OH MY GOSH!!!!!

OH MY GOSH! I'M TRYING NOT TO FALL OVER HERE!
Ya'll 'member this card I showed you a few days ago?

This is the insert that pulls out.....

Well......I got the COOLEST news today....my friend, Brenda (shower honoree) has a younger sister who is dating Shelli Gardeners nephew. (He packages all of the embossing powders) So she tells me today that she showed THIS VERY CARD to THE GARDNER CLAN! I am telling you that *MY CARD* was handled by *THE FAMOUS SHELLI*! Co-Founder & CEO of "Stampin Up-Shelli! She told me today that they loved it! I was so honored and UBER EXCITED! (As if you can't tell, right?! hee hee) What an honor! I feel so close to royalty!! LOL

EDITED TO ADD: In my uber gooberness & excitement, I totally misunderstood....the card was NOT handled by Miss Shelli, in REAL LIFE.....but in my dreams & imagination, I'll continue to think so, and that while I'm told that the others that handled it were indeed, impressed, it's totally fine with me if the rest of you continue to imagine RAVE reviews from Miss Shelli as well. *wink wink* I do apologize for the misunderstanding and honest mistake! *Hugs & Kisses to all of my fans---both real and imagined! hee hee

Tech the Halls.....

Tech the Halls with tunes of mp3-ers!

We had some happy, happy kids this year! Carson got his first mp3 player, the Sansa Shaker mp3 player, he dances around with a big ol' grin on his face shakin' that little blue tune machine. (I need to upload a video of that....the boy's got MOOOVES! I'm so incredibly serious!)

Darren & Karlee got matching mp3 systems! They will be listening to their tunes on ZUNES! Darren's is black and Karlee's is white (with a lime green cover of course!)

They've been spending a lot of time downloading music and videos and comparing who has what, it's been pretty fun.

Don't ya just love this picture? I love how cute they are together. My friend Valerie Chandler wrote this post about this awhile back and I found myself completely agreeing with her. What moves me the most is watching these tender moments with the kids.

And come February, I will be singing "Sail Away with Me" or the theme from "The Love Boat" when Darren & I take This Cruise! It's more than a 3 hour tour & I'm so excited, but I swear if I hear the name "Gilligan", "MaryAnne", "Skipper" or "Ginger", I'm gonna freak! I'm fine with the Professor though and I wouldn't mind a donation from the Howells!

We are going with Darren's brother Gary & his wife Laurie and their daughter, Danielle & her husband Tyrell. I can't wait! I'm toying with the idea of renaming Darren that week & calling him "Thurston"....think he'd call me "Lovey"?! hee hee

So that's the highlights of our gifts this year. We all received many nice gifts and were feeling so fortunate. Of course it goes without saying that the gift that we are most grateful for was the gift that was given 2000 years ago in a humble stable. This year we watched this video of the Nativity after Darren read the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible. It was my favorite part of the night.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well! Now my focus is on Carson's baptism next week! Woohoo! We're so excited!

Nicknames

Today I got an email from my friend Janeal AKA "Chicee Bum". Over the course of the last few days I've had the opportunity to use several nicknames for my friends and have them call me a few terms of endearment. (They are endearing, right guys?! Guys? Guys? Right? You still love me, right? Oh good!)

So it's got me thinking about how these names came to be. Most of my life there has been someone that has called me MEL. I don't mind it most of the time. In fact, I think Darren calls me Mel more than Melanie. Its familiar, it's cool, it's ok. But I confess, there are some people I do NOT like to call me Mel. There is a woman at church that tries to call me that, I correct her everytime. She's a big ol' bully woman, it's the only way I can correct her on something without declaring WWIII! I know, I'm such a pacifist! The Queen of Mean hasn't earned the right to call me that! *grins*

My friend Lindy calls me MeeWee! She's the only one that is allowed to call me that! Truth is, it makes me laugh to think of this TOUGH ol' Tattooed, Harley ridin' biker woman calling me such a "soft" name. She's sworn me to secrecy so I can't tell you that even though she's tough on the outside, she's really a marshmellow on the inside.

Left to right in the back: Me (as Tink minus wings and wig), LesaLesa & the Cult Jam Force (Lesa), PollyWog (Polly), Amers (Amy), Jeanie Weanie (Jean) and Front: Lindy Lou Who (Lindy). We had all just received Temporary Tattoos close to our hearts to match Lindy's Butterfly Tattoo.

Several of my friends call me TINK. This all started about 6 years ago when I dressed up like Tinkerbell for Girls camp. It was so fun having an alter-ego that Tink became a frequent & favorite visitor at "wake-overs" and other parties. I haven't seen her for a few years....maybe I'll have to invite her over sometime.

My friend, Xina calls me MayNayNee! My old friends Renae and Debbie called me Melvis, My sister, Natalie calls me Melanwee and some kids I used to babysit called me "Mentally" or "Mental". They were probably the most accurate in their nickname descriptions! (Babysitting 6-8 kids under the age of 8 would tend to make someone mental wouldn't you agree?! LOL)
Left to Right: Me, Lesa, Vicki (in the back), Xina, Michelle (Who is Vicki's sister)......Don't you LOVE Xina's T-Shirt?

The truth is, I've always liked my name, Melanie, but I'm so glad that I'm surrounded by people that love me, that feel comfortable enough to give me an extra comfortable tag of love. I'm sure I've got other nicknames...heck, my kids have probably called *ME* "The Queen of Mean"....and I am, like after I've told them to stop fighting 48 times or to clean their rooms 96 times or even when I'm just feeling like I want to try out for the "Miss Crabby Pants" role at church when it becomes available again! *evil cackles*

So what's your nickname? How'd ya get it? How do you like it? And to Janeal, would you still turn around as fast as you did in 9th grade when I hollered "Hey Chicee Bum" to get your attention? hee hee

Have a GREAT Day!

~Melanie