It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Last year, Marisa and I entered the holiday door decorating contest under the "California Holiday" category. This year we decided to go with "Best Fictional Character." In an effort to remain non-denominational, we chose "The Twelve Days of Winter." The kids were amazing and did almost all of the work. We won!

The doors in full (the top reads: "All You Need This Winter is Hot Cocoa and a Good Book"):


On the first day of Winter my English teacher gave to me... A list of amazing books

On the second day of Winter, Mary Warren gave to me... 2 poppets
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller

On the third day of Winter, James Jarvis gave to me... 3 jugs of milk
Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton

On the fourth day of Winter, Lennie gave to me... 4 soft mice
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

On the fifth day of Winter, Edgar Allan Poe gave to me... 5 black gravestones
American Gothic, 19th Century Literature

On the sixth day of Winter, Jack gave to me... 6 pig heads
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

On the seventh day of Winter, Mark Twain gave to me... 7 jumping frogs
The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, by Mark Twain

On the eighth day of Winter, Ms. Murray gave to me... 8 grammar corrections

On the ninth day of Winter, John Proctor gave to me... 9 torn confessions
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller

On the tenth day of Winter, Ms. Meinhardt gave to me... 10 helping verbs

On the eleventh day of Winter, Odysseus gave to me... 11 sirens singing
The Odyssey, by Homer

On the twelfth day of Winter, the Dead Poets Society gave to me... 12 carpe diems

It's All Worth Waiting For

"Windmills," Toad the Wet Sprocket

I'm currently:

Reading: Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card; The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
Listening: Kings of Leon, Only By the Night; The Killers, Day and Age; Kenny Chesney, Lucky Old Sun
Enjoying: Sleeping in, 7-11 hot chocolate, The Office re-runs
Procrastinating: Grading Poe/Twain essays, laundry, packing

Some of my favorite moments from the last few weeks:

Marisa, in fear of getting sick before her holiday trip to China, wore snow boots and cotton balls in her ears (to keep the cold air out, apparently) to school:


Holiday parties with old friends:


Melissa came to visit and made AMAZING margaritas (Minute Maid lime-aid, tangerine juice, and Cazadores):


Bailey snuggling under the covers:


Picking out and decorating the Christmas tree:


Holiday pictures:

I'm what I am and I'm what I'm not
I'm sure happy with what I've got
I live to love and laugh a lot
And that's all I need...

"Never Wanted Nothing More," Kenny Chesney

The Time Has Come for Colds and Overcoats

"I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light," Brand New

Tim: I love dumpster diving.
Me: What'd you find?
Tim: A brand new iron. Black and Decker. And new headphones. Bose!
Me: They're probably broken.
Tim: (pause, after a few seconds, under his breath): These are broken. Yeah, these are crap. But I'm keeping the iron.
Me: Okay...
Tim: It's cordless. Come on.

5 minutes later...

Tim: Wait! The headphones do work!

10 minutes later...

Tim: I totally just dumpster dived more.
Me: What now?
Tim: Oh my god. I got a flashlight and an underwater camera. An underwater digital camera!
Me: Does it work?
Tim: I don't know!
Me: Where were those things?
Tim: Sitting next to the trash.
Me: Do you think our neighbors saw you?
Tim: I don't know. I don't care.
Tim: (under his breath, in realization): I need the power cord...oh! The cord might be out there! Alright, I gotta go back out. I'll be back....

10 minutes later...

Me: Did you find it?
Tim: Yup!
Me: Seriously?
Tim: Yes! It's the cord! Sweet!
Me: Cool. Do I still have to get you a bazooka for Christmas?
Tim: Yes.
Me: Why?
Tim: I'm cool. I deserve a bazooka.
Me: Maybe you should be kind of embarrassed.

You Impress Me So Completely

"These Stones Will Shout," The Raconteurs

Me: Why is there barbeque sauce by the front door?
Tim: It's Fuel Injector Cleaner.

* * * * *

Tim: Sometimes I think I'd like to have a gun. Some of my buddies go shoot skeet over in Oceanside.
Me: Are skeet birds?
Tim: (pause) No. They're clay disks.
Me: Oh. I thought skeet was a plural form of some type of bird. You know, the singular being "skit."
Tim: ...
Me: What kind of gun do you use for that? Like a magnum?
Tim: A magnum is a handgun. Do you think people shoot birds...or disks...with a handgun?
Me: Maybe! I don't know anything about guns.
Tim: You would use a shotgun to shoot skeet.
Me: I think you should get one of those guns that the Joker shoots out of the van in The Dark Knight.
Tim: A bazooka?
Me: Yes.
Tim: Okay. That's what I would like for Christmas. A bazooka. You'll need a permit.

Magic Soakin' My Spine

"Read My Mind," The Killers

We had Thanksgiving at Tim's dad and step-mom's house in Murrieta. It was wonderful; family, friends, good food, and great company. A few pictures...

Sara was in charge of the football pool (I won the first quarter!):


My dad ROCKED the Wii:


The beautiful spread...


The dogs indulged:





The day after Thanksgiving, we went to Sea World with Tim's dad, step-mom, brother, and sister-in-law. So fun...


Tim in the "Fish of the Pacific" Aquarium....he was DROOLING over these White Sea Bass and Yellowtail for probably an hour.