Blogging Holiday!

I've heard that the best way to fully appreciate the little things in life, is to go without them for a little bit.  So I've decided that blogging and reading the blogs I follow is nearly a daily hobby and I'd like to appreciate the little things more in the coming year.  I also have many busy days of family gatherings and travel ahead of me which will leave me little time to blog anyhow. So that being said, I've decided to take a blog holiday.  To enjoy and relax and take in the next week or so.  It's not going to be easy in those days between Christmas and New Year's, but I want to try writing pen to paper.  Instead of getting on the computer.  To enjoy my break from work without getting on the computer in general, since I work on one 4 days a week, 8 hours a day.  Never fear, I'll be back in a hurry to kick off 2010 with all kinds of fun details about Owen's first Christmas, our New Years and how we plan to make 2010 a great year! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!  May you have a blessed and wonderful holiday!

Thankful Thursday

When I started thinking about what I was thankful for this week, many things came to mind.  It was a long week that I'm so very glad is over.  And that in itself is much to be thankful for alone.  However, here's some of my other thankful highlights!

Digging halfway into book 3 of the Twilight Series

Hugs when you need them most

Checking on you phone calls

That Christmas shopping for the boys has become a tradition without us even knowing it.

Applebee's Perfect Margarita

Laughing my butt off in a Target aisle...and I can't even remember what I was laughing about.

Good, solid, wonderful conversations

Remembering that the season is about so much more than decorating my tree...thank you Steff.

Getting spoiled at work all week long...and capping it off with a basket filled with Silpada Jewelry, twinkly Christmas lights and gift cards

An amazing homemade crafty ladder (also part of the work spoiling) which not only do I love, but also can't wait to try somewhere else in my house during non-holiday seasons.  Steff I saw your blog with the ladder in it...we're going antiquing!

For having my last of many things.  Including...my last final.  My last salad from Culinaria. My last drive to the Webster Downtown campus.  My last night of school.  My last class of my degree.

Seeing Owen before bedtime EVERY night this week!

Hearing Owen go ba ba ba ba...while he stood chewing on his crib rail.

New hats and the way crisp air feels in your lungs.

The anticpation of a graduation celebratory night out...including dinner at Kobe Steakhouse...and a carriage ride at Tilles Park.  I can't wait!!!

Growing up Too Fast

Sometimes I swear Owen gains skills overnight!  Recently he's hit a few bigger milestones and it's been amazing to watch. In recent weeks Owen has begun:

Pulling himself up to a stand on EVERYTHING!

Cruising across the furniture (which I don't have a photo of)

Holding his own bottle.

We have also caught him standing and chewing on his crib rail every morning.  It's now set on the lowest setting it goes!

Our baby is growing up so very fast!

Mr. Coffee...and the beautiful invention of Brew Delay

Feast your eyes on my newest steps toward setting and keeping my post-graduation goals!  This coffee pot is a huge improvement over the last one we had.  Given that our last one only had one button...and that was the on/off switch, it wasn't hard to accomplish this.  This coffee pot was so fandangled that I had to read the instruction manual to learn about my Brew Delay settings and such.  It even has a cleaning cycle.  Way too cool.  Anyway...once instructions were read and the brewer was set, Jer and I were able to wake up to freshly brewed coffee every morning this week. And it's currently set to go off and wake up with us on our fabulous Saturday morning off together as well. 

Also a big thank you to Stacey and Mike for my b-day present which was absolutely perfect!!  From them I recieved the biggest pack of whole bean Starbucks Breakfast Blend I've ever seen.  And a package of the already ground Breakfast Blend. Along with a very neat travel mug!

So I check done on my goal list of buy a better coffee maker and start having coffee every morning!  Consider it done and done!

Our Family Credo

Have you ever seen or read about the Johnson & Johnson Credo? They have this credo that is supposed to help consumers believe in their product. It explains what they are about…what they stand for…why their company matters. If you have a minute watch the video. It runs through the whole credo. 

Anyway, I read about the Credo in class a few weeks ago and I thought…I should write something. A credo for our family. I’ve done a lot of soul searching lately.  About family. What the word means. What my family is made of.  I have always said…I have family. And I do. But family means something different now. Now the words “intermediate family” means the two people I share a house with.  The man I married and the little boy we brought into the world.  And I’ve found that I have a lot to be proud of. A lot to stand for. What I want our family to stand for. What’s important. And these thoughts below came to my mind. So in order for me to have these to refer back to later in life, in order for me to have something to show my son when he wants to know what life’s really all about…here is our family credo. Truths we will hold each other responsible  for…always.

We promise...

To always be kind to one another. To love each other and talk to each other. To pick each other up when we fall. To share each other's accomplishments and excitements. To be there for everything. To make time to say I love you. To make time to pick up the phone. To make time to be a family. To simply make time. To forgive others when they hurt us. To be strong in the face of adversity. To know that we...as a family unit...are all that we need to get through this crazy thing called life. To share our love with those who want to be a part. To accept each others’ imperfections. To hold true to traditions. To be strong and be there for each other. But most importantly...to love each other with everything we have.

Sick to Death...

Of homework.

Of deadlines.

Of projects.

Of chapter reading.

Of hand cramps from note taking.

Of having to focus my brain

Of thinking about things that ARE NOT fun

Of spending 8 hours a week in class

Of dragging my bag with books back and forth from the car to the house, the house to the car, the parking garage to class and occasionally from the car into work and from work back to the car.

Of hearing the word Organizational Structure and Management theory

Of hearing the word syllabus, midterm, paper with citations, essay questions, multiple choice, T/F

Of putting read chapter xxx on my to-do list

Of studying

Ahh…I feel better now! Just two more nights and these will be OVER!

Thankful Thursdays...

Friday lunch at Bread Company with Steff and Owen.

Having people smile at Owen...and him smile back

That Owen has become a conversation starter with people I've never met and may not have ever spoke with in the past.
Owen laughing at me singing Jingle Bells
Taking Owen to see Santa Claus
Friends and fun and laughter at our InterACT Christmas party
Going to my first ugly sweater party and seeing some crazy sweaters
My birthday present from Mom...a relaxation basket full of so many goodies I can't mention them all...but some include my favorite candle from Bath and Body, The Family Man on DVD, a cozy Christmas themed throw, a Santa jigsaw puzzle (so I'll actually sit down and relax), a bottle of wine, chocolate and more!  Thanks Mom and Dad. Relax I shall!

Celebrating Mom's birthday with her on her birthday
Dad's filet on the grill - yum!
Trying and successfully making an italian meatball
Accomplishing a couple goals off my list
That even though the economy is weak, Jer and I are blessed with financial strength b/c we both have jobs and incomes
Spending Sunday out in the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping with Steff and Bry
Margaritas at Chili's

Finishing up a good portion of our Christmas shopping
Finally changing a multitude of light bulbs around the house
Heat and heaters and warmth when it's cold
Downy scented dryer sheets

Getting Owen a new coat...and taking this picture.

Finishing my last night of Strategic Management and my final presentation of my degree
Getting an A in the class, being given no lecture even though he told us he would go over 2 chapters, and being told we should be proud of our accomplishment.
Getting my manager's parking spot at work on my birthday - perfect on the windiest day of the year...and the coldest
Turning 27 Years old
Having this blog posted about me on my best friends blog - love you Steff
Having Grandpa Mike call me and leave a voicemail singing me Happy Birthday and telling me he loved me.  That's something he does every year and it's very special for me!
Missy singing me happy b-day also!
Everyone being so thoughtful and remembering my b-day at all!  If you got ahold me...thank you so much!  My day was special because of you :)
Locking my keys in my car at school Wednesday night. It becoming a chance to see my husband and for him to bring my b-day cards from him and Owen!  Such a great accidental suprise!
Having Owen be excited to see me when I got home.
Keeping track of my week for a month now and enjoying the reflection it allows me every week. It helps me keep track of the good and forget about the bad.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

So our usual morning routine consists of Jer and I getting up and showering…and bumping into each other in between our bedroom and the bathroom (one day…I will have a master bath in my bedroom…with a DOUBLE sink or I hope I do anyway). Anyway…some mornings Owen wakes up. Some mornings he stays peacefully slumbering. On the days when he wakes up, sometimes he’s content to lay in his crib, play with his stuffed monkey or his jungle mirror that plays music. Other days he wants up, wants a hug, a fresh diaper and some kisses. On those days, we take him into the living room. We prop him up on his boppy with a blanket and his stuffed monkey and as much as some people might think this is a bad idea, we turn on the T.V. for him. Usually the Disney Channel. He is getting to be such a big boy!  He is feeding himself his own bottle in the morning now.  All by himself!!  So he not only lays there content while we finish getting ready, he has come to enjoy this time. His favorite show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. When Mickey comes up over the hill to say Hi Everybody! Owen’s little mouth curls up in the biggest grin. It’s adorable! Here’s a link to a clip of the show. If you’re reading Great-Grandpa Linley, Owen is a boy after your own heart!!

You better watch out...you better not cry!

Apparently Owen doesn't follow instructions very well ;) 

Our State Farm agent hosted Santa Claus at their office this past Friday and we were invited to bring Owen for pictures just for being customers!  We found our State Farm agent b/c we attend church with her. So when we were invited to take Owen and we found out that the Santa visiting us would be The Schudel's (other members of our church) we could not wait!  You see the Schudel's have been helping out Santa for many years.  (As a disclaimer...when I was little my parents always told me that all the santas at the mall were Santa's helpers.  He can't be everywhere at once.  So he needs help.  I assume my little boy will ask similar questions of us one day and that is what I plan to say.) So this year...Mr. Schudel would be one of Santa's helpers and he would be inviting kids to sit on his lap and listening to their wishes.  Mr. Schudel really and truly looks like the big man himself.  His beard is real.  He is very jolly and very happy.  The picture perfect santa.  On top of it, Mrs. Schudel stands right next to him dressed as Mrs. Claus and she is exactly how you'd picture Mrs. Claus as well!  It was also very special b/c Owen's first experience with Santa got to be with someone he knew.  Him and Mr. Schudel have done plenty of walking and playing while spending time at UABC.

Our appointment was at 4:30.  The office was a hustling and bustling place. All the chaos had Owen a little out of sorts from the get go.  So we think that may have led to this picture.

Or this one.

Or this one.

But that's ok.  Doesn't every kid have this picture somewhere? 

Once Santa started walking with him...he cheered up a bit.  There's a bit of a smile here.

My favorite is the one we have hanging on our fridge in a frame.  I didn't get an electronic copy...so this is a picture of that picture.  Pardon the quality...but I think you'll get the idea!

Thank you State Farm and Mr. and Mrs. Claus for a fantastic way to remember Owen's first visit with Santa Claus!

Something worth remembering every single day

I stumbled on this video. It hits home fast. Beyond being a parent, this speaks to life in general. To everyone. The small things in the everyday are what make up the best parts of life. And simple things you think will one day be over soon, you may even wish away, could be the very thing that if you stopped to look at it differently, or even just take the moment in…could be the very best part of your day.

Vacation Daydreamin’ - The Dominican

With all of the busyness of school I’ve been spending a lot of time daydreaming about vacation. Our next vacation, our past vacations. They have all come to mind. I’ve also been searching for ways to incorporate new things into my blog (as it's one of my goals mentioned here). So along with my Thankful Thursdays…I plan to do Vacation Day dreamin’ posts. I don't know if I'll do it weekly...but definitely more than once! It might be a picture. Or maybe a story. Some (Ok maybe lots) will be of the beach. Others will be of family trips to Walnut. Or Linoski trips to the lake or Gatlinburg. But regardless it’s fun to look back at the memories and relive your favorite stories. It will also help me record pieces of my life that happened when I wasn’t blogging! Here goes nothin’!

Dominican – I'm not sure where to start with this trip. I certainly can't fit it all in one post. So for this first post...I just wanted to write what came to mind when I thought of this 7 day vacation to a beautiful place that I have no doubt God personally painted for us to enjoy. 

The Dominican.  These memories are sort of…in pieces. Like mosaics are made up of broken pieces of glass. My memories of this vacation fit into pieces…that make up one amazing week. Some of the pieces include…writing under a palapa. Writing in a journal. Having a green fruity drink at my side. My amazingly handsome husband standing back and watching me listen to my iPod and daydream. Feeling utterly carefree. Reading two books start to finish in the same week. Getting sunburned in the shade. Watching a couple make out on the beach all day everyday. Everyday.  Feeling slightly jealous that I’d never feel comfortable enough to do that in such a public place. Having my first experience with topless cultures. Interesting. Finding lizards on our wall. Watching Eddie, our tour guide, make rum and Cokes off the back of our tour bus by opening a bottle of Coke, throwing out half, dumping in some rum and shaking it up. Looking over from my beach chair and seeing Jer sleeping with his goofy brown safari hat over his face. Drinking Presidente beer on draft at a luau till dark. Taking my sandals off to walk the beach back to our room that same night.  Laughing at myself because it was amazingly difficult after drinking.  Listening to the waves crash…but not being able to see them that night because it was so dark. Feeling small next to the big beautiful, untamed ocean. Eating fresh fruit every morning. Having brown water come out of sink the first time we turned it on. Not so fun to remember. Learning exactly why they say...Don't drink the water.  Seeing a countryside where bananas, pineapples and coffee beans grew. Seeing a gas station that was literally a table with plastic jugs of gas on them. Feeling in awe of a culture with so very little, but so much richness. Putting our toes in the sand one more time…and being genuinely sad to leave, but so happy to be heading home.

Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree…

Remember last year when we went on an adventure in search of cutting down our own tree? Well this year we were not any luckier. Our first attempt left us with a sign that instead of last year’s “Closed. Out of Trees.” We got a “Closed for the duration.” And the one with the Open and Closed signs both from last year? Yeah the whole place was for sale. Including the house on the property. So…this year…we ended up here:

Lowe’s is not the same. Someone else went out and picked that tree and cut it down. Then loaded it in a truck. And sent it with hundreds of other trees to sit in stalls and wait for me to pick it up. No one is standing around with Christmas cookies and hot chocolate for you while they shake your tree and wrap it up. But what’s the saying…you choose your attitude? Well life handed us a U-pick instead of a U-cut Christmas tree adventure. So we changed our perspective. It’s a tradition I love. This year we were bringing the spirit of the U-Cut Christmas tree farm to Lowe’s! So we strapped on Owen’s carrier, wandered the outdoor garden center behind Lowe’s in search of the perfect tree.

Owen loved the time outside. Mittens and all he squealed with delight as Jer held up tree after tree. My favorite (of course) was a 10ft tall Frasier Fir. It was beautiful. However, the $90 price tag quickly brought me back down to reality. $90 could buy us that dogwood I would like out front in the spring. So we settled on an adorable 6 ft Frasier that would fit perfectly next to our pile of firewood out back!

Jer got it loaded on top of the Exterra…which may be my favorite part. Driving around town with it strapped to the hood. It’s a festive sign that the Christmas season is upon us.

After unloading and giving little man a snack, we all bundled up, went outside and decorated! Owen tooled around on our patio in his walker and squealed and rammed into things while Jer and I worked to get it straight!

A few hours, some blue and white ribbon, and white twinkle lights later we had our first outdoor decorations since living at this house. Our neighbors joked about us moving the tree outdoors b/c of Owen this year. But we decided instead of one tree, we’d have two. One to greet our visitors when they came in the door. And one inside for Santa to leave gifts under!

Thankful Thursday...on Friday

So I'm having serious trouble with getting a Thankful Thursday post up on Thursday.  But I was in class till nearly 10 on Wednesday and till past 8:30 last night.  So by the time I got home...it was bedtime!  Anyway...next week I'm shooting for a Thankful Thursday on Thursday...and not Friday.  Regardless I still kept track of my week and what I was thankful for!  Here they are in no particular order:

Black Friday shopping with Steff
Wearing no makeup and not getting dressed up for 3 whole days in a row last weekend...so nice!
For medication that makes my shoulder feel better
For how handsome Jer looks in his blue Old Navy tee, jeans and tennis shoes
Mixed berry Yoplait yogurt at Owen's dinner time...which made him a maniac.  Gotta be the sugar!
For laughing so hard I cried
Sweet Tea
Anticipating our first snowflakes
That this year I remembered exactly when we last saw snow...and it was the day we brought Owen home. 
For warm, happy memories
Knocking things off my to-do list.
That even though my to-do list means I'm busier than I wanna be, it means my life is full
For a website that helped me make sure I had everything I needed before going to the DMV to replace my LOST driver's liscense
Having one night left of my capstone class and only two of business law
Getting a real tree and decorating it
Feeling the motivation and drive to describe in writing every single thing around me.  This week it's been a very strange unstoppable thing.  I've tried to take advantage...so don't be suprised if my posts get writer-ish.
My winter coat, scarf and gloves
Frozen pizza and DVR'd episodes of Glee and Dinners, Drive-ins and Dives (better known as Triple D)
Anticipating another weekend spent in preparation of Christmas...which includes taking Owen to see Santa, our bible study group (InterACT) Christmas gathering, birthday celebration with Mom for her and my birthday's, and a Linoski Christmas shopping!
I am truly blessed.

Feeling inspired…

The accomplishment of my bachelor’s degree is getting closer and closer…and it’s inspiring me. To dig down deep and think about my life. What do I want from it. What do I think it’ll look like in a few years. Where do I see myself heading. It’s been a goal for the last 4 and a half years…and taken up much of my life over that time to complete. This also has me thinking about how I’ve spent some of my last few years. I’ve realized that the last few years have been busy. Very busy. Whether it’s a commitment at church, a paper to write for school, or some other commitment I’d gotten myself into. I’m only 26 (soon to be 27) and I am hungry for relaxation and routine. For days to do what I want with my time. For weekly routines that I gauge my week by. For laundry to be caught up most weeks and for Friday trips to the library with Owen to become something I have the energy for every single Friday. For Friday’s to truly be My and Owen’s day and it not be another day to play catch up. So…I’ve begun to write down on paper some soul searching I’ve done recently…I started with things I love, friends and family, scrapbooking, reading, education…stuff like that. And it sort of evolved into something more like goals. (Thank you Steff you gave me the perfect inspiration!) Goals to try and make sure the things I love become a part of my everyday life. So anyway…I decided that life is short, I’m about to overcome a milestone that I’ve disciplined myself to complete. Discipline that has taken up evenings and weekends with reading and writing and studying…and imposed stress on my body, my mind and my soul. And thereby imposed stress on my husband, my best friend, my Mom and anyone else who has dealt with me. Stress that is self induced, but stress none the less! Stress that I’m about to be done with! And on top of it all…I’ve been handed a supremely amazing life and I want to make sure I fill it up with the good stuff! So without further ado…here is my list of new life-fulfilling goals!

Create a reading nook in Owen’s room (in progress) and begin reading in that spot every night…we’ve been reading most everyday, but are not in quite the habit I want to be in just yet! This is my start!

Create a set of canvases with my favorite Shel Silverstein poems on them – for said reading “nook”

Post pictures of the nook here so I can share my goal accomplishment!

Put Owen’s Name in his room somewhere – closet door, above his rocking chair, where ever I think it should go.  Find a spot and make it happen.

Dive into a person bible study…even if only once a week.

Find someone who will ask me about it every once in awhile.

Attend church more regularly (a previous tie-in to a goal my pastor helped me define for myself) A goal I’m failing at the moment and need to be better about.

Have a cup of freshly ground Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee every morning. B/c it’s Jer and my’s favorite, we have the perfect mini-food processor for this purpose, and it’s just nice to wake up to a house that smells like delicious coffee. And life’s too short to wait for occasions for the “good stuff.”

Buy a nicer coffee maker.

Take Bryan and Steff to Hermann Mo for a Linoski weekend.

Buy a case of wine from Adam Puckta.

Fill our wine fridge.

Make lunches at night before bed.

Friday Routines:

Get up with Jer, see him off to work and get a shower before beginning the day with Owen.

Be refreshed and energized to enjoy the day with my son.

Take Owen to the library and pick out two new books every Friday.

That I never feel the need to ask God to help me make it through a week, one day at time unless something tragic has happened to me. School is not tragic. It’s just exhausting!

Begin Blogging “Thankful Thursdays.” A way to recap my week. – DONE!

Organize and spend time in my scrapbook space.

Finish Owen’s 1 year book and 1st year calendar I created by March 26, 2010.

Take a vacation with Jeremy to celebrate my bachelor degree completion and all the new things in our life in the past year. I’m thinking Bahamas!! Or maybe just a week off together at home with a mini-weekend thrown into the mix. We haven’t decided just yet…but we’re in the process.

Take a Cooking class or two.

Take a photography class with Steff. L&CCC Here we come!

Buy a cool new camera, take pictures and enjoy myself!

Get more massages. Do so by signing up for Massage Envy’s monthly membership. One massage a month…they roll over if you don’t use them…and you get member prices on other services!

Bake something every Sunday.

Try new recipes.

Make reading list. Try to read one every two weeks.

Finish watching the OC. Start watching Gilmore Girls! (Steff and I just dove into Season One together this two Friday's ago!)

Take a Diner, Drive-ins and Dives Roadtrip as Linoski's.

Take a class on cake-baking.

Plan a cupcake party with the girls. Each of us pick a different cupcake from a book and bring the ingredients to make it. Follow it with a bottle of wine and good movie to sit down with our cupcakes and watch!

Blog every other day, or every day. Spend more time planning/working on different blog ideas. Be more brave with ideas I want to try. Accept it if they don’t work or aren’t what I want them to be!

Come up with a special way to celebrate Owen’s first year. Get creative and do something cool. Jer mentioned doing a Build-A-Bear.

Go on more dates with Jeremy. Even if it’s just to Target and Bread Co.

Take Jeremy on a Rediscover our Past Date. I got the idea from a blog I read. Places on our list include North Middle School, Alton High School, Lincoln Douglas Square, Steinberg Skate Rink, Pere Marquette, Saint Anthony’s Hospital, and a few others!

There are more, but this is a good start!  I'm hoping to post occassional updates to this every so often.  My intentions are to capture my goals with pictures and remember to post them here. Thanks for traveling along with me!