Too early for Holidayitis?

It’s not even Thanksgiving yet and I’m already suffering from teeny tiny bit of Holidayitis. Not that it’s a bad thing… We already have about 15 presents wrapped and ready to go under the tree as soon as we can put it up! I’ve wanted to decorate for the past two weeks!

I don’t know what’s gotten into me, but I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year, and it never seems to last long enough for my liking, so I’ve decided I’ll just start celebrating the holidays before Thanksgiving. It’s not like I’m the only one… all the stores already have Christmas decorations out, and the music channels on television have been playing Christmas music since midnight on Halloween. Now that’s a wee bit too early, I think, but whatever.

We have a very busy December planned this year, and the good news is that starting this week, I won’t have a full 40-hour work week until the beginning of January! Just another reason to love the holiday season… :)

Dream Interpreter Needed!

The past three nights I have had THE STRANGEST dreams, and I’ve remembered every detail in the mornings when I wake up like they really happened. Here’s a recap…

Saturday: Derek and I were on vacation in the mountains with our family friends Carl and Tricia… We went to this resort where it snowed inside and we took Christmas card pictures. There were two little puppies there that needed adopting. We kept saying they were Border Collie mixes, but they looked like really fluffy Golden Retriever/Chow mixes. The dogs were already named (like the little stuffed Pound Puppies used to be) – Carl and Tricia’s brown one was named Caramel and our yellow one was named Biloxi. Then I woke up.

Sunday: Derek and I went to dinner with our friends Wes and Elise on this pirate ship. It was like a pirate ship out of Mario Brothers with the ominous music in the background and cannons firing. But once you got inside, it was like Long John Silvers. The food there was really strange, and I think it made me sick. Afterwards, I left to go volunteer with the Miss America pageant, but it was like the pageant was combined with the Grammy Awards, because I was a backstage “costume changer” for Beyonce. But I woke up before I met her.

Monday: We were running late for an island bachelorette party, so we decided to take a private jet. My friend Claire decided she could fly the jet, but we’d have to fly Santa-style through the snow when we let the top down and the jet turned into a sleigh. We made it to the island after an overnight flight. But then what I thought was a bachelorette party was really a new season of “The Bachelor.” I was the only one who was married, so I left everyone else there and took a train (it was in the air like the Monorail at Disney World) back home. Then I woke up.

I told you they were strange! Anyways, just thought I’d share my subconscious thoughts with you. I’m sure a dream interpreter would have a great time telling me how crazy I am…

Happy 71st and 26th!

We had a pretty quiet weekend as we're still trying to get totally well from these colds we've had all week. We had a few friends over Friday night for some fall deck-sitting, and Saturday Derek went into work for a couple of hours while I had a "me" day complete with a mani/pedi and 90-minute massage. It was FANTASTIC.

We hit the road to Vicksburg late yesterday afternoon to grill steaks at Katie and Neil's in honor of Mamaw's and Ryan's birthdays. It was a bit calmer than last year's Magnolias and Moonshine night at the VFW, but it was fun just the same. Ryan Hadley was as cute as ever and was pretty patient about waiting until after dinner to eat birthday cake.

She did get a little upset when Uncle Derek told her it actually wasn't a birthday party for her but for Mamaw and Ryan instead. Poor little girl... January 9th is just right around the corner. :)

Today we slept late, and Derek did some early Christmas shopping while I went to Pilates. Homemade chicken and dumplings and the Saints game were also on the agenda for this afternoon, both of which I'd consider a definite success.

A quiet weekend was just what we needed after last weekend's fun. Happy Birthday, Ryan and Mamaw! Now we just need to rest up some more for the holidays... :)

Oh, Friday, long time, no see...

I'm so glad it's finally Friday!! This has been quite a week... I stayed home sick on Monday and am finally feeling close to recovered today, but then I passed whatever germs I had to Derek, so he stayed home yesterday with my germs AND a stye in his eye. It's been a sickly week at the Grey house. At least the week's almost over!

I'm looking forward to a NINETY minute massage tomorrow (thanks, Mom and Dad, for that fabulous Christmas gift last year!) and it's coming at a perfect time. Work has been slammed with swine flu business lately, and I'm ready to relax.

We plan on staying pretty close to home this weekend and taking it easy. Last weekend was fun, but I think I am still in recovery mode. I just need a little peace and quiet and some R&R. Weekend, here I come...

Boo!!!

It was a dark and stormy night... and the perfect way to kick off the Halloween weekend! Friday night we made impromptu zombie costumes and braved the stormy weather to go to a party in Belhaven.

I let Derek do our makeup and “bloody” us up to look like real zombies. Who knew sticking wet oatmeal on your skin and coloring it with fake blood looks like fresh flesh? Nastiness… Now we know the true secrets of Hollywood makeup artists. :)

Our ripped and muddy jeans were perfect for the rainy weather, and our costumes were a total hit! I know this because no one really wanted to stand that close to us at the party. I think they were scared we’d bite a chunk out of their arm or something. It was fun to be scary for the night!

It wasn’t until Saturday that we debuted our REAL Halloween costumes… Ringo Starr and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!!!

We were pretty pleased with ourselves, and our idea proved to be real a crowd-pleaser, too. Derek beat out some really good other ones to WIN the best overall costume at the Crawdad Hole. Yes, he won $60 cash! Here's Ringo making his acceptance speech...

Then later on at Sportsman’s, we WON again the couples’ costume contest, winning ourselves a free bar tab for the night! It was a very successful Halloween, I would say. We had a great time, and our costumes paid for themselves, plus our night out! Can’t beat that! Our hard work paid off... now we just have to step up our game for next year! :)

A little Sullivan

My friend Lauren and her husband, Jay, welcomed their first child, Cooper Jacob Sullivan, into the world on Tuesday. Word on the street is that he "was really long with big feet and came out with a smile!"

Congrats on the precious new addition, Jay and Lauren! We can't wait to meet Baby Cooper!!

Arts and Crafts Time!!

Last night we finally finished my Halloween costume… without giving away too much, let’s just say it involves lots of cotton balls, some glitter paint, rhinestones, white-out, Sharpie markers, fake flowers and a hot glue gun. I think you’ll be very impressed once you see the finished product!

Okay, here’s a hint…

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies.

Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly, a girl with kaleidoscope eyes..."

This is actually the first time I’ve ever really put effort into making a costume, AND it actually goes with Derek’s costume. I’m pretty excited about it and ready to show it off this weekend!

In other Halloween-related news, we have celebrated the week in true Derek fashion with scary movies almost every night… Sunday night was “Edward Scissorhands” and Monday night was “The Shining.” He’s also recorded every possible sequel, etc., of “Halloween” including the original with Jamie Lee Curtis and of course “Friday the 13th.”

Since this really is Derek’s favorite holiday, I try to humor him. We can watch whatever silly horror movie he wants this week because you better believe we’ll be watching every old-school Christmas movie that I want to record when December rolls around. :)