Smarterest Kid ... er, in the House!

Little Miss has an alphabet puzzle (which is currently missing an "O" and "R" so if you see them, please return them). She's pretty good at completing certain letters of the puzzle. Under each wooden letter, there's a photo and word beginning with the letter. "U" is for "Uncle". Because this is a word she knows, I made a big deal of this so now she picks up the letter and says "unca" or "uncle". She's getting to the age where she says words closer to the correct pronunciation which is a nice step but sad to see her quirks disappear. Last week, she dumped the puzzle sending letters flying. She picked up the "U" and kept saying "unca unca unca" over and over again. I was telling her how smart she was, the smartest kid ever. Then, she goes to put the letter in place and puts in upside down. So, maybe not smartest ever but totally smart, smarter than I most days at least.

Similarly, we were at the mall awhile ago and a woman was asking her what color things were. She had a blue cat. Little Miss pointed and went "blue". The woman was very impressed. She pointed to a purple goat and Little Miss pointed and went "blue". Should have stopped while she was ahead.

Sexy Friday

This is the last of the WB/CW stars for Sexy Friday. For a short time, the network had a show called Related which was about the lives of three sisters. It was the dad from My So-Called Life so I was totally in. It was a really cute show, but it was one of those shows that didn't really fit in with the network (or any network really). It was sweet and quirky. Another reason I watched the show was for Callum Blue who I have followed to many shows - Dead Like Me, The Tudors, Secret Diary of a Call Girl. The movies never seem to resonate with me as much as his television characters, but I did enjoy him in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and what's not to like? It was Callum Blue and Chris Pine along with Anne Hathaway, pictured below. I can't say I've seen Anne Hathaway in everything she's done, but I think she's a great actress and transitioned well from teen to adult which is sometimes difficult. Plus, I loved her on The Simpsons. I don't watch the show often, but I checked out the 20th anniversary episode, and she was fabulous. Also of note was her episode of Saturday Night Live. In a dismal year, hers was one of the top 5 episodes.

Girls vs. Boys.

I was, and still am, of the mindset that both boys and girls are difficult to raise. They each have their own challenges. Add in personality and each individual child is full of surprises. I, as you know, only have a girl, but ever since we knew the gender, people would be like "oooh, a girl, you'll have your hands full" and this was usually from parents of boys. I'll admit it. It kind of offended me because I don't think girls are much more difficult. Maybe it's because I was a girl so I feel that should give me some kind of advantage.

This article is pretty interesting, and I've read similar articles every so often. I think, in part, boys and girls are wired differently, but I do agree and never really thought about that the fact that we, as a culture and as parents, treat them differently whether we mean to or not. I was about to say earlier that boys are more rough and tumble which may be true in general, but Little Miss runs, throws, kicks and falls just as much as the next kid which goes to prove that we go into gender with a mindset. I will say that I feel like girls are slightly easier in terms of opportunity. You can give a girl a doll, a tool set or a ball. She can dance, play soccer, or draw. However, if you have a boy that dances and carries his doll around, people look at him a little sideways when it could just be a phase.

I actually think personality has to do with more than gender. Little Miss is totally stubborn and, being an only child, is used to having the world revolve around her and getting her way. So, when she hears no or we remind her that the world does not revolve around her, anything can happen. That's normal though. On the other hand, she can be a people pleaser, too. She loves positive feedback. She gets such a smile when she hears she's a good girl.

So, parents of both genders, what do you find easier or do you think it just comes down to your child's personalities?

Weekend Update - The End of the Road

Last weekend flew by. Friday was a quiet night - leftovers for dinner, tv and bed. On Saturday, I had plans to go to the zoo, but Husband said he'd go with us for the official Farewel to Tai Shan so we're going next weekend. So, Husband had a work function on Saturday while Little Miss and I played and then she took a nice, long nap while I read. I also dressed Little Miss in an old outfit that used to be mine. My dad bought it so I quickly texted him a photo. This one is a little better than the one I texted him.

On Sunday, I got to sleep late which was fantastic. Later, Husband went to a bar to watch the Jets game while Little Miss and I walked to the mall and went grcoery shopping. Our Jets clothes evidently didn't give them any luck as it was the end of the road for them. You can see our Jets clothes below. I should have closed the shower curtain before timing the photo. The bathroom has the best light in our apartment so lots of photos are taken in there, but I usually take photos in the opposite part of the room. Here's for a relaxing week because next weekend is busy!

Pretty in Pink

Do you like the pie plate?

Isn't it pretty?

Don't you want it?

If you do, visit Joyously Living Life. The blog is having a contest and giving a fabulous pink pie plate away. If I win, I want to make a strawberry pie when strawberries are in season. I can't bake, but I try. I'd love to at least be able to bake one thing well. Whether I win or not, I'll keep trying.

Sexy Friday

To continue with this month's theme, I started with one of my favorite WB actors, Scott Foley from Felicity. I know he's done other things, but I can't say I followed them until I saw him on Scrubs. I was also pleased to see him make an appearance on Cougar Town. I'm only sad that his run looks like it's over. So, as one who has almost been on Sexy Friday in the past many times, I also chose Sarah Chalke, also from Scrubs. I do love a good theme and should do them more often. I could have sworn she's been on Sexy Friday before, but I've checked the list and the blog and can't find her.

Did Someone Ask for an Exorcism?

Last night, Little Miss came home and fell asleep almost immediately which was odd, but if she's tired, she's tired. Around the time Husband started to make dinner (around 8:00), he heard something and yelled to me. I ran into Little Miss's room and it was a disaster. She threw up all over the bed, her stuffed animals, herself, the crib, the floor. It was unnatural. I have to imagine her head spun around in order for her to get the mess in as many places as she did. It was the foulest thing I've ever seen or smelled. I swear I still have that smell in my nose this morning. She had it coming out of her nose and was just sobbing. I picked her up and exited the room as soon as possible. I cleaned up Little Miss and just let her hang out in her diaper. Within 5 minutes, she was playing. She ran around the room and sat down with her tools. Above is an edited photo of her and her tools - her new favorite toy. Meanwhile, here is a shot of Husband taking apart the entire nursery before doing the laundry. If you ask me, I had the better end of the deal. I'm glad Little Miss waited until Husband was back in town to be sick.

I should mention that Little Miss fell asleep with us on the couch quite awhile after (she couldn't stop playing and we made her eat a little and drink a little to see if the stomach pyrotechnics were over for the night). This morning, she seemed back to normal.

Weekend Update - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Husband left town on Friday morning to return this evening so it was just Little Miss and me. On Friday night, we played and then I had every intention of cleaning. Instead, we played and then I watched a movie.

On Saturday, Little Miss slept in a bit which was very nice of her. Then, she woke up, we watched a little television, had breakfast and then she took a very short nap. I actually did clean this time. In the afternoon, she had lunch and then played while I finished cleaning. In the evening, my friends came over and had dinner with Little Miss and me. Then, we popped popcorn, chatted and watched Glee on DVD. After they left, I cleaned up again and went to bed.

On Sunday, Little Miss slept very late which was extremely nice of her. We had a light breakfast and then went to the mall to met up with Sister and Nephew for lunch. The kids played and each received a treat. Little Miss received her first tool set, and she loves it. On the way home, Little Miss fell asleep and stayed asleep for a little over 2 hours. My friends came back over. We had dinner, popped more popcorn, and watched the Golden Globes. I had just enough to drink to wish I had a little less the next morning, but it was fun. Last night, I went to bed instead of cleaning up so there is an extremely messy apartment waiting for me at home. I'll be a little whirlwind tonight and clean before Husband comes home.

The weekend was fun, but it went by quickly! Only tentative plans for next weekend so we'll see what it will bring.

Sexy Friday

Today's Sexy Friday has strange origins. I've been obsessive over Phineas and Ferb lately. At first, I found the show kind of loud and annoying, but it's quite clever. Anyway, Kelly Hu is one of the voices. I could have sworn she was already Sexy on a Friday, but I couldn't find her so maybe she was in the running and never made the final cut. So, once I had her, I looked up her Internet resume and, assuming it is correct, see that she is going to be on an episode of The Vampire Diaries which also stars Ian Somerhalder. So, he and his gorgeous eyes are also part of Sexy Friday. I've only really seen him in The Rules of Attraction, but it looks like he's been in and out of shows I've seen before. I will also admit that, up until 5 minutes ago, I totally thought he was someone else (or someone else was him). Either way, sexy is sexy.

I should also take this opportunity to say that this month has a theme. It was quite accidental, but it's a theme nonetheless. Last week featured someone from Supernatural, this week is The Vampire Diaries. I won't spoil the next couple of weeks, but at least one of the actors featured is from a show from either the WB or CW network.

Scream!

We watch a lot of television. We do. Separately, together, television shows, movies, sports, news, awards shows - you name it, we've probably seen it once (with the exception of almost all reality shows). The entire television industry is almost a hobby for us. However, real life does occasionally get in the way of our television. As with most of the universe, we rarely watch television live. We record everything and then watch whenever we want and fast forward through all commercials (or, in my case, boring parts of shows). Lately, the DVR is getting increasingly full. It's quite overwhelming. It's actually stressful to see the shows pile up. It's usually easy for us to keep up, but in the last few years, less and less of our shows have been cancelled. This is unusual for us. Our shows should thin out between the next two years and we're not adding many new ones, but in the meantime, it's killer. I understand the world has bigger problems than ours, but it totally stresses me out to see that my available space to record programming gets smaller and smaller everyday. Conversely, it totally excites me to see the percentage of space increase when I delete something. Deleting something is equal to crossing something off my To Do List.

Does this happen to anybody else or do you have something mundane over which you obsess?

Weekend Update - Where Did It Go?

First, the photo is from last Thursday which is technically not the weekend, but I didn't take any pictures last weekend. She always looks so pained, but she's really screaming "CHEESE!" at the top of her lungs.

On Friday, Little Miss went to bed early. I popped in a movie and settled down to enjoy my night home with complete control over the television while Husband was out of town. I ended up going to bed fairly early. Little Miss woke up on time the next morning. We had a good morning. She ate breakfast, took a nap, ate lunch. She colored. Husband came home, and she was very glad to see him. She took another nap while Husband went to watch football at a local bar. Then, Little Miss woke up, we had dinner, and then she took a bath and asked to go to bed. I finished my book club book for the month (3 weeks early!) and went to bed very early.

On Sunday, I was allowed to sleep late, but I couldn't. I woke up early anyway. I didn't do anything, but I woke up. When Little Miss went for her nap, I showered and got ready to leave. Husband watched Little Miss while I met a friend for lunch at Panera and a movie (Sherlock Holmes. Then, I came home, ate dinner, and watched tv with the boy. Very low key.

The weekend went obscenely quick, and most of the next two months is planned out already so it seems like 2010 will fly by just as quickly as 2009. Oh, well, all good, I hope.

It's Not Easy Being Green

Since Thursday, it's just been Little Miss and me. Well, that said, Thursday and Friday, I did go to work so it hasn't been non-stop. She's been excellent, very lovey, well-behaved and even going to bed early. Today, we did some arts and crafts. She colored more of herself than she did of the paper (though she's pretty good at keeping the coloring to paper). Her hands were all green. They are washable markers so the green bled onto everything. She ate lunch with her fingers and turned her chicken green. She took a nap with her hands by her mouth and, after drooling, woke up with a green mouth and green teeth. I know that, at any point, I could have taken a washcloth to her, but I figured she'd be coloring more later and I'd have to repeat the process many times. I'll just give her a bath tonight and clean once. It is kind of amusing to see her green. I keep calling her my little Hulk. It's been fun spending time with her even if I'm the mother of the Dirty Kid.

Giving In To the Chaos

Most of the time, I wait until Little Miss is asleep to do household chores, or I wait until Husband can keep an eye on her. However, Husband is out of town for a couple of days. I wanted to surprise him with a clean house so I was going to start by folding the linens and then work on deconstructing Christmas. Last night, I decided to fold a pile of linens - tablecloths, napkins, a few sets of sheets. I quickly found out that there was a reason I waited until after bedtime to do my chores. Little Miss decided folding sheets was so much more fun than any of her toys or television. I know there is only one Little Miss, but either way, I did not get the result below.Once I gave into the fact that her idea of "helping" was hiding under the sheets while I folded them or jumping on top of them while I laid them out to fold, I just gave up. We just played. I did a one-person parachute and we'd huddle underneath and giggle while the sheet floated down on top of us. It gave us a lot of laughs and let me let go of the stress of finishing a chore. The fun was worth it. Plus, boy, did it tire her out. At one point, the sheet floated to the ground and Little Miss took off her pants and just curled up on the sheet as if going to bed. (Lately, Little Miss takes off her clothes at any given moment. This only concerns us because it's cold! The other night, she was in fuzzy pjs and, when we went in to check on her before we went to bed, she was only in her diaper.) So, I left the last few sheets on the floor and took the cue and put her in bed. However, before bed, I managed to take a couple of photos from under the sheets - one is the photo of the day and another is below:

Sexy Friday

Thanks for bearing with me while I took the holidays off. If you know me at all, this Sexy Friday can't be a surprise. About a year ago, Jensen Ackles was chosen for Sexy Friday so it's only fair that Jared Padalecki be granted the same honor. It was announced this week that Jared Padalecki and Genevieve Cortese are engaged. So, what better engagement present than to be named on Sexy Friday and kick off 2010? I was totally a fan of Jared Padalecki on Gilmore Girls until his character cheated on his wife and then I thought he was kind of icky after that. That said, I did watch him in a few movies and followed him to Supernatural which one of the few shows I own on DVD and one of the few shows that just gets better and better. Genevieve Cortese was also on Supernatural. Technically, I do watch her on FlashForward, too, but her role is so small, I always forget it's her. So, congratulations to the couple! Marriage is fantastic, but Sexy Friday - now, that's an honor.

Perfect Gift for Little Miss!

We're in the process of figuring out how to pay for preschool and this isn't really a necessity item (especially considering I already bought her birthday shirt for next October on clearance), but it's so perfect. That said, for $12.95 + S&H, I could totally buy big so she can wear it in a few years. If you'd like to contribute to the Little Miss wardrobe, you can find the shirt here. My only issue is that it's one word away from being Miss October which sounds dirty to me. She already likes to take her clothes off constantly. It's a slippery slope.

Books Read in December 2009

1. Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb (NOTE: This book is the 30th book in her Eve Dallas series - not including novellas. The full order can be found here.)
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
3. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

This was definitely a slow book-reading month. However, I prefer to think of it as quality over quantity. I really enjoyed all of the books I read. I don't think Kindred in Death is my favorite book in the series, but I did enjoy it. It did move the characters forward and had a decent case. I saw the film, Fantastic Mr. Fox and immediately went home to read the short book. Growing up, it was one of my favorite books and probably my favorite Roald Dahl book as well. It was nice to revisit and compare it to the film. I enjoyed Bel Canto as well. It's still staying with me, and I'm currently rereading portions. I'm not obsessed with it, but it was definitely worth reading. I have a pretty big To Be Read list. It is full of quality books. The next month is a slow book-release month for me so I'm hoping to tackle the books I already own. We'll see how successful I am and if the books turn out to be winners.

Weekend Update - Christmas Take Two

We arrived in Maryland late on Saturday (technically, it was Sunday already). On Sunday, we went skiing then all came home bruised and sore (but in a good way). Husband saw his football team win. So, all in all, a good day.

The next day, it snowed and wouldn't stop. We ended up having to stay an extra day to wait for the roads to clear out. The kids loved playing in the snow (as did the rest of us). This is the first time Little Miss really got to play in a significant amount of snow. Last year, she wasn't quite walking.

It was nice to see Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins. We hadn't seen them in awhile,and I don't even know if Little Miss remembers them. She did latch onto the youngest cousin. He's like the Child Whisperer. Both kids really gravitated towards him. Little Miss talked his ear off for quite awhile. Plus, she'll see them all again in February so she'll still remember them. She also loved seeing my parents' cat. She loves that cat. She gets so excited and just screams, "KITTY! KITTY!" Though Little Miss doesn't speak in sentences yet, she seems to add more and more words a day.

Little Miss was spoiled and received tons of presents from dress up shoes, boks, clothes, a whole baby play set with playpen, high chair, and stroller, a purse, vacuum, and art supplies. She loved them all.

Husband has the rest of the week off which he is spending with Little Miss, but it was back to work for me. It's a short week at least!

Weekend Update - Christmas

I got Christmas Eve off of work which was nice. Somehow we lost all day cleaning even though I was so good and did a lot of cleaning before. I can't even account for all the lost hours. Then, we went to Christmas Eve Mass and had all the In-Laws over for dinner. We had all the Polish food we cooked as well as pastries the boys all cooked the day before. Little Miss got all her presents from the In-Laws. She loved them. The above photo is the family photo taken at our place. I swear I'm fatter than I am in real life. I leaned back and wore plaid which was a bad mix. Ugh. Everyone else looked good and smiled though. The chances of a good retake were next to nothing.

On Christmas, we opened the family presents. Husband and I bought a mattress recently so that was our real gift, but we did small stocking stuffers for each other. We bought many gifts for Little Miss, and she seemed to love them all - especially her Minnie golf club set. Christmas night, we went to Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law's apartment to celebrate. We had a great dinner there, and Little Miss got another present. The below photo is of Little Miss in the giant chair Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law have. She always sleeps in this chair, ever since she was an infant. I'll have to find photos of her in the chair from last year to show how much she's grown.

The day after Christmas, we were supposed to wake up in the morning and go to Maryland where my parents have a place, but Little Miss had a stomach bug. So, we ended up leaving in the evening after dinner. More on that in a separate email.

Christmas

The day before Christmas Eve, we went to visit Santa. It went poorly from Little Miss kicking Santa in his jingle bells to screaming bloody murder.

I'll post more Christmas photos later, but Christmas Eve went well. This year, it was the In-Laws turn for us to celebrate with them. (We alternate holidays.) There was only a minor moment at Mass where Little Miss needed some bribery chocolate. She was very happy with her Christmas presents (Minnie golf clubs, Choo-Choo Express movie, Micky Mouse Clubhouse figurines, 2 pairs of Minnie pajamas, Minnie outfit, Minnie ornament, and a 3-piece New York Jets outfit. She got a train, an ornament, an animal that turns into a blanket, and a Fisher Price Santa set from the In-Laws and a really adorable outfit from Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law.

This morning, we were to drive to my parents' place to see the entire extended family and ski. However, Little Miss woke up and has been throwing up ever since. So, we hope it passes soon. For now, we're just having family cuddle time on the couch. Poor thing can't keep anything down.

Little Miss also receive this bib from the In-Laws which, surprisingly, she wore for a short time Christmas Eve night.

Snow Day!

So, in case you hadn't heard, it snowed last weekend. I keep saying that the weather people don't know what they're talking about, but it turns out, they did this time. We got a ton of snow. We never get that much because we're closer to the city, but we got covered. Below is a photo of the front of our building early in the day on Saturday:Now, the grocery stores are insane in this area before a storm, even imaginary threats of storms. So, we were pretty sure it was going to be insane this time. So, we didn't go on Friday night despite the fact that we had no food at home. So, before the storm escalated, we walked to the grocery store on Saturday morning. We were going to drive, but the roads were bad. The photo below is Husband and Little Miss in the snow:
Little Miss wasn't very amused by the snow, but then again, she brought part of that on herself. She wouldn't let us put down the canopy for her stroller. She wanted the cool air but she didn't want the wet snow. So, either way, she was unhappy. We let her run wild at the grocery store so that helped. She also got free samples. Below is a picture of the snow accumulating on her:The snow kept increasing throughout the evening. When it was mostly done, we took photos of our balconies (which rarely get snow because they're fairly sheltered). Actually, upon further review, both of these photos are the balcony that isn't sheltered, the one off Little Miss's bedroom. One is straight from her room and the other is around the corner. A lot of the snow is gone now because that side of the building gets the sun. I'm sure the ice will come and go, but it'll clear off in a couple of days. We'll still have snow on the ground and a white Christmas though.So, today, the Federal Government was closed which meant a snow day for me! However, I have a lot of work to do so I'm still working from home. Husband is busy at work (did you hear the Senate is voting on something to do with healthcare?) so he had to go into work today after staying up most of the night watching CSPAN - which is weird because that channel is one I usually put on when I want to sleep. So, today is kind of a regular work day... except I'm wearing my pajamas. I also started tidying up for Christmas Eve dinner so I may continue to do that this evening so I don't have a mad rush on Christmas Eve morning. Very productive of me!

Contest

Do you want to win book(s) or a Nook? Click here to visit Anya Bast's website and find out how you can win a book or a Nook!

I'd wish you good luck, but then you'd win so all readers for themselves!

Sexy Friday

Well, I'm going to risk it. After posting Jake and Reese last week, I heard they broke up. So, I'm hoping that this couple will rise above the jinx. This week, it is Gavin Rossdale and his wife, Gwen Stefani. I was a passable fan of No Doubt and Bush though I will admit to being a bigger fan of Gavin Rossdale's pretty, pretty face. I haven't seen either much in their acting endeavors though I did see Gavin in an episode of Criminal Minds this Fall. They are totally adorable together, have adorable children. It's almost nauseating... if they weren't so darned sexy.

Hey! My Name is...

So, someone called me Rachel today at work. This is only unusual because 1. she knew my name and 2. I get Rachel a lot. Most of the time, people will accidentally call me Amy though. I wanted to add that we do have a Rachel in the office and, other than the fact we sit near each other, there's not much that would confuse us. This scene took place outside of the restroom not even near our desks anyway.

Then, I found this site where you can generate your own Jersey Shore nickname. If I put in my actual name, I get A-Cat. If I put in my married name, I get The Rack (which is maybe why I didn't change my name because clearly, that's not appropriate). If I put in my username, princessapr, I get Pookie. If I just put in april, I got Vibe Time. I think I'm sticking with A-Cat.

A-Cat OUT!

Salad Recipe

The photo above is not of the salad I made for bookclub, but it's close enough. I used chopped pecans and used the organic mixed green mix from the grocery store (but the mix was similar to the photo actually). My onion was a little bigger than minced, too, but it looked similar. I kept the dressing separate and will serve the leftovers today to my family so we'll see if it keeps overnight in the fridge, too. Well, for a second night because I made it on Saturday and just kept the feta cheese and dressing in separate containers until right before serving. You can find it here if you would like a printable copy.

MIXED GREEN SALAD W/ APPLE CIDER VINAIGRETTE

APPLE CIDER VINAIGRETTE:
2 Tbs sesame seeds
½ cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
½ cup olive oil
2 tsp minced onion
¼ tsp paprika
1 Tbs poppy seeds (optional)

SALAD:
½ cup chopped pecans
Two 5-ounce bags mixed baby salad greens, thoroughly washed
4 ounce package crumbled feta cheese
¾ cup dried cranberries

1. Prepare vinaigrette: Heat sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 3 minutes or just until toasted. Microwave vinegar in a medium-size, microwave-safe glass bowl at HIGH 1 minute, or just until hot. Add sugar, and whisk until dissolved. Add next 3 ingredients, toasted sesame seeds, and, if desired, poppy seeds; whisk until blended. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week.

2. Toast pecans: Place pecans in even layer in a shallow pan. Bake pecans at 350°F. for 15 minutes or until toasted, stirring once.

3. Assemble salad: Place greens in a large bowl. Top with cheese, cranberries, and toasted pecans. Drizzle with Apple Cider Vinaigrette just before serving.

Servings: 8

Weekend Update - Where Did the Time Go?

Last weekend was a fast one! First, the photo is from this morning as I didn't take any photos last weekend. It shows how much Little Miss loves her juice and juice cup. She actually takes her cup (and it's really any cup not the purple one in particular) to bed and has it in a death grip until she falls asleep.

On Friday, we mostly caught up on some television. I went to bed early. On Saturday, I woke up early with Little Miss. Husband ran errands. Then, in the evening, I went to Movie Club. I brought my Baked Macaroni and Cheese. We watched White Christmas and had lots of yummy things to eat. On Sunday, I had bookclub where we discussed The Help by Kathryn Stockett. We had many yummy things to eat. I made Mixed Green Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette. It was better than I expected. Little Miss is teething. So, she was kind of miserable all weekend. She chewed and was generally miserable. She seemed in good spirits today at least. Later that night, we finished the Christmas tree and relaxed. OK, here is the photo album of our tree and special ornaments including Disney, a few of many pig ornaments (as Little Miss was born in the Year of the Pig so the poor thing has a big pig collection), ornaments to represent DC, among others. The photo caption will tell you why the ornaments are special. The link should work now.

Sexy Friday

So, it's getting closer to Christmas and, whenever I think of Christmas, I like to take a few moments to think of Jake Gyllenhaal. For those of you who saw Jarhead, you understand. For those of you who have not, at one point, Jake dances around in his Santa hat. Just his Santa hat. Currently, you can see him in Brothers which looks a little too depressing for me, but I'll watch it from the comfort of my own couch with my own box of tissues. His counterpart is a person who (as of this blog posting) is linked to him in all the magazines and whatnot - Reese Witherspoon. I've liked Reese Witherspoon since I sobbed through The Man in the Moon (which gives me another Sexy Friday recipient in the future). Both seem like likable people so I see them together, and I want to believe they're happy - and happiness is sexy.

Weekend Update - Baker's Joy

OK, maybe not so much joy, but there was a lot of cooking and baking. As we did last year, this year, Father-in-Law, Brother-in-Law, Sister-in-Law and our friends came over to cook and bake. We made pierogi (over 200 sauerkraut and around 300 potato and cheese), 4 loaves of nut bread, loaves of babka, and hundreds of chrusciki. Little Miss spent the weekend with Mother-in-Law because she's still a little too young to help, and we didn't have the room to have her underfoot. Unlike last year, I took photos of the actual final product. On Friday, we stayed up late working on the tree and then preparing for the weekend. On Saturday, we did the cooking of the pierogi. Sunday, we did the baking. Unfortunately, the only downpart is that we lost about 55 potato and cheese pierogi due to some freezing issues. We made more than our freezer could handle so, because of the humidity, they stuck together and couldn't be separated. Still, we have more than enough. Can't wait to start eating!

What's in a Name?

My name isn't uncommon, but it's not like there are Aprils running around all over the place. So, when they do show up, they stand out to me.

The first one I remember was from Days of Our Lives played by Lisa Howard in the late 80's. Then, in high school, April O'Neill from The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gained popularity in her yellow jumpsuit came around. This year, I saw Rent in which Roger sings about his ex-girlfriend, April (you can hear him say that Mimi reminds him of her at the :58 point of the video clip below) and Kristin Chenoweth played April Rhodes on Glee this season. Another exciting tidbit is that Kristin Chenoweth is about my height. So, short.

Anyway, it amuses me that my name pops up. I've known a handful of Aprils throughout my life and Husband's friend from high school married a woman with the same first and last name as me. They're all awesome. Plus, not every April I've met was born in April which also amuses me because I was not.

Is your name popular and are you like me and enjoy seeing things or hearing characters with your name on it?

Sexy Friday

Today's Sexy Friday belongs to John Cho currently of FlashForward. I know him from many films and television shows, but I never really thought he was sexy until Star Trek. I think it was the fighting. However, and I'm sure he hates this, he'll always be part Harold from Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. For some reason, those movies tickle me (and I'll see the third movie if it ever is made). Because he'll always be part Harold, I chose a co-star from the sequel, Daneel Harris. I have seen Daneel Harris in a few things, but she's not very familiar to me. To me, she's most known for being engaged to the second ever Sexy Friday recipient, Jensen Ackles. I'm definitely a little jealous.

Weekend Update - O Christmas Tree

Let's see. On Friday, we woke up and had our annual breakfast at IHOP. Little Miss had a great breakfast. Then, while waiting for Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law, we stopped in at Babies 'R' Us to pick up a few things. It was a little colder than we expected so we picked up Little Miss a new hat and mittens. Then, of course, we picked up a bunch of things we didn't really need. After, we headed to the tree farm. While we waited for Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law, we crossed the street to see the horses. They were very friendly and came right up to the fence to say hello to us. Little Miss wasn't too happy when one snuck in a kiss. We made quick work of choosing a tree and head back home. The tree was bigger than we expected when we got home so it takes up most of the corner and we had to shift things around, but it is a nice tree.

On Saturday, we went to the mall to Macy's for the big mattress sale. We ended up treating ourselves to a new mattress (that arrives on Thursday and I'm sure it will inspire a new blog post on Friday). We then had lunch at Bailey's Pub & Grill and took a walk to a couple of grocery stores to find what we needed for dinner. Slim pickings right after Thanksgiving!

On Sunday, I mostly slept all day. There was football on, but I only really remember sleeping, waking up to eat and then sleeping again.

Books Read in November 2009

1. Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts (NOTE: This book is the second in her Bride Quartet. The full order can be found here.)
2. Storm Front by Jim Butcher (NOTE: This is Book 1 of The Dresden Files series. You can find the order in which to read here.)
3. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (NOTE: This is part of the Southern Vampire or Sookie Stackhouse series. You can find the order in which to read here.)
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5. Hot on Her Heels by Susan Mallery (NOTE: This is the fourth and final book in the Lone Star Sisters series. The first three books are Under Her Skin, Lip Service, and Straight from the Hip.)

It was a more productive month than I expected. I thought The Help was going to take longer. It's for bookclub and 450 pages. However, it was a fast read. I also took a break from romance and read a bit of paranormal which helped change things up. I'm back in the reading mode now and have a ton of books piling up so it's nice to be back. I am really enjoying the Nora Roberts series. It's sweet. I tend to like a bit of dark and twisty in my books, but hers are just really sweet and cute. I almost wish there was more conflict but have decided to just take them as they are. Not a bad book in the bunch this month.