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!!!!

Random stuff around my house...excuse the clutter

In a random moment of sweetness, inspired by the music in "Spirited Away" (which is a great movie...you should definitely check it out), my children decided to dance.  It was sooo cute!!!

My daughter, Pig Pen.  Reina is just her nickname.  Apparently she eats with her WHOLE face.

Scotty the Neeeeeeenja!

  

Hey, you darn dog, that's MY pillow!!!!!!

I think my headache has been a result of waiting for the Dexter season finale

I've always wanted to write this:

***WARNING...SPOILER ALERT!***WARNING...SPOILER ALERT!***

If you aren't all caught up on Dexter, please stop reading!

For those of who don't know Dexter and haven't heeded my warning, this is Dexter:

Dexter is played by Michael C. Hall.  He is a blood spatter anaylyst for the Miami Metro Police Homicide Division.  He is also a serial killer.  But he is so much more than that.  He takes care of the unsolved murders, the guys who got off on technicalities, or the bad guys who truly "deserve" to die.  He's smart, methodical and doesn't even need a search warrant.

Without going into an explanation of 5 seasons worth of plotlines, just know he's badass.



At some point this summer, Scott and I started streaming Dexter on Netflix.  We watched the first 2 seasons in about 2 weeks.  After the first season, we were hooked and ready to buy our own Henleys and start taking out the bad guys.  We signed up for Netflix so we could watch the rest of them.  We watched the 3rd and 4th seasons just in time for the 5th (and current) season to start.  For the price of our Netflix subscription, we added Showtime to our cable subscription and started watching the current episodes.  We finished episode 11 on Monday night and I have been stressed out all week waiting to find out what happens.

This is Lumen...isn't she cute?  She is played by Julia Stiles and she steals every scene that she's in.  She's beautiful, vulnerable, poignant and out for revenge.  She was kidnapped, tortured, tormented and raped by 5 men until Dexter found her.  Dexter helps her get vengeance, takes her under his wing and of course, into his bed.  At first, I was hoping they wouldn't start a romantic relationship, because Dexter is horrible at them, but in his defense, it must be hard work trying to maintain the I'm-not-a-serial-killer persona.

So, now they're lovers, a killing team; she learning the "trade" from him and dishing out the bastards' just-desserts.  And they are so cute together.  The writers did a great job showing Dexter as different with her and the actors do a brilliant job.

In the last episode, Lumen is captured and taken by the last of her torturers...Dexter arrives too late to save her, but finds a bloody knife that belonged to Lumen, so its hopeful that she got a good stab in before being abducted again.  We are left at the end of the episode not knowing where she's been taken.  AAACK!!!  I am so worried about her!!


The other storyline that I'm seriously invested in is that of Deb and Quinn.  Deb is played by Jennifer Carpenter and is Michael C. Hall's real-life wife.  She is a tough, savvy, foul-mouthed detective who has had more than her fair share of shit (her word, not mine-hah!) thrown at her during this show.  Her partner on the show is Quinn, played by Desmond Harrington (of "Wrong Turn" fame - double hah!) and they, too have become lovers.  Now, the plotline is really twisty, in part because Dexter caught Quinn stealing evidence, Quinn suspected Dexter to be involved in the murder of Rita, Dexter's late wife and hired a shady ex-narc cop to check him out.   Quinn also dropped the "L-Bomb" on Deb.

Now, Deb knows that Quinn was checking Dexter out behind her back and sees that as a betrayal.  So, she's not speaking to Quinn right now.  That makes me sad, because not only are they really great together, Quinn and Deb are mine and Scott's alter egos when throwing Darts.


Ever since Monday, I've had a horrible headache...dull achy pain behind my eyes, behind my forehead and under my temples.  Advil, Advil Cold and Sinus and Excedrin Migraine have failed to give me any relieft.  My only hope is some Advil PM...or the season finale on Sunday night.

On a side note, I'm pretty sure that the bad guy from the 2nd Terminator movie is Desmond Harrington's long lost father:  

Who I am

Here's a little bit about me, my husband, kids and family...they've made me who I am, they're the most important people in my life...they're the cast in this crazy sit-com that is my life....

First of all, here I am...

I grew up, for the most part, in Virginia Beach, VA.  We lived overseas for a couple years in Cairo, Egypt while I was in elementary school.  I currently live in Harrisonburg, VA with my awesome hubby, 2 kids and 2 dogs. I work in the insurance industry, and have for a little over 5 years.  I'm fiercely loyal, almost as stubborn and I love to play devil's advocate.  

Here is Scott...

He grew up here in Harrisonburg, and we met while working at BW3s in 2000.  We met, and I knew right away...there was instant flirtation, chemistry and laughs.  He is still the funniest man I know!!  Scott is my best friend, my partner-in-crime, a great dad and husband.  He's smart, sweet, loving and always sees the good in the people that most people won't see and I'm lucky to have him.  We were married in 2003 and have two kids.  Scott currently works as a manager in the restaurant industry.

Our children...

Scotty (the second, NOT junior!) was born in 2004.  He is smart as a whip, sensitive, goofy and determined.   With the exception of his fair skin and light hair, he is a carbon copy of his father.  They look, walk, gesture and think alike.  I'm so proud of how well he does in school and he melts my heart.

Reina was born in 2006...she's the free spirit (read: wierdo) in the family and I love it!  She loves to play with her brother (when he'll let her), dress up and sing.  She'll let you read to her all day long, too.    She's easy-going, silly and free-spirited, but I can see the sassy teenager inside just waiting to get out!  She's my mini-me and I love watching her learn.  

Our Chocolate Labs...

This is Annie and Jax...We got Annie in 2008 and she has become the perfect dog.  She knows exactly how to be, she's lovable, obediant and beautiful.  She's a helluva hiker and swimmer, she loves to chase leaves, squirrels, frisbees and snowballs.  Her best friend is Cricket, my parent's 4lb yorkie.  Jax is the newest addition to our family.  We got him this spring, on Father's Day.  I was witness to his birth and knew right away he was mine.  He's trying to be alpha, which causes a lot of noise in our household, but he's sweet and cuddly.  He's was sick as a puppy and currently is still on medication, but it doesn't seem to have any effects on him, so far.  

My parents...

Dan and Mary Kay...they've been married for 37 years, and are great partners, parents and friends. As a parent myself, I can now see that yes, they knew what they were talking about, and to this day, my mom is my best source of good advice, neutral opinions and a safe place to vent. They both ride motorcycles, have a cool little dog and are currently in their first "official" year of retirement, living in their 5th wheel camper, travelling around the states, summered in Maine and are now down in Florida avoiding the cold. Lucky ducks!

My siblings...

Jimmy and Beth are my older siblings.  They were my idols growing up and are now my greatest friends.  My sister lives tooooo far away, out in BF Texas and I miss her terribly.  Jimmy and his family live in Richmond, VA, but I still don't see them often enough, either.


So, there you have it...my immediate family.  Those that have shaped me and continue to make me the person that I am.