Hustle....and Bustle!

So the holidays are here, hence the lack of blogging! I am consumed with parties, presents, crowds and lists! Still have more xmas shopping to do but I'm trying not to get too stressed out about it. We've got the tree, decorated cookies, and looked at Christmas lights throughout the neighborhood! The most important thing will be the time I get to spend with my family! It will be a busy christmas weekend- but worth it none the less! A sleepover with Victoria is a tradition on Christmas eve! Then we wake up and make a huge breakfast at my Dad's house, typically comprised of cinnamon rolls, fruit, eggo waffles (with pnut butter of course!), and probably some pigs in a blanket- Joy's tradition addition to the Christmas breakfast! My Dad's house remodel is complete and I think this will be the beginning of many christmas traditions shared there. I'm hoping the Jingle Bears have found there way out of storage...
The afternoon is spent at my Mom's- which is about 1/2 a mile from my dad's so it makes traveling on Christmas great! :) Once all the siblings arrive, we open presents, take a family photo, listen to music and catch up! Maybe play with our "toys" a little bit too! :) More family will be over for Christmas dinner and the fun begins at the Kid's Table. This tradition has been going on for almost 20 years now! We have continued to call it the Kid's Table even though we are all over the age of 20! No matter how many "kids" are attending dinner- we all sit at one long table (which seems to be stretched longer and longer each year with new members of the family- husbands and wifes and soon to be babies!!!) You never know what's going to happen at the kid's table, but it is definitely entertaining- to say the least!
A quick trip to Big Bear with cap off the holiday weekend, along with another sleepover with Victoria. I love spending time with that girl- she is amazing! :)
The one thing missing this holiday season will be Clay- he'll be staying in Newport to spend time with his family and working....what a drag! But I can't wait to ring in the new year with him! 2010 is going to be a great year!
Peace, Hope & Love this holiday week! <3

New Laptop!

Setting up the new laptop I got for my bday! Thanks Parents!

More blogging more frequently…hopefully!

G.Y.M.

Trying to get back into the routine of getting myself to the gym has been pretty unsuccessful. Yes, I've taken a few months off and knew it would be so hard to get back on track...but I am determined to make it happen and there's no better time than today- no excuses. So, as tired as I always am, I need to realize this will help me attain more energy! As sore as I will be, I need to be thankful I can move those muscles to make them stronger. As busy as I am, I need to realize its a short part of my day that I need to make time for. Time to update the ipod- get some motivating playlists going and get my butt to the gym. :)
Making it happen now...

Today.

Today has been a sad day. Little Max, the parent's brand new kitten they got only a week ago, left us to be in kitty heaven. His heart stopped beating this morning as he lost a fight to panleukopenia. He was a spunky little thing who stole my heart just 3 days ago! These pictures were taken Saturday and I am so glad I have them now. Max fit in the palm of my hand- quite different from my own fatcat! He was the sweetest kitten, a purrrrrring machine! It is so sad to have to let him go...but I am glad he was loved for the short time he was here.

Also- today is Ryan's 31st birthday. It's sad to know he is spending it alone, no family or friends. Needless to say, this is not the first birthday he's spent incarcerated and it won't be the last. Hopefully... some way a lesson is being learned....

The Love!

Celebrated our 2 years together on September 3rd, 2009! Still going strong... Love you Clay!

Almost gave up....

Well, I was almost thinking of giving up on this blog- until I saw that my mom has started one and I must follow so I can get her recipes! :) So, I guess I havea few months to catch up on!
Well- here it is- Chels is married now- Yay and looking for a house...crazy! I've spent the summer mostly with family- driving to Glendora to help Victoria move back into her house/room. We went to the Jonas Brothers concert and I'm pretty sure it was the best night of V's life! She was Loooooooving it! Of course, maybe the fact that we were in the 3rd row helped just a tad! She still talks about it like it was yesterday- a month later! Hanging out with Chels and Meg when I can...I got to have breakfast with Dunc and Tracy on one of their quick trips down to socal. Hopefully they're moving down soon so we can hang out all the time! :) Football season has started, so my Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays are full of football on tv. Good thing Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday the tv is all mine- Glee, 90210, Real World, Kourt and Khloe, all the guilty pleasures!
Suzanne's babies are growing so fast! They're 9 1/2 month old angels! Gabby got another cute puppy. Clay's college roomie got married- one of his first friends! We went to an awesome Incubus concert for Clay's bday- in a limo! So much fun! And Clay and I just celebrated our 2 year anniversary! Life's not slowing down much- if anything, it's speeding by me so fast I feel like I can't keep up! Trying to spend time with family and friend's has become such an important part of living for me! Those are the moments that matter! And life's too short to worry about anything else!
Saturday morning will be spent helping my dad and Joy put on a yard sale! They have so much brand new stuff to get rid of- I'm hoping we get rid of most of it! More importantly- I'm hoping we get it to people who need it and will appreciate it! It's not about making the money...although that part of it will be much appreciated!
So- there was a quick overview of the summer and the months I've missed blogging. I'm going to try to get better at it! At least a few short blogs even if I don't have time! We'll see how it goes!

Sisters

I got to spend 2 weekends in a row with my amazing sisters. Chelsea's bridal shower went great! The food was amazing and we had ladies from all walks of Chelsea's life. This last weekend was Rob's retirement party. 38 years with one company- amazing! He had a great time when we finished the night off with a roast! Lots of great comments from family, co-workers and friends to tribute rob's hard work at Edison after all these years. Clay and I bartended...again! It' a great way to meet everyone at the party! :) And not too hard of a job when there's only beer, wine and margaritas!

Mother's Day was the next day and with Chelsea in Coalinga with Jeremy, it was just me, my mom and Rob left to celebrate! I met them at a little sushi place in Placentia. It was sooo good but we definitely had eyes bigger than our stomachs! Rob didn't even want dessert, which rarely ever happens! It was great to get together and have a quiet dinner after all the craziness the last few weekends! Both my mom and Rob have been working extremely hard to get the house ready for Rob's retirement party and the wedding in June. Their efforts definitely do not go unnoticed- the house/yard look the best they have in 25 years! It will be so exciting to have or close family and friends there for Chelsea's reception!

On that note...time to hit the gym- I have a dress to fit into in 2 weeks! Vegas wedding on the 29th- my friends from Santa Barbara are getting married! <3