I'm Dreaming of a PINK Christmas!

One thing that keeps me going through the 8-5 workdays during the holidays is my beautiful holiday display prominently displayed just next to my (flat screen) monitor on my desk! Last year after Christmas I got this tree on half price sale along with those big pink ball ornaments at Pier 1 Imports. This year I bought the smaller pink ornaments at Wal-Mart and the pink Christmas lights to complete the look at Walgreens. I also found that perfect pink stocking at Wal-Mart to complete the look. One of my co-workers felt that her little pink bear should reside in my area since he matches the theme, although he must be returned to his rightful place on her desk after the holidays.

Anyhow, the decor really does a great job in keeping my cheerful during the holiday season. Some of my co-workers have made mention that the tree looks like a "Charlie Brown Christmas tree" but I wholeheartedly disagree and vow that it is quite stylish and proportional. [Side note: the others who throw stones from their glass houses do not have any Christmas decorations of their own at their cubicles.]

We also put up our office tree in the front entry area today and I bought an ornament at lunch to hang on that tree. My first year there, I started a tradition of requiring that everyone bring an ornament to hang on the tree so that after a few more years we will have a beautifully decorated tree that isn't just filled with hundreds of plain ball ornaments. I made a point to keep track of who had contributed so that I could hassle those who did not participate and it really seemed to work-- last year we had 100% participation!! I have no shame in emailing the entire office in order to peer pressure the slackers, or calling their wives to get them involved, etc. This year since I'm not the office manager I have vowed not to hassle anyone so I figured I should participate quickly so I wouldn't be on the receiving end of it. So we went during lunch and I picked out an ornament. Of course, my ornament was pink this year -- as if anything else would do!

Howdy, Y'all!

Last night, Phil got all dressed up in country attire to go to the Kendall County Junior Livestock appreciation party. One of his co-workers invites us every year and usually when we show up in our flip-flops and foreign cars, we seem pretty out of place in this highly Texan environment. So this year Phil decided to join in on the fun, and borrowed some attire from his friend Floyd. Take note of the pearl snap western-style shirt (orange and pink, no less), the turquoise studded belt with true western belt buckle, and boots. Next year we plan to add a 10 gallon hat and some tight heavily starched Wrangler jeans to the attire but we just didn't get that part coordinated in time this year. Most importantly, check out the thumb in the pants like a true cowboy. You should've seen the little shuffle step dance move that accompanied it.

Eating like a king!

Since Cooper's birthday is later this week, we decided to let him have an entire turkey leg for dinner tonight!

Actually, last night my mom and I picked up some plates of BBQ from a stand on the side of the road because it smelled so good. The plates came with beans, corn on the cob, and 2 types of meat (we got ribs & turkey legs). We thought we were doing such a great thing for our husbands since dinner would be taken care of when we brought these plates home! But when we got home and started eating, we found out that the meat was not cooked all the way through and therefore was inedible. We ate what we could, but ended up having to get come ice cream for dessert to supplement our dinner.

Lucky for Cooper, though, because he got to have a dinner fit for a king tonight!

Typical Monday Evening in the Stackhousehold

Came home from work, changed into my new puppy-walking pants. Believe it or not, Cooper demands that I wear them because he feels it shows my love.

Warmed up leftovers for dinner. Phil had spaghetti and I had a hotdog and pickle.

Phil turned on the game in the living room while I checked my email, charged my iPod (a hand-me-down from Phil), and spend countless hours on Facebook.

On this particular evening, I made another black cherry cobbler (had bought 2 just in case more people came over on Friday so we had one left over), which we devoured as soon as it came out of the oven. Here's Phil showing off his heaping portion.

Coincidentally (or so he says), Jack showed up just as I sat down on the couch with my bowl on the premise that he had to pick up a letter that they had "left in my car" after the weekend. I think he just has a 6th "Dessert" sense, actually.