Days of Christmas

I can't believe one of my very own flesh and blood actually sat upon Santa's lap and smiled. We have a history of sitting on his lap and crying. I have proof! There's a beauty of a photo with Patrick bawling while sitting on Santa's lap. Send it to me Patrick!

Liam is doing nothing more than being Liam. He smiles and giggles non-stop.

Here's a happy picture Patrick found of us with a Santa doll. If he'd been real, we would have been crying.

Sweet Victory!

You can't get much better than the Cowboys/Packers game last night. It's just a shame most people didn't get to see it (NFL Network). It's great to see Romo living up to his new contract. And is it just me or does T.O. seem to be a whole new person - on the field and off the field? He did get a little of his show-boating in with the popcorn stunt, but it made me laugh...and really crave popcorn.

Poor Brett Favre. I had hoped he could play the rest of the game for two reasons. One - I like him. It's almost as if Troy Aikman was still playing. And two - AaronRodgers came in the game and almost scared me.

Speaking of Rodgers - the big talk of the game was that he looked almost exactly like the lead singer of Creed, Scott Stapp.

Am I right or am I right? (Note: this is a picture of Scott Stapp. I couldn't find the look-a-like picture to post). Then I found out why after reading Jaime Aron's article on the game:

Look for the shaggy-haired Rodgers to get a haircut soon. He vowed not to trim it until he threw a touchdown.

Go Cowboys! 11-1. Playoffs guaranteed!

Help America's Economy!

This morning I read this article about the top 10 stupidest gifts out there today. Stupid.com spent endless hours finding these priceless gifts. Personally, I'd love to see one or more of these in my Christmas stocking.


I have a few gift ideas for those of you who are having trouble making a Christmas list or for those of you who just don't know what to buy that lovely lady of yours.

1. Flat Wallet: These are all the rage these days.


2. Booties: No, these aren't for your baby's feet. These are for your Baby's feet! I love these grey suede Franco Sarto boots. Zappos ships for free!


3. Grey Shift Dress: Here's a cute one from Target. Throw on some plum or black opaque tights and you've got a cute outfit! Or here's another but more expensive option.


4. Dresses: They really are in this winter! I absolute LOVE this dress. I hate the price. Other dresses I have a love/hate relationship with can be found here or here . I'm beginning to think this should be called Katy's Favorite Things. But unlike Oprah, I don't own them.


5. Nail Polish: I am wearing this color right this second! You can't go wrong with Wicked! And it's a fun stocking stuffer!
   
6. Metal credit card/ID/gift card holder: I've had mine for almost six years and it's still holding up (thought barely)! It's perfect for sliding in your pocket when you don't want to carry a whole purse. And these are for the art lover in all of us.
7. Make your own calendar: Patrick made me one last year and I love looking at it! He used tons of pictures from our family over the past couple of years. You can make your own easily if you have a Mac (don't we all wish we did!) or you can go to Shutterfly or Kodak to order your own.
8. Life Magazine: Two years ago I bought my dad a Life Magazine from the month and year of his birth. It was so fun reading what was going on during that time period. Patrick once bought my mom a National Geographic from the birth month and year of all her kids.
9. Personalized Playing Cards: Check out PhotoWorks to make your own playing cards.
10. For the movie lover: 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
11. For the kids: BabyWit.com has great stuff for babies and younger kiddos. And BabyLegs is also great for the cold weather kids.
12. TV fanatic: Don't have HBO and wonder what all the hype's about? Sopranos, Sex and the City, Entourage, etc. are available on DVD. Buy them for a family member, a friend or buy one and donate it to Heroes for Heroes.
13. Philanthropist: Make a donation in honor of a loved one. Heroes for Heroes, World Vision, Habitat for Humanity...find a worthy cause!
14. Scared of the Dark (aka me): These aren't just your average nightlights! I have two very similar ones.
15. Wine Lover: Wine opener gift set.

These are some of my favorites. Please share some of yours! I need ideas and I'm sure other people would love to hear them. Don't be shy! Leave a comment with some of your favorite gift ideas.

I Need a Moment

Katy sends her apologies for not having written sooner. She is currently in rehab for her addiction to ice cream, pecan pie, candied sweet potatoes, pancakes, bacon, chocolate something-or-other, pumpkin pie something made by her sister and trail mix consumed by the handful during the days following Thanksgiving.

She's currently in the weening process. It is a very dangerous time for her. Any minute now her butt may bust through her pants (except it won't because they're stretchy - that is her pants) or her brain may split in half due to the sudden lack of sugar. Pray for her.

Survey Says!

Who hasn't taken one of these surveys? This has been sent around today by my high school friends. Get to know me!

Type In Your Answers. Then Send This To A Whole Bunch Of People That You Know... And Send It Back To Me So I Can See Your Answers. The Theory Is That You Will Learn A Lot Of Little Known Facts About Those You Know. Remember To Send It Back!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My grandmother
was Mary Kathryn (or was it Mary Kay?)...hence my name. And my dad also
really liked the movie, "The Sullivan Brothers," about
5 brothers who went off to WWII on the same ship and
all died. One of them left behind a wife, Mary
Kathryn. Sounds promising.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Probably
during some holiday commercial involving Folgers
coffee and Peter coming home from college.



3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I do like my
handwriting but only with the Pilot G-2 pen. I'm a
walking commercial.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? I'm not
a vegan because I am a Texan, an American and I love
Jesus. My favorite lunchmeat is an 8oz. filet mignon
on wheat bread with mayo. (This was said in jest as a response to a friend who claims he's a "vegan.")

5. DO YOU HAVE Children? Not that I'm fully
aware of.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE
FRIENDS WITH YOU? Absolutely. Everyone wants to
have beautiful friends.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? See above.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I want to say yes.
But then the responsible side of me takes over and
then statistics and the words "health insurance" and
"deductible" cross my mind.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? cinnamon
toast crunch - but I never eat it.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM
OFF? Never. I'm lazy.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? You have
no idea the strengh these biceps hold.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM/Sherbet/Gelato? Where do I begin! Today I
say I love Ben & Jerry's half baked.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Smile

15. RED OR PINK? Red - my favorite color

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAV. THING ABOUT
YOURSELF? perfectionism which leads to fear
which leads to fear of failure which leads to life
paralysis which leads to regrets.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my family, no
doubt

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO
YOU? Yessssssssssssssssss

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU
WEARING? a really fabulous gray pair from Express
that can be washed and dried...and don't need ironed.
And they are stretchy.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Chipotle...hence the stretchy pants

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
other people typing and breathing

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD
YOU BE? pistachio green

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? My parents house. Warm
cookies. John Freida's Brilliant Brunette shampoo on
freshly washed hair. Babies!

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Mom!

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I love you all!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? NFL/College Football. And ice skating!

27. HAIR COLOR? Brown - Mahogany?

28. EYE COLOR? brown - Brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No

30. FAVORITE FOOD? It's currently between Gold Fish, Ben & Jerry's and Guacamole

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I HATE scary movies. I have a crazy enough imagination as it is!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? At the movie theater - Into the Wild with Marissa. Whoa, is that intense. At home? Ahem...Ice Princess with some teeny boppers who are "hollywood IT girls" (whatever that means). It was the only thing on and I secretly LOVE teenage drama chick flicks.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT/BLOUSE ARE YOU WEARING? Light pink sweater

34. SUMMER/FALL/SPRING OR WINTER? Texas = spring, Chicago = summer, Colorado = winter (I love to ski)

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Can I say both?

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Ben and Jerry's. Do I need to keep repeating myself?

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I want each and every one of you to respond!

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No one will disappoint me!.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Dell something

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? I didn't watch t.v.! But if I could have watched anything it would have been Project Runway. I love that show.

42. FAVORITE SOUND? Babies laughing. They make my world go round!

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Definitely the Beatles. I can sing them all. Has anyone seen Across the Universe? Quirky movie...which means I loved it.

44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Italy

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can make my nose look like it's on the side of my face.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Atlanta, Georgia

Moisture is the Essence of Beauty - MerMAN!

By george I better have the bestest and youngest looking skin at the age of 73! A recent post unveiled the fact that I am currently suffering from dry, flakey skin on my face...hence the missing top layer of skin in certain sections surrounding my eyebrows. This just isn't working for me. My dermatologist, hot doctor, told me that my topical medicine that helps keep my face clean and clear is also supposed to be the best medicine out there for age prevention. Oh really doctor? Because suddently two short months after the dewey summer days, my face is cracked and looks 50 years older. Moisture is the key to healthy, beautiful, glowing skin! At least that's what my Aunt's recent issue of Reader's Digest told me.

So I went Nordstrom yesterday. Yes, I even go there on my days off. It really is a wonderland. I stopped in the makeup section to explore the shelves of moisturizers that promise to do everything just short of bringing world peace. My eyebrow girl told me that I should try this intense facial moisturizer by MD Skincare. I'll be bold and honest by telling you that a 1.7 ounce jar of this stuff costs $120. Do you need me to pick you up off the floor? I know, but I'm DESPERATE! And of course I couldn't just stop with the moisturizer, I also needed to purchase the exfoliator. As the salesperson helping me said, "Dead skin will just block the moisturizer from getting to where it needs to go." Wow, I do need an exfoliant. Show me more teacher!

One thing I can't stand when I go to the makeup section or skin care section of any store is that they automatically look at you and say, "Wow! Your skin is so dry! You really should take better care of it by moisturizing!" Well duh! That's why I'm here, in the moisturizer section! I'm doing everything short of selling a kidney to make sure my face doesn't crumble into pieces. And they always have just the product. "This ____ eye cream will help tighten the under eye area and remove any puffiness." "But you also need this ____ eye cream to protect it from free radicals." What exactly are free radicals? It sounds like some dangerous political sect.

Here are my moisturizing purchases to make sure I have the softest, youngest and most dewey face, lips and hands:

• MD Skincare Hydra-Pure Intense Moisture Cream
• Yves Saint Laurent 'Touche Eclat' Radiant Touch It's french so it's got to be good. And I quote "one of these pens is sold somewhere in the world every 7 seconds." I had to be part of that statistic!
• La Source Hand Therapy cream. This stuff saved my hands last winter.
• Bigelow Ultra Mentha Lip Shine so I can be sure to have the most kissable lips out there!

Isn't it just the way of the universe that everything tends to run out at the same time? And I want to just go ahead and say that I am totally pleased so far with the facial moisturizer. Moisture is indeed locked in on my face and I've got that dewey look (not to be confused with sweaty/greasy).

November Birthdays

First and foremost, I want to wish my wonderful dad a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! He told me he's celebrating by babysitting for Connor tonight. I guess that's what happens when you have grandkids. What do you get for the man who can't ever think of what he wants for birthdays and holidays? A Tony Romo bobblehead of course!

Secondly, many of my loved ones celebrate November birthdays. So here's a happy birthday to Mom, Dad, Chris, Becky, Russ, Shelly, Kate, Mandy, Kristen and ??? Forgive me if I'm leaving out your name. Just know that I'm celebrating YOU!

And finally, my theory on the numerous November birthdays: Valentines Day.

The Camera Loves You!

You can see an Anne Geddes look alike photo of little Archer on Paula's photography blog. I can't stop looking at it!

Epidermis

Winter can be a tough time for the skin. What was once dewy, greasy and could borderline cook french fries thanks to the summer months, is now scaley, dry and a little on the itchy side. If I don't carry around moisturizer with me constantly, my face shrivels up and cracks. It's all very attractive.

Today I went and had my eyebrows waxed during an early lunch break. It was time to tame the beast sitting just above my eyelids. My aesthetician took the normal precautions: vaseline and baby powder. After the first RIP I felt an unusual tingling/burning sensation. I do have sensitive skin so the redness/puffiness wouldn't be too alarming, so what's alarming are the two super-red strips on my forehead. One is just below my left eyebrow. The other is just a smidge to the right of my right eyebrow. This my friends is due to dry skin. Now I look like I've been in a bar fight. Well, someone with gorgeous eyebrows who has been in a bar fight. There is a difference.

Toy Recall

Since Christmas is being thrust upon us earlier and earlier, I thought I would urge parents to BEWARE of the toys out there. A non-profit recently put together a list of the worst toys available to children. Click here to read more about it. I need to return the rubber band shooter that I just bought for Connor.

This also reminds me of one of my favorite Saturday Night Live sketches ever starring Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtin. I wish I could find the video for it.

Radar Magazine also had an article about the 10 most dangerous toys ever. My parents were good because I never had any of these toys.

End Zone

I know that I cry easily. You know it. I know it. Anyone who has ever been to a movie with me knows it. But last Friday night when I went to my little brother's high school football game I was overwhelmed to the point of tears. Mom and I were walking up the stands to watch the end of warm-ups and as we turned to look at the field we saw all the players and their dads kneeling in the end zone praying together. Dads had their arms around their sons. Sons whose dads couldn't make it prayed with their friends and their dads. I don't see that every day and it brings me such joy to see it.

Tonight my parents are in Atlanta for a funeral of a dear friend and can't make Andrew's last game. My older brother and his family are out of town. My sister just had a baby so she's out. So my fabulous brother-in-law, Chris, just emailed me that he's going to Andrew's game and gets to pray with him on the field beforehand. Again, it makes me want to cry. I don't know. Maybe it's that dads, sons, and families are joining together and acknowledging the most important thing in life. When you think of teenagers, you typically think about the riff between them and their parents. You don't often picture dads with their arms around their sons, kneeling and praying. It doesn't happen that often in life.

Orender Family Turkey Trot

My trainer was telling me about the new Steve Carell movie, Dan in Real Life. She said that it was funny but a lot of it was totally unbelievable. She said that Dan's family gets together and plays games and has competitions with each other, "I mean, no family does that!" I just looked at her and she said, "I knew it. I knew your family would. Of course you do." I can't help it that we enjoy playing games, singing karaoke and competing in the Lindsay Family Beach Olympics. I like that about us.

This Thanksgiving we're taking on a new family adventure. For the first time in YEARS, and practically my whole life, we are not going to do the Dallas Turkey Trot. Instead, we're heading to our lakehouse in Possum Kingdom to enjoy the First Annual Orender Family Turkey Trot! We even have t-shirts! Check these out:












We only had a couple of hours to design them otherwise I'm sure we'd design a logo. Want your own Orender Family Turkey Trot t-shirt? Sorry, it's a limited print. Someday these things will sell like hot cakes on ebay.

I'm thinking that I could win this race. Finally! I WIN!!!!! I need to come up with a prize for myself. Perhaps a new pair of shoes? Yes, definitely a new pair of shoes. Speaking of shoes, I just bought a fabulous pair of flat knee high boots. I kind of look like a pirate. But I like pirates.

What's in a Dream?

Kellsey, a friend I've known since the 8th grade, left a comment not that long ago on one of my posts. I hope she doesn't mind that I post part of it here. I left out the part where she said we were engaged to each other. She's married so I'm not too worried.

I dreamed last night that I was at your parents house with you for a sleepover. We were hanging out and talking and dancing around (with your parents). When we went to bed we both slept pretty soundly. THen at 5:30 you all of a sudden sat bolt upright and said "I can't stand it anymore! I've got to get up. I can't stand to sleep late and miss half the day."

That is so me! Most people close to me know that I don't like sleeping late because I love the day time so much and who wants to waste some perfectly good daylight?

I've never slept past 12:30pm. And when I did that it was after prom and I didn't go to bed until 6:00 am. I am also pretty competitive. I used to get mad when my old roommate would wake up before me on a Saturday morning. How dare she get a start on the day before me! Maybe I felt guilty for wasting precious time. Guilt? Me? And you know what else makes me feel guilty? Watching t.v. when my roommates are busy doing something else. Automatically I feel I'm lazy. I'm sensing I have some issues here.

Anyone else have any dreams about me they'd like to share? Kidding! No, seriously. Wait, maybe I don't want to know them.

My First Visit with Archer

I am having major withdrawals now that I'm home. I couldn't stop staring at Archer's sweet little face and those tiny little lips! His dark long hair is amazing. We're thinking it will probably fall out and blonde little curls will come in its place, but you never know.

Erin is doing great. She is an amazing mother. Mom is staying at her place for a week helping her out. I helped out for two nights by sleeping on the couch and making occasional comments without opening my eyes. I don't know how she does it. I was so tired sleeping on the couch that the thought of waking up made me want to puke. Being a mother isn't for wimps.

Pole Position

Saturday I went to the Nascar Busche series race at the Texas Motor Speedway. I'm a fan. I loved it! Patrick answered all 1,425 of my questions with incredible patience and now I can speak the lingo.

I was looking at the huge pole by the track and noticing the positions of the drivers - their position on the pole - their pole position. I looked at Patrick and said "POLE POSITION! Oh my gosh! I'm 31 years old and have just realized for the first time that the arcade game pole position referred to 'POLE POSITION!' Seriously, my world was just rocked." I shock myself sometimes.