October happiness...

M2B =) days 239 - 246.  Friday, October 1st - Friday, October 8th.

Friday, October 1st happiness:  Today was not a great day.  But, as of 3:30 p.m. I was officially off work for 2 weeks.  Yeah for October break.

Tonight's movie for family movie night was a classic - one of our all time favorites:

When Joe was 3, this was his favorite movie.  We haven't watched it in forever.  It was great.

Saturday, October 2nd happiness:  Due to it being General Conference weekend, I got a few hours to myself tonight while Joe and Brian went to the priesthood session and then out to dinner.  It was fabulous.  I wasted it watching t.v. on the couch - no sports, no disney channel shows,  just what I wanted to watch.  It was great.

Sunday, October 3rd happiness:  Today Joe, Sheri and I went and visited Grandmother for a little while.  It was her birthday yesterday so we dropped in for a visit.  I love visiting Grandmother, I need to do it more often.

Monday, October 4th:  First official day of what I can call my vacation from work, and it was great.  I chatted on line with a friend that I haven't talked to since, like Jr. High School.  It is fun to play catch up.  Then, Joe and I went to the mall.  I am sooo not a shopper, but Joe wanted to go look for some shoes, so we did.  I like spending time with Joe.  We didn't find what he was looking for, but I did find this:

Yup.  Paradise Bakery now has their ginger molasses cookies.  It's beginning to feel like Christmas.  First the peppermint ice cream, and now the ginger molasses cookies.  Woo hoo!  The weather even felt a little winterish today.  We had dark storm clouds:
And even some rain:
My kind of day.  It was definitely a hang outside kind of day.  We went to my mom's, where I got to hang with this kid:
We looked for snails:
Also, today was "Moustache Monday" at Brian's work.  
Tuesday, October 5th:  Rain today, and tons of it.  It makes me so very happy.
Wednesday, October 6th happiness:  Today Joe and I visited an old site that we used to go on all of the time - "I Can Haz Cheezeburger?"  It is silly animal pictures that people have added captions to.  We spent a lot of time laughing today.  This one is one of my favorites:

Thursday, October 7th happiness:  Ok, so Joe and I officially have way too much time on our hands this October break.  Today we spent a lot of time watching the Old Spice Guy's You Tube commercials.  I had seen a couple of  the Old Spice commercials on t.v., but there are a ton more on You Tube and they are hilarious.   We laughed long and hard today.  It was awesome.
Also today, we went to Grandma's again.  Hey, that's where all of the action is.  We scored big time today.  Kevin happened to be in town.  Woo hoo!  We played dodgeball with the boys on the trampoline.  It was so fun.  Kevin is so awesome.  It's no wonder all of the kids love him.
Friday, October 8th:  Today, Brian, Joseph, Michael and I headed up north to Lambson Lodge.  Now THIS is what I was looking forward to doing during October break.  The days are just longer at the cabin.  It's so relaxing.  We arrived to a sky ridiculously full of stars:
We saw 3 elk on the way in, and as we were unpacking the car we could hear them talking to each other.  It was awesome.  We got in and quickly got ourselves settled.  
I love, love, love the cabin.  I seriously wish I lived here.

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

California Dreaming - Happy Anniversary to Me

M2B =) days 231 - 238.  Thursday, September 23rd - Thursday, September 30th:

Thursday, September 23rd happiness:  Today after work, Brian and I took off for our anniversary weekend trip.  This is the first trip in 5 years where it is just the 2 of us.  I got this photo as we were driving through the Arizona desert:

I was so happy to be headed West.  ("The yellow one is the sun!")

Friday, September 24th happiness:  Brian surprised me today with a day at Disneyland.  

He knows I love Halloween, and he knows that I love all things "Nightmare Before Christmas".  And in October at Disneyland the Haunted Mansion meets Nightmare Before Christmas.  It's my favorite.  I think they should just leave it that way year round.  It is better than the original.  I love Jack the Pumpkin King.

I also happen to love the Buzz Lightyear ride.  I'm not bragging or anything, but I totally beat Brian!

Good times.

They changed Space Mountain to Ghost Galaxy, and it was fantastic.  Loved it.

We also got to see Captain EO.  It was so cheesy and fantastic.  I loved it.

Saturday, September 25th:  Today was beach day.  Oh how I love the beach.

We saw tons of dolphins.  I tried to capture them, but they all look so far away.  What this tells me is that I need a better camera lens (hint hint).
I finally found some time to start reading the book for M.E.L.S. this month.  There is nothing like sitting on the beach, toes in the sand, reading a good book.  
We stayed until sunset, of course.

My favorite picture of the day:
Sunday, September 26th:  We quite literally took the scenic route home.
Even though it was sad leaving Cali, I couldn't wait to get home to this:
We hung out on the bed tonight and talked for a while.  It was great.

Monday, September 27th:  It made me happy today to see Bob and Brian hanging out.  Bob is still wearing the sad cone on his head.  He doesn't get to take it off until Saturday.  He was laying on Brian, purring up a storm.  

Tuesday, September 28th:  Guess what Brian brought home today:
Does that mean it's holiday season yet?  I can't wait.

Wednesday, September 29th:  Happy Anniversary to Me (and Brian too, I suppose).

I got called up to the office during work today, where these were waiting for me:
Yes, they are gorgeous, and ridiculously huge.  The ladies at the front office loved them so much, they made me take the long way back to my classroom, so I could parade them around the school.  It was not an easy task.  They are heavy.  I had to balance them on my hip while holding them with both hands.

Just gorgeous.  Then, when I got home, The new Jimmy Eat World cd, and The Killers Live at Royal Albert Hall DVD were waiting for me.  Today was a good day.

Thursday, September 30th:  Tonight was book club.  I actually finished the book on time, and found the house ok.  I've missed the last 2 months.  It was really good to get out of the house for a while.  And, any day that I can talk about books is a good day.

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

Books and music and other good stuff

M2B =) days 220 - 230.  Sunday, September 12th - Wednesday, September 22nd.

Sunday, September 12th happiness:  Today I took a loooong Sunday nap.  I so needed it.  It was fantastic.  I love lazy Sunday's.  It makes up for the craziness of the rest of the week.

Monday, September 13th happiness:  I finally finished reading Life of Pi.  It was our book club pick from like 2 months ago.  It took me forever to finish because I don't have nearly as much free time as I used to.  I actually kind of liked it.  So many people told me it was a long and kind of boring read.  I guess I wasn't expecting much.  Maybe that's why I liked it.  Who knows.  All I know is that I love to read.

Tuesday, September 14th happiness:  Joe and I went and saw Step Up 3D again.  Don't judge me.

Also today, I had a bad case of the grumpies.  Do you know what is good for chasing the grumpies away?  Good music.  Rocking out to Muse, "Uprising" in the car helped put me in a much better mood.  The music in that song is just fantastic.  I heart Muse.
Wednesday, September 15th happiness:  Adam has been on me to read this book for a long time.  I keep promising him that I will.  But, with me working and barely having time to finish my MELS books, I just haven't had the time.  Today I started.  I am only 1 chapter in and I am already hooked.

Adam just seems to know what I like.  Nearly every book he has recommended to me, I have loved and several of them have ended up on my favorites list.  I think this is a trilogy.  I can't wait to read some more.

Thursday, September 16th:  One of the perks of working at a school, is that I often get to take these guys home.
I am enjoying having a little extra time to spend with Max and Ben.  I love talking to them on the way home, or just listening to their conversations.  They are awesome.

Also tonight - Rosati's.  Why is their pizza so evil good?

Also tonight - Big Bang Theory.  This was another of Adam's suggestions for me.  
I am loving this show.  Brian and I are loving watching it together.  It's good stuff.

Friday, September 17th:  Today was NFL day at our school.  They called it NFL day, but it was more like Cardinals day.  Everyone in the school came dressed in Cardinal's colors.  At the end of the day we had all types of fun outdoor, football activities for the kids to participate in.  The day ended with a flag football game between the teachers and the parents.  I must be crazy because I volunteered to play.  The teachers lost badly, but that was to be expected.  It was still fun.

Ben:
Max:
Me:
The only downside to NFL day was that it was at 1:30 in the afternoon and it was at least 105 degrees outside.  We were outside for an hour and it was like an oven.  

Another happy moment today:  I was in the hallway with my class today, and one of my kids came up to give me a hug, then another and another.  Before you knew it, we were one big group hug taking up the entire hallway.  It was awesome.  I have the best class!

Saturday, September 18th happiness:  Joe and I happened to be driving West tonight around sunset.  The sky was gorgeous.  It was so picturesque.  There was a glaring orange sunset behind the purple mountains, and a palm tree.  It would have made the most awesome picture, but sadly I did not have my camera with me.  Oh well.  Mental picture I guess.  

Joe and I crashed the Trezise house tonight.  We just showed up to hang out for a while.  And I am so glad we did.  Joe ran around the neighborhood with the kids while Sheri, Ian and I had some music therapy.  They had taped on their DVR several music performances that I just HAD to see.  We watched Brandon Flowers, Vampire Weekend, and Paramore.  All really good stuff.  For me, music therapy makes everything better, and I sooo needed it today.   Thanks for letting me crash, Sheri.  You are awesome.

Sunday, September 19th:  More music therapy today.  I spent some of my lazy Sunday watching AAR videos on you tube.  Yes, I am a music junkie.
Monday, September 20th:  I had to pick up Brian from work today.  While I was waiting for him to come out, I took this photo:
In the car Brian and I heard "Everybody's Changing" by Keane.  It happens to be one of my favorite songs of all time.  In case you can't tell, good music makes me really happy.

Tuesday, September 21st:  Late last night, Bob, our indoor/outdoor cat, got in a fight and got scratched up pretty badly.  It was really sad.  Early this morning Brian took him in to the vet where he had to have staples and stitches put into his leg.  I was worried about him all day.  After work I had to go pick him up.  We have previously had to put 2 cats to sleep, so I was grateful that Bob is going to be ok.  He does have to wear the cone on his head for 10 days, and he does NOT like it.  He is really out of it.  It is quite funny and sad at the same time.  Here he is resting on the couch:
Today I am happy that he is going to be ok.

Also today - Brian and I are total Food Network junkies.  Especially Brian.  He likes to cook, and I am always telling him that he watches all these cooking shows, he should at least try out some of the recipes.  Tonight he did.  He made us this:
Yummy pasta with chicken and alfredo sauce.  We have tried homemade alfredo sauce on a few occasions, and it is never very good.  This, however, was to die for.  It was heaven in a bowl.  Thanks Brian.

And, Finally.....

Wednesday, September 22nd:  Tonight for mutual the girls played night games.  First we played Murder in the dark.  I got murdered second.  Shows how much I am loved.  Then, we went outside and played kick the can.  It was fun.  And, it reminded me of being a kid and playing murder in the dark in my parents basement, and kick the can, in our neighborhood.  I am coming to realize more and more as I get older, just what a great childhood I had.  Had a lot of fun tonight, until one of the girls hurt her foot.  I felt really bad for her. 

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

September happiness

So, I keep falling farther and farther behind.  Now that I have 2 weeks off of work, I may actually have a chance to catch up a little.  Here goes:

M2B =) days 209 - 219.  Wednesday, September 1st - Saturday, September 11th.

Wednesday, September 1st happiness:  Wednesday's are typically my roughest days, simply because I have sooo much to do and not enough time to do it.  I feel like I am run ragged all day.  Today was no exception.  To be honest, it was a crappy (sorry mom), long, never ending day.  Where is the happiness in that, you ask?  The happiness came at the very end of the day.  After mutual I got to stay and help decorate for Brittany Basset's wedding reception tomorrow.

I got to see Joni, and Paula (who used to be in my ward, and I haven't seen forever) and Merilee, and I even got to see Elise for about 5 minutes.  It was a fun way to kind of unwind after a very long day.  I wished I could have stayed and helped out longer.

Thursday, September 2nd:  Tonight was Brittany Basset's wedding reception.  Merilee did such a good job on the decorations.  The food was delicious and there was even a really cool candy table.  Brittany's colors were purple, green and white, and all of the different candy on the table was purple, green and white.  They had bags that you could fill up with candy to take home with you.  I packed my purse with these:

They are sixlets, one of my favorite childhood candies.  It was fun to hang out with friends and eat and talk.  Chris and Merilee are awesome.  I'm so glad we went tonight - had a lot of fun.

Friday, September 3rd happiness:  Today I went to lunch with Sheri, Evan and Max.  Max happens to have the exact same lunch time as I do, so Sheri suggested we all go to lunch together.  We went to the Peter Piper Pizza right around the corner from the school.
I love Max so much, I can't even tell you.  There was a time (before he started school) that we spent a lot of time together.  I would work at Grandma's and he would keep me company.  I really miss those days.  

Evan was hilarious.  He kept shoving the food in his mouth, packing it entirely full, then panicking because he couldn't swallow.  That boy is constant entertainment, I tell you.  

I realized today that I don't spend enough time with my sister Sheri.  She is one awesome girl.

Tonight I went outside and the clouds looked ethereal (like my big word?).  They were awesome.  It was really dark, but the clouds looked very bright and wispy.  It was such a cool contrast.  I decided I had to take a picture.  Sadly I came no where near close to catching how cool they look.  At first, the flash on the camera kept going off.  So I switched it to manual so I could leave the shutter open.  But I had no tri-pod, so they turned out really blurry and it didn't capture the contrast I wanted.  Oh well.  This is the sad picture I got:

It doesn't even do it justice.

Saturday, September 4th:  Went to lunch at Oregano's with friends. 

 Friends + Oregano's = a happy day.  There were 9 of us, so we were very cozy in our booth.

Sunday, September 5th:  I got to hang out with these cuties:

The first Sunday of the month means family home evening with everybody, at my mom's house.  My mom is awesome (or crazy) to have us all over once a month.  Good times.

Stacy made caramel cupcakes for dessert.  They were so awesome.  She is the cupcake queen and needs to open her own business.  I was too busy eating the cupcakes to take a photo of them.  Sorry.

Monday, September 6th happiness:  No school for Joe and no work for me.  That means sleeping in and orange rolls for breakfast (it really is amazing I don't weigh 500 pounds.  I love food).
Since Joe has gotten back into his jerkin' (for those of you who don't know, 'jerkin' is a type of hip hop dancing) lately, I thought he might like to go see Step up 3.  Ok, so maybe I really wanted to go see it again and I used Joe as an excuse, but either way, we went, and he loved it too!
Look how happy we are after the movie:  
Well, I am happy, Joe just looks a little frightened of me.

Here is Joe practicing some of his sweet moves.  He is BFAB (born from a boom box).  He really is pretty awesome at it.  You should ask him to show you some time.
Tuesday, September 7th:  Yesterday, Brian and I went to Bath and Body Works, a dangerous, dangerous store.  They had all of their Fall fragrances.  We bought way too much.  My favorite thing we bought was the Caramel Apple hand soap, and Caramel Apple Wallflower. 
When I got home from work today I was greeted with the yummy smell of Caramel Apple - fantastic!

Wednesday, September 8th:  Today one of the kids at school brought in a treat for their birthday.  It was a variation of my Aunt Denises' Krispy Cookies.  He called them "Special K Bars".  Instead of making them with Rice Krispies, they made them with "Special K".  So so so delicious.  =)
Thursday, September 9th:  Tonight, Joe and I went and saw Step up 3 again.  Should I be embarrassed to admit that?  Maybe.  Am I?  No.  It was awesome again.  These are my 2 favorite characters in the movie:  Jason (a.k.a. twiTch) and Moose.
This guy (Madd Chadd) is also amazing.
Friday, September 10th:  Tonight for family movie night, it was Brian's turn to pick.  We watched Leap Year.  I love this movie.
Saturday, September 11th:  Joe and I went and saw Step up 3 again.  No, I am not even kidding.  This time we saw it in 3D.  Good times.

That's it for now.

Happy Day!