Hitting the Snow Covered Pavement-January 31, 2010

The good thing about winter is that you have plenty of excuses for putting on a little "winter weight." It's cold outside, the days are shorter and of course the famous "the gym is too crowded" answer.   The bad thing about winter is that we typically put on a little "winter weight." I can't stand it.  I've been trying to do the 30 day Shred and eat a little better the last couple weeks with the occasional pound or two loss here and there, but inevitably, I always go right back to where I was within a couple days.   Granted, I doubt the cookies are helping, sugar-free or not!

I've decided it's time for drastic measures...actual running!  Yes, outside, in the cold, on the pavement.  My first trip out was actually yesterday, and I'm amazed I did it again today. Only 1.5 miles each time, but I think that's a good place to start.  It's taking me quite a bit longer than I think it should, however, I do think at least a minute or so is due to the snow covered pavement. I feel myself slowing down suddenly to go over some snowy areas as I'm worried about ice on the track.  Today was better I don't think I slipped at all, but yesterday I did several times, even being careful, and was afraid I was going to bite the dust at any moment.

Here's what the track looked like the last couple of days.  It's kind of fun to be running through the snow at times. I like to pretend it's like running on a sandy beach, though my freezing nose tells me it's not.

 

I'm a little nervous about being able to run during the week. It really does still get dark pretty early, and being a working mom, it's hard to choose to go for a run over spending time with my daughter every night.   There's a gym right down the street from me with an indoor track I could run on for practically nothing, but let's be frank here-not going to happen.  Hopefully something works out.

Baking Cookies with Kaitlyn-January 30, 2010

 

 

Although I"ve already posted my 1 picture/day for today, I can't resist posting another couple.  This is the first time making cookies with Kaitlyn from scratch.  She had a lot of fun cutting out the shapes and did a really good job.  She also liked to "check on them" every once in a while, as seen above.

It was actually a pretty good recipe considering it is low fat and sugar free.  I got the recipe from:http://www.allhomemadecookies.com/recipes/cutout/sugarlesscookies.htm

I've got to say, I was a little doubtful when I put all the ingredients together. I just couldn't picture what these were going to taste like, but once they were done they were pretty good.  Nothing compared to the peanut butter cup cookies we made for Daddy, but still edible and flavorful.

Here's the recipe (in case the link doesn't work)
Sugarless Heart Cookies

by Becky Jones

To make these cookies, you will need the following ingredients:
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 package (0.3 ounces) mixed fruit sugar-free gelatin (I used strawberry instead)
Egg substitute equivalent to 1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, cream together the margarine and gelatin. Beat in the egg subsitiute and vanilla. Mix together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture, mixing well. Chill for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 400. Roll the dough mixture out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out cookies with heart-shaped cookie cutters (or any shape you desire). Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 6 to 7 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned and the cookies are set. Cool on wire racks.

Yields about 6 dozen

Diabetic Exchanges: One serving (2 cookies) equals 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat, 59 calories, 49 mg sodium, trace cholesterol, 5 gm carbohydrate, 1 gm protein, 4 gm fat

Note: You can change the taste of these cookies by trying different flavors of gelatin.

Sewing Update-January 2010

I forgot to post my update on my dress I was making for Kaitlyn a couple weeks ago.  I finally finished it and I think it will work out just great this summer.  I plan to use this experience to help me in future dress making endeavors, as I have learned quite a bit about how to measure fabric and the best order to cut and sew in.

Best of all, this rounds out one of my New Years' Resolutions for 2010!  I wanted to do at least 3 sewing projects 99% on my own.  I made this dress and two sets of burp cloths for a couple of baby showers I attended. All other sewing projects for the rest of the year are just icing on the cake, and it's only January! Yeah!

Finally Home-January 30, 2010

It's Saturday.  So glad.

Drove home this morning very early, and am pretty tired after last night.  We left the hotel just after 6:30am and made it home around 9:30am so just about 3 hours. The roads were SO much better on the way home than the way down there.  And I am very, very thankful.  Got to have some good conversation with the boss on the way as well so that helps.  He gave me great insight on how to prepare for future interviews for other positions, and what direction to take my personal development as far as classes today. Direction I have been needing for a while as I am constantly thinking of different courses to take but am never sure which ones are the best. 

We decided I would try to get everything turned in so I can test for my Series 6 and 63 license in the next couple months. I've been putting off getting everything turned in b/c I'm not sure what to do on the paperwork, but I'm going to get it done this week, I have to, I've had it since November!

Then I'm going to take some online courses through my company to help me understand what our newer agents are going through. And finally get my outside CPCU designation, which is an insurance designation that all insurance companies recognize, so that will be useful in case I ever change companies as well, which I don't anticipate doing at this time, but you never know!

After the drive home, I took a quick 30 minute nap and then time to go again. Kaitlyn and I headed down to my nephew Brett's first basketball game of the season.  They lost the first game but have another one this afternoon that we will have to miss due to nap time.

This is him playing.He's in the red, #3.  He's so cute!

Company Parties and the obstacles that come with them-January 29, 2010

It's Friday!  Yea, except, I had a full day today.  Went into work this morning and got a few things hammered out that had been sitting around, still so much to do though.  A bunch of silly things that I'm just confused on continue to lie on my plate from week to week. Really hoping to get motivated next week and just get them all figured out so they aren't hanging over my head anymore.

The weather isn't great around here, very cold and some snow, but tonight I had a End of the year Party for one of my districts that I was to attend. It was located 3 hours away. The roads and weather down there are said to be quite challenging. So we debated all day about if we were going. Finally at 1:30pm we headed down to the party.  It was a long, semi-stressful drive, as there were several cars along the side of the road and the roads were a bit slick in places. Additionally, the wind was kicking up a lot of fallen snow making visibility minimal at times.  Not to mention the fact that I was driving my boss's car, with him in it! 

Luckily we made it.  Very few people ended up attending which was disappointing but I'm glad we came. I think it showed our colleagues that my boss and myself are committed to them and their successes.  We had a very nice dinner and then went and did some gambling as the event was at a hotel/casino.  I lost 50 buck playing blackjack, not my game of choice, I'm a craps girl these days, but lone behold, there were no craps tables at this casino.  Anyway, it was ok, as my husband had graciously extended the invite for me to lose up to $100 without letting me feel guilty about it! So $50 wasn't too bad.  Didn't get to bed until 11:30pm though, and leaving at 6:30am tomorrow. Ugghh!

My room was gorgeous as many casino rooms are.  Huge flat panel tv, very spacious and an awesome bathroom. Lots of granite and nice fixtures. And the bed was nice and welcoming after a long day.  Here's a couple pics of the pretty bathroom.

Project Completion! Finally! January 28, 2010

Last month we decided it was time to do some minor remodeling to our kitchen.  We hope to move in the next 6-12 months, however, did not have much luck when we tried to sell last summer.  Given the current market, we want to make affordable improvements that will attract buyers, but not put us any more in the potential hole we may be in.

Here's the before:

Our other objective is to just do things that make us like our home better while we have to live here.  The kitchen remodel has achieved that!  New tile countertops, faucet, garbage disposal, microwave and finally paint!  The painting took me the last month! I got a little distracted.

Here's the finished product:

 

I don't love the paint color 100% but it does make the room much brighter and is very neutral for prospective buyers.  Still need to make new curtains but at least the majority is done.

First signs of Spring? Please!!!!- January 27, 2010

Today was a very good day.  I got a bunch of work done early and had a little extra time to work on our house. Cleaning and moving furniture around...taking down Christmas lights!  I know, about a month late, but it's been so dang cold here, it was just impossible to get out there.  There was a glimpse of sun today, so I had to run out and take advantage of it.  Turns out, they come down a lot easier than they go up!  I'm super excited too, b/c when my husband gets home tomorrow night, he will see I took care of it and he doesn't have to! That should make him very happy.

While I was out there I noticed these little greens coming through!

I am so excited for Spring. Fall is actually my favorite season, but I can't stand the cold, so I am really looking forward to Spring. These are flowers that the people who lived here before us planted. I don't really have a green thumb or whatever they say, so I am very thankful for their hard work!

Just me and the kiddo-January 26, 2010

My husband is out of town all week so it's just me and Kaitlyn.  We have lots of fun together, but of course, we miss daddy. I also hate staying at the house by myself, especially for several days in a row.  To make things even worse, a house a couple doors down from us was broken into the other day...not feeling real secure right now.  So yes, although I am 27 years old, a mom, and should be able to stay by myself in my house for 3 days, we're going to use this opportunity to go spend some time with Nana!  Made it 1 night by myself to prove I could do it, now, time to move on.

 

Tonight we went to dinner with Nana at On The Border.  It was good.  I'm trying to lose these silly 5 lbs I gained rapidly while we were hoping to get pregnant, and then the 9 weeks I was actually pregnant.  Eating at home and trying for smaller portions doesn't seem to be working, so I'm getting more drastic....actually working out and not eating high fat items! Novel idea I know. 

On the Boarder had a great steak salad with fat free mango vinigarette and a little bit of guacamole.  It was so good. It normally comes with a couple other things, cheese, sour cream, etc. but I just asked those not be put on. Good choice, it was just as good without them.  And we had a blast hanging out with Nana all night!

Emotional Phone Call Day-January 25, 2010

Interesting day of phone calls.  I received an email early this morning notifying me I would have a phone interview later this afternoon. So exciting!  I applied about a week ago and was beginning to expect the automatically generated rejection letter that has crossed my desk on occasion over the years.  So I was excited and nervous for the interview.

I think it went pretty well. I felt confident in 90% of my answers and don't know if I could have done much better. Now whether I get the job or not is another story, as SO much goes into these positions besides just a good interview. For all I know this may have just been a courtesy interview, but regardless, it was a good experience with more behavior based questions.

If I DO get an offer, things will get crazy in a hurry, as it will mean moving out of state.  Kind of in limbo right now, but I"m not too worried, either way, I won't be disappointed as there are a lot of other opportunities that I could try for as well. That being said, this one is really good, my top choice besides one that would involve me being able to stay in KC.

I also got another phone call today.  It was from our doctor who performed the procedure after we lost the baby at the first of the year.  They had submitted the samples to a specialist to analyze and try to tell us what may have happened.  Unfortunately, the results were inconclusive. They were not able to produce "growth" from the sample and therefore couldn't tell us anything, including what the gender of the baby would have been.  This was of course, very sad for us as we were hoping to get some sort of answer or insight. It would have also been nice to know the gender, just to know. But maybe it's better this way.   Hoping to try again in later in the year.  Trying to stay positive, but some days, some moments even, are harder than others.

Double Punch Day-January 25, 2010

Back to work today. Much of the same. However, today was Monday, and although there are many things that people dread about Mondays, double punch day is not one of them.

A little explaination- Fox and Hound has these little punch cards and when you get 5 punches you get a free lunch.  On Mondays, you get 2 punches instead of one, hence "double punch day".   Anyway, its the one day people you like to go to lunch with, will for sure go to lunch together.  I don't really think anyone really cares about the double punch that much (although, my frugal self, kind of does) but it's just an excuse for everyone to go. 

And the best part of going there, is we play pool while we wait.  I'm not a great pool player, but it's nice to have something to do while you're waiting FOREVER for your food to come....good punches, good pool, not so good service.  Ah well, you win some and lose some.

BTW, I lost again today. O well.

In other news, my poor husband had to fly to New York today. It was really windy here and there.  I was worried about him all day as he hates to fly.  I did get to exchange texts though, he made it and is at a good hotel. Miss him already, as does our daughter.

Sunshine at Last!-January 24, 2010

Today it was actually sunny out! It was so great. It was still cold though. The sun deceived me into thinking I could dress myself and my daughter in jean jackets instead of winter coats. Needless to say, I learned my lesson as we waited for the shuttle bus to pick us up from the church parking lot and take us down to the church building.  I felt so bad for Kaitlyn but I hugged her really tight and hopefully kept her warm enough.

After church we came home and had lunch and let her take a nap.  The hubs had to work all weekend so while he was busy working, I took both our cars and washed them.  This isn't an automatic car wash, no way, I don't think that's allowed in my husband's world!  So I stood out at the car wash bay getting them both scrubbed down.  A little chilly but well worth it, as both our cars, especially his, were disgusting, covered in salt and dirt from all the dirty snow that's been hanging around for the last 2 weeks.

Here are the finished products.  Nice and clean!

 

After naps were over we headed to my parents house for my sister's 33rd birthday!  Her and Kaitlyn have so much fun together. Kaitlyn even let her wear her princess crown!

Good day, before getting back to work tomorrow!

Baby Shower Day-January 23, 2010

Busy day today!  Had a good lunch with a more "mature" couple that we never really spend much time with. It was fun, and refreshing.  Always good to hear others' stories of what they have been through and you are experiencing or have experienced as well.

After lunch we hung out at home and prepared to head to one of our friends baby showers.  It was a "couple's shower" which meant my husband got to come to! hahaha, baby showers.  I love them b/c it means someone gets to have a baby and they get such cute stuff and are so excited. However....we all know, baby showers can be a little boring and baby shower games....painful at times. 

Tonight was much different though.  No games, thank goodness!  Just a bunch of friends hanging out and wishing our friends and their new baby happiness.

Here's the happy couple. Baby #2 for them!  Oh yeah, and it was a surprise shower for the mom, so she was a little unhappy at how she had dressed, but she still looked great, as always!

Coupons? -January 22, 2010

So I have this somewhat secret passion.  Most people that really know me, know that I am a bit frugal, but I'm not sure how many people really understand the joy good deals give me.  It's quite silly really, but I just like saving money and getting cool things inexpensively.

Now don't get me wrong, there are much more frugal people out there than me and I'm ok with that! But I had to share my fun day of deals.

I have been watching coupons. Only really for toiletry type items though. The occassional milk coupon maybe, but as for food, it just doesn't seem like there are good coupons for food that isn't really pretty bad for you.

So I went to CVS today and had all these mismash of coupons and rewards and whatever else the really frugal bloggers talk about, and got all these great items for $3!  Granted, I had $12 of rewards from a previous purchase.

Yea, happy day for me!

An Evening at Home-January 21, 2010

Had to take a short break from posting and taking pictures. I spent the last week pretty much working and hanging out with my family.  Good times, but of course, I wish I had taken more pictures! Pictures of my family make me so happy.

Here's one of my sweet daughter in her "cow girl" shirt!

Snowman Time!-January 17, 2010

I have been waiting to take Kaitlyn out in the snow ALL week!  But it has just been to darn cold. I hate the idea of risking her getting sick from playing outside, just so we can have a good time.  But finally today, it was mid 40's which feels like a total heat wave for this time of year. 

As always we had a busy Sunday. Our day never gets started until about 2pm as we have church, and then family lunch.  It's all good, but makes for a very short weekend.  While Kaitlyn took a nap I ran to do some shopping. A good time, but I wish I would have been able to wrap it up sooner to have more time to play outside.  As you can see, it was getting dark as we were trying to finish up our snowman.  Kaitlyn loved playing in the snow, she was not ready to come in!

Busy Day-January 16, 2010

For some reason, I always have trouble remembering to take a picture on Saturdays!  No picture today. Ran around doing errands with my family, hung out at the house all afternoon and then had some friends over to play a new game at night!  Another great day this weekend!

New Adventures-Friday, January 15, 2010

Today was a great day.  I finished up my work 3 hours away, it was great meetings with a lot of positive outcome.  Then it was off to dinner and fun with friends for a couple friend's birthdays!  We tried this new specialty burger place my husband and I have never been.  The wait was ridiculous, probably an hour and half or so.  It was busy, but really it was pretty terrible management at the hostess stand.  Actually I've considered sending in a comment but I'm always afraid that will cost someone their job, and I would hate that to happen, I just wish they were a little bit better at it!

Anyways, the food was pretty good. I had a bison burger, which I like. We also had some truffle fries and sweet potatoe fries. I haven't tried either one before, and they were both pretty good, although I would tire of them easily if I had them all the time. A good once in a while treat though.

Here's a picture of the remainder of my bison burger.

And this is the cute little baskets the fries come in!

Afterwords we went back to our house and just hung out for a while.  It was a super late night for me because I'm always go to bed at like 10pm, but at least I got to sleep in the next day!

Road Warrior-January 14, 2010

Part of my job entails being a bit of a "road warrior."  I don't mind it too much, as I normally get to stay within the state I live in and only go about 4 hours one way max.  This means a lot of my trips can be day trips, there and back in 1 day.  However, it's really not the best use of my time to do that all the time. It is much better if I can get down where I need to be as early in the morning as possible, spend the day meeting with people, stay all night and then meet with more people on the way back home the next day.   I generally do about 2-3 day trips a month and 2 overnight trips a month.  The drive is easy, meaning, straight and rarely has traffic, but the days do get a little long and a little lonely.

This morning was no different from most out of town trips. I got up super early and hit the road.  It was so dark out, I did not want to be driving, I wanted to be sleeping!  But it had to be done, however, I was not about to get up any earlier than I absolutely had to!  That means I had breakfast on the go.  A delicious 0 Calories, 0 Sugar LifeWater, a strawberry SoyJoy bar and this yummy banana!

I was driving for about 10 minutes wondering what the sound was I kept hearing! It sounded like something was hitting the side of my car.  When I finally realized, I laughed a little to myself...obviously, like I said, a bit lonely so I get a little loopy at times!  Turns out the banana peel I tried to throw in the "compost pile" on the side of the road, didn't quite make it. Hehe, adventures of a Road Warrior!

Sewing skills?-January 13, 2010

I saw this adorable dress style on etsy.com the other day and thought it looked like something I could manage.  Now, keep in mind, I have sewn all of 2 things in my lifetime and just recently got my own sewing machine.  Needless to say, my skills and patience regarding sewing are still being refined.  I didn't use a pattern or instructions on this dress. Just kind of wrapped the fabric around Kaitlyn and eyeballed it.  Obviously, it needs some modifications.  I guess I made it too wide, at least at the top, b/c the ribbon straps slip off her shoulders much too easily.  I think if I bring them in a little though it should still work out ok.  I also have to hem the bottom but that shouldn't take too long at all. I think I want it to hit right below her knee.  

Once I get this worked out, I'm going to look into also making a couple summer tunics for her to go with leggings. I'm also toying with an option of having her wear a shirt and leggings under a  dress for a winter/spring option, but that will have to be a different dress with more winter-ish colors.

More of Kaitlyn-December 12, 2010

Well, I missed taking a picture again yesterday. Darn it.  Had I taken one though, it probably would have been of my fingerprint.  Odd, I know.  But I had to go to the police station to get my fingerprints taken for my job. Kind of strange and a little inconvienient, but it's exciting b/c it's one of the steps I needed to take to prepare for a promotion one of these days, so that makes it better. 

Work was fine yesterday,  a little wierd, and a lot of those big sad looks of pity, but I made it.  I'm so lucky to have a husband that is supportive and helps paint a hopeful picture of the future for me.

Today's picture is of Kaitlyn of course! She so cute.  This is her in her "house/nest".  She makes me build one like everyother day.  First she plays in it by going underneath the blanket and calling it a house. Then, after I have secured it very tightly, she gets on top and plays in it, calling it her nest.  Such a creative young girl!

Preparing for the Upcoming Week-January 10, 2010

Today is our last day off before going back to work. I am dreading going back a little bit, not because of the job, but just not sure how seeing everyone is going to go.  We did make it to church today and that went ok. I saw some adorable little babies with their new mommies, which made me a little sad but I held it together. Still kind of a rough day.

We did get to see both of our families today.  Just tried to make it a normal day.  Kaitlyn loves my mom to read to her (as pictured above.)  And I love watching her read, I can't believe how quickly she is growing up and all that she comprehends. It's amazing.

Getting Out of the House-January 9, 2010

Today was a much better day. We had Kaitlyn home all day since it was a Saturday so that was good. Then we invited some friends over to play a little wii and go to dinner. It was a lot of fun and much needed. Although somehow I forgot to take a picture!

Hanging out at Home-January 8, 2010

Just another fun day hanging out at the house. It's so stinking cold outside. I haven't driven my car for almost a week and I don't plan to until I have to. There is like 6 inches of snow sitting on top of it that my ever-loving husband will surely remove for me when the day comes.

Kaitlyn loves this big dog my mom brought her at the hospital when she was first born. She always says, put it on my back, so she can carry it around the house. Too cute.

Thankfulness-January 7, 2010

I am so thankful for my daughter, Kaitlyn. Today was a rough day emotionally. But having her around makes things so much easier. She is so funny and lovable. I can't imagine not having her, especially during this difficult time.

This is her hiding in her closet. We play hide and seek. She hides here every time.

Cold, Dreary Day-January 6, 2010

Today instead of just sitting around being sad, we decided to head to the movies. We rarely go to the movies. We like the movies, we just don't go b/c it involves finding a babysitter, figuring out what day and what time, and then of course paying for it. But today was different as we welcomed the distraction from normal life.

We saw Avatar. It was pretty good. I definitely see the similarities b/t it and Pocahontas as people say, and it was a little long, but overall I enjoyed it.

It's frightfully cold out. This picture is of my covered car. It will likely not be driven for a while as the roads are a little slick and we prefer to take my husbands 4-wheel drive vehicle when possible.

A very painful day-January 5, 2010

Today is the saddest day I have had in a very long time. I was so looking forward to it, I had so many plans, and couldn't wait to get more information. Today we were heading to the doctor to hear our new baby's heartbeat for the first time. Today I should be 12 weeks and 1 day pregnant. They were having trouble hearing the heartbeat so had us wait in the waiting room until they could get us in for an ultrasound. In the meantime, we went ahead and scheduled our next appointment. I did this with a terrible feeling in my stomach, I think I knew then what we were about to experience.

They never found a heartbeat. They said the baby stopped growing at 9 weeks. I feel so bad for not knowing sooner. We are so sad. I know many women have been through this and gone on to have completely normal babies afterwords, but right now, we are full of sorrow and confusion. It is going to be a rough rest of the week as I have to endure a DNC 2 days from now.

We had already told our families and a few friends we were having a baby, due July 19th. I don't know how I will face that day. Or people that knew when I see them in person. I know they mean well, but that awful look of pity in their eyes is heartbreaking.

This picture is of the appointment card for the appointment we will never attend. A terrible reminder of the pain we are suffering right now.

No Domestic Diva Here!-January 4, 2010

I've been trying to cook more at home for the last few months. It went really well at the beginning, but then, I started wanting to try new things that seemed yummier. Tonight I tried fried rice. Argg, why can I not read directions closely? So silly, I got through the whole thing and was standing there thinking, how in the world is the rice going to get soft, the recipe says it's only suppose to cook in the pan for like 2 minutes....then I realized....the recipe said to add COOKED rice!

Are you kidding me? How could I have missed that? Morale of the story, read all directions first. This beautiful pile of ingredients ended up in the trash, being replaced by takeout.

The funny things kids do-January 3, 2010

Kids are so funny. I love how they catch on to things we think would be far above their level of understanding. Kaitlyn loves getting in my purse. We always get on to her for it, but really it's not her fault. I have this terrible habit of leaving it laying around and unzipped. Needless to say, my husband is not a fan of this little flaw!

Everytime we tell her to leave my purse alone, she says so cutely, "I'm just lookin." It's so cute the way she says it. It makes me smile just thinking about it. Anyway, she loves to get my chapstick out and put it on. She is very good at it and never eats it, although I have caught her trying to dig in it at times! I love this girl.

Family Day-January 2, 2010

We spent most of the day just hanging out and running a few errands. Then it was off to our annual after-Christmas party with my family. They are so much fun. We always play the White Elephant Christmas gift game. It is really a fun time. The women in my extended family are especially funny and caring. I love spending time with them, which makes me realize how much I need to make more of an effort to stay in contact with them.

Besides my extended family, my daughter, Kaitlyn, is amazing. She speaks so well and is very smart. I guess I'm her mom though so I don't mind bragging about her too awful much. Just a picture of her hanging out with me, really wanting to be a photographer herself!

Home Improvement Time-January 1, 2010

Happy New Year! What a great time of year, time to set goals and reflect over the last year. The one problem I have is I can never remember what all happened over the course of the year, or what goals I set for that year. Therefore, it's very difficult to evaluate if I achieved this goals. So this year, I typed out my goals and saved them in a safe place that I know I will refer to next year. Additionally, I expect to stay up to date on this blog that enables me to relive the year day-by-day anytime I want! How awesome is that!

This week our house has been "under construction." It's a mess! Carpet layers came the other day and we have some people working on our new kitchen counters. I am so excited for them to be done. Next on the list once those are done is to repaint the kitchen. Currently the walls are red, which was nice for a while, but is much too bold for our upcoming plans to put our house up for sale.

We are trying to go very neutral, as that is what we like anyways, and it is always advised by realtors in order for people to "imagine themselves living in our house." Worth a try.

This is the picture that hangs in our kitchen. I'm hoping to find a nice tan-ish, carmel-ish color for the walls to go with the picture and the new tile. We'll see!

New Year's Eve Celebration-December 31, 2009

Whether you agree this is the final day of the decade or not is debatable. But what is not is that 2009 was a good year for me. Work was stressful at times, but good. We are blessed to have two incomes and stable jobs. And we are very, very thankful that ourselves, our family and our friends are all healthy and well.

This year we rang in the new year with a trip to the local bowling alley! My daughter and husband had fun trying to get the ball all the way down the lane, and I had fun watching them and taking pictures. Unfortunately, the lighting in bowling alleys isn't real great, so the picture quality is poor, but you get the point.

After an hour or so of that, we headed home to put our daughter in bed and hang out for a while. We've never been real concerned with staying up until midnight, so we just set an alarm for just before midnight and then went and kissed our daughter when it was time. It was a relaxing start to the New Year.

Learning New Things-December 30th, 2009

Today is the first day I'm starting project 365. Trying to take 1 photo every day. I love it. Even days that just seem like nothing really happened, is another day that I cherish and am thankful for all God has provided me.

My parents bought me a sewing machine for Christmas. Kind of crazy b/c I am far from being Mrs. Domestic. But I do enjoy new things and hope to learn to sew. It can be a little frustrating at times, I constantly am messing up my thread or breaking needles, but it's so rewarding when you finally finish a project.

Today my mom came over to help me on my first project...Aprons! She worked on the one for me and had me work on the one for my daughter. It was actually quite complicated for a first project, in my opinion, but we got them done. Here's a picture of me and the little one in our aprons. Isn't she so cute!

Welcome to my life in Pictures!

Thank you for joining us! I love pictures, taking them, looking at them, remembering what was going on the day they were taken. Pictures are a walk down memory lane. This site is designed to paint a picture of my life. As we typically take pictures of the things we most enjoy, the site will be full of pictures of my family and friends. However, I will try to incorporate some other areas of my life, to have a well rounded record of this year and hopefully years to come.

The Challenge: A friend of mine posted about project 365. The idea is to take at least 1 picture a day to have a complete year in pictures! I think this is such a neat idea and really gives a recap of all that goes on in 365 short days! I can't wait to get started!