2012 Resolutions

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I think I did okay with my resolutions for 2011. It was a good thing I blogged them, or I would have, once again, forgotten them.

This year, my resolutions are similar to those from 2011:

- put God first everyday; go to church every week

- be a fabulous wife to Christopher; fall more in love everyday

- simplify; continue to get rid of unnecessary stuff and focus on what is important

- be a better friend by being the one to call, invite, etc.

- be bikini ready for our honeymoon in April

- blog more often; 2x/week

- do more projects; it's what I love

My overall goal for 2012 is: faith and family first. 

(Of course, that would include friends that have become family!)

Oh, and Christopher's 2012 resolution?

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I kid, I kid.

Happy (Married) New Year

Christopher and I celebrated our first New Years together as a married couple!

I made a "party hat".

We posed in our living room before guests arrived.

I made a bunch of appetizers for cocktail hour(s) before dinner. Telula thought she might like some...

It was the 2nd Annual NYE fancy dinner at a local restaurant.

Our waitor took a not-ready picture...

...and then a ready one.

We waited for the very infamous NYE ball to drop.

We warmed up inside the restaurant after the drop.

Waterfall backdrop photo op:

"Maybe we should try a picture without my top hat?"

Happy 2012!

Telula is my little love. Best puppy ever.

Bryan and his doggy-niece

My brother(in-law)... and those cupboards will eventually have doors. For now, it's really easy to find kitchen goods.

Christopher and his boys... they're a good bunch.

Happy Halloween!

We love homemade Halloween costumes. We've both had sweet costumes on our own, but the last couple years together were our best. Proof:

Halloween 2009 / Vlasic Stork & Vlasic Pickle

(We came in 3rd place in a contest.)

Halloween 2010 / Pacman & Inky

Sadly, this year was spent moving into our new house, so we didn't have time to create our costumes. Next year, watch out! We're already itching to come up with something creative! I can't wait!

Sunny flower

My newest pillow creation:

It sits with the other pillows I made and the afghan my grandmother crocheted for me.

It shouldn't be a shock...

...but when he got home, I tried to figure out what special day I had forgotten. Only for a second. Promise.

Turns out, I hadn't forgotten anything. They were "just because"... xoxo.

Repeat.

I wore this last Thursday and I thought it seemed familiar. I checked back here and lo-and-behold, I wore a similar outfit last year.

Ten months + new husband + new house + new haircut (it's shorter than it's been since high school!) = new outlook on an old outfit.

We're moving into our house next weekend. Christopher is a little stressed, as it's not as done as he'd hoped. Surprisingly, I'm not stressed. Yet. I have a feeling once it sets in that we haven't packed a thing, I don't have any days off from work, and we only have a moving van reserved for one day, I'm going to be freaking out.

Here's a taste of what we've been up to with our house:

Entryway before:

Entryway during:

Entryway (almost) after (we still have a lot more to do, but this gives a good sense of what it'll look like):

Hello again!

The last month has been so very busy for two main reasons:

1. School started. I now teach first and second grade instead of fifth and sixth. I'm love, love, LOVING it! I've been working hard to figure out my new grade levels, so there's been many 12+ hour days at school.

2. We are officially homeowners and have started working on our house.

The outside is beautiful, but the inside is (was) incredibly outdated. In the month and a half since we've owned it, we (and our families and our neighbors!) have put in long hours and tons of hard work to start the updates. I will post more pictures of the progress! Other than our wedding, this is our biggest project yet! :o)