Sunday, November 23, 2008

The Richardson Twerds



"Twilight" is here! Krista and I braved the crowd opening night (I swear we're crazy sometimes...she more than me, being as Krista was insane and went to a midnight showing in Billings). Brandon and I went Saturday for our monthly date-night. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. Brandon protested against wearing his shirt in public, though he had promised me he would when he got it on his birthday. I wasn't allowed to wear my hand-me-down shirt in public. (Apparently, Brandon doesn't like me walking around with another guy's face on my shirt...go figure.)


It's a terrible thing that the movie has been such a hit-and-miss with people. Either you love it or you don't. It's as simple as that. I've been bummed to hear people say that the movie ruined the book for them. The way I see it, you have to go into these situations with no expectations other than to be entertained. And entertained I was! Will I see it again? More than likely. Has it ruined the book for me? Heck, no! Just keep an open mind. That's all you can really do. But, I figure it was a success for our family: Krista liked/loved (one of the two) it, I loved it, Brandon liked it...but don't take our words for it.




Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Grateful "C"



"A new British survey has revealed that 9 out of 10 people like Chocolate. The tenth lies." - Robert Paul
I am grateful for chocolate. I know it seems shallow and unimportant, but I am a chocoholic, so I am eternally grateful to whomever invented chocolate!
A quote my husband lives by: "After a bar of chocolate one can forgive anybody, even one's husband."
Chocolate is a vegetable. How, you ask? Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans. Beans are a vegetable. Sugar is derived from either sugar CANE or sugar BEETS. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category. Thus, chocolate is a vegetable.
To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk, which is dairy. So candy bars are a health food.
Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Gratitude "B"

I am grateful for books. I have loved to read ever since preschool. I remember my mom reading "Giant John" to me before bed every night. I can remember reading a book about llamas to my kindergarten class and being so proud of myself when I finished my first chapter book. I remember my mom giving me a copy of "Jurassic Park" when I was in second grade, and I remember crossing out every single curse word. Though I can be quite picky when it comes to books I enjoy, when I do find one that I love, I tend to love it for life. I'm not a particular fan of "series" books, though I have read and adored both the Work and the Glory series and the Twilight series (I have never read the Harry Potter series). My favorites are the classics, mostly introduced to me by my high school AP English teacher, and non-fiction, research-type books.

We have worked to try and instill in Kerrigan a love for books as well. Her bookshelf is almost as full as mine is, and she will love you forever if you would sit and read a book with her. I only hope that it lasts her entire life and doesn't fade when she gets into school and reading becomes mandatory. I hope that she learns to love to read for the pure sake of reading.



My husband tells me I have too many books. It's only a bookcase and a half...there's plenty of room for many more!!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Gratitude "A"

I am totally stealing this idea from my cousin, Emily (hope you don't mind...). Each day you choose something that you are thankful for that starts with a letter of the alphabet. Since Emily started at the end of the alphabet, I'll start at the beginning.


I am thankful for academics. To put it simply, I adore school. If time and money weren't such issues, I would gladly go to school for the rest of my life. I love learning, and I know that this is why I have chosen teaching as my eventual career. I wish more people could realize how important education is in their lives, and I have been kicking myself for putting off finishing my degree, because it goes against all that I believe. However, I have made an exception because I know it is important to be home for my daughter and to help her learn all that she can!

Happy Birthday, Brandon!

Happy big 2-6, Brandon!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Halloween

Halloween was a busy day at the Richardson household! Between decorating sugar cookies and baking cupcakes for trunk-or-treating and going trick-or-treating in downtown Cody, we hardly had a moment to catch our breaths. Not Brandon, naturally, as he was at work all day and missed out all the festivities. (Granted, the carwash was down again so he spent all day slaving away on that) Thankfully, Krista was there to help decorate cookies with me. Have a look at our creativity:




And then there was trick-or-treating in Cody. Kerrigan was thrilled to go with Oma and Opa. The day only got better when Otto and Paula Wells came with their little dog. The dog had Kerrigan tickled pink!

Later that night, we had trunk-or-treating at the church. Kerrigan acquired quite a haul of candy. She had Nonny take her half way around the parking lot, then changed her mind and decided that Aunt Krista had to take her the rest of the way. While we waited for Daddy to show up, Kerrigan regailed quite a few people with a special dance to "Monster Mash" (video not included). Unfortunately, Daddy missed the whole thing. Oh, well.