Christmas 2008

So, I will admit that I was a bit of a Grinch this year during Christmas and I am happy that it's over. This Christmas seemed like a normal day which was not very fun at all. On Christmas Eve, Jim and I went down to my Parent's house so that we would not have to travel very far Christmas Day. Normally on Christmas Eve Jim and I have a get together with part of his family and part of my family. This year went to see the Christmas Lights on Throughbred and then came back home and watched TV. Christmas Morning we went over to Jim's Parents to watch Our Niece's and Nephew's open their presents. We opened our presents as well. Gwen gave me a Tinkerbell keychain because we both share a love for Tinkerbell.
I got lots of clothes which I need and a foot massager which works really good. I also got slippers and some make-up. Jim and I opened our presents from each other on the 23rd. I got a Shark Steamer Mop which is what I really wanted, the David Cook CD, the Taylor Swift CD and a wall mirror so I can see myself without having to stand on the bed and look into the bathroom mirror. He also gave me a beautiful necklace that has a single pearl and a chram that says DREAM on it. I love it and have not taken it off since. I really do have a GREAT Husband.

So, on to New Years and the beginning of a AWESOME 2009.

Day 2 of our Snow Day

Wednesday night when we went to bed, it was still snowing. We woke up in the morning and our ruler that we put on the dog ouse was covered.

Tex decided her was wanted to go outside and see what all this excitemant was about but that did not last more than 5 minutes before he bolted back into the house.

Later in the day we walked through the snow and hung out with Adam & Nichole. The guys made there own coolers and then thought of an idea. We did a little redneck sleding which was a lot of fun!

Redneck Sleding= one Van with chains + a rope tied to the hitch + a boogie board.

Snow Days...

On Wednesday morning I woke up to walk the dogs before work and found that it was snowing. Lucy loved it! She hopped around like a bunny, rolled in it, chased it and learned that she could eat it. Hannah on the other hand, was not so excited. She prefer to watch Lucy from inside the warm house.

I went to work since it was not snowing to hard and when I came home for lunch my car got stuck in the snow. Thankfully, Jim's work had already sent them home for the day because my car it got stuck right in front of the house. So, my Knight in Shining Armor got out the shovel and shoveled a pathway so that we could get the car in the garage.

Jim and I enjoyed our snow day together. We tried to make a snow man and played in the snow until we got to cold. We made hot chocolate and turned on the fireplace.

Jim is back from Ghost Hunting

For Christmas this year, I got Jim a ticket to a Ghost Hunter's Weekend at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Katie got Jarrod a ticket too so they could go together. A fun Guys Weekend!!! The Guys were so excited because the stars of their favorite TV Show, Ghost Hunters would be there and the would get to meet them.

Jim is back and from everything that he has told me, he had a GREAT time. He said him and Jarrod had the best time and will never forget this experience. He is still talking about it. He got to party with Grant and Jason who are from TAPS, Ghost Hunters. He hung out with Chip Coffey and met a lot of other people from other TV shows. On Tuesday night it was Jim and Jarrod's turn to go Ghost Hunting. There were split into small groups and were given a chance to ghost hunt with each TV star. Jim said there was some crazy stuff that happened. He recorded the 5 hour ghost hunt on a voice recorder and I keep finding him "reviewing his evidence" while he is at home.

He wants to do it again next year... WHAT??? :) I think I might have started a bad tradition.

Just Me and Tex...

So, I've had no Husband and no dogs Saturday night, Sunday and Monday. Its been just Me and Tex and I think he is loving it. It's normally the dogs that follow me everywhere but now Tex has taken their place. Every time I go into a room, Tex is following right behind me. When I sit down, Tex jumps onto my lap and starts purring away. When it was time to sleep Tex is pawing at me to let him under the covers. When I woke up this morning he was right there staring at me. He then followed me to the shower. He sat on the counter and meowed until I got out and held him. Little does he know that I am picking up the dogs tonight.

Jim is at the Queen Mary in Long Beach for a "Ghost Hunter's Retreat" with his friend Jarrod. They are having such a blast. Before Jim left, it was an on going joke that Jim and Jarrod were going to party with Jason and Grant, who are the stars of the show "TAPS Ghost Hunters". Well, this morning I got a phone call from my hungover Husband saying that he really did party with Grant and they had so much fun. Jim also met Chip Coffey of PARANORMAL STATE and PSYCHIC KIDS. Jim has been taking pictures so when he gets home on Wednesday, I will put up a new post.

Thanksgiving at the Costello's.

On Wednesday, I picked my Mom up to come spend the night with Jim and I so that she could help us get ready for Thanksgiving. As you can see, Lucy and Hannah we very exctied to see her.

Thanksgiving Morning My Mom made us her famous Bisquits and gravy so of course I had to take a picture. Of course I also had to tell Danny when he got to the hosue that I had bisquits and gravy. yummy...

We even got some Indian that came to visit.

This year Jim decided to deep fry a turkey again. I bought a brining kit that smelled so good. We let the turkey sit in the brin for 16 hours as the instructions said.

The results...
















Believe it or not, the Turkey was AWESOME. The brin on the outside burnt but the inside was so juicy and flavorful. Jim did a good job!

A Big Surprise

On Wednesday I came home to a very big surprise. I had recieved flowers from ProFlowers. My Brother Brian, Becky and the boys sent me flowers wishing Us a Happy Thanksgiving and happy wishes. It was such a surprise. The pictures do not do them justice but the flowers are beautiful!!!

Thank you so much Brian, Becky and the boys! I wish you could have been here for Thanksgiving too.

Cristela's Wedding

Jim and I went to a wedding on Saturday evening. It was BEAUTIFUL! Seriously, picture perfect. There was a Mariachi Band in the begginning of the recpetion and then another band that played throughout the night. Cristela, the Bride, is one of my co-workers. When she first met Miguel you could see how happy she was. She glows everytime she talks about him. It was also great to hang out with my co-workers outside of work. Let me tell you... They are one crazy group! I don't talk much about work when I am at home with Jim so he was surprised to see how well we all get along. Since I am in my own office by myself, I guess he thought I didnt talk to many people in other offices.

Girl's Night Out...

Me, Megan, Amy, Kristi, Katie and little Madison all met at Vince's to celebrate Megan's birthday and just catch up. We all have so much going on that it is almost impossible to get us all together but some how we did it.
Each one of us is in a different stage in our lives. Megan has been married the longest and has a two year old who had his terrible two's at one and now has turned into her sweet boy. Katie is now learning how to be patient and not rip her hair out while Madison starts teething. I am at the stage where we have been married for 2 1/2 years and we are trying to have a baby. Amy is single but involved in her career and is now starting to think about dating again. And Kristi just got out of a realtionship and is learning the joys of being single again. To see every one of us in a different stage was funny but we still had lots to talk about. We had so much fun that we are all going to try to meet again on Saturday at Katie's house. We are going to bring the guys this time though they always hang out in the garage and have their boy talk.

After Dinner we stopped by my Parent's house to visit and show off Madison

Taco's with the Family

So I am a little late but better that than never. On November 2nd we all met at Aunt Lynne to visit Jon, Brittany and Layla. Jennifer, Jeff, Brandon and the boys came down from Oregon and Lindsey came over to visit as well. I always look forward to family gatherings anytime they come around.
First let me say that Layla is so cute! She was so much fun to play with and she didnt mind being passed around from person to person. Her smile was contagious. Ben and Levi were lots of fun too with enough energy for everyone. Of course being the good & loving Aunt Lara, I bought them some toys which included playdough, a puzzle, a small etch n' sketch, and some other fun stuff. Jeff and Jenny were thrilled about that... hehehe.
Mom made her famous tacos and let me tell you... they were AWESOME!!! The best I have had in a long time. (Note to B & B: YOU REALLY MISSED OUT!) ;) wink, wink. I think Mom had every possible topping for the tacos. Jenny was nice and helped Mom cook the taco shells and then Mom finished the rest. Of course I snatched one from Jenny's pile and the other from Mom's pile of shells. I dont know how she does it but Mom can make the best food taste even better. Just like Mom's tuna sandwhichs, bisquits and gravy, tacos or spaghetti. Opps, sorry... I got a little off track.

After looking at the pictures it made me realize the best part of the visit which I did not notice when I was there. Our Mom and Aunt Lynne and been friends since they were like 17 years old. They have watched each other date, live as rommates, get married, have kids, raise kids, and now watch their kids have kids and move on to the next stage of being proud Grandma's. It's a funny little circle which makes me appreciate my friend and look forward to my 50-somethings with my friends and family.

No Kids, I like my sleep to much..

So, I have some bad news. I have decided having kids might not be the best idea for Jim and I. Mostly ME. I love my sleep to much!!! Let me explain...

I volanteered to watch Katie's 9 month old little girl, Madison. She is adorable and I love being around her. Katie is a school teacher and there was a fundraiser at John's Incredible Pizza from 11pm to 2am which she had to go to. So I got to Katie's house at about 8:30ish and Madison was already sleeping. Katie was actually worried because Madison ate at 4pm and fell asleep after that. So, we were not sure if she was going to wake up or sleep the whole night. Katie left about 10pm and I decided to go to bed shortly after that. I put the monitor in the room with me and it began. I could not sleep. Every move Madison made I was awake. Every wimper and wine, I was up. I seriously laid there at about 1:00 am and listened to Madison breath for 30 minutes. Katie came home and I was still up with cat naps in between. At 4:oo am Katie's German Shepard, Noah woke me up to take him outside. I came back to bed and Madison woke up around 6am. We was so adorable and so fun. We had breakfast together, played with the hangers, danced, and watched a little TV before Katie woke up.
Now let me say, Madison was an Angel. She slept through the night and was perfect in the morning. I just need sleep. On my way home I called my Mom and broke the news to her that I can not have kids. Then when I got home I broke the news to Jim. After about a half an hour he stopped and turned towards me asking "are you serious?"
Later we went to Toys R Us which is combined with Babies R Us. I ohhhhh'd and awwww'd over everything and even saw a nursery cribbing that we both liked if we every had a girl.
So I am back on track and I have decided having a baby or babies would be fun and perhaps, just maybe, worth losing some sleep.

Halloween Party Slideshow

The Halloween Party

After a week of cleaning and preping for the Halloween Party and 5 hours of cleaning to get my house back in order, our Halloween Party has come and gone. It was great to see everyone in their costumes. I think that was my favorite part. It was so much fun to watch everyone stop and turn when the door bell rang to see who it was and what they chose to be for Halloween. The laughter was none stop. Some costume were funny, some were scary and other chose toshow their sexy side. We had music and dancing inside and a firepit outside. Everyone had a great time and after a long night of partying we finally laid in bed at 2:59am.

Small Things

Today was just an average day at work until something great happened. I got a picture message of my Nephew, Brian, which absolutley made my day. It really surprised me how one small gesture can change a persons attitude. So a big Thank You to Brian and Becky for sending me a picture of my little man. He is so stinkin adorable!!!