Fill in the Blank Friday

1. The holiday season is a magical time of year!!! A big part of the magic is that my husband loves it just as much as I do. We love Christmas movies, the lights, the music, all of it. We loved it before we had kids and now we love it even more now that we get to experience it through the eyes of a three year old. I love hearing her yell "CHRISTMAS LIGHTS" and "SANTA!!!!!" whenever she sees the inflatables in our neighborhood. I'm happy that she's pronouncing his name correctly this year, rather then referring to him as Satan like she did last year. :)

2. Snow makes me happy when I'm indoors and S.T.R.E.S.S.E.D out when I'm driving in it. I love the anticipation of snow. If there is even a hint of it in the forecast everyone gets so excited and when it actually does snow, all the news stations get taken over by snow coverage and they usually come up with some cheesy name like "arctic blast 2011" or something.

3. The best comfort food to eat when it's cold out is soup, chili and cornbread. Cold weather always inspires me to bake as well!

4. Winter is the best time for reading, snuggling by the fire, sleeping in (or so I imagine...haven't been able to do that too often for the last 3+ years), drinking white peppermint mochas, getting reorganized around the house, trying new recipes like the one I am trying tonight!

5. I can hardly wait for my parents to get here in less then two weeks!! I'm also excited for a family day tomorrow of finishing up Christmas decorating, running to IKEA to buy a pantry sort of cabinet for our dining room (we don't have a pantry, just one cupboard for food...it's a bummer!), helping out at our church's Christmas concerts Sunday night, a date night next Friday and then Great Wolf Lodge that weekend!!!!

6. When it comes to holiday gifts I prefer to make sure they aren't the focus of the season. I LOVE giving gifts when I can think of something great to give. I hate just having to think of SOMETHING for someone for the sake of a gift exchange.

7. If I were to rate my excitement about the holiday season on a scale from 1-10, I would say I am at about a 10. :) I had no idea that a sweet baby boy would be joining us this year and I'm ecstatic to celebrate the holiday season this year with my TWO kids. :)

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. My plans this summer include my baby shower on Saturday (!!!!!!!), a trip to the beach in July to visit the Newport Aquarium (thank you Groupon), lots of trips to the park and the fountain, Emersyn's third birthday party, two weddings, oh and HAVING A BABY!!!!

2. The best summer I ever had was the summer when Brett and I started dating, NINE years ago!!! It makes me happy just thinking about it. *sigh*

3. Summer is late nights, walks, playing at the park, farmer's markets, fountains, the smell of sunscreen, iced tea, grilling, fresh fruit, flip flops, windows down, bliss....

4. My favorite summer food is burgers, watermelon, strawberries, corn on the cob, almost anything grilled !!!!

5. The best way to quench a summer thirst is with iced tea!!!!! I do love lemonaid too if it's fresh tasting, not like from a powdered mix.

6. My summer uniform consists of nothing special, especially this summer. Maternity capri's, shorts, shirts and a few dresses. Flip flops are essential though, I hate wearing socks. Emersyn is the same way. She lives in her Crocs and saltwater sandals!

7. The best thing about summer isthe late nights. It's so nice when Brett gets home from work at 7ish to be able to still enjoy some daylight hours with him after dinner. We love going for walks and enjoying the warm weather.

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. The best news I ever received was the most recent best news I have received was on October 4th when Brett called to tell me that he had been promoted, thus enabling me to pursue my life long dream of staying home with my babies.

2. Something I'm looking forward to is the month of August! Emersyn's birthday party, our friend's wedding that Emersyn is a flower girl in, another friend's wedding, my mom and dad visiting and the arrival of Mr. Everett David!!!!!

3. Something I would never do is try out for a reality tv show. :) Not judging those who have but I would never.

4. If I could choose someone to be my life coach (famous or not, living or dead), I'd choose Beth Moore.

5. If I had to put a label on my style it would be "lacking style", ha! No really, having a toddler and not being at an ideal weight makes it impossible to WANT to buy clothes right now. It's hard as a mom to be stylish, even though I have LOTS of friends that pull it off just great.

6. One should always do unto others as they would have done unto themselves.

7. I want to go on a getaway with Brett before baby #2 gets here but I just don't see how logistically that will happen. I'll just have to settle for a bunch of date nights. :)

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. The last thing I ate was potstickers from Costco and fresh pineapple! Yummy lunch!

2. The next thing I'd like to eat is hmm...hard to say since I'm not hungry. I think the next thing I would like to eat is some watermelon but I bought it to take to a BBQ tomorrow night so I'm trying to resist the urget. :)

3. The best things in life aren't things, they are friends, family and the memories you create! The best things in life also rarely cost anything; playing at the park, snuggles in bed, giggling at silly things...

4. Something that makes me supremely and utterly happy is hearing compliments from my husband regarding me as a wife and mother. Also, on a more superficial note, spa treatments bring me incredible joy. And reading magazines by a pool.

5. Sports are where my family's future is headed. :) Brett and I desire our children and our family to be active and we intend to enroll them in sports as soon as they are old enough. We don't care if they are competitive or even much good at them, just want them to learn the value of being on a team and the importance of staying active; something Brett and I are learning late in life as our metabolism declines. ;)

6. I miss the days when I used to sleep without hip pain. I also miss my parents and my family in California. I also miss my Gigi. :)

7. Right now I am super excited for a great weekend!!!!!!

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. I love weekends because getting to spend them with my family is a dream come true Running errands, Starbucks, the Farmer's Market, naps, movies, the park, etc...such a wonderful life.

2. A time that mama knew best was right after my daughter was born. She was just so great about knowing how to support me, through keeping up with laundry, cleaning, groceries, meals, etc.

3. My first kiss went a little like this I'd like to say that Brett was my first *real* kiss, or real kiss that meant anything. My first actual physical kiss was really unfortunate due to a series of poor choices. However, Brett and my first kiss was amazing. We had tried to not kiss and hold off as long as possible and that lasted about two weeks. It makes me smile just thinking about it.

4. My celebrity crush is oh I don't have celebrity crushes. I am a happily married woman. That being said, I think Michael Buble is very....talented. :) :)

5. My splurge of choice is spa treatments or vacation/getaways.

6. My biggest accomplishment is Hmm...this is hard to say. I got my CNA in high school and that was a big accomplishment. I've had a successful career in real estate, another accomplishment. I've been happily married for 8 years, yet another accomplishment in this day and age. I have a well behaved and darling toddler, another accomplishment.... :)

7. My dance jam of choice is I, like my daughter, love disco music for dancing. :) We also like some fun country songs. :)

Fill in the Blank Friday

I'm so grateful for blog hops on days when I am spacing out on what to write!!

1. My favorite daily responsibility is, taking care of my sweet toddler.

2. My least favorite daily responsibility is, Hmm....I hate trying to think of what to make for dinner!!! The weeks when I have menus planned are always so much easier. I am not a fan of laundry either.

3. My favorite cuisine to eat when going out is cheap and fast, is that a cuisine? We love Chipotle and Baja Fresh because we can split larger items there and eat dinner for less then $10.

4. My favorite cuisine to prepare at home is Mexican! I make pretty good enchiladas and chimichangas. Brett's favorite cuisine to eat is Mexican too.

5. Andy Warhol said that everyone is famous for 15 minutes. My claim to fame is funny you should ask this question. I was just thinking this week that I am not amazing at anything. I am an okay cook, okay singer, okay etc....but I wouldn't say I have a *claim to fame*. Whah whah.

6. If I could have 3 wishes I would wish well, of course I would wish for more wishes. :) But for the fun of it, let's assume that you can only have three. In that case I would wish for ten million dollars so that Brett and I could open a coffee shop or something fun like that with no pressures of actually being profitable; I would wish for health and long lives for myself, my children and family...and friends, geez, that's a big one; and on a more superficial level, I'm wishing that Ems would just potty train herself overnight. And learn how to do laundry, why not?

7. My biggest pet peeve is Negative, pessimistic people drive me crazy. You know, the Debbie Downer's of the world.

Fill in the Blank Friday!

This is one of my favorite blog hops. Lauren, the hostess, always has fun questions that aren't probing in regards to what kind of underwear I'm wearing or some other nonsense. :)

1. The best deal I've ever gotten is The first thing that comes to mind is Emersyn's Crocs (see pictures below). I got these Crocs for a total of $11 including shipping. She has worn the heck out of them, especially the blue/green ones. I almost didn't buy the blue/green ones because they seemed kinda boyish and they have Wall-E on them but now I'm so glad I did. She wore them every single day in Hawaii and almost every single day last summer. I got her some new ones for the upcoming summer, again two pairs for $10 this time, but I think they are going to be too big and we'll have to save them until NEXT summer when she's almost 4.

2. If I were hosting a dinner party and could invite people from my fantasy guest list it would include

hmm...these kinds of questions always stump me. I think it would be fun to have some young celebrtiry mom's over for dinner...pick their brains. Maybe Ali from the Biggest Loser and Candace Cameron Bure from Full House. I follow them both on Twitter and they seem like sweet gals.

3. Something that inspires me is vacations always make me ponder life and how I can live it more to the fullest. Also, hanging out with women that I admire and strive to be like.

4. If I could only choose to eat one flavor of food for the rest of eternity (sweet, salty, spicy, bitter....) I would have to go withwhat a random questions. I would have to go with salty. Sweet would get old and I don't like bitter.

5. I dream about nhaving a home large enough to entertain large groups of people and be able to bless people with the gift of hospitality. I also dream of a front and back yard that is big enough for my kids to run around and play in.

6. My weekend will be spent going to the mall with Brett and Ems to make a Build-a-bear and take something back to Nordstrom; cleaning up Emersyn's room and moving her crib out to introdcuce the big girl bed on Saturday night; having dinner with one of my favorite family's, the Polits'; going to church Sunday morning; getting a massage (hallelujah) on Sunday afternoon; and possibly going to church Sunday night. :)

7. If I could only watch one movie or TV show for the rest of my life, it would be Friends re-runs. :) They just never get old for some reason!!

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. If my house was on fire and I could only grab 3 things I would grab I'm going to assume that everyone is safely out of the house because obviously Emersyn would be the first thing I grabbed. However, if we are talking about inanimate objects I would grab my laptop/external hardrive (going to count them as one item), my wedding album since I got married in the dark ages before everything was digital, and the painting that my Gigi painted with my daughter shortly before she passed away.

2. A smell I really like is clean laundry and my daughter's hair after it's just been washed.

3. Something you might not know about me is my inbox is ridiculously full. I currently have 15387 unread messages. I need to do some purging in my life. Keep in mind though, I am in real estate and 90% of the unread messages are related to that and are basically junk. :)

4. Some of my favorite websites to putter about on are blogger and Facebook. Not very exciting, I know. I like CelebrityBabies.com too.

5. This weekend I will taking it easy! We were supposed to get together with our neighbors but their little girl broke her clavicle. :( I am possibly going to make breakfast tomorrow morning and then I'm going to get a roast cooking in the crock pot, one of the free roasts I got from Safeway.com back in December. (I froze it obviously) :) We'll go to church on Sunday. We haven't been in several weeks, mornings are not my favorite thing but Ems has been asking to go "sing at church" and that's what we do Sunday mornings before we take her to the nursery so we are going to oblige her wishes. I also hope to get to Old Navy to get some maternity jeans. I don't *need* them yet but they sound pretty comfy. My midsection is definitely getting wider faster this time. :)

6. Nothing makes me happier than nap time these days, seeing the joy on my daughter's face when her daddy get's home, hearing Emersyn say "I love you sooooo much Mama!"

7. A bad habit I have is NOT keeping up with the laundry!

Fill in the Blank Friday- Turkey Day Edition

1. My Thanksgiving plans this year will include hanging out at my in-laws house in the afternoon and possibly a trip to the zoo in the morning. Seems like kind of a fun Thanksgiving thing to do, is that weird? We'll see how the weather is though. If it's dark and stormy then we will sit inside and watch the Macy's Day Parade in our jammies and I'll work on the dishes I am bringing.

2. My favorite Thanksgiving was Hmmm...none stick out TOO much except maybe for the first one that Brett and I celebrated as a couple. We had been dating for four months and I went with his family down to Reedsport, OR. I shared a room with his grandma, ha! I think what made that holiday so special was that it was the first one I spent in love. :) We got engaged two weeks later. :)

3. My signature Thanksgiving dish is I think I make a pretty yummy mashed sweet potato dish. I've made it the last two years for our big "Young Adults Ministry" Thanksgiving dinner (which is happening tomorrow afternoon, yay!) I don't have any other signature dishes though...working on it. This year I am making PW's Green Bean Casserole and a Jensen Family Recipe of cheesy potatoes.

4. My favorite Thanksgiving food is I love it all!!!!! Turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole....the only thing I'm not a fan of at Thanksgiving is when there is like a dinner salad. It always is the least appealing thing to me, ha!

5. Thanksgiving free association! football, yams, turkey, parade, black Friday ads in the newpaper!

6. Thansgiving is a time to reflect on just how blessed I am in life. My "glass" isn't half full....it's overflowing. Thank you Lord.

7. I am thankful for my perfect daughter and husband, a loving family, my husband's promotion, my promotion into the SAHM mom world coming up, amazing friends who listen to me vent and encourage me (thank you for that today Caitlin you blog stalker you), God's faithful provision, my health and the health of my family, I could go on and on....

I'd love to hear what ya'all have planned for Turkey Day too!! Happy Friday!!!

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. If I didn't have to work anymore I would hang out with my baby girl and savor each moment. I would visit my family in MN and CA more often. I would be able to get more involved in ministry and spend time volunteering.I would be better about making dinner each night and I would FEEL like I had more time to do what I wanted to in life, although I know that having a toddler keeps you on your toes.

2. My favorite thing about a vacation is getting to be with Brett and Emersyn 24/7. I love exploring new places and seeing different parts of our beautiful world.

3. When packing for a trip I have the best intentions to NOT overpack but it never happens. I usually lay everything out on my guest bed so I can see what I am packing and then Brett usually packs it all up so it fits. He is amazing like that.

4. If I could go on a road trip with anyone (dead OR alive) I would choose my BFF Tiffany, because, we love going on drives and singing at the top of our lungs to country music and we would go to the beach because that sounds fun and relaxing.

5. My top 3 absolute travel essentials are 1) magazines (although since traveling with a child I have yet to get a chance to read) 2) gum 3) my camera

6. Vacations are essential. I want a life full of incredible memories rather than lots of stuff.

7. On vacation you must always take a bazillion pictures and savor each and every moment.