Three Thoughtful Christmas Gifts

2.365-2

Three Thoughtful Christmas Gifts

2.365-1
I wanted to put these all in one post but we're going to the movies
and I don't think I'll have time to do it tonight so this is what you
get. The two aprons were made by my lovely, wonderful mother and the
blanket by my mother in law and father in law, who was sure to point
out it caused a lot of hand cramping. That just makes it all the more
special, right?

Twofer Tuesday

Today was such a great day I decided it was worthy of two posts in one day. In general it was just a regular day but I had two particularly good things happen.

First, my company has this program over the holidays called Maintain Don't Gain. You weigh in before Thanksgiving and again after the New Year and if you have not gained any weight you get a long sleeve t-shirt. I find it awfully funny that a long sleeve is all it takes to motivate people but hey, whatever works. Anyway, so I weighed in today feeling pretty good until Ms. Exercise told me I was up 2 lbs. Totally sucks since I was pretty sure I lost. Well she tells me the number and I wasn't up 2, I was down 8! Totally the morning sickness's doing (which by the way morning sickness is one of the biggest misnomers known to man). So I am not taking and credit and I confessed I cheated to Ms Exercise but still, I got my t-shirt none the less.

Oh as a bonus (this isn't #2) I got to have a lunch I was really craving, I was able to eat most of it, AND for some reason I cannot explain it was half off. Score!

Nextly (shout out Kanye), I had my review today. For me, reviews are nerve wrecking. I get so nervous before even a casual quarterly review that I feel like I am going to be sick. Besides that, I have had some problems with my job over the last couple of years that I have been there. Despite my problems, I feel like I am a pretty good employee, always doing what is expected of me. Well last year my review was so terrible that I really thought by the way it sounded I should have been fired, written up at best. There were phrases in it like "VA refuses to do this" and "VA continues to make this mistake", all of which I felt were completely inaccurate and shocking. Especially since I had asked my manager for feedback through out the year and I felt I was improving on the items in which he had given me constructive criticism.

Well, to the good news. My review this year was fantastic. I almost started to cry because the things my boss said in it were so full of praise. She also told me technically I am ready for a promotion, they just need to make sure I can handle more responsibility, which I actually really want, and get a few things approved by the higher ups.

I sure was feeling good about myself today.

365 blog thingy

1.365

I have a couple of friends doing this thing where you post a picture a day to your blog for 365 days. You can read more about it here. Since they are all smart they started on the 1st, but I decided I want to join in and it shouldn't matter when I start. As I am typing this out I realized that it really makes sense for me to do this because it is called VA's Everyday Adventurers. So I start today, as I leave you with this...

Our sweet baby at 8 weeks. I sure can't wait to meet you babyc

Christmas and Six Flags

I don't have any pictures of Christmas so there isn't a whole lot of point of blogging a lot about it but I thought I would give you all a quick recap

Christmas Eve:

christmas with mom's side

mafia

white elephant- olive garden

midnight mass

Christmas Day:
egg casserole with PW cinnamon rolls

Ema gets cuter by the minute

mom is super thoughtful (pics to come, hopefully)

standing rib roast with yorkshire pudding (SO good)

dominos

tetris party

Day after Christmas:
tetris party

dominos

Saturday after Christmas:
Sixflags with mr.tc, two brothers and a sister in law. these are the only pictures that I took but I think you'll enjoy them

Things That I Have Done

It's an interesting list, I've have put in bold the things that I have done

1. Started your own blog.- duh
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.- does marching band count? we'll say yes
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning yuck! do not try and add this to your list
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. - I don't think you can any more
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked. does picking up a ride to your car as the club is letting out count?
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. I like to call it mentally ill
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise - dinner cruise a la the office
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. I tried spanish, but it didn't stick
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater - so fun!!
55. Been in a movie. - do high school history class productions count?
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason -both for myself and from my sweet husband
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job -no, thank the Lord!
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. poor fishy!
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous- Luke Wilson
92. Joined a book club - Tried to start one but it didn't work out
93. Lost a loved one- so blessed
94. Had a baby-
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee.

What I Did This Evening

S'mores in a jar. Of course we had to make a batch to make sure we
weren't giving our friends a jar of crap. I am sure the receivers of
these jars will agree, this is a recipe for heaven in your mouth.