Holiday Wish List

I've really enjoyed reading your wish lists and gift guides, so I'm doing one of my own! My mom has been asking for a list, so I might as well blog it, right? Here are a few of the things I'm wanting, in no particular order.

Vera Bradley Garment Bag in Hope Garden

 

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I travel a decent amount (even if it's just weekend trips to visit friends) and I always have a ton of hanging clothes that fall off the hangers in the car or in the street when I'm bringing my things inside, so I'm in desperate need of a garment bag. This one is so cute and this print is discounted! A good deal, I think.
P.S.- Vera Bradley is having some major sales today. Go check it out--the large duffel, normally $80 is $45, and the Vera bag, normally $78 is $35.

Digital Voice Recorder with Phone Recording Device

Olympus WS 500M Digital Recorder

Olympus TP-7 Telephone Recording Device

I'm so fun, right? But really, these two items are at the top of my list because they would make my job infinitely easier. Right now I'm sporting an old-school recorder (like, with an actual tape) in my interviews and I have no hook-up for my cell so I just have to type really fast when I talk to people. This is fine, but sometimes I miss quotes that I would like to use, and a digital recorder that I could use to transfer and save all my files on my computer would be insanely awesome, not to mention very handy for fact checking. I did used to have one, but it died.

Awesome Coat

Victoria's Secret Wool Military Coat in navy

I have no idea what kind of coat I'm looking for here, but definitely something a little different because I already have a classic black pea coat. I like plaid, I like toggle, I like military. Any suggestions as where to find a cute, affordable one? I'd like to pick out something that goes with both black and brown boots, so maybe red. I like the Victoria's Secret one above, but haven't made a final decision. Where's your favorite coat shopping spot?

Netbook Disc Drive

External CD-ROM Drive for Acer Aspire One

I'm no techie, but you may have realized by now that I'm working with some pretty "budget" technology. When my "vintage"--that's what the people at the Apple store called it when they said they no longer serviced models that old-- Mac iBook died about a year ago, I couldn't afford a new one so my mom got me an Acer Aspire One netbook for Christmas, which I would totally recommend by the way. It was less than $300 and so far I haven't had any problems with it except that Sawyer chewed up the charger. (But the replacement was just $30!) Unfortunately it doesn't have a disc drive, which has gotten quite annoying. So I want one! They're not expensive, so I don't know why I've never gotten one...

Running Gear

Nike Tempo Track Women's Running shorts

Nurse A and I have big plans to run at least a 10k this year, and I could use a couple pairs of new running shorts, some sports bras and even new shoes! What is it about new running outfits that's so inspiring?

 So what's on your wish list? Do you tend to ask for things you want, need or a mixture of the two?

Thanksgiving in the Woods

That's where I've been the last few days. In the woods, roughing it (if you call heat and AC and one television channel roughing it) in a cabin with my immediate family and my aunt/uncle/ cousins.

Our digs.

We were visiting my brother and his (new!) fiance Jen, who live and work at a camp/environmental center, which is pretty much vacant for the holidays. Last year, they reserved the cabin for our fam and this year Thanksgiving in the woods became a reality.

Thanksgiving morning started with a bang.

That's my cousin Dustin on the top of a semi-telephone pole preparing to jump onto a trapeze that you can't really see in the picture. Don't worry, he was harnessed to Jen and what appears to be the rest of the pole (it wasn't as tall as a real telephone pole of course).

When it was my turn, it started raining and I spent a good three minutes yelling, "I can't do it!" at the top of the pole while my family stood under a tarp and yelled "Yes you can!" So I did, and immediately slipped off the trapeze because it was wet. I don't think my legs have ever shaken that much, but I did it! It looked so easy when it wasn't me on top of that pole.

Terror stance.

 

After pole trapeze (I have no idea what it's really called) it was time to eat! The cabin set a nice backdrop for our meal.

We had three kinds of cranberry sauce/chutney, turkey and gravy, salad, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, apple stuffing, regular stuffing--the works! So, so good. The rest of the weekend was spent hiking, posing for pictures, watching movies (Cold Mountain, anyone?), playing Apples to Apples and Yahtzee and trying our hands on the climbing wall.

Sister & Brother

The three of us

Our cabin in the background.

Fork in the road.

Miss Marple, the cat that hung out in our cabin all weekend.

My brother the mountain man

Ready for a hike

The crew

My brother also handles owls, so he gave us a demonstration.

Before we headed home Saturday, a group of us climbed the climbing wall.

Three of us got to the top (not me!)

 Since we were in the woods there was no Black Friday shopping for us (probably wouldn't have been anyway) but today we drove up to Memphis to return some lingering wedding gifts to Macy's and use our Bed Bath & Beyond gift card. This of course meant lunch with the Fashionable Wife Nikki and her hubs, who brought us a gift for Sawyer! It was lots of fun but we didn't take a picture and thus are bad bloggers. After some ordeals at Macy's (one store didn't understand that when we return we get the price back that the gift-giver paid, not the super-low price the item is listed at now so we drove across town to another) we ended up with quite the loot! At BB&B we picked up an awesome trashcan, a rolling pin and a measuring cup. The trash can was much needed! We spend so much time picking up ours and putting it on the table or counter so Sawyer can't get into it, so now we have a nice new one with a lid. At Macy's we got a nice set of pots and pans, a cast iron skillet, another set of Pyrex bowls with lids (we love them!) and some kind of herb saver item. I'll let you know if it works!

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and long weekend! I certainly did, but I am glad to get back to the Labrahound (he stayed with groomsman Bob) and a bit of privacy! Seventeen people in a cabin goes a long way.

A Long, Long Walk

One of my very favorite thing about being a dog owner is the walks! Especially late-fall (because let's face it, it's not quite winter here yet), late-afternoon walks. A few scenes from our stroll today:

Sawyer is almost the same color as the leaves.

Our path.

So many pretty houses line the streets.

A failed attempt to photograph leaves falling on Sawyer.

Peace sign.

This one isn't from our walk, but it's so cute! Look at that honest pup!