The Big Surprise

Good Afternoon! I want to start with a question.  Is there ever a time where lying is ok? A time when the outcome could be a huge blessing for someone? The reason I ask this is because for the past 2 months I have lied to my husband in order to pull off a surprise on his birthday. I will tell the story, but let me just say Chris did not make this easy.  I do not like lying to anyone, especially Chris.  You have to remember the lies you have told and keep your story consistent all the way through.  As many of you may know, I don't have the best memory.  So this part of it was VERY difficult for me.  Here is how it all played out

A few months ago we decided that because of work and school schedules we would not be able to go to Arkansas during the Holiday season. Chris' birthday also falls in the middle of all the Holiday excitement.  I have tried to keep birthday and Christmas separate and always love when I can do something special for his birthday.  This year after talking with him Mom, we decided they would come down and surprise Chris.  About a month ago we started planning. His Birthday fell on a Saturday which made things easier.  The hardest part would be keeping it from Chris.  I told him that he needed to ask off for the Monday following his Birthday. I couldn't tell him that the reason was so he could hang out with him family, so I made up a story about me having a whole day of fun planned for him.  He bought that and filled out all the paperwork.  He asked me probably a hundred times when his mom was going to be coming to have Christmas with us.  Both her and I kept telling him we didn't know.  She couldn't get her job to give her days off.  What made all this even harder was that he really wanted to see his Mom and was bummed to the idea that she might not make it here for a visit.  I had to tell him that she was doing everything she could to get here, knowing that she was coming in just a few weeks.  They decided to drive in Saturday while Chris was at work and stay until Tuesday. Once we knew what days they would all be here, I had to secretly check out hotels and find them somewhere nice, but cheap to stay.   We got that mission accomplished and from there it was just a matter of lying about what we were doing for his birthday weekend.  One lie led to another and yet another and I nearly blew the surprise several times.

Finally Saturday was here.  Chris got up and went to work sad that he was working on his birthday.  He made a comment that this was the first year he wasn't off for his birthday.  That made me feel bad but knowing that his Mom, her boyfriend, his Sister, and his Grandma would be here when he got home made it better. I kissed him bye and then frantically started getting ready for their arrival.  My house wasn't that messy but there are just certain things you do when company comes in town and I had to get those things done.  I had floors to vacuum, a kitchen to mop, a bathroom to clean up and a cake to bake. All this in a couple of hours!! I got it all done and around 2 they got here and we plotted on how to surprise him.  When it was time for Chris to get home everyone ducked in our patio.  When he walked by they all jumped up and yelled SURPRISE!! Chris was shocked. He said he had no clue! So, all my plotting and lying paid off.  He had a great birthday that I'm sure he won't forget! It was hard for me to keep it quiet but well worth the look of joy and excitement on his face.  We all went out to dinner and came back home for cake.  I made him a German Chocolate cake from scratch.  Thats a whole blog in itself.  Maybe one day I will tell that story.  Just like the day, the cake turned out great.  Below are a few pictures of the excitement.  I wish I had gotten a picture of his face when they jumped up and yelled but it all happened to fast!!



Jordan, Chris' Mom Darcy, and her boyfriend Todd



Chris' Sister Desty and Jordan



Both Jordan and Chris were excited.  I hadn't told Jordan they were coming until that morning.  I didn't think a 6 year old could keep the secret!



Can't remember what was in here but Chris was laughing becaue the box said "ornament"



And the favorite birthday present award goes to.... The RC Helicopter.  Thanks to this copter we all got a good haircut! My reaction when he opened this was.  "Are you turning 6 or 26?" He was SO excited and we are all having fun watching him learn to fly it.



And Finally the cake.  Not bad for my first attempt.  the icing was messy but isn't that what makes a cake good??

What your not told about the TV switch to digital

The point of my blog it to write about what is going good in my life and what is on my mind.  Last night I got very frustrated so I decided that I would blog about it today. Let me just say that TV is not the most important thing in my life but I do enjoy a lot of shows.  There are a few in particular that I don't like missing.  One being Grey's Anatomy.  It is probably my favorite show on TV and I look forward to Thursday nights at 8!  plan to blog more on last nights show at a later time! Stay tuned! Well last night was no different.  We told Jordan goodnight (8 is his normal bedtime) and turned on ABC.  The Digital Tuner wouldn't receive ABC's signal strong enough to see or hear the show.  I was not a happy camper!! After a few choice words and yelling at my husband for no reason I had given up on being able to see the show.  Most people would just watch it the next day on the web, but I don't have that luxury.  We use a Linux computer and ABC is to far behind in the technology world to have compatibility for that.  I would have to have a windows or mac to be able to view their videos.  So, I'm not sure who I am really mad at.  The government for making us switch to Digital or ABC for having a poor signal and for being old school in their technology department.  All I know is I wish ABC would get a clue. They are the ONLY main station has this problem. Main meaning of the (three evil sisters, NBC, ABC, and CBS)  I have no problems watching shows on CBS or NBC because all you need is Flash Player.  Everyone has or can get flash player. NBC has the best setup because they use HULU. This is a great resource to find many shows on different networks as well as movies and various video clips.

What are we being told about the switch from analog to digital? We are told on the news and hundreds of commercials that we will need a converter box in order to receive a digital signal.  This is true.   If you have an older TV you will need a converter box. The government gives out coupons to help cover the cost.  I will discuss this more later. Anyway, we requested our coupons and after several weeks we got them in the mail. We went ahead and bought our converter box and hooked it up, all seemed great.  The picture is nice and clear and we have a lot more channels than we had on analog.   We now have weather channels and even a Christian music video channel.  Everything is perfect right?

Wrong! The thing with digital TV is you either have a signal or you don't.  If the signal is to low you will lose your picture and sound and miss important parts of you show.  It always seems to happen to us when our favorite show comes on or they are soling the case on Law and Order. This can get very annoying! What we are not told is that more than likely you will need a digital antenna in addition to your converter box.  The government sends you a coupon for $40 off the price of the converter box. Typically they run about $60 dollars to make your out of pocket amount around $20.  But, they don't send a coupon for the antenna.  We have seen a few in the stores and they typically run about the same price as the converter boxes.  The people in the store may or may not tell you that you need it.  And depending on where you live, you may not need it.  We thought since we live in DFW metropolitan area, smack dab between Dallas and Fort Worth that we wouldn't have a problem but even here we get very little of the signal.  I would recommend that you get the converter box and see how it works for you.  If you are still having problems you will need the digital antenna.  If that doesn't work you will probably have to break down and get cable or satellite.

It seems very wrong to me that in order to get TV, which has always been free, we now may have no choice but to find a TV provider.  If you live in a small rural town you are going to have a hard time getting any TV.  We need to stand up to our government and tell them to stop taking over our lives.  We need to make our voices heard.  I worry about those people who live out in the "country" if they can't get a TV signal then they can't get the news and weather they need to keep them safe.  i want to know what is going to be done to ensure their safety from such things as Tornadoes.  Being from Arkansas and living in Texas I know how important the news can be in times of Severe storms.  Having the ability to turn on the news and follow the track of the storms has saved countless lives.  At the same time I realize that some people may live so far out of town that they already have to pay for service.  There may be some places in the country where that can't be avoided. But I'm talking about the people who are receiving analog now and won't be able to receive the digital after the switch. When this switch happens how many people will lose that ability? There are people in this country that can't afford to pay for cable or satellite TV and they should have a free alternative. Maybe the answer is requiring the main news stations to put up repeaters to spread their signal over a larger area.  I don't know what the answer is, but I expect the FCC to find it before the switch.

We have about 75 days (if I did my math right) so not only does the FCC need to be prepared but you do as well.  For more information you can visit the DTV Answers website.

We got a Wii

Santa Claus visited our house early and brought us a Wii!  We are so excited! If you don't have one yet you should get one! That is, if you can find them in the stores.  The system comes with a sports game that includes: Golf, bowling, tennis, baseball, and boxing.  To do these sports you have to do the actual movements.  In doing this, we learned very fast how out of shape our arms are.  Chris was the first one to play and decided to try out the baseball. It was so funny watching him swing the bat and pitch the ball.  You can't just half do it, you have to swing just as hard as you would a normal bat during a game. Make sure you have plenty of room around you or you might end up knocking someone out.  Jordan and I were had a turn next. The first thing we did was play bowling and he scored a 152! He beat me by about 20 points.  It is not that difficult of a game but a blast to play.  You can play a total of 4 people and yes, you can get gutter balls.  I think I was the first to discover that.  Santa also brought us Mario Kart.  We crashed, I mean raced, several times and then Chris said it was time for bed.  We had a blast, but it was almost 3 hours past Jordan's bedtime.  The next day I decided to try something new.  We hooked our Wii up to our Wifi and I raced against 11 people from all over the country.  I came in last place every time but it was fun anyway.  I hope before long I will be winning every race!  I can't wait to get more games and make more friends to play against.  If you have a Wii please give me your code so we can play each other.  I have put our Wii code on my Socnets page. I look forward to challenging you.  Also, if you are planning a trip to the Cotter house anytime soon you better be ready to play.  Do you arm curls now! Below are a few pictures of Jordan and Chris enjoying our new toy.

Cotter Thanksgiving

Good afternoon! I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving.  The three of us had a great weekend full of food and fun.  I want to start off just saying what I'm thankful for.

First, Chris, I am so thankful that God brought us together.  I can not remember what my life was like before you were in it.  We have been a couple for seven and a half years. Like every couple we have had our ups and downs but I could not ask for any more in a husband and best friend. Thank you for working so hard to provide for our family.  We have a great son, home, and everything we need in life. You have given me the greatest gift, by working and allowing me to stay home.  I can not tell you how much that means to me!



Second, God has also blessed us with a wonderful son.  Jordan is so smart and I am amazed daily by him.  Even though he's six, he is still my baby. I tell him that almost daily. On some days he complains and says "I'm not a baby" and other days he hugs me and says, "I will always be your baby, right Mom?" Somehow he always knows when I need a hug or a word of encouragement.  He his so polite and always grateful for what he has.  What an amazing little guy!

Last, I am grateful for all of the amazing people in my life. I have a huge network of family and friends.  Each one of you holds a special place in my heart.  In one way or another each and every one of you has made me who I am today. This past year has been difficult for my family.  I have come to realize how precious family is.  In February, I lost my Grandmother.  For many years I took for granted that she would be at all the holiday dinners and always have her chicken dressing.  Then, last year the day after Thanksgiving she fell and broke her hip.  The months to follow were hard on everyone. She fought as hard as she could and we thought she was getting better. We all visited her in the nursing home over New Year's and had I known that it was the last time I was going to see her I would have said so much more to her. Don't get me wrong, I know death is a part of life, but I just didn't expect that to be the last holiday we spent together.  Looking back on this, it has made me grateful for the people that I still have in my life. I hope that I tell you often how much I love you.

Ok, enough of the sappy stuff now on to our Thanksgiving day! Chris had to work so Jordan and I spent the day getting ready for our big family dinner.  I didn't need to start the turkey until about noon so the first thing on our agenda was to bake the pumpkin pie.  Jordan had a thanksgiving feast at school and discovered he loved pumpkin pie.  It was the one special thing he requested that I make.  So...I went and found out that a lady named Mrs. Smith makes pies and all you have to do is bake it.  Since Jordan is only six, I was able to get away with doing it this way.  Next year, I'm sure I will make it from scratch. Jordan said he didn't care as long as there was cook whip! While the pie was baking we decided to make some crafts for the table.  Jordan made place mats for each of us.  Then we made Tee-Pees and cut out some leaves to decorate our candle holders.



After making the crafts it was time to start the turkey.  It was just going to be the three of us at dinner but i didn't care.  I went all out and made a huge Thanksgiving feast.  We had a 15 pound turkey, potatoes, corn, biscuits, pumpkin pie, and an Oreo cheesecake.  I should say that this was the first turkey I have ever made without help from others.  I was a little nervous but I think it turned out great.  Jordan and Chris enjoyed all of it! We are still eating the leftovers but I haven't heard any complaints yet!



The turkey was so done that the leg was falling off!! I used a butter injection and not only was it falling off the bone but it was so juicy...I don't care for turkey much but dang it was good!



Like I said, I made enough food for an army but us Cotters do like ot eat.  The funny thing is that all Jordan talked about for days was the pumpkin pie and he ate so much dinner that he fell asleep before he could eat the pie! We all did!



We had a great evening together! I decided that since I finally have a camera worth a flip I would set it up and capture a family photo.  We have very few family photos and since I'm usually the one taking the pictures I am hardly ever in the shot. (I'm not really complaining about that) Again, I hope you and your family had a good Thanksgiving! Now on to Christmas!!!!