Productive Morning

It has been a productive Sunday morning already, and it isn't even 9am yet... I cleaned the apartment, made the office into a bedroom (a friend will be staying with us from today till Thursday), got gas, got groceries, cleaned out the fridge, made blueberry muffins, ate breakfast, made Ryan breakfast and put it in the fridge, jam out to Christmas tunes, wash dishes, and now I am off to shower and clean the bathroom.

I guess that's what happens when your husband wakes you up at 7:15 and tells you he is going surfing and you can't fall back asleep :)

Parfait

I made Ryan a parfait to go with his left over tacos for dinner tonight and thought it looked yummy (he said it was yummy) so I took a couple pictures. I think I will do it for our breakfast tomorrow morning - Blueberry yogurt, fresh blueberries, fresh strawberries, and granola. [The couple that I work with headed back to Atlanta for the holidays so they let me go 'grocery shopping' in their fridge, which is where I got most of the goodies, hehe]




PS These are some of the Dave & Buster cups we got when we went this fall, hehe.

Ornaments

Check out the new ornaments that we have received from people (SOOOO NICE):

R & C ornament made by Katrina:

Ryan and Carlee ornament made by Katrina:

Santa ornament made with Grandma Cates' wedding dress material:

Santa ornament made with Grandma Cates' wedding dress material:

Grandma P gives all of the grandkids a Nativity scene ornament once they get married:

Grandma P gives all of the grandkids a Nativity scene ornament once they get married:

Cupcake ornament (to reflect our wedding cupcakes) from the McClurgs:

Cupcake ornament (to reflect our wedding cupcakes) from the McClurgs:

Sample Sale

Ryan picked up some early Christmas gifts for us at the Tilly's sample sale this afternoon... Check out the gear... (I enjoy shoes for $5 and shirts for $2-3)

Welcome Back Dyess

Hello, again: McDyess returns to Pistons month after being dealt

WASHINGTON -- Antonio McDyess has re-signed with the Detroit Pistons a month after being dealt to Denver as part of the Allen Iverson trade.

The Pistons announced Tuesday that McDyess was back for the rest of the season, but did not disclose financial terms of the deal. He was in uniform for Tuesday's game in Washington, playing 25 minutes and scoring nine points in a 107-94 loss.

"He's our best rebounder. He's one of our best post defenders," Detroit coach Michael Curry said.

Detroit sent McDyess, Chauncey Billups and Cheikh Samb to Denver for Iverson on Nov. 3.

The Nuggets waived McDyess a short time later, and he had to wait 30 days before rejoining the Pistons.

The 6-foot-9 forward-center averaged seven points and two rebounds in two games for Detroit before the trade.

"You could notice the difference without him. That was a big part of losing him in that trade," Curry said. "The things he brought to the table were sorely missed."

The 34-year-old Mississippi native signed with the Pistons after they won the 2004 NBA title and helped them reach the finals in his first season and conference finals in the next three.

More of the article here.

BIggest Full Moon

Years Biggest Full Moon Friday Night

The full moon Friday night will be the biggest one of the year as Earth's natural satellite reaches its closest point to our planet.

Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days. But the orbit is not a perfect circle.

The moon's average distance from us is about 238,855 miles (384,400 km). Friday night it will be just 221,560 miles (356,567 km) away. It will be 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during the year, according to NASA.

Tides will be higher Friday night, too. Earth's oceans are pulled by the gravity of the moon and the sun. So when the moon is closer, tides are pulled higher. Scientists call these perigean tides, because the moon's closest point to Earth is called perigee. The farthest point on the lunar orbit is called apogee.

Some other strange lunar facts:
-The moon is moving away as you read this, by about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) a year. Eventually it'll be torn apart as an expanding sun pushes the moon back toward Earth for a wrenching close encounter.
-There is no proof the full moon makes people crazy.
-Beaches are more polluted during full moon, owing to the higher tides.

The moon will rise Friday evening right around sunset, no matter where you are. That's because of the celestial mechanics that produce a full moon: The moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, so that sunlight hits the full face of the moon and bounces back to our eyes.

Read more here.

Christmas Office

Ryan and I missed it last night but will make sure to watch it this weekend...

MOROCCAN CHRISTMAS | 12.11.08 | 9/8c | TV-PG L

A CHRISTMAS PARTY IN MOROCCO - Phyllis' (Phyllis Smith) Moroccan-themed holiday party goes up in flames when Meredith's (Kate Flannery) hair catches on fire and Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) is forced to deal with the accident. Meanwhile, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) corners the market on the hottest toy of the Christmas season. John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Leslie David Baker, Ed Helms, Mindy Kaling, Oscar Nunez, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Paul Lieberstein and Craig Robinson also star.