A Decade in review

Lucy posted this and I thought it would be a good reminder of what the last 10 years have brought to my life.  Enjoy! :-)

2000
Was dating my first "serious" boyfriend of 8 months!
Went to his house for New Years Eve, parents picked me up at 11:55pm 12/31/99.....
Was finishing 9th grade (June), starting 10th (in Aug)
Was playing volleyball and running track
Thought I was pretty cool and started hanging out with more friends
Started getting into more trouble
Got in a bad car accident.  There were 6 of us in the car, I was 15, my friend was driving, I was sitting on my boyfriends lap in the back, in the middle..... Everyone survived, but I did loose a friend in the process.
First "serious" boyfriend broke my heart....

2001

Turned 16 and got my first car (A 1999 Hyundai Accent)
Played v-ball for last time in high school and ran track.
Went to first high school prom with a Senior. (in May)
Finished grade 10 (In June) and started grade 11 (In Aug).
Started dating first actual serious boyfriend in August.
9/11 happened... Enough said.

2002
Ran track for the last time in high school.
Finished grade 11 (June) and started grade 12 (Aug).
Took ACT, on my 17th birthday, it wasn't too exciting.


2003
Graduated high school in May
Started College in August (1.5 hours away from home)
Broke up with serious boyfriend of 2 years.
Had more fun in first semester of college than anyone should.  Passed all of my classes, but was unhappy with being away from home.
Lost my puppy in October. (13 years old)
Moved home in December.
Got a new puppy for Christmas (Bear)

2004
Transferred to a college in my hometown.
Bought my first home, near campus and had a friend/roommate rent from me.
Turned 19.
Finished my first year of College on honor roll.
Started 2nd year of college (in Aug)
Met new boyfriend, thought he was the one.
Lost a childhood friend in a car accident in August. She was 16 and far too young.  As I left the funeral, Kenny Chesney's song, "Only the good die young" came on.  It brought tears to my eyes, but also peace to my heart because it reminded me that she had better things to do up in heaven and I would forever have a guardian angel looking down on me.

2005
Broke up with boyfriend in Jan because he didn't have enough time for me.
Had a lot of fun, found some new friends and enjoyed life.
Finished 2nd year of college.  Started Junior year (Aug).
Started dating yet another boyfriend in July.  Knew he wasn't right for me, but did it anyway.
Continued to date said boyfriend, even though I had mixed feelings about it in my heart.
Boyfriend went away to war, missed him, was scared for him, but didn't want to be with him.
Roommate moved out.

2006
Continued to date boyfriend until I just couldn't stand to look at myself anymore.  Boyfriend knew something was up, called from Iraq to tell me he'd rather wait until he got back state side to date.  In my heart, I knew he did it for me and it was a hard decision for him.
Got new roommate.  We went to high school together, but weren't ever friends. 
Enjoyed my single life for the next few months.  Told myself I wasn't going to date anyone for a long time.
Finished Junior year of college in May.  Started senior year in Aug.
Just 3 short months after ex-boyfriend called it quits, I met future hubby.

2007
Graduated college with Cum Laude Honors with a BA in Criminal Justice.
Roommate moved out, future hubby's lease was up in June, so he moved in.
Bought Josie!
Future hubby got a job offer 1.5 hours away from my hometown.  He took it.  We moved.
I was sad and I hated it.
Finally got a job at a bank after living there for 2 months.
Hosted our 1st Thanksgiving dinner.  Both of our families came.  It was great.
Got Engaged December 15th!

2008
Applied to grad school.
Got accepted.
Planned a wedding
Found Allie on the streets at 6 weeks old.  Took her home.
Quit Bank job.
Started classes in June.
Got new job at Big Brothers Big Sisters in July.
Got Married!! 10/4/08
Hosted our 2nd Thanksgiving Dinner!

2009
Had LASIK
Ran Bix 7 for first time.
Went to Las Vegas
Bought a new car
Celebrated our 1st Anniversary!
Finally Ordered Wedding pictures 
Learned that Grandpa had a heart attack.
Hosted our 3rd Thanksgiving!

What has this decade looked like for you?

Clues and guesses, anyone??

I mentioned before, that I may be having a giveaway.... Well, no lies here!  Keep your eyes pealed in 2010! :-) Jan 1st to be exact!  You won't wanna miss this!  It'll make dinner making or snacks a breeze!

I'll even give an extra 3 entries to the first person who can guess what it is.  So what do you think will be given away on Livin the Great Live on 1/1/10?  Any guesses?  I'll be accepting guesses until December 31st, 2009 at 9:00am CST.

Good luck! :-0

New Camera

I posted before Christmas about our new camera purchase.  I'm very happy with what we ended up getting, but I still have a LOT to learn about the camera.  As of right now, I'm still mastering the art of learning how to take a damn picture! :-)

Anyway, here are a few pictures I snapped after we opened the camera.

Christmas 2009 (obviously!)

The in-laws

Out at my parents house

Parents house again

Bear & his cousin, Addie, "fighting" over a treat

My Parents dog, Samantha

Playing in the snow

And again....

Needless to say, Bear slept pretty well on the 1.5 hour drive home! :-)

These are just a few of the pictures I took, but there will be more to come.... Have a wonderful Tuesday! :-)

The Aftermath

Can you believe Christmas 2009 is officially over?  The presents are unwrapped and all that's left is to take down the Christmas decorations!  It's hard to believe that another Christmas has come and gone!  Makes me feel old actually.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of family.  We were so blessed this Christmas season and I cannot wait to see what Christmas 2010 will bring! 

I'll be back later this week to share some of the loot we got :-)

In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the upcoming week and have a wonderful New Years celebration!!

Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color??

If you haven't seen Elf, you need to immediately stop what you're doing, go rent buy it and watch it NOW! Best Christmas movie, hands down!  Anyway, since it's Christmas Eve, I just wanted to wish all of you a very lovely Christmas!  I hope you are snuggled up with your favorites enjoying "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year".  :-)  Enjoy it and just think, 2010 will be here before you know it!!! ~HUGS from us to you!

A lot of people have been doing this Christmas survey, so I thought what better to do on Christmas eve than a Christmas survey!! :-)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I use to love wrapping gifts, but this year I just couldn't get ahead with anything, so I resorted to putting things in bags for the most part...

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real.  Hands down! I just love the smell of a real Christmas tree when you walk into the house and I have to say, (sorry to those who have artificial), but you can definitely tell when it's fake.... No real tree looks that perfect! haha

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually about 2 weeks before Christmas :-)

4. When do you take the tree down? ASAP after Christmas.  Usually a day or two, maybe 3.

5. Do you like eggnog? Sometimes

6. Favorite gift received as a child? When Starter jackets were really cool, I actually got one!  I LOVED that gift, it was  Hornets Starter jacket.  Amazing! :-) I think I still have it!

7. Hardest person to buy for? My hubby!  Whatever he wants, he gets, so by the time Christmas comes around, he has everything he wants/needs!

8. Easiest person to buy for? My Brother

9. Do you have a nativity scene? No, but I want one.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, there's something about sending out a Christmas card in the mail and receiving them as well.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmm..... Actually, I'm not quite sure.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf, no contest.  But Christmas Vacation is 2nd

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? This year I actually started earlier than most years.  I think it was the weekend after Christmas this year.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nah, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't want to give it for fear that person wouldn't like it either!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Ham!

16. Lights on the tree? Without a doubt!

17. Favorite Christmas song? Way too many!

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We have to travel... The in-laws live 4 hours away and my family lives 1.5 hours away.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Hmm.... Probably not. haha

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Either

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Eve unless there's kids

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Rude people

23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color? Don't really have a favorite favorite

24. Favorite for Christmas Dinner? Ham, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole

25. What do you want to do for Christmas this year? See my family

26. Favorite Christmas tradition growing up? Going to a movie Christmas day with my family.

27. Favorite tradition now? Making sure to spend equal time with the in-laws and my family because I think all people should get to spend Christmas with their families!

28. Favorite Christmas Memory? No favorite one, this is my favorite time of the entire year, no contest!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!  HOPE SANTA WAS GOOD TO YOU! :-)

What a way to end 2009!

Wow, I don' even know where to start!  Let's just say you should probably get pretty jealous!  I just won a $70 shopping spree to Recessionista!  If you have not been to this site before, GO THERE NOW!  It's amazing.  I bought a couple purses and scarfs from there for Christmas gifts (one for myself, ha) and everyone loved them!  (Yes, we celebrated a bit early, last Saturday...)

Anyway, head on over to Recessionista to get in on the great affordable fashion!! :-)

Thanks Recessionista!!!

Favorite Cookware?

Do you have a favorite cookware?

We're not ones to spend a lot of money on cookware, usually because we have to replace it every few years and it just seems silly to spend tons of money on it.  Yes, you can argue that spending more means you'll get a better piece, but you'll still probably end up replacing it with something better in the future anyway.

We even went so far as to go to an "invitation" only cookware* demonstration.  HA, first of all, they gave us a $50 voucher to go towards the cookware.  Hubby and I apparently had nothing better to do, so we ventured the 45 minute car ride to the event.  We thought, hey what have we got to lose, at least we'll get $50 off something cool.... We were joking on the way there about how expensive we thought this cookware was going to be, we even hesitated to say that hopefully we could purchase a pot for just a little over the $50 voucher and at least leave with something cool.  Fat Chance!  We got there and apparently you can only buy this cookware in sets.... Sets that were priced at upwards of an arm and two legs $1200!  Can you believe that?  $1200 for some pots and pans?  I.Kid.You.Not!  I don't know about you guys, but I could definitely find a better use for $1200+!

So, I've been looking for new cookware and I came across the Rachel Ray Cookware.  Have any of you ever tried it?  I'm thinking of using some of our Christmas money to try a piece.  It's super affordable and very colorful!  I think there are 6 different colors you can buy!  How cool is that?  So head on over to this site for a look at the Rachel Ray Cookware.


Stay tuned for a giveaway after the new year!! :-)  It may be cooking related, you never know..... 


*  I'm not naming names on this type of cookware, for one, I hate to bash them and two I cannot honestly remember the name of the darn outrageously expensive cookware!

Suggestions Please...

We just bought this camera: a Canon - EOS Digital Rebel T1i 15.1-Megapixel Digital SLR.

I'm looking for ideas for software to purchase in order to edit my photos..... Know that I have never in my life edited a photo and so I know nothing about this kind of software.

Does anyone have suggestions on something that would be good software, easy to use for a beginner, but good enough to produce great photos?  And all fairly inexpensive?

Thanks much and enjoy your weekend!  I'll be back next week with a weekend update and hopefully a giveaway to post about! :-)

I did say I'd give you a clue, didn't I?  Well, the product hasn't been completely okayed yet, but lets just say that if you have one, you love it and if you don't, you want one!  It's something that will make meal time a whole lot happier :-)

Keep an Eye out

I see a fun, exciting, giveaway "cooking up" at Livin the Great Life!  Stay tuned for the big reveal in the coming days! :-)

I know, I know... You can hardly contain yourself, me either!!

Maybe I'll give you a hint tomorrow, maybe not... :-)

We Cheated....

Well, I'm horrible with surprises and I'm horrible at keeping surprises.... Only because I can.not.wait. to figure the surprise out, only to be disappointed because I never really wanted to ruin it in the first place.  I also hate buying Christmas gifts early because I want to give them way before Christmas......

With that said, Hubby & I cheated on Christmas this year.

We opened our gifts to and from each other on the 13th!  Yes, the 13th!  We don't get to wake up on Christmas day just the two of us so we always do it early, but never weeks this early!  Anyway, he did an excellent job!!

I don't have pictures yet, but I'll put them up later... 

Anyway, we set a limit for Christmas gifts because we have so many other people to buy for and it just gets too expensive.  We agreed on our limit and I went over by about $10, so what did Hubby do?  go over by about $15! :-) O, I do love him :-)

I've been telling him how much I want to pick up running again, but that the cold -25 freezing my butt off weather is really putting a camp in my style.  I hate spending tons of money on really nice workout clothes, so what did he do...?  He went out and spent enough money to put our future child through college what he thought was a good amount on some decent running clothes!

He got me a pair of under-armor cold-weather black pants with an Iowa Hawkeyes logo on them!  Along with a matching running jacket with the Hawks logo again.  They are SUPER warm and I love them!!!  I also got a really warm Hawks headband that is fleece. 

Hubby did an awesome job because I never would have expected that he would buy these gifts for me.

I got him some lame awesome tools that he's been wanting along with the obligatory jeans & underwear that he gets every year!  

So, that's that!  We are done with presents for each other.  I hated doing it early, but at the same time I knew hubby would love his gift so I couldn't wait any longer!  AND he was dying to give my gifts to me!  So it all worked out!  Next year we are waiting until at least December 16th Christmas Eve to do gifts! {Grin}

2 years ago today

This man asked me to be his wife :-)

 With this ring:

I said yes :-)

 And I couldn't be happier :-)

I'm not one to brag....

BUT:

I have 4 dreadful days left of work in 2009! :-)

That's all for now!  Have a terrific Tuesday!

Weekend Recap

This weekend we were able to get out and visit some friends we haven't seen since their Wedding in May!

Friday:

We headed to my hometown to drop Bear off at my parents, we stopped at my Brother & future-sis-in-law's house to hang out for a bit and then stayed at my parents for the night.

Saturday:

I woke up early to attend a Spin class with my mom, Oh my goodness my buns are killing me!  It hurts to sit! haha We then went out for breakfast with my parents and got on the road to Peoria to visit Katie & Scott!

We arrived around 2:00ish, played some cards and talked.  We headed to a delicious Mexican dinner and then went out for drinks and to play shuffleboard.  It was a great night!

Sunday:

We went to breakfast with Katie & Scott and then got back on the road for our 4 hour drive back home.  It was nice to get home but it was so nice to visit friends & family!

I just realized that I didn't ever tell you about Thanksgiving!  Oops.....

Well here's the short rundown.

We had my parents, my brother & future-sis-in-law, my hubby's parents & his brother for Thanksgiving.  I cooked the turkey, mashed potatoes and the green bean casserole and then everyone brought a dish.  My turkey turned out amazing!  I was so proud.  It wasn't my first turkey, but my 3rd, so I'm pretty seasoned now... haha Anyway, I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy getting ready for the dinner, but it went off without a hitch.  It was delicious.  My mother-in-law made Pumpkin & Apple Pies, my future-sis-in-law made a chicken salad dip and Snickers Salad (YUM!).  My mom made a corn casserole, a Pumpkin dessert and stuffing. Anyway, it was great.

I'm hoping that since we're getting a new camera for Christmas that I will get back on the horse and start taking some pictures to show you all! :-)

Happy Monday everyone!

Random Dozen

 

 

1. Which physical trait do you now accept--maybe not love, but accept--and no longer feel extremely self-conscious about? My nose... Everyone always told me I have a big nose, but people also recognize that I'm part Greek and they can tell who my mother and grandfather are because of it :-) haha

2. This week Meredith Baxter Birney, best known as the mom on the favorite 80s sitcom "Family Ties" came out of the closet, which led me to formulate this question: Who do you think is/was the best TV mom? O gosh.... I have no clue, sorry!

3. Do you speak any foreign languages? Are there any you'd like to learn? I use to be able to speak some Spanish, but yea.... Not anymore.... Although, I'd love to speak Canadian just like Lucy! :-) Now that's talent!

4. Who is your personal hero? My mom.  She is such a hardworker, worked full time while raising two kids while my dad worked two jobs and went to school at the same time!  I know it was hard, but she never gave up and I hope to be even half the hardworker that she is!

5. What is one holiday food that you find extremely difficult to resist over- indulging in? Mashed Potatoes and gravy and all things Christmas desserts! (It's a sickness....)

6. Tell me about a Christmas decoration that has special meaning or sentimental value. Ya know, would you believe me if I said we don't even have a Christmas decoration to represent the year we got married? I have, however; made a Christmas ornament from personalizationmall.com every year with our Christmas card picture on it and the date, so those special meaning!

7. How do you feel about snow? Hmmm Love it when I'm inside the house, hate it when I have to go outside and drive in it!  We just got 14" over the course of the last 36hours, so you might now want to be talking about snow with me right now! But I do live in Iowa, one must expect snow on occasion!

8. On average, how many hours of sleep do you get each night? :-) Don't hate me.... I get at least 9-10 (that is so weird Lucy!).  I love me some sleep!  I cannot function if I get under 8 hours, so I do my best to up it a bit! haha

9. Tell me about your first crush. 13 years old and way too young and too stupid to know what a good guy was! Enough.Said.

10. You're stuck in a room for 2 hours with only a chalkboard and chalk. What will you write/draw? Probably stick figures and random lists of things that need to be done or purchased

11. Do you dress for the current temp or for the day's forecast? probably current forecast because I hate being cold!

12. Favorite Christmas movie is? Wow, there's a lot!  Elf, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, Charlie Brown's version, o, I'm sure there's more....

An utterly amazing giveaway!!!

Guys, you need to go to MckMamma's blog: the Nienie Diaries, Stephanie's A year of slow cooking, Kelly's Korner and  BooMama's blog to enter this fabulous giveaway!

You won't believe what they are giving way!!!  A HP TouchSmart 600!!!  Head on over and check them out.  This computer looks to be the best out there and I hope to get to use mine very soon! :-)

In fact, I'd rather tell you not to head on over there to check them out so that I have better chances, but that wouldn't be very Christian of me now would it... :-) I'm just joking, get on over there!

Snow

Seriously ladies.... 14 inches of snow!  That's what we have so far!  It's 8:46pm and our street has yet to be plowed!  The hubby and I both couldn't go to work today and if they don't plow, we won't be going tomorrow either! 

I wish I could say I got a lot done today because of the day off, but here's what I did:

-Watched My Sisters Keeper  (I think everyone should watch this, it was so great and it was so sad! But a story overall)

-Finished my homework (which was due tonight anyway)

-Played video games with the hubby!

-Relaxed

-That.Is It.

Hope you all enjoyed your Wednesday! :-)

Holy Snow!

Guys, I know I live in Iowa, but what gives!

Today, the forecast is snow.... Snow... and more snow.... I mean over 24 hours of snow!  I think it's beautiful when it is coming down (slowly) and sprinkling the trees, but this overkill has got to stop!

If I was all fancy, I'd get my "fancy" phone out and take a picture for you all to see... But this girl is back in the 2007-2008 era and doesn't have internet on her phone! So, just believe me when I say we have enough already!

On another note, I'm getting my hopes up for a school err work cancellation! :-) Come on, it happened once last year, it's bound to happen this year!  We're getting close to 12 inches of snow!  (maybe).  So, I've already started planning my day out for tomorrow!  (even though, I know we'll have to work!, but I'm thinking positive!)

I have laundry, dishes, presents to wrap, etc...!  See, I have much more to do than come to work on a completely crappy snow day! :-)

Think happy thoughts with me, I would greatly appreciate it! :-)

Merry "early" Christmas to me!

Remember, here, I talked about getting a new camera.  Well, my parents gave us some money early for Christmas (to put towards a camera and we took care of the rest) and on Black Friday, we ventured out (at the ripe hour of 1:00 pm :-)  )  and ordered it online at the sale price from Best Buy!  I know, we're die-hard...

We also snagged this beauty for a very very nice deal. 

 What do you all think?  Think I'll be able to take some fancy pictures with this bad boy??  I'm pretty excited! Any suggestions on other things we'll need for it?  We also got a carrying bag for it, but what size SD HD card do you think we should get?  Is there a smaller lens than the 18-55mm?  It seems like we'll always have to take the lens off to store it and won't be able to just take it out and snap a picture real quick.  Any suggestions?

I'll also need to figure out how to use it! haha It may take me years months, but I have faith! :-)

I'm pretty excited!  However, since it is partly a gift from my parents, my mom is making us wrap it and open it for Christmas at their house! Which means, I don't get to use it until the 19th!  Sad, I know! 

Take 1.....2....3....4...

So, over Thanksgiving weekend, we attempted to take our Christmas card picture!

In the past, we've involved all 3 of our pets:

Such as here in 2008. 

But that takes almost a whole year in itself a long time with a lot of pictures and a lot of frustrating people! (Jesse, me, the person taking the picture! )

So, here we are, all 5 of us!  From left to right:

Bear, Allie, Me, Jesse & Josie.

So this year, we've decided that we would only put Bear in the picture.  Just makes life a lot easier!

It took a few takes, but it wasn't too bad. Here are a few of the "crappy" ones.

 

We called it quits after this last one, and decided to use it! 

Not the best, but it will have to do! :-)

So, there you have it!  our 2009 Christmas card picture! 

Happy Friday!! :)

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

• Christmas time!! I LOVE everything Christmas!  
• 11 more days of work until I have 11 days off then one day on then 4 days off again! 
• The semester ending.  I have exactly one more week and one day of class until I'm finished! Until Jan!
• 3 more grad classes!  That's right folks, just 3 more classes and my practicum and I'm finished with my masters!!
• Cute scarf's & mittens.  Enough said.
• My husband.  For putting up with my Christmas spirit! haha He thinks all of my decorating, Christmas music listening and love for wrapping is crazy.  
• 2009.  It has been a great year and it's almost over!  I am so excited to find out what is in store for 2010!  

What are you thankful for??

Random Dozen

1. Which Wizard of Oz character are you most like?  Toto- I just love that dog! :-)

2. When you're deciding what you're going to wear each morning, which item do you select first? My pants Why?  Because then I know what I'm matching my top and shoes to.

3. What kind of animal do you think the world could live without? hmmm Mosquitoes, yes, I know you said animal but I choose an insect! 

4. How many Christmas trees are in your home? none yet! :-(  But we'll be putting one up this weekend!

5. Would you prefer to be emotionless if it mean you didn't have to feel a heartbreak? No chance in H E double hockey sticks!

6. Do you ever experience holiday let-down or depression? Sometimes, I love the holidays, but they are over so quickly and then January and February are so long!

7. Do you like Michael Jackson's music? Some of his songs are good and I think he was a great musician despite his many odd traits.....

8. Why is it that we never judge people who have their teeth fixed for cosmetic reasons, but every other cosmetic procedure has a stigma? Wow, that's a very good question... I've had my teeth fixed, but wouldn't consider doing anything else.  I guess I'm not "enhancing" for someone else, but everyone knows a great smile makes the person feel better.... On the flip side, maybe other "enhancements" make some people feel just as good.... I need to stop judging people! gosh!

9. Enjoy horseback riding? Yes, but it's terrifying at the same time!

10. Shoes--practical or stylish? BOTH!

11. What was the name of your first pet? Feel free to post a pic.  Harry, I have no pictures of him on the computer because I didn't have a digital camera back then!

12. What percentage of your Christmas shopping is done? hmmmm 90%!

Sorry guys, I was lacking creativity motivation to use my own skills to come up with a post for today... Obviously I've been slacking a bit because I've lost a couple followers, but thanks to all of you who comment and who have stuck with me! That's ok, I'm not truly desperate sad, it's their loss right? haha j/k I'm not one to toot my own horn often. 

On a serious note though, I truly enjoy the friendships I've made here in bloggy land and I just want you all to know that even though I don't comment everyday, I still value you and I love reading and keeping up on your life with you! Have a wonderful rest of the week!!

December Goals

It's goal time ladies!

November Goals:

• Take our Christmas Card Picture Let's see.... We took our Christmas card picture last weekend and I got them printed, so this was a success!
• Workout at least 3 times a month- this was a minor fail.... Some weeks I made it 4 times, others only 2... So on average, maybe we can just say that it was a 1/2 success? (no, well too bad)
• Finish at least 75% of my Christmas shopping, done as of this last weekend!
• Make a weekly meal plan 2 times a month  (this is a hard one for me, as we're so busy!) Meal plan- Major fail.... I may save this one for next yeah
• Decide on a new camera for Christmas.  Any suggestions on SLR cameras??? New camera, done... I'll give you the new reveal after I "open" it up for Christmas! 

On to December Goals:

• Workout at LEAST 3 times a week (we'll try harder on this one folks, I promise!) 
• Make dinner 4 times a week
• Get a pedi for Christmas, just to treat myself!
• Lose 5 lbs before Christmas (this should be an easy task, but look at all the goodies that come out this time of year!)
• Take a vitamin every day
• Not buy myself anything this month
• Super-clean the house before Christmas
• Give back to some organization we care about

I think this month is doable, but we'll check back and see in January 2010!! Can you believe it, we're moving into a new year and we can no longer call it 08, 09 or 0 anything it'll have to be 20 10.... I think it's odd.... It was so much easier when things started with an 8 or 9! remember back in 99 or gosh, when this song came out it was probably around 92.... Blah blah blah.  I just think it's so odd. 

Do you have any goals for this month?  Good luck and Happy December 1st!  The 25 Days of Christmas has officially started!!

3D!

This weekend we were able to go see Disney's A Christmas Carol in 3D!

I LOVED this movie!  My hubby & my in-laws went with.  I've never been to a 3D movie before, but it was very cool.  I think I'll be buying it when it comes out, hopefully in 3D!  I would not recommend it for children under 10 though as some parts are quite scary.  They added a bit to this version, but again, I really enjoyed it.  Things jumped out at you and felt as if you could touch them!  Very creative!   Definitely a Must See.

I did it!

After 14 months of marriage, I've finally ordered wedding pictures!! :-)  Just a small victory over here at the Crane's, as I've been putting it off for some time now! (14 months to be exact!)  It's a process as I'm sure a lot of you brides know! And the fact that my photographer didn't use a digital camera (don't even get me started), we have less pictures to go through, but we don't get to see them online! :-(  So anyway, I'll be happy in the moment for now and forget the things I cannot change!

Update on how Thanksgiving went at our home to come later this week.  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! I've officially started decorating for Christmas, as I can see, many of you have as well!  Isn't it great?  I love Christmas!!

Happy Monday! :-)

Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for?  So, right about now I'm whipping up a turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy and green bean casserole, awaiting the arrival of my In-laws, my parents, my brother & future-sis-in-law and my brother-in law. I cannot wait until our home is filled with the delicious smell of Thanksgiving and the sound of family.  So, I've planned ahead of time to provide you with my Thanksgiving Post.  I'm sure many of you are busy today but, I just want to wish all of you a very happy and family filled Thanksgiving Day!

I thought there would be no better day to do a Thankful Thursday than Today, Thanksgiving Day 2009! 

I am thankful for:

• My family.  There is nothing more important in this world than my family. I love them and do not know what I would do without them. (This includes all family members, extended family & In-laws!)
• Good Food.  I am hosting Thanksgiving for the 3rd time and I am very excited.  I love that everyone is willing to come to our home (even though we live a ways away).  Everyone brings something to share, we make the turkey & the potatoes & gravy.
• Thanksgiving.  This is my favorite holiday!  I love eating delicious food and relaxing all day long.
• My job.  I am thankful that I have a job and even more thankful that I get Thursday & Friday off!
• Great weather.  I think this is probably the first Thanksgiving day that we haven't had snow on the ground.  It's suppose to be about 40 degrees and beautiful!
• God.  I am so thankful that I believe in something bigger and grater than myself.  With Faith anything is possible.

What are you thankful for on Thanksgiving of 2009?

A little treat for ME!

I figured since I am taking off early today (noon) to get some grocery shopping and cleaning done and since I'll be slaving away cooking Thanksgiving tomorrow, I might as well do something to relax myself!

I'm treating myself to a pre-Thanksgiving massage today at 4:00! I cannot wait.  This is probably my most favorite thing in the world.  Whether it be from my hubby or a professional, I do love me a massage!  So, don't be jealous, go out and get yourselves one! :-)

Have a great Wednesday!! :-) 

Imperfect

Brittany over at Living in the Moment post about being imperfect.  Well, I'm definitely not perfect, by any means, so I'm here to tell you why.

I would so much rather wear a t-shirt to bed than any of that lingerie.

I think the idea of working out and eating healthy is so wonderful and would be so beneficial to so many people out there.  I however have the hardest time turning down a brownie, cake or cookies.

I eat incredibly fast, without any gracefulness.

I go back for seconds, almost.every.time.

I sometimes look at other people's lives and envision what it would be like to have enough money not to work, to have an amazing house, and to not worry about money problems.

There are times when I wish I didn't care so much about my body so that I could just eat everything and anything I wanted.

I'm sometimes jealous of people who are pregnant.  I so want it to be my turn, but we aren't even trying yet.  I guess the possibility of it all not working out scares me.

I'm a planner, I like things to be sorted out.

I don't take enough risks.

I HATE high heels, tight jeans & fancy tops.  I would much rather be comfortable than look fabulous.

Even though I know my husband loves long hair, I got it cut anyway.  It'll grow back :-)

I hate change.  I am a firm believer in traditions and it's hard for me to let those slip away.

I'm really good at arguing, but I'm quick to throw whatever words I can come up with at the other person if I'm angry.  Then, later, I forget it when it's too late.

My mouth gets the best of me, yet I still have a hard time keeping it in check.

There are moments in my life when I wish I could just give up and throw in the towel, but I have yet to do it. (this applies to jobs and school mostly)

I talk about standing up for myself and doing things my way, but I do care sometimes what other people think.

I'm a Target, Kohls & Old Navy freak.  Forget those fancy schmancy stores!

I'd rather shop the clearance rack than spend the extra money at another store.

I won't buy anything full price at said favorite stores.

PJ's are my best friend at night and everyday of the weekend.

I would rather spend a night in watching movies with my husband than go out, Any.Day.

Sometimes I complain way too much.

Sometimes I hurt people's feelings because I'm out spoken, sometimes I feel bad about it.

I can't stand when people are wishy washy on their decisions, it drives me crazy.

I'm not perfect, not even close.  I think that being imperfect makes us perfect.  Everyone has their flaws, only some choose to embrace them and some choose to hid them.  So don't be alarmed if you see me shopping at Target in my sweatpants! 

The Speaker Maker

I've mentioned before about my Husbands abilities and passion about speakers, so I'm here to do another post on his most recent project!  He built these from scratch, just pieces of wood (but I don't have those pictures) 

These are the JC2's (Yes, I just named them!)  These first few pictures are after he sawed and put them together.  He had started staining before I had a chance to take pictures!

There they are!  Aren't they gorgeous???  I love the two-tone color of them.  They sound incredibly good too!  He spent about 40 hours working on them, so it was a lot of work.  He is very happy with the finished product though!  And so is his wife as now he can start working on house projects! haha (Just kidding honey!)

Stuffing

So, here is the conversation I had with my mom this weekend...
(First, let me get you up to speed, I LOVE my mom's stuffing, it's fantastic, and she makes it every year)

Mom:  I'm not making stuffing this year

Me:  Um.... Why not?  You have to, its delicious!

Mom:  I was just watching something on TV about how each serving of stuffing has the equivalent saturated fat of 3 Large orders of french fries from McDonalds!!

Me:  Well that probably depends on how you make it and I'm sure you don't make it like that... Right?

Mom:  Yes, Kayla... It's how you make stuffing. 

Me:  Well I'm sure it depends on how much you eat, nobody can eat that much stuffing.

Mom:  It's 1 cup, one cup has the same amount of saturated fat as 3 large french fries...

Me:  So you mean to tell me that the helping of Stuffing I enjoyed last year was like eating 12 large orders of french fries from McDonalds??!??!?!

Mom:  Yes.  That is correct.

Me:  You better not make stuffing this year!

Weekend Recap

We had a great weekend!

Friday:

We went grocery shopping and came home to watch Star Trek which wasn't all that bad.

Hubby LOVED the movie so he's not only seen it once now, but he has seen it three times! haha

Saturday:

This was psychotic SUPER cleaning day. 
No joke, we spent eternity  cleaning!  Nearly 8 hours before I sat down.
Then we had game night!  It was so much fun!  We had about 12 people in all.  I made three dishes, all of which went over quite well!  I'll have to share those with you on a different day.
We played Catchphrase, Celebrity (which was so much fun) and What's Yours Like.
After 6-7 hours of game playing, we called it a night.
I was beyond exhausted!  But it was a great night.

Sunday:
For some unknown reason, I was unable to sleep in, so we got up and ate some breakfast.  Our good friends, Tim & Hillary came from out of town to join in on Saturday's festivities and so they kept us company for a bit on Sunday morning.  I fell asleep while we were watching something on TV for about an hour!  After they left, I was able to meet up with my mom and her friend for lunch, do some shopping and head home to work on my paper that was due!  Apparently I'm quite the procrastinator and can find a million other things to do than do my homework! 

I hope you all had a great weekend and have a great short week!! :-)

I Believe

I believe in:

Love ... Maybe not at first sight, but I do believe in Love.

Miracles

The power of God

Date nights even after you've been married for years and years

Finding the good in people

Not holding grudges

Forgiveness

Celebrating Valentines day, in whichever way you please

The power or Prayer

Being Thankful

Family

The Little things

Friendships-

the kind that stay strong even though you don't talk or see each other every day

Getting what you put into things

Love only fades when you stop noticing the little things

Love is great, but it's hard at the same time.

Divorce isn't always the answer, maybe it's searching a little harder to find the person you fell in love with.

Hardwork:

It does pay off

The saying:  Good things come to those who wait

Living life the way you want to live it.

Showing and expressing your love at all times to those who matter most in your life.

Saying I love you as often as possible, because you never know when you may not get that oppourtunity again.

This is a list of things that I believe in.  What do you believe in?

Thanks to whomever posted their own "beliefs" post, I cannot remember who.  If it was you, let me know and I will give credit!  I just think it's important to remember the things that we believe in and stand true to those beliefs!

Credit:

I need your help!

We're having a game night on Saturday and we are providing the snacks!  I have no idea what to make!  I need a few ideas that are not too difficult and definitely crowd pleasers!  Any ideas?

So far I'm making:

Mer's Bacon Jalapeno Dip

My Spinach Dip (If you want the recipe just ask)
&
The infamous Lil' Smokey's

Does anyone have any ideas?  I want to make 2-3 more things.  They can be desserts, dips, anything!

Edit:  Thanks for all the great suggestions!!!  Now I'm having an even harder time deciding what to make! :-) 

Sugar Doll

The fabulous Brittany Ann at Living in the Moment gave me the The Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger Ward!

This is my second award ever and I am very excited about it!! :-) Thanks Brittany! 

The rules:  I must list 10 Interesting facts about myself that you don't already know!

This is probably more difficult and I hope I don't lose any of you because I'm not all that interesting :-)

Without further adue:

1.  Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday!  I love the fact that all you do is get together with family and EAT!  Then you may watch some football and then EAT some more!  :-)  If you cannot tell, I love eating!  haha

2.  Even though I love Thanksgiving, so very much, I Love Christmas almost just as much!  I love wrapping presents, listening to Christmas music and spending time with family.  O, and I love decorating for Christmas.

3.  This is related to the above, but I cannot stand when people put Christmas lights up before Thanksgiving, let alone before November!  I know the weather is a bit nicer, but come on.... Thanksgiving is a holiday too and it deserves just as much respect on it's reserved day!

4.  I have worse handwriting than a 12 year old boy.  No.Joke.

5.  I have no self control when it comes to brownies, cake or cookies. I think I need an intervention.

6.  I cannot have company over unless the house is at least picked up.  Even if it's hubby's friends, I have to scramble to clean before they come over.

7.  My hubby and I are getting a camera for Christmas (with the help of my parents) and so we've put a limit on Christmas spending for each other.  I've bought him one small thing, but otherwise he is SO hard to shop for.  He pretty much gets what he wants within reason, so buying him something is so very hard.  He'll tell me what he wants, but I hate giving gifts when people know exactly what it is.  There's something about surprising people with a gift that I love.  I love getting them something that I think they will love and then seeing the reaction on their faces.

8.  Whenever I go shopping, I'll end up always returning something.  I have a thing about not trying clothes on at the store.  I hate dressing rooms and the idea of trying clothes on in them. 

9.  I too have road-rage.  Sometimes I'll go so far as to honk unnecessarily and I may have tailgated a time or two in my whole 8 years of driving :-)

10.  Surprises are my favorite.  Though, 10 9 out of 10 times I'll try to figure out what it is.  Hubby is great at giving bad hints so that I can never guess what it is.  I don't actually want to know what the surprise is, but there's something about surprises that makes me go crazy and try to figure it out anyway.  He's learned to be pretty sneaky when giving me surprises.

Now, 10 of you lovely ladies are very deserving of this Fabulous Sugar Doll Award!  Those lucky 10 are:

Mrs Bee at Secret Life of Sass & Lex

Jamie at His 'n Her Towels

Ashley at Joshley and The Charles

Abby at Life with B & A

Becky at The Branches

Kait at My Crazy, Unpredictable Life

Sara at That's Sassy

Taryn at The Colorado Desert

Lucy Marie at Lucy's Life

Summer at B is for Brown

Thanks so much Brittany!  It was fun learning new things about you! :-)

Prayers Needed

Edit:  My grandpa is having surgery tonight to clear a blockage to his heart.  I'm not sure what all the surgery entails, but as far as I know, it's a pretty common surgery and should go as planned.  I'm not sure if I will get updated again tonight or not, so I will update tomorrow on his status.  Thanks for your prayers!

My grandfather on my Mom's side had a heart attack this weekend.  He's use to being in pain, so he didn't think anything of it.  He had it on Saturday night, but went all day Sunday saying his chest hurt and he just had a cold.  My Grandma finally called the Dr on Monday Morning and they took him in.  The doctor said he had suffered a heart attack on Saturday night and that is why his chest has been hurting.  They won't know more until later this afternoon, but I'm praying that everything will be alright.  Any prayers you can throw our way would be greatly appreciated!

I have been bitten.....

By baby fever big time!

I find myself ooing and awwing at all of the things at Target that resemble babies.....

Everytime I hear of a new friend who's pregnant (and mind you, this has happened about 4 times in the past 2 weeks), I find myself wishing it were me.

I find myself worrying about the possibility of not being able to get pregnant.  We've done things the "right way", we've grown up, gone to college, fallen in love, gotten married to our best friend and then started talking about having a baby.  My mind rushes to all of the what if's about pregnancy.  What if I'm one of those women who cannot carry my own child, what if we cannot get pregnant, what if something happens, what if what if what if.

I realized that these are all things that I cannot control and if God wishes for my husband and I to have a child, then we will, on his time schedule.  So I'm putting an end to the worrying (or so I hope) and I'm going to leave it up to He who is in charge.

Don't get me wrong, I am so very very happy for all of my friends who have witnessed the miracle of birth and who are pregnant, because there is no better gift!  So I am so happy for all of you out there who are pregnant and I feel for those of you who cannot conceive. 

So, with that said!  To all of you mommies out there, all of you who have children, are going to have a child or want to have children, you're all in my prayers because it is such a great miracle to be a mom and I cannot wait until I have my chance.

I know my husband will be a fantastic father.  He is so enthusiastic about everything he does.  Whether it's cars, engineering, speakers, boats, etc.... He's passionate and I know he will be a good teacher.  So I do not worry about how our family will change once we do conceive, I am just ready and willing to accept all of the joys, sorrows and pains that come along with being a mother.  I am ready for all of it! :-)

Bring it on world, I can and will survive anything that comes my way. :-)

P.S.  Have you seen the baby clothes at Old Navy!  I seriously wanted to buy some the other day, but thought my hubby might think it was quite odd :-)

Happy Friday everyone!  Have a wonderful weekend!

I'm gone & a wordless Wednesday

I won't be posting much this week because we do not have internet at work and I've been working from home for a day & 1/2 now, diligently working! I've got a lot to do and very little time to do it in.  Thanks for staying true to following me! I'll be back next week with more posts, I hope!  Have a wonderful rest of the week!

I leave you with my Wordless Wednesday picture! :-)

Happy Veterans Day!!

Thank you to all the men and women out there who have fought, are fighting, and will fight in the future for my freedom and the freedom of this country.  I am truly grateful for everything that you do.  Without you, I do not know where we would be today.  So thanks again and just know that you are doing a great job and I pray for your safety daily!

Weekend Recap

This weekend was great! 

Friday:

We spent some quality time together, just the hubs and me!  We cooked dinner, listened to music and then watched The Wizard of Oz together! :-) It's a tradition in my family for my Mom and I to watch the Wizard of Oz every year around Thanksgiving time.  I will be sure to start that same transition with my children!

Saturday:

We got to sleep in!  It was wonderful.  We then got ready for the day, cleaned a bit, I cut hubbys hair, and we packed for the rest of the weekend.  My friend Tiffany got married in my hometown.  She couldn't have been more blessed to have such a beautiful day to go along with her beautiful wedding!  It was perfect!  It was sunny and 70 degrees in November for her wedding!!!  I could hardly believe it.  (for those of you who don't get to experience the dreadfully amazing Iowa winters, it's usually very cold with a possibility of snow around this time of the year).  Saturday night my whole family was able to get together at Tiffany & Jake's wedding reception for drinks & dancing.  Pictures to come tonight!

After that, we were able to meet up with my old good friends, Natalie & Bri & their men.  It was so great to see them!  I hardly ever get to spend time with them anymore, so it was nice to catch up.  Natalie's getting married next year and Bri's having another baby!!!  I'm so excited!  Such big changes in all of our lives and I am so glad that we are able to remain friends!

Sunday:

We woke up early and headed to breakfast with my mom.  Aftewards, we got packed up and headed back home where I was FINALLY able to get most of the leaves taken care of in our yard and cut the backyard once more before winter.  our yard looks so much better!  On a side note, it was such a great day to be raking leaves, because with each stroke I took to rake, 1/2 of them would fly off and out of our yard! haha, yes it's probably considered cheating, but do you think I was going to chase after them? haha no way!

How was your weekend?  We have two weekends in a row coming up that are stay at home weekends!  This hardly ever happens and I am so excited! 

My to do list before Thanksgiving includes:

Buying place-mats & napkins (anyone know a good place to find cute, cheap, brown ones??)

A table runner (I'm also having trouble finding this!)

Buy a gravy boat

Buy my turkey! ( A whopping 25 pounder!)

Change sheets in guest bedroom

Clean house from Top to Bottom!!

It's going to be a busy two weeks!!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful in-laws!!!

Guys!  I'm a horrible daughter-in-law, I had this post sitting in my "edit posts" section wanting to post it on their actual anniversary on 11/2/09, but I didn't!!!  I'm very sorry!!! So, without further adue:

Happy 30th Anniversary to the best in-laws a girl could ask for!!! :-) 

Here they are at our wedding, dancing the night away!

A picture of the whole family

At a wedding in Wisconsin

These people welcomed me into their lives with open arms.  I couldn't have asked for better in-laws.  They are amazing people and I hope to someday live closer to them so we can see them more often.  I hope you both enjoyed your 30th anniversary and I can't wait until we're celebrating our 31st and you're celebrating your 60th! :-)

Calling all you professional photographers!

Alright all you photographers out there!  We're wanting to get a really good camera for Christmas and I was looking into this one.... Does anyone have it?  What do you suggest?  What do you think about this one?  Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated! (if you do like it, what would you suggest buying with it so that we are ready to go?)

It's a Canon - EOS Digital Rebel T1i 15.1-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera

 Help!! :-) 

Things

I stole this from Danielle at Life, Love and the Pursuit of Me

FIVE things you wish you could say to FIVE different people right now

• Get over it.
  
• Think of someone else for a change.
  
• I deserve a raise.
  
• You're lucky and you don't even know it.
  
• You'll be just fine.
  

TEN things about yourself:

• I chocolate.
  
• I love gossip magazines, I can't help it!
  
• I love running, but I hate it at the same time.
  
• I want to look good, but it's so hard to motivate myself!
  
• I love traditions.
  
• I love nights in with my husband.
• Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
  
• I love clothes, but hate spending money on them.
  
• I love spending time with my family.
• I am a tv junkie and love to watch OTH, Desperate Housewives, Greys, Private Practice, Brothers & Sisters, House, Medium, Saving Grace, Big Bang Theory, and a couple more.... (It's a sickness)
  

SEVEN ways to win your heart:

• Surprises.
• Massages.
  
• Telling me you love me (if you mean it!)
  
• Take me somewhere nice.
• Delicious homemade food.
  
• Go out of your way for me.
  

SEVEN things that cross your mind a lot:

• My husband.
• My family.
  
• School.
• Getting a counseling job next fall.
  
• Vacationing.
• Upcoming Holidays.

FOUR things you do before you fall asleep:

• Brush my teeth
• Wash my face.
  
• Kiss the husband.
• Cuddle.

FOUR things you see right now:

• My office-mate
  
• Candy Corn & Peanuts
• AMy huge 55 oz water jug.
  
• Tons of work to be done!
  

THREE songs that you listen to often:

• I'm yours.
  
• Lucky.
• Chicken Fried.
  

TWO things you want to do before you die:

• Have two beautiful, healthy children.
  
• Move back to my hometown.

ONE confession:

• I just started a new "diet" yesterday and I'm already starving. :-(