I Got My Hippopotamus For Christmas!

Thanks to my sister for telling me about this ornament! I simply HAD to have it as soon as I saw the picture!

Hallmark goofed though. Santa is trying to stuff him into the chimney, when the song clearly says "He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door,that's the easy thing to do."

This is one of my favorite "silly" Christmas songs. I tend to not listen to the Rudolphs, or Frosty or 12 Days of Christmas. Bleck, Bleck, BLECK! Especially the 12 days of boredom! But, the hippo song will always be a favorite.

And yes, I got it through Ebay, and paid more than the $15 Hallmark price tag. But, Hallmarks were all sold out, and I had no other choice. He's mine now, and arrived in time for me to hang on the tree briefly this year, before packing it away until next.

So, as we say goodbye to Christmas 2008, join me in singing "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas"? LOL

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
Don't want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you?
He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door,
that's the easy thing to do

I can see me now on Christmas morning,
creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
when I open up my eyes
to see a hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too

Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian

There's lots of room for him in our two-car garage
I'd feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage

I can see me now on Christmas morning,
creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
when I open up my eyes
to see a hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles or rhinoceroseses
I only like hippopotamuseses
And hippopotamuses like me too!

I Hope This Works!

I received this video today, so don't shoot me for being late with it. I just hope it loads correctly!
If John were ever reincarnated as a dog, it would definitely be THIS dog! LOL!
This is my husband when he's in the snow! It's not a lie, do I need to post some videos of HIM in the snow?! LOL!
Enjoy!
For the Video Impaired folks out there, click onto the arrow on the left side under the video.

Final Views....

This time of the year becomes very depressing for me.

We think about Christmas starting way back in September, and anticipate it's arrival. You start the planning process in your head. What am I going to make? What am I going to buy? How will we decorate? How will we spend this special time of the year.

Then the frenzy kicks in, the last minute planning, the shopping for great bargains, getting those cards in the mail on time, and readying the house for the Great Arrival.

And before you know it, it's all done in the blink of an eye!
The holiday you wished would come,....is gone and done.

Then the Christmas presents get put away, hopefully not to get forgotten about.
The decorations get put away for another year.

And life gets back to the everyday routine.
The hustle and bustle of work, and household chores.
And sadly, Christmas becomes a thing of the past.

Judy is already putting some things away.
But I can't let go. Not yet anyways.
Like a long lost friend, I am just not ready to pack up my Christmas just yet.

So, before it does all get put away, I thought I'd share some more pictures from Christmas 2008.


Starting to put up the massive 12 foot tree in the main living room. WHAT was Judy thinking when she bought a tree this big?! It takes all of us to put it up!



You know it's a big tree when John needs a ladder! Don't ask me how it snowed in the living room! This was taken with my little Olympus camera. If it continues to do this, it's getting sent back under warranty!



Judy putting some finishing touches on her tree.



The final product of a hard day's work.



Jingle Bells getting caught trying to sneak a peek at the presents!



Jingles, AFTER he finally got to open his stocking, and now high on kitty nip! Poor thing looks drunk! LOL!









These are some crocheted Candy Canes I made a few years ago. I just love them!







And one final shot of Jingle Bells looking oh so innocent under the tree. Immediately AFTER I told him to quit swatting at the balls! LOL!




I pray that everyone has a Blessed and Happy New Year. I pray that 2009 will be kinder than 2008. That everyone in our "circle" experiences a year of good times, good memories, and good friends. And I pray that we will all be around again next year to celebrate Christmas 2009. May it be full of wonder, and it's own sweet memories.
Love,

I Almost Forgot...

I almost forgot about one of my favorite Christmas gifts that I received! John got me a bat house!!



I know....people are sitting there scratching their heads, wondering why in the world I want a bat house! Am I right?!
John was going to use it as my "gag gift", but I truly love it. I have wanted to buy one for myself, but never got around to it.
In the summer, we have a bunch of bats that fly around our yard. And though most of you cringe at the thought of bats, did you know that in just one hour one brown bat can eat over 600 mosquitoes?! So...if you encourage the bats to stay in your yard, they will eat those nasty blood suckers up all night long! They also dine on grasshoppers, moths, flies, crickets, gnats and fruit flies. Living in Savannah, we have LOTS of mosquitoes and gnats, so bats are a GOOD thing!

And....I have ulterior motives. I want to get a picture of bats hanging upside down in it! :-)

Merry Christmas!

12 Months From Today Is Christmas!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Merry Christmas everybody!
Here's hoping that your Christmas was wonderful!
How did you spend the day?
Did you eat too much?
Was Santa good to you?

He was REALLY good to us! I am too spoiled. I got everything that was on my list! Thank you Santa!
Care to see some of my new toys?

I got a BIG lens for my camera. For any camera buffs out there, this one goes from 28mm to 300mm! That's basically my 2 lenses put together! But, a much better quality lens. So, I'll be snapping lots of pictures with this baby!



And this is a Wacom tablet. You use it for editing pictures using Photoshop. It enables you to do finer detail work than a mouse can do. I need to read a lot about it. Right now I am afraid of it! LOL!



And a new watch with a pink face. Thank you mommy!



And a PINK Dyson! For sucking up all the kitty fur around here! :-)



And a Canon 100mm macro lens for getting great close-up pictures. Can't wait to get outside and snap some pictures of bugs up close and personal! LOL!



I also got the Friends box set of all 10 seasons on DVD!



Thank you Judy for that!
Lee Ann gave me lots of lotions, and smell goods, and bar items. Thanks Lee & Chris!
And a new blanket, and a Long Horn gift card from Wendy and William! Thanks guys! We'll eat good one evening!

John got lots of tools, saws, and man toys that I don't even know what they are! LOL!

It was a great day, and after we watch A Christmas Story a few more times, it will be time for bed! I'm tired!

Anybody up for some After Christmas Sales in the morning! I have a list of things I want to try to get, but am I brave enough to fights the crowds?! The people are ok, it's trying to get a parking place that gets on MY nerves! Maybe I'll just go outside and find some things to take pictures of?

Well.....Merry Christmas to everyone!

Some More Pictures

I was playing with the camera some more, and just wanted to share 2 more pictures of my Christmas.






Merry Christmas!
Love,

3 Days until Christmas!!!

Are ya all done?
Is your shopping completed?
Are the presents wrapped?
Are your cards in the mailbox?
Are the Christmas cookies baked?
Are ya tired? :-)

If you answered NO to any of above questions. Then....what are you doing reading my blog?! You better get busy! Christmas is just 3 days away!

I finished getting some stocking stuffers this morning. And, I have a batch of pinwheel dough in the fridge. I will bake those after I do dinner tonight. Then, I am officially done! I have to put John's stuff in his stocking, but it's all bought, and hid.

I am getting excited about Christmas. Are you?! I have to work the next 2 days, so that's a bummer. But, hopefully we'll be busy enough that time will fly right by, and Christmas will be here before I know it. One of our Orthopedic surgeons has about 7 surgeries posted for tomorrow! Can you believe it? WHO in their right mind would want to be in the hospital over Christmas?! Not me! I have to work, and I certainly don't want to be there! It's going to be crazy getting these people back from surgery, scheduling their follow-up appointments, and out-patient physical therapy before the offices close! Because, nothing will be open Christmas Eve to schedule these things. I think I feel an illness coming on....cough,....cough. I don't think I am well enough to go to work tomorrow. LOL!

I have some pictures of our Christmas tree. And no making fun of my tree. I've worked hard on the poor thing.
I'm really having a hard time getting good pictures of it! It's because it's back-lit in front of this window. I need the natural light, if I wait until it's dark outside, then it's too dark in the room to get the look I want. So, officially I give up. This is as good as it's going to get. So, here is my tree, and a few decorations.






I know, the candles are not straight! They are in real life. But, I had to use the tripod to get these shots, and it's very difficult to do a tripod shot with the camera vertical. YOU try it, and see how hard it is to get everything straight! End of venting. :-)





This is a table in the upstairs hallway leading to our bonus room.



I feel a Christmas story coming out.

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house.
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.



The stockings were hung by the chimney with care. In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.



End of story......ran out of appropriate pictures. :-) Aren't you glad about that?

So, instead I have to throw in another picture of "Meow"! Don't' you love his festive look?! Poor cat, I know. But hey...what else do I have to take pictures of? John? Oh yea, like he lets me do that!




Ok, I went over to the house next door, and took some pictures of the pink and green bedroom. What do you think?




Pretty wild colors, huh? You should see the pink and green in their other house! I would never be able to sleep in that room! You need sunglasses it's so bright! At least she chose softer shades. But, it's still quite bright! Oh well...it's what they wanted. Hope they appreciate that John did it for them!

Signing off for now. I hope everyone has a great evening. Kick back, and relax with someone you love. Don't let the holidays stress you out. ENJOY the holidays!

Love

The Search Is Over

I bit the bullet, and got an "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas" ornament thru EBay. I don't have it in my hand YET. But, the seller has 100% feedback rating, so I am not worried.

Update on the house next door. It's FINISHED! And RENTED out! Woo Hoo! We rented it to a single mom in her early 50's who has a son who's graduating high school in May, and a 12 year old daughter. Today John and William painted the little girl's bedroom. She had just painted her bedroom, so they wanted her bedroom here painted. After John saw her paint job in the house they are in, he decided to paint it himself! Oh my! LOL! Get this, the color of the room.........PINK AND GREEN! And we're not talking cotton candy pink and pastel green. They are pretty bright shades of color! John said he's still seeing pink in her head! LOL! I want to go get pictures tomorrow in natural light, before they move in any more stuff. Official move in date is January 1. The only thing left to do is replace the refrigerator! Can you believe it? The old fridge's ice maker started acting up. Then, the freezer's back vents were pumping out hot air! So, now we are in the market for a new fridge. THEN the house will be done!

4 Days Until Christmas!! Are you ready? Are you excited? I am! I want to know what's in all those boxes! It's been so long since I wrapped John's gifts, I forget what they are! Oooppppss! Guess I'll figure it out when he opens them, huh?

Anybody want to see a picture of my Christmas tree?
Yea.....so would I! LOL!
I took some pictures last night, but it was too dark out here, they didn't turn out well. I'll get some more pictures, and get them posted. I promise. I "think" I am done decorating it. Hey....I only put it up last weekend. I keep adding to it. I guess I'll be done decorating when it's time to take it down and put it away! LOL!

Good night everyone. I know Aunt Jo reads this faithfully, so I need to come up with something special to wave to Aunt Jo. For now, I'll just say "HI AUNT JO! Thanks for reading!"

My Sister Is In Soooooo Much Trouble!

Lee Ann knows my favorite Christmas song is "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas." Remember the pink hippo my mother-in-law got me for Christmas last year?
Well....Lee Ann writes me an email asking if I have seen this ornament at Hallmark.



Of course I have not seen it.

But I WANT it!
I NEED it!
And I need it NOW!

I searched on-line, and supposedly it's extremely hard to find! Gee thanks!
I swear to God Lee Ann, if this thing isn't at my local Hallmark store, you are going to be in so much trouble for showing it to me! Then I will be requesting all my buddies to check their stores to see if they can find me one!

Have you tried shopping for any Christmas decorations lately? Good grief! If you've waited until now to get a tree, I'm afraid you're gonna end up with a Charlie Brown Christmas tree!
I decided this year I wanted a tree. I am allergic to pine, so my only option is an artificial one. Consider it my way of saving the environment, saving the life of one tree. :-) We went to Lowe's, and all they had were a hand full of white trees, or one 15 footer. Kmart had a bunch of Martha Stewart trees, but they were still too much $$$. Sorry, but I ain't paying $250 for an artificial tree, or an over priced tree just because it has Martha's name on it! Walmart's trees were pitiful this year, so I didn't bother with them. And Target had some nice ones, but they were not on sale
(30% off a week before Christmas is not a sale in my book). As a last resort I tried Home Depot, and actually left with a nice 6 1/2 foot tree. I would have preferred a 7 or 7 1/2 foot tree, but I figured I was pushing my luck trying to find anything bigger!
Then I started looking for ornaments, tree skirts, ect. Michael's is my favorite store for things like that. Our Michael's' has been picked clean! They have very little left over. Guess that's what happens when you pull out the Christmas stuff in August to sell! I need to make out my list now for the things I want for next year, and start buying them as I see them! People may not be buying a lot of Christmas gifts, but they obviously bought a bunch of trees and decorations!

Ok, I now have a lap full of kitty, so I guess it's time to wrap this up.

One week until Christmas!!!!

15 Days Till Christmas!!

Do you know what you're getting me yet? HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Yesterday was a "me" day. My day off from work, and Judy went to Brunswick with John. So, I had the whole big ole house all by myself! Jingles and I listened to Christmas music, addressed our Christmas Cards, did some Christmas crafting, wrapped some gifts, and baked some yummy cookies.





I made M&M cookies, Italian nut balls, and chocolate chip cookies. Care for some?
They all went into the freezer, so you'll have to come over for Christmas, and I'll share some with you.



My most favorite Christmas CD is this one:



I just LOVE Josh! "Believe" is one of my favorite songs. That's the theme song to Polar Express. I have not seen the movie, but I LOVE that song! This guy gives me chills when he sings! Why didn't God give me a great singing voice? Am I not worthy enough? Do I have to wait until I get to heaven to be able to sing well? I can picture it now, I will make it to heaven, and they will laugh at me when I want to sing in the angels choir!

I've made pretty good progress this year. I have to finish the cards, fill stockings, bake more goodies, and maybe do some more crafting. And I'll be all done. The problem now is, everything is wrapped, and I want to open a gift so bad!!! They just sit there...mocking me! Begging me to come take a peek! They chant "come over here....shake me.....try to figure out what is inside of my pretty paper.....you'll never figure it out on your own.....and you have 2 more weeks to put up with this!"

And I read some of my new book.



I am a big sucker for these books. And they are about Vampires! If I had known, I never would have bought the first one. But, they truely sucked me in (sorry for the pun). Now i can't put them down! I want to see the movie, but unless I go alone, I'll have to wait until it comes out on DVD. John won't go see it with me. Brat! He's just jeolous of the hot, young vamps!

Who says we don't experience Autumn color in Savannah?



The trees have been spectacular this fall. Especially the Bradford Pears, and the Japanese Maples. The colors are incredible! We must have had the perfect condition for folliage this year. Typically, our trees drop their leaves one week, stay bare a few weeks, then sprout out new leaves, and start all over again.
Every day I told myself I need to get pictures. I shot these Bradford Pears the other day at the hospital. Today, most of their leaves were on the ground. :-P

I've been a bad girl when it comes to updating the blog! I've been busy getting ready for christmas....yea, that's my excuse!
Anyways, last week Matthew (John's nephew) graduated from Savannah Technical College with a certificate in Broadcast Technology.
I know a lot of you are sitting there scratching your heads, quickly doing the math. LOL! He WAS the youngest person graduating that evening! So, that's a feather in his cap! At his high school, he had been taking this course along with his curriculum. Now, he'll be one step closer to a career in broadcast when he graduates in 2 years!
We were all very proud of Matt and his accomplishment!
Here are some pictures from his big evening.

Before Graduation. Doesn't look nervous at all!







Texting a girl after the ceremonies!!!



You can tell the person who made this cake was NOT a college graduate! Couldn't even spell congratulations correctly!! It has a T people, not a D! Good grief!!





Looking studious, as any college graduate should!



And his expression when we told him he still has to finish out his last 2 years at Bethesda! LOL!