The Gift

I can show you the gift I received yesterday! Erin Martinek is our local family photographer and she rocks! She took our pictures (the ones I posted of Landon in the tree) and for Christmas, she gave out 3,455,366 (I am sure it felt like that to her!) HANDMADE Christmas ornaments to all the people she took pictures of! Amazing... Here is ours.

 

I LOVE IT!!!

 

 

 

This is the picture Erin posted on facebook.

It's just a tiny portion of all of the ornaments she did.

I love the crates and all the cool little treasures tucked in here and there.

Isn't it the coolest thing ever?

And that box it came in...

Just kidding!!

 

 



It's A Wonderful Box. Really.

Yesterday when one of my dc mom's came to pick up, she gave me a sweet little Christmas gift, in a sweet little box. (I won't say who or what as she may have others on her list and I don't want to spoil the surprise.) The box was really nice. (Not as nice as the gift, but it was a nice box.) It was a nice hard, corrugated cardboard box with cute little tuck in flaps. She had a colorful pretty cloth ribbon tied around it too. It was just a really nice, too cotton pickin' cute box! I asked her if she wanted the box back, and she just smiled and said no. Then, I asked her if she was sure, because this was a really nice box and she could save a little money and use it again. She laughed and said no. Then I told her that she should really take the box and use it again, and she laughed again and said, "No. Really. Keep the box!" I just shook my head and gave in and kept the box. (It's so nice, I probably won't use it though. ha!)
Now, getting off track here...I was watching a show the other night called Hoarders. I am sure you have heard about it. If not, it's about people who can't throw away anything. Their houses are piled to the ceiling with trash. I don't watch it very often, but when I do, I just sit there with my mouth hanging open, thinking..."No waaaaay..." Every time. Hording is a very real mental illness. Even though I know that, when I hear them say something like, "Well, this paper plate is only dirty on one side. Why, if we just flip it over, we can get a good three or four more uses out of it. I can't throw this plate away, it's still good!" I just think, "What is wrong with you? That's not right!" I know. I know. They can't help it. I know they can't, because both my husband and my dad are one little pile away from being horders. Let me tell ya folks, I've got a little experience in this department. Just a little.
Anyway, getting back on track here....
After that conversation with my dc mom, she left and as she was pulling out of the driveway, it hit me. Oh, man....I sounded just like a hoarder. What must she think? What is wrong with me? That's just not right! But really, it is a wonderful box. Really. It is.

Hello. Can you hear me now?

Last week my Aunt Darlene asked me if I would be interested in a closed caption FREE (Heck ya!) telephone. So, she refered me to the company that set her up and yesterday the phone guy arrived and hooked me right up! (If you are interested, just shoot me an email and I'll hook you up too!) I called myself and spoke a few words to show you how it works.

 

 

The phone guy told me that there was a "live person" that would be listening to whoever called me and would be typing only their end of the conversation. The live person would not be able to hear what I was saying, only what the person who called me was saying. Of course, I thought.."Say what? No way..." When I commented that would be a very boring job, he agreed but that is what that person did for a living. I would not be able to do that job. Not just because I would hear/type everything wrong, but there's no way I could sit still by the phone and wait for people to talk, all day long! But, luckily someone out there in this world wants to do it, and they do. I thank you, live person! So, then I had to call my friend Nancy to tell her all about it. Nancy is my fun friend. (Well, all my friends are fun, but she's extra fun!) It doesn't matter what we do. We know how to have fun! It just comes natural. Sometimes it's silly clean fun like wearing paper crowns at Buffalo Wild Wings or riding the big Ferriswheel at Scheels. Sometimes it's just crazy fun like, taxi rides from cabdrivers from crazyville, (that's another story for another day) or dueling piano bars in the cities. Either way, it's always a good time.

 

 

Here we are 40 years from now.

Might need a little help getting down,

but I bet we'd have no trouble

 shimmying (is that a word?) up that tree!

 

Anyway...getting back on track here, I called my friend and told her that there would be a live person listening to her end of the conversation and typing it to me. That was all she needed to hear. We laughed and laughed and the poor lady/man on the other end either had a really good time or they were so relieved when we hung up. I like to think they had a good time. I know I did.

Thanks for the laughs Nancy. I'll call ya tomorrow.

 

 

 

You really had to be there.