2012 in Review

So I normally don't like doing two posts in one day, I just don't think it looks good for the layout, but I really wanted to post both of these posts today. This one I wanted to revisit all our big moments this year:

January:

January was pretty exciting, we got our Passports (finally!) just in time for our Bahamas cruise. I also got my wisdom teeth removed that month, which has been on my "to-do" list for about 8 years now, so I was really happy to not only have them taken out, but to have it be painless and it didn't break the bank to get done! It was a great way to start off the new year!

February

February was probably one of the funnest months this year since it was when we took our Bahamas Cruise and our second vacation just us. It was a blast going to Orlando Studios and to also see how beautiful the ocean was and play in it. It was definitely a memorable trip!

March

March seems to be a little uneventful, the only thing of noteworthy I can mention is that's when we found our current home and also I got to achieve another dream of taking a picture with a real bear, which is something I've always wanted to do! It may not have been an adult bear, but it was super cute and I wanted to take it home with me.

April

April was another slow month. I got called in for my first Jury Duty, and I was one of the first people I know of to actually get selected. I had fun learning about how the whole jury "system" works and we got fed some pretty awesome food, but I don't think I'd want to do it again. It was pretty extreme and intense. One of the lawyers was a little too emotionally involved and the judge had to tell him to calm down more than once (a day even!).

May

May was one of the most exciting, eventful, busy months for us. Many things happened (maybe to make up for the previous two months). For one, I got my new job at HealthEquity that month, a GREAT move for me and it's not been a choice I've regret since! Larry graduated from Cochise College with his associates. He worked so hard for his degree and from an Arizona college-out of state seems like it'd be really complicated, but he made it work so well and I'm so proud of him!

Oh yeah, and we got engaged!! Which was my favorite part of the month, of course :)
I really think May started off the greatest part of our 2012 year!

June

June was another GREAT month. Why? Because that's when we got our first, very own home!

I love this home and it has, by far, been the best thing to happen for us as a couple ever! If I haven't been obvious enough about how much I love it, hopefully this one has convinced you haha.


July

July was our free Vegas trip that resulted in another semi-free cruise to the Bahamas so it was also a fun month. I love our Vegas trips, and this one was pretty cool because we got to see a couple shows for the first time in all our trips there (The Excalibur show and Peep Show with Holly Madison-which I realized when we saw it she was a couple months pregnant at the time). Larry and I always have a good time in Vegas, even if the trips are pretty short.

Greetings from Vegas! Larry clearly wasn't shaving then and I
Was being lazy with my hair haha

August

August was our wedding filled month! We got to help plan Larry's brother's wedding for one and we also did our engagement session at the end of the month. It was special to be a part of Skyler and Jena's day (I don't think I've cried so much during a wedding! But it was out of happiness-I'm so happy they got married and Jena was so gorgeous in her dress!)

September

September we got to celebrate baby birthdays! I never realized how fast the first year of a baby's life goes until I got to see two of them just completely fly by, and they weren't even my kids! I don't think I even want to know how crazy fast it'll go when it is our kids! It was fun comparing the pictures and how much they've each grown and learned in such a small period. Congratulations, again, to the parents!

October

October was another fun month. It started our first holiday season in our home, Larry and I got to celebrate 8 years together on the 15th, AND I picked out my wedding dress. I still don't even get to see MY version of the dress (because they had to change a few things about it) until the end of January, but believe you me, I'm very very anxious and excited to see it!

November

November will always be one of my favorites because that's when I finally got to have my lasik done! Something I've wanted done for about 7 years now! It's been so nice seeing everything lately. I had a follow up appt today and both eyes together are 20/20, my left eye is super amazing (don't know the EXACT degree, but I'm pretty sure it's a notch above 20/20), my right eye still has some healing to do so we'll see where it gets to in a few more weeks. I joke this seemed to be my year of surgeries because I got my two major ones done and am so, super glad I did!

December

December is still happening, but only for another hour! Other than holidays the only thing I can put of note, but one I guess I haven't really shared with anyone yet, is Larry got accepted into UofU for his next take on school! He's hoping to start Spring of 2013 (even though I think he should wait till after our wedding, but it's his schooling and I know he can take on a lot more than I give him credit for). He's such a smarty pants, it'll be so nice once he gets in and we can see what his schedule will be like. Love that man and everything he does for our future to make it better!

It is pure craziness to believe how fast this year went. Normally I notice it a little more, but last night I turned to Larry and was like "holy smokes, the very last day of 2012 is tomorrow! Not this week, TOMORROW!" I have loved this year so much and am so excited for 2013. There's so much I'm looking forward to next year: our wedding, our honeymoon (AAAAHHH!!), our cruise, plus more! I've got it in my head that next year will be filled with adventure and good times, I want to get so much stuff crossed off our Baby Bucket List, plus get as much schooling done so that I can finish up in 2014 (woops to my goal to be done by next May!). Can't wait till this time next year and to see what I/we can say we accomplished!

Revisiting the Resolutions

So this past week I've been thinking about resolutions and whether I really want to make any for 2013 considering no one ever really keeps to them. Well then I went back and looked at the ones I made public for 2012 and I realized...I actually did pretty good with them this year, there are only 2 I didn't really do. As a refresher my goals/resolutions were:

• Get my wisdom teeth out
• Hopefully, get Lasik this year (this really depends on how much the wisdom teeth ends up costing me)
• Take our Bahamas cruise
• Get passports (for the cruise)
• Get into a medical coding job
• I'm back to learning a new language (I'm thinking Italian, but we'll see)
• I'm also back to getting into a workout routine and eating healthier

The only two I didn't do was getting into a medical coding job and learning a new language. I will say those were my far fetched ones anyways. I do still want to learn a new language or two, I'm working on one currently, but it's kinda a secret and as for the medical coding job...well I most likely won't be doing that. I found out some new things about being in that field that wasn't what I was expecting so it kinda went on the back burner and I really love my job and the people I work with and there's opportunity for me to grow where I'm at and I like that idea right now so I'm staying put. There was another one on my goals list that I accomplished this year, but I didn't make public and I'm really proud of it so I'm making it public now. I have a TERRIBLE, rotten, gross habit...I pick at my fingers. It started when I was young and would usually only be during the winter when my skin was really dry, but for the past couple years it's been all the time, not just winter. I'll tell ya, it bugged the crap out of Larry. I'd always stop for a couple days, but it was almost therapeutic for me so once I saw a new "peel opening" I'd stop everything and just go at it. It was terrible and I was always ashamed to show people my hands or fingers. Well as of today it's been about 4 months since I've peeled them, which doesn't sound like a long time, but it's the longest I've ever gone and I hope to never start again. I've gotten to the point where if I do see something that could lead to peeling I immediately put lotion on so I don't do it anymore. It's been so nice having it gone away with...even if it still is a work in progress! You know how we all have that one habit we've been wanting to do away with for forever but it just never seems to go, well this was mine and I'm glad I can start the new year with one less fault on my list.

So seeing as how I actually accomplished a lot more than I thought I did, I think I may make some 2013 resolutions...to be posted later!

Becoming a little more domesticated

So it took me a REALLY long time, but I finally got some of our frames filled with pictures!!

Oh how excited I am! I've had most of these frames for over a year and I've had a box of pictures and empty frames in a corner since we moved in...so this has definitely been a task in the making!



I have to do closeups of our pictures though:

I saw this frame on a trip to Kohl's and HAD to have it!
I absolute love the clothesline and pins for the pictures.

This frame is from our Universal Studios trip in February

This one my aunt, Cindy, got us as a housewarming gift.
I LOVE the frame and that's my absolute favorite
Picture of Larry and me.

Even though I've decided we won't be doing any decorating to our place till after the wedding (I want to focus on one room at a time and there will most likely be painting so I figure why put holes in our walls if we'll just have to cover them up to put them back in again?) I wanted to at least fill the frames for some fun until we could do some fun decorating. I'm debating doing one more photo shoot with just Larry and me in April/May to have a bit of a mixture of pictures to frame so it's not just the ones from our engagements, but we'll see if that ends up happening I can talk Larry into doing another one.

Also, another domestic happenings in our place, I've been cooking a ton more than I had before we moved in, which is just so much fun! Well for my birthday my grandma got me the CUTEST apron (one of the ones we registered for):

(I'm still not wearing makeup from my lasik, so
I'm not taking any pics of me IN the apron, but this
Is from the site)

It says "Little Black Apron" on it and has pearls lining the neckline and has some black lace on it. I LOVE that it's my first real apron and it fits me so well! So now cooking is even more fun :)
I'm still learning fun things to mix with each meal or combining different things to make new recipes with my old ones, but it's been so nice having real dinners with Larry and mixing in old ones we used to have (like spaghetti or burritos/tacos). Plus with our meal planning each week, I feel we've saved a little bit of money with grocery shopping since we aren't really going in blind and buying stuff we don't end up using.

One big reason I love these changes is because (I've been talking a lot about this with some work people and Larry) when I first moved out from my mom's I kept thinking "I'm going from a house that was always clean, we had regular, fairly healthy, meals, and  a pretty routine sleeping schedule to a place that has none of that." I mean everything was set just so and it offered a sense of security at my mom's and I felt like I was taking a gigantic step backwards. I mean, I'm sure my mom wasn't ALWAYS so routine (although knowing her, she might just have been). I figure she had to have started similar to where I was starting on my own, but it scared me to think I had to figure it all out by myself instead of it just being there, like I was used to. Moving into that small, cramped, supremely messy apartment with Larry's dad was definitely not ideal, but we were together and we had our own room so it worked. Although, it was very depressing knowing I ate meals that were made in the microwave or on an old, used up skillet and then going to visit mom and they were having one of their yummy dinners I missed so much, I just used it as motivation that I would be back to that kind of house again (and NO, not by moving back in with her-even though I did for a brief period while Larry was in Basic and AIT). Moving into this condo, and making it our home, is EXACTLY where I wanted to be. We have a pretty routine sleeping schedule (except on the weekends!), we eat pretty good meals (not mac n cheese-that's for dang sure!), and even though it may not be clean all the time, it's not nearly like it was at Larry's dad's house! I love it, it only took me 7 years to get here, but I'm glad I am and I'm glad I started out in a not-so-ideal place so I could learn what I wanted to be back to. Being in this home has just improved so many things for us, it makes me love the choice we made to buy it and make it all ours!

So really, that's all I had, but I wanted to share our cute pictures in our cute frames that took me...well let's just say those green and pink cat frames were a Christmas gift from like 3 years ago! And I would like to point out (for all those that think we're crazy cat people) NONE of the cat frames were bought by Larry or myself-they were ALL gifts to us. But I do love them and loved finding pictures for them so thanks for the gifts! Happy New Years all (in 2 days!).

Oscar hates bigfoot!

You can really see him running in the one above, but the one below I took first. They crack me up! By the way: Oscar NEVER runs from us unless he's playing, which he wasn't in these videos. He would NOT stop staring at my slippers. Baby girl hates the camera so she doesn't do anything funny which could be why she acted so cool around them in the one video.

All I Want For Christmas Is You

So I have to say, this Christmas has got to be, hands down, one of the best I've ever had! The only thing that would've made it better was to have my brother, Andy, home for it. But I know he's trying to be here for my wedding so I completely understand. We got to Skype with him for a little bit-I'll admit, it brought tears to my eyes. I just miss him so much and knowing he doesn't get to be with our loud, sarcastic, uber fun family breaks my heart (especially around the holidays!). Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year, so to think of not being with my family? Man, that's tough and he does it without any complaining so I really can't wait till he gets home.

We got A TON of stuff this year! I mean just look at this haul:

 

Oh and if anyone thinks we need anymore sweets or treats, well I invite you to look at our dining table here:

We are definitely good for some time, but know that I am NOT complaining one bit, I love candy so this is happiness to me. But there will be no dining on this table for a while haha.

Also, look how cute this little guy is:

It's a cookie jar, and I'm OBSESSED with bears! I've already warned Larry our house will be decorated with bear stuff AND I didn't have a cookie jar yet. I love it! Thanks to my friend Stace

Now award for the most entertaining gift ever goes to my parents. Side note: There's an on going joke in my family that I have big feet, it started with a random comment and has just taken off as my nickname among my step-dad and brothers. I don't think my feet are super big, but compared to my legs and ankles they do seem to be...abnormal. Anyways, for one of my gifts I got these:

Oh my gosh they are so warm and comfy and I love them! I laughed so hard when I got them-fits so well. Well Oscar HATES them! He freezes when I walk and if I run...oh lord help that poor kitty as he dashed without looking anywhere away from them. I crack myself up with it. And while this isn't the best video, I happened to catch him real quick before hiding from them on video (which I guess I'll have to post in a separate post as the video won't be on here without the HTML code and with that the pictures don't show). Anyways, just know it's hilarious until I do post the video, best entertainment ever! Larry loved all his gifts, of course. I think he might have expected most of the ones I got him, but the ones he didn't expect I think he loves! I'm glad I know him so well! I'll post more about our Christmas later, for now I just wanted to show how much we're loved and thought of this season and say I hope everyone else had a GREAT Christmas like us :)

Holiday Fun!

My name is Jodi and...

I'm a complete slob!

 

 

Okay, so I was making some work Christmas treats (because I just KNEW the world wasn't going to end and I'd look pretty mean if I didn't bring something) and this is what my kitchen ends up looking like when I bake or cook, especially when it's new stuff. I won't even take pictures of what the living room or our bedroom looks like, but suffice it to say-I've got a nice big weekend pre-Christmas project on my to-do list! Looks like when I'm not with family, I'll be cleaning..A LOT!

But I did manage to get another Pinterest thing off my "need to try" list:

image source

The one on top is the original version, one on the right is mine. It looks brown and kinda like "no bake cookies" but I promise they are black and when you peel them off with a spoon they look like coal! I had fun making them and they were real easy, but man taking them off those pans was a nightmare! I don't think it will be a "regular treat" in this household, but I'm glad I could make it for co workers to enjoy :)

Anyways, I hope everyone is excited that Christmas is in just 4 days-hope your shopping is done! I can't wait to see my family and see if they like their gifts :) Merry Christmas everyone!

Twenty-Twelve

So I decided that even though I don't really believe the world is ending tomorrow, I wanted to post a little post about everything I'm grateful for that 2012 has brought to me (it seems like one of my biggest years, although I'm sure I'll have bigger):

This year, Larry and I moved into our very own home. I'm so very thankful for our place, I've loved our neighbors (though that feeling might not be as mutual), I've loved the little area we've come into. I've loved that we can call it our own and we can do whatever we want in it! It really is our perfect first home together!

This year brought me to one of the things I've wanted since I was 16-perfect, natural vision. I took this picture to represent all the stuff I was throwing out. Of course, I kept the glasses as a memento of how far blind I was before doing the surgery, but it felt so good to throw the rest out (the drops were contact only drops so they were useless to me)

This year brought in my first in a while without any car payments (YES! I own something! Officially) and Larry also got his first car that had payments attached to it that weren't for repairs :) High fives for growing up more this year! High five!

Of course I HAVE to mention this year bringing me a wedding (even if it won't be till next year technically)! I mean when you've been with the love of your life for 7 years...well you try being more patient than I was! Ha ha. I love that my family loves him, his family loves me, and we definitely are absolutely crazy for each other!

I am so happy to have a new job this year! Not only to have a new job, but one with people I love and for a company I respect! HEQ has been so amazing this year, I've had more parties with them in my 8 months than I did in my 2 1/2 year at the credit union, they are so giving to the community and they make us all feel special when we accomplish something. This picture happened to be what they did to my desk for my birthday!

We've met some new friends this year, people that make us laugh! People that we would like to know forever and have tons of fun with. People that especially can laugh at themselves when they've passed out in our tub. Do not even ask how he slept like that, but I happen to know he did for about 3 hours no matter how much we tried to wake him up (including turning the shower head on!)


And now some things that didn't necessarily come in 2012, but I'm still really grateful for:

I absolutely love my cats! They really make me happy and when I'm having a bad day I'm guaranteed to get a smile just by playing with them or seeing them cuddle together!

My family, but really most importantly, my mom! Don't get me wrong other family members out there that might be reading this-I love you all unconditionally and would literally take a bullet for each and every one of you! No way would I ever be me without any of you (even if you came into the game later!). My family is everything to me, but my mom has been there for me EVERY. SINGLE. STEP! She taught me what it means to have a family and, above all, a support system! I have molded my life after her in a way. I've learned from her mistakes, taken lessons from her successful moments, I've learned to care and befriend others and not just for some personal gain. She makes me laugh, but also gives me reality checks when I need them. I swear I'm her clone, not her daughter, and I love that! I couldn't have a better mom if I got to choose from all of them out there! Love you momma!

Last, but very certainly not least, I'm so grateful for this guy! He is my rock, my better half, my companion throughout everything. He is my Seeker (bonus points if you know what I'm talking about here!). He is more than anything I could've asked for. I know we're not perfect, but I feel we're perfect for each other. He's known me since I was 16 years old and even 8 years later he still loves me just the same. We've definitely grown up in so many different ways, and I'm so happy that it's been together. I mean, we spent almost an entire year and a half apart, and came out so strong! I think it almost helped us too because we realized what life would be like without the other one there to share in all our moments and while we did have friends or family to lean on, it definitely wasn't the same. I don't think I could've done that with anyone else and been so happy in the end. He's taught me to be more mature, more loving, more fun, and to not take things too seriously all at the same time. We do have our things we don't agree with each other on, but it's fun to argue them and then laugh at each other (though he'll be the first to tell you I get SO heated over them and he laughs at me and then I just tell him to stop laughing at me. He may not know this, but I LOVE when he laughs at me). We went on vacation together, lost $500 and our car keys and were able to laugh about it the same day! Why? Because we work so incredibly well together and...well I don't exactly know how to put it into words, but to say I had a support system before him is one thing, but the support I have now for any and all decisions? It's basically tripled because of him, he's just ALWAYS there for me and understands me and knows exactly what I'm thinking! He's incredible, and not only is he all mine, but he's all mine for forever!

Overall, this year has pretty much rocked! I can't wait to see what 2013 brings knowing by the end of it I'll officially be Mrs. Bradsby (yes, I love the ring it has to it!). So basically, the world can't just end yet, I've got too much to look forward to and pass on to others.

'Tis the Season of Giving

So I don't know if anyone remembers. but back in May I got a new job with a great new company! I'll admit I was really nervous when I first moved over. Normally when I got a new job before it was because the old job just wasn't working out for me anymore, but this time that wasn't the case. I loved the credit union and everyone I worked with there, but I needed something different if I was going to be serious about going into Psychology.
Anyways, I now see how amazingly awesome this new company is. I've been saying for the past couple years that I've wanted to help someone out during Christmas. I always wanted to go to the mall (or where ever they have them) and go to the trees of the families or kids that won't get any gifts-I said I wanted to start it earlier so that Larry and I could continue that tradition onto when we had kids (maybe have them pick out a kid around their age that they can get them a fun gift and see that Christmas isn't just about getting presents, it's about helping and sharing and giving).
Well I found out HealthEquity does such that each year and we can go pick a kid and get them a gift! I picked out a 17-year old girl named Natalie who wanted the Hunger Games DVD this year. Easy enough and doesn't cost too much. It feels great to help out, I mean one little gift doesn't feel like much, but when you see this or this:

It makes you feel like you may have only contributed one tiny thing, but those kids are going to be so happy when they see all these piles under the tree! I'm so happy that there was a way for me to help out this year and I'm very excited to keep it up from here on out. I encourage anyone else out there to do the same because one gift is just a small thing to us, but it becomes something bigger and better for others!

My small contribution

The Much Delayed Update (No. 8 and 9)

Hello blogging world! I can't tell you how (surprisingly) much I missed blogging while I was away! I know it's been FOREVER since I last mentioned I'd be getting my PRK done, I've been meaning to update about how it went and where I am now, but things got so busy around me, I'm glad to have a moment to breathe

AH!

Okay, done with my breath :)

So it's been almost two weeks since I got the procedure done and I have to say it wasn't quite what I was expecting. The surgery was fine, although I have to say everyone I know that's done it before me has lied-you do so want to blink once they prop your eyes open. Sure I was on Valium and they had numbed my eyes, but once they were stuck open I could feel my eyes just rolling back into my head very desperate for just one more blink. I don't think it helped that they had me keep my eyes closed for, like, a whole minute before they propped them open and they had just put in the numbing eye drops and the second I opened my eyes there were lasers like RIGHT there so it was a little weird. Luckily it only takes about 22 second per eye to do the surgery so it was really fast and my eyes weren't THAT bothered, just a little bit. I experienced two crazy parts though: 1-when you see something coming at your eye you have a natural reflex to want to push it away or close your eye. What's even weirder is when it actually (and obviously) touches your eye and yet you don't feel it. I almost wish I could always have those numbing drops ha ha. 2-The numbing drops didn't work for my left eye so they had to find some back up ones to make sure I would be okay and so once they used those they then put the thing to hold my eye open on and I thought "Okay, this will be quick, lets get it over with" and then I realized I could actually feel stuff in my lower eye. It didn't hurt, but the fact that I could feel it was really weird. It didn't feel natural, but I just wanted to get it done with so I just clenched my jaw and let it happen. It was worth it.

Now as far as the recovery goes: Let me be the first to say IT HURTS! I mean I guess it's obvious that there are lasers shooting into your eye AND you've also cut away a whole layer of your cornea so it should hurt, but no one has ever told me there was pain involved! I will also say that the main reason for this could have, possibly been due to the fact that I was supposed to receive eye drops that help with the pain, but they told me in the office that they delay healing so I shouldn't use them after the 3rd day (being Sunday) and when I went to the pharmacy they said they were out and wouldn't have it in until Sunday so I figured I might as well just not use them and just go with the Loritab they gave me. If you get this done (at least PRK, not sure about Lasik) don't think this! Get the drops! Saturday and Sunday I really was second guessing my decision to do this. Loritab only helped me sleep 2 to 3 hours at a time and when I woke up I felt like they were throbbing with pain! I can't even describe the pain I went through, but I would never do it again! Once I hit Tuesday I was all good, a little dry, but mostly good.

I couldn't really look at computers or my phone, I couldn't watch TV, workout, or really drive so let me tell you how boring life can get when those are your options! I napped...a lot. I played with the kitties. I did a new Wood Connections block project and also worked a little on my HOME blocks. The good news is this crosses off like 3 of our "Pre-Pregnancy Bucket List" items so yay! Like I said, by Tuesday I was okay to have the TV on and kind of just listen to shows I knew already (Friends and Family Guy were both loaded into our DVD player so I was lucky there), but I had to keep my eyes closed. I heard PRK has a longer recovery period and is a little more rough than Lasik, but I didn't really expect any of that stuff.

The greatest news though is it really was worth it. I'm still, technically, in my recovery period for another 4 weeks, but I'm VERY happy with where I'm at now and can't wait to see how much better my sight gets. By my follow up appointment on Wednesday (the 5th) they said my right eye was 20/20 and my left was 20/30 (just a smidge off perfect vision), which they said was definitely above average. That was, of course, before they took out my contact bandage. After that things got a tiny bit fuzzy and by my actual post op on Friday the eye Dr. said I was at 20/30 in both eyes. They tell me that's still above average to be so well so fast, but I think I could still get to being better. I can't quite read fine print yet and computer screens bother my eyes a little, but they said they were still swollen and dry and that could contribute to that blurriness and I just have to keep up with my steroid eye drops and my fake tears for a little while. Oh and another thing no one told me, the steroid eye drops (the ones you HAVE to take for 9 weeks) gives you the absolute, more horrid taste in your mouth! A friend told me hers was like sour milk, but mine tastes like some sort of dirty metal! It's terrible, so I always have to eat something right after. I love the fake tears though, they are very refreshing. I wasn't able to wear makeup the week of my surgery and I was really hating life then and thought I can't wait to have this done so I can wear it again, but I've gotten used to not having it on and I'm not quite ready to touch my eyes to put it on or take it off and since I'm still healing I don't think it's a good idea to start throwing chemicals into that so that's another thing to consider when making this choice.

So now I just get to wait until my next follow up appointment on the 31st to see where my vision is at then, though I can feel it getting slightly better each day. I can't wait to see what they tell me then. I'm so happy to not only have perfect vision by my wedding day, but to also start out the new year with it! Now only 12 days till Christmas, 19 until 2013, and 183 until the wedding :)

The Time Has Come!

Here it is:

My last picture in glasses if everything goes right tomorrow. That's right, TOMORROW is the day I finally get Lasik! I can't tell you how excited I am to finally have perfect vision. It sucks I had to stop wearing my makeup this past week (which is why the photo is so blah), but I'm willing to trade one week without makeup for 30 years without glasses. I hear the recovery for the procedure I'm doing (actually called PRK, not Lasik) is a little longer and a bit more rough than Lasik, which means no computer or TV for at least 5 days. Good luck to me huh? I'll be happy to cross this off my list so long as I get the promised end result ;)

So until I am all healed up and can post my "after" pictures.

(P.S. this pic is one of my Instagram photos...I totally got sucked into that too!)

Our Own Bucket List

So not-so-newsflash for you guys (and sorry to those that this may shock a little): Larry and I are getting married. OH! I know-super surprise. That's not the shocking part though; the shocking part is that EVERYONE around us (and by us I, of course, mean mostly me) is having babies. So now that we're getting married (kind of) soon it's definitely been a topic in our home and I won't lie, I bring it up more than Larry probably wants to hear about it (haha!). We do consider our kitties to be like our babies so we're definitely content for a little bit, but one thing we do agree on is that we want to make sure we're as ready as can be. We don't want to rush into anything and then wish we had done something before having kids or that we didn't enjoy being young and carefree (because I'm just now learning that everytime my mom told me to enjoy being in school and without any responsibilities...she was right!). So we have created our own Pre-Pregnancy Bucket List! It's not things we HAVE to accomplish before having a baby, but we want to get as many as humanly possible crossed off at the very least. I'm leaving some out because they are more for us to know than the whole world, but this is what we have on it so far (and I've been adding a little every now and then so it'll probably still grow):

1. Larry get his Bachelor's degree
2. Get as much debt paid off as possible (*ahem* school loans!)
3. Save [special amount here] in our accounts (sorry, not sharing the magic number)
4. Go to a Halloween Party
5. Go to New York
6. Get Larry off his dad's house
7. Have our condo fixed up a little bit
8. Have a day to sleep at any point and for as long as we want (12/03/12)
9. Jodi get Lasik (11/30/12)
10. Finish the Sword of Truth books
11. Get married
12. Jodi run an 8 min. mile
13. Go to Cedar Point together
14. Ride the Kingda Ka (in Jersey-if it's still there!)
15. Larry do the No Shave November challenge with his brother (Nov 2012-no pics so no blog post, but it was done)
16. Jodi get her Associates
17. Go to a concert together
18. Go camping-just us
19. Try scuba diving/snorkeling
20. Go to Bear World in Yellowstone
21. Go zip lining (anywhere)
22. Hike and camp at King's Peak (highest point in Utah)
23. Run a 5K together
24. Get our Passports (01/20/12)
25. Take our first vacation-just us (Aug 2011)
26. Travel internationally (Feb 2012)
27. Take a European Cruise
28. Get into shape together
29. Get a gun (one for each of us)
30. Ride in a hot air balloon
31. Take flight lessons/fly a plane
32. Watch the clocks change time during Daylight Savings (for Spring and Fall)
33. Hike Red Rock Canyon (near Vegas)
34. Go on our honeymoon
35. Go paintballing
36. Go sky diving (if we're going to do this it'll be BEFORE having kids)
37. Float in the Salt Lake
38. Visit Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas
39. Visit Hershey Pennsylvania
40. Jodi finish her "HOME" block

I know, I know it seems SUPER ambitious, but some of them we've already done and some we can do more than one in a single day (like camping AND going to King's Peak or Zip Lining in Vegas AND go to Red Rock Canyon). You can see when we crossed it off and it has a link to the blog post for that one as we go through I'll get more crossed off :) . So any parents out there want to give us some advice on what to ADD to our list (NOT take away since I mentioned we don't have to do ALL of these before, just as many as possible) we'd really like to know what you miss afterwards and wished you had taken advantage of or done before.

November Happenings...

So...I completely gave up on the gratitude journal. It just wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be-I honestly felt I was a broken record and just repeating everything I've mentioned already (guess I already know what it means to be grateful...huh huh?). Plus a few of them were very similar and some I just couldn't find anything on. To those that do it all the way: Kudos to you! I just couldn't without feeling dumb. But a lot of stuff did happen while I was "busy" with that. I was planning on doing a catch up once I was done, but it was taking too long and I'm really excited about everything that's passed (I'll try and make this as quick/short as possible):

• First Up: I got an early birthday present from Larry:

My very own Ruger 9mm

It is the best gift I've gotten in a long time. I don't care if people out there don't like guns-I do and I'm REALLY excited to have my own to practice on and protect my family with! Once Larry gets his we have plans to go to a shooting range really close to our house and start really practicing with them! Until then I'm glad to know it's safe and close by and I could use it if needed!

• Second, my brother, Shawn, just got engaged to his girlfriend. We got to meet her yesterday for Thanksgiving and she's really nice and I'm really happy for them...Even if they did manage to squeeze in their wedding two weeks before mine (yeah, that's right TWO WEEKS!). I am actually excited for them. We got to talk wedding plans and I got to give them the advice I've learned so far with ours. I think as long as she doesn't run from our family then they'll surely make it :)

• We did celebrate Thanksgiving in a new way this year. First we went to mom's in her new, lovely house where we stuffed ourselves with food and dessert and good family time (I'd like to mention Larry and I were FINALLY at the table with everyone else!). And then we went to Skyler and Jena's (instead of Clearfield) to hang out with them and play some good ol' Scattegories (a favorite game of ours!). It was a way fun day and it felt like everything went perfectly! Bonus: It should be my last holiday with glasses. One week from today and I should be completely glasses free! EESH!

• Today was my first Black Friday off. Since I stayed home I got a TON of online shopping done (hint: I only have about 2 more people and the kitties to shop for, not including neighbors or work gifts!). However, since Larry had to work it also meant I had to put up our Christmas all by myself. It was kind of nice because I could surprise him with it once he got home, but finding all new spots for things did present to be a challenge. I think I did well enough though (By the way we had a ton more than what's in this "collage" but I couldn't fit too many in it):

I'm distracted in that first one because I was watching The Holiday
AKA Best holiday movie ever!

• As far as wedding update goes: We have booked a videographer, got dates set for bridals, and...that about sums it up. There's really nothing more we'll be doing until next year (aside from creating the registry account at AFCU) so I probably won't have too much updates on that. But we did reach the 7 month mark so we've only got like 6 3/4 months left :) which seems crazy because as of January 15th it'll only be like 5 more months to get EVERYTHING done.

I think that's about all the updating I have for the blog. It seemed like a lot more when I started this haha. I guess when the time is going by so fast (mixed with the holidays) it seems like a lot more is going on. Anyways, I hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend so far :) I know I'm already excited to listen to Christmas music (even though I started that WAY early this year) and watch the movies! 33 Days left!

*~* Work *~*

Work

So most people don't like their jobs, I used to be one of them, but I absolutely love my job. I loved working at the credit union, we got to know the members really well, I loved who I worked with, I loved the environment. When I moved over to my new company I was worried I wouldn't like it as much-but I do! I do miss the member interaction I had some days, I really felt I was friends with those people, but I still get to talk to old co workers who I am, obviously, way closer to. The good news is I work with GREAT people now too; people who crack me up and I look forward to getting their opinions on things going on in my life. We all sit around, doing our jobs, making fun of each other or laugh at whatever we're doing.
And the company, oh it is the best company I've ever worked for! They are always showing appreciation to ALL the employees. They've taken us to see Avengers, they are taking us to a Christmas party next month, they are always bringing in treats for everyone. It's a great company and I don't ever dread going into work. I'm especially thankful that I only have a 3 day week this week, we basically get the bankers holidays off, which is so nice that I didn't have to make that adjustment! But in addition we also get Christmas Eve and Christmas off (a rare thing for me) and I get New Years Day off, so I can stay up as long as I want New Years Eve to celebrate!
I love this company and I'm always trying to get my old co workers to apply because the only thing that could make it better is if I could get my old UFCU friends to come over to have fun with us!

*~* Spouse *~*

Spouse

Okay so Larry's not technically my husband yet, but he will be and he's the closest I have been or will ever get to a spouse, whatever you want to call him he's a great one! He may not be able to read my mind all the time, but he always seems to make me feel good when I need it most. I'm really grateful to have him in my life because he is such a smarty pants. He is a constant reminder of why I should do good in my life. He helps me out so much but also lets me do things on my own and learn on my own. He pushes me to stay healthy, but to also have a lot of fun! If I'm ever stressed I just need to tell him what's going on in my head and he listens in such a way that it makes me feel so much better once I just blow it all out and can make some sense into it.
I don't know what I can say that I haven't said before about how great he is. He's strong and strong-willed; smart, but not arrogant; Sexy and sweet; He's attentive but also gives me my free time; He gets along with my family and they seem to love him in return. In short he's MINE and I wouldn't ask for anyone else :)

*~* Home *~*

Home

So right now there's a lot going on, I wasn't sure what on the list I was really grateful for right now, so I picked Home (Other things I just couldn't post on so I skipped a few). My home, though, is great! I love everything about it!
I love that I can control my heat and air conditioning. I love that I can pay my bills and I now know what bills are included in all that (yes I always did wonder). I love that I can decorate it any way I want (whenever I do decide to decorate-which will probably be after the wedding). I love that I can allow people in or just ignore them at the door (which I usually only do if I don't know them). Maybe it's all a control factor-I'm a control freak so finally being in my own house I have even more control than when I was living with someone. One thing that isn't a control thing is that I absolutely love that there are NO bug in my house! When we lived in the basement there were bugs EVERYWHERE and I hated it so much! I can stay up as late as I want or sleep in as long as the cats will let me in my home. When bills get tight (like they are with the holidays) and I get stressed I always comfort myself by thinking "it's tight because I'm providing a roof over our heads, food in our stomachs, and a really comfy bed to sleep on!"
It may be small, but it's actually big enough for us right now and I love the location! Our cats have room to run around, Larry and I have our own areas so we don't annoy each other too much, and we have just everything with it! I honestly believe our place is a perfect first place for us and I wouldn't trade it in for anything!

*~* Quiet Moments *~*

Quiet Moments
So for me, I'm actually one of those that usually has to be doing two things at once (I type this as I'm watching shows I DVR'd this week at the same time and trying to get ready for bed!). Needless to say, quiet moments hardly happen in my life, but that doesn't mean I don't like them or are grateful for them!

• I enjoy quiet moments to help me make lists, plan my weekend, or even to read a book. All these things I have fun doing and mean a lot to me.
• Quiet moments are especially awesome when it's raining outside and I leave a window open to hear the rain drops hitting the pavement and gives me a chance to enjoy the smell even more!
• The best part of quiet moments are when I can look around and see how amazing my life is. If I catch Larry taking a nap, catch the kitties just loving on each other, or get a chance to close my eyes and realize that if I didn't have these things in my life it wouldn't be NEARLY as great as it is! It helps me appreciate those things.

While I don't get a ton of quiet moments in my life, I definitely take advantage of them when I do have them. Only time I can't have them is at night, that's the one time I need noise around me to help me sleep!

*~* Family Time *~*

Family Time

So since I just did a post on how great my family is you can imagine the time I spend with them is great too. That's just a given, so this post won't be about spending family time with that part of my family, but rather my most immediate family:

Yes I know, all my pictures are looking the same
But I only have Paint to work with

The ones I live with, see each day, play with every morning and night, and most of all-get the cuddle with while watching movies! I love when I'm sad that every living thing in those pictures knows to come give me some sort of "loves". I love that they all know how to make me smile and laugh. And I love that when Larry and I are playing a game together they have to come and destroy everything on the board ( Oscar usually runs off with our pieces in his mouth while BG just swats at things and moves them around-sometimes to my advantage ;-P ).
I love that I can catch them all doing funny things when they don't think anyone is looking (Larry concentrating on his game or singing his songs in his room, Oscar not realizing his tongue is sticking out and giving us a serious face, or BG just staring at herself in the mirror-or really any reflective surface that will show her just how pretty she is). I love this family and couldn't ask for a better one here either! I wish I could catch more moments in our home to put on here so everyone could see for themselves.

*~* Black Friday *~*

Black Friday

So with Black Friday I never really got to do the fun shopping that's promised that day. In fact, it wasn't until I worked at Alert (back in 2007-2009) that I heard what that day really was, I just always thought it was the day after Thanksgiving. When I heard what amazing deals they had that day I had decided the next year I would definitely have to take the day off and take advantage of it. The next year I ended up HAVING to work because we were too busy for any of us to have it off (and I'm not one of those people that can stay up and go shopping till 3, sleep till 7 and then work at 8-I need a full night's sleep). I then decided okay next year I'm going to find a way, then I lost my job and had a new one at the credit union the week of Thanksgiving so I couldn't take a day off in my first week. So I, once again, made the choice that that was no more, I needed to see what Black Friday is all about and was determined that next year I'd put it on the calendar early on so that I could definitely have it off. Of course, the next Saturday after thinking that I found out that people were being trampled nearly to death during shopping, people were getting into big, serious fights and everyone just went completely nuts over the whole day. YIKES and No Thank You! Needless to say I've yet to actually go shopping, and this is the first year my work is actually giving me the day off, but I think I'll just stick to online deals because I really don't want to be trampled or bruised or hurt from shopping of all things! So reasons to be grateful for Black Friday:

• It has taught me the value of my life :)
• It gives me great deals online as well as in stores
• And it helps my commute to anywhere because everyone just wants to go shopping at stores like Wal Mart or Smith's Marketplace so I know what places to avoid when going around that day!

I doubt I'll ever be in the mood to go shopping on Black Friday, but maybe when we have kids it'll be a different store (I sure hope not though!).

*~* Family *~*

My Family

 

 

 

My family is great! Some of them are like second best friends, others I get the best advice from! ALL have been very influential in my life. I don't think I've made it a secret how important my family is to me and how much I love them and how much they've shaped the person I am today so I don't think I need to beat that horse anymore. Just know they mean the world to me and I couldn't have done what I've done so far without them!

*~* Love *~*

Love

Love is the greatest thing in my life! There are so many reasons to be grateful for it. Larry is the reason I laugh every day, he's the reason I keep my sanity some days, he helps me when I'm sad or frustrated. He's the best person for me, if I get upset about something he knows just how to make me feel better and laugh. He definitely keeps my head on straigh for the most part, he makes sure I don't make ridiculous choices and I know I always have someone to sound my ideas off of without being laughed at. I can't wait to be married to him, I can't wait for our wedding to come :)

*~* Celebration *~*

Celebration
So my absolute favorite celebration, for which I'm most grateful for, has got to be, hands down, Christmas! I am so excited and grateful for Christmas because...

• It's a time when my whole family gets together, and like I mentioned previously, I love being around my family. It's one of the only times each year that I get to see my whole family-which is reason enough to love it.
• I love that I am more into giving than receiving. I won't say I give the best gifts every time, but I can usually tell when I got someone a gift they'll really love and get some use out of and it makes me feel great when I do.
• I love the traditions that come during this time of year: the driving around to see the lights on the houses, doing my family's Christmas in the morning and then Larry's family's Christmas later in the day, listening to music as we open gifts, and wrapping everyone's gifts while watching holiday movies...They are all great!
• Holiday movies! They are something to be grateful about by themselves. I mean there's The Holiday, Christmas Vacation, Elf, Home Alone, Santa Claus, A Christmas Carol (Muppet version, of course!)-the list could go on and on! (BTW: you can't skip ANY of the classics, but if there's one you're guaranteed to watch this year make it The Holiday. It's the best one I've ever seen!)

The Holidays are definitely my favorite time of year. I eat a lot, drive around everywhere, see everyone I love, and it seems like most cares go right out the window when you're around all these things that make you feel loved and happy.

*~* Simple Things *~*

Simple Things

There are a ton of simple things I could think of being grateful for! Some of the ones I can come up with now are:

• The smell of the heater turning on the first time for winter.
• The smell of freshly cut grass as soon as it's warm enough for it.
• Seeing my kitties cuddling together on the bed.
• Hearing Larry laugh at one of my jokes.
• Being in a room with my whole family (either side) and seeing everyone talk and laugh together.
• Thinking of our wedding and honeymoon and how happy I'll be once we're finally married.
• Getting headbutts from Oscar (it's how he gives us loves) and hearing BG purr around us.
• When Larry shows me he loves me in ANY way-he knows just how to make me feel so beautiful and special.
• And running! It gives me such a high and makes me feel like I'm doing so well with my health. Plus it's the first time in my life that I love running and I really get to push myself with i,t which makes me feel even better about it!

These are just some of what I can think of now, but I think it's a good list to start off of and keep in mind.

*~* A Gift *~*

A Gift

Now I'm assuming this isn't a material gift, but a gift I have. I'm not sure I have a special gift, maybe a gift of budgeting that I think I have a certain knack for. I'm VERY grateful for that gift for the following reasons:

• I've seen many times in my life when people can't budget or don't live within their means and it hurts them real bad and I've always known I didn't want to be like that and it's not hard for me to budget at all. In fact, it makes me feel better when I stick to it and get things paid in a timely manner.
• Budgeting makes me feel like I accomplished something: I get bills paid, I'm able to save for vacations or car repairs or whatever else I need, I still leave myself a little play money for the weeks between paychecks. It's a nice feeling for me.
• I've read several times between articles in magazines, online, in books, whatever, that finances are one of the most important things to agree on in a relationship. It's one of the top three (along with children and religion) things that can hurt a relationship big time and luckily between Larry and I, I think we have the best spending/saving history so we know how to make it work so well within our relationship.

Budgeting really does give me a sort of happy high in my life. I love making sure I pay bills and on time. Larry and I both agree we grew up not having a whole lot (I'll say, for me, my mom did an amazing job raising us, being a single mom and all. I know it took a ton of sacrificing and I can't express how much I really appreciate everything she did for us, but I now know the truth that it was a huge stretch for her a lot of the time) and so we agree we always want to make sure we don't take on too much debt and can give our kids plenty. We know that means we need to make sure we're financially set and can take care of the things we do owe money on and we need to stay responsible. I'm so glad to have someone I agree with and who agrees with me about such an important thing.

*~* Nature *~*

Nature

Okay, Nature. That's a harder one for me, kind of. Nature is great, but finding reasons I'm grateful for it is something I've never really done before, but here goes:

I'm grateful for nature because:

• It provides rain, thunder, and lightening and while most people HATE that stuff and even fear it, I absolutely love it! When it's raining and thundering I sleep so well those nights! I usually know I sleep so well because if it happens when I'm around other people then the next morning they usually ask "how could you sleep through a storm like that?!"
• I really love camping and the best part about camping is being completely away from technology and real life and just listening to birds tweet or crickets chirp. I love the various sounds you get to hear while camping and it's really peaceful.
• Tell me a sunrise/sunset is not the most absolute gorgeous thing you've EVER seen that's completely natural! I can't wait to be in Hawaii for our honeymoon, I heard they have a spot on the island we're going to that shows the sunrise that is the most beautiful way you've ever seen it. I'm hoping to get a chance to do that!

There are my three points of why nature beats regular old life....makes me want to go camping at sunset when it's raining now haha! Nature really is great, I mean waterfalls, glaciers, caves, animals-everything has a beauty to it in nature and it's amazing.

*~* Health *~*

My Health

So I know I decided to do this #16 first, but this health one comes at the perfect time. I decided this past year I wanted to get a physical to make sure I was in good shape. I don't know if it was my medical coding and billing that made me think about it more or what, but I became very health conscious. After hearing about our photographer's unfortunate illness and how hard that has been on her family I decided that I shouldn't push it off anymore-I need to know I'm doing well now or else work on what's wrong now.

Last Thursday I went in (after fasting for 17 hours-hardest thing I've had to do!) and they did some blood work and did some regular old "take a breath" tests to see how I'm doing. They even checked my shoulders (where I have a huge collection of freckles) to make sure I didn't need to have a dermatologists check them out. Well, I got a call yesterday saying I'm perfectly healthy! No special red flags to worry about, my liver and kidney are working well, my cholesterol is within an amazing range, no anemia, and no bad sounds in my system. (The greatest part is I hadn't actually ran all week that week so that makes me feel better when I do run)

I was so proud of the fact that I've done so well. It doesn't hurt that Larry and I also make sure to take our "One A Day" Vitamin supplements, fish oils, and fiber chewables. It's funny because when I went in to do this everyone asked me why I was so excited to get it done (I guess some people have a weird fear of doctors) and I told them because it feels good to know you're making good decisions with something so important and it does!

I also found out I'm a great candidate for Lasik and have my surgery scheduled for Nov. 30th. I also am going to talk to my female doctor about making sure I'm healthy for when Larry and I decide to have kids (which still won't be for a while-for those of you freaking out a little bit reading that part). We also have plans to get Larry in for a physical and both of us going to see a new joint dentist to make sure that's going good too.

So in summary: 

• Soon my vision will be exactly where I've always wanted it to be.
• My health outlook is GREAT so far.
• and I'm working on making sure Larry's is as well so that we can really grow old and grey together!

Yahoo!!!

Gratitude Journal

So I'm kind of stealing this from my aunt-the 30 days of gratitude journal thing. I always see this going around this time each year and I always thought it was kind of silly, but I think I want to do it this year. Here's the "rules":

So you do one of these each day. I think I'm going to start with #16, work my way down the 2nd column, then do the first. Just because I started it late and I don't want to look like I'm just a day behind her. Plus I don't think it really matters what order you do it in as long as in the end you learn just how awesome your life is! I do encourage anyone else to do this, Larry says they make them do the same thing in the military when they have their suicide awareness/prevention drill weekends.
I'll try and keep up with it each day, but we'll see how it goes.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Happy Halloween

I was so not about to put this post up last night when we were done handing out candy, it was so late and I was so tired, so it's going up this morning instead.

Halloween this year was even more fun that the last two years! I think it was because we were in our own place this year. I definitely think I picked the best place to work, they had a costume contest, a pot luck, and then everyone got to bring their kids dressed up and we got to hand out candy to them too! I loved all of it, I really love seeing kids in their costumes and how creative they were. One kid was Spiderman and he kept growling, so when we'd give him candy he'd get this fierce look on his face and grunt "Thank you very much!" we'd laugh so hard!

Once I finally got home we got our candy ready, turned our porch light on, and started our scary movies! I loved seeing all the kids in our neighborhood, they were so cute. The funniest part of the night is Oscar would get REALLY comfortable lying on the floor of the living room and every time there would be a knock on the door he'd go BOOKING it into our bedroom, but then right after he'd be right back on the floor all comfortable again. What a strange cat!

Larry-Criminal
Me-His captor!

Here's pictures of costumes:



Jhordan and me

I don't think I've ever looked forward to Halloween more than this year! I had so much fun with it.



-------------------------------------Sad Part, just scroll past this part------------------------------------------

I love that I'm happy with Halloween, but it still is (and most likely always will be) the anniversary of my Papa passing. I know I mention it every year, but I always want to make sure I remember him. I don't use today to remember him passing, but remember what he was like when he was alive. I always feel bad because one of the last few memories I have of him (that wasn't him in the hospital) is being at my aunt's house for a birthday party (Probably Anna's because I'm pretty sure it was end of summer) and he walked in and he seemed to be about half his regular size (he was skinnier and shorter) but his clothes looked like they were three times too big-while this might sound like it would be scary, I was actually happy to see him walking around and I was thinking for sure this meant he was getting better and I was excited about that. I wish I had a way better more vivid memory of him. I remember a lot of images of him, but they aren't as vivid and one of my big fears is that I'll forget him and what he was like. That's the thought that makes me cry when I think of him. I always try and keep pictures around so I can make sure I never forget. I just wish ALL the time that he could've been around to see my kids, to see me get married, to see me graduate school. It's heartbreaking and it takes my breath away a lot of the time. It's easier as the time goes by, but it is still really extremely hard.
Some things that do remind me of him: he was AMAZING with babies, he loved them and always made them laugh. He loved telling me about where our family came from and I loved sitting near him by the computer to see it and hear about it. Whenever we'd go on vacation he'd be making eggs, bacon, and coffee and I'd always wake up to that smell mixed with his smoke and while usually smoke smell REALLY bothers me, his with the breakfast smell always made me excited. I miss that vacation smell. Whenever I'd lose my bunny (my security thing) he'd always curl me up in his arms and have me rub his nose to help me sleep. He was such an incredible guy! Love you Papa!

---------------------------------------okay, we're done with the sad stuff-------------------------------------

So now that Halloween is over I can turn my focus on to the best part of the year: Thanksgiving and Christmas! It'll be interesting to see snow in the new place (because we're not in any big cities anymore so it's more open). We plan on letting the cats smell it when it's on our balcony to see their reaction. I'm really excited this year!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Look What I Can Do!

So I tried my very first Pinterest recipe! It's called Chicken Pillows and I was really happy with my results. They joke out there that when you try Pinterest recipes they never seem to turn out like they look online so I wasn't expecting mine to come out as well, especially since I accidentally got the wrong kind of rolls for it, but lookie at how they turned out...

This is the online/Pinterest version
Find it here

This is mine, only reason it was broken open is because I
Had to make sure the chicken was all cooked through

And they tasted pretty good if I do say so myself. I was really impressed with myself, it was my first real meal! I mean I've been trying about two new recipes each week for the past month and a half, but I always look and try for the 30 min. meals, this one took a little longer and there was actual effort needing to go into it. Next on the list for real meals is Garlic Pesto Chicken with Tomato Cream Penne which has to marinate overnight, that'll be tomorrow's dinner so hopefully that comes out just as good!

Happy Halloween Ya'll!

May it be plenty spooky and fun for you guys!