Christmas Tidings

While going through the vast amount of files on my BlackBerry that I've accumulated over this past week, I came across this adorable recording of Celeste singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas." I just had to share it, it's so adorable. I recorded this of her exactly one year ago today, when she was 3 years old.

So, since I'm not really sure where to begin, I guess I'll just pick out a few of the photos of the things we did this past week.

The Taylor family has a tradition; we have been going to the Olive Garden every single Sunday for lunch. Why, you ask? Because their soup is amazing! On Sunday, December 12th, we went with Steven & Sara and their adorable son Dylan. Dylan and Celeste are two peas in a pod, and here are the two of them posing for the camera.

This past Saturday, we went to Crazy Alan's Swamp Shack on the water in Kemah for lunch. It was so nice, with a casual atmosphere (including a dead skunk carcass hanging from the ceiling), good food and good prices. Here are a few pics of our view and the restaurant inhabitants.

Then Celeste and I had a little fun with the camera in my room one night...she was taking crazy photos of me and then would hide when I tried to take photos of her. It's nearly impossible to see her in the photos of her, isn't it?? (Super-stealth-hiding-mode)

Then, last Wednesday, Celeste decided that she wanted to dress herself in what she just knew would match. So she found her Christmas dress from when she was 2 years old, and put it with a jean skirt, ivory socks and brown shoes. Boy, was that girl proud of her outfit!!!!

This next photo requires a bit of explanation. After succeeding with being able to wear the outfit of her choosing the day before, Celeste chose this outfit to wear to Ms. Linda's on the day they had their Christmas party. Yep, it's a dressy spring dress and casual summer sandals. But try telling her that!

The guitar and sunglasses were her gift from Ms. Linda, and Celeste said, "Mommy, I'm a Rockety-Roll Girl!" And with her wild curls coming out of her ponytail, she kind of looks the part!

Last Saturday, we received Celeste's Christmas gift from her Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Tracie, cousins Hailey and Hope. Daddy let her open the present and she loved the shiny headband and pink striped sweater. She wore them the rest of that day around the house, and had to wear the headband to church the following day (pic below).

Lastly, but not least, this past Saturday we also had our Thomasson family Christmas party. Toward the end of the party, my brother Gabe was talking on the phone. So I sat on his lap (more like abs). Then Eric sat on mine. Then Alicia and Luwannah joined. We had to see how much weight a big boy like Gabe could really take.

Family Day

Today began with us lounging around the house and running a few small errands. After washing the car, Eric took my car to get an oil change and the brakes fixed. And I took some time putting a few plants in the ground in the backyard. During all of this, Celeste came out in her pajamas and set up a little "tea party" for herself. It was too cute.

Then this evening, we went to the Friendswood Christmas in the Park celebration in Stevenson Park. They had a snow hill, Santa, a Christmas train, and more. We had such a blast!

Daddy & Celeste in the snow hill area.

Mommy & Celeste at the Christmas train.

After, we drove around through Falcon Ridge, Eagle Lakes, etc., and checked out the Christmas lights. It was very interesting.

One of my favorites that we saw tonight.

Ummmmm .... ??

I think Wal-Mart is now out of inflatables.

One of the amazing houses we saw tonight was in Falcon Ridge. So neat. Here are two small cell phone videos I took of it.

Oh, and another bonus from today - we now have our washer working again! Yay!

Christmas Cheer

Today when I picked up Celeste from Ms. Linda's, she was so excited to see me that she must have hugged me 5 or 6 times, very tightly. She is such a sweetheart and of all of the surprises that life brings, she was definitely the best. You can't imagine how incredible it feels to have someone so tiny and innocent think that you are wonderful and awesome and is so full of love for you, unless you have a child of your own. It's an amazing responsibility, one that I hope I don't fail her on.

We were smiling and taking silly pictures for Daddy on the way home. Just for fun.

When we got home, I finally pulled out the wreath I made last year from storage, and hung it on the front door. (Man, I need to get a storm door and re-stain our front door.) Celeste kept saying, "Mommy, I like your wrooth!" instead of wreath, ha ha. So cute! That's what she called it last year when she was only 3 years old, and apparently she remembers that way and thinks that is the only way you say "wreath."

I remember being so excited last year about making this wreath. I looked for the right ribbon, the right picks and pieces, and the perfect little snowman, all of it took a while to put together (a month maybe?). I even purchased a pack of battery-operated mini LED lights and strung them on here. But I don't use them, they're the extremely bright-white (almost blue) color.

Lastly, an old coworker sent me an email today with the following picture in it. I thought it was cute; it reminded me of Celeste using our stool to decorate the Christmas tree a few weeks ago. Have I mentioned that I love this time of year?

Ramblings About Final Exams

Venting some pent-up energy...

So this week began as a week full of stress. Final exams in all four of my classes were this week, with three of them being last night between 4pm and midnight.

As yesterday afternoon wore on, I got more and more anxious about my exams. I don't remember feeling this way at San Jac, but this is a bit more serious at UHCL. So the closer 4pm came, the more nervous and anxious I became.

At just after 3:00pm, I left work and made a much-needed pit stop at the Starbucks across from NASA (my favorite), and headed in for my Managerial Accounting final. Man, I've never had so much test anxiety in my life! When he handed out the exams, I had a huge panic moment. But everything worked out. I feel pretty confident about my grade, although when talking with my study group afterwards I realized I'd made one small error in the production forecasting question/problem and I wasn't too confident about an operating leverage question. After this exam was over, I took my Programming in Pascal final in the Delta building. Then went home and took my Management Theory & Practice final online. Three finals in one night was nuts! Now I have one remaining, Money & Banking, and that will be at the campus on Thursday morning.

It looks like our little study group of 4 girls has made a firm connection. We're taking classes together next semester and are planning on getting together to do something during the holidays. I'm excited! They're awesome to work with and I love how we each help each other.

I think I want to take off on Friday to just de-stress! Perhaps spend the day watching movies, shopping or doing something outdoors? A little personal celebration for closing out this past semester is in order!

Washer Woes

So as some of you already know, we've had one insane time with our washer this year. Three years ago, we purchased a Fisher & Paykel Intuitive washer from Lowe's. With warranty and taxes, we spent just barely under $1,000. Yep. On one washer. (I think the washer was around $800, then we bought an additional warranty and taxes.) We chose this one because it had great reviews and the people at Lowe's recommended it. It's design is suppose to be better, more efficient and have fewer moving parts.

Our washer began having issues a few months ago when it began giving us an error code that the pump was clogged. We checked the pump, all looked okay. We called our warranty (serviced by A&E Factory Service), and the man that came out said a fuse had blown. So the fuse was in-line with something (I don't know the terms) and a new pump had to be ordered. In the meantime, we could use our washer as long as we didn't put it on the auto-sensing cycle, and that's how we got by.

After the part arrived, another service tech from A&E came out to install the part, and he decided not to do so. He stated that he was unable to replicate the original problem, so he was going to leave the part there for us in case we ever need it.

Well, sometimes I can make dumb decisions and this was one of them. I said, "Okay, thanks," and he left. When Eric found out, he wasn't too happy (he knows way more about this stuff than I do) and he called to have them come out again and replace the part.

Mind you, our washer was working this whole time.

So A&E sent a third guy out this past Saturday. We had plans with school and all, and he was suppose to arrive between 8 and 12 noon. At almost 1pm, Eric called and found out he was still at his last house call, and would be at our house shortly. The guy arrived around 1:30pm and spent almost an hour trying to find what "Error Code 130" meant on his laptop (the last guy found it in like 2 seconds by typing it into his computer). When he finally gave up, he said that he couldn't find what that error code meant but he would go ahead and start working on replacing the part. Good grief. By this time, I was beginning to realize why he'd been so late and was feeling sorry for those who were before us on his route that day.

Another hour and a half goes by. Still not done.

I finally gave up waiting and headed out to run my errands. On my way out, he mumbled something to me. I stopped and asked what he'd said, and he repeated, "I'm gonna hafta order you some new parts. Your washer isn't working."

I immediately got angry.

I said, "I don't understand; it was working just fine this morning as long as it wasn't in the auto-sensing mode."

Technician: "Well uh, when I was tyring to install the part, I had the hose open up here in the top and it got flooded. It fried all of your electronics. They're gone. It won't even turn on now."

OH ... MY ... GOD!!!!!

Anyway, long story short, he didn't know what he was doing and fried our washer. He placed an order for another $400 in parts for our washer and it is completely dead now. Our expensive washer was totally messed up by a warranty repair man from A&E Factory Service. So I called them as soon as I left the house and made a complaint with the "Escalations Department," and I've been informed they're suppose to be calling me back about this today. Still no call yet, but I'm waiting.

After what they've done, I'm demanding a brand new washer. This is insane. I can't believe they hire people like this.

In the meantime, all family members might want to stay away. We are going Adam and Eve style. Unannounced visits might make the visitors feel uncomfortable. (Hahahaha...)

Studying & School

As referenced in a previous post, I have the best group of girls to study with for my Managerial Accounting class. Every weekend before an exam (since just after the first one), we meet at Starbucks and study together for our coming exam. Doing this has raised our exam grades significantly. Each person in the group usually grasps a different aspect of what was taught, and we pull it all together. Jacqueline and Maricela are here with me in this photo taken this past Friday night; Sheila was unable to come. I love these ladies! We got together to study for our final this coming Tuesday night.

On Saturday, December 4th I was inducted into Sigma Alpha Pi at the university. I worked hard on it all semester, so I was pretty excited about being inducted. The society has many neat benefits to it and I get to wear these great-looking cords when I graduate now, too. :) Yes, I'm a nerd. But hey, it suits me and I make no apologies!

Celeste Funnies & Birthday Surprise

A couple of days ago while I was bathing Celeste, she was holing her head up just above the water, using her abs. She commented, "Look at me! I'm holding my head up!" And I said, "You're using your abs, that's great." Then very matter-of-factly, she said, "Yeah, it'th cuz I work out. At the gym. Every day. And my musclth are strong." Hahahaha.

Tonight when I walked in, Celeste came running up to me with these amazingly wild flowers. The bouquet had a few protea and the petals look like feathers. Amazing. Wouldn't it be great if they would grow here? She and Eric had picked them out and they look great! And he surprised me with some gorgeous shoes that I've had my eye on for a while.

The semester is coming to an end, with finals beginning Saturday. I literally can't believe the time has flown by. Yikes.