Misty

I must be the luckiest girl in the world-because I have the BEST people in my life.

I talk about Misty a lot...so humor me while I tell you our story. Back in 2006 I got two new people on my team at work. They were young and quiet and shy but eager to learn and to do well. Little did I know that one of them would become one of my bestest friends. We bonded over the fact that we were both trying to get pregnant at the same time. We shared a lot of heartache, struggle and pain..but also joy. I believe that she was one of the first people that I told that I was pregnant. I also think I was one of the first she told that she was also pregnant...and I also believe we cried together when she told me she was going to quit. I cried again on her last day and kept her badge on my desk for months afterward. I saw her twice after that...at her baby shower and at another friend's baby shower...and then we didn't see each other for 4 years. However-we kept close contact...e-mails, blogs, texts, Facebook and care packages sent back and forth. I felt like I knew each of her boys, I felt like I held her daughter myself. She came to see me last year and I finally went to see her this past week. The hard part of our friendship is that she lives 60 miles away. After my 2 hour drive there I was amazed by technology and how a text can travel that distance in seconds. I wish that I could have gone on a day the kids were off of school so that we could have gone earlier and stayed all day. I will try to make it down there this summer when I can see where she grew up in the daylight. I can't wait to see this town that she loves so much. I am not sure if she knows how much I cherish our relationship. Years ago I vowed not to put energy into people that don't put the energy back. Misty definitely puts the energy into me-it is so nice to know that there is someone that loves you that doesn't have to. There is so much about her that I admire her for-I could go on and on and on...but I have rambled enough for today...so here are the pics of my recent trip.

She made us a yummy dinner. BOTH my kids asked for seconds and pretty much cleaned their plates. I got to taste her famous family farm corn-delish. (left to right-Lauren, Melia, Jamie, and AJ). Can you tell my kids are trained cheesers?! It makes me laugh.

I got to sit by Aaron. He had pirate day at school so he had a beard still. This kiddo has a ton of energy-he kept me laughing the whole time.
I vowed that I would get some pictures in...and we tried my phone because I thought the pics would be better...Lauren kept trying but we could just NOT get a good picture of us....they kept being fuzzy...so here they are anyway.










We even tried to do self photos...but it is hard to push the button on the phone with one hand while holding it...So Misty had to help me. I don't know if you can tell..but I think we were both laughing trying to get it to work...

Oh boy..we are so silly!
So...one of those things I love about her....um....she is super crafy. She took our picture and made this super cool clock as part of my Christmas present. I think she picked the perfect photo-I love how the circle goes around our picture.
I also wanted to do a craft with her while we were there. My friend Bree put this project on her blog and I wanted to try. I have to say that I love the results...and I got a lot of compliments on it. SO...I have found the perfect combination..one friend for help with inspiration and one friend for help with perspiration! Notice I don't have a picture of Misty's heart wreath...that is because hers was WAY better than mine. That is okay-I am fine being second place to her. Oh, I also hogged all of the coffee filters and she didn't get to finish hers....I am such a jerk.
As I write this tonight, my heart is full. I have so much to be thankful for. I have a great husband, sweet kids, a supportive family, and wonderful friends. Thanks Misty-you are one in a million!!

Why I was late for work today...

And why my hair was wet....

And my makeup was sloppy...

I can't START a project and not END it. It took me a little longer this morning than planned.

I had my Christmas stuff put away, however, the boxes were STILL upstairs..because I was not ready to face the basement.

With an upcoming baby shower on my mind...there was no more putting it off.

So..today was the day. Here is the before:

(don't you love my cat Oreo...keeping me company)?!

And here is the "after" ta-da.
I am just a little sore...and a little bruised...but a LOT happy.

PS. Tires are REALLY heavy. AND REALLY scary if there are spider webs in the middle. Glad it is done. (for a while). Matt needs to build this girl more shelves for me junk. (Head nod).

Jamie's haircut

I don't know why Jamie getting his haircut is always so traumatic for me. I love his long hair and the personality that I think goes along with it. However, I was the one pushing for a cut this time. It gets a little crazy and crinkley in the morning and it was starting to get tangles (aka tears) so I was ready.

He was a little tired and therefore crabby and not at all happy about getting it cut. Here he is pre-haircut....pouting.

His "not happy" face.

His hair grows so fast, I am always shocked about how much comes off! AND there is even more on his smock!

After the haircut he was exhausted on the drive home. I can't believe that he can sleep like that-but he does it ALL the time!
AND here is the "after" shot.
I like how the lady blended it in...I couldn't bare for it to be TOO short on top.....
And finally we have "HAPPY Jamie"!
He is such a sweet little boy and I am thankful for having him in my life.

My favorite Christmas Present!

I was so impressed with my little girl this year. It has become a new tradition the past two years-that I take the kids to Dollar Tree and let them pick out presents for each other and for Matt and I. I first pick out a big bag and allow them to place items in the bag so that no one can see what they chose. It is fun to see them narrow down their gifts and really put thought into what they buy. One thing that Lauren purchased (without me knowing) was this DARLING card! I love how this card has a mom and a dad and boy and a girl SNOW-family.

When I opened it up...that is when the tears came!
"Spihelist"...."Specialist". Seriously-this melted my heart. Christmas is always too stressful for me. I always feel like there is something I HAVE to get done. I stay up way too late, get way too little sleep, eat way too poorly, and just feel all around frazzled. This little baby awaiting me on Christmas morning...made ALL of that WORTH it!

I love how the inside of the card she has conveniently made a drawing in which Jamie is missing from the picture.

OH...and I should mention that she did NOT inherit my procrastinator gene. She made her gifts for the rest of the family (aunts/uncles/grandparents/cousins) REALLY early and had them wrapped very quickly-and were the first gifts under the tree!! She wrapped presents as soon as they were purchased as well. I need to take a lesson from her. OH-I just LOVE her!

Post 15

Post 15: A picture of something you ate today:

After a week of getting my eating back to my pre-holiday routine and after a day full of high-protein food....Matt treated me to cake bites from The Sweet Tooth Fairy. I am a sucker for these bites of delicious goodness. Mmmmmm. I wish I had more.

Top 20 additions of Christmas 2011

OK...I am feeling just a tad bit guilty about the whole blog posting thing....sometimes when it comes to birthdays, holidays, special events, etc...it just seems like TOO much effort to put things on Facebook AND the blog. AND since pictures are more easily uploaded to Facebook-most of the cool stuff goes to that. Well...I thought that I would put some unique things here on the good old blog. SO...here are my top 20 new additions to Christmas 2011. I got this blog idea as I was sadly putting all the decor away this year. Tee hee hee.

In no particular order....

#1 One of my besties-Heather Lyons made this advent calendar for me for my birthday last year. I LOVED it and this year the kids loved taking turns getting their treats out. It was so much fun!

#2 I kept hearing ads about Home Depot having these 20 gallon totes for $5.88...so I talked Matt into taking me there and I scored 4 of them. I LOVE having a place for everything and everything in its place. I thought about being saucy and putting a blue lid on the brown tote and a brown lid on the blue tote. Oh yeah, I am cool like that.
#3 Ever since 1995 Matt and I have taken turns giving each other ornaments (he has odd years and I have the even years). They are usually cute bears or Disney themed, etc. Matt bucked the system this year and decided to get each family member one of these blingy initial ornaments. I resisted at first and wanted to stick to tradition-but they actually grew on me and I love them now. However, 2012 is MY year and we will see how I feel when I start to shop. PS. I could NOT tolerate them not having the year on them-so I wrote 2011 on the back of each of them in black permanent marker-a rebel I am NOT-or does that make me a rebel...hmmm...
#4 If I had ordered these this might be #1!! I got a new phone for Christmas. It was my entire budget. I love it, I love having the internet like 24-7! I will NEVER be bored again. I can't believe I went so long without a smartphone! I feel so much more efficient.
#5 My cute neighbor Denise (mother of adorable 11 month old twins) gave me these magnets. OH I LOVE THEM! SO very cute. The moment I got them I stuck them on the fridge....then one by one they fell off and broke. The magnet was stronger than the glue. I was so devastated I asked her if I could buy more off of her. She gave me a new set for free! I think Matt might have been embarassed by me telling her that they broke...but I really loved them!!
#6 After YEARS and YEARS and YEARS of owning both of these classics on VHS tape-we FINALLY bought them on DVD. I was worried we were wearing the tape thin! I think Matt knows every word to ONE of them and I know every word to the other one...can you guess which one goes with which one?
#7 OKAY this is totally cheesy but I got this CD for Christmas. I saw him sing "Mistletoe" on a TV show...and I wanted it. It is a really good CD and one that might become a regular at our house.....
#8 My cute little sister Sarah was sooo creative with her gifts this year. I was pleasantly surprised by her amazing presents! (I should have taken pictures of all the things she made!). This one was my favorite- I have always wanted something like this-I can't wait to write love notes to Matt. Aww.....
#9 Matt's Dad and his wife Tina gave us these knives for Christmas. I shoulda taken a picture of the ghetto knives we had before! The last set was given to us for our wedding-almost 13 years ago. Well...one day when we were laying sod, Matt's dad asked to use our old knives...and I told him...um my "old knives" are my only knives--aka the good knives. Well...that experience got me thinking. Every year Tina asks me for suggestions...so this year I made this suggestion...and I was extremely pleased that she got us this AWESOMELY CLASSY set of new knives. I am actually afraid to use them.
#10 This new TV was a bit of surprise. Matt found this TV for a killer deal and now my house feels like a brand new house. We now hang out downstairs and I can't believe we didn't do this earlier! It is nice to watch TV while you cook dinner...who would have known!
#11 This was actually a birthday present not a Christmas present....but Matt got me these remote control LED candles. Which is awesome because I have had these empty candesticks above my door for like 2 years! Super cool.
#12 The fireplace isn't new...but using it is! (forgive the ugly wire-Matt is working on it).....it was such a treat to wrap presents by the fireplace especially when it has been so cold lately.
#13 Matt decided it was time to upgrade our tree. I was sad at first-but trusted his vision. He came up with this idea to refurbish our old ornaments. He came up with this idea all by himself and I happily obliged....and we have a big staircase! (aka-lots of ruberbands and lots of slapping myself with them).
#14 DOH...this picture is sideways and I can't fix it! So please turn your screen. My adorable bestie Misty made me these blocks that spells out words. It is so fun...and festive! I am really trying to channel my inner-Misty....I am just not as cute as her but I am really trying.
#15 On the other hand...Matt's old secretary Kathy, unlike me, IS totally talented and crafty and made us these wooden letters. I love them. Jamie also loved that it had a big "J" like in his name and I loved that he is recognizing his letters! Pure JOY for this cornball.
#16 Here is the aforementioned tree. With its 2011 makeover...ala Matt. This was ALL him. He decorated this tree with such ferver it was a hoot. He was on a neverending quest for dark blue ornaments-they are harder to find than you think they'd be. It took him forever to get the new LED lights on the tree..but I loved it afterwards. The new tree grew on me too!
#17 We have a little shindig at our house every New Years Eve with Matt's brother and sister. Matt and I spent ALL day cleaning the house for our party...then shortly after midnight Lauren SOMEHOW got a hold of some confetti! I don't think I have seen Matt that angry in a long time. This static-confetti might be lingering around for a long time despite our many attempts at clean up. Look at Lauren smiling even though she was in BIG trouble.
#18 Even though I am not very crafty, I LOVE crafts. I bought this foam kit and the kids and I had so much fun assembling it, okay I had fun assembling it. I was quite proud of the final product. I need all projects to be this easy!!
#19 I love love love Christmas Cards! It is the only time of the year when it is FUN to get the mail. At my old house I used to put the cards on our front door...but ever since we moved into this house...I haven't known what to do with them. This year...I taped them to the wall. I LOVED it! The wall seems to bare now without it.
#20 Okay-this isn't new...-I just thought I should mention it. I probably need to invest in a new nativity scene-maybe it will be the first addition to 2012. Well, I don't know where I got this and it isn't very high quality. BUT, I just can't bring myself to throw it away and I have tried a few times. Many years ago-like before Lauren was born-our dog Dixie ATE baby Jesus. I tried to tell Matt that it was the proof that she was really a devil dog. However-I think that it now symbolizes how empty Christmas is without "Christ", literally.
Well-hopefully this photo-palooza makes up for my last two photo-less posts. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year!

Post 14: Someone who fascinates you and why

Post 14: Someone who fascinates you and why. Sorry-no photos.

I thought about this post for a long time. BUT just ONE person? That is too hard. I am fascinated by everyone. I love to meet people and find out about them. If any of you are familiar with Strengthsfinders...I have WOO as one of my strengths. It means I like to make strangers turn into friends. I am a very curious person....or nosy. I think people are so interesting, and it may be why I love reality TV so much. Anyway, I thought I would share instead a couple of people and why they fascinate me. Really-everyone is interesting to me...so forgive me if I left you off the list! Okay...in no particular order.

First off-is my hubby. Seriously-he is good at ANYTHING he tries. He is handy around the house-can fix anything. Everything always seems so easy to him. He is seldom stressed out. He is also somewhat of a financial wizard-which is why I recently turned over all my money to him.

Kristen Wiig...she is so funny! She is my favorite girl on SNL. I love how in her skits she can be so pretty and then so ugly. I would LOVE to be funny-everyone likes someone who is funny. I also love Tina Fey for much the same reasons.

Matt's sister Kristen. I have NEVER met someone who is so disciplined.

My neighbor April. I don't know how she does all that she does with virtually no sleep.

Jennifer Jensen. I work with her and she has gone through so much tragedy and heartbreak-yet she is always so positive and never without a smile.

Bree Gowers. One of my old neighbors. She has so many talents-she is an awesome decorator, an awesome party planner, an awesome hairdresser, an awesome photographer, and she was an awesome neighbor!

Britney Spears. I think she is beautiful..and a great dancer and performer. I can't take my eyes off her.

My Grandma Duplantis...9 kids, one arm...enough said.

My mom. She is like the opposite of me. She is very patient, loving, religious, forgiving, even-tempered, she is a good cook, cleans like a pro, she is just perfect. Best mom ever. Along with that I also am fascinated by my Aunt Anita and my Aunt Kathy-they are super-human-I am convinced of it!

My sister Sarah. She is so stinkin' cute. She is so determined, and fiesty-yet shy. I feel like I can talk to her about anything. I love working with her. I don't know what I would do without her!

Christy Allfrey. She is a friend I have had since 6th grade. She is a great writer. She has 5 kids and makes it all look easy. She is funny, smart, loving, crafty. I am often in awe of all that she accomplishes.

Stacey Monsen. One of my old bosses. She made everything seem easy. She is another one with great determination. She is super skinny, super generous, a super hard worker, and a super communicator. I learned a lot working for her.

Misty Rindlisbacher. She is crafty-seriously she should go into business. Or into the party planning busines. Or into the day care business. Or into the book writing business. Okay-she is super talented. Super religious. Super funny. Super loving. Super giving. She amazes me.

Julianne Hough. She is such a great dancer, has the perfect body, and is just gorgeous. When I think of "perfect looking" I think of her. I wish I could be her for just one day!

Summer Gallegos/Suzie Featherstone. Two gals I work with...they seem to balance being moms and being kick-ass Managers perfectly. They make it look so easy! They are also stylish, beautiful, smart, focused, and determined.

Okay, so that is an odd bunch of people and I will probably be kicking myself after for all the people that dawn on me after I publish this. I honestly think everyone is interesting in their own way. However, with my top choices, I saw some themes come through. Did you notice them? It isn't that the grass is always greener on the other side-I am just fascinated (or jealous) of people who have different strengths than me.

Hope this picture-less post isn't too boring. :)

I really SHOULD be wrapping presents....

But instead I will spend my time trying to be like Misty.

This is something she put on her blog, and I couldn't resist! Copy and answer these 25 questions about Christmas.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? This is a toss up for me. Egg nog brings back memories of childhood. I like hot chocolate too-although I don't have either of them very often. Honestly my splurge drink of choice is Chai Tea. The first time I tasted it I called it "Christmas in my mouth". That should count, eh Misty?

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? When I was growing up, Santa wrapped EVERYTHING. I don't know how/where my parents managed everything! Since having my own kids-I followed my friend Heather's tradition. The item that the kids want most is from Santa and it is unwrapped and un-packaged. The rest of the presents are from us. This way I don't have to be too sneaky AND that Santa doesn't get the credit that Matt and I so righteously deserve. Kind of a funny story...I was so traumatized when I found out about Santa that I always swore I would never feed that line to my kids. When I shared this with Matt he looked at me like I had just slapped his momma. He told me that it was such a great thing as a kid to be all excited over Santa-we could never take that away from our kids. I have to admit-it is a blast and I love to see the excitement in my kids faces. Plus-the whole "Santa is watching" blackmail/bribe thing TOTALLY works wonders.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Either! I love the elegance of white lights, and we had them on our tree for our first eleven Christmases. This year we invested in blue and white LED lights and I LOVE them!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Never have.

5. When do you put your decorations up? I like to put mine up right before Thanksgiving...since my birthday is around that time...I like to have my Christmas decorations up when my family comes over for my birthday party. This way my family can see my tree.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without ham. My mom always makes a great Christmas meal...it is sort of like a Thanksgiving Part 2. I better learn some of her dishes SOON so that one day I can be a wonderful cook like her.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? A favorite? Gee-they are all SOO good. My mom had hand painted all of our wooden ornaments that we had on our tree. I thought they were the neatest thing ever. I always loved decorating the tree. We had a big picture window in our second story front room and I loved how the tree would shine down onto the street.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I told you that I was traumatized. My best friend growing up, Heather and her brother, who lived across the street FOUND their stash of presents. The secret was out. I was devastated. I can't remember how old I was...I just remember being hurt that everyone was "lying" to me. Hopefully it won't be as hard for my kids. There has to be a cool way to break it to them, right? Hopefully I have a few years to figure it out.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? OH yes. So..my Louisiana family-my HUGE family makes a big deal about Christmas. EVERYONE gives presents to EVERYONE. THAT is a LOT of presents! As a kid and as the packages came in throughout December we would drool over the mounds of presents. Every Christmas Eve as a kid, we would go to church, get Little Caesars Pizza and wait to open presents. Every year my dad would do the little song and dance and tease us by letting us open one present. Then every year we would beg and beg him to let us open them all. I think he enjoyed the torture! It was so much fun! We still do the same routine, well almost every year. Last year we didn't go over to my moms and tonight Matt remembered that and said "That sucked, we can't miss that this year", I love that he loves my family and spending time with them as much as I do.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Matt does the lights...he is a bit anal at it. This year we bought new decorations, more sophisticated ones. It also has all the ornaments we have collected over the years. He gave me the first "couples" and "dated" ornament in 1995. I gave him one in 1996...and ever since then-we go back and forth...he has the odd years and I have the evens. We now have a HUGE collection-it is awesome. I wonder what Matt will come up with this year.....or if this might be the first year without one as he does not want to go shopping at all.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? Love it if I can stay inside and just look at it. Dread it if I have to DRIVE in it.

12. Can you ice skate? No, not at all.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? There are way too many. I really have been spoiled over the years. As a kid there was the Cabbage Patch doll that I got when I was in probably second grade. I was so happy! I still have ALL of them in my basement!

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Spending time with family, and being reminded of all the people that love and care about us. It is a time to reflect about the birth of Christ and how "giving" gifts is a reminder of all that He gave to us.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Frosted sugar cookies. Matt's mom's recipe. Matt's sister Kristen promised she would bring some to me tomorrow...I can't wait! It is the one thing I can NEVER resist.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? There are SOO many. One I couldn't live without is driving down "Christmas Street". Matt grew up on this street that has signs in their yards telling the entire "Night Before Christmas" story....the yards are decked out. It NEVER gets old. We go there at least a dozen times every year!

17. What tops your tree? A star. This year a color changing LED one. I love it!

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? UM, BOTH! I feel like I put a lot of thought into my gifts so I love to see people's reactions. It is sooo hard for me to wait to give the gifts-I want to see their reaction NOW!

19. Candy canes: LOVE them! BUT they MUST be peppermint. They also can't be the cheap kind with rough edges. It has to be smooth. I never get sick of them! I think, as a kid, I ate them ALL myself.

20. Favorite Christmas show? Another hard one!!! I love ELF-we watch it over and over again. I also love The Muppet's Christmas Carol. Scrooged is another one I can't get enough of. We also watch Christmas Vacation at least a dozen times. Matt always loved A Christmas Story..but I think his favorite is Reindeer Games. My kids also love Home Alone. I think I may love Christmas movies MORE than I love Christmas music (don't hate me Misty).

21. Saddest Christmas song? I'll Be Home For Christmas. I think my biggest nightmare would be NOT spending time with my family for Christmas. I grew up having lots of family far away and now that I have my hubby, kids, parents, and most of my siblings close by-I realize how much I was missing as a kid. I never want to go back to not having my family around on Christmas. Neither of my kids better even THINK about moving more than 20 minutes away from me!

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? Santa Claus and his Old Lady by Cheech and Chong. Years ago I paid a girl on my team $5 to burn me 2 Christmas CDs. She put this gem on it, I had NEVER heard of it and now my whole family LOVES it. The CD also has snipits from movies and all kinds of different songs, it is THE best collection ever! Thanks Heather Tonga!

23. What is the one thing you would change about Christmas? I would not be so freakin' stressed out! I tell myself I am going to start earlier every year...but I never do and I always procrastinate and NEVER sleep during December!

24. Worst present ever? I will NEVER forget this. One year, my mean older brother took a huge box of wood and wrapped it in like 100 layers. I thought he bought me something HUGE and I was SOO excited to open it. It was the first present I chose to open. After like an HOUR of unwrapping. I found the wood-and a plastic bracelet and necklace. It was actually a decent present-but the let down and the laughing was too much for me. I cried like a baby.

25. Your biggest wish this year? Without saying too much.....there is someone who is very near and dear to me who is going through a rough time. It hurts my heart daily to see them and those around them suffer. It is hard to feel powerless. SO-I wish for lots of love, happiness, and health for all my family and friends.

Thanks Misty! Anyone else up for the challenge?! I'd love to hear your answers Jami!

Friendship is the sweetest gift.

I have been very blessed with some of the best friends throughout my life. Not having too much family close by and being very far apart in age from my siblings-friends have always played a huge part in my life. You may have heard me talk about one of my closest friends-Misty. She is one of the most amazing people I know. She is smart, funny, thoughtful, loving, CRAFTY-and extremely generous. She leads a busy life, as do I...but we always take a few minutes everyday to chat, post, text, or blog to keep in touch. She may have no idea how happy she makes me. She has exposed me to new things which are now favorite things...and helped me re-discover some old favorite things as well (such as reading an actual book). This past year for my birthday she sent me a sweet card, a wonderful CD, and this figurine titled "Friendship. Friendship is the Sweetest Gift". I absolutely love it, and I love her too!

Okay I am a huge dork and I played around with my flash and with different angles and positions, etc. Each picture seems to bring out something different.

Thanks Misty-for everything!!!