Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Hey everyone! Just popping in to say Merry Christmas a little late and Happy New Year a little early :o) We are up in Idaho hanging out with our families and friends and enjoying the holidays. We'll be back soon and post some pics of our fun times!

Marital Dispute...

Casey and I are having a 'discussion' tonight. Please help us settle this disagreement by voting in the poll to the right of this post. Does/did Chuck Norris have a mullet? I will not sway you by posting any pictures - any additional research is up to you.

Attitude of Gratitude

A few weeks back I signed up to work an extra shift yesterday. I thought it might be nice to have a little extra moolah before the holidays. But it's been a long week, and the thought of working yet another 12 hour shift just did not sound appealing at all. Well as it turns out, the hospital has had more than enough staff on hand this week and they have been cancelling extra shifts for nurses. Because of this, I thought for sure I would get a call from the staffing office Friday morning telling me I was cancelled and could go back to sleep. So Thursday night I stayed up WAY later than I should have (to finish the book I've been reading) thinking it would be no big deal because I was going to get cancelled anyway. Well, as you've probably already guessed - they didn't call. So I grumpily got out of bed, got ready, and went to work. As I was driving to work, thinking of all the other things I could be doing (like sleeping), I had an epiphany. I realized that I had absolutely no reason to be grumpy and that I shouldn't be disappointed that I had to go to work. I should in fact be thrilled that during this rough economic time I not only have a job - but a job that needs me more than full time. I gave myself a little lecture, right there in my car driving down the freeway, and seriously adjusted my attitude before starting my shift. And I'm so glad I did because having that "attitude of gratitude" the rest of the day really helped me to have a better day with a positive outlook. Now I'm generally a glass half full kind of gal, but I have realized that I need to have this attitude of gratitude more often. I am so thankful for all that I have and need to be better about acknowledging that every day.

Happy Thanksgiving

Okay, I know that it's not quite the real Thanksgiving yet, but I work tomorrow so we are celebrating today! Casey's parents drove down yesterday and we are going to start cooking up a storm here pretty soon. Casey got up early before school and got the turkey in the oven so it could start roasting and would be ready by this afternoon. Mmmmm, tasty! So in the spirit of giving thanks, here are a few of the many things I am thankful for... * Our incredibly loving and supportive families and friends * My mom doing well after her surgery * Having a good job in uncertain economic times * My amazing husband of almost three years * Our time in AZ is down to less than a year * Alice and Scout * Our good health * My green VW Bug (shallow, I know...) * Rain in the desert - it's raining right now :0) Geez, that list got kinda lame toward the end, but as I sit here this morning that's the best I can come up with. I truly have a lot to be thankful for in my life. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Mega Update

Alrighty folks here it is: the mega update, a chronicle of what we've been up to the last several several weeks. This is going to be a super long post - so don't say I didn't warn you!

Before I get started with all the major events, I just wanted to give a shout out to my awesome husband. Casey is a fabulous scorpion wrangler. Last night we found one of these most unpleasant creatures in our house and was a manly man and took care of it while I played the girly girl and stood on the couch and squealed. Hey - they're scary little buggers! Just another reason I love you so much Case! So the two big things that have happened since the last post are my trip to visit Nicki in California and Casey and I going to Riggins, Idaho for Preston and Jodi's wedding. Oh and one little project I did in my spare time. The little project was redoing an old dresser that I've had for years. It actually belonged to my great grandma and had been in my grandma's basement for who knows how long. I thought I'd give it a new life so I sanded it down, painted it black and added new hardware. I think it came out pretty good! It now resides in the sewing/guest room and looks great :D

~before~ ~after~

Californ-i-a

Back in October I went to visit Nicki in California. We had such a great time having all sorts of fun adventures and just hanging out. We went to a great little area called Apple Hill outside of Sacramento where we saw beautiful orchards and vineyards and ate all sorts of tasty homemade treats. It was INCREDIBLE to see all of the wonderful fall colors. We had an absolutely delightful afternoon in Apple Hill!

One of my favorite adventures with Nicki was visiting the Jelly Belly factory. What a fun, fun place! Everything is decked out in bright colors and all things jelly bean, and because it was close to Halloween all of the employees were dressed up. Even the giant jelly bean out front had on a witch's hat. So festive! We took the tour, got our free samples, and enjoyed ourselves to the max. During the tour there were these two little old ladies in front of us. They were so cute and Nicki and I were joking that that would be us in 50 years!

Nicki happens to live only 30 minutes from Napa Valley so one afternoon we headed over there to visit a vineyard and do some wine tasting. First of all, Napa is BEAUTIFUL in the fall. There were so many vineyards and all of the fall colors were so vibrant. We did some wine tasting and walked around the grounds at V. Sattui Winery. Sipping wine, sharing stories, enjoying beautiful scenery - what's not to love? Our splendid afternoon was followed by a scrumptious dinner in Napa. Ah, good times.

Sprinkled in between these fabulous outings were the enjoyable things of everyday life that Nicki and I don't get to do together very often. We made french toast and ate it in our jammies, we vegged out and watched TV, we went to Starbucks. I feel like this post doesn't even begin to describe the awesome-ness of our weekend. Oh, Miss Nicki you are such an incredible friend and I miss you so so very much!

Wedding Bells

Last weekend we had the privilege of witnessing Preston and Jodi get married! Jodi is from Riggins (Idaho) and so all of the wedding festivities took place up there. Autumn in Riggins is pretty, but boy is it chilly! Okay, it wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, but keep in mind it's still been in the 80's and 90's down here! Preston and Jodi are such a great couple - they both looked so genuinely happy together and thrilled that this day had finally arrived. The wedding itself was a memorable one - I've never laughed and cried so much at one event! Casey looked so handsome in his tux and he did a stand up job as the Best Man. He was a little nervous about giving the toast but his delivery was great and he got all of the laughs he was hoping for.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. It was so nice to be home - to see each of our families and lots of our friends. We're really looking forward to moving back home and spending more time with everyone.

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Okay, if you made it this far you are amazing, you should get a prize or something. Thanks for reading and being interested in our lives :D