If I had a mood ring, it would be confused...

I woke up feeling defeated, with a grimace on my face. Everything that I'm worried about, upset about, hurt over, ungrateful for- was on my mind this morning. The evil one was after me big time. Instead of trying to identify the source of these thoughts and overcome these feelings of bitterness, I dwelled on them. It was one thing after another- and not just in my head.

I got in the shower, and the gurgling noises started coming from below my feet. It was the devil! Ok, maybe not, but it was creepy. And, sure enough, the shower backed up and started filling up with water. Yuck.

I got out of the shower, dried off, and prayed. I prayed for patience, level-headedness and clarity. I prayed that I would be grateful for the trails I face, that I would see past them, that I'd learn from them, but mostly that I'd overcome them. I prayed for a feeling of gratitude, escpecially on this Chrismas Eve. A day that will end with family and togetherness, despite what it may start out like.

And then I asked my friends (via Facebook) to pray for me too. And boy do they work fast! I figured everyone would be at home sleeping, but some folks, somewhere, must have been praying for me, cause my reactions and mood changed drastically.

My kitty had left me two nasty hairballs. Whatever, no big deal. I picked them up, threw them out, patted her little head and went outside. Frost covered my windshield. So I sat in the car, truned on the defroster, and prayed in silence until I could see out the windshield. I passed a cowboys fan on the way into work- at first I was irritated at the sight, and then felt so foolish that I burst out laughing. The office is out of sugar and hot cocoa. No biggie. Black coffee it is. My coworker said it was going to be a big sales day! Which made me laugh just as much as the cowboys fan. But, surprisingly, the calls are coming in. And the daily puzzle on my calendar was a maze that had no solution. Weird.

Anyway. I'm feeling better. Trying to make light of the fact that I'm in the office on Christmas Eve. Trying to prepare my mind for my first Christmas with my husband. Trying to be productive without working too hard. And trying to remember why we have this holiday to begin with.

It all began with a gift.

good stuff

this is a closeup of our first Christmas gift from our beautiful friend, Holly. She sells these in her Etsy shop, HollyzHobbie. Check out her shop, and read her inspiring story!

they are ornaments, but I have them sitting on our mantle.

We went to a Christmas party thrown by two geeky bachelors last night.

and yes, that is Optimus Prime atop the evergreen!

Trader Joe's limited edition beer. Pretty good!

tasty :)

grrrrr

I keep getting messages that my mobile posts aren't going through to Blogger. Which means none of my pictures have gone through. And I really don't want to have to forward them to my email, save them, and blog from my computer. I mean, if that's what it comes down to, then fine, I'll do it. But it won't be in a timely manner, so this DPP has already gone awry. :(

my mobile uploads didn't post :(

So… I had taken some pictures on my cell phone, and just now realized that they didn’t make it through space, wires, internets, and whatever else to be posted to my blog.

:’( Sadness!!

Oh well, to keep you updated, here are the missing pictures:

this is the rest of the family. Aramis and Leia, sleeping in heavenly peace.

my adorably helpful husband. Putting my yarn in a ball for me. In a manly way, of course.

Or, um, trying….

He hasn’t given up, yet!

Ta-daa!

It’s that time of year!

the start to my Friday morning L

2.5 months in!

"It's locking!" April excitedly whispered as soon as I sat in her chair yesterday. "Is it a secret?" I joked. I love how she gets all excited- it totally gets me excited too. And even though I knew it was locking (because I can't keep my hands out of my hair), she started telling me where it was locking more (in the back), and where it was going more slowly (at my crown). I was super happy. She said nothing looked out of the ordinary, and seemed pleased with my progress. She is starting to realize how thick my hair is too, now that there is more growth. And there's been quite a bit of growth. Can you tell?

a fresh retwist:

To counter the buildup, she tried a locking gel this time. We'll see how it goes. She had to shampoo my hair three times to get it really clean. And I loved every bit of it...! heeheehee.

She likes my new hair ornaments. And I will post pictures soon. And we chatted. There was a beautiful lady there, who I later found out works at the same company as my husband. She had come in wearing a wig, and left with the cutest head of curls. It was short and kinda made me wonder why I had long hair...

Anyway. I promise to give more updates soon!

April found my first gray hair! I'm so excited! :D as soon as I can, I'll have my hubs take a picture. I hope you can still see it with my hair freshly twisted.

I'm here, I'm here!

I know this is a blog, not a photo album. J I just have not had a chance to sit down and write. Between working (boo!), Thanksgiving (yay!), Christmas shopping, decorating, wrapping presents, holiday parties, and cuddling cute new babies (more yays!), I have barely had a chance to catch my breath. I apologize for the lack of hair updates, too. Seems like I blog more about random things that I love in my life than anything else. Which reminds me- I’ve had such good food lately. But, we’ll get to that.

So. My hair. Today, at work, I snipped off my ends. It was bugging me that I had an inch or more of super skinny twists of synthetic hair. So I got rid of them. I feel much neater. J And I emailed Lockstar about that build up I was having. April responded quickly, which is HUGE to me, as I am all about good service. She explained that she used a product for twisting that must not agree with my hair and offered to remove it and retwist. She also assured me that it was not harmful to my hair, which is good to know! I didn’t bother to go in. Since it was at the back of my head, where nobody ever sees my roots anyway, I just tied up most of my hair, leaving the bottom few rows down, hopped in the shower, and shampooed the heck out of them. I also used an apple cider vinegar rinse, and smushed them with a towel to try and get the gunk out. The hubs said there was still a bit in there, but that they looked 10 times better. And I’m satisfied with that. I’m going into the salon today for a groom, so we’ll see what April says. She did tell me that they use two different products for twisting, and she knows which one she’ll be using for me from here on out. I didn’t take any of my adornments out of my hair today, so she will probably think I’m crazy coming in with all of these beads and such. But, as long as they don’t get washed down the drain, I really am ok with that! I love going to get my hair done. This will be a great way to end a work day. Joy!

The breakfast pictures I posted yesterday? Those were from this new eatery in Ballantyne called Skilletz. Holy Cow. What a great lunch. Well, breakfast. I was so happy. There was thinly sliced steak, loads of provolone cheese, two over easy eggs, potatoes, peppers…. Mmm-mmm good! It was called the “Philly Cheese Steak Skillet”, and it was simply divine. Even better than lunch though, was the dinner we made at home. Let me back up a bit. On Thanksgiving day,

(and we won’t talk about the deliciousness that was had that night,) my dad was watching some show that was talking about the best restaurants in the US to get steak. Now, I’m not a huge steak person, but I learned all kinds of steak-y facts that I had never heard before. I had no idea that there were aged steaks, and that it could be dry aged, or wet aged. Ever since that day, I’ve had a hankerin’ for a steak. And it better be an aged steak. I gotta see what all this fuss is about. So I looked at some menus, and decided that my poor wallet couldn’t afford a real aged steak. L But then- I looked up the local butcher shop, and they have all different cuts of 21 day dry aged beef. Hallelujah!!! I picked up two filets last night, and we grilled them. Served them up with some asparagus and baked potatoes (mine was sweet).

Heaven!!! I mean, simply divine. Angels sang with my first bite and everything. These steaks were, as my husband and I say, “gorgeous. Just gorgeous.” I almost died. Ok, maybe not, but I was certainly in heaven. They were sooo tender (my teeth just sunk right through them), and had such a fantastic flavor. I can tell you that every bad thought I have ever had about steak melted away with the first bite. I’m not kidding, I sighed with pleasure every time I put a piece in my mouth. I maybe went a little crazy. Hahaha. Then I would bite some potato, eat some asparagus, chew a little…..and then my heart would beat faster in anticipation as I speared the next bit of steak. Yes, it was that good. Go get some. They didn’t even need to be marinated. I’m never going back. Aged steak all the way. I called my dad and told him to go by the butcher shop to get some for breakfast. (I really did. He laughed at me.) Now, I can’t wait to try wet aged steaks! J ….steak.steak.steak.steak….

I’m suddenly hungry. I hate to run, but I promise I will write again soon.

breakfast for lunch

mmmm :)

feeding the workers. :) (such a mom... )

these are soy nuggets with mustard and sweet chili sauce.... :)

... breakfast...

I've been in my jammies all day...

My husband just suggested I learn how to knit baby booties... O.o

it's the season!

my new hat! (I'm an etsy addict..)

I love this hat because it's big enough to hold all of my hair! I bought it at the same time that I bought a bunch of tams and hair adornments, but this one was custom made for me. I just had to have this mustard color. Love it! Make sure to check out all the awesome stuff that Swak Shop offers! I know I will be a returning customer. There is alllllll kinds of goodies in this store!

he's slightly obsessed...

L

Last night at dinner, my husband says, "look! they have disc golf baskets in Vietnam!" smh.

testing this mobile Blogger thingy

my hippos! From my love, they make me smile every time I look at them!

Other things I love. This is posted at my desk at work. From top right: Chris and his sister, fun sticker, my friend's clothing company , me posing in Nuthing, a whimsical card I like, my family, an engagemetn photo, a short film I did, Leia, Obi, and more Nuthing.