Christmas is over....

There should be some sort of law that makes everyone stay at home the day after Christmas...

It's just a big build up to Christmas & then BAM, back to regular life one day later.  That's not fair.  I want Christmas WEEK.. or at least a few days.

Christmas Eve, Ricky & I both had to work.  Which isn't cool because its his birthday too.  I did get off work early though & Ricky usually gets off about an half hour after me so I hung around waiting for him..

& waiting.. & waiting... & waiting.

Scrooges at his work kept him there till about 2:15... he normally gets off at 4 so big whoopity doo! 

I had hung around the area shopping & then getting bored of shopping... so I ended up in a book store & sat down in the floor & looked through every Photography book they had. 

Ricky got off work & we headed to the restaurant of his choosing for his birthday dinner... lunch... brunch.. linner?... whatever you want to call it.  It was closing in a half hour after we arrived so it was nice because it was pretty much empty.  Yeah, I rented out a restaurant for his birthday.  Or at least it seemed that way.

We got home & just relaxed a bit... & then I turn around & the whole house is asleep.  I guess someone was just ready for Santa to come.

Snuggled up with visions of sugar plums dancing through their heads

I was a little bummed... we had plans to go to a church service at 7:30 but I didn't want to wake Ricky up when he was so tired... I thought about cleaning the house or doing something productive... nah!  I ended up starting on my Beauty & the Beast puzzle.

Ricky ended up waking up & we worked the edges together... He went to bed not too long after that but I was obsessed. MUST.GET.PUZZLE.DONE.

That sucker is HARD!  As of this morning, I'm still not finished... not even 50% finished.  Puzzles are good for the mind - right?

Christmas morning - we ended up sleeping in.  Thank you Baby Jesus for that gift alone.  I looked at my phone & saw half of the world had already opened gifts & celebrated Christmas ... I was just getting my eyes open.

I got up & made Breakfast & we just took it easy all morning long...

Didn't plan on it looking back at us...

I handed it to Ricky & said, when did this become a face?

We finally had our Christmas together... & as usual, Ricky spoils me to no end...

He got me a pearl & diamond ring - that I've been wanting forever...
Got me a Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10' screen...
Totally surprised me with a Nike GPS Sports Watch...
Plus fun little surprises - a Beauty & the Beast bag... knitted fingerless gloves... a Zumba Kinect game (We bought each other a new xbox with Kinect for Christmas) & also a Wipe Out Kinect game... (We'll kill each other competing in that one)... even got me a mat for the back of my car to protect it.  Carrying all my photography equipment is rough in my car.  Good thinking hubby!

I was just in awe of all my goodies.

I got him a Galaxy Tablet 7" screen, a new electric toothbrush, a Road ID bracelet, some gift cards, new seat covers for his car, a tablet case & then surprised him with a new guitar! ... I told him we're going to take lessons together!!! I'm so excited about it!!!   The gift that keeps on giving!

Needless to say - we had a wonderful Christmas with the two of us...

All the dogs had a great Christmas too...

Santa leaves treats for them as well

Harvey had a great First Christmas

We then headed over to my brothers & had a fantastic dinner.  Again, being vegetarian doesn't stop me in any sense of the word.  Sweet Potato casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, & my brother is KING of broccoli casserole... I could eat the whole dish by myself!!!

We then drove over to my parents house to open presents.  Convenient that we're all within 5 miles of each other now.

Good thing my dad had a camera & took a picture.

I have my camera behind me ... but between handing out presents & watching everyone enjoy Christmas, I never pulled it out.....

I'm a failure as a photographer

Present time is always fun with my nieces.  They are so cute, excited over every little thing they get.  So opposite too... Sophia wanted jewelry & things for her American Girl Doll & a Stitch stuffed animal.  Madi wanted comics & more cases for her ball cards.  I love we can range the scope with these girls.

I had gotten them both iPod Nano's for Christmas & I laughed when they opened them up & Sophia looked at me & said, "Are these real?"

Christmas ain't Christmas until my mom gets Wizard of Oz stuff

After present time, we had to have sugar in our system.  We had our tradition of Birthday Cake for Jesus... & my dad had made cheesecake & Hershey pie... yep, you can't end Christmas without gaining at least a few pounds.

Ricky & I had to leave, thanks to stupid work & get home & wind down....

It was a wonderful day... wish we could have seen Ricky's girls... but we'll get to spend Christmas with our G.Boys soon.... nothing like making Christmas last longer! :)

Hope you all had a wonderful day.... & hope you get extra days off work to enjoy it. 

Winter Wonderland - Weekend Wrapup... Whooo!

Like that title?  Lots of W's in there... Wonderful! ;)

Friday

* Left work early because Snow Storm 2013 hit...

it was HORRIBLE trying to get home

* I keep saying it was only by the grace of God I got home safely.  My windows were so iced over, it was like someone poured glue all over them & the defroster couldn't keep up with it.  I tried to stay in the same lane so I didn't have to worry about using my mirrors, but then forced to change lanes when there was a wreck & people struggling to get up a big hill... I literally was saying "Jesus take the wheel"

 

* Made it home... & then could appreciate the beauty of the snow

* Harvey's first big snow fall... & he was IN LOVE!!!!





I had another video where he was playing in it at night... it was awesome, because the end of it, he ran in from outside & jumped on my head knocking my phone out of my hand.  I thought it uploaded... it didn't... & I deleted it.  Thanks youTube for screwing up my memories

* Sydney hates getting wet so when she comes in with snow on her back, I get it off of her right away...

* Harvey... obviously doesn't care about getting wet

He kept taking his toys & leaving them in the snow & then bringing them in

putting them on my lap... brrrr!!!!

* I don't think I've ever been so tired in my life.  I was ready for bed at 7pm ... but Ricky & I ended up catching up on 4 episodes of Arrow ... the best super hero show on TV

* Couldn't fight it any longer - I was out by 10.... zzzzz....

Saturday

* Snow days make me want to clean my house... what else is there to do?  After all, I'm wiping down the floor every half hour with the dogs tracking in snow anyways

* I love my Scentsy burners but found my snow flake Oil Burner... thought it was appropriate for the weather.  I forgot how STRONG the smell is with it.  Literally like 40 drops of vanilla oil from Yankee Candle & a tea light & my whole kitchen was smelling.  This was my last tea light candle too - must remember to get more.

* I'm on the hunt on how to make a good mocha latte at home.  I put hot chocolate in the cup, brewed coffee on top, warmed up vanilla soy milk & poured it in... it was actually pretty yummy!!!!

* All my nails broke during the cleaning of my bed room...
how does that happen... all at once...

* Heard a noise & thought it was the salt trucks going down our street... nope, our awesome neighbor cleaning off our drive.  Our drive is on a slope & with that little curve at the bottom, I can't tell you how the smallest bit of snow or ice makes us slide right off.  So we once again gave thanks to God for our amazing neighbor that takes care of us.

* We ended up heading out Saturday evening for a little bit... had to get to Kroger because it was the last day for 4x's Fuel Points when you buy Gift Cards.  Well, who doesn't love a gift card for Christmas so we slid down the hill & loaded up.  Now, for the new few weeks, Ricky & I will enjoy 30 cents off our fuel/gallon... worth the trip alone

* I can slide on dry ground.. honestly.  Ricky even said, "How are you sliding?" - I fall, trip, slide in any condition.  In Kroger, in the lane, there was a little piece of water where snow had melted off someone's shoe... guess who slid & almost busted my face in the line?  yep... I've got skillzzzzz!!!


Yeah... me & this guy have the same kind of SKILLZ


* I got caught up on Elementary... first season finale... thumbs up!

Sunday

* They canceled our Youth class because of the snow so we were going to go to 2nd service at church... to find out THAT was canceled because of another ice storm that came in... geez Winter... you got a few months to go.  Don't have to drop it all at once.

* Someone was glad church was canceled....

* I think I sat & snacked all day long... peanut butter & crackers, popcorn, bananas, Baked Cheetos.  If it was in the house, I was eating it. 

* Had Ricky play me in cards... hadn't played cards in awhile.  We played 500 Rummy... I got my butt beat.  Guess that's why I haven't played cards in awhile.

* ABC Family is just the best for Christmas.  I watched their movies all day long.  "The 12 Dates of Christmas" was adorable!!! ... & I made Ricky watch "The MistleTones"... he even liked it!




* Once Upon a Time... I'm already freaking out for next week's winter finale...

* Revenge... I'm already freaking out for next week's winter finale.... :)

* Sydney & Bruno sleep in our bed with us.  Harvey still stays in his crate... & Zoe usually had her own queen size bed in the guest bedroom... but for some reason, Zoe wanted to stick with us.  So we had 3 dogs in the bed.  You should have been me & Ricky trying to find a 'spot' on the bed so we could sleep.  We were curved around dogs that refused to budge.  The things we do for our dogs...


I'm sure this is what happens

Hope everyone had a safe weekend... you stayed warm... & you got some Kroger Fuel Points!!!

A weekend to give thanks...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday...

It was, as expected, a crazy long weekend... but that's what brings the Holidays.  Here's some quick insight about the 4 day weekend

* Harvey had his first trip to Nashville... surprisingly, he was perfection on the ride.  He crawled into Ricky's bag in the back seat & slept the entire time.

* The Pioneer Woman has nothing on my Step Daughter ... she cooks the most amazing food anyone could imagine.  Who needs turkey?  Not this gal!

 

* Harvey met chickens for the first time... he was curious, but when they flapped their wings, Harvey was the one turning into the chicken running back to us scared to death.

* It was a Super Hero packed weekend.  These two little boys make the "swishing" sound so naturally like they are fighting pros.  I love it.

* Homemade Chocolate pecan pie... with homemade butterscotch topping... enough said

* Isaac has drawings everywhere around the house & you can tell which one is his mommy in all the pictures.  She's the one with a little person in a circle on her tummy :)  Isaac told me, "I'm an artist"... yes you are little man...

* Luke feel asleep on me ... moments like that make it worth getting car sick on a long drive

* No early morning Black Friday shopping for us.  We headed out about 10am... nothing that we were on the hunt for (except the Breaking Dawn DVD's for $4 - which I ended up getting)... I didn't mind not doing the 2 am shopping like we did last year (yawn!)

* Poor Julie... that baby was laying funny on her & she was in pain & uncomfortable so we only hit 2 stores & headed home.  Baby Will isn't going to be a shopper when he's born.

* We took Isaac his birthday presents...It was cute because there was enough toys for Luke to grab a few & play along too.  He said, "This is the best birthday ever".. hope his own birthday lives up to his brothers :)



* I had my camera with me & got pictures of the boys & took a few maternity pictures of Julie... stay tuned... her little baby bump is the cutest

* Harvey was perfection driving home... couldn't have been a better dog

Harvey having to share his daddy with Pippin ... our grandpug

* Round 2 of eating on Saturday... I don't think I'll be able to breath right for a few weeks

* Started on the Christmas shopping... the season is really happening... denial doesn't make it go away

* I'm already struggling on what to get Ricky for Christmas...

* Staying on my #RWRunStreak ... one mile every day till 2014... I had a 5k I needed to run by the end of November, so why not wait until the end of November & do it at 7 pm... at least Glee was on TV - my favorite one.  The one with Neil Patrick Harris..... Check out my medal.  The coolest Virtual Race Medal EVER!!!

Yes it says, "Run your Mass Off"

* My turn to teach at church... featuring a clip of Elf & a song by Steven Curtis Chapman.. it don't get better then that.

* I hate grocery shopping... especially when I can't get out of the store for less then $100 & my frig is still empty...

* Starting the wrapping... I need to get my stock for tape.  I am a HUGE fan of taping every corner on paper.

* Poor Bruno.. took him for a walk for my #RWRunStreak... I decided to do it slow for him... He did pretty good - though it took 25 minutes to do one mile... & we get home, & he was limping & worn out.  It was like he ate as much chocolate pie as I did this weekend

* Met up with friends & fellow Youth leaders for a hang out & dinner ... I love laughing with friends more then anything...

Now we're headed into the real knitty gritty of the holiday season! 
Let's get to it!

How was your Thanksgiving? 
Need to "Run your Mass Off" too?

Weekend Wrapup... is it Spring?

Friday

* Started on my load of laundry that is about the size of a small mountain.  You are officially old when you have memories of going out on Friday nights but now huff & puff carrying laundry up & down the stairs for entertainment instead.

* DVR Catch up... I really love "The Goldberg's" & "Trophy Wife" ... I always fear liking new comedies because they very rarely last anymore.

* Fell asleep on the couch watching TV & woke up to find Harvey snuggled up on the couch next to me.  I had to take him out to potty before I put him in his kennel.  He was so tired, I literally carried him in the yard & he just collapsed & wouldn't move.  I want someone to carry me to the bathroom when I'm that tired...

Look at those white eyelashes

Saturday

* No sleeping in on weekends for awhile. Harvey is used to getting up & out of his kennel at 4:30 thanks to Ricky's early bird ways & early work schedule.  So Saturday is no different for him.  There goes the weekend Saturday sleep.

* Headed to do a family photo session... it was a perfectly overcast day... always my favorite.




* Headed to the pet store to try & find a bowl to slow Harvey down.  He is a MANIAC on the dance floor while eating... This is how we've had to feed him to slow him down.  It's bitter sweet because this is also how we had to feed Buffy. 



I ended up getting a bowl that has slots in it... still doesn't slow him down all that well.  Back to throwing the food on the floor.

* Ricky ordered pizza for me to pick up while I was out... but called me & said, "The lady that took our order sounded like death"... no way... nuh-uh... not touching my pizza.  I told him to call & cancel & I'd pick up something else.  I know people have germs making my food all the time, but I don't want to know about it.

* Ricky & I had a movie night - we used to do that every weekend but with pictures keeping me busy every Saturday since August 1 (wow) we haven't had time.  But finally snuck in a movie... Grown Ups 2 ... We determined that Adam Sandler has movements & actions that is just like my brother.

* Having a movie night while trying to watch a puppy isn't easy.  Ended up with lots of bones around me & switching them out to keep him entertained & in the room with us.

* Started editing pictures & noticed that the puppy was awful quiet... ahh, good puppy.  Nope. Wrong.  I look at see him chewing on something & notice a string going around the kitchen into the living room... I follow it & then see PILES of yarn... & then another pile & then ANOTHER pile...So much for that project...

 

* Ricky can sleep through anything... or he just blocks me out... screaming while holding a pile of yarn

Sunday

* Woke up in the middle of the night to STORMS.. .like Spring storms.  Thunder, lightning, hard winds, heavy rain... what month is this again?

* Headed to church on bumpy roads.  When it rains around us, on country roads, everyone's gravel driveways wash into the streets causing our road to look like an old fashion rocky road.

* I met up with a couple interested in wedding info... I love it because I just got in the mail Friday my Wedding Promo book to show my examples of weddings.  I can look at my own pictures over & over... not because my pictures are awesome (which they are (wink) )... but because I love all things weddings!!!

* I hadn't had but one Cliff-Mojo bar since 8am &  didn't get out of church & the wedding consult until after 2... I thought my stomach was gnawing on itself... we finally stopped to eat.  I was MISERABLE full when we left.  No happy medium for my belly this day...

* Storms everywhere... we got lucky, the bad stuff avoided us, but it was storm central all over the news & my phone constantly going off with alarms & alerts... Yep, again, its November, not May.  What the heck Mother Nature?

* Once Upon a Time... I gasped... best plot twist EVER!!!

So here we are again at Monday... one step closer to CATCHING FIRE... & putting up my Christmas tree... good stuff happening!

Weekend wrapup

Friday

* we had a bonfire/hayride for the Youth Kiddos... BRRRR!!! It got down in the 40's that night.  The hot dog buns had frost on them.  Good thing I don't eat hot dogs

* Frost on chocolate gets warmed up quick with toasty smores... yum!

* I WOULD HAVE FREAKED OUT!!!!!... the kids went on the hayride.  They came back - some screaming - some laughing.  They found on the path, a cow that had given birth & the it didn't go well.  The calf was stuck & had died... the mom was suffering.  They had to obviously cut the hayride short so the owners could get back to help the mom.  If I was on the hayride, I would be in some sort of fetal position STILL having nightmares.

* I bought a wool jacket at the rodeo about 20 years ago... hardly ever wear it.  I had it on that cold night & was comfortably warm.  Its hideously ugly... but good to know now how warm it keeps me!

Saturday

*Ricky had to work ... so I was greeted with this... 4 faces letting me know it was time to get up & give some treats...

* We have one snuggle baby that just likes to be held when he's sleepy... I don't mind one bit...

This is going to be fun when he's 40 lbs

* Worked on a Photoshop experiment.  The groom wanted an "Avenger" look to a picture.  I made the orchard the wedding was on look like an Nuclear bomb hit it :)  Hope it likes it.  It was my first attempt at something totally different... kinda proud of it...

* It was a beautiful fall day... perfect for a Senior Photo session... I am loving this girl's pictures because she has the most beautiful red hair... the same kind of red hair I pay good money for :)



* Got home just in time to get cleaned up & head right back out... Les Miserables at the local high school.  Not just any high school (I mentioned this in my vlog Friday) - they won the Best High School Theater in the Midwest!! That's impressive.  They really are top notch.  The play didn't disappoint either.

* One oops moment though... Jean Valjean missed a whole SCENE ... where Fantine DIES!! AWKWARD!!!  ... poor Fantine.  She kept singing her part.  What to do?  But when he came out at the part she just died, he was limping - BAD!! The scene before, he had run off the set - I wonder if he tripped & twisted his ankle or something?  Someone said, "He literally broke a leg"... kudos for a Broadway wish reference!

* I saw this in the lobby... almost fainted... already plotting how to just sneak in & wear the dress whenever I want...

Sunday

* Youth Time... these kids always make a day better

* Only time I had all weekend to run out & do some errands... & by errands, I mean buy more dog food & dog toys for Harvey

* I had to run by Old Navy to take a pair of jeans I bought on line back... the whole store was 30% off... I wanted to go buck wild shopping... but know Christmas is around the corner...Christmas involves needing money (sadly)

* No more Peach Green Tea Lemonade at Starbucks... I don't get it. They still have Green Tea Lemonade.  They have different flavors like Raspberry & Peppermint.  They can't keep Peach in?  ... I'm depressed...

* Home to edit pictures... & by the time we got home, the sun was already set & it was dark.  I hate Daylight Savings Time.

* End my night trying to wear Harvey out so he'll sleep through the night in his kennel... its a job someone has to do...

*

Dog teaching about God...

I'm sure there is a book somewhere that talks about how much they learn about God through their dogs...

but I haven't read it :)

I just know having a puppy, I see things in him that have taught me & showed me things about the Master/obeying relationship...

Or lack thereof... because let's face it... puppies WANT to obey their master... but they just can't... too much to do...



I'll get to that in a second...

Let's just look at some things I've noticed

* Presence of the Master..... Harvey just wants to be with us... when we confine him to a certain area of the house & go to another room for a few minutes, he just cries & cries... why?  Because he wants us to be with him. We don't have to sit & hold him all the time - he just wants to know we're there.  He just wants to be in our presence.  I think it makes him feel safer to know we're right there close by....
I know there is a peace when I can feel God's presence near me as well.  A sense of comfort that nothing else can duplicate.




* Don't hurt the Master....Harvey wants to rough house, but if you whine out like he's hurt you - he stops immediately.  He knows he's not supposed to hurt us.  I think the instinct is strong in dogs to "not bite the hand that feeds you". ....
I have to stop sometimes & think of the things I do or say in a day & think,  does that hurt God?  There is a song by Ray Boltz from years ago that says, "Do you still feel the  nails, every time I fail?" ... when you think about how your actions hurt Him, it makes you stop & rethink things.  Its just taking that time to think about it.




* Hard to stay focused on commands.....Harvey is learning his commands so well already.  Sit, stay, lay, shake... getting them down pretty darn good for a puppy... but its so hard some days.  So much to see, so much to do with other dogs walking around... its hard to focus completely on what we're asking him to do... distracting.
I know some days, I get distracted by things going on... not paying attention to the things God tells me to do.




* Telling Him where to go? .... Harvey is an Aussie - which is a herding dog.  Its their instinct.  He will walk in front of us trying to show us where he wants us to go.  When we tell him to "move" & we take control & show him where we're going, he fights it for a little bit, but then he sees we're not leading him anywhere bad.  His instinct is strong though... he wants to be the leader...
Yeah - this one is obvious... don't we all have that instinct?  I want to be the one who leads the way because I know what's best!  Right?... so wrong... Then we see that where God leads us, he'll lead us through it... so scary to give up control, even when our instincts tells us not to.

* Just Rest... Harvey is a puppy... full of energy.. full of pep & always ready to go go go... but if he sees you sitting down on the floor, or even better, if you LAY down on the ground, he'll leave all the toys behind & come running to just sit in your lap, or snuggle next to you & will even just bury his face into a part of your body & just rest... you can feel his body totally relaxing... just in time to JUMP UP FOR MORE PLAY!!!
I need that more often now that I'm older & life comes with more problems & aches & pains & issues.. I need to just sit & relax with my Master... rejuvenate, get that energy back to tackle what life has in store...

* Rescued!!!!.... the last one that I just remembered that is the MOST IMPORTANT... We rescued Harvey... I don't even want to think what would have happened if we didn't rescue his sweet little face.  I always say that animals KNOW when they've been rescued & respond differently to owners.  They have a gratitude.  If you have a rescue animal, you understand.  .... I know I've been rescued & I have an attitude of gratitude... more then anything else in my life, I have that appreciation.

I'm sure as Harvey grows, he's going to continue to show us more about a Master/Obeying relationship... & I pray God just teaches me with every lick of the face


________________

Just because... I always love this video...

Celebrating our day....

First of all, thanks so much everyone for the great comments & well wishes you sent Ricky & I yesterday during our anniversary.  We loved & appreciated all the comments... every single one.

We had the best day yesterday... seriously the best...

Ricky sent me white roses the day before we got married (my fav roses)
so for our anniversary, he got me another dozen white ones..
look at my romantic man! :)

We both said that we love that we take our vacation during our anniversary - a for sure thing to know that we can be off work & enjoy the day & each other... more often then not, we have to work on our birthdays & can't celebrate when you have to get up at 5:30am & do all the fun things work has in store.  Our anniversary?  Nope - we're gonna do it right.

We ended up going out for lunch... headed to Red Robin.  We've never been there before (probably because the closest one is about 40 minutes away from us)... & I was glad to see they had a veggie option.  We were confused on the "Bottomless Pit Fries"... when they brought out the fries, we noticed the container was 'bottomless' & that's why we figured they named them.  We started noticing that they were bringing out fries to tables around us... so you can get more... huh... who knew? But we didn't catch on the trick at the end to get a box of fries to go.  When we left, we saw tables ALL had huge boxes of fries to take with them... We know that trick for next time.

But we didn't leave before dessert.  A day of celebration calls for dessert.  German Chocolate Cake Brownies with Coconut Cool Whip... OH MY GOSH... perfection...

Look at Ricky with his spoon ready to dig in....

We ended up going around the mall.  Its always good to go to the mall on a Monday afternoon.  No crowds... even able to skip around & no one is there to judge.  (Like I care if anyone judges me any other day when I skip... please...)

The best part of the mall trip?  We went into a Brookstone & sat in the massage chairs for 30 minutes... no one else in there & the lady didn't care... we left feeling so relaxed... & wanting to buy a massage chair to take home.  Seriously, that was the most amazing chair in the WORLD!!!!

Found this skirt while shopping...
I said if I was skinny, I'd wear this EVERY.DAY!!!!!

We made a Starbucks trip & I was bummed .. come on East End!  They didn't have any Peach Green Tea Lemonade.  Out of peach.  Really?  ... that's OK... I'm all for new experiences & got just plain Green Tea Lemonade.  (A little too tart)

Ricky really wanted to head down to our spot last year that he put our initials in the concrete on our anniversary.  We were shopping, found wet cement & he put the initials in.  I have pictures of him doing it.... we searched & searched... & we even knew where it was at, but thought we may be wrong... because they're gone...
BOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I told Ricky to get out a permanent marker... we'd WRITE it back in :)  Determination!

Made a trip to Kohl's ... another experience I'll probably talk about in my Vlog Friday ...(Yes, the Vlog will probably become a Friday tradition)

We wanted to go to dinner, but we both weren't really hungry enough for a dinner... so we just said we'll do the anniversary dinner later in the week.

so we just came home & took it easy....

After all, love is knowing I have to be home to watch Dancing with the Stars! :)

It was just a fun day.... we laughed together, shopped, ate chocolate brownies... it was a perfectly GORGEOUS warm day... it couldn't have been more perfect....