Countdown to...

Christmas!! Can you believe it? Only 2 months til Christmas!
So, without further ado, here's my Christmas list!


How I Met Your Mother on DVD--we LOVE this show! It's one that I could watch over & over, and it's funny every time!





Since "we" are moving to England, I thought it might behoove us to take along a few travel guides about England, London (it'll be just over an hour away!), and Great Britain in general. This way, not only will we make sure we experience as much as possible, but we can be prepared for our guests as well! Did I mention that at the Harbour Rocks Hotel in Sydney, one of the things I loved was that they had some travel books in the lobby? I would like to provide the same service for our guests ;) This is a lot of pictures, but I figured I'd include them all since there's not one specific one I'm particularly hoping for.




Knitting Books- yes, there are still some that I don't have in my collection!
Ravelry has this fun function that shows you which books you "need for your queue". I have projects on my to-do list from Scarf Style, Color Style, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts & Itty Bitty Nursery.


Aunt Margie sent me a book by "the Yarn Harlot" and it was SO good! She has some others out... I've seen one at the BX but keep resisting because it's good for the Christmas list!




After amassing quite a collection of warm weather running gear since I developed an interest in running in something other than cotton t-shirts (I'm sure my running group thanks Aunt Margie, my dad & David for providing some running gear that helps me be just a little less stinky during our runs), now I'll have to dress for cooler weather during my runs. And rainy weather too! These particular clothes are from Road Runner Sports (and I love the RRS stuff I got for Christmas last year!) but I've also been quite happy with running clothes I've gotten from K-mart/Wal-mart. What I look for in running clothes- "dri-fit" or something similar, size small, room to move (I'm not really into the skin-tight UnderArmour). For a long-sleeve shirt, I'm happy with a half-zip, no zip, crew/v neck, mock neck, etc. I usually run in shorts in cool weather too, but wouldn't mind having a pair or two of tights or "not-quite-tights"--probably the "capri" length would do for me. I'd end up hemming the pants length! My ears get cold, so I like to have a headband.


And, oh my goodness! What a happy day... while I was looking at running clothes, I discovered that Road Runner Sports is now stocking my favorite running socks--the Asics Hera Low-Cut. And they come in purple! Did you hear that, Dad?



I have so much scrapbook stuff to use up before I need any more! The only things that could always be replenished are adhesives--Therm O Web Click N Stick, Glue Dots, Pop Dots, etc. And a new nice-writing fine-point black pen, like a Zig writer or something. Other than the "Click N Stick" I'm not particular about the exact brand.



That said, there is always something I love in the Stampin' Up! catalog! This time around, my super-faves are "Crazy for Cupcakes," "Flight of the Butterfly," and "Close as a Memory".

I have a growing interest in digital scrapbooking. It's fun & you don't have to clean up after yourself! (Or clean a space off your table beforehand!) I've bought a few digital "supplies" and downloaded tons of freebies from ScrapGirls. They have a monthly club and they send out an "e-kit" of digi-scrap goodies. You just have to be careful though, because it looks like they automatically renew unless you inform them not to!




In our "custody agreement" for our video game consoles for next year, David gets the X-Box 360 and I get the Wii. Of course, I've been wanting the Wii Fit, but so far no luck getting that! There's also the Jillian Michaels (the "mean" one from the Biggest Loser) Fitness Ultimatum, which would replace the only game (besides Rock Band) that I would really miss on the X-Box system. Yesterday we saw a commercial for Wii Music and it looked like fun. And Big Brain Academy Wii Degree looks right up my alley.

Well, that ought to be plenty of variety for those that are interested in buying me something. The best thing about having a birthday 3 weeks after Christmas is being "allowed" to make a big Christmas list, because it kind of carries over as a birthday wish list a few weeks later!

I asked David if he had anything he wanted me to add to the list for him, and he says no. The only things he wants either- a) are too expensive to list on a Christmas list (PSP, iPod Touch) or b) he does not intend to wait for Christmas for before buying for himself (a video game that's coming out next week. So of course he has to have it next week). The usual "black t-shirts" aren't even a good Christmas option for David anymore because he's now wearing the new AF uniforms and they don't do black t-shirts. He did mention before that he wanted a NY Giants visor, because he likes wearing a visor when he's golfing and he also mentioned some kind of golf GPS unit...not sure what it's called--SkyCaddy or something? I don't know what it is. He won't be doing much golfing where he's headed, but at least it's an idea. I guess he'll need to stock up on some gloves, hats & scarves! EDITED TO ADD: David announced yesterday that he would like to add "Long Johns" (not the donuts) to his list. Size--L. Color- prefers black or dark blue. White works fine. I guess he doesn't like the long undies with flowers and stars, which are my personal favorite.

I Scream, You Scream

Here's the scoop (ha ha) on our ice cream maker: My old neighbor who I don’t exactly have the warm fuzzies for bought my set of pots and pans for our wedding gift (and brought them over 6 months later...2 days before our household goods were being picked up to be sent to Okinawa!). Anyway, we already had received the pots and pans from my sweet and wonderful aunt at our shower (8 months earlier…and she was there and I am convinced that she was aware of this when she bought me a 2nd set!)
So, the day before our things get picked up, DH and I go to return the pots/pans. The stuff we picked included an ice cream maker. We went through the check-out and out to the parking lot and David wouldn't stop grumbling about the ice cream maker. He kept on saying that we'd never use it and it was a waste of money. David is all about spending and wasting $, so I guess I figured that if HE thought it was a waste, it must really be wasteful! So I caved in and we turned right back around and exchanged the ice cream maker for a clock and some picture frames.

But really, what kind of wife would I be if I just let that go? Everytime we had Baskin Robins or wished we had something sweet after dinner, I would say, "Remember when we had an ice cream maker for 4 minutes?" or "Just imagine if we had an ice cream maker and we could make our own ice cream right now instead of driving all the way (less than a mile) to BR!" Etc.
And David, in a move that gives all husbands everywhere a good name, was actually listening. And last Christmas, I got an ice cream maker. And last weekend, I used it.

So, David was wrong to say we'd never use it. I have used it. And it was easy and delicious. I will use it again. Soon.
I made Heath Bar Crunch ice cream that was a recipe I received in a recipe card swap over at ScrapVillage. It was so fun to watch my dessert go from a bunch of milk to real ice cream before my very eyes. Unfortunately, the commissary didn't have any whipping cream or heavy cream that day, so I had to settle for milk & butter. It was good, don't get me wrong...but I'm very excited to taste it when I really use the right ingredients!

Edited to add: So, Uncle Bill if you're reading this, now that I know how easy it is to make ice cream, I'll be sure to pick up some ingredients for Green Tea ice cream for Aunt Nim when you come visit next!!

Only the Pros

So last week, our plans changed. Not something trivial like dinner plans, but major life plans. Okay, okay, really only a year of the plans got changed, but it's kind of hard to stomach when you're not even the person in charge of making the changes. And when the entity making the changes can't seem to give you all of the information, but they're changing your whole life anyway.
In short (because I'm getting kind of tired of talking about it), instead of going home for a year like I thought I would while David is gone, I basically have no choice (no good one anyway) but to go directly to our next base in England and wait. So, I gave myself a day to cry and stress out about it (okay, 3 days) but now it's time to move on. There's no sense complaining about it, because it can't be changed. [Although I will still allow myself a normal healthy amount of stress for the details once I get there] My initial instinct was to make a pros/cons list, but that's only useful when YOU are the one making your own decisions.
So, now I'm making an Only Pro list:
1. I get the day off school today because I have to go to the dentist and make sure my teeth are well enough to be shipped to England.
2. Remember how sometimes Blogger (and a few other sites too) thinks I can read Japanese just because my computer is in Japan? Well, guess what... even if it thinks I'm English because my computer is in England...all the words will still be in English!
3. I won't be "allowed" to work until David gets there. Darn. ;)
4. I can wear sweaters there, and not just indoors with the a/c blasting.
5. After living somewhere where a plane ticket home costs $1,500+, the ticket from England will seem cheap. (for example, I just looked up last-minute tickets on expedia-- from here to Chicago leaving in 3 days would cost $2,700, but from England to Chicago is less than $700...that's definitely a pro!)
6. After living somewhere where a plane ride home involves 2 or 3 planes and 11+ hours on one plane, an 8.5 hour plane ride will seem short.
7. Since the travel is so short & cheap, I'll be able to go home more often in 1 year than I have in the past 3.5.
8. People will probably feel sorry for me and visit me.
9. I already know how to drive on the left side of the road.
10. I already have experience riding the "tube".
11. The signs will be in English.
12. I like fish & chips.
13. There are these great things there called trains and cheap flights and you can use them to get to lots of other European countries!
14. I will live in the same place as Harry Potter.
15. That island is a whole lot bigger than this one!
16. I already know a few people there: someone who taught at our school and moved there last year, someone who David was in Saudi with, and a few Ravelry buddies!
17. They have "English Breakfast". I love breakfast.
18. The places around where I will live are really cute! Just my style. I think I'll get there just a little bit too late to rent an old chapel that's been converted to a house! It's so darn cute...but it goes up for "let" a month before we'll get there.
19. People speak English there! And they do it with these fabulous accents!
20. And how about the obvious... it's England, for Pete's sake! There's castles and scones and a hot Prince! (William, not Charles)