The Official Start of Christmas

So I know I've said it before, so let's see if I can come up with a new way: It's the start of my happy time again! I love Christmas, unfortunately it's a bit too warm at this point in the year:

The ONE year I want snow so bad and I see all those 50's on the board! I want to go sledding and skiing and build a snowman and all the fun snow things! I pulled all our old snowboarding gear out of storage so we could use it this year (fun fact: I found our "receipt" tag from when we tried snowboarding for the first time and it was in 2009!) I guess I'll just have to try having patience this year (bah humbug!)

I've already watched 3 of my Christmas Movies (The Holiday, New in Town, and Elf), I just can't help it! I've listened to a little of my Christmas Pandora station and I'm currently tuned into the Hallmark Channel watching Let It Snow :)

We put up Christmas today too (that was the reason for watching Elf):

26 days!!! Eeesh!!!

I tried my best to spread it out throughout the house this year, I think I did a job well done! I found lights and extra tinsel to hang somewhere, which is probably good because Minnie decided to give us a hand in the (de)construction of our tree:

But I think it turned out well enough still:

Oh and the best part was some awesome shopping finds while Larry and I went out and about today:

Isn't the Scarecrow and Pumpkin just adorable? Got them at Quilted Bear for 60% off! Great additions for Thanksgiving next year :)

Larry and I have some fun plans this year starting with Friday night when we'll be going to a play at the Desert Star Playhouse called How the Grouch Stole Christmas. I've heard good things about that place so I'm really excited to go see this one!

Happy Holidays everyone, hope you're having as much fun with the excitement as I am.

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving this year was different to say the least. I won't say it was my favorite one this year, but it started out pretty awesome.

I decided this year I'd really like to watch the parade so in the morning I took a shower, came out to put the parade on, and then went around taking pictures: The cats having their "Thanksgiving meal" (aka their "treat" canned food), Larry playing games while he could, and a picture of the Turkey from the parade (you can't tell in the picture but our TV is pretty big now so I felt like I was almost in NY watching the parade in person).

I'm so Thankful for my little family. Larry and the cats really make my home my favorite place to be! I definitely want to start our own Thanksgiving traditions for us to celebrate in future years that we can bring our future kids into so I think that's what I'll be working on these next few years (I'm going to attempt my first turkey for Christmas this year!), but this year had a good starting point for them :)

There was a lot that happened, so I want to post on the happier highlights of the day:

-Seeing Olivia (my newest cousin) and being able to hold her so much (she's still so tiny that when you hold her she just curls up on your chest and it would melt my heart).
-Seeing Larry's family (their dinner was SO yummy!)
-Seeing Shawn, Amber, and baby Will (watching him play with the vacuum was hilarious!)
-Giving Will his birthday gift (he liked it much more than I thought he would, especially the prank box it came in).
-Seeing Larry talk military stuff with Skyler and Andy (I'm sure it wasn't a favorite time in his life, but I look back at the time more fondly now. I'm definitely glad we're done with it, but it was a nice experience to have).
-Food! Lots of and lots of food! My grandma had homemade mashed potatoes and they were amazing and are probably my favorite part of Thanksgiving....except my mom's Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake pie (Oh my gosh that's so yum!!!)

Speaking of: my mom came in Sunday for the holiday and so I did my best to spend as much time as possible with them as I could. She left this morning so we did our goodbyes (as tear-less as we could, but that's just impossible) last night.

 

I promise when I started out my face wasn't as red
And my hair was actually cute

I hope everyone out there had a great Thanksgiving! Christmastime is officially upon us, I'm so excited to start watching the movies and listening to the music...yay!!

Traveling Past VS Traveling Future

So I saw a link to create a map of all the states you've visited (traveling past). I'm obsessed with seeing as much of the world as I can so this is where I've been so far (most of these have been with Larry):


I've visited 20 states (40%)
Create your own visited map of The United States


Next up (traveling future) is going to be New York and New Jersey most immediately. The next ones I hope would be Washington/Oregon, Montana, Minnesota, and/or Rhode Island/Massachusetts (completely random, I'm sure, but I have my reasons). My ultimate bucket list item :)

Thoughts from my day

I'm one of those people that will think the most random thought in the whole world in an hour time span, I've had a lot of moments like that today. I decided to post on them for no real reason, here are my thoughts of today:

• Oh I want to watch Gilmore Girls, but I have so many shows to catch up on...guess I'll watch something until Larry wakes up. Then I really should do something today.
• Oh no, Larry is awake and I really don't want to start my day
• I'm just going to watch a few more shows and then get started on other things
• Who am I kidding? I'm totally binging on Gilmore Girls
• I should update my blog about Thanksgiving and how much I'm looking forward to seeing my mom
• I need to take a picture of my Thanksgiving decorations for that post

• Man I need more Thanksgiving decorations...why don't they make more of them?
• Ooh my mom is going to be here tomorrow, I should clean!
• I'm actually going to take a nap
• I should wake up now so that I don't have trouble sleeping tonight
• I'm going to surf Facebook
• I'm going to surf Instagram
• Oh found someone I know and don't follow...Oh look they have a blog
• Ooh I found a few blogs I want to read from that one, but I'm going to continue reading this one for a while
• I should really do something with my day, get dressed at least!
• I wish I were more witty on my blog
• I wish I took more pictures
• I wish I got into crafty mode more
• My cats are so freaking cute, I'm going to take 9 million pictures of them

• I wish I had friends, this blog couple is so fun!
• I guess it's time to eat dinner...man my legs are shaky.
• My husband is so adorable

•  I should really start laundry tonight, such a busy day tomorrow.
• Okay laundry, then blog update, then more blog stalking...I love Saturdays

And there you have it, my Saturday in a large nutshell, now onto hours of more blog stalking. Happy day everyone!

Things You Should Know About Intoverts

So I saw a link to an article on Facebook (from this blog) that I just had to share here:

Things You Should Know About Introverts

From MeetTheIntroverts.com

1) We need to recharge alone.
This right here is the cusp of the entire introvert v. extrovert debate (if there is one, anyway) – Introverts need to be alone to recharge. We tend to get completely worn out by socializing. This is basically what it means to be an introvert.

2) We don’t hate being around people, but we probably hate crowds.
I love being with people, but if you drop me into a large crowd I instantly feel like I’m alone and invisible. I try to avoid situations where I feel that way, so I may decline your open invitation to some random event. It doesn’t mean I don’t like to be around you, it just means I like to have more control over my surroundings.

3) We don’t mind silence.
I can sit beside you in silence and not think we are having a bad time. This is especially true on road trips and can be a little confounding to true extroverts. For this reason, I especially like going to the movies where it is already considered rude to chat. Rule #1 for dealing with introverts – Don’t tell me I’m “too quiet.” I hate that. Sorry I’m making you uncomfortable, but you really don’t get to decide how much I have to talk.

4) Just because we are introverted doesn’t mean we are shy.
Introvert and shy are actually two different things. Google it! In my case, I’m a shy introvert (the double whammy!).

5) We can turn on an extroverted personality when necessary, but it is especially draining.
See #1 and #2. I have no problem getting up in front of a group of people and giving a talk. I don’t even get nervous by a question and answer period. But – here is the thing – I will need major recharge time afterwards and I won’t be able to keep up this extroverted illusion all day. I can turn it on to dazzle a crowd, but if you take me out for lunch afterwards, I’ll probably just listen to you talk. I am an excellent listener.

6) We aren’t judging you.
See #3. Did I get quiet? Do I have a mean look on my face? I’m not judging you; I’m just wrapped up in my thoughts with my bitchy-resting-face on. I might have even forgotten you were there. Sorry, just poke me. I didn’t do it on purpose.

7) We secretly love it when you cancel plans.
I like being with you, but finding out I suddenly don’t need to be “on” and it wasn’t actually me that backed out? – priceless! Don’t worry if you have to cancel, I’m probably thrilled to be able to stay in my pajamas.

8) We can get very wrapped up in our own thoughts.
My inner monologue is epic. When you have a strong monologue constantly running in the background, it is pretty easy to settle-in and listen for a while. I have to work through things in my head before I proceed, so I usually need a few minutes. When I’m ready to move forward though, I am 100% on top of it!

9) We can be pretty bad at connecting.
You know when you have had a really bad day and you just want to call up a friend and chat? Yeah, I’m bad at that. I tend to wait for extroverts to reach out and include me, so when the time comes that I need support, I can be a bit lost.

10) We don’t like to hang around.
That time after an event or meeting ends and stragglers hang around to talk – yeah, I know this is the perfect time to make more plans, connect with new people, and get involved with future projects, but I really really really hate this. I’m probably already checking my phone in my car before you have even picked up your purse. Small talk with strangers is my kryptonite.

11) We have strong opinions.
Just because I have difficultly sharing them sometimes doesn’t mean I don’t have opinions. Give me an extra minute to compose my thoughts and I will continue to push myself to speak up sooner. It is a give and take here.

____________________________________________________________
I can't tell you how much articles like this speak to me. I think around certain people my "introvert-ness" isn't as obvious because I'm so comfortable around them, but anywhere else this article seems to describe me to a T. Originally I thought I wanted to share it and be like "oh especially number [enter number from above here]!" but as I read it I realized they are all right on the mark and it's hard to point one out above the others. So for those extroverts out there who know me and aren't sure why I seem so weird sometimes...please refer to the above. Thank you!

Time for some Turkey

I'm SO excited to be in November now! I've officially taken down all Halloween decorations at home and am ready to put up Thanksgiving ones. I am absolutely horrified to see Christmas stuff has been up in stores for a few weeks now, but I try and ignore it, for now. Don't get me wrong, I still love everything to do with Christmas, I'm just trying to enjoy Thanksgiving and give it the time it deserves! Who doesn't love a holiday that encourages eating until you're too full to actually move? Haha.

I know my mom will be out the week of Thanksgiving (happy dance commences now) so I'm already trying to figure out how to absorb most of her time with fun, mother-daughter stuff. I've got a fun girl's day planned with Jena this weekend so we can load up on fun stuff (I'll be trying to keep an eye out for Thanksgiving stuff) and I'm attempting to put together a Fall and Winter bucket list (most of my Fall ones can be crossed off, but I can use it for future years too).

That's all I've got, I just wanted to post something since the blog got a fun makeover :) I'm planning on keeping up with the changes each season/month/etc. Happy November everyone!

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November....Guy Fawkes Day!

Last Halloween Post

So I promised I would post a picture of my potions bottle decorations once I had them filled..

 



Haha get it?

So I just used a bunch of food coloring and water to make the "potions", but I couldn't think of anything for Spider Bites or the Black Cat bottle so those I'll have to brain storm on later. I got one frame done for the window clings, but I'm still figuring that one out. Overall I loved the plate as the platter for the bottles and adding the webbing just came today and I really liked that look with it all. Other than the soap bottle and old lady from the years before I think the only other thing I didn't take a picture of was a couple garlands I found for our balcony, but it was pretty boring out there so not really worthy of the post. Thus ends my Halloween Posts for now, I'm ready to bring on Thanksgiving/Fall now!

It was supposed to be snowy this weekend so I planned on staying in and vegging out. Yesterday we were so lazy, all I remember doing was sleeping/napping while watching TV and it turns out it barely even rained. Needless to say I felt like making up for yesterday today and I decided to pretty myself up a little:

 

 

Let me start by saying I never really learned to curl or do my hair, I've always just done a pony tail or clip. Well, after being surrounded by other girls who could whip out pretty much anything with theirs it had me wanting to test out my curling iron for a while to see what I could create. After playing around with the smaller curling iron for my Halloween look I decided to try out my bigger barrel and got the collage posted above. I kind of like how it turned out, I think I'll be trying out more styles. At least now I don't need to go to a hair college and see the dumb looks they give me when I say I want them to just curl my hair now haha :)

This is Halloween - 2014

Halloween this year was a great one, the only thing that could've made it better would have been if we had more trick-or-treaters! We had all our decorations up, our pumpkins carved, and costumes picked out to be ready for the day. For costumes we decided to dress up as Richard and Kahlan from our Sword of Truth books, they don't technically have the real costumes (at least not budget friendly options), but I found good backups:

Since Larry worked from home he didn't feel the need to dress up until later, but I had to wear mine all day for work, luckily the rest of my team (minus my manager) dressed up as well as the old team I was on (for the most part).

Speaking of work, we had one awesome pot luck (one thing I love about the holidays!), with the best Minestrone soup you've ever tasted, good side dishes, and yummy root beer floats (my favorite!). That was followed by our annual costume contest (two brothers in the company dressed up as Harry and Lloyd from Dumb & Dumber and they won "group" costume - it was pretty awesome. Hulk Hogan won best single costume) which was hosted by our President, who was dressed up like Barney - seriously! Although, it was crazy busy for me, Fridays are my new busy days in my new position, I still had a lot of fun!

After work I got home just in time for us to have dinner, watch an episode of House, and get the candy ready before the trick-or-treaters came. Unfortunately, we probably only had maybe 20-30 kids in like 5-7 groups so it was a quick night (I'm pretty sure our last person was at 8, but it was enough time to watch a scary movie at least). Even though I really tried to hand out as much candy to each one, we now have tons of leftover candy, but I'm okay with that. I got tons of compliments on my costume and I loved how Larry looked in his (he was really excited to be able to "use" his real sword he got forever ago). I'm very excited that the holidays are officially upon us and while I may hold onto my Halloween stuff for this week, I'll transition into Thanksgiving/Fall next weekend and I'm more than happy about that!