Second Favorite?

One of the many things I have come to love about Johnathan is his talent for giving me gifts. Now, if he never ever gave me a single gift in our whole relationship I would still love him, but his thoughtfulness and insight is the delicious icing on the proverbial cake.

The first gift I think he ever gave me was for the first Christmas we were together. We'd only been dating less than two months and I was working two full-time jobs and had just finished a semester taking 9 hours of school on top of it. That year, he gave me a gift certificate to get a massage. It was exactly what I needed, but never thought to ask for. Last Christmas he pulled out another brilliant idea for part of my gift. Knowing how much I love the show Mad About You and that the interactions between Paul and Jamie Buchman remind me of the way we are together, he bought me the first three seasons of the show on DVD. Again, it hadn't occurred to me to ask for them, but they've provided hours of entertainment and I couldn't love them more.

Johnathan isn't just good at giving gifts for special occasions either. He is thoughtful all of the time. He once saw a set of pearls that were modeled after ones that Jackie Kennedy wore and was so sure that I'd love them, he bought them immediately and gave them to me in October, even though he easily could have saved them for an anniversary gift the next month. On my first day at my current job, flowers were delivered to my office to offer me congratulations and wish me good luck.

Basically what I'm saying is that I feel incredibly lucky to have such a thoughtful, caring person in my life and the last thing I want to say about Christmas this year is that it was no exception. I could not possibly have ever imagined what he would come up with to give me, but I also could not possibly love it more. He gave me a tote bag with none other than my beloved dog on it. Granted, such a thing could have turned out to be really cheesy if it was poorly done, but the one he chose is beautiful and perfect and I couldn't be happier to carry it around. So, without further ado, here is my second favorite thing from Christmas this year:

My Favorite Thing This Christmas

There is just too much to write about in regards to my Christmas celebrations this year. Between Johnathan's family and the two sides of my family, the holiday lasted about five days. I loved getting to spend time with so many loved ones, but there were definitely some absences leaving a void as well.

If I had to pick my one favorite thing about Christmas this year, it would definitely be watching my niece, Alivia, really get into it for the first time in her life. At 14 months, she was able to unwrap her own presents (and try her best to open others' too), get excited over gifts and just look plain adorable. I took hundreds of pictures during all of the festivities, but here are just a few favorites photos of my favorite niece:

Mini Dream-Come-True

I remember the first camera I ever had. It was one of those long, thin rectangular ones and it was a bright neon yellow/green color. I got it for Christmas and took a bunch of pictures of my cousin's and uncles playing basketball, but only managed to shoot their feet. In high school, I was on the yearbook and newspaper staff as a photographer and I again got a camera for Christmas, only this time it was a 35mm SLR. Since everything went digital, I've had a couple of point and shoots, but I always longed for a digital SLR. Finally, around Easter, I decided to make the investment and I think it was one of the best things I could possibly have spent my money on.

I usually find myself shooting plants and animals, because there are not too many willing human subjects out there, but last weekend I got an opportunity that was really like a dream to me. A coworker mentioned to me that she was going to have some portraits done at JC Penny. When I heard that I believe I gasped (no offense to JC) and insisted that she let me do a photo shoot for her. She has a little boy who turns two-months tomorrow and her husband left yesterday for his second or third tour in Iraq, so it was very important to her to have photos before he left.

So on Sunday, they gave me the great honor of doing my first ever professional (though actually not, since I didn't want to be paid) photo shoot. I'm so thankful to her family for being my guinea pigs. I have a [not so] secret dream of building up a portfolio some day and maybe turning my hobby into a side job. Here are a few of the shots I took:

Not So Boring

As I spent Saturday night in a typical way - doing laundry and watching an old movie from Netflix - I was thinking about how boring my life is and how it doesn't make for very much to blog about. It's not really a complaint. No news is good news and all that. But I do wish I had more to write about on here. So I lamented my boring blog, finished my laundry and went to bed.

At 2:40 Sunday morning, Keller started barking and then I heard a knock at the door. I looked out the peephole and saw an unknown man in his late 20's to early 30's. I opened the door a crack, keeping most of my body (read: leverage) behind the door and peeking my head around to see what he wanted. He told me that some people had tried to jump him in the parking lot of my apartments and asked me to call the police. I told him I would and shut and locked the door to go get my phone. While I was calling he knocked again and asked for some water, so I went and got him bottle and gave it to him (shutting and locking the door behind me every time). Finally, when I had given all of the information I had to the dispatcher, I told him that they were on their way and just sat and waited.

A few minutes later I could hear the police outside and before long there was another knock at the door. This time it was the police. The officer asked me a few questions and then chastised me for opening the door, telling me that he did not believe the guy's story and did not think it was a coincidence that he happened to knock on the door of a single woman. My opinion is that if he had any intention of harming me he would have asked or made a move to get into my apartment and he would not have asked me to call the police, much less wait around for them to show up. But honestly, it wasn't until the officer told me that he was concerned for me that it even hit me that my safety could have been in question.

That got me emotional. I was not afraid at all. The whole thing was over and I never felt the least bit threatened. But I was still upset and I have to thank my mom for not freaking out when I called her crying at 3:00 AM about the cops and the strange man who came to my door. She didn't even get mad at me for being so "irresponsible." I have been accused in the past of being too trusting or naive. I know that these people are right, but for me, I have to live in a world where I trust in the basic goodness of people until they show me otherwise.

About a half hour later, the police knocked again and asked me some more questions: whether I'd been outside late that night, if my blinds had been open, etc. They said that the man did not know whether I had called them or not, which leads me to believe my suspicion that he had some mental problems. When all was said and done I was able to go back to sleep fairly easily, thanking God that I was safe and appreciating the boring times just a bit more.

A Special Anniversary

Four years ago today, I brought my dog, Keller home from the shelter. I was living with my mom at the time and she had undergone major back surgery. During the weeks of recovery, she was totally bed-bound leaving me to do everything around the house and taking care of her, while working at my first professional job. She had to take several different medicines at all different times of day and night, so I had a ton of alarms set up, so I could wake up and give her her pills. It was a lot of work, but I didn't mind one bit. I get satisfaction out of taking care of others and, after all, she has done it for me my whole life. But when she was back on her feet, she decided that she wanted to do something for me as a thank you and she felt like it would be a better gift if it involved her making a sacrifice.


Mom never liked dogs and didn't want us to have one growing up. She knew that I would love nothing more to have a dog, so she decided that she would let me get one. I filled out an application at the local shelter and then went back every few days searching every run for just the right dog. There were a few that I had my eye on at various times, but they had inevitably always already been spoken for. Then one day I saw a brand new little thing that I knew I had to have. She was scruffy and dirty and just stayed in the corner of her run, rather than jumping at the gate like most of the others. She looked exactly like what a pound puppy should.


I immediately put my name on her, but couldn't even take her out of her pin for a few days, as they had to give time for an owner to claim her and do temperament testing before allowing her to be handled. I brought my mom by to see her and her response was something like "are you sure you want THAT dog?" I would sit outside her run, trying to entice her over so I could pet her through the chain-link, but all she ever did was cower in the corner. Finally the time came when I could take her out and she pretty much had to be dragged. The consensus of the workers at the shelter was that she had obviously been abused and she was going to take some time and a lot of work. I was in love.


About a week, and many visits later, she was spayed and ready to come home with me. It did take some work to get her to warm up, and she still has trust issues with strangers, but she has turned out to be a wonderful dog. She is so wonderful, in fact, that even my mom fell in love with her. When we moved out about seven months later, my mom missed Keller so much, that she tracked down a similar mix at another shelter and adopted it.


Keller is the perfect dog for me and I honestly couldn't imagine the past four years without her by my side. I'm so lucky to have a smart, loyal, fun, loving animal companion.

Ring in The Holiday Season

A questionnaire that Johnathan's mom sent me:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? artificial - silver, in fact
3. When do you put up the tree? within a few days of Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? after New Years
5. Do you like eggnog? yummmmm
6. Favorite gift received as a child? not sure, maybe my turquoise and pink "Puppy Love" bike
7. Hardest person to buy for? hard to say, I love coming up with just the thing I think somebody will love and think I generally succeed, even if it took me a long time to think of something, that only makes it more special
8. Easiest person to buy for? Alivia
9. Do you have a nativity scene? nope, but if I could find one that went with my decorations, I would definitely buy it
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I have a habit of buying ones to mail, filling out about half and never sending any
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? can't think of a one
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love so many, maybe Home Alone
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? as soon as I see something that strikes me, this year the first gift was purchased in October
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? not that I recall
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? a bit of everything
16. Lights on the tree? love them, but there aren't any on mine
17. Favorite Christmas song? We Three Kings and Baby, It's Cold Outside
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? be wherever the family is - usually within a couple hour's drive
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph...and Olive, the other reindeer
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Mine doesn't exactly have either, it's more like a star and that's what I'd choose of the two
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? both
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? I love the holidays, can't think of anything
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? anything beautiful or meaningful
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? squash casserole
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Johnathan moving back home

Babies on the Brain

You know those Volkswagen commercials with Brooke Shields that say people are having babies just to buy the van they're selling? Well, you can go on their site and make a baby using two photos...I guess to see if the baby is cute enough to be worth it for a van. So, here are some babies I could potentially have:

with Johnathan

with my best friend Ari

with my friend Laura

with comedian Eddie Izzard

with Paul Newman

and, because I ran out of ideas

with my dog Keller

I don't know if enough people actually read this blog to make a poll worth it, but I've decided to ask anyway. Vote on the right for who you think I should have a baby with.

Legacy

This is my paternal grandmother:

Her name is Margaret; I call her Grandma.

This is my paternal grandfather:

His name is Bill; I call him Bampa.

Yesterday was their 70th wedding anniversary. We had a party on Saturday to celebrate. Their three children, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren were all there, along with one of Grandma's brothers and plenty of in-laws. The suit Bampa is wearing is the same one he wore on their wedding day. I'm so blessed to still have these two in my life. Their lasting love is an example that I pray to live up to in my own relationship with Johnathan. Maybe around 2080 or so, we'll be celebrating the same thing.

Here are a few more pictures from the festivities:

Grandma and Bampa reading a card from Johnathan and me.

Alivia showing off her pretty dress by rolling around on the floor in it.

My second cousin, Lindsey.

My Aunt Linda.

Alivia showing Great-Grandma her See 'n Say.

Telling Bampa a story.

My great-uncle, Jack and Uncle Ed.



Aunt Linda and great-aunt, Joyce.

Anniversary cards and flowers.

What's The Rush?

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. I think I have only come to appreciate it more as I've grown up. Johnathan collects Christmas music like nobody I've ever met, so I knew he was just right for me, because Christmas songs are the only thing I like to sing more than show tunes. I grew up in a house that had a Christmas tree in every room. Literally! There were even little, fully decorated trees sitting on the backs of the toilet tanks come December. And every tree had a theme: the guest bath was seashells, the master bath was angels, my mom's room had an Elvis tree, the living room was decorated in all burgundy and gold, the office was a white tree with blue lights and fish ornaments, the game room was a candy tree. My mom's decorating style definitely wore off on me too, my tree is silver and the lights and ornaments coordinate with my year-round decor. Besides that, I also buy gift wrap to match the tree, so the presents don't clash when they are under it.

The point is that I love Christmas and the Holidays in general. I love to shop for the perfect gift for my loved ones and love to watch them open their presents, I love to gather with family, I love Christmas movies, I love to go to midnight candlelight service at church and hear the same beautiful story of Christ's birth that I've heard so many times and sing hymns by the glow of hundreds of little flames.

However, I cannot stand when I start seeing Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving has even rolled around. I get that stores need to sell Christmas items early. That is fine with me. But last week - two full weeks before Thanksgiving - I suddenly felt inundated by all of the hoopla way too early. First it was driving by the big shopping center near me and seeing Christmas wreaths on all of the columns. Then I began seeing lights and decorations on peoples' houses.

But the final straw was driving out to Johnathan's parents' house on Friday night. I was flipping channels on the radio and the local soft rock station was playing "Home for the Holidays." I thought it must surely be an ad. I remember Lowes or somebody using it in the past. As the song kept going on with no voice-overs I realized that it was, in fact, just the song that they were playing. I tried to excuse it. After all, it isn't strictly a Christmas song. There's no place like home for Thanksgiving, too. But then the next song was "Winter Wonderland." The station (which always plays nothing but Christmas music for the Holiday season) had already switched over its programming!

The thing is, as much as I love Christmas myself, when you start it so early, I feel like it takes away from the excitement and enjoyment of the season. By the time Christmas, or even December, rolls around, there will have been so much "Christmas cheer" about that it will have become more annoying than spirit-giving. Besides, if you are already celebrating the Christmas season two weeks before Thanksgiving, aren't you sort of overshadowing that occasion? It's un-American is what it is!

Waiting On The World To Change

My niece, Alivia, was born with moderate to severe hearing impairment. Fortunately with all of the testing they do in hospitals when babies are born these days, her condition was discovered before she even came home. At six months she got her first pair of hearing aids and with them in she can hear well enough to pick up on sounds around her and, most importantly, voices.

Although she is ahead in almost all areas of development, spending the first six months of her life with very limited hearing caused Alivia to fall behind in speech development. She has picked up some sign language and now a speech therapist comes to work with her three times a week. With a lot of work, she will have full use of spoken language.

Since we found out about Alivia's condition, I have felt that God blessed us in specially preparing us to welcome a hearing impaired child into the family. My mom studied sign language in college and my parents fostered a young deaf boy when Erin and I were kids, so we all have a bit of signing background and were familiar with the special challenges that come along with having a hearing impaired family member.

What we've learned over the past 13 months, and particularly since Alivia got her hearing aids, is how many people have or know somebody with similar conditions. Most people are curious and kind, however there are those occasions when one becomes shocked by the lingering ignorance in this day and age.

This week Erin took Alivia to the doctor and had to see somebody in the practice other than her regular pediatrician. When this doctor - not a specialist, but somebody you'd think would have some knowledge of hearing impairment - was done examining Alivia, he asked Erin if she would be able to speak in the future. She told him that yes, she could hear fairly well with her aids and receives speech therapy. His response? "At least she won't be deaf and stupid."

It breaks my heart to think that my sweet, beautiful little girl will have to deal with such ignorance her whole life. This one's for Alivia:

I got the video from my mom's blog.

Things To Look Forward To:

• A much overdue haircut this Friday with my old stylist who changed salons, prompting me to try somebody new who I did not like. On top of that, it turns out her new salon is way closer to my apartment.
• Taking a personal day off work next Friday to spend with Erin, Alivia and other family on my dad's side, followed by a 70th anniversary celebration for my grandparents on Saturday.
• A trip to the spa with Johnathan's mom and sister on the 30th, that we finally (almost a year after we gave them the gift certificates, which are dangerously close to expiring) managed to schedule today.
• Planning a ski trip for the spring with Erin. It was just an idea, but it looks like it's really going to happen!

Today is a good "taking care of me" day.

Cake Balls

I first heard about cake balls a few months ago. They are basically just cake that is mashed up and mixed in with icing, which you then form in balls and coat with chocolate or bark. Sounds like they'd be delicious! When The Pioneer Woman posted about them for Halloween I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about. Last week, my cousin Holli and I tried them out and here are the results:

We used red velvet cake mix from a box. It helped me solidify the opinion that when it comes to red velvet, if it isn't from scratch, it just isn't worth it. But we were spoiled because our grandma made THE BEST red velvet cake. She was famous for it...at least at church, which counts in my book.

Again, we cheated by using canned cream cheese frosting and again, I think it would have been so much better if we'd made it ourselves or just gone with a different flavor combination. I didn't read the ingredient list, but I'm pretty sure there is neither cream cheese, nor cream cheese flavor in the icing we used.

Forming the balls is messy business. It was getting late and Holli was hopped up on Vicodin for a lung infection she is recovering from. We found a joke about being "caught red-handed" entirely too funny.

I neglected to take any pictures of the coating process - mostly because my hands were covered in vanilla bark and it's a time sensitive business.

Final verdict? They were pretty good. As I've said, I think they would have been better in a different flavor combination or if we'd had the time and desire to make them from scratch. If an occasion arises again where cake balls are appropriate, I am willing to give them another try. If nothing else, it's fun to spend an evening getting messy and consuming sugar.

The Great Somnambulist!

I have had sleep issues my whole life. When I was little, my parents suspected I had narcolepsy- once I was tired, I would fall asleep instantly even if I was in the middle of doing something else. When I was maybe five or six, I fell asleep on the toilet in the middle of the day. My mom has a picture of me at around four sleeping in Bampa's (my grandfather) recliner with a half-eaten popsicle hanging from my mouth. (I've always appreciated that they took time to grab the camera before removing the cold, melting food from my face.) Today I have a little more control over when and where I fall asleep, but most of my friends know that if we watch a movie past 8:00 at night, I will not be conscious at the end of it. I fall asleep in the car, in movie theaters, at concerts, even at work a few times when I was on the 6PM to 6AM shift.

I've also long had the problem of talking and walking in my sleep. According to those who have witnessed it, I sometimes babble on and on in a totally incoherent language, I sometimes answer questions with nonsensical, off-the-wall responses and I sometimes carry on full, coherent conversations, with absolutely no recollection. I've talked to my dad on the phone more than once without ever really waking up. The scenario is generally that somebody believes they have woken me and are talking to me normally, while I remain unconscious, but look and act as if I'm awake. I am also usually very agitated during these exchanges, which I've read is common for people who experience it.

One weekend a couple of years ago, I spent a night out at Johnathan's parents' house. They had gone to bed and he and I were watching TV on the couch when I, of course, dozed off. He roused me and suggested that I head to the guest room, since I obviously wasn't enjoying the show. God knows what I said to him, but apparently I was very hostile before ultimately going to bed as he wanted. The next morning he was acting noticeably aggravated, so I asked him what the heck was wrong with him. He told me he just couldn't figure out what he had done to make me act so mean to him the night before and he was hurt by the way I treated him. I assured him I had no idea what he was talking about and that is how he came to learn of my little sleep quirk.

Living alone for the past 3 1/2 years, I usually have no idea if I'm talking or walking around at night. All I can do is go to sleep and hope that I don't leave the apartment, burn it down or offend anybody unconsciously. However, there are times when I leave evidence of my nighttime adventures. When it happens, it usually occurs several nights in a row and I will wake up to something obviously different than the way I left it the night before.

This morning when I was about to get in the shower I reached up to take off the necklace I always wear, only to find that it was not around my neck. I knew I hadn't taken it off, so it had to have broken and I was terrified searching the house. Finally, as I was on the verge of calling my cousin Holli to ask if it had come off at her place last night, I found it in my purse along with a bra and a dog toy. It just so happens that is the exact place I found nail polish, polish remover, nail file and cotton pads a couple of mornings ago.

Great Expectations

When I used to think about what I wanted in a husband, I had realistic expectations. I never needed anybody who was rich or gorgeous or any superlatives one might come up with. All I ever wanted was somebody who was enough. Somebody who would love me enough, who was smart enough, who was funny enough, who was handsome enough, with whom I had enough in common.

Three years ago today, my new friend Johnathan and I went to see an Ansel Adams exhibit at the HRC. I had been wanting to see it, but didn't really have anybody to go with and he was into photography, so we went. After viewing the exhibit, neither of us was ready to go home, so we decided to head downtown and take a walk on Town Lake. The Celtic Festival was in full swing, and we were serenaded by the music of it as we strolled along the water talking about everything and nothing and enjoying comfortable silences. We were having such a great time, that we decided to have dinner at Katz's before going our separate ways. By the time we parted that evening, we both knew that there was much more than friendship between us. Months later, I would ask him when he thinks we actually started dating and he gave the answer that was already in my head. It was that day - November 5, 2005.

In Johnathan I found so much more than my "reasonable expectations." I wanted somebody who would love me enough and got somebody who loves me better than anybody in the world. I wanted somebody who was smart enough and I got somebody who challenges me, teaches me and opens himself up to learn from me too. I wanted somebody who was funny enough and I got somebody who can make me laugh any time, no matter how hard I resist. I wanted somebody who was handsome enough and I got somebody who melts me with his eyes and takes me away in his strong arms. I wanted somebody with whom I had enough in common and I got somebody who shares my values and takes interest in all of my hobbies.

I was blessed the day that I met Johnathan. If the slightest factor of either of our lives had been different that day, we would never had known the other existed. I truly believe that God wanted us to meet each other, to love each other and to build a life and a family together to His glory . It has not always been easy and I know there will be plenty of struggles ahead, but I thank Him for my soul mate every day. Happy 3rd Anniversary, My Sweet Babboo!

Thanks to Erin...

for the photographic evidence of us as Jem and Kimber.