Black Thursday

Were you aware that Black Friday begins a day earlier now? We weren't. We arrived at Walmart at 9 p.m. on Thursday evening to purchase our XBox 360 & Kinect package. We had planned to chat and wait in line until midnight. But -- we made it to the checkout within 45 minutes of our arrival and were in and out with Brad's Christmas present. Who knew the sale actually began at 10 p.m.?

Anyway, I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! Ours was beautiful. The weather was short-sleeve permitting with no sign of snow. In the morning we played football at a ward Turkey Bowl. (I always have to check myself on that word because I find myself writing "bowel" which probably also occurred after Thanksgiving dinner...but anyway.)

One of our couple friends from church invited us over for a home-cooked meal. Kendra made cute pine-cone name tags for all of us and strung up white lights. It was so cute! We all went around the table and said things we were grateful for and stuffed our faces. I love Thanksgiving :)

I have been missing my family like crazy though.

1. I LOVE my new boots! Sometimes I wear them around the house. Other times I look at them as they sit ruggedly and proudly on my floor. The insides are fluffy and comfortable and I think they're so cute! Plus they don't have to be worn the same way every time. They can be tied loosely or tightly, worn with leg warmers or tall socks, over or under jeans, with skirts, and etc.

(Brad's apple pie and lattice-decorating skills)


2. Brad got some new boots too. I am equally in love with them, as is he. I'll post a picture of his new guys later. I'm not sure why but I find it almost more enjoyable to shop for men's clothing.

3. Mom, Won and Bud are coming out here in April!!! I cannot wait - it seems almost too far away to start counting down. They're going to visit us in Idaho and we'll all go to Yellowstone. Then we're driving down to stay with Britt and Pat!

4. I get tomorrow off work! Brad and I are going to have Thanksgiving dinner with some friends from church and then brave the chaotic after-midnight hours of Black Friday.

5. I think I'd be content eating mint Oreos for Thanksgiving dinner. They are so tasty.

6. There is another piece of exciting news but I think I'll leave that for another post.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

A bipolar post.

Honestly I've been feeling depressed this week. I've been yelled at or snapped at by three unfriendly co-workers over the past week and a half. My Christmas account brings tension, stress, the "f" word (not by me but thanks for wondering), and everything but the jingle-jolly Christmas cheer and joy that is supposed to accompany the holiday season revolving around the Savior. And this may not sound like a big deal or something to cry over (even though I have), but I want a dog so bad. I've wanted one ever since we got married 2.5 years ago. We've never been able to have one and we are having the HARDEST time finding a new apartment to move into that will allow pets. Still looking though.

So in an effort to make myself feel better I am creating a list of things I am grateful for today:

-My husband and absolute best friend! I love coming home and having my day do a 180.
-Heavenly Father and that He listens to my prayers
-Jesus Christ and the comfort I feel through His infinite Atonement
-The comfort and guidance of the Holy Ghost
-My wonderful family! (Parents, stepparents, siblings (and step), in-laws, grandparents, nieces and nephew, and my best friends
-Playing with the dogs and holding kittens at the animal shelter, and how doggies can put a smile on anyone's face.
-Brad's sweet new boots that we got for a steal at Ross!
-My cute, stylish boots from F21 that are scheduled to be delivered on Thursday!
-The pink sunset I drove home in this evening
-Running and tennis
-Good music that gives me chills
-My friends at work who I enjoy being around everyday
-Colors - especially shades of blue, green and orange!

We've got spirit, yes we do!

We LOVE Halloween! Call me politically incorrect but I quite enjoyed our costumes this year. I'm really into the whole couples costume thing, and we plan to dress up every year for forever. I wanted to share a few photos of our past Halloween costumes so here they are starting from 2011, going down to 2008.

My Wedding Dress

A couple months ago I did something crazy. No, I didn't go bungee jumping or win a hot dog eating contest. It was more of a domestic type of crazy. Are you ready? Don't look ahead! .......I cut up my wedding dress.

First I had to unpick all the tucks.

And then do some cutting.

And pinning to make it into a pencil skirt.

I need to post some better pictures of the finished outcome, but here it is! I love the black lace on the sleeves and pleats on the side of the skirt.

At first my biggest fear wasn't messing up, but changing something so sentimental. But Brad brought up the point that it could either be sentimental hanging in a bag or on me! I agree.

I remind myself of a funny dude Brad read an article about. If you have a minute, check out My Ex Wife's Wedding Dress. This guy's wife left her wedding dress behind after they split. He came up with several innovative ways to put it to use, and even made a funny book about it with hilarious photos.

Don't worry! I've put mine to good use already too! Aside from my pretty new dress, I also used some scraps to complete my mummy costume for the Midnight 5K Halloween Costume run that we did with Jeff and Sam! (There are PLENTY of scraps.) I also want to use the rest of it to make my baby girl's blessing dress. I think that would be really special.