Life on the Nice List

Hap-Hap-HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'm about eight hours early on that but I will working at our casino's Sock-Hop themed party at midnight, so I'm saying my Happy New Year to you a little early.

I'll let you use your imagination on my awesome Sock-Hop-Casino-New-Years-Eve-themed outfit I'm currently wearing.

So if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, yall know by now that I really like my husband.

Like, reallyreallyreeeeeeallly like my husband.

He is just the best, is all I can say. I have mentioned on here before that if you do not have one already, all you gals should go out and get yourself a husband just like mine (sans The Beard, if that's not your thing). I got him at an adult Sip-N-Slide party in Nashville but I'm sure husbands like him are available in your neck of the woods, too.

The reason I say this is because Tom really spoils me rotten with so many things (such as: a beautiful surprise engagement ring, unloading the dishwasher without being asked, giving me some extra spending money every now and then, making me pancakes on demand, etc.).

Ever since we started dating, he always enjoyed surprising me. Starting with small surprises like a glass of wine and my favorite dessert waiting on me when I drove the four hours to Tunica for the weekend. Then going above and beyond with a surprise Thanksgiving engagement. Last Christmas my surprise was an in-home massage after running a half-marathon.

He is a keeper, I'm tellin' you.

This Christmas, however, he pulled off a wonderful, thoughtful, tear-inducing surprise my giving me this on Christmas morning:


I had mentioned various times that I wanted a true-blue-honest-to-goodness-big-girl camera when we started our family (please note that the 'family' is still only comprised of two humans and a dog at this time...no offspring yet), but as the months wore on I just sort of tucked it into the back of my mind and thought I'd press the issue later.

It is a pretty hefty investment, after all.

Tom never puts my Christmas presents under the tree until Christmas morning, because as much as I love being surprised, I am hard to surprise. I ask a million questions, and when presents are involved I will poke and prod and shake until I have ruined the surprise for myself.

So on Christmas morning he made me open this gift very last. He even made me close my eyes as I unwrapped it, for maximum surpriseability.

And boy was I shocked! After making faces like this:And then this:I cried. I did. I really did. I cried and said, "This is...this is...um....a really nice present." I know it doesn't sound emotional, but you had to be there I guess.

This camera is the Canon Rebel T2i and I am still learning how to use it. I have been researching a little about things like aperture...

Shutter Speed

Exposure....

And all those fancy-schmancy photography terms.

I might even take a class or something, but I don't know yet. Below are a few pics I snapped on my new toy. Like I said, I'm still learning so most of them are nothing spectacular but before long I think I'll be a regular Annie Leibovitz!

This is the very first picture I took with my new camera. I will remember it fondly forever. heh heh...

I think I'll call it....Myra With Wine.

I call this one....Tom in a Too-Tight T-shirt.

I love it when Tom wears a too-tight T-shirt.

And I think I'll call this one....Runs After Squirrel

And this one...Kisses With Vigor:

And this one I shall call....Begs for Honeybaked Ham

And this one...Daddy's Girl.

We finally had a few friends over on Tuesday night so I could snap a few of some subjects other than Reba.

Side note: all three of the subjects above are single thirty-somethings in Tunica. Comment if you're interested. Hopefully I'll be able to comment back, giving that they don't kill me when they see this.

So I want to say thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to my lovey-dovey, daady-doody, sweetie-pie husband for this amazing gift!

Happy New Year Everyone!