best of 2008

Aidan's asleep in his bouncy/vibrating chair, while Clifford the Big Red Dog plays on TV. (Hey, he's red. It's Christmasy, isn't it?) Missy the cat is purring at my side. My mom is busy moving around the house, putting the final touches on presents. Jason is still in bed with an unwanted Christmas gift: a bad head cold. And I'm here, laptop in hand, called off from work for the day (yesss!).

Sounds like a good time for a Best Of list!

BEST PURCHASE: Our home!

BEST REASON NOT TO STAY AT HOME: My Wednesday Thursday night girls - Maggie, Shannon, Tiffany, Loni, Kim, Maruxa, and (in spirit) Amanda.

BEST NEW RECIPE MADE: Red Velvet Cake Balls, courtesy of Bakerella

BEST MOMENT FROM THE 2008 ELECTION: Kelly twittering during election night: "Somebody get Wolf Blitzer a diaper".

BEST MOVIE SEEN: The Dark Knight, hands down. Especially in an IMAX theater.

BEST FACEBOOK MOMENT: Reconnecting with so many old friends, but especially my childhood best friend Maureen.

BEST MOMENT INVOLVING LIQUOR: Craig's birthday at Fiddler's Green, where he drank an Irish car bomb and led the entire bar in dancing with a backup band consisting mostly of obese, Hawaiian-shirt-clad men singing Irish drinking songs.

FAVORITE "NEW" TV SHOW: The Office. We've been catching up on seasons 1-4 with Netflix.

BEST TRAVEL DESTINATION: Rocky Mountain National Park with Jason, 10pm at night, on the side of a mountain, seeing every star possible

BEST MUSICAL MOMENT AT GRACE FELLOWSHIP: It's a three-way tie - turning "Great in All the Earth" into a chick-led song, doing Three Dog Night's "One" complete with Kelly in a cool hat, and singing "Winter Wonderland" in full 1940's dress with three of the best singers ever in a beautiful theater for Christmas Eve.

BEST MOMENT OF ALL: holding Aidan for the first time:

the viral meme

Oh, it's contagious alright.

WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names)
Eileen Edward.

NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad )
Edward Vincent.

STAR WARS NAME: (the first 2 letters of your last name, first 4 letters of your first name)
VeAnne.

DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color, fav animal)
Pink Bear. (uhhh...)

SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you live)
Carol Orlando.

SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav alcoholic drink, add "THE" to the beginning)
The Purple Strongbow.

FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
Anen. (That just looks like I misspelled my own name)

GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie):
Mint Chocolate Chip Chocolate Chip (okay, now I REALLY sound dumb)

ROCK STAR NAME: (current pet's name, current street name)
Missy Faith

PORN NAME: (1st pet, street you grew up on)
Scooter Christa (no, not really working, is it?)

five foods/meals of which I will never tire

1. Chicken parmesan subs

2. Brownies and ice cream

3. Macaroni & cheese

4. Potato bread

5. Coke (okay, not a food, but still)

get this node goin'...

I think for most of you, this is going to be like a foreign language... but for all my nursing friends and co-workers, this is definitely for you:

wrapping it all up, by miss grumplestiltskin

Just in time for the holidays, I get to finish NaBloPoMo. And, like the two previous years I've participated, it has officially kicked my butt. I praised the Lord in Heaven for the beautiful, wonderful camera at my disposal, an adorable subject to snap pictures of, and grace that a picture actually counts as a day's entry for blogging purposes. Otherwise, I might have been really clogging up my little cranny of the Internet with mindless landfill material.

I had very much intended to write each day, something deep and personal, something funny and yet profound, and I think I started out well. But by the end, between getting back into the rhythm of full-time work while adding the additional juggling "ball" of a 3 month old boy and everything that comes with that, well... uh, yeah.

So, I end another November, bloggingly exhausted and maybe a little grumpy. But I have a feeling that in another eleven or so months, I'll be gearing up to do it again. For the moment, however, I might take a mini-break from all this blogging, because the daily obligation of it all? Well, my son's face put it best:

thumbs are for sissies

Aidan decided that it was just wrong to only suck your thumb when you've got YOUR WHOLE FIST at your disposal:

five superpowers I would like to have, if I were a cartoon and/or a character on Heroes

1. The ability to make time stand still while I still moved. Think of all the sleep I could catch up on.

2. The ability to fly through the air. I think it's one of many reasons why we love Superman and Spider-man and Batman.

3. The ability to become invisible. Black Friday would be so much more fun that way.

4. The ability to heal anything and everything. I often wish I had this power when I'm at work.

5. The ability to wear spandex and still look hawwwwt. Okay, so not technically a superpower, but it would still be nice.

thirteen reasons I am grateful

1. My wonderful family - those who I share living space with, and those who are worlds away from me. I love them all.

2. My new job - even in the craziest moments, I am still happy to be there.

3. My house - it may be laden with 1970's wood paneling and hide the occasional critter in the roof, but it's ours, and I am grateful for it. I love our house.

4. The delicious dinner that we're only hours away from consuming, most of which I do not have to bake but simply savor and overstuff myself.

5. My beautiful cat, who just got up from her warm spot on the couch to come snuggle next to my leg.

6. My church family at Grace Fellowship - Sunday is always my favorite day of the week because of you.

7. My amazing friends, near and far, who remind me how wonderful life can be and how to laugh from my belly.

8. My Wednesday night group, who sees all the good, bad, and ugly, and still loves me all the more.

9. My amazing little boy, who gets more and more wonderful with every single day.

10. My wonderful husband, who stands by my side and loves me even when I am completely unlovable.

11. My family's good health. Every day I go to work, I am reminded why I never take that for granted.

12. The promise of an amazing year ahead - I can't wait to see what blessings come about.

13. My sweet Abba, always with me, loving me, protecting me, comforting me.

Wishing everyone a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving today!

wordless wednesday: all in an evening

random updates: cheat-of-a-post edition

Thanks to all of you who gave me input - and sweet compliments afterward - about my new hairdo. It was time for a change, and Kim did a great job. Plus, I bought the best hair product ever: this sea spray stuff that makes your hair look all tousled, like you've had a day at the beach except without the matted, post-sea-swim hair.

After reviewing the contents of both my pitiful wardrobe and my husband's much-less-pitiful wardrobe, it's official: our son is much more fashionable than we are. He gets all the latest baby styles; I'm wearing t-shirts from the 90's.

We were planning a summer vacation to Grand Rapids, Michigan, but it looks like we'll be there much sooner than expected: my brother-in-law is getting married in February, and Jason will be an usher. Anyone have any suggestions for winter wedding wear?

New job is going well - I'm learning more about hearts than I ever dreamed possible. I've also discovered, amidst all the delicious homemade baked goods my coworkers keep bringing in (and I keep eating), that I've adopted a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do policy when counseling my patients about their new, heart-healthy diet options.

On that same note, our floor pharmacy keeps an unhealthy stock of Dove chocolates and miniature Reese's in a large drawer by the door. While I was putting an IV in a patient, I jokingly told my preceptor at work that she needed to keep me away from the "pharmacy candy", and my patient gave me this alarmed look. I'm sure he thought I was stealing Percocets.

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, and I've scored another year of not having to make my own turkey. We'll be going to my dad & stepmom's house for the day, and I'm realizing I'm so much more thankful of my food when I don't have to prepare it.

The day after Thanksgiving? I will be giving thanks as I sleep in. I do not do mad-crushing-screaming-mobbing Christmas shopping at 5am at the Store Which Must Not Be Named. No sir. I'll take my Monday-after-Thanksgiving, quietly-economical gift deals online.