bring on the cheer

I know I'm not the only one who is D-U-N with Winter. The cold weather. The snow. The dreariness.

In fact, I think Winter and I are breaking up.

But good news... Brandy's "Cheer Up!!" swap is just the thing to get over the winter blahs!

Sign-ups close tomorrow... so if you want to spread some cheer, click the button below and join!

beautiful blooms

Once again, I'm participating in Frizzy's Fab Five Friday... showcasing my 5 favorite photos from the past week.

These pictures are ones I took of the bouquet of flowers Shane brought home for me. Just because I was having a bad day, and he wanted to cheer me up.

I love that man.

What's your favorite flower? For me, it's a toss-up between calla lilies and tulips...

Clue #2

Sunday morning, I found another note from Shane... this time, posted on my closet door:

I daresay, he is rather enjoying this.

I don't think he will ever learn.

I knew something was up when Shane asked if we had any plans for next weekend...

me: (looks at the calendar) "It's The Boy's birthday, but nothing else is written down."

Shane: "Okay. Don't make any plans."

me: (looks at Shane)

me: (raises eyebrows)

{crickets chirping}

me: "Well?! Aren't you going to tell me what we're doing?"

Shane: "Nope."


Then, as I got in my car yesterday morning to take the girls to school, I found this note stuck to the dashboard...

Honestly, my first reaction was to think,

"Really? We've been together for ALMOST SEVENTEEN YEARS... HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW ME BY NOW?!"

Because he knows I don't like surprises.

So far, the only info Shane has given me is, when we're leaving... we don't need a passport... and we're not flying.

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that my husband is trying to do something nice for me. And I love him for it.

But it's so hard for me to not know the details!

After the third or fourth (or tenth) time of pestering him about where we're going/ what we'll be doing/ how we will get there/ what I need to pack/ why we're going/ where we'll be staying, Shane exasperatedly announced,

"It's going to be a long week."


Yes. Yes, it is.

2011 in pictures: Fab Five Friday

Once again, I'm participating in Frizzy's Fab Five Friday... here are my five favorite photos from the last week (in no particular order):

strawberries... my favorite fruit! Yum!

strawberries & cream scone... double YUM!

Michaela turned her head away right as I took this

my favorite stuffed animal when I was a kid

holiday lights in my church's sanctuary

Have a great weekend!

The reasons are threefold.

1. My kids FINALLY return to school today after last week's snowpocalypse. That calls for a celebration, and there's nothing like a little eye candy to get the party started.


2. MGM got their money troubles in order and "Bond 23" is on for a November 2012 release.


3. Just because.

But let's be honest, do I really need a reason?

I didn't think so.

At this rate, I'm going to need a new liver.

Hannah: "Mom?"

me: "Yes?"

Hannah: "Where is my... never mind!"



Michaela: "Hey, Mommy!"

me: "Yes?"

Michaela: "Do you know where... never mind!"



Hannah: "Mom?"

me: "Yes??"

Hannah: "I can't find... wait, never mind!"



Michaela: "Mommy?"

me: "Yes?!"

Michaela: "Where's my... never mind!"




*repeat at least 12 more times daily


And they wonder why Mommy drinks...

2011 in pictures: days 8 - 12

My bloggy friend, Frizzy, over at Heaven's Gift, is starting a weekly linky to share your five favorite photos on Friday.

She's calling it Five Favorite Photos Friday.

I may have mentioned this, but in case you didn't know, I've been stuck IN MY HOUSE SINCE LAST SATURDAY due to the snow and ice. So the photos I've taken this last week are no great works of art. But I'm determined to complete a 365 photo project this year, and I figured I'd go ahead and share my photos from the last five days:



(Ok, well this one is a work of art... my gorgeous girls!)

Hopefully next Friday I'll have better photos to share. But if you want to check out some fabulous photos, go see Frizzy... her photo titled "The Beauty Within" blew me away!

Snow Day #4

Hannah and Michaela have been out of school for the last 4 days due to the snow and ice.

School has been canceled for tomorrow, as well.

I have not been out of this house since LAST SATURDAY. And it looks like it won't be until this Saturday before the weather will cooperate enough to give me a chance to venture out somewhere.

aslkd jasmlasp dkdsfkfajsfos ldkm

(that was my head hitting the keyboard)

SNOMG

For the second time in just over two weeks, we woke up to find a winter wonderland outside... this time with 8" of snow on the ground!

To the rest of the country, 8" may not seem like a lot. But the South just isn't equipped to handle weather like this. I don't think anyone down here even knows what snow chains are... nor are there enough salt trucks to maintain the roads. Meaning our city pretty much shuts down when winter weather hits.

School was canceled today and has been called off for tomorrow as well... since temperatures won't get above freezing until FRIDAY, it looks like school will be out all week.

Which means there will be more time for me to go stir crazy fun in the snow!

We don't even have a sled (let alone appropriate snow apparel) so Hannah made do with a plastic tray. Turns out, it works pretty well...

Unfortunately, Michaela missed out on all the frivolity as she is not feeling well. She's running a low fever and has a bit of a cough, but so far that's it. However, I am sure she will get worse before she gets better.

So.

Just in case you need a refresher, I will (most likely) be stuck in my house ALL WEEK and with a sick child.

At least I have this...

2011 in pictures: week 1

One of the items on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list is to complete a 365 photo project. I attempted this last year... even went as far as creating a blog just for the photos. I was able to get through April before abandoning the project and deleting the photo blog.

It is a daunting task, but one I'm determined to give another shot.

I'm not sure if I'll post the photos daily (probably not), weekly, or monthly (most likely).

But here, for your enjoyment, are my photos from the first week!

Only 730 days to go!

I have exactly two years (!) to complete my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.

Since the last update, I've been able to cross two more items off the list:


24. take another family trip to Disney World

We had so much fun taking the girls to Disney World for Fall Break back in October. I just realized I've not posted any photos from that trip...


77. buy a smartphone

This was Shane and mine's Christmas gifts to each other... new phones! We both chose the Droid X.

(If you have an Android phone and want to play Wordfeud, look me up! I'm NutHouse Shannon. Go figure.)


More importantly, there are quite a few items I'm actively working on...


2. convert playroom into an office

This one is slowly coming into fruition. I've been able to remove most of the toys and added a small desk for my use. The room has been painted and Shane built a closet... eventually I'd like to buy a bigger L-shaped desk so we can move the Mac out of the den and into the new office.


32. read 10 non-fiction books

1. My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster
2. The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
   

45. attend at least 2 theater events

We went to see A Christmas Story ("You'll shoot your eye out!") at our local theater back in December.


46. attend at least 3 concerts

Shane and I saw Dave Matthews in July... and Angie and I took another road trip to see Kings of Leon in September.


79. eat at 10 restaurants that I've never been to

With our trip to Disney World, I could knock 4 off this list (Whispering Canyon Cafe, Liberty Tree Tavern, Yak & Yeti, and 50's Prime Time Cafe were all new to us) but that somehow feels like cheating...


87. hold a "comments for cans" post at least once per year

Thanks to your comments, I donated a total of 58 items to my local food bank in December 2010.



I think I've made pretty good progress so far... but it's time to get crackin'.

Operation: Keep Kids Occupied Whilst on Winter Break is *finally* over.

Over the last 19 days, my girls and I have:

• made glitter ornaments
  

• painted ornaments
  

• painted canvases
  

• made no-sew fleece blankets
  

• made gingerbread houses

• baked, frosted, and sprinkled Christmas cookies

• held (way too) many Christmas scavenger hunts
  

If I never do another art project/kid activity, it will be too soon...

And the gifts just keep on comin'.

Going through the photos from Christmas Eve, I came across this one:

My brother totally photobombed me.


In related news, my brother is a total dork.