Merry Christmas

I don't have a cute family letter or even a family photo.

But i do have a funny video for you.

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

so tempting...

so as we drove to work this morning. We passed by a Maverick gas station and has a big sign outside stating the Power ball lotto is up to like $92 million. We could do a lot of good for people with that kind of money. So tempted to play.

Is it bad to pray to win money?!

Gingy

So today at work is our Christmas Party Luncheon.

Along with that we are doing a Gingerbread Man decorating contest.

Natalie was SO kind and cut out probably 35 of these...

Here is Kevin's Design...can you guess it?

And finally mine. It just makes me smile.
And Yes she has on a bikini-bottom under her grass skirt.


** UPDATED **
Kevin WON 1st Place!!!

Good Crap!

So as winter hits and we aren't using yard equipment (mower, dirt shovels, wheelbarrow, etc..) it drives me crazy having them take up room in the garage.

We always say:
"We need a shed to put all this in."

So I look up Home Depot & Lowes and search for sheds.

GOOD CRAP!!!

Have you seen the prices of these things?!?
It's just a freaking Shed!
I could not believe it.

Well, I guess we won't be getting one of those anytime soon. *sigh*

Christmas Cards?

Every year i debate...

Should we do cards?

Not do cards?

I feel like if we don't then people won't send me there's.

It's like trading.

If one always gives and the other doesn't....then they won't want to 'play' with them anymore.

Oh, i don't know.

We're aren't very exciting.
No news to share.

Probably you'll just have to check back here for a Christmas picture.

There is always next year...which i hope & pray we'll have news.
Only the Lord knows if we will...cause obviously i have no say or control over it.

updated

Well i should say the Background is at least updated to match the current holiday.

I guess i really don't feel like there is alot to talk about. And no pictures to post. It's getting really cold now. It's currently 28 degrees at 530pm. No snow tho. :( I wish we would get alot this winter. But i don't know, it's hard to say what it's going to be like. I just can't wait to try snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing...as well as tubing again.

No yard work to complain about. Just hope the bulbs we planted will sprout in the spring. We have just been working and keeping busy. We got the house all decorated for Christmas, but we still need to get a tree. Probably something we will do this weekend.

I've just been hitting the gym alot and hoping that it will all workout that i will loose weight this holiday season and not gain it from all the yummy treats.

We were able to head to SLC this Thanksgiving weekend. We spent the actual day of Thanksgiving at Kevin's parents house. Which was really low key and nice. Then Friday we headed for UT. We planned on hitting In-n-Out as our first stop in Draper...but the line was crazy and we were starving...so we passed it up for my second favorite...Panda Express. LOVE IT! We need one closer than Boise! We are so excited that In-n-out is now in "upper utah" not just in St George.

We then hung out with (and stayed with) our bestest friends from CA, Chris & Sarah. Their boys were waiting very impatiently for us to arrive...so they can play with Kevin's star wars legos that he was bring down. Max & Sam had to show us the Death Star lego set that they'd would LOVE to have on the internet. Kevin was drooling over it too!

Sarah and i hit the movies Friday night to see 'New Moon'. LOVED IT! Can't wait to go see it again. Any takers on going with me?

Saturday we chilled and ran errands with Chris & Sarah, then Kevin & I met up with his family to attend my sister-in-law's choir performance. Which was really good! They sang at the Tabernacle in SLC. Then we saw the lights at Temple Square. They always do such a great job. Then went to Applebees for dinner...DO NOT eat at the Applebees in Midvale UT. Horrible service, bad food (on Kevin's meal) and they have charged us MULTIPLE times for the same meal. We are not happy with them!

Sunday we then went to brunch with my old roommate Cat. It was SO good to see her. And the food was yummy. We then headed up to Syracuse to see my Ostler family up there. We walked around the Layton Mall for a little bit. We got our 2009 Christmas ornament. Then headed to my Aunt & Uncle's place. It was SO FUN to hang with them. Of course we got totally spoiled there with yummy food, good company, and left with a few extra surprises. One i will hopefully post about on Saturday...so stay tuned!

Then it was back to reality of work, bills, laundry and setting up for Christmas. it's been a busy but fast week so far.

Looking forward to volleyball on Thursday & Friday as well as dinner with my Cousin Greg on Friday night. He is a cool guy!

My forever favorite

Last night was my first time back on the volleyball court in a LONG time. Especially since moving to ID (four years ago this past week)! I did play in a Rec League back in CA a few times after we got married. It felt SO GREAT to be back on the court! Not saying my playing was perfect, but it was better then i expected it to be....especially since i attended 'bootcamp' class yesterday morning also...and now i can't move without pain. And i have the war wounds (floor burns & brusies) to prove it!

I LOVE VOLLEYBALL!!!

so wrong...but funny...

** Please no one be offended. But i thought this was pretty dang funny -- especially after living in Alhambra CA for five years (which i affectionately call Asian Nation).

Confuscius says....

If you can't find

the book you want

you are probably shopping

at the

interesting...

I just ran across this interesting little 'fact'...

Cinnamon
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. of cinnamon with every meal helps keep insulin & blood sugar levels under control. It contains a phytochemical called methyl hydroxy chalcone polymer (MHCP) which improves cellular glucose utilization and increases the sensitivity of insulin receptors.

my Achilles' heel...

Soda has always has and probably always will be an "Achilles' heel" for me. I was joking with a co-worker today who also is a soda lover...then i 'pop' onto Yahoo and find THIS article staring at me.

Lovely.

brutal honesty

it is currently Halloween and the trick-or-treaters are in full swing in the neighborhood. Last year we had no one, but this year due to more houses being built by our house we have loads of kids. Plus this year it isn't raining.

I love to see the costumes...especially the young toddlers and slightly older ones. Tho they can be brutally honest. Thankfully they didn't complain about the candy we are handing out. It's our house! Kevin was currently cooking dinner and i was handing out the candy. Well you must be able to smell our meal when i open the door.

here's the the scene....

(doorbell rings)
I grab the candy bowl and answering the door.
Kids: trick-or-treat
me: here you go (and place candy in bag)
kids: thank you
Me: you're welcome, have fun!
girl to her mom: Her house stinks! (as she is waving her hand in front of her nose)

I shut the door and start laughing my head off! I replay it for Kevin. He laughs.

and we are still laughing about it.

And by the way this new chicken recipe....SO GOOD!!!!!

blue ones

We thought it would be cool to grow some blue one's (along with some regular russet's)....

Our haul of potatoes
(5 gallon bucket full)

Outside of a Blue potato

Inside of a blue Potato
Cool huh?!?
They taste just like a regular russet.

apple day

So at the end of our sick week we decided to keep our plans of canning apples with Kevin's family. Here are just a few pics. None of our finished products... 28 Quarts Apple Pie Filling (thanks Tegan for the recipe), 14 pints "death apple rings" and 35 pints apple sauce....all in about 10 hrs. Not too shabby! We were EXHAUSTED afterwards tho.

a few of the 13 boxes of apples

Linda stirring our first batch of pie filling
*yes we had propane going in the house all day*
**and yes we had ALL possible windows open all day**

And then the COOLEST invention ever!!!

An apple peeler/core-er/slicer
this made pie filling a breeze to do!!!
I want to get me one of these!

flu bug

So Kevin and i were hit with the flu bug this week.
Thankfully we are on the up swing.
Kevin had to ask what day it was today. LOL.

new me...

So in the 31 yrs of my life i have NEVER EVER done anything with my hair. I guess other then a few cuts and nothing ever drastic. I wanted a change and i knew kind of what i wanted. So thanks to my dear friend Lauren and the nice lady a Sally Beauty supply....

Here is the new me!

First Snow Fall 2009

This is what i woke up to this morning.

Isn't it beautiful?!
Makes me excited for winter.

Fun with Uncle Kevin

We had the opportunity to watch our nephews today and it was super fun. Kevin is always so great with the boys. He took them to an elementary school near by and they had a lot of fun. i met them over there after i got showered. I am SO glad i took the camera. I love these boys!

Karson helping Kevin eat breakfast

Karter watching Monsters Vs. Aliens

Karter going down the pole.

Now it's Karson's turn.
He didn't understand to hold on with his legs

Karter just hanging

Karson just hanging
Kevin & Karter on the slide
Just some cute pics of Karter.
Now Karson
He was hard to catch with eyes open
Karson done with me saying "smile!"
Kevin showing the boys how it's done!
...almost.
Then my favorite for last.

got it!!

MY BOOK CAME TODAY!!!

WOOT WOOT!!!

*now i'll have something to read while i wait for Kevin at his doctors appt tonight.

Scary

So i was messing around with my "new to me" computer at work and i took this scary picture. Cool but Scary.

Ready for Halloween??

ordered...

I have ordered THE book (see two posts down)!
I can't wait for it to arrive!!!

Thanks D & L!!!!

Twenty-One!!

so today seems to be loaded with odd jobs that don't normally get done. We are cleaning the oven (self clean), cleaning & organizing the pantry, pulled massive weeds (not all in our yard - some was service) and just going thru some items that we don't need. Like old cell phones we've kept as we've "upgraded" phones. Kevin is mailing them in for recycling. I'm going thru our cookbooks. Apparently without realizing it...we had TWENTY-ONE cookbooks!! We are now down to ELEVEN. Not too shabby. Makes the shelf look better.

Happy Spring? Cleaning everyone!

could this be what i need??

I know there is "natural" stuff i could be doing to help with fertility problems (PCOS). I just ran across this book. Could it be what i need?! But we are talking $40+ here. But i guess that is better then the THOUSANDS we paid to just have another miscarriage. Plus it will probably help with weight issues.

Maybe for Christmas I can get it as a gift.

Quote

"Happiness keeps you sweet, Trials keep you strong, Sorrow keeps you human, Failure keeps you humble and Success keeps you glowing, but only Faith & Attitude keeps you going... " - Arthur Ashe

* Thank you Kate for posting this on FB. I needed this today.

gift giver

Today there was a blood drive up at the Stake Center and i signed up to donate. I use to do it alot in CA and since moving to ID I just haven't. So i am glad i was able to do it today. The lady there was VERY excited to see me...well not ME per se...but my O negative blood type. We were chatting a bit and i said my mom & i would get called ALOT to donate. She said...you'll get called alot now too. We are in NEED of your blood type.

So to those that can....Donate blood. Its an easy gift to be given.

55 cents

So they built a Valley Country Store near my work. We frequent it every so often. But the week Kevin was gone in PA it was a daily stop for me. Wasn't till Friday when i saw they had 44oz plastic cups for soda for only 99 cents. DANG! Why didn't i see that on Monday?!? Well i kept the cup to do "refills" with. Come to find out when they have this special cups for sale....the refills are only 55 CENTS!!! Other times it's like 70-90 cents--i can't remember. But you can't beat 55 cent refills for 44 oz of soda. Granted as previously posted about...i am trying to get OFF soda...but i'm sorry there are days where you just need some. And for those days...i'm glad for the 55 cent refills!

sunrise

Sunrise this morning at 6:50 am.
(taken out my back door)

Rockin'

So these are almost a month old. But i thought I'd get them up here anyway. When my sister Natalie & her boys came out the boys were scared and didn't want to see Uncle Kevin (which we don't understand they've met him only 3 times) but he won them over big time!

Here are pics of "The Boys" rocking out.

notice Sam's tongue sticking out?!
He was ALWAYS way into Rockin'!!

Dallin super happy drumming

Group shot.

Kevin as a drumming batman!
(the mask was for Sam's birthday that day)

For more pics of Sam's celebration with us click...HERE.

Happy 1yr Anniversary

HAPPY 1yr ANNIVERSARY HOUSE!!!
(this was taken about 5 days before we closed on the house last year)

We are so excited you are ours. We love you!

ZUMBA

My good friend Cat is really into this new fitness called...Zumba Fitness! It looks like a total blast! And a great workout! I haven't been able to locate a class near me...till today! They do it at the YMCA in Twin Falls!!! WOO HOO! I'm so excited. I am going to call and ask about it today.

Check out ZUMBA.

** So i called the YMCA about the class - You can buy a day pass for $5 or you can buy a month pass for $35. It starts in September. I might have to try it out. We'll see once i talk to Kevin. It will probably be shot down for financial reasons. Which i totally understand. Damn Bills.

new favorite

I found these lovely little treats the other day...

My new favorite!

not much....

....is happening here. Kevin is currently in PA on a business trip with a sick (sinus -infection we think) co-worker. Poor Layne. Hope Kevin doesn't catch anything!

I have been working alot of hours these past two days. I'm actually just taking a break before getting back into it tonight. Which i should really do...or i'm going to get too tired.

Last week i came down with Strep Throat....so that was enjoyable. So i missed 4 days last week. There is alot to make up.

so long...farwell...

We had the oppurtunity to purchase my moms 1999 Honda Accord from her while my parents were up in Idaho in July. We therefore had 3 cars.

Well not anymore!

Kevin got a call around 1:30pm today requesting to take a look at our 1987 Honda for sale. So Kevin went home, they took it for a test drive, and THEY BOUGHT IT!!! We are so glad that car hung on for as long as it did. We kept saying "please make it one more year!" Well it lasted us 9yrs of marriage and i had it for a year or so before that. Plus my mom bought it brand new in 1986-87, so my family has put on every single mile on that car...until today when we saw it drive away. So sad.

(not our car, but looks exactly like it.)

THANKS FOR BEING A GREAT CAR QTR MIL!