Christmas Photos

Mom sent some Christmas photos...

Emma and Mimi opening presents.

Em and me - at least one of us is looking at the camera. That's the Caillou I got her..

Emma and my cousins - all of which look thrilled about Christmas day.

Mamaw (on the right) and her sister Wardelle. Christmas day was Mamaw's 83rd birthday! (And she LOVED the bird bottle!)

Em with a new DVD... or DBD as she calls it.

More presents!

And still more...

Christmas Fun

[Apparently one-third of my readership misses stalking me, so I promised her I would post again soon.]

Here are some highlights from Christmas in Jeffersonville:

• It snowed inside the worship center at church!
• Holly and I spent some time looking for plane tickets... China, here we come!
• I spent about 4 hours playing Guitar Hero at Rob's on Sunday. I predict there will soon be a disease of the wrist called "Guitar Hero-itis." 
• Sunday night I had dinner with about 25 peeps from high school - a couple of which I hadn't seen since 1997. Fun times! 
• Monday morning I had my annual Heine Bros. coffee date with Chelsey. I heart Chels... and hope to go to Nashville soon for her CD release party!
• Monday afternoon we had our traditional Christmas Eve meal at Macaroni Grill. May I just say that I'm really good at creating my own pasta?
• Monday night we opened presents. Emma was hilarious. Every time she opened one, she'd look at it, then say, "Let's see what else we've got." (To answer the question of another third of my readership, I decided to wait till the birthday for Noah. I was too excited about the 3-foot tall Caillou I got her.)
• Tuesday we did the big family Christmas meal. Yum! There were some strange conversations at the table, as usual... mostly about going pee pee in the potty.
• I had to work on Wednesday, so I came back to Indy on Tuesday night for my second annual "romantic comedies and (a little too much) wine" evening.

Oh Noah, why must you do this to me?

Noah, you've let me down not once, but twice this month! First, I waited in a terribly slow line for you. Since it's Christmas, that was forgivable. Then we went through that whole treadmill debacle together. I thought we'd bonded.

But tonight... when I saw you on the shelf at Kohl's as a special "gift set" with three additional pieces, and a dvd, I felt betrayed. Two little plastic turtles, a little girl, and a dvd that most likely, like the other "Little People" dvds, has Aaron Neville singing the theme song...

To make matters worse, you were cheaper at Kohl's! Yes, you were marked at a much higher price, but you can't fool me. I know that one never pays sticker price at Kohl's!

I'll admit... I debated. "If I re-purchase Noah and the animals, am I letting him win?" I thought to myself. "A cheaper price and more pieces, or a wait in another long Toys R Us line?" Well, Noah, you win. Are you happy now? There are not one, but two of you in my house right now.

Such a Great Friend...

When you are stuck in a ditch and you call me, not only will I come get you and let you use my AAA, but I will also bring my camera to capture the event so you can enjoy it for years to come...

Steve the tow truck driver arrives.

The fun begins.

Almost out... (taken from the comfort of my warm car)

Stopping traffic on 56th Street!

Travelin' Fool

Here's how last week went:

Saturday night: drove to Louisville after celebrating roomie's birthday

Sunday morning: flew from Louisville to New York

Monday night: flew from New York to Louisville

Tuesday morning: flew from Louisville to Baltimore

Wednesday night: flew from Baltimore to Louisville, then drove to Indy

Fun times, but I'm wiped out!

New York

The surprise trip turned out to be a ton of fun! We arrived Sunday morning, and ate breakfast at a cute little place where I got creamer or milk spilled all over me. Oh well... then we got half price tickets to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which was excellent. We had dinner with Christopher that night, then went to Radio City for the Christmas Spectacular. That was pretty cool - there was even a part in 3D. Santa was right there in front of us! It ended with live animals in a nativity scene.

On Monday, we wandered around 5th Ave, looking at store windows full of things we could never afford. We had lunch a Bryant Park Grill, and looked at all the fun Christmas shops setup there. We also went to the Charmin Restrooms in Times Square. Whoever came up with this idea is a genius! They offer free, clean restrooms at Christmastime. The staffers are cheerful (some might argue TOO cheerful), and there are even fun scenes setup to take photos. 

Here are a few photos from the trip:

Baltimore

After New York was a whirlwind trip to Baltimore for work. We were looking at hotels for our 2010 meeting. That's right folks, believe it or not, 2010 is right around the corner... in the hotel world, anyway. We looked at ten different ones. After about three, they all start to look the same. We did get to have a very yummy dinner at Pazo... I was especially a fan of the croquettas, which are basically fried mashed potatoes with Manchego cheese. 

I'm pretty sure there will be no more flying till January 6, when I leave for grad school orientation. And I'm definitely okay with that! 

Adventures in Retail

Last night, Liz accompanied me as I ran some errands and got some Christmas shopping done. First stop: dinner at Paradise Bakery. Yum. Why is the small salad really small and the large is really large? Can we get a medium?

Then we were off to Toys R Us to find the Little People Noah's Ark for Emma. Easy enough, right? Nope. Once we found the thing, I waited in line forEVER. The people in front of me spent $641.00, needed a couple price checks, and applied for a credit card. Even after 20 minutes at the register, they still had to go to the service desk.

Then the real fun began... I purchased a treadmill last week and decided I would attempt to save $65 by bringing it home myself rather than having it delivered. So we went to Sears to pick it up. And surprise, it didn't fit in the car. The nice man tied my hatch down so I could still get it home. But when we got out on 82nd Street, the string broke and the hatch popped open. Liz had her hand on the treadmill box, like maybe she could save it if it started to fall out. But more importantly, she was protecting Noah and his animals that we had worked to hard to get at Toys R Us. 

We drove back to Sears. I was laughing pretty hard by this point. We went back inside and I found the guy who tied it up for me and told him I changed my mind. Then the paperwork began. Not only did I have to add the delivery, but I needed an adjustment too because the thing was $83 cheaper online. The cashier made me wait forever because he didn't know what he was doing. He said he was making me wait for the manager in order to make this "as efficient as possible..." to which I muttered under my breath, "I think we're way past efficient."

An hour later, we were on our way to Target. That was a pretty uneventful trip other than our manhunt for the breadcrumbs.

'Tis the season!

Surprises

So this morning I got to do the "big reveal." The phone conversation went something like this:

Me: Did you see that the Rockettes are going to be on tv tonight?

Mom: Really? What time? What station?

Me: I don't think you should watch it.

Mom: (silence)

Me: Because you're going to see it live tomorrow night.

Mom: I am? 

Me: Yep.

Mom: (confused silence)

Me: You're going to New York tomorrow.

Mom: I'm what? Huh? Are you sure?

Me: Yes, I'm sure.

Mom: Well that sounds fabulous. Am I going alone? [joking]

Me: Nope, I'm coming too.

Yay... no more secrets! :)

New Income Source?

About ten years ago, my aunt decided that she would make some money by purchasing several peppermint patty vending machines and placing them in restaurants and businesses around Nashville. Well... it didn't really work out. They say that one man's trash is another man's treasure - and I guess that's true in this case. I'm pretty darn excited about my new peppermint patty machine, and Sandy was just glad to get one more out of her basement.

I'm thinking my friends probably aren't too excited about the idea of paying a quarter for a peppermint patty at my house. But heck, they spend a lot of time here... and use toilet paper, water, paper towels... so it's time they start contributing. I'll admit, the patties are being sold at quite a mark-up, but they are very tasty and really hit the spot.

We'll see how it goes!

Update

Mom went to the flea market today to look... and she found the bird bottle! Yay mom!

Failure

It's not often that you have an idea of what to get your 80-something-year-old grandmother who wants and needs nothing. So when Mamaw mentioned that she saw something she liked at the flea market, I headed straight there after leaving her house.

The item: a Jim Beam bottle that is a white bird with grey wings. "Jim Beam bottle?" you ask. Yep, that's right. For the past several years, she has been an avid collector of bottles. And no, she's not a drinker. At all.

But back to my trip to the flea market... I had about 15 minutes before I had to be home to leave for church. I was determined. I've not been nicknamed "eagle eyes" for nothing. (Side note: before I even got out of the parking lot, I saw a great mullet!) 

So I walked in... and the place is bigger than I remember. Aisles and aisles of... junk before me. I dashed up and down the aisles, frantically looking for the bird bottle. 

Did I mention that I hate birds? There aren't too many of Mamaw's bottles that I'm particularly fond of, but I especially dislike the ones who have eyes and look at me... birds, ducks, cats, poodles, you name it...

I really thought I would be able to find the thing. But amidst booth after booth of completely random things, I did not succeed. If anyone has ideas on what to get Mamaw, let me know...

Relaxed and Refreshed

Sadly, spa weekend has already come and gone. It was definitely a fun time though! We all arrived at the hotel on Friday evening. We went to Chocolate World, where we learned a lot from singing cows. Then we headed to dinner, via the ghetto. Lori's navigation system did get us there... but there had to have been a better way!

Saturday morning we got up and headed to the spa about 8:30. Here's my take on the treatments I got:

Spa Rain Shower - This rocked! There were 14 showerheads, plus a woman spraying a high-powered hose at me - like the kind you use to wash the siding on your house. (Swimsuit = good, for this one!)

Milk and Honey Soak - I've gotta admit, I had higher expectations for this one. Basically I sat in a jacuzzi-type tub for 15 minutes. It was nice, but I couldn't even smell the milk and honey. However, on the side of the tub (and everywhere, for that matter), there were Hershey Kisses.

Chocolate Fondue Wrap - This was interesting. I'd never had anything like it. Basically they brushed me to exfoliate, then painted me with this chocolate mud stuff. I was then wrapped, like a mummy, in tissue paper then covered with two thermal blankets. I was then left to... marinate (?) for 20 minutes. I was getting a little toasty toward the end. But then the lady came in to unwrap me and rinse me off. Fun times! Note: I'm sure all of you are wondering, as I was... I asked the lady if anyone ever tries to lick their arm, and her response was, "You'd be surprised what I see out of the corner of my eye." But she doesn't say anything to them to avoid embarrassment. She figures it's bad enough for people once they realize it tastes like mud, and not chocolate.

Cocoa Massage - This was just a regular massage, but the used cocoa-scented oil. Yum!

Between our treatments, we could choose between the aromatherapy room, the quiet room, and the silent room. For awhile, it was just Jenny, Lori and I in the silent room, so needless to say, it was not silent. Later in the day, I was in there and a lady was snoring. Also not silent. We also had some lovely pastries, tea, amazing hot chocolate, and more Hershey Kisses than we could count!

After the treatments, we got in the hot tub for a bit. That's when Jenny compared something expensive to "buying a baby on the black market." Maybe all that relaxation was getting to her head. Or maybe that's just classic Jenny. Either way, we decided it was time to shower and leave the spa around 5pm.

We had dinner at Red Robin, then we basically crashed about 9:30. Are we getting old? Maybe. I will be interested to see what time we go to bed at Spa Weekend 2017.

Sunday morning, I woke up and saw Liz sitting on the floor in the semi-dark room eating a waffle. This is what happens to people who won't fly! :) Liz had to hit the road for her long drive. Jenny, Lori and I made a stop at Perkins for a yummy breakfast (but not-so-good coffee). After the drive back to Baltimore, spa weekend was officially over... for this year, anyway.

(For a different take on the weekend, visit Liz's blog!)

Third Annual Spa Weekend

Right now there are four twenty-something ladies, in four different states, anxiously awaiting the weekend. Yep... on Friday, the third annual spa weekend will commence! This year, we're off to Hershey, PA, to check out the Chocolate Spa at the Hotel Hershey.

The first and second annual spa weekends consisted of just Lori and me... but this year Jenny and Liz are coming- for some added fun, mischief, and... amusing stories. I think this will be the first time we've all been together since Lori's wedding in 2004. That's way too long!

Spa weekend is proof that good can come from tragedy. A few weeks after my sister died, almost three years ago, Lori called. She said something like, "I know you, and I know that you need to get out of town, so I'll meet you anywhere in the country." Well, you all know that planning vacations is one of my favorite pastimes... so I got to work and we ended up at the Hyatt Huntington Beach Resort and Spa in California. (I guess I made Lori go about as far as she could while still staying in the country... from Maryland to Cali.) It was there that the idea struck us... why not do this every year?

In 2006, we headed to the Indian Lakes Resort outside of Chicago. This trip not only included spa treatments, but also a chocolate cooking class. Our truffles didn't turn out so well, but it was fun!

So we decided to continue the chocolate theme for 2007... and I'm so excited that the Butler girls will be together again this weekend. You can expect a full report on the chocolate fondue wrap, milk and honey bath, cocoa massage, and more next week!

The Magic Room

Some people take in the sick, homeless, or disenfranchised. But me? I open my home to a different type: the engaged woman. A spiritual gift? Maybe.

I've married off two roomies this year, and another is coming up next year.

I am becoming an expert at dealing with the ups and downs of wedding planning. Arguments with the parents... check. Hair crises... check. Wedding song selection... check. I think I might even start a libray of wedding planning resources in my study.

Some say that it's my magic guestroom. I'm starting to wonder... though not enough to move out of my bedroom and into this room.

Returning the favor...

Well, I've been stalking some of you via your blogs for months, if not years, so I figured I'd return the favor. Besides, if Adaryll can do it, so can I! :)