Day 8 Blog Christmas Challenge

Happy Tuesday Everyone!! :-)

I am excited today because I get to take Christmas photos of one of my favorite little dudes!! My cousin Angela and I are driving up north a little bit and I am going to take Noah's Christmas pictures. Well hopefully she can use them for Christmas...let's all just pray some of the photos come out good :)

Now on to the Christmas Challenge...It is Day 8 already only a couple more days till this challenge is over. Man, tmie sure flies around here. Before I know it we will be in 2011!!!

C.R.A.Z.I.N.E.S.S!!!

Day 8: Least Favorite Thing About The Holidays

Holidays in my family are not what they used to be. Reason being, my brother died 5 years ago...this will be our 6th Christmas without him. And I know people say it gets easier, and yes it does. It get easier to live our daily lives, but the holidays actually get harder for me. This year actually has been the hardest by far. I am not sure if it is because we are in Texas and away from the rest of our families, but no matter the details...I am missing my brother so much this holiday season. I think I have been numb to the holidays since Erich died. I think I try to pretend it isn't really a holiday season because he isn't here to share it with.

Ever since it was the holiday season this year...probably around Halloween (not a holiday I know), it has been hard for me. I miss Erich so much. All Christmas songs make me tear up. THinking about opening gifts Christmas morning, makes me tear up. Knowing we will be in Texas Christmas morning and not with my other two sisters, makes me tear up. Knowing he won't be here with us this year makes me tear up.

It is strange though that this year is the hardest for me. Erich was my best friend. He was the one person I could tell everything too and know I wouldn't be judged. I would give anything to have him here this year with us. It is hard because soon hubby and I will have our own little family and Erich won't be here to share in that joy with us.

I remember growing up, momma would go downstairs and get Erich out of bed. But in the meantime, Aarika and I would have to wait at the top of the stairs until she was finished getting him in his wheelchair. Once we heard his chair coming down the hallway, we would rush down the stairs so we could be the first ones to see all the gifts :) Then momma would make us open gifts one by one so Christmas would end up lasting a couple hours. One of my favorite and most missed memories of Erich is after each gift was opened we would stick our tongues out and make a silly noise. I know that may sounds completely weird and silly to all of you, but if you knew my brother that was something he always did when he was happy. And I miss hearing that more than words could ever explain. He did it all the time, but he exaggerated it when gifts were being opened. Erich loved Christmas time because we got together with all the family...both momma and daddy-o's sides. Holidays were always fun growing up. But just not the same without him. He is in my thoughts every.single.day. This Christmas is going to be hard for me, I have accepted that. I hope it gets easier, but like I said above...the holidays for me are getting harder not having him around and hearing his excitement.

As the years go on, as time goes by, as hubby and I have a family of our own...I will always remember Erich and the 21 Christmas' I got to share with him. Those were the best years...
Erich I love you and miss you!!

Even though the holiday season isn't always all smiles and happiness, I know Erich is watching down on us. I know he wouldn't want us to be sad. I know he would want us to carry on the same traditions as we always have...such as the silly noise he made :) And we will do all that for him every year. Maybe I'll even teach my kids it, and they can carry it on...what do you think Erich? I know you would be proud if they did :)

Happy Holidays!!!

First Thanksgiving in Texas

I cannot believe Thanksgiving has come and gone. Just like that. Poof!! It is now Novemeber 29th, Christmas is 27 days away...less than a month. Yikes!!

Thanksgiving weekend turned out pretty darn good. Well, besides the fact that on Thanksgiving I had to work, so I missed out on all the yummy food. Thanksgiving Day my family went over to my cousin Jamie's house..she was hosting :) Our first Thanksgiving in Texas. Our first Thanksgiving away from our home. Mixed feelings for sure. Anyways, we went over there and just hung out for a bit. Nibbled on some carrots and dip, chips and salsa, and of course Reese's Pieces (love anything Reese's) Well, 1:30pm rolled around (we were supposed to start eating at this time) and there was not much food out to be served...so hubby and I ate just a few pieces of turkey, mashed potatoes and a roll. Sadly this is my typical meal on Thanksgiving...I am not a big fan of anything else. We scarffed it down real quickly...I changed and off I was to work :(

Hubby dropped me off so we could spend a little more time alone together. I ran in, got him a Mocha (his fav) and then he left and worked started. I told hubby to come back at 7:15pm because I assumed we would be out of there pretty darn quick since it was a holiday. WRONG!!! It was busy the.entire.time!! We were swamped and running around like chickens with their heads cut off (btw...this does really happen, I witnessed it with my daddy-o). We didn't get out of work until 7:50pm!!! I worked from 2:30pm-7:50pm on Thanksgiving!!! I was exhausted and starving and freezing and just wanted to be with hubby and family.

After worked hubby and I went back to my cousins house where the family was still hanging out. We ate some more turkey and potatoes...and well sweets of course :-) Hubby loves pumpkin pie. I have to confess I didn't make the pumpkin cheesecake. I failed in that department. But I did tell hubby I will make it for him this week :) Then I'll let all you ladies know how yummy it was :)

Thanksgiving Day wasn't exactly how I wished it would have turned out...but I am just thankful I have a family to celebrate with. An amazing hubby who was home for the hoilday this year. And for yummy food :)

Driving to Jamie's house it was 38 degrees at 11:05am. I was FREEZING!!!

hubby helping with the potatoes

me and momma 

my favorite people

 

jamie and drew

momma and Aarika

my momma :)

On Friday night, hubby and I went out to sushi. This time I actually tried some of the raw stuff :) Hubby was proud...and I have to say it wasn't too bad. His meal was all about the tuna. My meal was yuck!! I ordered cooked stuff, but it wasn't good :(

yummy edamame

tuna plate

my yucky plate :(

After sushi, we went to downtown Fort Worth with the whole family to Simply Fondue. Aarika works there, so we wanted to go while she was working. Too bad for her though, because she missed out on some yummy dessert and fun times with the gang :)

Chris and Angela

yummy desserts :)

hubby and me :)

the gang...minus Aarika, Jimmy, and Noah

freezing our booties off in downtown

All in all it was a great weekend :-)

Now on to Christmas!!

Day 7 Christmas Blog Challenge

Day 7: Holiday Craft/DIY (If you don't make anything, what do you WISH you could make?)

Well I am not a very crafty person...I didn't get those genes when I was born lol

Everyone else is my family is pretty crafty and creative. Oh I so wish I could be like them ahah! ;)

My wish would be to be able to decorate my house for the hoildays. I love what I see in magazines or at stores, but I feel like I would never be able to replicate it. Momma totally knows how to decorate for Christmas...so I always tell her she will have to help me.

Sorry this post isn't exciting...I am just not a crafty kind of gal ;)

Day 6 Christmas Blog Challenge

Day 6: Gift ideas (what do YOU want?)

It is always fun to make a Christmas list. It brings back memories of when I was little. I remember making a Christmas list when I was little...I would sit in front of the television and just watch for commericials that had toys (easy bake oven, some flower craft thing, all things girlie). My list would be pages and pages long. Now when I think of things I want, they are just so darn expensive my list seems to be only like 5-10 items. Guess that is what happens when we get older...our priorities change :)

Well, here is my list...in no particular order. I am sure of it that my list could go on and on, but I don't want to bore everyone either ;)

{1} A white gold skinny band

{2} Camera Bag

{3} 8 by Abercrombie & Fitch

{4} House Slippers

{5} A Purse

{6} Lens

{7} New Wordrobe of clothes & shoes

I have shown some idea of clothes that I want here, here, here and here. I know this would be every girls dream...a closet full of new clothes. Starting completely over, that would just be oh so awesome!! :)

Happy Holidays!!! :-)

Day 5 Christmas Blog Challenge

Well first off I just have to say I did the unthinkable!!! Momma and I went to Super Target yesterday morning, I think it was about 9:30am. It was seriously not as bad as we were expecting it to be. There were no crazy lines. No crazy women scrounging for gifts. No rude customers. It felt like it was a normal shopping day. I was pretty pumped about that. Momma bought some gifts...I have to keep my mouth shut and pretend I didn't see what she bought ;)

Now on to the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge

Day 5: Favorite Holiday Movie/TV Show Special

Holidays movies are the best!!! There is something about watching them that brings so much joy to my heart. It's like you know there will always be a happy ending to it...nothing bad can happen. they are just all around happy movies. And for some reason watching the love and the snow and the happiness and the cold weather clothes, just makes it all that much more exciting for me. Weird? I know :)

For as long as I can remember we have watched Miracle on 34th Street. Not the old black and white one. The one with Dylan McDermott. This one.

We watch it while we decorate the Christmas tree. It is a perfect family, holiday movie. I love it so much. Momma got it for me for a Christmas present, so I can carry on the tradition with hubby and our family (when that day comes). I know hubby is super excited about it lol

Besides watching it while we decorate the tree...I think Aarika and I usually end up watching it quite a few more times during the Christmas holiday. We know every single line in the movie...yet we watch it so intently, like it is our very first time :-)

Typing up this post about my all.time.favorite. Christmas movie has gotten me so pumped up for the holidays!!! I want to go shopping now...if only I had the money. I am thinking budgeting for gifts this year will be a must. But I think it is the thought, not the price tag on the gift :) That is what 'they' say right? Who is they by the way?!?!?

Happy Holidays!!! :-)

Day 4 Christmas Blog Challenge

Day 4: Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly Holiday Season

Well I would love to say that I am always budget friendly for the holiday season...but truthfully that is just not the case. I do make a list of what I want to get everyone, but there are some people that I often drift from the list and end up getting them way more than I planned on. Like my momma, I always say ok let's just get her this. It seriously never works that way lol Aarika and I get momma her stocking stuffers. And do we just get little things? Of course not! ahaha!! We usually go all out.

So back to how to be budget friendly...stick to your organized list and do not stray from it :)
Hubby and I are pretty good at finding coupons when we shop online. Seriously, it is a.m.a.z.i.n.g how many coupons there are for online shopping. We just search and search. Probably takes a good 20-30 minutes, but I have saved $50 one time just from online coupon codes. So trust me it is so worth the time browsing.

Also the closer it is to Christmas, the more deals there are. Yup, it is true. If you are a procrastinator you will save some money. I think it is because stores are trying to get rid of everything, so they just mark things way low. Especially with clothes, I have noticed the prices go down about 20% or more from just two weeks earlier. So maybe we should all be procrastinators ;)

Oh and one last thing, if you are planning on getting gifts for people that you will not see until after the Christmas holiday, holy moly!! go shopping then. There are awesome deals after Christmas too. Sometimes I think we should just all wait until the week after to celebrate because we will save so much money.
But then again...Christmas wouldn't be the same celebrating on New Year's lol

Happy Holidays!!! :-)

Fashion Friday

In college, ok even after college, I loved American Eagle. Aarika used to work there, so we would get tons of discounts :-) woo hoo for discounts!!! Well she decided to quit before my wedding, probably about a month or so before. She said she had too much to do for the wedding and needed to quit. Yes she quit her job for my wedding. I worked up until 3 days before the wedding...oh Aarika, silly girl. I cannot imagine what it will be like for you when you get married. You are going to get super stressed lol

Anyways, so since she quit I haven't even looked at American Eagle. Well I am sitting here, a tad bit bored because I do not work again till Friday, yes Friday. ugh!!! This is why I never worked these kind of jobs, they aren't consistent enough for me. So I am sitting here online shopping browsing and I thought I'd check out American Eagle again. Low and behold I found a few cute things...check 'em out :)

Rugby Striped Sweater

I have always wanted a holiday sweater. There is just something about the snowflake design that I like and makes me feel warm and cozy :)Fair Isle Long Sweater

Dolman Sweater

Rugged Bomber Jacket

Plaid Flannel Shirt

Plaid Flannel Shirt

Raglan T

Cable Knit Trapper Hat

Hubby isn't a big fan of American Eagle, he thinks it is too young for me. He doesn't want me wearing t-shirts all the time, especially those that say American Eagle, which I totally understand. But sometimes they do have cute stuff...like the items I picked up above :)

I so wish I had some money to shop right now...it would be WAY more fun than browsing lol