Thanksgiving Dinner

"If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort." -Dave Weinbaum
I did it! I made my first solo Thanksgiving dinner and no one has died yet! It may not have been the best cooking ever, but I gave it an effort and it was certainly made with lots of love. My aunt and uncle came over for some much needed relief and company. AND they brought Bubba the dog. He ate turkey with us too. Thank you Jess for the Cherry Chocolate Cake recipe. It was DIVINE! Who needs pie when you have tasty cake? Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Thankful

Wow, what a year. This time of year always gives me time to reflect on things that I am thankful for and probably could not do without. I have been inspired by Jess to list all the things that I am thankful for. Ready? Ok. Tim-best thing that has EVER happened to me. my family-all of you. my awesome friends. the gospel. my eternal family. mrs. buffy. my job. my cute new house. the ability to be able to pay all of my bills. a warm, soft bed. my new couch. my piano. my mama-most amazing person ever. my grandma-past and present. my auntie leanna-seriously...just a 2nd mom. my awesome mother in law. nieces and nephews. brothers. health insurance. modern medicine. a gas furnace. a big bathtub. a big kitchen. washer and dryer that does not squeak. literacy. libraries. my friend's kids. email. facebook. prayers. music. ipods. computers. good coworkers. ability to serve others. a good ward. good books. cable tv. the food network. popcorn. chocolate. snow. sprite. pictures. my guitars. mom's quilts. pasta. calendars. country music. avon. greys anatomy. (weird, I know.) the ability to reconnect with friends. my big feet. sweaters. Payless shoes. the D.I. clean water. bubble bath.
I'm sure that I can think of so many things, so, to everything I forgot...I'm thankful for you.

You've heard of Holiday Barbie, Dr. Barbie, Skater Barbie and more....Introducing the newest member of the Barbie Family.....

Devil Barbie!

Enjoy it while it lasts....comments are welcomed...just don't be too mean.

"You're my person!"

Everyone has a person. I have four. (other than the husband and my mother...) You know who you are. Hopefully. If you don't, sorry. These are people who listen to me for hours blabbing about nothing. They dress up like idiots with me. They think I'm funny and pretty and smart. Bless your hearts. I'm sure that I take them for granted on a regular basis. For example...I haven't seen one of you for at least 5 years, if not more. Sorry about that. I still love you bunches. The other one, well, you know I love you. Admit it. You love me back. I know you do. You're my best facebook friend and even though I work with you all day long, you are one of the few people that I want to come to my house and watch Grey's Anatomy with me. And still, the other one....you are the craftiest, most talented person I know and a dang good mother. And the last but certainly not least...I miss you and I don't spend nearly enough time with you. We should remedy that. You made my life bearable when it really wasn't...thanks for that. You all inspire me on different levels to be a better person. You make me push myself in directions that I would never go in. Rachel-I'm so glad that you are back in my life. I've missed you SOOOOOO much. What a blessing! Jenn- I'm still glad that I met you. Work would never be the same without you. Jessica-you are amazing in every way, shape and form. And of course-Stef- we are kindred spirits and really, we need to hang out more....

To my people-Thanks for all you do. I wouldn't be who I am without you.

What a RIDE!

We just got back from Utah and the big day. For those of you who don't know...Tim's sister, Becky, got married last weekend. It was quite the visit this time. I felt like I was busy all the time as the self appointed "super-aunt". I don't think that I was much help, but I tried to keep all the kiddos wrangled. It was interesting to watch the wedding prep. It made me realize how SUPER TALENTED my sister in law Jamie is. She can do dang near ANYTHING! She is a fabulous cake decorator, awesome cook, super organizer and wedding decorator and a freaking awesome mom. We had SO MUCH fun. It is always good to see the fam, but even better to see their kids. The nieces and nephews are pretty much the loves of our lives, (that sounds like a soap opera...) and we love to spend time with them. I watched Tim at the reception and the wedding and realized what an amazing dad he will be someday. (hopefully soon...) The kids just adore him and he is so patient and kind to them. Being the favorite aunt and uncle is pretty much awesome!

Just putting it out there.....

Hey, I just would like everyone's opinion on this. It would settle a long going "disagreement" between Tim and I. Is Mary Poppins a witch or a magic nanny?

My Grandma...

Today is my Granny's 82nd birthday. I am sitting here, waiting to get off work so that we can go to dinner with her tonight. It makes you think, when someone gets this old. She certainly isn't what she used to be. She doesn't see well, or hear well, or even walk well and I know that makes her unhappy. She has changed SO MUCH physically that it is even hard for me-trying to remember what she used to be, although, I know it is much harder for her. HOWEVER, it doesn't change what is inside. She still has the same BIG heart and kind words (sometimes they get hidden in between the other words, but still...) She still has good advice and is the matriarch of our family. She is the little glue that holds us all together. I have no doubt that if she were not here, we would be in a much different, more difficult place. I know that she wants to be with my grandpa again and misses him so much, but, I don't know what I will ever do without her. Grandma-I know you will never read this, or probably even hear about it, but I love you. You are still one of my best friends and a kindred spirit. Thanks for everything and Happy Birthday Hippo.

"It is not the years in your life, but the life in your years that counts." - Adlai Stevenson

Well, here we are again. This picture was actually taken at , gasp, a Poison concert. I know, so not typical. We had so much fun. Hopefully I will be able to post our Halloween picture soon. It is hilarious. I wish I had something exciting to say about us, but like I mentioned earlier, we are just normal. Yikes. Maybe, I should just tell you about us in general....Does anyone really want to know? If you do I will tell you....tomorrow. :-) Ha.

Our Little House

This is probably the most exciting year of my life. We just bought our first house in June and I LOVE IT! Tim and I love the neighborhood and the yard and the house....and really, everything about it. It has been so much fun to be able to do anything I want there. I can put holes in the wall, tear out bushes, and pretty much anything else without even asking anyone! I LOVE IT! Our ward is great too. They have been so nice and kind and friendly. We feel so welcomed there. It has been great to live in downtown I.F. We love the downtown area, and since we both work there, it seemed like a good idea with gas prices and everything to buy a house. We are within walking distance of the temple, the river and the ballpark. Summer was so fun! We went to the baseball games and walked to the river a lot. We had family come through a couple of times. We are so looking forward to winter being over and re-doing our backyard(which is huge and awesome!). And really, anyone who wants to visit is totally welcome. Just warn us first so we can make some room!