.maker of silly christmas shopping mistakes, thy name is brittney.

Tonight, I set out about the arduous task of finishing up my Christmas shopping for my sweetie. This year, we have set a strict limit on what we can spend for each other since money is tighter right now. I had no problem at facing the challenge of sticking to the budget, even though I tend to get a bit carried away with Christmas shopping (I get the biggest rush from giving gifts).

Ben had specifically requested a certain video game for our PS3. Perhaps you've heard of it? Modern Warfare II? It only sold 4.7 million copies in the first 24 hours after it came out. Ha, ha! Only...

Well, at most stores, the video games are locked away, seeing as they are pretty expensive to buy and have a pretty powerful draw with potential shoplifters. I went to the electronics department to get the aforementioned game. Of course, I had to pay for the game there as I am a shifty character and would likely smuggle it out the first chance I got.

That task done, I wandered about the store, selecting various items that would surprise and delight come Christmas morning. I kept a careful mental tally of my spending. Remember the budget!

Before heading to the check out line, I grabbed some household items we were in need of: diaper wipes, bananas, etc. 

When it came time to check out, I was about $15 dollars over our spending limit. I sent Ben a quick text asking if it was okay if I was over budget a little bit. He said it was fine and I celebrated quietly in my head.

It wasn't until I was in the car, when I began another mental checklist of my purchases, that I realized my mistake. To my horror, I had not included the cost of the game in my total as I shopped. I was almost $100 over budget!

Ack! So, come tomorrow, I have to return something(s) to make up for the extra money I spent. I just get so carried away at Christmastime!

.christmas parties: round one.

One of my very favorite aspects of the Christmas season is spending time with family. Both Ben and I come from large families; he is one of eleven (yes, you read that right, eleven) kids and I am the oldest of six. Thankfully, most of our family members live within a short driving distance, so we get to see lots of those we love.

With all this family, of course, comes lots of parties this time of year. Yesterday, we had the first of several parties to attend. My family was getting together for dinner, cookie decorating, and some renditions of Christmas carols done entirely with colored bells.

Thought I would share pictures of the creative cookie process in action and the... uh... unconventional Christmas treats that resulted (I'll apologize in advance for some of the poor quality... these were taken with my phone's camera, which, obviously, doesn't always take the best pictures).

This was Lucy's "Bloody Face Angel:"

These are the cookies Ben and I made. Going clockwise we have: a bloody spearhead (bet you can't guess who did that one), a yellow smiling star, a pink smiling star, some kind of scary evil angel thing in what Ben called "a disco dress" made of spinkles, two Christmas trees made by yours truly, and in the center, a zombie angel with blue hair, also made by me. On the separate plate is a Rudolph I made from an angel shaped cookie.

Here are a few of the cookies decorated by the kiddies:

.the replacements.

Since the passing of Tut earlier this week, his tank has stood empty and lonely. That is, until today, when Ben surprised Livi (and me) with four little goldfish from Walmart. 

Each cost a whopping 28 cents and, though not as frilly as Tut, who was a fan tail goldfish, Livi thinks they are wonderful. She even pretends to feed them, something that is made cuter by the fact that she picked it up all on her own from watching us feed the fish.

You make be thinking that it is too soon to get replacement fish, but I think Tut would want us to move on and be happy with these little fish... as long as 28 cent fish will last.

.the joys of dog ownership.

There are many wonderful surprises to wake up to: breakfast in bed, newly fallen snow outside your window, a hug and kiss from the one you love. There are, however, some particularly nasty things to wake up to. See exhibit A: one extremely poop covered dog.

Yes, that is what I got to start my morning off with today. Oakley apparently had either not been able to hold it or had felt sick during the night because he was covered from nose to tail with... well, you know. Not to mention his kennel, all of his toys, his food and water dish, and the living room wall had a nice coating as well.

So, I had the wonderful privilege of cleaning up his puppy mess for the better part of an hour and a half this morning. First, I had to lug everything, dog, kennel, and all, out into the very cold, snowy backyard. This was, in theory a good idea, except Oakley kept finding what I can only describe as "poop tidbits" to either sit in or lick up; the former causing more mess and the latter inspiring a shockingly strong gag reflex.

After much scrubbing, most of a can of lysol, and carrying a squirming 50 pound dog wrapped in a towel to the tub for a thorough "de-poop-ification," the job was finally done. Unfortunately, I was unable to salvage Oakleys toys and his food and water dishes. Other causalities included our outdoor rug which Oakley decided to stake out during our outside cleanup effort, causing irreversible poop-damage.

I know what you are thinking: "Gross! Why are you sharing this?!" Well, I will tell you why. I figure if I had to clean up the horror that was my living room all by my lonesome this morning, someone else should at least have to read about it. It's only fair. Really. It's only fair.

UPDATE: Just thought you would all want to know: Oakley had another accident this afternoon that had be cleaned up by yours truly. Pity me and my poor sick doggie!