And I'm Spent

December 26th.  Boxing Day.  The final day off of my three day weekend.  Granted, next weekend is also a three day weekend so you won't hear me complaining.  But after the anticipation of Christmas and its subsequent passing it is kind of nice to see it on its way out the door.  I don't mind turning off the Christmas carols for about 10 months or so.

The kids managed to get a ton of toys from mommy, daddy, grandparents, and the big S.  Elora got a Leappad, which is pretty cool if you don't mind your kid staring at a screen for long hours at a time.  I don't.  I do it myself.  They might as well get used to it if they plan on working for their living.  Or if they plan to write a blog on their smartphone while their kids watch "The Coneheads" while curled up with their daddy.  Because that's how things get done, kids.  

Colter got a rocking horse that whinnies and shakes its tail, who goes by the name of Horse. He yells "YAH" very loudly and very repeatedly. This is in addition to the soft body, realistic T-Rex that he yells "RAWR" on a loud, repeated basis as well.   The kids spent the whole day with unbrushed teeth and had candy for breakfast, and I had several spicy red beers and tried (unsuccessfully) to watch the last Indiana Jones movie.  It was a pretty nice day.

Mommy and daddy managed to get a new 360 and Kinect with some of the gift money we got, and my mom got me silverware and new kitchen utensils that I both wanted/needed, and a pair of fuzzy Hello Kitty pants that make my mind melt with their softness.  Thad got a big fuzzy soft robe and some grill accessories. 

Christmas is always a little magical because I get to spend some time with my friend Jen, who you may recall from a little blog post I put up a few months ago after her last visit.  We had an effing amazing time out on Friday night.  Many beers were consumed (Hoegarden!  Cause we're hoes!) and a few songs were sung.  I really need to expand my karaoke repertoire on of these days, I do "Me and Bobby McGee" because I rock it, but I should start keeping a list of songs on my phone so I have a library of songs I would love to sing.  And I'm making it a personal quest to get out to Portland this year to visit her and go on a culinary journey of epic proportions. 

Coming up this weekend: a mulligan on my birthday movie night with Morgan.  "Young Adult" never came to Billings, so we have decided to go with "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and some Burger Dive.  And our New Years Eve will be spent at home, making Vietnamese food and have a few friends over.  I haven't looked forward to New Years Eve in a while, since the days before we had kids when we spent every year partying in a cabin in Red Lodge.  2012 is going to be awesome, I just feel it in my bones!

Celebrity Headlines

I am a daily reader of snarky gossip, specifically wwtdd and thesuperficial (I also occasionally reference dlisted when I am in need of a big flaming heap of ridiculousness like Prince Hot Ginge and Rojo Caliente).  I had clicked a link to read a little blurb about Jennifer Aniston (who I love loathe, and also pity) when I see that Demi Lovato has died her hair red.

I wondered what it would be like for every mundane detail of my life to be broadcast as it is for a celebrity (especially headlines that include BIG WORDS And smaller text that usually indicates something less shocking than the giant text)  so I decided to put them into a draft titled "Mary Rose's Celebrity Headlines", which I may or may not revert to a draft again later and add to (if I were a betting woman I would probably put my money on the "may not" in that statement).


Without further ado.....  
Mary Rose's  
LARGE CELEBRITY HEADLINES 2011
Where the glamorous meets the ridulousness, with a dash of sassy!

- MR GOES ON 

HAIR HYGIENE STRIKE!
"I will wash my hair when all other children can wash their hair" says working mother of 2 (Sources reveal she's just lazy).

-SECRET SHOCKING 

LIES MARY ROSE TELLS HER CHILDREN!
When will she tell them there really is no "secret camera to the North Pole" in the cookie jar?!?!

-SWAN FAMILY 
BARELY HANGING ON!
"The holidays usually requires a minimum of 2 thirty-packs, and Mary only bought one!", a source close to the family reveals.


That's all I have at the moment.  I could work for more, but then it wouldn't feel as organic as these headlines did.  Which is why I probably couldn't work for any newpaper in the world.

From boobs voyage

Since this might be my last post before Christmas (holy crap, it's Christmas already!) I am including a holiday-esque picture of the kids I took this morning. Elora makes a weird face instead of smiling, and Colter is just.... Colter. Man, I love these two. They pretty much rock my world on a daily basis.

What's on my mind right now?

- Breakfast for dinner.... French toast, breakfast links filled with Wisconsin cheese, maybe a little fruit (canned, but still fruit).

- 81 days until Chico Weekend 2012 with McWirth's.  March might be too long for my muscles to go without a soak in the restorative waters, so Elora might get a birthday trip there in January. I heart Olympia in a natural hot spring when it's snowing.  What can I say, I have discerning taste.

- Christmas shopping.  Have to figure out what to get my bro/sis in law (any suggestions Jamie?) and nieces and nephews.  I'm glad I took Friday off to finish up without kids around. 

- Christmas music has been my non-stop soundtrack for 2 weeks, including all weekend long.  I can't do anything but sing them, hum them, sing them some more.  In the car, at work, then in the car, then in every store I go into, and also at home.  I'm just going to let this holiday current drag me offshore like an undertow, further and further from the Mary Rose that finds all this holiday BS completely ridiculous.  And BTW, I just realized that after this weekend it IS Christmas.  I'm so glad this madness is almost over!

- Saturday = birthday date with my hetero lifemate, Mrs. McWirth.  "Young Adult", then tapas at Walker's.  I've been craving their steamed clams in a delicious broth of .... deliciousness.  And a loaf of crusty bread for dipping.  And calamari.  Plus, Charlize Theron looks awesome as a mean girl, so I must admit I'm happy we picked the perfect weekend to watch a movie I'm actually looking forward to with genuine anticipation.

- I hate how news stories like this make me feel about the country I live in (we're kind of a bunch of assholes, is what how I'm interpreting this).  THE EXTREME RIGHT WING HAS AN AGENDA TOO, PEOPLE, IT'S CALLED DUMBING DOWN AMERICA.  If we're dumber they can control us.  I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

- Colter says "help me" a lot.  He just did it, as a matter of fact.  He also kisses me, then wipes his mouth and says "ew".  I did this once to him because his kiss covered my mouth with snot one day, and now he won't let me forget it.

- Elora is almost 5.  Did you hear that?  That's the sound of the wind being knocked from my lungs.  She's tall enough to wash her hands nearly completely unaided at the kitchen sink.  She doesn't quite reach the handle for the faucet, but STILL.  She loves to have her back tickled for an a length of time that I would say borders on extreme, but I do it anyways. 

- Work is.... sigh.  Tis the season to be pretty much up to our eyeballs anyways, and add to it that we're running a little understaffed and that makes for a very busy day.  But I'm excited for some upcoming projects I've been asked to work on.  I loooooove when I get handpicked for a project, my little brown nose practically glows with delight!!

- We're set for a weekend of houseguests (In-laws, holla!) and I am trying to think of a real "wow" something to make.  Thad pulled up a recipe for Horseradish Crusted Steak Roulade, which seems a little optimistic, but also quite delicious.

- Thad and I are considering a tropical vacation, mommy and daddy only, in late 2012, early 2013.  We've almost been married for 10 years, and neither of us has ever needed a passport.  Now, to figure out where to go!

- Love my hair.  Love it curly.  Love it straight.  Love the length, the style, I can't believe I fought this look for so long.  Never fighting again.

Alright, time to start beating my children into submission (i.e. making them brush their teeth before bed).  Thanks to everyone for making my last post with pictures of my boobs the most successful blog post I've ever had.  I'm glad I have such a large group of internet creepers that wanted to see how my boobs look.  You all make me so proud.

Internet, say hello to....

My little friends. 

Elora took this snap today when I asked her to take a picture of my bed head.  I think that it captures the childlike wonder of the new breasts,  the promise of possibilities and the return of my ability to believe. I'm simply overflowing with Blarney today.  I have to say that I am having a great morning with my children and Elora is going to be a very smart kindergartener.  Maybe the smartest ever.

I added a picture of my favourite blouse (I love the word blouse).  This was super cheap at Ross and I love it.  Too bad the day I wore it to work I had chills and body aches and had to wear a sweater over it.

The fine line between "Thrifty" and "Cheap"

This weekend I went shopping for new clothes with a dear friend of mine, Angie of recent "Malarial Outbreak 2011" fame.  Angie has known me a long time, and in the course of our friendship I have asked her on several occasions to shop with me when I need new clothes.  Because I am frightfully cheap and sometimes need someone to talk me IN to purchasing things.  Ludicrous, I know.

She ended up helping me wrangle a healthy chunk of change into submission on a shitload of awesomeness.  I've spent all week wearing the work-appropriate garb that we picked up, and I have loved all of it.  I have one blouse/slacks combo that hasn't been worn yet, just waiting to my pants to be hemmed, but she got me some really excellent stuff.

If I were a better photographer, or someone who wasn't complete lazy when it comes to taking pictures, I would have pictures of all these fabulous outfits.  But I'm not neither of those things, so you are left with the following verbal description of our plunder: 1 fitted short jacket, 1 pair black pants, 2 pairs grey pants, 2 pairs khakis, 4 blouses, 2 sweater, 1 sweater dress, 1 pair of suede flat knee-high boots (kids size 4, holla for having doll-size feet!), and some hosiery. 

My favorite parts about shopping with Angie are as follows:

- She's a great person to spend an afternoon with, and a glass of wine/beer.
- She has a great eye, and a great sense of style.  She's putting this sweater together with that belt, and calculating how many layering tanks you'll need to make this sweater work.  She can also talk me into tailoring, which is kind of a feat in itself.
- She's incredibly frugal, which is the only reason why I trust her to really encourage purchases she knows that I might balk at price-wise but will appreciate in the long run.  She dresses like an East Coast woman on a trailer park woman's budget!

I hope that somehow she gets to make this gift she has into something she could do for a living.  If any woman could acquire a small nest of egg of clothes buying money (and really, it doesn't take a fortune when you know where to look) Angie could help you spend it and walk away with no buyers remorse.

Hit me up if you're interested in seeing what Miss Angie can do for you, and be prepared to try on lots of clothes.  She doesn't put up with anyone saying their tired while trying on their 3rd top.  Trust me, I know.

The eve of 31

Well, in about 15 minutes (don't check the timestamp, as it will be incorrect) I turn 31.  Here are a few thoughts on this being the Friday night before my birthday:

I don't miss going to bars to celebrate events.  I know that sounds ridiculous after the whole Boobs Voyage thing, but that event was the "event".  Sometimes you just really want a reason to get your friends together in one place and have something to celebrate.  Tonight I'm not feeling "it".  I haven't really felt "it" since my surgery, and I can't say I miss "it".

I'm staring to feel a tickle in my nose, accompanied with stuffy runniness.  Excellent.  NOT.

Tonight was the company Christmas party for my work, and I did get to wear my flapper dress one more time this year, which was the whole reason I paid the exorbitant sum that I did to buy it before Halloween.  There was a hypnotist, and I volunteered to be hypnotized.  I guess I'm more susceptible to hypnotism than I thought, because while I do recall bits and pieces of what I did, I also had a huge amount of focused blank spot induced by yoga breathing and I was the most relaxed I've ever been afterwards.

Well, by the time I got this much typed my words are nearly being written with my eyes clothes, I'm that exhausted.  And it's 12:03 on 12:03!  Bedtime for me so I can get up for my bountiful basket at 7 am and going shopping for new clothes!  What an awesome way to spend your birthday.  I might even splurge on a dinner of splendiferous Indian food, you just never know!  I love birthdays for the excuse to do whatever you want (although my dreams rarely become reality).  Take care this 12/3!

Post-Thanksgiving Giving of Thanks

So last week I didn't even wind up getting drunk and still didn't manage to get a Thanksgiving blog in, so I'm remedying the situation a week by sharing some gratitude in written form.

First, I need to thank my mothers.  Both my own mother and my mother-in-law are the best grandmothers my kids could ask for.  My mother has taken care of me through a lot of serious medical issues, so I was grateful to have her there for something that was actually going to be a positive for my health.  My mother-in-law is amazing, she's truly the best "other mother" I could ask for.  She loves me like her own and I'm blessed to have her in my life (you too, Papa Bryan).

Thad, you are my rock, even when you are not always terribly nice to me.  You put up with some of my more amazing shenanigans and still manage to love me unconditionally, even when you don't seem to like me (it's true, we're like cats and dogs sometimes).  You stuck with me during really crappy stuff, you've been there when our children came into the world and you've been an amazing father and husband.  You're my viking, and I love you so big it surprises me sometimes.

Elora and Colter, thank you for being so good for your grandparents when you spent time with them in Colstrip.  You got spoiled rotten, which is the best part of staying with grandparents, and I am so happy you're home, you're healthy (at the moment) and you're mine.

MORGAN- you're the yin to my yang.  I love that you live life like you're rolling nothing but Yahtzee's, and I so appreciate your coming and spending the day with me after surgery.  I'm looking forward to our bestie vacation in February (Chico!), and I fully expect my own pan of homemade Snickers this year!  Love you, bunny!

I have a lot of other folks that wished me luck and checked on my progress after surgery, so thank you all for your kind wishes and your prayers.  I'm attending my company Christmas Party tomorrow night and I hope to get a nice picture so I can post some pictures of my "after".

Only 24 more shopping days until Christms!  Yikes, I better get on it!