earlier this evening my family was doing the best thing in the world. Lying in our bed, all three of us, laughing. George said he wanted to go somewhere after supper tonight. Apparently, going to Best Buy 15 times a week doesnt get old.....but I said, lets go to Gatlinburg! Tonight! How fun would that be! Wouldnt it be nice if we had the kind of $$ to just pack up the car and head to a quick vacation?

well, my Christmas countdown is shot. Sorry folks, but Ive been too sick to even remember to plug in the Christmas tree this week. I think its been lit maybe 2 times. Anyway, I did go to work this week despite all the laying in the bed ive been doing. I only work for 3 hours on thurs and fri though, so it was more or less to just get me outta that bed. I cant belive i still feel so awful. Right now I am sitting in my bed with my big t shirt on under the covers. If Im like this, Im fine. I still feel pretty exhausted though. If I get up and start to move around, I feel like I just might die. I dont know whats wrong with me. The doctor said it ws just a bad sinus infection, and gave me two shots in the ass. I have a HISTORY with sinus infections. Ever since I was little. One year, I had sinusitis EVERY MONTH for a year. A SOLID YEAR PEOPLE. Thats when they decided to go and break my nose and clear my sinus cavities. I was in 11th grade, and it was the worst pain ever. I so hope that is not the path I am headed down again. Usually I enjoy milking a sickness for all its worth, but iam really ready to be normal again. I dont even want to talk about the laundry and sink situation that is going on right now since i have been out of mother/wife work.

so i guess i missed three days. I have had a good excuse though. Sinus infection. Over the past couple of days i have managed to get in two viewings of Christmas Vacation, so that accounts for something.

I feel better today than yesterday. I like the idea of laying in bed all day, but when nothing gets done, i feel like a bad wife, mother, person. I went to the doctor today and he was crazy as usual. Dr. Laubenthal (sp?). But he gave me the regular two shots in the ass, so im sure i will be fine by tomorrow.

I bought Eclipse and started reading it Monday @ around 1:00 in the afternoon, and finished last night at around 12:15. That is the longest book I have ever read in my life. I couldnt put it down. I had to sometimes, i was too lazy to go get my glasses out of my car, so my eyes were mad a me. And on the way home from the doc, George stopped off at B&N and bought Breaking Dawn for me. I dont know that i will be able to finish that one as fast.

I know this is cheesy, and maybe anyone reading doesnt want to hear it, so go check facebook again, thats what id do ;) But I guess George was getting annoyed by how much i let him know of my love for the Twilight saga. So he came home last night with a huge grin on his face, and handed me a gold envelope. It was a cute little card talking about love, and at the end he wrote "Im no Edward, but I love you so much." Which got me laughing. How crazy is he to buy me a card over a fictional character! Then, just to add icing to the cake, he said "one more thing..."and handed me two keychains from New Moon! HAHAHAH!!
I had to write this because its very easy to forget the sweet things your husband does for you, and so easy to remember the irritating things he does. I hope next time I think hes truly annoying, or that he doesnt love me, I will come read this :)

ROLLLL TIDE!! So we won the SEC championship. Amazing.

In 25 days of Christmas news:

I ate a stale snowman cookie that we baked yesterday, and again listened to Magic 96.5. Not much to report today.

Oh, in fat news: I will be losing weight (running like a maniac) starting Monday. I am not saying I am a huge fatass or anything. But my friend Jenny posted a pic of me from last week @ a wedding we went to. I compared it to one of me from a year ago, and I look about 15-20 pounds heavier. Uh, the older your kid gets the skinner you are supposed to get. I was skinnier after I had Ryder than I am now. Ugh.

WE FINALLY GOT THE TREE!!! Now it feels like Chritmas! Drumroll please, there was a bunch of Christmas activity tonight!........


4th day of Christmas: Got our Christmas tree home, and decorated! Ryder and I baked Christmas cookies(i got the cookie cutters, and sprinkles in the dollar bin @ Target :). And George and I went to Old Navy and got our stockings--ALL the stockings there are girly. We found two that we could work with, and one for me. THEY WERE $1 though! A BUCK! So we would be idiots to pass that up!

NO TREE AGAIN. Ryder's nap time and Gandy's crazy hours are really making getting a tree frustrating. Tomorrow is the day!!!! I get off @ 11, just enough time to get a bite to eat for lunch, scoop Ryder up from school, then head out to Vance. It WILL happen tomorrow.

Day 3 of Christmas was celebrated by: listening to 96.5, finished designing our Christmas card(be on the lookout for our stunning kid in a black and white photo on the beach, no not in a white shirt & kakis, in his swimsuit.), and watched a Christmas episode of Wonder Pets with Ryder.

So today's Christmas nugget wasnt very much, but I never promised it would be. It was going to be the best event of the season, the decorating of the tree. The weather was against me. George came home early so we could drive the 25 min it takes down country roads to Gandy's tree farm. We were in such a hurry because he closes @ 5:00. Who the hell has time to make it out in the boonies by 5? We sure tried, and DID make it before 5. We pulled up @ 4:52. But his wife came out and said "well, he just put his equipment up, it looks like rain is coming in and he didnt want his generator to get wet. Sorry." Oh, no problem lady. We will just leave and travel the other 25 min it takes to get back home. Its fine that we drove almost an hour round trip to make it here in the nick of time for you to tell me yall have closed shop early. Now, I wouldnt be as mad under normal circumstances. I have ALWAYS been a stickler for closing when we say we are going to close, and not a hair later. But good Lord, when you live SO FAR out, you would think you would feel bad for the young couple with a 2 year old in the backseat and cut them a freakin tree. I know I can just put up one of the THREE fake ones we have in the garage, or go to the parking lot in front of the mall, but its about the experience. There is something magical (i know i sound gay) about walking around a Christmas Tree Farm. It smells amazing, and you get to watch the process of cutting, shaking the needles out and talk to the man who grows and loves them. We will just head out tomorrow, maybe during lunch time. All is not lost though! I did get a Christmas nugget in to save the day!

Day #2: I went to Target tonight to price Christmas cards, and purchased a Gingerbread scented reed difuser. I found it in the dollar bin. So todays Christmas joy was a cheap one :)

I meant to start this yesterday, but I forgot to. I saw my friend Staci twitter the other day about what she was doing for day 1 of the 25 days of Christmas. I thought that would be fun for me to do this year :) I know most people do Christmas stuff starting after or on Thanksgiving, and I am usually one of them, but it has crept up on me this year. So I need some motivation to get in the Christmas spirit. I may do more than one thing "Christmasy" a day, and some days it may just be listening to Christmas music. We STILL HAVENT GOTTEN OUR TREE!!! WTH!! I have been bugging George about it for over a week! If he doesnt take me by tomorrow afternoon, I am just putting the fake one up. But anyway, here is my countdown for the next 23 days!

Dec 1. : Listened to Christmas music while I cleaned the house, and went to Dickens Downtown! It rained so we were only out there for about 15 min. But Ryder got to see the people playing bagpipes and drums and he loved it :)

Dec 2. : to be announced!

Sometimes, being a hard ass who doesnt get emotional doesnt quite pan out. We lost the baby, and i havent really been upset until today. We went to the doc and she said it was nothing that I did, but that at the moment the egg was fertilized it was on its way out.

But today I was talking to one of my friends who is pregnant, and then saw my boss's wife in Target(who is 8 months) and I have started feeling sad. I wish I was complaining about how I feel sick and getting excited to find out the sex of the baby. I know we will get pregnant again, but I feel like I had something and now its been taken away from me.

I always try to not be emotional and think about things logically. Ugh, so when I feel this way, I feel weak and useless. Prayer, having an amazing husband, and holding my healthy, happy 23 month old helps :)

Not to mention my grandmother is dying. She has bone and liver cancer and looks awful. I hope she can hold out so we can have one more Christmas with her. How horrible will it be to have to go through a death and then have our first Christmas without her. My mother is an only child, so I am trying to brace myself to be strong and be able to be a comfort.

Like I said, I usually dont get upset by things, but I am now and I HATE it. This post is pretty sad. Sorry if you read it.

I.am.nauseated. I ate way too much sweet crap @ my moms. Now onto George's mom's. Hopefully we wont have to stay very long. I feel horrid. Thats all.

Last Sunday night George and I found out Im knocked up! I didnt believe the test...so of course I had to go out and by the expensive brand that actually has the words "pregnant" or "not pregnant". Both said pregnant. Its kind of surreal. I mean, Ryder was a surprise, and that was crazy. But sitting there thinking, I am pregnant with my second kid and I am 23 was a weird feeling. Anyway, I think its a girl. I knew Ryder was a boy. The instinct is usually pretty dead on, and i might change, but once you are about 4-5 months in, you are locked in on what you think its gonna be.

Other than that, i am super pumped about going to get our Christmas tree! I just loved that Mr. Gandy! Hes super sweet and the trees are nicely priced.

I think thats all I have for now. I am super tired, and I am trying to convince George to cook supper. Im sure it wont happen.

The mouse is back.....again. This happens every time it gets cold. And I always see them in the same two spots. Either on the kitchen counter, darting behind the microwave, or running along the baseboards in the kitchen. Our house is so old, and there is a little tiny hole where the door closes right off our kitchen. I am for sure thats where they enter. THey gross me out. I walked into the kitchen this morning to get Ryder some juice, and it darted across the sink, and ran into my dishwasher. It was cracked open just a tiny bit. I shut it in there, so George can deal with it when he gets home from church. I didnt go this morning because Ryder woke up @ 6 am and was ready for a nap by 11...i shoulda went to the early service.

I think we might get Dawn to watch him tonight....George and I need a date. maybe we will go bowling...:) that would be fun I think, just the two of us.

well, since I am just sitting at home today I guess I should go do some laundry. Bye!

george just came in from raking leaves, and wiped the sweat off his forehead on my bare shoulder. WHAT THE HELL. I just got out of the shower too. So i was so clean and smelled great. Oh, dont worry, I let him have it. And made him get a baby wipe and clean my shoulder off. I mean, what in the world would make him think I would find this funny.

I have become quite the ebay expert over the past couple of weeks. I have scored some great stuff: I got Ryder some New Balances for $12, a red North Face for me for $30, a sweater from Anthropologie for $3.99, and a pair of wedges from Anthropologie for $9.99. The sweater and shoes are new with tags on them. The New Balances and North Face were used, but both are in excellent condition. I have heard a lot a people say they cant ever find good deals, but I always find @ least one awesome thing. Every night, after Ryder is asleep, George & I sit on the couch and watch The Tonight Show. I dont do it every night, but about two nights a week, I just sit on the couch with the laptop and hunt for about 30 min on Ebay. It definitely does get boring, having to weed through crap, but when you are sitting on the couch, snuggled up to your husband and can go between Ebay and Conan, its not so hard.

So if you have the patience, you should try it. The deals are amazing. I went and looked, and sure enough they even have New With Tags Victoria's Secret bras. for like $11.99 some of them. That is great since the current bra I am wearing from there was $50. Good Lord. I have Target bras, but they ALWAYS break. So whats the point.

BYE!

1. I have never believed that sugar actually makes people hyper. I have read a number of articles saying that is a myth. I believe it now. I ate half a box of Whoppers last night, and I was bouncing off the walls. If Ryder had been awake, he would have thought I was the coolest mom ever.

2. Apparently, my church is thinking of turning one of our warehouses into a catfish pond/organic garden. We would sell the fish and produce, and all the $$ would go to the church as a means of income. Most of the people that Innerchange attracts are huge tithers. Also, it would be for people who need food, they can come there & get it for free. I think this idea is wonderful, and I hope I get to plant some stuff!

3. The Innerchange coffee shop is this Friday & I am super pumped. I ordered some 20 below from Espresso Southeast, and the lady is sending me a ton of samples for about 10-15 other drinks. Its a Halloween themed coffee shop this time, so we will be showing Harry Potter. I know, not really Halloweenie, but if we are watching Harry, Im in. My favorite thing ever is coffee shops, and this gives me a way to run one, but only like once a month. I have also met a bunch of our youth, and thats what its about, building relationships with them.

I think thats it for now. I hope you two are having a great October!

SOOOO.......I am a tad obsessed with Etsy. And not really for the fact that I want everything on there. I just really want to MAKE SOMETHING!!! I will tell you something that will probably shock you, but its true. Believe me, I have NO CLUE why, but people my whole life have said that I am "creative" and stuff. I know, you are sitting there trying your hardest to find a reason why people tell me this. ANd let me say, so am I. When I was in Kindergarten, my painting was chosen to represent my school at some junior art show for the news. This is the only time in my entire life where I think people had a reason for telling me I am good at art or whatever. My painting didnt even win. So clearly it wasnt that amazing.

I do know that my dad can draw, and so can my brother, and my mom was heavy into cross stitch when I was little. And, I used to have craft sleepovers ALL THE TIME when i was little. My favorite inparticular was when my mom would buy white pillow cases, and we all go to decorate them. We had those iron on transfers that you could then paint in, we had ribbon, sequins, everything. I do know that most girls dont have parties like that usually. Mainly because I was the only one I ever knew to do it. But anyway, my crafts when I had these parties always sucked. I always envied all my friends items. They were always so neat, had a theme, and were SO CREATIVE. I couldnt think up some of the things my friends did to save my life.

Jess, you have seen my gingerbread houses, and come on, lets be real, they were horrible.

ANyway.....I am thinking I want to start making something. But I have no idea. I know I want it to be something I will use, there is no use in making things i dont need to add to the clutter of my house. I have been thinking of things I already own that I could use more of. Pot holders, aprons, diaper bags. But all those things require a sewing machine.

If anyone knows a good craft for me to try give me a shout. I saw that this girl I know, Brooke Premo, maybe yall know her, has her own Etsy shop. She has these awesome chalkboards that she paints on and hangs with ribbon I guess. HOW AWESOME! I though about just trying to do that, but um hello, copying. I wish ideas like that just came to me......:(

I guess thats it for today. Maybe I will go to B&N and just find a book on crafts and start something, hopefully that will get the creative juices flowing.

Have a good weekend! The fair is in town!

Things happening:

1. My mother is driving me crazy. The million dollar band, Bama Cheerleaders, and Big Al are all coming to my grandparents retirement condos this afternoon. I am not joking when I say, she has talked to me about this event at LEAST 10 times over the past 3 days. SHe wants Ryder to come see them, and went out and bought him a bama shirt for the event. MOM, HE IS GOING TO BE THERE! for the 25th time!!! I know what room its in, what row she is saving a seat on, and what time the event starts!!.....I KNOW!!! Gah!

2. Just recieved my first purchase from ebay today. A brand new pair of New Balance's for Ryder for $14. I am pretty pumped.

3. This friday, Ryder and I are meeting the lovely Amy Barry and Owen @ The Barnyard in Northport! I am super excited!

4. I did 8 min arms this morning, and I hope I can do it tomorrow morning as well.

5. the most exciting thing in TV right now is that TBS is showing The Office 5 nights a week. I think.

Sorry I dont have a more spicy update, but I am really tired. So I think I will go take a nap. Good bye girls :)

George and I went to look @ the house we like in Vance last night. We have driven out there before, but this time we got to go inside and check it out. My uncle is our real estate agent. He was also the one who got us our cars. He used to own a car lot on Skyland for over 20 years. But the crappy economy shut him down. He said last night he is glad to be doing something different, and that he was burnt out on cars anyway.
I just wanted to mainly post about how thankful I am to God for letting me have a uncle who is a whiz at two big things you need in life. Shelter, and transportation. I imagine I am a hard person to work with in buying these kinds of things, and i am also the kind of person who is ALWAYS overly concerend about being annoying and irritating to other people. But since he's family, I feel free to tell him what I think honestly, and to show up to a showing of a house, or a meeting in track shorts and a tshirt. It makes the whole thing more comfortable.

The house we like is a four bedroom, 2.5 bath. It is BEAUTIFUL. Almost too beautiful. I HATE to have that same "look" that every freaking house has. I want to be different you know. Last night my aunt asked me what I thought about the colors in the house.I laughed and told her I would have to jazz them up a little. She rolled her eyes. My whole family has an extremely long running joke of how my taste in wall colors is atrocious. And I half way agree with them. My current kitchen is BRIGHT LIME GREEEN!!!!! and my living room is a normal tan, with a purple accent wall. Dining room is red, normal, Ryder's room is chocolate brown, with lime green stripes, and the kicker.....our room is BRIGHT ASS BLUE. And shiny. It think its semi-gloss. You can almost see yourself in the wall, its that shiny. Its horrible. i like to paint in colors that I enjoy wearing. But, I have grown up a tad over 2.5 years, and I have a different taste in home decor. I think. haha. So hears to hoping God will let us have this house. We are trying to get pregnant, and we need more space. It is a bit far away from most things, but I hear Vance Elementary is a decent school, and there is a neighborhood playground right next to the house. So it feels right. Lets hope the bank agrees with us!

George and I have been talking about building a new house. I keep thinking how i want to make it awesome for the kiddos. My first step would be to have a finished basement. This would be the kids playroom. I want a tube slide going from each kids room into a foam pit in the playroom. WOULDNT THAT BE AWESOME!! Maybe George and I would have a slide too. I havent worked out all the details of how all this would work, but it has to be doable. I have seen crazier crap on HGTV.

So thats all my thoughts for today :)

I am excited about are:

Going to the beach for free in two weeks for a fri-sun.

The ICY coffee shop. For all you non Innerchangers, its not ICY like cold, Its InnerChange Youth! We have a coffee shop now, and I get to help run it. Its awesome :)

NOT HAVING TO SIT IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN THE NURSERY ANYMORE!!!! Yall, I had to sit at this little table and check kids in to the nursery on Sundays. Doesnt sound that bad, but after the service has started, and all kids are checked in, I STILL HAVE TO SIT THERE!!! ALONE. It is the worst, and dumbest thing ever. And my "3 month commitment" ended 6 months ago, and for some reason, they still expected me to do it. NO. I dont mind keeping the nursery, but I hate sitting there with nothing to do.

Ok, bye :)