movies to see during christmas

when the holidays come around i get so excited to snuggle up close to nick, family and friends next to a lit tree and watch a great movie while drinking mexican hot chocolate and dipping a conch (mexican bread with sugar flour on top). i have lately been thinking about what movies to watch and decided to create a list for myself to have on record when i want to watch something and my memory fails me.

the christmas list:

white christmas
holiday inn
a christmas carol (1938)
the muppet christmas carol
christmas vacation
elf
it's a wonderful life
miracle on 34th street
how the grinch stole christmas (cartoon)
home alone (1 & 2)
the santa clause
a christmas story
jingle all the way
frosty the snowman (cartoon)
mr kruegers christmas
ernest saves christmas
four christmases
fred claus
the grinch
the best christmas pageant ever
gremlins
the holiday
while you were sleeping
you've got mail
the shop around the corner
funny farm

feel free to help me out with my list!

beggars night has taken over halloween

oh iowa. how you have messed up my favorite holiday. i love halloween. ask my friends. halloween is still great in iowa, but you don't celebrate it on halloween but whatever day closest to the 31st that works for the community. they celebrate beggars night because they think it is safer for the kids. i think it just gives them all a reason to party twice. (the light just went on) this is great! i get to celebrate my favorite holiday twice! it hasn't worked out that way—halloween night typically is a dud for me. hmmm...i am rambling.

on beggars night i hung out with the rose family—thanks roses for letting me hijack your beggars night. my costume was a cave woman and i roamed the streets with my dinosaur beast jenga. basically it was a good costume, but nothing compared to what liz created for her family—homemade with incredible detail—i think she should start a business. i will now take 10% cut for the brilliant idea.

we went around their neighborhood and got back to their house by 8PM. here's the deal with beggars night: it goes from 6PM to 8PM. if you choose to participate you turn your porch light on and the kids come to the door and tell you a joke instead of the traditional "trick or treat". it gets awkward. i get sick of fake laughing.

back to the story—liz's kids were feeling like i felt—sad that it was over so fast—so we jumped in the car and began to make a scavengar hunt. our goal was to hit up the "soda house—not to be confused with the "soba house" or the "so the house" chanting in the back of the car (thanks creed), and then we were on the hunt for a house that would give out full size candy bars (check), doughnuts (not check), apple cider (not check), and we had to play a prank—which we were successful at; we trick or treated at the get-n-go gas station where the employee was cool enough to be in costume and gave out treats, instead of a bewildered look which we were expecting.

i had a lot of fun. because we were unsuccessful at getting doughnuts (too bad we weren't in arkansas because i just found out that my sister-in-law is awesome (already knew that part) and makes doughnuts (this is why she is more awesome)) we stopped off at hyvee and bought some doughnuts.

thanks liz, robert, jack, creed, and stella for letting me come along.

side note: when i got to the rose house, stella came up to me and said, "want to hear my joke? promise me that you will laugh because my parents said it wasn't good."

her joke: "why did the candy cross the road? to get to the chicken" (i think that was it—hope i didn't slaughter this hilarious joke)

the coveted secret message

as a kid i loved getting the cereal boxes that had coded messages that i needed to reveal over a bowl of sugary delight. here's a secret message you don't want to miss out on. you're welcome.

_ _
23 5

_ _ _
1 18 5

_ _ _ _ _ _
8 1 22 9 14 7

_
1

_ _ _ _
2 1 2 25

_ _
15 14

_ _ _
13 1 25

_ _ _ _
a i 20 8


key:

1 : a
2 : b
3 : c
4 : d
5 : e
6 : f
7 : g
8 : h
9 : i
10 : j
11 : k
12 : l
13 : m
14 : n
15 : o
16 : p
17 : q
18 : r
19 : s
20 : t
21 : u
22 : v
23 : w
24 : x
25 : y
26 : z

new puppy

i got a puppy for my birthday. we miss soba so much, but it has been fun to have a puppy to keep me company. she is a handful, but adorable. we haven't come up with a name, so if anyone has any suggestion, let us know.

she is a puggle, like soba, and i found her on craigslist. a college student has an 8 lb all black pug that got pregnant from a 12 lb beagle. i got to choose between her and her sister. i fell in love the moment i saw them.

i do miss sleep, but she keeps me laughing with her big floppy ears and her belief that she can do all sorts of things and falls all the time.

life is in dreary gray

soba passed away. i miss you so much soba. nothing will be able to replace that part of my heart.

back in the hospital

was so excited yesterday nursing soba back to health with my mom. think i smiled the whole time—even when i had to hold her to go the bathroom which would get all over my hands. she was really sleepy, but thought it was good for her to rest. my wonderful mom and i went on a beautiful walk on the reilly trail and got back to find soba's eyelids swollen. i got worried and called nick who suggested that i should call the vet. we had to take her in and they examined her and she was showing signs of liver failure. so she is back in the hospital. they did blood work and it is liver failure, so she is back on an iv and she had a plasma transfusion.

she is in serious condition. i am so sad. i need you soba. please get better. pretty please. please keep soba in your prayers.

soba is home

soba has come home! i have been very blessed. thanks again for everyone's love and support. her surgery went better than expected (said the surgeon) and it didn't cost as much as was estimated. soba had some great doctors. i was very impressed. she is on 3 types of medication—2 of them are painkillers. she has been in a lot of pain.

i am so glad my mom flew out here to help take care of me and her. she has been incredible! thanks mom & dad for helping out with the costs too. wow—really wish we would have bought dog health insurance.

the photos of her are somewhat sad to see with all the bruising and the stitches, but i am so happy that she made it through and that she is home.

chalk the last two days up as good days.