Let’s Get Organized!

*brisk hand clap*

Remember how I said I was going to BlogHer in 2009? Well, I think it’ll be even more fun if you go, too. In order to keep things organized and neat, I’d like to start a list in the sidebar over there of all of us that are going. That way if you’re looking for a roomie, or wanna share a road trip to Chicago, you’ll have a handy list of other bloggers that you can ask. See? Doesn’t that sound like a fabulous idea? I know!

Send me an email or leave a comment here if you’re planning on going to BlogHer in July and I’ll add you to the list. K? K!

Fun Fact Friday – The Christmas Edition

* My favorite Christmas music is Barenaked for the Holidays and Harry Connick, Jr.’s When My Heart Finds Christmas.

* I love eggnog. I can’t have it anymore, but that in no way diminishes my love for the nog.

* I don’t like flashing lights on houses. It always looks tacky. God forbid someone have some flashing and some not. Tre gauche. (If I’ve offended any of you with TACKY flashing lights, well, it couldn’t be helped.)

* We decided not to put up a Christmas tree this year. We would have had to remove furniture from the living room and then there’s the Maddie/Roxy quotient. Just too much trouble this year. (Our Christmas photo was taken at my dad’s house in front of their tree.)

* I love buying Christmas gifts. Wrapping? Not so much. However, it falls to me to do it every year along with the sending of the Christmas cards. There are just some things Gerald’s no good at.

* I prefer to go to church on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas morning. We’ll be doing both this year. *sigh*

* I still watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special every year.

(I’m kind of sick of typing “Christmas” already.)

* The best Christmas gift I ever got was from my Mom when I was maybe 5 or 6. It was Western Ken to go with my Western Barbie and her palomino horse.

* I once got a copy of the Charlie’s Angels movie on DVD that had been dubbed in Spanish as a Christmas gift.

* My favorite Christmas cookies are pecan snowballs.

* I don’t like sappy Christmas movies a la It’s a Wonderful Life. I’m more of A Christmas Story kind of gal. Bonus fact: My husband has never seen A Christmas Story. Can you believe that??

Update

I was so tired that I went to bed at 7:30. It’s now 12:30 and I’m STILL AWAKE… despite delicious narcotics and an OTC sleeping pill. The throbbing in my toes is my personal Tell-Tale Heart. Also, my husband’s snores were giving me thoughts of suffocation via pillow and my daughter has yet another cold (thanks, preschool!) and her coughs over the baby monitor startle the crap out of me. I’ve reassessed the whole “am badass” thing and have concluded that I’m actually still a pussy.

Am Badass

I went to my podiatry appointment this afternoon. I was terrified, but the nurses and doctor were all super funny and put me right at ease. One of the four shots in my left toe hurt so bad I thought I was going to scream, but the pain didn’t last too long.

The procedure was over in a half an hour and I’m pleased to announce that I sailed through like a champ. Not a single tear was shed and not one tiny bit of pain permeated my lidocaine haze. I actually read an e-book during the whole thing.

Behold! Photographic proof of my badassery:

And, my clever solution to cold feet:

I’ve got about an hour and a half before the lidocaine wears off and there’s a pain pill waiting on the counter for me… Along with a myriad of post-surgical accoutrement for the next two weeks.

Thanks for the pep talks, comments and emails. You’re totally badass, too.

I am an effing idiot

So, I’ve got ingrown toenails. The “inside” edge of both big toenails, to be precise. I’ve had them for years and years and I finally decided to get them taken care of by a podiatrist. I’ve already paid my maximum out-of-pocket expenses with our health insurance this year so it won’t cost me a dime to get them done before the end of the year.

My appointment is on Monday afternoon and I’ve been getting progressively more nervous as the day gets closer. This is no surprise to any of you, but I’m a HUGE pussy baby wimp. I’m terrified of needles and pain to the point of hyperventilation. I didn’t know what the surgery entailed and I thought maybe I was just scared of the unknown, so I decided to consult Dr. Google.

You: OMG you are an effing idiot, Erica.
Me: Yes. Yes, I am.

I ended up on YouTube watching the procedure. It was filmed by the patient, so I know he wasn’t in any pain, but oh my dear Christ. It was four minutes long and 30 seconds into it, I started shaking. By the two minute mark, I was queasy. At 3:14 I was in my bathroom throwing up. I shit you not.

How in the world am I going to walk into the doctor’s office on Monday BY MYSELF, sit calmly in the waiting room, walk back into the treatment room and let the doctor do this to BOTH feet? Again, I will be BY MYSELF. When Al Gore invented the internet, did he know that this would one day happen? Yes, kids no longer have to trudge to the library to use encyclopedias for school reports, and that’s great. But I just watched a man get his toenail cut off and acid put into the wound from the comfort of my living room. I think we can all agree that the internet is an evil, evil thing.

Also, I am an effing idiot.

Winner!

My random number generator (i.e., Gerald) chose number 23, which is Ms.Prufrock! YAY!

An email is on the way to you, Pru.

Thanks everyone for entering. And if I had lots and lots of money, I’d buy you all a Christmas present.

Fun Fact Friday

* Roxy The Wonder Dog is settling in nicely. She’s very loving and always wants to be in a lap. She plays really well with Maddie and the two of them are fast becoming BFFs. There’s still an issue with housebreaking, but we’re working on it.

* I finally bagged up all of my too-big clothes yesterday. I cleaned out my dresser drawers and closet. There are two things hanging on my side of the closet now. It looks like I’ve packed up and left Gerald. I’m one of the few women who can actually say “I have nothing to wear” and mean it.

* I need a new jacket. It’s wicked cold outside these days. (see above re: housebreaking) I’m thinking a fleece number from Old Navy with a cute matching scarf.

* Preschool/MDO is still proving to be a giant WIN for us. Maddie loves going to school to “play with the babies.” She comes home exhausted and sweaty and happy.

* I’m almost completely done Christmas shopping. Only one hard-to-find gift left (plus your gift if you win my contest!). My Christmas cards are all signed, addressed, stamped and ready to be mailed out. I’m on top of this shit, I tell ya.

* Also, we’re broke now.

* I’m ashamed to admit this, but I’m totally digging Britney’s new song Womanizer.

* The dust in my house has reached critical mass. We live a couple of miles away from a cement plant and there’s no way to stop the dust, so I’ve sort of given up on it. This, of course, doesn’t help the issue whatsoever.

* Maddie loves for me to draw bunnies for her. Poor thing has no idea that I can’t draw to save my life. She’s going to grow up with some weird, distorted view of bunnies, that’s for sure.

* I enjoy watching Sesame Street with Maddie and I don’t care who knows it.

Christmas Cheer

Hey, wanna Christmas card from the me? Email me your address and I’ll totally send you one. And I’ll even give you my address so you can send me one, too! You know, if you wanna.

(My email address is erica @ andnoplacetogo dot com)

Blatantly Obvious

We took our 2008 family Christmas photos last night. I’ve done some high-tech editing (read: slapped that shit together in Paint) and created a side-by-side comparison with last year’s photo. In last year’s photo, I’m wearing a size 28 jean and a 26/28 sweater. In this year’s photo, I’m wearing a size 18 jean and a 16/18 sweater.

This is what losing 75 pounds looks like:

Say it with me… “WOW.”

p.s. If you’re interested, there are more Christmas pics here.

Santa’s Lil’ Helper

I want to get you a little something for Christmas. I’m not sure what yet, but I can promise you it will be fabulous. So here’s the deal: this contest is ONLY OPEN TO MY REGULAR READERS/COMMENTERS. I know that sounds harsh, (all caps AND bold, for goodness’ sake!) but it’s my blog and that’s the way I roll.

All of you regulars, please leave a comment on this post by noon central time on Friday, Dec 4th. I’ll randomly pick a name and then not-so-randomly pick a present for you. Remember, it’ll be fabulous!