Fa, la, la, la - A Christmas Carol - Not to Remember

Last night, Ham, Hubs and I enjoyed a Family Date Night.  When we added Ham's grandma and papa, it became even more fun!  We started with a nice meal at the Elephant Bar and then headed over to the mall to visit Santa.  Ham was so excited and we had prepped him up (big time) for what to expect when meeting Santa so he wasn't too shy.  None-the-less, Ham was still VERY shy.  He did manage to tell Santa what he wanted...barely.  "I want a Buzz Lightyear," he said so softly the poor old Santa could barely hear him.  Then, being the fabulous Santa that he is, he takes Ham's hand and says, "Well...what about Woody?"  Boom...Ham smiles, ice is broken.  We didn't get much of a smile for the photo as so many people were watching, but Ham couldn't stop talking about how cool it was to see Santa.

After Santa time, I got to do a little shopping, which was great because Santa's helper gave me a 20% off coupon to Gymboree and I got to add that to the already amazing 30-40% off sale inside Gymboree.  This girl got deals, y'all!!!

Then off to see A Christmas Carol with Jim Carey.  DDUUUDDDEEE!!!  DO NOT TAKE YOUNG CHILDREN TO THIS MOVIE!!!!!  I had not been warned.  I thought it looked cute, it was Disney, it was animated, it was CHRISTMAS, but I was SOOO very wrong.  The Dickens story is still as timeless as ever and I love the story.  The imagery and graphics in the movie were amazing and totally awesome.  BUT...it was darn right scary!  I mean, I kept elbowing Hubs because I could not figure out what in the world they were doing with this movie.  I think I prayed the whole way through that it wouldn't scare my kid, but he was in a popcorn coma so I think he generally survived it although he did sleep in our room last night, but OMG!!!  Outrageous.  It's just Tim Burton "ish" scary.  Totally threw me for a loop.  I guess I'm going to stick with the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol from now on.  And...I must be honest...confession time here...it SCARED me.  Anyway, it wasn't all for naught as Ham really understood the story for a 3 1/2 year old.  Even my parents were astounded by the production.  Of course my dad recalled being a kid and how scary he thought the Christmas Carol was back then.  "I never really found it scary dad," I told him.  Come to find out, it's because the only version he'd let us watch was the Mickey Mouse one.  ;-p  Gotta love parents.  Live and learn.

Ham at the Elephant Bar

 

Ham and Mommy (aka Freddae', aka me) at dinner

 

Ham with Santa.  We got this much of a smile because Santa starting tickling him.

Good work, Santa!

~ My Project ~

This is my office.  This is my office on Christmas.  This is my office

due to the affects of a long, crazy, semester at seminary that is

quickly coming to an end with finals, projects and papers.

This is my office which has now become the household "junk drawer".

This is my office which has no functionality whatsoever.

This is my office which needs my help.

These are photos of my horribly embarassing yet 'representative of my life' office

which I have chosen to share with you as a motivator to tackle this project

on my "To Do...NOW" list.

Stay tuned to see how long it takes me to take this office and in the words of

Tim Gunn, "Make it Work!"

* The following is not for the weak of heart or successfully organized maidens.*

Proceed with Caution!

 

 

I promise, there is a couch under there somewhere.

 

At one point, this was a desk.

 

Oh the horror and shame!  **Head hung VERY low**