Man it is trying being overly kind on the weekends AND blogging.

On Saturday (Day 4), we went out for my friend, Tina’s, bday. For my act of kindness, I made sure everyone got together for a group picture before they left. It was what Tina wanted and I was there for her. Here’s the pic:

(I also think it’s pretty kind of me to put this picture up. Seriously, what am I doing???)

Day 5 I went to Vons and told my favorite clerk what a wonderful job she does and that I like to wait in her line, even if it’s longer than the others. She said, “Awwww. I love that! And I love your red headed child!” Heh!

Today (Day 6) I baked cupcakes for a veteren in honor of Veteran’s Day. That veteran was this guy:

Corporal (CPL) Charles Matthew Saenz – my dad

Charlie Saenz served in the Marines Corps from 1964-1967. In that time, he fought hard for our country in the Vietnam War.

So here’s to my dad! Best Vet ever!

Today for my act of kindness I sent a free card to our troops overseas for Veteren’s Day. Shutterfly has a Facebook page where you can pick and create your own card. They will print it and send it! Whoohoo! Simples. Here’s the picture I choose for our card:

Here’s to the troops; past, present, and future!!!

Alrighty. Day 2! Today we decided to spread the kindness to a complete stranger. This one is tough because people really think you are crazy if you go over and above. (Which is sad really.) I wasn’t sure what I was going to do so I went to South Coast Plaza.

Why not, ya know?

So my mom, my niece Kaylee, Ewan, and I all went to the mall together. After a little lunching and shopping around we had to make a bathroom pit stop. I went in the bathroom first while my mom stayed out with the kids. When I went into the bathroom, there was a baby screaming at the top of his lungs and a woman frantically trying to clean up and get out. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. And seriously my first thought was “Oh thank GOD that’s not my child today.” Then when I thought about it for a second, I was like maybe she needs help but before I could ask she left the bathroom.

When I got out of the bathroom, I saw that the lady and baby were still there. It did look like she was struggling. I decided this could be my act of kindness. I’ll ask her if she needs anything… she’ll give me her screaming baby… he’ll stop crying… and we’ll become best friends. Ha! Ok. Maybe not that far…

So very gently (I wanted to make sure she knew I wasn’t patronizing her) I said, “Hi. Babies, huh?” Hahahaha! And I pointed to my niece and Ewan. She kind of gave like a sigh-like sound. Then I asked if she needed anything. She said no but she did go on about how hard it was for her. She has a 2 1/2 year old girl and now the 4 month old baby. All she kept saying was I just want him to grow a little more. So what I did was listen. I didn’t judge her. I just tried to be as reassuring as I could.

I hope by asking if she needed anything and listening to her hard times, she felt slightly better.

So here’s to the moms out there with the screaming children. We’ve all been there!

Welp, it’s that time a year again where Jennifer Hyrcyk and I start being kind. Not to say we’re not kind throughout the year. We are. Promise.

Last year, if you remember, Jen and I devoted a day to performing acts of kindness. Our hope was to make people feel good and also spread the word that it doesn’t take a lot to be kind.

This year we’ve decided to start early. We haven’t set an actual date for the “big day” but we had a great idea for the lead up to the day. Here it is - Every day until the “big day” we will perform a “free” act of kindness. These ones are the hardest! We’re not going to spend any money. We’re just going to come up with a way to be kind. Eeeeeee!

Ok. Acts of Kindness – Day 1: To My Mom

Earlier today I sent my mom an email telling her all the wonderful things I love about her. Now. We are NOT mushy people. So to preface the email I warned her that it would get mushy and I told her she had to just suck it up! Here are a few things I wrote:

• You are very smart.
• You have lovely, thick, red hair.
• You have the best scooting, dance moves.
• You are a great whistler.
• You are very generous.
• You love your grandchildren.
• You watch your grandchildren even though you’ve worked an 8 hour day and spend two hours in the car.
• I don’t think you’ve ever called in sick without actually being sick.
• You sang your children good morning songs every morning.
• You are the best stocking stuffer in town.
• You are very funny.
• You are shy to the outside world.
• Ewan is your favorite grandchild. (Ok. This one may not be true as my mom is VERY good at keeping it a secert as to which grandchild she likes the best.)

I really hope she enjoyed her email. And I hope that it put a smile on her face!

Here’s to Mama Saenz!

For those who have not heard, there is a bun in my oven. This is VERY exciting! Ever since this recent development, we’ve been talking about what the babe will look like. Red hair like our mums? Brown eyes like me? Blue eyes like Dougie? Laddie? Lassie? All we do know is that this baby is going to be extremely good looking. I mean seriously, have you seen us?

Anywhoozers, with all the advances in technology these days we got one of those high tech ultrasounds to show what the baby looks like. Here it is:

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Now that is one good baby!!! O.M.G.

Hehehe! Ok. I found this the other day. We got it done before we were even engaged! So this pic is about 7 years old??? My favorite part about our baby is definitely the hair, and that collared outfit! Beautiful!

That would be awesome if our baby came out in full tartan attire, speaking in a Scottish accent! (Ello mummy!)

BTW Saturday we’re going in for an ultrasound (a little early, mind you) to find out the sex!!! What do you think boy or girl???

(Yea yea. I lag.)

Ok where was I? Oh yea, still in Ely. Sunday, after our night out, we got up, drove to the airport, and caught our flight. Nothing really exciting happened on the way to Scotland. It’s a pretty easy flight, only about an hour. What I did like about the flight were the seats. The plane was smaller, so the rows were two by two. I had the window, Doogie had the isle, and there was no sweaty, smelly person sitting next to us. Yipee!

Tangent: Seriously, you never know who you’re going to be sitting next to. One time, on my way to see Amanda in NYC, I sat next to this guy who insisted that I watch Dazed and Confused on his laptop with him. When he realized that he did have a double jack thingy for our headphones, he went around the cabin asking people if they had one. Yes, he did manage to get one. And yes, I did have to watch the whole movie with him. And yes, he did follow me out of the airport, asking to share a cab in the city. AND YES, I hit him over the head with my luggage. JK on the hitting part. I just ran!

Soooo we finally got to Scotland, where Fay (mum-in-law) and Ian (pa-in-law) picked us up. When we got to their house, where we stayed for most of the trip, we were greeted by the Stevensons, Kirsty (Dougie’s sister), Duane (Kirsty’s husband), Kieran (oldest son), Becca (middle), and (the newest member) Jack.

Here are some pics:

This is the first time we have met Jack! He was a jar full of puddin’.

That night the fam put together a buffet style meal. Just what we needed. Yumyumyum. My favorite part of the meal was the way them Scots say buffet. Instead of saying it with a short /u/ sound, they use an /oo/ sound. So it’s like booffet. I like saying it. Booffet. “What are we having for dinner tonight?” “I think we’ll put together a booffet.”

On Monday, we had the Weans (wee ones or child) over. So Dougie and I decided to go on an adventure with Kieran, Becca, Jodie (boxer dog 1), and Holly (boxer dog 2) into the Scottish countryside.

Beautiful:

One of my favorite parts of Scotland is the long walks we go on. Too bad I won’t go in the foresty parts because the Blair Witch Project ruined it for me.

When we got back, we hung out with “Just Jack” some more.

Tuesday it was Duane’s 40th birthday! We went into Ayr (city on the west coast of Scotland, about 20 minutes away from where we were) to get some pressies!

More pics:

Can you see Dougie and Ian in the next pic?

After we got home, it was time to celebrate.

I think he’s very happy with his iphone…

Awwww brother and sister.

So far Scotland was perfect but don’t worry, there is still a lot more to come!

Ok. This is going to be hard. (That’s what she said.) I took HUNDREDS of photos. We did so many fun things on our trip, that I had to take photos of everything in order to remember it all. I have decided to do these posts in parts. I don’t know how many parts there are going to be. I’m going to say anywhere from 2-5. Here we go. I’m going to start at the beginning and when I come to the end, I’ll stop. See?

We started our European Vaca at LAX. Very scenic. Usually, when you get onto a 10 hour flight, you’re not in a very good mood. LUCKILY, we saved up all our Amex points and got upgraded! Whoohoo! Beds!!! And Champagne. Here we are before we take off!

Easiest flight ever! We ate some food, watched some movies, and got some sleep.

Our first stop on the Henderson Vacation was Ely, where uncle Ronnie, aunt Denise, cousins Stewart (aka Stewie) and Neil, and of course, the Lovely Sally, Stewie’s girlfriend, live. We got into London about 3:00pm and got our luggage easily. So far so good. We knew coming into London around rush hour on a Friday was going to be bad but it’s coo cause we’re on vacation. From Heathrow Airport we took the express train to Paddington Station, where we would get a taxi to Kings Cross. Still going good! When we get to Kings Cross, where we will jump on a 45 minute train to Ely, we encounter utter chaos. There are wall to wall people standing around staring into space (kinda like the look Heinie gives to me everyday).

As we walk to where we will purchase our tickets, a whole crowd of people walk in the opposite direction. Our first instinct was to follow everyone. Luckily we did not. We found out later they got the train to Edinburgh. So we push our way through the crowd to buy our tickets but when we get to the booth we see that all trains going to Ely are canceled for next half hour. (Something to due with electric lines down somewhere, blah blah.) That’s ok. As long as we get there eventually. We buy our tickets and wait. This is when Dougie starts staring into space along with the rest of them. (Ok. Not space but the HUGE train scheduler thingy, that I cannot make any sense out of.) So I decide to meander around. I buy an iced coffee which is nothing like Starbucks. And I go to the “toilet”. Now getting my coffee was easy but getting in the bathroom was not. They had one of those bars that stick out and won’t let you pass without paying. It was like 30p to use the bathroom. We just got there. I had no change. And I really had to goooo. So now I’m running around (with my luggage, carry-on, and coffee) to all the vendors asking for change. Seriously the Brits were not amused. And Dougie was still staring into space. FINALLY I get the EXACT change and make my way into the bathroom. Now I’m not going to go into detail, but, juggling my beautiful new luggage, my HEAVY carry-on, and my iced coffee into the bathroom is not an easy task. When I make my way back to Dougie, he says we had to go to the train right away. There was only one train going to Ely in the next hour. The next train to Ely was another 3 hours away! So we book it to the train. When we get there it is already completely full! Oh well. We have to stand. Not a big deal, right? WRONG! People keep coming and coming. Everyone is trying to squeeze onto this train. I am pushed so far up against the wall that I left a Shannon-sized imprint. It really could not get any worse, right? WRONG AGAIN! When the train takes off, I realize there is no air on the train! Wahhhhh! THEN at the first stop, MORE PEOPLE GET ON. I am like really? REALLY? I was so close to the man standing in front of me, I could smell what he ate for breakfast!!! It was the longest 45 minutes of my life.

We finally get to Ely at around 8:00pm. It only took us 5 hours!

When we get to Ronnie and Denise’s house, we chill out. It’s sooooo nice! Stewie, Neil, and Sally come over, too. This is where we have our first taste of fish and chips. Mmmmm! Fried food!!! That night I sleep like a champ.

Saturday we wake up to a beautiful day! Total barbecue weather. Ronnie and Denise put on a wonderful barbecue and we eat! Here is the one photo we have of the barbecue:

That’s Ronnie. He’s a famous radio personality! You might remember him as the man who married us!

That night we went out in Ely for a few drinks!  Here are the only pictures we have of that night:

After this point, it all gets a bit hazy… We had a great night out. And it was fantastic to see the brothers! And Sal!

Well that is the start of our vacation. Good times.

Stay tuned for more!

This one’s for you:

Nate and Nikki from ShaSha on Vimeo.

Congratulations!!

I don’t update anymore. Huh…

I have been agonizing and agonizing over this for a while. I could not decide. I loved BOTH entries. You girls really know how to kiss butt. Here are my favorite parts:

• “As sisters, which is what we are” -Nikki (Really pushing the sister thing. Zing!)
• “When I heard the most magnificently angelic voice I’d ever heard in my entire life. Better than NKOTB, better than Tiffany and even better than Tina Turner! I couldn’t believe my ears, I’d found my very own American Idol!!” – Jen (Laying it on thick. AND I LOVE IT!!!)
• “I will sing loud and proud, but never, NEVER will I overpower the singing of the great Shannon Marcee Henderson.” -Nikki (Know that I have to be the center of attention!)
• Already in awe of her bedazzling beauty, I was taken back as I felt my heart flutter when I heard the most incredible tune come out of her mouth. “Big wheels keep on turnin’, turnin’, proud mary keep on burnin’, burnin’. Rollin’, rollin’ rollin’, rollin’ rollin’ on a riiiiiiivaaaaaa.” -Jen (Still laying it on thick!)
• “I love children and think that love for children makes the world go ‘round. HOWEVER, if those little brats cross any lines (e.g. blocking our view, heckling, singing louder than us), I’m not afraid to smack one upside their head.” -Nikki (LOL. I wonder if she’ll smack her own upside the head if they try to sing louder than me?)
• “Shannon has so many people that love her and adore her, and I’m sure they’ll all do anything to win a night with Shannon.” -Jen (Laying it on thick like honey on a piece of buttery toast.)

Well. I have come to a decision. The winner is…

Sorry. Hehehehehe!

The

winner

is

EVERYONE!!!!!

You get a concert. You get a concert. You get a concert. You get a concert. You get a concert. You get a concert.

Here’s the deal. Jen is going to the Taylor Swift concert. Nikki is going to the GLEE CONCERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYAY!

AND

If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands!!!! (I’m totally clapping right now.)