Happy New Year!

I love starting a new year. It's so fun to make plans and resolutions. I also really like looking back at the year that's passed. 2008 was quite a year. Darby graduated from ACU, we celebrated our first anniversary, moved to Illinois, and I started my second full-time job. Along the way I got to go to Santa Fe with Darby, to Mexico for a mission trip, to Austin for a girls' weekend, and to Chicago with Darby's parents.

I'm really looking forward to 2009. It seems like the first year in a long time that I won't have any major life changes (hopefully!) 2003 I started at ACU, 2004 I changed roommates and moved to a new dorm, 2005 I moved into a house, 2006 I graduated from college and got engaged, 2007 I got married, 2008 I moved to Illinois. In December of 2009, if all goes according to plan, I will be living in the same house with the same person, working the same job as I was in January of 2009. And that's a good thing!

We made it!

We are in Texas! And we made it only about 2 hours later than scheduled...pretty good when you think about all of the people who were stuck at O'Hare overnight. Surprisingly our delay wasn't caused by the weather: we were waiting on the pilot to arrive! They kept saying he was "on his way" for two hours. I guess by "on his way" they meant "in the shower" or something. Anyway, we're here now, and having a great time at my grandma's house. When we landed, the temperature was in the 50s, and it wasn't dark yet, even though it was after 5 p.m. Ahhh...I love Texas!

Sickies

Well, Darby and I both managed to come down with a stomach bug. Woo-hoo! Actually, it's not too bad. Darby got sick Sunday night and seems to be almost back to normal. I got sick yesterday evening and am just feeling weak and achy now. We should be almost completely back to normal for our trip tomorrow. I will probably refrain from hugging any family members for a few days, though. We are supposed to celebrate our Christmas together tonight, so we'll probably just have an abbreviated celebration. I was going to make a pasta dish, but I'm thinking that doesn't sound so good anymore. I am definitely not too sick to open my presents! :)

2 more days!

The Bad:
Right now it is -1, with a windchill of -24.
On Friday, there was a wreck on the Interstate and it took me an hour and 15 minutes to get home from work.
We're supposed to fly out on Wednesday, and it's going to be sleeting/snowing.

The Good:
We're going to Texas for Christmas! And we will eventually get there!
Highs range from the 50s to 80(!) while we're there.
I don't care at all if we miss our flight coming back. :)

A Christmasy Weekend

This weekend was full of fun holiday traditions. On Friday, Darby and I hosted a Christmas party for the young marrieds group at church. It was a lot of fun, but a little crazy with 20 adults, a four-year-old, and a 2-month-old crammed in to our living room. We only thought our house was big! I didn't get any pictures because I was too busy trying to manage the chaos. We had a white elephant gift exchange, and I got a Ped Egg. Woo-hoo! Darby got a bag full of hotel toiletries. Ha!

On Saturday, I did some Christmas shopping. Every year I vow that I will never do Christmas shopping in December again. The crowds are too crazy, traffic is horrible, and I end up getting stressed out. And every year, I do most of my shopping in November, but I always leave some to the last minute. When will I learn? It doesn't matter whether I have to do a little shopping or a lot...I will still have to fight the crazy crowds. And this year, I had to do it with a bone-chilling wind practically blowing me from store to store. So, for real, next year NO SHOPPING after Nov. 30! When I got home, I worked on my Christmas cards some. I'm through with the first batch, and hopefully will get the second batch done this week.

Sunday, my friend Katy came over and we baked sugar cookies. We were a great team. I made the dough, she rolled it and cut it out. I baked the cookies, she made the frosting. And we both decorated. Our husbands entertained themselves with Wii while we made a huge mess in the kitchen. Here's some pictures of the process:

Ready to go in the oven. Isn't the Santa precious? That was one of Katy's mom's cutters.

Naked cookies (Hee-hee)

Katy and her mad decorating skillz.

The finished products! We had to keep Katy's husband from eating them as fast as we could decorate them! We managed to save some for pictures.

Now, I'm getting really excited about going home in about a week! Woo-hoo!

5 Things That Made My Day Today

1. Hearing the Jason Mraz version of "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland" this morning. Too cute!

2. The label on my Clementine that said, "Kid-Sized Cutie." I don't know why, but I just find that adorable.

3. Seeing the epidsode of Saved by The Bell where Jessie gets "addicted" to caffeine pills on TBS this morning. That is classic television. "I'm so excited, I'm so excited...I'm so, so, scared!"

4. The ad for this that popped up on my Facebook account:

It's from Zales, just in case you want to get it for me for Christmas. :)

5. Knowing I have potato chips to eat with my lunch. I normally eat very healthy at lunch (to make up for the dessert I know I will eat every night), but I had some chips leftover from dinner at Jimmy John's, so I decided to treat myself today.

Sometimes it's the small things that get me through the day.

It's all relative...

I think I'm becoming a true Northerner! When I walked out of work yesterday, I was like, "Wow! It's warm. This feels nice." The actual temperature: 40 degrees. Ha! I guess compared to the windy 20 degrees it has been, 40 degrees is downright mild.

One thing I have not gotten used to yet (and I'm not sure I ever will) is driving on ice. I slid twice on my way to work, saw four cars that had run into the guardrail on an overpass, and saw the aftermath of two wrecks. They only salt major roads here, and not even every time it's icy, because the state doesn't have enough money. Great! I just drive super slowly and try not to brake unless absolutely necessary. By the time I get to work on icy days, my hands are sore from gripping the steering wheel and I feel like I need to lie down. I think Texans have the right idea; just stay home when the weather's bad.