some catch-up

Ok, so i've been up to so very much latey.  Where do I even start?

OH, first off. 

WE WON! *little happy dance* We Stomped them... Clobbered them... Dominated and Destroyed them!
For all you doubters out there, I had faith in them the entire time.

If you don't know what I'm referring to I don't know if we can be friends.
Ok, I'll help you out a little here...

Sit down son!

Rexy stiff-arming em. ya baby!

3 and OUT! Blackshirts are back!

 Final score ~ NE 24  Mich State 3

GO BIG RED! GO BIG RED! GO BIG RED!

The best part is they were favored to win by 4... they didn't even score 4. bahaha!  AND I was there, in the stadium screaming at the top of my lungs cheering our boys on to victory!  It was grand! 

We were right at the 30 yard line about halfway up the section.  This picture  doesn't do our view justice, they were seriously fantastic seats! Thanks Kristin!!

*side note*

Ain't he just the cutest? He's my favorite! =) I'm so glad he's a junior and he'll be around for one more year.  I'll be sad when he graduates.  Our team will sorely miss him, he's unstoppable!  He's our superman.  BURKHEAD for Heisman! anyone? anyone?

OK, I done with football talk for now... =)

Halloween was this past weekend (as i'm sure you were all aware).  Now, I never went trick or treating as a child and therefore never got to dress up so once I hit highschool and got to go to the costume party's I tend to get pretty into it.  I've been... 

a chick from the 80's (poofy glitter hair and all)

a sailor (with a real navy uniform, thanks dad!)

Cinderella (and only one shoe all night)

a crayon (the blue one)

an old lady (we stuffed our butts, haha)

among other things that I can't remember at this point

THIS YEAR...

I convinced my man to dress up as Mary Poppins and Bert the chimney sweep with me.  We made/thrifted/borrowed our entire costumes.

This started out lime green and a brim about twice as big.  I painted it and added the flowers and berries.  Turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

AND all our hard work paid off, we won best duo costume at the party. woot!

Pretty good right?
Oh and my nephew was pretty adorable, he was Mario (notice the black smudge on his upper lip, that was a mustache at one point during the evening)

How could you not just love this kid?

So I don't like pumpkin pie... I think it's the texture, cause the smell is amazing. Every time I smell one coming out of the over I just want to dig in, but I can't bring myself to eat the solidified mush called pie. SO, I decided to try pumpkin in another form.  I found this recipe for "Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies" and they looked delicious so I decided to give em a go.  I tweaked the recipe a bit (partly on purpose... partly not...) anyway, they turned out amazing.  I couldn't stop eating them.  Good thing I went to the gym earlier that day!  I took some over to my guy and the rest went to work. I was sure if they stayed in my house they would dissapear from sight and affix themselves to my hips and backside, they had to go!

Sorry cookies, you were just too amazing.

Awhile back Kristin (one roomie) and I took Andrea (my other roomie) out for her birthday. Back in Oct. She wanted sushi.  I've been meaning to post these pics for awhile just haven't gotten around to it.

Some coconut roll, crunchy LA and asparagus something. All yummy!

Cute "I'm about to take a bite" pose

haha, Andrea's not so sure about hers. 

Ok, so technically we had fake sushi.  After a debate with some friends we determined if it's cooked it's not technically sushi. 

According to Mr Webster:

su·shi

 noun \ˈsü-shē also ˈsu̇-\

cold rice dressed with vinegar, formed into any of various shapes, and garnished especially with bits of raw seafood or vegetables

That's ok, I just couldn't bring myselves to eat the raw fish.  The cooked stuff was super tasty.  After enjoying our "sushi" we went in search of ice cream to satisfy our sweet tooth.

Ted and Wally's homemade ice cream. so tasty!

SO, this week I only have a three day work week. Why you ask?  Well I'm headed to Phoenix for a wedding.  The idea of 80ish degree weather is super appealing as I sit here staring out my window at the snow falling from the sky.  That's right... snow!  Today would be the perfect day if I were home in front of my fireplace, sipping a cup of hot cocoa, wrapped up in a blanket watching a chick flick. Yes, then this weather would be just dandy.  But I'm at work, munching on my cold salad with a little space heater at my feet for warmth. (our office is constantly freezing no matter what month it is, but I think I've mentioned that before...)

Ok, I know it's November but I wasn't done with fall yet.

FALL please come back!

Well, by this time tomorrow I'll be in the desert.  Maybe I'll wear shorts just cause I can! This wedding I'm attending has a dance! I just love dances...dancing... it's fantastic! Hopefully I'll find someone to dance with cause a certain guy refuses to dance with me. Lame right? ;)

I was reading another blog and the gal has been posting things she's thankful for.  She plans to post something every day this month.  Now, I can't promise that I'll be on here every day posting something but I'll try for my once a week.

This week?

I'm thankful for...

~Trips out of state to warmer climates. =)

~A fantastic Sunday school group full of amazing godly men and women. Seriously, they are encouraging to just hang out with. 

~My family. Not in the typical, my family is great way (though they totally are) I'm thankful for godly parents that raised me in the church, involved and with God in every thought and decision. For an older sister who always brings my back to scripture when I'm dazed and confused.  For a younger sister who will listen to me babble and help me color my hair.  For my brothers who are rather quiet but are willing to put up with my craziness and quirks.  For my niece and nephews who make me laugh and entertain us with their individual personalities~ I love those kiddos to pieces! Seriously, my family is fantastic!!

little letters

Dear weather,

Please make up your mind. This back and forth stuff is getting old and I'm ready for fall to come and stay. Bring on the crisp weather and crunchy leaves, I'm ready.

Dear trees in my yard,

Could you please wait at least one full day after we mow before you dump a another load of leaves in our lawn.

Dear lawn,

Sorry you've been constantly smothered in leaves of late. Take it up with the trees, they won't listen to me.

Dear winter,

I haven't had my fill of fall yet, we've barely gotten to hang out. Please wait just a little longer before you make an appearance.  But if you are going to come please bring snow, cause you just aren't you without it.

Dear Phoenix,
I'm coming to see you next week. Please try and keep summer there a little longer cause I'd love to be able to go without a coat while I'm visiting, that would be grand.


Dear Hair
How do you feel about bangs?


Dear chocolate chips in my freezer,
Please stop beckoning me every day after work. I'm trying to eat healthier and you are making it so much harder. But thanks for the comfort you offer when I'm really in need of it. =)


Dear gym,
I'll be back to see you soon, I promise.

Dear roomies personal trainer,

I'd really appreciate it if you would let us use your football tickets tomorrow. My boys just won't play the same if I'm not there to cheer them on.  Kristin and I would be the best people and I'm sure the most appreciative ones to use those tickets for you. Truly!

Dear boys (aka NE Cornhuskers),

I'm trying my best to be able to show up and cheer you on to victory tomorrow. But if I can't make it please play your hardest, I'll love you no matter the outcome but it should would be fun to beat Michigan state. My weekend would go so much smoother.

Please don't call the cops

Some random thoughts...


I've recently become completely addicted to Pinterest and I blame my sister... ;)  Seriously, you can just go for hours and hours roaming from board to board and page to page finding all sorts of things. Things that are pretty and beautiful and hilarious.

I'm addicted to hats!

So hilarious!

Anyway, I also think it's a fantastic way to keep all your ideas in one spot.  And you can have a board for anything and everything so that your ideas and inspirations stay sorted and organized.  For example, I don't have my own home currently but hope to someday.  This way when I'm perusing the internet and run across a fantastic idea for my future home, instead of saving it to a file on my computer, which I may lose or accidentally delete, I can save it to a "pinboard".

Look at the pretty colors!!!

 Amazing right?  Anyway, it's pretty addicting so if you decide to try it out be careful, it will suck you in like quicksand!

I recently made this pasta salad for a womens night at church.  It was easy and delicious and I highly recommend it.  I'm sure if you threw a little chicken or beef on top it would make a pretty fantastic and healthy meal too. 

YUM!

On another note, morning traffic (and after work traffic) has been driving me completely crazy!  I know our rush hour here in little 'ol Lincoln, NE is nothing compared to the big cities but I swear the drivers here are dumber than in the big cities... seriously...


Ok, so every morning our office at work is completely freezing no matter the temp outside!  I feel a little ridiculous sitting here in a jacket, with my space heater on, drinking coffee when it's mid 70s outside but it's seriously that cold back here!  Ok, so maybe I get cold kinda easy but it's hard to work when your fingers are like ice. no fun!  Soon enough it will be cold outside too and I won't look so funny walking into work with a sweater on. =)


Does anyone else have trouble sticking to a study?  I mean I have this terrible habit of starting a book of the Bible in my devotions and somewhere along the way in my cross referencing I get totally sidetracked and am suddenly studying another book.  I mean I guess it's not terrible, but then it kinda is.  I have studied the beginning of so many books so many times and hardly know what the end says, the conclusion that wraps it all together. (my Bible is all marked up for the first 3-5 chapters of so many books and the closer you get to the end of the book the less and less the notations in the margins appear).  So this week I started 1 Corinthians (I know, shoulda picked a shorter book, oh well) and I am determined to make it through this one this time!


Last night I layed down AWANA color lines with people at church, after study, we started at about 10ish.  Apparently though, when we got to church, somehow through people coming and going someone, who shall remain nameless (mainly because we aren't entirely sure who is responsible) set off the alarm... it's a silent alarm... so we weren't aware that we did this until the maint guy showed up in a tizzy cause it woke him up at 10:30 at night. whoops!  He said he almost called the cops to come check it out but decided to investigate it himself, thank goodness!!  Though we all stopped when about 10 min after Kevin left we heard sirens outside... no worries, they didn't stop at the church they kept going. =)
Have you ever layed out an AWANA circle before?  It goes something like this...

Let the games begin!

Anyway, it only took us til about 12:30 to lay out two of them... ya I know.  Never realized the amount of work that goes into games!  But then we had to cut and measure and label all the lines because it's the first time this year we did them.  So hopefully when these are pulled up in a month for whatever event is going on the family center at church it will be easier and quicker to put them back down... hopefully. 

OH and how could I forget?  My boys in scarlet and cream start conference play this weekend!  We open against Wisconsin AT Madison, eeeeh!  I believe the Badgers favored by 10, no good.  I truly hope that we are able to beat the odds and come out on top, it would pretty much make my weekend.  Especially since so many people are doubting the talent our boys actually posses.  Ok, I'll admit I'm even a little skeptical.  I mean I know they have the ability to win but it's a matter of them actually playing to their full potential which sadly, they often do not. =/  But no matter, I will be firmly planted in front of the television yelling my encouragement from 496 miles away. !!GO BIG RED!!

Our boy REX, he's my favorite. ;o)

Get pumped up!

Fire, Football and Furry things'

Twice in one week, look at me go! =)

First off, AWANA went really well the first night.  Our girls were amazingly well behaved, we'll see how long that continues.  The night started off with everyone in the gym, minimal yelling and running going on.  That was the first thing that amazed me.  Then we were off to council time where we didn't really hear a lesson but more went over the rules and expectations for the year.  We going off a points system (the kids can earn or lose points depending on behavior, verses they memorize, anything we leaders decide is worthy of awarding or deducting points for) and so far the kids seem to be all for it.  Even game time went down with an amazingly small number of screams and squeals.  So nice!!  Hopefully this easy to handle behavior continues throughout the year, that would be a nice change. =)

And football... we play Washington Huskies this weekend.  We are out to exact our revenge on the humiliation they brought upon us (ok, so maybe we kinda brought it on ourselves... just a little) at the past bowl game.  I really hope that we don't underestimate their talents and are able to fix the numerous problems displayed on the field over the past two weeks!!! Come one boys, show me what you got! GO BIG RED!

Oh, and those "furry things" referred to above... ya we got mice again.  Though when I called the boy over to investigate he couldn't seem to find any traces of them, though he did humor me and set up 9 (yep count em, 9!) traps throughout our kitchen and garage to snag any future intruders.  Andrea and I are sure they are getting smarter and better at hiding their tracks.  Seriously, they licked two traps clean without setting them off, annoying little creatures they are!  We did however find a friend snagged by a trap set at least a month ago under our sink... he was a little stiff (or so I was told.  I was actually keeping myself occupied in the living room while the pest was being disposed of).  The slightly gross part about that is that Kristin and I had been smelling something rank around our sink area for awhile now and just figured our disposal was the culprit.  We joked about it but I didn't really think a rotting mouse corpse was the cause of all that. GROSS!!!

And tonight we are off to a bonfire.  Oh how I love fall... The smell of campfire is completely glorious and even though I'm not a huge marshmallow fan you just can't attend a bonfire without roasting up at least one smore!  It's been raining today so hopefully it isn't too wet.  Though Brittany and I were discussing it and figured it's probably best if everything is a little damp so that when (yes not if, but When) the boys begin playing with fire it's less likely something will ignite that is not supposed to. =)