CHRISTMAS

Well, it's over. The hustle, the bustle, the stress and the getting ready to kill people. What? Oh, that's just me? For some reason I REALLY wasn't into Christmas this year. We put the tree up around the 10th of so, but it stood undecorated for quite a while. I finally finished the tree and putting up all the other decorations about a week and a half before Christmas. I'm sure our neighbors thought we were nuts. As I mentioned on Facebook I still had pumpkins on our front porch from Halloween and Thanksgiving at the same time our non-decorated tree stood naked in the living room. For some reason I just didn't care. So, after talking to the Bubs about my lack of Christmas cheer, we decided to change things up. Not only for this year, but next year as well. This year we (the Bubs and I) started a new tradition which I loved. We didn't get any gifts for each other (except for a couple of stocking stuffers). I asked him at the beginning of December if he could even remember what I got him last year. Big fat nope. Same with me. I do remember a couple of things, but not much. So, we nixed the gifts. I did get him a "free" gift. And ladies if you want this next year for your hubbies, let me know. Cuz' the Bubs LOVED it. I did the 12 Lays of Christmas for him. I gave it to a couple of co-workers for their husbands (at their request....I just don't go around handing out sex things to co-workers, I promise!) and the husbands loved it! And yes, when I say "lays" of Christmas, I do mean, um, not the flower kind? Anywhoo....it was a hit and it was free. And while it did take a little planning to put together, it wasn't the stressful, scrambling planning.

Anywhoo...a little off track. So,instead of gifts this year the Bubs and I headed up to Park City on Monday for a get away. We booked a room at a bed & breakfast and just RELAXED. IT. WAS. AWESOME. We got to Park City on Monday in time to check in and then headed back down to Salt Lake to go to a movie. There's several out we've wanted to see and just haven't had the time. After the movie we picked up some dinner and then went back to the hotel. And guess what? We slept in the next morning. It was GLORIOUS! Didn't have to get up for work or worry about the millions things still waiting back at home. We had a late breakfast and then headed out shopping at the Outlets. Had a later lunch and then headed back to Salt Lake for more shopping. After shopping we headed to Temple Square to see the lights. We've been married almost eleven years and I think this might have been maybe the second or third time we've seen the lights together. Sad,huh? After a late dinner we headed back home. We had so much fun we are already talking about where to go next year. And next year a couples massage will definitely going to be on the list. Also, after much discussion with the Bubs we (well me, cuz' let's face it, husbands don't have a lot to do with the Christmas gifts for others)will be revamping how we approach Christmas next year in regards to gifts, extravagance and expense. Because I think that was one reason I was such a Scrooge this year. I was just burnt out. Do you know what my favorite thing about Christmas was this year? Well, besides our get away? It was on a Sunday and we were able to go to Sacrament. It was peaceful and the Spirit was so strong. I hated it as a kid when church fell on Sunday. This year it was exactly what I needed. I wish we could have Christmas on Sunday every year (and yes, I know. I'm not a parent, blah, blah, blah). It just makes it a little more special and a little less commercialized.

So, a little belated, but Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you had a wonderful, safe holiday and were able to enjoy it. Now, on to New Years! And resolutions!

PIRANHAS, SHARKS & ALLIGATORS

I found this story on another blog (sorry, can't remember which one!) and loved it!

This is the story of a king. He was the king of a very small country, and he was a good king. He decided to have a contest to see who could swim the length of his Olympic size swimming pool. The winner would receive half of the king’s treasure. He invited everyone in his kingdom to come to his house. Everyone was so excited until they got there, only to find that the pool was filled with sharks, piranhas and alligators.Several days went by and no one was willing to take the king’s challenge. On the fourth day, all of a sudden there was a huge splash. Everyone turned to see a man swimming with all his might across the pool. The whole kingdom cheered him on as he made it through the sharks. The man continued to swim as the piranhas nipped at him until finally he had made it through the alligators. He threw himself up on the side of the pool out of breath and exhausted. The king was quickly at his side. "Congratulations" the king said, "now you will be rich". The man continued to catch his breath. The king looked at the man again waiting for a response and asked, "what do you have to say about your new treasure?" The man still out of breath looked up at the king and said, "King, half of your treasure is great, but what I really want to know is…WHO PUSHED ME IN?Have you ever felt like the man in the swimming pool? I know I have. We try to be strong and happy, but sometimes, all we can think about is that we didn’t ask for the sharks, piranhas and alligators. It seems that someone has pushed us in and now we have to give it all our might to get through the trials and tribulations we are faced with. We have to exercise our faith and know that not only will the swim end, but we will be spiritually wealthier because of the challenge. And, we are promised all our King has when the journey is through.
We have all been faced with trials and uncertainties in our lives, and we will be faced with many more. It’s what we do when we are pushed in that determines what we are made of. We are so blessed. And at this time of Thanksgiving, it is important to put our focus on our blessings, not on the sharks. EVER FELT LIKE SOMEONE PUSHED YOU IN?

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO

I have so many crafts sitting neglected in my craft room just waiting to be worked on. As I mentioned before, I LOVE Halloween. So, I keep buying Halloween crafts (I already have more than enough, mind you!) when I REALLY should be finishing up a couple of Thanksgiving crafts and then moving on to Christmas. Sigh. Too much fun and not enough time! But, I have managed to finish a couple of Halloween / Fall crafts and even managed to squeeze in a baby gift! I love subway art and this literally took about an hour to put together. I already had the board, paint and ribbon on hand. So, it was just a matter of throwing it together and putting the vinyl on. I thought it turned out great!This one took a little longer. I am LOVIN' all of the wood creation stores that are popping up. The wood was already cut out for me, so it was just a matter of painting and adding the paper. I LOVE it. It's currently gracing my door at work and I'm not sure if I'm going to have the heart to take it down when Halloween in over! :(My adorable little sisters sis-in-law (did ya get that?) is having a baby girl sometime this month. Her sis-in-law LOVES anything retro, so I was having kind of hard time figuring out a good baby gift. I found these metal letters at the same store where I got my witch cut-outs and loved how it was kinda funky. Add some spray paint, black vinyl dots and hair bows, and voila! We weren't sure what color they were going to do the nursery, so I stuck with black and cream. We later found out it was going to be pink, so I found both a black and pink hair bow (yes, dual functions - decor AND hair accessory) and then will put black and pink ribbon around the top so they can hang it in the room. They are going to name her Evelyn and call her Evey, hence the E!I loved out it turned out and will probably be doing more in the future for gifts! Well, off now to finish some yard work and finishing putting up some goulish decor!

THRILLER!

We went last night to see Thriller up at Weber State University. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE October and what better way to kick it off then Thriller? I think this was our 5th year seeing it and it just never get's old! It's one of our favorite Halloween traditions. We ended up going with some friends and I managed to score front row seats. It was our friends first time seeing it, so it was fun to see their reactions. We didn't get the best pics. The one zombie pic is so narrow because I was trying to crop other people out of it! :) The Bubs took the second pic and I'm not quite sure why it was so blurry!
October also means Breast Cancer Awareness Month.As you know, the subject is near and dear to my heart! I'm sure there are also many of you who have been touched by, or know someone who has been affected by breast cancer. So, big shout out to sport pink this month and if you haven't done so recently, please go in for a mammogram! Or, if too young, please encourage the older women you love to go in. The earlier the detection, the better the chances!

GOODBYE & GOOD LUCK, ISAAC!

My little sisters husband just left on deployment for about eight months. We had a family bbq last weekend before he left, which unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of! :( Thursday night Isaac and Alyssa came over to drop his car off (he's going to store it at our house until he get's back) and we decided to go to Noodles & Co. at the last minute.
I think Isaac must have moved right before I took this one. The punk! I can never get a good picture of him without the goofy smile! Oh well! Aren't they cute together?It was a ton of fun and a good send off! Good luck Isaac! We're going to miss you!

SO TRUE....

Loved this! Posted it on the weight loss blog and thought others might enjoy it on the personal blog!

BRAG IT UP!

So I totally have to brag my husband up! I got the following at work today:The card pretty much made me cry. Eleven years ago today (the 13th)the Bubs made me the happiest girl in the world and asked me to be his wife. I can't believe he remembered that! I have it written down in my journal, but I didn't even remember until he sent me the flowers. So, I have to brag my man up and let him know how much I not only LOVE him, but so appreciate him and his thoughtfulness. Thank you love!

PLAYING CATCH UP!

Wow! These past couple of months have flown by! First off, Father's Day! I made these this year and thought they turned out pretty darn cute!
Awhile ago I recieved an email from Thanksgiving point announcing their annual princess festival. I have a niece who LOVES anything princess, so I thought it would be fun to take her (and her sisters) to the festival. We ended up going on a Thursday and it was SOOOO hot! The festival is held outside in the Children's Garden and basically consists of the kids going from princess to princess to get autographs and have pictures taken. I felt super bad for the poor actors who are in long sleeved velvet dresses (and coats in the guys cases), but they did a really good job. The highlight of the day? When we were leaving the girls found a splash pad. They had a blast!

On the way home we stopped at the Gateway Mall so my sis-in-law could exchange her iphone. I told her I would take the girls over to the fountain so she could go to the Apple store without the stress of kids. Again, highlight of the day! Should have saved the money and just went to a splash pad/pool instead! Love these girlies!

For the 4th of July we headed down to the Bubs aunts house for the annual family barbeque. Of course, the 4th of July wouldn't be the 4th without Julie's famous apple pie. The Bubs ADORES her pie and looks forward to it all year. It's became a tradition to take pictures of random people eating the pie and then posting it on facebook to rub it in the faces of all those who didn't partake that year!

Thanks Julie for hosting the barbeque this year (and making the pie)! And of course, what is the 4th without the fireworks? Boys will be boys! Sorry about the pics - it was late and my camera kinda sucks!
Finally (sorry - kind of a long post) this is what we've been doing the past couple of Saturday's - playing in the dirt!
We were having water problems and this is the first step to figuring out where the water is coming from. I won't get into the hole anymore because without a ladder, I won't be able to get back out! We've hit the foundation, so now it's a matter of scrubbing everything down and seeing if there are any cracks. Ahh! The joys of home ownership! Next time I'll hopefully be a little better at staying on top of things! Happy almost Monday everyone!
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TAKING INVENTORY OF YOUR GIFTS AND BLESSINGS

At work we are currently in a weight loss competition that I'm the facilitator of. It's been a ton of fun. I've started a weight loss blog for the company and try to post daily. Today's post was on taking inventory of our blessings and gifts. For some reason it hit home. It could be because I was stuck in traffic for over an hour due to the freeway being shut down. There was a man who was threatening to jump. I can't even imagine my life getting to the point where I even consider suicide as a way out. It's so easy to get caught up in life. The good, the bad, the busy and the crazy. It's not often we take time to really reflect upon our lives. It's usually when we have trials, or someone close to us is suffering from an illness or even death. Then it tends to hit home. So, I'm re-posting today's blog entry for just that reason.


"Should you find yourself at a loss, wondering what life is all about and what your purpose is, be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity to wonder."
- Unknown You'll probably spend some time this weekend thinking about the good things in your life and your loved ones. Before you do that, take a moment to just consider how lucky you are to be here in the first place. In the 21st century, we can experience more in a month than most people throughout history did in a lifetime. Instead of appreciating that fact, we usually just end up wanting to do and have more. We look at what's wrong rather than what's right. This is a perfect time to take a look at your life and priorities again. Can you make some extra time every day to just enjoy the moment and your loved ones? You've been given the gift of a lifetime of moments. Accept the gift and prove yourself worthy.

CROSS THE OCEAN

Don't know why, but this seemed very appropriate for today!

LASIX

Well, as of yesterday I'm on a new med. It's called Lasix. It's actually primarily used for congestive heart failure. Me? I'm using it to pee. Yep, you read that right. Pee (like as in a race horse!) Too much info? Probably. Why would I want to pee so much? One word - kankles.(and no, those are NOT my feet! I have better taste in heels than that!) Yes my friends, I currently have kankles. In fact, if you ask my lovely co-workers (note the sarcasm?) they'll be happy to tell you I have a new nickname at work. Miss Kankles. Lovely. For some reason my legs and feet have been swelling up the past two weeks. To the point where I pretty much have to wear flip flops every day. It's not super painful just annoying - imagine being stiff from the knees down for weeks on end. It finally got to the point the other night where the Bubs made me go into the doctor (after calling me sausage feet.) Even lovelier. Anyway, I refused to go to my primary care doctor as I've been there so much lately. So, I went to the Instacare. It was kind of funny. When the receptionist was checking me in she asked what I needed to see the doctor about. I told her the truth - kankles. The bubs (who was kind enough to go with me) started laughing hysterically. I got kind of a weird look, but hey, that WAS why I was there! After examining me, listening to my heart and lungs and squeezing the crap out of my legs and feet (I swear she did that on purpose just to see how much I would cringe!) the doctor was completely baffled. She ordered a blood and urine test. Guess what? Nada. Everything looks great. So, she put me on Lasix to hopefully get the fluid out and told me good luck with the kankles. She also suggested going to my primary care doctor in about a week if it doesn't clear up. Ummm, okay, thanks? I'll answer the questions I know you're thinking right now. Nope, not preggo. Nope, no increase in sodium or diet change. Well, small diet change. I decreased my caffeine intake (goodbye my beloved Red Bull) and increased my water intake. I actually asked the doctor if that could be it. She laughed and said, um, no - usually it has the opposite effect. I then asked her if she could right me a note saying it was medically necessary for me to DRINK Red Bull to prevent kankles. For some reason she laughed again and said no. Weird, right? So, I'll take a pic of the kankles and sausage feet tonight (we're going to be working in the yard today). They pretty much rock.

On a plus note! We've started a weight loss challenge at work that I'm in charge of. It's company wide and going to last for three months. I've got the blog up and going for it (it's under The Fit & The Fabulous). Check it out if you'd like. I post daily about weight loss & exercise tips, recipes and just about anything else I can think up! Yeah me! I'm so going to kick everyone's butt - especially when I start to lose my kankles!

WATER FUN (NOT!)

Well, this is what our basement currently looks like
This spring has been crazy with rain! I think they said for May alone we are 131% above what we normally are for water precipitation. It's kind of a double edged sword. We really need the water, but we've got WAAAYY too much right now. The dams are completely full and now the majority of the rivers are flooding. We were driving around tonight and came across a home that looked like a castle, complete with a moat. The home was completely surrounded by water. I have NO idea how these poor people get in and out. I also feel so bad for the farmers. Because of the rain they have completely lost all of their crops. We're talking millions of dollars worth of seeds and product. Because of that food prices will now be raised. Ugh! And, it's only going to get worse this week. We're finally getting a week of good weather, but it's going to be warm. Which means the snow pack in the mountains will be melting quicker than usual. Which means the rivers will be even fuller. Which means even more flooding. Luckily for us our water problem isn't from flooding. We think it's actually because the water tables are so high out here and the ground can't absorb anymore water. But, we need to figure out where it's coming from exactly so we can fix it via sump pump (which we don't currently have. Stupid? Yeah, pretty much. What idiot builds out here WITHOUT installing a sump pump?) But, there's a silver lining in every cloud........we needed to start working on painting the basement anyway. Now we actually have to paint. And install new carpeting. And new flooring in the kitchen. Anyway, we also had Super Tage out here helping as wellThanks Super Tage! This kid totally cracks me up! See? Like I said, a silver lining in every cloud! :)

U2 CONCERT

I have been waiting for this concert for SOOO long! I admit it, I'm a huge U2 fan. I'm not sure if it's due to growing up listening to them (nostalgia) or good music, pure and simple, but I've always liked U2. Originally they were supposed to come last June but with Salt Lake as their next stop, they cancelled the tour as Bono had to have back surgery. But, we held onto our tickets and were able to go Tuesday night. They held the concert at the U of U stadium and it was the biggest one I've ever been too (over 55,000 people). So, it was a little crazy to find parking (let alone get OUT of the parking lots) but so totally worth it. This is the stadium right before we went in The stage was massive. We kept calling it the claw because, well, it looks like one and I can't think of a better name! The middle rotated, it lit up, smoke came out of it and the 360 degree screens moved. What's cooler than that?The Fray was the opening band. I'm not a huge Fray fan, but they actually did a great job!
And here they are!

Overall it was such a fun night and totally worth not getting enough sleep for work the next day. I was worried because it has been so rainy, but the weather cleared up a couple of hours before and although cold, the night was beautiful. Such a great night with SUCH a handsome date!