So. I'm still sick. Feeling puny, feverish, and all-around nasty. Grayson was out of town last night, and as I Tweeted, I was feeling terrible and my boys had the nerve to go around acting all NORMAL. Which for them means high-octane, full-bore, no-holds-barred ENERGY. My condition and their conditions were not at all compatible.
After they went to bed I busied myself watching Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman on Oprah, then catching up on my Reader ... which had amassed a whopping 157 unread posts while I was busy dying.
Buried within were two video gems that I wanted to share with you until I'm fit to write again. The first is from Improv Everywhere, and it's one they reposted from last year.
I love how the Salvation Army dude doesn't understand what's going on, but he's totally willing to go along and enjoy the ride. Then he just goes back to ringin'. What a treat!
The second one was posted on faithful reader and commenter Beckie's blog. I love it because it features Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, which is sooooooooo Christmas to me. I can't count how many times I've performed that song ... between middle school, high school, college and church choirs, well over 100 times. Maybe more than that.
I've performed it in so many places and have so many happy memories of it ... two of the most memorable being on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., and on stage at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. Oh, and one REALLY memorable time at the lighting of the Christmas tree in downtown Atlanta when one of our strongest tenors called in sick and I had to learn the tenor part in an hour so I could fill in for him. GAH.
I get chills every single time I hear it, whether I'm performing it or just listening to it ... on the radio, on TV, or even watching it being performed by total strangers in a mall's food court. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!
Nov 30, 2010
Nov 29, 2010
The rest of the stuff we did
Did you think I was done recapping Thanksgiving after one 24x24 post? THEN YOU DON'T KNOW ME AT ALL.
My family was here from Wednesday night through Saturday night, so Thursday was just a small portion of our time together. However, my dad and I were both sick (he worse than I), so he really didn't make many appearances during the long weekend.
And I may not be making many this week. I am all-caps SICK and spent the entire day yesterday in bed feeling sorry for myself while Grayson enjoyed a day with disobedient children.
So. Back to our weekend. After the big meal on Thursday, we hauled a lot of trash up to the street. Two cans that looked like this:
We played games.
Er, okay ... my sister played games with the boys while the rest of us sat on the couch and marinated in the calories we'd consumed.
We mourned the state of our sink and dishwasher, neither of which would drain because a guest had poured coffee grounds down the sink drain. We have a finicky drain and we're on septic, not sewer, so we practically have to hug and kiss our sink to put anything other than tap water down it.
Friday I worked, Dad stayed home and rested his aching body, and Grayson, Mom and Sarah Ellen took the boys to an inflatable fun zone place and bowling. I came home and caught the end of the Iron Bowl with my dad, and then I picked up take-out for supper. It's a thrill a minute around here, isn't it?
Saturday was perfectly gorgeous and we spent as much of it outside as we could. I was starting to feel really iffy by that point, like that dreaded "OH CRAP I THINK I'M REALLY GETTING SICK" feeling. But I wanted to be outside for the prettiest day of the week, and the boys -- who were full of energy and needed a place to let some of it out -- REALLY needed to go outside.
They used sidewalk chalk. Not typically a dangerous activity, but Nick wore his helmet.
Better safe than sorry, I guess.
Couldn't convince Jake to get out of his PJ pants that day, either, so he was stylin' in a sweater and PJ pants all day long.
We enjoyed a rousing round of badminton in the backyard with Mom and Sarah Ellen, too.
The boys have gotten pretty good at it lately.
Mom gave it everything she had.
She kept apologizing for missing the birdie, but we all missed a few here and there.
Someone who didn't get to play but who DESPERATELY wanted to get in on the game was ... Maisy!
She kept her nose poked through the fence and her eyes peeled for our every movement.
Don't worry. As soon as we'd put the birdies safely away and didn't have any equipment out that she could tear up, I opened the gate and brought her over to play.
Jakey played a little badminton with us, but mostly he enjoyed the slide and swings.
We may not keep the swingset up for much longer, since it's getting older and less safe, but for now the boys continue to enjoy it.
Our last Saturday daylight activity was a little frisbee action in the front yard while Nathaniel and Grayson were at a birthday party. Sarah Ellen took Jakey on a run, Dad was napping, and it was just me, Nick and Mom out there. Nick really enjoys playing frisbee!
He enjoyed teaching "Mop" some of the finer points of frisbee throwing.
He'd run to try to catch anything, even if it was several yards away from him.
He has some flair!
Just before dark, Sarah Ellen and Jakey returned from their run. Jakey said gleefully, "I'M BACK!"
And our last adventure for the evening was a fall Nicholas took off of Sarah Ellen's lap while she was playing with him and Nathaniel before bed. He landed on his head pretty hard and needed some TLC and a bad of frozen veggies on the sore spot for about 20 minutes.
Oh look! A Dad sighting! He's over there playing on the iPad while Nathaniel plays on the iPhone. They were playing Angry Birds, seeing who could beat whose high score. We're very highfalutin' and intellectual around these parts.
And yep, that's the Christmas tree in the background ... we managed to get that and a few other decorations up over the weekend. More on that later this week ... if I'm not dead.
My family was here from Wednesday night through Saturday night, so Thursday was just a small portion of our time together. However, my dad and I were both sick (he worse than I), so he really didn't make many appearances during the long weekend.
And I may not be making many this week. I am all-caps SICK and spent the entire day yesterday in bed feeling sorry for myself while Grayson enjoyed a day with disobedient children.
So. Back to our weekend. After the big meal on Thursday, we hauled a lot of trash up to the street. Two cans that looked like this:
We played games.
Er, okay ... my sister played games with the boys while the rest of us sat on the couch and marinated in the calories we'd consumed.
We mourned the state of our sink and dishwasher, neither of which would drain because a guest had poured coffee grounds down the sink drain. We have a finicky drain and we're on septic, not sewer, so we practically have to hug and kiss our sink to put anything other than tap water down it.
Friday I worked, Dad stayed home and rested his aching body, and Grayson, Mom and Sarah Ellen took the boys to an inflatable fun zone place and bowling. I came home and caught the end of the Iron Bowl with my dad, and then I picked up take-out for supper. It's a thrill a minute around here, isn't it?
Saturday was perfectly gorgeous and we spent as much of it outside as we could. I was starting to feel really iffy by that point, like that dreaded "OH CRAP I THINK I'M REALLY GETTING SICK" feeling. But I wanted to be outside for the prettiest day of the week, and the boys -- who were full of energy and needed a place to let some of it out -- REALLY needed to go outside.
They used sidewalk chalk. Not typically a dangerous activity, but Nick wore his helmet.
Better safe than sorry, I guess.
Couldn't convince Jake to get out of his PJ pants that day, either, so he was stylin' in a sweater and PJ pants all day long.
We enjoyed a rousing round of badminton in the backyard with Mom and Sarah Ellen, too.
The boys have gotten pretty good at it lately.
Mom gave it everything she had.
She kept apologizing for missing the birdie, but we all missed a few here and there.
Someone who didn't get to play but who DESPERATELY wanted to get in on the game was ... Maisy!
She kept her nose poked through the fence and her eyes peeled for our every movement.
Don't worry. As soon as we'd put the birdies safely away and didn't have any equipment out that she could tear up, I opened the gate and brought her over to play.
Jakey played a little badminton with us, but mostly he enjoyed the slide and swings.
We may not keep the swingset up for much longer, since it's getting older and less safe, but for now the boys continue to enjoy it.
Our last Saturday daylight activity was a little frisbee action in the front yard while Nathaniel and Grayson were at a birthday party. Sarah Ellen took Jakey on a run, Dad was napping, and it was just me, Nick and Mom out there. Nick really enjoys playing frisbee!
He enjoyed teaching "Mop" some of the finer points of frisbee throwing.
He'd run to try to catch anything, even if it was several yards away from him.
He has some flair!
Just before dark, Sarah Ellen and Jakey returned from their run. Jakey said gleefully, "I'M BACK!"
And our last adventure for the evening was a fall Nicholas took off of Sarah Ellen's lap while she was playing with him and Nathaniel before bed. He landed on his head pretty hard and needed some TLC and a bad of frozen veggies on the sore spot for about 20 minutes.
Oh look! A Dad sighting! He's over there playing on the iPad while Nathaniel plays on the iPhone. They were playing Angry Birds, seeing who could beat whose high score. We're very highfalutin' and intellectual around these parts.
And yep, that's the Christmas tree in the background ... we managed to get that and a few other decorations up over the weekend. More on that later this week ... if I'm not dead.
Nov 28, 2010
Have you ever wanted something, just because?
I've never been a "fine china" type of girl. I mean, we registered for fine china when we married, but we never use it. I'm on my third set of casual china since we married -- because I have a short attention span. I get tired of eating off the same stuff all the time, apparently. My original set was a department-store set, but the other two have come from Crate & Barrel and Ballard Designs.
Which is what makes this confession so surprising: I am obsessed with Villeroy & Boch's Audun Ferme pattern.
I've felt this way for a while, even going so far as to take pictures of it with my phone the last time I was in Belk so I could Tweet about it.
Then I decided that was ridiculous, so I didn't ever send the Tweet out.
But here I am now, blogging about it.
I don't actually want it, and I certainly don't NEED it. But I think about it occasionally, and I always pause to gaze at it lovingly whenever I'm in a department store.
I'm so weird.
Which is what makes this confession so surprising: I am obsessed with Villeroy & Boch's Audun Ferme pattern.
I've felt this way for a while, even going so far as to take pictures of it with my phone the last time I was in Belk so I could Tweet about it.
Then I decided that was ridiculous, so I didn't ever send the Tweet out.
But here I am now, blogging about it.
I don't actually want it, and I certainly don't NEED it. But I think about it occasionally, and I always pause to gaze at it lovingly whenever I'm in a department store.
I'm so weird.
Nov 27, 2010
Yesterday
Yesterday I went to work while Grayson, my parents and my sister stayed home and entertained the boys. I came home for an hour or two, then went to pick up take-out because one of our guests on Thanksgiving put some coffee grounds down the sink, and now we don't have a working sink or dishwasher.
And while I'm thinking about it, let me tell you about a phenomenon I'm not at all fond of: during the 10-minute drive to pick up supper, the 10 minutes I spent waiting on it to be ready, and the 10-minute ride home, they didn't play a single song on the radio that I liked. Out of all six stations over the course of 30 minutes, not a one. Until I turned back into my driveway.
After we ate supper off of paper plates (we're trying not to generate dishes since we can't wash them), we put up our Christmas trees. I didn't have the energy to decorate them (one in the den and one in the big boys' room), so for now they're just lit up.
And that, my friends, is the story of yesterday. In all of its boringness and plainness. I thought about not even putting a post up for today, but you know how I am ... BOUND BY THE CHAINS, I AM. I think if you click to come over, you ought to get something, even if that something is me complaining about the sorry state of Alabama radio.
But I hope you have a simply wonderful Saturday. I'm hoping we do.
And while I'm thinking about it, let me tell you about a phenomenon I'm not at all fond of: during the 10-minute drive to pick up supper, the 10 minutes I spent waiting on it to be ready, and the 10-minute ride home, they didn't play a single song on the radio that I liked. Out of all six stations over the course of 30 minutes, not a one. Until I turned back into my driveway.
After we ate supper off of paper plates (we're trying not to generate dishes since we can't wash them), we put up our Christmas trees. I didn't have the energy to decorate them (one in the den and one in the big boys' room), so for now they're just lit up.
And that, my friends, is the story of yesterday. In all of its boringness and plainness. I thought about not even putting a post up for today, but you know how I am ... BOUND BY THE CHAINS, I AM. I think if you click to come over, you ought to get something, even if that something is me complaining about the sorry state of Alabama radio.
But I hope you have a simply wonderful Saturday. I'm hoping we do.
Nov 26, 2010
24x24: Thursday, Nov. 25, 2010
The day's menu
Fried turkey
Roasted turkey
Salad with strawberries and mandarin oranges
Fresh fruit
Asian slaw
Sweet potato casserole
Dressing
Asparagus with hollandaise sauce
Cheesy mashed potato casserole
Cranberry/apple bake
Sister Schubert's yeast rolls
Sister Schubert's orange rolls
Chocolate cake
Caramel cake
24x24 is a series posted at totally irregular and unpredictable intervals. I invite you to participate anytime you'd like! Simply post 24 pictures from a 24-hour time period. You can just post the pictures alone, caption them, put a time stamp on each one ... whatever you'd like. If you'd like to write a 24x24 post of your own, grab the button at the top right of my blog and come back and let me know when you've published your post. I'd love to visit!
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