Boxer-in-Law

Zoot (or as I call him, Zooty) is our "boxer-in-law" :) Went to Tennessee for Thanksgiving to spend time with JT's family. It was a looong drive. We headed out Wednesday after work and spent the night near Columbia, S.C. then finished the drive to TN on Thanksgiving Day. We decided to leave on Saturday around 2pm and we made it home before 11pm...so about 9 hours. It's nice to have the day to get caught up on a few things (read: clean the house and do laundry). I would've hated to have to go to work tomorrow morning if we'd done the drive today.

The dogs got along well and Basil and Jenny are knocked out. I hope Zoot isn't missing them too badly :) I think I'll start decorating for Christmas :)

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

JT and I went to the beach with our friends to take some photos...hoping one would work for our Christmas card. It was a cool day but the sun was out. I think we should have waited a bit longer b/c there is lots of squinting. Anyway, here are my favorite three of ours - I'm sure they'll post above this message. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the beach? It's so beautiful, refreshing, and rejuvinating. It's funny, since we've moved here I just have the sense that we are exactly where we're supposed to be right now :)

Head Start

I'm home from, hopefully, my last trip for work. Went to D.C. for a conference which wasn't all that useful. Anyway, I got the organizing bug tonight. I went through our storage room and put everything away and off the floor. Then, I went through all of my Christmas boxes...just to take an inventory of my ornaments, decorations, wrapping supplies, etc. I've almost finished my shopping. I've just got a few final things to pick up. I do need to get working on the gifts I'm making though. I'll be baking lots of cookies to give so I need to finalize my list and make sure I have all the ingredients. I'm hoping to get a jump on things and freeze the dough or cookies. It'll be easier that way. I really need to dedicate one day to getting that together. Trying to make the season less stressful. It'll also help since most of my gifts need to mailed :)

I did manage to strain my back moving a heavy box...lifted wrong and felt the twinge in the old familiar spot. Oh well, it'll pass fairly quickly. Ok, time to grab a bedtime snack and hit the pillow.

I did it...

I finally wore the dogs out! Ok, I know this doesn't seem like a big deal but when Basil falls asleep before 8pm, it IS a big deal :) I had Friday off so we went to the dog park then, then Sat for 2 hours and today for 1 and a half hours. After that, we came home and they stayed outside with me for about 3 hours while I cleaned my car (yes, it was that dirty). So, it's a good day. Dinner is in the oven (turkey breast), the laundry is almost done, the dogs are tired, and my blog is updated. I also took a few pics of the pups this afternoon.

I'm off tomorrow on what is hopefully my last work trip of the year. Headed to DC for a seminar and training. Staying at the hotel where the conference is and I'm looking forward to that. I'll be in and out quickly so no time for sightseeing but time for dinner with a coworker.

He does it every time!

JT has this awful habit of mentioning something he wants...like for his birthday, or in this case Christmas (Hawaiian shirts) just in passing...then he just goes and buys it for himself. So, being that he refuses to make a Christmas list, I take special note and start looking for that very thing. This year, I started shopping early (I'm almost done) and found 2 shirts on Ebay and socked them away. Well today I notice that JT has a box from Hawaii waiting for him today. Sure enough...four shirts! STINKER - but I should have known. He's done this with his stereo system, computer game, clothes, and various other gift possibilities.

This year, he still gets the shirts b/c I already bought them. Luckily he didn't order anything like them. I also will be getting him something else, like a gift card :)