The randomness just won't quit

How about some more randomness since I just don't have anything exciting to write about? (do I ever?)

I have four loads of laundry sitting on my bed. I slept with them last night. They aren't folded. They are sitting there, clumped up, getting all wrinkly. (is that a word?)

Josh is on his way home from Utah right now. He's taking a "short cut" to get home by going through Nevada. I say "short cut" because whenever my husband takes a short cut he lengthens his drive by at least one hour. On one family vacation it resulted in an extra TWELVE hours. Yes, twelve. We still laugh and talk about it. Today even. I reminded him what his short cuts do but he thinks this one will be different.

Thinking of calling him and placing a bet.

The neighbor's llama hasn't been getting out lately. The other neighbors must have complained. I would have liked to because the dumb thing ate my plants in my front yard. He was good for too many laughs though to tattle on him.

On Sunday as we were pulling into our driveway we were greeted with a cow hoof. Oh? You don't believe me?


Yes, that's right. It was at our house. Who knows where it came from but I love that it ended up in front of our house.

We had friends over for dinner on Sunday night and they were telling us a hilarious story that makes the scene from Napoleon Dynamite not seem as bad.

Carlos (friend that came over) was saying how he and his BIL were out having a cow butchered in the front pasture. The rendering truck came and the cow is hanging there, everything spilled wide open when they hear a school bus approaching.

Sure enough the bus has to stop at the railroad tracks right beside the pasture.

Yes, the poor children were scarred that day. Am I awful to say I was laughing so hard at this? Had my daughter been on that bus she would have had quite the story when she came home from school that day!

Today I put pig tails in Spice's hair for the first time. They've been in for nearly four hours and she hasn't taken them out!

Because I feel I've had poor blogging material for you lately I've decided to go in the truck with my husband and children next week. If you'd like to send me a straight jacket, feel free.

I asked my mom if I'm the same on my blog as I am in person. She says yes. What say you?

I should be making food for next week but I'm blogging instead. You see the things I do for you? ;)

I thought I was going to be able to file my taxes today then realized I have one more statement coming. Boo. Looking forward to our refund!!

Neighbor's chickens are outside. Actually, they are roosters.

The laundry is still on the bed.

I'm thinking of getting rid of my iPhone.

I'm thinking of writing.

I want to go to a blog conference sometime.

I want to go to Tennessee. Soon.

Josh and I have heard people rave on and on about Nacho Libre. We watched it. End of story. But that's how I felt about the first time I watched Napoleon Dynamite, too. The second time I laughed so hard I cried. Maybe I need to watch Nacho again, huh?

I'm hungry.

I've been consuming corn tortillas like they're going outta style lately. I eat them at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Last Friday evening we went to the grocery store for a couple of things and this couple kept staring at us. They were friendly enough so it didn't bug me but I noticed they just wouldn't quit. Finally, when we were in line to pay she came up to me. I thought maybe she wanted pointers on how to get the awesome look of the ponytail I was sporting or ask where I got my cool sweats from or how I get Spice to behave so horribly in the cart. But no. She wanted to know what bottle of wine we had in our cart.

Then she asked if I'd walk her to it. Then she told me her name and shook my hand. Her name was Mary.

And she was nice.

And I think it'd be nice to have another bottle of that wine.

A Bullet-Point(less) Post

• It's 72 degrees in my house, yet I'm freezing.
• Josh and I were in Costco on Sunday and past the section with the fancy shmancy razors. He asked if I wanted one and I informed him I don't shave often enough to feel right about spending $30 on a razor. "I know. Maybe then you would."
• I bought a pair of jeans at TJ Maxx the other night and decided that a bottle of anti-depressants should have been free with purchase.
• I've been encouraged about my husband's job lately. I had a rough couple of weeks where I just wasn't dealing well with him being gone. I don't know what happened but I'm doing better.
• The living room and girls' room has been rearranged today. If you know me at all you aren't the least bit surprised by this.
• Sugar saw a picture of my dad the other day and asked who he was. Broke my heart into a million pieces.
• I feel the Lord is telling me to do something and I'd very much like to ignore it.
• The only sugar I had yesterday was in the two Tbsp. of creamer I put in my coffee. I don't think it's any coincidence that I felt amazing all day and woke up at 5 am energetic and ready for the day. Maybe I should keep that up, huh?
• I'm going to a baby shower on Saturday. I love babies. And I love the girl who's having a baby.
• My mom is moving nearer to us and I'm quite excited! It'll be nice to have her over for dinner more and to hang out and have someone be close to watch my girls if I need.
• Whether it's been 3 am or 5 am I've been getting up with my husband to make his breakfast, lunch and sometimes his dinners. When that alarm goes off I want to smash it but I've been reminding myself to love Josh more than I love me. Why is it so hard?
• For four and a half years we've been driving 90 miles round trip on Sundays for church. I really wish there were a Calvary Chapel in our town.
• I have a hot date with my SIL Treena on Feb. 5th. I'm stoked.
• I exercised the other day. Well, I exercised self-control the other day. I drove past Starbucks, waved, blew her a kiss and didn't stop. (you didn't really think I'd exercise, did you?)
• Our kitchen remodel is going to be fabulous. We keep coming up with more and more ideas that we love. Should be complete just in time for Jesus' return.
• After I get Josh's paycheck tomorrow and pay bills and fill my van with gas, we'll have $29 until next payday. Woooo-eeeee!
• I'm planning my birthday. It's 4.5 months away and I already have the day planned out. We (me, myself and I) are going to have a fabulous time!

Typical Saturday in Our Life

We moved into this house on November 18, 1999.

I was 19.

Josh was 21.

And we didn't know the first clue about owning a home. But here we were. A house that no one liked but us. We could see the potential. My husband has always been quite the dreamer. Within a few months we started in on the first of 10 years worth of projects.

We've seen the eye rolls, heard the "pfffts" and watched the blank stares. That's okay. That's why we live here and they don't.

Fixing up a house when you've no clue what you're doing is trial and error. We've had lotsa trials and quite a few errors but nothing that wasn't eventually able to be fixed.

One issue we have with projects on our house is that we start them, work for a bit, get the project mostly done and then we see a butterfly and get distracted.

Here's a list of things that I can remember we've done to the house:

Gutted the kitchen. Boarded up corner windows, took down all paneling and drywall, removed homemade cabinets, re-sheetrocked and put in a new window and all new cabinets and new flooring.

Gutted the living room. There were corner windows in the living room also. We boarded those up. Put in new windows, a new slider, took down all the paneling and drywall, took out the red/orange carpet and replaced that. New sheetrock (paid someone to texture it since we were under a time crunch and Josh was working two jobs so he didn't have time before the carpet was to come.)

Gutted the bathroom. Kept the old tub and toilet. New bathtubs are shallow and short (like me!!) and just aren't as good a quality unless you can spend billions. We can't. We did get a new vanity, flooring and a window.

Gutted one bedroom, put in a new closet and ended up carpeting it right before Spice was born. It had yucky hardwood flooring that we were never able to sand down. :( So we covered it instead. Also installed a new window.

Since I'm a horrible do-er of laundry and our laundry area was in our unfinished basement, Josh plumbed in our washer and dryer into our room. Our room is the only room on the main level that does not have new sheetrock but it does have new flooring.

While we did remodel our kitchen there wasn't anything (at the time) that we could do with the size of it. It's a decent sized kitchen until you put a dining table in it. Then it's kinda squishy (also like me!!)

A few months ago Josh mentioned he'd like to knock the walls out and open up the room. To do this would mean moving our two stair wells. The one going up and the one going down. Huge undertaking. HUGE! I let him talk, let him dream. And tried not to get excited because it sounded so good. But seemed so far off. I told him that all I cared to do next was our entryway.

When you first walk into our house you can head to the dreaded unfinished basement or head left into the kitchen. To the right is the pantry. The entry is small and was kinda botched together when they built the house. None of the sheetrock lined up, they'd painted it a light pink and then a green right before we moved in. I've since painted it white just because the green made me want to vomit.

A few years ago we had a friend (in truth, a drifter Josh picked up) come over that needed a place to stay for a few days. He wanted to do some work around our house as payment (yes, we charge for visitors) (ppffft, kidding) so Josh had him install a new front door. In the process Nolan needed to bust up some of the sheetrock in the entryway. It's been ugly and busted up like that for three years.

The entryway is the ugliest part of our house. Of course that's my opinion, those who've been to our house might say otherwise. Anyway. Saturday I decided to take out all the sheetrock and start over.

Yes, random fact about me, I can install sheetrock, mud and tape and texture with the best of 'em. Ask my husband.

So, off I went with a nail puller in hand and a Shop-Vac nearby.
Sorry, these pictures are taken with my phone and some turned out a little dark. This is my front door, complete with Christmas wreath, and our naked carport and dangling paddle/peddle boat.
This is the pantry. Josh put shelves in it for me and a rack for the mop and broom. This pantry cuts into our bedroom and Josh thinks it was probably an after thought in building the house. After we're finished with our huge project this will be a doorway. You'll walk in and to the left will be the stairs to head down or straight across you'll walk into the laundry/guest room. That way guests can work off their stay by folding our clothes. Please visit anytime.
This is the part I hate. The random pieces of stuff they've slapped together. It's very odd. Please don't look too closely at what is in the basement. You'll see the top of my sister's fridge but actually you won't since I have a ton of junk on top of it. Oops.
This is after I've torn out some sheetrock.

My husband couldn't leave well enough alone and decided it was just time to start that kitchen renovation.

This is the back of the staircase that faces the living room and heads upstairs. It had been covered with a thin piece of paneling so this was our first time seeing what was underneath. In this picture you can also see our basement and all my sister's goods. ☺ You can also get a peek at Josh who is pulling the stairs off!
When you walk into our house now this is the first thing you'd see. Normally it's a paneled wall, now you can see straight into our living room!
In this picture on the right the stairs are completely gone. To the left is the kitchen wall that will be coming out, opening that entire area. The walkway you can now see into the living room will just be open area. The kitchen/dining/living room will all flow together. We'll move the staircase going upstairs into the hallway, blocking the entrance to our room/laundry room. That's why the pantry will be turned into a doorway to that room.

It's a crazy move on our part. Most people think it's a dumb idea. My mom and sister came over today and let me talk out our plan. They love the idea and I thought it was funny that they weren't shocked. "It's what you guys do." "It always works out." And it does. It takes a long time and Josh and I bicker over it but we have fun working together and I'm so stoked about this project.

I'll update as we do stuff. I'm sure it's going to be a wild ride!

The Day I Scarred my Children for Life

At age 29 I figured I knew pretty much everything about myself that there is to know. I mean, I have spent these last 29 years with myself. Surely I know me by now.

Right?

Wrong.

Growing up my mother instilled a certain irrational fear, if you will, into my sisters and me. Excuse me if you've heard this part of my story before but I must tell it. I remember being nearly eight years old and hearing my mother scream, watched her run past me and proceed to throw herself on the couch and aim a squirt bottle at the wall behind me.

Because of a spider.

Now that I have children of my own I've tried very, very hard to be calm when I see a spider. It's taken a great amount of self-control that I don't possess in many other areas of my life but when I see an eight-legged, creepy crawly thing I try to hold it together. I don't want my daughters to freak out over spiders the way I have my entire life (thanks, Mom.) I want them to be calm about uncomfortable situations and deal with them in the way they need to be dealt with. (like a cast iron pan to the cephalothorax)

My friends, there are times and places to be in control of one's self. Last night, in my home, was not one of those times or places.

I had gone downstairs to our unfinished basement to put away one last Christmas decoration. On my way back up the stairs I grabbed Shadow's (our golden retriever) dog food bin. A big garbage can. I was too lazy to go upstairs, grab his dish and come back down to fill it. Figured I'd just take the whole thing up with me. I proceeded to stick my hand down into the bin, reached for the plastic cup and scoop up some dog food. Instead I scooped up

a MOUSE!!!!

Mind you, this photo was taken by my husband 2.5 hours later.

I screamed when I realized I had just scooped up the mouse and not dog food. I screamed while I was talking to Josh on the phone. Especially after he told me to just scoop 'im up and put him outside. Uh, hello. NO.

And I may have screamed a little (1 hour) later when I decided to drag the garbage bin full of dog food outside to the porch.

And maybe once more when I thought he'd jumped out of the garbage bin. (sorry, Amy Beth, my text telling you he'd jumped out was wrong. Indeed the little bugger had just burrowed into the cup and I couldn't see him anymore.)

Mind you, my children are at the dinner table witnessing these horrific events.

Sugar says to me, "Mom, is it a big mouse or a little mouse?"

It's HUGE, I want to tell her.

"It's just a little mouse." I had to tell her the truth.

"Well, it's just a mouse. You'll be okay." Says the girl who has seen Ratatouille onetouille many times, obviously.

Josh came home and quickly proceeded to stick his hand down into the dog food, picked up the cup and started talking to the mouse. He asked me if we were going to keep it.

Are you FREAKING kidding me?

"Him or me, Bud, him or me." I'm sad to say my husband had to contemplate that one.

"Well, come outside, we need to say goodbye to him."

Uh, what???

Sure enough, the guy wants to set the vermin free. He nearly let him loose in our wood pile! When I screamed (yes, again) that NO, he would not be doing that, he then went out into our front yard and let him loose there.

"Bye, little buddy."

Seriously, see what I have to live with?

Josh tells me he learned something new about me. After 13 years together it's still possible to not know everything about each other, I guess.

"I didn't know you were afraid of mice."

"I didn't either! But the screaming sure proves I must be."

I'm not proud to admit I'm a sissy la-la. But I totally am.

And 25 years from now, Sugar is going to blog about the day she was sitting down at the dinner table and her mother ran past her, screaming and holding a cell phone while a cute, little mouse nibbled on some dog food.

Could be me

Josh used to work a half mile down the road from our house. He'd leave our house about 6:55 am and return home around 5:08 pm.

Each morning he'd get up, make his own breakfast, sit in silence drinking his coffee then make his lunch and head off to work. There were days I'd get up in time to see him off to work but, sadly, they were few and far between.

Now he leaves on Sunday or Monday and occasionally gets home during the week but for the most part I don't see him until Friday evening. It's tough. It really is. During these winter months with the freeways and highways being covered in snow, ice and freezing rain, I think it's best us girls hold down the fort here at home.

There are days I'd give anything for him to work a half mile from home again. I tell myself I'd get up at 6 and make his breakfast. I'd make his lunch, too. Then I'd kiss him, hug him and tell him to have a wonderful day.

I've thought about this quite a bit lately. Even more so since last Thursday.

Josh called me while I was with my mom last week and told me a very sad story. A story that breaks my heart and makes me realize I need to let my man know each and every day how much he means to me because life is so short.

There's a guy who works at a dairy where Josh delivers hay on occasion. Nice guy. Age 30. He married his high school sweetheart and they had three kiddos, twins and a singleton. Most mornings he gets up on his own, makes his own breakfast and lunch and heads off to work while his wife lay sleeping. Last Wednesday, however, his wife got up and made his breakfast and they spent a little time together. Before he left for work he touched her face, kissed her and said goodbye.

That was the last time Nick would do that. He died a few hours later at the dairy. I think it's wonderful that she got up that day. I know the Lord nudged her sleepy head out of bed that morning. What a precious last morning they had together. I'm sure she'll always be thankful for those few moments they had together that day.

Please pray for Nick's wife and their three daughters.

Then let those you love know you love them.

One thing I'm certain of, if Josh were to work close to home again, I'd be making more of an effort to be up with him during those wee hours of the morning.

It's been a no good very bad day so here's a list to make me feel better

I've had one of the worst days in history.

It's been bad.

Real bad.

I've journaled it. Breathed in. Breathed out. Cried a snotty cry and tried to nap.

I started to feel better until I realized Sugar sprayed Spray 'n' Wash in Spice's mouth. I don't know how much but I'm trying not to freak. Then Spice fell of a bench I have in the living room. She's beat up pretty good and smells like Spray 'n' Wash to boot.

I refuse to have another snotty cry so instead I decided to list to you the things that were in my junk drawer this evening. I decided to clean the bad boy out and was quite into it thus the Spray 'n' Wash ordeal.

Ready? Okay. No judging, alright?

• Thanksgiving cards
• Inflatable flamingo (don't lie, you have one, too.)
• Invitations
• Thank You cards from Sugar's 3rd birthday (a year and a half ago)
• Spice's immunization card that has zero immunizations in it
• A baby rattle
• Lightbulbs
• Twix-It clips
• Apple slicer
• Both girls' umbilical cords in baggies (I have issues)
• Ice cream scoop
• Fly catcher
• Artificial leaves
• States and Capitals flashcards
• Nails (not the fake finger kind, the kind you pound in a wall)
• Check stubs
• Highlighters
• Ear buds
• Roll of film (used)
• Sugarland CD
• Racal Flatts CD
• Chris Cagle CD (all three ended up in the garbage)
• Sharpies
• Stapler
• Staples
• Whisk
• Birdhouse lightswitch plate cover thingy
• Charger for Josh's blue tooth
• nuts and bolts
• Replacement bulbs for Christmas lights
• A die (like dice but just one)
• Pastry Cutter
• Address book

I emptied everything out. Threw a bunch away then organized the rest and put things where they belong. Gotta admit most stuff belonged in the trash-ola. I know you're all dying for me to send you the inflatable flamingo but it's just not gonna happen. She's already heading far far away.

Now, I must get back to my pity party. What's in your junk drawer?

Bloggy Birthday (girl) Winner

Every time I've picked a winner for the Bloggy Birthday Giveway it's been through random.org, oh and then there was the one time that I wrote all the names on paper and Josh picked one. (I won't mention here that the winner never got back to me so I just gave that gift to my SIL)

ahem.

All that to say, I've never just picked a winner. Random.org has done it or my husband drew a name.

This time I'm changin' it up!

In my recent giveaway post I asked that you tell me what your favorite gift or part of Christmas 2009 was. All of your answers were wonderful. Christmas was pretty special this year, huh?

But the one that got me was this:

"My favorite gift...hmmm...
I did receive a lot of very nice gifts for Christmas and I do love each and every one of them...
then there is spending time with my family on Christmas morning...watching my boys faces light up each time they opened a gift...
I think my greatest gift was watching my dad this Christmas season...see this is his first Christmas as a Christian...his first year of opening the gift of Jesus...what a blessing for him and me :)"

Kristie, I love that your dad has Jesus in his life. I love that you got to share his first CHRISTmas with him. So awesome. And...I also love that your birthday is tomorrow.

And because I love you and birthdays and giving presents, I pick YOU my friend for the winner!

I'll ship your goods tomorrow even though it won't be warm enough to wear flip flops to the post office. Because that's just how much I love ya.

Happy Birthday tomorrow, my little Cupcake!

We now return to our regularly scheduled bloggy birthday giveaway

In the craziness that is the New Year and Christmas and life in general I almost spaced the fact that my birthday is coming up!

That is, until yesterday when I realized IT'S ONLY FIVE MONTHS AWAY!!!

But I'm not excited or anything.

Un uh.

I lie. I am. I'm so stinkin' excited. I'm over half way there!

And to celebrate the fact that in 5 months minus one day I will be the big 3-0 I give to you my dear friends...

<center><a href="http://joshua24-15.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt94/memoriesbydesign/Lil-House-Birthday-Giveaway.jpg"/></a></center></td>

Let's do the business part first and get to the fun stuff in a minute. It's pretty simple:

1. Leave a comment
2. Make sure you check back here on Wednesday to see if you're the winner
3. Send me $500.
4. Oh, did number three actually show up? Oops. My bad.
5. If you win, email me @ truckfamily@gmail.com with your full name and address and
I'll ship your goods as soon as it's warm enough for me to wear flip flops to the post office.

Kidding. You know, mostly.

Now for the fun part:

At the beginning of December I hosted a Pampered Chef party and was able to get an extra gift for one of you!

This is a fun little decorator bottle set. It comes with three tips, writing, basket weave and rosette. My consultant also said they're interchangeable with Wilton tips, so if you have summa those, you can easily attach 'em to these cute little squeeze bottles.

Fun, huh?

So, if you'd like to win this for yourself or re-gift (as it is still that time of year) leave a comment telling me your favorite gift you received for Christmas or if you didn't do the whole gifting thing, what is something you'll remember about Christmas 2009?

I'll go first. ☺ Josh and I did not exchange gifts this year and even though we were blessed with the most amazing gifts from family and friends my most treasured gift for 2009 was seeing my youngest sister. And as I'm typing this, the tears are spilling over yet again. I love her so much. See and speak to her so little even though we live 10 miles apart. She came to my house to pick up my mom and ended up staying for a little over two hours. My favorite two hours of 2009.


Thank You, Jesus, for that awesome gift.

Happy commenting!

I've Decided

to just keep the ol' blog around.

I knew I would. Well, I figured I would.

Over the last few weeks of not blogging and thinking about why I blog and what the purpose of my blog is all about I realized something.

I've been OVERthinking it.

Hello.

McFly.

I did what I always do. I started comparing my blog to many of the other blogs I read and love. My blog is not like theirs. They are funny or smart or deep or crafty. I'm kinda just...

Here.

My blog exists.

It's not frilly or deep. It's not funny or serious.

It just is. It is what it is. And I'm going to accept it that way instead of comparing it (read: me) to everyone else.

Yep, that's what I've decided.

And I thought I was the only one

I'm the type of person who would rather tell you everything I'm bad at than one thing I'm good at.

I try not to "put on airs" (whatever that means).

I want to be real. And I try to be real.

I will often lay out my feelings on my blog.

Or I'll post about stuff from my past.

I try very hard to be honest.

I want to be transparent.

However, many times when it comes to my mothering, I hold things in. Not always. There are times I've been very honest with what's going on on the outside. But so many times I keep what's going on on the inside a secret. Many times a secret I don't even tell my husband.

When I read a post over at Sarah Mae's today and the comments that followed, my jaw dropped. I find that I'm so bound by fear that I'm the only one feeling less than, or the only one who doesn't feel equipped to be caring for this house or these girls, or the only one who can never seem to control the laundry pile that I don't ever ever ever speak of it...I keep the feelings in.

So to realize I'm not the only who doesn't have it all together, that I'm not the only one who feels tired and hormonally outta whack was such a weight lifted off my shoulders. A relief to this weary mama. A mama who struggles every night with falling asleep because of my many failures throughout the day.

Tonight I'll go to bed with a lighter heart. And hopefully be able to sleep peacefully without beating myself up for being the only mother who constantly fails.

Please read Sarah Mae's post.

We're going LIVE

Hello, my favorite bloggy friends.

I hope you don't think it's silly when I say I have really missed you. And blogging. And your sweet comments.

What I haven't missed is trying to come up with what to blog. Honestly, I feel a bit boring and wonder if I've left you snoring at your desk at the end of each post.

This past week has been good for me to think about what I want for my blog when I decide to return "full time" in January. Yes, I've decided that the rest of December will be devoted to family and friends. The next Bloggy Birthday Giveaway will be posted in January instead of late December.

To forewarn you, the content of my blog come January could be a little less fun and a little more serious. Dun dun dun.... ;)

All that to say (a term I've noticed used by my southern friends) this Friday afternoon, before I go mute til January (I may post re-runs) I'd love to do a live blog. Just tonight I was over at Amy Beth's and thoroughly enjoyed some live blog time with her and some other girlies. I thought, "hey, I should do this!" But listen here, bloggy friends...I don't want to be here alone! You had BETTER show up!

So, come Friday at 12:30 pm PST, we'll have some live blog time where we chat about what we're doing for Christmas, I'll answer any questions you have about whatever and we'll just have a GRAND ol' time.

Sound fun?

I KNOW!

See ya Friday!

Love,
Sarah

Until Further Notice

I lied.

I said I'd blog about our trip to Idaho.

I haven't.

I'm not going to.

Not tonight.

Not tomorrow.

I don't know when.

What I do know is that I'm done blogging until future notice.

Winner of all things Coffee

It's so fun to give stuff away. Especially when you know the recipient is absolutely going to love the gift. Or at least love winning the gift.

I love people who are excited about receiving things. Growing up in a household of girls where it was all about emotion and loud expression, we were always excited about presents and were quick to let everyone on the block know about it.

When I married Josh, it took me about seven years to realize that just because he doesn't jump up and down and cry and scream about a gift I give him, doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't like the gift. His family enjoys their gifts, they just don't scream about it. I could learn a lesson or 37 from them.

But, I gotta say, when I put in 1-24 on www.random.org for the giveaway entries, I was pretty stoked at the winner.

I knew she'd be excited. Partly because she likes the items being given away, but mostly because she just loves to win.

(you know who you are by now, right?)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*killin' ya yet?
*
*
*
*
*
*
Denise...YOU WIN!!!

(could this be a way to get you down here on Saturday night for the parade???) ;)

Thanks to everyone who entered and for sharing with me the person or persons you are thankful for. You blessed my heart.

The Peterbilt is always good for a story

You can still enter my giveaway here.

I've been gone awhile, huh?

I KNOW!

On Wednesday we left for Nampa, ID in the Peterbilt (can you feel a truck story coming on?) to head to my aunt and uncle's for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Josh and I had been going back and forth as to whether we should take our van (paying our way there) or taking the Peterbilt if his boss had a load heading that way (being paid to drive there.) Sure enough, Nancy-Josh's boss, had a load heading to Salt Lake City, UT with a Monday delivery.

We (read: Josh) made the decision we'd take the truck to Idaho. Great for saving on gas but you just can't ever ever ever ever plan for an exact time of departure or arrival. My goal was to leave town by noon and be in Nampa in time for dinner.

We left our town by 11-yay! ahead of schedule!-and then had to stop at tire store to replace two tires. Two tires that turned into three tires. Which really, three out of 26 ain't too shabby. Still, it put us on the road two hours late. No biggie, McKenna (my aunt) says they'll wait to have dinner til we get there.

We're 90 minutes into our trip when another trucker gets on the CB and informs us part of our pipe load has come undone and is hanging off the trailer about 5 feet. GOODIE!!! We're headed up a hill when the guy tells us this and Josh decides to get up the hill and fix it at the top. Cruising up the hill at a mere 30 mph and the guy gets on the CB a coupla minutes later saying our pipe load is now hanging off the trailer about 10-15 feet. Mind you, the pipe is 22 ft long...not much more and we would have lost one of our bunks!

Josh pulls the truck over, he gets out and is working for awhile. I stayed in the truck at first because I didn't think it was going to be a big deal.

This, my friends, is why I don't think very often.

I'm usually wrong.

It took us an hour in very cold temperatures and in the wind to finally secure the pipe. My husband is truly amazing. He rigged this and that and off we went.

Sooo, we were supposed to be in Nampa at 6. But we arrived in Nampa at 9.

I was frustrated but at least we got there and got there safely. I'll write more tomorrow or Friday about our trip. It was filled with food, football, games, laughter and zero sleep.

My fave.

I'm thankful for marriage...it's just something I love

If you're looking for the giveaway click here.

I asked all of you to tell me one person you're thankful for, and that if you felt up to it, to tell me why.

Can I just say that I am absolutely LOVING how many of you said your husbands?! I love it. Love.it.

I'm a passionate person. I love to love.

And one of the things I love most is marriage. I believe in it completely. I believe it's amazing and fun, wonderful and exciting and I also believe it's one of the hardest things I do on a daily basis.

Being married is tough stuff. But I believe in it. I believe in my marriage. And I believe in yours.

When marriage hits a rocky spot (and it does a whole lot 'round here) I think one of the quickest ways to start getting back on track is to start being thankful. Thankful for that man of mine. Thankful he's seen me through some really crappy years. Thankful to God that He gave me a man perfectly suited for me.

I don't know, yesterday and today, reading through your comments about being thankful for your husbands or your dad (who is a husband) just made me well up with tears of thankfulness to Jesus that so many of you are happy to have that man of yours.

So, today...this week...this year, I'm thankful for my marriage. That we've made it 11 years, 4 months and 13 days. Because it wasn't that many years ago when my husband and I spent a Thanksgiving apart. A lonely holiday for us both.

I'm thankful for our blissful days because...well, they're just fun. But I'm also thankful for our yucky days because we come out stronger.

Thank you for sharing your person you're thankful for. You blessed the heck outta me.

If you haven't yet shared the person you're thankful for click here. It also enters you in to win free coffee!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Giveaway Time!

Loving that it's already that time of the month again!

Birthday Bloggy Giveaway time!

Real quick, I'd like to take a sec and let anyone know who may be a first timer to my blog what the Birthday Bloggy Giveaway is all about.

My 30th birthday is coming up real soon! Like June soon! I absolutely love that day. My birthday is my favorite day of the year. Some people say Christmas, or Thanksgiving or Flag Day, and while those are really nice and all, I'm a big fan of a day about me. Because I'm extremely selfish, self-centered and a lover of all things wrapped with pretty paper and shiny bows!

To celebrate that I'm turning THIRTY!! I decided back in July that it would be fun to give gifts away each month on the third up until June.

So far I've given away:

July: A Scentsy warmer and bars

August: $25 cash money

September: A grocery shopping planner and journal

October: 1 year subscription to Martha Stewart

November: And last month my sister-in-law donated Close to my Heart scrapbook supplies



For December....

<center><a href="http://joshua24-15.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt94/memoriesbydesign/Lil-House-Birthday-Giveaway.jpg"/></a></center></td>

It's a gift for the Starbucks lover. (once again, want to keep this alllll for me.) So, even if you aren't a Starbucks lover, I'm sure someone on your Christmas list is and by winning, you'd have a gift to scratch off your list-PHO FREE!

Ooooh, look below...there's a super cute, felt, red bag....

What's inside??
A Starbucks coffee mug with a really cute candy can handle that I love...

And a Christmas tree ornament.....
And a $5 gift card to Starbucks!

You like?! Me too!!

How do you enter? So glad you asked!

Here are the Rules:
In honor of it being Thanksgiving week and all, please leave a comment telling me one person you are thankful for this year, and if you'd like, tell me why you're thankful for that person.

If you comment anonymously, please leave your name.

If you'd like two chances to win, copy the code that's in the middle of this post and write your own blog post about this giveaway. Then come back and leave another comment letting me know you've done that.

Winners are chosen randomly through random.org or by me writing your name on a piece of paper and my husband doing the drawing.

After the winner is announced you have 48 hours to contact me to redeem your prize. You can contact me at truckfamily@gmail.com. If I don't hear from you within the 48 hours, I'll choose another winner. (trust me, it's been done.)

I'll announce the winners next Thursday, December 3rd (aka 6 month before my birthday!)

It's Good to be Loved

There's nothing better-in my opinion-than to love and be loved.

And then to have someone make it known to everyone just how much they love you...

Well, that's just icing on my cupcake.

The one where you're supposed to answer with just one word...to that I say HA!

Cell phone: I ♥ my iPhone.

Hair: Curly. Long-ish. Brown/Blonde-ish. And always frizzy.

Father: I always want to put the first thing that pops into my head when I'm supposed to answer a question about my dad. But out of courtesy for any of my dad's family who may read this...I won't. So, my father? Curly haired, tall, broad shoulders, amazing, infectious laugh. Deceased.

Favorite food: Mexican. Hands down.

Dream from last night: I haven't remembered any of my dreams for over a week now. It's odd. But I'm thankful. The ones I was having were absolutely awful and I hated going to sleep.

Favorite drink: I'm now in love with Iced Pumpkin Spice lattes from Starbucks. mmm. But if alcohol is being served, I love me some Sangria.

Dream/goal: To weigh 115 lbs by my birthday in June.

What room am I in: My bedroom/laundry room. Seriously...the washer and dryer are in our bedroom.

Hobbies: Eating. And spending time with family and friends.

Fear: How much time do we have? I live in it everyday and it's awful and ridiculous because with God before me...what do I have to fear?

Where do I want to be in 6 years? Debt free, skinny, homeschooling, and happy.

Where was I last night? Where I always am. Home. Well, except for when I decided at 7 pm that we needed to drive a coupla towns over so I could have Starbucks.

Something I am not: A morning person.

Muffins: Just outside my jeans.

What's on my wish list: Plane tickets.

Where did I grow up: In a lonely apartment in Yakima five years ago.

Last thing I did: Made toast with honey.

What am I wearing: A pair of sweat pants that Emily gave me and a sweater.

TV: not so much.

Pets: We are the assisted living for dogs. We have a Golden Retriever who's 10 and a Beagle who's at least that old if not older. And we have the occasional llama.

Friends: First thought was Mary. I've known her almost 10 years and this girl...she gets me. The girl who laughed when I threw a pencil at her husband during a game of Pictionary...just a couple weeks into our friendship. The girl who laughs at me. The girl who came to my work 5 years ago and told me to get my life together. The girl who encourages me in my desire to homeschool. Sweet Mary who did not leave a comment on my lonely post last week but instead called me after she read it. Thank you, Mary, for being a steady friend these last 10 years. I love you.

My life: I don't have words...it's a beautiful mess. I love it. And it makes me crazy.

My mood: Contemplative. How's that for deep, eh?

My vehicle: Dodge Grand Caravan. Cup holders and heated leather seats. That's really all I care about.

What am I not wearing: A cowboy hat.

Favorite store: Goodwill Outlet. I lub it.

Favorite color: Burnt orange and a deep red.

When did I last laugh: With Mary today. She's always good for that.

My BFF: sigh....

When did I cry last: When I was on the phone with Mary last week. I lost it. Absolutely lost it.

The place I go over and over: The grocery store.

Person who emails me regularly: Treena

Favorite place to eat: El Valle and Red Robin

Ten Years on the Farm

Today marks 10 years since Josh and I unlocked the doors to this house. Our first house.

I was going to write this sappy, deep, meaningful post about the last 10 years.

But instead I'd like to tell you about the llama. We all know I don't do sappy, deep, meaningful posts. Hello, who was I trying to kid?

Our neighbors have a llama. The last couple of days he (she?) has decided to jump their fence and wander around our driveway. (three houses share this driveway.) I was wondering how he was getting out, so yesterday I went out there and as soon as I got out there I spooked him and he took off toward the fence and jumped it!

Then, today I'm headed out to check my mail and he's in my yard. I run back into the house to grab my camera and well...you're welcome.

Just munching on the grass and weeds in my yard.

Hanging out in my pasture...I went to close the gate because I'm scared he's going to leave the driveway and be hit by a car. When he saw me coming to close the gate....HE CHARGED ME!!! I had to run for my life. I haven't run in about 13 years. For anyone on our road today who may have seen the chubby girls running wildly with a camera dangling around her neck...uh, sorry. I'm sure that wasn't a pretty sight.

Obviously I wasn't so scared that I quit taking pictures. Because, hello, even though he lives next door, I just can't get enough of the llama on the loose.

He's heading over to jump the fence. Which he did several times today. Totally and completely cracks me up.

I'm sure I should tell the neighbors but I'm doubting they'll do anything.

In the ten years we've lived here there have been countless animal stories. One of my favorites was about six years ago. I was sitting in this very room, at this very computer on a very windy day, when I look out the window and see a cow staring in my window.

A cow.

At my window.

He didn't look familiar, you know...'cause I can sooo easily tell all the cows apart around here. ☺ So, I herded him him into our pasture, shut the gate and figured someone would come get him. Someone did. He was gone the next morning.

Another time I was doing dishes and there was a horse in my backyard.

And then a cow.

A couple months ago there was a donkey...or two.

And there are always chickens.

Mind you, we don't have any farm animals (well, besides the girls.)

Ten years here and I think we're just gettin' this party started. Can't wait to see what kind of animals the next ten years bring us.

Glad I don't have John's problem

After eating worms last night, I decided I didn't want that to happen again. I needed to find an answer.

So I Googled.

God Bless Google.

Apparently what happened to me last night is not uncommon. But still!

I found a website with several people talking about similar situations. Okay, maybe not similar...but they still wanted to know about the worms.

A few people offered suggestion/solutions. Storing bay leaves in your dry goods or placing peppermint gum in your pantry were a couple I found interesting.

But after reading one guy's problem, I feel a little better about myself.

John says:
"I found a couple in my pants the other day, those darn things are everywhere!"

Thank yooouu, John.

Monday Summary

Today I made meal after meal.

And didn't quite clean up after all of them.

Then it was time to meet my husband at the truck stop so I could pick up Sugar and give him all the food I'd so lovingly slaved over for the last three hours.

On my way out the door I realized someone had a stinky diaper.

And it wasn't me.

So, I had to change Spice and then throw her in the van. It wasn't until we were half way there that I realized she didn't have a coat on or socks or shoes. It was all of 40 degrees outside. Mother of the Year committee, I'm nominating myself this year.

After that it was time to go home and put together some sandwiches for the wee children and then lay them down for naps.

Then Shadow (our Golden Retriever) decided to vomit this huge, nasty, green hair ball. I panicked and didn't know what to use to pick it up. I had a Ro-Tel can that I'd emptied into one of the dishes from today, so I went to scoop the puke into that only to have some red remnants from the can spill onto my carpet.

Stupid dog. Stupid puke. Stupid red stain.

The girls and I played with Legos for a while but both children think it's more fun to destroy than to build. What's with that?! Then Sugar thought it'd be funny to play this game where she pretends to be hurt and I take her to the doctor to get better. So, we did that for awhile.

Dinner was some leftovers of one of the meals I made for Josh. It was good but a lil too salty. It had onions, pimentos, and green peppers in it and my girls loved it. (there were other ingredients as well, but I was impressed that they ate it.)

Then came bath time.

Read: Free babysitter time. Kidding...

I wash the girls and go on and on with my "don't splash water all over the floor" spiel only to turn around and hear water splash all over the floor. Sigh.

As I head out the bathroom door to clean up some toys in the living room Sugar yells that Spice pooped in the bathtub.

I removed the children as quickly and as safely from the tub as motherly possible and threw towels on 'em. Rescued My Little Pony x 5 and got a cup (not a Ro-Tel can) and scooped poop.

We played some more. (not in the bathtub)

Then it was time to clean up toys and read for a bit.

The girls were so quiet as I left their room. It was so sweet and peaceful.

And then the phone rang.

The children's father decided he wanted to say goodnight to his offspring.

Soooo, I had to go in there so he could talk to them and they were thuh-rilled. But bawled as he said goodbye and I left the room.

Good times.

I then decided I hadn't made enough of a mess in my kitchen and I needed to bake some oatmeal cookies.

So, I make the oatmeal cookies and decide to eat batter while a batch of cookies bakes. I scoop (how many times will i use that word in this post?!) some dough into a bowl, pour a glass of milk and sit down to Facebook.

Batch number one finishes. I head in to the hurricane that is my kitchen and decide to clean up a bit. As I'm going to put the lid back on the oatmeal I see something moving in it.

Crawly things.

In the oatmeal.

The oatmeal I dumped into the batter.

The oatmeal that I'd been eating.

I think I'm going to need another Ro-Tel can.

Ode to Denise's Amazingly Organized Lists

In honor of my sister-in-law, Denise, today I'll make a list post.

After a very long, very full, very wonderful day yesterday I sat down after the girls went to bed and made my to-do list for the week.

Here's what she looks like:

Monday:
Vacuum/Dust
Laundry+FAPA (fold and put away)
Make new tabs for my filing cabinet
Clean the pantry

(so far today I've vacuumed and made a week's worth of meals for Josh for the truck this week and kept my kitchen almost clean!) (now I'm pooped and not sure if I'll get the other stuff done!)

Tuesday:
Clean the bathroom including sweeping and mopping
Sweep entryway
Sweep and mop kitchen

Wednesday:
Heading to Yakima and will be gone most of the day so I made that my Get out of Chores Free Card day.

Thursday:
Laundry+FAPA
Clean tops and fronts of kitchen cupboards and cabinets
Vacuum/Dust

Friday:
Menu Plan
Clean out fridge and freezer
Wash the baseboard trim in the living room

Saturday:
YARD WORK!

Menu for the week:
Breakfast
Egg holes and sausage
French Toast Casserole
Toast and Eggs
Cereal
Pumpkin Chocolate chip muffins
Pancakes and bacon

Dinner
Calzones
Pesto Pizza (had this last night, it was pretty good in spite of my lack of making a decent crust)
Beans and Cornbread
Spaghetti, garlic bread and green beans
Fried Chicken and biscuits with corn
Meatballs and mashed potatoes
Leftovers

(Denise, I'd like an ode post now. ☺)
(and even though it makes me nervous, I'll let you make up the title. ☺)

Fun in Progression

A couple of weeks ago the girls and I went in the truck with my husband.

We were headed to Oregon with a load of something and we were going to be unloading that (whatever it was) and picking up something else. I was pretty giddy about this trip because it was a double exciting whammy for me. On our way from re-loading (it was lumber, I remember) we were headed up to Emily's where we'd be staying for the weekend and in the process of getting up to her house we'd be driving right past Josh's sister's house (you know, kinda).

Josh's sister is my SIL, Treena, you know in case you forgot. I love her like crazy. It was the day before her birthday (her and Emily share one) and I wanted to surprise her. So, we showed up on her doorstep! In the excitement I totally forgot to have Josh take our picture. We couldn't stay long as we'd be hitting Portland traffic if we did. Traffic's bad enough in a car, in a Peterbilt it's even worse. Anyway, we had fun surprising her and then it was time to head out for the rest of our weekend.

(this is the part where I don't tell you that 20 minutes from emily's house we get a call that we were loaded with the wrong crap and had to drive back down and re-load yet afreakinggain and making us three hours later to emily's than originally scheduled)

Ahem. Anyway.

We get to Jim and Emily's and she has dinner ready. Within minutes of finishing dinner we realize it's time for a Starbucks run. This is when the laughter and picture taking begins. Ohh how I wish I could post the picture. My phone is pretty slow with the whole picture taking thing and let's just say sometimes it captures a person at just the wrong moment. Which can actually turn out to be just the right moment and have me in hysterics.

But I'm not going to post it because that wouldn't be nice.

Instead I'll get on with the rest of this post and the pictures that I can post.

Emily's birthday was on Saturday and Gayle was coming over so we could start the Birthday Girl's festivities. Goodwill Outlet would be first, because what better way to start your birthday evening than by pilfering through someone's unwanted junk? Then it was to be Sushi for dinner. (gagging)

yep, we're adorable.

had this been a weee bit bigger, I totally woulda bought this for my husband. We left without it but with 30+ lbs of other goods.
Sushi on a conveyor belt. I'm trying so hard to pretend I'm a big girl.

This was as close as I wanted to get to eating it but I actually did put it in my mouth. And later into a napkin.

Gayle loved it as much as I did. You're welcome Gayle for this picture.

Birthday Girl was all about it!

We left about 12 minutes after we arrived and we were still hungry. Birthday Girl decided bread sounded good. Hello, when does bread not sound good, right? We drive until we see Panera. Which I've never been to. But apparently they have clowns.

And if I see a clown, I've got to have my picture with one.

Such a good sport.

Why yes we did have some soup and bread with our massive amounts of butter thankyouverymuch.

The fun didn't end there! After soup, bread and tiny cups of water it was off to dessert!

But not before a little rat tail action behind me. That guy has better hair than I do! We went to Olive Garden for dessert. Each of us getting something different and each of us stuffing our faces too quickly for me to get a picture of what we ate. Let me just say, the five pounds I gained from that Pumpkin Cheesecake were totally worth it.
Birthday Girl and her bestest friend. They're pretty stinkin' cute, huh?

After our appetizer (sushi) and dinner (Panera) and dessert (Olive Garden) we headed out for coffee (Starbucks). I didn't get a picture of said coffee because I was too busy throwing myself in front of Gayle to get to the cashier before she did. I totally took her.

We took pictures in the photo booths at the mall. You know the ones. You go inside a little booth, pull the curtain and sit nicely while they take your mug. FYI, three adult woman do not comfortably fit in those booths. You know, in case that was on your agenda for this weekend. And one photo booth session didn't prove to be enough, so we forked out another three bucks and did it again.

Seriously, one of the best weekends of my entire life.

Thank you, Emily and Gayle for letting me be a part of such a special time! Loved it!

lonely

i know i said i have a fun post full of pictures coming. and i do. it's just that today is one of those days.

a day where i'm sad.

and lonely.

and just trying to be happy.

in every place.

this place.

this place being my home. my town. my friendlessness.

i love my house. mostly. i love the rooms that have been remodeled with my husband's hardworking hands. but the rooms that aren't done or aren't finished drive me nuts. the house is 3/4 sided and 4/4 unpainted. drives me up the wall.

my town is ugly and gross. gang ridden. and being the minority in this town means our billboards are in a language i don't speak. but it's where we live. and it's where we are. and my husband loves it here. despite what anyone (even me) says about it. i wish i felt his sentiments.

having my husband away from home is hard. fall makes me love our house even more. it's cozy. the sun going down early is no longer one of my favorite things. it makes it easier to put the kids to bed early but other than that i find i get depressed over the early darkening hours. i want my man here to snuggle on the couch with.

i want a friend. one who lives nearby. someone to hang out with. someone who enjoys just hanging out on the couch like i do. a confidante.

i miss that.

told my husband the other night how it's weird to not have a best friend. how it feels so lonely. he didn't say, "well you have me" because he knows there's a difference. he definitely is my best friend but there are just some things i don't believe men care to hear about. and that's what a best friend is for.

and i now feel so bottled up inside with all the things i think or things that go on during a day that i've no one to tell.

it's lonely.

it's hard.

Three

I have a post full of pictures coming soon. Pictures that make me smile.

Until then, will you do three things for me?

You will?!

Great!

In the comments section I want you to leave me the answers to these three things:

1. The name and web address of your favorite blog

2. Your blog address (can you tell I'm in need of new reading material?)

3. A prayer request. What can I pray for you about? If you don't want to leave your prayer request in the comments section, please please please email me. truckfamily@gmail.com

Happy Tuesday, friends!

I'll be Buried with the Thing

The wind blew a bunch this weekend. And blew our plans that we'd made for outdoor work to heck so we hightailed it indoors.

There's always something to be done in here.

Always.

But instead we rearranged furniture. Because that's what I do best. I'm so good at being bossy and my husband is buff and looks hot while moving furniture.

We're a great pair.

Our kitchen is pretty small. Well, it's decent sized. It's just when you put in a dining table you basically have to climb over that table to get anywhere else in the house. There's just no good place for the table or the fridge. There are, however, lots of great places for crumbs and dog hair.
Or so it seems.

Remember my post about our kitchen table? I thought I'd be fine moving the table to the basement or our upstairs. Both are places that collect the unwanteds of the main floor. Sometimes my kids go there. Okay, not really.

We decided if we moved our fridge to a really ridiculous place in the kitchen we could put the really nice dining set in the kitchen and take our very used but much loved set to the basement or wherever.

So, we moved furniture and some more furniture and then it was time for Table of Olden Days to head downstairs.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't part with her. This table and I are stuck to one another. My husband just looked at me and sighed. I shoved the ol' girl into a corner in the living room and have decided when the girls get another marker fetish they can do it at the table.

The comfy chairs and beautiful wood of the new table definitely have their appeal and I love having them in my kitchen.

But I just can't give up the one whose been there for me eleven years.

We have a Winner!

I'm currently on the phone with Treena. This month's giveaway sponsor.

I asked her to pick a number between 1-14.

She's picking.................

Number........................................

.........................................................................

NINE!!!

Natalie!!!!

Sweet deal! Since I already have your address I'll get this shipped to you within the next day or so.

Thanks to everyone who entered and a HUGE thank you to Treena for donating this amazing prize!

Can you believe it? Seven more months til my birthday! I'm totally stoked.

Belated Bloggy Birthday Giveaway!

It's that time of the month again and I'm late!

<center><a href="http://joshua24-15.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt94/memoriesbydesign/Lil-House-Birthday-Giveaway.jpg"/></a></center></td>

Last month my SIL emailed and asked if I'd like to have anyone donate the prize for the giveaways. I'm no dummy, I said, "heck, yes!"

After receiving all the goods from her for this month's giveaway, it's taking every bit of restraint to not keep it for myself. Because I love all of it. All.of.it!

Do you love to scrapbook or make cards? Know someone who does? This is the perfect giveaway for you! (um, or your friend.)

Look at all of that amazing papery goodness!

So, here's a detailed description of the picture you're looking at.

The back of the picture is the paper. 15 sheets of background and texture paper and 8sheets of cardstock (thicker paper.)

In front from left to right:
An acrylic stamp set
Accessories in a cute lil baggie
2 pre-made cards with envelopes
3x3 Kraft album
Another baggie full of accessories

Isn't that so awesome!? Do you see now why I want to keep it all to myself?

All you'll need is an acrylic block and some ink pads and you're in business to make your own cards or scrapbook layouts.

If you don't scrapbook or paper craft of any kind, please enter anyway. Christmas is right around the corner and this would make a great gift!

Rules:
Leave a comment to enter.

If you comment anonymously, please leave your name.

If you'd like two chances to win, copy the code at the top of this post and write your own blog post about this giveaway. Then come back and leave another comment letting me know you've done that.

Winners are chosen randomly through random.org or by me writing your name on a piece of paper and my husband doing the drawing.

After the winner is announced you have 48 hours to contact me to redeem your prize. You can contact me at truckfamily@gmail.com If I don't hear from you within the 48 hours, I'll choose another winner.

Entries for November's giveway are open til Monday morning. I'll announce the winner some time on Monday.

Thank you, Treena, for donating November's giveaway!