Let's remember

2010 has many many many different turns of events… some that were very welcomed and some that you just kinda wished never happened, but they did so you learn from it and move on.  CA Girl among others were doing a 2010 in review for the entire month, however I kept forgetting about it until now… so I plan to do my year in review in one post.  I’ll try not to drag it out too much 🙂 (please don’t start snoring yet!!!!)

January started out rather interesting with Tbug’s birthday 2 days in to January, yes, they didn’t plan that so well.  I tried to tell her we’d celebrate her birthday in June or July so she could have presents year round as opposed to getting them all at once, she still hasn’t bought on to that idea yet… I just feel so bad that she celebrates Christmas then 8 days later she celebrates her birthday and so much for presents for the next year….  “just cause” presents or vacation presents aren’t the same!  Oh well, it is what it is and I guess I’ll continue to be happy my birthday is in July… LOL!!!  It works for me! (I actually have a friend who celebrates her birthday at Halloween b/c her birthday is Christmas Day)

Then my now father in law (then just PC’s dad) introduced us to a nurse while in the hospital as being PC’s fiance… We weren’t engaged yet….

Now if you know me, I always said I NEVER wanted to be proposed to for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Birthday, any major holiday/occasion b/c well sometimes that’s expected (and if that’s how yours happened, kudos, I’m not trying to rain on your parade, that was just my opinion, I wanted a random Tuesday)… So I got proposed to on National Safety Pup Day (Feb 12).  I got to spend that weekend in Branson watching my soon to be {step}daughter in a Cheer Competition.

And who can forget that the 1st Day of spring, it… Snowed?!?!?!  Seriously….  And I FINALLY got my Pioneer Woman Cookbook… ah, now that was the day 😉

And also in March I finally got my 10-hr OSHA certification.  That was actually exciting, especially having such little experience in the field (even though my dad is an Environmental and Safety Engineer) I scored way higher on the test than some of those guys who’ve been in the field for 10+ years.

April brought the excitement of wedding planning.  I’d promised my {soon to be} daughter to take her flower girl dress shopping and that’s exactly what we did.  Then the fun of Engagement photos!!! (Awww, I miss my long hair!!)  And everyone knows when you buy a house, you need a dog to protect you, however he was sadly stolen later in the summer.  That’s how Audrey came into our lives.

Then we wrote our stories for you guys to hear read (His & Hers).  That lead me to write our story (all 30 parts).  Then I played with photo shop and caused a lot of people here at work to look at my {now} husbands rear end….

And we got to compare him and me at the same age and the path of life we chose to take.  I’ll never forget Tbug asking me if I ever had any kids while I was in school and my response was no, I graduated high school and college without having kids, in fact I’ve never had kids.  She then proceeded to tell me that yes I have, I had her.

Then came the grueling task of small remodeling jobs on the house… All before the 4th of July party with PC’s family.

And of course Doti got married!!!!  Plus I got to see the stop light I caused PC to stop at while we were dating when I yelled red light… now here’s the humor there, I was on the phone with him while he was driving back to Kentucky….

Plus in June, we learned why there will always be lawyers (aka people are friggin stupid!)  The only person who benefits when a lawyer is involved is the lawyer (and I really don’t mean anything against all my lawyer followers, but sometimes facts are facts, but if you guys weren’t around, there might be mass Chaos… b/c in general people are dumb…)… People think they are entitled to things, well they just really aren’t entitled too b/c they truthfully didn’t work for it!

And of course I had to tell you that I love my husband or I guess at the time fiance!!!  Plus we saw some really nice HOT HOT HOT temperatures this last summer!  But I hate cold weather so I don’t complain when it’s hot.

And I finally cleaned out my purse!  But one of my favorite posts was when I shared with you the 4 minute video that was played at our wedding.  I later found out that while the song was playing, my husband was at the front of the church singing to me.  That brings us to September when I married the man of my dreams!  I never was nervous when he asked me to marry him (more just caught off guard) and I wasn’t nervous the day I walked down the aisle to say yes and walk away as the Mrs.

I also created my 101 in 1001 list this year… It’s exciting, lemme tell ya!  I’ve had to make a few modifications to the original list because, well, I had duplicates accidentally… but I’m getting all the kinks worked out.  The tab is the most accurate!

In October we celebrated my dad’s birthday followed by November celebrating my husband birthday and to round out the birthday season, my mom came in December to celebrate hers!

One heart ache that happened this year was we lost my grandfather.  I am now down to 1 grandparent, my dad’s mother.

And now we are rounding out this year with a special birthday to celebrate for all, Christmas is all around!  Thank you God for sending your only son to die on the cross for our sins!

Here’s to 2011!!!

This 'n That

I have a bunch of things to cover so prepare for a This ‘n That moment 🙂

{One} Because of Christmas, I got to write off quite a few of my 101 in 1001 list items :).  The first we’ll address is number 66, print a photo on Canvas.  My dad saw a photo that I took and liked it, a lot.  He made the comment it would be very cool on Canvas so PC and I went to work and ordered it for him on Canvas.

I cropped it some but this was the photo that I started with.

Then as an added bonus, PC had this one made for me on Canvas.  I was shocked!

It’s going in our bedroom 🙂

{Two}  One of the only things we had to do in our house to have everything put away was to clean the office.  All through the small remodel projects and small parties prior to Christmas, etc, if we didn’t know where to put something, it ended up in the office.  Let me tell our our office was a mess.  But after the “Great Flood” as we so affectionately refer to it, the office is cleaned, so that means that I get to cross off number

  47. Get everything put away in our house.

Here is a shot of the floor, you can actually see it now… LOL  I don’t have a finished product because if you remember this happened the weekend before Christmas and that weekend/week/weekend was hectic!

{Three}  Number 99 is about making all recipes in the PW Cookbook.  Well I have a few new recipes that I’ve made to add to the 64 recipes.  Boy I wasn’t thinking so smart when I did that one, but it’s all good 🙂  Just look at it this way, by the time I’m done with my list, I’ll have done more than 101 things in 1001 days 🙂
First I made her Homemade Ranch with Iceburg Wedge on 11/4/10.  Yeah I wasn’t so crazy about it.  I’m a Ranch fan and that didn’t taste like good Ole Ranch to me.  But hey I made it 🙂

Second I made her Hot Artichoke Dip.  Husband doesn’t like artichokes but he tried it, On the other hand I loved it!  My aunt made it for Thanksgiving but I didn’t cheat, I made my own for a goody day at work.  I thought it was excellent!

{Four} Speaking of Goody Day, they teased PC that if he wanted to eat, he had to participate.  He couldn’t slide in under my radar… LOL.  So we made a super easy dip that is fantastic!

{ingredients}
1 block of cream cheese, softened
1 small pkg of ham
1 bunch of green onions
Accent seasoning

Mix the first 3 together.  Add the accent seasoning to taste.  Eat with crackers and enjoy!  (yes ours is in plastic wrap.  I always put it in a small bowl like that with plastic wrap to get the curved shape and stick it in the fridge overnight.)
(And yes there is actually a seasoning called accent seasoning and us being the seasoning people we are didn’t have any so I just threw some seasonings in.)

{Five} I also feel like sharing a couple photos that I just like.  Hey it’s my blog :), I’m entitled 🙂

{Six} Even being Twenty… what seven??? years old (I can tell you my birthday, you do the math :)) I still get in trouble with my mom.  What did I do this time?  I set her up for pictures on Christmas Day (remember my mom hates having her photo taken).

{Seven} Back up to the night before (Christmas Eve)… I get to cross number 27 off my list as well.

27. Host a Holiday party at my house
We hosted Christmas with my mom’s side of the family.  I know we took before photos of the kitchen but I can’t seem to find them.  Oddly enough, the chaos didn’t start in there until about 4pm and I cooked all day long :).  It was the green beans that the husband made that caused a mess, but it’s all good.  They were fantastic!  But being the host, not many photos got taken.  We however had a sad tragedy occur :(… My stone bar pan got broken 🙁

This is what happens when you own a boxer who is tall and you are exhausted.  To tell you how exhausted I was, our floors are concrete and then we have wood on top of the concrete.  I fell asleep on our hardwood floors.

{Eight} So I had the chance to get my boots shined.  Here’s the before:

And here’s the After:
And they weren’t even shiney when I bought them.  I’m super happy!!!

Peace, Love & 1 more day to New Year’s Eve 🙂
Happy Thursday!

Then

I remember trying not to stare
The night that I first met you (again)
You had me mezmorized
And three weeks 12 hours later
In the front porch Car overhead light light
Taking 45 minutes 3 hours to kiss goodnight
I hadn’t told you yet
I thought I loved you then
Now you’re my whole life
Now you’re my whole world
I just can’t believe
The way I feel about you girl husband
Like a river meets the sea
Stronger than its ever been
We’ve come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then
I remember taking you back
To right where I first met you
You were so suprised
There were people around
But I you didn’t care
I You got down on one knee right there
And once again
I thought I loved you then
Now you’re my whole life
Now you’re my whole world
I just can’t believe
The way I feel about you girl boy
Like a river meets the sea
Stronger than its ever been
We’ve come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then
I can just see you
With waiting on a baby on the way
I can just see you
When your hair is turning grey falling out
What I can’t see
Is how I’m ever gonna love you more
But I’ve said that before
Now you’re my whole life
Now you’re my whole world
I just can’t believe
The way I feel about you girl boy
We’ll look back someday
At this moment that we’re in
And I’ll look at you and say
And I thought I loved you then
And I thought I loved you then

 

"I guarantee that we'll have tough times.
And I guarantee that at some point...
one or both of us will want to get out.
But I also guarantee...
that if I don't ask you to be mine,
I'll regret it for the rest of my life.
'Cause I know in my heart...
you're the only one for me."
--Richard Gear's Character in Runaway Bride

Easily Entertained

Looking for Cheap and easy entertainment??  All you have to do is give a puppy 4 plastic tubes** and the Race is on!!!

And when she chases it under the couch….

She gets mad and annoyed

Until you dig it out for her

And when she’s finally done playing….

She jumps on your lap

And picks on  you

Until she sees the tube on the floor waiting on her

And she’s gone again!

**The tubes were left over from the Christmas balls I used to make my door wreathes this year.

Audrey was Good Girl!!

Christmas Eve I woke up at 4am.  I so couldn’t sleep, but I really don’t think my mind was racing either.  So instead of waking PC up, I got up and headed to Wal-Mart (for a few last minute things) before the big crowds hit.  Being Christmas Eve, you never know!  I was there at 6am.  I took his phone (it contained the shopping list) and took my phone, b/c well… it’s my phone… LOL.  So he calls me at 10 minutes after 6 wondering where in the heck I am.  I told him I went to Wal-Mart so I didn’t wake him up stirring around.

One of the things on my list were a pair of clippers so we could groom Audrey like a real Cocker Spaniel.  Ever seen how they are groomed?  No?  Look at this beauty of a golden Cocker!

Now I don’t think that A-dog will have the long bushy bottom, it’s just not practical for a country dog such as herself… but we wanted her to be shorter on top, longer on bottom.  When I got home, we went to work on her.  She wasn’t so sure she liked those “mean” clippers though….

I only got 2 photos of her from my iPhone because I was in the process of helping hold her and keep her calm.  I might be scared too if I didn’t know what was going on… LOL

After a hard morning she was pooped!  I went to work in the kitchen preparing Christmas Eve dinner for my family and she either laid here, behind my feet, or else on the futon (only piece of furniture she’s allowed on) with her chew toy.  We’d hear squeak squeak squeak and we could find her.

Then it was her turn to open her present under the tree.  I think she was a little camera shy….

But she was sure curious to see what was under that paper….

And why not chew on the box, isn’t that one way to open it?

I apparently wasn’t opening it fast enough for her…

She isn’t the patientest (yup it’s a word… the squiggly line didn’t show up under it) of waiters….

And look what she got, a pink puppy snuggie.  Isn’t she the cutest?

We are now a family of Snuggie owners… Audrey with her pink, Tbug with her pink, PC with his Camo and me with the purple one.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  This was my first married Christmas and I have no complaints what-so-ever!

Another Cute email

***Another cute email***

December 8   6:00 PM
It started to snow.  The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses print.  So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!
December 9
We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape.  What a fantastic sight!  Can there be a more lovely place in the whole world?  Moving here was the best idea I’ve ever had!
Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again.  I did both our driveway and the sidewalks.  This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again.  What a perfect life!
December 12
The sun has melted all our lovely snow.  Such a disappointment!  My neighbor tells me not to worry-we’ll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful!
Bob says we’ll have so much snow by the end of winter that I’ll never want to see snow again.  I don’t think that’s possible.  Bob is such a nice man, I’m glad he’s our neighbor.
December 14
Snow, lovely snow!  8 inches last night.  The temperature dropped to -20.  The cold makes everything sparkle so.  The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks.  This is the life!
The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again.  I didn’t realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I’ll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish I wouldn’t huff and puff so.
December 15
20 inches forecast.  Sold my van and bought a 4×4 Blazer.  Bought snow tires for the wife’s car and 2 extra shovels.  Stocked the freezer.  The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out.
I think that’s silly.  We aren’t in Alaska , after all.
December 16
Ice storm this morning.  Fell on my ass on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell.  The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.
December 17
Still way below freezing.  Roads are too icy to go anywhere.  Electricity was off for 5 hours.  I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm.  Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her.
Guess I should’ve bought a wood stove, but won’t admit it to her. God I hate it when she’s right.  I can’t believe I’m freezing to death in my own living room.
December 20
Electricity is back on, but had another 14 inches of the damn stuff last night.  More shoveling!  Took all day.
The damn snowplow came by twice.  Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they’re too busy playing hockey.
I think they’re lying.
Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they’re out.  Might have another shipment in March.
I think they’re lying.
Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me.
I think he’s lying.
December 22
Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white shit fell today, and it’s so cold, it probably won’t melt till August.
Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to piss.
By the time I got undressed, pissed and dressed again, I was too tired to shovel.
Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter, but he says he’s too busy.
I think the asshole is lying.
December 23
Only 2 inches of snow today.  And it warmed up to 0.
The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning.
What is she, nuts?!!
Why didn’t she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did, but I think she’s lying.
December 24
6 inches – Snow packed so hard by snowplow, I broke the shovel.
Thought I was having a heart attack.
If I ever catch the son of a bitch who drives that snowplow, I’ll drag him through the snow by his balls and beat him to death with my broken shovel.
I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I’ve just been!
Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was too busy watching for the damn snowplow.
December 25
Merry f—ing Christmas!  20 more inches of the damn slop tonight.
Snowed in.
The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil.  God, I hate the snow!
Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel.  The wife says I have a bad attitude.
I think she’s a fricking idiot.
If I have to watch ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ one more time, I’m going to stuff her into the microwave.
December 26
Still snowed in.  Why the hell did I ever move here?
It was all HER idea.
She’s really getting on my nerves.
December 27
Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze.
Plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for him, he only charged me $1,400 to replace all my pipes.
December 28
Warmed up to above -20.  Still snowed in.  The BITCH is driving me crazy!!!
December 29
10 more inches.  Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in.
That’s the silliest thing I ever heard.  How dumb does he think I am?
December 30
Roof caved in.
I beat up the snowplow driver, and now he is suing me for a million dollars, not only for the beating I gave him, but also for trying to shove the broken snow shovel up his ass.
The wife went home to her mother.
Nine more inches predicted.
December 31
I set fire to what’s left of the house.  No more shoveling.

January 8

Feel so good.  I just love those little white pills they keep giving me.
Why am I tied to the bed?

Merry Christmas All!!!

Christmas at the Gas Station

***It’s long but it’s a great read!!!***

The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn’t been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. It was just another day for him. He didn’t hate Christmas, just couldn’t find a reason to celebrate. He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through.

Instead of throwing the man out, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm-up. “Thank you, but I don’t mean to intrude,” said the stranger. “I see you’re busy, I’ll just go.”
 
“Not without something hot in your belly,” George said. (more…)

45 Tips for Life

***taken from an email… but I thought they were good tips***  Enjoy!

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick.  Your friends and parents will.  Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month
6. You don’t have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone.  It’s more healing that crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God.  He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others.  You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.  But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful, or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.  But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now.  Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, “In five years, will this matter?”

27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone, everything
29. What other people think of you is none of your business…
30. Time heals almost everything.  Give time, time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life.  Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
37. Your Children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day.  Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, wed grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time.  You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

Merry Christmas to all of you (in case I don’t get the chance to say it before hand!)