new camera!

so, the bf got me a new sony camera for christmas and i have to say... it's FABULOUS! :) now you get to enjoy my christmas decorations... which are still up and i have no idea when they'll actually be put away.

I couldn't exactly get the doors to close on this thing.

Each child... I mean dog... got their own ornrament this year.

Tree topper! Thanks to Mom!

I had to have a nativity scene. And I just happened to find one in glitter!

Maybe my favorite ever.

Honest Scrap

THANKS Donora who just sent me this "Honest Scrap" blog award thingy!!! Since I only have ONE follower, Donora is trying to force help me in my blogging efforts. Either way, Donora, if your the only person to ever read this, I hope it entertains you for a few minutes and if nothing else, makes me look busy while I'm procrastinating at work.


Rules for the award:

1. Must thank the person who gave you the award and list their blog and link it.

2. Share "10 Honest things" about yourself.

3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.

4. Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

10 Honest Things:

1. My back hurts really bad right now. Sorry, I know that's not profound by any means, but it's all I can think about right now. It's been hurting for a few days. Last time I went to the chiropractor he told me the bottom of my spine curves to the left and the discs are thinning in between my vertebrae. Fabulous, I said. So I’m going to be crippled by the time I turn 30? Outstanding! At some points it hurts to sit/stand/walk/lay down, so I really do feel helpless. Anyway, since he said there’s not really anything I can do about it, I just learn to deal with it. When I used to do strength training, it helped A LOT. So, I guess there’s my answer.

2. I’m very paranoid about my health as I get older. So, I have several goals for living a healthier lifestyle, including strength training for example, because I’m so afraid (paranoid) of getting cancer/diabetes/heart problems/joint problems/Alzheimer’s/anything else you can think of. I know that sometimes these things just happen, but I’m convinced that you’re lifestyle has a lot to do with your risk factor. I just wish sometimes I wouldn’t think about it ALL.DAY.LONG. (see the word paranoia again)

3. I love, love, love watching the Kardashians! I seriously could probably watch it for hours. I don’t know what it is about that show! Maybe I just love watching other people’s drama. Or maybe it’s because no matter what happens between them, they always love each other at the end of the day. Or maybe because they just seem like they’d be fun to hang out with. Who knows!

4. I don’t know what I’d do without my dogs, Bella & Bo. They’re annoying 95% of the time, but at the same time, they’re so sweet! I treat them like kids, talk to them all the time, tell them I love them before bed & before I leave. Maybe I should be paranoid about being the crazy, old dog lady too! ha

Bo

Bella

5. I need a creative outlet, but I’m afraid I’m not very creative. I’ve always thought it would be fun to be a chef, fabulous cake designer, be a masseuse, makeup artist, etc. To actually DO something with my creativity instead of just think about it. In my job now, people think I’m creative because I design our advertisements, but I secretly hate it. My job is more thinking rather than doing. I need more of the doing part.

6. I LOVE to travel. I have several places I need to visit before I die and now I’m looking for someone to pay for it. Being in one place too long makes me restless and begging for something different. That being said, who’s up for a vacation???

7. I think that if I hadn’t moved back to my home town right after college (lack of a j-o-b), I’d probably never come back. I never pictured myself moving back, but now that I’m here, I’m ok with it. I still get the itch to move off somewhere big and fabulous every once in a while, but I don’t know that I could be too far from all my friends and family. And I need to be within an hour or so drive to the beach. :)

8. I’m going to steal  #8 from Donora because it’s so true!!! I think I could probably gain 10lbs today if I didn't try really hard not to. I'm really trying the motto "Eating to live, not living to eat." I love food. Love it! :)

9. My new year’s resolutions are more like new year’s ‘hopefuls.’ I’m not exactly the best person ever at following through on these kinds of things. In fact, I’m actually really, really bad at it.

10. I used to be really good at remembering everyone’s birthdays. Used to be. I would write out all of our family and friends’ birthdays on my mom’s calendar at the beginning of the year. I would make the reminder calls to everyone so they wouldn’t forget each other’s birthdays. Now, I’m the one forgetting. I think once I hit 25, my mind and my body just starting falling apart. (one more reason for the above paranoia)

Now, here are my 7 awards:

1. I'm giving two back to Donora because she constitently encourages me to write new things.
2. I'll give two to Ivy because she commented on my blog once. I think she might have been the second person ever to even read the thing. :)
3. Here are two for Jana because she's officially my number 2 follower. and because I just found her after years of her disappearance! :)
4. ....ok, so that's 6 awards, right? well, i have a problem... i don't know any more bloggers! i'll have to track some people down and award the rest!

home for the holidays

It's 11:52 and I'm sitting in my old bed at my parents' house. I'm back home (and way before my old curfew for the record) for the night. One night to act like a kid again where my parents just seem to take care of everything. Breakfast magically appears on the table in the morning, the kitchen-cleaning elves sneak in after meals to clean so I don't have to and my dogs think there's some kind of force field around their bed, so they're actually staying in once place instead of exploring every bug and piece of dirt in hopes of a midnight snack. it feels good to be back home for the night. somehow i feel a little more care-free. a little less worried about the realities of the world. as if they've disappeared just for one night.

that's the thing about christmas- somehow, the whole world just seems to slow down for a couple days and we all remember what's important in life. we spend so much time looking for the perfect gift, but now, it's not about the gifts. it's about being with each other and celebrating the one who brought us all together. we're reminded of all we have to be thankful for: family, friends, a home, our health and most of all, the true meaning of christmas. to me, there's more to the meaning of christmas than simply Jesus' birth. that's why we celebrate, but think about it.... why is Jesus' birth so important? Salvation, yes. Heaven, yes. But I'm reminded of the transformation He brings. He was born, so we could be transformed. No matter what we did, who we offended, what we thought, His birth brings transformation. hope. peace in knowing that whatever life throws our way, He's on our side.

Tonight, I'm reminded how blessed and grateful I really am. For my God, my family, my friends, Matthew & his family, a job, a house, my health and all the little things in life that make everyday so wonderful.

merry christmas eve. :)

Merry Christmas!

...written by a friend of a friend... thought it was fabulous! :)


The gifts are ready and the tree is glistening,
Around Grandpa’s lap, the children are listening.

He reminds them of the gifts and the jolly man in red,
“But there’s more to Christmas than that,” he said.

“Our Savior was born and through him we receive,
The real joys of Christmas that bring me to my knees.

He gave me you, your mama—my daughter, and your grandma—my wife.
It’s this family that keeps my chin up, no matter my strife.

Even if the stockings were empty and our glasses were dry,
Nothing could take the sparkle from my eye.

I have you, my family and the dearest friends I could know
To remind me the best gifts of Christmas don’t come with a bow.

Merry Christmas, My Little Angels, may this day for you be bright.
It’s you I’ll give thanks for, when I lay my head down this night.


April H. Henderson

5 Question Friday

Ok, Donora. I did it. Just for you too. :)

Questions for Friday, December 18th: (Thanks to Kyrsten, Liz, Brianne, and Keely for their question suggestions!! Wanna be linked on a future 5QF? Offer up some questions on the thread in my community!)

1. Which boygroup did you like most in your teens?
Hmmm... I don't really remember a favorite boy group from my teens. I liked the usual- N'Sync and Backstreet Boys- but I was pretty much still stuck on George Strait and old 80's music.

2. Do you do Christmas cards, letters, photos, nuthin', all of the above?
This year... NUTHIN'! I LOVE photocards though! I've done the cards with a picture of my two dogs under the Christmas tree before, but this year I ran out of time and felt a little silly for sending a card of my dogs when I'm getting friends' cards with babies! :) ha! Next year, I think I'll send out cards from me and dogs & include, "Merry Christmas from your "always sleeping through the night friends!" haha...

3. If you could meet one celebrity who would it be and why?
GEORGE STRAIT!!! I seriously have the hugest crush on the man! If not him, then maybe Dierks Bentley... oh wait. He's married. nevermind.

4. Favorite thing to cook with (i.e. stainless, non-stick, Dutch oven, microwave, debit card...or, perhaps, a cauldron, etc.)?
My boyfriend! :) He's a much better cook than me, so if I cook with him, he usually takes over and the food turns out MUCH tastier than my experiments.

5. What is the one thing you wear the most, besides your unmentionables?
Flip flops. No matter what I'm wearing -dressy or casual- I'm always secrety wanting to wear flip flops. Even in the dead of winter when I can't feel my feet because of the cold.

holiday sabatoge

I will NOT eat that donut. I just won’t do it. Maybe the éclair upstairs in Administration??? Nope. Willpower, Emily. Willpower. Sugar cookies with fancy little sprinkles in the Lobby… pass. Fudge made by sweet little grandmas in Accounting… pass. Rice Krispy treats with gooey marshmallows in Loans… pass. Chips from Collections to fix your salt cravings after all the sweets… pass.

I was feeling good about “being good” on my non-diet-just-trying-not-to-gain-100-pounds….. until I saw the cookie cake.



Ugh… how did they know my weakness??? How did they know that no matter what, it’s next to impossible for me not to eat the warm, chewy chocolate chip cookie with bright red and green icing? Cookie cakes (along with ice cream cakes and cookie dough ice cream) are among my favorite things ever. And it was just staring at me. Begging me to stop and look at it for just one more second. So, what did I do? Walked by and conquered the temptation, right? Not a chance. I ate a piece—a small piece…… And then went back for a 2nd bigger piece. So much for that willpower. I’ll try again this afternoon to walk by without stopping.

Except now they brought in pizza. Geez…

I read in a magazine that it helps in the weight loss efforts if you wait until the party food is picked over by everyone else. It makes all the goodies look, well, not that good. After everyone’s picked through it, it’s SUPPOSED to look less appetizing. Supposed to. So what do you do when it still looks as good as the first time? Hide in your office until all the food goes away.  Like me.