need some help here

ok, quick question that i'd really like everyone's help on...

yesterday was jan 11, 2011... the day before melis and i have been married for 6 years.  i was at work and was given a random box in that color tiffany & co puts everything in (melissa just said tiffany blue).

i walked into the doctor's lounge and the other dentist was there with my office manager and my office manager was saying "let's see if dr. wood has the same reaction as you..."

i said, "oh great, it's my anniversary tomorrow"... the other doc had just said he was glad he had something for valentine's day now.

anyway...

today when i got home from work i gave melissa the box and she was all super excited and everything and was telling her friend how great it was that i did something unexpected and she was so happy.  unfortunately she had to leave the house right then and couldn't finish opening it until she got home.

when she got home she was still so happy i'd thought of her on our special day.  "i can't believe it!" she kept saying, "what?!... this is great... why did you do this!?"


as she finally got the package open she got to this:

finally at this point she's still saying she can't believe i'd thought to do something like this in advance and it's not like me or anything and why did i do this... i didn't really know what to say.

so i just said i got it at work the other day and hadn't even opened the box yet.

which leads me to the big question...

Rude or Funny?

please vote and leave it in the comments.

2011, here we are.

After a stint in Utah to celebrate the holidays with our some of our favorite family and a few friends, we are back in Texas.

Here are a few things to note:

::: Calvin just had his first birthday. I'm floored. What?! He is a full blown one year old and we think he's the best. He's maxing out in the DARLING department and getting funnier everyday. I told Aaron that he is a lot like me, b/c he laughs really hard at funny things he does... even if no one else thinks it's very funny. I love it. Even more, I love him.
Here are a few pictures I took of him yesterday. I need to take legit ones soon. And, there are more from his birthday that I'll post in the Utah post, but for now, you can see what he looks like RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE (well, you know what I mean).

shot of him with his red hair

He loves to do this thing where he hides his face between his legs. He is way more flexible than I've ever thought of being.

classic cal face

another hair shot and cute profile.

here's the thing, you know I'm not a pro photographer. My indoor shots are either blurry and yellow OR stark and crazy with the bright flash. Sorry, folks. So, I made a few of them B&W. Regardless of his mother's lacking skills, hopefully you are able to get the drift that this kid is pretty cute.

my little ballroom dancer. love the tucked in slim look.

happy, happy boy.

::: The holidays were lovely. We were spoiled, royally. Pictures to come. I'm in the process of unpacking it all and getting excited all over again. One of the presents we received, Tillie is watching right now. On this very computer. At the same time I am updating this blog. That's right, we're sharing the screen. The things I do for this silly girl... Curious to know the movie title? It's her new favorite, "How to Train Your Dragon"---it's a good one. We saw it in the theater when it came out and she loved it. I think it was the first one she sat through totally GLUED to the screen.

::: Speaking of Matilda, she's in full princess garb at the moment. Nana 'Nise gave her a Snow White costume, rosebud headband, and riduculous Disney princess high heeled shoes (she got three pairs, just in case any of them get lost or Cal wants to borrow some). Also, she has her singing Belle doll that Grandma & Grandpa Wood gave her in her lap (you push her hand and she magically sings). She also has Cal's teething rings all up her arm that double as bracelets (something she totally discovered on her own) and a beaded necklace. She is in GIRLY GIRL HEAVEN. Wow. Pretty funny.

::: Whoops! I recently discovered that the owl cards I did a while back share the same sentiment that my friend, Eva's cards did.
Here's mine:

Here's theirs:

























Notice the similarity? Oh my word. I gasped in horror as I saw it on her site the other day. Eva and her husband run Sycamore Street Press, and they are super successful, legit, and wonderful. It looks like I copied it, but I assure you, it was not my intention. I'm a big believer in not ripping off others' designs and taking credit. And, if you saw the two cards and thought I was being lame and a thief, I apologize. The idea to do the "woot. woot." really came from a pure spot in my brain. I love their style and check out their store from time to time and they are definitely inspirational to me, but know that the similarity between the two cards was not intentional. A blog that I read, Dana Made It, she expressed what I want to say in her post. Anyway, that's that. Sorry, Eva!

::: Speaking of stationery, I'm up to my ears in baby shower fun. I love this kind of stuff. I'm planning a shower for one of my good friends here in San Antonio. I've been busy this evening making food labels and a paper garland. I hope they turn out as fun as I am envisioning.

::: Speaking of shower preparations (the baby shower kind, not the everyday cleansing kind), I decided to load up the kids and head to Costco this morning. Since Aaron usually makes the Costco trips with me, I was a little anxious about making the trip on my own. But, I needed to find good-fool-proof fruit (for the shower), restock our freezer and refrigerator, and most important, we needed more toilet paper. :) Honesty. That's why you like me.

Well, we did it. It was a great trip. The kids were great. I will say, it's a little difficult to hold a 50 pound one year old (kidding, he's only like 25 pounds, but still...) while helping your 2.5 year old unbutton her jeans and help her stay germ-free in the bathroom stall. That wasn't very fun. All in all, though, the only real tragedy was losing approx. 40 gold fish crackers that accidentally slipped out of our little container as the kiddos were scarfing them down. Not too shabby. No tears (from the kids or myself). And, it actually was QUITE pleasant.

Something interesting to note, in San Antonio, people are really sweet when they see two little happy kiddos in the cart. I've been taking note of some of the differences between Utah and Texas, and that is one difference. People get really excited to see your little kids here---especially BABIES. Oh, they love cute babies here. Cal was a hit. And, if you're pregnant? Get outta town! People are so nice and accommodating. I think, maybe b/c there are so many families with lots of kiddos in Utah, you don't get as many "ooohs and ahhhhs".

Anyway, it was just an observation, and generalization, for sure. Oh, and another thing I noticed while in Utah---there are so many WHITE people! :) hA! I never thought about it growing up, but I notice it all the time when I visit. It always floors me that there are so many people who look and dress so similarly to myself in Utah. Kind of funny.

::: Speaking of pleasant Costco trips, (let's get back on track) I don't think I've ever told you about why I love running errands. Enter BRUCE, the Great White.

Yes, that is his name. He came to us the day after our '95 Camry died. Back in August, Aaron wanted to take Matilda to see "Toy Story 3" one evening. I thought it was too late for her, but he really wanted to go. They went and loved it. I had stayed home with our sleeping 6 month old baby. Next thing I know, I get a phone call around 9:45 from Aaron saying that they were stranded and okay, but that he thought the engine had "blown up" (---imagine my reaction!) and they needed a ride home. We had his micro-machine, Ruby, at the house, and b/c it's a stick shift and, as Aaron says, "needs a lot of love" when you start her up, I told him there was no way I could pick them up. Our friend bailed them out, thankfully, and the next day we went around to dealerships to find our van. We're planning on more kids in the future (near and/or far) and I had been researching options for months.

Luckily, BRUCE was waiting for us at Gunn Honda (highly recommend the place. Their "one simple price" and "no haggle method" is the bomb). He came to us USED, so they needed to do a few things with him, but the price was right, and we've been thrilled ever since. Who knew Aaron's 1988 Corolla, Ruby, would outlast MY Camry? Crazy.

Let's take another look.

I have a DEEEEEEP and ABIDING LOVE for this vehicle. Make fun and call us what you want, but our entire family LOVES our van. I never knew an automobile could bring me such happiness. And, don't get me started on the AUTOMATIC sliding doors?! sigh.

You might be surprised, but MANY MANY people have told us,"Oh, we're not VAN people..." Aaron and I scratch our head when we hear this response from our friends (no, we don't literally scratch our heads, just figuratively). What does that mean, "We're not VAN people..."? You don't like amazing storage? You don't like incredible convenience? You don't like removable + folding seats? You don't like freaking amazing innovation?
Fine.
That's cool.
Enjoy your drive, but as for Aaron and me, we are PROUD VAN PEOPLE. I want to say something like, "VAN.ers for life!" but I'll refrain. :)

And, I know that we didn't buy the Toyota Sienna, but I feel as cool as this couple from this music video. Yes, I'm sure you've all seen it, but if you want, feel free to watch it again and imagine Aaron and me as the parents in the video. You're welcome.


::: I've decided I have great talent in the tangent department. Wow. How did we go from Calvin turning a year to Tillie's princess costume to Costco and then discussing my love for our van?


I knew you were worried, but have no fear.
It might be a new year, but it's still the same me.

Until the next time that I feel like talking your ear off...
peace out.

My home makes me happy [part 3]... especially at Christmas.

Once upon a time I saw a chalkboard painted globe in the Restoration Hardware Catalog.  I loved it.  It looked similar to this...

And then I found this little article on Design Sponge with this photo...

I love the look of these painted simple globes...
So, naturally, I'd been thinking about which one of my globes that I bought from the antique market a while back that I could paint.  In order to keep the correct topography, I decided to use PUFF PAINT (do you remember loving this when you were 9 yrs. old?  Me too.) to outline the continents.  My plan is to paint the entire globe a light blue or a pale yellow and then outline the continents again using the relief puff paint job as my guide.  Make sense?
Anyway, I did the puff paint and now I'm wondering if I should stop?  I kind of like the fat white outlines.  Any suggestions?  Votes?  Hollah if you'd like to give me your input.

oh, yes I did.  Utah and Texas, represent!

::: In other news, we're decking the halls and cleaning the crap (pardon my french).  In order to make room for a few new toys for Christmas, we're cleaning and going through all the toys that our kids don't need/play with.  And, then I hit our bedroom and got rid of all the "clutter" that has been littering our two dressers.  Things like random paperwork, sewing supplies, buttons, extra pens... things that have just been SITTING there forever waiting to find their home.  So, I cleared it off, and got to work.

Oh, and I finally hung some of our travel pictures up on the wall last night.  It feels so good to check some of these random things off my list.

 

 

I think I'm so funny with this figure.  I love that he's running away. I chuckle to myself EVERY time I see it.

Here's another part of our room.  I think I've posted about my little bulletin board before, but here it is with a CLEAN dresser top.  :)  My mom and sisters (and I) collect charms and here is where I put them.  A bunch of them have tarnished, so I gotta polish them up again.  But, I like this little spot a lot.

 

 let's zoom in.

 

And zoom in some more.  Maybe one day I'll tell you about ALL the charms.  Then again, maybe not.  Here were some that caught my eye.  

Go Lone Peak.  Represent.  (I think I've said "represent" twice in this post. nice.)

 

Aaron went on a business trip to Illinois a few weeks ago.  The place he went to wasn't a big tourist spot, so there wasn't much to bring back, but he did see this little charms so he got one of Tillie and Cal.  I thought that was pretty sweet of Aaron.  What a good guy!

 

 2002 Winter Olympics in SALT LAKE CITY.  That's right, for a third time... Represent.

 

And, although she isn't a "charm" per say, I love this little gal that used to hang from my cuckoo clock.  Check out the uni-brow.  So funny.  I think her little UNI is endearing.  Let's super-size this picture:

 

Now let's take a little walk into the middle chunk of the house.  Some call it a dining room, but it's really the den/dining area/play room/middle chunk of the house.  We put these frames up a month or so ago and I finally put things in them (well, all except that tiny middle one above the plate. still debating about that one.).  I love this wall.  It makes me glad every time I see it.  And, since we live in the middle chunk of our house, we see it a lot.  Calvin's new trick is taking his finger and pointing to the pictures and laughing.  It's great.  We love it and think he's so funny.

Normally the little elf door is blank, but b/c it's Christmas, that's where I'm displaying some of our cards. 

Let's take some close up shots.  You might notice some new darling pictures of the family.  Yes, we had a REAL legit photographer, Krista, take them this year.  This is the first year we've ever done REAL TRUE FAMILY PHOTOS.  I'll have to post some of them later.  She did great.  And that painting in the top left?  Remember when I made it for my mom last year and then decided to keep it for her (she didn't know where to put it, so until she decides, I'm keeping it.  hA!).

all time favorite picture of Aaron.  He let me paint his face when we were dating.  He doesn't let me paint his face anymore. That's weird.  Ahhh, the things you'll do when you are dating...

you see, we had this thermostat and doorbell speaker delight we had to work around... so doing a collage like this is really a nice way of hiding it all.  oh, and my professional hanger (aaron) accidentally hung the little lemon collage painting upside down.  I'm lazy and haven't turned it right side up, but in case you were wondering if it was on purpose, it wasn't.

 

And, while we're at it, let's take a look at the awesome Nativity we received two years ago from Aaron's parents.  I love it.  So much.  My family has one just like it.  We display it on our piano.  And, Becca gave us a mini olive wood one from Jerusalem.  Double awesome.

The stockings are really finished.  Let's see some close up shots...

 

 

 

And then here are a few of Calvin's plaid stocking...

 

I embroidered their names on them too and am fairly pleased with the results.  We still need to find another stocking hanger.  Until then, Aaron (who wanted a very plain stocking) is teaming up with Matilda's.  Oh, and I squish them together so tight, b/c otherwise Calvin can reach up and pull them down (we store our ottoman directly under this).  Those heavy stocking hangers could do a number on his little soft bald head.  I'd rather compromise the overall design aesthetic instead of my baby's head.  Catch my drift?

Between the Nativity on the piano and our little niche' ---that's the extent of our Christmas decor.  Oh, I have a wreath on the front door too, but that's it.  I know, I know.  We were going to set up our big tree this year, but since Calvin is totally crazy and into EVERYthing, I didn't feel like playing police-man all day long.  Call me the Grinch.  It's okay.  We'll try again next year.  And, I think our kids will be well adjusted individuals, even though their mom skipped the big tree this year.  Here's hoping...

 

Again, sorry for the blurry photo.  But, you gotta love our little Elf on the Shelf.  Have you ever heard of this?  Pretty fun concept. And one of our most TREASURED ornaments is Aaron's Noodle Angel.  Do you see it?  Yes, made mostly from little noodles.  Genius.  He made it when he was little and it gets a place of honor on our tree each year.

So, there's the 411 on Christmas in our house and our latest house projects.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

for your entertainment...

As my gift to you this Christmas season, enjoy a little entertainment.  Actually, these are all suggestions given to me from my internet savvy husband, Aaron.  He emailed all of these links to me and I thought you might benefit from them too.
So, Merry Christmas.
Enjoy.

:::  This was cool but irritating at the same time.
It's a color test where you have to put the hues in the correct order. 
Your eyes might play some tricks on you.  It's intense and not for the faint of heart.  But, if you're up for a challenge, click here.
Aaron finished first and his score was 98 (not-so-hot).  When I did the test, I got a 7 (the best score you can get is a ZERO).
Needless to say, I did a victory cheer from my desk and was like, "What now, Foo!?!"
Aaron's response:  "You're probably going to blog about this, aren't you?"
...

You know it.


So, if you're up to it, go take the test. 

::: To all you San Antonio Spurs fans (we are JAZZ fans in this Texas household), watch this funny FAIL video.  Too funny.

Free Throw High Five FAIL - watch more funny videos

 
::: If you're up for some listening AND you're a BEATLES fan, then you'll love what Aaron found on the Mentalfloss blog.   Have you ever heard of this site?

 

It's a "web project devoted to re-recording every Beatles song, using ukuleles, and posting the songs for free online".  Awesome or what?  

Here are a few of favorite posts... all you do is click on the link and if you click on the blue link with the title of the song, it will play it for you.  Then, if you love it, download it for free.  Win win win.

My most favorite so far is this one:

All You Need is Love, performed by Nikki Gregoroff

But I like these as well:

Here Comes the Sun, performed by Holly Palmer

From Me To You, performed by Sophie Madeleine

::: This was pretty fun to watch.  It's an 8 year old break-dancer TOTALLY showing up the older guy. I felt cool just by watching this video.  It's a longer clip, but we thought it was fun to watch.  Amazing.

 

::: This one was so moving.  Aaron found it on TIME's Top 10 of Everything from 2010.  It is a video about a guy who talks about his dog.  They film the last day spent with his dog before they had to put him to sleep.  It's called "Last Minutes with ODEN" and we both cried when we watched it.  I will warn you, there are a few swear words, but it is so moving that I think it's worth watching.  

Last Minutes with ODEN from phos pictures on Vimeo.

:::  And, to end on a lighter note, here's another funny FAIL snippet (voted in the top 10 for 2010)---no photos or video, just listen.  Make sure your volume is turned up.  We both died laughing... Aaron especially was cracking up.  Give this one a go too.

Anyway, there you have it.  A little gift of Entertainment from us to you.