Tis The Season

It's the most wonderful time of the year - except when you are sick or injured. We interrupt this delightful Christmas season to bring you a list of our ills and spills.
It seems like the housewives and their families are under attack.
I would call and tell you all about it but I would need my voice back first.  You might catch every third word if your hearing is decent.  I'm also beginning to think breathing is overrated.  This weather has kicked my asthma into high gear.  Right now, I'm living on Hall's cough drops, steroids and inhalers with a side of Delsym cough syrup.  Chin up, my friends, if you haven't had a Hall's cough drop in a while, the wrappers provide all sorts of inspiration with sayings like "power through it."  

Mrs. Sinclair had her knee drained and her gall bladder out in the last two weeks.  She hit a new low when she had to accept help walking into the doctor's office from an elderly gentleman who drove her to the door in a golf cart.  You just can't make this stuff up.

There is a lot of this going around.

Mrs. Albright's daughter was sick on her birthday yesterday.  Her birthday party has already been rescheduled twice.

Consoled by her birthday gift - a Nintendo 3DS!

Her PJ days are coming to an end today as she returns to school. Finally!
Mrs. Hart fell down.  Between her knee and shoulder, she's feeling it still.  That's okay, the doctor got to take a peek today when she went in with a congested head.  In a yelling match, I don't know if she or I would get a word out right now.

In addition to having problems with allergies, Mrs. Montgomery's son came home with some skin missing after a PE incident.

Guess I should have warned you because that was just plain nasty.   This same child gets to go to an elbow specialist tomorrow for a previous injury.
I would like to not here that Mrs. Montgomery tried to turn the conversation over to dog poop at this point, but I did not take the bait.
Now you have seen the truth behind the scenes.  We are Christmas-ing along like the rest of you and doing our best to not let our decrepit bodies and exhausted children get us down.
Please excuse our whining and this short interruption from the merriment.
Now, let there be JOY!
You're feeling it, aren't you?



Mrs. Priss

**cough cough** wheeze wheeze** like...


(That was my version of "Merry Christmas to You!")

Gobble, Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you are enjoying a wonderful meal with those you love.
Did you know that turkey has more protein than chicken or beef?   There's your turkey fun fact for the day.  
When you are done stuffing your face, head on over to take a quiz so that you can know what you have always wanted to know.   What side dish are you? Personally, I hope you get something more exciting than green beans.

You Are Green Beans

Some people make a big fuss over you, but you're best when you're at your simplest. You have a fresh, crisp outlook on life. You are lighthearted, and you don't like to be weighed down by anything. You enjoy being out in nature, and you wish that more people appreciated the simple beauty of a home cooked vegetable. You are a thoughtful and spiritual person. You wish more people would spend time on Thanksgiving thinking about what they're thankful for.

What Thanksgiving Side Dish Are You?

Blogthings: Quizzes and Tests and Memes, Oh My!

~ Mrs. Priss

Enjoying pumpkin pie like...

Boo to YOU!

It has become an annual tradition to host a Not-So-Spooky Halloween Party in the Priss household.  Who says the kids get to have all of the fun on Halloween?  No me!  This party is for adults only!

We gave our party guests the suggestion to dress as a musical group this year - optional, of course. 

Run DMC
(Mrs. Sinclair & hubs)

The Brady Bunch
(Mrs. Priss as Jan and Mrs. Albright as Cindy et. al.)

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood
(Mrs. Montgomery & hubs)

Yabba Dabba Doooooo!

Hannah Montana & Billy Ray Cyrus

Peace, Man.

Sorry for Party Rockin' - LMFAO

Safari

Thriller!

Walk This Way!
(Steven Tyler & Run DMC)

Yard Ornaments - Flamingo and Gnome

We have some very creative friends! As an added bit of excitement we asked that our musical guests be prepared to perform.  Sadly, we have some very shy friends.  These friends also know that I will film and post, so maybe you can't blame them?
You'd never know that we Bradys actually got together and practiced our routine.  Ummmm.  For reals.  The transition between songs wasn't exactly what we hoped for. There was the only other couple willing to strut their stuff.  They rocked it!


  And since I'm showing two videos today, I'll just share that a few of us enjoyed some karaoke afterwards.

This, my friends, is what it's all about.   Good times with friends and a whole lotta laughter.


Happy Halloween!

Mrs. Priss


who loves making her friends dress up!

Tick, Tock - The Time Keeper, Part One

Time's Up! Did you buy the book?

Bookcover from Amazon.com

If you didn't, I want you to know it is not to late.  It will take approximately 1 minute to read the first two chapters with us and you will be caught up! It was really hard for me to stop at Chapter Two.  Did you stop?  Did you keep reading? The first thing I noticed about this book was the dedication.  He dedicated the book to his wife who "makes every minute of life worthwhile."  How sweet is that? I wondered what other husband's might say to their wives if they dedicated a book to them.   Are you ready for this?

• "To my wife, for always being there and keeping us in line - keep living the life, babe!" (Mr. Sinclair)
• "I dedicate this book to my wife who has been a great wife to me and a wonderful mom to my two amazing children! My life would be empty without her!" (Mr. Hart)
• "To my wife: the hook that secures the bungee cord called our life." (Mr. Priss)

Since this book is about time, I decided to give you an official definition of the word time.  When I tried to define it on my own, I was stumped.  Think about it.  How would you define it?  The Macmillan Dictionary says that time is "a particular moment during a day, measured on a clock."  If you want to delve even further into the concept, I enjoyed reading about it on Wikipedia. This story begins with an introduction of main characters.  A girl needs more time in order to look her ideal best for a date.  A man finds out he is dying and wants to know how much time he has left.  We see the importance of time from different perspectives.  Hearing about the dying man might make us scoff at the girl's ridiculous pleas for more time so she can tone her arms or buy better clothing, but we know we have all been there.  How many times have we placed importance on gaining more time for things that do not hold long term significance? We also meet Dor (the future Father Time), Alli and Nim.  They are childhood friends playing outdoors.  Dor is notably different from the others.  He is fascinated with numbers and is the first on Earth to attempt counting and use numbers. Not that my Michael is Father Time, but it made me think of him and his early fascination with numbers and letters.  He, too, thinks differently from others.  My favorite quote in the first eight pages is this: "One different child can change the world."   I'm counting on it, but that's another story.  Hopefully, different in his case is a good thing. The author brings up a thought-provoking comment -  "Try to imagine a life without timekeeping." Can you imagine it? I live by my calendar.  Do you?   The closest I can get to imagining a life without timekeeping is to think of our family's beach trips.  On the days reserved for just playing on the beach, we have no specific time set to do anything.  We get to just... be.  If we are hungry, we eat.  If we are tired, we rest.  If we are warm, we get in the water.   But, even then, we are aware of time. This quote really brings the point home. Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life. ~ William Faulkner
Online Book Club Participation Guide:

• Leave a comment on our Facebook page or here on this post about the book, your thoughts, etc.
• Questions will be available each week to help prompt your comments, but you are not limited to these topics.
• If you have a blog and want to participate through your own posts, please leave your post address in the comments section with your comment.
• If you are going to read ahead (our pace may be killing you), please stop and take notes.  We will read about 50 pages at a time.  This is a bit of a snail's pace for me, but I don't want to lose any of you in the process.  Thoughts?
• Keep all comments positive.  We don't bicker with each other, do we ladies?
• Read!

Next Step: Read to Chapter 20 (page 56) by September 26th.

Today's Questions:

1. Can you imagine a day without keeping time?
2. What do you hope to gain from reading this book?
3. Does the setting of this book entice you to read more?

I look forward to hearing your comments!

Mrs. Priss
Ironically, giving you a time limit on this book like...

20 in '12

Source: typeverything.com via ShaRhonda @ The 4-Crow's on Pinterest

Happy 2012!

Did you make any resolutions? 

I made a few 20 goals and notes of what all will happen and what I hope will happen in 2012 in my neck of the woods and I certainly hope you did also and will share a few with us.

(these are not in order)

1. Lose 20 lbs in '12! I have maintained a 20lb weight loss now for over a year and its time to kick it back into gear. I plan on using MyFitnessPal and C25K as a few apps to help me along. Won't you join me in this journey?
2. Buy a new house.
3. Stop drinking DIEt Coke- please pray for me, m'kay!
4. RUN not walk a few 5K's and maybe even a 1/2 marathon.
5. Coach my daughters t-ball team again, I loved volunteering at The Boy's and Girl's Club with those 4 & 5 year olds.
6. Finish my CDA- Child Development Associate Certificate, and get a raise.
7. Visit my parents more. 4X a year is not enough when we live in the same state.
8. Read. 
9. Attend church more regularly.
10. Host 4 parties this year. Including one on 12/12/12 when my son turns 12!
11. Make a new recipe at least 3x a month.
12. Get my craft on a minimum of 2x a month. I love Pinterest. If you aren't using it yet you should tell us we will get you an invite.
13. Take my kids on a REAL vacation.
14. Go to my High School Reunion- It's #20 in '12. Class of 1992 rules forever!!!
15. Play more. It's really okay to let the dust settle and the let the dishes soak.
16. Declutter Challenge. Have a garage sale or just haul it off.
17. Take a photo a day. Use Instagram to document using #366Challenge.
18. Listen more. Complain less.
19. Remember that saying NO is okay. 
20. This one is silly but on December 22, 2012 when the world HAS NOT ended and I am 20lbs lighter, I will run outside in my underwear/honeymoon bikini and laugh like I have never laughed before!

 And here is the great thing to remember about any resolutions or goals...

Source: anditslove.tumblr.com via ShaRhonda @ The 4-Crow's on Pinterest

What is your 20 in '12?

♥Mrs. Hart♥
Keeping it Real with 20 in '12 like