Look what I found

In the dog's mouth...

That would be chewing gum.

Why was the dog chewing a piece of gum? Perhaps he wanted minty fresh breath? Or maybe that was just the best smelling piece of trash in the garbage can? I'm not quite sure what the appeal was however when I got out of the shower I wondered why our bedroom smelled minty. It wasn't until my slipper stuck to the carpet that I realized the dog had dug something sticky out of the trash and left it on the floor for me! Thank goodness it came off nice and easy or our carpet would be sporting a red kool-aid stain and a chunk of gum.

Someone tried to apologize but I don't really think he was sorry.

And... Look what we woke up to this morning!!!

I have been wishing for snow after our yucky brown Christmas. Yay for pretty white stuff covering the muddy ground :o)

Round Three

Alternately titled: Round Wii.


Nanny and Pawpaw are going to have to move to the big couch before the kids get too much bigger!

Zach loved his tractor...

Nanny loved her Dish remote...

and everybody else loved the wii. I think it will get plenty of use!

Boxed

One would expect that when you buy a video game the box would actually contain the game advertised on the front.

Not the one I bought Richie for Christmas. Thank goodness the lady at Target believed us and they exchanged it for another one.

Poor Richie :o(

Merry Christmas

love,
The Garrotts

C'est fini!

Nothing like waiting to the last minute to get things done! At this point if it isn't wrapped it's not going to be wrapped.

Now to start "giving" instead of "collecting".

p.s: I decided to give myself an early Christmas gift and watch my favorite movie... "I know! It's a keck!"... not once but twice this morning while Richie was working :o)

Round 2

Sunday we drove to Avon Lake. (We didn't make the two hour journey in less than 90 min. No not us. My dear husband never drives over the speed limit)

It was super festive up there with the 4 trees they had decorated!

The traditional holiday shot of the "kids" (Who are all over 21 at this point).

Monday we (and by "we" I mean Richie) iced all of the cookies we made almost 2 weeks ago. They turned out really nice. I got to put the sprinkles on which was perfect for me. Nothing too technical for me in the kitchen.

And Bevo watched and waited for us to drop things on the floor. Of course no one gave him any cookies. He never gets people food and we would never even think of giving him a taste. Nope, not us!

And one more "not-me" ... even though it's Tuesday...

There was no way that I would have been left alone in the aisle at Walmart this week by my dear husband who did not disappear the second we ran into a co-worker who we would never think of referring to with the word "crazy" before their name. We would never abandon eachother like that!

Here we go!

Let the holiday rush begin!

We went to our first family gathering last night with the Harsh family. It was nice to see everyone since we really didn't get to talk to them too much at the wedding. Of course I took my camera (but forgot to check if my flash batteries were any good and had to make a trip to the store to get some new ones) and ended up with some good pictures.

Zach wanted his picture taken with Grandma. He likes to see himself on the camera screen :o)

Thanks to Aunt Pam for taking this one. We have plenty that were taken by holding the camera at arms length. It's nice to have one were you can see more than our faces.

Look at those good lookin' guys!

Wrapped up!

Since we have to start giving gifts on Saturday I thought it might not hurt to start wrapping them!

Who???

eats a kiss cookie and leaves the kiss?!?!?!

Richie that's who! I think the kiss is the best part of the cookie :o)

A few not-me's since it's Monday...

I really didn't walk around at work for almost 20 min. holding a piece of paper in front of myself because I forgot to zip my pants and didn't notice until there were kids in the room.

That wasn't me either who spilled their coffee on the new footstool only to find out that fabric protector is AMAZING!! (I also didn't say that I wished everything could be dipped in fabric protector... life would be so much less messy!)

Nor did I ask Richie for some stupid things that I "didn't" do this week and he didn't answer with: You did so much dumb stuff I can't remember it all.

Ha!

Downtown

A snow storm and an unexpected detour put us and the camera in downtown Dover tonight. (Contrary to popular belief I don't keep my camera in the car constantly... besides the cold isn't good for it.) We couldn't help but stop and take a few pictures. I really wish my zoom had been working and I had a tripod along. Then I could really have gotten some nice ones. It was too cold to take many even if the snow was so pretty.

The last one made me laugh. I bet the water would be nice and cold!

Scents of the Season

Mmmmmmm! I got this candle for Richie but I think I ended up liking it more than he does. That's ok though. He can have the eggnog drink and I can have the eggnog smell.

Yum-o!

We have a pine candle too that almost tricks us into thinking we have a real Christmas tree. Gotta love Yankee

Tuesday Trip

To our favorite store!!!

Richie needed sunflower seeds and I needed some banana chips (and by need I mean bordering on obsession). We got sprinkles for the Christmas cookies too. They have the best selection.

Kinda made the yucky rainy day not so bad!

Light Show

I should have taken one like this on Saturday night when there was a pretty blanket of snow... but this will have to do for now. There isn't a lot of room to stand out front without being in the road so I couldn't get much more in the frame. Looks pretty cozy to me!

p.s: Don't mind the power cord hanging between the window and the porch. It will be gone next year after some boys run the wires for an outdoor outlet :o)

And a few not me's!

I definitely did not put only half of butter needed in the cookie dough and then wonder why it was so dry.

I also didn't wash one white sock with our bedsheets, which happen to be red.

Nor did I spend all of Sunday in my pajamas only to take a shower at 5:00, change into another pair of pajamas and put running pants on over top my pajamas to take back the movie we rented and get donuts at 7:00 at night.

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday kept us busy with Christmas activities. We went with Richie's mama to pick the perfect tree. It was Amber's turn to pick. Thank goodness she found one fast because it was cold out there. Richie cut it down like always and loaded it up on the cart. It wasn't as slippery as last year and we were able to ride the tractor to the field on the other side of the creek. Adam said he saw the tree he wants for next year. Hopefully it will still be there!

After Christmas tree picking it was time for Christmas cookie making. This picture pretty much sums up our cookie adventure... not so good. Yes those are pecans in the heater vent. It was at this point I told the dog that he couldn't lick those nuts. I didn't mean it the way it sounded, at the time he was making laps around the kitchen licking the floor to make sure we didn't drop anything yummy. Thank goodness the vent was closed and we could just pull it out and throw the pecans in the trash.

We did have some success but because of our poor planning, and this being the first time we made cookies on our own we couldn't make any more cookies Saturday. All of the dough had to chill before we could roll, flatten, cut, and bake it.

Sunday we decided to stay home since the roads were covered by the lovely snow. We finished the cookies and then enjoyed sitting on our sofa. It's nice to spend a lazy day at home. B is a pro at relaxing.

"Bowled" Over

It seems like we have a never ending collection of bowls to use as center pieces on our dining room table. I knew the big glass one would look the best all fancied up for Christmas. We bought all of the table linens and the napkin rings at Walmart on clearance at the end of last season. We didn't know when we would use them but 70% off of their already bargain basement prices was too good to pass up. I love how great it all looks!

Have a seat

On our brand new sofa and chair!!! This was the surprise of the century since Richie kept it a secret from me and had everything delivered when I was at work. Now it looks like a real living room complete with furniture! We have things in a sort of holding pattern for now. Once the Christmas tree comes down we are going to move everything around to see which arrangement we like the best.

Blessings to the Broyhill people who made and shipped this a full 24 days early!

G is for...

Goodness that's gorgeous!

From Bevo

Bevo was the first to put anything under our tree this year. He may be a pup but he has the right idea.

That's Aunt Connie's 18th (can you believe that?!?! 18th!) tree skirt under our first present.

Countdown

The Christmas countdown has begun! I remember making these chains when I was little. I remembered it being really fun then so I thought why not make one now? Well I was a little less OCD about cutting each paper strip the exact same length and width when I was younger and I also didn't use super fancy (and expensive) scrapbook paper so that the chain would match the paint color in the living room. It was still fun and I can't wait to watch it get shorter and shorter and the month goes on.

To return or not to return

I know this is our first set of silverware but for some reason I don't think it should have those funky rust-like spots on it after a month of use. We haven't done anything other than eat with them but they are already looking dirty. Our stainless steel its looking not so stainless right now.

So should we return them or try to clean them??

Bits and Pieces

Our wedding centerpieces make an appearance at the Thanksgiving table this year. Everything looked great decked out in orange and red. I love fall colors!

It was great to see every one and visit. We don't have many traditions because of all the recent changes in our family but it still seems like we all make the effort to be together on holidays.

After our yummy supper and a few hours of sleep we were ready to brave the crowds for Black Friday. I think we did our share of economy stimulating :o) Richie finally got the tool box he had his eye on since July. I didn't think it was going to fit in the back of the car but he squeezed it in there!

Guess Who's Cooking?!?!?

Guess who's supervising?!?!?

Wish us luck!

Hooray for Oprah!

As if she isn't cool enough...

Free photo book + lots of wedding photos = a fantastic way to show them off!

I finally finished my snapfish book a mere two hours before my photo book offer was due to expire. It really looked good on the computer and I can't wait to see it for real. It's going to be hard to wait the 3 weeks they said it would take to have it shipped.

Gotta love Oprah and saving twenty bucks!

Poor pup

Poor Bevo! We feel so bad knowing that we did this to him!

It is kinda nice that he wants extra cuddles, even if he is following Richie around like his shadow.

These may be the worst part. He has to wear these "booties" when he goes outside since his feel have to stay dry until Saturday. He's not too crazy about them and already tried to lose them once in the yard.

Since you're missing summer

Remember how warm it was the day we took these?!?!

I finally put them on a disk so they are ready for your viewing/printing/sharing pleasure :o)

I figured you could pick them up when you come for dinner with your boyfriend!

Guess...

who came home to a clean house on Saturday ?!?!?!

He even put the blanket I was working on into a basket. Much nicer than the Walmart bag I had been dragging it around in :o)

Me hearts my husband