Tree is up, decorations are out and cookies are being made. Still not completely feeling the vibe, but it's getting there. I think I need snow. I almost miss the blizzards, heck who am I kidding, I love blizzards. Why? They are pretty and you get to hang out and watch movies, and enjoy family time. I also don't mind driving in them. I prefer them to a thunderstorm any day.

I really want my gifts to people to be meaningful this year. last year I had just lost my job and with my student loans, mortgage, car loan... we couldn't really afford nice gifts. This year the car is paid off, we refinanced our house and I think we can afford a little more for those who mean the most to us. My husband doesn't get this. he thinks that going to the store and finding a towel on sale is good enough. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to see people light up when they open their gift from me. So we agreed that I could buy for all the girls and he would buy for the guys. So my apologies to the men in our life. I found the perfect gift for my baby sister (she really isn't a baby, she's nearly 21); I actually think I found perfect gifts for all of my sisters, including my sister-in-law. I'm not spending an exorbant amount, but enough to get them something just right.

That brings me to me, honestly there isn't a thing I asked for that I have to have. I mean the luggage I need, but if I don't get it I can get it myself before our family vacation in February. I am pretty sure my husband is getting me one of those single serve coffee machines that take the little k-cups. That would be great if he does. I love me some coffee.

Well off to bake some more biscotti!

Oh and just because I think it's cute there is a picture of my son posing in front of the tree.

It's beginning to look a lot like....

I just don't have the ambition to put up my Christmas decorations. I went to the store and bought a few new festive items thinking it would help. i have almost all of my shopping done, yet I don't give a rip about the tree or all the cool junk sitting in boxes just begging to be set free. Maybe it's because it needs to snow, or maybe I just need to pop in a good Christmas movie. Any suggestions? I have a ton, but feel kind of eh about them. I did catch myself humming, quite loudly, to the over head music at the store today. I didn't even realize it until I got a weird look from a guy. He almost looked like he was trying not to laugh. Pretty sure nothing was on my face.

Beauty recommendation
Always use primer on your lashes. Try out different brands to see what works best for you. I personally use the Clinique primer and Sephora mascara. Don't be afraid to mix it up.

Book recommendation
The Grimm fairy Tale collection. Try it, it's a little creepy. Not like the Disney fluff you associate with fairy tales.

I would like to give another author shout out, Bonnie Lamer. The series I am currently in love with is her YA Witch Fairy series. Seriously, you should try them out, you won't be sorry.

Look mom, no butts

I am getting uber excited for the holidays. I hope to make it to Michael's Friday and get some fun fall decorations. I have a thing of leaves from last year that I swooped on my dinning room curtains as well as a $5 scare crow in the front yard. I just don't think my house exhibits my love for the holidays quite yet. I also want to create fun and warm memories for my little man. I go ALL out on Christmas and think that fall deserves the same treatment. I used to love going to friends houses that were all cute like that. My mom did the Halloween stuff and Christmas, but that's about it.

Dinosaurs for my son's super birthday cake, arrived yesterday. He was SO excited. he played with them all day. Then shortly before bed he brings over two of the dinos, puts them in my face and goes "Look mom, no butts." The observations of a five year old......

This whole kid birthday thing is stressful. Not like off the wall stressful, but enough. He is SO darn particular about his cake. Ugh, I had to do a sketch of it.... A SKETCH! What almost 5 year old has his mom do that? He was very descriptive as I did it. So it looks like it will be a dinosaur cake. A sheet cake with a round lake on the bottom middle, a volcano with lava in the top right, rocky terrain and dinosaurs on the left, trees on the top and bushes through out. Sigh.... I ordered little dinosaur toys for it and am going to make the trees out of sugar cookies. I think I will use rock candy for the rocks. For the volcano? I think I am going to bake a smaller cake and cut it into a mountain shape, cover it with chocolate frosting and pipe some red and orange on it for the lava.

I feel bad about not inviting all of the kids in his class, but I am paying 10.99 a kid at Chuck E Cheese and I so can not afford to pay for that many, plus food and drinks for the adults. I hope I don't make any enemies. :/ I read the names on the class list having him say yes or no, and made him stop when we used up all the invites. I think that's as fair as I could get.

ooooh I am reading HP Mallory's Toil and Trouble, LOVE it.

I am going to start to do a beauty recommendation each week. So without further ado...

This weeks recommendation is Benefit lip tint. I swear by the stuff. You can add one coat for a subtle rosy lip or ad several for a more dramatic red, or pink, depending on the color you get. It is also great for your cheeks. Make sure you put a little gloss on after to finish the look.

kick butt

I really like grocery day. I get to go shopping and not spend all day doing it, so the day isn't wasted. Another reason is that I usually sneak a book or some thing in there. I have been looking for the most recent Christine Warren book, but Target doesn't have it and neither does Meijer, the only two places I go for groceries. I could just buy it on the kindle, but that series is part of my loaners. I loan the books to friends and family. I don't want to buy it for my kindle because then I wouldn't be able to do that.

I got a "talking to" from my inlaws the other day. You see my husband is a martial arts lover. He was also a SGT. in the USMC, fighting is in his blood. He has a black belt in karate, trains in Jiu Jitsu, kickboxing, boxing and various others. He does this at least 5 days a week, it's his love. I'm a little jealous. Well when my little guy was about two he couldn't say those things so we just said daddy was going to kick butt. Not that he was going to kick a butt. So instead of trying to have him understand all the various martial arts daddy does we just call them all kick butt, a noun. He told Grandma he wants to be a kick butt person when he grows up. I laughed, of course. Well they didn't think it was funny and lectured me on how crass that was. eh, whatever. I think it's funny. I had him clarify what kind of kick butt he wanted to do and he explained that he wanted to do it to bad guys like his friends dad. This particular dad.... is cop. So in my opinion he can be a kick butt dude all he wants!

Waking up

There is nothing better than that first cup of coffee in the morning. sigh...........

My night was plagued with nightmares of me becoming a whore. Seriously, I was a pseudo prostitute in Vegas, at some high end brothel. But the kicker, Edward Cullen was the owner. I swear I have the most ridiculous dreams. I was basically being held prisoner and missed my son terribly. When I finally got out he was a tween and all messed up. Needless to say I got in a good amount of cuddling this morning.

When I was younger I used to have this recurring dream. It lasted until I was in my early twenties (yes I know, I am old). I blame it on my mom letting me watch the howling when I was 4 or 5. I think, and really when it comes to mom you can just assume, she let me watch those types of things when I was young hoping I wouldn't be scared of everything and know it wasn't real. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect. Though, now I have a love of supernatural and paranormal fiction.
In the dream I was sitting with my mom on the couch watching t.v, I was cold so I decided to go to my room to get my blankie, a quilt my mom made while pregnant with me. When I went in my room there was only the hall light illuminating my room. I had a feeling of impending doom, so I grabbed the blanket from the end of my bed and ran out. When I got to the living room my mom turned her attention to the hall closet. She was very pregnant with my little sisters at the time and sort of wobbled over to the closet. I was standing behind her, sort of at the top of the stairs, when she opened the closet. There was a man and a woman in there, but I just knew they were werewolves. ( Yes, I am weird) The man made eye contact with me and he freaked me out. So I ran down the two flights of stairs to the basement. When I got there it was white, like floor to ceiling, no walls or floors, white. I started running until I saw a piano, I walked over to it and the guy was playing it, as soon as I go close enough he turned into a werewolf, like the scary as hell kind. He started after me and I ran and ran, terrified the whole time. Then I saw a darkness in the whiteness and ran for it, when I got to it it was a door way to the front yard. I reached the yard and I woke up.
That same dream at least once a year for nearly 20 years. Talk about creepy. My dreams are always SO real too. Colors, sounds, smells, touch, everything is realistic.

bothered

Dear Fall allergies,
Oh how I loathe thee. You suck the like out of me. I do not enjoy this itchy ear, nose and throat thing that you force upon me. Breathing is hard. So if you would, please forfeit your cards.
Thanks

Thirty minute shows that have 12 minutes of commercials, are not cool. Anyone else bothered by this? Last night I am happily watching Awkward, just as I was really getting into it, it's over. I DVR it and watch it, that way I don't have to sit through annoying commercials. Why must MTV be so cruel?! I think it's been at least 13 years since I actually watched a show on there and now they have several I enjoy. Unfortunately I get SO bothered by the plethora of commercials I never watch them in real time.

Shout out

I would like to give a shout out to an author i recently discovered. She is having a contest to for fans to be entered to be a character in a new book. It's pretty cool. Her name is HP Mallory and her blog is http://urbanfantasyauthor.blogspot.com/ Check it out.

Talking to strangers

Why does it seem so difficult to make new friends? I had this discussion last night with my husband. He laughed at me when I told him I was disappointed that the other preschool parents hadn't tried talking to me yet. I was very excited for my son to start school, I figured I would make new friends, friends who had a child similar to mine, friends who would understand me and open my world to new things. He laughed and asked me if I was being serious. Of course I was. He seems to think I can be intimidating or even standoffish. I am sure I am at times, but I don't consciously do it. He then asked me if maybe I should try to engage them first. That thought terrifies me. I don't know why, I am usually a pretty open person. I admit I can be shy though. Friends have told me my shyness can come across as bitchiness. Pshaw. Then I expressed my feelings of maybe being excluded because we only have one child. From what I observed of the other parents most had multiple children. I often get the question "do you have any more?" When I reply that I only have the one I notice that I get a look. I could be imagining it, but I don't think I am. It was a miracle I had my son and maybe I still harbor some of the old feelings of not fitting in with friends because they had kids and I didn't.
Back to me doing the initial greeting, why am I so scared to do this? I am sure if one of the other moms said even a simple "Hi" I would be overly excited and probably bombard them with my verbal diarrhea. Sheesh, with both of my professions I talk to strangers all day, but this has me all a mess.