Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I finished the book last night and my best description of it...peculiar. There is a lot of science fiction/paranormal action in it mixed with some historical fiction. I didn't think it was as good as the reviews I had read made it sound, but it was entertaining and a quick, easy read.

Happy Birthday, Chad

Chad's 43rd birthday was on Saturday, December 10th.  We were going to be busy all afternoon and evening with other previously planned commitments, so we celebrated it in the late morning, kind of as a brunch.  He had not given me many gift ideas, so Zak and I spent an evening browsing around at the mall and put together a hodge-podge of gifts.

 

We had done a good job as he was pleased with all of his gifts.  The highlight of the gift opening was the card Zak got for him.

Zak and I then made him breakfast and we ended the celebration with cake.

We ended the night with a nice, relaxing dinner with Todd and Tami Miller at Olive Garden after the boys' hockey game.

Happy birthday, Chad...hope you enjoyed it!

Kicking off the Holiday Season with...

10 Things About Me-Christmas Version

My blogger buddy Tami did this....

I decided to join the fun....

What is your favorite Christmas movie?

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Gotta love the Griswolds!)

What is your favorite Christmas song?

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Do you have a nativity scene?

No

What is your favorite Christmas animation?

Charlie Brown Christmas (I've always liked all the Peanuts specials.)

What is your favorite childhood Christmas memory?

Our first Christmas together Chad got me a teddy bear that was almost as tall as me, and he was sitting!  That bear was in Zak's nursery room.

What is your most memorable gift?

The Pandora bracelet Chad and Zak got me last year...every charm on it has a special meaning to me.

Do you have any Christmas traditions?

Chad's giant balls in the front yard and our "life-size" Santa (that's actually about 3' tall).  They both have long stories behind them.

Do you have a special Christmas wish this year?

Something sparkly.

If you could have anything for Christmas what would it be?

Enough money to keep me in sparkly stuff for the rest of my life.

If you could spend Christmas anywhere, where would it be?

In a secluded cabin on a snow covered mountain peak with Chad and Zak.

Happy Holidays!!

Taming the Mud Bog

Every time we get a large amount of rain or have a large melt-off, our back yard becomes the mini-Nile during the peak of the event:

After such event, our back yard becomes a mud bog.  Remember, we had a freak snow storm in late October and unusually heavy rainfall in November, so our backyard is currently the muddiest bog we have had yet!

So on to the point of my story...Bella loves to run at full speed back and forth from one end of the yard to the other.  I'm sure you can imagine what she looks like when she comes in after one of these little jaunts during the "mud season."

Well Chad and I had had enough of having to wipe her from belly down every time she came in from outside.  We decided something needed to be done.  After a bit of research on the internet, we went to the local farmer's market and purchased 3 bales of straw and spread it over the muddiest areas of the backyard.

 
Guess what...it really is helping!  She is coming in much less muddy, and even Abby likes it because now she can go down in the yard and not get her little princess feet muddy.  Haha!

The best part is supposedly it breaks down over the winter and the grass should be sprouting right out from underneath. :-)