It's Pretty Much the Plastic Soccer Statue of Blogging

If you could see me right now, you'd know I am typing in a beautiful, golden, sparkly formal dress complete with heels and one of those purses so small and fancy that it doesn't actually hold anything except enough lip gloss to make a mess when I drop it in my lap.

Actually, I am in some old jeans and a (formerly) white hoodie with pumpkin bread batter on the sleeves. Oh yeah.

But good news!

Queen B, who is a real blogger and not even someone I pay to read the blog, has passed along a very special award. She was dazzled with my kreativity and frequent references to food. 

Ta da:

In exchange for this award (who has ever heard of an award with strings attached?) I have to tell six things that make me happy.

And I'm going to attempt to do this without mentioning friends and family, because of course they make me happier than anything and it would consume the majority of this post and my tears might cause water damage to the laptop.

And I am already at my quota for water-damaged technology this year. 

1. Clean sheets. I love everything about them and if I could wash and change my sheets every day, I would.

This is somewhat ironic, because although I am the washer of the sheets, I am not allowed to put them on the bed because I do it "wrong."

So wrong, in fact, that last time, Brad wouldn't even let me be in the same room with him while he put them on the bed. He thought I would "try to help and mess things up like usual."

I could either a) have my feelings hurt, or b) rejoice in the fact that I never have to make my bed.

2. Coffee. My love for coffee is dark-roasted, strong, and hot. Sometimes I get excited to go to bed, knowing that I am that much closer to waking up and being filled with warmth.

2a. Coffee creamer. My current favorite is Cinnamon Bun and I am rotating it with Hazelnut Biscotti and Eggnog. I like them with a little Splenda to round out my artificial flavors and fake chemical intake by 6 a.m.

2c. I do not like iced coffee. See #5.

3. A perfectly relaxing afternoon: Putting on a great movie and settling in to bake and cook uninterrupted for a few hours.

This has happened approximately once in my entire life.

A girl can dream.

4. Black Friday Shopping

And yes, I would say this even if it wasn't coming up in FOUR DAYS OH MY GOSH. 

I am already fantasizing about my 6 a.m. Peppermint Mocha, unbelievable deals, a cozy lunch, and family fun along with the rest of America. 

Oh, and I also like shopping the other 364 days of the year.

5. Being warm.

I don't care if it's at a beach (preferable), because of seat warmers (high-maintenance, but true) or thanks to my mattress-pad warmer (best gift EVER.)

But I love heat. I would rather sweat to death than freeze, thank you very much.

And I start to freeze at about 79 degrees.

Which is only about 20 degrees different than Brad's freezing point.

Good times.

6. Running.

I am not a glutton for punishment, but I do love a good, long run. 

I love breathing in cool air outside and how the monotony of the steps puts my body on cruise control, freeing my mind to pray, think, and organize (I use that term loosely.)

I've said it once and I'll say it again, I've never regretted going for a run, but I almost always regret skipping one.

(That's it for Deep Thoughts in 2008).

Ok, the last string to this Kreativ Award is that I have to pass it along.

I'm passing it right along to Jules at The Roost.

She is amazingly gentle and humble and hilarious and full of truth all at the same time. And if you haven't met Mr. Perfect...well, you should.

Thanks again, QB!

I'm Going to Gain 10 Pounds in the Name of Patriotism

I am proud to say that for once in my life, I planned ahead and took care of all this voting business last week.

It was a very tender moment involving me and the voting volunteers, which consisted of 15 elderly ladies crocheting (I'm not even making that up). They had Lilly sitting on their lap, talking in silly voices, while feeding her as many cookies as her stomach could hold. Meanwhile I read through 9 zillion amendments to the Colorado constitution and received only a sticker.

Thankfully, I am done with all the voting and now I can hit the town for some freebies!

After dropping Lilly off at preschool, I headed to Starbucks for my free coffee.

Check.

Later today, I'll cruise through Chick-fil-A for a chicken sandwich, Krispy Kreme for a donut (well, maybe) and tonight, since "Dancing With the Stars" has been pre-empted for election coverage (whatever), the fam will head to Ben & Jerry's to round out our butts...I mean, day.

Actually, I am incredibly humbled to live in a nation where we do get to vote and live in freedom. Brad and I were trying to explain to the kids what it is like in other places in our world in this present day. It's hard to fathom the oppression and fear in which so many people are forced to survive.

Some of the best thoughts on voting as believers with hope that extends far beyond today, I've read here and here.

And Jules got me hungry when I read this because a tasty dinner always makes life more fun.

But now, I have to go back to the dentist before my sugar-fest later today.

This hymn (or is it just a song?) has been running through my head for the past few days, and I know it's God putting it on my heart since hymns don't usually occupy my thoughts.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in his wonderful face.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of his glory and grace.

Just About Perfect

After all the talk about getting up early to hit the stores, I'm sorry to report it just didn't happen.

Something about a cross between Food Coma and Turkey Hangover.

We stayed shamelessly in our pajamas till 9 (a.m.--give us some credit) watching the beautiful snow and perusing the newspaper ads for bargains.


Our stomachs still hadn't recovered from the Turkey Bonanza, but the kids were begging for jell-o salad along with their waffles.


And then Brad (BRAD!) suggested that we shower up and do the traditional Holiday Mall Cruise. You know, not looking for anything in particular, but taking in all the sights, throngs of people, and just waiting for many somethings to catch out eyes.


Here are my tips for shopping success (and you know by "shopping" I mean being at a mall, not necessarily buying things...unless they speak directly to you and ask you to by them which frequently happens to me at Gap.)


1. Get a Starbucks. Immediately. Today Peppermint Mocha did me right.


2. Lose the time schedule. This is the ideal time to wander through stores in which you have no business buying anything.


3. Charge cell phones. (Or start regretting not having charged them earlier.)


4. Let your kids find small spaces to hide in every store, then get in a panic because you can't find them, but all the store employees are gathered together, laughing, pointing and wondering whose parents would let them loose like that?!


Ahem...our model, Lilly:

The final element to Totally Rockin' Christmas Shopping is the meal. After fighting crowds, people watching, spilling hot cocoa, breaking un-bought ornaments and generally wearing ourselves out, it was time to eat.

This is not the time for food courts when you must juggle transporting dinner from the counter to the table along with sluggish kiddos and ten jazillion random parcels you've acquired. It can only result in failure.

The beacon at California Pizza Kitchen, the traditional post-shopping HQ called our names. I will never get over the warm welcome CPK gives me with the high thermostat setting, cozy fire, and stellar food. For me, it just doesn't get old. Thank goodness, Brad and the kids are on board.

It was phenomenal to have SOMEONE ELSE fix dinner, clean up, and do all the other dirty work, while we relaxed, played tic-tac-toe and colored by number.

The babes chillin' by the fire:

And in case you haven't noticed: They are TWINS! Separated by 19 months!

This Hotel Totally Gets Me

Oh, yes, it totally does.

That Warm Blue Glow You See on I-25 is Us

So we all loaded up this morning for our Big Road Trip. Waaaaaahhhh Hoooo!

If there is excessive, rambling, long-winded blogging today, you will know why. I have 12 hours until we get to Phoenix and enough battery chargers in here to power a space shuttle.

Every road trip causes Brad and I to think nostalgically about our formative years as road trip victims. You know, hour after merciless hour in the family station wagon. Seats down, fighting with siblings, car "games", blah blah blah.

But here we are in our techno-SUV and things really aren't that bad (that's probably what our parents thought in 1985.)

The kids are watching Star Wars on their DVD players WITH HEADPHONES ON THANK YOU LORD. The DeWalts (that is what Lilly calls us) are heavily, Starbuckily caffeinated and muffined. We also have our laptops, some kind of FANTASTIC mobile internet service, iPods, cellphones, various chargers, GPS (thank you, Bob & Brenda!) and wrist watches.

We are trying not to hang ourselves on all the cords.

Our 21st century kids totally DO NOT GET this whole road trip thing. We are just south of Colorado Springs and they have asked when we will be in Phoenix eleventy million thousand times.

Also.

They keep asking when we are getting on the plane. We have ruined them with too much air travel. You see, driving is just a means to get to the airplane. They believe in their heart of hearts that air travel is always involved.

I can see why they are confused. The distance from our house to the airport is a road trip itself which they have driven many times.

Jackson just said, "So are we going to Phoenix by plane or by car?" We are IN THE VEHICLE, FOLKS.

In his mind it is more feasible that we'd ride a speeder bike on the Forest Moon of Endor before we'd really DRIVE for 12 hours.

So, I'll sign off for now, before I can highlight some of the fantastic food we'll find on the road. (I did pack some mesquite-smoked turkey and havarti roll-ups in case the only option in town is a Jack-in-the-Box in which case I'd rather eat the crumbs out of the kids' carseats before I subjected myself to an e.coli scare.)

Oh, and here are some pictures I took with my Awesome Cellphone then emailed to the Awesome Laptop, which I am now blogging about. Seriously. That is pretty cool.

Only 10 more hours...

"They're not to Endor yet. Still on Dagobah. Is that all?"

"Mom, we won't be there for 60 YEARS!"

Blogging Till I Puke

That Brad, he's a Keeper!

Spit it Out, Now!

In very important Starbucks news, they have added a new sugar-free flavor. Many of us have been loyally campaigning for this for some time now.

But the bad news is that it's gross. Sugar free Gingerbread. Blehhhhhhhhh...YUCK.

When the barista offered it to me before it had been added to the official menu I shook with joy. No Red Cup yet, but a new sugar-free flavor would do. This was my big moment!

But, NO. It was really terrible. I can't even describe the flavor but I would warn you against trying it. Toothpastey, minty, aftertasty...UGH. Couldn't hardly swallow!

Some are critical of the sugar free ordering in the first place. I admit, I don't do it because I adore the taste. If you've noticed my slight obsession with food, this is just another way of having something I love without having to add extra mileage to the weekly running total.

Since I have to constantly check myself to make sure my water intake is greater than my coffee intake, it's time to think about SUGAR FREE. (But not decaf...oh no. Not when I was pregnant, and most certainly NOT NOW.)

The sugar-free gingerbread was so bad that I asked (made) Holly go back up to the counter and get me a SF NF XH NW vanilla latte.

Aaaaaahhhhhh, much better.

At which point Mr. Barista conveniently mentioned that he didn't like it either.