My feet hurt. Will you rub them for me? No? Well fine then!

Seriously, though, my feet are killing me. That is what I hate most about cleaning - being on my feet all day long. I know it’s partially my own fault because I am very anti-shoe. Okay, I’m not anti-shoe when I’m outside of my own house, but when I am? No shoes. HATE shoes. I also hate socks pretty much always, but that’s another story. Anyway, walking and standing around the house with no shoes on all day tends to make them ache. So achy feet.

The Scooba is Scooba-ing the great room right now, so I’m taking a break in the bedroom with LG to download some pictures off my camera so I can charge the battery tonight for the big day tomorrow.

Mike spent a couple of hours decorating her Mickey Mouse cake. It is sooo darn cool. I really should devote an entire post just to that. And I might. You never know. She hasn’t seen it yet, nor will she until tomorrow. She knows she’s getting a Mickey cake, and she has even said she’s going to eat one of his ears. But she won’t see it until tomorrow and I bet she is going to be soooo thrilled.

Mike was having a good old time with the decorating. Which is a good thing because not only do I suck at decorating, I can’t even frost a cake and make it look decent. It is something that makes me very sad, but I guess that is why we marry the people we do - they fill in the missing pieces to your puzzle, right? Or theoretically that’s why. But Mike used to make models - train scenery, for instance, and then he worked for a lawyer for awhile making models for court cases. He’s really really good at details, so he had fun.

Have you ever watched Ace of Cakes on the Food Network? Mike loves that show. He is not a big fan of the Food Network (unlike me - I fall asleep with it on practically every night…lol), except for Good Eats and Ace of Cakes. So today, he called himself “Jack of Cakes”. Those of you who know us in real life will get the double meaning there. But either way, I thought it was pretty funny.

Oh let’s see what else is going on in HeartSongs land? Mike and I are considering building an addition to the house that will become a recording studio (yes Marlene and Rochelle - be still your beating hearts - not happening anytime soon…lol) and possibly a home-based business that Mike will run with the leader of his band. This is just a tiny seed of an idea right now, but I think it will be cool. Mike loves it when I plant ideas in his head…lol! But really, it was a selfish idea because I want our Generations band to make a cd. ;)

More later? Maybe. If I have time to write the Mickey Mouse cake post. Otherwise, you’ll see me when you see me. ;)

So, it’s Friday, November 30. Which means two things. First, it means it’s the last day of NaBloPoMo! And so I’m putting up this post just in case I don’t manage to get a better one up. I want to make sure I have posted today. It would stink to screw up on the last day wouldn’t it? Second, it means LG’s birthday party is tomorrow and we’re doing the last crazy cleaning and getting ready we can do.

Normally, we’d have a little time in the morning, but instead we’re having a rehearsal for Generations. Traditionally, we have not had a rehearsal for Generations on the day of LG’s party, but because the musician who is doing the Advent Mission next week is doing Generations with us this month, we were going to have a rehearsal with him. Of course, it ends up that he’s not going to be here in time for the rehearsal due to unforeseen circumstances, so we could have not scheduled it for the morning. But that’s life right?

My cool thing I was telling you about yesterday is an iRobot Scooba we got for a scream on Woot.com a couple of weeks ago. (I’d give you a link, but I just don’t have time to look for one, so google it if you’re so inclined.) We had it going and going and it didn’t seem to be doing anything, so Mike stopped it and figured out what was wrong, then started it up again and it finally worked. But the battery had worn down, so it’s charging again. Oh well. Hopefully it will mop the floors and we won’t have to kill ourselves trying to do it.

Anyway, our weekend is jam-packed, but I’ll be posting about LG’s birthday party and birthday at some point. Might not be until next week, but it will happen!

If this is it for me today, well have a great weekend. :)

Two more days of NaBloPoMo. I can totally do this. Yes I can!

So today I went to the grocery store to get all the food and stuff for the party on Saturday. Then I stopped at Hallmark because I realized that I had forgotten to get my child a birthday card. I suck. And also because I had forgotten to get her a Christmas ornament (a traditional birthday gift in our house). And also I needed to get my father a birthday card since he’ll be here on Saturday and his birthday is the 7th. And that saves me a stamp.

And then I came home, dumped off the groceries and headed to Michael’s to get some frosting coloring for the Mickey Mouse cake. Marlene, bless her, had black and dropped it off while I was gone. I just had to get the skin tone. Why does Mickey Mouse have skin tone??? No idea. But he does. Go ahead and look if you don’t believe me.

Now we are cleaning. And cleaning. And cleaning. I. hate. cleaning. Which is why we have so much work to do. Did I mention Mike is home today? He is totally home today and is not going. anywhere. I forbid it! ;)

And throughout all of that, I’m tracking Rochelle’s boyfriend’s flight from Japan to Phoenix because she is at school with no computer and it makes her feel better when I text her updates. What is scary is that I know his itinerary better than she does. I’m not at all sure I’m okay with that…lol!

And, also I’m waiting for my package to arrive from FedEx. More on that later. Or tomorrow. Whenever I get the chance to use it. Because it’s so! cool! Or at least I hope it is.

Anyway, nothing exciting going on in these here parts, but I have to post, so you get this. Lucky you.

I make up silly songs all the time. For instance, one day, I made up a song about raspberry yogurt. LG loves that one.

Some days I make up songs and I totally forget them, and then LG asks me to sing them days later. I try to get her to sing them to me instead, but that doesn’t always work very well.

One day she wanted to hear “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Not the most exciting song to sing, so I spiced it up a bit. I jazzed up the melody and after every verse I added a chorus of “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” just for fun.

The other day, some show on television mentioned “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” and LG immediately piped up with, “That’s the Mary Had a Little Lamb song!” I think I may have brainwashed my child. ;)

Since LG’s birthday is making me a ball of stress because I don’t know how to get everything done and fit everything in, I think we should just start celebrating her birthday when she was supposed to be born.

January 25 is a much less stressful time don’t you think? I’ll show her who’s boss! Little Miss I Had to Come Eight Weeks Early. HA! ;)

Having a child with a December birthday is tough, I’m telling you. For one thing, most of her presents for the year all come in one month. For another, I don’t feel right about doing much decorating for Christmas before her birthday because I don’t want her birthday to be overshadowed. And besides all of that, I have way too many things on my mind in December.

So, my mind is going a million miles an hour with trying to get ready for her birthday party, trying to get ready for Generations, trying to get ready for company, and of course you can’t help but have Christmas thoughts going through your head of everything you need to get done, even if you are putting it off until after the birthday is over.

I’m exhausted and December hasn’t even begun yet.

Okay, so I didn’t manage to get this post written yesterday, but I still have four days left of NaBloPoMo, so I need blog fodder anyway!

We rarely ever do anything on Sunday other than the occasional family get together and of course church stuff. The main reason for this is that Mike has gigged Friday and Saturday night and he usually gets home at a ridiculous hour of the morning so he’s too tired to get up and go anywhere.

However, no gigs this weekend equalled a Mike with ENERGY! So, we went to Maricopa Live Steamers which is a railroad heritage preservation society. They have mini trains and several lines that they run (almost) every Sunday from noon to 4 pm. For free. Mike is a train buff and LG loves them, too. The trains are just wide enough for one person to ride fairly comfortably. (Read on …)

Bigger post coming later - with pictures!

Thing 1: When you change the shirt you have on, because it’s probably going to be too hot, right before you walk out the door to go to church, you might also want to change your shoes, or you will notice in the middle of mass that your shoes do not in any way, shape or form match your shirt and it will drive you crazy the rest of mass. And you also might write notes about it to your friends and make them giggle and then all three of you will get “the look” from the choir director (who is also your husband).

Thing 2: It is not pleasant when you go to pick up your prescription only to be told you can’t have it because the idiot that the pharmacy clerk talked to at the insurance company said your insurance termed on Nov 16 and wouldn’t restart until Dec 1. What universe does that make ANY SENSE in? Of course, when I came home and called the insurance myself they said it termed Nov. 30 and restarted Dec. 1. Which actually does make sense. So now I have to make another trip to the pharmacy to get my frigging prescription. ARGH!

Thing 3: LG is having a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday party. I went to Wal-Mart to get the party supplies today. The first good thing was that the Mickey Mouse birthday stuff is on clearance and very very cheap. The second good thing was that they still had enough of everything I needed. So that almost makes up for the pharmacy stupidity. Almost.

Scroll down for Surfer Sunday

Last night, with Mike not gigging again, we made our way out to Glendale Glitters, the local Christmas lights festival. The weather was perfect. There was just enough nip in the air to make it feel like Christmas, but it wasn’t cold enough to be uncomfortable. Two layers and we were all fine. Well, LG loves to wear her “mitten glubs” and her hat, so she was nice and toasty. (Read on …)

Everybody Needs Gadgets

A digital camera for kids.

Food! Glorious Food!

I love me some dip. Here are 9 hot and cold dips for every occasion.

The big football playoff/bowl season is upon us, so here are some simple snacks for your favorite football fans.

Help with leftovers and not just the Thanksgiving ones!

More ideas for leftovers.

And even more!

And one more link about leftovers.

Creative Stuff

Add variety to your photos.

Homemade bath salts and soaks.

Zoo photography

Need a dining room table? Here’s how to build one in an hour.

Tips for photographing your pet.

I’m going to ask my mother-in-law for an apron for Christmas, but if she can’t make me one, here are several patterns I might try.

Happy Holidays

Kitchen Contraptions Holiday Gift Guide.

Make a Christmas tree pop-up card.

Another list of places to find gifts not made in China.

Create your own bows.

I try never to miss Oprah’s favorite things show. But if you did, here’s the list.

This little ornament calculator tells you how many ornaments you need for your tree. I need one that tells me how many trees I need for my ornaments. ;)

Techno Geekery

Buying tickets to an event? See what seats are available online.

Custom ringtones - for your email inbox!

Life Is a Highway

Home maintenance checklist.

Lest you forget, here’s a reminder on how to set the table.

250 tips for public speaking.

How to tie a tie.

How energy efficient is your home?

A great article on J.K. Rowling.

Too Much Time on My Hands

Make your own superhero.

Touch the bubbles. (It’s not as bad as it sounds!)

I love making snowflakes!

I’m 57% Dixie. What are you?

Weekly Features

Pretty recipe of the week

Pretty recipe of the week 2

Tip of the week

Fall in the desert doesn’t exactly come gradually, but winter usually comes suddenly. Yesterday was the first day in months that I didn’t have the AC on for at least a few minutes while I had the oven on. Yesterday, we didn’t even have the windows open or the fans on and it was still cool, almost cold.

But this morning, I knew winter had finally made its sudden arrival in the desert. I walked out to open the gate while Mike was buckling LG into her car seat, and the biting wind whipped around me. Fall brings soft, cool breezes that promise relief from the oppressive heat of summer. But winter winds bring a chill to your bones.

I’d barely gotten used to it being fall, and now it’s winter. Time for sweaters and coats and socks and no more flip-flops. Now it’s really starting to feel a lot like Christmas. Just in time.

Mike and I went to see Enchanted tonight. And I highly recommend seeing it. Young, old, male, female, it’s a movie for the whole family. It’s full of sweet corniness and homages to Disney fairy tales. Amy Adams was amazing. This may be my favorite Disney movie ever.

NaBloPoMo? Yes, it’s still November, and therefore I must fulfill my daily NaBloPoMo obligation. And I’ve decided. I’m starting every paragraph in this post with a one word question. Because I can. And I’m all about overkill. Once or twice in a post is effective. More than that? Maybe slightly annoying. ;)

Shopping? As you might be able to tell, I’m not out shopping today. I usually lock myself in my house and don’t come out on Black Friday, mostly because I’m scared of all the crazy people. Not that all people who shop on Black Friday are crazy. Just some of them. And I’m afraid. Ahem.

Also? It’s cold. I woke up this morning and when I got out of bed, I was cold. What is up with THAT? As I type this, it’s 10:45 AM and 56 degrees! The high is supposed to be 70, but I’m not holding my breath that it will make it out of the 60s. You’d think it was November or something. Sheesh.

Thanksgiving? Was nice. We did mass first thing in the morning. Okay, not first thing, but it felt like it. Being at church at 9 am is first thing in the morning in my world. LG was actually really really REALLY good. I was proud of her. I didn’t even hear her little voice one time during mass. But she was still, as usual, cracking everyone up. She’s good at that. Rochelle’s sister took her outside on the playground before mass and wore her out. I think that helped. Especially considering she woke up in a CRANKY mood and I wasn’t sure I was going to make it to church, but it worked out.

Then? We went to Mike’s parents’ house. His cousins and two of his siblings were there (the other was out of state). Lots of food. I got compliments on my Butternut Squash Puree, and I was happy there was plenty left over. There was seriously soooo much food, you could only take a small portion of everything or you’d explode.

And? Remember how I mentioned Mike wasn’t working this weekend? Well then he was. And I was sad. But now he’s not working again. Well, he’s working today, but not tonight or tomorrow night. He found this out yesterday while we were at Thanksgiving dinner. So last night we made all sorts of impromptu plans for the weekend. The best being that Mike’s cousin is coming to babysit tonight and we are going to see Enchanted. Yay!

So? I am running out of one word questions. Which means I need to finish this post. But I’ll be back. You know I will.

This year wasn’t exactly the best year of my life. Neither was it the worst. So I’m thankful for that.

I’m thankful for my husband, who works so hard to take care of us so I can be home with Little Girl where I want to be. And he puts up with me. Even when I’m cranky.

I’m thankful for my sweet daughter, even when she is cranky, because cranky or not, she is a blessing beyond any other blessing I’ve ever been given.

I’m thankful for Melody who patiently and lovingly puts up with the attention of an almost three year old. She protects the house, she comes when she is called, she is our companion.

I’m thankful for the fact that my father is still around so that my daughter can know who he is.

I’m thankful for Mike’s parents who are always willing to help in so many ways, not the least of which is to care for their granddaughter whenever we need them to.

I’m thankful for our house, unfinished though it is. I know that it is where we are meant to be, and it is home.

I’m thankful for the gifts God has given me - especially my music and my creativity.

I’m thankful for my mom, because I know she’s with me and is a part of me.

I’m thankful for my best friend who makes me laugh and cry and always listens.

I’m thankful for my other good friend who keeps me company on instant messenger when I’m lonely.

I’m thankful for my goddaughter who fills me with pride.

I’m thankful for her siblings, especially her big sister, who help me so much with Little Girl when I need it the most.

I’m thankful for the friends that have reappeared in my life after an absence, and I hope they stick around for a long time.

I’m thankful for all of the people in our life who make up our village and who are a part of our lives.

I’m thankful for my blogging buddies who make up my little community, and for those who no longer blog, but are still a part of my life.

And most of all, I’m thankful that I have so very many things to be thankful for.

May you have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving and may you spend it with someone you love.

It’s amazing how much sewing you can get done when your sewing table is cleaned off. Ahem.

This evening I’ll be making pumpkin pies - one to keep, one to go to the in-laws for dinner tomorrow. I’ll also be making the Pioneer Woman’s Butternut Squash Puree and hopefully there will be some left to take to dinner tomorrow. Double Ahem.

Tomorrow morning we’ll be going to mass (including LG who will be sitting with Rochelle’s little sister, and I hope she doesn’t hate us afterwards). I’m not usually a Thanksgiving morning mass goer. In fact, I think the last time I went to Thanksgiving mass was before Mike and I were married. (Hey! NOT a Holy Day of obligation!) But, I wrote the psalm refrain and the music director wants me to sing it, so since we have someone for LG to sit with, I don’t have much of an excuse not to go.

Tomorrow there will be the ubiquitous thankfulness post. And I do have a lot to be thankful for. And I’m thankful for it every day, just so you know. But it probably doesn’t hurt to remember that out loud now and then.

So, if you don’t get a chance to stop by tomorrow, I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving. And to those of you in other countries who aren’t celebrating Thanksgiving, well have a great Thursday (or Friday as the case may be).