Day 85: Tails

Luke, Mary Catherine, Brice, and I attempted to go ice skating today. But the line was forever long, so we went bowling instead.

Luke and Mary Catherine checking the scores

Then Brice and I watched football all afternoon/evening while we waited for midnight.

Day 84: Steve Penley

Daddy and I went to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame today. We were the only ones there for a while, which was kind of nice since we didn't have to worry about hurrying through it.

The outside

This is a memorable spot.

That middle stool was where I lost my first tooth. I was at a friend's birthday party, and my front tooth was loose. We were having Coke floats in the drugstore, and I was sitting on the stool, when I slipped off the stool and banged into the counter, thus knocking my tooth out. This resulted in a meltdown. But everything turned out okay.

Then I went to get my hair cut. It's just been really blah lately. So, it needed an update. When you look at this picture, I want you to keep in mind that I only got about half an inch cut off, a few layers put in, and got it thinned out. But look at the massive quantity of hair that ended up on the floor.

I tried to give you some perspective with the size of my foot compared to the pile of hair.

Day 83: Mr. Nibbles

Alissa and I went to the Hay House today. That is one of my favorite places. I love that old house. And I wish I could live there...That's where I want to get married. For real. Except they have weddings in the art gallery. But I don't like the art gallery. I like the ballroom.

Day 82: IKEA

Today we went on an adventure to IKEA. We had never been there. It's like a giant maze. A two-story giant maze. Filled with furniture. It's kind of scary. But I got a new vanity and chest of drawers! Now, to put it all together...Then we went to the hotel furniture place in Forsyth, and I found a coffee table for my sitting area! But I've got to repaint it.

I found this pineapple bed for Jessica

Day 81: Footies

With all my gift cards and Christmas money, I went a little crazy at Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Like, literally. I bought 10 new books. Plus I already have some I still haven't read. It's a little ridiculous.

In case you're interested:

• The Lost Hero --Rick Riordan
• Red Riding Hood -- Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
• The Lying Game -- Sara Shepard
• The Daughters -- Joanna Philbin
• The Year I Turned Sixteen -- Diane Schwemm
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Book 5, The Ugly Truth -- Jeff Kinney
• Dyer Consequences, A Knitting Mystery -- Maggie Sefton
• Geek Magnet -- Kieran Scott
• The Breakup Bible -- Melissa Kantor
• The Red Pyramid -- Rick Riordan

I've already finished The Lost Hero, and I'm currently reading Red Riding Hood. It's really good, but slightly strange. I can't wait until the movie for it comes out.

Day 80: Relaxation

This afternoon is devoted to relaxing by the fire, again. That seems to be all we've done the past few days. It's delightful. Daddy's upstairs hooking up my new TV, so hopefully it'll be all ready to watch when I go crawl into my warm bed tonight!

I realized I hadn't posted a picture of our Christmas tree yet, and since today is still the day after Christmas, I find it fully acceptable to still do so.

Day 79: Christmas

Some of my Christmas loot:

 Some new Vera!

This cute little stool will look perfect in my room when I finish redecorating!

Day 78: Christmas Eve

It Christmas Eve!

Taylor, Blake, and I at the Christmas Eve service. B was more interested in her candle than my picture.

After the Christmas Eve service, we came home and ate delicious chili. Then we played a few rounds of Uno Attack.

Then we opened our traditional one Christmas Eve present. Tucker got a helicopter, and I got a new straightener.

Now we're sitting in front of the fire watching A Christmas Story.

Day 77: Christmas Eve Eve

We went shopping today for Christmas Eve Eve. It was very crowded everywhere we went, which made it very hot. So, I looked kind of silly in my fuzzy boots, scarf, and short-sleeved t-shirt. But hey, it kept me from passing out.

While riding around, we come across this:

Where else can you buy home decor and human hair in the same spot? None other than the Beauty Queen 98 Cent Store, of course.

Day 76: Christmas

Tonight we (my family) had Christmas with Brice because he's leaving tomorrow morning to go to his parents' house. We played Uno, the kind that spits them at you. The whole game, Daddy kept saying, "Back in my day, Uno [insert rule that has since changed here]..."

My beautiful necklace from my wonderful boyfriend. It has my favorite Bible verse inscribed on it!

Day 75: Baking Frenzy

Carly got a dog snuggie from me for Christmas.

She was staying warm in front of the vent under the bookshelf

Emma and I baked all sorts of treats today

 Cutting out her cookies

 Ready to go in the oven! 

 Decorating

My Christmas tree!

We also had our College/Career age Christmas party tonight! It was tons of fun. We played games, talked, and ate with friends we hadn't seen in a while. I'd have to say it was a success!

 The whole group

 Me and Brice. Of course, this was the last in a series of ten pictures of him not behaving.

My other two-thirds

Day 74: Ice Skating Catastrophes

Emily, Brice and I took Emma, Eli, Sarah Jane, Rebecca, Joshua, and Madison ice skating today. Let me just say, this was QUITE an adventure. Emma and Eli had never been before, but they had tons of fun. I'll spare you a long story and let the pictures speak for themselves.

 Emma had some serious skills

 Oh my.

 All the girls

 Eli got brave and started doing little jumps and such.

 They both look so happy to be in this picture

 But I told them to smile because they love me.

 Me and my wonderful boyfriend

 The big girls

 Emily fell, but couldn't get up...

 So everyone rushed to help her...

But somehow Rebecca got in there and fell down too.

I was wrapping Eli's Christmas present tonight, and I found this warning on the bottom of the game:

"If hair length begins to interfere with game play, you have missed several scheduled haircuts. To restore hair-free vision, schedule a trim ASAP. We recommend the mullet for best style and performance."

It made me laugh, because when Brice and I were at Target last night, I saw a guy with a mullet and it reminded me of him.

Day 73: Car Rides, Part 2

 Tanner, Me, and Tucker

 Nana and the grandchildren

 Aunt Alisha, Nana, and Mama

Mama and children

We had our car ride back today. It was much more successful than the ride there. I finished my book, which was wonderful. And I did four word searches. And I worked some more on some knitting projects.

Day 72: Christmas

Today we did Christmas with Mama's side of the family. It was quite fun. My aunt brought my cousin's baby with her. But, since I was sick, I couldn't touch/hold/feed her. So, I had to admire her from afar.

Isn't she precious?!

Day 71: Car Rides

This bag pretty much goes everywhere with me. No, it's not my purse. It's my knitting bag. But you can't see inside it because right now it's got some in progress Christmas surprises inside.

So, funny story for today. And, yes, I promise it will relate back to the knitting bag:

We were leaving today to go down to my grandparents in Brunswick. But both Daddy and I had to work this afternoon. So we didn't leave until 5:45ish. Well, as you know, because of Daylight Savings Time, it gets dark really quickly. This makes for a very boring four hour car ride. Most of you who know me know that I can't just sit still and do nothing for four hours in a car in the dark. And for some reason, I wasn't tired. At all. So sleeping was out of the question. For my entertainment, I was watching a movie on my laptop and attempting to crochet (This is where we see the correlation between the story and the bag). In the dark. It was quite difficult. I could see a little bit from the light of the laptop. But then, like 30 minutes before the end of the movie, the laptop died. I was extremely frustrated. I was not a happy camper.

Day 70: Sniffles

These two wonderful items are what have gotten me through the past few days. My nose has not stopped running and I have not stopped sneezing for almost four day straight. It's getting ridiculous. But my handy role of toilet paper is quite great for sneeze-catching and my Afrin Sinus helps me breathe at night. I couldn't have done this without them.

Day 69: Shrinky Dinks

Emma and I made some Shrinky Dinks this afternoon. I've always wanted to make Shrinky Dinks, but never got to, so this was an adventure for both of us.

 Pre-baking. My S took up a whole page, and Emma's fish used half a page.

Emma's fish post-baking in perspective with my hand to show shrinkage.

My S messed up :(

Emma and I also had an interesting conversation today. It went like this:

Emma: What does 'odor' mean?

Me: A smell. Like, if someone has a bad odor, it means they have a bad smell.

Emma: On their body?

Me: Yep.

Emma: Why don't they just take a shower then?

I thought she brought up a very good point. Lessons from an eight-year-old: If you have a bad odor, take a shower.

Day 68: Books!

I borrowed some new books from the Bentleys when we were there Saturday!

I loved Sophie Kinsella's book "Confessions of a Shopaholic," so I'm hoping that this one will be just as good, if not better! I'll probably read it first, because I'm always up for a good chick book.



Mike said this book was really good. I'm not the biggest history fan, but I'm usually okay with historic fiction. So, hopefully I'll like this one.



I recently read one of Kristin Hannah's books, but I can't remember the name of it. Leslie said this one was really good though.

You should read these books with me! I'll keep you posted on how I like these books once I start reading them. Hopefully I'll enjoy them all!

Day 67: Nook

I've been using Mama's Nook to read the last book in my Nora Roberts series. While the Nook is lighter than a book and a little easier to tote around, I like the feel of holding a book better. I like to be able to visually see the amount of pages I have left to read in relation to the amount I've already read. The Nook just doesn't cut it for me. Plus, I like the smell of books...the Nook doesn't smell that way. I can't wait to be done with this book so I can actually hold a real book in my hands again.