These are a few of my favorite [Christmas] things...

**WARNING** this post has lots of pictures...just so you know **WARNING**

This is our Christmas tree this year. I just got the ornaments on today. I can't find the star we bought last year, so it's topless...but I think it looks pretty.









This one of the many "Our First Christmas" ornaments we've received. This one was a wedding present. Oh, it's very heavy, I had to support the branch it's hanging on with other branches, some rope, and one of those bamboo beams. All just so it wouldn't tip the tree over.








This one is from my mom. I like the golden stuff on top. It like wiggles with any slight movement :)









This one is super heavy too. I had to hang this on the exact opposite side to keep balance. Unfortunately, I only had one bamboo beam, so that branch at the bottom? Yeah, it's sitting on it.









This is my favorite first Christmas ornament. It doesn't exactly say that, but it's a cute couple. I guess next year, we'll have to get one with three, count them-three, snowmen/people/characters :)





Don't be fooled by his apparent cuteness. This squirrel is as evil as the others that live on Bob Jones University campus. Once, I was walking to class or something, and I came upon a squirrel doing who knows what in the grass. I stomped my feet on the sidewalk and startled it. It ran around in a few circles, scampered up the first tree it saw, ran out on a branch, didn't bother to notice the branch ended and fell about 20 feet back to the ground, almost exactly where it started...it lay there stunned for a few seconds, then ran back the same tree didn't make the same mistake as before...dumb squirrels.

This is my favorite frog ornament. Who can resist a frog eating a peppermint?? I have many more frog ornaments, but to keep your hardrives from crashing, I refrained from adding 20 more pictures.




Stay with me, I'm almost done. These last two are my only nurse ornaments. There I'm done! That wasn't so bad was it??





















Forgive me, I forgot about my pickle! But I won't comment on it...just...here.

My Hero

My husband wants me to blog. He practically begged me to blog...so, what to tell you about? I could tell you about the two awesome IVs I started today, but you'd only appreciated that if you've ever tried to start one. I could tell you about the spoiled kid in the hospital who rings his call bell ALL. DAY. LONG. but it means nothing unless you have nightmares about call bells. I know!

MCM and I went shopping the other day, Friday I think. We went to Bed, Bath & Beyond. I like that store. We looked at the fine china (I only got one setting, so it's worthless unless we can both eat at the same time), but we had problems. The one they have record of me registering for has blue on it, and I'm pretty sure my one setting has no blue on it. I was going to check when we got home, *someone* forgot to remind me.

But we did manage to buy a new toaster! It's a great toaster! Nothing at all like the piece of poo we have now. The heating elements/timings are all messed up, so unless it's on the lowest setting, it completely chars the item being toasted. AND this new one is made espeically for bagels! The inner coils get hot, while the outer ones don't. AND this new one has wide slots! Now, my chunky bagels don't get stuck, and I won't get electricuted trying to eat breakfast!

We also bought a small fan. Guess who's part polar bear and thinks if it's not 20 degrees outside, it's hot?? Don't look at me, it's not me. Yeah. *looks at him* The best part about this fan, is that it's silent. Not just quiet, I can't sleep with quiet; it has to be pretty silent, otherwise it keeps me up. I'm serious! Little noises keep me awake. Like, hearing my own breathing bugs me. I've gotten somewhat used to MCM's breathing, if we're not facing each other.

One year for my birthday/Christmas, I asked for an alarm clock. That's all I wanted, an alarm clock. My mom's stepdad got me one. A little background on this guy. He had this shelf, called "The Tacky Shelf." All things, every things. So he bought me an alarm clock. Not just a simple digital alarm clock. It was a face and arms, with real bells and a wind-up-thingy. And it ticked. IT TICKED LOUDLY! I struggled with it for about 4 months. I tried everything, even hiding it under a pillow, but I still heard it! Then we went on vacation. I left it home. I could just imagine the baggage people (we took a boat to Carriacou from Grenada) going berzerkers over hearing a loud ticking! Anyways, after being not wound for a week, and my sleep being silent, I did my best to 'loose' it. Actually, I think I still that little bugger somewhere...

Two years later, I put an alarm clock back on my birthday/Christmas list. I got the on I still use today. Silent, digital, electric, battery back up, with a snooze :)

It's barely 9pm, and MCM's already knocked out on the couch. I can't blame him though. Sunday after work, I was just as pooped (it was my working weekend).

I like Pirates of the Caribbean. There's so many funny ironic lines. *laughing at the movie* Jack Sparrow cracks me up, "You smell funny." "Why is the rum gone...but why is the run gone?" "Elizabeth, I would never have worked out between us. I'm sorry, darling."

Anyways, I have a blasted staff meeting to go to. It's the time that makes it so...annoying. 730 am, or 730pm. And it's always on a Wednesday. Stinks for me cause of church, so I have to go the super-crack of dawn meeting. I mean, yeah, by 730am, I'm usually in the middle of muck on the floor, but not by personal choice, y'know? Anyways, I'll be bringing myself some breakfast, I'm thinking a chicken biscuit from Chik-fil-A. Want some?

Oh, I have you to tell you, MCM was a hero today again! He found a roach on the bathroom floor, almost dead, but still moving his legs. But still, he saved me, and destroyed the roach!

Not Cut Out For This

I could *not* be a stay at home wife. I've cleaned all that could be cleaned, all the laundry is done (mostly, it's in the drier), and Mark is making dinner tonight (waffles :D). I guess if I had kids to take care of. At least I'd be getting snacks, cleaning up messes, changing diapers, something besides taking care of myself.

Even if I had a hobby, like scrapbooking. I do have a wedding scrapbook, and a christmas scrapbook to do (eventually), *but* I have NO pictures. They're all digital. I potentially could go to Wal-Mart or Target (tar-zhay') to print them out.
I would, if Mark hadn't taken my car to work. His jeep is out of gas, and I'm scared to drive it. Honestly! Like, I feel so small in it. Besides, I'd go nuts with all the trash in it. I confess, I have cleaned it out several times *sheepish smile* but it's cold outside right now.
Another thing, I have only 4 dollars to my name, thanks to a little oops in paying loans and bills. But that's ok because I'm starting my job Monday.

I thought about making cookies, the peanut butter ones with Hershey's kisses on them, but I have nothing to store them in. I have a ton of round canisters (like three people gave me different sets), but those kinds of cookies require a big rectangular thingy, or else, the kisses smash against the cookies. Ask me, go ahead, ask me how I know this.

I even (please, help me!) thought about playing Mark's GameCube. *shudders* I'd do it if he had some games I'd play. He's only got a few boy games, like a WWII soldier game, a Star Wars game, Super Mario Smash Brothers' game, and a few other sporty ones (soccer, basketball).
I even conquered the bathroom. Let me tell you something, that was a feat in itself! I think it's been cleaned maybe, possibly once since Mark moved in. I used a ton of bleach *muahahahaha* that'll get rid of anything trying to grow anywhere. I also found out something. Toilet bowl cleaner, the kind that get rids of lime scale in toilets, also worked on the tub. Like, all that soap scum all over the tub, gone! I even emptied the trash. But, unfortunately, I didn't make it to the floor. It's such a small floor, that I debated for a long time whether or not using a Swiffer mop pad was necessary. I didn't have anything else to mop, so I let it go, for now. But don't worry, I'll tackle it one of these days.

Pizza Hut just came out with a "new" crust/pizza. Pizza Mia. In Trinidad, that was the kind of crust we ordered from Pizza Hut. Remember, Hannah, and my family??

Anyways, sorry for the rabbit trail. I've been watching the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader training camp on TV. You'd think they'd be all about superficial things, like hair, make-up, weight, stuff like that. And, they are, but they also make them be graceful off the field. Like, they brought in the professionals to teach them social graces, like which side the sweet tea spoon goes on. I don't even know that. They made them set the tables, the ones with four forks, three spoons, two plates, and three cups, and stuff like that. I just thought I'd share.

I took down the Christmas tree today. I discovered we have more than 24 ornaments. I didn't think we had that many. Our little tree was really bare. After I got it taken apart, I spent a good 15 minutes trying to figure out how to fit in the box. The biggest piece seemed to long, until I put it on the bottom, that is. See, I can be smart when necessary.

So, the curtains Mark and I hung, the other day, are too long. They sit right in front of our baseboard heaters. We didn't hold them up, or even thing about it. So, I had this great idea to hang them up higher. Think it solved the problem? Nope. They're still too long, and they can't really go up any higher, else they'll be sitting on the ceiling. So next time we go visit my parents, I'm going to be using their sewing machine. If they'll let me, that is. :)

So yeah, I'm not cut out to be a stay at home person. At least, not at this time in my life. Ask me after we get our little family growing a bit, I might have changed my mind :)

De-bachelorizing the apartment

Since I don't have any pictures of how the apartment looked before I cleaned it up, you'll just have to trust me when I say that it was a MESS! I'm not going to blame Mark, cause it was mostly my stuff. Like boxes of my stuff. The week before the wedding, my dad and I brought down a car load, and a truck load of my stuff and my wedding shower presents. The floor was covered, literally covered, with stuff. We had to dig paths through the boxes and bags to from room to room. I cleaned it Monday while Mark was at work. I was worried that he might come in from work and decide that he had went into the wrong apartment. But he didn't. Although, he did come in and say "Whoa! You've been a busy wife!" But I enjoyed it, mainly because it was my stuff in my apartment. And I didn't have to worry about anyone coming in and saying, "Where's my stuff?" In addition to cleaning, last night we hung pictures and curtains, and our clock, too! But I don't have pictures of that yet. But here's what I do have. Enjoy!

Our bedroom went through quite a change. Instead of the bed being in the middle of the room, the dresser being surrounded by clothes and suitcases. My parents gave us that dresser and night stand. Too bad it's the only dresser we have... :)

Oh, this is my favorite part of the apartment. Those boxes are all empty of useful stuff. There's only trash in them now. It used to be a very unstable pile, but I condensed and made it all fit nicely.

Our beautiful furniture. The top one is the clock Mark's cousin Marilyn and Karl got us for our wedding. It's hung up now, right above that love seat.

Our Christmas tree sparsely decorated. Isn't Mark just the greatest husband to go buy it and set it up for us. 

There, isn't that much better? I think we got like 6 Christmas ornaments that say something like "our first Christmas." Oh, this one, I looked closely at, and the date on it....2006 :) but it's small and unnoticeable. And I like the ornament, so I'm keeping it anyways :)

These are our new dishes, fresh from Target (tar-zhay'). We got like a million bucks in gift cards to Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. We went out and got some dishes so that we didn't have to keep on using 1) Christmas dishes, 2) a handful of plastic dishes I "borrowed" from my parents' house, or 3) a few glass dishes from Mark's parents' house. I mean, all together we had plenty of dishes, but only if we washed them right after we eat. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing with washing dishes 3 times a day, but why wash 2 cups and 2 plates 3 times a day when you can put 6 cups and 6 plates in the dishwasher once a day?

Do you like our dining room? How about that lazy susan? My sister-in-law, Susan (who, by the way, was our first official guest since moving in. They stopped in on their way back from Charleston to Annapolis from visiting her mom) gave it to us as a wedding present. 

And that's that.