lots of catching up

• RINGING THE BELL.  That's right, I rang the Salvation Army bell last Saturday at a local grocery store.  We have a signup sheet at work where anyone can volunteer to ring the bell at different locations.  Last year I was at by myself at WalMart in the drizzling rain and it still seemed as if people were more giving there than at the Piggly Wiggly.  However, I was thankful to be with a coworker and her adorable son this year, and it really wasn't too extremely cold.  Even though not everyone puts money in the bucket, it is nice when people actually acknowledge that you're there and wish you a "Merry Christmas" right back.  This is me with Amy's 3 year old son, Ryker, who was singing Christmas Carols by the end of our 2 hour shift.  He is such a cutie, and has the prettiest blue eyes that are to. die. for.

•  Sunday I did a photo shoot for one of my absolute favorite families.  Ashley had scheduled a photographer who would do everything - take their family pictures, do the editing, and create her Christmas cards.  She was excited and had been planning the outfits for days, when, after a lot of miscommunication with the unnamed photographer, unnamed photographer cancelled with less than 12 hours before their scheduled shoot.  What else would you expect a crazy friend to do?  Of course I offered to take the pictures for her!  Although there would be no editing, but Ashley does have a really nice camera and I figured if I took enough, surely there would be a couple that looked good enough to put on a Christmas card.  By doing this, we would be able to have the pictures taken during daylight hours at a pretty farm (her dad's) so that she can get the cards ordered and hopefully mailed by this weekend.  It was quite an ordeal, to say the least, but after being forced to wake Mallory up from a nap, we managed to get a few good shots.  The ones I'm posting are prior to being edited by Ashley's (very) nice friend who offered to do it for her.  They look ten times better now than they do here!  If you want to see the finished Christmas Card you will have to check out Ashley's blog!



• Monday I had Bunco with one of the two groups I play for.  Our theme was Tacky Christmas Sweater & we played a Dirty Santa game.  I was able to unwrap my first gift for this Christmas and we had some amazing dips to munch on.  We really had a great time, and it helps that our host is probably one of the best party planners I've ever met.  Michelle always goes above and beyond and we all had so much fun!

• Tuesday night was the catered Adult Christmas Dinner at my church.  It was nice having it catered, because our church usually always cooks our own meals, and we're always bringing side dishes.  Don't get me wrong, this means you get to eat that good, country, home-cooked meal, but it made it nice not having to set up, clean up, or bring a dish on Tuesday night.  They also had door prizes, but we didn't have enough luck to win anything.  Maybe next time!  Some of the entertainment included our amazing Praise Band.  They have just started practicing the past few months but they are so talented, and I absolutely love hearing contemporary Christian music.

•  Wednesday, I had the day off  :)  I wrapped Christmas presents, emptied old leftovers from my fridge, went to the gym, ran lots of errands, and had a lunch date with a few of my favorite ladies.  It was nice working on my own time & doing what I wanted to do!  I know that's a random list of activities, and since I happen to be off again today, I'm sure today's list will be even more random!

• A new Chic Fil A just opened yesterday about 2 miles from my house and I am SO excited.  It is free-standing, which means they have a drive-thru, AND they will serve breakfast beginning at the wee hours of the morning.  Our Chic Fil A in the mall only serves breakfast for like 30 minutes because our mall just stinks.  I dont' know what it is about Chic Fil A, but I adore their breakfast, like I love their breakfast more than I love their lunch.  Now I know they probably fry those nuggets the exact same way, all day long, but something about it being on a biscuit with a drizzle of butter, is heaven in my mouth.  I do like the Chick-N-Mini's, but my all-time favorite is a Chicken, Egg & Cheese Biscuit.  I know, I know, it sounds gross.  People give me the craziest, wierdest, creepiest looks when I talk about it.  But don't judge me until you try it for yourself.  I have a feeling this is not going to be good for my waist line, but it tastes SO good! 

You are welcome for a semi-novel as a catch-up post.  I promise I will try to do better.