Yay for Etsy and Shutterfly!
I'd elaborate on the cool stuff that I found, but some of the recipients have been known to read my blog...
This is what I was watching/listening to while shopping:
I love her voice! I DVR'd the Celtic Woman performance last week from the PBS channel. Some of their songs are cheesy, but that song is one of my favorites :)
I knew it was a bunch of baloney from the beginning...but it is nice to finally see people with ACTUAL degrees in science or meteorology getting their voices heard (even if Fox News is the only channel with enough gumption to air it, surprise surprise...)
I hope Al Gore gets taken down by this group of 30,000 scientists and meteorologists and the world will come to see him as the big, fat, liar and hypocrite that he really is.
That's all.
Went to the Basilica for mass again this morning and a few minutes after we sat down a man came and sat in front of us. I thought he looked familiar and after a second glance I realized it was Newt Gingrich :)
After mass was over I went up to him and said ,
"I just wanted to shake your hand, sir. It's nice to see you here, and God bless you."
And he shook my hand and said thank you :) hehe
Nice to see a politician genuinely worshiping. Oh, and the priest made mention of why the mosaic of Jesus behind the altar had a bit of a stern face. Apparently the artist decided that since this mosaic was in Washington - the center of power for the world - that Jesus should look very strong and powerful to remind everyone that HE is the one in charge. :) I like that.
*************
I got a late birthday present yesterday. Paul had intended to get me a new digital camera, but I told him it would be better for me to pick it out since I'm kinda picky about cameras - and he agreed. Well I haven't ever picked one out, and we were at Target yesterday and I found something else that I'd kinda been wanting, so he said I could get it as part of my belated birthday gift.
I got a Keurig coffee brewer :) I'm not a big coffee drinker, but I was sold on it because it also makes tea and cocoa. It came with a variety pack of teas and coffees so Paul and I have already tried out a few. It's pretty cool...
****************
I bought some jeans last week at Target and they have turned out to be practically perfect in every way. Girls, you KNOW how hard it is to find perfect jeans! I went back tonight to get another pair and they were on sale for $12!!! So of course I bought three pair :) ha!
***************
And finally, I'd like to present one of the worst displays of apostrophe misuse I think I've ever seen.
Headquarter's, Wreath's, Poinsettia's, Tree Stand's, and of course Tree's
good grief.
Let's begin with a little background on me and dogs. Namely that I spent the first 28 years of my life hating them. I was the girl that made fun of people who treated their dogs like children. I scoffed when I heard about doggy day care and the lengths that dog owners would go to ensure their pet's happiness.
Now? I am said dog owner. I love my dog more than I ever thought I would, and I admit I DO treat her like my child (although I draw the line at dog birthday parties and gourmet, homemade dog treats or fancy organic dog food from a can)
*disclaimer: I am still not a "dog person", though. I can't stand big, slobbery, smelly, obnoxious dogs. I don't like dogs that aren't well trained. I have a higher tolerance for dogs now, but there are still very few dogs that I've met that I'd want to spend any length of time with...
I do think, though, that Addie is one of the best dogs in the world. She meets all the criteria for a perfect dog, in my opinion.
{Let's discuss.}
1) She does not shed
2) She does not bark excessively (in fact she rarely barks at all)
3) She does not slobber
4) She is completely house trained and rings a bell when she needs to go out
5) She is SOOOO cute...and although I'm a little biased on this point, I will say that every time I take her out somewhere I always get compliments on how cute/pretty she is.
6) She is smart and she does some fun tricks (like play dead, roll over, dance...)
7) She loves to cuddle and give hugs. Seriously. She GIVES HUGS.
8) She is very well behaved - in fact, she rode on the plane with us as my carry-on when we flew from Germany to Houston - that is a 10 hour flight - and no one even knew she was on board.
9) If she does something she isn't supposed to (which is a rare occasion) and you scold her, her little ears go down and she instantly comes and lays down at your feet to apologize
10) She visited my grandpa in the nursing home and actually made him smile :)
I mean, look at that face! How could you NOT love this pup? :)
The day I brought her home - aka, the beginning of what I hope will be a very LONG time together :)
With the help of Random.org, comment # 22 was chosen
And that comment belonged to Stacey! yay!
So happy you won! We'll work out logistics asap - which could maybe involve us meeting up IN PERSON finally! :)
Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!
I went to mass at the Basilica again yesterday, but this time I went to the noon mass which is their most beautiful Sunday mass. They have an amazing choir, they use incense, everything is sung. There is this overwhelming since of reverence and honor when you worship in a mass like this one. I got choked up several times throughout the mass because I just pictured that this is the way we'll be worshiping God in Heaven. I didn't want it to end.
I usually enjoy going to a teen or youth mass where the music is upbeat and there is percussion or trumpets, hand-clapping and dancing. And I think that is a great way to worship, but I also think that attending a more solemn and reverent service from time to time is a great way to humble us and remind us tof the majesty and greatness of God. That He is to be honored, not only in our worship on Sunday, but in the way we live our daily lives - our talk, our dress, our actions. It is something I for SURE need to work on.
The choir sang one of my favorite songs (bringing forth another teary-eyed moment...WHY did I not bring tissue??)
This is a recording by the Vienna Boys choir, but it sounds about the same :)
I have now vowed that any Sunday that I'm off of work, I will be in that Basilica for their noon mass. Such a great way to start your week!
***********
And on a totally unrelated note, don't forget to check out my giveaway :) It would make a great Christmas gift!
I, of course, said yes...so here's the scoop!
Build-a-Bear has given me their Camo Bear to giveaway PLUS a $25 gift certificate to their workshop :)
The gift certificate can be used for anything you want in their workshop, but in sticking with the "military" theme, here are a few uniforms that they make for their bears that would be fun for the Camo Bear :)
{p.s. Build-a-Bear workshop is also giving all military members a 20% discount through November 15th at any of their stores in honor of Veterans Day. You just have to show your military ID.}
But back to the giveaway... how do you win the Camo Bear and gift certificate??
For one entry, leave a comment on this post telling us about your favorite stuffed animal growing up (or now...I guess...if you still sleep with a teddy bear...hehe)
For a second entry, become a follower or tell me if you already are a follower
For a third entry, post about the giveaway on your blog, facebook, or twitter and include the link in your comment.
Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry!!
Drawing will be one week from today - November 20th @10:00 Eastern.
Since moving from Germany to Maryland about 2 months ago, our house has been in a constant state of disaster. Boxes everywhere, clothes strewn about, nothing in its proper place, no pictures on the walls... It's not a good way to live. It makes you grouchy and stressed out. It's important for your house to be a place of peace and refuge - especially when you are coming home from a job that you hate (which is currently the case for both me AND Paul.)
The task of getting things in order was just overwhelming, and both Paul and I suffer from a serious lack of motivation (which I also blame partly on our current jobs and the way they suck the life out of us)
So this weekend my mom flew up from Houston to come help me get the house in order. I picked her up Friday night and we worked ALL DAY Saturday, most of the day Sunday and a little bit Monday morning before I took her to the airport.
We threw out about 15 huge garbage bags of stuff, put another 2 big boxes in my car to take to Goodwill, and managed to find places for everything that was left in the house. We got a few pictures hung on the walls and even put up some curtains.
Paul and I still have a lot of work to do, but the house is already a thousand times better than it was a few days ago. I don't get irritated when I walk in the front door now, so that is a huge improvement :)
So, thank you Mom :) You are the greatest and I couldn't have done it without you!!
Here are a few pics from Sunday morning when we took a break to go to the National Basilica in DC for mass. The National Basilica is the largest Catholic church in North America and is one of the ten largest churches in the world. It is simply stunning. We walked around for about an hour after mass was over and I'm certain that we still didn't see all the details. I intend to go back and take better pictures eventually - these were taken with my iPhone, so the quality isn't the best...but you can get the general idea:
Me and mom outside the Basilica
This room was breathtaking - it was wall to wall mosaics.
See the detail - I can't even imagine how long it took to complete just this one room.
The ceilings were covered in mosaics as well. This was one of my favorites with the tiny gold tiles.
A little girl next to us asked her mom, "Mommy, why is Jesus so angry?"
I was thinking...honey, it's probably because he is here in D.C. surrounded by corrupt politicians - especially ones who call themselves Catholics but go against everything the Church values. (ahem, Pelosi, Biden, Kerry, Sebilius, Kennedy, etc, etc...)
Anyhow...if you are in D.C. or ever visit D.C. please don't overlook this treasure. Even if you are not Catholic you can definitely appreciate the beautiful architecture and detail that went into making this church so gorgeous. Here's the link to their website for more info about it :)
That is MY photo :) I took that picture when we went to Paris in July...and they are using it on their "Paris page"! eeee! Makes me happy :)
