A Small Accomplishment

I've basically been doing nothing but clinging to my couch since Saturday morning.

I got one of those colds that isn't just an annoying distraction, but rather a debilitating, knock-you-on-your-butt, can't breathe, can't sleep, can't move, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, headachey, nose-is-raw-from-blowing-every-2-minutes, tormenting affliction.

Not to complain. I've got a sweet husband who has been bringing me cough drops and hot herbal tea, cooking spicy food for me (to help clear everything out...plus it's about the only thing I can taste), running to the store for tissues with lotion and generally waiting on me hand and foot. And a sweet doggie who snuggles and keeps me company.

So being sick isn't ALL bad. ;)

In between blowing my nose incessantly, slathering on menthol ointment, pounding what feels like 14 gallons of fluids a day and watching WAY too much TV, I needed to find something to distract me and make me feel as though there is some merit to my snotty existence.

I decided to pull out some of the beads that Scott bought me for Christmas and try to get the creative juices flowing along with the mucus juices. (Sorry for that mental image there, but I couldn't resist - hee hee!)I combined these pink crazy agate beads with saltwater pearls and silver etched accent beads and pendant.There were enough beads to make a matching bracelet...
and earrings.I really love how they turned out. Now I just need to get feeling better so I can get out of the house and wear my little accomplishment!

Just Call Me Bessie

I wish I had four stomachs.

'Cause this is what Scott made me for dinner:

Homemade macaroni and cheese. Comfort food. Creamy, cheesy deliciousness.

(He says his secret is a touch of nutmeg and mustard.)

This will all be gone by tomorrow. I'll find room.

Helping the Economy

My girlfriend Angela and I met in Columbus this weekend for our Annual Shopping Trip. So we could, ya know, help the economy. ;) And take advantage of all the after-Christmas clearance sales. And have girl time where we get to shop to our heart's content, eat at restaurants our husbands don't like, and talk and talk and talk.

Ang is the QUEEN of Priceline and got us a 4 Star hotel room for 37 bucks! It was beautiful - it had french doors leading into the bedroom......and flat screen TV's in the living area and bedroom.We felt so fancy!

After checking in, we had lunch and then headed to Mall #1 where we shopped for about 8 hours.Back to the hotel with all of our goodies!
We were seriously pooped. We ate our traditional Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup in Bread Bowls. (Only they were out of bread bowls by the time we got there so we improvised and used their sourdough rolls.)
What's better than warm, creamy soup with crusty bread after a long day of shopping?I'll tell you what - sticking your feet in a hot tub. Neither of us had brought our bathing suits, so we just headed down to the pool area in our jammies, rolled them up and stuck our feet in! We did get one or two interesting looks, but it was totally worth it.

After a night of recuperating, we set out the next day for Mall #2.We both got some great buys and had a wonderful time together.

I'm so grateful for having such an amazing, fun friend in Angela, for serious clearance deals, and for our husbands who are so sweet to encourage us to do this.

Can't wait for next time!

A Very Teddy Christmas

Teddy here...

I had a great time this year and just wanted to share my favorite things about Christmas.



Teddy's Favorite Things are...

1. This T-shirt that my Grandma got me.I know, I know. I'm completely adorable.

2. Hanging with my cousins who all love me and dote on me. Here is a picture of me with Christina. She put a bow around my neck. I am so manly that I totally rock it.3. Turkey giblets and heart. It's tradition - every year Grandma cooks up the giblets and heart and shares them with me. Mom thinks it's gross, but she obviously doesn't have the advanced taste buds that we do.
4. Presents under the tree for me! This year I got homemade peanut butter doggie cookies from a special family friend. Yum. She knows what dogs like!5. Being spoiled. I usually don't get too much table food, but around the holidays everyone seems to enjoy sneaking me little bits of turkey, ham, pumpkin pie or whatever under the table as a little treat.

Hope you all had a good Christmas and got lots of treats!

A Very Merry Christmas

We had a beautiful, wonderful, fun-filled Christmas!


This year we got not only one, but two Christmas dinners.


Feast #1:

Feast #2:You know, when I took these pictures, I thought it would be fun to document all the great food we had...but now looking at them I just feel like a little piggy to see how much I ate. Ah well, it was delicious.

On the 23rd, we ate at my mom and dad's house with the Sister Missionaries. Mom wanted to make an early traditional Christmas Eve dinner so that we would have leftovers for the holiday.
And on Christmas Eve, we all migrated to Stephanie's house for a wonderful and bounteous buffet...

After eating tons of delicious food, we played a fun game in which we all got tags hung around our necks with the name of a character from a Christmas movie. After we figured out who we were by asking each other questions, we split into teams and played movie quote trivia.
Then we had the traditional grab bag gift exchange. And I got.....SOCKS!!!!
The kids all got lots of fun things...But Brianna got the best prize - a delicious-looking box of candy.
Here's Aunt Jennifer with 3 of the coolest nieces ever.And Uncle Scott with 5 cool nephews.
Christmas morning dawned with plenty of gifts under the tree.Despite planning on having a simpler Christmas and less gifts this year, we were very blessed with lots of wonderful new things. (If you look closely, you can see that I got LOTS of new socks - yay!)
I have SO many Favorite Things about Christmas, but here are just a few...

1. The fact that our families love food. It's an important part of our traditions, and one of the ways we show love.

2. My husband's thoughtfulness. As one of my gifts, Scott took me on a little date to the quaint downtown where my parents live. We went to a local bead store and he patiently shopped and looked with me and waited while I selected some awesome beads to make myself some jewelry with. It was a perfect gift because not only did I get the beading supplies, but I got to spend time with him, too.

3. Traditions. I love all those little things that we do every year that make the season special.

4. Pie crust cookies. A bonus of making your own pie crust.5. Watching cheesy Christmas movies on TV.

6. Being in Maryland. Really, it is THE most beautiful place. I love the rolling hills, the rocky outcroppings, the green (even in winter), the trees, the purple mountains...it's gorgeous and it's home and I miss it.

7. Becoming part of history. One day we got to hang out with Michael and Stephanie and their family in their basement they're finishing and watch them put up drywall. Michael is putting a time caspule in the wall and we get to have our picture put in there. We even got to write out initals on the wall - SK+JK!

8. Watching my mom and my husband cook together.

9. Talking about the gospel with my Dad while we did the dishes together.
10. Spending time with family. My most favorite part of Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

We're just having such fun with our families right now that I have left off my daily blogging for December. I'll update soon with lots of Favorite Things to share, but for now, I am just enjoying the experiences!

We watched this wonderful video last night as part of our Christmas Eve. It's a beautiful depiction that celebrates not only the Savior's birth, but His life and teachings, His great sacrifice for us, and His resurrection. He lives! I am so thankful for His love for me and for this time of year to pause and reflect on the wonder of His birth.



I hope your Christmas was full of wonder, excitement, joy, warmth , love of family and friends, and the peace that comes from feeling the love of our Savior. Merry Christmas!

Having Too Much Fun To Blog...

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays!