Bridget and Tessa

Dave and I made a stop in Dallas, Georgia, to visit my aunt Lesa and my cousins, Bridget and Tessa. Being the English teacher I am, the girls got a book and a warm sweater to wear to Illinois to visit their babushka and dadushka.

Bridget is outgoing and was ready to show us everything. She played her new keyboard with a built in microphone to show us her budding talents.

Tessa is shy and quiet. She hugs you and kisses you saying, "Thank you for coming to see me." Tessa even jumped in Dave's lap ready to be held and cuddled.

Happy Birthday, Judy

Judy has a Christmas birthday. We all make a point to get separate gifts, and we ususally spend the day together. This year, it was just breakfast and gifts before Bob and Judy headed back to South Carolina. Judy scolded Dave for taking pictures before she had make-up on, and I guess I'll get scolded for publishing the picture, so to make things even, I'm posting one of me in my PJs with no make up.







Mike, Letha, Dave, and I didn't let a silly thing like Judy's absence get in the way of us celebrating her birthday, so we headed down to Atlantic Station where we had a margarita and toasted Judy, then we watched our annual movie. This year the pick was The Good Shepherd. True to a movie on Judy's birthday, it was long. After the movie we went to the Highlands for sushi; Judy is probably glad that she missed that.

Christmas with the Clan

My in-laws came to Atlanta this year saving the boys and girls the drive to Charlotte. Letha was the super hostess having her family on Christmas Eve and us on Christmas Day. We had a delicous meal followed by more gifts.
















Mike and Bob had given scant (or no) lists this year, so Mike had duplicate gifts (we need to coordinate next year).

















Bob got some fun gifts. Do you think you can see this remote?














Judy got a pretty yellow pot.



















Letha opens a box filled with napkins, napkin rings, and aprons.

Hayden's First Christmas

We always open gifts at my parents' house on Christmas morning. Since we weren't opening gifts until 9, my mom and I decided that we'd shower and be dressed instead of in our pjs for our Christmas pictures. Matthew, Cindy, and Hayden came down so the fun could begin! Hayden seems excited by the cars that he's still too small to play with.








Granny holds Hayden. (Well, maybe it'll be "Granny." She says "Grandmother" is too formal; she doesn't like "Nana." We'll see what Hayden decides to call her.)










Daddy, Dave, and me.






Matthew, Cindy, and Hayden.
Hayden is finished with all the camera flashes.

Christmas Eve

Dave and I awoke to a wonderful breakfast of biscuits and gravy with sausage and eggs with a side of whole milk. After stuffing ourselves, we watched as thousands of birds settled in the yard and pasture surrounding my parents' house. It was like a scene from Hitchcock's The Birds; fortunately, however, these birds were very skitish and could be spooked away by a tap on the window.
We went to church with my parents where I got to see the girls I grew up in Sunday School with, Christie and Andrea. It's neat to go back and see how much the little church has grown and see old friends.

Fredia and Sidney

My aunt Fredia and uncle Sidney have a special place in my life. They watched Matthew and me on the rare occasions that Mama and Daddy went away for a weekend when we were young.

Fredia once took me to the ShopRite despite the fact that I had a black eye from falling into the fireplace hearth. When Fredia picked me up at the house and saw my shiner, she joked, "What happened? Did your mama hit you?" At the ShopRite, when a lady asked what happened to me, without missing a beat I replied, "Mama hit me." The lady looked at my "Mama" Fredia in horror as she left.

Despite that, Fredia stuck around. Matthew and I loved to play in the branch that ran behind their house. In the summer, we could eat strawberries from her garden. Sidney took us flying in his planes. Matthew and I "oversaw" the construction of her house, choosing "our" bedrooms in her home. When the branch was dammed to make a pond, it was the fish that drew us there.

When I was crying on my wedding day because guests were entering the sanctuary while I was being photographed, it was Fredia who came over and comforted me then helped me get out of the sanctuary. Whenever Dave and I make it back to Georgia, Fredia and Sidney always come see me at my parents' house.

I hope that Dave and I can create just have the pleasant memories with Hayden as he gets bigger.

Over the River and Through the Woods . . .

And across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, into Georgia . . . 13.5 hours and 830 miles and many chapters of Angels and Demons. Dave and I left just before 6am this morning for our yearly sojourn to north Georgia. With the trunk loaded with gifts and a suitcase and a small cooler of Diet Coke in the backseat, we made our way across the country listening to Dan Brown's Angels and Demons to pass the miles. We had a sunny, uneventful drive. We stopped in Vicksburg for lunch and at the first rest stop in Alabama to stretch our legs. Nothing felt as good as getting out of the car at my parents' house, knowing we wouldn't have to get in the car for at least 12 hours.

Kudos to Costco

Today, I took my car to Sam's to get my free tire rotation. I purchased the tires there in March; they have 12,000 miles on them and should have already been rotated, but we've been negligent. In a moment of weakness, Dave asked me to take the car somewhere to have the tires rotated. Since purchasing the tires, Dave and I have switched from Sam's to Costco.

I went in and straight to the tire center. I presented my receipt for the tires and was asked for my membership card. I didn't have it with me--it's expired. I did have it in the car in my super-handy card organizer that Devin gave me for my birthday. So, I trotted back out to the car knowing that when they scanned the card they would find my membership was expired. I could sense that this was going to be a problem. Sure enough, when the guy scanned the card he said, "Ma'am your membership is expired. Do you want to renew it?"

"Do I have to renew to have my tires rotated? I bought them here."

"Well, to get the free tire rotation, you have to be a member."

"Fine; I'll get them rotated somewhere else." I snatched the card, spun on my heel, and hit the door.

Fuming I sat in the car contemplating my next move. It was 10:10 am; I had an appointment at Schwab at 11:30, an appointment at the Toyota dealership at 1 pm, and errands to run. I decided to go to Costco for a few items on my list and thought I'd check there about the charge to rotate my tires.

When I went in to Costco, I asked what the charge would be for rotating my tires. To my amazement, I was told $4 per tire since they weren't purchased there. Knowing I had a sympathetic audience, I shared with the kind Costco Tire Department Manager, Jason, my experience at Sam's. He seemed taken aback that Sam's would not rotate my tires. Costco's policy is to service the tires for as long as the purchaser of the tires is the current owner of the automobile--even if the purchaser is no longer a Costco member. Imagine that , customer service alive and well.

So, I dropped off my car while I went inside to pick up the essentials: toliet paper, Irish Spring, a huge jar of mixed nuts, and trash bags. I had time to meander through the aisles. When I finished, I paid for my tire rotation and found the car waiting at the front door--now that's service.

If only I had had an experience of the same quality at the Toyota dealership, but that's another blog. . .

Such a Mischievous Dog

Since Saturday I have been battling a bit of a cold. It started with a scratchy throat Saturday; by Sunday it had worsened. I'm drinking Airborne, taking Vitamin C, taking Advil Cold & Sinus, spraying with Chloroseptic, and sucking on Vick's Sore Throat Lozenges. I MUST be well so that I can hold Hayden when we get to Georgia. I WILL be better.
Mason loves to smell my breath while I have a cough drop or throat lozenge in my mouth. For days he has been sniffing my breath. I've moved the throat lozenges from the coffee table as he inquisitively sniffed them. Last night when I moved from the bedroom to the sofa in an effort not to disturb Dave, I was disturbed by Mason. Just as I would start to doze off, Mason would meander by for a good sniff of the sweet cherry smell.
Tonight, Dave went upstairs to work. As I cleaned the kitchen, Mason made the laps then disappeared. Just as I was finishing, I heard Mason, rather I didn't hear Mason. But then I did. He was chomping on something. At first, I thought it was just him gnawing on his Nyla-bone, but as any good mother, I left the sink to check on the "too-quiet-ness." When I turned the corner, Mason was lying on the rug in the living room with his Nylabone, I almost turned around, but something caught my eye--a pack of the throat lozenges and his bowed head (the bow that says, "I really can't help myself; I'm sorry"). Mason had opened one and was chomping on it. He had already pierced a second and was preparing to enjoy it. While he was making the rounds downstairs, he went into the bedroom and took the throat lozenges from my bedside table. What a rascal!

Crown Me

I know that none of you would disagree that I need a crown--nice shiny, sparkley crown. Today the dentist decided I need another kind of crown. One for my #18--for those of us not acquainted with dental numerology, it's the back left bottom tooth.

Some of you may know, I don't have the greatest teeth. They're straight, but I've had fillings in most of them--even the back of my two top front teeth, that's a painful shot of novicane. Anyway, this back tooth had a filling that was normal sized. Then during the Easter season of 1997, I ate an egg-shaped jaw breaker. It didn't break my jaw, but it did chip some of the tooth away from the filling. So, I had the original filling drilled out and an even bigger on added.

Today I went to the dentist for my six-month cleaning. No cavities; that's good. But an x-ray revealed tooth decay beneath the monolithic silver filling. So, now I need a crown. The process doesn't sound fun. Maybe Dave can scrape together a few dollars to buy a tiara for me after the crown. Luckily, the holidays are upon us. Just like Scarlet, I'll worry about this later. Did Scarlet have a tiara? I know she had Tara . . .

Mental Health Day

In a rare move, Dave took a mental health day yesterday. He slept until about 9:30; after he got up I made migas for breakfast. We puttered around a bit upstairs--him tying flies, me balancing the checkbook. After coming downstairs I fully expected him to get dressed and go outside to find something to do as he always does on Saturday. Instead, he washed the handwashable dishes, put Pirates of the Caribbean in and laid down on the couch. He watched the movie while I snoozed my way through it. Dave did make it off the couch to do a doggie hair round up (our term for sweeping the floor). The picture shows Dave in November when he cleaned all of the windows inside and out with the exception of the interior of seven downstairs windows. The only reason he stopped was that he ran out of Windex. Today, he finished washing the windows; then it was back upstairs for more fly tying.
I started wrapping gifts only to discover that one of Daddy's gifts was the wrong size. Since I had also bought three pairs of pants for Dave at the same store, I asked him to try them on so I could do all returns at once. He sheepishly looked at me asking when I planned to go to the store. At this point it is about 6:45. He requested that he be allowed to take a shower before trying on his new pants since he was still in his PJ pants. I waited for him to clean up; when he put on a pair of jeans I thought, "Oh, maybe he's going with me." As he pulled on his jeans, he said, "I don't know why I'm getting dressed at this point." I went out about seven and returned around ten to find him still on the sofa.
This is highly unusual behavior for Dave. I suppose everyone needs a mental health day every now and then. I know this is the first time he's done this while living in DFW, so I've got another year and a half before he needs another one!
Today, he's back to himself. We returned from church, lunch, and a quick trip to Wal-Mart at 2:30. His agenda for the afternoon: change the oil in the car and truck, prune some bushes out front, go to Lowe's and Petsmart.

Christmas Lights

Last night we saw Christmas lights from an entirely new perspective--flying over Fort Worth in a Cessna. Jimmy asked us last weekend if we'd like to go see the lights from the air. Of course we weren't going to turn down the invitation.
We met at their house and loaded into the Suburban to drive to the airport. First Dave and I flew with Jimmy, Landon, and Hayden. Landon sat on my lap the entire time. He was relaxed for much of the ride resting his arm on the window of the plane and taking in the sites. Evidently, tilting over to the side for an easier view is a bit scary to a three-year old since he told his dad he was scared he was going to fall out of the plane. I assured him that I would hold on to him tightly. Despite his uneasiness, he never fidgeted or fussed; reassurance from his daddy was all that was needed to know all was well. Dave and Hayden shared the back seat of the Cessna. Hayden was excited to see the Superman Tower at Six Flags.
Jimmy flew us around Fort Worth so that we could see the big tree down town. We flew over two residential neighborhoods where each house was decorated and the streets were filled with the glow of a continuous string of red brake lights. We also got an aerial view of The Ball Park at Arlington where the Texas Rangers play and were treated to a view of the future home of the Dallas Cowboys. We took some pictures that didn't turn out very well. In order to capture the lights, we had to use the night setting, which requires a VERY steady hand. I can't keep my hand steady enough on the ground. let alone while riding in a plane.
Back on ground, we waited while Jimmy took Keaton and Reagan for their aerial tour of the lights.
We had a great time and are so thankful for such good friends who show us new things!

Such a Good Dog

You've got to love having a dog. No matter how many times we walk Mason, he is always SO excited to go on another walk. The minute he sees me get my tennis shoes, he knows that we're going for a walk since this is the only time I wear sneakers. We usually end up putting him outside so that we can get our socks and shoes on in peace. Then when we walk out and Dave grabs the leash from it's hook, Mason goes crazy. Finally, he sits in front of Dave just waiting to have the collar put on him. Put, he just can't sit still; he hops up several times before calming down enough for us to put the collar on him. Once he feels the cool metal of his prong collar, he is perfectly behaved.
Lately, we've been taking our walks and enjoying the Christmas lights in our neighborhood. There's a huge inflatable Santa across the street that still gets a cautious stare from Mason as we walk past each evening. What a funny dog!

Hayden

My nephew Hayden is now two months old. He got to sit on Santa's lap last week. He's such a cutie; he even managed to smile for Santa. I can't wait to get to hold him and love on him in a week and a half!

The teddy bear picture seems to be one that Cindy took at home. She did an excellent job!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

It took three nights, but we finally finished getting our tree up tonight. Sunday, we bought the tree and got it in the stand. Monday night, we put the lights on. Tonight, the ornaments, angel, and tree skirt completed our holiday cheer. I don't know what my problem is this year. We usually put our tree up the Saturday after Thanksgiving. My Christmas cards typically go out by December 1st. Not this year . . .
Nothing like a looming deadline to get me to work. I needed to finish my graduate class final last night. I had had the first question for a few weeks, but visitors, trips to Austin, and football playoff games are so much more fun than working on a final. I decided that last night was "the" night to finish the final. So what did I do last night? Cooked dinner: green beans, mashed potatoes, meatloaf; washed and put away four loads of laundry; worked on my Christmas cards; and finished my final.
Tonight I brought home stacks of papers to grade. It's nine already and it is not looking good for getting those papers graded. Dave has to be at work at seven tomorrow morning; I'll leave with him bright and early and attack those papers.