Christmas shopping?? Mission accomplished!

I am very proud to say that I...

1. Finished ALL of my Christmas shopping (with the exception of 2 little things that I'm going to pick up Wednesday)
2. Finished in ONE afternoon
3. Did not have a car wreck
4. Did not yell, scream, give a dirty look, or threaten with hand motions to ANYONE today!!

This by itself is quite a feat if I do say so myself. Anyone that knows me at all (that's right, you don't even have to know me well) knows that I am terrible with road rage! So to sit through all the awful traffic today and still be pleasant is WONDERFUL!

I was very excited going through all the stores, picking out all the gifts, thinking about each person and hoping they like their gifts. Although, sometimes giving gifts can be a little nerve wracking for me... I just want the person to LOOOOVE their gift and it can stress me out a little.... ya, ok, it can stress me out A LOT when I really want to find the "PERFECT" gift.

Does anybody else feel that way sometimes? Almost as if you think the person you are buying for has all these high expectations and it's your job to make sure their wildest dreams come true with your one present? Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit... but you get the idea...

But this time, I was wasn't really stressed too much! I actually tried to enjoy the whole experience and I DID!

The only exception was when I looked for my niece's princess doll... you know, the one that I blogged about, saying how it was my nightmare that every store in LR would suddenly be out? Well..... It. Happened.



Oh me, oh my, I was a little distressed. This little doll was all I was supposed to get, and I was naive enough to think it would still be readily available. I was seriously upset- mainly because I know how much she wanted this one special doll. But luckily, they had a different princess... I'm just hoping she likes it just as much!

But let that be a lifelong message to myself and any other childless woman in the world... If you ever, ever, EVER have children, do NOT wait until the week of to try and find their special toy. I will never do this again... not to my nieces or nephew, or my future children. Lesson Learned.

Bah Humbug!

I know so many of you have felt this way either this year, or in years past, but I am truly feeling a little un-Christmasy! Despite the fact that my tree is decorated, I'm walking around the house in my warm slippers, and I'm craving hot cider, I just can't seem to feel the Christmas spirit. Maybe I'm in need of a little holiday season revival?? Hmm...

(PS... this is B, my niece. How stinkin cute is this pic??? I die laughing everytime I see it!)


Another BIG.... and I say BIIIIIIIIGGGG, problem is that I have not finished my shopping. Wait, did I say FINISHED? I meant to say STARTED!!!! I hear you gasps as you are reading this.... I know, I know, I know, I feel your shameful stares and "tisk tisks."

But in my defense, I do have everything picked out already. I know exactly what needs to be purchased... in detail. I just haven't actually faced the vicious holiday crowds to get them. I just can't seem to muster the ferocity (is that a word? the root word being "ferocious") to throw some 'bows and hit the mall. But I have carefully mapped out my plan of attack. I will go first thing Monday morning-- I figure this weekend will just be a nightmare.

Monday morning seems like that will be the least busy time in the next week... before all the kids wake up from not going to school. And since all the little tweenyboppers won't be in school next week, I figure they will most likely be congregating at the mall and movies. So early Monday it is.

According to my calculations, I will have approximately 4 stops to make and again, I know exactly what I am looking for, so I figure I can knock it all out in a few short hours.

But this still leaves me with an unsettle feeling that all of the presents I am planning on getting will be completely sold out. Just like in a really bad dream.... it will go something like this:

I walk into Target, and they will have all their shelves fully stocked with every kind of glorious toy imaginable. I stand in awe. Except I make a turn down the Princess dolls isle... and I am left staring at a big. huge. gaping. hole! My cute little niece, all she wants is a princess doll! And of course that will be the only thing that is out of stock, they won't get it in stock, and there is no chance to get one shipped. THAT IS MY NIGHTMARE!

But I'm sure everything will be just fine... just a few deep breaths.

So maybe once I face the madness that is Christmas shopping, I will feel a little more jolly?? Who knows, but I'm hoping that helps. If not, I know FOR SURE that by the time Wednesday comes around I will be merry.

Tyler gets off work Wednesday at 11!!! How great is that!!! Because of his schedule, he has every other Friday off. And Christmas day happens to be his scheduled day off. So instead, he gets Thursday off. And they were going to get out at 11 anyway, so we get to head to NWA on Wednesday. I am so excited! A little fam time always helps the holiday spirit, right?? :)

In fact, just to be honest, I know that my bah-humbugness is mainly due to the lack of fam time the past few weeks... and the fact that I don't have Christmas lights to plug in every night outside our house... and the fact that my Mom hasn't made me wrap all of the Christmas presents (That always happens every year. She asked me to wrap like 9 million presents and I act like I hate every minute of it... but of course, I'm always excited to! :) haha) So I think I will be completely cured the moment we pull up I-540 and I get a look out over the beautiful Fayetteville skyline.

Ahhhh.... bliss!


If not, the ghost of Christmas past might as well head my way, because I'm pretty much a lost cause at that point... :)

Hmmm choices choices...

Tyler and I have some exciting things going on right now... so here is a quick recap.

Tyler is in his 1st year of his 2 year internship with the Corp of Engineers. The entire first year is spent in LR, learning about the Corp and observing. During his second year, he will have the opportunity to go to a few different Corp offices across the country for 4-8 weeks at a time. This will really let him learn about all aspects of the Corp and help him when he comes back to LR. The internship is really a stepping stone... they spend a lot of time training in hopes that he will be well-versed with the Corp so he will be a great employee (at least, that is the plan. obviously nothing is certain)

Moving on, Tyler will be able to request different locations for his "mini-internships" next year. He will probably be going to Portland OR, Alexandria VA (right outside DC). The other locations that are questionable are Davis CA, Galveston TX.

BUT the big question.... if he had the choice to request Dallas TX or San Francisco, which should he choose? I know some of you are wondering, what does it matter? He will be working so it won't make much of a difference. HOWEVER, Tyler and I have decided that we are young, newly married, and able to survive on one income, so why not take advantage of this opportunity? The intern before Tyler told us that he and his wife decided to go together. She went everywhere with him. So when he spent 8 weeks in Portland, she was there with him... and think you are getting where I am going with this??? :)

We have decided that I am going with him! I am so excited for this! Just thinking about it gets me excited! Now I realize that this is NOT some sort of vacation. Tyler will be working full time. We will spend anywhere from 4-6 weeks at any certain location. But we have spent the greater part of our almost 6 year relationship apart and are kind of sick of it! So for all the years that we were practical with everything involving our relationship, we have decided to be a little adventurous this time :). I will move where he moves, I will go where he goes.

We really have absolutely no idea where all he will be assigned to go, or how long he will go, but we do know that I will go too. I feel like this will be an incredible time for us to truly be alone, really enjoy being with our best friend & partner for life. It will be a chance to "live" (I use quotation marks bc its only for a few weeks at a time, and we will probably be in hotels of some sort) in places we would probably never live in or visit. Just saying, I've never had the desire to move to Portland. But would I like to visit for a few weeks? yes! Would I like to spend time in places I've never been? Of course!

We are NO where, I repeat NO WHERE near being close to having any details of this adventure. Everything is very "if-y" right now. But I am a daydreamer and have just been thinking, if I could choose between living in Dallas or San Fran for a few weeks, which would I choose?

Of course, just writing this sounds ridiculous. I mean, I live 5 hours from Dallas. I've been there a million times. And I've never been to San Fran, or northern Cali for that matter. I know there are probably waaay more things to do and see in San Fran. BUT, I guess my thought is that I do have a great best friend, and several other good friends, that live in Dallas. And goodness knows I don't see them enough. Also, we could take our car to Dallas (convenience is a factor!). We would be waaay closer to family. And we would fit in more. Tyler and I are both conservative Southerners... borderline squares. I'm not even ashamed to admit that! Now don't get me wrong, I think we are hilarious, fun-loving people. But I'm afraid in San Fran we would look like deer caught in the headlights. So that's just something to think about...

So if you would, dear blogger friends, please think about this rationally (Cortney, I already know your answer :) ) and take a look at these pictures, and let me know your thoughts. I just need some friendly insight as to all of your decisions!







Thank you friends for you answers.... I need a little help with this!

The Herriman's First Christmas card!

My SIL, Amanda, gave me the great idea of making our Christmas card all about being our First... and I have to say I'm kind of in love. I searched all over the internet trying to find cheap, but cute, Christmas cards. And I found them!

I found these at Vistprint.com for $13 for 40! I was pretty pleased with myself :)

The three pictures (if you couldn't already tell) are from our wedding. I just wanted to share some of our favorite pictures from our big day, and I LOVE the blue and green color combo (have you seen my living room???) :)

We only sent cards to our relatives and just a few close friends, so this my way of sharing our card with everyone!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

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Broccoli Cheddar Soup for the Soul

Today I had plans to hang out with my SIL, Rachel. I woke up feeling not so great and barely able to speak more than a whisper, so I called her up and gave her the bad news. But being the sweet person she is, she came on over anyway, with broccoli cheddar soup and cornbread in hand. (Have I ever mentioned how much I love soup and cornbread????) This was AMAZING and I am soooo thankful!

I know she didn't want to impose while I wasn't feeling well, but it really was SO great to have someone come over for a while. I slept all morning and by the time she got here at 12:30 (yes 12:30!) I was ready to be up for a while. I know all of you hate me for telling you that! :)

Anyway, she was over working on some Christmas gifts for her friends, and we were just hanging out, eating, and working on some ideas for her wedding invitiations... hark, layout design?? *my favorite thing ever*





My mom kept calling me to check up and see how I was feeling, saying that if she weren't 3 hours away she would totally bring me soup and medicine. But I told her, Have no fear, Rachel is taking great care of me today. So I just wanted to brag a little on my wonderful SIL.... I'm sooo thankful for her!

Love you Rachel

This looks about right...

This picture perfectly explains how I feel today...

I felt perfectly fine this morning!!!! SWEAR! I subbed for the first time today, and it was so fun! I had 11 3-year-olds, which I think for some people could be really scary, but I buckled down and laid down the law for those kiddos! It went great! But when I got home??? My throat started to hurt, I got an uncontrollable tickle in my throat, my eyes were watering, and nose running... uh oh, I think I'm SICK!

So now my voice sounds like man and I'm curled up on the coach.... if only I had Alladin, like the girl in the pic, then my sick day would be complete.....

A few favorite ornaments

Growing up, we always used the random collection of childhood ornaments and strings of popcorn to decorate our tree (probably like every other family in America). Being the only girl, I was always in charge of helping my mom decorate our tree, so I loved every year going back through all of our ornaments.

Here are two of my favorite! The first one is a "baby's first Christmas." I mean, I know its nothing magnificent by any means, but I guess I just like this one because I've had it for so long? Awww memories :)




And this one is pretty self explanitory... From Mom. I'm her favorite. And its a little red-headed girl. I think you get why I like this one so much! ha!


Well Tyler is off next week to California! He's going for work... some kind of seminar? Anyway, he's leaving Sunday and not getting back until SATURDAY! Now that is a LONG work week! So for right now, we are just enjoying a lazy weekend, maybe watch a movie tonight? I'm thinking something Christmasy!

I love the smell of pine!

Sooooo, yesterday Tyler and I bought our first Christmas tree! I was definitely excited! We went down the street and purchased the cheapest tree we could find. ha! Who knew that they could be sooooo expensive!

So this little sad tree was just perfect for us. It's a little crooked and has some holes, but I still like it--- almost a little Dr. Suess-ish if you ask me?



And here are some cute decorations for our table. My mom takes care of me ;)


And here is the finished product! I had so much fun with all the ornaments and decorations. Seriously, I was running around for 3 hours straight trying to get it all done, because I couldn't wait to see the finished product!


A special thanks goes to Tyler's mom. She took me to Hobby Lobby and let me pick ornaments to my heart's content, how wonderful is that?!?! So I got to pick all the bright, glittery decorations I could handle!


I decided to go with the fun/bright colors for our tree, not very traditional, but very festive! Then we added some of mine and Tyler's favorite childhood ornaments, just for fun. :) Throughout the next few weeks I'll showcase some of our awesome ornaments... I mean, teddy bear and high chair ornaments galore. So get excited!