Dog Days of Christmas

As everyone who reads this blog knows, I love my dog Shadow more than (almost) anything in the world. I spoil him like crazy because he's my little puppy child and also because he's just so darn good. He's a super great listener, he tries really hard to be good, and he's SUPER smart so he just knows what we want from him.

True story: On Thursday, I picked up pizza for me and Boyfriend. We ate it on the bed in the bedroom, watching my new seasons of Friends. Shadow jumped on the bed, right next to the pizza, then laid down and didn't bother us AT ALL. He was maybe five inches from my plate and never licked at it or tried to beg for some. He just put his nose on his paws and closed his eyes. SO GOOD.

Because he's such a good dog, I want to get him something nice for Christmas... something that he'll enjoy. I always get him toys because he takes good care of them (never really destroying them, licking them, and carrying them into his crate for the night), so for Christmas, I want it to be special.



Any ideas for this great dog?

SNOW!

This morning when I woke up, I went to work with just a normal coat and my favorite faux-Ugg boots to keep my toesies warm in my old, rusty office. The sun was shining and there were just a few clouds in the sky.

By nine, it was snowing. SNOWING! In December! In New Mexico!

As I'm sure you've read, we had a crazy winter storm earlier this year in February. The temperature dropped below 0 degrees and we, of the 100 degree summers and the 70 degree Christmases, had no idea how to handle it. So we shut down.

It's too early to tell, but I think we might be heading in the same direction this time around. Since it would be stupid for our schools and our city to invest in alllll of the cold weather gear that most cold states require for whole months of this weather just for two instances a year (such as snow tires, chains, backup generators, a whole fleet of plows/salt trucks), I have a feeling we have a snow day coming at us.

We got the official release email around 1:00, and immediately got ready to leave. I had a few things I thought about doing before I left, but I decided to leave it for tomorrow and head home over the pass that goes through the mountains. THANK GOD I DID.

I've worked at my job for almost three years now. In that time, I've gone through winter storms galore. I've driven through ice and snow and low visibility. But I've NEVER driven through anything like today.

The roads were covered with snow, so only one lane was driveable. It's a steep uphill climb to the mountain pass, then a steep downhill slope. People were swerving all over the place. I drove less than ten miles an hour. And with the way the road is, one small slip can lead to big potential injuries, like death from flying over the side of a mountain.

Terrifying, right?

Then I got stuck behind the WORST driver in Las Cruces who kept doing a serpentine swerve ON PURPOSE... and couldn't get his tires to get traction (weird, with all the swerving, right?), so he was barely moving. I, of course, was trying to keep a steady path without having to start and stop, but this guy was driving me insane. Everyone was drifting because this guy blocked the whole road with his stupid driving. It was so icy and so awful, but I think the trucks got there just as I was going through, so I hope everyone else got through it okay!

But after a Dos Equis and a snuggle with Boyfriend and Shadow, I'm feeling much less trembly. My arms are a little sore from clutching my steering wheel so tight and my knees are a little trembly from being scared, but I'm alive and okay and so is my car! I think I was most scared because at the top of the mountain, if I drifted and got stuck in a snow bank, there is no way that somebody could come rescue me. I would be stuck until someone up there helped.

But I'm here and my house is nice and warm and the snow is so pretty outside. Plus I already got word that I get a three hour delay at work tomorrow, so I get to sleep in!

I'm going to make green chile chicken noodle soup tonight for Boyfriend and Thomas and me and other than that, my plans are to just STAY PUT. The roads in town weren't bad, but I've had enough of the car for today! It took me 1.5 hours to get home when it normally takes half an hour. Whew.

Normally, this is the view of the Organ Mountains from just a few miles away... today, it was just snow flurries!

Hope that wherever you are, you stay safe and warm tonight!

Shopping

It's officially December, which means it's time to kick my Christmas shopping into high gear! I'm blessed because I have so many great people in my life... however, that also means that I find myself pressed to find the right gifts for each of these people.

I always think about my friend Danielle when it comes to gift giving. She always gives personal gifts... even if it's something that could seem generic, it never is, because it's always something that the receiver truly wants. I always remember what gifts she gives me because they're perfect for me.
Same with my best friend Val. She gives great gifts. I think it's because she remembers things you like or want and then, months later, pops up with a great gift right in that genre. Last year for my birthday, she gave me Marc Jacobs Lola perfume after hearing me talk about it earlier that summer (like, five months before!).

I really want to go to the local Farmer's Market, too, just to see if there is anything that strikes my fancy. Danielle's birthday is this weekend and I already got her a gift... but if I see something that is perfect for her, Christmas is right around the corner, too.

I love everything about Christmas shopping. I love going out in this season, with the music and the decorations. I love how everyone is super nice and lets your car into the line in the parking lot. But I'm a little worried I'm going to forget someone or not get a gift for someone in my life and then they end up getting me one...

Has that ever happened? In high school, I used to keep "emergency gifts" on hand during the season. It would be something little and really cute (as in, something I would want to keep for myself in case I never had to use it...), like earrings or a necklace. Then, if someone came up to me at school and said, "Oh, I have a gift for you!", I'd go, "Oh, me too!" and then hand over my emergency gift.

I rarely had to use it because I always shop for my close friends, but it came in handy once or twice. I just hated the thought that someone had gone through the trouble of shopping for me... and then when they handed me the gift and suddenly realized I hadn't bought anything for them, they might have felt sad or uncomfortable or awkward.

It was worth the $10 or $15 I spent on the emergency gift just to keep someone from having those feelings during the season!
Have you ever had an emergency gift situation?

FRIDAY FAVORITES!

OH MY GOSH. It's also Friday and that means it's time for...

FRIDAY FAVORITES!

I can't believe I went on and on about my new necklace without even talking about how today is Friday Favorites day!

It's been a long week.

Okay, okay. Today I'm going to post about my favorite websites.

"What? Lame," you may be saying.

No. Awesome. I spend a good amount of time on the internet just messing around so I feel qualified to introduce you to my favorite ways to procrastinate.

OTHER than the obvious social media (Twitter- @jennacan, Facebook, Google+), there are plenty of site that keep me entertained for HOURS, such as:

Twenty Two Words

http://twentytwowords.com/



Where else can you find a picture of Daniel Day Lewis dressed up as Lincoln right next to a photo of a guy who tied four ladders together in a highly unsafe way to clean something really tall?



It's incredible! Look at this dog trying to help people pull a car out of a ditch.



So adorable. Go to twentytwowords.com. Seriously.

Another website I adore is Texts from Last Night. Real texts. Real people. Real stupidity. Real hilarity.

It can be a little dirty sometimes, but overall it has some HILARIOUS real life situations for the college/recent graduate kid!

(124):

Last night, my friend changed all my contacts in my phone. I have been texted by Batman, Donatello, and Hermione Granger. I have no idea who they are, and it doesn't upset me at all.


I also love failblog.org. It's super funny and has some really random things, like this amazing play from words with friends!




Another one of my favorites is Passive Aggressive Notes. It's filled with real notes from real people who have decided that leaving a saucy note is the best way to make people work with you. This is a note from someone who saw a tiny pile of scraps on the floor:



I can only assume that people are too enthusiastic with the stapler... but is it enough to warrant this kind of long-winded note?



Anyway, it's hilarious.

My last favorite website is the infamous PINTEREST. I love it. It's adorable.

Check it out. Follow me. Look at my pretty, pretty pins.










And have a great Friday!

A Christmas Date

Tonight, Boyfriend and I took a night for ourselves. It's been a stressful week with his chest pains (not his heart, thank goodness!) and then trying to catch up with school and work. But he's off work until he can lift over 20 lbs (he works at a package shipping company wherein his entire job is to move heavy boxes), so after a major cleaning binge and a visit with my favorite professor Dr. Mac, we decided to have our date night.

And we also decided to exchange our Christmas gifts :o)

Boyfriend and I have never, ever made it to the actual holiday once we bought gifts for each other. The first year, we spilled the beans about the gifts we bought each other and then couldn't wait to see how we liked them. For our one year anniversary, Boyfriend wanted me to have my necklace early to wear at our vacation in Vegas. For last Christmas, I wanted him to have the jacket to wear through all of December when it was cold out.

This year is no exception. Since holidays are busy with us trying to split time between our families, we really wanted a night just to have with the two of us. And once Boyfriend goes back to work, he'll be CRAZY BUSY and I won't get to see him very often. So before that happens, we decided to exchange our gifts. :o)

I bought Boyfriend a myriad of things including a football jersey, a few video games and a DVD collection that he has been drooling over. And he brought me the most beautiful box in the world to open:

Before you get excited, just know that I was 100 PERCENT POSITIVE that it was NOT an engagement ring, especially one from Tiffany's! Boyfriend and I are really open with each other and I know that he doesn't want us to get engaged until he is full time employed. Since he still has a year to go in school, I knew it's not our time, yet. :o)

It wasn't an engagement ring but it was something just as beautiful:

A dove necklace!!! When we were in Vegas this year, I fell in love with this necklace. My name means little bird in Arabic and I've always loved bird pendants/earrings/jewelry/clothing, especially bird outlines. So once I saw this Paloma Picasso design, I fell in love and I guess Boyfriend remembered that I loved it so much. :o)

What a wonderful day. Now we are off to watch the Grinch with Jim Carrey and admire our new gifts. Well, I know I am. Hope your weekend starts off as great as mine has!

:o)

Goodbye, November

Goodbye, November. You were a great month. You brought my birthday (and three parties!), visits with my sisto-face (my sister), holidays, and time with Boyfriend.

However, after the past few weeks (a wicked cold that knocked me on my rear and Boyfriend's chest scare on Monday), I've never been so ready to see December come.

Update: Boyfriend has a pinched nerve in his chest. It can be serious (surgery serious), but we'll see on Monday. So far, Boyfriend has the week off from work (hooray!) and is stuck on bed rest. But at least it isn't his heart! Such a relief!

I'm tired and Boyfriend is looking anxiously at me to watch Friends with him, so I better take off. I'll update soon! Thanks for your thoughts!

Quel Day

(Props if you mentally substituted the "day" in my title to "night" and recognized it as a reference to Breakfast at Tiffany's!)

Boyfriend started having chest pains yesterday and it wasn't until this morning (early) that I convinced him to let me take him in to the doctor. They're running test after test to see what it is...

Keep us in your prayers. It doesn't seem like his heart, so I'm leaning toward muscle/ligament issues in his chest or ribcage. The EKG was good, his cholesteral was fine, he isn't anemic... but they're making sure to check all arteries and everything just to be thorough (mostly because I pretty much demanded that they did. I don't want to leave any stone unturned).

I'm worried, but more determined at this point, probably because I have a mission: find the problem. Fix it. Keep him healthy and relaxed.

Keep us in your thoughts.