Musical Monday - 12 Days of Christmas & A NaBloPoMo Recap

Ah, the last day of NaBloPoMo.  There were days that I really didn't know what in the world I was going to say, but I was determined that I was going to survive NaBloPoMo.  Many thanks to those of you that stuck in there and read every single day.  A round of applause for you.  :-)

What? You missed one of my trivial posts?  No problem!  Here's a recap:

November 1 - The last of my breast cancer giveaways
November 2 - Musical Monday - I <3 Muse
November 3 - TATT - Chicken Tortilla Bake
November 4 - Bath time for Meadow
November 5 - Kindle? I'm still thinking about it, in case you were wondering.
November 6 - Getting ready for New Moon
November 7 - Christmas cards.  My plan didn't pan out, but I'm banking it for next year.  Email me if you want to be on my card list this year.
November 8 - The joys of grocery shopping/people watching
November 9 - Musical Monday - Veteran's Day Tribute
November 10 - TATT - French Chicken Stew
November 11 - I had a lot of energy, I guess.  Three posts - Veteran's Day, introducing Kirstren's dog Yoda & revealing my new bloggy design.
November 12 - A foray into randomness
November 13 - To tell the relatives about this blog; or not?
November 14 - Regretsy
November 15 - Only weeks until JC comes home!
November 16 - Musical Monday - Home
November 17 - TATT - Rich n' Creamy Potato Casserole
November 18 - Jane sent me a surprise!
November 19 - Romance novels
November 20 - Nope, my family doesn't need to know about my blog.
November 21 - Johnny Depp, sexiest man alive?!
November 22 - Some unique New Moon products
November 23 - Musical Monday - Hallelujah
November 24 - TATT - Corn n' Bean Bake
November 25 - My New Moon review
November 26 - What I'm thankful for
November 27 - Google analytics
November 28 - Beckett's trip to the ER
November 29 - Lazy Sunday
November 30....There's no recap, you're already reading it!

I've decided that every day until Christmas I'm going to post a Christmas song.  First up - The Muppets with the 12 Days of Christmas.  :-)

Lazy Sunday...

Beckett is feeling better after his little ER trip - YAY!  But I'm avoiding going out in the crowds and shopping.  I worked in retail for a while, and had my fill of loud grumpy crowds for at least another few years.

Instead, I'm hanging on the couch with the puppers, playing on the computer and watching season 4 of Bones.  My kind of Sunday.  :-)

What are you up to today?

How To Freak Out Mom - By Beckett

Howdy; Beckett here...

Meadow, Carmella and I have always done a great job freaking out mom.  It's a skill.  We catch birds, mice and chipmunks; Meadow dives off of things; Carmella likes to break free and take runs around the neighborhood; I'm allergic to bees and something in my booster shots.

Mom is ready, or at least as much as she can be, for these types of things.  She dives towards Meadow to catch her; always has Benedryl on-hand for me; a box of treats by the door and an extra leash for Carmella.

What mom wasn't ready for was me choking on WATER!

Meadow and I were playing a little before bedtime and I decided to try and bark at her while drinking.  Wrong move, let me tell you.  I choked and gasped and wheezed...and puked.  Everything was OK for a few minutes after that.  Then, right after mom put on her pjs, I started gasping and choking again.

Off to the Veterinary ER we went.  Mom is asthmatic, so she takes that whole breathing thing pretty seriously.

Turns out I aspirated water.  The doctor thinks I coughed most of it out, thank goodness, but wants mom to watch me like a hawk because if there is still water in my little lungs - it can turn into aspiration pneumonia really quickly.

Momma did have a party to go to on Saturday night; but too bad.  She's staying home with me!

Ruff,
Beckett

Google Analytics

During the summer, after reading a post by Casey, I decided that Google Analytics could be really entertaining.

Then, I forgot ALL about it...until today.

Holy moley, people find me using the oddest searches!  Here are the top ten that make me go "hmmm"...

1. Black holes
2. Banana boats and sunscreen
3. Gold digger
4. Dysfunctional hairdressers
5. Stuff that goes boom
6. Eleanor Roosevelt
7. Startled Spaniels
8. I'm a workaholic and have no life
9. Smiley Princesses
10. What would New Moon sound like if Yoda said it

A few of these make sense, in an odd way... The rest I find a bit baffling.  Do you use Google Analytics?  If so, is there anything on there that makes you laugh?

What I'm Thankful For...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, LADIES!!!!!

Feel free to string me up (or whine at me), but I'm using bullet points for the second post in a row.  I'm a list maker and am fond of bullet points.

What I'm Thankful For This Year.....

• My family.  I've covered it before, but family to me, means the world and I use the term "family" loosely.  These are the people that love me the most, cheer for my successes and pick me up & brush me off when I fail.
• My dogs.  They are smart and amusing and sweet and for some reason love me despite the fact that I work so much.  I didn't choose them; they chose me.  I couldn't imagine my life without them. (Though, I'd love to have a morning where I wasn't woken up by a nose in my eye.  Are you listening Beckett?)
• My job.  There are days that I want to scream from the rooftops how frustrated I am with my job; how I'm going to win the lottery, quit and never look back.  But, the economy stinks and I'm so lucky to have a job.  It's hard to quantify why I love my job - but I do.  I've been there for 6 years, for heavens sake!
• Music.  A great song tells a story - with a fantastic melody and good beat.  "Where words fail; music speaks."  Music has the power to energize, calm, or otherwise change your mood.  I can connect most both the happiest and saddest moment in my life to what was playing on the radio/CD player.
• Insomnia.  There. I said it.  I'm thankful for insomnia.  Given that I work so much - I have no idea what I'd do if I actually slept at night.  There would be so many emails not answered, blog posts not written, books not read and music not listened to.
• Caffeine.  Um, to keep up my insomniac lifestyle, caffeine is a must.  I tried to give it up for lent a few years ago.  It didn't happen.
• Good genes.  Sure, my genes made me a short workaholic who wears contact lenses and gets migraine headaches.  But these genes also gave me the compassion of my dad's mom, the craft skills of my mom's mom, the culinary skills and humor of my mom's dad & organizational skills and wander lust of my dad's dad.  I'm blessed.
• Faith.  I'm thankful for the faith that I have in God.  That He has a plan for me; for the faith that JC and the boys will make it home from their deployment in one piece; for the faith that my Prince Charming is still out there and will eventually sweep me off my feet.
• DVR.  How did I live without the ability to record shows and watch them later?  And being able to rewind and watch pivotal moments again?!  Fantastic-ness!
• All of you.  I started blogging in March and in the past six months have loved getting to know each and every one of you.  Thank you so much for sharing in my life and letting me into yours.

What are you thankful for this year?

A New Moon Review

To sum it up in one sentence - I LOVED THIS MOVIE!

But we all know that I'd never let you all get off that easy.  :-) To make it easier on you (and me), I'm doing this in a bullet pointed "WOOHOO" and "BOO" format.

So, without further adieu,
my New Moon review.
(And I promise to try not to rhyme anymore!)

WOOHOO

• The movie had a much bigger budget and it showed.  The special effects were much better (Hello wolves!) and it had less of an indy film feel.
• The caliper of the acting from the ENTIRE cast went up!  I don't know what happened to Kristen Stewart - but you can feel the angst and depression rolling off her for most of the film. This film isn't going to gain any awards (OK... maybe the Teen Choice Awards and are almost promised something from MTV), but Taylor Lautner did AMAZING!
• Taylor Lautner really beefed up.  He convinced me that really could turn into a wolf.
• I really enjoyed how the director decided to show the passage of time in Bella's initial mourning of Edward.  Circling her and seeing out her window each month was really well done.
• Charlie was portrayed well as the caring dad.  In fact he comes off more caring in the movie than the book.
• Seeing Alice write emails to Alice was great.  Again, not true to the book - but I think it was a well thought-out creative decision.
• The make-up!  All the vampires looked much more natural.  Rosalie and Alice looked beautiful, as did Esme.  Emmett was looking good and the little we saw of Edward was fabulousness.
• The Volturi.  I loved them.  They looked to me on screen the way I envisioned them while I was reading the books, just slightly less frail.  I just want to see more of them.
• I LOVED all the time that was spent in Italy.  Fabulous scenery as they drove to try and save Edward.  The parade scene was so rich and red; loved it!  And seeing Bella and Edward reunite made me cry.
• The vote.  The family vote to make Bella a vampire was EXACTLY what I wanted it to be, and Rosalie got to deliver one of my favorite lines from the book.

BOO

• In a word - Jasper.  The makeup on everyone else looked great, but I don't know what in the world was going on with Jasper.  He looked like he rolled out of bed (and we know that these vampires don't sleep) both times we saw him.
• I really wanted to see more of the Volturri.  They are going to be so important in the next two films - I think that a few more minutes could have been spent introducing them.
• The music.  Maybe it will grow on me.  I enjoyed the music from Twilight right away and I'm having a little more trouble connecting with New Moon's music this time around.
• The ending. I admit; I was a little miffed that they ended where they did. There's more to that book!!!!  It cut off my absolute FAVORITE line of the book.  But, honestly, it will make the next movie that much better.

Only seven months, and a week until Eclipse comes out.  But who's counting?  :-) Want to read more New Moon reviews?  Check out ClassyFabSarah's and ThreeAgainstOne's reviews!

Any volunteers to come watch New Moon with me again?!?!  What did you think of the movie?

 

Tuesdays At The Table - Corn n' Bean Bake

I know I said this last week...but how in the world are the holidays upon us already?!?!  I'm not ready.  Make them slow down.  Or better yet, stop the train until I catch up!

OK... so that isn't going to happen. Sigh.

Last week I put a new spin on mashed potatoes.  I like our traditional green bean casserole... but everyone is reading the back of that French's Onion Rings can and making the same exact thing.  I want to be just a little different this year. When I saw this in November's Taste of Home; I had to try it.

Corn n' Bean Bake

1 package (16 oz) frozen french cut green beans
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (11 oz) consensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers (about 12 crackers)

In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, coup and 1/2 cup of cheese.  Spoon into a greased 2 quart baking dish.  Top with crackers and remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 35 minutes.

What's cooking in your kitchen?