Just call him Clark Griswold...

Jay got our outdoor lights finished last week - don't they look great? We attempted to tag-team effort this project, but after having my hand stepped on while steadying his ladder, I lost my patience and decided this project was not for me. I love this time of year and looking at all of the lights. It puts me in a much better mood when it's dark by 5:00 PM when I get to pull into the driveway after work and see this.

Here is a close-up of our front porch. I thought the light-up snowman was too cute to resist! : )


I tackled most of the indoor decorations, the most exciting of which was our new Christmas tree. Jay promised that if we moved into a house that had room for a bigger tree, we'd get one. There is something about a full-sized tree that makes it really feel like home.

(This was our tree last year - cute, but not quite the same effect.)
How are you getting into the holiday spirit?

ITBS

We're taking ITBS this week, and here is my favorite quote from the testing thus far.

Student: "Mrs. Schmitz I don't get this problem....

(Reading Aloud) At what stage is a person most likely to become a parent?

The options are:

A) Birth
B) Growth
C) Maturity
D) Decline
E) Death

Teacher: They want to know which one of those stages would you be likely to become a parent?"

With all the confidence in the world he answers, "DECLINE!"

Lol. Yes, friends, we're in our declining years.

Have a great Thursday to all of you declining people out there!

Laugh until I cry...

You know how something hits you just the right way and you get to laughing so hard that you cry?

Cake Wrecks has that effect on me. I discovered this website via some random Yahoo article when I was sick a month or so ago. (Admit it - that's how you get your news, too.) I was feeling so crummy, but Cake Wrecks had me laughing hysterically. It's been a favorite of mine to check sporadically ever since.

The whole premise behind the blog is professional cakes gone terribly bad. Check it out if you need a laugh.

Who knew cakes could be so funny?

Halloween - BOO!

Disclaimer: the following blog post amazingly proves my old-person-ness, my immaturity, and my dorkiness all in one post! Bonus!!

I've been looking forward to Halloween for weeks. Jay and I decided this year we weren't going to dress up. Not because I don't LOVE to come up with a costume and make it - because I absolutely do. But because we have a neighborhood full of hundreds of kids (literally) and I thought it would be just as fun to pass out candy and stay at home. Yes, I realize this makes me sound old, but I'm okay with that.

We carved our pumpkins in anticipation - and this became an all-afternoon event. I don't consider myself to have a lot of artistic abilities, so it took a lot of concentration.

Didn't Jay's Iowa State pumpkin turn out awesome? The one on the far left is supposed to be a dog with it's tongue out...but you can't really tell.

6:00 came and I awaited anxiously at my door complete with TONS of candy, glow in the dark "BOO" shirt, and witch hat headband. I'm SUCH a loser. : )

Rather than recap the complete disappointment that happened in the next 2 hours, I will be brief. We had about 30 trick-or-treaters. 30. I was prepared for like 300. I was so bummed.

I asked our nearby neighbors and they all had similar experiences - prepared for a ton of kids, got hardly any.

So trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood, I say BOO to you tonight. I go to all this trouble to buy you good candy (not just the cheapest I could find) and this is the thanks I get?

I know I'm supposed to the adult here, but too bad! BOO to you Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Yes, you've seen them before. But I still giggle every time I see another one of these cards. Happy Halloween!

Smiley Faces

You know how in elementary school it was really exciting to get a sticker on your paper? And how it was equally as devastating to not get a sticker, or to get red marks all over the place?

Well...If you get perfect attendance for the week at our gym, you get a smiley face sticker at the end of your workout log.

I am really ridiculously motivated to get a smiley face sticker. I didn't get one last week because I had strep, and it bothers me that there is just a blank space there. I look at other peoples' workout logs in the attendance basket and get pissed when I see they have 3 weeks perfect attendance and I only have two.

Sure, I'm motivated by a lot of other things to be there - but I'm a 25 year old adult. Why does a sparkly smile face motivate me to workout? Is it really that simple? This is silly.