....and the winter doldrums are upon us...

I'm picturing you all clicking on the bookmark on your web browser (because I KNOW you have my blog bookmarked) and giving a huge gasp of surprise that you're finding a blog post....FINALLY!!!  TA---DAAAAA!!!!

No, I'm not dead.  No, I haven't been kidnapped by aliens.  No, my children haven't gagged me and tied me up in the bathroom (although they've been close a time or two) and no, I haven't given up on this darn thing.  The problem is that this is a crappy, crappy time of year.  As happy as I was to see the holidays go, my motivation went with them.  

There hasn't been anything drastic going on in the last 3 weeks, so I'm going to fill you in on all the booooring stuff I've been doing and what monotonous stuff has been going on in my life.   I mean, besides the 2 near-miss snows (damn you weather channel for getting me all excited), the hoopla over the astrological signs (not actually) changing, the fact that I quit smoking (again, I know, I know...) and that we got Jax neutered.  

AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU BOOKMARKED ME????  Darn tootin'!

I've been watching a lot, I mean,  A LOT of television.  I remember when I was younger thinking that I couldn't wait to be an adult so that I could eat dessert before dinner and I could watch all the television that I wanted to.  Well, most nights, the dessert was in proper order but I certainly watched a lot of TV.  

Remember me posting about Dexter and how we added Showtime to continue watching?  Well, we still have Showtime, and even though Dexter is over, I've successfully watched the entire first season of "The Big C" starring Laura Linney and Scott and I have both watched the whole first and three-quarters of the second season of "Nurse Jackie."  Now, for my disclaimer, I am a dyed-in-the-wool HBO fan.  I truly am. But, I have to say that I am very impressed with the Showtime shows.    (Aside: Big Love, I have not been neglecting you...I'm waiting so I can watch a bunch in a row, because I am extremely spoiled right now.) 

We've also watched several movies over the last few weeks.  And, I think I should become a movie reviewer.  That's an option for another blogpost though.  =)  

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time:    Great movie, great actors.  Even if you didn't play the video game (which I didn't) or don't know anything about the plot, I highly recommend it.  Jake Gylenhaal does a great job, as does Ben Kingsley.  The movie is beautiful, the plot is unique, has a great twist at the end (literally and figuratively!) and is highly entertaining.

The Social Network:    You have to take this movie with a grain of salt...like most "based on a true story" movies, it is a MOVIE.   Everyone who made it is trying to make money, and boring doesn't make money.  I do not think that Mark Zuckerberg is exactly as portrayed, but Jesse Eisenberg was very believable and likeable, believe it or not.  And honestly, who doesn't love Justin Timberlake, I mean, really?  

Tangled:    A great spin on an old fairy tale.  We took the kids to see this in the movie theater and it was everything I expected it to be.  I loved this movie and I cannot wait to buy it for Reina.  Funny for adults (in a Disney way, not in a sexual-innuendo-laden-Dreamworks way) and funny for the kids.  Maximus the horse stole the show and in true "Me" fashion, I spent the last 6 minutes crying my eyes out.  Damn you, Disney movies!!!!

The Road:    Now, I would not recommend this movie for a date night, a cuddle night, or any night that you're feeling slightly optimistic.  It is a bleak, dark, tough movie set in post-apocalyptic America.  We don't know what happened to cause this situation, but you don't really need to know.  Viggo Mortensen, whom I love, does a great job portrayed a dirty, emaciated, grieving, ill man just trying to give some optimism to his son.  The world has become dangerous and vicious and he will do  everything in his power to protect his child.  While not visually stunning, it is a beautiful movie, believe it or not.  

HAHAH!  Now, we have The Crazies:    This kind of movie is my guilty pleasure.  It's cheesy and campy without any real redeeming qualities other than the fact that you can get lost in the story; yet, you're never in danger of falling off the edge of your seat.  I do love Radha Mitchell (of "Pitch Black" fame) and Timothy Olyphant is pretty easy on the eyes.  If you're not into gratuitous blood and guts, don't bother with it.

The Town:    My, oh my.  How much did I love this movie??  It's got one heckuvan ensemble cast including Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner (be still, oh my heart) as well as Blake Lively and Chris Cooper.  I also saw this a day or two before Pete Postlethwaite died, so that made it even more poignant in my mind.  This movie, set in East Boston, is like Good Will Hunting on steroids. Automatic handguns and bank robberies take the place of witty zingers and math equations, but it is very good.  I would definitely recommend this movie and I really wish Jeremy Renner would've won a Golden Globe for his role in this. 

I've also been, shockingly enough, spent some time online trying to find new, mindless diversions.  One of which has been www.stumbleupon.com  This site asks you to pick categories of things you are interested in, then you start stumbling.  It brings random websites, pictures, blogs, whatever, to you, based on the categories you've chosen.  You can then choose to like (thumbs up) or dislike (thumbs down) each one.  The more liking or disliking you do, the more the site learns what you want, and your stumbles become increasingly more interesting.  

I've also read a few books...

"Inside of a Dog" is written by Alexandra Horowitz, who is a cognitive behavior specializing in dog behavior.  You can read about it here for excerpts and reviews.  I would recommend it for any dog person.  It's different from Cesar Milan and all his dog-whispering because it's about her studies of dogs and how they interact with us, each other and their world at their level.  It's amusing, insightful and sweet.  Plus, there isn't all this crap about "pack behavior." 

"Cleopatra's Daughter" by Michelle Moran was a I-LITERALLY-CANNOT-PUT-THIS-BOOK-DOWN type of book.  It was pretty much made for me.  Not only am I crazy about historical fiction, but this told the story about Cleopatra and Marc Anthony's three surviving children and what happened to them after their parents' death, and how they were treated by Caesar Octavian after he took them to Rome.  Very good!  Michelle Moran's website is here

The other book is a lot less intellectual....I went to the bookstore looking for three things: the fattest book I could find that I hadn't already read, that wasn't a classic and had to grab me in chapter one.  That book was "Winter Rose" by Jennifer Donnelly.  Set in 1900 England, about a young woman who has just finished medical school to become a doctor and how her ideals war with her social position and demands.  A guilty pleasure read, but definitely kept the pages turning. 

Speaking of books, the kids and I spent one whole evening reading books.  After their bath, they got to pick out 3 books each and I picked 3 out, and we took turns reading.  We had so much fun.  My favorite part was reading "Old Black Witch" to them.  They were mesmerized by the witch living in the teahouse and how she turned the bad guys into toads.  My copy of the book is so battered and worn, I was afraid it was going to fall apart, and both kids were disappointed I wouldn't let either of them take it to bed with them.  I also read "Tikki Tikki Tembo" and "Cranberry Thanksgiving" to them.  All three were favorites of mine when I was little and I got a huge kick out of seeing their reactions to them.  

And, re-reading this doesn't really look like I've been all that bored or unmotivated, does it?  Especially considering that all I had to do to put this up was prop my feet up, look up a few pictures and write.  Maybe I'll do this more often....I wouldn't want you to waste a perfectly good bookmark, now would I?

   

iPhone withdrawal win!!!

For the last 4 years or so, I've been a hard-core iPhone addict.  I got the original 2G when it came out, and about 2 years or so ago, upgraded to the 3G.  I didn't get the upgrade after that, because I was happy with what I had, and I passed on the iPhone4 as well.  Then, Scott got the iPhone4, which is super-fast, has a great(er)-ish camera, better video, more personalization and better graphics.  I realized all of a sudden, that it shouldn't take 20 seconds for texts to open.  I started feeling really impatient and petulant about my slow, laggy iPhone.  Wah.  Poor me!


 The phone I had before the iPhone was a Samsung, red, with a big screen (or what passed for big at the time) and was a decent phone.  My favorite thing about it was the noises that it made when you pressed the buttons.

Taken 1/3/11

It also comes with these cool frames for when you take cutesy pictures of your children.  It's been sitting in a drawer for the past 4 years.

Taken 1/3/11 in the shower.  hah!

Well, I got a wild hair, and figured since I was sooooo unhappy with my iPhone, that'd I'd save us some money, switch to an old-fashioned cell phone.  I'd delete the data package, and unlimited texting.  I'd just have a phone.  Luckily, I had the foresight to try it out for a few days before changing my plan.


Well, I thought I could do it...I really did...if only it weren't for having to press "6" 3 times to get an "O" then waiting 2 seconds to push the "6" 2 times to get an "N" in order to type the word "ON"

66 666  7777444777 777 33 33 33 33  2266622!!!**  

What a pain in the ass texting is with that kind of phone.  I lasted 48 hours and about 17 text messages before deciding that the 20 seconds I wait for texting to open, I definitely make up for when actually typing the words!!!  

Phew!  That was a close one.  One plus side to that 48 hours is that I discovered some super cute pictures of a very chunky Reina, and a sweet 3 year old Scott on that old phone.  Of course, there is no way to upload them to my computer, so I spent another 20 minutes texting the pictures to Scott, along with a text that once I switched the SIM card, could he please send them back to me so I could save them to my (awesome, wonderful, spectacular) iPhone.  So, here they are...the fattest, cutest sweetest baby and her awesome, funny, tall big brother, thanks to my "old-fashioned" cell phone.

Damn, I'm going to miss those cool sounds when you push the buttons!!!!




**NO SIRREEEE BOB!!! 

Here's to the new decade!!

A lot of people think about their lives in 10 year segments...usually moving from their 20s into their 30s, 30s into their 40s...while I was excited about turning 30, it seems like the new decade starting is a good time to reflect on the last 10 years of my life...what a decade it's been!!

11 years ago (tomorrow, in fact) I met Scott at Buffalo Wild Wings.  If I had known then what would happen in the next ten years, I never would've believed I could be so lucky.  Thankfully, I know how lucky I am and am grateful for that day.  

In 2001, Scott and I moved in together.  It started with a drawer, and without any huge discussions or angst, became the beginning of our lives together.  We got a cat, had great friends, we worked a lot, and drank a lot of beer.  We got engaged at Christmas time.  

In 02, we were still working, drinking, but planning a wedding at the same time. 

We were married in 2003, Scotty was born in 2004.  We lived in a small apartment, didn't have any money, but we got through it.  

In 2005, I started working for Rockingham Group, we moved into a slightly larger, but still small apartment, had a little bit more money, bought a kid-friendly vehicle, and  realized we were going to need something more...our family wasn't finished growing yet.  

In 2006, we bought our home, Scotty had his first trip to Nags Head, Reina was born, we made new friends in our new neighborhood.  This was also the year that we said goodbye to our good friend, Jason Aholtz.  

2007 was a hard year...I lost one of the best friends I've ever had.  Mo was by far, the most kind-hearted, giving, honest and caring person I've known.  I will miss her as long as I live.   I also left RG to work for one of their agents and continue to be grateful for the Echards for hiring me!

In 2008, we got Annie - the best dog in the whole world.  We became accustomed to cleaning up dog hair and pee.  

In 2009, Scotty started Kindergarten and we met new neighbors who introduced us to the greatest invention of the century...STUMP!

This last year has been amazing-we had some hard times - Scott had his 3rd back surgery after being in an incredible amount of pain, and was out of work for 3 months.  But, it's been good too...my kids are great - they have incredible brains, personalities and senses of humors.  

We added our last member of the family - Jax, who was incredibly sick as a puppy, but is, as of last week, is off meds and doing very well.   

Of course, there is too much to include everything in one post, but we've been lucky to make new friends, reconnect with old ones we lost touch with...we've discovered new music, new love and met many new milestones.  There have been vacations, weddings, births, baptisms, and funerals as well as concerts, parties, movies, cook-outs, tickle sessions and cuddling.  

I don't know how the next 10 years will compare - but, I know they will not be dull nor boring.  My wish for myself, my family and all of you is that the blessings will continue, health will be good and fun will be had.  Happy New Year and Decade, everyone!  oxoxo

This week in the Yelverton household...

It's been a fairly quiet week here...a few cool things happened...

Scott and I dragged ourselves out of bed for the Lunar Eclipse Monday night/Tuesday morning.  It was a pretty cool thing to see.

Before:

We took this picture at about 10:30pm Monday night.  It was a full, BRILLIANT moon.  There weren't any clouds close by and we had high hopes for the eclipse!



And in full eclipse:

 We set our alarm to get up around 2:30am.  We went out, and it had clouded up a little, but the first glimpse up in the sky took my breath away - and it wasn't just because of the cold.  To see the moon looking like this was admittedly eerie!  I could totally understand why ancient people would take celestial events as omens.  We only got a clear view for a few minutes before the cloud banks rolled around.  But, what a view it was!!!  It was also cool knowing that his particular lunar eclipse happened on the Winter Solstice - that won't happen again for hundreds of years.  It's also cool knowing that from here on out, the days will be getting longer and we are that much closer to spring, warm weather, flip-flops, coolers of beer and STUMP!!!  YAY!

Reina and Scott also put on some pretty funny dance/singing performances for us on Tuesday night.  The videos were taken right after their baths, and, well...I'll just let you see for yourselves.

In this first one, Reina found something in her shoe...wait for the dramatic crescendo at the end...

In this one, Scotty and Reina perform a duet, with a special guest appearance...

(Excuse my cough at the very beginning...still trying to get rid of the crud)

She gets a bit dizzy here...and Scotty is hanging out in the curtains waiting for his big break...

HAHAHAHAHAH!!  Hope this makes you laugh as much as it does me.  And I hope everyone has a very happy, safe and joyful Christmas.  Hug your family, your babies and enjoy every crazed minute of this holiday!!!

Elf on the Shelf meet God the Mad Scientist *Mwahahaha*

This morning, Scott got up to go to work.  I was sort of half awake and heard him get in the shower.  After he made it downstairs, I jolted awake and realized that I forgot to move Pointy, our elf on the shelf. 

If you've never heard of "Elf on the Shelf" how it works is that each Christmas season, your elf (which you get to name yourself) comes to your house along with the decorations.  It spends the day watching your behavior.  Every night, after you go to bed, using elf magic, your elf flies to the North Pole and reports to Santa who was naughty and who was nice.  The next morning, he hides in a new place.  If he comes in contact with human hands, he loses his magic and will not be able to fly home.  

Needless to say, I forgot.  I heard Scotty's voice downstairs, so I thought I'd text Scott and let him know.  Maybe he could move him if Scotty hadn't noticed yet.  This is what I got back and my succinct response: 

I laid awake wondering how I would talk to Scotty about why Pointy didn't move last night.  What questions would he have?  How could I explain WHY I was moving Pointy in the first place.  Now, my kid is really smart, I mean REALLY... I figured if he asked, I would explain to him about how Pointy is just a representation of the actual elf who comes to our house to make sure the kids are good...or maybe, I would tell him that its a representation of how Santa keeps an eye on kids, that Pointy is a daily reminder to be good.  Oh, I know, I thought to myself...I could use God to help explain it...we never SEE God, but we know he's there, we talk to him, he talks and acts through us.  Scotty went to a fairly God-fearing pre-school, I thought he'd understand that. 

Then my stream of consciousness took over

That got me thinking about God, and how we view God, it made me think of a conversation Scott and I had about how to reconcile God (the unseen) and Science (the seen) - It's quite simple really, God is the ultimate Scientist.  I mean, how can he NOT be???  He created humans to have fingerprints!!  How cool are they?  Not only do the swirls on your fingers distinguish you from every other person on the planet, they help you keep from dropping wet glasses as you put them in the dishwasher.  Not a day goes by that I don't give thanks for my fingerprints.  

Our eyelids are AMAZING!!!  They have soft, moist edges that match up perfectly and create a seal to keep out almost everything...how could these things not be a product of the smartest, most ingenious inventor ever? 

AND...God gave us the ability to MAKE PEOPLE!  A female baby has all the eggs she's ever going to have...even though she won't need them for many years, there they are, just waiting to become something else.  

Then I thought about...what if God wasn't just a scientist, but a mad scientist??  It's not quite the matrix, but what if we're all robots, some experiment that worked...how genius is that??  He created things that are thinking, breathing, replicating, and when they (we) get worn out, or damaged, we die.  Over time, his little creatures figured out ways to extend life, heal some of the damage that may incur.  And when we do die, we even figured out how to dispose of ourselves.  If that isn't proof of a divine being, I don't know what is.   

And you know what, Scotty didn't even ask about Pointy.  SMH.

Bah, sorta....well not really, humbug!!

So, anyone who knows me, really, knows that I'm sort of a scrooge about

Christmas until about 2 weeks before Christmas.  There are a lot of things I dislike about Christmas, but there are some great things that by far outweigh the bad.  

I love that we've had snow already...twice...in December. 











I love that my dogs go crazy for the ice outside, they bite it off the sidewalk as fast as they can.  I love Reina singing "Jingle Bells, Jingle bells, jingle all the way, hey" over and over and over and over as she lays in bed before falling asleep.



I love "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman" and the other cheesy Christmas songs.









Before picking out our Christmas tree, we had pizza at CiCis.  That made the kids SUPER happy:

Can't you tell??















Here's our tree: About halfway decorated...needless to say, we've
been busy, and we've spread the process out over the last 2 weeks.  I love that Scotty remembers every single ornament for our tree...he knows who gave it to us, how long we've had it, and usually remembers a story to go with it.

Tonight, we went to Scotty's school for his Holiday Program/Spotswood Elementary 50 year Anniversary celebration.  Not only did he do GREAT during the program, our good friend, Trent Wagler gave the class a big assist on the guitar.  That made me really happy!





I love my new winter hat for the 15 degree weather we've had:










I love the way my Christmas lights look on my house!

 I love stars, bowls full of

 Christmas lights and votive candles!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!!