I am 30!

Well today is officially my 30th birthday.  I am kind of freaking about it.  Not necessarily because I am "old" , but because I feel as if I have left behind a much different time.  I am officially an "adult" and people expect things out of me.  I know that sounds ridiculously crazy because I have a daughter, I am a teacher, I own a home, etc.  But, I think about the things that I have done earlier in my life and I get a bit sad because I will never have that independence or worry free times again. .. not that I necessarily want to go back either. 

Maybe I have someone who will read this,. . I don't really know.  But, I do have a memory about each one of you, from an earlier time, who "follows" my blog.

Miranda- Formal. . .when you came to my house to get pics taken at the fireplace of my house for our formal.

Amie - Freshman year of college. .. . when we would walk to the Frat parties together and then walk home a bit tipsie afterwards.  :)  That was so much fun!

Melissa - we used to cheer together. .. what more can I say. . .I just found a button pin of you and I flexing in our cheer uniforms.

Amy- I remember staying the night at your house and your parents buying pizza for us and me having the biggest crush on your brother. I also remember going to your big sisters wedding reception. 

Our Christmas

We had such a busy, fun filled Christmas. .. I will just include pics to tell the story.   Here is the tree before everyone added their presents.

Here is the overloaded tree. .. ..CRAZY!

Part of the 13 that were at my house. Jody (my brothers wife) Grammy( Eric's mom) and GG(my mom).

My niece and nephew. . .they are twins and Taylor.'

 

Santa and his reindeer showed up too.

Gram, the one in the blue, is Taylor's Great Grandmother.

The Family.

My brother, Shawn and Phil.. . .after a few drinks and presents.  :)

Before bed, Taylor modeled Eric's hat.  I think I would kiss the cutie!

"Santa" putting together the kitchen for Miss Taylor.

When Taylor woke up that morning she screamed, "Santa left me a kitchen!!! WOOOHOO!"

My dad came after the big group of people left. He stayed the night so that he could watch Taylor open presents in the morning.  But. .. first. .. .he had to model the "infamous" hat.  :)

Merry Christmas!

Wish me luck!  This year I am hosting Christmas Eve Dinner.  I will have 12 people at my house.  Eric and I are cooking the turkey, ham, stuffing, scalloped potatoes and the dessert.  MAN!  Let's hope we can figure out how to get it all done with one oven. 

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday. Enjoy the time that you have with your family and friends, but most of all remember why it is that we celebrate. 

I interviewed Taylor.

1.  How tall is mommy? 
   -she says, "6-3-1"

2.  How old is mommy?
   -"you are going to be 30 on your birthday."

3.  Why does mommy love you?
 -"Because you miss me"

4.  What is your favorite thing to do with mommy?
-Paint and Color. .. .that is my FAVORITE!

5.  What does mommy do at home?
 -clean, vaccuum, and do your work

6.Is mommy a good cook? 
-Yes. .. I like sandwiches.

7. What are we going to go do next?
-Jog out and make cookies. (That sounds like a good mixture right?. .. .Taylor works out with me everyday.)

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Here is this year's Santa picture!  As you can clearly tell from the look on Taylor's face, she enjoyed this year.  A far cry from the previous years.  :)

She told Santa that she wants a Leapster. .. . .he better follow through.  

CANCUN . . .here we come!!!!!!!

It is official!!!!!! We are going to Cancun on February 4 -11.  Eric just went and put the deposit down with the travel agent on Friday.  I am so thrilled.  We will be going with another couple.  They will make the vacation so much more fun!  The husband is the friend that I got Scuba certified with over the summer. 

Needless to say, I have started my diet. The last time I went to Mexico I gained 8 pounds in a week!!  Yes.  You heard that correct.  8 pounds.  I am so SORE!  I have gone back to the P90X videos.  I don't do them 6 days a week, but I do them 4 days.  I can't believe how out of shape I am.  I run on the treadmill 4 days a week, but apparently that is not the same thing as getting my butt kicked by Tony Horton.  I am bound and determined to wear my bikini in Mexico and not be a bit nervous about it.

Let's hope I come back from Cancun with a baby in the oven, that will hold on for longer than 5 weeks!   The timing will be perfect!  :)

My bargain of a Christmas tree!!!

So, this year I wanted to purchase a fake Christmas tree. My reasons were simple:  1.  I could put it up earlier without worrying about it dying.  2. I would not have to water the darn thing every day.  3. No clean up of needles.

I did NOT want to spend a fortune on a Christmas tree, so I went to Craigslist. My FAVORITE place to look for items or sell items. (on a side note, I sold my highschool car in 4 hours on craigslist)  I just typed Christmas trees in the search box.  That was all it took.  I had a HUGE selection of fake trees to pick from.  The prices ranged from $25 to $80.  WHAT A BARGAIN!  The tree I ended up selecting was 7 feet tall, had been purchased from one of those Christmas tree decorating contests. It was fully decorated with lights and ornaments. Plus, it had never been used. The woman who was selling it never liked the idea of a fake tree and never used it.  She kept it fully assembled and covered in her garage.

I have attached a picture of the tree after I fixed it up a bit.  It was a bit "country" for my taste. The horrible part about  "fixing" the tree was removing the ornaments that  were wrapped around each branch with wire.  So, taking off some of the ornaments took about 2 hours.   I have also included the pile of ornaments that I am selling on Craigslist.  If I sell them then, I can earn back part of the $50 I spent for the tree.

Notice that I already have gifts?  I started in September.  :)

 

Look at all of those ornaments that I removed!  Can you believe it?