Christmas

A little late on the Christmas post, but here it is (and the order is backwards).

This year for Christmas we were able to go back east for a whoppin' 10 days! So we had plenty of Christmas festivities.

We celebrated Christmas with my family with Rock Band, here is Uncle Joe being our lead singer.

Megan took on the drums.

Of course, the funny faces come out.

And funny face number 2.

Jakey and I got on our Pennsylvania's Finest Costumes. The firefighter is actually Jake's but he wanted me to wear it, although I'm thinking of getting one myself.

Before we flew back East we celebrated Christmas here in Utah, here are my absolute adorable nieces Princess S and Miss M.

These silly guys.

Baby J - isn't he just adorable?!?

And this little guy. Here he is giving me this face because I wouldn't let him out, so...

I whipped out my camera, and imagine that - the frown turned upside down!

Holiday Cheer

I have always thought of Christmas time as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely.
-Charles Dickens

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.
- Dr. Seuss

With malice toward none; with charity for all.
-Abraham Lincoln

"Keep hope alive"
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, Which shall be to all people. "For unto you is born this day in the city of David A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, Lying in a manger.
~ Luke 2:10-12

Charity is, perhaps, in many ways a misunderstood word. We often equate charity with visiting the sick, taking in casseroles to those in need, or sharing our excess with those who are less fortunate. But really, true charity is much, much more… Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other.
– Marvin J. Ashton

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

Home Sweet Home!

We are under contract, and we are very happy!

Birthday

Today was my birthday, and a wonderful birthday it was. Thank you to everyone! I'm sure there will be a day when I will want my birthday to be ignored (and yes, I will be one of those people).

The day started off great Brad was kind enough to drive me into work today and pick me up.

When I got home there were these on the counter:

Then Brad took me to my new favorite restaurant, Tsunami for some delicious sushi.

Then as we were about to dig in, Brad whipped out this bad boy, I was so excited I shrieked in the restaurant! I've wanted a camera so bad, we only have Brad's big honk of thing I wanted something to fit in my purse but still took nice pictures. If you know Brad you can believe this: this was the 3rd camera he bought; it took three tries before he got the camera that was up to his par. You may have heard the story about my engagement ring. Before our wedding, I took my engagement ring and wedding band to the jeweler to get re sized and cleaned (it had been 6 months). I gave Alex the ring when he took a look at it and said, "I remember this ring, I remember your fiance, he was very fussy he sent the diamonds back 4 times." FOUR TIMES?!?
When we got home Brad even started the fire place, which is a real treat.

Then of course, I played with my new camera!

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! MUSHY PICTURE AHEAD!

Anyway, the night in a nutshell... it was AWESOME!

Got it!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Blogger's Block

I'm low of blogging material, but I made a Christmas video, unfortunately I had to pay for it if I wanted to show the video on the blog, so here is just the picture.

Makes you wonder...

What does she think she is?

My purse love

I love LOVE this purse. And IF I had a blog last Christmas I would have blogged about it then. This was my Christmas gift from my Aunt Carol. We draw names for Christmas, and I love it when my Aunt Carol or one of her sons, my cousins, draw my name (she usually has a say in the gift when they draw my name) because she buys the BEST gifts, and this purse is one of them! She has such wonderful tastes, and I receive many, many compliments for this purse.

So anyway I wanted to blog about it because well, I love it. The color, the size, the pockets inside, it is just a wonderful purse.

Tagged... a few times

Okay so I've been tagged again and Andrea is the 3rd person to tag me on this, and I don't have anything better to do (okay I do but I don't want to) so I thought I would do it.

8 TV Shows I Watch
1. The Office
2. Futurama
3. Top Gear
4. Mike Rowe Dirty Jobs
5. Robin Mead - Morning Express
6. CNN
7. NBC
8. Discovery Channel

8 Restaurants I like to eat at
1. Cafe Rio
2. East Coast Subs
3. Abner's Cheesesteaks (Philly - only when I'm home)
4. Mimi's Cafe
5. Training Table
6. Ruth's Diner
7. 5 Guys Burgers and Fries
8. Villa Pizza (again only when I'm home)

8 Things I did today
1. Celebrated Thanksgiving
2. Talked to my family
3. Made mashed potatoes
4. Cleaned the house
5. Kicked Chris
6. Played with my dogs
7. Laughed
8. Updated my blog

8 Things I am looking forward to
1. SEEING TWILIGHT AGAIN
2. Going home to the east for the holidays
3. Christmas
4. Buying a home
5. Having tomorrow off!
6. Sleeping in (although my body is on an internal clock and this never happens)
7. Sleeping on clean sheets
8. Sales

8 Things on my Wish list
1. Buy a home
2. Have a family
3.Buy a home
4. Receive my masters
5. Buy a home
6. Wish for one day to have enough money to retire and enjoy my golden years with Brad
7. Buy a home
8. Oh, and BUY A HOME!!!

Where in the world is Brad?

It's been awhile since Brad had to travel, but he traveling today. Today he is in

"The Camellia Capital of the World."