hello 2010

Can you believe today is the last day of 2009? And my last post of 2009 (that scares me)?

Me neither.

Now when I just got used to writing 2009, I have to get used to writing 2009. Sigh.

It feels like we just ushered in 2009...or 2008...or 2007 for that matter.

This year felt like it went by the fastest. Maybe I'm getting old... :) But the saying "The older you get the faster the years go" is so true. To me, the individual days go by fairly slowly, but the months just fly by.

That doesn't make much sense, does it?

Each day that goes past, we are one day closer to our dying day. And while that scares me a bit (I'm young! There are so many things that I haven't done yet!), that is also one day closer to meeting our Savior.

We have done a lot in 2009. We bought a house and renovated it, my dad graduated from the seminary, he was ordained, we moved...

Now I'm just reminiscing.

Here is my biggest New Year's resolution: Stop procrastinating (or at least stop procrastinating so much).

We'll see how that goes.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful New Year's Eve!

lillyisms part three

Lillyisms part 1

Lillyisms part 2

...

Lilly broke one of those little stained glass ornaments that have a suction cup so that you can stick it to the window. She starts crying and goes and finds my mom, gives her the broken pieces, and says in a heartbroken voice, "I forgive you!"

....

We were talking about our fire drill in case of a fire. MeMe got all freaked out that our house would burn down (she's our little worrier...), and Lilly goes up to her and says, "It's okay, MeMe. If there's a fire I will be right there and you can hold my hand so you won't be scared."

....

I wanted to get something from the pantry, and all of a sudden Lilly jumps out with a 2-foot long metal ruler. No clue how she got that. Anyway, she jumps out, and uses her ruler like a sword, jabbing (playfully) at me. I said, "Lilly! Not again! I need to get into the pantry, so please move!" Her response? "No, smugoo!" (pronouced smooogooo - the u and o's are long) Yeah, she made that up.

I showed Lilly some pictures I had posted of her. She kind of giggled at herself. When she left my room she called over her shoulders, "Thank you, Wusi (my family's nickname for me), for showing me those pictures!" Awww!! I can't believe her little 3 year old self thought of that :)

....

Jeremiah got in trouble for something he did (I forget what). My mom says, "Why can't you just listen to directions?" Lilly, "Yeah! What mom said!"

....

We were driving home from Tomball and had just stopped at McDonalds. MeMe had taken a straw and was playing with it, putting it in her mouth.

Me: MeMe, take that disgusting straw out of your mouth!

MeMe: Me?

Lilly: Yes you MeMe!

MeMe: But I'm "brushing my teeth"!

Lilly: You can't brush your teeth with a straw, you silly pig! .... Lilly, you are such a little bundle of happiness and love...you can make people laugh when they don't even want to smile. You are a joy to have as a sister!

recap - christmas play, santa's visit, and christmas day

Here's a little "recap" of things that have happened in the past week or so...

MeMe was an angel this year in the Christmas play...

Megan, our pastor's daughter, was Mary this year...she's riding in on a "camel" here. Everyone got a good laugh out of that!

MeMe saying her part

Lilly the sheep...only she wasn't a very good sheep. She refused to sit with the others...

house renovations - before and after

Drumroll, please! Here is the long awaited for post about our house (To read the "story" of our house, click here)! I'm sooo sorry I haven't posted it earlier... Note: All captions are underneath each image

So without further ado, let the fun begin!

The house looked like this when we started renovating. (Click on "Continue reading this post" to read the rest of the post)

the second day of christmas

The following is our Christmas/New Years letter we're sending out.

"2009 - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good

- A new pastor - Chris [my dad] was ordained in August

- An amazing new home - found on Craigslist

- Jeremiah earning his orange belt in karate

- Great new friends and neighbors - A new puppy in the family – Sergeant Pepper “Sarge” - A wonderful congregation

The Bad

- Hot ashes started a fire at the playhouse, resulting in 3 firetrucks at our house - Our cat, Patches, lost in an icy snow blizzard for almost 24 ours on Christmas Eve

- Lula [my mom] running a red light when we traveled to St. Louis for Chris's [my dad's] graduation from the seminary.

The Ugly

- Latin lessons at church with Chris [my dad]

- Our family members during a summer of house renovations and no hot water

- "Jesus is a Friend of Mine" by Sonseed"

our icy christmas tale

The weather people had been predicting snow for at least a week - it was supposed to start Christmas Eve. Two days ago, when Christmas Eve rolled around, it was rainy. In the early-afternoon the rain started to turn into sleet, then into this:

The backyard looked like this around 3 (I apologize for the horrible images! They were taken from my bedroom window...):

Yesterday morning (Christmas Day) it looked like this:

(It's a lot more than it looks in the picture.)

The snow wouldn't quit! There were services planned Christmas Eve at 4 and 11pm (We planned to go to the 11pm). 4pm went through as planned, but the snow was getting heavier. Around 9pm the 11 o'clock service was cancelled. I was sooo disappointed that we weren't able to go to the service...it was the first time we hadn't gone to a Christmas Eve service. I felt that it was practically sacrilege... :)

We had a guest over for dinner Christmas Eve - we were really surprise he actually came. When he came around 7 there was already about 4 inches of snow and ice and snow/sleet was still falling. He said when he got home he spent half an hour just trying to open his front door.

The rest of the evening we relaxed and read stories - including the Night Before Christmas.

When we woke up yesterday (Christmas Day) there was overall about 6 1/2 to 7 inches of snow, but it was so windy that there were drifts up to about 3 feet. Thankfully though it had stopped snowing.

We were surprised yesterday that there was still a Christmas service. My dad wanted to leave around 9am so he would have roughly an hour and a half to prepare for the service. We left a short before 9 and didn't get into the church until 10 - normally the drive to church is less than 5 minutes. We got stuck twice in the snow (the street department STILL hasn't really cleared the roads - yesterday it was even worse). The first time we were able to get out of it without anyone having to get out or push. The second we weren't so lucky. It took probably around 20-30 minutes to get us out. Pastor, my dad, and another congregant shoveled snow, trying to make it at least a little bit easier for church comers.

There were only about 15-20 people at the service - it was still more than I expected, though. Thankfully we were able to make it home again without getting stuck.

When we got home, we finally got to open presents. MeMe and Lilly were practically about to die from having to wait so long. :)

We all got some many wonderful things! Among my presents was a gift card to PBTeen/Pottery Barn/Williams-Sonoma/West Elm (They're all owned by the same company) and the boots I blogged about a few weeks ago (I got them in chocolate brown)!! The boots are sooo comfortable - I can highly recommend them.

Today we've just been relaxing and enjoying our new things...and of course the little ones have been playing in the snow. The roads STILL aren't cleared...although they did spread gravel, but that doesn't help too much. It's still pretty dangerous to drive as all the slush on the roads is freezing at night, turning into ice.

And that's the story of my first white Christmas! Although I was really mad at the snow Christmas Eve when the 11pm Christmas Eve service was cancelled. I really looked forward to it - it's so beautiful.

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas!

-carlotta

a white christmas

Our house as we left for church this morning

Pastor and my dad shoveling snow this morning to make it easier for the people coming to church

Our church

The holly bushes last night...the snow was still coming down when I took this picture

We had some adventures last night and this morning...the rest of the story to come soon!

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

Luke 2:8-20

Merry Christmas!

-carlotta

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.

A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

Merry Christmas!

did you guess correctly?

Did you guess correctly what we got? Here's the peek I gave you yesterday...

I know this is really hard to see...unfortunately something happened to the original picture and I can't post it. The white part is my mom's scarf, and if you look to the far left in the middle you can see a claw.

I proudly present to you our Christmas puppy - Sergeant Pepper "Sarge"! He is a 3 month old black lab/border collie mix. My parents told us that we were keeping him until today when we got him yesterday for another family. I figured out really quickly that we were actually the family that was keeping him, but the others had no clue. 20 minutes after he arrived MeMe was crying because he was so cute and she thought we weren't able to keep him...so my mom broke down and told the rest of them that he was actually ours. I didn't have the slightest idea that we were going to get a dog before hand, though.

Lilly called him the grandma puppy when he had his bandanna on like this.

Jeremiah and Sarge fell asleep on the kitchen floor yesterday.

Sarge with his Santa hat on.

We will be very busy tomorrow so I probably won't be able to post...if you would like to read my Christmas Eve post from last year, click here.

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

-carlotta

surprise!

We got an early Christmas surprise today...more to come later! Oh my, I am SOO excited!!!!!!

Here's a sneak peek...

Can anyone guess what it is?? (I know...this isn't much help! :P)

easy wire photo hanger

Some friends of our from church went to Paris earlier this year. A few weeks ago they came by and gave me some pictures they took there! I love the shot they got of the Eiffel Tower!

I wanted to hang them up only I wasn't sure how to go about it. I had some frames but they were the wrong size. Frames can get kind of expensive and I didn't really want to go out and buy some...

I brainstormed all day. I decided that I wanted to do something that didn't require a frame. All of a sudden it hit me. By using binder clips (If you don't know yet, I'm obsessed with binder clips. OBSESSED. And some of them are so pretty! I NEVER buy the plain black kind...), I could hang each picture on something. Whether it would be a nail or a wire of some sort strung across the wall I wasn't sure yet. I was so excited about my idea I even bicycled to Office Depot (it's literally a 3 minute bicycle ride) to get binder clips as I was out of them.

I decided to go with the wire.

As you can see (or sort of see) in this picture, I nailed three nails (I nailed one in the middle to make sure the wire stayed tight) in the wall. I then took some simple wire and wound it at least 10 times around each nail, making sure to keep it very taut. After I had wrapped the wire around the third nail, I just simply cut it. (Sorry I don't have any pictures of this step - I accidentally deleted them.)

Now using the trusty binder clips I ran to Office Depot and bought (Aren't they cute?! I love love love them!), I just clipped the pictures on!

The finished product! I like it so much that I thing I'm going to add another row underneath.

This project is super easy, cheap, and takes less than 5 minutes. You can make this as long or short as you want, put as many pictures on it as you see fit...and it's SO easy to change out the pictures.

Let's break down the cost.

Wire: free (we already had it)

Nails: free (we already had them)

Pictures: free (gift)

Binder clips: $2.99 plus tax, but that was only because I had run out. And since there are 36 in the box and I only used 4, I still have 32 clips for other things.

Total cost: $2.99

I just LOVE how it turned out - I couldn't be happier with it!

I am linking up to Trash to Treasure at Reinvented.

-carlotta

note to self

Dear Self,

Stop eating so many Sour Patch Kids. Yes, I know they are wonderfully delicious, but if you keep eating them at this rate you're going to deplete your stash.

Sincerely,

Self

PS I am SO excited to share my latest project with you!! I can't wait!

lilly

I haven't posted any pictures in a while...So here's one for the time being. :)

Sigh...She looks so grown up! I can't believe she'll already be four in February...my little baby (now I sound like a sentimental, sappy, old grandma :P).

a lengthly, much thought about post about blogging (and a shameless plug on following/commenting on my blog)

My Dreams about Blogging

It's strange how much thought and time many of us (myself included) put into blogging. I'm always thinking about ideas for posts, thinking about how I can get more readers (don't be afraid to follow my blog or comment on posts!), thinking about my follower (yes, I only have one...after over 3 years of blogging...make me happy)...I even have dreams about people visiting my blog! I have also dreamed about becoming a famous blogger...hmm...Carlotta the Girl Blogger? Just kidding. :)

I remember once I had a dream that there was an Alaskan who read my blog (and if there is someone reading this blog from Alaska, by all means, make yourself known! That would be hilarious if there actually was someone...) who all of a sudden showed up at our house. That was an interesting dream...I don't remember how it ended though.

My Blog Posts From 342349809 3+ Years Ago

A few weeks ago I was reading some of my old posts from when I started my blog...I only had tops 4 posts a month...and they were SO. EXCRUCIATINGLY. BORING! Especially one post where I practically wrote out a minute by minute schedule for my birthday party. Man. I feel sorry for you.

Those excruciatingly boring posts went on for at least two years (And maybe they still do! What do YOU think? Let me know if there are other topics you would like to read!).

I was looking back at the number of posts a year...

In 2006 (I started my blog in September of that year) I had 12 posts. TWELVE. I've had 26 (that's counting this post) alone this month.

In 2007 I had a total of 34 posts.

2008 brought 37 posts.

And 2009? 167 posts.

My Blog Posts Today

I'm glad I've gotten into the habit of posting everyday (well almost everyday as of late September). I find that I very often don't come back to a blog if the author hasn't posted in the past two to three weeks. I now try abide by my "rules" for other blogs. :)

Blogging encourages me to write more. You can't improve something if you don't practice it. When I look back at the first two or so years of this blog, the writing style is so horrible it makes me want to go back and rewrite each entry. I was also a lot younger at the time, though.

My Concluding Thoughts on Blogging

When I first decided (in September) to post everyday, it was a little bit of a struggle to find something to post about day after day.

It's a lot easier now, though. In almost everything I do, I think about how/if I can write a blog post about the said activity. It also helps to start a post when I'm struck with brilliant ideas (such as yesterday...I think I started about 4 posts). I usually write part of the post right then and there, then save it as a draft. Then on days when I have no clue what to post, my draft "box" saves the day!

I digress (I REALLY love that word. If you haven't noticed yet.).

Blogging is a neat way to connect people. In some of the blogs I read, I feel like I've known the author forever, even though we've never met. I know (of) some people that have become really great friends through blogging.

In conclusion, I really, really, REALLY love blogging. If you haven't gotten the memo yet. ;)

-carlotta

PS Sorry about my lack of pictures in my recent posts...I'll post some soon. I promise. :)

i just realized...

I just realized I haven't posted any more "before and after" shots of our house. If I recall correctly, I gave you only one measly shot of how the kitchen used to look! Shame on me...pictures (and I SWEAR now. I'm not only going to promise.) will be coming soon. Very soon. Extremely soon. Probably within the week. :)

-carlotta

super easy double chocolate cookies

Sometimes I just randomly want to bake. I don't mind cooking, sometimes I really enjoy it, I just hate really dislike the clean up. I hate really dislike ALL kitchen clean up for that matter. It's really disgusting to me. Cleaning up things that other people have put in their mouths?! Ew. Ew ew ew. Then you have the pots and pans that are all greasy...I am so thankful to the person who invented dishwashers.

I digress.

So, as I was saying, sometimes I really want to bake/cook something. I was in the mood for cookies, so that's what I made earlier today.

They aren't just any cookies, though. They're wonderfully amazing chocolate cookies. They're really, really, REALLY good. But really rich. Which is sometimes good - it keeps you from eating the entire batch.

But I digress. Again.

Anyway, they're REALLY good. And they couldn't be any easier to make either.

You're in for a treat, as I'm posting the recipe!

(Sorry I don't have any pictures. I was too lazy to take any. My camera is out of battery. It REALLY is out of battery. That's the truth! Pictures will come soon, though. Once I charge the battery.)

Double Chocolate Cookies

Yields 40 small cookies

-1 soft stick butter

-1 cup white sugar

-1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted (I actually forgot to sift it and it turned out fine. But it is probably better to sift it)

-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 egg

-1 1/4 cups plain flour

-1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (give or take)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 °F

2. In a large mixing bowl add the butter, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla extract. Beat until combined (I used our Kitchen Aid mixer). Scrape the sides of the bowl

3. Add the egg, mix, and scrape the sides again.

4. Add the flour and chocolate chips. Mix on a low speed until just combined.

5. Take slightly heaped teaspoonfuls of cookie dough and roll it into balls. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Make sure you leave a little space in between the balls of cookie dough, as they will spread (Speaking of cookie dough, this dough is really good for eating raw. Yum.)

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Variation: You can easily make chocolate chip cookies with this recipe - just leave out the cocoa powder.

Enjoy!

-carlotta

sunday ramblings

This morning was better than my last Sunday morning...thankfully. :)

My siblings were all in our Christmas play/pageant this morning...and I took pictures (they'll come soon!). Lilly was all clingy and didn't want to be a sheep...so I only got one picture of her in her costume - AFTER everything was over.

After church we helped decorate the tree in the sanctuary...it looks really pretty. It's an artificial tree, which is a lot cheaper, but it's a little bit of (virtually brainless) work to set it up. So it was good we had lots of people to help!

Oh, and I'm now officially on Christmas break! Two whole weeks with pretty much nothing planned...ahh. I can't believe Christmas is on Friday already!

Sorry for such a short (and boring) post...

-carlotta

oh christmas tree oh christmas tree...

We finally got a Christmas tree Thursday night...I was more than ready. Where are you supposed to put presents that you've already wrapped if you don't have a tree?

Setting up the tree

My mom and Lilly decorating...

Lilly thought the back of the tree (facing the wall) would be a good place to put ornaments. So here she is going behind the tree...

She made it behind the tree - she had so much fun hanging ornaments there.

We've had the pig and cow ornaments for as long as I can remember...I love them though!

....

In other terms of news, tomorrow Jeremiah, MeMe, and Lilly are all in our Christmas play at church tomorrow morning. Jeremiah is a wise man, MeMe is and angel, and Lilly is a sheep. If you remember the LAST time Lilly was a sheep...she always ran away and my brother (one of the shepherds) kept on running after her. Hopefully that won't happen tomorrow! Today was their rehearsal, they all did really well! I promise to bring my camera. :)

-carlotta

pet peeves: the grammer version

(Pet peeves part one) 1. Dots. I don't know why, but I get bugged if people do more dots than 4 or less than 3 (e.g. "I don't know.................." (too many) or "I don't know.." (too few). I personally use between 3 and 4. I know - how much more technical can you get than that?!

2. The spelling of iPod. It kind of bugs me when people spell it Ipod or I-Pod (the last one I especially don't like!). The same goes for iTunes (or iPhone or iTouch...). Please don't ask me why... :)

3. The capitalization of words that aren't supposed to be capitalized. (e.g. "Thank You so Much for all your Kindness and Hospitality while we stayed with you and your Family." I cringe just writing that!) 4. Apostrophes. People "abuse" them! "It's stable was really clean and all the horse's were happy with the trainer's." (Sorry for the lame example...) What really helped me was putting it this way: Apostrophes usually show the possessive (Bill's = something that belongs to Bill or of Bill). "All the horse's were happy" would be wrong as there is no possessive in this statement. If you spell it "horse's" then you would be saying "All the of horses were happy". That doesn't make any sense, does it? Okay, grammar lesson over. :) 5. Exclamation points are overused. "We went to the park! And we took the dog with us! It was really hot and we got tired! Then we went to the pool to cool off!" Do any of these things annoy you too? Sorry about the grammar lessons in this post. :) -carlotta

and my christmas shopping is...

...DONE!! I was already pretty much done by Tuesday but I needed to get one more little thing for one of my friend's present, which I just got back from getting (aka I went shopping, got some Starbucks, and had some fun. But I got her present too. :)). I'm so relieved everything is done!

Except...

Except now I have to mail some things. I know...I probably should have started shopping earlier...now it's going to be my fault if the things are late...hopefully I'll get everything out by tomorrow though.

Yesterday we finally got our Christmas tree...here's a peek.

(This picture was taken pre-decoration...)

Pictures to come soon!

-carlotta

christmas lights

Remember my picture for this week's Wordless Wednesday? I'll refresh your memory:

Do you like our Christmas decorations? We worked so hard and I think it looks really nice.

Just kidding.

I think I would die before putting up decorations like these. Can you say junky?! Not to mention all the old cars...

Here are a couple pictures of some houses all decked out in Christmas finery...

The Grinch...MeMe and Lilly went wild over this one!

Sadly some people don't know when enough is enough!

I can't decide if I like these two shots or not (above and below)...we were driving so it was kind of hard to get a good picture.

Christmas lights...

This tree is a little...um...odd. I think the tree would have looked better with white lights...it kind of looks like it went through battle or something when it's all red!

And that concludes my 2009 Christmas lights tour! :)

-carlotta

my first follower!!

I'm so excited! I got my first follower (Thanks Moriah!)!!!

Please don't tell me I'm crazy...but I think it's a little obvious if I'm so happy about followers...sigh. The life of a blogger!

wordless wednesday

a message from santa

This site is super cool. It's practically a MUST with younger kids.

All you do is fill out some basic information about the child you are creating the message for. Then you can add a picture, etc. (To see a sample, click here. This is the one I made for MeMe...)

MeMe said she overheard some adults talking last year and she said she heard them saying that Santa wasn't real. Of course they didn't know she was listening...

I'm not sure if she ever really believed what she heard or not. But you should have seen how big her eyes got when she saw the movie Santa made for her! I think she might believe in him again...that was one of my main purposes of the video. :)

bits and pieces

I can't wait until Christmas (or Christmas break for that matter... :))! I can't believe they're only 11 days left...That does not seem possible! Didn't we just celebrate last Christmas?! And I'm so glad that it's my last week of school - then I have two weeks off...ahhh. :)

....

I'm so glad that I'm finished with my science project...I turned it in on Friday. We each had to pick a mineral (mine was gold), fill out a fact sheet, and prepare a PowerPoint presentation with a minimum of 6 slides (I think mine has 9 slides). Then today and Wednesday we give the presentations. I was supposed to give mine today, but we ended up starting 30 minutes later due to tech issues. And the people before me took their sweet time (the presentations are supposed to 5-7 minutes...I think theirs were about 15 minutes...), and I didn't get to do mine today. I was kind of disappointed....I wanted to get it out of the way. Luckily now I'm one of the first people on Wednesday, so we won't run out of time before my presentation.

....

Have you heard? "The" color of 2010 is turquoise! I personally love turquoise...but I can't think of anything I have that color.

But, in honor of turquoise, I present to you...William the Hippo!

Isn't he cute?! I believe he's Egyptian, circa 1900 BC.

....

We took some Christmas pictures (or at least tried to...) today...here a little peek. I looked like a dork in every. single. little. picture. Sigh.

I love giraffes (or still do...)!! I mean, how can you resist this face?!

....

After my bad morning yesterday, things (thankfully) got better. We had some guests over for lunch and we just kind of hung out the rest of the afternoon. Around 7pm we all piled in the car (along with 2 neighbors) and drove around some neighborhoods, looking at Christmas lights. Oh, and we sang. A lot. Loudly. It was fun singing at the top of my lungs to every person I saw. Or I yelled "Merry Christmas". Although I'm not sure if the others liked me singing at the top of my lungs. I hope I didn't damage their ear drums with my wonderfully beautiful horrible voice. Oh well. :) We got home around 8:30 and my friend Reagan (whose birthday it was yesterday) called and asked if I wanted to go to dessert with them. So that was fun. We actually went to a really nice Chinese restaurant (Te Kei's)...it was soo good. We mainly went for dessert, but Reagan and I ended up splitting a meal. Then she got an Asian After-Dinner Mint (according to their website "A hot, rich chocolate chunk brownie crowned with a scoop of peppermint ice cream and topped with hot fudge") and I got a Mount Fuji ("Coffee ice cream, whipped topping and chocolate sauce sandwiched between two crushed chocolate cookie crusts, topped with hot fudge"). It was soo yummy!

Alright, back to Latin homework...

-carlotta