A Major Award!

I won! I won! I won! Saturday morning Ryan and I went to the free Chick-fil-a breakfast at our apartment clubhouse. I entered into a drawing for a free Scentsy warmer. And I won!!! I was pretty excited when they called me and told me. I am not usually a winner, so it's a big deal. I felt like the dad on A Christmas Story when he wins the flashy leg lamp. Plus the cute gingerbread man design is perfect for my bar top which is decorated with a gingerbread man tree and stocking hangers. The lady told us that before she drew she hoped she would pick someone who really wanted it and I assured her that I was happy to put it in my home. This is my first Scentsy product and so far I'm very delighted with it... I came home Saturday night and my house smelled like sugar cookies. Maybe it will entice Santa to come a little early this year :)

Wassail Fest 2010

Ryan and I went to Denton last Thursday night to celebrate Wassail Fest! What is Wassail Fest you ask? Well only the best fun filled night of cider drinking, carol singing, friends dancing you could ever imagine! It takes place on the Denton town square and you go from shop to shop sampling and voting for the best wassail.

I'll be honest. We were going to drive up to Denton and had decided not to go after all. It was cold. And dark. Then I got a text from my friend Ashley saying she was there. That made me go to the website and watch a video from a few years ago at Wassail Fest. Then my friend Erica called and said she was going to be there. After all that I decided to embrace life and bundle up for a night of fun. We got to see lots of old friends, like Ryan's roommate Roy. That is why Wassail Fest is so awesome. You can just be walking around and suddenly you run into someone you haven't seen in a long time!

The highlight of the night is when Brave Combo performs. (Side note- Brave Combo actually played at my parents wedding 27 years ago, back when they were a small band of guys from UNT that my dad knew.) Only in Denton can you celebrate with stranger to Christmas polka music. There is a huge area where people are jam packed. Yet as smushed together as you feel, there is somehow always room for the 5 extra people that you know to squeeze in and dance with you! I believe it's Christmas magic.

The best moment is when Brave Combo plays the chicken dance. You have never seen such merriment as hundreds of people laughing and doing the chicken dance together. And that's what Christmas is really all about.

Thankful for Memories

Happy Thanksgiving!!! One of the Thanksgiving memories I love the most is having everyone over to my grandparents' house. Their house was big enough to host anybody who showed up. I remember driving up over the hill and arriving at their house that was full of leaves in the yard. When my cousins and I were kids we had so much fun running and jumping in those huge piles of leaves. I remember walking in and finding my mom and grandpa already cooking in the kitchen -my grandma Dede didn't cook, but she did love to host! I remember how their huge dining room table was always set with fine china and table linens and decorated with litle turkeys (the table that now resides in my own dining room, just without all the extra inserts). I remember all holding hands and saying what we were thankful for and then singing our traditional blessing and prayer. A few years ago my grandparents traded in their dream home for a senior assisted living center, so our traditions have now changed, but I will always cherish those family gatherings!

My other favorite Thanksgiving memory is my other grandmother, Grammy. Grammy was a wonderful cook. She made THE BEST mashed potatoes, deserts, and zucchini bread squares I have ever tasted. This year I got a cookie press for my birthday so I stayed up late last night making her special "Grammy cookies"- flower shaped butter cookies with a craisin in the middle (Grammy always used a cherry but for fall I decided to adapt it to a craisin). In a few minutes I am going to make her zucchini squares to take to our feast. I am thankful for the memories of her great cooking and that I have received those recipes.

I hope everyone enjoys this day of thanks and remembers that Scriptures assure us that everything thats wonderful and beautiful comes from God. Praise the Lord for all you've been blessed with!!!! And make some new memories.

Birthday Celebrations!!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!! Wow, what an awesome weekend. My birthday celebrations started Thursday afternoon when my office went out to lunch for my birthday and got some delicious Mexican food. And Thursday night Ryan and I went on a date to...... Medieval Times! A fun night of knights jousting and eating a king's feast with our hands!

We had fun cheering on our knight- who gave me a flower- that is, until he died. Oh, how sad, but somebody had to die first.
Friday morning, my actual 27th birthday, we got up and Ryan made me cinnamon rolls and then dropped me off to get a surprise massage! I love a little spa day! Friday evening we hosted Bible study at our apartment.
Since it was my birthday, and our group was studying what it looks like to truly give God thanks, we made a small Thanksgiving feast and even got out our fancy china. We love our church friends and are so thankful for them!

Saturday we went to Dallas and met my parents for lunch at Cheesecake factory. I am also so thankful that we live close to our families and can see them often. I love my mom and dad!!!

Saturday night, our college friends came up and we went out to BriX, a new pizza and wine bar in Roanoke. I LOVE my girl friends and am so thankful that we've stayed close for so many years now. After dinner we came back to our apartment and played the Office Clue. What a suspenseful game! All of our accusations came down to the final roll of the dice. Thank you to all my girls who drove all the way out here!

Sunday, we went out to celebrate with Ryan's family and I got to play some Barbies with our nieces. These are my sister-in-laws old Barbies and it was funny that I actually had the EXACT SAME outfits for my Ken and Barbie growing up! I hope Kiersi and Kayden love Barbie as much as Aunt Kate :) I was thankful to get to play with them!

My mother in law made me a wonderful chocolate cake. I am thankful to have a great extended family that loves Ryan and I so much!

And then those crazy Bradleys got out every body's old Letterman jackets! I am thankful to have a husband and family who can be silly and make me laugh!

So, in case you didn't realize, much of what I thought about this weekend is everything that I am thankful for! I definitely did not deserve to have such an amazing birthday weekend! Of course its fun to open presents and eat good food, but I am most grateful for all the sweet memories that were made with friends, family, and my husband. It was a birthday full of blessings!

It's Been a Hard Day's Night... And I've Been Working Like a Dog...

Today Cosby literally worked like a dog. My coworkers have been wanting to see my dog and my boss said that I could bring Cosby to work with me today. Not wanting to be lazy, he jumped right in and started to help. He responded to emails and made sure all of our websites were up to date.
"Dunder Mifflin. This is Cosby." Wow, that dog sure gives some good customer phone service!
He helped read over the new course catalog. Don't worry, everything was up to par, and he didn't find any mistakes!
He kept a look out for any delivery people. This would have been the perfect day for my Staples delivery friend to come!
And after all that work, he rested on his blanket and gave me inspirational pep talks. Today was so much fun having Cosby in the office! Even though he is pretty relaxed and rather un-playful, it was fun having him walk around. I probably work in the best office ever!

Party Like a Rockstar.

You know how there are some people who decide at a certain age not to celebrate their birthday? Or those who are shy and don't like the attention? Well, neither of those descriptions describe Ryan. Ryan LOVES his birthday. On any given day he can tell you how many days it is until his birthday. Really any day. Like on March 23rd he can tell you how many days it is until October 10th. He started talking to me about his birthday before we were even dating. Not in a selfish way. He just loves his birthday. And since this year his birthday was on 10/10/10 we really celebrated.

Starting a whole week before we had our family up. His brother Greg's birthday is Oct. 3rd so we combined them. If you look closely, Greg's cake is made like a pizza. Melody (his wife) is an awesome caterer and made it just for him because he loves pizza! It was super cute!
The Friday before his birthday we celebrated with our church friends. We hosted small group at our house and had more cake. Our friend Scott got Ryan this warm Cowboy's snuggie, which I'm actually wearing right now as we watch the Cowboy game on Monday night football!
Saturday- 1 day before the real big day- we went to Celebrate Roanoke. I love small town festivals. We found this fun pumpkin patch outside of a country store and sat down for a pic. Ooh, I love those pumpkins!
We also think it is funny to take pictures in cut out boards. If you are a regular blog reader, I'm sure you've seen other pics like this of us. I'm not sure why its so funny to me... I hope it makes you smile!
Vote for me!
We stopped by the bookstore in Dowtown Roanoke. They had a huge Fancy Nancy book! If you are a teacher, you will appreciate this!
And what would any festival be without a live gun fight acted out in period 1850's clothing? I'm glad it was just pretend. No one was hurt in the reinaction of this famous shooting.
Finally it was the big day. 10/10/10. Ryan preached at church that morning... no pictures to document because they frown on having the paparazzi there :) That evening we went bowling at Main Event. I let him beat me at bowling since it was his birthday. But I showed no mercy at Air Hockey or Dance, Dance, Revolution!
Does anyone else ever wonder about what to wear when they go bowling? Bowling shoes are pretty ridiculous with any outfit.
The birthday boy and his bowling ball. It had a number 10 on it. The perfect end to a perfect celebration!

Fee, Fie, Fo, Fumb!!!!!

Ryan and I live on the 2nd floor of a 3 story apartment building. As a result, we frequently hear people walking- loudly- above us. We have come to endearingly call them "The Stompertons." At 6:00am we open our eyes and think, "Oh good, the Stompertons are awake." Its always so fun to hear someone else showering and getting ready during that last 30 minutes of sleep that you are trying to preciously hold on to. During the day when one of us is home from work we think "Hmm... the Stompertons must be home too." What kind of jobs do they have that they are always around????? In the evening we want to kindly remind them, "Go to bed Stompertons." Once we even hosted a meet and greet ice cream sundae party for our neighbors and as we were sitting in the living room said to each other, "Obviously the Stompertons are home. Why don't they want to come meet us?"

I'm pretty sure that I've actually seen Mr. Stomperton (and perhaps the Mrs.?) out with their dog, but I didn't get the awkward opportunity to introduce myself to them. So sadly, we still don't know their names. Just the sound of their big giant feet. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.