{a marathon}

These past few days have been just that!

*On Saturday afternoon, I ventured to EP Center and hit the jackpot! I was on the hunt to use my EP Center gift card I got from my class. My number one hope was for a pair of brown Uggs. Von Maur was sold out of my style, but lucky for me Scheels had one pair left--brown in my size!! The worker said that these were flying off the shelf and that there won't be another shipment until next fall. Yeah for me! I was also able to exchange my robe for a smaller size (note to self....VS robes run big!) and find a top to wear tonight for our New Year's celebration. It was a great run to EP Center and I still have money to spend on the card. Hmmm.....the jury is still out on what to get.

*Saturday night we headed to St. Paul for dinner at McGovern's before going to see the WILD. The WILD came through with a comeback win 5-4 in overtime! We were down 4-1 at one point, but in the 3rd period they started to skate and wow....you score goals!! The Xcel was erupting with excitement! Image taken from Star Tribune.






*Yesterday we were gone from 9:30 in the morning until 10:30 at night. We spent most of the day registering for our wedding! We covered Macy's, Crate and Barrel, and Target. In between, we enjoyed lunch at PF Changs dropped some things off at my parents and picked up a few things at Southdale. To finish the night, as if we didn't have enough going on, we saw National Treasure: Book of Secrets. It was a GREAT movie and one we'd highly recommend.

Tonight we will be celebrating Lauren's 30th Birthday/New Year's Bash! We are starting the night at the Capital Grille and ending the evening at the New Year's Party at International Market Square. It should be a very festive evening! Be safe tonight wherever you will be.

{just a little more}

Since I've been organizing pictures this morning, I thought I would share a few more scrappin pages/projects. This is what I you! That weekend I worked on bridesmaid cards, frames, Halloween cards, a monogrammed E for Ellie, my wedding journal, started my San Diego book, and finished my book in a box.

Here's a countdown clipboard I made for my secretary's family. It was a weekly countdown until baby #2 came. I had made a countdown to San Diego clipboard similar to it and changed it up a little bit.

After our return from San Diego, I made this card to send as a thank-you to Marv and Bobbi for hosting us. I used pictures that I took and used a square punch to cut them out. What an easy and personalized way to make some cards!

I hope everyone is having a great day! Please leave a comment if you are reading this.....my site meter says there are lots of readers out there :)!! Tonight, we are off to the first Christmas present WILD game.

{i heart scrapping}

My dream would be able to scrapbook all day every day! Unfortunately, I don't think this dream will come true, but I do love the days when I do get to scrap. Our plans for yesterday changed a bit as Michelle's little guy came down with a fever, so no trip to Northfield. Instead, Kelly, Missy and I went to Archiver's in Apple Valley for a day of scrappin. There were spots left for Scrap Mania last night, so Kelly and I stayed and Michelle was able to come and join us for the evening. It was an impressive 13 hours at Archiver's and here's what I came away with:

I'm up to Valentine's Day from last year for my 12 x 12 life albums. I also worked on two cards from scraps (love this concept!), a cover for a photo album, and added pictures to my sister's house book I made for her. I hope to add to the San Diego book that I started last time I was with the girls! Wouldn't life be great if we could scrap all day long? Perhaps I should stop blogging and get to it....onto Mom's 70th Birthday Bash!

{6 months}

from today until Jeff and I get married (183 days says my tracker)! The past three months have flown by as I'm sure the next 6 will too. We've pretty much got the big things crossed off this list and a majority of the wedding planned. In the next month, we are going to: order our invitations, register, begin classes at church, and go to our wedding retreat.

It's hard to believe almost a week of break has passed :(. Jeff took this week off, so we've enjoyed having time together. We've done some post-holiday shopping, took a long walk today and just vegged out. It's rare we don't have much doing on, but boy, do we ever love those days!

I'm heading down tomorrow to Michelle's for some scrapping with Kelly and Missy too. I need to get some pages done for my big books and hopefully finish the San Diego book. Perhaps I'll actually have some scrappin to post! I'll head back sometime Saturday afternoon so I can get ready for the WILD game that night. We should be some festive looking fans with all our new gear!

{a very merry christmas}

Jeff and I enjoyed all our Christmas celebrations with family and friends. Christmas Eve was spent with Jeff's family and Christmas Day with mine. It's hard to believe another Christmas season has come and gone. Our one-and-only "engaged" Christmas was a very special one. We hope you all enjoyed your time with family and friends!

{wild about...}

The WILD! Jeff and I are huge sports fans. For Christmas this year, my sister Sara helped to get me some tickets for Jeff's Christmas present. To complete the WILD theme, I got him a WILD sweatshirt, t-shirt, and winter hat. Well, I guess you can say great minds think alike! Jeff got me WILD tickets (2 games) for my Christmas present too. Our first game will be on Saturday night. The other games are in February and March. I also got a new WILD shirt and a cozy robe from Victoria Secret's.

I made a Christmas brunch complete with chicken strata, cinnamon rolls, chocolate dipped strawberries, and mimosas. Yummy! I have to say the strawberries were my favorite!

Afterwards, we trucked up to ER in the blizzard conditions. What usually takes me 40 minutes took me an hour and 20 minutes with the terrible weather conditions. We stayed inside, packed for Litchfield, and made some last minute treats. The Rolo treats were a huge hit with both families and were SUPER easy to make.

{winter break}

Is here! I can't believe I've been teaching for 4 months and winter break is here--wahoo!! This year I was blessed with very generous gifts from the kids--an EP Center mall gift certificate, gift cards to Archivers, Starbucks (Jeff loves this one :) ), Blockbuster, and Prima. I also got some fun school mittens, an ornament for Jeff and I, and some lotion. All the hard work pays off every once in awhile!! The kids and I can look forward to some time off to come back refreshed and ready for more learning in 2008!

Last night, some of us went to Lions Tap to celebrate my Dad's 75th birthday! I made some Special K bars for his treat and then we went back to my parents to play some Euchre. My mom and I dominated the men the first two rounds and then they came back the next two (we thought we best be nice to the birthday boy!).


Today, Jeff and I went to watch Teddy's hockey game. They won 3-1 with Teddy having an assist on the first goal!! T's birthday is on Christmas Eve so we brought him his birthday gift which he loved--a new stylin' hoodie sweatshirt. I think this is the first year I haven't given him something sports related. Happy 11th B-Day Teddy!


Tonight, we went downtown to see the Holidazzle Parade and shop around a little bit! We were a little off on how cold it was going to be tonight.....BRRRR!! Yeah, we didn't make it through the whole parade, but got the jist of it. The wind was whipping in on Nicollet Mall something fierce. I found my fun new hat at Macy's before heading outside and thankfully I did. The picture is blurry b/c we felt bad having the man take the pictures over again so here it is. Oh well! While downtown, we scoped out Macy's as I think we are going to register next week over break sometime. Hard to believe just over 6 months until the wedding!

Have a wonderful holiday season everyone! I hope you enjoy your time with your families. I know we are looking forward to celebrating with ours!! Merry Christmas!

{happy mail day}

My favorite thing to do each day is rush home to see what cards I got. When I finally arrived home today, there were 10 cards waiting for me. What a happy mail day! I love seeing all the different cards and pictures of all my family and friends. The card tin is filling up!

Before I could get home to check the mail, Jeff and I went and picked out our WEDDING CAKE!! We are so excited with what we chose and can't wait to see it on June 27th. April, "The Cake Lady" along with the friends at Country Cake Cupboard will be creating our cake. We've gotten many referrals and are thrilled to be working with them.

While typing this entry, I've got the Biggest Loser on in the background. Holy buckets, the four finalists look AMAZING. I never really watched this, but it's sure motivating! They worked extremely hard and look terrific!

{christmas books}

I LOVE to add books to my Christmas collection each year. This year it was Russell's Christmas Magic and Olivia Helps with Christmas. While reading blogs last night, I came across this holiday tradition that Melissa started in her family. This will definitely be one I will do when Jeff and I have kids some day. What a great way to share the love of reading while enjoying some extra special lap time!

Just a few other of my Christmas favorites...

The Polar Express

The Jolly Christmas Postman I got this one from my Mom and Dad in 1993

Snowmen at Night

Snowmen at Christmas

Merry Christmas with Love

Santa's Book of Names

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies

Buddy's Little SELF Help Book Based off the BEST holiday movie ever made!

I just counted and I've got almost 70 Christmas books in my collection. I think I'll be set for the 25 (BOOK) days of Christmas! What are your favorite Christmas books?

{holiday finds}

Here's one of my favorite holiday finds of the season. I got it at Office Max and just uploaded pictures tonight. It's on sale for 50% off; almost what I paid for it too! It was 25% off in the store and then I had another $10 coupon so I think I paid $12 for it. A definite must for photo lovers like me!

I FINALLY finished my shopping tonight, with the last of Jeff's present. I was loosing hope on finding the last item, but Southdale was good to me tonight. His stocking is full and the presents all under the tree.

A couple more Christmas cards arrived today. I'm thinking the mailman is hoarding all my cards at the post office.....where are they all? It's my favorite part of the day, going home to see what awaits me in the box!

Speaking of mailmen, they are busy busy this week. I waited for 20 minutes Byerly's tonight to send off Jack's Christmas gift. While waiting in line, the mailman made three trips out to his truck with extra large carts filled with the holiday packages. Yikes, time is running out!

{christmas questionnaire}

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate! White Cocoa from Caribou is the best!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps them!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but I have an adorable holder. There's just no room. Next year though!

5. When do you put up your decorations? The first weekend in December

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Twice baked potatoes

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Coming down Christmas morning to find my presents and then drinking grape juice in fancy glasses for Christmas morning breakfast!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember when, but I know that I recognized my sister's handwriting on the tags :(.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, we celebrate with Jeff's family.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Ornaments from growing up, and anything with RED

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it...for a shorter amount of time!

12. Can you ice skate? Nope....broke my wrist boot skating in 3rd grade

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Hmmmm....... I think my Lite Bright!

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being able to celebrate with family and friends.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Peanut Butter Blossoms made by Mom.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Getting new ornaments each year or getting the mail each day waiting to see who's Christmas card I receive!

17. What tops your tree? A RED star

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving, of course

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Oh, Come All Ye Faithful

20. Candy Canes? Yes!

{still here}

I've heard from some people that I've not been updating my blog....sorry folks!! Here's what I've been up to:

*Last Sunday, I hosted the Bennie Babes annual Christmas party! We exchange gift cards with a friendly version of the Dice game and I came away with Trader Joe's. Thanks, Kelly! Unfortunately, I ate something that didn't agree with me. I woke up at 12:30 in the morning with extreme stomach plans, so I spent 45 minutes typing up sub plans knowing I wouldn't be up for school. In my 9 years of teaching, this was the first time I had to make plans in the wee hours of the morning. There's nothing better than having a job where you have to prepare for a day's work while on your death bed!!

*Cake Tasting #1 at Buttercream. Wowza....they make some nummy cakes! Jeff and I hadn't eaten much by our 5:00 appointment, so we were very happy to finish off the slices. We had five different flavors with Lemon and Strawberry Ala Ritz being our favorites. We have another appointment on Tuesday at Country Cake Cupboard. We've heard many great things about this place too and it's a titch cheaper. If you know me, I'm up for a bargain (I guess if that's what you call it!). I never knew cake could be so spendy. Hopefully everyone savors each bite!!

*Friday night, we went over to Liz and Mike's for our Christmas gathering along with Tony & Erin. The highlight of the evening playing Guitar Hero's and American Idol. Check out the concentration it takes to play GH!!

*Last night we celebrated the Cool Kids Christmas. Each year, whoever is hosting gets an ornament for each couple. This is the 2nd year that Jeff's made it onto the ornament :). Being with the Cool Kids is always my favorite time. Boys, we'll have to take you on for a Cross Cribbage rematch!

*Today, I finally finished wrapping all the presents!! I've add a little more decor to my tree so it finally looks a little more full. I'm all about the RED this year!!

*Just one more week until Winter Break! It's been a long 4 weeks since Thanksgiving. Tomorrow morning, the office staff puts on their annual Christmas Brunch for us. It's such a festive way to start the week out. Other plans for the week include, cake tasting #2, Timberwolves game on Wednesday, classroom party on Thursday, and PJ day on Friday! Here's to making it through the week!

{thursday list}

Just doing a little catch-up from the previous few days!

*Last night, I went to St. Hubert's to help pack boxes for the Trinity Mission in St. Paul. We packed 50 boxes for needy families. It was a neat thing to do, but also an eye opener for all we have in our lives!

*Last weekend during the snowstorm, I was able to catch up in my wedding journal. It's where I put the engagement cards we received and where I'm jotting down thoughts on the wedding process. We've been so blessed with many well-wishes from friends and family. I hope to stay a little more on top of the journal entries!

*Tonight, Mary Jane and I looked at some wedding invitations at Parchment. I found one I really like, but plan on looking a few more places before choosing "the one."

*We're looking forward to another busy, holiday weekend! Tomorrow night, I've got my staff holiday party after work. Saturday night we are getting together with friends for dinner and a movie and then on Sunday, I've got the Bennie Christmas at my place! In between all those things, I need to get some projects for school done and also get Jeff's gift while he is home in Litchfield until Saturday afternoon. He's a tough one to buy for, but I think I've got my idea!

Yeah for Fridays. Only one more day of work :). Enjoy your weekends!

{you've got mail}

Here's our Christmas card that was created by Elise at Custom Created Cards. She does amazing work. I've gotten so many compliments already!

{cooped up inside}

During a snowstorm, and this is what happens. I find more fun videos to share!

Since there isn't any Dancing with the Stars on anymore, I guess this will do!

No worries, Jeff and I will not be doing this for our first wedding dance. However, we give this couple kudos for a job well done! :)

{need a good laugh?}

If so, then check this out! Seriously, this little guy is a hoot! I showed my kids this during a break today and they couldn't stop smiling. It's good to be HAPPY!

{the holiday}

Love this movie! While snowed in last night, Jeff and I watched this movie again...just as good the 2nd time around. A great way to get ourselves in the holiday spirit. The tree is up, cards in the mail, and sipping hot cider. Yes, December is here!

Another quick weekend with another week of school approaching. Only 3 more weeks until winter break! Today, we were antsy to get out so we went to Southdale and EP Center to look around. We looked at Crate and Barrel for items we want to register for. We were able to narrow some choices down and make some decisions. We are waiting until after the holidays to go and register for gifts.

Happy 19th Anniversary to Mary Jane & Dave! I was just a 6th grader when they got married. I got to wear my fancy, black velvet dress and shoes with a little heel!!

Have a great week!

[oh christmas tree]

Here are some pictures of the tree and some of my favorite ornaments. The pictures aren't great as I'm still trying to see what setting is best. Not as much snow as they've predicted, but probably at least 5 inches. The cards are all stuffed, addressed and ready to go in the mail Monday. I'll post a picture of the card later in the week!

{lottery ticket next?}

I think I should go and buy me a lottery ticket! I just won on another blog, KI Memories! The contest was to leave a comment with something you are thankful for and here's what I put:

Congratulations to....
I am thankful for my fiance, Jeff and the life we can look forward to after our June 2008 wedding!
Posted by: Annie November 26, 2007 at 07:04 AM

I can't wait to get my goodies!

We're in the middle of our first big snowstorm of the season here in Minnesota. Last night I decorated my tree and put up Christmas decorations. I'll have to post some pictures!