best christmas gift

So, we'll see if my brother ever reads my blog. It may very well hint at part of his Christmas present. He recently wrote in his blog about "an ideal date" and let's just say it involved Bartles & James, popcorn and gravy, a warm house and "The Little Mermaid". I then decided as part of his Christmas present, I would try to make that happen. While at Dierberg's this evening, I purchased a nice 4 pack of "the original" Bartles & James. I will then add a bag of microwave popcorn complete with a gravy packet. If only I could locate a copy of The Little Mermaid on DVD in time........
Ok, I have to go now before my dogs go completely insane.....
Here they are last weekend in the big snowstorm. I guess Bosco wanted to be dinner, so he jumped in the fire pit.

MLB "witchhunt"

Can someone tell me what anyone hopes to accomplish by finger pointing toward baseball players who used "steroids"? When your career depends upon you performing at an absolute peak, you're probably going to do just about whatever it takes to help you attain this. Many of these substances were, at the time, legal and misunderstood. So now we're going to destroy the game that so many of us grew up loving because some people want to finger point? Apparently the world doesn't have bigger problems? I tire of this. What are we doing about the professional athletes who exhibit frivilous behavior and end up killing people, animals, etc. As far as I can tell, only one has even received close to what he deserves for his actions. In essence, people guilty of far worse things are getting off with a slap on the wrist and the others, who hurt no one but themselves, if even that, are being ostracized and taken to court? It just doesn't make sense to me.

Best Xmas movie ever

So, I'm watching "Love Actually" which is pretty much the best movie around Christmas time that ever was (except for the children's movies- this movie is for grown-ups). I love it, it is so funny and truthful and emotional. One of the funniest things about it is that Billy Bob Thorton plays the president of the US. He is a wonderful comedic representation of a Bill Clinton/ GW Bush combo. Then we have Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister, but that really isn't a surprising role for him.....
Anyway, today I had the turkey equivalent of "spam" I think. My work had a holiday lunch and the buffet line consisted of this "turkey", but it didn't have any bones at all and it was surprisingly easy to cut with a plastic butter knife. Kinda like a chicken mcnugget without the breading....frightening.....
Other than that, I'm just really tired of all this rain. Rain is no fun when it is cold. I want to lie in bed all day and I feel sleepy at work and can't get anything done.
Oh, one more thing about Love Actually. One of the characters decides that he wants to visit the states and he decides to go to Wisconsin. Now, I have nothing against Wisconsin, I actually really like it, but it is not the typical location that one would expect a foreigner to come to on their first visit. He ends up finding exactly what he is looking for....Shannon Elizabeth wearing a cowboy hat donning a southern accent, because we all know that is what a typical Wisconsonian is like. LOL
That's all folks.

My new friend

Today I met my new friend Zachary. He is about 1 day old at this moment in time. He is super cute, but his body temp was a little low, so he had to be wrapped up in blankets and a hat like a little bug. It was like holding a football with a head. I can't wait to see his eyes and hands and feet. Then I came home and we tried a recipe we found on yahoo for beef fried rice. Eugene loves beef fried rice. This recipe was pretty good I guess, but we used too much oil. Good to know for next time. And, honestly, by the time you buy all the ingredients, especially the steak, it is probably just cheaper to go get it at the Chinese place. Oh, well.

Was I cheated if I didn't know better?

So, at the coaxing of my flute instructor, Sunday I participated in a master class with a flautist from Spain named Eugenia Moliner. I was terrified, but Jenna convinced me that it would be fine and that it would be a good experience. I was still terrified, but she was right. Eugenia was very nice and she offered a lot of constructive advice and comments- much of which I've already heard from Jenna. So, I now know what I could have been really working on for years. I have played the flute for over 20 years and I am just now learning about what I should REALLY be doing to get better. It makes me wonder what could have been; what if I had had teachers that had invested more in me, worked me harder, challenged me more? I love playing more than almost anything, but I never put in the time I should have and no one pushed me to do it. For 8 years I took lessons from 3 teachers. I honestly think only one of them could have given me what I needed. Unfortunately, she was the first one and I think she moved away. The other two were very nice and great players, but they never lit a fire under me or showed me so many of the things that I have already learned from Jenna. Such small, simple techniques that have already improved my playing in the short time that I had studied again.
I guess you can't change the past and I can say now that I can give myself the tools to do what I want to do. Lesson learned.
In other news, there have been two babies born in the last 4 days. My friend, Jen, had her little girl Friday morning, albeit 6 weeks early. The earliness was expected and though I was excited for them, I was cautious to get too happy before I knew the status of the situation. But she is absolutely beautiful. She's small, but lungs seem to be developed and she isn't on a respirator.
Then, this morning, I get a text message from Tina saying that she is in labor. I talked to her around 8 a.m. and she had just gotten her epidural. She was pretty funny, feeling no pain. Finally her son was born this evening and he was 7 lbs. 12 ozs. I'm sure I will go see them tomorrow. I'm so excited for the both of them. This is now the 7th friend this year to have a baby. There are more to come next year though!
That's all for now. How about a picture of my cute puppies to look at!
Oh, and you can check out the newly painted guest bedroom as well and my plant that I haven't killed yet. Enjoy!