Piano Man

Cutest piano player ever.  And he makes the most beautiful music. {grin}

BORING

My husband hit the nail on the head yesterday.  My blog has gotten boring.  I'm not really complaining because it means life is good - status quo, routine, mundane - ha.  I guess there are a few noteworthy things going on I can share...although like Brent said, it'll probably be boring. {grin}

• Brent closed his first deal yesterday on the new job.  Yay!
• Trent turns 18 months old tomorrow.  WHAT?  Where has the time gone?  I'll put together a separate post after we go to the doctor next week.
• I am officially on a reduced workload at work.  I am working 90% of full-time which averages to 42 hours/week.  Sounds really reduced, huh?  Ha.  Over time I hope to get that down to like 30 hours/week, but that means Brent needs to close more than 1 deal.

So was Brent right?  Am I just totally boring or what?

Movie Review: The Fighter

Allison and I are going to attempt to see all the 'award' movies this year.  We've said this several years in a row and have always failed in our attempt.  But this year, we really mean it! {grin}  So expect reviews as we make our way through a lot of potentially 'artsy' movies.  First up, 'The Fighter'.  Luckily our husbands were also interested (as well as Patty and David), so we had a nice little group of 6 for this film.

Synopsis: A look at the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his brother who helped train him before going pro in the mid 1990s.

Review:  This movie had it all - drama, romance, action, comedy, hot guys!  Although Christian Bale looks TERRIBLE as a crack head.  Micky has a lot to overcome to be a successful boxer, and the story and acting are just great.  We all really enjoyed the movie, and I'll be curious to see how it does during all the awards this year...

Merry Christmas!

Horrible Picture, Neat Effect

Is it just me or is this kind of cool?

Book Review: Juliet

American Julie Jacobs travels to Siena in search of her Italian heritage--and possibly an inheritance--only to discover she is descended from 14th-century Giulietta Tomei, whose love for Romeo defied their feuding families and inspired Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Julie's hunt leads her to the families' descendants, still living in Siena, still feuding, and still struggling under the curse of the friar who wished a plague on both their houses. Julie's unraveling of the past is assisted by a Felliniesque contessa and the contessa's handsome nephew, and complicated by mobsters, police, and a mysterious motorcyclist. To understand what happened centuries ago, in the previous generation, and all around her, Julie relies on relics: a painting, a journal, a dagger, a ring. {Taken from Amazon.com} 

I thought this book was so good!  It's really 2 stories for the price of 1, and I enjoyed both.  It had a little bit of mystery, a little bit of romance, a little action...  It was neat having a new twist on 'Romeo & Juliet' and a modern story unraveling the curse.  It took me a while to read this book but only because I was so sidetracked by Glee {grin}.  I stayed up way too late last night reading about 200 pages to finish the book because I just couldn't put it down! 

Wordless Wednesday

Alternatively Titled: Mom, can I have some silly bandz for Christmas?

My New Obsession: Glee

I think I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to entertainment.  I'm not a snob about movies or music or books, and I like a wide variety of styles.  I love most things cheesy and mainly like stuff that just makes me smile.  Glee totally meets that criteria and more.  It's really a no-brainer if you know me.

• High school drama (without being TOO much drama) - CHECK
• Cute boys played by actors that are my age (no cougar here...unlike my friend Rhonda and her sick love for Taylor Lautner...grin) - CHECK
• Musical with singing and dancing in every episode - CHECK

So if any of this critera sounds like you, Glee will just make you smile.  I have spent the last 2 weeks catching all 32 episodes aired to-date and have laughed out loud until I was crying.  Check it out!

The Worst Christmas Carols

I love Christmas.  Like L.O.V.E. Christmas.  The reason for the season.  The decorations.  The food.  The time with family.  The lights.  The days off work. Especially the carols.  However, there are a few carols that make me want to rip my own ears off or destroy my radio.

1. Christmas Shoes {Seriously?  This song is DEPRESSING.  Not at all about Christmas IMO.}
2. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas {Ridiculous.  Kid, you are stupid.}
3. All I Want for Christmas is My 2 Front Teeth {Little girl, those teeth are going to grow in, and you are going to look goofy for 3+ years.  Let's save Christmas wishes for better things (like toys), okay?}
4. The Chipmunk song {Just plain silly}
5. Anything carol sung by The Carpenters or Amy Grant {I like bubblegum pop, but this is just too much bubblegum for even me.}

What am I missing from the terrible Christmas song list?

What Have I Been Doing?

I have been MIA for a few days.  I don't like when I'm not blogging regularly or checking in on all the blogs I love.  But it's been a busy few days.  With what?  So glad you asked!

• Getting our Christmas cards done!!  Yippee!
• Shopping, shopping, shopping (mostly online) - almost done with Christmas presents!
• Having this cold turn into a sinus infection.  Yuck.  Hello antibiotics!
• Traveling across this great state of Texas for work (Dallas, San Antonio and Odessa - yeehaw).
• Falling IN LOVE with Glee!  I am so behind on shows that started when I was having an extended vacation in crazy town.  But I'm trying to catch up!  When I finish Season 1 I'm going to do a review post.  I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat for that. {grin}

An Open Letter

Dear Cold Virus that has invaded our house,

You suck.

Sincerely,
The Gurley Family

It's Been One of Those Days

Trent is sick.  Nothing major, just a cold.  But it's not fun to pin your child to the floor with your feet to put drops in his eyes and wipe the crusties off his face (all while he's screaming).  And of course Brent left for work training this morning in Dallas.  Sigh.  I submitted a bunch of forms in at work and my counselor butchered them.  Sigh.  I have a bunch of big fat question marks on my Christmas list.  I don't like any of our pictures for a Christmas card.  The holidays shouldn't be stressful but they always seem to be (and I don't like that).  Sigh.  So I'm eating Pillsbury icing straight out of the canister.  And it's definitely making me feel better. {grin}  What do you do when it's just 'one of those days'?

Faces

I look at these 2 pictures and die laughing.  Maybe they're not funny to you, but I know they are to me and my sister.

"Seriously Mom.  Enough pictures already."

"Does this paci make me look fat?"

"Get me out of this bed.  Now."

Miles: "Why are you people always making me hang out with this kid?"

"There's a WHAT in my mommy's belly?"

"What makes you think I give a crap about these caterpillars?  Babies."

Gym Rats

One of my aunts works for a school district Athletic Department.  As a part of the athletic department is a gymastics training facility.  So while in Dallas before Thanksgiving, we took the boys up there and let them go wild.  I don't know if either of the boys laughed so hard or had so much fun.  I'm so thankful to get to enjoy moments like this with my boys!

Enjoying the trampolines

 Playing hard and having so much fun!

Sneak Peek

I normally save my favorite picture of Trent from any given event for the end of a post.  But I have at least 2 collages to make from the big event I hinted to a few posts ago, and I have been focusing on creating a few Christmas presents in my spare time...so I decided to share my favorite picture from the day.  Any guesses as to what my precious baby did?