Where Have You Been?

It appears that my blog took a Christmas break when I did. I didn't necessarily mean to do that, but I had my parents and little brother here for Christmas and all of the preparation that went into that visit, along with spending time with them, left me wanting nothing more than to go to bed at the end of the day. Even though they went home a couple of days ago, all I have been able to do is lay around and sleep, or if I'm lucky, clean.

Our Christmas holidays were awesome. I had so much fun shopping for Baby Bean's Christmas it was ridiculous. I know I was more excited for her to open all of her gifts on Christmas day than she was. And yes, I went overboard. I ended up holding a bunch of presents back from Christmas for her birthday because the child literally got sick of opening packages! *sheepish grin* Her favorites were of course the big ones. She got a play kitchen, complete with 101 accessories, and a F.ur R.eal kitty named Lulu. I seriously could not wait for her to get those two gifts! My dad and Hubs helped me put the kitchen together on Christmas Eve after BB had gone to bed. It was one of the best moments of my life, putting together Christmas presents for my child with two of the most important men in my life. Incredible. Unforgettable.

I loved having my family here, although I am sure at times I could have fooled them into believing otherwise. Remember my new nickname? Patches McGee. Can we all say "Hormonal"? I tried so hard to stay level and sane, but sometimes, my hormones and all of the stress from the holidays got the better of me. I felt so bad. Despite the mood swings, we did manage to have a good time. My husband got us all into Si.x Flag.s for Holiday in the Park, and I can't even tell you how stinking adorable Baby Bean was on the rides! Impossibly cute. So cute it was painful! She LOVED the carousel. She even loved the rides we thought would scare her. I didn't go on any roller coasters that day because: 1) I was super dizzy that morning; and 2) I am in the TWW. I didn't mind though.

Speaking of the TWW, I have no idea where I am in that. I am not 100% certain I ovulated when I think I did. In fact, I'm only about 75% certain. I think I ovulated on CD15, but that means that AF is MIA today. My LP has always been 12 days, and today is 13dpo, I think. I took a FRER tonight, but it came back totally negative. It could just be too early. I'm not sure. Here is why I don't know where I am in my TWW:

• OPKs have been doing me wrong lately. The lines are never as thick as the control line, so I have a hard time telling if the results are positive or not. This has been the case the last few months, which is why I did progesterone tests to confirm ovulation the last two months. I just opted to not stress about it this month. I did do OPKs on CDs 12-16 and again on CD18 because I was still having a lot of EWCM, but it came back negative on CDs 16 and 18, leading me to believe my interpretation of the OPK on CD15, coupled with my fertility monitor reading for that day, was in fact my positive.
• I think I have figured out how to tell when I will ovulate using my my monitor, but I'm not positive. Based on the two months that I have used it, it seems pretty clear when I ovulate due to a surge in electrolytes the day before I get my positive OPKs. I got my surge on CD14 this month.
  
• I have had EWCM since about CD12 this cycle. I still have EWCM right now. It has not let up. I certainly cannot be fertile for 16 straight days, can I? Not only that, but it has been in incredible abundance. I have no idea what is causing it. My guess would be the estrogen patches, but I don't know for sure.

I have had some pregnancy-like symptoms, but every single one of them can be explained by something else, so I am not giving them much credence. I plan on giving AF until Monday to show up before taking another HPT. If it comes back negative then too, I will call my RE and see what he thinks. I did use Dr. Google to see if the estrogen patches could affect LP length, and what I found said no. Progesterone is what affects LP length. For right now I am just taking it all in stride. Not getting my hopes up too high, but hoping all the same. If it turns out I'm not pregnant, my Health Care Flex Spending account is poised and ready to make some purchases to further assist me in my baby-making journey in 2011.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. I plan on catching up on my blog reading over the next week. My BFF and lunch buddy is out on maternity leave, which means I will be spending my lunch hours reading blogs instead of going out to eat for the next couple months.

With that, I leave you a slide show of Baby Bean's Christmas!

Tradition!

When I was growing up we had an annual Christmas tradition where we made sugar cookies. All of us kids looked forward to that every year. What isn't fun about cutting out cookies, baking them, decorating them, and then eating the fruits of your labor?

Last year I started that tradition in my own home, only instead of sugar cookies, I have been making gingerbread cookies. This year Baby Bean is old enough to help out a bit more and with much less assistance from mama. I could not resist sharing some of the great pictures I got from today. This little girl is just so amazingly cute, especially when making cookies and "helping clean the kitchen."

There are also some super cute photos of her playing in the tubes her daddy bought for the playground he is going to build her next summer.

I don't know how many cookies we made, but there were probably 4 dozen gingerbread cookies, and 2.5 dozen chocolate chip cookies. Pretty much all of them will go to work with me tomorrow as my Christmas gift to my coworkers who LOVE my cookies, and have been looking forward to them since last year.

Without further ado, I give you some of the cutest pictures you will lay eyes on this Christmas!

Cleaning Up Christmas

Friday morning Hubs and I decided to go out for breakfast. We hit our local I.hop where I was treated to pecan pie pancakes, and Baby Bean got another pancake all to herself. Hubs got a couple of gift cards to Lo.wes for Christmas, and he had already decided he wanted to use them to buy outside Christmas decorations for next year, but he wanted to do it after the first of the year when everything went on deep discount.

I had told him back at the end of November that next year I wanted to decorate the outside of our house. Baby Bean would be old enough to appreciate it, and I thought it would be fun. We decided not to do it this year because finances were tight, and the baby wouldn't notice or care anyway. Surprisingly, Hubs was on board. Not only that, but he took my idea up a notch. I just wanted to string lights in the trees, throw some in the bushes, and maybe buy a lawn deer or three. He wouldn't have it. He said if we were going to do it, we were going to do it right! That means we will have lights hanging from our roof. I am all for it... as long as I'M not the one on the ladder!

I can't wait to see those lights up there though. ;)

So, after breakfast we went to Lo.wes, but they had already been almost completely cleaned out of all of their Christmas stuff. (I did, however, manage to find those Christmas candles that go in your window on sale for 75% off. I've wanted those for years now, but wouldn't justify spending the money on them until today when they cost just $1.12 each!) They told us to try Wal.mart instead, so we did. The pickings were slim, but we made out like bandits. We bought a ton if icicle lights, two sparkly crystal lawn angels, a few other decorations for inside the house, three garlands, four boxes of marshmallow chocolate covered santas, and a foot spa with paraffin hand treatment. All of it was discounted 75%. (My favorites are the foot spa [$7.50! Hello! I've been wanting one for years] and marshmallow santas.)

Shortly after arriving home, all of it was packed into my last empty Christmas bin (green bin with red lid), and shoved out in the garage not to be seen again until next November. I do want to mention, I also cleaned up at Tar.get earlier this week. I bought six gorgeous Christmas stockings at 60% off. Why six? Because I plan on growing our little family and want all of them to match. I don't care if we never use all six, but it is nice to have them. The dogs will get stockings for at least the next few Christmases now.

As for all of our existing Christmas items, they were packed away first thing this week.

I really enjoy hitting the after Christmas sales. Sure you can't use the stuff until next year, but it is awesome to save so much money. Not only that, but we have brand new stuff to use next year and don't have to spend a fortune trying to build up our Christmas stock all at once.

Now I leave you with a couple of pictures from this year's Christmas. Remember how I said we had chocolate coming out our ears? Take a look at this:


There is a box of chocolate cut off from the picture on the left, and I forgot to include the huge can of Pir.oulines. Seriously, take a second to look at each item in this picture, then feel free to let your jaw drop. My plan is to either take it to work and share it, or eat it over the next 11 months.

And just so you don't think the dogs got left out, check out their stash!



I foresee lots and lots of walks in our futures!

First Christmas Recap

I am finally ready to present you with our Christmas recap!

Since we were unable to make it to Hubs' grandpa's for Thanksgiving, we decided to make the 9 hour trek for Christmas. His grandpa had been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, so we wanted to make sure we spent what might be his last Christmas with him and all of Hubs' family. (We found out tonight that his chemo was successful and he has been declared cancer free!)

Because we weren't going to be here on Christmas day, I decided to give Baby Bean her rocking horse early. I knew we wouldn't be home until late the Sunday following Christmas, and I really wanted Hubs to carry her downstairs in the morning to see her horsey sitting under the tree with a bow around his neck, so she got her horse the Sunday before. Hence the early Christmas pictures.

Wednesday night at around 11:30 p.m. the car was loaded, the baby was asleep, and we were ready to go. Off we went on the arduous 9 hour drive. Hubs loaded up on Am.p and I stayed awake with him as long as I could. We rolled into town around 8:30 the next morning. Hubs' aunts and faux uncle were already there and waiting for us. We spent Christmas Eve with Baby Bean getting to know all of her daddy's family, hanging out, watching the baby, and eating goodies.

On Christmas morning we all got up and went to a nice breakfast. By the time we all got back home, Baby Bean was past her nap time and cranky, so I laid her down for a nap while the rest of us dug into our presents. Hubs' aunts and grandpa were very generous toward us this year and spoiled all of us immensely. But they really went all out for the baby. Of course, so did I. :D That afternoon we all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner at the country club.


The kid got so many Christmas presents it was awesome. She doesn't quite know what to do with herself since we got home. She goes from new toy to new toy to new toy all day long. My favorites were the sock monkey she got from her grandpa and the Texas Te.ch horse from her aunts. She got scads of new clothes, which is awesome because now I don't need to buy her anymore for a while.


Christmas day with Hubs' family was more than I could ask for. I am glad that since we couldn't be with my family, at least we could be with his. We all had a great time, and Baby Bean was the center of attention the whole time. The child is so loved.

Saturday came too soon. Hubs' aunts and uncle went back home, and we were back in the car for a 6 hour drive for an overnight stop over to visit some of his friends. Can I just say that I don't mind traveling with a baby at all, but that I really hate how much is messes up her schedule? I don't mind all of the baby gear that fills up my car completely, or the extra time it takes to do everything. I just hate that her feeding and napping schedules go out the window.

Sunday afternoon we were back in the car for the last 4.5 hour leg of our trip home. Sunday night we happily and gratefully parked in our own driveway and unloaded the car. Next up was Part III of our Christmas. We hadn't taken very many of our presents to his grandpa's house, so we still had a ton left waiting for us at home. However, Baby Bean was DONE with all of the traveling and unwrapping of gifts. She pretty much cried through most of our present unwrapping and just wanted to go to bed.

The best Christmas present I had this year was the joy of finally being a mother and having a baby girl to adorn with gifts. At one point I thought to myself that this is what life is all about. Having and being a family. It was such a perfect holiday and we feel like such a perfect little family. I thank God every day for his blessings in my life.

Finally, because I know the grandparents, aunts, and uncles will love it, here is a little recap of our Christmas this year. Enjoy!

Hanging On

I find that for the first time in years, I am really hanging on to the excitement of Christmas. I don't want it to end. I love all of the anticipation of the day, all of the buildup associated with it. But most of all, I love how people's hearts are softened, they are more kind and compassionate, and most of us strive to remember the reason for the holiday by being more giving to those in need.

While there is no snow in my yard, this year Christmas has felt like Christmas. I grew up in the Northwest where it was rare to not have a white Christmas. In fact, I talked to my mom this morning and she said they are all set for a white Christmas. It was snowing while we were on the phone. I laughed inside because it was so hot here today I had to turn on the AC.

I hope that all of you have a merry Christmas, and I pray that if you didn't get what you wanted this year, that God will see fit to deliver by next Christmas. I know that this holiday is hard for some of you because this is the first Christmas I finally have a child to spend it with. I know that the years we were undergoing infertility around the holidays it made them not seem special at all, and in fact, it made them a little hard to bear. I pray that for those of you longing to have a baby that you will have one or be in the family way this time next year.

Please be safe this Christmas if you are traveling or cooking dinner. :p

A very merry Christmas to everyone in blogland!

What a Wonderful Friday

Friday was seriously wonderful. The day started out great. Baby Bean made it to daycare and didn't pitch a fit when I dropped her off. (We found out Wednesday she has a double ear infection.) Her antibiotics and decongestants were working. The plan for work that day was to have our holiday lunch (in lieu of a big Christmas party to save money) and then let our coworkers know who we all had for Secret Santa. Yeah, it was pretty hard to buckle down and work.

At 11:00 it came time for the award part of the holiday party. I found my BF, A (who takes Baby Bean's pictures), and we went to the party together. They issued the annual awards for the top performers, and in between each category they gave out door prizes. The first set of prizes were $25 gift cards, free lunches with senior staff, and free vacation days. The second round offered $50 gift cards along with the lunches and vacation days. The third round offered the Big Daddy Prizes.

I am no longer allowed to think, "They won't call my name. I never win anything," which is exactly what I was thinking when they held up the Nik.on Co.olpix S320 camera.


The next thing I knew, my name was being called and all of my teammates and friends were cheering and clapping wildly. It took me a second to realize I was supposed to go up and claim the certificate for the camera.

The funny thing is I won $100 in gift cards at last year's Christmas party, and an iP.od at the one before that. So nope, no longer allowed to think I don't win, especially with the odds of wining at this company.

After lunch, the unveiling of the Secret Santas began. The woman who had me did an excellent job with all of her gifts during the week. Fuzzy purple socks and a bag of Re.eses Bells. My final present was a pair of pink pajamas with elephants on them for Baby Bean. They are so stinking adorable! I really felt like a winner.

But the biggest surprise was yet to come.

I got home from work that night and walked up to the front door. My arms were full of baby, a diaper bag, my purse, the mail, and gifts from work. There was a box sitting next to the front door. I figured it was for Hubs because he has been ordering all of my presents off the Internet. I went inside, set down the baby and everything else and went back out to get the box. I was surprised when I saw Baby Bean's name on it. I figured it was from one of the grandma's. I flipped the box over and saw it was from Heather, from Heather's Daily Life. The present had come all of the way from Australia from a very dear blogger friend just for my baby!

I couldn't wait to get it inside and open it. When I did I giggled with delight and squealed as I pulled out a stuffed wombat and then the cutest little outfit.



I was so excited and completely touched. My first instinct was to call Heather to thank her, and then I realized I couldn't. I thought I would just go see her and give her a hug then and tell her thank you in person, and then I realized I couldn't do that either. So I called my dad who had lived in Australia a long time ago and told him about it, then sat down and wrote Heather an email thanking her for her sweet gift. It was by far my most favorite part of the day.

Baby Bean loves the wombat, who is named "Russell." It says so on his tag. I can't wait until she is big enough to wear the outfit. I am definitely going to take pictures and post them on the blog when she is.

Heather, I know I've already thanked you twice, but thank you again from the bottom of my heart. You are so sweet and caring, and a very loving woman. I am so blessed to have you in my life. I hope you enjoy the Christmas card once it gets there. It pales in comparison to the sweet things you sent me. lol

All Set!

This past week I have gotten the Christmas bug, or rather the past two weeks. I just had so many other things going on I wasn't able to get around to decorating the house until this week.

Last Christmas Hubs and waited until after the Holidays to buy a new, large Christmas tree. We didn't see any reason to get one last year, as it was just the two of us, and we needed the money to prepare for the baby. One night we remembered our realtor had given us a gift card to Ho.me Dep.ot when we closed on our house and needed to use it. We ended up buying a $300 Christmas tree for $75 because it was the floor display.

Since last year, I have been looking forward to this Christmas, mostly because it would be my first Christmas as a mother. I remember surviving the holidays when we were doing infertility treatments. I tried to enjoy them, but it was just so hard because I didn't know if I would ever have a child with which to adorn gifts. Last Christmas was our first holiday with just the two of us and no family. Once again, we were lonely, but at least we were finally pregnant. I held my chin up and struggled through yet another Christmas day alone, but in a new way.

Because of the past few years, I couldn't wait to break out the decorations. I spent this whole weekend getting them set up around the house, and was really excited to get out our new tree. Santa brought me an early present this year.


Baby Bean loved the tree and the lights. She has been crawling around under it and grabbing the branches and lights since I started setting it up earlier this week.



I remember last year thinking I just couldn't wait to buy the perfect "Baby's First Christmas" ornament. It was so hard to not buy one for last year because I was technically with child, but I refrained. This weekend, I came across what I was looking for and fell in love with it instantly.


They are ceramic baby booties that say, "Baby's 1st" and "2009." I have finally been blessed with a child for whom to buy this keepsake.

On top of all of the decorating, I am pleased to say my Christmas shopping is done! Hoorah! I pretty much refuse to shop after Thanksgiving, and I like to have it done and out of the way before TG so that I don't have to worry about it or brave the crazy crowds. Yesterday I went out with one of my best friends, and together we tackled and conquered my list.

Now I can sit back, relax, and prepare to share this very special holiday with my first baby.

Oh man! And Yay!

Last night we FINALLY got the nursery painted. We taped it out last weekend, but by the time I got around to painting it, I was having a lot of braxton hicks and was just hurting in general. I ended up spending the whole next day just laying around because I was still so tired. The outlook on getting it done yesterday was looking pretty grim too just because I was so busy, but I absolutely wanted to get it done, and I did minutes before I needed to get ready for my work Christmas party.

After I got home from the party, I removed the tape from one of the stripes... it didn't look good. The lilac paint I had chosen was almost as light as the beige color already on the walls, and they kind of faded into each other. Dang it! I went back to Lo.wes today and got a new shade of purple that is about twice as dark as the first, and I think we have a winner. I'm currently waiting for it to dry so I can go take a peek. The funny thing is, the purple against the beige makes the yellow in the beige really stand out, so it looks more like purple and yellow. The other walls, however, still look beige. They honsestly look like two different colors. Luckily Hubs and I still think it looks good and will go great with the Wi.nnie the Po.oh crib set my mom bought. (Pictures to come.)

As for the Christmas party last night, it should have taken us 20-25 minutes tops to get there from our house. But how long did it actually take? ALMOST 2.5 HOURS!!! Apparently the place they decided to have the party is a massive hotel/convention center that was hosting about a billion Christmas parties as well as little girl gymnastics and cheerleading competitions as well as some ice sculpture showcase that people are amazingly willing to spend 2 hours driving less than 3 miles (no joke) to see. I had a quarter tank of gas when we left the house, drove maybe 10 miles, and was on empty by the time we got to the party. Yeah, I was a tad on the ornery side by the time we got there and vowed not to attend next year if it was held in the same place. The only reason we didn't turn around and go home was because my BFF hitched a ride with us, and I didn't want her to miss the party.

The night wasn't a complete bust, however. They only gave away about 24 prizes to hundreds of people, and I was one of the lucky 24! I won $25 gift cards to Ba.rnes and No.ble, AMC, Block.Buster, and i.Tunes, as well as an i.Pod Sh.uffle. I am pretty pleased with the digs and will put all four gift cards to good use. Hubs laughed when I won the Shuffle because I won one at my Christmas party last year too. I now own three Shuffles and a Na.no. lol

Tonight I finally got around to unpacking all of the boxes my mom sent and some of the ones my sister sent. I am completely overwhelmed! How do I know which bottles to use? How do I know which nipples to use? Why do some baby clothes say they are for newborns but are bigger than the cloths for 3-6 month olds? How do I ensure that my baby will be able to wear all of the clothes she now has based the size on the tag? I can't. I don't want to have new clothes she never wears because the stupid tags are wrong. Where am I going to put all of these things? I need a toy box! And then came the breast pump.... I am so overwhelmed with everything else my brain can't comprehend how I figure THAT thing out! Wonderfully, after everything my sister sent, I don't think we will need very much else. We still need to get the swing, and maybe a bottle warmer for when Hubs is an At-Home-Dad (he works from home) to help make his life a bit easier, but I don't think we need anything else other than that. YAY! Perhaps tomorrow I will do another picture post to show off all of my hard work from this weekend. Right now, I am just so dang pooped and sore, I can't bring myself to make another trip upstairs to get the camera.

Now, it is time for bed and much needed foot massage.

Back to Life

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was pretty nice even though it got off to a rough start. We were supposed to go to my parent's for Christmas Eve dinner, but a nasty snow storm set in a couple hours before we were due to head up. After talking with my parents we decided it was best that we not brave the roads and just wait to come up until the next day. I was really disappointed because I really wanted to go. (I cried.)

After it was determined we wouldn't be going, Hubs and I decided to start our own Christmas Eve tradition by getting "Christmas Eve Taco Bell." We bundled Maggie up in her pink winter coat (she's an inside dog who lounges in front of a fire place, and therefore has ZERO winter coat of her own), and headed out on icy roads in pursuit of some type of dinner. Before snagging a bite to eat, we stopped off to return some movies at Blockbuster, where we could plainly see that Taco Bell was already closed for the evening. We had a quick discussion and determined we would run down to Wendys and see if they were open. Its not exactly nachos, but french fries aren't at the bottom of my favorite foods list either. ;p Luckily for us, Wendys was open! And so started our new tradition, Christmas Eve Wendys.

Christmas morning we woke up to 3 new inches of glistening, white snow! Maggie couldn't get out fast enough to romp in it. Once again, we bundled her up and loaded the car with Christmas presents before heading to my parent's house where they had 6-8" of snow compared to our 3. We spent the day opening presents, sitting around talking, watching my dog bolt from one end of my parent's yard to the other in snow that came up to her tummy, and watching movies. We rounded out the evening with a nice steak Christmas dinner. Once the sun went down, we grabbed the very freezing Maggie (my mom won't let my pup inside her house) and went back home to have our own Christmas.

For Christmas I got a vacation to St. Kitts, a vacation to Scotland, some much desired square dishes, wonderful gift cards that I can't wait to use, and some sheep skin slippers (from who else but the Border Collie, Maggie?!). Hubs got a new hot tub. (I think someone really loves him.)

I hope you all had a wonderful, safe holiday. Can't wait to see you all back blogging!

FINALLY!!!

I have finally left the office and any and all work until after Christmas. I paid dearly for my break on Wednesday by having to work double time the next day. I thought I would never finish! But, praise be to heaven, I did. I passed the work from my laptop to someone else's and checked out for the next four days. Ahhhhh..... (I am still so brain fried, I can't think of anything else to say, even though blog thoughts run through my head all day, every day.)

I celebrated last night by going to dinner with my sweetie and getting one of my favorite dishes, citrus fire chicken and shrimp fajitas. After which I talked Hubs into going and looking at new couches. I think we've pretty much decided which couch we're going to get. I'm going to go take a second look today and maybe make a purchase. We rounded out the evening cuddling in front of the fire place watching movies and TV.

All that is left to do now is sit back, relax, eat yummy food, and wait for Christmas.

I wish you all a very merry Christmas!

P.S. Kath, I didn't get around to copying and pasting my award before it disappeared off your blog. :( I am sincerely appreciative.

Christmas Pictures

I have spent the last two days finishing up my Christmas shopping and wrapping presents. I did 99% of my Christmas shopping back in April when Hubs and I went to the UK, but I still had some friends and Hubs to shop for. One of my cousins drove a couple hours just to go shopping with me yesterday, and we had a blast. I think one of my favorite parts of the Christmas holiday is buying things for people I think they will like. Since Hubs and I don't have kids yet and we both have good jobs, I am able to splurge a little bit on everyone, including myself. ;) I'm just glad its all done and I can spend the rest of the week relaxing and taking it easy.

Here are a couple of pictures that make it all seem even more like Christmas at my house.

Mags, chilling by the fire, sporting some doggie red eye. (She's the only kid I've got for now, so she's spoiled rotten [or whiney, if you ask Hubs].)

The mountains out my back door. It just might be a white Christmas this year. Hubs can't wait to hit the slopes!

The Christmas stockings hung on the mantle. There are already some chocolate reindeer in the socks. YUM!

Our modest Christmas tree. Its only about 4.5' tall. The monkey is a stuffed animal for Maggie for Christmas.

My Mom Says I'm a Winner

Last night my husband and I braved snowy and extremely icy roads to go to my work Christmas party. Of course I wondered if it was all worth it as we sat going 5 mph on the freeway and it took 50 minutes to get to our destination when it should have been 20. I think I could actually feel my arteries hardening from the stress of being scared we were going to hit or be hit. lol (We are definitely going to have to move to Texas before next winter!)

Luckily, it all turned out to be worth it. I got to sit with my new friend S and her 5-month-old baby boy, who was an absolute angel. Up until I held her little guy, she was really good birth control for me. Now that I've snugged her little baby boy, I think she is full of it and I'm ready for my very own spitting up, cooing, warm little bundle.

At the end of the evening they had a drawing for a bunch of prizes the company bought. Neither S nor I won anything at the party last year, and so we didn't get our hopes up this year. We sat together and said, "We're losers. We won't win anything. You should come to my office and each chocolate tomorrow and we'll be losers together." A split second later, S won a 1 GB iPod Shuffle! I teased her and said, "I guess I'll have to eat chocolate by my loser self." A split second later I also won a 1 GB iPod shuffle! We both laughed that we not only both won, but we won the same thing! So today we are going to eat chocolate in my office and be winners together.

Not only did we win together, but she was sweet enough to offer to trade me the green one I won for the purple one she won because purple is my favorite color. I think I've found my new best friend. :)