Christmas 2010

I had a great time in NM, no white Christmas this year. This was taken Christmas eve before we left for church. Macie had to stay home, no puppies allowed.

One of the best shopping days

For anyone that lives in an area where Dillards is located one of their best shopping days is coming up. New Years day everything in the store that has a sale tag is half off, they have been doing this for the last couple of years. I am planning on being there when the store opens.

Random pictures from Rio Rancho

T shirt for KT and Jane

Toaster with your team logo, what is next?

Funny calendar at Barnes and Noble

Cake at local bakery

Chewable cards

Spot received a Crunch card for Christmas, they even come with an envelope. Aren't they cute? He took it outside so I would not get it.

http://www.crunchkins.com/holiday_cards1.htm#

Spoiled?

What my niece and nephew received for Christmas, would you say they are a bit spoiled?

Pictures with Grandpa and Grandma, she made some delicious red chile and tamales for Christmas dinner.

No, don't take my picture

Christmas morning and no one wants their picture taken until they look good:)

What I did today

The weather in Albuquerque was great for this time of year. Clear skies for three days and no snow. On the fourth day it was overcast but still no rain or snow. This is a good thing and I thought would mean no flight delays. I had a flight at 3:30pm so I arrived at the airport at 1:40pm. I already knew the flight was going to be delayed until 4:45pm per the airlines website. I sat in the airport for 6 hours and finally flew standby on a 7:30pm flight, my original flight was scheduled to now depart at 8:25pm. The last two hours I talked to three flight attendants waiting for their flight. I did not know they do not get paid while their are sitting and waiting, one good thing they do not have to do expense reports for their travel, can you imagine what a mess that would be.

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas and is able to spend it with the people they love!

The nativity scene is at my sister's friends house.

Do you think she would miss it? I really like it:)

What service or lack of

I was trying to find a book my mom wanted so I went online to a few book stores. One of the stores websites allows you to reserve a book online for pickup in the store later that day if it is available. When I checked the availability it said Might be available in the store. I then entered my email address and I book I wanted. The website stated within 2 hours I would receive a response back. Six hours later I received an email the book was not avaialble but I could order it online and receive within 2-4 weeks. Well, I thought I could find the book if I went to the store anyway. I go to the section where the new hardcover books should be and what do I find...yes the book I wanted! So happy:)

Happy Birthday KT!

I love that this was taken on another great 22 day!

Read the Sunday paper

• Found out the Suns traded Richardson for Vince Carter(he is so cute) on the first page of the Sports section

• Interesting interview from Michael Dell on page 5 on the Business section

How Do You Know?

Went to the movies this afternoon. This is a cute movie I recommend seeing, chic flick. It stars Owen Wilson and Reese Witherspoon, here is the trailer in case you have not heard of it.

http://www.howdoyouknow-movie.com/?hs308=HWW6191

Party at Buca!

Last night we had our Christmas party at Buca di Beppo. The food was delicious and great company. Here are a few pictures of the attendees, unfortunately I was not able to capture Tarzan sitting on Santa's lap. Steve said he would be selling copies if anyone wants one.

Happy Birthday Hollie!

Wow 13 years old! I hope you have a great time at your party.

All I Really Want

I was looking for the lyrics to a Christmas song from Steven Curtis Chapman " All I Really Want" . I could not find the lyrics but found him singing the song and I also came across this one for Jane.

http://www.lyrics.com//all-i-really-want-lyrics-steven-curtis-chapman.html


http://www.lyrics.com/we-belong-together-tarzan-and-jane-lyrics-steven-curtis-chapman.html

Macie

Spot has a new cousin:)

My niece finally received the puppy she has been wanting for her birthday. Isn't she cute?

Jordan and his new Jordans

New shoes for the boys! Jordan was so happy to get new shoes today, he loves them. They make him run faster and jump farther, he demonstrated this in the store. Jacob got new shoes also but at first was not excited at all, he did enjoy his ice cream:)

At the Car Wash

My car was filthy! Let's see how soon it will rain.

Go MAD!

Little ways that you can Make a Difference could be:

Buying someone a cup of coffee in line behind you at Starbucks
Buying someone lunch in line behind you at the drive thru
Writing someone an encouraging note
Shoveling your neighbor's driveway (not in Phoenix)
Buying someone some groceries
Sending a friend a card
Picking up the tab for someone in a restaurant
Watching your neighbor's kids while they go out
Baking some cookies and taking them to work…
The possibilities are endless! And remember… "Little things don't mean a lot, they mean EVERYTHING!"

Tempe Arts Festival

I went to the Arts Festival yesterday with Lenore. There were a lot of cool things to see; two tone metal crosses, glass vases, jewelry made from old lunch pails with cartoon characters(yes they had Snoopy and I did not buy any)and kettle corn of course. I wanted kettlecorn and forgot to get some before I left:(

This this a tshirt one of the vendors had for sale.

Punky and the Duke

Who remembers Punky Brewster? I bought this for $1.99 on Black friday along with the DVD of the Duke. John Wayne always reminds me of my dad, he loved to watch him.

How to hide a package

I received a package from UPS today. When I got home this is how they decided to "hide" it. I was excited to get my present I bought for myself. Hmmm, do I really like them? Trying to decide.

Free Shipping Day

Over 1,000 merchants are participating in this event. Free shipping day is 12/17/10. Great companies are participating, Fossil, Dell and Godiva chocolate to name a few.

http://www.freeshippingday.com/

Why do dogs bark?

Spot loves to bark at the kids passing by his gate, this happens frequently since the gate is close to the street:(

Sometime I go outside to see if anyone if out there, most of the time I see the kids but once in a while there is no one.

http://www.dogproblemsolutions.com/why_do_dogs_bark.php

"Why do dogs bark at nothing? They don't. It may seem like there is no reason for the barking behavior, but that is not always the case. When you feel that your dog is barking for no reason, start to consider the possibilities. Are they hurt, hungry, ready to go for a walk or have them spotted someone outside your home? We may not notice some of these smaller things going on around us, but your dog will. If your dog is barking at the walls or at something non-existent, there my even by a psychological or health reason for the barking, so you may even want to have your dog checked out by the vet. "

Done

I bought the last Christmas present yesterday! All presents are now wrapped and under the tree.

Dancing to the Americana

If you listen closely the boys are really dancing to music, everyone talking gets in the way.

Sandi wanted Jacob to dance for some pre Thanksgiving dinner entertainment and of course his older brother had to get in on the action. Jordan is such a ham.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a great day and gets to spend Thanksgiving with the ones they love!

A few of the things I am thankful for:

• My family and friends, I am blessed to have people who love me and who I would do anything for
• The health of the ones I care about
• Spot, he is a good boy

Let it Snow

Love my new Snoopy shirt!

Thanks Jane!

Stunt girl

Hollie loves to be one of the cheerleading flyers. Last weekend her middle school team got to cheer at the University of New Mexico Lobos game.

Pumpkin cheesecake

For Thanksgiving I have to bring two pumkin pies from Costco. Yes, I was told they have to be from there. One reason is because they are delicious and another is because they are big enough for everyone to have a piece if they want one. Last year I found a pumpkin cheesecake at Fresh and Easy, it was so good I wanted to get another one this year. I found pumpkin cheesecake at Costco for $12.99 but ended up not getting one because each slice is around 460 calories. It sure does look good.

The Next Three Days

I went to a screening of this movie last night. I really enjoyed the movie, maybe it was because the last movie I saw the American was so bad but I don't think so. I would recommend this suspense movie. I have not found good reviews from the critics but oh well I liked it anyway. Russell Crowe has the star role.
http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-next-three-days/1441492/main

Thanks Dina

Starbucks Buy 1 get 1 Free on holiday drinks starting 11.18 from 2-5pm, Dina shared this on her facebook status.

http://www.starbucks.com/share/#/redcups

2 Year Anniversary

Two years of blogging:)

Pets helping People

Panacea Wellness Village's mission is to heal pets and people.

Their values are:
"Charity
Dignity
Stewardship
Loyalty & Humor...
...because life is just too short without it."

Jon Provost who played Timmy on Lassie is the spokesperson. There is a fundraising event being held tonight in Scottsdale. I love the idea of bringing animals together to help heal people. These animals are sometimes very ill and need to be nursed back to health, when they get better they in turn return the love people gave them and help others feel better. If you want to read more please visit their site: http://panaceavillage.org/Healing%40PWV.html

Fisher House

This is a great site, I heard about it on the radio on the drive home tonight.

http://www.fisherhouse.org/about/index.html

"In 1990, Mr. and Mrs. Fisher began the Fisher House program, dedicating more than $20 million to the construction of comfort homes for families of hospitalized military personnel. Twenty-nine Fisher Houses now operate at 17 military bases and at five Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers throughout the nation. More than 183,000 days of lodging are provided by Fisher Houses every year, saving families an estimated $5 million annually. Since the program's inception, more than 50,000 families have stayed in Fisher Houses."

House Hunters International

I love this show. While watching it last night one of the requirements for the house was a bomb shelter. The show was being filmed in Israel that episode. I am grateful to live in the United States! Thank you to everyone in the armed forces and all the veterans!

What I learned from TV tonight

• Jon Paul is the founder of Patron Tequilla and Paul Mitchell hair products.
• Presidents George and George W Bush are going to be on Oprah this week(I would love to see this one).
• Connecticut man is sentenced to death for the murder of a woman and her two daughters in 2007. ( I saw the re inactment of this crime on 48 hours ID)
• Conan OBrien is hosting a new talk show tonight on TBS.

Brrrr winter is here

It was 76 on the drive home tonight. It is getting chily at night, down to 48 according to the droid.

What to do in Phx?

I found a couple of sites I like that show upcoming events(some free, some you can buy tickets for) in Phoenix. One of the sites is eventful.com and the other is azcentral.com. The Tempe Arts Festival is Dec 3-5, this is free to everyone. I have not been for a few years, it would be fun to go and see the arts and crafts on display.

Wii Fit Plus

I would like this for Christmas. I might just buy it for myself as an early gift:)

Has anyone used Bidfun.com? When I searched for the Wii Fit Plus this site came up to bid on the product, it is currently at .22. You can buy a minimum of 20 bids for $1 each and then start bidding.
http://www.bidfun.com/bin/detail/19558?utm_source=bing-us-en&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Nintendo%20Wii%20Fit%20Plus%20with%20Balance%20Board

Snoopy in a Box

Who knew Home Depot would have Peanuts Christmas items? I went to there to pick up metal bits for a drill and a screw extractor. I have not only one but two stripped screws in a door knob that I cannot get out. Unfortunately this did not work! The trip was not a loss because look at the cute thing I found.

Pea Coat or Prep Coat

Old Navy has an ad on tv for Prep Coats. When did the name of this coat change from pea coat to prep coat? Old Navy has these on sale for $29 in different colors if you need a coat where you live.

Closed on Sunday

I went to check out a vintage candy store today. I found out about the company from an ad in the local paper, hours were not listed. Darn they are closed Sunday! The store is open during the week and Saturday until 7pm, good thing they are close by. I am excited to see what kind of candy they have. I love the Chick-o-Sticks and Big Hunks, you can still find these in some stores around town.

Love AZ! T-shirt and flip flops still.

Happy Halloween!

Good tip

To turn off Geo-tagging for your photos on your cellphone camera here is a link that shows you how. http://icanstalku.com/how.php#disable

I checked the setting on my phone and this was already turned off. There was a segment on the news the other day telling how people can track your photos. For example you post a pic of your new flat screen tv, which has your home address associated with it, next you post a pic at a restaurant...if someone is watching they can determine you are not home and this would be a good time rob you.

What a cool store

"Polka Dots and Popsicles" at San Tan mall opened September 1. No popsicles for sale here. This store is comprised of unique items that would be great for Christmas presents. Suprisingly this is the first time I have been in or even noticed this store, possibly because it is not on the main strip and next to Dave's BBQ. I left with two cards. Some of the items in the store include colorful beads made of recycled paper, glass jewerly, metal wall art and onsies with bling. The owners little girl was helping in the store( she was maybe 8) wrapping purchases, she showed me some cute items too.

Batting Practice

Happy Birthday Jacob! Two years old and wants to be just like his brothers, playing baseball of course.

Congrats Rangers!

How exciting for Texas! I am so happy the Yankees are not in the World Series.

Jewelry Party

Saturday night I went to a Lia Sophia party. They have quite a few cute necklaces, earrings and bracelets. All the bracelets were too big for me:( I ended up buying two necklaces and a pair of earrings. The lady got me with if you buy three items you get the most expensive one half off. I can't wait until the end of the month when my goodies will be here.

My favorite candy(during Halloween)

Love these pumpkins! I found this candle that smells just like them:)

Random Snoopy yard ornament at Target.