What Luis Wants for Christmas

Luis has a very one track mind.  I asked him what he wants for Christmas, but mostly he just copied my list.  (No Luis, I am NOT buying you a princess wand for Christmas.)  I don't need a list though.  I know what he really wants.  He wants the thing he thinks about non-stop.  The thing he asks for at least once a week.  The thing for which he makes me walk miles and miles.

A Krispy Kreme Donut.

How do I know he wants this?

First of all, I confiscated his Santa letter.

Secondly, I was tending for our friends so they could find out the gender of their baby.  When I came home, I said, "Hey Lu, guess what the Mohlmans are having."  His eyes lit up and he said, "Krispy Kreme?"  No Lu... a baby boy.

The final donut incident occurred at our ward Christmas breakfast.  People were lined up to get their food, so we decided to wait until the line died down a bit.  That was until he spied a box of Krispy Kreme at the food table.  What did he do?  He skipped the line, walked right over to the box, and grabbed himself a donut. 

So, unbeknownst to him, I am plotting for Santa to bring him his favorite treat Christmas morning.  (Don't you dare tell him!)  And the thing is, if I succeed in surprising him, this will most likely be his most memorable Christmas gift of all time.  Years from now, his grand kids will be sitting on his lap asking, "Grandpa, what was your favorite Christmas gift?"  And he'll say, "You know, there was this one time Santa brought me some donuts.  That was pretty swell."

And to close, I would just like to point out that unfortunately, I don't think Luis will ever be asked to play Santa at ward Christmas parties.  "Mama, why is Santa brown?"

Opening Early - Cha Ching!

Luis and I have been blessed with some great friends here in California.  We especially love that the Mohlman family lives here in our apartment complex.  Being able to walk over and spend hours at their house has been fabulous for me and has helped with the lonely issue when Luis is off at school. 

About a week ago, we exchanged Christmas gifts, but despite my pleas, we DID NOT open them.  However, I knew it wouldn't be long before Brandi, BJ, and Luis would become desperate to open the gifts early.  Sure enough, on Sunday, the Mohlmans convinced us to make them Oreo cookies, come over to their house, and open gifts together.  (You would think our gift would be enough, but NO...they had the gall to ask for cookies too!  Can you believe some people?)

After slaving away for hours, we finished the cookies and headed over.  We got to open ours first. Brandi had asked for an assortment of pictures from us and with them, made mini calendar cards through a site called Shabby Princess.   Then, we can use a CD case to prop them up and display them through the year.  They are really adorable!

For the Mohlmans, I used Shutterfly to create a book of their son, Bennett.  It was really fun to do.  I love Shutterfly!

We decided next year, it would be our husbands' turn to make the gifts.  Yeah right.

Later that night, we decided to play some games.  We admitted that when we helped the Mohlmans move into their apartment, we caught a glimpse of their Wii games, which motivated us to become friends with them:)  Although Guitar Hero and Mario cart MAY not be ideal Sabbath Day activities, we had a good time.

(By they way Mohlmans, I just consulted with spell check and your last name is wrong.  Which would you prefer?  Milkmans, Mailmans, or Oilmans.)

D -ECO- RATIONS

Hello Friends,

Although I felt like putting up my decorations the 2nd week of November, I refrained until the week 3.  Since we'll be in Utah during Christmas (hoot hoot), I wanted some time to enjoy the holiday glamour.  I picked a Saturday when Luis had to study so I could fill up my time with fun fun fun!  Since my mommy gave me her hand-me-down tree, we were able to put one up.  Unfortunately, the tree is a bit "special" looking.  No wonder she handed it down.  We call it our Charlie Brown tree.  There are a total of 13 ornaments.  We have no tree topper.  We have no tree skirt.  And my favorite part is how realistic the inner-pole makes our tree look.

I was sent the new ornaments my sisters and mom made, but then 1/3 of our lights went out. No matter how much I twist the bulbs, nothing happens.  Poor pathetic tree.

In true hoarding fashion, I've been collecting decorations through the years even though "I still lived with my mom."  (Some of you know that story.  The rest of you I'll leave to wondering.)  After this post hits the web, I'm looking forward to hearing from Better Homes & Garden.  My undiscovered decorating skills are pretty much through the roof.  Just look at those groupings!

Oh yeah, and I also bought this adorable Nativity Set for our household of kids to play with.  Luis did happen to point out that Joseph is holding a staff, when in fact he is a carpenter.  And there's no shepherd.

When Luis saw all the decorations up in November, he started singing that Anastasia hit "In a Sweet November."  You mean "Once Upon a December," Lu?  Oh yeah. 

It's okay, you can laugh at him too.

And now I would like to end with an issue Luis and I have been debating.  Which requires more energy usage: one strand of Christmas lights or one light bulb?  Feedback on this important issue would be great, although I'll probably be googling it as soon as I've posted.

merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

Naturally, I've been planning our Thanksgiving meal since before Halloween.  This was my very first shot at creating my first Thanksgiving meal.  Now that I have tackled THAT turkey, I would like to share a startling discovery.  For some evil, dark, reason, companies tied to Thanksgiving wanted me to fail.

It began with the turkey, which the entire meal is centered around.  Without warning, a gizzard bag was stuffed up the turkey where it is hidden from view, hoping that some unsuspecting newbie like myself will NOT know of its existence, NOT take out the bag, and NOT end up with an edible turkey.

Then, there was the gravy.  Yes, I could have purchased nasty gravy packets, but on Thanksgiving, that's just wrong.  For a truly groovy gravy, one must make it from scratch.  And do you suppose there are recipes for said gravy.  Of course.  Start with 3 heaping spoonfuls (how heaping?), add water until thickened but not gloopy (how thickened?), pour in strained turkey juices (I don't have a strainer.), and don't forget the KEY ingredient: potato water...but not too much (I added too much).

Of course, what about the timing of everything?  In order for everything to be hot and ready at precisely the right time, I should have secured 3 ovens and 7 arms.

The pies?  Unless you're an expert (which I'm not), you will not know to puncture the crust with a fork to prevent the crust from sinking.  And do the recipes tell you this?  Of course not.

Thankfully, after only 10 minutes of crying over my ruined gravy, dry turkey, and cold potatoes, Luis was able to calm me down and we had a very nice Thanksgiving meal (after warming everything up in the microwave). 

Beautiful, wonderful, Black Friday ads.

My helper who stayed home from a football game to be with his clingy wife.

Luis spending time with his family.

My fabulously, buttery rolls.

An example of our place settings.

Our feast.



I would like to dedicate this holiday to the many people who gave us platters and bowls for our wedding, my mother who assisted me via cell phone, my husband who probably should've chosen a stronger woman, the Mohlmans who lent us their gravy boat, Chevron the carrier of LA Times with Black Friday ads, Winco for selling me our turkey for $3.00, Dawn Dish Soap for containing biodegradable surfactants whilst cleaning our dishes, Martha Stewart and Studio 5 for inspirational tips, and pumpkins everywhere.

Laptop Revival

Out of the blue, Luis gets this sheepish look in his eyes and says to me, "Ashley, you're wonderful.  I love so much."  Not that I don't love that, but I knew something was up.  We can't mask things very well at our home.  He then tells me a little story about my laptop that I have so generously allowed him to take to school every day.  One morning, he was at school using his computer when he realized he had to book-it to class.  He flipped the lid shut, grabbed his gear, and headed off...clueless to the fact that he had done something very wrong.  Can you guess?  Once he arrived at said destination, he took out his laptop, pried it open, and "Oh no."  He had accidentally left his pen cap on the keyboard when he shut the lid, which resulted in a cracking of the screen pigments...or whatever (the screen broke).  Apparently, Lu was worried about the reaction of his occasionally emotionally unstable woman.  Well, I'm proud to say, that I reacted very sweetly and calmly (right after I threw a chair out the window - he he he). 

Instead of deciding to buy a new laptop, he chose to get it fixed.  However, after talking to a Best Buy associate, and finding out they would charge $300, he opted to do the fixing himself.  Since he is the wrong kind of nerd (science, not electronics), he began by watching some online tutorials.  He then purchased a new screen, a few tools, and we went to work.

As you can see, I was his assistant.  So of course, the outcome was successful!  We're pretty much experts at laptop screen transplants now, so if you ever leave a pen cap on the keyboard, shut the lid, and crack the pigments...give us a call!

Rainbow Brites

A few months ago we received notice that our entire complex was going to be painted.  We got a sneak peek of possible color options when they tried out some of the possibilities on one of our neighboring buildings.  I was really excited for the new look.  That was until I saw the paint color winners.  Here are two shots of the BEFORE look.

 And here are the AFTER shots.  I really hated these new colors.  Every time we walked by Luis got to hear me murmur, "ugly ugly ugly!"  It was one of my main topics of choice whenever I saw a friend from the complex.  "Don't you just HATE the new paint?"  I must say though, I am getting used to the new look.

And this is my black door.

Speaking of paint, here's a paint job I don't think I've blogged about yet.  It's very possible I have posted this, but since I can't remember and am too lazy to check, I thought I'd just throw it in here.  When Luis and I got married, we needed a table.  Since none of my siblings would "hand-me-down" their tables (which I thought was quite selfish of them), I had to buy my own.  So, mom, Luis, and I began to frequent DI.  Fabulously, we happened upon a pretty junky-looking table which we were able to FIX UP with paint.  One move later, it looked like this.

Since we brought the paint with us to California, I decided to fix it up so it wasn't so disgraceful.  Isn't she pretty now?  The bad news is that the finish we put on it isn't great.  Some of the paint has already peeled off again.  Drat!



(By the way, if you're wondering what my title has to do with this post, you're not alone.  I myself am quite confused.)

My New Job

It feels like I haven't had much to blog about lately.  I guess things have been pretty quiet around here...literally.  Luis studies all the time and so I TRY to be quiet.  (Let's face it - I can't.  I usually end up asking Lu questions and telling him story after story.) 

Well, one thing I DO have to blog about is my new job.  I mentioned it on a previous post, but let me give you some details.  It is only 3 hours a day, but let me just say, I'm loving those hours.  After not working since MAY when I finished teaching, it's killing me to stand again for hours at a time.  It is a before/after school child care (K-5 grades) at a nearby elementary.  What do I do?  Beats me.

My first day was Tuesday.  I was told I would be working in the K-1st grade room, which I knew would be traumatizing.  I got there plenty early to beat the end-of-school-day madness.  You would think someone would be there to tell me what I would be doing BEFORE I had to start.  Nope.  The bell rang, kids came in, and I stood there not knowing what to do.  One worker finally asked me to "check their homework."  What does that mean?  Do I check to see if it's there?  Check to see if it's done?  Check to see if they're doing it?  After "checking," I sort of just wandered around the rest of the night.  I pretty much felt like an idiot. 

People always say it takes a special kind of person to be a kindergarten teacher.  I am finding out why.  First of all, everywhere I look, noses are being picked.  Whiny voices never stop informing me who is cutting in line.  Every second, someone needs to go to the bathroom.  There's the kid in the corner sobbing because he can't remember where to put the feathers on his turkey hat.  It's simply past these darlings to remember my name, so instead I get the never ending tapping accompanied with "um...um...um...um...um...um" until my attention turns to said tapper.  Oh boy, let's hope I can survive this.

Here was the most awkward part of the night.  So, I'm outside with the kids and a couple other assistants.  Wanting to be friendly, I walk up to one  and ask her how long she's worked at the elementary.  She tells me, "Oh, I've been here since August, but now you're replacing me so I'm out of a job."

WHAT DO I SAY TO THAT?  Awkward!

The next day, I was given more direction so it ended up being much better.  I have hopes that I'll enjoy it more and more as I get to know the routine, kids, and co-workers.  And hopefully I won't put anyone else out of a job.

Crafty Crafty Part 2

So I craft a lot.  I can't help it.  Not only am I wired up for the holidays, but let's face it - I do have oodles of time AND love crafting.  Every year, the women in our family exchange ORNAMENTS.  We have a new theme every year and the goal is to create an ornament that fits the theme, which usually translates to purchasing the ornament due to laziness. 

Not this year! 

The theme?  Christmas Balls. 

Usually, our ornaments are secrative until the big reveal, but since I won't be present at the exchange, I thought I'd let my family get a sneak peek at just how inadequate THEIR ornaments will be compared to my masterpieces.  My perfection is hard to duplicate though, so I hope they don't even attempt to copy me.

  First, I had to buy clear ornaments, paint, and ribbon from Joann's.

After removing the "lids," I took 2 paint colors and poured some paint into a ball.  I immediately started turning the ball and adding more paint to help the colors blend.  It took a lot of navigation to completely coat the ball.  Since I have little patience for such things, I tried shaking the balls.  Not a good idea unless you have the hole in the top covered.  Let's just say, I had to stop immediately and remove paint from my table, placemats, and walls.  Unfortunately, Wobbles the Thankful Turkey was beyond help.

Next, I let the balls dry upside down in paper cups.  This step GREATLY changed the look of the ornaments.  I found that letting them sit like this caused even more blending, which was okay with me.

After 1 day of drying I took the ornaments out of the cups and let them finish drying right side up.  The next day I replaced their tops and tied on some ribbon.

Here's my crafty crafty masterpiece! 

(This idea was not mine...I borrowed it from a google search)

Crafty Crafty

Lately, I have been feeling very crafty.  I have NO Thanksgiving decorations, so decided to start with making a centerpiece for our table.  I got this idea from Martha Stewart.  I made the white pedistal by using hot glue to attatch the bottoms of two bowls together.  It was really easy and turned out nicely.

I also decided to make a Thankful Turkey. 

Oh sisters...have you made yours?

Making a Thankful Turkey was tradition growing up.  Each year, we'd take an empty, BIG, hot chocolate container, wrap it in construction paper, glue on lovely construction feathers and create a face.  I'm sure they were hideous, but I remember LOVING to make them every year.  Then, every night during November, every person wrote on a slip of paper something they were thankful for, and stuck it in Mr. Thankful Turkey. 

On Thanksgiving Day, before and during our feast, we read every slip of paper.  It is a wonderful tradition that I want to keep.  Since Lu and I have no KiDdOs, we have no excuse for hideous turkeys adorning our table.  Therefore, I came up with this.  He's a little funky-looking, but Wobble will be our new addition for the month.  (By the way, he's made out of an empty canning jar and scrapbook paper because I have plenty of those.  And just for the record, I made him ALL BY MYSELF.  Look who's artsy now!)

Airbending & Waterbending Power

This Halloween we did all the usual Halloween things like decorate a pumpkin and dress up.  We were sad not to be in Utah or Texas so we could see little nieces and nephews (and brothers and sisters) dressed up in Halloween garb.  Since my side of the family was getting together on the Friday before Halloween for an early "trick-or-treating" party, we decided to be there with them...via live video.  It wasn't quite the same as being with them in person, but we had fun talking to everyone and seeing their faces.

Very few people knew who we were.  Can you figure it out?

Obviously, our excellent disguises and "bending" moves give it away.  We dressed up as characters out of one of Luis's favorite shows...The Airbender.  

Luis was Ung, the Avatar, and I was Katara, his waterbending sidekick.

Luis really enjoyed putting on makeup and creating his staff.  Yeah, he freehanded that dragon using a Sharpie.  Pretty impressive, right?

An Offer, A Sucker, A Shade Other Than Red

I do not have pleasant memories of needles.  Then again, who does?  Luis has nicknamed me "scandalosa," which in Spanish means someone who is overly dramatic.  Okay, so I do tend to dramatacize everything; however, after this episode, I think Luis will take me a bit more seriously. 

It all started with a phone call last Thursday.

Ring Ring...Ring Ring

"Hello?"

"Hello, Ashley?"

"This is her."

"Hello!  I would like to offer you a job at our school district as a child care assistant."

I know right?  Fabulous!

(THAT was the offer.  Here comes the sucker.)

"Yes well, we need you to come to a pre-employment meeting on Monday."

(aka - you're not getting paid sucker)

So, like a sucker, I went.  Did I really have much choice?  The meeting was just dandy, AND I learned all kinds of useful information, like the district's mission statement, not to wear "extrememly brief" clothing, and what to do in case of a fire (suprisingly it was NOT push, shove, and trample to get out the door).

Next, we learned about the further requirements before we could gain employment.

1.  Read the online polices - fine.

2.  Obtain a background check - whatever.

3.  Get a TB check - say what?

That's right, NEEDLES!  I hate needles.  Imediately, I decided to have Luis with me.  Yes, I'm an adult.  Yes, I can zip my own zippers.  Yes, I sleep without my favorite bunny.  No, I can't face a needle without someone holding my hand. 

(Here comes a shade other than red.)

Luckily, Luis also had to face a needle since he was missing a shot on his immunizations.  He made a few calls, and found out the pharmacy at his school offered both his shot and my TB check.  So, I drove over there midday today to meet him.  First, Luis was ushered into the side room.  As I sat alone, I kept telling myself I was going to be fine.  Yeah right.  I'm such a bad liar. 

Next, they called for me.  Of course, Luis dutifully sat by my side where I could hold his hand.  The pharmacist cheerfully came in.  He may have even been whistling, I'm not sure.  He assured me it wouldn't be that bad.  Whatever.  Luis informed me his needle had been bigger.  EWWWWW! 

Mr. Pharmacist pulled out the weapon.  I looked away. 

PINCH  PINCH  OWWW PINCH  WiGgLe WIGGLE pinch 

He yanked it out.  Luis peeled his hand free.  I started whimpering and glanced down.  There was a strange white bubble inside my skin.  Gross.  The pharmacist skipped around the corner and we stood to follow behind.  I stood and it hit.  Dizzy, Black.  I began passing out.  Luis rushed me back to a chair, followed closely by the pharmacist and trainee.  Talk about embarassing!  In an effort to appease them, I tried to appear calm and collected...just a bit tired.  They asked if I would like a water.  Yes.  They asked if I was feeling better.  Yes.  They relaxed.  I then asked Luis to pass the garbage can.  I think the pharmacist almost joined me.

So Luis, you wanna be a  pharmacist?

Sugar Yuck

How many sugar cookies have I made in my lifetime? 

THOUSANDS!!!

I was a sugar cookie momma at Great Harvest and made them every week. 

Lucky Luis right?

 Yeah, he's really lucky!  (Guess who forgot half of the butter?  ME!)

When that happened, I was distraught.  Luis did not expect my reaction, and didn't quite know what to do.  He said things like "It's okay, don't let it ruin your night."  Well guess what, it already DID ruin my night.  I was so MAD!  We were going to have so much fun decorating them, but who decorates mush?  I did have a backup, since I had a pack of sugar cookie mix in my cupboard, which I made.  But by that point, I was to upset to enjoy frosting them.  We waited until the next night.

See?  My happy face is back!

M-I-C K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

First of all, I would like to report an actual fact.  When Walt Disney first created the famous mouse, the name was originally Mortimer Mouse.  I like to sing it that way.

"M-O-R   T-I-M   E-R-M-O-U-S-E"

Dennis & Julie (bro. and sis-in-law) won a free trip to Disneyland in sunny California which meant...you guessed it...we got to join them!  Luis had never been to Disneyland so we were both ecstatic!  Since it was October, everything was decked out in Halloween attire.

Did you know there is a Disney fire station?  We could care less about it, but since we were waiting near the entrance for Dennis and Julie, we decided we might as well take a picture.

 Being the lame-o that I am, I brought ponchos for Luis and I to wear on the water rides.  Luis refused, but Julie was more than happy to don the fashion statement with me. 

(Side note:  yes, my poncho is on backwards, but guess who's head remained dry - BOOYAH)

There are some rides that are more of a tradition even though they are less than thrilling. 

Haunted Mansion was just too cute to pass up.

Girls are made of sugar and spice all things nice.

Boys are made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails.

(I don't know what's wrong with them.)

It had been YEARS since I'd enjoyed bumper cars.  The cramped seating was probably an indication that it's a kids' ride, but who cares?  We were some of the only riders who can zip up our own pants.   

These pictures are a bit blurry because my spastic brother was on the close-up setting.

 

If you know the story, you know that we just COULDN'T pass up this photo op.  Yes, that is the Rickity Rackity Boutique...or in other words, the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

This HAD been our first ride of the day, but since we forgot to take a picture, we had it taken when we went back.  It was nearing hour 14 of Disneyland, which you can tell by our frazzled half-dazed expressions.  (Well, I guess Luis usually looks like that.)



All in all, it was fun FUN FUN!