Merry Merry Christmas!

It is Christmas Eve and I am so excited. We always have a nice Christmas Eve dinner with my parents and we hang out and watch movies or play games. This I think we might play Boggle... I bought that for the gift exchange we had and everyone played it.... Even Dad and Tallon. Those two hate playing games... I try to get Tallon to play Monopoly and Clue all the time and he never really wants to. He does sometimes if his brother goes along with it, but other than that he doesn't really like to play. I am in charge of the dessert and I am going to bread pudding. I am not really sure if I will like it (soggy bread just never sounds very good) but everyone else LOVES it... so that is what we are having for dessert.

On Christmas morning Tallon and I are having mom and dad over for breakfast. This is kind of a tradition in my family. Every year I would wake my parents up SUPER early (except for year when they had to wake us up) but they would make us wait to open presents... just to get us even more excited about the gifts. So, dad would make a wonderful breakfast, then he would make coffee, then he HAS to start a fire.... normally by the time he is making the coffee we were already getting into our stockings. Once is was FINALLY time to open the presents we had to take turns opening one present at a time. I think I would normally go first, then Tony, then mom and then dad... who would take a ridiculously long time open his gift... he takes the ribbon off and peels each piece of tape, but before he actually takes the paper off he shakes the gift and guesses what it is... then eventually he takes the paper off and gets all excited... the worst part about all of this was I was next and had to wait SOOOO long for it to be my turn again. Once dad gets the present opened he takes the paper and folds it until is extremely tiny and then ties the ribbon on it. He always says he does this because it takes up less space in the trash. Once year we were so impressed by his paper folding skills that we kept it... and then the next year when we were decorating the tree we found it!!

When I was little it was probably my least favorite thing dad did at Christmas, but now it is one of my most favorite. He makes Christmas last so long and we enjoy it so much. So, this year I am having mom and dad over for breakfast and we are going to do Christmas the way we have always done it. I am pretty excited. The only thing that will be different is it is going to be at my place.

I hope everyone has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas Shopping....

Yesterday morning I was kind of freaking out because I had not bought single Christmas present. I normally wait to do my Christmas shopping, but this year it seems I just keep putting it off.

I have a TON of kid/baby gifts to buy and for some reason I have a hard time trying to figure out something to buy. I always try to find something that is useful for them. I know they get a lot of toys from Santa and I want to get them books or toothbrushes... I know! I am crazy! Or I like to buy them are supplies or something that is creative... mainly because I love kid art... I think it so cute... even just a page out of a coloring book... I just love it.

Anyway, I told Tallon that I was going to get as much of it done as I could. We withdrew some money and I took an extra long lunch break - this was smart idea because yesterday the roads were a little icy and school was called off... which means a lot of people we stuck at home with their kids and couldn't go out shopping... So, I pretty much at Target all to myself and it was wonderful.

I had about 2 and half hours to get as much of it done as possible. I really thought that I would have to go to several other stores, but I didn't. I got almost EVERYTHING at Target and didn't go over my budget! All I have left is my mom and dad and one of Tallon's nephews ( Tallon wants to get him a Beta fish... so I making him pick it out) I will probably go Friday and finish my shopping. Hopefully it won't be too busy.

Then after work Tallon and I went to eat and I decided I needed to buy some wrapping paper... We didn't want to have to go to Wal-Mart or Target, but we just happened to be right next to Toys-R-Us and they had a TON of wrapping paper... we bought some and went home and I starting wrapping up all the gifts and I got everything wrapped up... even Honesty birthday presents! WOO HOO!

I was really stressing out that morning, but I have never felt more relieved than last night. I was happy with all my purchases and with the fact that I got it all wrapped up. I am so ready for Christmas now! And on Thursday mom and I are getting together to bake up some wonderful Christmas treats... yum!

And To Top it Off...

Tallon finally asked me to marry him!!!

What A Weekend!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I know I did.

It was so nice seeing my brother and his family and the new little baby! Tony made a great Thanksgiving dinner and then we all played the wii and Rock Band.

The next day my mom, grandma, Hannah, Honesty, Beau and me all piled up in the car and went to IKEA. I have shopped online at the IKEA website, but I have never gone to the store... it was amazing. Mom and I had to go back the next day to finish up :)

Then on Saturday I got to go to my friends wedding... I have seen her in years and it was nice to be able to go see that.

The kids had a lot of fun too... They all went to the Texas Motor Speedway, the Stockyards and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium... I used to live there... so I have seen it all... that is when mom and I went back to IKEA and the to the wedding.

We came home Sunday and I just worked on getting my laundry done and cleaning the house.

Here are a few pictures of Hannah and Honesty. They made a video too, but it is not loading... I am not sure why...I showed them how to use the voice changer and they had a blast. They had me do there hair and make up all funny and made these really funny videos.

Here is Hannah first discovering the webcam....

Then Honesty...

Then they got all dressed up in their crazy outfits and started acting all crazy....

So Much To Do So Little Time

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and I am traveling to Texas with my mom, 2 cousins, grandma and uncle... They are going to be coming here (to Arkansas) tomorrow night and staying the night with us and then we will be leaving very early Thursday morning to make our journey to Texas. We just found out yesterday that my uncle and his son are coming with us... this will now make us have to take two cars. I guess that is no big deal... just a little crazy.

Once we get there we will probably start preparing our Thanksgiving feast and then we will just rest and hang out all day. I am pretty excited because I will get to see my new niece Bella. I have not seen her in person yet and she is already getting so big. I can't wait to officially meet her. Also, I haven't seen my other niece Honesty in a while and I love visiting with her. She is funny and girly... I love it! There is going to be so many of us there, but I am pretty excited about visiting.

And the best part is... I emailed my most favorite friend ever (Ashley) to tell her that I was coming to town and that we should get together and she replied with a rather excited email telling me that she was getting married that weekend!! I will be able to see her get married! We haven't seen each other in like 5 or 6 years so I am so excited.

My only problem with that is I needed to find something to wear. I needed a dress for Tallon's Christmas party so I thought that I could just buy that dress and wear it to the wedding. Well, it is like 70 degrees in Texas and 40 degrees here... so I had to get something I could wear either place... after two days and a lunch break of shopping I went back to the very first dress I tried on... it is a weee bit tight... so I bought some of those "make you skinny" tights and tank tops... and... IT FITS!!! Luckily I have been working out and hopefully by the Christmas party it won't be so tight... but at the wedding... it will be tight. Oh well...

Anyway... I have to get my house ready and find blankets to let the kids stay the night... and I need to back. I also still need to find shoes to wear with my dress. I bought these cute shoes yesterday to wear with it, but they are a little to high for me and I think I could get something better for my money. I also need some tights or just regular panty hose... and I just this very second realized I left the shoes at home and won't be able to return them until later tonight or tomorrow... bummer. Oh well.. I will make it work.

I am just excited to see my family and my favorite friend... Happy Thanksgiving!

Hannah Came To Visit!

So, last week I was talking to my cousin Hannah and told her that she should come stay with me for the weekend. I talked to he mom and her mom agreed. I met them in Joplin on Friday afternoon and we had a pretty fun filled weekend.

Hannah is 13 and in the 7th grade... she also has a new boyfriend... which is pretty cute! When I picked her up she had this present for me (she made it in he shop class)... it was a black piece of wood with a picture of a pug carved into it and it read "The Pug Is In The House" I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but it actually looks really cute. I am going to hang it up once I find something to hang it with.

When we got back to my place we hooked up Rock Band (we just got Rock Band 2 so it was a lot of fun playing the new songs and challenges) Then my mom cam over with food and we started to play Rock Band... but we couldn't find the plug in thingy for the multiple player jack... so we could only play two at a time... Tallon went store to store looking for something cheap to fix the problem but... he only found an expensive fix... so he didn't buy it... but the next day... my mom did :) Hannah stayed at my house that night.

We got up around 8:30 on Saturday and got ready... we played a little Rock Band so we could get our characters looking pretty good and then we headed to the library. Hannah was real excited about going to the library, but we had to return some books... but once we got there she was pretty impressed... she even found a book to check out (she never really had time to read it but I was happy she found something) Then we say and had some coffee and tea at the the library coffee shop and talked with this really cute little kid. By then it was lunch time and we all met my mom and dad at US Pizza... YUM! After that Tallon headed home and we all went to see my dad's new place (it is really nice.) Then we went to Toy-R-Us to get this toy for Hannah, Best Buy to get the multiple player adapter and the dollar store to get the rest of the ingredients for the cupcakes we were going to make.

Finally, we made it back to my place and began making the most wonderful cupcakes ever! That took quite a while, but once we were finally done decorating them it was time for dinner. We had decided earlier that we would have Krystal Burger so we wouldn't have to cook. Hannah has never had Krystal Burger before, but she really liked it (who wouldn't?) Then we began out long evening of playing Rock Band. During all this time Tallon was visiting his sister and her family so he didn't have to be bothered by all the girlyness :) Mom and Hannah left around 10:30 and I cleaned up the messes we made and didn't make it to bed until about 12:30... but I still had a lot of fun!

Then on Sunday Tallon and I met up with my dad to get the furniture that he didn't want for his new place... So, we finally have a couch (with a bed in it) in our TV room! We got a few other things too. Once we were done with that we met my mom and Hannah at Wilma's. We have never been to Wilma's and were pretty excited about some "home cookin" They made fresh, pan fried chicken... it was SOOO wonderful and it wasn't even that expensive. I think Tallon and I will be going there more often.

After that mom had to take Hannah back home and Tallon and I went to his brothers. Once we got home we finished rearranging all the new furniture and then just relaxed.

It was a pretty fun filled weekend, but now I am exhausted...

No Pictures Please...

I wasn't able to get any pictures of our costumes this weekend. We don't have a camera that works properly and no one at the party was taking pictures. But our costumes turned out great. I bought this fake hair for Tallon so he could make a beard... but on the back of the box it said not to glue it on your face if you have facial hair... and unfortunately Tallon has decided to grow a "real" beard and didn't want to shave it off. So instead we had this foam bored that we were using to make is clock and he cut out a beard from that. It was so funny... we put a elastic band on it so he could put it around his head and it would stay up. I really wish we had a picture of it.

My costume turned out pretty good too. I planned on making a dress, but that is a lot of work... so I made a skirt instead. I bought some elastic and then pinned thick strips of fabric to it and then sewed on fake leaves and flowers. I took a white shirt I had and sewed on some of the same flowers and leaves. I wore my hair really curly and kind of messy and clipped in some more of the flowers... It actually really cute and not too hand made. I was pretty proud of myself for completing it. And now I think I might buy a sewing machine and learn how to sew. I think I could make a lot of cute things. Oh, I also were my makeup kind a cool and used a lot of glitter :)

Too bad we didn't have a camera... maybe I will make Tallon dress up again and we can get a picture of it.

Late Halloween Party

Tallon's older brother Macky is having a late Halloween party this Saturday. He really wants people to dress up and has themed the party parenthood... which I think is funny, but also very hard to find a costume. Tallon and I could agree on what parents we would be.... But I really liked themed parties and I love dressing up... but this was a hard one. I went through so many celebrity parents (my personal favorite was Britney and K-Fed, but Tallon didn't want to dress up as K-Fed) but Tallon just didn't like any of them. He then decided that we shouldn't dress up and told me he didn't really want to dress as a celebrity or someone who is on the cover of the tabloids. I agreed but was bummed that he didn't want to dress up and determined to find something that we could do. I finally suggested Father Time and Mother Earth. He liked it!

I think he just really liked the idea of having a beard... So, I am going to go the Halloween shops that are still opened and see if I can find some fake hair so he can have a gray head of hair and a long gray beard. Then I will have to find him a clock....

I am trying to think of something for my costume... I think I will just need to buy some fabric and make a really flowy earth tone dress... I am not sure if I will be able to pull that off, but I am going to try. I am going to wear my hair curly and a little messy with flowers in it. And I will put on some greenish eyeshadow and glitter... I think it will work out if I am able to make the dress.

I am pretty excited about it, but I am trying not to get too excited because I may not be able to pull off the making of the dress.... but I have a pretty good plan... I will post pictures after the party.

Halloween Weekend

My Halloween was pretty uneventful... but I still had fun.

On Friday we had a TON of food at work. It was crazy the amount of snacks that were there. Luckily I left at noon so I didn't eat too much.

I went to help Anh (the lady I work for) with her son's Halloween party. Her son is in the second grade. It was s funny to see all the kids in their Halloween costumes... so were not so great and others were super elaborate... it was really funny. We had them decorate these orange paper plate to make them look like a jack-o-lantern and then they decorated these pumpkin scented candles (it was cute because all of the kids said "I will give this to my mom"). Once they were done with the crafts we played games. There was one relay type game were they had to scoop popcorn out of one bowl and carry it to another (that got a little messy) and the other game was a big bowl full of spaghetti noodles with these gummy eye balls in it and they had to find the eyes. What I thought was funny about that game was the girls were better at it than the boys. I would have thought the boys would just dig in there and get it all out, but they seemed to think it was gross. It was really funny.

Then after work I went and helped my mom get ready for her Halloween party. She was dressed as a gypsy lady. We did her makeup all bright and colorful and she wore this black curly wig and all these scarves and jewelry. It was great!

Then I went and met up with Tallon so we could go see his nephews in their costumes. We were going to go with them to go trick-or-treating, but by the time we met up with them Ian (the oldest of the 2 nephews but still only five years old) was tired and ready to call it a night. They said that he was scared of the "reals." We asked them what are "reals"... I guess they are anything with a mask or scary face. Ian wouldn't go up to any of the houses that had "reals." We thought that was funny. The other nephew Luke is only a year and 2 months so he didn't go trick-or-treating, but he had a cute pirate costume on.


Then Ashley (Tallon's sister-in-law) and I went and got pumpkin shaped pizzas from Papa Murphy's... they have them for like 6 bucks and it is the huge pizza.



Saturday I worked from 12 to 5 for a lady here at the office and then after that Tallon and I just went home and enjoyed our pumpkin shaped pizza. And Sunday we went back over to Dillon and Ashley's so Tallon could help with this garden and Ashley and I just hung out with the baby.


Not a very exciting Halloween, but it was nice to have a pretty relaxing weekend.

What Are You Going To Be For Halloween??

I just wanted to say....

It's Pay Day!

It only happens twice a month (sometimes three times, but normally just twice.)

It has been nice lately because Tallon and I are getting paid on opposite weeks... therefore we get a paycheck every week... it is WAY easier to budget that way. I think that once it goes back to getting both checks in the same week I will just wait to cash mine... we tend to have more "extra" money than when we get it all at the same time. It is so nice. I wish we were better at budgeting so that no matter how we received our money we would still have extra money.

I love pay day! It really has to be the best day ever. I always get to go out to lunch on pay day and always make a trip to Target... I probably shouldn't, but I just can't help it. I love Target! They have everything I need except fresh produce :) I don't normally do my grocery shopping at Target... it gets a little expensive... I like to go to the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. They have the same prices as the regular Wal-Mart, but it is NEVER very crowded. They have everything we need to fill our pantry... I will go there tomorrow after work. I would go tonight (because we really need some groceries) but it is Chili Night at mom's...

Well, I always go over there for dinner on Mondays and Thursdays... but tonight she is making chili. She asked me what I wanted and told her that chili sounded really good. And I am SOOOO glad i said that.... because... it is the perfect weather for chili. Lately the mornings and evenings have been really cool, but the middle of the day has been in the 70's... but it rained yesterday and it is sooo cold out... it is perfect for a chili dinner. I have to come up with a dessert to bring. I guess I will pick something up at Target.

I am also excited because The Office comes on tonight. I love that show and I have such a hard time waiting a WHOLE week just to see the next episode.

Lets see... what else can I tell you...

OH! I watched The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy last night... it was SO funny. When I told Tallon how much I enjoyed it he left the room and came back with this GIANT book... I asked him what it was and he told me that it was The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy book... I didn't even know we had that! It is a series of four books... be he gave me one giant book... all four books are in this one. I am so excited... I can't wait to read it. It is so funny... and reminds of the silly stuff I think up. I will let you know who it goes...

I guess that's it... It seems that today is going to be a good day... I just need to find a coat when I go to Target and then it will be a GREAT day!

PS) I also started using the Paint program on my computer... I totally forgot about it and then Tallon sent me a picture he drew using Paint and I decided I needed to give it a try... I just wanted to explain that wonderful picture at the top of this post... HA!

AAAAA CHEW!

The sneeze... why does it happen and where does it come from??

Saturday night I started sneezing after I washed my face... the only connection I can think of is I soap in my nose.. not sure though... I am not even sure if that would make someone sneeze. Anyway, I just started sneezing over and over and over... it was horrible. It finally slowed down and I took some allergy medicine. That seemed to help a little and I was able to get to sleep. Then next morning I seemed fine. I cleaned the house and I did laundry. My nose was a little runny and I just kept having to blow it. Then Tallon and I went out to Barnes and Noble and I just couldn't stop sneezing again... I ordered some peppermint tea to help clear my sinuses, but it didn't help much... it was tasty though. I had to work at 1:00 so when I got there I took some sinus medicine. It didn't seem to help at all. I went through two boxes of tissue and my nose hurt so so bad! I finally took some Benadryl and that seem to help with the sneezing... but my nose was still runny and my throat was getting a little sore. I had some cough drops to help my throat and by the time it was time to go home I wasn't sneezing very much at all... however, I was completely worn out and the Benadryl made me rather sleepy.... but at least I was sneezing all over the place.

This has never happened to me before, but it seems like my mom and dad are suffering from it too. There must be something in the air... YUCK!

Saturday

I work for Lindsey and Associates... I am an assistant for two Realtors. It is pretty much the easiest job ever. I worked for LIndsey off and on since I was 16 years old. When I first working here I answered the phones every other weekend... it was an easy job and I got time to read, do homework or just play on the interent. I did that for about 4 or 5 years then I worked for a different Real Estate company and had to quit Lindsey. Well, I am back and I have been back for over a year now. I love it here... I like the work and I know all the people.

Anyway... recently my mom has been answering phones every other weekend... well neither her or the other girl could do it this weekend so here I am.. back answering the weekend phones... Maybe I didn't mention it before... it is REALLY boring. The phone hardly ever rings and now that the real estate market had gotten really bad no one calls in. So, here I am... sitting and doing nothing on my Saturday.

Normally on Saturday Tallon and I get up and go to the Farmer's Market and then get some lunch... then sometimes we go hang out with his brother's family and sometimes we go to a movie and sometimes we go shopping. Well, this Saturday I don't get to do any of my normal fun stuff. BUMMER! However, I am getting paid about 100 bucks for just sitting... I guess I can't complain.

I brought my laptop with me so I could watch some movies online and listen to music, but I couldn't it to connect to the internet. I have a computer to use, but it is kind of slow... so BUMMER again.

Oh, well... I am saving money by not going out and doing anything and I am making money by sitting here... so I guess I can't complain. It is just going to be a very long boring day....

Selling My House

Tallon and I are selling our house. Who knew it was going to be this hard... oh wait... I did know. I work in real estate... It has been listed for about 2 months and we have not had 1 showing.

I am a pretty tiddy person but I have been keeping the house extra clean, vacuuming more than necessary, wiping down the coutertops in the kitchen and bathroom every morning, opening windows and keeping lamps on to makes sure the house well lit... but... NO SHOWINGS! I got the carpets professionally cleaned, we painted one of the rooms that was not a pretty color, we rearranged furniture so it was aesthetically pleasing instead of comfortable for us, we got a bed so we didn't just have a mattress on the floor (I am really happy about that change), my mom and dad gave us their nice refrigerator for the kitchen, we organized and reorganized every closet, drawer, shelf and so on... and still... NO SHOWINGS!!

OH YEAH! We also got a NEW ROOF!!! A whole NEW ROOF!! - No Showings!

Our flyers have been going pretty quickly though... so that is good... well, at least I thought that was good... Until our neighbor came by with a hand all or our flyers saying he found them in the back of his truck. What punk took all the flyers and put them in someone else's truck?!?! That is SO rude!

This weekend we are going to work on some landscaping. When we were getting our roof replace the roofers smashed a lot of the plants... not that any of them looked very good, but now they look worse. My mom is going to come over and help me. I am pretty excited about because I have no idea how to do yard work... and I don't really think I want to know much about it. I don't really like yard work. But maybe I will like it if if looks nice to begin with. So, hopefully mom can help make it look nice and then I can keep it up. We are just working on the front yard this weekend...but maybe soon we can do something to the back yard.

Well, if anyone reading knows anyone who wants a really cute, but kind of small, house in Springdale let me know!

HONK! HONK!

I have decided that Arkansas should be called "The Home of The Worst Drivers...EVER!!!" instead of "The Natural State"

This morning I was driving to work after I dropped Tallon off... this is a normal every day thing for me... There is normally a lot of traffic, but it moves quickly (especially if we leave early enough.) Which I thought we did leave at a good time, but I guess Thursday mornings are a though one. There is not much traffic on the way to Tallon's work, but once I left Airways it was NUTS!!! The drivers here in Arkansas are very aggressive. I have always said that Arkansas drivers are bad... but after this morning I am convinced that they are the WORST!



Now, the highway system here was never very well thought out, but still... people should be able to enter and exit the highway without making traffic come to a complete stand still. No one has ever really quite figured it out here. When you need to exit you simply get in the lane nearest the exit (normally the right lane) and you don't start slowing down until you are on the off ramp.... that is NOT how people do it here.... They slow down like a mile before they exit. They get down to like 40 mph and then slowly get off the highway. It is so ridiculous. Also, they do this when entering the highway. The on ramp is for gaining a little speed... one should get up to about 50 or 60 then get on the highway... then the other cars already on the highway won't have to slow down or speed up. Not that the other cars on the highway really do this... they tend to just keep going the same speed and not let the oncoming car in (here in Arkansas.)


Then on the other roads... it doesn't matter if I have my blinker o n that person does NOT want me to come over... Driving isn't some kind of race or competition! Why would it matter if I need to get over or not. There are always people running red lights, in the middle of the road because they keep moving forward a little at a time until their light is green, cutting you off, honking and so on.


When I started driving we still lived in Texas where Drivers Ed is required... I took it through my high school and got an extra credit or two because of it. We had to take a class after school for a certain amount of time and then we had to have like 30 hours of driving time and 30 hours of observing time. Then we had to pass a test... Here, in this lovely land of Arkansas, Drivers Ed is not required and very few parents make their children take it. Not that it would really matter because the person teaching is from Arkansas and CAN'T DRIVE!!!


I am not saying I am a good driver... actually I would say I am a BAD driver... but I am also a considerate driver and I know how to drive on a highway appropriately.


I guess all I want is a simple "thank you" wave when I let someone over...

Zooey Dsechanel - She & Him - Singing Dream A Little Dream

I love this!

Oh Yeah!

I HAVE MY LAPTOP BACK!!!!

El Camino....

Tallon got in Friday evening at 8:30... it was so nice to have him back home. We stayed up and watched a movie (Ghost World) together and then we planned the rest of or weekend.

Saturday we got up and wanted to go get some breakfast. Mom called and said that she wanted to go to breakfast too... so we decided on this little place call El Camino Real it is a Mexican restaurant that serves breakfast! It was this little hole-in-the-wall place that was EXCELLENT! We all had coffee and they brought REAL cream to go with it... then we all ordered a dish that had chorizo in it... it was so good! Mom had to leave pretty quickly because she had a hair appointment, but Tallon and I stayed and talked for a little while.


Then Tallon and I went up to the Farmer's Market because we wanted these candles we saw a few weeks back when we were working for the animal shelter... at the time we didn't have any cash on us so we had to wait. We couldn't find the lady at first (she was in a different location) but as we were leaving we saw her. The candles are only a dollar a piece and if your buy three you get one free... so we picked out our four candles and she told us that since we were her first customer of the day we get another free one (which was funny because the market was about to close down.) And right next to the candle lady was hand made soap man... Tallon has been saying that he wanted to get some hand made soap to use and to just put on the bathroom... So we got some!

On our way to the Farmer's Market we pasted a thrift store called The Attic. I have seen it a few times, but never been in. We had about an hour before they closed so we went shopping. It was a little scary and catered mostly to older folks, but after some searching and laughing we found some great items. Tallon got this awesome tweed blazer for 5 bucks and I got some really cute purple high heels for 2 bucks! I think I will do more thrift store shopping in the future. This one had some really funny stuff though.

And then we went to the movies and played Clue with my mom.

That was my Saturday and I had a great time! I guess I just really wanted to tell you about the Mexican breakfast and the thrift store shopping. I like to go to new places and see what they have to offer... and that is what we did this weekend. It was nice.

WOOO HOOOO!!!

TALLON IS COMING HOME TODAY!!!

I am so glad he is coming back. I hate being home by myself... it is so boring. I like to have some one to talk to other than the dogs.

Anyway... I am just happy.

Have a good day today!

We Could Talk Or Not Talk For Hours"

I know that when I tell you this you are going to think that I have been living under a rock my whole life.... but.... I watched Best In Show for the first time last night. I have seen a lot of clips from it and heard a lot of references to it... but I have never watched it all the way through.

Well, as you know Tallon is out of town (in Vegas... probably having a wonderful time) and I am stuck here in good ol' Arkansas with nothing to do. I decided that last night I would cook dinner and watch funny movies. I went to the grocery store over my lunch break so all I had to do was go home after work.

I started the evening with the always funny Super Troopers. Even though I went to the store and bought stuff top make dinner and had my mom's left over half-homemade soup I decided to cook up a nice frozen pizza. I made cherry turnovers for dessert. By the time Super Troopers was over it was about 8:00... I did a little bit of laundry and went looking for another funny movie. That is when I came across Best In Show...

Maybe I didn't have the right since of humor for it before, but when I watched it last night I was laughing so hard. (maybe it was the cough syrup kicking in) It was so funny... the characters were hilarious. There were some really funny moments when the dog owners were getting interviewed... I don't even know how to describe it... so here are some clips.








Anyway... I think this is going on my favorite movies list...

I will probably get my Netflix movie tonight... I wonder what I will make for dinner....

Tallon - Vegas

Tallon is in Vegas for the week. He left early yesterday morning and won't be back until Friday night.

His work sent him there with a friend for a trade show. He has gone to a few other places through work... but not Vegas! I am glad he is getting to travel... that is a good experience for him.

However, I hate to be home alone. I also hate to be that needy girl who can stay home by herself, but I still hate it!

Last night I went over to my mom's to eat dinner and watch Heroes... I took one of the dogs with me so she would be calm by bedtime. That worked out well, but the other dog who nothing but lethargic decided to be a pain last night. He can't jump up on or down from the bed... if he wants either he barks.

So, I put him up on the bed and he barked to get down... I let him down... then he barked at the toilet (yes the toilet) because he was thirsty... I went and filled up his water bowl and let him get a good drink... then I out him back up on the bed... a little while later he is barking to get down again... so I let him down... and instead of going to the newly filled up water bowl he barks at the toilet... Since the toilet is much closer the the water bowl I decided to lift the lid and let him drink... then I put him back on the bed... he barked to get down... I put him down... he got more water from the stupid toilet and I did NOT put him back on the bed, but I put a pillow on the floor for him to sleep on... then around 1:30 he was barking to get on the bed... I put him on the bed and slept until the alarm went off.

It was the strangest thing though... he never does anything like that. He normally just sleeps, stretches, eats and goes outside... it was so weird!

Hopefully tonight will go better... because I am SO sleepy today.

This isn't an actual picture of my Dog Wednesday, but it looks a lot like her... she was the good one last night... which is not very common.

Again... not an actual picture, but looks very similar to KC... He normally just lays around and doesn't do much... but not last night.

Nightbird Books

The great bookstore we went was Nightbird Books! I have driven past several times but was never able to go inside... I pointed it out to Tallon just to say "I want to go there" and he turned in the parking lot and we went in. The first thing we saw was the coffee (we seem to always notice coffee) and then we noticed a giant bird cage! It was a very nice purple painted birdcage. It had bird nests in it and was very clean. They don't have a HUGE selection, but everything we saw was something we were interested in. Then we started talking to to the owner and she showed us that there was a second floor... the fiction section... and the children's section. It was decorated with modern furniture and colorful walls.

We talked to the owner some more to find out more information about the place and the books. The store has been opened for two years and all the books are hand picked. That is why the selection is great even though there are not a TON to pick from. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of books to look at and you can order any book you want... if only takes two days to get it.

Since Tallon and I are on a budget we each only got to get once book. He got a book called "Fargo Rock City" and I got a book called "Death Do Us Part." Mt book is nineteen short stories all about tragic love... I guess... so far it is pretty good. I just started reading it last night because I was wanted to finish my library book first.

Anyway, Nightbird Book has to be the best book store I have ever been to. They had a great selection and an awesome building.

You should go!

Here is there website: http://www.nightbirdbooks.com/

Here is the birdcage

This is an above shot of the first floor

And.. here is the second floor...

The Little Bread Company

Saturday morning Tallon and I wanted to get something to eat. It wasn't quite time for the lunch places to be open so we were really having a hard time deciding on what to eat. AS many of you may know Bikes, Blues and BBQ was going on this weekend and we wanted to try and avoid as much of that as possible. (we failed at that but we still had a good time)

We decided to go to this place called The Little Bread Company. I have never eaten at the one in Fayetteville... I knew of the one in Eureka Springs only because I used to work at a coffee shop, Bo's Muddy Water, that served their pastries. So, we decided to try it out. When we walked up to it we thought it was a rather small building, but then once we entered it was MUCH bigger than what the outside let on. Also, it had a great outdoor eating area. We both ordered Quiche... Tallon got the one with artichoke in and I got the one with bacon(YUM)... We sat outside and ate... after we ate and sat there a while we decided we want something sweet to enjoy with out coffee. While Tallon was inside ordering something this cute hippie family came and sat down beside me. They had a little boy with long, curly, blond hair... I asked him if he could give me five and he did and then he shook my hand! It was so cute. He sat with me for a while until his food arrived.

When Tallon came back the little boy (I think his name was Oliver) was busy eating his quiche. Tallon brought back a Lemon Barry Tart... it was WONDERFUL!

We always try to go to places that we have never been or have heard people talk about. We like to find new places for us to go when we are not sure where we want to go. It is a lot of fun.

The Little Bread Company was a great find. I have always known it was there, but I never went. I glad we went there I am sure we will return often.

After we ate we went to the library... which is always a nice place to go. I was in the middle of a book at the time so I only got one book to check out, but Tallon got several. He is going to Vegas and needed some reading material for the plane.

Then we were forced to drive in the direction we didn't want to go because of all the motorcycles... but ended up a great bookstore.

THE OFFICE!!!

I am so excited!!! The Office premieres tonight!!! I have been waiting and waiting and now it is finally here. This is my all time favorite show. This is the show that needs an hour long countdown and then a two hour premiere... I can't wait to see what happens...

Jan is pregnant - Micheal is going to take care of it even though it isn't his baby - there is a new HR person - Pam got accepted to design school and will be gone for three months - Jim was going to ask Pam to marry him but Andy stole is thunder by proposing to Angela - then at the end Dwight and Angela were caught by Phylis "doing it" in the office!

I am so excited!

Tallon and I are going to go over to my mom's and order pizza and watch the comedic acts unfold. Mom doesn't normally watch The Office but I think she will really enjoy it... especially now that she works in an even more office-like environment.

I am sure you are excited too...

Florence And The Machine

I really like this band!

Check it out!

Why Do People Go Out Of Their Way To Be Mean?

I have recently come to realize that I associate will way too many rude people.

I feel I am a nice giving person. I listen to people and give people advice... Actually, I like to do these things. I like to be helpful... but I am only human and sometimes it is nice to be helped in return. I guess I really don't need much help, but it would be nice if someone could be nice in return. This is a problem I am used to having... I tend to attract needy people and I have the need to help.

Well, I'M DONE! I am putting my foot down! I will not longer let people be rude to me... I am the person that has listened to them and given them advice and tried to make them laugh... why should I let them treat me poorly? Just because I prefer to be nice to people doesn't mean I don't care if people are nice to me. Actually, it means quite the opposite... It isn't even that I care if they are as giving as I am but it would be nice if they could respect the fact that I have been trying to make them happy.

There have been so many people that I have reached out to and tried to help that have treated me so badly. Why do the nice people get taken advantage of? I am not a door mat... I don't let people walk all over me... but I do pick and choose my battles. It isn't worth it me to make an already unhappy person upset with me by calling them out on their rudeness. I still don't think it is worth it... So I think all I am going to do is distance myself from the needy people and start figuring out what I need (which isn't much)

I am pretty content with my life... I have had ups and downs, but nothing major. I just need to start meeting more people and try to find people that have the same interests as me.

My newest goal is to start interacting with friendly, happy people. I am done with the rude ones!

Mybe I will join a club and meet new people... maybe a cooking class would be good - I am not a very good cook.

Heroes

So, last night was the season premiere of Heroes. I never watch the show before a few weeks ago. Tallon and I ordered Netflix and we could watch a lot of stuff online. Well, I watched the first two season of Heroes and loved it. So, I was pretty excited about the premiere last night.

Tallon and I decided to cancel out cable not too long (just to save money) so I went over to my mom's to watch it... I knew she would like the show... but little did I know that it was a three hour premiere. From 7-8 was a pre-show count down and then the show lasted two hours! So, from 7-10 I watch TV... which is a little much for me. I normally read at night.

Even though it was three hours it was still really good... and I got to hang out with mom-which included dinner (we had tacos-yum yum.) Well, mom has never seen the show before so during the pre-show countdown they went over some of the characters... but I still had to explain quite a bit to her. She eventually figured out all the characters and their powers except one. His name is Peter and he has ALL the powers... so future Peter teleported to the present... then present Peter chased down future Peter and Future Peter made him basically disappear. She was so confused about who he was and what he could do and where present Peter went. She just emailed me this morning and said she thinks she finally figured out. It was so funny watching her trying to figure it. (Love ya mom)

So, last night lasted a little longer than I expected but I had a good time with mom, TV and dinner.

Now, I can't wait for Thursday... The Office premieres :)

Poor Computer

So, my computer has recently gotten sick. I had to take it back to Best Buy to have them fix it. Luckily I paid for the protection plan and it is free (well, sort of free.) Not having a computer makes work VERY boring. There are company computers that I have been using, but I can't sit on them for a very long time. I have just been using them to check my email and to post a few things. During the time that I am computer-less I normally read... I couldn't really get into the book I brought today so I decided to write silly little poems and haiku. I do this from time to time, but never really as much as I did today... so I decided to post one of poems. It is about my poor, sick computer.

Poor Computer.

I know you are ill,

Although I wish I could have you still.

Oh, I miss you so...

My spirits have gotten so low.

It will be days... maybe weeks before I will get you back,

Maybe I should have named you Jack.

The dude at Best Buy said it wouldn't take long.

I should turn this poem into a song

Do Ra Me Fa So La Te

Oh, computer... please come back to me.

So, that is one of the poems I wrote today... I am sure I will post more.

Have a great evening and make good choices.

Volunteering at the Animal Shelter

About a month ago I accidentally hit a cat while driving home one night. I felt so bad about it and I thought that if I do something good for other animals it might make me feel a little better.

So, Tallon and I decided to volunteer at the animal shelter. We got in touch with a few people who knew what we could do for them. One of the things we could help with is walking dogs around the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings... We thought that sounded fun. We like to go to the Farmer's Market and we like animals... it was a win win.

We arrived at the animal shelter at about 8:15... we were the first ones there. This man gave us a list of dogs to pick from. We went into the smelly room where all the cages are located. (It was smelly because it was so early and no had a chance to clean up the over night mess... but still very smelly.) I wanted to get a small puppy-like dog, but Tallon wanted a bigger dog. There were not many little dogs to pick from and they were all going crazy. We just kept on walking around and looking for a dog. Then, finally, we found her. She was the only dog that wasn't barking and the only dog who had a nice, clean cage. Her name was Cynthia.

Tallon took her out to run around a little and go to the bathroom while I got all the instruction. Eventually we were all loaded up in our cars and we were off to the Farmer's Market. Once we got there they set up there booth while we all put on "volunteer" aprons and the dogs for "adopt me" vest. We started to walk Cynthia around and she was loved by everyone. The best part was she was sponsored which mean her adoption fees were already paid.

Lost of people showed interest in her and I was so excited. I didn't think we would actually get a dog adopted... so once I realized that lots of people loved her getting her adopted was my task. Even though I didn't have to do much to get her adopted... she really knew how to work it. There was one lady who was really interested in her... her only concern was that she has cats and she didn't know how well they would respond to a dog. She kept on coming back to our booth and she eventually filled out the papers to foster her. Then not too long after that another women really wanted her and she filled out adoption papers... So, either way... foster care or adoption... I completed my task. I think that someone else was interested her too. I was so happy that I was able to find a home for Cynthia. I hope she was happy too.

I don't think that I have ever volunteered with out being obligated to or in a group... it was very nice to do it just because I wanted to. I will most definitely do it again. We took about 8 or 9 dogs out for the walk and we got about half of them adopted... it turned out really well.

For more info about the Fayetteville Animal shelter click on this link http://www.uark.edu/ALADDIN/fayanim/

The Wine Cellar

Friday I had a wonderful time with family and friends at The Wine Cellar. It is a new wine bar that opened about two weeks ago in Fayetteville.

I took a half day on Friday so I could spend some extra time with Tallon. We went to the library and then decided to go to Wilson Park to read. My dad lives over there so we parked the car at his place. We then decided that his front porch was a much nicer and more private place to read our books. We sat there for about 30 minutes and then my dad got home from work. We all chatted for a while and had a glass of wine. Then our friend Karl showed up and we all decided to go to The Wine Cellar.

When we arrived we sat on the patio, but then we soon realized that we would not have enough room. Luckily for us the Champagne Room was still available. We took our seats and ordered some appetisers. My dad loaded a gift card-type-thing with money... which was kind of strange but still interesting. Then he took me up this "Wall-O-Wine" thing. We grabbed a glass, he inserted his card, placed his glass under a spout, pushed an button and the wine started to pour out. IT WAS A WINE VENDING MACHINE!! I have never seen that before. It held about 15 to 20 wines ranging from $5.00 a glass to $30.00 a glass.

Now, in any ordinary place a wine vending machine sounds kind of cheap and bizarre. But this place was very nice... it had a great atmosphere and wasn't a very large. The Champagne Room had these cute little chandlers above the table and candles.

Once everyone was settled in and had their appetisers someone ordered a bottle of champagne for the table. The waiter came out and poor everyone a glass and left bottle for us to enjoy.

I had a great time and so did everyone else. We stayed for quite a while and then we walked up to another restaurant for dinner. I believe I will be returning to The Wine Cellar very soon. It was wonderful!

Hello

Hi there! I'm Heather and I guess I have a lot to say... at least I normally do. So, I decided to start writing it down. I figured I would write it down on this blog and then whoever wants to read it can.

I really enjoy meeting new people and doing new things... So, I thought I could tell everyone about that here. I think it will be fun and give me more to write about and less to talk about.


I tried to get my friends to do this with me, but no one seemed interested... so here I am... by myself... writing to whoever feels the need to read.

I hope you enjoy it and have a good time.