A Very Merry Christmas

Keith here. Hello all. I hope you all had a good Christmas. We had a great time. This was our last holiday kid-free. We spent a lot of time with Candice's uncles Marshall and John Piper. It was a blast. Their families are awesome. Enjoy the pics. Later.

Poor Niles


Baxter the Grinch


Candice kickin' butt at Pictionary


L to R Lynne, Teryn, Logan and Alicia


Alicia, Alexander, Vicki, John


Marshall and John Piper

Baby Remington!

This is a new pic of the little guy. For women he's 26.5 weeks. For guys he's about 6.5 months.

Don't Shoot Me Santa

Don't Shoot Me Santa-The Killers

Disturbing and Glorious

Police Chase #2

So for the second time in a year, within a two block radius, I get stuck in the middle of a high speed police chase in the middle of a busy parking lot. The first time was almost a year ago. Keith and I had just moved into the new house and he had left for work the night before. I had gone to Jason's Deli to buy a veggie po' boy and was crossing the parking lot and turned to see a car coming straight for me. I was quite literally two feet away from getting hit not only once by the person being chased, but then again by the police car. Then this past weekend coming out of Salt Grass with Keith, Callie, Roger, and Frud, we were strolling to our car after a big dinner and heard shouting and screeching. People were yelling as a dark car was being chased through the PACKED parking lot by no less than 3 police cruisers. Honestly, that guy better have killed a family of ten to justify putting at least dozen of innocent bystanders at risk.
One thing is for sure, I have not moved that fast since I have been pregnant...

Well, I guess I'll go to...

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

The Fellas and I...

are enjoying rainy weather in the sixties. I hear you Utah suckers are enjoying 12 degrees! Ha!
I accidentally left the fellas outside in the rain for about an hour last night. I didn't know it was raining! Niles took refuge under the picnic table, shook, and looked concerned. Baxter was behind 'his bush' barking and whining at his phantom friend. It's an annoying new habit that has been developing over the last few weeks and it kinda freaks me out when I'm alone. No amount of cajoling, coaxing, or threatening will get him out from behind that bush! He obviously thinks something is there, I just don't want to find out what it is...

Galveston Find

Keith and I were cruising the strand in Galveston last night when we decided to pop into a used book store. The guy running was a complete stoner and could barely work the register, but we came across shelves and shelves of children's collectibles. These are the two we picked for now, and I can't help imagining stacks of old books on Remington's soon-to-be refurbished dresser.

While shopping we also came across a completely random parade. The parade didn't seem to serve any apparent purpose and lasted about 5 full minutes. Keith said it was the best parade he's ever been to. Featured an awesome school band, a 4 wheelin' beauty queen, Mardi Gras beads and these guys:Notice the lack of crowds. I think that is why Keith was so happy.

Dec 8, summer?

This past week we had record highs. Friday it was HUMID and near 90 degrees. Blah!
This picture is the best example of fall around here (I enhanced the colors, the original pic is very drab.) The leaves die without changing color and hang on as long as they can before falling off. Sadly, these are the most vibrant Autumn colors I've seen.
We were walking the shores of Lake Houston when I snapped this. This park also happens to be Keith's new kayak launch. I was scanning the shores for gators the entire time. I kept imagine one jumping out and snapping up Niles for lunch.

Tag, I'm It!

Rules:

#1. List 6 facts/habits about yourself that no one knows
#2. Tag 6 other friends and post their names at the bottom.

Emily tagged me and since she took pretty much everyone I would have tagged, I guess the tag stops here...

1. I LOVE watching BBC America esp the shows 'How Clean is Your House?' 'You are What You Eat' 'Hotel Babylon' 'Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares'

2. When Keith's gone and I get scared at night, I lock all the doors, set the alarm, and carry my revolver around until it's time to go to sleep. Sometimes I even barricade my bedroom door with stuff that will topple over if anyone tries to get in.

3. I love to do my grocery shopping at Asian grocery stores. I am talking about the kind of place where I am the only white person in the entire store. Things are so cheap! In Utah there is a great place on 9th South in Salt Lake, I think it is called Southeast Asian Grocery. In California our favorite places were Hung Dong in Costa Mesa (yes, that is the real name) and Mitsuwa, also in Costa Mesa. Our favorite place in Houston is called Kim Dung. It is in a ROUGH part of town but they sell Pocky, Massuman curry, and fried tofu, so nothing can keep me away!

4. I only get my hair cut once a year. The last time was in March and I cut 13".

5. I am deathly afraid of cockroaches. They are the grossest thing in the world. It takes me at least 30 minutes to kill one and clean it up. The worst thing is seeing a cockroach wing on the floor and not knowing where the rest of it is. By the way, for people that don't live in the south, cockroaches come in all different shapes and sizes and the presence of one does NOT mean you are living in filth (common misconception!) The ones I am talking about are called tree roaches and they are two inches long or more! Keith tells me they deserve to live because they have survived so much for so long, and can even survive a nuclear attack. That tells me they deserve to die!

6. I love AM radio. I never listen to FM in the car anymore and I rarely listen to music. I could (and do) listen all day long! My favorites are Dr. Laura, Dennis Prager (thanks to Keith for introducing him,) Michael Medved, Glen Beck, Dave Rasmsey, and the one who started my AM love affair when I was 18: Michael Savage. I must say that I despise Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and, sorry, Mom, Sean Hannity. I listen to car talk, garden talk, pet talk and home improvement shows on the weekends. I'll even listen to Coast to Coast am w/George Noory (a supernatural/conspiracy show)

Alien

This is a pic of the little fella chillin' in the womb. This was taken on Oct 24.

Sympathy

Keith got his first sympathy charlie horse yesterday and his second one today. How can it be called sympathy if it only makes him mad? I think it is cute, but he begs to differ. His pains must be from the constant leg rubbing I subject him to at night, when my legs feel like they are being electrocuted. Keith, I hope you will appreciate this pic. Charlie!

Christmas Cookie Promo

Santa Cookies
A great cookie to make with kids or add to a holiday platter. They are rather tasty, too!

2(6 ounce)packages white chocolate baking squares, chopped
1(1 lb)package Nutter Butter sandwich cookies
red colored crystal sugar
32 vanilla chips or white chocolate chips
64 miniature semisweet chocolate chips
32 red-hot candies

1. In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt white chocolate, stirring occasionally.
2. Dip one end of each cookie into melted chocolate.
3. Place on wire racks.
4. For Santa's hat, sprinkle red sugar on top part of chocolate.
5. Press one vanilla chip off-center on hat for pom-pom, let stand until set. Note: you can also use a mini marshmallow cut in half for the pom-pom.
6. Dip other end of each cookie into melted chocolate for beard, leaving center of cookie uncovered.
7. Place on wire racks.
8. With a dab of melted chocolate, attach semisweet chips for eyes and a red-hot, or red mini M&M's, for nose.
9. Place on waxed paper until chocolate sets.

Christmas come early

Keith has been asking for a Christmas tree all week. We finally (it's already Dec 1st, for crying out loud) made it over to our local Kroger and picked out a pretty decent Douglas Fir for $27. Not a bad deal considering Noble Firs can cost more than $50. Keith was in charge of lights (he wouldn't do the pink lights, said it made the house look like a bar) and I was in charge of ornaments. The theme is mostly snowmen with a few vintage looking Santa's. This is the first year we have gotten a tree since leaving Utah, and it's just not the same without a cold nip in the air...
The Santa was picked up last spring at a local Goodwill for $.99:

This snowman sums up the color scheme I am going for (golds, creams):

This snowman is just dumpy and cute:

This snowman looks like a simpleton but we let him hang around anyway:

The tree smells amazing and I hid a few cinnamon-scented pine cones in the branches. It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas...