I Want to Keep This Gift I Made for Someone Else & NYE

What do you do when you make something for someone, but then you want to keep it for yourself? That's the case, with this infinity scarf I just completed. The scarf is for my mother-in-law. I hope she loves it as much as I do.

I need to get around to making myself one of these awesome scarfs. I'll get around to it one of these days. Hey, I can wear the one I made for Cheyenne...I have that.

I'm losing track of how far along I am in the pregnancy. I think I'm 16 weeks. Stretchy clothing is my friend.

Trey shaved his Manstache! Now, he looks like he's 16.  I already miss his man hair.
I would like for him to grow it back. Chey and I have been calling him baby face.

What are your plans for tonight? We might get out for dinner. BIG PARTY RIGHT HERE!!! Oh, and when you can't toast on NYE you can always ring in the new year with brownies.

That's about as elaborate as our NYE plans go. Everyone be safe and have fun ringing in the New Year!

Images From My Past

I've been working on this freelance project and decided to take a break and scan some of my own images.

Crying with Linda at my bachelorette party. You know why we were crying. Haha!

Cooking with Tara at the party.

Jennifer & my sister Amy. The party got crazy, they dropped the noodles AND we still ate them.

High School Years:
Winter formal. My sophomore year. Why didn't someone tell me I looked like a ghost? Trey was a gentleman and told me I looked beautiful. Before heading to the dance we ate at pizza hut cause we're fancy like that.

A boat ride in New York City. We went with Upward Bound to visit Columbia and NYC University.

Trey and Linda on the boat ride.

And last, but not least and photo of Trey at a food show. I think he was a freshman. This is what he looked like, when I first met him.

Work & Play

Is this Christmas Vacation or Spring Break? I can't tell...we are having unusually warm weather for December, but then again this is Texas, so I guess that's not saying much.
Today, I took Cheyenne to the park, to wear her out before nap time.

A little girl, she was probably 4 years old, told Cheyenne she wasn't suppose to be on the slide because she was a baby. Cheyenne ran up to me and cried, "Momma, she called me a baby." I told Chey the girl must've made a mistake. Later, the girl told her again, "Babies aren't allowed on the slide." Cheyenne responded, "I'm not a baby! Don't call me a BABY!" And then she slid down the slide.

Oh, all I want to do is to protect her, even from toddlers who taunt her.

And throughout the day I worked on a freelance project. I'm scanning a million photos. It's a tedious process and it's more work than I anticipated. I feel like I barely made a dent in the project. I'll work on it more tomorrow. I made the dinning area my temporary office. There is plenty of workspace.

Taking Down Christmas is So Depressing

Honestly, I was excited to take down the Christmas decorations because I was ready to have the house back to normal. Cheyenne was so upset. She cried as I was putting away the ornaments. For every three ornaments I took off the tree, she put one back on. It was so sad, I had to break her heart, but I assured her, Christmas Time happens every year, so next year --- we'll get to decorate and celebrate again.
Today, we met Jayme for lunch at Zoes Kitchen and that seemed to help Chey get over her Christmas hangover. Jayme and I talked about running, it's nice to have a friend who shares my obsession.

For dinner, I tried something new. I made  zucchini spaghetti. I sautéed one zucchini with EVOO and one clove of garlic -- Then I topped the dish off with a beef tomato sauce and a few sprigs of fresh oregano. Delicious.  

Veggie Noodles.

Cheyenne requested pizza.
Kid Friendly Cheese Pizza on Wheat Crust...She ate one and half of these, she loved it.

Car Wouldn't Start This Morning & Swimming in December

I woke up this morning with the intent to drive to the gym. I went to start the car and once again the car would not start. Trey was concerned it was something major, but it appears the battery officially died. We replaced it mid-morning and thus far, everything has been fine.

Since, I planned on running first thing this morning and I was ready to go -- Trey suggested I just run to the gym. But it's cold! I got over it and went. I ran the indoor track, where it was nice and toasty. I also rode a few miles on the bike. Before leaving, I signed our family up, for a membership. Even Cheyenne has a gym tag. The gym has childcare, so that will come in handy. I really feel like we are getting an amazing deal at this place.

Mid-day, I took Cheyenne swimming at the gym pool. It was a great way to wear her out before nap time. I think we may go a few more times this week.

Cheyenne using her new apron, she got from Grammy. Chey was suppose to be helping me with dinner, but instead she was sampling everything I chopped.

Yesterday, Trey had the day off, so we went to the movies and watched the early-EARLY showtime, Alvin and the Chipmunks. Cheyenne is a great movie watcher. No bathroom interruptions.

Another thing about yesterday.....
I got a head start on organizing Cheyenne's room. Now, all that's left is the closet. That will be a daunting task. I don't know what to do with all her clothes. Maybe I should wait until February, when we find out the sex of the baby. That way, I know if I should hold on to Cheyenne's girl clothes.

It's Not Cute to Threaten Me with a Taser

For some reason, Trey thinks it's cute to scare me with the taser gun. He keeps taunting me with it. I was screaming so loud while he was waving it near me, I'm surprised I didn't wake up Cheyenne from her nap.
Can you guess the movie we were watching? It's a movie we like to watch every Christmas.

Yesterday, I was so excited to test out my new watch. I ran my own little Christmas 5K in 28 minutes. I pushed myself and today I'm feeling it.

It's so convenient to have all my stats on my wrist. Before I would use RunKeeper or Nike+ Running App on my iPhone. They are great apps, but once I start a run, I rarely look at my phone during the workout. I wait every mile to hear the stats.

This morning I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. I used my watch and even though the satellite signal was weak...acutally, I'm not even sure it ever connected, but the foot pod WAS fairly accurate. I cross referenced the numbers with the treadmill monitor and it was off ever so slightly. I also ran a mile on the indoor track and it worked fine. This made my day.

My runs sync automatically with the Nike Running website. Here is my Christmas 5K...

The other night, I left the back hatch of the ELEMENT open all night, so when it was time for us to go to the Christmas Eve church service I noticed the car would not start. The battery was dead. So, Trey's truck saved Christmas. Afterwards we drove around looking at Christmas lights. It was great because we could easily see Cheyenne's reaction. We stayed around our neighborhood and in less than 30 minutes Cheyenne fell asleep. 

Christmas Joy

6:20 am - Christmas Morning
We woke up, ate some cookies, set up the camcorder and started opening gifts.

It was so delightful, to see Chey's face filled with excitement. I have some video clips, I'd like to share with you all, later.

A few months ago, Trey went to a gun show. He's been telling me for weeks, that he got me two presents from the show and he was so excited to give them to me. One gift was pepper spray. I think I still have my pepper spray keychain from 2005, when I lived in Los Angeles. It never hurts too have too many, that is unless they are in your eyes.

The other gun show gift was a taser gun. What? Don't mess with me! I might be carrying this during my runs. You never know. Such a strange gift to give, but I appreciate it. Thanks Trey.

I knew Trey got me dishes, I just knew it...I like this set, even though I asked for white. COLOR, you gotta live a little, so why keep it boring (Cowboys Blue). Plus, this set kind of looks like the fiesta brand. Now, come on over so I can use them. I love hosting. What should I make you?

After I unwrapped the gift, Trey insisted I take out all the dishes. I thought that was strange, but I went along with it.
 
As I was taking out one of the coffee mugs, I was like what in the world is this?
Trey stashed a Nike+ GPS Tom Tom Watch in the mug!!! 
Someone paid attention to my Christmas wish list. (Blog POST)
The watch was really a far fetch wish. I never thought he'd get it for me. I hoped he'd get it, but I wasn't going to hold my breath.

You know how some people make ugly faces when they cry? Well, it looks like I make a super jacked-up --- ugly face when I'm surprised. Whoa, I need to work on my surprise face. Ha! If I don't embarrass myself, who will? Christmas joy to all.

Chey playing with her portable DVD player. This will come in so handy during long commutes and road trips to Abilene. Thanks Nana and Poppy.

In case you are wondering what I got Trey, he played Santa for himself. He bought all his gifts before Christmas, so I didn't have any fun getting him anything, big. His big gift was a portable quick shade stand. He uses it at work, it protects him from the heat when he's working on hot roofs and such and also protects him from snow/rain. Oh, he also got a new PS4 game, Battlefield. I got him a few stocking stuffers though = Wife of the year award right here.

Chey scored big time. Thanks family and friends for sending us gifs. Chey loved what you got her and we made sure she knew who got her what.
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas. Thanks for reading our family blog. I enjoy sharing our experiences with you all. 
Merry Christmas again!

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve!

I started my morning with a 10 mile run. Now, I'm only 31 miles away from reaching my distance goal...I'm SOOOOO CLOSE! I'm not sure if I will take the day off from running tomorrow or not. I have some wiggle room for the rest of the week, so I might take advantage of that and just rest. If I do go running, it will probably be later in the afternoon, NOT Christmas morning. You better believe I will be lounging in PJ's as long as possible.

Today, we spent a lot of time at home, where else would we be? Not shopping. I went grocery and last minute gift shopping yesterday at 6:30 am. I went right after the gym. I looked like a mess, but hey, I didn't have to deal with the crowds. So worth it.

While we were at home, we played a few rounds of Jenga.

Look what else we did.

Mid-afternoon, Chey took a nap and that's when Trey and I turned into Santa's Little Helpers. We wrapped all the presents. Trey did most of the work, I supervised. Good Job. Keep it up! After a while, Trey caught on and then made me wrap the remaining gifts. Boo!

2011 Christmas Eve Cookies
Before heading to the Candlelight Christmas Church Service, we made chocolate chip cookies for Santa.

Notice how Chey is wearing PJ's. I like to take her to the church evening service wearing PJ's because afterwards we eat dinner and then go look at Christmas lights. So, by the time we get home, we are ready for bed. It just makes sense, plus she looks super cute.

2010 Christmas Eve 
Right after we made cookies we headed off to church.

Trey's face looks so naked! What a baby face. Hey, that's the same Cowboys hat he's wearing this year.

Remember the Gingerbread House? Well, this is all that remains...

One Last Thing 

The Candlelight Christmas Church Service was wonderful. We worshipped, heard Scripture read by the children of the church. The last song we sang was Silent Night and everyone held a candlelight. It was beautiful and a reminder that He is the reason for the season. Thank you Jesus.