Five Question Friday

Both of my kids are asleep right now and while there are a million things I could be doing, I choose to blog...twice in one day no less! A little "me time" never hurt anyone....

1. What is your favorite Christmas decoration in your house? For sure my tree. I love all the ornaments that Brett and I picked for it and now the special ones that have accumulated as we've had kids, received them as gifts, etc. I did a post about ornaments a couple years ago but I should do another one to update it now that we've received and added some fun ones.

2. Do you finish your Christmas shopping early or are you a last minute type? Eh, a little bit of both. I am not one that collects gifts all year by any means but I'm not usually a Christmas Eve shopper.

3. When do you turn on your heat? I used to think that my parents house was fah-reezing and almost to the point of being unwelcoming. Well, apparently I adapted their crazy chilly lifestyle because now my thermostat is set to that chilly temp that was at my parents house, 65. If I am cold I will turn it up to 67 but usually I'll get too warm from doing things around the house. And if we forget to turn it back down to 65, we wake up sweating and HOT at 67. My in-laws keep their house at like 73 and often turn it up to 75. I sweat just thinking about it being that hot and I think that temp is stuffy. I feel like 65 at my house isn't as cold as it was at my parents house though, strange huh? I like having the fireplace on for heat but then it doesn't heat the upstairs and our rooms are freezing which wasn't a big deal before kiddos but now that Ems goes to bed so much before us, we don't have the fireplace on much at night.

4. Do you ever wish your blog was private? YES. There are some things that I'd like to blog about that I don't necessarily want the world to see. I wish you could pick who could see certain posts, like have a list of people approved to see private posts.

5. Do you put your deodorant on before of after you put on your shirt? Before and pretty much immediately after getting out of the shower!

Five Question Friday

1. If you could have any talent and turn it into an occupation, what would it be? Hmm...maybe have the talent of organization and turn it into an occupation? That's not very original, but I do wish I was more organized. OR I would love to know how to sew and make sweet little dresses for Emersyn and her buddies.

2. Would you rather have a house at the beach or a cabin in the woods? Beach for sure, although ironically I am typing this from a cabin in the woods! I think the beach is such a fun vacation destination though for a family even though I haven't ever done a beach vacation since becoming an adult (unless you count Hawaii, but I don't). In Oregon, we refer to the beach as the "coast" and it's rarely warm enough to wear a swim suit on. It is beautiful though.

3. Is there any meaning or reasoning for the names you chose for your child/children? I had heard the name "Emerson" on a celebrity baby blog. (Don't judge me). I told Brett about it and he thought it was way too gender neutral. When I got pregnant I really really liked the name for a girl and Brett still didn't like it. Then, a miracle occurred. Randomly on my birthday Brett decided that he liked the name but wanted to change the spelling to "Emersyn" and I loved it. The rest is history. :) When we went to our gender ultrasound, we were debating between Emersyn and Evelyn and when I found out I was having a girl, I just knew her name was Emersyn. Now that I know my daughter, she is totally NOT an Evelyn even though I still like the name. We picked Grace for her middle name because I loved how feminine it was against the contrast of Emersyn and I love thinking of God's grace when I think of my daughter.

4. What is your guilty pleasure? (I know we've done this one before, but I'm guessing people's "guilty pleasures" change frequently. At least, mine do!) Hmm....probably manicures and pedicures fall into the guilty pleasure category. I know that they aren't very practical but I sure do love them. Costco might be a guilty pleasure too, I just love shopping there and often talk myself into coming home with things that I certainly do not *need*. I also love cleaning my house when it is mostly clean already and also taking and uploading pictures of my daughter. Are any of these guilty pleasures though or just hobbies?? LOL

5. Do you live in a house that is deep cleaned or straightened? My house is mostly straightened (as much as it can be with a two year old running around) but rarely deep cleaned. I don't think my house is *dirty*, like I keep up with vacumming and mopping the downstairs and keep it pretty tidy. But the master bathroom often needs a good wipe down and I seem to make it a low priority on my cleaning list. Shame on me. :)

Five Question Friday

I've got some surprises up my sleeve for Brett today....we're celebrating Father's Day a little late because he had to work on Sunday. Fun times are in store. :)

Thanks to Mama M. for hosting this fun little Friday meme. I haven't done one in awhile so I figured, why not? :)

1) Do you know how to play a musical instrument? Yup! I played the clarinet in jr. high and high school and it's perhaps the most awkward instrument ever. No one looks pretty playing the clarinet. Fact. I also know how to play a little piano....I can play off a chord chart decently. I love the piano though and would love to really learn to play someday. Emersyn will get piano lessons for sure and perhaps another instrument too.

2) What is your pet peeve while driving? People not using blinkers!!!! People that slow down drastically to merge on a highway. People that don't let you in when you are trying to merge or change lanes.

3) Housekeeper or unlimited spa services? HOUSEKEEPER!!!!! Preferably one that cooks too and knows how to blow dry and style my hair daily. And gives massages? Okay, that's asking too much....my bad....

4) Is there a song that you hear that takes you back to a moment? Whenever I hear Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby" I am reminded of high school. Despite my dislike for high school, I actually really love this song and it makes me happy to hear it.

5) What song represents your life right now? Hmm...this is a tough one. I would pick this Rachel Lampa song, "Blessed". :)

I may never climb a mountain
So I can see the world from there
I may never ride the waves
And taste the salty ocean air
Or build a bridge
That will last a hundred years
But no matter where the road leads
One thing is always clear

CHORUS:
I am blessed, I am blessed
From when I rise up in the morning
'Til I lay my head to rest
I feel You near me
You soothe me when I'm weary
Oh Lord for all the worst and all the best
I am blessed

All along the road less traveled
I have crawled and I have run
I have wandered through the wind and rain
Until I found the sun
The watching eyes ask me why
I walk this narrow way
I will gladly give the reason
For the hope I have today

You've given me joy
You've given me love
You give me strength
When I want to give up
You came from heaven
To rescue my soul
This is the reason I know, I know

5 Question Friday

Mama M is sooooo close to her goal of 100 participants in Five Question Friday...even though I have already posted for the day, I gotta help a bloggy friend out! :) Here we go!

1. Worst trouble you ever got into as a teenager?

Hmm...depends on who you ask! I was in a special Health Careers program when I was in high school and it was located at another campus. Let's just say I took my time getting to and from there and occasionally missed a class or two here or there. Or way more then two. Like at least one per week. I wasn't too into high school towards the end. Or the beginning. :) I got into trouble in my later teens too but it isn't worth bloggin' about. I am thankful to be a new creation in Christ!! :)

2. Are you a morning person or a night person?

NIGHT person all the way. I thought having a baby would change this but it turns out she is a night person too. :) Brett and I love our evenings after Emersyn has gone to bed and have trouble putting an end to them to go to bed. I always regret staying up late the morning after though.....

3. Are you a one-handed or a two-handed Texter?

One!

4. Democrat, Republican, or Independent..or maybe even Green Party (whatever that is).

I am a Republican and am conservative but don't always agree 100% with the Republican stance on everything.

5. Are you a pet person?

Yes, I am. Even though pets are smelly and messy, I do love them. We just have one low maintenance cat right now but Brett is really wanting to get a puppy. I want to wait until Emersyn is a little older when she might appreciate a puppy a little more. And I am using the excuse of working and not being home to house train a puppy. :) I think we will get one before our next baby though; Brett has always grown up with a dog and I know he misses our sweet Molly Brown a lot. :(

See ya tomorrow! :)

5 Question Saturday! :)

I didn't have time to blog yesterday so I am taking part of the 5QF fun a day late! Don't judge me!

Thanks Mama M. for the fun questions!

1. What's your "comfort food"? Hmm.....I love soup. I think corn chowder with a slice of cornbread sounds pretty comforting to me. It also sounds like a bazillion calories and carbs which means it is out for me!! Healthy comfort food? Probably what I had for breakfast this morning....steel cut oats, bananas and blueberries!

2. Do you send Thank You's (handwritten or email)? Absolutely handwritten and I usually include pictures! Since most of my thank you notes revolve around Emersyn these days, I try to take a picture of her using whatever the thank you note is for. I need to get on top of thank you notes for this past Christmas season though, we have a lot to be thankful for!!

3. If you had to be trapped in a TV show for a month, which show would you choose? Interesting question....hmm.....a month is a long time. I guess I would copy my BFF's answer and say "Friends". I think that laughter would pretty much be guaranteed!

4. What is your favorite online recipe site? I like FoodNetwork.com. I trust the professionals! :)

5. If you had to choose: "Friends" or "Seinfeld"? Refer to questions number 3. :) Although I do think Seinfeld is hilarious too!

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I started the 30 Day Shred last night. Read about my 20 minutes in hell HERE!

Happy Saturday everyone! Time to get off the computer and get movin'! :)

Five Question Friday in Minnesota!!!

Happy Friday everyone! Can you believe that Christmas is only a week away?? We made it safe and sound to Minnesota this evening. It was a long flight and Emersyn was pretty fussy. Poor little sweetheart didn't really understand why she had to sit on our laps for 3 1/2 hours. She did sleep FINALLY for about an hour towards the end of the flight. She had to have worn herself out; Lord knows that she wore US out! We did bring her a couple Dum Dum suckers for an emergency and sure enough, we busted them out halfway through the flight. I tried to have one too for a little sugar boost but she got jealous of my blue sucker even though she was enjoying her yellow one so for a short time, she was double fisting it with a blue and yellow sucker and let me tell you, she was pretty proud of herself. :) Was that the worst part of our flight though, you ask? No, you want to know what was? The sickening realization that my makeup bag did not make it into the suitcase but was in fact sitting on my nightstand, probably wondering why I didn't take it. Girls, is there anything worse that you could leave behind?? My sweet sweet husband was saying that we could just go buy new stuff and then just use it all up over time. Well, most of my makeup is MAC and the brushes alone are a fortune and I just can't justify buying all new makeup but then I didn't want to go to Target and buy stuff to get buy when I have a bunch of brand new makeup at home, make sense? It was a lose lose situation. But then I realized that my little brother who also lives in Oregon with me will be coming to MN on Monday so he is going to swing by my house and grab the makeup bag. Now I won't look like a monster on Christmas.....just until Monday. :) You know those beautiful women that don't really need to wear make up? Yeah....I am NOT one of them!! :)

Okay, enough rambling about makeup. I hope I don't sound like a superficial person, it's just that I like to feel somewhat put together and make up helps accomplish that somewhat. :) I have to attribute some of that rambling to how delirious I am after a day of travel though so forgive me!! :)

Just because I am in MN doesn't mean I can't participate in Five Question Friday. If I'm not mistaken, Mama M lives in MN too right? :)

1. Which boygroup did you like most in your teens? Hmm....I was never a HUGE boy band follower....I did have a NKOTB pillowcase in 4th grade but that wasn't exactly my teens. I guess if I had to choose one that I liked in my teens I would pick NSYNC.

2. Do you do Christmas cards, letters, photos, nuthin', all of the above? Photo Christmas cards! Maybe *someday* I will get crafty and make homemade cards but not in the near future!! :)

3. If you could meet one celebrity who would it be and why? I would love to have coffee with Angie Smith and Rachelle P. Rachelle isn't famous but she would be SO mad at me if I had coffee with Angie Smith and didn't invite her. :) I think that Angie has such an amazing faith and testimony and I would love to hear her thoughts on life over a good latte. :)

4. Favorite thing to cook with (i.e. stainless, non-stick, Dutch oven, microwave, debit card...or, perhaps, a cauldron, etc.)? I am diggin' my panini grill lately! Wondering if I can find some healthy panini recipes to incorporate into the new year!

5. What is the one thing you wear the most, besides your unmentionables? Hmm...maybe a tie between my slippers and yoga pants? :)

Happy holidays everyone!! :)

Five Question Friday

Can you believe it's Friday already?? Friday is my favorite day of the week, it's family day! But, while I wait for the little missy to wake up from a nap and Brett is updating his benefits through work, I can take part in some Five Question Friday fun, courtesy of Mama M!

1. Does Santa wrap the presents he leaves at your house? Hmm....we don't have too much experience in this area quite yet since it's only Emersyn's second Christmas. We are ONLY going to do presents from Santa at our house (for as long as she believes in Santa) and they are going to be more stocking stuffer gifts. We will save the bigger ticket items for her birthdays. When I was a kid, the presents from Santa were wrapped though so I would say yes to this question. :)

2. When is your "big" Christmas celebration...Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Tell us about it...Well, our holidays have changed since my parents moved to Minnesota last year (the nerve!!). We used to do Christmas Eve with my family and do dinner and sometimes go to church, which I love doing on Christmas Eve. Then we would open presents with my parents in the wee hours of Christmas morning....and then head to Brett's family for the rest of the day. Now that my parents live out of the state, we either go see them or they come to us. Last year they came to us but we didn't feel right not seeing Brett's family just because my family was here so we spent Christmas morning at Brett's parents house while my family relaxed and read the paper and drank coffee in their pajamas. We got home around noon and then opened presents with my family and made a Christmas feast for dinner.

3. Are you big on keeping tradition every year? We haven't quite established any traditions yet but are looking forward to doing some as Emersyn gets older and we have more children! :)

4. Do colored lights or white lights tickle your fancy? White lights!!!

5. Do you decorate outside your house for Christmas? We have but didn't this year. Ran out of time and since we are leaving for Christmas, we decided not to. Next year we will though, I just love pulling up to a house with Christmas lights on it!!

Well, that concludes our Five Question Friday! :)

Last night we got to go on a little impromptu date, it was so fun! We decided to leave Emersyn with her Nana and Papa while we went to dinner. We are so glad we did! We were going to bring her since our other friends were bringing their one year old but decided that Emersyn would have more fun playing at her grandparents house. At dinner, our friends took turns eating and chasing their baby and I was so happy to just enjoy my meal and have no baby to chase. After dinner we left the group and went and saw "The Blindside" finally. What a great movie!! Then we picked up Emersyn who was asleep and she went right to sleep in the car and at home. A perfect night. :)

Today we are going to see SANTA!!!!! I KNOW HIM!!!!!! (Elf)

Happy Friday!

Five Question Friday

It's that time again.....5 question Friday! :) Head over to Mama M's blog for more 5 question Friday fun!

1. Favorite gift you are GIVING this year?

Well, if I told YOU what I was giving and the gift recipient happens to read my blog, that would ruin ALL the fun! I will say this about gifts though...this year we are going minimal. We are traveling for Christmas this year to MN and let's just say that put a damper in our "Christmas Budget" and by damper I mean that it wiped it out!! :) Emersyn wants to get her Grandparents and cousins a gift but as far as OUR siblings go, we are electing to not exchange gifts with them. This was met with some resistance but we are being strong! We did "adopt" two foster kids and a teenager from a halfway house from a giving tree at our church and with great joy have purchased some gifts for them. It is nice to buy for people in need; so many of us are blessed to have the essentials and more. As we have gotten older, we have realized that so many years we struggle to write up a Christmas list because we just can't think of anything we need. Sure, a Starbucks gift card is always nice but we really want this season to be about giving in our home and that is the message we hope in imprint on our children. Okay, enough about that! :)

2. How many parties are you attending between now and Christmas?

Gosh, I don't know if we are attending ANY! :) We have two that we would be going to if we were in town but we won't. I am tossing around the idea of having a Christmas open house the week before we leave....not sure if that is realistic or not. It is impossible for me to host things at my home on days that I work, just too stressful. We'll see!

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?

I think my all time favorite Christmas song is "Oh Holy Night". I also love "O Come Let Us Adore Him". I was at a Chris Tomlin concert a loooooong time ago and he sang "O Come Let Us Adore Him" except he rephrased it, "How Could We Not Adore Him". I was so impacted by that way of singing it. It is so true, how could we not adore Him?? I also love "Baby, It's Cold Outside". :)

4. Who was your favorite elementary school teacher and why?

I loved my first grade teacher, Miss Nichols. Her and my mom became friends and Miss Nichols even babysat me a couple times, which I don't think would be kosher now but it was back then and I felt special!!

5. If you had a choice to live in any other period of time (other than now) what era would you choose and why?

I think every era has it's pros and cons. I would be curious to live in an era without so many modern conveniences, maybe like the 50's? Have to iron dresses and wear heels while I vacuum, haha. I am always intrigued at how people lived before our influx of technology.

Well, that concludes our Five Question Friday for this week! :)






This morning I am enjoying a cup of coffee, browsing some blogs, and waiting for Brett to get home. He had to go into work for a couple hours this morning. He made coffee though and I woke up to a fresh pot, whoo hoo!

This afternoon I am hoping to clean up the house a little and then we are going on a date this afternoon!! I am hoping that Emersyn takes a REALLY good morning nap because she isn't going to get an afternoon one. We are taking her to her "Auntie" Tori's house. We helped Tori and her husband Andrew buy their house (I was their Realtor) and they decided to thank ME with a gift certificate to dinner and a movie! I am so excited! We are going to see "Blindside" and then have a nice dinner afterwards. I hope Ems isn't too naughty for them. I am bringing a box of Kleenex for some emergency entertainment if needed. :)

Happy Friday!!

Five Question Friday

Happy Black Friday!

It's that time again...."Five Question Friday" hosted by the lovely Mama M.

1. Do you do a real or fake Christmas tree?

We have a lovely fake tree that we invested in a couple years ago. Brett and I have always had work schedules that make it so we don't get days off together on the weekends....well, it's no fun to go cut down a tree in the middle of no where when you are the ONLY people there, trust me. Plus, it would take us weeks to finally find time to go out and get one and that would bum me out. I LOVE having our tree up...it is so beautiful. I will be posting pics of it soon. We just finally bought real ornaments for it a couple years ago too...the first 4 year we were married we mainly used the silver bulbs that were leftover from our wedding reception (we strung silver ornaments from the ceiling of our reception site with fish wire and only used candle light to light the room so they looked like stars....incredible). We used the silver bulbs and then some red ones from the dollar store. It was simple and cute and ours. :)

2. What is your favorite Christmas tradition with your family?

I LOVE that Brett is just as into Christmas as I am, maybe more. He loves the music, movies, all of it! Our favorite tradition includes going to Peacock Lane, a street of old houses in East Portland that decorate for Christmas. We have gone to it every year since we have been together, with the exception of last year because of the blizzard we had.

3. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in your neck of the woods? And, if so...how many calories do you think you consumed yesterday?

YES, Thanksgiving is VERY celebrated at my house!!

Yesterday we had turkey, stuffing, cheesy potatoes, mashed potatoes (although I didn't have any mashed...not because I was being good, simply because there was NO room left on my plate!!), cranberry sauce, broccoli salad, fruit salad, rolls, green bean casserole, and sweet potatoes.

Makes me hungry just thinking about it all again. Also makes me excited for Christmas dinner!! :)

4. Have you started decorating for Christmas, yet?

YES!! As of last night!!!! A friend is coming over for lunch today and I plan on chatting and decorating my tree. I am terrible about sitting still and having a conversation. Multi-tasking brings me joy.

5. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

Sugar cookies that my husband makes!!! They are really thin and have frosting....the secret to the cookies and the frosting is the dash of almond extract in each of them, but just a little. A little goes a long way, trust me!!

Today we are taking it easy. Brett left his car at his parents last night by accident, LONG story. :) Anyways, Ems and I had to wake up early to take him to his car but I rewarded myself with a coffee. We went to Fred Meyers and picked up a few things that were a good deal, as well as some groceries and now we are home for the day!! We went to ZooLights on Friday and Emersyn has some slightly green boogs. Hahaha, just typed out boobs first...that would be an interesting sight. :) ANYWAYS, I am hoping that she gets some fantastic naps today!! I am having a friend over for lunch and then some other friends are coming over for dinner and "Settler's of Catan". Any other Settler's fans out there? Don't be ashamed.... :)

Well, gotta get baby girl to bed for her morning nap (which she is taking again recently), clean up, get the soup on for tonight (Mama Leone's Chicken Soup...will post recipe later, it's delish), and enjoy this day that the Lord has given me! Wish my hubs was off but he gets nearly 10 days off for Christmas so I will choose to be thankful for that instead of being bummed about today.

Happy Black Friday everyone!