, a marriage, having babies, or whatever "it" is may be nice some day, we need to enjoy what our life has in store for us THIS day.

Lawsee.

I didn't really think about how I looked until I was already outside in my driveway.  I had to go out in this blustery (*Kiss my brain--I just used an amazing vocabulary word) weather to take out my trash can and recycling bin looking like this:

Polka-dotted robe, capri pajama pants with stars, hot pink fuzzy socks, and Sperry's.  It's what I've been kickin' it in all day (Minus the shoes.  I don't wear shoes indoors). You don't even wanna see my no-makeup face and greasy hair.  That's why I purposely didn't capture it on camera.  Lord.  No wonder my neighbors think I'm odd.  It's no surprise to them why I'm single either.  They've seen me come out of my house wearing ugly Christmas sweaters, 80s gear complete with yellow jellies (on at least four different occasions), an astronaut flight suit, dressed as Wonder Woman, sporting a 'Snooki bump'...Yeah.  The other bad/great thing is that my street is a #1 cut-through for college folk.  My street connects to college apartment land.  One time when I was out in my driveway, a car of college-age girls slowed down.  Full-out applied the brakes to slow down and look at me.  I can't remember exactly what I was wearing, but it was something similar to what I was probably wearing today.  You know, just typical knock-around-the-house stuff.

In other news, I spotted a snow drift in my yard.  Instead of sand dunes I have a snow dune.

So it doesn't look as impressive in this picture, so I got out my tape measure...

Check it. That's some deep stuff. Especially for BG.

Potato Soup.

Here's a good potato soup recipe to warm your bones on cold snow days.  I love potato soup on snow days.  Some potato soups are ultra runny and some are mega thick.  This one is kinda in the middle: soup consistency but potato hunks.  It's good and has a bit of a spice kick, which is a-okay with me.  Plus it has cream cheese.
Speaking of mega thick potato soups, let me tell you a funny story right quick.  I was at a little gathering at a friends house.  They had soups and finger foods.  I dipped the ladle in a crock pot to see what was goin' on in that pot.  It was really thick.  I turned and asked, "Are these mashed potatoes?"  No.  It was potato soup.  Oops.

Cream Cheese Potato Soup

1 hour/15 min prep

Serves 4-6

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/4 cup onion, minced

1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, cut into chunks

Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices.  Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender.  Smash a few potatoes to release their starch for thickening.  Reduce to low heat.  Add cream cheese.  Heat, stirring frequently until cream cheese melts.

Add yummy goodness to top it off.  Add cheese, bacon bits, green onion...the sky's the limit, love child.  Salt and pepper to your little hearts desire.

Beautiful Christmas-y Christmas Sweaters.

This is pretty special.

You're on the blog, Deb, you anonymous reader, you.

Lovely sweater complete with shoulder pads.  They made my shoulders look outstanding.   I love that this sweater has one random pom pom and one jingle bell.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Y'all.  These are so good they're stupid.  Eating this is like having cheesecake and Cinnamon Toast Crunch all in one bite.  This is my second cheesecake recipe that I've posted in a three week period (in case you've forgotten the other stupid good recipe: Thank you for being a friend).  If you can't tell by now, I like cheesecake just a little bit.  Cream cheese is the stuff love is made of.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2 cans crescent rolls

2 pkgs. cream cheese

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Line a 9x13 baking dish with 1 can of crescent rolls.  Pinch seams together.  Mix together cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and vanilla.  Beat until creamy.  Spread on top of crescents.  Take the other can of crescents and cover the top of the cream cheese mix.  Press seams together to cover.  Pour melted butter on top of crescents.  Mix together remaining 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly on top of butter.  Bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes.

When I made these I kinda misread the recipe (shocking) and mixed the butter, sugar and cinnamon all together, then poured on top of crescents.  Sometimes I don't pay attention, but I don't guess it really matters-- it all works out the same in the end.  They were still delish.

About 20 minutes into the baking time my mouth was watering.  My whole house smelled like cinnamon sugar love. Once they came out of the oven, I let them cool for just a bit so I wouldn't get a roof-of-my-mouth severe burn, but I tore into one as soon as I could.  Oh.my.stinkin'.goodness.  So great fresh and hot out of the oven.  I refrigerated the little delicious cheesecake babies overnight and then cut into bars and took some to a little ugly Christmas sweater party the next night.  

These things are great right out of the fridge and even better when they’re warmed up just a bit, like, in the microwave for 10 seconds.  These make a great dessert and also a great breakfast.  Not that I had one or four of these bars for breakfast...I'm just thinking they'd be a pretty fabulous breakfast treat all warmed up. 

Make these.  I'm passing on this recipe to better your life.  

Fresh out the oven.

Here's a square all warmed up.  Mmm.

Jingle all the way.

Tuesday night I took a little trip over to Hobby Lobby.  I needed to pick up some jingle bells for a math sorting activity for my students.  I ended up putting a heck of a lot more in my buggy than jingle bells, but when you go to Hobby Lobby, that's bound to happen.
So I'm standing in the aisle containing Christmas crafty items and I was staring at the large assortment of bells.  Various sizes and colors.  Many bell choices.  Who knew?  The good news is that bells were 50% off, so I was excited about the serious deal I was going to get.  I was curious about the large plastic tubes of bells.  They had the standard silver and gold, but also red and assorted colors including green, blue, and purple.  Purple bells are beautiful.  Santa should seriously consider hitching up his reindeer to reins decked out in purple bells.  It'd probably make his night a lot more jolly.
I noticed the price of the bells on the large tube and looked at the count to see how many came in a tube.  75.  That's a lot of jinglin' janglin' bells.  I didn't need that many.  For some reason I decided to pick up a tube anyway.  Red ones.  The jingle bell spirit just came over me and I had to check 'em out.  Unbeknown to me, some little turdlet or disgruntled employee must have busted the bottom out of this plastic tube of bells.  The one tube out of the dozens on the shelf that I decided to choose. Yes, friends.  In one swift motion, I whisked the plastic tube 'o bells off the shelf.  As soon as I made my move I knew something was wrong but it was too late.  It was kind of like that moment that Wile E. Coyote has when he's chasing the Road Runner and he realizes he's been tricked and has run past the ground and is hanging in midair and about to fall off a cliff.  He has that second of staring at the camera with an 'oh crap' look and holding his "Egad" sign.  That was me.  All 75 of those jingle bells hit the tile floor in my aisle in Hobby Lobby.  All 75 of those ringy dingy bells.  Have you ever dropped that many jingle bells on a hard floor at one time?  You're saying no? You're missing out.  You should really try it.  It's a very quiet, angelic, peaceful moment...not.  It's one thing to drop beads from, let's say, your puka shell necklace that you loved in college (puka shell necklaces had a brief revival back then and were semi-cool) and wore everyday only to have it break off your neck and hit the floor in the middle of a public place.  Yes.  That happened to me too.  Beads hit and scatter and make a little 'ting, ting' noise and it's over.  But bells.  Those little suckers make themselves known.  They were saying, "We're free from that bell tube and we're going to ring our Christmas cheer all over Hobby Lobby. We want all patrons to know Christmas bells are ringing." All 75 of 'em hit the tile and bounced but then their little ringers just kept on vibrating and ringing.  It was great. Truly.
Sadly, I was in the aisle all alone so no one else was able to run home and tell the story about the girl that dumped bells all over the place in Hobby Lobby.  I bet someone would have made it their facebook status had they only seen it.  I think the people in the aisle over from me were mad they missed it.  After the clatter from the bells quieted down I heard a voice in the next aisle say, "Well somebody made a mess."  Yep.  I sure did, bud.  If they knew me they wouldn't be surprised.  It happens.  I'm used to it.  I can't even get embarrassed anymore.  My face didn't even turn red.  When it happened I loudly said, "Oh my gosh!".  And then just stood back and took it all in.  I mean, what'dya do?  I checked out the bottom of the plastic tube.  Yep.  It was totally busted.  That slick little fella that placed the busted tube on the shelf was probably all, "This'll be funny.  I'll put this tube of bells on the shelf so they can burst all over the place when Sarah (because I'm the one that these things always happen to) comes to pick it up.  Awesome!" Yeah, Merry Christmas to you too, punk.
I bent down and picked up all the bells.  Well, as many as I could find.  Some had rolled all the way to the end of the aisle.  I didn't worry about those guys.  The employees will probably find random red bells in that aisle for a week.  I hope they do.  I swear it took me a good five minutes to pick up my mess.  I'm sure I looked cool to shoppers passing by my aisle as they witnessed me crawling all over the floor.  And where did I put all of those bells that I picked up?  That's right.  Discreetly back on the shelf just as I had found them.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good bell shopping.  :)

Sketti.

I'm not the hugest spaghetti lover.  I have to be in the mood for it.  Spaghetti is such a fun name, but it's actually kind of a boring dish.  Noodles and sauce.  Big deal.  I found a recipe for Baked Spaghetti and it sounded quite delicious, so I thought I'd give it a try.

BAKED SPAGHETTI

16 oz spaghetti

26 oz spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu Robusto Roasted Garlic)

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 egg

8 oz. sour cream

1 stick butter or margarine (I always go for butter!)

2-3 cups shredded cheese

While the spaghetti is cooking, brown the beef.  Drain and return to pan and add the sauce.  I also added a little onion.  Love me some onion. Drain pasta and return to pasta pan.  Add the sour cream and butter to pasta.  I sliced up the butter so it melted evenly over the pasta.  When the pasta has cooled a bit (about 10-15 minutes), add the egg.  Stir well.  Place pasta mixture in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Top pasta with the ground beef/sauce mixture.  Then cover with cheese--that's the best part!  Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

I think I kinda let my cheese get a little past bubbly.  I'd recommend going closer to the 30 minute bake time instead of the 40. 

Pretty tasty and super easy dish.  That's what I like.

A roll.

I never really posted any stories from the cruise that I took during the summer.  There are so many stories that I could tell, but there's one that Ashley and I have been laughing about all week.  I'll be nice and share it with you.  Get ready, get set, because here we go.  Each night we got all fancied up and went to dinner in the dining room.  The meal always started with a delicious assortment of bread served to us by a Bread Boy.  We were trying to recall Bread Boy's name this week--we're thinking it was Anton.  He was one of those BFN's (Best Friends for Now), so we've kind of forgotten a minor detail like his name.  Anton would make his way around the table asking us what type of bread we wanted.  Our friend Erica would call the bread she wanted by name, "I'd like the baguette, please".  This beyond impressed me because if there was a line up of bread, I couldn't tell you what a baguette looked like.  No clue.

Each night when Anton made his way over to me, I always pointed to the same little round piece of bread.  I pointed to it like bread was a foreign thing.  Almost like being at a restaurant and you can't pronounce the menu item.  You just do one of those point at the menu deals and say, "I'll have this, please".  My bread selection was a tasty one.  I smothered it with butter.  Paula Deen would've been proud of me.  Each night the same thing continued.  Erica would say the proper bread name, I'd point and say, "That one".  By about the third night, I decided I was going to be sassy, I suppose.  I was ready.  I needed to be bread educated.  Erica asked for her baguette.  Anton asked me what I'd like.  I pointed to "my" bread and asked, "What's this one here?"  Anton paused and said, "A roll".  He said it in a duh kinda way.  Yes.  It was awesome.  The bread that had stumped me for nights was simply a roll, my friends.  Seriously?  A roll?  Anton laughed.  I laughed.  We all laughed.  It was one of my typical stupid Sarah moments.

Here I am with the mystery bread.  The "roll".

The night we were docked in Nassau, we saw Bread Boy out.  Let's just say when Bread Boy is without his bread basket and name tag, he likes to get down.

Me and Mr. "It's a roll".

Here's a fun little collage of just a teensy bit of our cruise shenanigans.

Thanks...

I receive some unusual things from students, but this is one of the most random things that I've received.  Recently one of my students brought these to school:

Yes.  These are Halloween napkins.  I received two Halloween napkins.  Why, thank you, dear student.  

O Tannenbaum.

Look at all this ornament magic.  So many sparkles.  So much glitter.  

My tree.  I put it up a good four weeks ago.  Yes, it's black and beautiful.  Because you know I'm a little bit strange and different, it shouldn't surprise you that I have a black tree.
Ignore the crooked tree topper.  I can't get it straight.

Here's some up-closeness of the beauties.  Glorious. 

I've got the blue jean blues.

So.  I'm sad about my favorite pair of jeans.  They're starting to show their wear and tear.  They've faded and probably don't look so great anymore, but they're perfectly comfortable.  Plus, they're the perfect length.  Finding a pair of jeans that's the perfect length is a rare and precious jewel.  Every girl knows that.

Check this pitiful mess out.  Yeah, so I spread my legs and took a picture of my jean holes so you could see what I'm talkin' about.  I did you a favor and didn't capture a crotch shot--just the thigh.  You're welcome for that.  This jean hole-wearage is on the inside of my thighs.  My jeans don't wear holes in a cool place, like, the knees.  No, they develop holes in the inside of my legs from the constant rubbing and swooshing that my womanly thighs do as I walk.  It's obvious my jeans have experienced some serious rubbing.  Dang.  I'm surprised my jeans haven't started smoking from the friction and caught fire.
Please make me feel a smidgen better about myself and tell me that your jeans get holes in this area too.  I'm sure no one else has this problem, but, just lie to me.  My favorite pair of khakis is in the same boat.  Thigh holes.  Do I still wear them?  Why yes I do.
It may be time to send my jeans to jean retirement, but, nah.  I love them too much for that.  Thigh holes and all.

Netflix: the beginning of my end.

I have made a mistake.  The glorious mistake goes by the name of Netflix.  I'm using my Wii to watch tv shows and movies off the instant Queue in Netflix.  It's great because there are so many awesome tv shows and movies.  It's bad because this is how I'm spending all of my free time.  ALL of it.
I'll soon be featured on the show Hoarders because my house is going to accumulate junk around me as I sit on my couch and do nothing but watch tv.  I've been watching some of my favorite shows, including: Hoarders, Ghost Adventures and Pawn Stars.  I even watched old episodes of She-Ra.  It was as great as I remembered it from my childhood.
I've also become addicted to a couple of new shows.  I'm a few years behind in discovering these two, but I've really enjoyed watching Arrested Development and Dexter (thanks to my brother's recommendations).  I think Arrested Development is one funny show.  I love all the characters.  Any show that has both obvious and hidden humor is a winner to me.
Now, Dexter.   Oh. my. goodness.  I am in love with you, Dexter Morgan.  This show is so beyond good.  Dexter does have a definite reddish color in his hair, but I am able to overlook this.  I think he has a hotness and I just can't help myself.  Tell me why I'm so turned on by a serial killer?  I almost question my mental health.  Almost.  I plowed through seasons 1 and 2 within a two day period during this Thanksgiving break.  There are 12 shows per season at an hour each.  I spent 24 hours total watching. Yes.  I've been worthless.  I'm addicted and in love and maybe a little mentally off, so yes, things are good and right in my world.

Turkey Fest 2010 Recap.

Thanksgiving was a success.  I ate very well, my friends.  I had two Thanksgiving feast gatherings that day.  The first was at 1:00 and the second at 5:00.  I didn't even eat at the second because I was still so full. Bummer.  I took a massive to-go plate though, so it worked out.

My Granny D (my Mom's momma) had the spread of all spreads.  In my opinion, I think it was the best tastin' Thanksgiving meal she's ever made.  It was super good.  Fried turkey, ham, dressing, creamed corn, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, cornbread, green beans, turnip greens, corn pudding, broccoli casserole, squash casserole, sweet potato casserole.  I know there was more, but that's all I can visualize on the buffet line.
There was only one minor family dramatical blow-up.  Involving making Christmas plans.  I kind of opened my mouth and was spokesperson for the majority and had the entire family on my side, except for my parents.  Oops.  I was told I had a "pissy attitude".  Happy Thanksgiving.

On a more positive note, I told my Granny that I want a certain item in her house one day.  It may seem kinda morbid to request items from your loved ones, but you gotta put it out there, you know.
I want this baby:

Aunt Jemima.  This little lady sits on top of an old barrel.  She's been around for as long as I can remember.  My cousin Jessica and I used to play with her every time we went down to the farm.  She served us food.  Is that bad and stereotypical?  Probably.  Notice her basket full of bagels.  If you look real close you'll notice teeth marks all around.  Yes.  We used to bite into those fake bagels.  Decades worth of DNA there.  I love Aunt Jemima for all the memories that she brings back.  Plus I sorta collect Aunt Jemimas.  I love 'em.  Check out her boobs.  They're way bigger than mine and I'm jealous.
I told Granny D I was going to take a picture of Aunt Jemima.  She said, "Oh, Say-ruh (this is how she says Sarah), you're a gonna get all that mess in my pantry in your picture."  I love Granny D.  I love how she puts an 'a' in front of things.  Like, "It's a ray-nin'."  Translation:  It's raining.

Onto Thanksgiving stop #2:
The car ride was very quiet since I had a couple of mad parents.  Remember the whole 'pissy attitude' thing.  Yeah.  I was thankful for the arrival of the next house so that I could go and mingle with the other kinfolk that weren't aware or involved with the blow up.  My Granny Marcum decided to cancel this Thanksgiving so that she could go to the beach.  Who cancels Thanksgiving?  My Granny Marcum does.  Family?  What family?  That's what she was probably saying on the beach.  My cousin's wife Leslie decided to host Thanksgiving instead, which was super great of her.  Like I said, I was too full to eat at this gathering.  So, I did the liquid thing and drank instead.  Me and my pissy attitude obviously needed it.  And when I slipped on the floor later that night, I blamed it on a water spill.  So not the wine.

During dinner, UK was a conversation topic in the room I was seated in.  A name was mentioned and I asked, "Who's that?"  Cricket.  Cricket.  And a gasp.  The UK football coach was the one in question and the fact that I didn't know this chap by name was mind-blowing to the family.  Out of both sides of my extended family, my immediate family and I are the only ones that aren't UK fans.  I think it's because it's been crammed down our throats so much that there's no appeal.  I see Big Blue and wanna big barf.
I'm not a UK fan or a country music fan.  And I call myself a Kentucky girl.  Blasphemy!  This is a concern for the family and I think Leslie was trying to psychoanalyze the reasoning of why I don't care for these two essential Kentucky-ish things.  She wondered if I was really and truly born somewhere else. She didn't believe that I was born a Kentucky girl.  Couldn't be.  The conclusion was made that I obviously had some type of Northern exposure during my early years.  I was tainted.
Now, I'm Kentucky (South-central, baby.  Does 'south central' bring a song to your head?  It sure made me sing this line..."South central does it like nobody does".  A little Montell Jordan, "This is how we do it".) down to the marrow in my bones, except for the UK and the country music thing.  I mean, I'm from a high school that had 'drive your tractor to school day' and 'muddy truck day' and we had Prom in a cave.  I know what country is, I just don't care to have it put to music.  I don't know.  It's my prerogative.  Word.

The thing I wanted to take from Leslie's house was this bottle tree.  This bottle tree is weird but cool.  I love things that are a little different.  I've gotta have one in my kitchen.  I've got two empty bottles at my crib so far, but I've got a long way to go.  Bottoms up.

I also wanted to take this little guy.  Leslie said no to this too.  Meet Poppy.  Or Poncho the "Yo quiero Taco Bell dog", as my sister called him all night.

So, yes.  Thanksgiving was good and glorious just as I hoped it would be.  Just another month and I get to see all these crazies I call my family again.  I can't wait.