I’ve become dependent upon my computer for many things.  It holds our family pictures, weekly menus and grocery lists, homeschool schedules and lesson plans, correspondence with family, friends, and business associates, my websites are maintained on my computer, our family calendar is kept organized … I could go on and on.  My computer has become an extension of my brain.

This has never seemed more real than the night I woke from a dream, but not just any dream.  My dream was a vivid, Over the Rainbow type dream with an intricate story line; the kind of story that makes bestselling novels.  It had suspense, intrigue, and crazy characters.  However my dream was more than my sleepy mind would remember in the morning.  And somehow, I knew that.  Because when I woke from my dream, I remember thinking I needed to click the Save icon so my dream would be forever recorded in my brain.

My 5 year old was outside playing on his rope swing yesterday.  Over and over he swung out to see how far he could get.  When it was time to come inside, he told Steve and Z, “I bookmarked the farthest place I swung to.”

Yes, we spend way too much time on our computers.

I’ve been looking through the new Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog, and decided to post my Christmas list here. I thought it would be easier for my friends and family that way. You know, because I’m nice like that.

1. His & Hers Life sized replica made out of Legos - $60,000 each (doesn’t include shipping).

Send in detailed photos and measurements, then Nathan Sawaya gets to snapping and BOOM! One-of-a-kind, life-size sculptures of yourselves in LEGO bricks. We priced our exclusive gift individually, so Nathan can “brickalize” you and the S.O., the kids, Granny and/or anyone else you obsess about.

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2. Harlem Globetrotters On-Court Experience - $110,000

Here’s your once-in-a-lifetime chance to play on your dream team, joining stars like Scooter Christensen and Special K Daley on court. Your exclusive gift package includes a personalized official uniform, guaranteed playing time in a U.S. 2008-09 season game, introduction as a special guest, and insider access to the team. Behind the amazing hoop wizardry is an 82-year heritage that includes Basketball Hall of Famers® Wilt Chamberlain and Meadowlark Lemon. Those precision routines aren’t as easy as they look; back in the day the Globetrotters played the best pro teams and regularly took ‘em down, baby.

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3. Dallas Cowboys Texas Stadium End Zone Package - $500,000 (installation costs not included)

To honor battles won and heroes lost over 38 glorious years, you can put 530 square yards of sporting history into your own backyard: An entire Cowboys Texas Stadium end zone. Our exclusive package also includes the VIP treatment for the last regular season Cowboys game in Texas Stadium. Your crew gets pre-game photos in your zone with Jerry Jones, a luxury suite for the game, and a once-in-a-lifetime post-game tailgate party on your soon-to be new backyard (with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, no less). There’s also autographed memorabilia from Cowboy legends, and a VIP package to attend the opening of the new stadium in 2009. Better yet, the Jerry Jones family and the Cowboys organization will generously donate the entire purchase price to The Salvation Army®. The perfect gift for envious buds? A framed 26″ x 36″ collage with a touchable section of the other end zone for their very own! (It’s a limited edition of 380, to celebrate 38 seasons at Texas Stadium.)

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4. Thirty Five Year Collection of Top 100 45 RPM Records - $275,000

In this age of soulless downloads and MP3 mumbo-jumbo, we gleefully turn to that treasured icon of our American pop culture childhood: the 45 RPM vinyl single. And since we’re in the once-in-a-lifetime business, we giddily present our exclusive, definitive collection. To be clear, it contains each and every 45 RPM vinyl record that was listed on the Billboard Top 100® Rock and Pop charts from Jan. 1, 1955, through Dec. 31, 1990. Absolutely every disc for 35 years, every No. 100 up to every No. 1. There are some 18,400 records total. Some are even autographed. How about the Beatles’ 1964 hit “Ain’t She Sweet” with picture sleeve, worth a cool $500; or the Beach Boys’ 1961 hit “Surfin’ Luau” worth $200. There are literally hundreds of extremely collectible 45s — Elvis, Joplin, Hendrix, you name it — and the collection in its entirety is priceless.

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5. M-Velope Transformable Structure - $100,000

What if your workshop was a convertible? What if you could move your yoga studio walls as easily as you roll up your mat? What if you could rebuild, rearrange, and reassemble your garden retreat as quickly as you rearrange furniture? Step inside our M-Velope and you can! It’s a massively cool 15-foot high by 14-foot wide by 17-foot deep creation of functional art built with a steel frame. All its hinged wood panel frames open, move, and close at your whim. Michael Jantzen, an internationally famous architectural pioneer/artist, thought it up and he is crafting just 10 structures for us exclusively. He’s a leader in rethinking how we live, and he’s been green since ‘71. He builds each M-Velope with new Accoya® wood products that are durable and completely sustainable.

My dearest friends,

It is with a humble and contrite heart that I must offer an apology to you all. You’ve heard of judging a book by its cover?  Well I am guilty of judging a shoe before trying it on.  Trust me when I tell you, my head is bowed in shame.

There’s more.

I am also sorry for all of the unclean thoughts I have had towards people who wear Crocs; people whom I’ve secretly accused of committing serious fashion faux pas.  I had no right to judge you without walking a mile in your shoes.  Literally.

You see, I have always been a form over function type person.  In other words, the way something looks is more important to me than how well it functions.  Form over function my friends, form over function.  This has always been an issue in our home because Steve and I are polar opposites.  He is a function over form kind of a guy.  He doesn’t care how something looks.  If it works well, it is beautiful in his eyes.  Take a couch for example.  I don’t care if it is the most comfortable couch you have ever had the pleasure of sitting upon, if it doesn’t match my living room decor, it doesn’t stay.  Not the case with Steve.  He shops for couches with eyes closed, relying solely on feedback from his derrière.  I suppose there are upsides to the way he approaches life.  For one, he’s not faced with the predicament I now find myself in.

Fear and fret not friends, for there is hope.  God, in His infinite grace, has allowed me to walk boldly out of my closet with these on my feet:

And yes, yes they are.  They are Crocs!  I never thought the day would come when I would actually own what I have called (in the past mind you - let’s let bygones be bygones) the ugliest shoes known to man.  And let me tell you, had I taken the time to actually slip my foot into one, and experience the massage generated from all of that rubbery goodness, I would not have become the naysayer some know me as today.

So again, to all of you Croc lovers out there - my deepest sympathies have turned into my sincerest apologies.  I am so sorry for judging the Croc based solely on the way it looks.  Because my word, this is the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn.  Ever.  And I’ve worn a lot of shoes.

Since I am baring my deepest emotions here, I feel I should be honest with you.  While I did buy an official pair of Crocs, and while I will no longer secretly laugh at people who actually leave the house wearing Crocs, I am not quite ready to buy a pair of the original style of Crocs.  No, I’m taking baby steps on this one and will stick with what I call my “cute Crocs.”

I hope you can forgive me.

Today was one of those rare, rare times when I left Wal-mart feeling better about life than I had when I got there. And all because the bad guys got caught.

I had a few things to pick up at Sally’s and decided to stop into Wal-mart for more things I couldn’t live without. A new shower curtain liner for example. Since our shower curtain liner was in desperate need of being replaced, and my being the quintessential Proverbs 31 woman that I am, I thought there is no time like the present to replace it. Okay, I am lying. It was only because I couldn’t put it off any longer. The curtain was hanging by its last hole. Literally. And I can only blame my husband for my procrastination (or frugality as I like to say). You see, Steve is such a do-it-yourselfer, that when the original holes tore, he poked his own holes in the liner beneath the original holes. And so on, and so on, until the liner no longer reached the floor of the shower. Trust me when I tell you - it was time.

I also wanted to pick up fabric for the car organizers I am going to sew (more on that in a few days), and needed to buy it before our Wal-mart closed its fabric department. I was told by the lady in the fabric department that it would close in 8 months to a year, but I’m not taking any chances. That, and I love to buy fabric. The lady told me that Wal-mart decided to close the fabric department because it didn’t make enough money for the amount of floor space it was taking up. I didn’t tell her it was probably due to the fact that Wal-mart’s fabric prices were way lower than they are everywhere else. I didn’t tell her that the woman at the flea market charges $7.99 a yard for the camo fabric Wal-mart sells for $3.50 a yard. Oh no, I’m not telling her that. After all, I want another 8 months to build up my stash at rock bottom prices.

So anyway, we are checking out and another cashier runs up to my cashier and whispers something in her ear. My cashier’s expression turned to shocked, then transformed into something I can only describe as pure satisfaction. It was an “uh-huh you know it” kind of a look. Of course I had to get the scoop, so I told her it isn’t nice to tell secrets. No I didn’t. But I did ask her what happened. She told me some people were just arrested for shop lifting 2 large cartons of meat. Evidently this was the shoplifter’s 3rd time stealing meat. Of course after I got in the car I was kicking myself for not asking more questions. Questions like - did they get caught all 3 times? Did the store recognize them? Did they get handcuffed? Who caught them? Was it a man or a woman or a family? I think I was so taken aback by the simplicity of their plan that I didn’t think of the questions. It seems the shoplifters took their own Wal-mart bags into the store, and bagged their own meat. I’m sure Wal-mart doesn’t have a problem with alleged shoppers bagging their own groceries, but rather the fact that they bypassed the cashiers altogether. Yeah - Wal-mart has a problem with that.

So I left the store feeling pretty good about my local Wal-mart and its ability to catch a thief. I bet that’s how they keep their prices so low. Too bad the bad guys didn’t go on a fabric stealing spree.

It’s here! It’s arrived! And it’s mine, mine, all mine! Yeah, I know. That sounds kind of selfish, but I am so happy to have my own little home.

To my husbands surprise and astonishment I’ve managed to keep up our family blog. Now I know I haven’t updated it as often as I had hoped, but it is fairly up-to-date. So what’s a girl to do with all of this successful blogging? Start another one of course. Because truly - can you really have too many blogs? I think not.

So I introduce to you….Caleigha.com! Enjoy!