All Dressed up and Places To Go...

We have been fortunate enough to have so many opportunities to get dressed up this month and attend a lot of fun events. I love to be able to wear fun dresses and get all glammed up to have some fun. The first thing we went to was the Kadiza Christmas Party. What a Blast.

We attended a friend's wedding this past weekend and got to dress up for that also. It was a lot of fun and we danced all night long!

This is us on Christmas day all ready to go to my Grandmother's house!

I LOVE the Holidays! They bring so many fun events!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night...

Christmas has finally come and passed. All the festivities, parties and family gatherings are over. It was such a wonderful time and so great to see all of our family and spend time with them. I look around me and realize how blessed we are. We had wonderful food and good company and so many presents. My very favorite thing about Christmas is getting to give gifts to people. I love that feeling to be able to make someone's day brighter. I LOVE seeing the little kids opening their presents and presents from Santa. I just want to take this time to say thank you to everyone for making this such a great holiday season and thank you to our Lord and Saviour for all the blessings we have and for letting us be here on this earth. Also thank you to my wonderful fiance for such a special first official Christmas morning just the two of us! I Love you!

Christmas Candy

I got in the mood to make some Christmas Candy after going to all the holiday parties and seeing all the delicious goodies. I went on Saturday night and got all my supplies. I decided to make 5 different recipes. I started baking around 1 AM which is just insane I know. I am such a night owl and knew I would be up late. I didn't stop until 4 AM. Whew! I was tired. Then I was back at it this morning around 10 AM and I think I am finally finished. I might need one more batch of peanut brittle because the first batch I made turned out great but was pretty small, so the second batch I decided to double the recipe but something went wrong and it never got crunchy. It just stayed chewy so I had to throw it away. Natalie had made a really good chocolate peanut crunch candy with a special ingredient that you wouldn't expect so I asked her for that recipe then looked on the internet and through my mom's recipes for some more. Here are the 5 I decided on...

1) Cinnamon Hard Candy

2) Chocolate Peanut Crunch

3) Peanut Brittle

4) Peppermint Bark

5) Candy Cane Blossom Cookies

All my goodies in Christmas Tins and ready to eat. Hopefully they will all be finished at the different get togethers we are having. I don't need this extra laying around the house.

Let me know if you want any of the recipes. They are all pretty simple and were so much fun to make!

Kadiza Christmas Party

We had our annual Kadiza Christmas Party this past Saturday. We had such a great time. Natalie hosted the party at her and Nick's beautiful house. She cooked us dinner : pecan crusted chicken, a pasta dish, grilled veggies, and bread. It was delicious! After dinner we did a Chinese Christmas Exchange and we all got into the game. We were stealing from eachother, and plotting with one another to get the gift we wanted. I got a Starbucks gift card (my favorite place) and Joseph stole back a wood sign that read "Blessed" that he knew I really wanted. After the gift exchange we played scattegories which I love! It was such a great time to all get together and I had so much fun. We also got some really great pictures!

Joseph and I

Jessica, Natalie, Me, and Lindsey



Kasey . Jessica . Natalie . Lindsey . Me

Christmas Photo Session

Joseph's parents wanted a picture frame for Christmas with some family pictures in it, so we grabbed the tripod and went to his brother's house to snap some photos.

Joseph, Zues, Me, & Gina Our Happy Little Family

This is Cowboy and his holiday pose!

Gina hated wearing her dress, but she did really good posing in it. This is a good picture to give Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas!

All of us: Cecilia, Homer, Cowboy, Joseph, Me, and Gina




Homer, Cecilia, & Cowboy's family photo.



Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Love,

Joseph, Holly, Zues & Gina

I'm So Ready!

Christmas is right around the corner and I am ready! The house is decorated, the tree is up, the stockings are hung, and the presents are wrapped. I have been listening to Christmas music since Thanksgiving (not always by choice) but I have really enjoyed it this year. I was so excited when I finally decided what to get everyone this year. I wish everyone a Happy and Safe Holiday season!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Im going to be HOMELESS!

Today I recieved a text from my roommate... It reads as follows. "Our lease is up on Jan. 31st not the the end of Feb." I really thought I had more time. AHHHHH!!!

I was under the impression that we would have to move out of ou rent house the very end of February. That is why I planned me wedding for the first weekend in March, that is why I planned on having a garage sale Feb 28th, that is why I have been procrastinatig about packing my things and start moving them to the house Joseph and I will share together when we marry in March. Now I'm freaking out a little at this point. I thought I would only have to move back home with the parents for a week before the wedding, NOT a WHOLE MONTH! It's not that I wouldn't love being back at the house I spent my whole childhood, it's just that I am used to a 6 minute drive to work, and being back home would mean a 25 minute drive. I really enjoy my sleep and I'm not sure if I could sacrifice that extra 30 minutes.

My sister has offered me a room at their house, and Jessica said I could have Chloie's Crib since she doesn't use it. The weekly rental hotel has crossed my mind, or I could live in my car. That would save me a ton of money. HA HA! I am a little excited about the fact that I will be saving a ton of money for the month of February. No rent, no dish bill, LPNL no more, and no more internet payments. Maybe I can live with the fact that I am going to be either homeless or a giant mooch for a month and just think about all the money I can save.

So if you see me on the street pushing a shopping cart or looking a little like this

just politely wave, or say hello. Hey, it's only temporary right!

HELP!

I was on the verge of doing a HELP ME post, but decided to help myself instead. I have been wanting to have a list of my favorite blogs and the ones I go to every day onto my blog, and low and behold I figured it out all by my lonesome. I know what all of you sophisticated, seasoned bloggers are saying, that you had that part figured out years ago. Well I am not the best blogger in the world. I'm still trying to figure out which is better to do, add your pictures or your words to your post first because never fail, I get my wording exactly how I want then in comes the picture to destroy all the pretty set up I have. Well anyway... enough with the rambling I can just hardly contain my excitement for discovering something new into the blogging world before I got down on my virtual hands and knees to beg someone out there to tell me how to do it!

Brace Face No More...

Today I got my braces off and what a GREAT feeling! The process was not very enjoyable but it's awesome to finally have the smile I want. Thank you St. Clair Orthodontics. Everyone there is so nice and friendly. So here it is... with the braces and then the final look!

Fall Is Here

My favorite time of the year is finally here..... HALLOWEEN! I love everything about it. The colors, the decorations, the costumes and parties, and of course the candy! My birthday is also right around Halloween so it is an extra reason to celebrate. This year we have a lot of events to attend. This Saturday we are going to a Halloween Party at Kim's house and I can't wait. We are still trying to decide on Joseph's costume. Here are the choices so far so maybe you can help us decide.

My Birthday party will be on November 1st at my house and hopefully everything will go smooth. Several of us went with a Disney Character theme for our costumes. Here is my inspiration.......

The Little Mermaid

Happy Halloween to everybody. Trick-Or-Treat!!!!

Joseph's 23rd Birthday

We celebrated Joseph's 23rd Birthday last Thursday. I tried to put together a surprise party for him at his house and it is quite a job to pull one over on Joseph. He kept asking me a few days before, "when's my surprise party?" "Who all is coming to my surprise party?" and I am the worst at acting like nothing is happening. The day of the party I came up with a plan... I met him at his house around 6:00 PM and planned to take him to the "restaurant" around 6:45 so that everyone could arrive and I could bring him back at 7:15. I drove him all the way to Dion's Pizza and then told him I forgot my purse so we would have to go back home to get it so I could pay. It was a good plan and he believed it. It was still a little early to take him back so I stalled by having him show me some new cars. When we got to the house, everyone had hidden their cars and I almost didn't believe anyone was there. It was a lot of fun and I was so excited that everyone came.

Happy Birthday babe. I hope your day was as special and amazing as you are. You deserve the best. I love you!

Ruidoso Weekend

We went to Ruidoso for Joseph's Birthday weekend and for the car show that takes place down there. We went with Joseph's family, his mom, dad, brother, Cecilia, and his uncle and the two of us. We had a really great time. The weather was beautiful and very fall like, the scenery was georgous, and the company was fun. Joseph's dad and uncle both took an old hot rod with them to enter into the car show. His dad has a 1929 Roadster and his uncle took a 1930's model Ford Woody which is completly made of wood and has 2 seats in the front and the back looks like an old paddy-wagon. It was really cool to see all of the old cars that were there. I found my favorite... Here it is! A magenta pink car, I couldn't tell you what it was. I'm more into the colors and what it looks like than I am into the specifics like the motor type and model. Ha Ha! I could definently drive this car.

Here are the two cars that we took down with us.

The woody....

and the roadster.

We were able to take our puppy Gina with us on our vacation this time which was so much fun. Homer and Cecilia also brought their dog Cowboy and they had so much fun playing. We got Gina her Halloween coustume at a really cute dog store down there. She is going to be a bumblebee this year!

She did really well riding in the car and was on her best behaviour.......

We had an amazing dinner at the Texas Club, the same place where Joseph proposed to me. The steaks were amazing and it was nice returning to the place where we got engaged!

We spent one night at the Casino at Inn of the Mountain Gods. Although we didn't have any luck at the card tables or the slot machines, we did see something pretty exciting. Sitting there at the blackjack table was none other than.......

That's right. Shia LaBeaouf!!! How crazy. Although he looked more like this when we saw him.....
I'm pretty sure he was wearing this exact blue dodgers sweat shirt. They are filming Transformers 2 right there in Ruidoso. It was wild seeing a celebrity just hanging out being normal. No one really knew who he was. What an exciting trip. We had a lot of fun.

Our new tattoos!

A few of the girls at the salon and I had been talking about getting a tattoo of a haircutting scissors on our foot and we finally had it done! We went to Identity Ink and Tiffer Wright did them for us. He was amazing. Super nice, really cool, and it was the cleanest and best looking shop ever. If you are interested in getting a tattoo, you should definently go check out Tiffer! SO here it is.......

Girl's Night

It's almost here! Tommorow is the long awaited Lingerie Shower/ Bachelorette Party Sleep over for my boss Natalie! It has taken weeks a preparation, because those of you who know me, know I plan everything soooo far in advance. The games are ready, the table is set up, the house is clean...... LET THE FUN BEGIN!!! Yeah for Girls Night! I can't wait.

Little Piece of Happiness!

I got a new puppy a week ago and she has made me so happy. I can't wait to go home from work just to see her and play with her. My favorite time of day is when she falls asleep on my shoulder just like a child to go to sleep. I am so happy to have my little piece of happiness back. I have decided that I am just not happy without a little dog companion. Thank you Joseph for making me smile again and for bringing me my new baby!

Tinker

In life, unexpected things happen without any explaination or reasoning. This past weekend I lost the most precious thing to me. My dog that I have had for 3 years and who was my best buddy in the whole world was hit by a car and died. I truly feel like I just lost my child and my whole family has been in a state of mourning. To those of you who are not big animal lovers or dog owners, you might not understand how devastating this can be. I took her everywhere. To family member's houses, friends, anywhere I could get away with it. She was not my pet, she was my baby. Joseph and I have been so devastated for many days and can look at eachother and both break down in tears. We can't stand to be at the house alone or at night because it feels so empty and quiet. For the first few days after she was gone, I would swear I could hear her or that she was in the other room, then when I realized she was gone my heart would break all over again. I know it might sound crazy but our little family is no longer complete with her not there. It's funny how you think that your pets rely on and need you for their survival and existance, but the truth is I needed her. I depended on her for so many things. She made me laugh, she made me smile, she kept me warm at night, and most of all she loved me unconditionally no matter what. She was the best thing in my life. I am so thankful that I have Joseph through this whole experience becuase without him I would not make it. I cried for 2 whole days and God bless my whole family who sat right there with me and let me cry and cried with me! I am so thankful to have all of them there to support me. The only thing I can think of that may be some good from this terrible experience is that Joseph and I have become so much closer. We are having to lean on and depend upon one another to make it through the day. I have learned not to sweat the small stuff and that the petty stupid things in life are not worth arguing about. Try to remember in life that things we love and cherish can be gone in a heartbeat and to show anyone that you love how much you really do love them everyday. You never know when you might not have another opportunity to do that. I love you Tinkerbelle and I won't ever forget you and how much joy you brought to my life!

We just got back from our vacation to South Padre Island and San Antonio. We had a really good time and enjoyed being away from the stress and busy-ness of home. It rained on us most of the vacation so we only managed to squeeze in a few hours on the beach. For the fourth, we spent some time swimming and the kids searched for sea shells, then we went to the go-kart / bungee jump place to get a little closer to the fireworks. When the fireworks were done, we went to a bar called Live Bait and enjoyed some drinks and live music from Johnny Lee. We ended the night with a night stroll on the beach.

We took a day tour to Matamoros, Mexico to shop around. Here is the whole gang. Along with Joseph's parents, brother and Cecilia, his uncle, cousin, his girl-friend and her 3 kids went along on the trip with us. I was a little concerned at first how it would all work out having such a big group, but it was a lot of fun. Having the kids around always brightened everyone's day. They were truly amazing kids and I had so much fun playing with them.

Fireworks and Red, White, and Blue for the Fourth!

Here is me and Johnny Lee at Live Bait. He is a really awesome musician and such a great performer. We had so much fun listening to him and dancing the night away.

Matthew really became attached to Joseph, or as he liked to call him when

he would bang on our door in the morning to wake us up, JoJo! Matthew is

such a cool kid. We can't wait to have someone like him around in a few years!

We are going to get to babysit Matthew sometime next week and I can't wait

to hang out with my new little buddy again. The trip really ended up being

such a great time!

Vacation

We are leaving tomorrow evening to go to South Padre Island for the 4th of July! YEAH!!! We are driving to San Antonio to pick up Cecilia (my long lost friend) then heading to our rented condo on Thursday. I am excited to go back. South Padre was the first vacation I took with Joseph and his family 2 and a 1/2 years ago so it will be exciting to re-live that trip. That was the trip where Cecilia and I first really hung out and became friends. Awww, memories! I am so excited to lay on the beach and relax and just spend time with family and good friends. We will also spend a day or two in San Antonio so we will get to see Mara and Drake and their houses down there. I can't wait!