Getting into the Holiday Spirit!

Well i think i am in full holiday swing and i am loving every minute of it!!! i have been baking nearly everyday (which reminds me i gotta put another batch of cookies in the oven). I have my house all decorated and i have been making crafts and wrapping presents!! i just love this time of year! What are some of the things that get you into the holiday spirit? For me it is a mixture of things.

Downtown Seattle: I always try and make it to downtown Seattle during this time of year, ever since i was going to school at the art institute. It is a sure fire way to get you into the right mood! This year i made it downtown with my girlfriends. We spent a lovely day shopping, ice skating, riding carousels. We ended the day with a yummy dinner at the Cheesecake factory and then watched the 3D movie A Christmas Carol in IMAX. it was a pretty perfect day!

Christmas Movies: Of course everyone loves a good Christmas movie during this time of the year but i think i have gone a bit Christmas movie CRAZY! i typically have nothing on but the hallmark channel, yes i even watch the really horrible movies with the terrible acting. The first Christmas movie i watched this year while setting up all the decorations was "A Christmas Story". Typically I'm not really a fan of that movie but it was the only one we had at the moment. My ALL TIME favorite Christmas movie that i try and see every year is a movie that hardly anyone has heard about but is really great is "One Magic Christmas"! it was lucky enough to catch it on the hallmark channel and watched the first showing then also set my DVR to record the second showing! you should try and watch it some time it really helps you learn the spirit of Christmas!

Baking: i absolutely LOVE baking during this time of year! i bake as much as i can then i divide it all up and give it all away to friends and family! it is a really fun way to give gifts to everyone you care about without having to worry about getting something they'll like! I have discovered that the thrift store next to my house sells old baking tins for .50 cents so i stocked up last year and i did again this year. I'm so excited to have all the baking done so i can deliver all the goodies to my friends at my old store!

There are so many more little things... like shopping and hearing Christmas music where ever i go. I love seeing Christmas lights on the side of the road and seeing people decked out in christmas garb like sweaters/hats/ear rings etc.

November in review

well since i find myself not blogging right after each event i have decided to recap the main events in November into one blog



Laura Lorraine's birthday! my dear friends birthday was on the 11th of November and we had a fun night with the girls! We played old time girly games like candy land, pretty pretty princess and dream date! We also made margaritas and i made home maid french dips with real roast beef i made in the crock pot. Kristin made the cake and then we went andwatched SAW 6 i nthe theater... it was a great and scary movie! i hope she really enjoyed her birthday and liked all her gifts. We do special days with each other and my day with her will be snow tubing and lunch and whatever fun activities i can come up with!



Next in November was NEW MOON!!!! we gathered all the girls and went and saw the movie the Saturday after it came out! it was really fun and a great time spent with my girls. We all met at Claim Jumper and had a really fun dinner. It was also Britney's birthday so we got her a free dessert and we all sang happy birthday to her! After that we drove over to the theater and lined up for the movie. Tara and Val met us there... we nearly took up an entire row! it was so much fun watching the movie with all my friends. Debbie and I both had our Team Jacob (me) and Team Edward (her) shirts on! i was sitting next to Crystal and she cried several time in the movie.. too cute! Over all the movie was great and much better then the first one. Also NEW MOON was my least favorite book out of the four so it was nice that the movie made me enjoy it more!




Thanksgiving was a bit different this year. We usually split the day between the two families but since mat's mom passed away this year we spend the day with his extended family which was very nice. My family actually put our thanksgiving off until the 29th so we were able to work in the morning of thanksgiving and then spend as much time with mats family as we wanted in the evening. I really enjoy spending time with his family and it make it feel so nice because there are always kids around. it was fun i was able to hold Terry Jr till he fell asleep. then i played with Shannon and made her laugh when she was in a grumpy mood. it was a bit scary b/c it really put me into the baby wanting mode! Also i made my jalapeno cheese grits and everyone really liked them! i was so proud!





Black Friday quickly followed Thanksgiving with mat and i heading out to the Seattle premium outlets at 10pm that evening. it was nice b/c the stores opened at 10 so the lines weren't nearly as long ar crazy as they were last year at midnight. After the outlets we headed to walmart and did a bit more shopping. finally we decided we didn't need any door busters so we headed back home and got some sleep . we headed back out around 9am and did a good amount of shopping. i got a lot of shopping done and a lot of great deals! We got home a little later in the afternoon and started putting up Christmas decorations until mat had to go to work. Then my girlfriends called and wanted to go out shopping AGAIN so they picked me up and we headed back out! I got a bit of shopping done for mat which was nice... boy did i spend A LOT of money but i sure as heck wasn't tired of shopping. I seem to be developing a real shopping addiction... it is just too much fun!





On the 29 we had my family's Thanksgiving which also turned into my parents wedding! Yes i said my parents! My mom and Jeff have been together since i was 8 and i have always thought of him as my dad b/c i never knew my real dad and he was always been there for me. even though they have been together forever they never officially got married. They had planned it a couple times but never went through with it for one reason or another. this time they did it and it really turned out nice! It was just a small ceremony in their back yard. Jeff made the cake and i brought the flowers. i also picked out both of their outfits and did my mom's hair and make up. They both looked stunning and it was quite a romantic little ceremony! i am so happy for them and i know that they will be together forever. i can't wait to have kids so that they can be amazing grandparents!

making the most of my situation

Well as you have read in past posts i had been preparing for an interview. I had that interview and i waited 5 long days to get the results of that interview.Well yesterday i got those results. i regret to inform everyone that i will not be a Second Assistant Manager at Safeway at the time being.

I can't exactly tell you where i fell short or why i didn't get the job. to be honest that interview was the first interview i had ever really had so i have no idea if i did good or bad. I feel like my answers were generic and maybe too textbook? Also i don't know if i left giving them a good impression of who i was or what i had to offer. it is difficult for me to take this news of not getting the job because this is something i have tried hard to get. i didn't come from a highly successful parents. They weren't super hard workers and they never shrived to be managers. I feel like because of this getting the mind set of a manager is harder and has taken longer for me to understand. Confidence in my management skills and my work is something i desperately need to work on and i am trying my best. it is weird for me because as a person out side of work i feel like i have a ton of confidence and really like myself and what i stand for but as soon as i get to work i feel lost and out of control. I feel like whatever i do won't be right, won't be enough.

With this in mind i an going to be going to the issaquah Safeway. this was advised by the District manager that interviewed me. i was #4 (out of 10 people interviewed) in line for the 3 job openings and he see's that i can develope and become a good manager so they are moving me so that i will be able to be more successful without the distractions that are currently at the store i work at now (friends/boyfriend) Drew (my current store manager0 said he didn't know if he neccessarly wanted me to go til after the new year but i told him i rather move sooner than later so that i felt like a was moving forward in some way. I feel i am at a stand still in my job currently and that i probably another reason why i was so disappointed with not getting the job. I am only 25 years old and i know that i have a lot to offer the world and i know that i can do great things. i just wanna feel like i am always working towards that goal and i don't know when i will find myself feeling like i don't need to move forward and really i hope i never stop trying to improve myself and my way of life.

So within a week or two i will be heading to the Issaquah Safeway. i am a bit fearful because i don't know how well i am at meeting new people. I know is school (both high school and collage0 i was super shy and didn't really make tons of friends. Currently at my job people think i am out going and lively and will make friends quickly, i on the other hand am not so sure. Of course i haven't been in a situation where i have had to meet new people in quite a long time and it will be interesting to see how i handle it. i would love to be able to say i am an out going girl, i never have thought of myself that way.

Wish me luck and i just hope that this is a step forward rather then pushing me back into my shell and destroying my little confidence i have.

interview nervousness

well my interview for second assistant store manager is tomorrow and i am starting to get a bit nervous! i feel like i have prepared but i know myself and i know that i am bound to stumble over my words... i just hope that i don't sound like a complete moron! I am also putting a lot of pressure on myself because i need to get this job to keep my track going because if i don't get it if feel like i am going to completely deflate and just settle with being a checker forever... plus the pay raise would be really great!

In addition i have been on my diet for 7 days and i have lost 4lbs! i got a lot more to lose but i'm proud that i made it through a week!

anyways nothing else really to write about but i'll keep u up to date on the job... they said they will be decided by the beginning of next week

bit's a pieces

Well there have been a few well no too interesting things going on lately so i thought i'd do a short blog with just a few recaps on things here and there.

* I have been preparing for my interview to become second assistant at Safeway. The interview is on the 17th of November and will be a panel interview with Brett our district manager, Signe our HR rep and maybe another store manager. I'm a bit nervous but i think I'm kinda prepared. i can only do as best as i can do and if it's not good enough then I'm just not ready. I'm just afraid that i'm just wanna give up.

* I've been trying my best to hang out with all my friends lately because i really do love them all and wish i could spend all my free time with all of them. Last weekend i had lunch with crystal and her son at the Cheesecake factory and then this weekend i had breakfast with Linnea. These are the friends with kids so it is harder to get time together. it was nice to be able to hang out with them and catch up!

* I've been thinking a lot about the fact that i'm on depression med's. i for one am not ashamed or embarrassed to be on them but i have come across people lately who say they are unhappy but refused to be on depression med's because they should be able to make themselves happy. i have thought a lot about that and wondered if i should have tried harder to make myself happy. i have come to the compulsion that i did all that i could to be happy and i did have happy moments but it was the bad times where i would sit and cry for hours over absolutely nothing that made me want to get help. I realized that my uncontrollable mood swings were out of my control and that it just had to be a chemical imbalance because there is no way i would have let myself be so unhappy. I told myself that it was sick of wasted days of crying and i wanted to take my life into my own hands so i got help. and you know what i don't regret a bit of that decision. i have been happy nearly everyday (of course i get upset about normal things but now i can get over them without a complete melt down)

* I've had this overwhelming erge to have a baby lately. i have all this nerturing in me that is just dieing to be released. I love throwing parties because it is a good reason to make fun foods. i love making foods by scratch. i love making my house a home. it love every bit of taking care of mat (even though he doesn't let me take care of him as much as i would like to) i like making him breakfast and lunch and dinner. i love doing his laundry. But this nurturing can only go so far. Now just to convince him that he wants a baby within the next two years.

Halloween Fun

What a wonderful Halloween weekend! Friday i threw a pretty fun Halloween party at my house. even though not all the people who said they were coming came we all still had a good time and did a lot of laughing. Saturday i had to work 10-7 and boy was i hung over! it was so miserable to be stuck in the checkstand feeling like i was going to throw up at any minute. good thing jared was there to let me out when ever i needed him to.... yeah i puked 5 times at work... trust me not something i'm proud of! But eventually i discovered the miracle of 7up and i was feeling much better and the rest of the day at work went get! After work i came home and rested up a bit then headed to Mat's friends Elliott's Halloween party. I didn't really know anyone and the girls all seemed young and skanky and not so interesting so i basically just stood around and people watched. These parties aren't for me i much rather throw a small intimate party with people i know where u don't will crowded and claustrophobic. we didn't stay too late but it was an interesting way to spend Halloween night. over all i think Halloween turned out pretty fun and my $30 poodle skirt was well used lol

Fall Harvest Girls Night

I know i am way backed up on blogging but i have been busy/tired all week.

I Had my fall harvest girls night LAST Tuesday and i gotta say it turned out really successful! i had 7 of my friends come over and i made them all a really yummy dinner of taco soup and empanadas. i was really excited to see everyone eat the soup as well as they all LOVED the empanadas... i might have to make them again. After we all ate (sitting around my table which i loved) we made carmel apples. let me tell you i have never been able to make successful carmel apples! the carmel always seems to slide off the apple! we all enjoyed then still the same. Also during caramel apples we were carving and painting pumpkins. It was all so much fun! everyone's pumpkin turned out really great! I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time and I'm so glad it all turned out successful and i was able to hang out with friends!

Laura painted on stewie to her pumpkin

Crystal choose quite a difficult pattern so she was the last to finish but it turned out great

Tiffany did a great job painting her babies names onto her pumpkin

Linnea did a whole ghost family in anticipation of her new bundle of joy (tony was there to pick her up)

Tara won the prize for the most original pumpkin carved. it really is quite amazing. Kristin did the mud flap girl which looked great too but for some reason i don't have any pictures of it

Fall Brunch

Friday i had my mom and gramz over for a nice fall brunch! i made the most yummy Blueberry delight in the crock pot. It is kinda like a bread pudding with blueberries and cream cheese! (i'll share the recipe in a bit. They cam over for brunch and once my mom was in my house she nearly started crying. She was so impressed with my house and it made her think of me all grown up. It was too cute! we sat down to brunch and everyone loved the food. It was the blueberry delight along with thick sliced bacon backed with brown sugar sprinkled on top and mimosas! After eating and chatting it up a bit we watch the episode of "curb your enthusiasm" that had the Seinfeld reunion. They were too excited to be able to watch it because neither of them have HBO. The episode was pretty funny and we all had a good laugh. it was really nice to have them over and i was able to be the adult who was doing the entertaining. Also my mom brought over salmon that Jeff had caught so that night i made mat some salmon for dinner! Good eats all day long!

Five thing that have made me happy

Reading one of my blogs Expensive Mistakes and Cheap Thrills she asked what the five things that have made you happy lately... i just had to take the challenge of thinking about that one

FIRST thing to come to mind is Twitter of course! i love that i'm able to talk to all my good friends and i have made more new friends from all over the world!
SECOND would have to be Farm ville on facebook! i am so not a video game girl and i have played computer games but they never seem to hold my attention but i am fully addicted to farm ville. It is also really super fun that most all my friends are doin it too so you get to be a bit competitive!
THIRD Wearing sweaters and long sleeve shirts. I have a closest full of clothes i got last year that i absolutely LOVE and i was so excited when the weather got cold enough that i could wear them again... i love feeling like I'm getting a constant warm hug from a sweater!
FOURTH watching the eaves change colors. It is just starting and i just love seeing all the reds and oranges that are popping up all around. it makes driving to and from work so much more enjoyable!
Finally the FIFTH thing that has made me happy lately is candles. I have loved burning cinnamon and nutmeg candles all around my house filling it with a warm glowing that melts me into a puddle

so i pass on the question: What are the five things that have made you happy lately?

Fall For $40

Ok .... i confess i probably spent a little closer to $50 but still not too bad for some great decorations!

So fall hit me like a ton of bricks the first time i felt the nip in the air! i was so excited to be able to wear sweaters again. i was ready to snuggle up in a blanket in front of a warm fire. i was ready to eat a big bowl of soup! I am a girl who usually completely loves summer with all her heart but this summer had been a rough one... a bit more work and a lot less fun. More depression and less laughter. Too much sweating and not enough jumps in a cool lake. Now don't get me wrong it was a good summer but the warm fuzzy feeling fall brings me is just what i need to calm my spirit.

I went out on a mission to fill my house with that fall feeling but as always I'm on a tight budget. i headed straight to all my favorite bargain hunting stores; Marshall's, Ross and Micheal's! i went with the inspiration i had gotten from Whitney over at Glamorous Life Of a House Wife. Now i don't even have a budget like she does or have as nice of furniture as she does but i loved some of her ideas so i decided to run with them and give them my own twist.

I wanted a center piece but wasn't sure just how to go about it. i had always liked the bowl in the middle of the table idea so when i found this iron bowl with swirl pattern i just had to get it! ($7.99 at Marshall's) I got the cinnamon pine cones ($2.99) and fake leaves ($1.00 for 2 packages) at Micheal's and the pumpkins at QFC (about $2.00 for all three)





















I love how the bowl matches both my sconces and my table runner! not sure what to do with the gold vases but i thought the color was nice and warm.


I loved Whitney' s glass acorn shaped jar filled with sparkly acorns but it seems too much for me until i found a similar jar at Ross ($8.99) and fell in love with it!













I was worried about the C on the front but then i decided that if i always just had candy in it, it could stand for Candy jar!I always have to decorate my mantel but i love what i have on there right now i kind of hated to part with any of it. I found just a simple leaf garland ($2.50 at Micheal's) to lay across it along with two mini wreaths ($1.00 each at Micheal's)
Also i found this simple leaf dish ($1.99 at Ross) that i wasn't too sure what to do with it but decided it made a perfect spoon rest on top of my oven!
Finally i liked how she just had a simple dish of fall colored wrapped candy and that brought the warmth of the fall. The best part is that I didn't pay for the candy! mat got them for me for our anniversary (he knows the way to my heart!)
The candles i got at Walmart for $1.00 each. I got apple, cinnamon vanilla and pumpkin spice. Along with the candles i love to burn oils that i have from last year, Nutmeg and Cranberry. they really make the house smell good!

Over all I'm a very pleased with my fall decorations and my house feels so good now. I plan on burning my first log tonight while hangin out under a fuzzy blanket and watching a movie!

The Man I Love

October 1st. It's mine and Mat's 4 yr official anniversary!

We have really been none stop together for 6 yrs but the first two were spent getting to know each other and so nothing was really official till i laid down the law and forced him to commit lol! Our relationship has grown so much in the past few years it is amazing. We have grown so much more closer and been through so much. i don't know how we would have made it through without each other! Mat is always there for me when ever i need him. I know that he will pick me up when i fall and tell me to stop crying when i am being stupid. He is such an amazing man. he is always himself and can get along with anyone. He is a homebody but loves going out at times. He wants nothing but the best for us and tries with all his power to give it all to me! I love that he is never bored. He has so many hobbies that he is really great at. he is a hard worker at work and i can always rely on him to get his job done (i need to take a page out of his book on that one) He is an amazing writer and does it just for himself rarely showing his work to anyone. I learn something new about him all the time which keeps things exciting! I love that we are on the same page on most things like keeping the house clean and what to eat for dinner. We have such a great balance in our life that we rarely fight these days (trust me it took A LOT of fighting to get to this stage) i love the future i see for us. I can see us having an amazing and long life together. i know one day he will make a perfect husband and father. It is amazing the times when i am driving home and i will think of him and just BURS with love. every time i see him i just want to scream to the roof tops I LOVE YOU! (he even says i say it too often) My love for him can't be contained in just those 3 little words so i say it more often in hopes to some how explain just how big my love his for him! I love this man with every fiber of my being and i would NEVER do anything to hurt him.

So here's to Happily Ever After

I LOVE YOU MAT!

The wedding of her dreams!

OK i am finally making myself write a blog. Over a week ago was Laura and Daryl's wedding. i must say it turned out beautiful! Laura has got to be the most beautiful women and she made an absolute gorgeous bride! The Wedding went perfectly and we were lucky enough to have the rain hold out till we got indoors.
The wedding took place at the Hollywood School House in Woodinville. I had always drove by and loved the building. I think it was a perfect location for their wedding! It was the only day that week that had rain, but hey i say rain is a sign of good luck on your wedding day! Despite the rain the bride and all her maids had great spirits and the wedding was amazing. Laura of course was too shy to say her vows into the mic while Daryl sang his vows to her! It was so beautiful to watch them seal their love and i can see this marriage lasting a life time and beyond. it was also fun to watch Mat up there as a grooms men. He looked so amazingly handsome and i couldn't help but sneak a peek at him and imagine what it would be like to be marrying him.
The reception was so much fun! The food they had was amazing (Italian food: anti pasta, salad, fruit, pasta with marinara, Alfredo and meat balls! it was all absolutely yummy!) They had an open bar that offered not only wine and beer but electric ice teas (boy were those dangerous) After the fun food it was time for the toasts! God was i nervous! i had it all typed out and i read it clearly but looking back at a video of me GOD i totally talk like a valley girl lol! After all the stress was over it was time to dance and god did we dance out asses off! it was so much fun! the DJ was amazing and all the guests were so much fun!
We watched the bride and groom jump in their limo at the end of the night and they were off for their honeymoon in Jamaica! I can't wait to talk to her and hear all about it!

Greatest bachelorette party EVER!

Well Saturday has come and gone and i have to say the Bachelorette party i threw for Laura turned out better then i could have imagined! It took a little time to be able to check into the hotel but with my life saver (Tara's) help we made it in. Then fortunately she was available to help me set up so we got everything set up in record time and boy did it look great!


We had enough time to get ourselves ready and then the guest started to arrive! There were less people then i had invited (i had to plan for 20 people coming b/c only one person RSVP'ed ggrrr!!!) but I'm happy about that because i don't know how many more people we would have been able to fit into this hotel room.


We began the night eating all the yummy food i had brought. Mini croissant sandwiches, fruit tray, penis pasta, penis shaped rice crispy treats, chips and salsa, popcorn, and my pantie pull down punch. We played three games... Pin the hose on the firemen, We stuffed marshmallows in our mouth and said fuzzy balls, and played truth or dare. we all also did blow job shots. She got a bunch of crazy dirty gifts that were fun to watch her open!



After the festivities in the hotel we headed out to hit the town! we first went to the club i had planned for us to go to... club venom... but once we got there we weren't feelin it at all (Asian invasion) Laura really wanted to go to cowgirls so we walked all the way to pioneer square (stopping at some other fun bars on the way) Once at cowgirls we had a blast! we got a ton of great pictures and truly just danced the night away!


we stayed till the bar closed and after while we waited for D's man to come pick her up we talked with a few guys and Debbie kissed i think it was 3 of them! too entertaining! also Laura got picked up... literally! finally to end the night we walked all the way back to our hotel stopping at Taco Del Mar or a late night munchie.









The next morning Laura and i met up with our men and went to the first Seahawks game of the season! we had great seats (about 7 rows up from the field) we were pretty tired and directly in the sun but we had a great time and i actually learned something about the game! next time i will have even more fun!