Highlights from our Holiday

Christmas is officially over...but next is New Years!!  :)  Are you ready for 2012???

Nathan and I had an amazing Christmas Eve and Christmas day! It was just the two of us, so we decided to relax around the house and take it easy. For our Christmas Eve dinner, we went with using our raclette grill - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raclette; and I wore my new red dress!! We also watched 'The Chronicles of Narnia - the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' - one of my favorites, and also a good movie for Christmas spirit. Also, another good Christmas movie is 'A Miracle on 34th Street.' If you haven't seen it, you should.

Then for Christmas day, we were spoiled, and got LOTS of goodies!! Riley also got a lot of new toys, so he was pretty thrilled! We watched 'A Christmas Story', and 'Elf' - our two favorites!

Here are some of the highlights :

We dressed Riley up in his Santa hat :p

THIS is our raclette grill. You put the cheese on the bottom to melt it. *YUM*

My new red dress!!

Riley, can't get the santa hat off ;)

Of course, Riley had to join in ALL the Christmas festivities. He loves wrapping paper!

It was a wonderful Christmas!

Now it is time to get ready for New Years! I am looking forward to another amazing year! With a New Year, comes new resolutions and goals. Any one want to share theirs?? Mine is just to fix up the house as much as possible this year.  :)

Alright guys, that's it for today!! Have a fantastic rest of the day!!!

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas EVE!!! 

I hope you all have an amazing, and very blessed Christmas!!

23 & 24

We are super close to Christmas! Only THREE days left!! I've been really lucky with getting out of work an hour early today & I'm so excited about my 1/2 day of work tomorrow!  :)

Now I'm indulging in some amazing Christmas treats!! YUM!!

So here is day 23 & 24 of the photo challenge -

Day 23 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most:

Mi madre, of course!! She is the one who gave me life, raised me, and has always given me love and support. She is the most caring person I know. She is truly remarkable.  <3



Day 24 - Post a picture of your biggest insecurity:

My biggest insecurity is my weight. I've lost a lot of weight, and I'm really proud of myself & happy with where I am, but would still like to lose a little bit more before I'm completely satisfied. I think until I get to the point that I want to be at, my weight will continue to be an insecurity for me.


Alright guys...have a good rest of this Thursday, and I hope you all have a wonderful FRIDAY tomorrow!!!

A little Christmas music...

Barlowgirl - Carol Of The Bells

Happy Hump Day!! With there only being only FOUR more days till CHRISTMAS, I thought I would add a little music to add to the Holiday cheer!!  :) 

21 & 22

Happy Tuesday morning! We are FIVE days away from Christmas!


Today is day 21 & 22 of the photo challenge:

Day 21 - Post a picture of your favorite food dish:

Mmmmm....I absolutely LOVE Indian food. There are the most delicious spices used in Indian dishes. This picture is of Tikka Masala - one of my favorites. If you think that Indian food is "hot, spicy" it isn't. Some of it can be, but when I say spices - I mean flavorful.



Day 22 - Post a picture of your favorite movie:

Gone with the Wind is my ALL-TIME favorite movie. I could watch this over, and over, and over again. It's a classic, and who doesn't love Rhett Butler???   :)



Well, it's Tuesday...and you know what that means!!     TILT!!!

*Gone with the Wind
*Apples and almond butter
*Anything Hello Kitty
*The color Pink (bright pink)
*Listening to Christmas music all day :)
*Writing


Alright ya'll! Hope you have a great rest of this Tuesday!

19 & 20

What a wonderful, relaxing Sunday morning! Only 7 days left until Christmas day!! Are you ready??

Today I'm going to go ahead and post nineteen & twenty of the photo challenge.

Day 19 - Post a picture of you and a family member:

My brother Ryan, and me! This picture is when he came to visit us in TN, after he got back from Afghanistan.

Day 20 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without:

Obviously, I can't imagine anyone I know being out of my life. My husband, all of our family members, and friends...I would be completely lost without them!

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Anyway, I hope everyone is having a nice, relaxing weekend! Tomorrow is back to reality, another work week. I'm pretty excited since I get off of work early on Friday, and have the Monday after Christmas off! It's going to be a nice, long Christmas weekend.  :p

Here are just a few more Christmas decorations to show some more Holiday cheer!!

I love penguins, I couldn't resist this little guy!  :p

Pretty much everyone knows how much I love Hello Kitty! A great friend gave me this adorable ornament, and I had to show it off!!

Also, the movie ELF is my favorite Christmas movie. I've already watched it twice this month, and will most likely watch it a few more times. Nathan's favorite Christmas movie, is A CHRISTMAS STORY, so we will watch that quite a bit as well.   :)   I've been trying to think of other great Christmas movies, but can't think of many. Any ideas on other Christmas movies to watch?

18

Good morning! I thought I would go ahead and post a new entry this morning before I head into work! Thank goodness today is Thursday, I can't wait for the weekend to get here! I hope everyone has been having a good week so far. Only 10 days left till Christmas!!!



I'm currently on day 18 of the photo challenge
Day 18: Post a picture of someone you miss.

It is difficult to be away from family. It is especially difficult to grow up far away from relatives. I didn't really get the chance to see my relatives while I was growing up - and still rarely have the opportunity to go visit with them.

When my family had the chance to visit Nebraska, I remember spending time with my grandparents, aunts & uncles, and cousins, etc. It was always a fun time to see everyone and catch up.

For our wedding, I was blessed to have so many of our family members come share our special day! This is a picture of my Grandma Jim (Dad's Mom) & my Grandpa Joe (Mom's Dad). I miss them both terribly. My Grandma is no longer with us, but my Grandpa is still living in Nebraska. I'm thankful for all of the memories I have of each of them, but I do miss them a lot. <3

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I'm aware I missed this past Tuesday (TILT) - so I'll change it this week to Things I love Thursday! I'll change it back to Tuesday next week!
TILT:
*Family & friends (of course)  :p
*Sunrises
*Fuzzy/soft blankets
*The smell of a fire (camp fire smell)
*Bright red nail polish
*Good & fast work days/work weeks

Seventeen

Happy hump day! It is the middle of the week, and the weekend is almost here!

Countdown to Christmas - 11 days left!!

:)


30 Day photo challenge:
Day 17: Post a picture of your favorite night.

One favorite night of mine - was when Nathan and I stayed downtown Charleston all day & stayed at Charleston Place hotel. We went on a romantic carriage ride, ate Godiva chocolate truffles, and ate dinner at Mercato. This was to celebrate our three year (dating) anniversary (June 17, 2009). 

:) Okay, granted this is a favorite day & night of mine. It still counts!

That's not all....

Another favorite night, was going to the Dave Matthews concert for the 4th of July in 2008. 

We went with my brother, and other great friends of ours. We didn't have the best seats at first but we were lucky enough to get through to the actual field and stand close enough to the stage (it was on a baseball field).

It was such a fun night filled with amazing live music, and a lot of dancing. 

Sixteen!

Good Monday morning!! I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Today starts a brand new week, and leaves us with only 13 days left until Christmas! :)

Well, today is also day 16 of the photo challenge...so here it goes!


Day 16: Post a picture of the person you do the craziest stuff with. 


Ashley & me:

Jamie & me:

This is great. :) I have TWO people that I do the craziest stuff with. Two of my best friends - Ashley & Jamie. Although, now that we are "older" we don't really do anything crazy, but we still have fun. Unfortunately, they both live so far away so our time together is limited. I love these girls!!! <3

Okay, back to the fact that Christmas is almost here! I have been trying to think of a delicious, easy dinner to make for Christmas Eve! So far, I've been contemplating on turkey, or possibly a beef roast? I don't want to do chicken, and I am not a huge fan of ham/pork. I do want to do something different and new, but I'm thinking a turkey might be the easiest to cook and healthier? Plus, I need some ideas for side dishes, and an idea for a dessert - though I'm thinking it would be fun to make & decorate Christmas cookies with Nathan. :)
We don't really have any "traditions" and I would like us to start some of our own - starting with a special Christmas Eve dinner!

15

It's been a busy week! We had snow flurries on Wednesday afternoon!! I tried to get some good pictures of it, but failed! It didn't last long, and didn't stick. I can't wait till we get some snow that stays a little bit. :) Plus, there are only 16 days left till Christmas!


Anyway, today is day 15 of the 30 day photo challenge.

Day 15: Post a picture of something that means a lot to you.

The simple things mean a lot to me....flowers, a funny picture, a cup of coffee, etc. I enjoy little surprises that happen throughout the day, like hearing your favorite song on the radio, and getting a magazine & or a Christmas card in the mail. Enjoying the simple pleasures makes life more fun. :)

Fourteen

Day 14 of the 30 day photo challenge!

Day 14: Post a picture of your favorite book -

There are too many books that I love, so I don't have a "favorite." However, I will post a picture of the latest book I've read.

Yes, I ended up downloading this book on my Nook yesterday. I couldn't put it down, and finished reading it that same day.
It was just as inspiring as I had thought it would be. I definitely recommend it to believers, and even non-believers.

Thirteen.

Happy Saturday!

Back to the 30 day photo challenge - day 13!

A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently :

Well, I suppose losing weight has had the most impact on my life recently. I had gained weight after getting married and moving to Knoxville, and I have always struggled with my weight.
I have lost quite a bit of weight since this past May, and have a little bit more to lose. Losing this weight has helped me with everything in my life. I feel healthier, I'm not sick as often, I feel happier, and so on.
I enjoy eating a healthy diet, and exercising now.
I am embarrassed with how "big" I let myself get, but I'm proud of where I am now, and all of the changes I have made.


Before:

After:

I still have a little ways to go, but I'm excited to reach my goal! If you have any extra tips on workouts/diet, let me know! I'm always appreciate learning new ways to stay motivated!

Anyway, back to reality. I just got the Nook for my birthday, and would love to have suggestions on good books to download! My first book I have downloaded is "Heaven is for Real." I saw the little boy (author) being interviewed on the Today Show, and thought it would be a good/inspiring book to read.

Also, for everyone that reads this blog - ask me questions! I would love to answer questions, and make this blog a little bit more interesting. :)

25

Happy Birthday to ME! A quarter of a century...wow! :)

This has been the best birthday ever! Nathan surprised me by taking me to Nashville on Wednesday, and we had an amazing time. He knows my love of malls, so we went to the mall at Green Hills first. This mall had Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Tiffany & Co., Tory Burch, and so much more. I was in designer heaven.
We had lunch at the Cheesecake factory *YUM*, then went to the Centennial Park where they have the Parthenon (http://www.nashville.gov/parthenon/). We ventured into downtown and walked along the more famous streets - Broadway & 2nd Ave.
I love Nashville, and cannot wait to go back! I was secretly hoping that we would see or run into someone famous, but we didn't on this trip. Maybe next time ;)


Here are some pictures of my Birthday celebration thus far -

My beautiful Birthday flowers:

Nathan hanging out with me at the mall :) :

Our beer sampler at Big River Grille & Brewing Works -(off of Broadway):

The Parthenon at Centennial Park :

More scenery at the park:

Downtown view :

This was the best way to celebrate my 25th Birthday!! I've been extremely spoiled.  :)

Thanks everyone for all of the Birthday love & wishes!!! <3 XOXO