Dear 2012,

We started off rough 2012.  Jon and I both had bronchitis.  We had a little plumbing problem.  There was a lot of overtime at work.  Both our cars had some issues.  We had some really sever weather (tornadoes in January?!?!?!).  We had more awesome hanging out nights at Dustin and Amber's than I can count.  Well I could probably count if I wanted to.  But I don't.  February 29th only comes once every four years and this was one of them.  March came in like a lion with tornadoes that destroyed towns.  Work got super busy due to a system change, and we met a new friend who we nicknamed Swamp Thang.  April snuck in on us and before we knew it we were  spening Easter with my family.  We celebrated the wedding of an old friend and Jon and Dustin cleaned up nice as groomsmen.  My nephew Grayson turned one.  April brought migraines and that was no bueno.  Schatzi had her puppies!  Sadly, only one lived, but my oh my is she a cutie!  Brooklyn turned one and we wondered how we became surrounded by babies that are quickly becoming toddlers.  I got a BIG birthday present in the form of a treadmill!  Woop!  Aunt Sharon and Uncle Juan came to visit and see the house (along with a gaggle of other family folk).  I celebrated the big 3-0 with a party with our lil' gang.  We took Josh to Skyline for a picnic and to climb the "Tower of Fear."  We went to my home town county fair and had a great visit with my family in July.  Can you say FAIR COOKIES!!!  So yum! Unfortunately, I also got a pinched nerve in my back in July.  Not. Fun.  Fall came (finally!) and brought busy but fun times!  We got to see the last blue moon for 3 years.  It was huge!!  I thought our neighbors had lights on outside, but nope!  That was the moon lighting up our bedroom!  I photographed Jon's Aunt Rachel's wedding.  Terrifying!  We had many celebrations leading up to David and Kate's October wedding.  I donated 10 inches of my hair to Locks of Love.  I got to see the ocean for the first time.  We lost Grandpa B in November.  Before we knew it, it was Christmas.  We got to see so many member of our families and it was wonderful!  All in all you were one heck of a year 2012.  I'm glad we had this time together.  Here's lookin' at you kid.

Lately

Lately we've been drinking lots of coffee and taking in the snowy landscape.  I love winter!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  We had a wonderful Christmas that started on Thursday night and ended today!  Thursday we picked up Josh and he got to open all his presents.  Saturday, we headed up to my parents to have Christmas with my family.  Sunday, we headed back to Seymour and had Christmas with Jon's Mom for Josh.  Yesterday, I worked until noon, then we headed to Jon's grandmas for Christmas with his dad's side.  This morning we went over to his mom's for Christmas with them.  Whew!  I love seeing all of our families and getting to spend time with them!  Merry Christmas indeed!

Merry Christmas!

Sick Day

Oh what a day.  We were supposed to head to Indy for my nephews 5th birthday party, but Jon was sick all morning.  I decided to stay home just in case I had the germs.  I didn't want to spread them around.  Ugh.  Jon was sick ALL morning and then took a 4 hour nap.  That left me with my whole day open, so I decided to girl it up.  I marathoned (is that a word?) Laguna Beach and The Hills all day!  Lol, oh it takes me back.  I did get a little laundry done so I didn't waste the whole day.  Now I'm making Honey Spiced Pork Chops for dinner (well, dinner for me.  I don't know if Jon is up to it yet.) and watching Star Trek.    Anywho, just a laid back day here!  Oh and here is a picture from Josh's 5th grade Christmas program from Friday night.

Passion Tea Lemonade

I love this recipe!  It tastes just like Starbucks Passion Tea Lemonade!  Yum!  All you need is Tazo Passion Tea and Simply Lemonade.

Just brew a couple bags of the tea.  Cool it down then mix it with the lemonade.  Serve over ice!

Winter Simmer Scent

I learned this trick and I love it!  You can change it up to match your mood/the season/whatever! Since it's Christmas time, I decided to use nutmeg, cinnamon, a shot of lemon juice, and oranges.  Basically what I had on hand, lol.  I'm going to add cranberries next time!

Add around 6 cups of water to your crockpot.  Slice up your orange and drop it in!  I squished mine just a bit to get the juices flowing.  I used whole cinnamon sticks and just smashed them up a bit, then dropped them in.  I grated about 1/2 of a whole nutmeg, then just dropped in the rest of it.  I also added about 1 tbsp lemon juice.  Set your crockpot to high and let it go!  Just make sure to add water if it gets low!