Wrap Up

Happy Thanksgiving!  How was your feast?  Cody and I ate up at my parents house and MY what a spread.  Turkey, potatoes, corn, rolls, pies...the list goes on.  It was so yummy!  I stuffed myself and then followed up with 3 pieces of pie.  Yes, I had a nap later.  After dinner we went over to Cody's parents house and hung out with them for a while.  Gary put up their Christmas tree and there was a fire in the wood burning stove...I LOVE their family room, I never want to leave!  It's so warm and cozy.  We finally made it home and got the boys in bed.  It was a fantastic day and I'm thankful for so many things!  Here is my final list of thanks:

1 - My family.  Pretty sure I already noted that this month, but how I adore them!  ALL of them.  The Patch family, the Jolley family...they are everything to me and I'm so grateful to be related to both of them.

2 - Heated seats.  Where would I be without those??

3 - Music.   

4 -  My Grandma Ada and her pie recipe.

5 - Cody and my little boys.  

I failed to mention that I went to see 'Twilight' on opening day!!  I was able to disperse my reserved tickets amongst a fantastic group of girls and we all headed up to the Theater last Friday afternoon.  We ordered some quick lunch and rushed over to meet my Mom and Jess for the movie.  My thoughts?  I loved it.  It was actually pretty good!  I went in with very low expectations, I was already anticipating it being horrible and lame and cheesy.  But I enjoyed it!  Could it have been better?  Sure.  But I was entertained and my heart fluttered and Edward is delicious - just as he should be.  If you're too serious, you'll miss the fun of it.  It is what it is, right?  A teen romance.  I will certainly be seeing it again, want to come?  OH - and they are making sequels...YAY!

And finally, the Christmas season is officially upon us.  Did any of you get up early to go shopping this morning?  Me either.  After that meal  yesterday I was lucky to get out of bed at all.  I am planning on cleaning up my house today and finishing up my Christmas decorating.  I LOVE this season!  It's not just the Holiday I love, but the actual feeling that is in the air at Christmastime.  Half our neighborhood already has their homes covered in lights and I'm praying for snow!  I'm also trying to suppress the desire to host a Christmas Party this year.  I LOVE throwing parties and Christmas ones are such a blast!  But I have decided not to stress myself out with yet another big party this month (already hosting 'Girl Friday', you coming?), and instead will invite friends over throughout the month for dinner, movies, wrapping parties, etc.  I can't wait!  Better turn up the Christmas music and get to work!

Comfort Kit

Wow - how nice is Hannah!  She brought me all this goodness today.  Everything is my favorite; pink roses, chocolate orange, Dr. Pepper, Pringles....

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes.

Granddad

Today my Granddad passed away.  He was an incredible man!  My Mom called me this morning to let me know that he was taken to the Hospital last night.  He was in ICU on life support until this afternoon.  His passing was very peaceful and he was surrounded by his family.  

Words truly cannot describe the love I have for this man - I feel so lucky that I was able to grow up with him in my life.  He and my Grandmother came to our Birthday parties, Thanksgiving Dinners and every family Christmas party.  He was brilliant, righteous, patient, loving and humble.  A grand example to me.  I'm thrilled that he knew and loved my sons.  I think the greatest gift he gave me was a Father who is just like him - My Dad is the same kind of man that my Granddad is.  

Of course I will miss him terribly, but what a blessing that he was finally able to go.  He was ready, it was his time.  I love you Granddad!

Today's thanks...

1 - The comfort of the Gospel.

2 - Having such amazing people for Grandparents.

3 - The EMT's and nurses that took care of my Granddad.

4 - My family.

5 - Cody, who is my rock.

Save The Date!

Introducing...

I am going to do it!  I am hosting a craft show on December 3rd!  I have creative friends and I thought it would be fun to host a party so they can sell their goods.  There will be refreshments, mingling, not to mention a plethora of handmade, one-of-a-kind and exclusive items to rev up your style and your home.  Just in time for Christmas!  Ideal gifts for friends, neighbors, teachers...yourself.

If you are interested in coming, leave a comment with your email address and I will send you an invite with all the info.  Want to participate?  Let me know!  The more the merriest...

Double O' Heaven

At long last, the much-anticipated Bond movie has arrived!  I am SO excited to see this movie I can hardly see straight.  How I love me some Daniel Craig.  Like most, I was a little hesitant when I heard he would be the new Bond.  But 4 minutes into 'Casino Royale' I was a believer.  I grabbed my martini, golden gun, pink silk dress and strappy stilts and jumped on the Bond train.  I mean, look at that picture!!  The tie, the steely gaze, the....what?  How can you not love him?  Plus he never shows any pain after breaking ribs whilst chasing bad guys through a crowded market place.  Throw in a high speed boat chase and soaring bullets?  I'm all KINDS of on board with that action.

Cody is at the movie right now with some of his crew from the Fire Department.  I am SO jealous!  Maybe he'll love it so much (and love me so much) that he'll want to take me out tonight to see it again!  Hmm, not sure they'll let me in the Theater with my golden gun, but the rest of my ensemble should be alright..

How was I able to let him go to this movie without me?  I'm just wicked awesome like that.  Well, that and the tiny fact that I will be going to a new release next weekend without him.  It's this vampire movie, see, and he doesn't really want to see it.  I, on the other hand, have been waiting for this movie to come out FOREVER!!  And I may or may not have purchased and entire ROW of tickets.  Yep.  After I get my fill of Bond, I'll be getting all gussied up to drool over Edward.  I love November. 

Today's thanks...

1. Reserved seating!  I was able to reserve my seats for the 'Twilight' movie and I got an entire row in the middle of the theater!  I am SO excited...

2. Dry Cleaners.

3. Cache's wit - he is so quick and hilarious.

4. Stain remover.

5. Blue skies.

And now, to work

I got a job!  I am now employed.  Starting next week I'll be working part-time for Priddis Music (the karaoke company).  I'll be doing a few things - the first being Product Promotion for some of their clients.  The other will be helping them synch their music with the karaoke on-screen lyrics.  You know when you are singing Karaoke (and who doesn't every weekend?) and there's a DVD you watch with the lyrics of the song?  And the lyrics light up when you are supposed to sing them?  Yep - that's what I'll be doing.  WORD.  I'm so excited!  The best part? I get to work from home!  Awww, yeah.  

It's probably too early for me to start rewarding myself for working, but I have decided that I will set a bit aside each paycheck in hopes to eventually purchase this desk!!  My sister put this picture on her blog and I immediately fell in love with it.  Just look at it!  Candy Apple Red??  Yes, please.  Darn PB Kids and their too-cute-to-resist-furniture-pieces.  I'm sure I'll get more work done on a shiny red desk, right?  Right.

Things have calmed down quite the much since the show closed and Halloween is over.  I am getting SO excited for Christmas I can hardly stand it (as if my blog design didn't give that away - go to Rita's Sweet Shop for yours, her designs are always SO cute!).  I've been taking down all my Halloween stuff during the past week and I'm eager to put up Christmas in it's place.  Think I'm crazy?  Go talk to my neighbors who already have their homes covered in lights.

And finally, I have something to run past you;  my sister and her friends have a 'craft show' every 6 months.  They create all kinds of things - jewelry, clothes, blankets, cards, etc.  They select a house, set up all their goods with price tags and start the evening!  Everyone just walks around looking at the cute things for sale, mingle, eat, and at the end of the evening they purchase their finds and call it a night.  I have wanted to do this for a while, would you want to come?  Participate even?  I don't have much time, but I would love to host one before Christmas.  I'm thinking early in December.  What do you think?

Today's thanks...

1 - Heather.  She designs my Holiday blog layouts...and any other theme I come up with.  She is so great to cater to my every whim!

2 - Sunday naps.

3 - Talking on the phone with my sister.

4 - Washing machines.

5 - Garbage Day.

A day in History...

I voted today!

It's interesting to be a part of history...we have all witnessed so many things that our children will learn about in school and today will be one of them.    How amazing to have an African-American candidate?  A female running for the office of VP?  So many issues and problems to be addressed and hopefully resolved.  I'm not a political person by any means, but I felt extremely Patriotic when I voted today.  I hope whoever takes office will be able to turn things around for the economy and be a leader we can trust.

As is customary for my November posts, I will list 5 things I am grateful for:

1 - The freedom to vote.  You saw that one coming, I'm sure.  I love that I can have my voice heard in such a historic election.

2 - The security of Cody's job.  This economy is terrifying and we have certainly felt (and are dealing with) the effects of it, but I am so thankful that Cody's job is stable and secure.

3 - My Cocoa-motion.  Hmm.  A bit shallow after my previous thanks, but I LOVE this little machine!  I put in milk, my cocoa mix, press a button and in 2 minutes I have perfectly blended, toasty hot chocolate.  Yum!

4 - A husband who tolerates (and even joins in on) my love of Halloween.

5 - Sweatshirts.

Halloween Festivities...

We had quite a busy Halloween weekend!  On the 30th, my dear friend Amelia had her Birthday dinner up in Salt Lake - it was so much fun!  She will probably kill me for putting up this picture, but she is so gorgeous, isn't she?  We laughed and talked and ate WAY too much cheesecake.  She is a gem, I love her - Happy Birthday, A!

Ahhh, glorious Halloween!  I thought the weather on Halloween was SO perfect couldn't have asked for anything better!  It was dark and cloudy but really warm which was fantastic.  I sewed Cache's costume (he wanted to be a ghost) and he looked so cute I could hardly stand it!

Cody and I realized that maybe we should dress up, too.  We couldn't think of ANYTHING!  Finally we just dressed up, wore our PS2 Guitars and went as Guitar Heros.  What's that?  You don't see any pictures of us in our rocker costumes?  That's because we sort of looked lame.

Once we got to the Church I Decorated our truck a teeny bit and it turned out to be one of the only trunks that was decorated!  We had our Halloween music blaring and it was so fun to see everyone all dressed up.  Cache scored some serious loot and Cole was content with a sucker that got him all kinds of sticky.

We made the rounds to our parents and Grandparents homes so they could see the boys all dressed up.  I love how excited Cache gets for Halloween!  He loved seeing everyone in costumes and was eager to hand out treats to the Trick or Treaters.  By the time we got home we were all exhausted!

The next night was the First Annual PGFD Halloween Party.  I kept asking Cody if they were going to do a Halloween Party and my nagging helped organize this scary soiree!  It was SO much fun!  A few days before the party, Cody told me that the prize for 'Best Costume' was a new digital camera (I have been wanting a new camera forever, ours is old and lame)!  We realized we had to get serious about our costumes.  Cody grew out his mustache, I threw on a wig, we busted out the Roller Skates and...

Voila!  Roller Derby Couple!

This costume was SO much fun.  There were tons of great costumes, I was so impressed!  I wasn't sure we had a chance at the prize, everyone looked so fantastic.  I helped tally up the votes and it was a close call, but we WON!  Cody and I did a victory lap around the floor before accepting our prize.

 

So from now on, you will see much better pictures taken with our shiny new camera.

We wrapped up the party by watching 'Young Frankenstein' and snacking on popcorn and treats.  The party was so much fun and I already have more ideas for next year...

I'm now in the process of taking down all my spooky decor.  This Holiday makes me so happy - it brings joy to my heart.  It was a great year!  Now?  I'm ready to put it away and make room for pine garlands and tinsel.  Yes.  I'm decorating for Christmas.  Merry Merries!!