New TV Stand! 25 bucks!!!

So I'm pretty proud of the flat screen tv stand we bought from Wal-Mart. We've been looking at them since we got the TV for Christmas, but they are very expensive! Lucky for me I ran into this little gem of stand, picture above. (Tried to take a picture of the one we actually have in our living room but was too dark couldn't get a good pic...so the pic is one from the website.) $25 is all it cost! Sure, it's not made out of solid wood or anything fancy, but it does the job, and it's attractive. We didn't really want to spend $100+ on a stand, when who knows what kind of living room decor we might have when we buy a house. So for now, it's a purchase we're both pleased with! YAY! Gotta love finding a great bargain, even if it has to be at evil Wal-Mart. We're headed to Sturgeon for the weekend. Hope everyone else has a great one.

American Idol Tuesday

Josh came over for dinner tonight and to watch American Idol. Allen of course is now at work. I'm trying to wind down. Last night was a very rough night of sleep. I get spoiled over the weekend, crazy thing...sleeping with my husband. And then Monday it gets yanked away from me again. BLEH! I know I know, I seem to be doing alot of whining about it, and yes I'm a big baby, but I can't help it. He makes me feel safe. I sleep WAY better with him here.

We had our "Cool Runnings" olympics party this weekend. It ended up being a very small party, most of our friends ended up having other plans, but Jessica, our new friend Katie, Josh, and Caleb were there, so we still had a great time. I can always count on it when it's those guys around! It was great to watch that movie! I'd forgotten just how cute of a movie it really is. Then we played our new board game, Quelf, a rediculously random board game. I actually had to make snorkel during the game out of whatever household items I could and wear it during the game! LOL! See the picture above. Jessica was very festive in her Jamaican hat, which she bought especially for the party! Extra awesome points to her! :)

YAY AGAIN FOR THE USA!

Well, Allen had to go to work for overnights, so Penny and I spent our evening watching Olympic Men's figure skating. GO USA! I'm not much of a sports person, but I really do LOVE to watch the Olympics. They are just soooo exciting, the best athletes in the world together in one place putting on one heck of a show for two weeks straight! It was a nail biter tonight...watching that Russian guy walk around during his warm up, I thought Uh-Oh! It was very hard to watch him on the medal stand with his silver medal. Some athletes are happy with any medal, but he was crushed. Can't say I blame him... oh well, way to go Lysacek!

It's going to be a rough night of sleep again with Allen being gone. Wonder if I will ever get used to it. I'm gonna bet probably not.

USA! USA! USA!

We enjoyed a quiet evening together tonight watching American Idol and Sean White take the gold for the snowboarding halfpipe competition. Penny loved it too...obviously!

Rollerskating...WOOT!

So tonight Allen and I went rollerskating with a group of friends. YES, you read that right...ROLLERSKATING! First of all I never ever could rollerskate. I don't know what possessed me to agree to go. At 25 I definately still cannot skate. It's ok though, I wasn't the only one. Allen rollerbladed. He's pretty good. Josh went too. We had a good time. It was a workout for sure. Still can't believe we actually did it, LOL! :) It was hilarious. Also, side story, we were worried about us busting our butts on the rink, but umm....Allen fell flat on his tush in the parking lot before we even made it into the building!!!!!!

I know I haven't blogged in a while. I will be able to have more time again later this week. Last night, tonight, and tomorrow night I have been spending time with Allen because he doesn't have to work overnights until Thursday. He has a "reconnect" orientation tomorrow and that's what he did today also. Luck duck, he had Monday off for President's Day! We had a wonderful Valentine's day together. Again, we both feel so lucky to have eachother.

Love you all LOTS AND LOTS!

Poker after Dark...

Tonight is Allen's first third shift. He had to leave early because of the snow. I hope that he has a good night. It's going to be a REALLY long year to say the least. We had a great weekend. Josh and I went bowling with Jessica and her friend Katie on Friday night. I finally bought a pantry for the kitchen so now hopefully I can get the kitchen organized. Then on Saturday we spent a lazy day catching up on watching our TV shows online. Saturday night went over to Kate and Seths for some poker. It was an intense night of cards. 6 hours! I left feeling mentally fried. Everyone was playing really well and it was tough, but over all Allen and I came out on top. He won the first game, I got second place. He got second place on the second game, (I was out at fourth place), and then he and I tied for first on the third game. Not bad...

So, Sunday was the superbowl. We went over to Mom and Dad's to watch it, the commercials and the game were both pretty disappointing this year. Allen and I both are not into football so not a big deal to us.

Love you all!

Mmmm..another cup of tea...

"The whole problem with Civilization is that we've been trying to squeeze the mind into the brain and it won't fit. The great gift of the leaf is that it relaxes the brain, freeing it to float to its true home in the bounless and the inexhaustible- the sublime stat we call TeaMind." -The Minister of Leaves (republicoftea.com)

So, I'm becoming a firm believer in the healing relaxing power of a cup of tea (decaf) in the evening. (Or a cup of the caffeinated kind too, just earlier in the evening of course.) There is just something undescribably great about wrapping my cold hands around a warm mug and breathing in the heavenly scented steam vapors. Not to mention the great taste and the cozy feeling of that warmth in my mouth and the wonderful soothing of my throat. After a long day talking all day, it's a little mini-getaway right at the computer. Bloggin, listening to some smooth Jack Johnson in the background, and sipping on some tea. Ahhh...for just a moment I'm going to try and forget that today was not Friday(I hate Thursdays!)...that there is another day of listening to people's insurance woes and saving the world one medical claim adjustment at a time left to go this week...I'm going to forget that this weekend is the big weekend before another major adjustment in our schedule...going to forget we need to buy a new car...going to forget that I need to go to the dentist and a gastroenterologist. Hmmm...I guess I better go brew another cup of tea..maybe two , or three more cups eh? :)

In all seriousness, the cup of tea with the music in the background really is a relaxing thing to do. I tend to have a problem with letting myself get caught up in the crazy things going on. Sometimes I forget to just relax to slow my thoughts down to a halt and just sit and enjoy being me. I'm one of the luckiest people I know. (In my humble opinion...) I have the most wonderful husband in the whole world. It still feels like a dream that I've actually found my soulmate, that one person who completes me in ways I never knew I was lacking completion. I have an amazing job, and now my husband does too. I will never never take my job for granted. It has a lot of things about it that I jokingly complain about, but I know I'm lucky. Not lucky...blessed. Very very blessed. I may always be wondering what I'm going to fix for dinner but I don't ever have to IF I'm going to have enough food to fix dinner with. I may complain about house chores, but at least I have a roof over my head and enough living space that I need to clean. We have the sweetest little dog who is a true companion. I might complain about her stubborness, but at least we can afford to have a pet. Our friends are the kind we can always count on for the fun stuff and the serious stuff. Our family...what I can say that would be even close to adequate to express how much I love you all and how very grateful I am for your love.

I know that this has been kind of "touchy feely" type of blog tonight...but hey...what can I say...that's what a nice cup of hot tea will do for you! Seriously, give it a try! Use a cool mug...it's more fun that way! :)

Two more days....we can do it!

This week seems to have flown by, but each day by itself seems like it's 30 hours long with going to work and then waiting for Allen to get home at night. At least Josh has been keeping me company tonight and last night. How lucky am I that I have a little brother who wants to hang out with his big sis, eh? I'm enjoying a yummy cup of Passion "Herbal Infusion" TAZO tea. Caffeine free and wonderful!

The sun was shining today, so on my second break I sat outside and soaked up some good ol sun rays. It's the lack of sun that causes everyone to get so crazy in the winter. It's what makes us SOOOO glad to see spring. I can handle the dreary gray pretty well, but I have to admit...it makes me a little cranky too.

Well hope everyone had a great Wednesday.

Mmmm Chili...oh and Happy Groundhog's Day!

We did a little bit of online car shopping this weekend. Didn't really find anything. Next step is going to be actually visiting the dealerships. We had a great weekend. We went to my Aunt's birthday party Saturday night for cake and ice cream, then we went bowling again. The boys seem to be getting better , I think I was worse this weekend than last weekend. I just don't have any real bowling skills...lol! Sometimes I think I just get on a lucky streak. But Allen and Josh are really pretty good. Caleb's gonna be right up there with em if we keep going on a regular basis. This guy next to us at the alley bowled 7 strikes IN A ROW!!!! We were watching him in awe cheering him on. It was really sad when he didn't bowl a strike on his 8th frame.

Well Allen found out he starts working his thirdshift on Monday...I hope that this isn't too hard on Allen. He's always been a night owl so hopefully he will adjust quickly. Hopefully I will too.

Josh came over tonight to watch American Idol with me and we ate the chili I made this weekend. It was my first time making my own chili. (I've made white chicken chili before...but not beef). I found a really good recipe online and it turned out DELICIOUS!!!! The recipe is definately a keeper.

Well, it's February now, which means only a month and a half officially left for winter. YAY! Bring on the green and sunshine!!!!