baby's first christmas.

a few pictures.

dear God.

thank you.

here comes santa claus.

every year i love to track Santa on his christmas eve journey. it's the kid in me i guess, although i think there will always be that belief and spirit within me. merry christmas!

my little pink tree.

i have a little pink christmas tree. and i love it. although this picture doesn't really show, i love how it is kinda sparkly. my retro tree. i like my glittery noel too. happy christmas!

oh christmas tree.

finally got my tree decorated not long ago. it was a trial this year, mainly dealing with the lights. boo. got it straightened out and then got the pretties on it! i like lots of sparkle, colorful glitz! so here it is! i like to sit in the darkened room, with just the tree lights on, snuggled in a blanket and just enjoy the glow of the tree. oh christmas tree, oh christmas tree, how lovely are thy branches!

kickline.

i am going to see this show tomorrow. i'll pretend i am in nyc enjoying this christmas extravaganza.

charlie brown.

one of my absolute holiday favorites. i'll be watching tonight!

reindeer run.

so i did my 3rd 5k today....who knew i'd be so into this!!! it was totally fun, and totally freezing. i don't think it was even 20 degrees at the start time (or after for that matter). it was still fun though, i enjoy the whole environment of being in the race. i did my best time so far today....27:50. i was really happy with that b/c lately it has been a struggle to get thru even less than 3 miles. it was a good run for me today, good pacing i think, and stamina! yay me! and thanks to my mama for coming with me, i appreciate the support so much!

matchy matchy.

i couldn't resist these matching sweaters for me and addison. matchy matchy for aunt and niece.

happy thanksgiving.

thankful for.....
~ my family
~ friends
~ health
~ home
~ food
~ a job
~ being an american

happy thanksgiving.

pigskin classic.

i did another 5k this past saturday!! my friend talked me into doing the pigskin classic....a 5k held by a bar downtown on the osu/michigan game day. it was definitely a harder run than the last one.....hills, and cold, cold weather made it that way! the route started on w.6 (outside the blind pig, host bar)going up w. 6th, left on st. clair, down w.3 and around browns stadium, turning left onto erieside to burke airport, and then coming back again, ending where we started! never having done hills before i wasn't sure how i would do....didn't do too bad. the worst hill was the last one, going up w.3......i ran up the hill, by the time i got to the top i had to walk a bit so i didn't die. a lot of people walked it, so that made me feel better. i get so stubborn and i was mad i had to walk to "regroup", but oh well. at least it was a very short few second walk and i made it to the finish line! my time wasn't too off from the last race....this race i got 31:18. so not bad for the 2nd race, in the freezing cold and with my first hills!

style.

this has arrived. time to cozy up and page thru and dream, since $ is limited! love you jcrew.

5k result time.

just found the results page and my 5k time was 29.34. that is at least 5 minutes faster than the treadmill time i have done. not bad for my 2nd time doing that distance outside....and for my first 5k. yay me!

drumstick dash.

today i completed my first race......a 5k. i am not sure when i decided to do this, it was some point in the last week or so, but i guess i felt i needed to challenge myself, or set some sort of goal and attain it. hard to explain what i am thinking....i just wanted to do something bigger, or that i never dreamed i'd do. i mentioned doing this to no one b/c 1. it was kinda last minute....i didn't train for a 5 k the way you should, even though i can do the mileage on the treadmill, i only did it once outside (as noted in the previous post). 2. the weather was a big factor if i did it or not......no running for me in the cold and rain....yet. 3. i wasn't sure if i could make it all the way or not, seeing as i am just beginning to run outside, and only attempted this particular mileage just that one time, and probably too close to race day. but i did it. i didn't stop. it was hard though, but not as hard as i thought it'd be, and i think i was tired too. walking around a zoo yesterday didn't help me any, but i was determined to finish, and not stop and keel over, and the only other thing i wanted was to not be last. and i wasn't. i actually passed 3 people during the run. and my time was better than on the treadmill for that distance, which is good too. and that was a surprise to me. so i made it. i hope to be able to up the distance and possibly time, eventually. i gotta take my time with all this! addison got to come out for the race too, as she was staying over, and my mom was my driver today....and support. she did call aunt linda to come over and root me on, but not til after i started since i was a little nervous b/c of my fear of not making it thru. so i had a group to cheer me on, and i appreciated it. it is nice to feel this accomplishment, especially since i never thought i would ever even be a runner of any kind at all. it was a good experience! oh i almost forgot, there was also a race for dogs......and they were all so cute!!

3 miler outside.

according to this website i ran just a little over 3 miles today. outside. and i didn't die. big step for me. hope to keep this up, and even get further. i am learning to like running outside more than i did before, but it is still hard. this fall weather helps though, where it isn't overly hot or cold. perfect for me. hopefully this is the start in the right direction for longer outdoor runs!

the great pumpkin.

tuesday night. 8pm. i love this tradition.

addison & aunt maggie.

last thursday addison got to spend the day with me! she arrived in the morning, had some breakfast, played a bit and tried for her a.m. nap....

she was very quiet, so i went to check on her, figuring she was asleep. this is what i found when i walked in.....

...she is quite proud of this new accomplishment of hers! she is quite a busy 7 month old!

so, since addison was not going to nap that morning, after several tries, we went over to the park to take a swing on the swings! this was a new experience for her, and she was quite serious with it, trying to figure out exactly what she was doing, and taking in the surroundings. i knew she liked it when a grin appeared, and her legs started kicking about!

after the park, we went over to the library, and checked out the children's room. addison enjoyed some of the toys they have there, as well as the books! on the way home from the library, we stopped to visit great grammy, great grandpa, and great aunt linda. addison had some green beans for lunch, played with her toys, and showed off her other new skill of crawling. she got herself a bit tired, so then it was time to head home. after a snuggle with gramma, she took a 40 minute nap. i guess she didn't want to miss out on anything else for the rest of the day!
we had a nice day together, and can't wait to do it again. love you my little monkey!!

sleepy.

all i want to do is sleep. and if i can't fall asleep, i just want to lay in bed with the covers on. it must be the chilly weather. it's not freezing, but it's definitely colder. i just want to snuggle up and fall asleep. i feel so lazy.

bogo.

the phone rang today, and seeing the caller id it said washington d.c., so i figured it's a political call, with election day coming soon, and there have been plenty of those calls and i'm sick of them. so i didn't answer it and the machine picked it up. well, it was a recording from payless shoe source! since when does payless call to let you know that their bogo event is going on right now, and you better hurry in b/c it is going to end soon! i have to say i have never had a retail store call me to let me know about a sale. and i haven't even bought anything from payless lately. the last thing i bought i ended up returning, and that was like 6 months ago! so if anyone out there is reading this, go to payless, help the economy and get yourself a bogo deal! (buy one, get one half off). the whole call struck me as odd.

4.

i ran 4 miles today. it isn't much for some people, but for me it is a lot. i have never done that before. i despised running, couldn't even do a block without hurting. then something in me decided to try it....so i slowly worked up to the whole idea of running, it took me months to get up to a mile. it took me a year to get up to 3. i am a slow runner, but i get it done. i am more of a treadmill runner than an outdoor runner. now my goal is to go past 4. we'll see what happens. this was a big break thru for me!

addy.

bathtime for my niece. i just love her.

pumpkin patch.

today my mom and i went on a fall outing.....to find pumpkins and other seasonal goodies. we had a good time and found what we went for!

some pic's from our day. i thought these white pumpkins were cool. i am sure they have a name, but i call them albino pumpkins. very chic.

pumpkins by the truckload. i am going to try to carve one for halloween. i also love to roast the seeds......probably more of my reason to get one, so i can get a snack out of it.
we could have had this 650 lb. big guy for only $375. we opted out of that choice.

it was a great fall day!

outlet sale.

some people love vera bradley handbags, and some hate them. i was a hater, too colorful for my taste, etc. but one of my best friends, who loves vera bradley, slowly got me into them too! now i like so many of the patterns/colors. i look at the colorful bags as a fun accessory to add some zing to an outfit. i think this line of bags is becoming more popular, i see them on people everywhere!

so last saturday, my sister, me, and our aunt headed to fort wayne, indiana for the vera bradley outlet sale. this usually happens in early may, which i did go to for the first time. this fall they added another sale, and we decided we didn't want to miss the fun! so the morning after the concert we headed out. tired (both)and laryngitis (me) we made the trek. we didn't come home empty handed at all. we found some great deals. the outlet sale is kinda like a sample sale i am told, as i have never been to one. bags, accessories, and purses, all marked down to at least 50 percent off retail prices. i think the discounts were more like 70 percent or more off retail. lots of bargains. very tiring. you grab, throw it in the bag, and go sort it out and do it again til you are ready to go! it is fun, chaotic, and hectic all at the same time. i didn't take any photos this time, so i am including some from my spring trip. can't wait to see what will be out at the spring sale!! yay!

new kids concert.

the night started out with pre-show drinks and food at panini's. then it was over to the Q for the concert that we have been waiting for for over 15+ years. the new kids on the block!!!! YAY!! yes, i am a block head and so are my friends. the concert was a total blast. those boys put on an awesome show. 2 hours straight of all the old hits, as well as some of the new songs off their new cd. totally loved it. and they look GOOD. real good. we had great seats, in the mid level club section, right by the stage. pictures and the video that i took don't do the view justice, but we were very happy with our seats. we were near the screens too, so it felt like we were probably even closer than we were. it was so fun to see all the old memorabilia out. 2 out of our group sported the '90's t-shirts and their nkotb watches.....we saw a lot of stuff....someone even had their joe doll sticking out of her purse. we stood and danced as much as we could in the little aisle of our seats. apparently, at the point when one of the guys was panning the audience with a camera, we made it on screen....i didn't catch it but someone else in our group did. so that was fun! and we sang our hearts out and yes, i still know all the words to the songs. and as someone texted on the screen before the show started (they had a screen where you could text messages to nkotb or anyone for that matter!), "i never thought i would be drinking beer at a nkotb concert.".......at least legally that is! so yes, it was a great time had by all, we want to do it again. all those giddy teenagers now giddy 20 and 30 somethings were in full swing. including us. we even had a nkotb concert newbie with us, as she was only 4 when nkotb were all the rage in 1990. what a great night! i heart jordan. and joe. and jon too for that matter. i'll be loving them all forever. sigh. what a fun time.

weekend.

just back home from a busy weekend, and what a fun time. nkotb concert (awesome) and vera bradley shopping for purses, bags, and accessories (exhausting). not much more a girl could ask for. no time to write now, gotta go sort the loot and catch up with tv. and rest. very tired. but worth it.

nkotb.

omg. tonight i am going to see the new kids on the block, the reunion concert tour. i was such the dorky 14 yr. old fan back in the day. i truly thought i would meet joe mcintyre and marry him. at the least we could have gone to prom. sadly, he didn't return a reponse from my many, many fan letters. at least tonight i get to see them all once more. i am so excited, that feeling from over a decade ago is coming back, that excitement that so many of us had over those boys. oh so funny. i was the girl who had the plastered bedroom walls of posters. i knew their dance moves (still remember some of them) and would dance along with the videos and tapes (no cds then) til i got it right. i knew their full names, their birthdays. i was told back then, that'd i would be one of those fans who would end up on oprah or something, to meet their teen idol. ha ha. it'll be funny to see all the teen fans from back then, now at this concert who are parents now, but yet giddy as can be at the thought of this group. we have all grown up, but i think our love for the boys is the same, and will be giddy as can be, just like over 15 years ago. i know i will be. it is gonna be a fun night.

blogging.

what? really? me? blogging? so i will give it a whirl. no idea what to write about, guess that will come to be. who knows. i read a bunch of blogs and they inspired me to try it out. so the adventure begins, will see if this keeps up. not sure what to write about, but now i am writing about nothing, so maybe i can just ramble on about nothing at all. we'll see. let the blogging begin.