No, I'm actually not referring to my feline roommate this time. Allow me to explain... Amber played this game at a work party the other day, so we decided to see how it would go over at our Small Group Get-Together last week. (I had previously played it at a church retreat). It was hysterical. And (I think?!) everyone had a lot of fun with it. I never knew the name of it, but Amber called it 'Telephone Pictionary'. So I googled that, hoping to find a link to the directions so I wouldn't have to type them all out. (Corner-cutter, I know.) Apparently, the game has many names, one of which is 'Eat Poop You Cat', which just makes it all the more hilarious in my opinion.

All that to say, I shared this game with my family this weekend, and I think it was a hit. There were only the 5 of us, so we passed our card stacks twice. Doesn't work quite as well that way, but still pretty funny. Here's the best one – from delayed airline flights to cautious waterfowl! (Identities of artists and writers are under protection at this time.)

Remember those paragraphs we'd have to write in grade school after returning from the holidays? "My Christmas Vacation" would be the title and each kid would try to outdo their classmates with the biggest tale and best gift. If you were lucky, you'd get to share your account last so that you could hear what you were up against and try to top Sally's trip to Disney World and Danny's new video game. I think I got that out of my system way back when, so I'll spare you the monologue.

All in all, a good week:
Travel time. (Fill up on gas in Roswell if you're making the trek on to Ruidoso. Especially if it's windy. Oh, and the gas gauge in a 4Runner will dip well below the white line before you run out. Just so you know.)
Tasty food. (Moose meat was pretty darn good.)
Snow fun. (The dogs LOVED it; Wyatt LOVED it... the day we left! 'More? More? More sled?')
Family adventure. (Oven doors sometimes fall off their hinges without warning. And yes, dogs can sled too...)

We are continually blessed. Here's a glimpse:

I feel like I should write something before abandoning ship for a week or so; here are as many random thoughts as I can cram into about 10 minutes of the evening...

I would like to make it know that listening to Alvin and the Chipmunks will always be one of my favorite Christmas memories growing up. Classic.

Headed out on the next Nickson family adventure tomorrow. Abilene, Canyon, Ruidoso, Abilene, and back to Dallas in 6 days. Lots of car time. Check. But no worries. I am armed with Stephenie Meyers (don't you dare judge my book selection!) and ready to make some miles. Looking for a little snow. Definitely looking to get out of the city. Activities should include: eating Dad's sausage pinwheels, contemplating the idea of church, trying moose meat for the first time, listening to good music, playing in the snow with Wyatt, helping paint Emme's room for her arrival, and fireplace time. Not necessarily in that order.

Today there were 3 of us at work. Well, 3 plus Jim's poodle wearing a jingle bell collar. Speaking of which, I tied some jingle bells around Harrison's neck yesterday just to see what he would do. That cat went postal for a good two hours trying to get them off. Hysterical.

Book report #39846954876. Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore. Read it. Also, my friend Tim sent me an interesting link last week. Check out the EDAR. What do you think?

Our "Old Small Group Christmas Party Get-Together" was Friday night. Venison taco soup and telephone pictionary. It's been a while since I've laughed that hard. Missed a few people that couldn't make it, but had a great time.

It got cold here yesterday. 28º at the moment. But a beautiful day was had on Saturday before the front hit. I celebrated the warm temps with a little jog... or two... around the lake.

One of my co-workers brought in Ritz cracker peanut butter sandwiches dipped in chocolate. Reminded me of track days in high school. One of the girls would bring those to every meet, and we'd each have one as we laced up our spikes for the 800 relay. There's my daily moment of nostalgia.

That's all I got for now. Brownie points if you've read this far. Enjoy your Christmastime, and tell your friends and family how much they mean to you. I don't think we do that enough. Blessings on your week~

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

Well, bad news I suppose. There are no openings at Crayola that seem to be good possibilities. While there are listings for art interns (which would actually be really cool), I'm overqualified. And they are based out of Pennsylvania. Granted I could maybe live in Scranton and drive in each day, but I just Google-mapped the distance and it's a good hour and twenty minute drive. Too bad.

However, don't be disappointed; I have come across some incredible crayon history that I think you ought to know about. Here is my bulleted version. For futher reading, visit here.

•1903: The 8 color set is born.

•1949: Goldenrod, Mahogony, Brick Red, Cornflower, and other colors of my childhood are introduced.

•1990: Shocking Pink is named. Crayons become a little less cool.

•August 7, 1990: 8 retired colors are enshrined in the Crayola Hall of Fame, including Maize and Orange Red. How does one color a picture without an Orange Red?!!

•1993: 16 new colors are added, named by consumers. They include Macaroni & Cheese and Purple Mountain's Majesty. Try explaining to a young child that he/she is not allowed to eat Macaroni and Cheese...

•1999: Indian Red is renamed Chestnut in response to educators who felt that some children wrongly perceived the crayon color was intended to represent the skin color of Native Americans. The name actually originated from a reddish-brown pigment found near India commonly used in fine artist oil paint.

•2003: To mark Crayola's 100th birthday, consumers name new colors and vote four out of the box. The count is now up to 120. How would you like to be one of the crayons voted out of the box?

•To date: Brick Red is a surviving color, and we also now have Beaver, Fuzzy Wuzzy Brown, Inch Worm, and Piggy Pink.

Conclusion? Maybe I will look into a career as a crayon namer...

So at the end of last week, I wrote a scathing report of my ugly work week.* It was ridiculous. But I calmed down, got through the weekend, and didn't feel the need to post the devious thoughts. Started things out pretty good yesterday... worked straight through lunch and got a lot accomplished. Came in today, finished up a 20 page layout project, got it ready to send. And the phone rings. Never a good sign in my opinion as it typically means 'stop what you're doing, we have changes'. Funny, those were the exact words used, followed by 'redo the layout'... that took me three days to complete. So here I am with the scathing report. And I'll leave the details at that.

But, I've decided that I need a career change. Not just a job change, a career change. My first thoughts included the following possibilities (and their limitations): work on an oil rig (probably not the best idea for several reasons), move to Flagstaff to train with some Elite athletes (ha! hahahaha! right...), become an ice cream taster for Ben & Jerry's (way too risky of an eternally expanding waistline), work in a crayon factory (hmm....), join the circus as a tiger tamer (I'm not really the perform-in-front-of-people type, nor do I relish sticking my hand in the mouth of a beast), or research penguin behavior in Antarctica (are you kidding? I hate being cold!).

So I pursued the crayon factory. Stay tuned for my findings.

*I am glad that I have a job, so this is in no way a reflection of financial ungratefulness.

Good weekend, very relaxing and restful. Can't beat that. Not much else to report, but I came across a post from Mike Cope's blog, via another site where it was linked as well. Random. But I think it's really good and convicting, so I thought I'd share it.

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WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME?

* When was the last time a Christian college named a blue collar worker with a modest income to its Board of Trustees because he or she was a devoted follower of Jesus with much wisdom to offer?
* When was the last time Robert Schuller bumped a celebrity from his television program to interview an elderly widow who gives generously from her Social Security check?
* When was the last time special visits were made by the ministers and elders to an unemployed family, encouraging them to "place membership" at their congregation?
* When was the last time one of our institutes of higher learning named a building for someone who never was able to give $100 but who modeled the life of costly discipleship?
* When was the last time the shepherds of a church confronted someone over a covetous, materialistic lifestyle?
* When was the last time a brother or sister was disfellowshipped for being greedy (1 Cor.5:11)?
* When was the last time a church moved from the suburbs to the heart of the city to try to reach the poor?
* When was the last time a Christian family "downscaled," not because they couldn't make their high payments any more but because those high payments stretched them to the point of being unable to contribute to the church or to help people in need?
* When was the last time a confession was read at church confessing love of money?
* When was the last time a Christian "made it big" without it affecting the size of their house of the model of their car?
* When was the last time a Christian college named as their "alumnus of the year" a single mother who, out of great love for God and her children, had managed to juggle both a secretarial job in the marketplace and a parenting job at home?
* When was the last time we really listened to the haunting words of Jesus: "a person's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions" (Luke 12:15)?
* And when was the last time we faced up to the piercing implications of James 2:1: "as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism"?

Well, there are only a few pictures to post from the 'ole Turkey Trot. However, I assure you it was fantastic. Perfect weather, a man dressed up in a turkey suit, good route around Thompson Park past the bears at the zoo, and purple t-shirts. That's right, purple.

...in route...


...getting ready to go...


...the troops, minus GT...please disregard the ridiculous look on my face...


...the runners...


...the 'strollers'...


...post-race cooldown...


...and breakfast...



The rest of the break was good, fairly uneventful. Lots of time spent in front of the fireplace, eating Mom's buttermilk chess pie, and hanging out with Wyatt Cody. For much we give thanks!

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Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!