December 2009
55 posts
So long 2009....
Well this has been a good year! I can’t believe how time has flown by. This year was a very exciting year because Mike and I engaged and 2010 will be even better because we are getting married! I am so excited to see what 2010 brings! I have a feeling its going to be a great year. Happy New Year everyone!
Mike just sent me this picture…..
Apparently Riley was following him all around the house for 5 minutes and he didn’t know why…. until he finally paid attention to her and the fact that she had a blanket stuck to her collar! haha poor thing.
A new.. or old Mt. Dew.
So for those of you who don’t know this (which I doubt is possible) I absolutely am addicted to Mt. Dew. I love it. So on Monday Mike went to Costco to get a few things. He called and said he had a surprise for me. I got home and he had an 18 pack of the Mt. Dew Throwback. I had never heard of it before! It is the original version of Mt. Dew. It is made with real sugar and doesn’t...
Well this week the storm clouds parted and there was a glimmer of sunshine on doom island. I can’t even believe it. The following have definitely played a part in that:
my arch nemesis has been gone all week
my boss decided for this week we get to come in at 9 and leave at 4!!!!!! So wonderful!
we get to wear jeans all week
most of the boys in the office have been gone so my fellow...
My new obsession.....
This game has consumed me the past two days. I just want to keep playing! It brings me back to the old Nintendo days! So much fun! The best part is Mike and I can play as a team being Mario and Luigi. It has provided a lot of entertainment and good fun. I will say I’m not as good as I used to be… I definitely need to get better at it. A little embarrassing fact… we are only on...
car frustrations......
So this was my car yesterday….. lots of snow and ice…. So Mike helped get some of the snow off last night but the scrapping I was going to do this morning before I left for work. Well of course I get the car cleared off and ready to go and the stupid thing won’t start!!! Go figure right. I called my brother since he knows a lot about cars and he things my fuel line might be...
So I got this awesome appetizer cook book for Christmas and there are about 200 different recipes in it. Well I was asked to bring one to Mike’s family for Christmas. So I told Mike to pick something out of my new book. He really wanted this crab cheesecake thing. I found about 19 other things I would have rather had but he really wanted this cheesecake thing made. So I jotted down the...
Christmas recap....
We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas with Mike’s family. It was lots of fun. He has a very large family so there is always a lot going on. Take a look at all these stockings… that is one for every member of the family (parents, siblings, children) I love looking at all the stockings. Also each stocking has a name on it so you have the same one every year and when a new member comes...
Our little Christmas celebration!
Today… when I can finally get to leave doom island, Mike and I will begin celebrating our Christmas. He has a surprise for me…. I kind of guessed it already, we are going ice skating! Very excited but I have no idea where we are going for it. Its not millennium park so not sure where we are going but he says its awesome. I told him he is not allowed to let go of me as I am deathly...
Christmas with the hunters....
So where I come from (cue Kenny Chesney) there is alot of hunting. This is mostly for deer but also for pheasants, rabbit.. whatever else there is a season for. So for the past few holidays when all my aunts, uncles, cousins ect get together they have been having a clay bird shoot contest. Well Mike and I have never been there for one of these contests. Well on Sunday we participated in our first...
Well I got to try on my dress last night! It was all wrinkly since they just got it in and were not expecting me to be there to try it on. It fits! Well mostly… yikes! It fits, zips everything is fine just need to loose a little love handles so the dress lays perfectly. My mom says you can’t even see it but I can, and I feel it so its got to go! Looks like after the holidays I need to...
Today was my first day back at work after having 3 1/2 days off and it has been really hard to focus. Also time has been dragging! I was reminded of how much I dislike doom island and I can’t wait to be rescued! Hopefully that will happen in 2010! I have a terrible headache that wont go away, I’m sleep deprived, and I just want to get out of here to see my dress!!! That is...
I CAN HARDLY CONTAIN MYSELF… MY WEDDING DRESS IS IN!!!! I am just so excited! I have been dying for it to come in. And the best part is I had an appointment at the store tonight to talk about the design of my wedding jewelry so I get to try it on tonight too!!!! YES!!!!!!
Gift exchange.... or shall we call it silly...
So for my mom’s side of the family instead of doing your traditional gift exchange we decided to do something different due to the economic times. So everyone was to wrap a gift of something they no longer wanted or needed and we would play a game. So Mike and I searched and searched and our entries were a wine rack (not bad actually.. we just didn’t need it since we have one already)...
While I was home my mom and I spent a lot of time cooking and baking.. which is a lot of fun but also left us with no time to relax.. oh well. We made santa surprises which are peanut butter cookies with a snickers bar in the center. They are delicious. We also made the beloved oreo balls and Christmas wreaths which are my favorite!!
A few Riley highlights from the road trip
Well when we headed out last Wednesday for our trip, as usually Riley was all hyped up and panicking. Usually when we pack up the car she is going to grandpa and grandma Giampaolo’s while we are going out of town, but sometimes we are going to southern IL or just to Mike’s parents for a visit. So for the first hour or so Riley continues in her panicking of whimpering and crying and...
I'm Back, I'm Back.....
I know its been so long since I last posted but I was out of town. I headed down south to Southern Illinois to spend some time with my family to celebrate our Christmas. It was a great time and flew by. We did so much while we were home and I got to see both sides of the family. It all was very nice. I will be posting highlights from our southern IL adventure.. and let me tell you there were some...
Work gift exchange
Today I was involved in the gift exchange with our account development team. I am so happy they included me! As you all know I had my arch nemesis…. I actually was very nice and got her a very nice set of lotions, soaps, ect from bath and body works. So I did good and continue to be nice to her :). One of the men on the team had my name and he did such a good job! I got this great dip dish...
Road trip today!!! I have many Christmas CD’s to get me in the spirit, and even an audio book. Its sunny and clear skies so it should be a good drive!
By tomorrow at this time I hope to....
have one of these wonderfully delicious soda’s in my hand from Diary King… yes I said Diary King not Queen. I also hope to be having a famous Wally Burger or something wonderful from the long list of items Diary King has to offer…. like cheese hash browns, or chili cheese nachos.
Every time I travel home I have to get food from Wally’s and a ski from Diary King, its...
Never Look Bad Again →
This site is pretty cool!
thecooknook:
I have a confession. I am inept when it comes to styling my hair and doing make-up. My beauty cycle go something like this:
Find a look I like and stick with it for years
Get bored of said look. Shop like a madwoman for new “it” products. Try out new products for a week or two. Realize I have no idea what I am doing with them, and end up going back to...
I have so much to do tonight!!!
pack to go home!
run to a few stores for the last gifts I need to pick up
finish wrapping presents
pack up Riley
clean up the house a bit so its not a mess when we return
fix some of my credit card bills to not receive paper invoices since they are now going to charge me for them!
Those are just a few of the things I have planned for the night. I hope I can...
The Florida Gators are a fraud
Pretty crazy stuff. Mike researched this for a few hours last night and its very surprising what he found!
gamps31:
College football has no playoff. Some argue that the entire season is a playoff since one loss, 99% of the time, eliminates you from national championship contention. Unless you were in the preseason top 5 and lost early enough in the year you can come back and play for the...
So very excited...
So only 1 1/2 days left at work and then I am headed back to Aviston to see all the family. We are celebrating Christmas the week before. Things I’m looking forward to:
-Going shopping with my mom for her Mother of the Bride dress!
-lots of great food
-Seeing both sides of my family
-Cooking dinner with my mom for our little family dinner.
-Enjoying some wine at the winery
-Time...
Wedding Planning, first picture!
Here is the first picture that I have showing me at work! This was me getting the bride in her dress! I hope to have more pictures soon!
After a long day at pre cana and market research group on Saturday, Mike and I set off to take Riley for a walk around the area. On our walk we came across the cutest little mini snowman that some children made with the little bit of snow we got. It was so small I just had to take a picture. Oh and a side note… Riley was afraid of it.
Reality TV star sighting... well a look alike
So on Friday I was on a bar crawl with some coworkers and there meeting up with one of the people in our group was I swear the best Snookie look alike from Jersey Shore. Mike and I sneakily took this photo to prove it……
She had the big hair and all. Sorry for the close up of my face but it was the only way to get this picture. Enjoy! We sure did! The funniest part of this was one...
wedding hair debate..
So I just can’t decide what to do with my hair for the wedding. I would love to wear it down or half up by the possibility of rain, humidity, and wind makes me really nervous. My hair doesn’t do well in any of those circumstances. I’m getting my hair done at 9am…. will it hold all day?! I just don’t know what to do. I don’t mind wearing it up for ease of things...
Weekend plans...
Tonight I will be reunited with some of my co-workers in my old office. They are doing a 12 bars of Christmas bar crawl. It is tons of fun every year and things get pretty crazy. Mike and I have to be on our best behavior though because we have pre cana all weekend at our church. I am also doing a focus group for some extra cash. I’m very excited about that. All I have to do is talk about...
Tonight I am finally getting my hair cut. I can not wait. Just a trim but a much needed trim. I have to keep my hair growing for the wedding so no big cuts here. Then I am headed to Lori’s to see her cute little boy. Oh and I heard a rumor she made Oreo balls so I’m pretty excited about that. I might have to have 1 or 2 while I’m visiting!
Reality TV really is my guilty pleasure... →
I have recently started watching Jersey Shore…. and yes I will continue. Please read this article and you will see why. These people are hot messes and you just can’t turn away!
If I were to win the lottery....
I would want to live here:
I mean this house is like a castle. I just love it. Just a few details:
This 103-room home has 58 acres of gardens and woodlands. Several ballrooms and grand entrance ways punctuate Updown Court, which has a panic room, an indoor squash court, bowling alley, 50-seat cinema, helipads, space for eight limousines and a heated marble driveway. Marble bathrooms are nice,...
This is Brayden. He is my good friend Lori’s little one, almost 2 months old. Isn’t he just the cutest! Oh and the outfit he is wearing I got for him when he was born and he finally fits in it! I think its so stinking cute! He will for sure stay warm in this!
Not to be confused as a rabbit, this is my dog. She is all cuddled up as we were watching TV.
I am planning to make a Chicken tortilla soup tonight that I found on a fellow bloggers site. I am very excited and really hope it turns out well. I’ll keep you all posted!
Snow advisory...
Due to the crazy amounts of snow, sleet, ice, and wind we are expected to get tonight I had to cancel my much anticipated meeting with the jewelry maker for my wedding day jewelry. I am super bummed.
For the love of snow..
Riley loves the snow! This is her from last year’s winter. As you can tell she just loves to be covered in it. So when I took her out yesterday morning and there was snow on the ground it was like she had just be reunited with her best friend. She leaped and bounded and skidded across the snow and rolled around until she was completely covered. She then proceeded to walk with her nose in...
Last night after I went to dinner with my friend Pam I decided to stop into Home Goods to see if I could find a few more Christmas presents that I needed to get. As I was rummaging around this store I came across this vanilla Chai. I was jumping for joy in the aisle! I love chai from Starbucks and I always get a shot of vanilla in it. Well I haven’t been able to find vanilla chai anywhere...
The weekend....
Our weekend was wonderful and went by way to fast as usual. Friday started off with a trip to Costco for my new favorite Friday night dinner…. Costco take and bake pizza. The margarita one is to die for! Then I picked up a few more groceries at jewel and rented The Ugly Truth. The movie was really funny and the pizza was great!
On Saturday we headed to our reception venue to meet with the...
The printer...
So at my company people can give you a “pat on the back” for doing a good job at something. When you receive one of these you get points. You can then use those points to purchase items. Basically anything from a hammer to a refrigerator depending on how many points you have. So I collected a pretty reasonable amount of “pats” and decided to start shopping. As much as I...
Wedding Planning, Wedding #2
Last weekend was a wedding I have been planning for almost 1 year. Everything went wonderful! The bride was beautiful and their wedding went perfect! I love planning and really want to get this business up and moving so I was so happy when they hired me last January. I helped them with almost every aspect of their wedding. I helped them find the venue, band, and photographer. I went when the bride...
So my plan of finding cute flat black boots on my lunch hour was an epic fail. I really hope I can find some soon, like before I go out with my girlfriends tomorrow night!
I love Christmas music....
So when its this time of year I love to listen to Christmas music at all times. This at times drives Mike nuts! haha. So as I’m sitting at work thinking about the upcoming holiday and getting tried of listening to my ipod music I listen to everyday all day I decided to head down to Starbucks to purchase a Christmas CD. It was the closest and most convenient place for me to buy one. Below...
My dog is afraid of everything!
This is Riley being terrified of the roomba (the robotic vacuum cleaner). So Riley is seriously scared of everything! She is scared of our roomba but what scares her the most is the things roomba knocks over. The following are items roomba has knocked over and she is now scared of or items that have fallen and she now will not go near:
Halloween wooden ghost- roomba knocked over in which she...
Boots Boots...
My lunch hour mission is to fine some cute black flat boots….. I really hope I can find some! Wish me luck on my lunch shopping mission.
Yesterday was a great day. I left work at noon so Mike and I could get our pictures taken. We went to the studio and within 30min we were done! I couldn’t believe it! I hope the pictures turned out good. Stay tuned I will let you all know. Then we headed to Lalo’s for a wonderful Mexican lunch buffet. I mean I love Mexican and it doesn’t get any better than an all you can eat of...
