Goodbye 2009

Its been a great year.

White Christmas Cartoon

I received this cute holiday clip in an email several years ago only to find the link non-existant this year. Luckily I found the clip again on youtube. So adorable. Happy Holidays!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddVZOK_9UUI

doing vs not doing

what i have been doing:

cuddling a sick toddler

reading twilight: a new moon

eating lot of sweets and junk food

christmas shopping

lounging on couch watching dora

what i haven't been doing:

hanging around blogland

answering emails

sleeping (i have pregger insomnia)

laundry, dishes and housework in general

Carmen & Grandma W

Carmen had a great time with Grandma and didn't want her to leave!



Good times...

Santa at the Pink Palace

The Pink Palace

www.memphismuseums.org/museum-overview



Inside we visited the Festival Of Trees:

www.memphismuseums.org/exhibit-12056

And completed our trip by visiting Santa Clause for the first time!

Thanksgiving Is Over

We had a pleasant and quiet Thanksgiving this year - just the 3 of us. Traditional dinner consisted of a yummy turkey, stuffing, mashed taters & gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Yum. Luckily we didn't buy a very big bird, so we had leftovers for 2 days. None of us care to have any more turkey for quite awhile now.

After an early dinner and a nap, we drove around the neighborhood scoping out Christmas lights which then inspired us to get our tree out that evening (yes its a faux tree but has pretty white twinkle lights).

Friday was my birthday. Andy bought me a pretty silver necklace with a heart and butterfly pendant. And of course Carmen couldn't be left out, so she also got her 1st necklace - also with a cute butterfly pendant which she insists on sleeping with!

Saturday the outdoor Christmas lights went up along with this huge lighted wreath that I purchased last year on the after-Christmas clearance sale. Its hung over the garage and looks wonderful.

Sunday was a day of catching up. Laundry, dishes, bath for Carmen and a little housework for our guests that are arriving this morning. Can't wait!

Hope you all had a nice long holiday weekend.





Carmen wore her 1st dress Thanksgiving morning. She enjoyed it only for so long and demanded to have pants put back on. Maybe because her legs were cold? She insisted on wearing her Halloween shirt for the rest of the day and she even managed to sit still long enough for me to put a sloppy french braid in her hair. Too cute!

Polar Bear

I bought Carmen this furry vest last Christmas and I am surprised and delighted to see that it still fits this year! She loves it and keeps calling herself a Polar Bear. Too cute.

I'm Lovin' It

This has become my breakfast staple. Bacon, egg & cheese biscuit with a Coke. Soooo good. Last week I woke up around 3am starving. The donut store doesn't open until 5am and I was almost sure that our local Taco Bell isn't a 24 hr place (come to find out, nope, its not) so I settled on McD's once again. Lucky for me McD's starts serving breakfast at 0430.

The colors of Fall

The colors of fall are upon us once again. I just can't get over the beauty of Autumn in Tennessee. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest - the Columbia River Gorge, to be exact, and I never thought I would see anything more beautiful than Fall time there. Boy was I wrong!

Here it is the middle of November, but Autumn is in full swing. Since almost all of the trees here are deciduous, they make for some lovely colors such as yellows, golds, orange, rusts and reds. I have been taking my camera with me when I run errands around town just to try and capture this time of year. It won't last long, as streets and driveways are already littered with heaping piles of fallen leaves just waiting for the huge vacuum to come suck them up.

Oh, and its Week 24 already!

Happy Halloween

Carmen didn't go trick-or-treating again this year but she had a BLAST handing out candy to all the kids that came to the door. Everytime the door bell rang, she ran like a shot to answer it and to get a good look at all the cute costumes. Next year will be a completely different ball game.

Week 19 & gearing up for Halloween

Carmen and I got a few Halloween decorations out this year. I haven't decorated in 2 years, so it was kind of fun to see some things I've had put away for that long.

To help gear up for Halloween I got 'The Shining' Special Edition 2 disc set. I can honestly say that I have not seen this movie in its entirety, just bits and pieces whenever its on television. I can't wait to watch it, especially on DVD because it won't be edited for content. Should be pretty scary!

And whats a movie without movie snacks? I love M&M peanuts and these Spooky Halloween ones caught my attention.

Week 19:

http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-19-weeks_1108.bc?intcmp=timeline

Monkey In A Tree

I think Carmen is going to be a tree climber.

Friday and Week 18

Week 18

http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-18-weeks_1107.bc?intcmp=timeline

Stephen King Update & Week 17

I have once again cleaned and rearranged my Stephen King bookshelf. I traded in a few of my books that were duplicates to make room for 2 patiently awaited new releases.

October 28 brings the hardback release of Riding The Bullet. This story was originally published as a free online download in 2000 - which I am proud to say I still have the printed out copy. It was then published in 2002 as part of the collection Everythings Eventual. In 2004 the movie adaptation was released starring Jonathon Jackson and David Arquette.

Kings newest book Under The Dome is set to be released November 10 and I have already pre-ordered.

Although I have almost every Stephen King book in (with the exception of one), I am always on the lookout for Gift Editions of certain books and other cool stuff. All of my books are hardbacks and are First Editions, First Printings. None of my books are Book Club Editions or Ex-Library copies.

Among my possessions are books, a Pop-up book, Audiobooks on CD, DVD's, Movie Paraphanelia, Movie Posters, Desk Calendars, Buttons, and a Bobblehead. I have yet to collect a book signed by King himself. Someday...hopefully.

I am always on the lookout for certain books so if you have these and are willing to get them off your hands, give me a shout. I am looking for Night Shift in hardback and Rage in paperback. These books are still out there, its just a matter of finding them in good condition.

Oh and its Week 17:
http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-17-weeks_1106.bc?intcmp=timeline

Flu Shot

With a little pressure from Andy and from my OBGYN, I felt obligated to get a flu shot this year. I cannot remember the last time I ever got a flu shot - prolly when I was a young child. And it didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would.

Have you gotten YOUR flu shot?

Week 16

Week 16:

http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-16-weeks_1105.bc?intcmp=timeline

Stephen King & Ridley Pearson

Today is the first day I have been to a thrift store in a month and a half! I am still sick and queasy, but I really needed to get outta the house today. Luckily for me, I happened upon this book titled "Peter And The Starcatchers" by Ridley Pearson. Its a treasure island/pirate story aimed for young readers ages 10 and up. I haven't read it yet, but plan to start this weekend.

Ok, so now you're asking who is Ridley Pearson. Well he is a crime novelist, but more importantly, he is linked to Stephen King (my ultimate favorite writer). Not only did they co-write the book "The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer - My Life At Rose Red", they are also band mates in "The Rockbottom Remainers." Just a little bit of trivia.

Today is the start of Week 14:

http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-14-weeks_1103.bc?intcmp=timeline

Happy 2nd Birthday Carmen!

We had a great day at the Memphis Zoo yesterday. Took great pics but unfortunately some of them didn't get saved onto the camera. Hate it when that happens!

Week 13

Carmen has a birthday coming up in just a few short days. Can't believe she is turning 2! Where has all the time gone?

Its Week 13 for me. I went to see the doc this week for a regular checkup and to hear the baby's heartbeat but the handheld machine wasn't working correctly and she couldn't pick it up. So she sent me next door where I got to see the baby on an ultrasound machine! It was so exciting! At 12 weeks, the baby really looks like a baby. 2 arms, 2 legs, everything appears to be normal physically. We still won't know the sex for another month or two.

WEEK 13:

http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-13-weeks_1102.bc?intcmp=timeline

I'm Back

Wow, its been a long time since I've posted anything on here. But its not from a lack of interest. Today marks my 12th week of being pregnant! I have been waiting this long to break the news, as the first 12-13 weeks are the most critical in pregnancies of anything bad happening. I think we are in the clear now.

I have been battling morning and evening sickness for the past month. Its hard to eat or drink anything and the smell of any food makes me nautious. I have lost 15 lbs. (the hard way) but this is all normal and is exactly what I went thru with my last pregnancy. Those pounds will come back, unfortunately.

For anyone interested, I will be posting a link every week to my favorite pregnancy website which sends me weekly emails. These emails explain exactly what is going on with my baby and my body. Tons of info!

Here is Week 12:
http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-12-weeks_1101.bc?intcmp=timeline

Nap time .... shhhhh

Most kids have a favorite toy and/or blanket that they HAVE to sleep with. Not Carmen, she has to have ALL of her toys!