If you've got the cash, I've got the car

I’ve never been one to go out on ‘Black Friday’ and shop {although I love a great deal}. Gordon is not a big shopper. He avoids it at all cost. It was to my surprise when he told my nephew that he would wake up at 4:30am to go shopping with him {his specific words were “If you’ve got the cash, I’ve got the car” because my nephew had just won a decent amount of money and really wanted to buy an x-box game…and he’s thirteen so he can’t legally drive himself so my dear sweet husband said he’d take him…my nephew is also a smart shopper and wanted to get a good deal so he would still have some money left over to play with}. It all made more sense to me when Gordon told me the real reason he wanted to go was to fight with people. My dear sweet non-violent husband wanted nothing more than to shove people out of the way for an item that he could care less about {he wanted to find the ‘hot’ item and fight people for it, regardless of what the item was}. And if he got a punch or two in there, that was his gain.

Boys are funny.

But I sure do love my funny boy (s) – I have to include my nephew in the love

Say thank you with a card.

If you have a hard time expressing your sincere thoughts in person, this is perfect for you. {which I do…I even get shy around my husband every now and again…silly I know}

I received this little ‘gift’ from one of the agencies we contract with at my work.

{it reads: It’s all about the thanks…and people like you who make people like us feel grateful to have the opportunity to work with you.
We hope you will use these cards and take the time to express thanks to the wonderful people in your life!}

What a great way to tell those that really deserve a thank you 'thank you'.

With a card.

Genius.

Who will you express your thanks to?

Our weekend went a little like this:

Saturday:

Baby H’s 1st Birthday Brunch! He loved our gift…so much that he didn’t feel the need to open or pay attention to anyone else’s gift. He has a smile that melts my heart {my heart melted a million times that morning…he smiles at me when I smile at him…priceless}.

Gordon serenaded me with the only song he knows how to play/sing on the piano {lazy lion}

Annual Ward Turkey Shoot:

We DID NOT shoot actual turkeys...

these guys just happened to be on one of the roads we traveled on that afternoon...

coincidence, yes.

This was our 2nd ward activity after being called as chairs of the activities committee. We couldn’t have asked for a prettier place to have the activity.

We were surrounded by mountains.

I love being surrounded by mountains.

I’m glad this activity actually happened {I told everyone to pray for snow…I had such a bad attitude about this activity. The bad attitude was entirely my fault…we waited too long to plan it…again…and it got a little stressful trying to find a place we could shoot safely and legally}.

Girls Night {New Moon}:

Although the movie was just okay, the night was a blast!

Dinner at La Ferrovia {best Italian food} and great conversation with lots of laughs.

We really need to do this more often.

(left to right) My mom, sister, me, cousin Kim, Aunt Lyda, cousin Missy

{this one's for you Kim}

Sunday:

Friend Family Dinner:

I have only cooked a Sunday dinner once. We usually do the every other Sunday thing rotating between my side of the family and then Gordon’s {which equals me not having to cook}. We also always do the family thing. This Sunday was different, and a nice change.

My very good friend Keri is in town for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Because her schedule is crazy {everyone wants to spend time with her} we decided to have a friend family dinner on Sunday. We all pitched in to make a Sunday dinner. Katherine made the main dish {very delicious soup}, Shelli brought the soup bread bowls, and I made dessert.

I have mentioned this time and time again, but I do not cook, nor do I bake. But because this was a special Sunday dinner {one which I had to contribute something, knowing that Katherine makes everything from scratch} I baked.

I baked cupcakes.

From scratch.

Pumpkin cupcakes + spiced cream cheese frosting {recipe here}.

Delicious…yes!

I’ll make them again {even if they were a bit more involved than the chocolate chip cookies I make from scratch}.

Baking has opened up a whole new world for me. One filled with lots of cupcakes. They are so cute and fun to eat. And the variety…endless.

Meshing

The holidays haven’t even hit yet and I’m already tired. So many places to go, families to visit, traditions to keep. Meshing it all together can be quite tricky.

I guess I should be grateful that most of our family lives close by.

And that we’re able to spend the holidays together.

{I am grateful for both of those things}

In ONE week...

I’ll be running, in what I hope is not terribly cold weather, for five miles.

I know I can do it. I’ve been practicing. I’m over my target goal {which was to run 5 miles before the race}.

Now if I can just guarantee that I won’t be running longer than an hour…yeah I’m that slow. {okay my time right now is 59 minutes, 39 seconds. I want to do better than that, hills included}

Afternoon Delight

Gordon and I are never home at the same time. We usually see each other for a couple of hours at the end of the evening and a few minutes before we leave in the morning. Today was different and oh so delightful.

I was able to leave work a couple of hours early today. Today was Gordon's early day off. We were home just a few minutes from each other. We spent the afternoon together...took a nice walk with the dogs, made dinner, relaxed {although I did sneak away for my yoga class...can't miss that}.

I loved it. I love him.

Life is good.

And he continues to amaze me...

The man I married is one of a kind. He’s smart, creative, hilarious, humble, talented, adventurous, incredibly good looking…I could go on and on. But most importantly, he knows what he believes.

This Sunday we had the opportunity to speak in sacrament. As usual I was a nervous wreck as we prepared and he was calm and collected {although there was the one time when he wigged out and had a small melt down – he thought the direction I was going in my talk was better than his – which was the first I had ever experienced with him…I had to play the calm one for once. But the roles reversed back real quickly}. As we waited for our turn to speak {we were the last speakers…complete torture, I know} I kept looking at him and whispering to him how I thought I was going to faint while I was giving my talk. He just gave me that smile which lets me know he has so much confidence in me and I didn’t need to worry. Once I was finished, I sat down and breathed a deep sigh of relief. My relief only lasted a moment…as Gordon began his talk he realized he didn’t have his notes! He began to say how he knew I was much more prepared than him, especially since he had left his talk in his truck. It was then when I went into “wife/mom” panic mode. I wanted to do something for him. I thought about going and grabbing his keys from him, running out and getting his talk, but shortly after he said those “I forgot my talk” words I realized I didn’t need to {although he did reach in his pocket and jingle his keys…maybe wanting to take off…I know I sure would have}. He composed himself and gave an outstanding talk {much better than mine too might I add}. I felt the Spirit so strongly.

The man I married is beyond amazing. I admire his courage. I’d admire the faith he has in himself. What a great example he is to me. I’m the luckiest girl in the world.

Early to rise?

I am not an earlier riser. I would stay in bed all morning if guilt wouldn’t set in {not necessarily sleeping, but just lying in bed, relaxing, enjoying the comfort}. I will get out of bed for a few things: work {only because I have to}, church, my 6am hair appointments, and, a new addition, early morning yoga.

This Veteran’s Day I remembered our soldiers while I held plank, tree, downward facing dog, upward facing dog, cat/cow, etc. It was my first time attending this early morning yoga class. I now wish I had every Wednesday morning free…or that I could come into work a little late and it would be no big deal. Maybe some day.

A 5K is different than 5 miles

I’ve always wanted to be a runner. There’s something about being able to run that makes you look like you’re more fit. I’m not quite at running status yet, but I have moved up the ladder from speed walker to slow jogger. Jodi (my sis-in-law and gym partner) and I have decided to defy the odds (one of us has a bad knee, the other one of us has one lung & heart condition) and run a Thanksgiving 5 mile run without stopping (we actually thought it was a 5K and just found out today that it's a 5 mile run...sweet). I didn’t really think I was going to be able to do it until this week. While jogging our normal mile without stopping (which was a milestone for us may I add) we decided to up our jogging laps and jog 2.8 miles non-stop (jogging a total of 3.6 miles with our brief walking breaks). And because we can’t go back once we’ve upped the distance, it would seem that we’ll be running (not jogging) our 5 miles well before our goal (which was the day of the run). The craziest part is that it’s actually getting easier to run longer. Practice really does make perfect, or close to it anyway. We’ve even recruited more people to join our running team! The only thing holding me back now is the uneven running course…I don’t know how well I will do running up hills…in the cold…

If the virus doesn’t kill me, working the clinics will

I think working H1N1 flu shot clinics is more draining than putting together a 5K. Most aging services (which is the division I work for) is separate from local heath departments. Lucky for me, mine is combined (which actually really is lucky for me because I wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for the combo of the two). For those of you that may live in a shell, H1N1 flu shot clinics are the big HOO HAA these days, and I get to work every one of them until we’re finished giving the entire population of the county which I work their shots. I get to answer the same questions thousands of times a day, get yelled at and talked to way to close for comfort from many, many random strangers.


To make it better, I've decided to blog about some of the great people that live in our neighborhoods and their very dumb comments/convos.

First convo:

Me: Hi, can I check your paperwork?
Older Mom: Oh yeah sure.
*checking paper, I notice that her kids which are the ages of 15 and 12 have signed for themselves*
Me: Are you their guardian?
Older Mom: Yes (puzzled look on her face)
Me: Oh, well since your kids are under the age of 18 they cannot sign for themselves...can you sign this for them?
Older Mom: (confused) Oh I thought that when they learned how to write their name in cursive that meant they were old enough to sign for themselves.
*I didn't know what to say*
Me: No, when they turn 18 they are considered adults and that's when they can sign for themselves.
Older Mom: Oh, well thank you so much for clarifying that for me. I had no idea.
*really?!*

Second convo:

Nurse: Are your children allergic to eggs?
Mom with puzzled look on her face saying nothing
Nurse's aide realizing she doesn't understand the questions tries to dumb it down for her by saying: Have your children ever had a really bad reaction after they have eaten eggs?
Mom: Wait, do my kids have to eat an egg?
*again, really?!*


Gotta love working with the community.

It’s becoming one of my favorite holidays

Maybe it’s because this year a dream came true for one 23 year old…

Gordon got to dress up like his childhood hero, Indiana Jones. And I was able to dress up like his side kick, Short Round aka Shorty.

We got to wear our costumes three different times. Our first time was for the Fraga family Halloween party. The Fraga side really gets all in to Halloween. We have the best decorations and fun games to play. Almost everyone dresses up...it's a great time.

My cousin Damien as Raggedy Ann

My Dad & step mom (Brenda) as a bottle opener and beer bottle

(I guess we can say it's creative...or trashy, I'll admit that)

Our next dress up time was our ward Halloween party. It was our first time being in charge of a ward activity since we were given our new calling. Sorry no pics from that night. It was pretty fun though. Yummy food, a Halloween runway & costume contest, and games. Good job us!

Of course we had to dress up on Halloween. Our good friends, the Purser's, had their annual Halloween party at the mortuary. Spooky! A tour of the mausoleum was the scariest part of the evening. Additions were made, although not necessary because it's scary without any additions, such as scary music which sounded just like people moaning to get out of their caskets, and no lights! My mind got the best of me and I thought I saw people where there weren't any.

We played pictionary, had a donut eating contest, and of course we played 4 men on a couch (a Purser original).

Marc really got into the donut eating contest

Go Indie, oh I mean, go Gordon!

Guests at the party

Shelli (pirate), me (Shorty), Katherine (Raid), Jovie (bug/bumble bee)

Love their costumes...Katherine (Raid, as in the bug killer), Marc (giant purple fly swatter, bug killer), Jovie (bug/bumble bee)...are they trying to tell us something?

Us again

Oh and I got a little creative this Halloween, with the help of good ol' Martha Stewart, and painted and bowed these pumpkins. They served two purposes: table decoration and porch decoration. Genius Martha!