Christmas 2011 Highlights

*Enjoying all the Christmas decorations at my parents house. My favorite:



*Watching Regan's face as she opened each gift.
*Christmas Eve hors d'oeuvres. We introduced three new ones this year - orange ginger chicken wings, buffalo chicken dip, and stuffed mushrooms.
*Seeing my dad peek his head in the room on Christmas morning. (He had to go work the night of the 23rd and was gone all of Christmas Eve)
*Watching the Holiday with my mom while both of us did some laptopping. (She got one for Christmas)
*Staying up with my sister watching TV after everyone else went to bed - a "sisters" tradition we've done for years.
*Visiting my grandma. She doesn't say much but she still manages to make a funny comment every now and then. One of my favorites is from Christmas time many years ago and we were talking about Christmas specials that are on TV and she said, "Yeah, but some of them aren't so special." This time, after telling my grandma her face looked better than a week ago (she had a procedure done) she said, "My beauty has returned, huh?" and my dad, still sucking up to his mother-in-law after 37 years replied with, "You've never lost your beauty, Mary." :)
*Visiting with our family friends/neighbors.
*Reading Regan's new books to her.
*Making Rachel laugh, despite her having a bad cold, with her mini lion pillow pet.

Another great Christmas for the books - I came home with wonderful gifts, delicious leftovers, and tasty goodies. And although those things are great and appreciated, it would all be meaningless without a wonderful family to share in it all with.

My First Climb

Saturday I finally used up my birthday present Jake gave me, and we headed to Climb Iowa for an afternoon of rock climbing. It was on my "firsts" list, and was thrilled to be checking it off. I got nervous as we pulled in the parking lot and saw some guys walking in with their own equipment - "woah, they are legit" was my exact thought. I got a little more nervous after getting into our harnesses and listening to the employee's explanation of instructions. Halfway through her talk, I'll admit that I was thinking such thoughts as, "why did I say I wanted to do this?! I don't want to do this anymore!" But, after seeing a 6 year old girl do it, my fears subsided some. "I mean, if she can do it, I can do it", I thought. After the explanation, we were left on our own to climb freely.

We had several "paths" to choose from, with varying levels. We mostly stuck to the easy ones, since we were both beginners. On my first try, I got about halfway up the wall. Then we moved over to a different path that was a little easier and I made it all the way to the top! I was so excited. I looked down towards the ground at Jake with what I'm sure was a goofy grin on my face and exclaimed, "I did it!" They also had a couple of boulder walls (shorter walls with no belays, just mats surrounding the wall) and we climbed around on those for a while too.

My first rock climbing experience was definitely a positive one. I did a lot better than I thought I was going to do. Having little upper body strength, I figured I wouldn't make it very far, but I made it up to the top twice on two different paths. I wasn't really scared at all, looking down from the top, nor was I nervous about allowing the auto belay to bring me back down safely. My arms were definitely feeling the workout by the end of it and I'm still sore, especially my forearms. But, it was totally worth it. And everyone was really nice. A couple different guys gave us some tips along the way.

As I've said many times, I love trying new things and this was a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon. It was something different, active, and very fun. Sadly, no pictures were taken - we both forgot our cameras. Oh well, I can use it as an excuse to go back again sometime.

For a Laugh

I came across this video today, based on the Twitter feed, "Shit Girls Say".

Enjoy!

That's One Small Step For Mankind, One Giant Leap For Me

"Back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight."

After many tears, frustration, self-reflection, research, conversations, and a LOT of thinking, I finally made the decision to enroll in the Human Resource Management program at DMACC. I applied last week, got my "acceptance" email Tuesday, and attended orientation/registration on Wednesday. I'm excited to take this next step in continuing my education and to start what I hope is a stepping stone to a successful career path.

"Ohhh, back to school, back to school, back to school. Well, here goes nothin' "

DIY Friday

In sticking with my Goals post, I tried out my first crafty project Friday evening, thanks to an idea I found via Pinterest - penguin light bulbs! I thought they would make cute ornaments so I bought gold string to attach to the light bulbs (which still has to be done).



It was a good starting point to try and bring out the crafty side in me. The thing I learned from this project - don't rush it. I was too impatient and didn't let the paint try well enough on a couple of them, leaving some rough spots, but overall I was happy with how they turned out.

Cha Cha Cha Chia

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I heard a commercial come on, "...in honor of the 44th President Barack Obama, the Chia Pet company presents this Special Edition Chia Obama" I quickly went over to the TV and saw this:



I found this hilarious...not only because it's an Obama Chia Pet, but because it reminds me of my brother-in-law. Within the first year or so of him and my sister dating, he got her a Chia Pet for Christmas. (along with 2 mens-size large flannel shirts.) It seems the perfect opportunity to give him the "gift that grows" back, as he is an Obama supporter. I texted my sister immediately to tell her the good news :)

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Saturday evening we did some more shopping, only this time it was all about my sister. Katie rarely gets the chance to shop for herself, so we took the opportunity when we got the chance that night.

Another thing about my sister is that she is pretty conservative when it comes to her clothes - she doesn't ever get too trendy and always leans toward the "safe" side. Saturday night I told her she was going to step out of her comfort zone and at least try some pieces she would steer clear of otherwise.

I tried to pick out some items I know she would never pick out for herself, knowing she would think, "I can't pull this off" or "this wouldn't look good on me", but not go so far out, that she would be too uncomfortable. She was a team player and tried on leggings w/ sweater dresses, skinny jeans (her "biggest fear"), and lots of tops w/ both color and patterns. I was proud of her for trying new things and happy that we made that trip all about her. She walked away with a great new pair of jeans ($28), and 4 shirts (for a total of about $75), 3 of which were completely different from anything she would've picked out/gotten for herself, and all of which she looked great in.