Been Busy These Last Few Days...

So, I think I forgot to mention that sometime in the week before Christmas (I cannot for the life of me remember what day), I did manage to watch White Christmas, which was really cute and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside like all holiday movies are supposed to do. So, anyway...

Dad's home this week, which is throwing me off completely...but whatever. I didn't do much on Sunday or Monday, just sorta hung around the house. Although I did watch part of The Sound of Music on Sunday, which I love...we've been to Salzburg, Austria, where the film is set, and the Do Re Mi montage, with the Mirabell Gardens and the big castle on the hill in the background, is pretty cool to see, because we got to see it when we went there. And I love the whole story...so yeah. :) (Quick note...rest in peace Agathe Von Trapp, the eldest daughter of the famous Von Trapp family, who passed away yesterday. She was protrayed as Leisl in the movie.)

On Tuesday, Sylvia and her parents picked me up, and we went over to the mall. We met up with Anita, and we did some shopping at Hollister and American Eagle before we met up with Anita. I ended up getting a couple of things from American Eagle, which is definitely my favorite place to shop. This time, I got a lavender and grey striped thermal sweater/long-sleeve shirt, a light coral (pinky orange) colored sweatshirt top, and a black dress, which I have no idea why I bought, because 1) I don't wear dresses all that much, and 2) I don't have any use for a "little black dress". But whatever, I liked it, so I bought it.

The two shirts I bought. (Sorry...the pic is pretty blurry.)

I swear it's black...it looks purple with the lighting in my room.

And me in the dress...not a great pic but I was took lazy to try more than a couple times...

Then, we met up with Emma, and we had lunch (I had Chick-Fil-A as usual), and finished exchanging our holiday gifts to each other, which was really cool. Then, we went off and did a ton of shopping, and everyone had a lot of fun. We went into practically every store we wanted to, and by the time Emma left, Anita and I were both super-tired. So, while Sylvia went to exchange a shirt at Aeropostale, Anita and I sorta walked around, and stopped in Aerie. During our walk, we were on the hunt for a bench to sit on, as our feet were killing us. But, we couldn't find an open one, so we went back to Aeropostale and waited on Sylvia.

So, Sylvia wanted to stop in Aerie, so we all trudged back inside, and low-and-behold, there was a freaking couch in Aerie that Anita and I had totally missed when we had gone in before. So, we sat around while Sylvia looked at a few things, and then we headed back to Forever 21 so Sylvia could purchase the shirt she had on hold, and we were in line when Anita headed out. So, we got the shirt, and then headed to The Body Shop, where I got a thing of tea tree oil for my mom, and then we went through Belk to meet my dad so he could take us home.

And we dropped Sylvia off, and then had to back-track a couple minutes back to her house because she had left her phone in my dad's car, and then we headed home. And we spent the evening watching tv and I let Ella out and all that good stuff.

Today was one heck of a day though. I had to go to the orthodontist to pick up my retainer. So, I got back there, and the lady came over with my new top retainer and popped it in...and guess what? It totally does not feel right. Like, I can't even get it in easily. So, I tried to complain to her about it, but I guess she just wasn't listening. So, Dr. Chermak came over and did his usual two-second check, and then it took me, like, a full minute to yank the stupid top retainer out of my mouth.

So, right now, I'm trying to figure out why it's so tight. The only thing I can come up with is that the molds for the first retainer were taken before I had my wisdom teeth pulled, and that maybe things shifted after I had them removed, but I don't know if that's it or not. So, I'm planning on just wearing them for a couple of weeks and seeing how it goes. And hoping that I don't accidentally break the stupid thing trying to pull it out of my mouth in the mornings...ugh. And my next appointment, to check the retainer? January 31, my birthday. Which is a Monday, so Mom might have to change it because of work, which would be nice.

Anyway, enough of that. Dad and I went over to Lowe's Foods to get some stuff for dinner with my grandmother tonight...he wanted something different, which is kinda hard to do when you didn't start thinking about the meal until this morning. So, we spent forever walking the aisles and finally settled on this chicken parmigiana pasta thing, with breadsticks and salad, and some filled croissants for dessert. We'll see how it turns out tonight.

So, tonight is basically prepping dinner, picking up my grandmother, eating dinner, watching tv, taking her home, then I'm planning on writing my Christmas/holiday thank you cards sometime before I go to bed.

And May All Your Christmases Be White...

You know what? It actually happened! We got measurable snow on Christmas! Amazing! (Haha, can't you tell I'm on a snow-induced high right now? Just kidding.)

So, anyway, last night we ended up reading The Night Before Christmas and then setting out the milk and cookies. Then, we filled each other's stockings, and headed to bed.

In the morning, I woke up, took a shower, and put on my makeup, and then went into the living room. We did stockings first, and I ended up pulling out some candy, a bookmark, a ring holder, and a few other things, which was all very nice. Then, we opened gifts from our family up north - money, which was really nice.

Gifts from each other were next...we got Dad some clothes, earbuds, and a DVD. Mom got a video game and a ribbon organizer for her scrapbooking area. Quinn got, among other things, a video game and some toy sets. And I got all four of the items on my list, plus some really neat other things, including a Despicable Me minion plush from Quinn, which is adorable. One of the gifts Mom and Dad gave me was heavy...it ended up being a video game weighted down with bags of shredded coconut and powdered sugar in the box. Haha.

Then, Santa gifts, which were neat. I got the Despicable Me DVD, an American Girl outfit, a Lego Christmas Village bakery to go with my toy shop that I had set up, and a DaVinci Code fully-functional cryptex, which is amazingly cool. So, then we had breakfast - Mom's special breakfast casserole, orange rolls, and orange juice, and then I put together my Lego set.

We started on the food preparation shortly after I finished, and I helped Mom with some of the peeling and stuff, and then we all got dressed (I think I stayed in my pajamas until close to three in the afternoon). The family came over between four and four-thirty, and we finished the food, and then had some fun talking and eating and just being together. The food was awesome...Mom made bacon-wrapped shrimp, steakhouse bruschetta, canoli dip...well, a lot of food, and everyone else brought a few things, and by the time it was all said and done, we still had a ton of food left over.

So, after everyone left, we went out and took a few pictures in the snow, and then headed inside. Quinn and I had our usual "mysterious" post-Christmas-morning gifts on our beds...mine was an American Eagle gift card, which I am absolutely thrilled to have, because I shop there all the time, and they always have the coolest things.

Right now, Mom is playing the Wii game Quinn got her, Tetris, while Ella runs around at her feet. We're planning on watching A Christmas Story tonight, because we have it on DVD, and it's technically a tradition that we have to watch it each year.

Other than that, we're trying to figure out the best time to go to the mall tomorrow, since the snow kinda messed up our 10:30-3:30 plans. So, we will probably go in the afternoon, weather pending, of course. Not much else on the agenda for the week, other than going to the orthodontist to pick up my retainer on Wednesday. And then, New Years. Hard to believe it's almost the end of 2010...

Christmas, Christmastime Is Here...

So, maybe I have The Chipmunk Christmas song in my head right now. Hence, the title...

Oh my goodness, it's Christmas Eve. Holy moly, how did that happen? It only felt like yesterday that it was the beginning of December, and now...whoa. So, anyway, I'm a bit tired, so this post should be pretty short.

Mom and I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 on Monday, which was cool, and I can't wait for the last installment, even though I never read the book itself. On Tuesday, I went to the orthodontist because I cracked my retainer, so I needed to have molds taken so they could make me a new retainer. And then, Dad and I went to the Wake basketball game in the evening, which was cool. The Goodmans, our seatmates, gave us a box of homemade fudge at the game, which we determined the next morning was the absolute most delicious fudge we'd ever eaten.

Anyway, on Wednesday, Emma came over at around 8:30 in the morning, and we had breakfast and hung out and then had lunch and hung out some more. And then, we hopped in her VW bug (so jealous) and she drove to the movie theater. We met up with Anita, and saw The Tourist which was really neat. Kinda mindblowingly cool. (And I found out later that our neighbors thought Emma's bug was my car...haha, I wish.)

And then on Thursday, I got my nails painted, but that was really the only thing. Except that we watched Toy Story 3, which we got from Netflix. I'd already seen it before (at the theater with Sylvia, actually), but it was fun to see again, and I think everyone loved it.

Today was pretty cool. Mom and Dad were home from work, and I ended up doing my homework, and then helping clean the house for a little while. And then I kinda got sucked into a Criminal Minds marathon (all reruns) on A&E, and ended up glued to the couch for about four hours. But, they were all really good episodes, so I guess it was worth it.

And then, we all got ready, and I drove over to my aunt and uncle's for Christmas Eve dinner. We had goulash, and shrimp and rice casserole, and salad, and then opened gifts (we pretty much always exchange gifts with them on Christmas Eve, even though we see each other Christmas Day. We got my uncle a gift card, my aunt a green glass tray that matches her house colors, and we got them both some wine and crackers and different spreads and stuff.

Mom got the bath towels she wanted/needed, along with some bubble bath and body wash and stuff like that. Dad got a Kohl's gift card. And Quinn and I got money, which was what I wanted, since I go shopping quite frequently. Then, we had dessert - canoli dip and a cherry and chocolate bread pudding, which were both amazing. And then, we headed home.

Right now, Mom is starting on some of the desserts for our Christmas Day get-together with the family (we're hosting this year), and Quinn is absolutely bubbly in anticipation of Santa Claus, and I have no idea where Dad is, although I would guess watching tv.

As for tomorrow, I think I'm more excited about getting together with the family than about the gifts. My parents, as usual, asked for a Christmas list, and I could only come up with four things...two video games, a DVD, and a video editing program. And even then, I didn't really even need all of those. So, my idea of Christmas is more swayed toward the socializing aspect than the presents aspect this year. Which I think is nice.

Anyway, that's about it. I'll probably do some sort of post-Christmas post later tomorrow evening, but for now, I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday! Merry Christmas!

He's Making A List, and Checking It Twice...

So, let's see...what have I been doing? Well, let's just say I'm in one of those holiday rushes, so I've been pretty busy.

So, the 15th was my mom's birthday, so we all wished her Happy Birthday and all that good stuff, even after celebrating the night before. And that was pretty much it until Dad and I went to the Wake basketball game. Thursday was much of the same, or at least I think it was. Like I said, holiday rush. Which means I'm very likely to forget things. Friday was uneventful, and we all just sort of chilled out and watched some of the recorded stuff we had on our DVR, The Sing Off being one of them, which I think is just awesome.

Today was fun. Mom and I went to Target after my dad got back from getting gifts for his co-workers. (His car is in the shop, getting fixed, so we're down to one car right now.) And Mom and I shopped around, and I got myself a new belt, and a pair of longsleeve pajamas (which I was very much in need of...I've been sleeping in my summer set - shorts and t-shirt - and putting about four blankets on my bed at night.). And we found a couple of little stocking stuffers for Quinn, and I needed body wash.

And then, we went over to Cato's, cuz Mom needed a nice shirt for the parties they went to this evening. (She absolutely waited until the last minute...duh.) And then we came home and chilled for a while, and then Mom and I went out to pick up McDonald's because she wanted something easy to eat before they left, and because Quinn and I kinda needed to eat, too. :)

So, we ate, and then they left, and I cleaned Ella's cage, and Quinn and I played Mario Kart (on the Wii, which I'm pretty bad at) for over an hour. And then we came upstairs and watched Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, which we had recorded. I swear I watch it pretty much every year, and this year was the first time I could put faces to names of the actors who voiced the characters. Never had I payed attention to the fact that Fred Astaire is the mailman who narrates the whole thing. And to think I've been watching that movie and listening to him speak since I was little...oh, how did I miss that?

Anyway, little tidbit of note - we go into McDonald's, and what music is playing? The version of "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" from the movie, which I have not heard on the radio all season. [Ugh, I really cannot figure out this embedding thing...the video doesn't seem to want to shrink down to fit into the space I have. Well, here's the link if you want it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jQy_ppY2bI]

Oh, and I've been on a holiday movie kick. I finally got to see It's a Wonderful Life, which was amazing, and I watched Holiday Inn, which was really cool, (it's also the first film in which Bing Crosby sang "White Christmas"). And then I saw The Shop Around the Corner, which really isn't technically a holiday movie, except for the fact that it takes place around Christmas. And btw, if you've seen You've Got Mail, that's a remake of The Shop Around the Corner...pair of people who are corresponding with each other anonymously and think they're falling in love with each other, but they quarrel all the time in real life. Still have White Christmas to watch, as well as Miracle on 34th Street...maybe I'll get to them sometime this week.

Okay, anyway, I'm getting off track here. I've got a busy week coming up...we might be decorating at my grandmother's on Sunday, Monday will be pretty normal, then Tuesday, Dad and I have a Wake basketball game. Wednesday, Emma, Anita, and I are planning on getting together, nothing on Thursday, then Friday is dinner at my aunt and uncle's for Christmas Eve, Saturday is Christmas, and then on Sunday, Emma, Sylvia, Anita, and I are going to brave the crowds at the mall for some shopping. So, busy week! :)

Little Kids Are So Fun!!!

Okay, first things first, before I forget, I am super-psyched. Why? Jeopardy just announced that in February, they're going to be doing a couple of special episodes pitting the player with the longest winning streak, Ken Jennings (74 games) against the player that has won the most money, Brad Rutter ($3.3 million)...against "Watson", an IBM computer! So amazing!

So, anyway, on Saturday, we got up early and went over to Messiah Moravian Preschool for the Santa Breakfast. Mom, Quinn, and I were manning the Reindeer-Food-Making station. So, we got to help the little kiddies mix together oats, sugar, and sprinkles, and then put it into a bag. Mom handled the oats and sugar, Quinn helped with the sprinkles and shaking it up to mix it (shake it nine times, one for each of the reindeer), and I helped them pour the mixture into the bags and close it off with a sticker. And it was really fun, and all the little kids were adorable! This is my brother and I in our aprons (kneeling...cuz the tables have to be super short for the little ones) at our station.

Then, we came home and relaxed, and I'm pretty sure I laid around most of the day. And Sunday was pretty much the same thing, except that we went to the grocery store, and then Dad, Quinn, and I went shopping for another birthday gift for Mom. And after poking around at Target, and then going to Party City, and to Panera (just for a gift card), we headed home. Monday was pretty normal, too.

So, today, I got up and got ready, and then I dusted, and cleaned the bathroom, and decorated because we celebrated Mom's birthday this evening, even though her actual birthday is tomorrow. Dad and I have a Wake basketball game in the evening, and Mom didn't want us missing it just for her.

So, Dad and I took Mom's car over to pick up my grandmother, since his is leaking antifreeze and needs to be fixed, and when we got back, we had dinner, and watched a little tv. Aunt Lynne came over, and we watched some of Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and Minute To Win It, and then Mom opened her presents - Estee Lauder "Beautiful" dusting powder, a Panera gift card, and Aunt Lynne gave her a set of soup mixes (lobster bisque, she crab soup, and creole shrimp, I think).

And then, we sang "Happy Birthday" and had cake and talked for a little while before Dad and I took Granny home, and Mom and Quinn went with Aunt Lynne so they could borrow her truck while Dad's car is in the shop. And, then I let Ella out for the evening, and sorta watched The Biggest Loser finale.

I Love Fridays...

Well, I wanted to get on and post this while I can...

Today was really cool. I did my homework this morning, and then played around on the computer and had lunch and washed the dishes. And then I waited around until Mom got home, and then I drove her to the post office so she could mail a few things. Then, we went to the nail salon near our house, and I got my nails painted. This is what they look like:

I decided on a white tip with a red candy cane stripe. I'm thinking about going back and getting something different for Christmas.

And then, we came home and chilled for a little while, and when Dad got home, we went to the mall. Mom went off on her own so that we could get her the birthday gift that she wanted from Estee Lauder, and then we poked around the in Deacon Shop, and Dad talked with some of the people he used to work with there.

Then, we went to TGI Friday's for dinner, and I had the sizzling chicken and cheese, which was good. And then Dad and Quinn went to look at video games across the way, while Mom and I went up to Belk to look at the Free People section, which we always pass by and see cute stuff in. Except it's so expensive. So, Mom thought it would be cool to get me a Christmas or birthday present because she had a 20% off coupon for Belk.

So, we looked around, and there, of course, wasn't really anything wintry that I thought was cute. But, we poked around in the sales racks,and there was this really cute summery top, that I tried on and loved... (Excuse the busy pattern of my hammock chair...it was the only thing I could hang it on where the light was sufficient enough to catch the color decently.)

It's cuter in person, and you really can't tell, but the sleeves are really fluttery. So, anyway, we walked out of the dressing room, and we realized we hadn't even checked the price tag....

Don't know if you can tell, but the sale price on the tag was $17.98, and it marked it down an extra 40%. Mom couldn't use her coupon, but it really didn't matter because it only came to $11.63 with tax! It was originally $72, and then it got marked down to $35.99, and then to $17.98, and then again to $10.79, which I think we figured was an 85% total markdown. I don't think it gets much better than that. :)

So, anyway, that's what my day has been like. I'm getting up at 7:00am tomorrow to go to the Santa Breakfast at Messiah Moravian. I think I'm supervising one of the craft tables, which should be pretty easy, considering that most of the kids will have their parents with them. Quinn and Mom are working the reindeer food-making station. So, I should have some fun with all that...

Nothing Much Going On, But I'm Posting Anyway...

Well, I told you I'd post again this week. Not much has been going on though, so this should be a fairly short post.

We didn't do much this weekend, just sort of sat around. If we did something, I obviously don't remember it. Haha. Days start to blend together. I think I forgot to mention in my last post that we finally got our Christmas tree up that Friday. Mom loved how clean the house was after Thanksgiving that we didn't put up the tree the day after like we normally do.

As for the other decorations, it's kinda funny. We've got the lights on the house, the wreath on the door, the garland up the stairs, the stockings, the tree, and a few holiday handprint/footprint things Quinn and I made when we were in preschool. But, that's pretty much it. Normally, we'd have our array of nutcrackers, a light-up village set of some sort, stuff like that. I don't even have my mini-tree or Precious Moments village set up in my room. And I'm debating whether or not to even bring them down, considering that there's only a couple of weeks until Christmas...

Um, nothing much else going on. I started Emma by Jane Austen this week, and so far, it's pretty good. There's a lot of characters, so it gets a bit confusing at times, but it's all good. I'm trying to get it all read and all the work done by the end of December, which is going to be a challenge, but hopefully, I'll be able to do it.

Yesterday, Mom and I watched Get Him to the Greek, which was sorta funny, but not something I'd recommend. I think the best part was the random fight in the hotel between the main characters, which wasn't even that funny. So, yeah...don't know why I thought it was going to be funny.

I've finally got back into watching my movies. The second hundred seems to be going slower than the first, but whatever. I saw my first Hitchcock film a few days ago, Suspicion, which was pretty good. I also saw The Thin Man, Sunset Boulevard, and You Can't Take It With You (which I was able to check on my Best Picture list - 1938), which were all neat, too.

I've got a nice little line-up to be taped this weekend - It's A Wonderful Life, White Christmas, and Holiday Inn - all holiday films, which should be cool. I was listening to the radio a couple of days ago, and apparently, the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro is showing all three of those films on the big screen this month...and if it weren't for the fact that it's almost an hour drive one-way, I'd totally ask my mom to let me go. But maybe next year...

Anyway, we're going to be running some errands on Friday, and then on Saturday morning, Mom, Quinn, and I are going to help out with the Santa Breakfast that her co-worker has been working on at their church or school or something, I can't remember. So, I'll be helping little kids with crafts from nine to eleven that morning, which should be fun. So, that's it, I think. If not, it can wait until the next post...

And Since We've No Place To Go...

...Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

So, yes, we got snow today. Totally awesome. Dad and I went to the Wake game this afternoon, and it had been snowing for maybe half an hour when we got there, so it didn't really look all that "snowy" outside, but when we came out two and a half hours later, everything was covered in white, which was amazing.

Other than that, today has been pretty easy. Mom and I watched Law Abiding Citizen (one of our play-through-the-Wii Netflix movies), and it was pretty good. There were some parts that you totally knew were coming (Mom and I kept saying, "So-and-so is next," as in next to die), but we still jumped when it actually happened. So, anyway, good movie. And then we came up and had dinner and watched some tv show about JFK's security detail, which was neat. And then I cleaned Ella's cage and watched some football with Dad.

The past few days have been interesting. Dad was in Dallas, TX from Wednesday until Friday for work, so the three of us brought Chick-Fil-A over to my grandmother's for dinner on Wednesday, and then came home and watched Criminal Minds, even though it was a re-run. But, it was one we hadn't seen before, and it was a pretty darn good one, so it worked out.

Then, on Thursday, we went to Olive Garden for dinner, because whenever we go there with Dad, something always happens. One time we waited for forever for our food because they only could get one oven/stove to work in the kitchen. So, now we go without Dad. So, the meal was good, and we came home and chilled for the evening.

On Friday, Mom took the day off, so I drove her to the DMV to get her license renewed, and then we went to AC Moore to look at a few things. We stopped at the mall so  I could go to American Eagle and get a few more long-sleeve shirts (I ended up getting three), and then we went to Enchanted Cottage and picked up a few things.

When we got home, we had lunch, and then chilled for a while before going to pick up dinner. We ended up watching Iron Man 2, which was pretty good, and then watched CSI: NY and Blue Bloods while we waited for Dad to get home. And I put together the Holiday Toy Shop lego set I got last Christmas and never put together. And it's adorable.

Before:



After:



So, anyway, that's what's going on right now. Nothing much on the schedule for the next few days, but I still hope to post at least once during the week.