Christmas Questionnaire

This was an Email but I figured I could make it a tag so here ya go…

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real or Artificial tree? We have a real one and a fake one.
3. When do you put up the tree? When we return home from Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? New Years Day
5. Do you like Eggnog? No
6. Favorite gift you received as a child? The one that comes to mind is a pink bike & ballerina outfit when I was in Kindergarden
7. Do you have the Nativity Scene? Yes, I have two, one that my grandpa gave me when I was baptized and I have the full Willow Tree set that we got as a wedding present from Marks Aunt, Uncle and cousins.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My Dad, he always tells me he wants me to spend my mom on someone else and as much as I would like to do that I love giving gifts to those I love.
9. Easiest person to buy for? Probably my mom…you can always rely on a Lowe’s Gift Card to make her happy.
10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? I’d have to say the underwear my grandma used to get us
11. Christmas Cards…Snail mail or E-mail? Snail mail
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” (Elf)
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I try and get some done a few weeks before Thanksgiving but it usually ends up the first couple weeks in December…I wish I thought about it earlier
14. Have you ever ‘ recycled ‘ a Christmas present? I don’t think so
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My Grandmas rolls
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? White
17. Favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night
18. Travel at Christmas or Stay Home? We go home to Jeff City and Hartsburg
19. Can you name Santa’s Reindeer? Yes…Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolf
20. Do you have an Angel or a Star on top of your tree? Actually neither, we had a Star last year but we have bows on top of our trees this year.
21. Open the Presents Christmas Eve or Morning? Both, Mark and I are going to open on Christmas Day for each other.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Traffic
23. Shopping…Mall or on-line? Both…I would prefer to do it all on-line but I hate paying shipping.
24. Do you decorate outside for Christmas or just inside (or at all?) Outside and Inside…it’s my favorite holiday and now that we have a house I was really excited to do it all this year.
25. Favorite Christmas cookie? Probably my chocolate chip cookies
26. Do you own Christmas clothing or jewelry? No
27. Do you believe in Santa? Of course
28. What is on your list this year? Stuff for the house and Photography stuff.

Tag: Melissa, Valerie, Toni, Kate, Midwest Nest, Anna

Christmas Decor…

Mark and I finally got our Christmas decorations up and now we just get to enjoy them. I’m hoping next year will be a little easier. Given that this was the first Christmas in the house it took a while to figure out where everything was going to go and when Mark put up the Christmas lights it was quite stressful trying to figure out the best way to hook them up. I have a feeling next year that will be my job It doesn’t bother me much thought, I used to help my dad put Christmas lights on our house every year. Now it’s just deciding who gets to turn them on and off every night. We’ve found that a little game of rock, paper, scissors tends to seem like the fair way to go, best two out of three, of course.

Last night we had some friends over for Thursday night TV. We are all Survivor fans so we’ve been getting together for the last couple months at each others houses. It’s now something I look forward to every week. Ann, Levi, Terra & AJ are a blast to hang out with. It’s been nice having some couples to hang out with here in Springfield.

Anna’s a great photographer and I hope I can learn some really good things from her, she’s got quite the talent! She’s got a really nice camera that I got to take some pictures with and I later on ended up buying the same one. Her husband Levi is a big sports fan, when you go over to their house about all you ever see on their TV is sport’s center. We were lucky enough to be invited out with them on weekend this summer to their boat and spend a day on the lake. I loved it.

Terra and AJ have introduced us to the Wii! Once we got to spend some time over at their house we were completely sold! They have one amazing dog too. You can play fetch with their dog Shelby for HOURS and I mean Hours. She’s a good dog though.

Well…Anna made fun of me last night for righting to much on my blog so I’ll stop for today. Hope everyone has a good weekend and hopefully we don’t have another Ice storm like last year..we’ll see what happens!

Holiday Cleansing

Sorry It took me a couple days Mel!

Please tell us your least favorite/most annoying seasonal….
1) dessert/cookie/family food
Have to agree with Mel on this one. Fruitcake has got to be the nastiest food invention ever. Any food that is a standard holiday joke should make one wonder.
2) beverage (seasonal beer, eggnog w/ way too much egg and not enough nog, etc…)
Eggnog and beer is disgusting. Can’t say I like either of those
3) tradition (church, family, other)
My extended family still gives gifts to each other, and though it’s fun to open all those presents at Christmas time, given that our family is so bless I can’t help but wonder if all the money we spend on each other (aunts, uncles, cousins) could be better spend on other families less fortunate.
4) decoration
I have to say inflatables. They have become quite popular over the last few years and I think the worst thing is driving by someones house with their yard full of inflatables. I think it’s just an easy way to get out of decorating. (No offense to those who have some)
5) gift (received or given)
My grandma used to get my sister and I underwear for Christmas. Though she tried, most of the time you wished she just hadn’t gotten anything at all.
BONUS: SONG/CD that makes you want to tell the elves where to stick it.
Again, got to agree with Mel. “Little Drummer Boy” it’s very hard to pull this song off with some class and by the end of it I’m sure I’ve got it turned off the radio.

Thanksgiving Travels

Mark and I got to enjoy a lot of family time this Thanksgiving. We usually try and make it to both places. We figure right now while were young and don’t have kids we need to see both families if possible. So Wednesday we traveled to IL. The past couple years the day or two before Thanksgiving has been Mary’s birthday so we try and get up there early enough to hang out with her and celebrate her birthday.

Thursday was spent getting food ready for later that evening. Before we left for Thanksgiving we found a really good deal on a Wii and Mary offered to buy if for us for Christmas so we brought it with us so that she could wrap it and give it to us for Christmas. Well, needless to say it was pretty popular over Thanksgiving. John came down to visit for a couple hours and we pretty much just played the Wii. We got Mary and Luther to box which was quite fun to see. Later that evening Mary’s family came over for Thanksgiving dinner and we had some great food! The cousins had a really fun time playing the Wii and I think everyone else enjoyed watching them too.

Friday we went to Luther’s side for lunch and had some more great food. It was a pretty small bunch of us but good none the less to see everyone. Irma and Becky made some great food. I wish we could have stayed longer but we had to get on the road to see my family.

My nephew was in town all weekend so we got to hang out with him which was a blast. It’s amazing how old he’s getting. Although Mark, whose Easton’s play buddy, was sick all weekend so I think Easton was a little bored with the rest of us. Saturday I got to spend some much needed time with my best friend Melissa. We ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant in town and totally got hit on by a couple waiters. It was something to laugh about. Saturday we got together with my dad’s side to watch the highly publicized MU vs. KU game. I’ve never been a big MU fan but I’m always in for a good football game. Mark and I have a friend that went to KU so we said a few cheers for both sides. I think its pretty fun for everyone up in my home town with Mizzou being number 1. They don’t get to enjoy that side of college football very often.

It was a lot of traveling but it was so good to see everyone! Hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving Holiday.

Thanksgiving Tag

I was tagged by Melissa so I can’t let her down.

1. Did you go elsewhere for the day, or did you have visitors at your place instead? How was it?
Mark and I traveled to IL for Thanksgiving Day; everyone from his mom’s side came to his parent’s house.  It was nice we got to spend most of the day with them and Mark’s brother John then enjoyed the company of the Rechile family later that evening.

2. Main course: If it was the turkey, the whole turkey, and nothing but the turkey, was it prepared in an unusual way? Or did you throw tradition to the winds and do something different?
Luther cooked both turkey and ham the good ole traditional way.  We had a ton of food and didn’t even really make a dent in it all.

3. Other than the meal, do you have any Thanksgiving customs that you observe every year?
I used to help out every Thanksgiving at my old church, serving and delivering Thanksgiving dinners to people around Jeff City, but since I’ve been with Mark I’ve not been in Jeff for actual Thanksgiving Day.

4. The day after Thanksgiving is considered a major Christmas shopping day by most US retailers. Do you go out bargain hunting and shop ‘till you drop or do you stay indoors with the blinds closed? Or something in between?
I’m not a Black Friday shopper at all!  I try not even to get to the stores over that whole weekend if at all possible.  It’s been good being in IL the last three years because the closest store is at least 30 min away so it’s totally not worth it to get up and travel to the mess.

5. Let the HOLIDAY SEASON commence! When will your Christmas decorations go up?
Well this is Mark and my’s first Christmas with a home so we’re defiantly decorating.  Since we weren’t home over the weekend after Thanksgiving we put some of them up on Monday and are slowly putting stuff up in the house over the week.  Being that it’s the first Christmas in a house were kind of adding stuff as we go along. 

Random Friend Questions

1. What is your occupation? Traffic Technician
2. Do you like banana sandwiches? Nope
3. What are you listening to right now? Ugly Betty Season 1 Episode
4. What was the last thing you ate? Brownie & Ice Cream
5. Do you wish on stars? Nope
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Sage , I’m not sure it’s even a color
7. How is the weather right now? I’m not sure because I haven’t been outside this morning
8. Where are you? My bedroom
9. What is your favorite animal? Dogs
10. How old are you today? 24
11. Favorite drink? Iced tea or margaritas? Depends on where the Iced tea or margarita is from
12. Favorite sport to watch? professional football
13. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes
14. Do you wear contacts or glasses? Neither
15. Pets? None
16. Favorite month? November
17. Favorite food? Ice Cream
18. What was the last movie you watched? Born Ultimatem
19. Favorite day of the year? July 29th, day I got married
20. What do you do to vent anger? I let little things get to me and get mad at those things
21. What was your favorite toy as a child? I have absolutely no idea
22. Hugs or kisses? HUGS
23. Cherry or Blueberry? Blueberry
24. Do you want your friends to email you back? yes
25. Who is most likely to respond? Valerie
26. Who is least likely to respond? hmmmm
27. Living arrangements? With my husband in our new home
28. When was the last time you cried? couple nights ago – there was a really sweet love story on Opra
29. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes
30. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Lacy, our parents have been friends since before we were born
31. What did you do last night? played cards with my aunt, uncle, and cousins
32. What are you afraid of? losing those I love
33. What bugs you? people who don’t committe to things
34. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese
35. Favorite car? My first car, a white 4 door honda civic
36. Number of keys on your key ring? 6
37. How many years or months at your current job? a little over a year
38. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
39. How many STATES/PROVINCES have you lived in? 1 -Missouri

I tag:
Valerie
Toni
Anna

Birthday Weekend

This past Friday was my birthday and I got lots of birthday wishes from may people. My best friend covered about every online communication I have set up. It put a big smile on my face to see greetings from her all over the internet! Thanks Mel!! Friday, I took the afternoon off and came home to a big surprise from Mark. In our living room the Television set had changed quite a bit. Mark got a new High-Def TV as a New Home/Birthday present. It was quite amazing to see the difference in the High-Def quality. Sunday NFL football was a different experience.

A couple months ago we bought some calla lily bulbs from Lowes to see if we could get them to grow and we only had one grow until Friday. So Mark made sure to point out that the other calla lily decided to grow on my birthday. I have to say it was kind of weird that it sat there for a couple months and decided to pop up that day.

Saturday we got to meet some of our new neighbors. Our neighborhood association has started to have more activities to bring the neighborhood closer and Saturday morning was the newcomer’s brunch. Mark and I joke because we know there will be about a 15-20 year gap at least and we usually are the youngest ones there by far. It’s still good to get out and meet people in our neighborhood. I also found out that I agreed to be a block captain. A neighbor of ours asked if I would want to do it and I never really said yes but she kind of announced at the brunch that I agreed to do it. I was defiantly surprised but it’s not a big responsibility given that there are only about 3 houses on our block right now.

Sunday we had some friends over to watch some football on the new TV, Mark grilled and we just enjoyed good company. Sunday night was Southland’s annual thanksgiving dinner. The food was delicious as always and the Skinny Improv preformed. They are a local Christian improv group. They did a really good job and again it was great to fellowship with some of our friends.

That sums up our weekend. Hope you enjoyed hearing about it.

Per Melissa’s Request

 

 

Ok, Ok…I know I haven’t written in quite a while. I guess I’ve just not had much to divulge lately from my life. Sometimes I wonder if everyone really enjoys hearing what I’m doing day to day. I wish I had the ability to come up with some profound writing of things that happen in my life. But given that I’m not a writer by any stretch of the imagination…that’s just not going to happen.

Of course tonight is Halloween and given that our neighborhood is quite large, Mark and I are kind of afraid we don’t have enough candy to hand out. I guess well find out this year and be ready for next year. Mark carved out our pumpkin that we got as a house warming gift from some friends of ours last night and it looks pretty good. I made some treats for work and ended up wining a prize because I guess they were just too darn cute.

 

This past weekend Mark & I headed up to Illinois for University of Illinois homecoming. Mark got to see his old roommate Brad and his newest family member. Brad and Holly just had a baby and it was the first time we had seen little Lindsey. They live all the way up in Chicago so it’s hard to get together. Lindsey had some beautiful blue eyes and the most hair I’ve ever seen a baby have. She’s only 3 months and I think she has more hair than I do.

 

It’s scary to think that Christmas is just around the corner, I haven’t even thought of what to get people. Mark and I still need to sit down and figure out our budget on things for this up coming Christmas. Last year it was a lot easier because I used a lot of money on our million target gift cards that we had received from the wedding. This year there’s not an ounce of that left.

 

Well, I guess I found a little bit to talk about! Thanks for getting on my case Mel! Luv ya!

Kailey

New House

So we’ve officially moved into our new home.  It is so nice to finally be in it and start making it our home.  The place is a mess right now but that is to be expected after moving.  I can’t wait to start having people over and enjoying the new space.  The house turned out beautifully and Mark and I have been so blessed to be able to have a first home like this one.  I’ll try and get some final pictures up.  We don’t have Internet access at the house right now so I’ll have to remember to bring my camera to work.

Things have slowed down a bit now that we’re in the house.  There’s still things that need to get done but it’s much easier being at the house to do them.  Tomorrow my best friend is going to be in town and I can’t wait to see her. It’s always a joy to get to spend time with her!  This weekend we are headed up to Illinois to a wedding.  It will be great to be up in Hartsburg it’s been a while since we’ve been there and seen Mark’s parents.

Please say a prayer for my sister-in-law, Sarah.  Sunday morning Mark’s brother John was awoken to Sarah having a seizure.  She is fine, apparently she had epilepsy as a child and it could have just been a miss-hap but in any event it really scared John and Sarah and they just want to know what is going on.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

The end is almost near…the house is almost complete. It’s hard to believe that we will be moving in less than a week, especially since there’s a TON of stuff to do. Mark and I have been working like dogs trying to get stuff done and luckily with the help of a few friends and family, we’ve been able to accomplish many things. Through these last several weeks Mark and I have had to tell our self’s that all this work will be worth it once where in enjoying our house.

 

Things are quickly coming together. This past weekend we laid sod. I keep on thinking how nice it is to have an instant yard. I always grew up with my parents laying hay and seeding and it always seemed like forever for our yard to come up. Sod takes a lot of work but it sure helps the look of the house right off the bat! This past week and weekend the cabinets were put in and they turned out way better than I thought!!

 

This week is a massive clean week, plus packing, plus a little more tiling…kind of a never ending list right now. Please be praying for Mark and I to be understanding of each other in this last week as we are both tired, a little stressed, and excited all at the same time.

 

Hopefully I’ll be a little more faithful to blog once the house is done!