Happy Christmas!

Basically, Jeremiah was in charge of using the timer. Which might be why he looks slightly deer-caught-in-headlights. While it looks chaotic, I should mention that it really wasn't. For me. Mel, even though she looks otherwise, was completely comfy. Atticus hopped up when I called his name. Jeremiah, on the other hand, had to gather his pets after hitting the button on the camera. And Maddie isn't even in some of the pictures because we accidentally locked her in the walk-in closet. Oops.

Maddie & Spike - obviously on patrol. Always.on.patrol.

I do MUCH better with Jeremiah behind the camera. I feel free to be myself. Have some fun. You know.

Emily: Do you know what would make this picture more exciting? Props! How about an antler?

Happy Holidays & Thanks for Reading!

~Emily

Two Out of Four of Our Pets Wish You Happy Holidays...

Spawn of Satan says, "WTM?" (What the meow?)

Atticus says, "Why do you hate me?"

Oh, wait. No they don't. Sorry about that.

Holiday Update , Part 2.

As I mentioned, our front room this year has been done up right. The beautiful tree is from my parents and is pre-lit. Freaking wonderful. I decided to decorate with gold, silver, bronze, copper, and white. I love it.

The ornaments are clearance from Crate & Barrel, Target, World Market, and Pier One. There are also some on the tree that I've received as gifts.

Love the tree!

I think my favorite thing is being able to see it while I'm coming down the stairs/walking in the hall upstairs. Love.

How about you? Are you a one Christmas tree house? Do you change themes/colors every year?

p.s. Stay tuned, because we have a family picture coming up, as requested.

Holiday Update, Part 1

Did you miss me? I've been busy. I'm happy to report that I'm done with the thesis. I flew home for a very quick trip because I was determined to walk in the ceremony - and I did.

More on this later. Promise. Whether you want to hear about it or not. 

Hope everyone is getting into the holiday spirit. Whatever holiday it is that you and yours choose to celebrate.

We actually have two separate themes going on in our house. The back room is full of whimsy and the front room is very traditional. I'm in love with both this year. Last year I think we only put up the tree in the back room because I was taking classes and Jeremiah wasn't being a good elf helper.

Anyways, let me share how we cheaply furnish our house for the holidays.

First, see the stocking holder/hanger? It's from Pier One or Crate & Barrel. But I found them at Salvation Army for maybe a dollar each. And they were gold so I had Jeremiah spray paint them ORB. The stockings were on them but Maddie thinks it's fun to hang from the stocking and swing around a bit so for now the stockings are resting below.

For six years we've had the bright and colorful ornaments. Then each year after Christmas I go wherever and pick up more ornaments at 75% off. So now we have a very wide variety of colored balls. This year I used extra balls (heehee) to decorate the mantle.

It's Elmer the Holiday Elephant. He's ready to assist with all of your holiday needs.

The tree is decorated with a bunch of colorful ornaments. I also had enough to fill this vase:

And this one, too:

The blue glass canister is from Salvation Army this summer. It was a splurge at five or ten dollars. I NEVER spend that much on anything. But I loved it.

 

Here's the mantle:

It's a whimsical good time. The tree looks similar, with all those colors. I only took one picture. I'm not sure why. But this is one of my new favorite ornaments for the small tree. Clearance, 75% at Crate & Barrel last year.

Oh, and I did the entertainment center as well. All the glass items are from Salvation Army or Goodwill. The plate and stones, too. The twigs are from my backyard, the pine cones were clearanced at Target.

I'm quite sure that the wooden thing with the glass lid is supposed to house cheese and crackers. Cheese at my house is housed in my belly.

Lastly, the table. The linens are from World Market after Christmas last year. Then we have the gorgeous bowl (that has mysteriously cracked down the side and Jeremiah is vehemently denying he knows what happened) with more pine cones.

The front room is yet to come.

Does anyone else stock up after Christmas? I've heard that some people switch themes yearly. We are not those people.

Although, I think that we have enough of the brightly colored balls that we could do color-schemes/themes from within. Like just the red and green next year. Or blue. Or maybe pinks. Or...

p.s. Jeremiah wanted me to add that the tall glass vase on the entertainment center has been the most recent victim of our ghost. When we came home the other evening, it had been moved. Not broken or chipped or cracked or anything. But instead of sitting on the table, it was nearby on the floor. The concrete floor. Jeremiah thinks the cat did it. But how does a heavy glass vase fall from a high table/entertainment center onto CONCRETE floor and not break? And land right-side up, with everything still in the vase? It doesn't. It was moved by the ghost. I left the damn thing on the floor. If that's where the ghost wants, that's what it gets. Don't piss it off. Happy Holidays.

Kitty Lovin'

I'm not sure at what point this happened, but at some point the cats began to give lovings. To each other.

They play fight a bunch, but they also groom each other. And cuddle. Maddie is a serious cuddler. That is, she is a cuddler when she takes a break from her all-around evilness. Have you noticed how orange her eyes are? Jeremiah and I were watching a vampire movie on Netflix and Jeremiah kept looking at the vampires, then Maddie. He thinks she's one of the undead.

Undead or not, I'm so incredibly grateful this holiday season that my kitten no longer scales my thighs like they are Mt. Kilimanjaro. That in itself is a gift not to be overlooked.

And personally? I see that she is growing almost daily, but her head isn't growing at all. It's like I'm raising Beetlejuice. Minus the sarcasm. And she doesn't grab her lady parts. But she does occasionally lick them.

Mel: I is tired. I is going to take a nap. Maddie: I is watching you and plotting evil attacks on your thighs.

Anyone else have beautiful/evil pets?

P.S. Last night I went to pick up some Christmas Angels and Jeremiah and I discovered that you can adopt an old person. I ended up getting tickets for four children (more on this later) and an old woman.  We picked a woman who is wheelchair bound and blind. She wants music, books on tape/cd, and a stuffed animal. I don't know if my heart broke or if it grew a bunch like the Grinch's. Please consider donating to a charity of your choosing this holiday season. If we all give what we can, it makes a difference.