The ABCs of Me...

A - Attached or single: Attached

B - Best friend: Dustin

C - Cake or pie: Depends on what kind of cake or pie... lol

D - Day of choice: Thursday... It's my day off with Steve!

E - Essential item: Lip stuff!

F - Favorite color: Blue

G - Gummy bears or worms: I don't really do "gummy"

H - Hometown: Eagar, AZ

I - Indulgence(s): Chocolate, bubble baths, and good books!

J - January or July: July... I love the 4th out here!

K - Kids: My dog is my child!

L - Life is incomplete without: Loved ones

M - Marriage date: No idea... and I'm OK with that!

N - Number of siblings: 1 big brother

O - Oranges or apples: BOTH!

P - Phobias or fears: Spiders make me want to throw up!

Q - Quotes: This one used to hang on my mom's fridge... "There have been no dragons in my life... Only small spiders and stepping in gum. I could've coped with the dragons."

R - Reason to smile: I have a week of vacation coming up...WOO HOO!!

S - Season of choice: Fall is beautiful in this part of the country

T - Tag three friends: Dustin, Melissa Jo, Jeff

U - Unknown fact about me: I'm a crappy cook! (I'm working on it though)

V - Very favorite store: Archiver's

W - Worst habit: Right now... It's clenching my teeth!

X - X-ray or ultrasound: Huh???

Y - Your favorite food: Shrimp!

Z - Zodiac sign: Aries... I'm a rebel!

A Challenge...

The past week (my work week begins on Friday and goes through Monday) at work has been a week from hell... There's really no other way to put it!

A typical day in my line of work includes dealing with computer malfunctions, weather issues, air traffic control problems, broken airplanes, unhappy Owner Services reps, and pilots that are less than thrilled about where they are or where they are going. It's just the nature of the beast.

I consider myself a people person and most of the time I really enjoy the challenge of what I do (in a "bang-my-head-against-a-wall" kind of way). However... there are a few times a year when my people skills and "How may I help you?" attitude pretty much fly out the window. One of those times is Super Bowl week. I absolutely dread it!

First of all... I don't understand what is so special about the Super Bowl anyways. It's a football game. We see them all the time. Same big guys, same spandex pants, and they're STILL running around trying to tackle the dude with the ball. (Can you tell I am not a football fan?) Secondly... Even if you are a football fan, why on earth would you spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to watch (possibly from the nosebleed section) something that you could easily enjoy from the comfort of your own living room? I don't understand it...

So as I'm driving home from work yesterday... mind racing, blood boiling, and exhausted... I decided that I needed to shake it off and turn things around. After all... It was my Friday. So, when I got home, I started writing a list of all the little things that make me happy. Here's what I have...

1 - Steve (OK... so he's not exactly "little", but he still makes me happy)
2 - Cookie greeting me at the door every afternoon with "bed head"
3 - Green traffic lights
4 - Warm towels fresh from the dryer
5 - E-mails from friends
6 - Chocolate
7 - Paydays (Who doesn't enjoy these?)
8 - New posts on my friends' blogs
9 - Pictures
10 - Diet Coke
11 - Turning on the TV just in time to catch a good show
12 - Finding money in the washing machine
13 - Bubble baths
14 - Scrapbooking (it's cheap therapy)
15 - A good book
16 - Oranges (YUM!!)
17 - Best friends
18 - Mail that isn't a bill
19 - Cookie's snores (My favorite sound EVER!)
20 - Days off!!

This is just a short list... Something to get me started. However, I've challenged myself to come up with at least one more thing to add every day. So, next time I post, I should have a few more to add to the list!

What a Trio!!

Steve and I were sitting on my couch last night watching TV, and I got to thinking...

I have a ton of pictures of Cookie... I have pictures of Steve with Cookie... I have a few pictures of myself with Cookie... and I have picture of Steve and I. However... I didn't have a single picture of all three of us! (Don't ask me why... It has been 2 years!) So since I have this fabulous new camera, I thought I'd grab it and see what kind of magic I could create.

I wasn't sure how to set the timer (I'm really not one for reading directions... I need to be better about that), so Steve took charge! He's the "Techie" in my life. If it's got buttons, cords, lights, switches, dials, wires or knobs... Steve knows how to work it! Anyways, after a few shots, we got one that was pretty cute !


I think we make quite the trio!

I hope all is well with everyone. For those of you out west... Send some sunshine my way!! IT'S COLD!!!

Decisions... Decisions...

I'll be the first to admit that I've made some questionable choices and some not-so-smart decisions in my life. Part of them I can chalk up to being "young and dumb"... The others? Well... I have no excuses.

I am a firm believer in that everything in life happens for a reason. I've learned a lesson from each one of those poor choices I've made... And I truly believe that they've made me the person I am today.

Two years ago (almost to date), I made what has been and what will probably ever be the best decision I have ever made. I decided to go on a date with someone I knew nothing about. It was terrifying...

Thinking back... I remember how nervous and scared I was. I almost called to cancel about 10 times that day! Then I decided that I needed to just go for it and give the guy a chance... I thought, "What's the worst that could happen?".

Words cannot tell you how glad I am today that I took that chance two years ago...

Steve has been a part of my life ever since and has been the best thing to happen to me since Cookie came along! He's an AMAZING person and the Monster and I couldn't be happier!!

We are a couple of lucky, lucky girls...

Monster in Da Hood!!

As you all know... Cookie got a brand new sweater for Christmas! She actually doesn't mind wearing it (especially when it's cold), and she looks so stinkin' cute in it... I LOVE IT!!

She was snoozing on the couch today while I was playing with my camera, so I thought I'd see if I could get a good picture of her. I took a few pictures of her... And then I remembered that her sweater has a hood on it. So, I pulled the hood up and got a couple pictures... This one was my favorite!

Happy 2008!!

I can't believe 2007 is over... I still feel like I'm somewhere back at the end of October! The past few months have been SO busy and have flown by SO quickly! I love the holiday season and all that comes with it, but this year I felt like I had a ton to do and never really got the chance to slow down. I'm kinda glad I won't have to think about it again for a while ...

I had a wonderful Christmas this year. I got to have a Christmas with Steve and Cookie, a Christmas with Steve's family, and also a Christmas with my Mom, Dad, and Brother! I got really lucky this year!!

For Christmas this year, Steve bought me a fabulous new digital camera and all the goodies that go along with it! When I opened it, I about died!! I've been looking at new cameras for a while and was trying to put aside a little money here and there to save up for a nice one. He got me a Canon Digital Rebel XTi... It's AMAZING!! It is really easy to use and takes the clearest pictures. I find myself taking pictures of everything now... I LOVE IT!!

I had a few days off over the holidays, so on Christmas Day I flew to Kansas to see Roland and my parents. When I got to the airport here in Columbus, I learned that my flight had been cancelled (Thanks, Skybus!) ... I was so upset, I just started bawling! Thank goodness for Steve... He got online and booked a ticket for me on another airline and I was able to fly out a few hours later. He is so good to me!

I had a great time at the farm with my family. I hadn't seen my dad since last Christmas, so it was good to see him. I got to see my brother and meet my new furry nephew, Jake (who is so stinkin' cute!), and I got to see my mom and Grandma as well. It was a really good trip home and I'm SO glad I made it out there to see everyone!

I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season and that you have a happy and healthy 2008!!