quick note

Well, Christmas was wonderful. My Grandparents, Parents, Siblings, their spouses, and their kids were all together for the holiday. It was a full, but happy time. I am still staying at my brother's house with his family. Jeremy is up on the Canadian border, fishing. My time has been well spent. That's all.

Christmas time is here!!!

Sorry, it has been a few weeks. Since I last blogged, several things have happened. Well, really just two.

1. Jeremy, being only 4 months into this marriage, and not yet realizing that eventually he will have to say no to one of my requests, let me get a kitten! The kitten's name is Midnight (Jeremy named it). It is ALL black (fur, paws, even whiskers) with big, bright orange eyes. Our current cat, Sam, is still getting used to Midnight. He and she have a fight about 3 times a day, but they are no comfortable sharing a bed with each other (and Jeremy and me). Midnight comes from the same farm land I used to work at when I worked in a home for adults with disabilities. That brings me to my second point.

2. I got a new job. Starting next month I will be a director at a day care center. The decision to change my place of employment was a difficult one to make and it took me nearly two months to make the decision.

Tomorrow Jeremy and I are making the trek to my brother's house 5 hours away. We will be driving through snow the whole time. Please pray for safe travels for us. I am SOOO excited to see my family. We have not all been together for Christmas for several years now and we all recognize that this kind of gathering will be a happenstance from now on. This is also my first opportunity to see my nephew, Josiah, and my niece, Alexis. I am the last of the siblings to arrive for the festivities and I already feel like I am missing out on so many fun events (happy yesterbirthday David!).

Did you know that blogger reconizes yesterbirthday as a word? Just to be sure of its nonexistance, I checked Microsoft Word... yup, red squiggly line. Dictionary.com doesn't reconize it either but they do suggest yester birthday or yester-birthday. Also, did you know that today used to be spelled to-day. Yup, it was.

Ok, time to do laundry, pack, and do some work.

Happy Birthday!

Welcome to the world Alexis Josephine!

stockings

Our first Christmas is coming up!

I was looking forward to getting to make the stockings we will hang for years to come. I was planning on using the sewing machine that we have from Jeremy's mom, but Jeremy requested that I knit the stockings instead. He always had knitted stockings at Christmas. I decided this would be a good opportunity to increase my knitting skills. I got a pattern from my sister that I decided not to use because I found this one. Sorry, L, I know you went through a lot of trouble to get me that one.

Here they are!

I talk in my sleep

Jeremy informed me that last night I rolled over to face him and said, "Fish! Fish! Fish! Its you're theme! Fish! It's your theme! It's your theme!"

I'm a little frightened by this newly found talent.

FISHY!

Last spring a good friend of ours gave us his old aquarium and everything that went with it (stand, filter, heater, etc.). This past week, Jeremy and I (but mostly Jeremy) set it up. Today we got fish. They are little fish but they are pretty.

Jeremy

I think Sam wants to be their friend.

Here is a video of them... It is kind of soothing to watch

Knitting

Jeremy requested knitted Christmas stockings. Because my skills in knitting are limited I decided to start with a small project using straight needles. Today I made a hat. It is not the best hat, but you can tell it is a hat.

That creepy guy at Wal*Mart

There is a creepy guy at Wal*Mart. He takes a different shape with each visit, sometimes he takes the shape of a woman, sometimes he changes shapes within one trip. Most would argue that this is not one man, but several different characters: I know better. It is not possible that Wal*Mart would be the ONLY store to attract so many creepy characters. No, it must be only one shape-shifting man.

Today the man took the shape of a Northern Wisconsin man with a Texan accent. He wore a thick, blue plaid winter coat. In his arms he carried two DVDs freshly snatched off the $4 rack. He met Jeremy and me at a kiosk filled with poorly crafted candles. Jeremy and I were enjoying the foul smells coming from each candle. The "birthday cake" candle was almost as bad as the "mixed berry". Creepy Guy joined in, stating that some of them are quite pleasing. Jeremy and I gently disagreed. This must have posed as a challenge to Creepy Guy because he then spent the rest of our time at the kiosk handing me candles to smell. At first, I accepted the candles and made small talk about each one. Eventually, I started wondering where he was finding all these different scents. Our time at the Kiosk ended when I shot Jeremy a glance that said, "You are not protecting me. Do your job." Jeremy and I started walking away when Creepy Guy offered another candle to me at which Jeremy remarked, "Well, we'll see you around."

Sad thing is, I know we WILL see Creepy Guy around. At Wal*Mart, Creepy Guy is unavoidable. If you don't find Creepy Guy at Wal*Mart, it is likely that Creepy Guy took the shape of you.

My weekend... just thoughts.

Well, Jeremy got a deer before I did. He got it on Thursday night, but I didn't go with. He got a Bambi, aka "button buck." It was a baby but we got a fair amount of meat off of it. It is tasty. We butchered it last night while our friends Kevin and Becca sat on the couch watching Simpsons and witness the meat grinder do its thing.

Saturday afternoon we went out hunting again. It was unsuccessful, but fun. Jeremy and I got to use the two-person stand at his friend's cow pasture. Jeremy was hoping my first deer would present itself that day so he could get it on tape, but nothing showed up except for several cows. Oh well.

Saturday night we enjoyed at Kevin's (and soon-to-be Becca's) place. Jon and Joce were there too. While the guys were out getting Thai food, us girls sat and talked about the upcoming wedding, jobs, etc... It was somewhat therapeutic. When the guys got back, we enjoyed Margaritas.

Now, it is Monday.

If anyone wants to know how it is really going in my life, feel free to call.

Pictures

My mom came over yesterday and gave me my wedding proofs. I sat down for an hour or so and cut the pile of 452 photos down to 90 great ones. Our limit is 75 so I gave Jeremy the job of eliminating 20 more. No, I'm not bad at math, I just knew that I would want to keep some of the pictures he threw out. We now have 75 which we will send back so they can make a coffee table book (like a photo album only it is fancy and printed as a hard cover book).

We also have all non-commercial rights to the photos so here are some of my favorites:

no cleanser could fix these blemishes.

Jeremy and I dated in high school. He practically threw a party when my acne cleared up. I have him to blame for these blemishes. He got me a face mask to hunt in... so my face will be covered and the bugs won't bother me. Guess what part of my face the mask doesn't cover.

Young Love

Jeremy and I went on a walk yesterday. It was about 4:00pm and I was very glad it was the weekend. The weather was nice. It was quite warm for October. We made small talk about it. He complained about the warmth, I told him it didn't bother me much. I enjoyed the freedom this walk was bringing. Jeremy reached over and held my hand. "Aww, How sweet." I thought. We continued on our walk, hand-in-hand, tree-stands on our back, bows occupying our other hands.

Something to laugh about

I'm not quite sure what monster he has created

October 1st was deer opener for bow hunters. I shocked Jeremy this year by not only saying that I wanted to try it, but that I wanted to go out with him and Tim on opener. While Jeremy is normally a wonderful husband, showing his love for me in ways he knows I will understand, he has become increasingly affectionate in the last week. Apparently this whole hunting thing is a big deal to him. :)

Anyway, 10/01/08 came this past Wednesday. I continuously watched the clock at work that day, excited to leave a bit early for the trip. I called Jeremy on my way home and asked him to have everything of mine ready to go. Our destination was a small patch of woods, including several apple trees, on Tim's, a friend of ours, land. I arrived home, changed, we loaded up Tim's truck, and we left.

We all sat relatively close to each other on this land. After an hour of sitting we saw a doe wander in. She passed by all three of our stands and is still walking today. The rest of the night I watched several deer (does and bucks) wander around just outside of my reach.

This morning Jeremy and I packed up at 4:30 (correction, he packed up and I wandered aimlessly around the apartment wearing a confused and very angry face... I'm not a morning person) and drove an hour west. It was very very dark as we walked through a very thick forest floor. It was unpleasant. But after I got up in my tree and settled in, I had to admit Jeremy was right. It is fun to watch the forest wake up. The sun slowly came up and the forest got louder and louder. The first interesting animal to cross my path was a red fox. I don't think I have ever seen a red fox in person before. It is a beautiful creature. about an hour and a half into sitting I saw my first doe, quickly followed by my second and third. They walked slowly down a nearby hill, enjoying breakfast on the way. Two were a little naive and did not take the time to listen between each bite. If they had, they may have heard me stand up and get my bow ready. The third was a little bit smarter. She knew something was there. I was flexing my arm to begin to draw when she looked up at my face, got mildly frightened and ran off, causing the other two to follow suit. Oh well. Still, very cool sights to see.

I love early fall.

I love eating pumpkin custard.

safely killing

I took a hunter's safety course on Friday and Saturday. Tomorrow I hit the woods for the first time.

Our Apartment!

This is a video tour of our apartment.

GO TWINS!

A downside of living in Illinois is that we are no longer in what was once advertised as "Twins Territory." However, within the walls of our apartment, it is always "Twin's Territory." Go Twins! Kill the Sox!

welcome

Welcome to the world (yesterday) Josiah Nathan! And happy birthday Nate!

Welcome!

Welcome to the world Kimia Esther!

George Lucas In Love

My brother showed this to me a long time ago. It is time you saw it too.

The last month

Just to catch you up in the last month...I married this guy. His name is Jeremy. He's alright.

We went on a honeymoon!


In Colorado


This is what I feel like everyday at 3:00pm.


This is my sister. In the next day or so I hope to see a picture of whatever is causing that big bump on her stomach.

A new beginning

Well, I am starting a new blog. I had my last blog throughout my college life, but lately I haven't updated it. I'm not sure if it is from my lack of exciting experiences (actually that CAN'T be it) or my sudden and unexplainable distaste for xanga, or that my blog name no longer correlates with my real name. Whichever way, I am no longer pleased with my past blog.

So, if I am not blogging there, why blog at all? Well, I find that every time I get online I hit sites in a pattern. First I check my e-mails, then facebook, then I go to my bookmarks, click on "blogs" and open all 7 blog sites. These blogs are my way to connect with my family and friends. My family is spread throughout the world. Poland, Asia, Minnesota, Michigan, and my mother frequents several different countries throughout the year. My closest family lives an hour away. I love my family and try to stay close to them despite the distance between us. I fully enjoy reading about their lives; seeing pictures of their kids, reading about their most recent adventures. While I know I don't have many exciting adventures to share, I feel it is only fair to add the few I do have to the online world and share them with my family.

Welcome to my blog.