Christmas is in full-swing around here. Have you stopped to look at the calendar lately? Because, it's in only 16 DAYS!! Ahhh! My mom and I went shopping for hours on Sunday night. I think I got home at 11ish or something crazy. We thought we were done, but then decided to head over to Target since they close super late these days. I got the baby a really cute puppy that barks and a bunch of other stuff I didn't need to buy like Christmas note pads. Daniel wants a real puppy for Christmas this year. In fact, the other day, Todd told the baby he had a surprise for him (some chocolate, I think), and the baby said, "is it a puppy?" Uh oh!
But, anyway, I'm almost done with my gift buying! I think I have only a couple more things to get. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone open their gifts! I'm also excited to get home tonight and wrap everything. I think I'm really bad at wrapping gifts, but I like doing it. It's kind of relaxing for me.
Todd and I went to the dollar store last night and there was so much cheesy, cheapo Christmas stuff. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING! I was there for wrapping paper and such, but I was also there to get ideas for my office cubicle decorating contest. I have this really, really great idea, but it requires a lot of time and supplies, as well as intense amounts of painting and maybe even buying props that light up. Hmmm, might have to stick with plan two, which is less time consuming. Once it's all done, I'll post some pictures for everyone to see! In the meantime, let me know if you have any good ideas. I have until the 19th to get everything set up. Apparently there is a prize involved, so I must win! :)
Off to decorate the office tree. For real this time.
Christmas cheer.
Puppies to the rescue :)
Awww, here's a great story that just made my day happier. Hopefully it will make yours better, too!
From the Daily News: Puppies save three-year-old boy lost in freezing Virginia woods
A toddler lost in the Virginia woods was back home safe Sunday thanks to two puppies who kept him warm through a harrowing night of freezing temperatures.
Jaylynn Thorpe, 3, wandered away from his baby-sitter at 4 p.m. Friday and was missing for 21 hours as hundreds of friends, family and law enforcement officials searched for him in the thick woods of Halifax County, fearing the worst.
"The only thing we wanted to do was just keep searching until we found him," Halifax County Sheriff Stanley Noblin told reporters.
Jaylynn's frantic family knew time was not on its side.
"We didn't forget the issue that 17 degrees was almost unbearable," said his father, James Thorpe.
"People all over the State of Virginia was down there looking for that child. For a while there, one time, I didn't know whether they would find him or not," said the child's grandmother and guardian, Katherine Elliot.
Officials said the lost little boy and the two family puppies wandered up to a mile in the dark, even across a highway, but it wasn't until Saturday afternoon that members of the search team found him sitting by a tree, the two puppies nestled against him.
The little boy didn't say anything, according to rescue team member Jerry Gentry, but instead "just opened his arms up like, 'I'm ready to go.'"
"When I first saw him, he was like, 'Momma, I got cold. I slept in the woods last night. The puppies kept me warm.' He told me that ... the dogs slept up against him. And I'm sure the body heat kept him warm," said his mother, Sarah Ingram.
Billie Jo Roach, another member of the search party that found the boy, said the puppies refused to leave his side.
As the child was placed in an ambulance to be taken to a local hospital for examination, "The puppies were watching where he went.
"Where he went, they went," Roach said.
As word went out that the child was alive and well, family members cheered and cried for joy.
"Praise the Lord! Welcome home, Jaylynn!" yelled his aunt, Amy Zimmerman.
Close to 300 people from North Carolina and Virginia joined in the search to find Jaylynn.
"I love you! God bless you," Ingram told the rescue teams.
"I think I just said, 'Thank you Lord' ... for us to have another chance!" said the child's father.
The boy spent Saturday night under observation at Halifax Regional Hospital and chowed down on a double cheeseburger, a hot dog, strawberry ice cream and French fries.
Meanwhile, the furry heroes, their tails wagging, were rewarded with food.
"I definitely call this a miracle," said Noblin.
Dec. 2
My eyes are burning from the intenseness of my computer screen. Ahh! Anyway, hi! I was talking to Ma this weekend and she was asking me about my blog, so here I am. I didn't take a lunch break today, so I figure the last part of my day can be dedicated to an update. I'm currently listening to Christmas music, which is making me feel less stressed out. This day... this past month has been HECTIC at work. There have definetely been fun parts, and I feel like I've learned a lot, but I'm not gonna lie, it's been crazy stressful! That said, I'm really looking forward to these next couple of weeks and all the Christmasy fun, and heading home again, of course. Like always, every single moment of the next few weeks is planned out (gotta love the holidays). This week I'll be going to the Horton Plaza Christmas Tree lighting, joining Elysia at her company holiday party, going to December Nights and heading to Greg's birthday party. Other than that, life has been usual. Thanksgiving was fun, especially the having 4 days off part. Todd, Elysia and I have basically been spending all of our time watching the best show ever - How I Met Your Mother. It's so funny! If you haven't watching it yet, you need to. It's all about a dad telling his kids how he met their mother... which means he has to tell a million stories that seem meaningless, but that somehow will lead him to meeting his wife. Great concept and even better writing. Sitcoms are pretty bad these days, so I'm happy to have found a show that actually makes me laugh.
OK, time to hit the road. Happy December, everyone!