Fable:)

Kyle and I have started gaming together:) We've been playing a computer game called "Fable". It's a neat game!:) You begin the game as a boy, faced with a dillema: You have no money, and need to get your sister a birthday present. From this point on, pretty much everything you do is a moral decision. Your dad offers you the opportunity to earn money for a present by doing good deeds around the village. Of course, you could skip the good deeds and go steal a present. Either way, that evening, bandits attack your village, killing most of the towns people, and kidnapping your sister. Soon after, you meet a man who takes you to "the Hero's Guild" where you are taught how to fight. Once you graduate from training, you are sent out into the world of Albion. It is up to you whether the life you then lead is one of good or evil. Each quest you take increases your skills. Each decision you make shapes your character. Each action you take changes your reputation, and as you grow up, your fame grows as well. Ultimately, your goal may be good or evil: find your sister, or seek revenge. Your character changes in ability and appearance, depending on your experiences, your choices, and how you develop your skills. Even your appearance begins to match your moral character as you make your way through Albion, growing from a boy into a man - some kind of man...it's up to the gamer;)
Anyway...it's a lot of fun, and Kyle and I have enjoyed playing it together:) He does the actual playing, but I watch and help a little bit...it's a lot of fun, and is apparently one of his interests that he never expected his wife to get into, or even halfway understand, haha. The few guyfriends of mine who have found out that I play computer games with Kyle say, "That's so cool! Man, most girls think gaming is dumb or something!" Honestly, for me it depends on the game. I like killing monsters. I don't like war games. I like games where you "grow up" within the game. I like quests, fantasy settings, swords, cool outfits that resemble renaissance attire, etc...I doubt Kyle could get me to play 'Call of Duty' with him. But given the right game, I can have fun with it:) And so far we've had a lot of fun with Fable:) And, yes...we're going to be a good guy;)

A Christmasy Survey:)

1. How many Christmases have you celebrated?
20:) This year will be my 21st Christmas:)

2. How many different places have you spent Christmas at?
Well my first few Christmases were spent at the old house, and all the ones since then were spent at my parents' house. This year, I'm not really sure where Christmas will be spent!

3. When does "Christmas" start?
the day after Thanksgiving! (I used to say the day after Halloween, haha, but I've managed to push it back a little ways, so as to focus on one holiday at a time;)

4. When does "Christmas" end?
New Years Eve, cause then we're celebrating New Years! lol

5. Ever had a white Christmas?
Not that I know of :(

6. Ever NOT had a white Christmas?
Yep, all of 'em that I remember :-/

7. Has it ever been really warm on Christmas?
Yeah, one year I got a new sweater, and a new bike...I insisted on wearing my new sweater while I tried out my new bike, and ended up soaked in sweat :-p Pretty lame Christmas weather! lol

8. What's the coldest it's been on Christmas in your town?
Well, in the town I spent all my Christmases in? It may have gotten down to like 15-20*F. In the town I'm living in now, it might have gotten down to 40*F but I highly doubt it.

9. Do you remember specific Christmas presents from past years?
not many of them, but a few...like that sweater and bike, lol. That was when I was like...10 yrs old. And I remember that Kyle gave me a promise ring last Christmas:) It's crazy for me to think, last year he gave me a promise ring, saying we would get engaged/married one day, and this Christmas, the very next one, we'll already have been married for 6 months!

10. Is there anything specific that gets you in the Christmas spirit?
Christmas music, hot cocoa, seeing houses all decorated up with Christmas lights, the smell of Christmas trees, the smell/taste of peppermint, seeing the church all decked out with Christmas decorations, seeing all the Christmas ornaments and lights and such that the stores all bust out......etc:)

11. Do you like hot cocoa?
oh yes!

12. Do you like egg-nog?
eh, not so much

13. Do you like candy canes?
I like to use them to stir my hot cocoa so they give it a minty flavor! But I don't like eating them.

14. What are your favorite Christmas colors?
I like all of them in the right combinations:) Red and green and gold look really elegant together:) Red and green and silver look really happy together:) White, ice blue, silver and navy blue look nice and cold! *shivers*:) Silver, white and glitter look nice and snowy:) Green, maroon and brown look like a Christmasy mountain cabin:) and I love them all!!!

15. What is your favorite thing to find in your stocking?
Hair clips! lol. I go through those things so fast, so Santa has to bring me lots of those;) And they make good stocking stuffers:)

16. Do you like playing in the snow?
Actually, I really prefer walking in it:) Snow is really romantic:) I prefer to leave it as untouched as possible, while still getting out and enjoying it:) So a nice walk in the snow is perfect:) All you leave is footprints, and I think it's so cute to see two pairs of footprints in the snow!:-D hehe

17. What is your favorite Christmas candy?
Ooh, gosh...I would have to say mint chocolate truffles:)

18. What do you think is the best gift you've ever given someone?
I knit Kyle a blanket last year:) It isn't the most perfect blanket, but it is special anyway, and he loves it:)

19. How do you wrap presents (bags? boxes? bows? quick jobs? fancy jobs?)??
I carefully select the prettiest wrapping paper I can find that seems to suit the recipient's personality (yes, I buy a lot of different kinds of very expensive wrapping paper :-.. lol but I love it). Then I find some 3" wide, wired ribbon that goes well with the wrapping paper. I take the present and wrapping stuff home. I hand make a to-from tag to match the wrapping paper and ribbon. I wrap the present as neatly as I can. Then I make a big bow out of the ribbon, wrap a piece of ribbon around the present, and put the bow on top, with the to-from tag sticking out from underneath the bow. *sigh* Yes, I am extremely obsessed with wrapping...believe it or not, I'm not that picky about presentation. I'll throw the present to the person if they're not right next to me. But it has to be PRETTY, lol

20. Do you send out Christmas cards?
I'm not sure if we're going to get to this year, but I do hope to. It's getting pretty close though, and I would hate for people to get them late...

21. Do you write a Christmas letter, to update your friends and relatives about the past year?
My family always did, and I plan to continue that, but like I said, I'm not sure if we'll get to this year. This holiday season is going to be one big heck of a mess...and enjoyable mess, but...if I live through it, I will feel invincible for the rest of my life.

22. Do you bake goodies around Christmas time? What kind?
Oh yes! Pumpkin pie, sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, rice crispy treats, fudge...THE WORKS!!!

23. Do you gain weight around the holidays?
I never did in years past, but I think my metabolism may be slowing down to what is about normal for adults...so I probably will this year....okay, so I already have a LITTLE bit

24. Do you make a new years resolution to burn it off?
lol, no

25. Have you ever gone sledding?
yep!

26. Have you ever been injured in a snowball fight?
not seriously, but enough to make my cry and kick my brother

27. What goes on top of your Christmas tree?
a star shaped cookie cutter with white and gold pipe cleaners wrapped around it, haha

28. Do you use a tree skirt?
Sort of...my big red blanket is our tree skirt this year, lol. And it actually looks pretty, except that I keep wanting to crawl under the tree and sleep, lol. That blanket is so comfy! (lol, thanks Josh)

29. What is the most expensive present you've given someone?
Uhm...I helped Ryan buy a really nice guitar...

30. What is the most personal gift you've given someone?
probably the blanket I knit for Kyle...I spent a lot of time on that.

31. What is the most personal gift you've ever received for Christmas?
definitely the promise ring Kyle gave me last year...mainly the promise that went along with it, but...also, he put a lot of thought into picking it out...well...he asked Eryn a hundred times if I would like it, lol.

32. What type of Christmas tree does your family usually get?
well, all growing up I think we got Douglas Firs, but of course this year is different, lol...me and Kyle got a hand-me-down fake tree from Tim and Sharon! hehe:-D

33. When you were little, what time would you wake up Christmas morning?
usually around 4:30 or 5:00am34. Now what time do you wake up on Christmas morning?I don't know, 8:00 or so?

35. Do you open presents or stockings first?
My brother and I always got to open our stockings while we waited for my parents to get up. Then once everyone was awake and Dad had his coffee ready, lol, we'd all open presents:)

36. What does your stocking look like?
My mommy cross-stitched it:) It's cute:)

37. When you were little, did you fall asleep halfway through Christmas after being so excited all morning?
haha yeah

38. Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe?
No :(

39. Did your parents ever take to to sit on Santa's lap for pictures and to tell him what you wanted for Christmas?
yes and I screamed bloody murder instead lol

40. Are there any Christmas songs that you really don't like?
yeah, "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," "Jingle Bells," and..."Away in a Manger" is pretty annoying to me but I'm not sure why

41. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Carol of the Bells, Emmanuel, and this instrumental medley of Carol of the Bells and Silver Bells...by far the best instrumental music I have ever heard.

42. What are some Christmas traditions you want to carry on to do with your spouse and kids?
Christmas Eve service at church, Christmas tree shopping, decorating the tree together, driving around town to look at peoples' Christmas lights, making Christmas goodies together....

43. Do you get your shopping done early, or wait till the last minute?
Neither really, I do a little here and a little there...

44. If you could have ANYTHING for Christmas this year, no matter the costs (short term and long term costs included) what would you want?
A house somewhere near a good school that needs a high school algebra and geometry teacher, in a green, spacious part of the country

45. Do you know what you will want NEXT Christmas?
haha, yes, I think at that point I'll be wanting to start trying for Baby #1, lol. But we'll see. Maybe we'll wait a bit longer than that...

46. Have you ever been to a Christmas party?
No, but the office Christmas party is this thursday and I MIGHT go...

47. Have you ever thrown a Christmas party?
No

48. Have you ever been in a Christmas play/program?
Yep, at least a dozen!

49. Do you know the story behind the candy cane?
I've heard lots of stories...no clue which one's true, and don't really care, lol

50. Why do you celebrate Christmas?
Honestly?...because it just sort of happens...

51. What is the meaning of Christmas?
*sigh*...it's a gigantic, multi-national birthday party where most of the party guests don't even know whose birthday it is...

52. Do you say, "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays"?
Merry CHRISTmas!

53. What is your favorite Christmas smell?
oh gosh, I don't know...Christmas trees, peppermint, hot cocoa, fires, cinnamon, chocolate, pies, turkey, scotch tape, wrapping paper, dusty Christmas decorations, freshly chopped firewood.....

54. What is your favorite Christmas flavor?
hot cocoa, peppermint, sugar cookies, rice crispy treats...

55. How is this Christmas going to be special?
It's my first Christmas with my wonderful husband!:)

Bye Bye Cozy Sac

Well, Kyle and I recently decided that our big brown bean-bag sofa just wasn't really cutting it, for our little apartment. It took up a lot of space, and as comfy as it was, it hardly got used at all. So yesterday Kyle and I posted an ad on CraigsList, hoping to sell our cozy-sac. We figured we'd try to get $100 for it, since we bought it for about $200. I thought we might have to lower the price before anyone would buy it, but this morning someone had already e-mailed us, asking if it was still available! Wow, lol. Kyle e-mailed her back and said that it was still available, and gave her our phone number in case she wanted to further contact us. Within an hour, she and her husband came by to take a look at it, and it was gone. I didn't realize things could sell that quickly on CraigsList! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, lol. We found our apartment on CraigsList;) Anyway, now we have "a lot" of space in our "living room":) Our Christmas tree now lives by the window, for all to see:) rather than next to the bed, for Kyle to get poked by when he gets out of bed, haha. The down side is, how we are nearly seatless. lol. We have the dining room table, and Kyle's computer desk, but nowhere to kick back, except the bed. But oh it is so nice to have some space:) We're not sure what will go in the "living room" now, but we're keeping our options open. In the mean time I suppose the Christmas tree and the coffee table can get better acquainted, haha.

Christmas Decorating!:)

Last night Kyle and I finally finished decorating our tree!:) We went to Target, got more lights, grabbed a pizza on the way home, and had a tree decorating party (well, as party-like as two people at home can be?). Oh and we enjoyed some hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps while we decorated:) (If you haven't tried that before, do!;) It was a lot of fun:) Our tree isn't exactly homey looking, as we have only store-bought ornaments, but it is still pretty:) Anyway, here are some pictures from our Christmas decorating night(s):) I couldn't get a very good picture of the whole tree, decorated, but...*sigh* oh well...here they are:)

Getting Ready For Christmas

Well, it's that time of year again:) Time to start putting up decorations, fighting through the crowded malls, decorating Christmas trees....and it's our first time doing all this together:) And it's been a bit of an adventure...or maybe a comedy. I guess it's a little bit of both;) It's been an adventure seeing what little quirks, ideas, and traditions we each carry over from our families into our family. And it's been a comedy trying to get all the decorations up - we have no time! But we both love Christmas, so we do a little decorating when we can...this is why our tree is put together, and halfway covered in lights. Maybe by Christmas it will be fully decorated, haha. We're planning to go buy another string of lights tomorrow, and finish decorating the tree. Tonight I'll be putting some lights in our front window:) I also have a mini tree partially decorated, and awaiting some ribbon or garland of some sort, which we'll hopefully be able to get when we get our second string of lights! haha, So we're slowly getting ready for Christmas:) I'll take pictures of everything and hopefully post them this weekend, after our decorations are complete;) I can't wait to see our little apartment all Christmas-ed up! :-D

Yay for the Weekend!

This morning I woke up to hear millions of drops of rain pattering away on our ceiling and windows:) Even at six o'clock in the morning, this was a nice way to wake up:) I enjoyed a warm shower and the sound of the rain, made breakfast, and insisted that Kyle bring a jacket to school as I saw him out the door. When I left for work soon after, it was still sprinkling, and overcast:) Rain and Christmas music made for a nice drive to work, not to mention that traffic was pretty light:) Work was slow, but throughout most of the day I actually felt pretty much normal, rather than sick!:) Needless to say, rain, Christmas music, and feeling better made for a good day over all:) My tummy is hurting right now, but I'm not feeling nearly as bad as yesterday, so this is still an improvement;) I'll take any improvement, lol. I'm glad the work day is over and I can finally relax and enjoy the weekend:) We are going up to Lancaster:) Kyle's brother, Cory, is home on leave after finishing his first deployment in the U.S. Navy, so we will finally get to see him!:) We haven't seen Cory in about 6 months! It should be a nice weekend:) Well, Kyle's home, so time for dinner:)

Ugh, Is It Over Yet?

So after about 12 days of feeling a bit blah and queasy, I was beginning to get used to it...at least enough to act like I was feeling fine. I guess that meant it was about time to start feeling worse! *sigh* This morning I woke up feeling a little more queasy than before, and stayed in bed until Kyle left for school. He was sweet and brought me my crackers and made me relax while he made his own breakfast. After he left I got dressed, brushed my hair back into a ponytail, set my alarm for 8:20, and snoozed until then. When the alarm woke me up, I grabbed my lunch (let's see if I can eat it:-p), slipped into my shoes and trudged out the door. By this point I felt like the few crackers I'd eaten were having a boxing match in my stomach and just might decide to find the nearest exit before long. Thank goodness they didn't. By the time I got to work though, I was ready to go back home :( However, I think I've got an okay system down for surviving the day. When people aren't around, I lay my head down on my desk (I can do so in such a way that I can't be seen from where people come in) and I keep an ear out for elevator dings and footsteps. So far it's worked pretty good. My boss knows I'm not feeling well, so he doesn't seem to mind as long as I'm up and alert when people come in. Hopefully I'll feel better as the day goes on, but I will definitely be glad when the day is over. I can't wait to get home...

It's Christmas Time in the City

My wreath!!!

What should I add to it?

Thanksgiving Weekend

Well, I was feeling better enough on Thanksgiving that I was able to eat a reasonable amount:) That was good:) Thanksgiving was fun:) We spent the weekend in Lancaster, at my parents' house, but did Thanksgiving at Kyle's parents' house, along with my parents, my brother, and Kyle's family's friends, the Tomaks:) It was a pretty big group compared to a usual Glazner style Thanksgiving! It was great:) We watched the game while the turkey was in the oven, and then had dinner, pie, etc which was all great!:) Then we played Balderdash, which if you haven't played before, you definitely should try:) It's a lot of fun, and funny!:)
I think feeling better on Thanksgiving was a little blessing from God to make the holiday as great as it always is. Now, however, Thanksgiving is over, and I guess He decided I can deal with feeling yucky for awhile longer *sigh*...I've been eating more than just crackers lately, but this morning, toast and three peanuts was beyond my stomach's tolerance:( Goldfish and milk are basically what I've been living off of, so I'm trying to encorporate some sort of vitamins and proteins into my limited diet, but seeing as 3 peanuts wasn't tolerable, it's not easy. Fortunately the pint of milk that I've almost finished today has about 40% of the protein I need, 70% of the calcium I need, and 50% of the vitamin D that I need. So if I keep drinking lots of milk, and have a good healthy dinner (let's hope I can), I should be good...*sigh* I hope I get better soon...

I Don't Like Being Sick :(

*sigh* Well, I'm still feeling lousy:-\ Really though, I don't actually feel awful so much as...uncomfortable and tired. My tummy still doesn't like much of anything put in it, but it accepted salad last night. That's an improvement:) It's been a bit of a challenge, figuring out how to get protein and vitamins and such into me when all I want is chips and crackers. Even croutons were a bit much as far as flavor goes:-p Lame, cause I love croutons:-\ I brought some chicken salad with me to work though, so hopefully that will do me some good, and not bad. Here's hoping... My primary concern is that I get better in time for Thanksgiving! How terrible would it be to feel anti-food on Thanksgiving?? Hopefully if I can get enough good-for-me stuff into my system I'll be able to get over whatever's troubling my tummy.

Yucky Saturday, Yummy Potato Chips

So yesterday I woke up feeling really yucky:( My head hurt (again) and my tummy didn't even like the thought of food, except potato chips. I made Kyle run to the grocery store for some chips for me. My mom will think this is a bit peculiar, as potato chips were the only thing her stomach could handle during the early stages of her pregnancies. Don't worry, I'm 99% sure it's just a tummy ache;) Anyway, I think I wanted potato chips because I couldn't handle anything 'heavier' than that. So Kyle got me my chips (yay for sweet hubbies:), and even fixed lunch and got dinner for us:) He has gotten a bit of kitchen experience lately, haha. I didn't make him cook dinner though. He went and got us take-out, which I wasn't able to finish but I did enjoy a little bit of it:) It was a weird day. I probably slept through about half of it with my various naps and short snoozes, so it sometimes felt like a very long day, and then other times it felt like a bunch of really short lazy days, lol. I don't think I really had a clue what day or time it was for the better part of the day. Honestly, I can't say I minded having to loaf around for a whole Saturday. The part that I really didn't enjoy was that I couldn't sit up or stand up long enough to take a drink without feeling sick again:-\ But Kyle took good care of me, like always, and I am feeling a bit better today. Hopefully I just caught a short-term bug. I definitely can't afford to call in sick tomorrow...:-p

Feeling a Bit Fallish:)

I love this time of year, so I figured I would hunt down a few pictures of fallish sorts of things to celebrate the fallness of Fall:) I can't wait until we can live somewhere where the seasons actually change, and the leaves really do fall:) When we can afford it, you bet I'm gonna go decoration-happy around Thanksgiving time!

I liked this sort of twist on the classic cornucopia, filling it with flowers instead of fruits and such:) Pretty!:-D

I wanna make something like this for our dining room table, when I have a table that's big enough that a centerpiece wouldn't take over;) haha

Yay for Fall creeping its way into our flower shops! I hadn't seen many fallish bouquets before, but now they're getting really cute and creative!:)

YAY for Fall!!!:)

Dinner:)

Yesterday I was eager to get home from work and get started on dinner! I was planning on making what I hoped would turn out to be a very yummy meal: chicken parmesean, caesar salad, garlic bread, and a sort of alfredo noodles side dish. I rushed home and pulled up to the gate into our parking garage only to find...I didn't have the clicker to open the gate:( The previous evening I'd clipped the clicker to my purse so that I could open the gate to go the short way to our apartment. It had still been on my purse that morning, and had been there when I tossed my purse under my desk at work...oohhhh shoot...
It just so happens that Kyle had gotten home at the same time as me. As I sat there in front of the gate, I explained the predicament. He pointed out that even if someone opened the gate for me, I wouldn't be able to get out in the morning. He said, "Well, you could run back to the office if it's still open." It was still open, for sure, but...what about dinner! A bit frustrated I said, "Okay, do you want to drive to my office, or start dinner." I'm sure it's no wonder he looked a bit put-on-the-spot. "I'm not gonna waltz into your office. Nobody there knows who I am!" (didn't occur to me that they ALL know what he looks like, but oh well, lol). I said, "Okay, well can you start dinner?" He seemed to think this was a bad idea for some reason. I grabbed a napkin from between the seats and my keychain-sharpie and wrote "tomato sauce, tbsp cream, parmesean...on chicken" on it, and told him, "Thaw out the chicken, stick it in the small casserole dish, stir the cream into the tomato sauce, pour it on the chicken, and top it with parmesean. Then bake it." He looked at the napkin like he thought it would be more edible than dinner if he cooked (Silly boy:). He said, "What if I ruin it?" "You won't ruin it. I'll be back long before it's done, so don't worry. 350* for about 40-45 minutes. I'll be right back." I rushed back to the office, convinced the parking attendant that she should let me park for free, rushed in, grabbed the clicker, and rushed home. When I came home Kyle was sitting at his computer and the apartment smelled like...chicken parmesean, of course! I'm not sure what he was worried about;) I tossed together the side dishes, pulled the chicken out of the oven, heated up the garlic bread, and...voila! Kyle cooked a very yummy dinner:) I told him he could cook;)

My Weekend

Well, Friday evening was a great date night:) We drove to Valencia and went shopping:) I'd been given a $50 gift card for Macy's, so we decided to spend it. I couldn't find anything at Macy's that I wanted, for $50 or less. All I found was some $x,000 Christmas china, so I told Kyle to find something he wanted. I guess I'm just not a Macy's girl. Not stylish enough for them, lol. Anyway, so we headed to the mens section and found the Clearance section, lol. They actually had some pretty good deals, for "name brand clothes" and Kyle was able to find a couple of nice shirts. The mens clothes aren't nearly as weird as womens clothes can get. After a fairly successful shopping trip, we went to T.G.I.Fridays (We saw it before Souplantation and couldn't resist, lol). We got an appetizer called something like 'sesame chicken strips w/ Jack Daniels sauce'...that was probably the best thing on their menu. They were amazing. They should make a meal of it, not an appetizer. Dinner was great too, but they definitely need to turn that appetizer into a meal! After dinner we drove to Lancaster. We got in around 11:45pm, lol, and promptly fell asleep!
Saturday morning we watched Ratatouille with Kyle's mom:) It was a really cute, funny movie:) I'd definitely recommend it to anyone. It offers plenty of laughs, and a cute story:) Then we went to Dennys for lunch with Alex and Kathy!:) It was great to see them! We must've hung around talking for at least an hour after lunch:) It was really neat to get to hang out with them:) It'll definitely have to become a bit more of a regular thing;)
Saturday night I got to babysit for my friend Apryl so that she and her husband could get out a bit:) Their boys are so cute, and were really well-behaved:) (*whew!* I am still not great at asserting myself even to children, and honestly think Tyler is learning to do so quicker than I am). They were a lot of fun:)
Sunday morning we visited Living Way and Kyle got to drum for the worship team:) We don't exactly have room for his drums in our little apartment, so when he gets to play it's a real treat:) After church we went out to lunch with my parents, reception-site hunted, and shopped for wedding decorations (lunch was the only successful activity). Sunday evening we came back to my parents' house and had dinner with them and my brother. Then the guys got the bright idea to watch 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' which brought on a quick shopping itch in my mom and I...funny how that works. So we went shopping while the guys watched their movie. It was fun:) My mom finally bought herself some things, and I managed to not spend a bunch of money, lol. Two successful shopping trips in one weekend;) When we got home from shopping, around 9:30pm, the guys were still watching their movie, lol. Kyle and I didn't end up heading back down to LA until around 10:30pm. I feel like I've missed about one whole nights sleep, but it was a fun weekend:) I wish we could make trips to Lancaster more often..:)

Yay!

Kyle's on a sweetness kick!:) First he suggested pumpkin pie, which I feared may have been ruled as a 'Thanksgiving Only' treat, and then this morning he said the magic words: "Let's go out for dinner tonight";) Needless to say, being a new cook with a small menu, I love going out to eat! As much as I like cooking, I do get very sick of my own cooking since it's so limited. Trying new recipes is always fun, but can get expensive when you have to buy all the ingredients, and may or may not use them ever again. So I have to experiment wisely;-p Going out for dinner is a huge treat for me now:) So on the way to Lancaster, we're going to stop in Valencia for dinner. Our friend Alex recommended 'Souplantation,' which I've never been to, but their menu looks yummy!:) Maybe we'll go there:) I'm up for trying something new:)
Speaking of trying something new, today I figured out that Kyle's henley shirts look better on me than my own henley shirts do. How does that work? :-? I think it may be because my henleys are too snug to be worn by themselves. Looser fits my look better. I've seen "the boyfriend shirt" in catalogs and such - it's just a guys size shirt, sold in the girls' section, lol. I thought they looked cute and comfy (but are probably much cheaper in the guys' section). Maybe that's why I like Kyle's shirts better, lol. Anyway, so today I look like I'm wearing a 'boyfriend shirt'...except I guess it would be a 'husband shirt':)

Aww :)

Y'know what Kyle said last night?

"We should make pumpkin pie:)"

:-D 'Course we need to get a few more ingredients, but hopefully soon we'll have our first pumpkin pie of the season:-D

My Favorite Things

I wrote this nearly a year ago, but seeing as the holidays are drawing near, and I'm wearing a red sweater and drinking hot chocolate and wishing I had a warm fire to warm my feet by...it just seemed like a good "repost":)

hehe, I needed to cheer myself up somehow, as I'm quite lonely without Kyle, so I rewrote the "Favorite Things" song, lol. (Footnotes at the bottom, as some stuff is like, "huh?" or "are you serious?")

(1) Books marked with roses and soft homemade mittens
(2) New knitting needles and notes neatly written
(3) Kyle's bright smile, the joy that he brings
These are a few of my favorite things

(4) Warm tasty coffees and fresh pasta noodles
(5) Playful young puppies and baby toy poodles
(6) Knowing it's Kyle when my cell phone rings
These are a few of my favorite things

(7) When the car dies
(8) When the alarm rings
(9) When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite thingsand then I don't feel so bad

(10) Cold puppy noses and soft cozy kittens
(11) Staring at Kyle and feeling quite smitten
(12) Cold rainy winters instead of just spring
These are a few of my favorite things

(13) Baking fresh cookies and home-making candy
(14) Finding for once that the scissors are handy
(15) Waking to find that Kyle isn't a dream
These are a few of my favorite things

(16) When the dog barks
(17) When the car's dinged
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite thingsand then I don't feel so bad

--------------------------------------------------------
(1) From "You've Got Mail" / I like mittens:)
(2) New knitting needles are somehow refreshing / I am very picky about writing letters neatly
(3) Self explainitory :D
(4) Yummy
(5) An elderly couple I know just got two toy poodle puppies and they're SO cute a playful and just adorable:)
(6) Yay!:)
(7) ...or rather, won't start
(8) Either the fire alarm in Horton, or my alarm clock
(9) Like when I can't talk to Kyle
(10) They're funny / Kittens can be very good snugglers
(11) Hehe, it's a favorite pastime
(12) I love winter, especially rain
(13) I love baking:) especially making cookies for Kyle:)
(14) Whenever I need them, they are somewhere else, so when for once they are handy, it is a huge thing, lol
(15) I've wondered occasionally when I've woken up, and had to check my cell phone for his number and my neck for the locket he gave me, to convince myself it's all real (needless to say, I get to wake up and check for HIM, rather than his picture now;)
(16) He barks TOO MUCH
(17) ...from me backing into things, haha

Geese!

No, not real geese. Just a couple of silly gooses. Me and Kyle, that is... I tend to save my silly self for at home, as most of my silly moments are simply embarassing moments that Kyle knows how to respond to so that I feel silly, rather than stupid;) I'm sure it is at least a daily thing that he gently laughs at me and says, "You're a silly goose" with a smile of entertainment on his face. This is usually followed by me saying, in a silly childish voice, "I no goose," to which he responds, "You're my goose:)" Lately we've been using the "You're my goose" phrase even without silly moments or any reason at all, really. Just random hugs, a kiss on the cheek and "You my goose"...We'd always wondered what terms of endearment we would use, since Honey is a dog to us, and neither of our names can really be turned into "pet names" (names of endearment, not names for pets). But I don't think we ever imagined Goose becoming one, haha;)

Palm Springs

So this is why they call it "Palm Springs." There are plenty of palm trees!

Kyle had a math conference in Palm Springs, for one of his classes, and I got to come along:) I didn't go to the math conference of course, but I got to see Palm Springs, and have a lunch date with Kyle during their break for lunch:) The weekend was quite an adventure, as I'd left my cell phone at home and didn't realize it until I'd dropped Kyle off at the convention center and told him, "Just let me know when to pick you up!" After dropping him off, I went back to the hotel to do some laundry. At some point I thought, "Hm, I wonder what time it is..." and proceeded to look for my phone. I quickly realized that I had not brought it along at all, and almost simultaneously realized that Kyle still had one of our hotel room keys, which I needed to return during check out before he would be done at the conference. Eek! I rushed over to the convention center and went into the lobby. There was an information booth, and a "Student Volunteers" booth. Kyle was one of the student volunteers, so I asked the guy at the booth if there was a way to find one of the volunteers. I gave him Kyle's name and he said, "Well, he's probably in a session right now. His volunteer time ended about an hour ago." I asked, "Is there a way to find out where he might be?" The guy kind of laughed and said, "Well there's only about 5,000 people here, so I suppose there's a chance, but I'm guessing that calling him would be easiest." lol. I told him why I was looking for Kyle, and he let me borrow his cell phone to leave Kyle a message. There was a Coffee Bean a few blocks away, so I left Kyle a message on his phone telling him I would be at the Coffee Bean, and to meet me there when he got out. Poor Kyle had to trek all over in the heat of the day, in slacks and a dress shirt, to find me because I'd forgotten my phone:-\ I got the hotel key from him and was able to check out with no problems, but it was quite an adventure not really knowing how or when I was going to find him, haha. At least we were able to enjoy a yummy lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen:) After the conference though, Kyle was ready to go home. We drove back to LA and enjoyed a nice evening with no unexpected adventures;) And this morning, we woke up to.....FOG!!!:) This picture was taken from our front door. It was so neat to see this, as fog isn't all that common here (smog =/= fog;). We thought it was pretty:) It's burning off now, but it was neat while it lasted:)

In Sickness and In Health

Well, Halloween was slightly scary for the first time in my life. Okay, not really scary...but it would have been scary if my head really did explode like I thought it had. Yesterday evening I developed my usual weekly migrane. Usually they're very small migranes and I only call them migranes because they aren't any other type of headache, not because of their severity. But yesterday evening it was bad enough that we turned off the movie we were watching and I went to bed. Then around 2:30am, I woke up feeling like someone had failed to kill me by shooting me in the head with a weak shotgun. I haven't had a headache bad enough to make me cry since I was about 11 years old, but last night I was well beyond a little sniveling. I was full out bawling my eyes out. The only part of my head that didn't hurt was my chin. My brain felt like it was pulsating, expanding to twice it's natural size with each throb. My sinuses were suddenly stuffed up beyond their capacity, and blowing my nose was like blowing up a water balloon - difficult, and painful for the 'balloon' (my brain). My ears were throbbing, my eyes were surely halfway out of my head...even my teeth hurt. But my chin was okay. Poor Kyle probably wasn't sure what to make of me at first, being woken up in the middle of the night and all. But he immediately got up and got a cool washcloth for my head, and brought me some water and ibuprofin (who names these drugs?). He almost took me to the emergency room, but after physiologically rejecting the ibuprofin, and requiring a lot of snuggling, I felt 'better' enough to fall asleep, waking up every so often to flip the cool side of the cloth to my head. I woke up this morning with just a mini-migrane which is a whole lot better than I expected, and was able to drag myself in to work today. I'm not sure what exactly brought on such an awful headache (too much candy? lol) but I sure am glad Kyle was there with me. I felt bad for waking/keeping him up, but I don't know what I would've done without him. He takes such good care of me:')