Our weekend

THURSDAY

Thanksgiving dinner was yummy as usual. We spent the day at my parents house...
Mom and Katie slaving away in the kitchen...
Dad, Grandpa Gene and Greg looking at Mom and Dad's New York pictures...
Ellie
Ellie pretty much passed out after dinner... mouth wide open and legs crossed like a little lady!

FRIDAY

-The 7th Annual Downtown Red Wing Holiday Stroll-

Santa, lighted parade, live nativity, reindeer, wagon rides, free chili, carolers and fireworks... a good night of family fun!

Ellie and Greg... he looks drunk but I swear he wasn't! He'd just gotten off work!
A real live reindeer!
Wagon rides...
My dad, mom and cousin Dan...

At the end of the night when the streets had cleared... I love how they light the buildings all through the downtown area... so pretty! And you can see Miss Red Wing in the white and her 2 princesses in the red...

SATURDAY

I was planning to stay home until my sister called and asked if I would run to Kohl's with her... I needed to go to Target for groceries so I thought I better take her up on the offer because I always like an extra hand when I have to take Ellie grocery shopping... I ended up buying a few stocking stuffers for Ellie. We also went to Old Navy and I bought Ellie a Christmas gift... a cute pair of pink striped pants and a little pink shirt to match!!

Ellie loves hiding in the clothes racks whenever we go shopping...

SUNDAY

I'm lounging. Nothing more. Ok, except I'm on load #3 for laundry, the kitchen is cleaned, I'm contemplating a batch or 2 of cookies and I'm trying to figure out what we'll be having for dinner. But really... it is a nice relaxing day at home... my favorite kind of day... the only thing that would make it better is if Greg was here and not at work!

100 things about me

1. I'd be lost without my computer.
2. I'd be lost without my blog!
3. I love my bloggy friends!
4. I want to have 4 children.
5. My husband would be happy with the one we have.
6. I'll probably settle for 2.
7. I'm addicted to chap stick. Natural Ice Original to be exact and if I don't have one by my side at all times I might just freak.
8. I'm also addicted to Netflix. Can't wait for the next season of Weeds to come out!
9. I love shopping online... I just finished a bunch of x-mas shopping this morning.
10. I like my house to be clean. Though it rarely is.
11. I hate a dirty kitchen floor... I hate anything sticking to my feet.
12. I was Mrs. Edward Cullen in another life time. No really, I was. So there.
13. I love watching Oprah and Dr. Phil... but we no longer have tivo... so I'm shit out a luck.
14. I think Jeremy Piven and Chris Evans are HOT.
15. I don't like my job... who would like working in a child support office. Blah.
16. I get yelled at at least once a day by some cranky guy who's drivers license we took or some bitchy girl who wants her money. Ugh. If you are involved in child support... please be nice to your worker.
17. Whoa, this is going to take me a long time to think of 100 things...
18. I just bought a new winter coat on Ebay! Can't wait to get it.
19. I love coffee... especially my iced vanilla latte from Clara's in the St. James Hotel (only make by Becky!)
20. I enjoy a good appletini every once in a while.
21. I'm always up for a good glass of red wine.
22. I love Ellie's daycare. I can drop her off and not have an ounce of worry throughout the day.
23. I graduated from high school in 1996 and from college in 2001.
24. I have a degree in Community Heath Education... which I obviously am not using.
25. I met my husband in Dec 2003.
26. We were engaged by Feb 2004.
27. Married in May 2005.
28. Had Ellie in May 2006.
29. I hope to be pregnant/have a 2nd baby in 2009.
30. I love this time of year. The holidays make me really happy.
31. I still am not eating meat. I have eaten chicken and had a sliver of turkey yesterday. But it sorta still repulses me... especially since seeing that video with Sarah Palin pardoning the turkey... you seen it? The guy in the background... yeah... ish.
32. I want an economic bailout.
33. My last semester in college I interned at Planned Parenthood in the Twin Cities.
34. I managed a Planned Parenthood clinic for 1.5 years right after graduating college... was laid off from that job when Mr. Bush got into office as he didn't think funding for women's health and family planning was all that important. For the record, we did not do AB's at my clinic. Just the regular old things you'd get done at your OBGYN office, pap's, sti screenings, pg tests, family planning education, birth control rx's... etc.
35. I LOVED this job and totally planned to retire from it. I guess someone else had another plan for me... which I still don't quite understand.
36. I want lasik next year. You had it? Let me know how it was.
37. I'm addicted to Mellow Yellow.
38. Greg is addicted to Dt. Pepsi.
39. We are talking about having a pop free house, since we both need to lose weight.
40. Wow, I'm already to 40.
41. I'm going to order a workout video I read about on another blog... can't remember exactly who's since it was a while ago... but it's called Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. I'm excited to give it a try.
42. I'm currently selling a coach purse on ebay, one that we bought on our honeymoon. I paid well over $100 for it and it is currently at a $31 bid... I hope to god it goes up higher!
43. I just checked... it's now at $33 with 5 hrs and 22 min to go.
44. I really need to get in the shower.
45. I'm being extremely lazy today.
46. But that's ok, it's a nice long 4 day weekend for me.
47. Well I guess not too lazy... I've done dishes, made lunch, done 3 loads of laundry, ordered 5 x-mas gifts and washed the kitchen floor... so I've been somewhat productive.
48. My cat Max, snores... loud.
49. My husband snores... louder than the cat.
50. I got into a somewhat heated debate with my chiropractor about vaccines. Yikes.
51. TMI... if you are family you probably don't want to read # 52.
52. I usually want it more than my husband does, is that weird?
53. I hate cold weather... but live in MN.
54. I was born to live on the beach. I love the warmth, sand between my toes, the feel of my skin with a slight burn, the smell of my body and hair after being slathered in sunscreen and lying on the beach all day.
55. I am not a morning person.
56. I like Letterman better than Leno.
57. I already put my Christmas tree up and we've had our lights on the outside of the house for over a week now!
58. I drive a trailblazer.
59. Greg drives my grandpa's old buick.
60. Ellie drives me crazy.
61. Ellie is really starting to talk back to me. When I say, "now that is enough Ellie, it's time to be quiet/listen/behave/watch your mouth/etc" she will turn back to me and say, "no! you watch your mouth/behave/listen/be quiet momma!" How the heck do I deal with that??????????????
62. My grandpa is in a nursing home and he has lost all interest in living. He used to LOVE seeing Ellie and would talk to her and smile... we went to visit him yesterday and he barely looked at any of us and was pissed that my mom didn't bring him his coffee from Caribou... which was closed by the way... happy fricking thanksgiving to you too.
63. I just discovered Envirosax and I am IN LOVE WITH THEM!
64. I love to eat butter spindle pretzels and dip them in peanut butter. Nummy snack!
65. Ellie would eat 5 lbs of blueberries a day if I'd let her.
66. She'd also drink a gallon of apple juice if I let her.
67. If you ever visit Red Wing, MN you MUST visit Lily's Coffeehouse and ask for a 7 layer bar. They are TO DIE FOR.
68. Red Wing, MN was just voted one of the top 100 cities in the WORLD to visit by National Geographic magazine... I think we were voted #22 or #23... can't remember exactly... but pretty cool, huh.
69. I hate when people challenge me about not eating meat... try to convince me that animals were made for us to eat them... whatever... I have my opinion you have yours... let's live in peace... what is it to YOU that I don't eat meat? I never make it inconvenient to the cook by not eating meat... I work with whatever the meal consists of.
70. I love OPI nail polish remover. It is the best.
71. I haven't had my haircut in, oh gosh, it must be almost 4 months now.
72. I hate spending $30 on a haircut.
73. But I will spend $25 on a bottle of Kenra hairspray... go figure.
74. I really do need a haircut.
75. I LOVE New Kids on the Block... did you see them on the AMA's!
76. My body just hasn't been the same since I had Ellie. I'm guessing it never will be.
77. I broke my cheekbone when I was little... fell face first off my bike, over my handlebars. I have such a clear memory of that accident... who was there... where it was... what happened afterwards...
78. I played the cello in elementary/middle school... then wanted to be "cool" in high school so I quit.
79. I had awesome friends in high school.
80. They are still my awesome friends.
81. I crashed our high schools drivers ed car. My idiot instructor took me on a FREEWAY the first (or second, can't remember exactly) lesson I had. I was terrified and didn't break fast enough. I rear ended a huge pickup truck. I was humiliated. My instructor made me drive all the way back to Red Wing in a smashed up little Acclaim that still had the "STUDENT DRIVER" stickers on the side of the car. The most humiliating experience of my life, hands down.
82. I was very thankful I had my sunglasses that day... but I could still see the passing cars pointing and laughing at me.
83. I never had another hour of drivers training. My instructor passed me.
84. I have 2 tattoos. One I love, the other was a stupid one I did on a whim. Stupid.
85. Greg has an awesome tattoo of Ellie's name on his body. I love it.
86. Nolan, Brody, Ethan, Kellan, Tegan, Lane- possible boy names in the future.
87. Jenna, Ania (ahn-ya), Kinley, Bree, Mallory- possible girl names in the future.
88. I love all kinds of fruit and veggies.
89. I hate drinking water. It's plain and boring.
90. I worked in retail for 9 years at a small family owned gift shop.
91. I'd love to be able to buy that store after they retire next year.
92. I'd love to be my own boss.
93. Or have my sister be my boss.
94. Unlike most people I know... I really do like and have fun with my in-laws.
95. And I'm pretty sure Greg likes his in-laws too. We both got lucky.
96. I think hunting animals is repulsive.
97. I hate opening presents in front of people... but LOVE giving gifts to others and watching them open them.
98. I have a really wonderful husband. I feel very lucky when I hear stories from some of my friends/coworkers/family... I am spoiled.
99. I could lay in bed all day and read/watch movies/nap... that is my dream day :)
100. I get 3 dates with my husband in 3 weeks! 3!!! I haven't had that many in the last year!

awww... so you like me, huh?

I received my very first blog award ever from Steph!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited and humbled :) Someone considers me creative? Go figure!

Here are the rules for this one:

1. Mention the blog that gave it to you and comment on their blog to let them know you’ve posted your award.

2. Publish these rules.

3. Share 6 values that are important to you and 6 things you do not support.

4. Grant the prize to 6 people.

6 values that are important

1. compassion

2. empathy

3. honesty

4. respect

5. trust

6. love

6 things I do not support

1. affairs/cheating

2. rudeness

3. extreme religion

4. people who think they are better than others

5. people who think they are "entitled"

6. close mindedness

6 people I want to pass this onto ...
1. Teach

2. Miss
3. All up in the Koolaid
4. Cakerwakers
5. T Woman
6. Marnie

Twilight

I am in love with a vampire. A dreamy, fictional, mysterious, strong, cold, human blood avoiding vampire named Edward.

And they are claiming this is a "teen" series. Pft.

If you haven't picked up the Twilight series of books YOU MUST! I'm on book #3 and have NEVER been so addicted to a book (series) in my life. I cannot wait until my breaks at work. All I think about is getting a few minutes to read my book. Go buy them! Sam's club has them for the cheapest price I can find... $7.42 for paperback and $12.42 for hard cover... if anyone wants me to pick them up a copy let me know! Or you can borrow mine... but you MUST give it back!!

I'm dragging my hubby to the movie next Wednesday night... I can't wait! (he's thriiiiilled)

Girls night out!

My girls. Good God do we have fun when we get together. We started at Tanya's (in the cute hat) house. Downed 3 pitchers of beer margarita's among other things... jumped in W's retro limo and we were off to Norton's or if you like the sound of it more... the Lucky Cat Lounge.

Kelly, Tanya, Mikki, me, Mel and Megan


me and my sister...
me and Tanya...

me and Mik... wow do I need a tan and maybe some bangs...
Under the construction tunnel on the way to Norton's.

Norton's...

Ahhh, yeah, we crossed the river to WI...

Mel seriously looks possessed here... get down Mik!

Shakin our arses...
Cheers!
Because of that damn shot (or maybe it was all the drinks I had along with that shot)... this was my breakfast (minus the gum and the cigs)...

I crashed at T's and didn't sleep alone... look who I woke up next to... Elvis my bud!
It's now 4:15 and I'm STILL wiped, which means I had a TON of fun last night!!! :)

confessions...

Why is it that every time there is a commercial on for some talking baby, princess kitchen or barbie my daughter looks at me and says, "mommy I need that." She thinks she NEEDS everything. Have I instilled this in her? Her dad? Who knows, but I don't like it one bit. I used to buy Ellie something during almost every grocery shopping trip in the hopes that it would keep her happy long enough to let me finish up in peace. It was never anything big... usually a pair of those cute $1 hello kitty socks at Target or a couple dollar baby doll... but I am not doing it any more!

Over the years I have been like Ellie. I think I need something when really I don't. I'd justify it in my head and just go buy it. I've stopped doing that or I guess I do it on a smaller scale now. It has gone from Coach purses to Caribou vanilla lattes 2x a week.

Times have changed. When Greg and I met we were financially pretty good. We were renting, had few bills and could really buy as we pleased. Then we bought a house, got married and got pregnant all within 7 months of each other. We weren't prepared for the last one. We didn't save enough for me to be off for 12 weeks when I was only getting paid for 2 of them. As a result we bought all our groceries and paid way to many bill on our credit cards. Then I went back to work and the cc bills started pouring in. We couldn't afford them among our other bills, student loans, utilities, mortgage, daycare, etc. So we ended up borrowing some money from my parents to get even and since then have been slowly digging ourselves out of this hole. We are on a plan to be cc debt free in 3 years from now. Since February of 2007 we have not used a single credit card. That is HARD! We have totally had to live within our means. Paying bills first, getting groceries second and often times not having enough to put anything into savings... but we are getting by... we still have our house, we've never had the tv, phone or electricity shut off... we are making it... and I am proud of us.

There are times when I (we) hate it... when we just want to go to the mall and shop... but we can't and we know it. I'm not gonna lie, I've been known to go to Target for toothpaste and diapers and leave spending over $50. The last time I did it though I heard about it from Greg and it won't be happening again. We've now started to take an "allowance" of $20 each per pay period and that is our money to spend on coffees, kwik trip stops, lunches out, etc... and let me tell you $20 doesn't last very long when you like $4 coffees. :( We've also made changes in how often we eat out and in our grocery shopping - the target brand food is just as good as the name brand! I rarely buy clothes for myself and when I do I go the the 50-75% off racks at Target to get whatever it is I need. The lower gas prices have really helped too. We are literally paying half in gas today as we were 2 months ago. That is huge.

Since winning that $100 at the casino on Thursday I have gone to Target. I bought this blanket... well, I can't find it at Target dot com right now, so you don't get to see a picture after all... but let me tell you, this blanket is marvelous! I'm in love with it. If you have a Target in your area it is $39.99 and is on an end cap. They have them in dark brown, cream, burgundy and a pale green/blue (which is what I bought). I also splurged on Crest white strips... which I've wanted forever and didn't feel like I could buy because they were SO not necessary! $35 man, they better work!

I am very proud of how far we've come. We still struggle at times and have a long ways to go... but if it weren't for the help we've received from family (if you read the last post) there would be times when we'd be up a creek without a paddle.

It's been telling the difference between a need and a want that has gotten us in this trouble in the first place. I think I finally know the difference. 30 years old, wouldn't ya say it's about time?

my week in bullets...

Monday - Tanya, Hunter, Jess and Nora came over to play ;). The girls played, the mom's talked, Nora acted cute and Greg cooked us fajitas for dinner. Fun night.

Tuesday - waited all day to vote so Greg and I could take Ellie with us to the community center after I got home from work. We wanted her to experience what we hoped was going to be a great moment in history. Mission accomplished!

Wednesday - went to look at washers and dryers at Sears in RW.

Thursday - my sister's 27th birthday. We decided to go to "Take it or Leave It" at the casino. It is their version of Deal or No Deal. The kicker was that the cases were held by the Chip n Dale dancers who were in town for a show Friday and Saturday night. Helllloooo!! Some of the were so greasy and rico suave that I could barely stand it. On the other hand there was Steve... oh sweet Steve my boy, he was such a cutie! In the end I won $100 bucks. Not bad when the tickets were only $5 a person!

Me and my winning box #11 ticket!

This was taken before the chippy's came out... apparently we were not supposed to have camera's because they were only allowing pics to be taken with them after the show for $10. Lame if you ask me. (Why there are so many men in the audience is beyond me... or wait... hmmmm... maybe they just wanted to win some money... yeah, that's it.)

Friday - my grandpa (dad's dad) called and asked to meet us at his fav place for dinner. We get there and he had a check for us for $2000. Which we knew was coming and by the way, is the first time I've ever been given a sum of money like this from a family member, (ok besides my parents for bills once) but one that I don't even have to pay back!! We needed to get a new washer and dryer since our washer had died the week prior. We ended up leaving the restaurant and heading straight to Sears. After two grueling hours of being indecisive I FINALLY decided on a new Maytag washer and dryer. We hoped to have enough to throw in a snow thrower for Greg.

The washer and dryer were delivered Saturday morning while I was our running errands. I came home and Greg has some suggestions to make our laundry room a bit more efficient. I sent him to Menards with $100 this morning to give my laundry room a mini-makeover.

Before: my washer is on one side of the (small) room and the dryer is kiddie-corner from it. I usually have laundry baskets and a laundry sorter in that corner...

Progress...
My new cupboard!

My new shelf and counter space!! I'm in love! All for $99.47.

Yes, we know. We did it all backwards... we should have painted first but didn't. Oh well. We will some day. I feel like it is a low priority room. We don't often times have company in the laundry room!



Greg's new pride and joy... for the first time ever I think he's excited for snow! :)

Hi!

I have been so far out of the bloggy world this week... we've been busy, busy, busy. Started with the girls over for dinner on Monday night, the election, then picking our a new washer and dryer, then deciding to add a snow blower to the sale, getting a bad report at daycare (!), it was my sisters birthday and then last night we had game night at my cousins house.

I'm SO glad it's Sunday and we have NO plans! :)

Once I get all my pics downloaded there will be new posts coming!

The next president of the great United States of America. I am so excited to once again be hopeful, proud and confident in my country and leader. Bravo Barack, bravo.

Long overdue...

Tired of watching nothing but election tv tonight? Well come on over to NN and check out my boys!

All the sudden they were way in the back!

I love me some Joey!



And a little more Joey!


And some more Joey!

Look at him still hitting the high notes!



Whoa Oh Oh Oh Oh... Hangin Tough. Swing those arms!

The entire crowd joined in!

The end. :( I could have stood there for a hundred more hours listening and shakin my ass. I heart NKOTB!!
Hands down the best concert I've been to in years (I've seen Garth Brooks, Rob Thomas and NSYNC in the last few years). They know how to put on a good show... Donnie was definitely the most entertaining of the bunch. He was hysterical. Such a ham. Lovin the attention. It was a blast!

Proof...

that we had a lot of fun last night and are all moving a little slow this morning...









It is my sister's birthday on Thursday... we had an early celebration last night.

Thursday night we are going to TI's version of Deal or No Deal... with hot barely dressed Chip 'n Dales dancers. Can I get a 'mmmmm 'mmmmm!

Just imagine little to no clothing on these 5...
Oh and one more hilarious thing about last night. We forgot to change the clocks back and Greg had to work at 6 a.m. (yes, he enjoyed the festivities AND had to go to work at 6 the next a.m.) So he left the house at 4:50 a.m. as usual... only to get to work 30 minutes later and realize it was only 4:20. Not 5:20. So he slept for an hour in a jail cell. hahaha!