Painting fireplace and a new puppy!

Trav and I started off the weekend right! With dinner and movies. It was a nice relaxing Friday evening.

Saturday we slept in, and went jogging first thing in the morning. After our jog we got ready, and decided to tackle painting the fireplace with our brick-a-new. We worked on it from 2 - 7, and we are very pleased with the results. It really updates the fireplace, but without taking away from the brick. We are happy with how it turned out! And it's one more thing we get to mark off the to-do list!! That evening we went to visit Trav's co-worker Bob's new puppy.

We’ve been talking about getting a dog for a few years but we just never felt the time was right. They are a LOT of work and require us to be home more than we usually are. We were going to wait until we had children since I’m planning to stay home with the kids and we thought that would be easier with the puppy/dog as well.

Bob got a new puppy for his 15 year old son for Christmas. He got him a 6 week old AKC yellow lab. Trav and I are pretty good friends with his co-worker Bob, and his wife and we've been over to thier house several times for dinner. I LOVE kittens and puppies so of course I wanted to go meet her! They just picked her up 1/17/09 so she was still so tiny when we went to visit on 1/24/09. She was such a good girl, and very smart. They had already taught her to sit, and to stay on the kitchen floor and off the carpet. She did well in her kennel already to!

Trav had been telling me all the things Bob had already gotten for her….a huge kennel that she could still use when she was full grown, a couple blankets, food, food dishes, treats, a brush, a collar, shampoo, urine neutralizer, bitter apple spray to put on things so she wouldn’t chew on them, toys, bones….the list when on and on. Not to mention how much SHE cost, $650! Ouch! AKC dogs are expensive! It confirmed in my mind that we couldn’t afford a dog right now! All those things were very expensive, not to mention the food we’d always have to buy, and the vet visits.

So, we went to visit the cutest little puppy in the world. My husband fell in love and the whole way home talked about dogs. There are a lot of positive sides….I’d love to have a dog for protection. Even if it’s not a guard dog, the bark will usually scare predator’s away. I’d also love to have a dog to go jogging with me, and get me to go at least for a walk every day. And to go spend time at the park with, playing fetch. A dog would be a great companion for going to the beach, camping, or to the lake! But, the expense and the work involved pushed the idea out of my mind.

Sunday morning Trav got a phone call from Bob. His son wasn’t taking care of the puppy and they had a talk with him about it. They said if he wasn’t going to commit to taking care of her, they were going to have to get rid of her. He said he just didn’t know all the responsibility involved and with sports, friends, and school he just didn’t have time to take care of her. SO they wanted to offer her to us before placing an ad in the paper. They’d give her to us WITH all the things they had bought for her, for $400. I knew that was a great deal but it was still a lot of money and still a lot of work.

Trav and I talked about it for hours, and finally decided that we were ready for a dog. We called Bob back and accepted. We picked her up and brought her home, and she is pretty much the cutest thing ever. We named her Emma. We are already in love.

Emma at 7 weeks old

We are enjoying raising a puppy. It is a lot of work, just like everyone says. We figure it’s good practice for having kids!! We are getting up 2 - 3 times a night to let her out, and she keeps us busy from when we get home until we go to bed. Luckily she is very good in her kennel and she is great about waiting until we can let her out before using the bathroom. We are able to come home for our lunch break everyday which is great for letting her out. She is a blessing.

A visit to the beach

We had a great weekend. Friday our friend Ladd and his dog Zues got to our house at 7. We did our gift exchange. He got us beef jerky seasoning so we can make jerky, and he got us an OSU blanket. It was awesome!

We played Rock Band until it was time to meet Mon and JD for dinner. They ended up calling at 8:15. We were STARVING.

They came over and brought us more gifts because we'd given them theirs but they hadn't had a chance to get us ours yet. They got us a great 6 piece wine set with a cool cork screw that is super easy to use, and a foil cutter and 2 stoppers and a pourer. And a martini mixer that you just push a button and it mixes it for you. It's cool. We tested it out later in the weekend. :)

Then we left for Mongolian Grill. Trav and I haven't been there forever so it was really fun and delicious.

Then we went to the store to get some beef to start curing some beef jerky with our new seasoning. It takes 24 hours to cure. We watched Burn After Reading and I snuggled on the couch with my new blanket and Zues while Ladd and Trav drank themselves silly.Until 4:30 am!!! I was to tired to drink! I did stay up with them though. It's been a long time since we've been up that late.

Which would have been fine but we had planned to get up early and go to the beach the next morning. We were tired, but we still managed to get up at 9:45, had french toast and scrambled eggs for breakfast, and got ready to go.

We were heading out at 11:30 which was good. I wanted to be there at noon, but 1 was ok

We loaded up my car and when we got down the street a light came on that said low coolant.

eeek, We went back to put coolant in it and found that it only takes a special kind that we didn't have.

So we moved everything to Ladd's car, since his got like double or triple the gas mileage that Trav's did and he offered to drive.

We got it all loaded up and went to close the trunk and it wouldn't close. So we tried to close it for about 20 minutes before we gave up and pulled it into the garage, and moved everything to Trav's car....wondering what was going to happen to his!!!

Nothing did, thank goodness, and we were finally on the road. At 12:15. So we got to the coast at about 1:30. But it turned out that the struggle getting there was worth it. It was so beautiful! And 60 degree's, which is just unheard of on the Oregon coast! Especially in January!

We walked on the beach, and ate at mo's, and then went to another beach with tide pools and drank wine while watching the sun set. It was beautiful!

Trav and I at the coast






Trav and Ladd






Ladd and I






Sun setting....






Sunset at the Oregon Coast

When we got home we drank wine and played Yahtzee, and Uno, and Apples to Apples before watching Appaloosa at midnight.

Oh, and we cooked beef jerky and it was SOO yummy!

Sunday I slept in until 1! HA. I needed it

Trav and Ladd fixed the dryer and Ladd's trunk and then we watched and NFC game. The Cardinals won which is who we were rooting for. It was a good game.

Ladd left at 4 and Trav and I cleaned and went grocery shopping. We finished at 8 and watched tv until 11.
Now it's back to the work week. I'm already looking forward to this weekend! We have a packed week this week, but the weekend we plan on getting things done around the house and relaxing.

Loving this fireball!

I'm having my first atomic fireball in probably 15 years! And I love it!
We survived our first week back! Barely! Working a full 5 day week was defiantly difficult! To celebrate, we had a very laid back weekend!
Friday we had a dentist appointment....just an exam and cleaning. It went well. They found that one of my sealants was coming off and something had slipped under it and given me a small cavity. Silly, because the whole point of a sealant is to avoid cavities. Such is life. I'll have to get that filled soon. I don't like getting cavities filled at all! I seem to get one once every 8 years or so.
After the dentist Trav and I went to check out a new BBQ restaurant in town called Bomack's BBQ> It is so good! The BBQ sauce is amazing. I got pulled pork with a Caesar salad and garlic mashed potatoes and I was very happy! They bring you cornbread as an appetizer. And we got endless sweet tea. YUM! We will be going back for sure.
We headed to FM next to get treats! We got ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, and york's! We watched a couple movies at home before bed. It was a nice relaxing night.
Saturday we slept in until noon. We got up and had grilled cheese sandwiches and cream of mushroom soup. After lunch we took a nap, and finally around 2 we got ready and headed to my parents. Our dryer is still broken (waiting for a part) so we took some laundry with us to get a few loads done.
We had a great time at my parents. We talked, ate steak, played games, and watched movies until 11. Trav and I watched another couple movies at home!! I told you we laid low!!
Sunday we did our normal errands and chores after our jog. We finished the evening watching the season premiere of 24 (so good) and the end of the Golden Globe awards.
I thought a laid back weekend would go slower than our packed ones do, but it still seemed to fly by! It's already Monday again!
Back to it! Have a great week!

Turn up the music

Lyrics from some songs really speak to me. And it's funny how I can listen to a song over and over and not really hear it, and then one day I will really listen and the lyrics really pop out at me. I heard this song today, and it really spoke to me. It's such a good reminder to just enjoy your life. Stop and smell the roses, love each other, and spend time doing the things you enjoy. In the end, it doesn't matter how much money you made, or how many cars, houses, and nice things you have. It doesn't matter who you knew or how powerful you are/were, all that matters is how you live. How you spend time with your loved ones.....thats the important stuff.

Wake up to the sunlight
With your windows open
Don’t hold in your anger or leave things unspoken
Wear your red dress
Use your good dishes
Make a big mess and make lots of wishes
Have what you want
But want what you have
And don’t spend your life looking back

Turn up the music
Turn it up loud
Take a few chances
Let it all out
You won’t regret it
Looking back from where you have been
Coz it’s not who you knew
And it’s not what you did
It’s how you live

So go to the ballgames
And go to the ballet
And go see your folks more than just on the holidays
Kiss all your children
Dance with your wife
Tell your husband you love him every night
Don’t run from the truth
‘Cause you can’t get away
Just face it and you’ll be ok

Oh wherever you are and wherever you’ve been

Now is the time to begin

So give to the needy
And pray for the grieving
E’en when you don’t think that you can
‘Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you
So think of your fellow man
Make peace with God and make peace with yourself
‘Cause in the end there’s nobody else

Happy New Year! 2009 is here.

Welcome 2009! 2008 has come to a close!
December 31st Trav and I worked.....if you can call it that. The Beavers were in the Sun Bowl this year, and it was on from 11 - 3. Our office had the pregame show on the radio starting at 10. At 1, when halftime was almost over, Trav and I went home for lunch. We wanted to be able to watch some of the game. We watched the 3rd quarter, and finished listening back at the office. Both teams had amazing defense, so the final score was 3 - 0 BEAVERS! The Beavs got the ball to the in zone several times, but never took it in. There was one play that we should have gotten a touch down out of, but it was ruled out. Either way, we won and thats all that matters!
After work Trav and I gathered up our wine, beer, and liquor and headed over to Shelby and Darrin's house. Air and K were there already. I drank way to much...I even took shots which I only do when I am really far gone. When I woke up I had no idea where I was...thats how bad it was! Granted we were staying at a house I'd never been to before, but still... ;) Anyway, I don't drink often so it was fun!
New Years Day we slept in until 2ish. I kept waking up just just didn't feel good so I kept going back to sleep. When I got up I just put on my jammies and Air and K came over and watched 3 movies with us. We ate leftovers from our Christmas dinner and just laid around in our comfy clothes! It was a great LAZY day.
I started getting a pretty bad sore throat on New Years Eve, and New Years Day it was getting worse. Friday it was really bad. Trav and I and my parents helped my grandma move and then I took a 3 hour nap.....I'm sure because my body was trying to get sick! Again we just watched movies that night. I was layin low to try and stop the sickness and the sore throat! I drank lots of tea, and hot cider...and took lots of vitamin C, ecinachia, and zicam!
Saturday we took all the Christmas decorations and the tree down. It's always so sad "undecorating" and knowing the holiday's are over and won't be back for another year! I listened to Christmas music for one last time until November 27th 2009 while I was putting everything away. The corner the tree was in looks so boring with it gone. While I was "undecorating" Trav trimmed some of our bushes to winterize them, and raked up some straggling leaves we had in our yard. Afterwards we went to my parents to do laundry. Our dryer belt broke. Trav ordered another one but when he got it he realized that there was another broken part and had to order it. So it'll be another 2 weeks till we can fix it and we already had 2 weeks of laundry piled up. Anyway, I was still feeling under the weather, but a little better. We had dinner with my parents and hung out till about 8. We went home, and you guessed it, watched a movie! And played some Rock Band. I like to sing and with my sore throat I haven't been able to so I haven't been wanting to play! But I played the bass and it was fun.
Sunday we went to church and my throat was feeling better finally! After church we went to lunch with my parents and then went grocery shopping. We cleaned the house when we got home.
Now it's Monday and I can't believe I'm back to working a normal 5 day week! I had 5 days off in the past 10 work days!!
We're settling in for a cold, wet winter now. Trav and I are already anxiously awaiting spring!

Christmas 2008!

Travis and I had a great holiday! It went by so fast, and I am very sad that it's over already. First of all I have to say that I am so grateful and feel very blessed to be able to spend the holidays with family! Both Trav and I's families are very close AND both of our jobs are very flexible and allow us to take lots of time off to spend the holiday's at home. I'm afraid sometimes that I take that for granted but I look forward to it so much every year! It's what makes the holiday's truly special!

The festivities started early Christmas Eve! We headed to my parents for a big Christmas Eve lunch with ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, cran sauce....all the fixins. As usual, it was delicious! There was plenty of wine to drink as well. We finished with homemade cherry cheesecake, made by Trav's mom, for dessert. We relaxed after lunch and exchanged gifts with my Uncle Bob. He got us a gift card to Starbucks. Trav and I are looking forward to using that!

When it got dark dad took us for a drive to look at the Christmas lights. We didn't head toward Salem this year because of the bad weather so there wasn't as much to see, but we still got a pretty good show. In the evening we opened our Christmas Eve gift which is always jammies related. Trav and I both got really soft Wii jammie pants. They are awesome!

Mom and I watched a holiday movie while Trav and my dad talked, and my brother played some games on his computer. After the movie I joined Trav and my dad for a card game of Hearts. My dad and I used to play when I was younger. We had a great time.

Christmas morning came early! Dad read us the Christmas story and we had coffee, tea, cocoa, cider, and fresh baked scones while we listened. The Christmas story amazes me every year.
We took turns opening our gifts! We were all spoiled to the max this year! My mom had an envelope on the tree for Trav and I that we opened first. It said that they weren't able to get our game (Rock Band 2 bundle) that we wanted YET, but that they still would. It just came out on the 18th and was nearly impossible to get! We were a little bummed because we'd been looking forward to "rocking out" over the long weekend, but we understood. So we opened all our other gifts! Trav got lots of great new clothes, and he got some nice new head phones from my brother. I got him a new wedding band and he had no idea I'd gotten it so it was really fun to watch him open it! I also gave him $150 for a shopping spree! I got a cool scrapbooking kit from my mom, and some new clothes, and my brother got me an awesome spice rack AND some bacon salt! Trav got me some great new running shoes, and a $150 for a shopping spree!

It was a great Christmas! We all chipped in to get dad a nice new Nikon camera. He loved it! Trav and I got him a couple shirts to! He liked one of them, but the other one was pretty much a joke anyway, since he always gets us random clothes that we usually aren't huge fans of! My mom loved her digital camera that we got her, and her new Christmas travel mug! And Joel loved his bluetooth headset!

When we were all done opening gifts my mom left for a minute and when she came back she had a huge box in her arms.....yep, it was the Rock Band 2 bundle! They did get it! Trav and I were SO excited!

After presents we had ham and eggs for breakfast, and then got ready and headed to Trav's parents for a big Christmas lunch at 1. We made it right on time! We had turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon and mushrooms, salad, and rolls! It was delicious! After dinner we opened gifts. It was fun watching Coraline play with her gifts and try to figure out how to unwrap them! Trav got some nice knit slippers from Amber and Jason and some a gift card for a haircut, and nice shampoo and conditioner from his parents. I got a nice shirt from Amber and Jason and some gift cards from Robert and Kathy for a haircut and pedicure! Cora was spoiled with lots of goodies!

We got home a little after 5 and set up Rock Band. My brother came over to play and we rocked until 11 or 12! It was really fun! I love singing and playing bass! The drums are pretty hard, but I think if I try it a few more times I'll get it down!

Friday we got to sleep in! It was great! When we got up we bummed around the house for a while and then met Air in Corvallis to get the shopping for our Christmas Dinner done! We got everything in good time AND we got it for a great deal!

Trav and I met Rash and D for dinner at Cascade Grill a little after 6. I tried the rainbow trout and it was delicious! We had fun talking with R and D! After dinner we went back to the house and played Rock Band until late!

Saturday Trav and I went on our shopping spree! We just went to the little Heritage Mall, but Trav found tons of good deals! He got everything he wanted and got good prices on everything! I have fun just watching Trav go shopping. He LOVES buying clothes so it's fun for me to just watch his face lite up. I didn't have as much luck shopping, but I did get 2 really cute sweaters, and a little tank top and loungin shirt. Plus I still have a lot of my money left to use when I do find the perfect clothes!!

At 4 we went to Trav's co-workers house to have wine and meet some more of his family. We had a great time with them! We had red beans with sausage and rice for dinner, which we'd never had, and it was SO good! It was a great night socializing and very relaxing!

Sunday we cleaned the house up in the morning and Air and K came over at 1 to help with getting dinner ready! Air and I got the turkey in the oven at 2, and then prepared the green bean casserole, cool whip salad, green salad, appetizer platter, rolls, and cranberry sauce. Rachelle offered to bring mashed potatoes and I took her up on it! We were able to relax for a while and play Rock Band with the boys before anyone showed up. My brother and his girlfriend got there a little after 4. Sara brought me some delicious sparkling wine which was very sweet of her! Josh showed up shortly after they did, and Rachelle, Derrick, and Robin got there right on time at 5! Dinner was a little behind schedule but everything was ready and on the table around 5:30!

Dinner was delicious! We had a great time chatting and eating and drinking! Air and K and Joel and Sara ended up staying until 1! We played more Rock Band, and Wii bowling and Wii golf, and even played some apples to apples! We had a really fun time!
Today we are pretty tired, since we only got about 5 hours of sleep! But it's only a 3 day workweek, so we will survive!!

My cousin Lacee is getting married to Hunter this Wednesday the 31st! Unfortunately Trav and I won't be able to attend, but CONGRATULATIONS Lace and Hunter!! I wish you all the best and we love you guys so much!

It's almost Christmas!

It snowed again on Thursday night, so Friday I stayed home. Work was closed because of the weather. I slept in, took a bath, and made Trav lunch. While he was home for lunch we made a snowman. He was awesome. He stayed up all weekend!








Trav and our snowman

Then Air picked me up and we went shopping. I needed to finish my Christmas shopping, and we also went to Old Navy. They were having TONS of good deals and I bought myself lots of stuff! I got my Christmas shopping done and that night wrapped all the gifts!
That evening Trav and I went with my parents to dinner at the new Steakhouse in Albany, Cascade Grill. It was good! Then we got a bottle of wine to share while watching movies. It was a fun night.
Saturday we slept in again, and my parents came over at noon to bring some goodies they had for us. My mom had seen a good deal on a big crock pot and I asked her to pick one up for Air (for Christmas...Air has been wanting one for years and she asked for kitchen items for Christmas this year...). I LOVED it and it was a great deal so I asked them to go get me one! (I don't have a Bi-mart card) Trav still needed to get my gift, so he and my dad went shopping!
Mom and I just relaxed, drank hot cocoa, and listened to Christmas music while looking at the tree all lit up and stacked with gifts underneath!! It was very relaxing.
My parents left and invited us up for dinner and to make my mom's chocolate covered mints and cherries. We went of course! And I sampled a LOT of the chocolates. :)
Sunday we cleaned and all our normal stuff.
This is only a 2 day workweek! I'm off Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after...and then it's the weekend! I'm looking forward to the holiday's spent with family, AND the week off work!
Happy Holiday's! Have a very Merry Christmas!