Flingshots

One of the coolest presents I have ever received was given to me this Christmas by my friend Nik. It is a set of not one, not two, but SIX of these. I now have not just the monkey, but the frog, pig, cow, duck, and rooster.

I have a long history with these crazy toys. I first saw the monkeys when they were one of the rewards for participation in a CMS fundraiser. I kept threatening to confiscate them from my students...because I wanted one for myself. When I saw similar screaming monkeys for sale, I had to get several. One became the most coveted item at the 2004 family Christmas white elephant gift exchange. One monkey became my apartment's unofficial mascot. For some reason, which I can't remember now, my roommates and I named the monkey after an insufferable guy in our ward. We would fling him-the monkey, not the guy-across the room at the slightest provocation. Liz still holds the record for both distance and accuracy in monkey flingshot.

I'll never forget the night B met the flingshot monkey. It was New Year's Eve 2005. My roommates and I had decided to throw an impromptu party, and even though we'd only been on a couple of dates by then, I got brave and invited B. I was feeling silly and coquettish, and decided to get B's attention by flinging the monkey past his nose. Unfortunately, I have terrible aim with the things, and the screaming monkey smacked B right in the forehead! Boy did I feel stupid! B must not have been terribly offended, as he did ask me out again. (Not to mention the fact that he eventually married me. ;)

Unfortunately, Dave the monkey did not have as happy an end to his story. He made one flight too many, lost his voice and his stitching, and now sits quietly upon a shelf-a momento of a very fun time of my life.

Several years later I saw different kinds of animal flingshots for sale. I bought a rooster for Nik, who was leaving on a mission. She took the crazy crowing rooster with her, where it provided her with hours of entertainment-and her companions with hours of annoyance. *smirk*

I offer this lengthy history only to explain the elation I felt on opening the present from Nik, and finding a whole collection of flingshot animals! Someone else, however, was not elated. When I took out the monkey from Nik, I put it on my fingers, stretched it back and shot it screeching across the kitchen. J did this:
I was surprised. He usually doesn't react this way to noises of this type. Of course I scooped J up and comforted him, even though Nik and I couldn't help laughing a little bit. After a couple of days, J decided that the flingshot monkey was his favorite toy. He now carries it around with him and doesn't bat an eyelash when the monkey screeches. Here is J with his new friend:

Birthday Candles

December 19th was the birthday of my marvelous hubsand. (No, that isn't a typo. I wrote it that way on purpose.) I put a lighted birthday candle in his buttermilk pancakes in the morning...and in his macaroni and cheese at dinner...and in his hot fudge brownie sunday for dessert. (He rolled his eyes at me, but he knows that all this is not just an indication that his wife is a pyro, but that she loves him. ; )


Where did the idea of birthday candles come from anyway? (ancient Greeks, according to a quick Internet search) It is fascinating to me how often our celebrations involve things for which we have forgotten the original purpose, but we continue to do them because it is customary. Why do some practices catch on and become tradition, while others fade into oblivion? I may never know the answer to these questions, but I like lighting things on fire, so I'll keep the tradition of birthday candles. (Yes, we do own a fire extinguisher.)

First Snow

B thought we should take J outside to walk in the snow for the first time. I've looked for snow gear for the little guy, but haven't yet found anything in his size that is affordable. So, we had to improvise. I put plastic bags over the socks and shoes he was already wearing , and then covered everything with a pair of my socks so that he wouldn't slip. With a pair of his own socks on his hands for mittens, he was ready to take on the outdoors. We only stayed out for about five minutes because it was cold, but J loved it! After we came back indoors and got out of our snow clothes, he toddled up and patted the front door, glancing back at me beseechingly. We'll go out again another day, Jbaby.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

We decorated our house for Christmas a while ago, but I finally downloaded some pictures to post. Though it isn't very extensive, We're enjoying the change in decor. J shows this by trying to rip the ornaments off the tree any time he gets close to it. ;) We opted to use our little artificial tree this year so that we could barricade it in the corner. I bought this tree at Walmart in Evanston, Wyoming in December of 2000 when I was teaching school in Lyman. Most of the decorations I had were cheap, old, and shabby, so I bought some cheap, new and shiny ones to replace them. It was fun to look for tiny ornaments to fit our tiny tree. B used his artistic eye to make sure everything was pleasingly arranged.










We now have a Little Town of Bethlehem and a Snow Village, courtesy of Department 56, and B's mom.











We don't have a fireplace, so our "stockings are hung near the heat vent with care, although we know Saint Nick just can't fit through there."









I have been listening to all kinds of Christmas music. I plugged my computer into some speakers so I could go online and use Pandora. (Anyone who doesn't know about this site should check it out. It is way cool.)

I didn't realize what a rough time with post partem depression I was having last Christmas season until this year came around. I find I want to celebrate doubly because I feel so much better than I did this time last year. Hooray for Christmas! Hooray for healing! Hooray for Christ who makes both possible.