A Little Bit of Sugar & A Whole Lotta Spice!!

Double The Fun?

2009-07-10T06:00:00.001-05:00

A couple of months back our sitter was out so I stayed home and watched both Karys and Addison (Karys' best friend who the sitter also keeps).

I thought it would be no problem because it would be like having sisters and playmates and they could entertain each other while I got some stuff done around the house.

Look how sweet they are together.....

What harm could possibly come of these two little angels being let loose in my house you ask? A picture says 1,000 words....so I will start there with what became of my house after this memorable day.

The Family Room:

The Living Room:

The Bedroom (where they played dress-up):

The Gameroom:

The Playroom:

Incredible.

Who knew two little people could have made this big of a mess?

My Heart...

2009-07-09T12:26:00.002-05:00

This little girl is the reason for the permanent smile in my heart...

Passion, Pasta and Pistols

2009-07-06T15:28:00.006-05:00

The succulent aroma of home-cooked pasta is drifting from New York City's most popular Italian eatery, La Speranza, but something else is heating up in the kitchen . . . cold-blooded murder! Restaurant-owner Pepi Roni has been shot in the back with his own pistol. Tonight his family and friends will gather to pay their respects to poor Pepi, but one of the guests won't be shedding any tears...

Remembering our beloved Pepi Roni...

Welcome to La Sperenza!!

Dinner is about to be served...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE SUSPECTS:

Bo Jalais: Cousin of a cousin of Rocco's, Bo manages the Scarfazzi vineyards. Bo comes from a long line of French wine-makers and no one knows 'ze' grape like Bo. An important man in the Scarfazzi organization .... what could Bo possibly have to whine about.

Angel Roni: Pepi and Rosa's beautiful daughter. It was Pepi's dream that his 'Angel' would marry a good Italian boy, have children and carry on the family traditions. Angel has a few fantasies of her own though and one of them is that hunk, Bo jalais. Mama-mia!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mama Rosa: Pepi's grieving widow. For 25 years, Mama Rosa cooked the pasta while Pepi greeted La Sperenza's dinner guests. In all the years they were married, not once did they argue. Had something finally boiled over in Rosa's kitchen?

Marco Roni: Pepi and Mama Rosa's only son, Marco was expected to take over the restaurant after his parents retired. Marco hates waiting tables. His goal is to play on a World Cup soccer team but his papa has been keeping him permanently on the bench.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rocco Scarfazzi: Pepi's twin brother, a tough-talking no-nonsense Italian business man. In addition to his vineyards and real estate holdings, it is rumored Rocco is in the 'laundering' business. He had no love for his brother Pepi but his reasons are his own ... capische?

Tara Misu: Rocco's vivacious young fiancé. She was just an upstairs maid in Rocco's villa until she swept him off his feet. Now Tara keeps a smile on his face and a firm grip on Rocco's assets. Tara is dressed to kill. She knows the effect she has on men and flaunts her charms shamelessly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Father Al Fredo: An Italian priest and long-time family friend of the Roni's and the Scarfazzi's. The good priest has heard their confessions and knows their sins.

Clair Voyant: Rosa's best friend and astrology advisor. Clair's talents include an ability to communicate with the spirit world and see into the future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The women of the evening...

The gentlemen of the evening...

Father Al Fredo on the solemn night

Dinner in Pepi's honor...

Look how sad Angel Roni is!

Who dunnit? We cannot tell! But it was a night to remember and fun had by all the guests! Only 2 of the 8 guests correctly identified the murderer after 4 hours and 13-15 bottles of wine later.

Great Friends, Great Food, Great Fun!

No More Excuses

2009-07-01T15:32:00.006-05:00

It's been almost 4 months since I last posted on here.

It's now unblocked at work.

And at home....I have this little guy that my husband surprised me with on Friday for our 5th Wedding Annivesary!

Isn't he just darling?? I'm in love with my little MacBook Air. I've never seen anything quite so tiny!

So now I have no more excuses to slack on my blog.

It feels good to be back.

Look for my face around a lot more coming up!

Blogger Revoked

2009-03-12T19:35:00.005-05:00

It's finally happened. My company has done the unthinkable and blocked all access to the blogs from work.

Unfortunately I rarely get online at home, so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update here anymore and it's making me quite sad.

Krystyn has given me a link/way to possibly get my comments enabled on Google Reader and thus be able to comment on all your blogs. I will try to get that up and running sometime next week if I can manage it.

Right now I am still able to read everything you post though via Bloglines (which is not blocked), but I can no longer see the pictures.

So please bear with me as I try to figure how to overcome this new challenge. I'll be back some way or another!

Until we meet again...

Out Of Their Mouths

2009-03-05T13:14:00.008-06:00

For those of you who aren't aware, I collect quotes. Especially funny ones that my family and friends say. I always try to make sure to write them down. Since I have quite a few saved up, I figured this could be my Thursday Thirteen this week. Can't you see why I just love my family and friends? I'm constantly entertained!

13 Quotes/Conversations Between Family & Friends

1. A Conversation Between Friends...
#1: Dammit! Boss is bringing in lunch for everyone from Don Patron. Foiled!
#2: So??
#1: Other boss said she would take us tomorrow instead. My ass is going to turn into a tortilla! A big puffy tortilla!
09/17/08

2. "All I want is a few simple things in life, like a luxury car with the smart key and in white/beige. But no. That is asking too much. I must have been a mass murderer in my former life to deserve such an injustice in this one." 09/22/08

3. "Since I am so frequently right about everything, I don't have a tendency to rub it in often. That would get tiresome." 09/22/08

4. "Most kids have toys when they are little, I had pet rocks." 10/15/08

5. "It was so much easier to hide stuff when I had a real trunk, but the Explorer is all open - I had to find new hiding spots. He is a representation of our coupledom and I'm not going to be made a fool of because of his poor fashion choices." 12/04/08

6. "Man this exam is going to be the most action I’ve gotten in quite a while…and of course it has to be from a girl…doctor!" 12/12/08

7. "I think I must have hit my head or something because it hurts SO bad."
Said randomly by a family member of mine... 12/16/08

8. "What do you mean if he rejects me?? Why wouldn't he want to be my friend? I have a gorgeous profile picture! I don't care who you are, you don't just go and reject a pretty girl. Even if it's just curiosity."
Being Completely Dumbfounded... Jan 2009

9. "My car died today. It was my fault. It didn't have gas." 02/05/09

10. "Actually, you know you and I have all the same things in life: a nice house, a nice car, a big dog, a baby (or one one the way in your case). I just have more shoes to show for it!"
Justifying my lifestyle to my BIL on my liking to spend money... 03-03-09

11. "I explained to him that being married to him was like dog years. We're coming up on our 50th next year." 03/05/09

12. "I just spilled diet coke on my big (pregnant) belly. It looks like my belly button is leaking! I don't know why I wear white." 03/05/09

13. A Conversation On Harry Potter...
Danielle: What is a Muggle?
Steph: Someone with no magical powers. Like you and me. Not a witch or wizard. Those are Muggles.
Danielle: Oh. Like you and me. I forget about all the magical creatures running around.
03/05/09

Name Calling

2009-03-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

With a name like Stephanie, I have had my fair share of nicknames in the past. From the obvious, "Steph" or "Stephy", to the childish playground ones, "Step-On-Me".

I've always had sort of a strange view of nicknames. I've thought about this many times in the past and I always notice that the people who use a nickname for me, typically "Steph", are the ones who I've been closest to.

And likewise, the ones that I use nicknames for (if their names allow) are, in general, those that I consider to be better friends of mine.

I had one friend of mine that I basically grew up with since junior high school. She never used a nickname with me. Yet this was my best friend. And now? We no longer speak at all due to personal matters. Oddly enough, it always bothered me that she could never called me "Steph". I have always remembered that. And no, I'm not suggesting that we aren't friends because she called me "Stephanie".

But then I have friends that I can't always break down their names that I am still very close with like Jaime or Danielle. Because I'm very partial to girl names and I don't want to call them "James" or "Dan"/"Danny".

And then there is my daughter, Karys, who might never have a nickname other than her Uncle Joe's "Care Bear", as he dotingly calls her.

And then there are the easy nicknames like Steph, Rach, Ash, Val or Dee. You can't get much more straight forward than that really.

Sorry for the rambles. I didn't really have a point in this post other than that it popped in my head again today and I thought I'd share it.

Back In My Running Shoes

2009-02-24T10:57:00.006-06:00

I've been saying I was going to start running again for almost 6 months now. And there has always been some "excuse" why I didn't do it.

I needed motivation.

So, I thought if I put on my adorable pink running shoes and my running pants (because they are pretty fashionable), that it would be the exact motivation I was looking for. Right?

Turns out, those pretty fashionable pants? I could barely get them over my rear!

So I'm thinking that now I get to run looking like a little sausage. Then I remembered I had the cute matching jacket to go with my cute running pants.

I'm not even going to go into how that jacket must have shrunk a few inches.

But I'm thinking that was enough motivation for me. Who cannot fit into their running pants for crying out loud?

So I dusted off the jogging stroller, charged up my iPod and off I went.

I'm not going to lie, it was not pretty. I hadn't run in 15 months.

But the important thing was that I did it. Not that I felt like I was going to pass out.

And last night? I did it again. Only this time I went alone and I realized not only was it much easier to run alone, but much more peaceful.

I have pretty high hopes that I can make this a habit again. That I will start to like to run. That my body will not cramp in the oddest places. That one day soon my pants won't feel like they are squeezing the life out of me so that I can be brave enough to run when it's still light outside.

This is part of my resolution to move more. And oddly enough, when I am actually running, I find myself wanting to eat better. That's not a bad side effect!

Going Back Again?

2009-02-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

I was cleaning out my desk the other day and I found all my old journals from elementary, junior high, high school and college. And I remembered how much I used to love to write. I literally wrote all the time. Actually, I was always much better with written words than I was at speaking them when I would want to get a certain point across.

While I was flipping through the journals, there were many times that I had referenced notes from friends and boys that I liked at the time. And I got all nostalgic. I used to love getting notes in the hallway. I loved writing notes in class while pretending to listen to the teachers. I remembered all the clever ways to fold a note that my girlfriends and I would do for each other.

And so then I realized that I still have a great love of pen and paper. I still prefer to jot things down by hand rather than type them out.

And, call me old fashioned, but I still prefer a handwritten note to an email.

As for the journals, I think I stopped sometime after I got engaged. I don't know why I stopped though. I miss it. I was in the bookstore this past weekend and I was browsing through the different journals. I really wanted to take one home. But I didn't want to buy it if I wasn't committed to actually writing in it. I just feel a journal should not be wasted like that.

Also because I've always considered a journal a private matter. No one has ever read through my journals but me. And I've never read through anyone elses. If my daughter ever keeps a journal when she is older, I will not read it. I'd be too embarrased having someone read mine or reading someone elses. Heck, I'm embarrased reading through some of my old stuff as it is! Talk about being dramatic (Val - you can attest to this!). And honstly, being married, my life isn't very private anymore.

However, for me, writing has always been a form of therapy. To be fair, while my blog posts are not much in the way of serious material, I can't be completely blunt on it either. Because I know that if this were private and it was only myself reading it, my posts would be drafted quite a bit differently.

So for now, I guess I'm toying around the idea of having a journal again. And I'm kind of liking the odds.

Spring Fever

2009-02-20T08:04:00.004-06:00

The weather is getting warmer. We've had a few blooms on our flowers. I can feel Spring in the air. It's almost pedicure season. My toes are just itching to come out and play.

I'm convinced I need these to celebrate the coming of the season. They are bright. They are fun. They are sexy. And they are PINK!

Now I just have to justify to the husband on why I need to spend $150 on a pair of shoes. Danielle and I have come up with a couple of good reasons that I absolutely need these.

*I feel it is my duty to help stimulate the economy. I'm extremely Patriotic you know.
*I don't have a pair of strappy pink shoes.
*Because I work so that I can indulge every once in awhile.
*It's an investment. A good pair of shoes will last years!
*My wardrobe is 99% black so I can wear it with any outfit.
*I have not bought shoes in ages.

Seriously? With reasons like this, I'd let myself buy them...

My Confessions

2009-02-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

Thursday 13:
Why Becky Bloomwood Is My Alter Ego

1. I am addicted to shopping
2. I can justify any purchase
3. I cannot pass up a good deal
4. An ideal date includes a *tiny* shopping spree
5. My purchases have gotten me in debt in the past
6. I am convinced everything will work out perfectly in the end
7. The cute, smart guy fell for me too
8. All purchases are "needs", not "wants"
9. I sometimes tend to go overboard
10. Shopping makes me feel better
11. I'm always in the mood to shop
12. I still hide my credit card bills at work. *see below
13. And I still don't open them. *see below

Looking forward to seeing this movie with you and you on Saturday!

Taking It In Stride

2009-02-17T15:25:00.007-06:00

The worst part about my job?

Working with women. And by women, I mean certain types of women who make working become tiresome and petty. Women who, for reasons unknown, like to cause trouble or add turmoil to situations. I've had enough of trying to be nice. I've had enough of going out of my way to be polite. I honestly don't care if these women like me or not. Whatever makes them happy. But when it starts interfering with my work? That's when I get annoyed. Because I love my job and won't let anyone ruin it for me. But you know what? All it does now is make me laugh. I can't help it. And when you think about it, I mean really, how happy can you be if you try to make someone else so miserable? So I will pity them as well. Kudos to me for being more mature.

But, the best part about my job?

My boss. Who doesn't care if I leave mid-day during a particular mentally exhausting mess and let's me catch an afternoon of stress relief.

Here is my stress relief...

*And yes, that's with extra caramel. And I do not feel guilty in the least!

Profanity 101: Encore Love Style

2009-02-12T07:00:00.003-06:00

For lack of something else to do this past weekend, my husband and I were watching Far & Away (yes, Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman circa 1992) on the Encore Love channel.

We didn't even notice the word.

But apparently our child did.

And so she just looked over at my husband in a very matter-of-fact manner and says "Dammit Daddy".

Panic.

Neither of us answered because we were trying to figure out if that was really what just came out of her mouth. Surely not. Not my angel.

She must think we're ignorant at this point since we are doing nothing but staring at her. So she says it to him again, more forceful.

"Dammit Daddy"

You have GOT to be kidding me. Of all the lines in the movie, she takes this one word and picks it out? I was under the assumption you did not have to censor shows for kids until they were at least 3 years old.

Apparently not.

Lesson learned.

Note: She has not said it since then. We distracted her and she forgot her "fun new word" altogether. But who knew you had to censor a love story?

Just Do The Flip

2009-02-09T14:41:00.010-06:00

My darling husband bought me a new FlipHD this weekend (and I'm sure it was only because he loves me so much and just really wanted to buy it for me and that it had nothing to do with the fact that I've been begging and pleading and had a really great argument to buy it that very night...).

Anyhow, what better time to break it out than at the zoo on Saturday?

I probably should have practiced with it a bit beforehand, as my first video is quite literally of a giraffe's ummm...backside, because I simply cannot see and do not know what I am aiming at. You can also hear my conversation with Danielle as she tries to explain to me that I do, in fact, have zoom.

So what do I do? Zoom in closer to the backside of course!

In my defense, it was quite sunny out and therefore I had no idea what this video looked like until this morning when I uploaded it.

I do not see a career in videography in my near future...

He's Totally Into Me

2009-02-03T09:22:00.017-06:00

Okay, I admit, it's a little odd that I am married and reading He's Just Not That Into You, but ever since hearing of the book years ago on Oprah, I'd been interested in what it had to say. Well, that and the movie comes out this week and I really want to see it.

I also admit that I am really enjoying it. Some parts I'm literally laughing out loud. And I am sure my husband thinks I'm crazy.

Because I'm essentially reading a self-help book on dating. While my husband is sitting next to me on the couch (laughing out loud at his own Tucker Max book, I might add).

I think what draws me in is the authors writing style. He is just straight up honest. Whether it hurts to hear or not.

This? Is a quick and easy read if you are in between novels like I am. I finished it in only 2 days time. The guy is brilliant!

Lucky Winners!

2009-02-02T07:07:00.004-06:00

And the 4 lucky winners of the One, Two, Tie My Shoe giveaway are...

Please email me at littlebitsofsugar at hotmail dot com with your mailing address so I can get your kits in the mail to you.

Congratulations, Ladies!

Twist On The Meme

2009-01-29T08:04:00.010-06:00

I think I've mentioned before that I don't really participate in the meme's anymore. I feel like I've pretty much answered every question I can about myself in some way or another.

However, Krystyn tagged me here last week in a little meme that had a spin on it. Her tag to me was actually to my husband, who is supposed to list 16 facts about me. Of course I was pretty curious to see what he would come up with.

Here's what he had to say...

1. You still call your mom when you are sick...even though you are 28 and married!

2. Your ideal vacation is the exact opposite of backpacking in the mountains
If he could pick anywhere to be, it would be the mountains. Stick me on the beach, put a pretty drink in my hand and I'm in Heaven. Put me in the mountains and try to give me a backpack or go camping....well, you don't want to go there.

3. Your brown eyes really are prettier than your blue eyes, even if you don't want to accept it

4. Being chased terrifies you
He likes to chase me around the house. In broad daylight. Something about this terrifies me heck out of me. I hate it and get all worked up.

5. You have blog friends that you also now hang out with in person, which is really weird to me.

6. Every time we wrestle, you get hurt. Even if you start it and I don't fight back :)

7. You have seen Twilight 6 times. And if you had the chance to see it again right now, you would!
So I'm in love with a vampire - what's so weird about that?

8. You have a love/hate relationshp with Brinks. You love how he takes care of you when you are sick but hate when he licks you.
To clarify, Brinks is our German Shepherd. Huge tongue! Ick!

9. You made more money than me in 2008! (And I am not complaining!)
That's because my job is awesome and yours doesn't pay you enough!

10. Sometimes you still operate in this alternate reality called Stephanie-Land
But it's such a pretty happy place...

11. Shopping is your achilles heel
There's nothing a fabulous pair of new shoes can't cure!

12. Pregnancy and motherhood actually calmed you down.

13. When you want to get something accomplished, your single minded zeal amazes me.

14. You are the most amazing mother to our little girl and the perfect wife to me

15. You can't relax until the kitchen is clean
You have no idea how true this is. Everything has to be in it's place and then I can rest easy.

16. You finally uncovered the latent Italian cooking gene that I always knew you had!
Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on with that lately myself...

________________________________________

There's still 3 days left to enter the giveaway! All you have to do is leave a comment on THIS post! Good Luck!

My Husband's Future

2009-01-27T07:00:00.002-06:00

...is a kitchen full of baked goods!

See this beautiful guy?

Oh how I wanted this little guy for Christmas. But at the lovely list price of $300, that was just not going to happen.

Then, while walking through Bed, Bath & Beyond Saturday, Tim was grabbing a curtain rod for Karys' new room when I happened to look over and see a Kitchen Aid box buried in the clearance section. Thinking there was no way it was a mixer, I was still curious and made my way over to check it out. Not only was it my mixer, but it was as marked down $100!

Do you want to know why it was marked down? Are you ready for this....the packaging was missing!

I tell Tim we don't need to spend the money, but what does my wonderful and amazing husband do? He insists I must have it and that we cannot pass up this deal. So he runs home (we are literally 3 minutes from the mall) while Karys and I go shoe shopping, grabs a 20% off coupon and rushes back to purchase my mixer.

That's right folks! I got this beautiful guy for HALF OFF the regular list price! I am still squealing with glee!

And now do you know what is sitting in my kitchen at the moment?

That would be 68 chocolate chip cookies and a tray full of chocolate brownies! All from scratch I might add! Oh my...

Hopefully this only affects my husband's waistline and not my own!

_________________________________________________

My giveaway is open until Saturday, Jan 31st. Don't forget to leave a comment here to win one of the wonderful kits!

One, Two, Tie My Shoe ~ Giveaway!

2009-01-25T18:04:00.008-06:00

Have you ever seen something that just made you say to yourself "Why didn't I think of that?!"

I know I do it quite frequently and when I saw One, Two, Tie My Shoe, I thought it again. It's actually pretty ingenious.

Tying shoes is another milestone in a child's life. And for many kids, it can be a struggle learning all the steps. With this product, there are "special rings" in a variety of colors that help kids tackle the "bunny ears" of shoe tying.

Many kids have actually learned how to tie their shoes early using One, Two, Tie My Shoe! Talk about a confidence booster! Learning to tie your shoes in 5 minutes, as the kit advertises, is definitely a big accomplishment.

I am lucky enough to have FOUR kits to giveaway, courtesy of Mendy Hassen, the creator of the product.

Go to Mendy's website at One, Two, Tie My Shoe and check out the product and why it is so helpful to so many children. She's also been featured on Great Day Houston, San Antonio Living and NBC Houston!

All you have to do to enter to win a kit is leave me a comment. To get a double entry, mention this giveaway on your blog and make sure to leave me a second comment telling me about it so I can give you proper credit.

Contest ends Sunday, February 1st. I will be randomly drawing winners on Monday, February

2nd and will let you know! Good Luck!

** NOTE: I am not in any way being paid to review this product. I simply think it is a great product that a lot of parent's might enjoy and find to be very helpful. **

When Babies Grow Up...

2009-01-19T07:30:00.005-06:00

See this gorgeous bedroom furniture?

This is the set I have had my eye on for Karys since last Fall.

We decided to wait until after the first of the year to purchase it.

The time had come. And Saturday was the day.

So without further ado, I introduce you to Karys' new furniture! She is such a big girl!

This is the collection. We got everything but the armoir and the chest of drawers in the back of the photo.

Her new bed with the trundle:The dresser & mirror are so beautiful!

Her little nightstand:

These are the knobs on the set - one reason I fell in love with it so much! And these are on the corner of the bed itself - beautiful______________________________________________________
***Stay Tuned....I have a giveaway coming up soon on a fun new product that I know most of you will love! I am leaving tomorrow for Denver for work but when I return, I'll post it!

Has It Really Been A Month?

2009-01-12T16:02:00.005-06:00

I did NOT neglect my blog for almost an entire month.

And even if I did, it was NOT because my husband and I were on vacation together for 2 weeks and enjoying every single second together with our daughter.

And it was also NOT because my in-laws were in town. Or because we were spending time with family. Or because we were incredibly busy.

And it was NOT because I did 6 lengthy updates on our family blog for our out-of-town relatives to see what we did over the holidays.

And I certainly did NOT enjoy the time off from the blog. Nope, not me!

I did NOT get sick for 5 days with a horrible virus that infected 11 out of 27 members of my family. And I did NOT lose 6 pounds because of it. Yikes!

I did NOT spent 46:34 minutes on hold with a certain store because they forgot to ship part of my order. I did NOT get my way and they did NOT ship the new item to me in time for Christmas.

I did NOT see 'Twilight' spontaneously over the holidays for a 6th time after a nice girl's dinner.

I was NOT asked to appear in court and take the stand in a custody battle between our neighbors who are divorcing. It did NOT break my heart to be there and I did NOT cry in the courtroom.

I am NOT totally behind at work because it is NOT totally busy. And I am NOT totally overwhelmed.

It's obviously NOT getting in the way of my blogging time in the least bit.

And I am most certainly NOT traveling to Denver next week for work to further increase my workload at the office.

I did NOT happen to find a Wii Fit yesterday on a whim!! And I did not play it for 67 minutes last night. And my Wii Fit Age is most definitely NOT 39...because that would be humiliating.

I did NOT purchase a gorgeous new bed set for my daughter to coordinate with her new furniture that we've had picked out for months. And I did NOT get a fabulous deal on it all.

I will NOT be merely skimming through my readers trying to catch up with what everyone has been doing during the past month.

And I, unfortunately, will NOT be unable to comment on all of your entries that you worked so hard to write.

I am NOT hanging my head in shame...

Not Me Monday

2008-12-15T08:54:00.006-06:00

I had to jump on the bandwagon with "Not Me Monday". This is my first time at this, so please bear with me as I try to catch on. Here goes...

I DID NOT get a fabulous new pair of purple pumps for my birthday from an awesome friend.

I also DID NOT look at pictures of Rob Pattinson online every single day and feel like a stalker. Not me!

I DID NOT get out of bed one night and cry like a baby on the couch and have my husband come and console me. And I DID NOT feel silly the next day. Even if I was totally justified. And still am.

I DID NOT run out of Christmas Cards after having ordered 75 cards and I was NOT in shock!

And I most certainly DID NOT refuse to mail Christmas Cards that were addressed and ready to go because I only wanted to put Christmas Stamps on them and not regular stamps.

I DID NOT give in to my daughter and let her watch 'LazyTown' 3 times in a row.

I DID NOT have my shoe fall off and almost fall walking into work last week because the shoe was too cute and I did not care that it was half a size too big. Nope, not me!

I DID NOT attend my sister's 25th birthday dinner with a total bill of $535!

And we were NOT over half an hour late to the movie that was sold out and we most certainly DID NOT have to sit in the 2nd row from the front. And not to worry, I was NOT nauseous.

I DID NOT go out with my husband Saturday night while my littlest sister babysat. And I certainly DID NOT mix wine, liquor and beer. That would have been extremely unwise.

I am NOT still recovering from my weekend. And I was NOT reminded over and over why I like to spend my weekends at home. On the couch. With my husband. And go to bed at 10pm.

Flurry Frenzy

2008-12-11T08:10:00.005-06:00

There was much excitement yesterday.

It snowed in Houston! Some parts of our city even got up to 4 1/2 inches.

However, in my little Suburbia we only had some little flurries.

Below are some pictures from my phone of all the excitement...

Flurry #1

Flurry #2

Flurries #3 - #28

There were, of course, more than the 28 flurries at my house, but nothing that would stick and nothing I could get very good pictures of. Plus it was too cold for me to stand outside for long - it was in the 30's! Brrr.... This is Texas for goodness sake!

This morning a few schools were delayed to start classes.

You people up North can feel free to laugh now. I know I would.

Proceed With Caution

2008-12-09T08:36:00.007-06:00

This is what happens when I am let loose for a little bit of holiday shopping...

Eggs At 1:00AM

2008-12-08T13:25:00.010-06:00

There are a few things in life that I must have in order to be a happy person.

One of which that is very important to me is sleep. I covet it.

Let me preface and say that we are very blessed to live in a pretty upscale neighborhood. There is not much crime other than the occassional teenager trying to open unlocked car doors (I kid you not).

So when my doorbell rings at 1:00am and my German Shepherd goes off barking like we're under seige, knowing that my sleep is already interrupted, I literally am wanting to murder whoever is at the door. And if my *toddler wakes up, this stranger is going to wish his finger never touched that little button.

Tim, being the good Texan that he is, has a slightly different thought than simply wanting to do away with the intruder to his wife's slumber, quickly grabs his gun from the cabinet before heading to the door (hey, you never know!). Only to later shove it in my hands while saying "It's a cop!".

So many thoughts are going through my head but mainly I am starting to get worried that something has happened to our family members. Police officers do not typically show up in Suburbia for no good reason at 1:00am on a weeknight you know.

The thought that was NOT running through my head upon being interrupted of my blissful slumber?

Was that the kind officer was letting us know that all cars in the neighborhood that were parked in the street were egged by some kids

Sorry for the lack of pictures. But there was no way I was going to go outside to take pictures of this at 1:00am. My happy behind went straight back to bed while Tim washed off the **car.

Eggs, anyone?

* No, my child did not wake up. Lucky for all those involved.
**No, not my new car thank you very much.