2010

Some things that have happened this year:

*  Surviving my second after Brew fest activities with Chad and a wonderful group of men- getting relationship advice from men, and losing my bracelet made by Malissa
*  the birth of my niece Tegan
*  Gaining an actual title at work- Office Coordinator 
*  getting rained out at the St Pete race which made for 2 days at the track and wearing jeans
*  experiencing Universal Studios for the first time
*  Inheriting ducks as kids while at the apartment that showed up for dinner most days thanks to Darren
*  sharing an apartment
*  moving into Darren's house
*  putting 2 apartments into a house- it's still a work in progress
*  taking my family to the track for a tour
*  my third Indy 500, second with Darren
*  2 visits from Malissa; my visit to see her in Ohio
*  spending Easter for the second year with Darren's family
*  visiting the local pool, once
*  not realizing we were nearly in Canada until crossing the border
*  being proposed to in a hotel room
*  realizing the hotel pool was disgusting
*  having to wait 2 days before sharing it with family and friends when we crossed back into the US
*  asking a pit crew member for a team shirt
*  surviving slumber parties @ Chad's
*  a full grounds tour at the track and sharing it with Darren, his parents and grandpa
*  Celebrating the engagement with Chad and his excitement about being at my side
*  visiting Mansfield reformatory with Malissa, my first prison shoot
*  Celebrating my 26th Birthday with just Darren- realizing how much I like to have my family around for those
*  Our trip to California: my first visit to San Fran, seeing Dana and Josh, Yosemite and not thinking I was going to live to see another day, staying in a hotel that had NO hair shampoo so I washed with body soap, Korbel tour, and the Race where we shared a bottle of Korbel
*  A great engagement photo session with my cousin and his family
*  Having a mini break down in the dentist office as they are prepping me for a filling
*  Darren's parents meeting my mom- and being a nervous wreck
*  Going wedding dress shopping and thinking I was going to have an anxiety attack
*  Attempting to plan a wedding- In which Mrs. D has been so great with suggestions and listening
*  Some friendships dissolving and wanting to work on others
*  Finding THE dress with Jess and no stress
*  Getting Save the Date photos out to our family and close friends
*  Asking to elope in Vegas for the millionth time-  Darren  has not caved in
*  Seeing ND football with Darren's friends
*  Playing the Wii in our own family competitions
*  Realizing my niece is growing up so fast
*  Having my relationships evolve with my sister and friends
*  Beginning orthodontic treatment- its been hard in regards to food do's and dont's but in 12 weeks seeing such a difference
*  Having phone dates with one of my first College roommates on a weekly basis, but then came the holidays
*  A few trips to see Shana and the family- with Halloween pumpkin carving being a big hit again
*  Realizing that I have changed and how I want to be a better person, less OCD, and that I have grown up
*  Making so many desserts for my Mom's 50th Birthday/Thanksgiving
*  Being sneaky about Darren's Christmas gifts
*  Finishing another semester of classes
*  Being able to go to Phi Mu Alumnae events
*  Seeing Wicked for the first time and loving it
*  Realizing we did not mail out Christmas cards and not worrying about it- life's crazy
*  Taking a bath in our home for about 5 days straight, then showers while away for Christmas then a couple more
*  Getting a whole different hair style
*  Hosting our first Dinner party for my co-workers and their significant others
*  Living in a construction zone since May- but its getting there

I am sure I missed other things but these are some of the few things that stick out in my head and that were captured.   It has been a year of ups and downs and laughs and break downs on my part but realizing how blessed and Loved I am and that life is a work in progress. 

I have quite a few goals and things I am looking forward to in the year to come- more on that soon.

Things that have happened

Some things that have happened since my last post:

*  I found a photographer and will meet with her in January sometime to see her portfolio and get details
*  Another semester of class has been completed
*  I got to see Wicked and it was great, an awesome gift- to myself
*  Took baths for a week straight due to our full bathroom being torn down for the tiling and such
*  Stayed up way too late baking and getting things ready to see our families and then sleeping in and being late to work (mind that this was a 6:30am start for the office and not the regular 8:30)

*  Got to take a shower, my first in a week

*  Managed to forget items at home when we headed to the Bend

*  Time with my family: my niece Tegan was slightly more excited about the tissue paper than her gifts BUT grandma knocked it out of the ballpark with a Build-A-Bear, her face lit up so fast it was great

*  Found out that Tegan can blow kisses, she is 10 months and this amazed me, she also made a fish face, got angry about being dressed, enjoyed the cookies that grandpa bribed her with
*  We played Wii once again and I was almost the tennis champion and only had to defeat Darren, thanks to Eze and his distractions I lost
*  I got little time with my extended family as they came much later than anticipated but It was great and mostly relaxing

*  We made it safely to the W and got a decent nights rest before Christmas Day

*  I got to take my second shower
*  Relaxed, helped Mrs. D with her iphone, then everyone arrived for lunch
*  I got to see Toy Story 3 for a second and third time, I fell asleep towards the end but Carter came to wake me up and it was funny to see his excitement about how I missed the claw (there are games on the link)
*  We saw the boys tear through their gifts, Chase gave us quite a few full sentences
*  And then we came back home, this time I stayed awake- we opened our gifts and Darren prepared his autograph items for the next morning
*  I have since mostly laid around the house, cleaned what I could with all the various construction items around the house its not as easy as I like or even as clean as it should be
* Its cold out and I do not want to face it, we did go see The Tourist last night- it was good

Here are a few photos from this Christmas

 Tegan likes the camera, wanting to see the image after it was taken and then she would kiss the screen of her photo.  She also climbed on Luz(mom) for the cookies she had, and she got angry when she pulled them further away.  But of course my sister gave in.

The girls

 Dad, grandpa and Eze.  Tegan giving her bear kisses.

 Edina took care of Tegan while mom and Luz went shopping, she made her a bottle and I wrapped her up on my lap, she was out before we knew it.  But woke up in a good mood.  On the Right she is blowing kisses- I have a short video but I will have to see if its possible to change the image upright.

 Darren was tapping his foot and Tegan came and nearly sat on it and she would hold his foot, then move it and then grab his foot again.  Tegan also enjoyed her sippy cup that we got her.

 It was fun to see the boys ready to open each gift, they would get one open and the next would come.

 At the end of a busy day the boys came down to see the movie and they were relaxing.

Some things to look forward to:

Having co-workers over for an end of the year gathering later this week, just hope Darren can get things done as he planned on

Seeing Jess for the first time in 2 months, she is engaged and this will be interesting as she is in our wedding

We start pre-marriage counseling in January: I am interested to see how this will help us

Meeting the photographer

Figuring out my vacation days for 2011-Darren has planned on a few weekend getaways that will mess with everything else on my schedule

Possibly joining a group at the church for engaged and young married couples

Planning this wedding: we need suits and tents taken care of soon: can we still go to Vegas?!

Setting atleast a once a month get together with Darren's sister and her family

To see me slowly lose it with too much stress

Wonderfullness

This week has been a project filled week in our home. My dad came into town Sunday afternoon and stayed until the plumber left on Friday afternoon. In the time he was with us 2 of our bedrooms have bi-fold closet doors, the door for the hallway closet and basement have been replaced, about half of the tiling for the full bathroom has been laid and some insulation on the outside wall. It's been a lot that both my dad & Darren have been working on this week. Last night Darren was on his own so I heard a little bit of frustration as he tried to level the tub and trimmed cement board for the 3 walls surrounding the tub.

It was really great to have my dad here with us, he did what he could by himself while we were at work and then the progress would continue with Darren's arrival from school. I made dinner a couple nights when I got in and we sat down to talk and eat.

Darren has a little bit of work in front of him to finish up the bathroom and make it useable. We already have our color picked out for the bathroom, and tile for around the bathtub. But I know it's a lot of hours to get things set and dry before we can use the room. Although I may have to take a bath, if he will let me, I still have to stay clean.

Music...

I only listen to K-Love when I drive, I highly recommend the station.  These songs make me feel good, just listen to the words- the messages are so great.



I never connected that Jason Castro was on American Idol, mostly because I am not addicted to the show.  So if he looks familiar I am sure the dreadlocks got you there.





This song introduced me to Jonny Diaz, something to think about as a woman.  I always imagined the video in my head while driving and it looked quite a bit different than what they came up with, regardless the words are what get me.

Here comes Christmas

I have been looking forward to the wonderfulness of the winter celebrations. The idea of getting the house ready for Christmas with decorations and the great cheer that I long for. There has been such great excitement for as long as I can remember and having a home with Darren to share and begin to make the memories that we will never forget. Well after taking the 24th of November off from work to make desserts for Thanksgiving, which were a hit, and bringing the babies back to Indy for the weekend, Darren and I put up a Christmas tree. I realized that my 2 small boxes would not go far at all when it comes to decorating. We have a wreath at the front door, our stockings and the babies, a couple small snowman related items, a tree with lights and 3 ornaments. Darren stated on Sunday that he would be putting up ornaments on Monday, but it's Wednesday and he has not done or said anything about getting to it, and until he decides to put some up it will stay that way.
I wrapped a couple of presents and this weekend I will finish my shopping and wrapping. So even if the decorating, rather the lack of, has brought my spirits down the Christmas music and prep should help get me back in gear.