Oh So VERY Sick!!!!

John and I have been attacked with the worst sickness that both of us has had in forever.
Last time was just a trial run I guess.

I could blame my little brother- but it was not his fault that he was sick on Christmas day- or that we spent about 11 hours there.
And then the next day John and I had to get to work early, and start the DAYS long chore of Inventory. John and I both started the Cough and nose issues that morning, and while he was sitting at his desk and I was in Assembly counting millions of little parts (and it was COLD out there- in the 50's or low 60's)

Then 2 days later, we both got attacked big time. So for the last 2 days we have had 101-102 fevers, and are not hungry (a HUGE sign we are sick) and have been coughing and sneezing to no end. To top it off, we were stuck at work, and he was sitting at his desk burning up with a fever, and I was out in the shipping area, in the misty wet cold, and we were both doing inventory. (and to top it off- John is the ONLY one who knows what to do and can make all the corrections- it sucks to be the "go to man" at times.)

Inventory is at best- a horrid & miserable thing in the best of conditions, and with the 2 of us down, it was a long, long long horrid day. And we are not done yet. It all has to be finished by the 1st, (for tax and inventory reasons) and so no matter how bad we feel in the next day or so, we will have to drag ourselves in and finish it. At least it is all computer work for now (I think).

I technically do not have to go in- my Days at Maximum Motorsports were over on Friday- but the last thing I am going to do is send John into work to finish it himself into the wee hours of the night, while I sit at home and mumble Thur the shivers.

All I can say is ugh- and ugh again.
Typing is not a huge chore at the moment. John and I are in the office- 2 jackets each, scarves, socks, slippers and polar fleece pants, and the heater is on, and we also have a space heater that is at the moment pumping out 76 degree warm air, and has been for about 2 hours. It is nice and cozy in here, and I almost feel like my finger can function. But poor John, he was laying on the floor in front of the space heater in 2 jackets, many layers of socks and slippers, and a thermal headband and shivering. I keep jabbing the new thermometer at him, and have informed him that if his fever hits 103.5 or higher it is time for the doctor (he hates to go).... but I am grateful that as lousy as I feel- i can still care for him- he really shuts down when he gets sick, and it worries me.

Oh well- off to drink more tea- that is all that sounds tasty to me. Even chicken soup is not appealing. ugh.
night all!

Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope that you all have a very merry, happy and wonderful Christmas.
John and I are about to sit down and watch "The Bishops Wife" (oh how I love Cary Grant!) and have some dinner. And then we are going to go get some tasty Starbucks holiday drinks and drive around and check out some of the amazing lights around here, and then home to watch "the Grinch" and then probably play a game or two (not sure what yet, but I am hoping for trivial pursuit 90's edition) and then off to bed and then tomorrow- Christmas!

We will have out Christmas together (and with the birds- they love to play in the wrapping paper) and then we will head to my parents house to hang out there and do more gifts and have dinner :)

Well- Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a Good night!

SO True!

Ok- we have birds- and this movie truly highlights how they interact at times. Yes they are usually sweet and kind, but they can be a bit "peckish" at times. The Parrotlets are not overly sweet to the parakeets, and while the parakeets want to be friendly with the parrotlets, the keets usually turn on each other faster than anything else. Anyway- Enjoy the movie! This Is John and I's fave short movie that Pixar has made :) Pixar is the best!

A Christmas Treat for you!

How the Grinch Stole ChristmasBy Dr. Seuss

Every Who Down in Whoville Liked Christmas a lot... But the Grinch,Who lived just north of Whoville, Did NOT! The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. But I think that the most likely reason of all, May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

Whatever the reason, His heart or his shoes, He stood there on Christmas Eve, hating the Whos, Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown, At the warm lighted windows below in their town. For he knew every Who down in Whoville beneath, Was busy now, hanging a mistletoe wreath. "And they're hanging their stockings!" he snarled with a sneer, "Tomorrow is Christmas! It's practically here!" Then he growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming, "I MUST find some way to stop Christmas from coming!" For Tomorrow, he knew, all the Who girls and boys, Would wake bright and early. They'd rush for their toys! And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! That's one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!

Then the Whos, young and old, would sit down to a feast. And they'd feast! And they'd feast! And they'd FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! They would feast on Who-pudding, and rare Who-roast beast. Which was something the Grinch couldn't stand in the least! And THEN They'd do something He liked least of all! Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, Would stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing. They'd stand hand-in-hand. And the Whos would start singing! They'd sing! And they'd sing! And they'd SING! SING! SING! SING!

And the more the Grinch thought of this Who ChristmasSing, The more the Grinch thought, "I must stop this whole thing!" "Why, for fifty-three years I've put up with it now!" "I MUST stop this Christmas from coming! But HOW?" Then he got an idea! An awful idea! THE GRINCH GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA! "I know just what to do!" The Grinch laughed in his throat. And he made a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat. And he chuckled, and clucked, "What a great Grinchy trick!" "With this coat and this hat, I look just like Saint Nick!" "All I need is a reindeer..." The Grinch looked around. But, since reindeer are scarce, there was none to be found. Did that stop the old Grinch? No! The Grinch simply said, "If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead!" So he called his dog, Max. Then he took some red thread, And he tied a big horn on the top of his head.

THEN He loaded some bags And some old empty sacks, On a ramshackle sleigh And he hitched up old Max. Then the Grinch said, "Giddap!" And the sleigh started down, Toward the homes where the Whos Lay asnooze in their town. All their windows were dark. Quiet snow filled the air. All the Whos were all dreaming sweet dreams without care. When he came to the first little house on the square. "This is stop number one," the old Grinchy Claus hissed, And he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist. Then he slid down the chimney. A rather tight pinch. But, if Santa could do it, then so could the Grinch. He got stuck only once, for a moment or two. Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flue. Where the little Who stockings all hung in a row. "These stockings," he grinned, "are the first things to go!"

Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, Around the whole room, and he took every present! Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller skates! Drums! Checkerboards! Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums! And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly, Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney! Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Whos' feast! He took the Who-pudding! He took the roast beast! He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash. Why, that Grinch even took their last can of Who-hash! Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee. "And NOW!" grinned the Grinch, "I will stuff up the tree!" And the Grinch grabbed the tree, and he started to shove, When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove. He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who! Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two. The Grinch had been caught by this tiny Who daughter, Who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water. She stared at the Grinch and said, "Santy Claus, why,” "Why are you taking our Christmas tree? WHY?"

But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick, He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick! "Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Santy Claus lied, "There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side." "So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear." "I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here." And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head, And he got her a drink and he sent her to bed. And when CindyLou Who went to bed with her cup, HE went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up! Then the last thing he took Was the log for their fire! Then he went up the chimney, himself, the old liar. On their walls he left nothing but hooks and some wire. And the one speck of food That he left in the house, Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse.

Then He did the same thing To the other Whos' houses Leaving crumbs Much too small For the other Whos' mouses! It was quarter past dawn... All the Whos, still a-bed, All the Whos, still asnooze When he packed up his sled, Packed it up with their presents! The ribbons! The wrappings! The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings! Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mt. Crumpit, He rode with his load to the tiptop to dump it! "PoohPooh to the Whos!" he was grinchishly humming. "They're finding out now that no Christmas is coming!" "They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do!" "Their mouths will hang open a minute or two, Then the Whos down in Whoville will all cry BooHoo!" "That's a noise," grinned the Grinch, "That I simply MUST hear!" So he paused.

And the Grinch put his hand to his ear. And he did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in low. Then it started to grow. But the sound wasn't sad! Why, this sound sounded merry! It couldn't be so! But it WAS merry! VERY! He stared down at Whoville! The Grinch popped his eyes! Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise! Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, Was singing! Without any presents at all! He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?" "It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!" "It came without packages, boxes or bags!" And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store." "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

And what happened then? Well...in Whoville they say, That the Grinch's small heart Grew three sizes that day! And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight, He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light, And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast! And he, HE HIMSELF! The Grinch carved the roast beast!

Back in the game...

Hello Hello!!! I have returned from the land of the plague. It took about a week to go away, but I am finally feeling mostly back to normal. I still cough from time to time, and I am still sleeping a bit more soundly than normal, but I no longer feel like I am walking around in a fevered fog.
Since I wanted to post a update about the time that I was struck down, this will be a bit of a mini catch-up.

For the Holidays I wanted to have some fun tasks that John and I could do together. So instead of the usual Advent calender, I made a Holiday Project Bowl. I made up some small cards with Holiday Ideas, and stamped them, and tied them with ribbon. So every evening we pick a card to open and we follow what it says the next day. Some of them are tied with blue ribbon, and those are bigger tasks and so we save those for the weekends.


The First one that was drawn was one of the larger tasks. It was "bake Holiday cookies and Deliver them to Friends". John (who can bake, but has not done it for years) was a bit wary, but we had fun. Here we are about to get started. (john will be upset that I posted pics of him unshaven, but If he only wants to shave once a week, than he is risking getting posted on the blog looking scruffy) If any of you notice my apron- it is vintage Starbucks. I still have a few of my Aprons from when I was a Barista :) (good times, good times!)



Here is John making one of the most popular treats we made. It is a cookie\bar that is filled and topped with Chocolate chips, white chocolate, marshmallows, and Caramel bites. Very tasty and rich! And you can see a bit of the kitchen remodel in the background. We tore out the old window and have not yet Drywalled up the wall yet.



Here is some of the packages we made up for family and friends. We ended up making Frosted Sugar Cookies, Peppermint twists dipped in chocolate with crushed peppermint on top. Chocolate surprise cookies (chocolate cookies, topped with a marshmallow as it bakes and then frosted when cool with chocolate frosting) the Rocky bars (already mentioned) and last but not least- the snicker doodles that John made all on his own :)

Then a few days later the plague set in, and I was not able to function very well, and avoided the blog out of guilt and and not feeling well.

Then as I was feeling better, I started taking more pics again. On Saturday night John and I went to the PAC and we saw "The Nutcracker" Ballet. I had heard some of the music, and knew the story (sorta) but I had never seen it performed (live or on TV). WE had Awesome seats. We were at the front row of the top balcony, and seated front and center. I was thinking that we may be far from the stage, but it really was perfect. I would not want to pay double just to be about 10 feet closer- we could see everything, and I liked the higher up view. It was sun to watch, and they took some liberty in the story and so I was a bit confused from time to time, but we had a good time :)


Well that about sums it up for now.

I am really happy to be feeling better. I am finally feeling more like myself- I am happy most of the day, feeling creative, happy for the holidays, and wanting to eat again. I know when I am sick when I am warm, un-talkative, never hungry, and unhappy. It is nice to be back :)

I Surrender!

Fever- Check.

Stuffy head- check.

Sneezing- Check.

Throat on Fire- Check.

Bottle of Nyquil and a king size bed- CHECK!

I have been hit with a mini plauge. I was feeling kinda "off" on monday and tuesday. But there was a Brush fire around here, and I blamed the sore throat and sneezing on the smoke that was lingering in the air. Well yesterday it all hit the fan. I had a fever, and was chilled (I was wearing a long sleeve shirt with a jacket with the heater on and it was 77 outside). But I gave in, went home from work, slept all afternoon, and last night I took the Nyquil.

John is not very fond of it, but it is one of my best friends, and I surrendered to the bliss that I knew it would bring. I took a half dose, and was asleep in about 15 minutes. I didn't MOVE last night. I woke up in the same spot that I feel alseep in & I still had a clip in my hair this morning, and it didn't move either.

I slept like the dead last night, and when I woke up this morning I felt better. Not well, but better. I am sitting here at work, drinking hot water with Lemon and Honey (trust me, that works better than any cough drop that I have ever used!) and sitting back here waiting for the phone to ring and happy that I feel a bit better.

I love you Nyquil.... you are the best.

*40 Months*

Today John and I have been dating for 40 Months. (3 Years and 4 Months for those of you who are year inclined)
He is the best guy ever, and it has been the best "40 months" that I have ever had.
Here's to you John, I love you and Happy Anniversary!