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

Nothing says Happy Holidays more than peppermint ice cream (bought some yesterday, yum) and the mad rush to finish my CPE for the year. I always have to report 40 hours a year on my CPA renewal form due Dec. 31st, which means I am turning it in today at work to get it paid and mailed in by the deadline. It's always such a joy to look for interesting accounting topics. Actually, I have finished everything but an 8 hour class on IRAs, but who has time to fit it in? Tonight is the premiere of the new American Girl movie on WB!!

Bambi Watch

You may remember my very special gift after Thanksgiving last year was to look out my back windows and see my red neck neighbor's dead deer hanging from his playset for several days after Thanksgiving. Then he gutted it in broad daylight with all of the neighborhood dogs watching. It was quite a treat. I'm pleased to report I have not spotted a dead Bambi so far this morning. Yea!!

HP update

We finished "Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince". There were lots of loose ends I will probably forget all about by the time the next book comes out in two years.

We were able to sneak out to see the movie "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" last night. Great movie but it would be hard to follow if you hadn't read the book. I'm glad I finally got on the book wagon. Our only gripe is that the movie character of Dumbledore is nothing like the book character. He just comes across as too stern, loud and jumpy in the movie, while the book's Dumbledore is kind, doesn't ever have to raise his voice, and is fatherly towards Harry. It's quite a difference in our humble opinion.

Much better and almost done! Peanut butter crackers did the trick! 

Not going so well.... 

My first haircut...so far so good. 

Let there be new light! 

Christmas has come early

Dave's Uncle Allen (also known as Mr. Can do Anything around the House) was here Wednesday night - Saturday morning and some of my home improvement wishes have come true:

I received extra outlets in the laundry room and in our master closet, and I can now work my switch to the hall light downstairs without blowing the circuit. I have weather stripping on my deck door, and drum roll please.... I have two new recessed lights over my big kitchen counter- no more cooking in the dark!

Not only did Allen fix up our house, he came bearing gifts from the Unclaimed Baggage center in Alabama. Daniel got new clothes, I got a new craft book and scrapbook paper, and Dave got a tie. Let's just say I feel like singing some Christmas carols to celebrate our weekend.

A visit with Audrey Galloway 

A quick picture with Samantha 

Daniel was the best dancer at the wedding! 

Mr and Mrs Eric Fenger 

I love ice cream from Grandpa! 

Thanks Southwest for the cool play area. I might become a pilot! 

Home Again

You may have figured this out, but we been out of town 9 of the 14 days so far this month. We had two back to back trips with one day at home in between. We just got back last night from a trip to Florida for my cousin's wedding (St. Petersburg), a visit with Dave's parents (Ft. Myers) and a brief visit with Dave's step-grandmother (his deceased grandfather was re-married for the last 15 years of his life) (Sarasota). All of this driving around did help us get to disk 12 out of 17 of "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince".

We've had a great time this month, but it's good to be home. We are looking forward to a visit starting tomorrow night from Dave's Uncle Allen. He's a great handyman and we have some projects for him....

The Odyssey held hostage....Day 10

Seems I'm not the only one who can't get the back lift gate open for days at a time. I've got to hand it to them for creativity, they are now on the 4th different part replacement.

Good thing we've been in Florida for the past four days and I haven't had too much time to dwell on it.

UPDATE on 11/15, Day 11: The Odyssey has been set free, it seems the "motor" was the magic part that malfunctioned on the lift gate. And I did call Honda North America today to start a list of our complaints in a case file.

I'm ready to go home soon! 

Talesin West 

Fun! 

Daddy's Display 

Yummy Cheesecake! 

On my first train ride with Micah and Dalyn Stewart!

Off the top of my head

First of all, we just got home from Phoenix tonight. We had a wonderful time. We were able to spend some time with our non-related friends Chris and Debbie Stewart who live there, and later I joined Dave at his healthcare design conference held at a plush resort in Scottsdale. We got to eat at the Cheesecake Factory (since we can't get into ours here in Nashville) and Maggianos, and today we toured Taleisin West (Frank Lloyd Wright's home). Tomorrow I will post some pics.

I have two things I have to get off my chest before I can sleep tonight:

1- The power tailgate of the van is still not fixed even though they've had it since Saturday. We are seriously considering trading it in for a lesser model since it is the "extras" that are causing us so much trouble.

2- Why is it the more expensive the hotel, the more you have to pay for (breakfast, internet, etc.). I was so frustrated that internet access at Dave's hotel was $15 a day! You can stay at the Hampton Inn and get it with your breakfast- FREE. We cruised around Scottsdale last night for an hour looking for the four free wireless spots (listed courtesy of Wireless Hotlink) and finally gave up. Dave had the bright idea we should find a wealthy residential area with lots of unsecured wireless, but I didn't want to "steal"- next time I will!.

Tip of the Day

Here's a little tip for all of you Odyssey owners out there: If you own the Touring Model, and the power liftgate malfunctions, there is NO WAY to open your trunk and it might take several days to fix it.

Conclusion: Do not ever put anything in the trunk of your van just in case you need access to it and the power liftgate goes out.

This tip has been brought to you by the not-so-happy Honda owners who live on this blog....

I love the library....

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on CD is ready for Pickup!