Christmas and New Years

Man it has been a while since I've been on here to blog. Sorry about that. I am babysitting right now so I won't be able to post any pictures but I figured I would get on here to catch up on what we've been up to.

The cinnamon rolls turned out FABULOUSLY!!!!!! They were super easy to make so I look forward to making those again for many years to come. :-) I think by the time the day was over I had eaten three of them. YUM! I of course forgot to take a picture of them but you can imagine what they looked like. We spent early Christmas morning at JR's mom's (Trudy) house and spent three or so hours there opening presents and relaxing before heading off to my parents house. Bob and Lea weren't here for this Christmas since they came for Thanksgiving so we missed them terribly. It was a nice quiet Christmas but we all had a fabulous time celebrating the season and spending time with family. We ate Christmas dinner at my parents and then headed back to Trudy's for dessert. We watched a movie and just hung out for the rest of the evening. It was fabulous.

We got up the next day and did some after Christmas shopping. As you can probably guess, we were looking for a FULL Christmas tree. And don't worry.....WE FOUND ONE! We made sure it was a full tree this time because we ended up buying the display model. We got a fabulous price and this way we won't be surprised when we open it up next season. WHEW! It was nice that Christmas was on a Friday because that meant JR got a long weekend so he was able to come do some shopping with me the day after as well. And yes he actually wanted to go. :-)

New Years Eve was fabulous. We had our close friends Jake and Keely over for dinner and games before ringing in the new year. It was a great way to spend the evening. Keely brought over some delicious chocolate fondue (white and milk chocolate) with great things to dip in it. It was decadent. Dinner was great too but the company is what made the evening. We are sure blessed to have friends like Jake and Keely.

I am finishing up my last week of Winter Break and then school starts back up on Monday. I only have 2 more semesters of school work and 1 semester of clinicals. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. WOO HOO!!!!!

Well that's about all there is to update. I'll try to post some pictures once I figure out how to connect my NEW camera to the computer. In the meantime, stay warm.

...til next time

Our Cream and Crimson School..........IU!!!!!!!!

JR and I got the chance go down to Bloomington to take in an IU basketball game this week. One of the physicians that JR works with generously gave us the tickets since he and his family were not going to be able to use them. I haven't been back to Assembly Hall since I graduated so I was STOKED! The tickets were fabulous (5th row behind the basket near the IU bench). THe Hoosiers made a valient effort to come back from a 24 point defecit but lost by 5. That team has heart and that is certainly what they will need these next couple years until Coach Crean gets them back up to where the IU program should be.

I just threw in a picture of our little girl. She's the best!!!
I am going to try making homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning this year. If they work out well then I will make this a tradition. It's a long process since the dough has to sit and rise two separate times before you can bake them but hopefully it's worth the wait. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Well off to roll out the dough and finish these bad boys up. Then off to church with both families.

Have a merry Christmas!!!!!


.....til next time

Really?!?!?!

I was listening to NPR today while I was babysitting and the topic of discussion was fidelity and whether it is important in relationships. Are we really to the point in our society that we do not hold marriages sacred any more?!?! I was so angered by the discussion that I felt my heart start to race and my face get red. The discussions that these people were having were based off of a comment that Angelina Jolie made to a German news reporter. She stated something along the lines that a monogamous relationship is not the only kind of relationship that works. That it is ok to be married and have a boyfriend or girlfriend outside of your marriage. One of the "experts" on the show mentioned that it is healthier to do this because if your husband or wife is not holding up their end of the relationship that the other person can seek a boyfriend or girlfriend instead of asking for a divorce or separation. How does that work when there is a family involved (i.e. kids that ask who that other woman or man is that daddy or mommy is always with)? Are we supposed to teach our children now that infidelity is ok? I just think that is outrageous. Why are people getting married if they think that monogamy is not sufficient?

I realize that people are all entitled to their own views and beliefs but I just cannot believe that people are questioning the importance of fidelity in marriages and relationships.

I promise when I get home I'll post something much more fun to read, but I just couldn't let this one go without venting a little about it.

.....til next time

As promised....

Here are the pictures that I promised (along with a few non-half tree related)



Here is the shot from the front. Doesn't look to shabby. It looks like it could even be a full tree...BUT....then you look at it from the side. They weren't kidding when they said a half-tree. Dang you small print dang you!!!!
Here are my two favorites in front of our favorite feature in our new house. :-)
This is the first fire we had in our lovely fireplace. It's delightful to sit in front of it and sip hot chocolate. (sigh) :-)
This was going to be such a good picture for our X-mas card....until Hoosier decided that the squirrel in the tree was WAY more interesting than sitting still. We have yet to reattempt it but it needs to be soon so we can get those out. :-)
One of JR's friends came through here last week on his way up to upstate New York. Brad is in the military and he and his family are moving from Arizona. Brad and his father-in-law were in charge of driving EVERYTHING they own out to their new location. Not an easy job but we were thankful that they drove through our neck of the woods. JR hadn't seen Brad since he was in our wedding a year and a half ago. Nothing like catching up with old friends. :-) I forgot to mention that it was just in time for the Oregon State vs Oregon (aka The Civil War game) football game to decide who would go to the Rose Bowl. The bad guys won but it was still fun to watch.

I am finishing up my most dreaded class of grad school this Friday and then we are off to Chicago for one of my really good friend's wedding. It should be a fabulous weekend. Laura is going to make a gorgeous bride. I'll be sure to post pictures from the weekend when we get back. A week from tomorrow I will have one more semester of PT school under my belt. Only three semesters left. WOO HOO!!!!!!

Hope you are all staying dry and warm. It's bitter cold here but at least we got a little bit of snow. It makes it so much prettier.

Ok back to studying for now.

...til next time

SUCCESS

woo hoo!!!! the cute puppies i blogged about yesterday are now in a safe and happy home. i would like to take credit for my post but i think liz found the family on her own. yay for a great placement for two homeless pups. :-)

Lost puppies that need a good home

id #: 9225686

id #: 9225655

http://www.indyhumane.org/heretohelp/lost_and_found_pets.php


My best friend, Liz, has taken in two miniature dachshunds. One is a wire hair and the other is a short haired one. One is about 2 years old and the other is about 1 year old. Liz is going to try to foster them for as long as she can but she has a dog of her own and can't take two more dogs. They appear to be house trained (no accidents in 3 days) and have gotten along well with children, adults, and other dogs, etc.

If you are interested in taking them let me know and I'll give you Liz's contact info so you can contact her. She said she would love to keep them if she didn't have a dog already. They are so cute and she wants to find a good home for them instead of having to give them to animal control.

Just a funny story

Being the world class procrastinator that I am, I decided that it was a good day to put up our Christmas tree instead of study for my huge test a week from Monday. I know I know it's only November 14th, but I couldn't resist the temptation to put up our FIRST Christmast tree in our FIRST house. So my mom brought the tree over that we had temporarily stored at their house. Fabulous, I thought, I'll open it up and put it in the perfect spot in our front room. As I'm opening the tree I see writing on the box that says "half tree great for putting against wall". What the heck does that mean? So I searched further on the box (mind you this is what I should have done PRIOR to buying it but honestly, who thinks they would only sell HALF CHRISTMAS TREES). There is a picture on the box of a sideview of the tree and sure enough....it's only HALF OF A CHRISTMAS TREE! Thankfully the spot I picked out was by a wall so we made due. I just laugh thinking that JR and I bought our first Christmas tree and it was only a HALF TREE. I guess that just gives us something to look forward to when we make the big bucks...a WHOLE Christmas tree. hahaha I have to laugh because it really is pretty funny. No wonder we got such a great deal on it the day after Christmas last year. Those suckers tricked us into thinking we were getting a full tree. I'll post pictures of it when there are ornaments on it and everything, but I had to post about our pathetic HALF tree.
Moral of the story....can't judge a tree by it's picture on the box. You better make sure you read the fine print. :-)

...til next time