Happy New Year! The good, the bad, and the ugly

Wow! One full year of blogging- seems like just yesterday I was looking at our digital camera thinking, "Is it a can opener?"

So yes, after ditching my Walgreen's disposable, I joined the technology era and put some words down on paper, er- I mean, on the computer screen, to keep in touch with everyone near and far.

This has been a year of ups and downs, with one word coming to my mind: resiliency. Never underestimate the power of faith, prayer, amazing family, and wonderful friends. We've all witnessed some tragedies in 2009, along with some great moments to share.

Even though my 401(k) ran away, my job is up in the air, and my car has one leg in the ground, I'm going to take the 'glass half-full' approach to 2009. May we all be blessed with patience and knowledge to see things through to the light of a new day.

Health, happiness and love to you all in 2009!

Ooh La La

Despite the snow, ice and freezing cold temp's, a bunch of us girls decided to throw on some lipstick and heels and head to the Cosmo Lounge for some signature martinis!

The Cosmo Lounge is located in downtown Des Moines in the Suites at Locust~ a gorgeous hotel with a suave reputation. It was so much fun! Not to mention the various types of martinis, all of which were delish!

It was a great night of cocktails and laughs, with a dash of Dominoes pizza thrown in for good measure! And many thanks to Lisa for being our DD!

A must-have: Key Lime martini~ The girls~

Group shot~

Emerald martinis~

Cheers!

Christmas in Waverly~2008

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day in Waverly this year! Of course, we had lots of good food and got to spend time with our nieces and nephews! It was good to be home and to be with family during the holidays. Our trip was short-lived however, due to the impending weather. We had a stressful trip back to Des Moines but arrived safely.

We are so blessed and thankful this Christmas to have been able to spend time with our families and friends. Here are some photos~

No 'bunny ears' Scott!
Baby Braden~

Grandma modeling her new shirt and robe~

Christmas workout

If I had a personal trainer, they'd be very proud of me right now.

Since Andy had to work today, I was on 'drive-way duty.' After our ice storm a few days ago and our 3 in. of snow last night, I just spent the past 2 hours trying to clear off our driveway. It was a great workout and I must have looked really into the task at hand because I caught the garbage man cheering me on.

Uh...are we in Florida yet?!

Christmas in Des Moines~ 2008

On Sunday, we celebrated Christmas with the Wallace side of the family. Unfortunately, due to weather up North, Uncle Steve and Aunt Amy weren't able to join us- and we definitely missed them!

Andy decided to keep the 'Santa' tradition alive and dressed up, much to the amusement of Jack and much to the horror of Evie. I think it helped getting presents delivered from Santa though!

We also enjoyed Alyce's amazing lasagna, some good salad and garlic bread and maybe a dessert or two. We had a great day of Christmas cheer!

Now we are off to continue the Christmas festivities in Waverly... Merry Christmas everyone! May you be safe and merry during the holiday season! xo

The beautiful tree~ Jack and Evie~

Who is that man in red?!

Ho Ho Ho!

Finally content with some toys!

Santa's lil reindeer~

Happy Holidays!

Let the festivities begin!

Last night, Adrian, Nette and I got together to celebrate our annual 'girls' Christmas! Adrian hosted and her new house is just beautiful! She had it all decked out...as I knew she would! Nette brought her amazing home-made lasagna, Adrian made her specialty green beans and I of course, was in charge of dessert (I am Linda's daughter- would you expect anything different?) :)

I choose little delicate cakes from 'Let Them Eat Cake' in Valley Junction, which are just fabulous! If you're ever in the mood for amazing cakes, head over there!

After eating, we opened presents which is always a blast- I was spoiled with a couple different bottles of wine, chocolates, gorgeous ring/earring set, Aveda products, an adorable pen/paper set, and some other little trinkets...

It was a great night of food, friendship and laughter! Love to my girls! xo

Feel like I'm in high school again

I was pleasantly surprised at work today with an early out this afternoon and a late start for tomorrow morning... I felt like I was in high school all over again. Now let's just hope the majority of the ice misses us and we just end up with snow!

Tonight we are headed to Andy's parent's house for Steve's Christmas-work party for his associates. I'm looking forward to the as-always yummy food and maybe a splurge on a martini! I do get to sleep in tomorrow... :)

Intervention

Confession time: I had Christmas cookies for breakfast, pizza for lunch, Chinese for supper, haven't exercised in 2 days and am wearing 2 layers of 10 year old sweats... I am in desperate need of an intervention. Where's Fergie when you need her?

I'm also watching the Victoria Secret Fashion Show and trying not to hate myself... I should have my WW leader on speed dial.

Frozen fingers, frozen toes

It's not even officially winter yet and already we're hitting below zero temps! I need to invest in some long underwear and soon! Stay warm everyone!

Every now and then...

Last night, on our way home from a Christmas party, Andy and I saw a shooting star. It's so rare that when it happens, you find yourself wondering- 'did that just happen?' It was so neat and reminded me of those situations that happen every now and then. A reminder to stop and smell the roses, say a prayer of thanks and marvel in those natural wonders, like a shooting star.

Tis the Season...

Tis the season for digging out the Pledge and dusting off the Kitchen Aid mixer!

In preparation for Andy's work Christmas party tonight, I slaved away making Peanut Butter Blossoms and Almond Bark pretzels. And since Andy had the guys over last night to watch the Iowa game, they got to taste-test for me! Luckily, they passed the test.

Next up, a red Velvet cake for our Wallace Christmas next weekend! And no, it won't be store bought. :)

~Spa Day~

I finally decided enough is enough. I needed to refine how much money I spend on personal grooming- IE, haircuts, highlights...

Bottom Line: I needed to look for a new salon. I love my current one but to be honest, the prices were just too much. Especially now- when cutting back is so important.

Just my luck! The Aveda Institute opened in West Des Moines and I was anxious to give it a try. Not to mention- they have very affordable prices on haircuts and highlights. I have to say- it was a very luxurious, relaxing day of pampering. Just what I needed after battling the flu this week.


My girl, Katie, was phenomenal! Very professional and knowledgeable about the product- I loved my cut and highlights! And the best part: the cheap price tag!




If you're in the area, check out their Web site:
http://avedainstitutedesmoines.com/

Robbing the cradle...

No doubt about it- the kid has a way with words (okay, yes I know- the author is female, no wonder the guy knows what a girl wants to hear!)

I'm officially a 'cradle robber'- and proudly declare Team Edward! If you haven't guessed it already, my BF Adrian and I went to see Twilight last night. I haven't read the book yet- but plan to start it this weekend. She was able to fill me in but I loved the movie- even not really knowing the whole (book) story.

And watching him didn't hurt:

I've got the itch- now when's the sequel?!

That bug bit me...

Despite my best intentions- getting the flu shot, daily vitamins, 7 hours of sleep a night- I got hit with the flu bug. And it wasn't pretty. In fact, I think I quit my Pepto-Bismol/NyQuil induced coma a tad bit too soon.

The only upside? I lost 2 lbs at Weight Watcher's this week.

The sad part? My WW leader wanted me to cough on her. Ah yes- nothing like the flu to take off a couple unwanted pounds...

Okay, enough typing- now back to my regularly scheduled jammy/slipper time.