The Christmas Cow

A couple of weeks ago, we entered our local Meijer store to do some grocery shopping. As I turned to get a cart, Brad immediately rushed over to the Christmas display. I turned around to see him with his arm around a lighted Christmas cow (kind of strange - they had a pig, too). Then Brad proceeded to moo at me. Loudly.

A couple of nights ago we were at Meijer again. Conversation as follows:

Brad: Let's go see my Christmas cow!!!

Me: Well, honey, it's not really your Christmas cow...

Brad (with a smile): No, but it could be.... :)

I am hoping so much that I will not come home and find it on my lawn!

This Week's Big Basement Find...

Jackpot! $15 Canadian to spend when I go home next weekend!

The funniest part is that this money was in a card someone must have given me several years ago. Oops! Oh well, now it will buy me some much needed Canadian chocolate bars (also known to my American friends as "candy bars").

I am hoping to come across hundreds of dollars as I continue to clean...but I fear I am to be sorely disappointed.

No, It's Not Because I Talk Too Much...

Aw, man!!! Tonight my heart was set on eating a Frosty with M & M's in it. I don't know why, I just really wanted one. After praise team practice tonight, Brad and I went to Wendy's on the way home. I took one bite and realized...I couldn't eat it. My jaw has been giving me trouble this week and eating has been difficult. Which is a shame because it is one of my favorite things to do. I sadly said goodbye to the Frosty and gave it to my sister.

Because of the pain I have resigned myself to actually wearing my bite splint at night (which I am supposed to wear every night because of my TMJ but haven't been...so I kind of feel like this is my own fault!). The dentist thinks it is in the muscle and has been caused by me clenching my teeth at night (Brad says sometimes it sounds like I am eating corn on the cob while I am sleeping!). He gave me some muscle relaxors which make me...happy! And relaxed! I got a new pillow too, so I hope that will help! I can't stay away from chewy things much longer!!!!

Attention Span

Has this ever happened to you?

You call up a business, and get their automated system. The voice begins to rattle off your options: "Press One for Customer Service, Press Two for Maintenance, Press Three for..." You know the routine.

It's at this point that I always give myself a pep talk. Okay, Rachel, listen carefully. You can do this. Don't get distracted - just listen to the options and find the one that you need. Just LISTEN.

It is usually around option four or five that I realize that my mind has drifted. I haven't heard any of the options so far! How does this always happen??? I hope against hope that the next option I hear is the one I'll need...but it never is.

What should I do? Should I press one or two and just hope it is right? Should I wait for the operator? But when I explain what I need, she might just tell me that I should have pressed option three, and then my secret will be out. I cannot pay attention to anything for more than 0.3 seconds. Should I explain to her that I tried really hard to listen but somehow just missed it?

I hang up and start again, promising myself that I'll pay closer attention this time.

And yes, this happened to me today. Again.

Ten Question Thursday

Questions I have been asking myself this week...

1. Why do I keep finding myself humming obscure Christmas carols? For example, the other day as I stepped into the shower I hummed to myself, "Up on the rooftops, reindeer pause..." WHY?????

2. Who decided on 5k for a standard race distance? And why couldn't they pick 2k (or even 3k if they really wanted a challenge)? 1k has a nice ring to it...

3. Why is it that I like hot tea, but not iced tea...and I like iced coffee, but not hot coffee? I am a mixed up British Canadian living in America.

4. My new favorite activity for 1:30am is navigating the trecherous obstacle course of dog bones, squeaky animals, and chew toys in our living room in the dark while carrying a dog. Why can't I just put the toys away before going to bed? Just my unwavering optimism I suppose, as I keep hoping that maybe, just maybe, tonight will be the night when I get to reach the REM sleep stage.

5. Howcome when I bought a package of 100 calorie brownies, they were each the size of a fingernail? That does not seem fair.

6. Why don't they spread out the Olympic events so that the Olympics lasts longer and so that I don't have to stay up until midnight EVERY NIGHT? Who do I talk to about that?

7. A mosquito family decided to bite my right leg all at the same time. Was it a planned attack, or am I just lucky?

8. Why don't I swing my arms when I rollerblade? (more on this one later!)

9. Why don't I ever charge my phone until it dies in the middle of a conversation? (I'm sure there are a few people also wondering this!)

10. Why does Brad like banana-filled things so much? This week it was banana-flavored filling in Twinkies and Oreos that got his attention. Gross. The banana flavor should stay where God intended it to be - IN THE BANANA!

Confused

If you were born in England, moved to Canada when you were 7, had lived in the US for the last 8 years, and were adopting from South Korea...

Who would you cheer for in the Olympics???!!?!?!

I feel so confused.

Piggy Picture and Precious Puppy

The requested picture...my favorite part is the "Rachel the Pig" title across the front. In this picture my friend is feeding me a quarter as if I am in fact Rachel the Pig...don't worry, she didn't actually put it in my mouth (although I'm thinking that might be a nice, easy way to make some money...)

I just had to post a few pictures of Daisie. Look how big she is getting! She is really such a sweetheart and I love coming home to her every day.

She still does the tongue thing when she is tired - so cute!

And last but not least, I had to try to capture this...at the very tip of her tail, she has this little poof that always makes me laugh. When she is wagging her tail it's really funny because it's like she's waving a little pompom. It seems like the bigger she gets, the poofier the poof gets!

Have a great weekend!

It's Okay, You Can Laugh

While in Seattle, Brad and I made an interesting discovery. We were at the top of the Space Needle, and found they had these cool computer things that told you all kinds of info about Seattle. It was there that we first saw her.

I had to laugh to see that I shared my name with this lovely brass pig! Brad was quite amused and I had to get him to tone down his laughter since other people were trying to enjoy the Space Needle .

Rachel lives at the Pike Place Market and is a giant piggy bank. I guess she raises a lot of money each year for charities. At least she's a good pig!

Brad and I found a t-shirt that says "Rachel the Pig" across the top and has a picture of her on it. The money was out of Brad's hand and the t-shirt was in mine before I even knew what was happening.

This week at work, Brad was telling his (guy) coworkers this story. He said they were very concerned and promptly asked if I was laughing about it too! He assured them I was.

Rachel the Pig, I will never forget you.