Santa lives in Bognor Regis :)

Guess what I found in my mailbox today? Not one, but TWO packages from across the pond. Proving once again that sci-fi geeks make the best friends, Emma sent me an autographed pix of Colin Ferguson, aka Sheriff Jack Carter on one of my favorite TV shows, "Eureka".

I shook the next box and told Mike that it sounded like Legos. Which seemed odd. Why would Emma send me Legos? Unless they were Dr. Who (oooh, a Dalek made of Legos!) or something similarly cool. Turns out she wouldn't... She sent them for Cody. Who was tickled pink (or maybe tickled a more manly color... ;) Emma, you are now at the top of Cody's list of cool people, as well!

He immediately set to work on putting them together (the frog is my favorite)

So, Emma, let me say a huge THANK YOU for helping to make this a fabulous holiday season for me and my family!!

I know, I know...it's been awhile. I've been fielding many questions as to my bloggy absence. Hubby said that people were going to start thinking that he'd tied me up and kept me locked in the closet for the last month.

Sure. Let's go with that ;)

Truth be told, it hasn't been quite so exciting. Instead, it's been a combination of illness, the holidays, and a crazy busy schedule. Oh, and a computer that's on its last leg. Which will be remedied on Christmas morning, because yes, Virginia, there *is* a Santa Clause and he's bringing us TWO computers this year! No more having it take 20 - 30 minutes just to get online. No more having to listen to a computer that sounds like a dying lawn mower. I can't wait!

So grab a cup of cocoa (tea, coffee, etc.) and lets start catching up, shall we?

First up was Cody's play - Beauty and the Beast. They sold out EVERY SINGLE performance! I worked back stage for most of the performances, and did hair and makeup for all (of the performances - not all of the kids!) I was in charge of doing the beasts hair and makeup, which was rather time consuming, as we had to do stage makeup, plus add hair, horns, and teeth. I think it turned out pretty good, though. It sure made me wish I hadn't skipped that part of beauty college!


Here I am, applying the makeup:

The finished product:

Here he is onstage with Babette (the feather duster), Lumiere, and Belle:

Cody and his friend Ira hamming it up before going onstage:



The cast and director (lying in the foreground):



Several days after the final performance, we had our traditional Thanksgiving celebration/sleepover with our friends. Here's James, firing up the blender, 'cause nothing says "Thanksgiving" like a margarita ;)

My first one of the night. Nummy, nummy.

Look at all of that fabulous food! It pays to be friends with a gourmet chef :D

Jana made pecan and pumpkin pies - including a crustless pumpkin one for me, and I made a GF chocolate cream pie.

There's the master chef and Sasquatch now! Apparently a little tequila slows his camera blocking reflexes ;D

Even Zoe got a little treat:

After dinner, the boys wanted to wrestle with Mike. Silly boys...

Later, the boys created a new game: Pikachu football. I'm not entirely clear on what the object of the game was, but apparently it was a good thing that they both ended up with a part of the stuffed animal:

Poor Pikachu didn't stand a chance...

OK, now I'm off to start catching up on your blogs. And more to come from me *very* shortly...