Tuesday, November 30, 2010

movin on up...

Last night we did a lot of work at my grandma’s. Everything is moved out…completely! Nothing in the rooms but a cardboard box holding our Christmas tree which is just dying to be put up! I am hoping in two weeks I can put my tree up and still have some time to enjoy it! That is my goal!

The floors are vacuumed, the walls are puttied! Tonight I am going to clean the carpets and then it is time to paint! I am so excited to get the paint up as then we can really move in! So hopefully next week, amidst schoolwork and work, we will be able to get a good chunk of our apartment moved over!

Wish us luck!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Tis the season to be Thankful...

On this beautiful Thanksgiving day, there is so much to be thankful for. It is fricken freezing outside, so we are all inside, playing games, cooking up a storm, and enjoying the day with family and friends. To pay tribute to all I am thankful for, I have compiled a list of everything I can't live without and everything I am thankful for.

  1. My faith and my God!
  2. My amazing husband who surprises me everyday and makes me proud!
  3. My loving family who support everything I do and who support even if they don't agree.
  4. The amazing host of friends that I surround myself with. Mainly the strong women who I am so blessed to call my best friends.
  5. My lovely Faithy Kitty Girl who has provided so much love, comfort, and fun!
  6. The animals that live in Buffalo, Jack, Duke, Val, and Jinx!
  7. My jobs, both of them! I get so much support and security from working.
  8. My school, who provides me with a plethora of knowledge.
  9. My beautiful mother and mother in law. I am so lucky to have two great women in my life.
  10. A warm bed to crawl into at night.
  11. Christmas lights and Christmas trees being put up by neighbors.
  12. My reliable car.
  13. Being a part of three of my friends weddings.
  14. My father who is always there and provides a great deal of humor in my life.
  15. My grandma flying out to spend Thanksgiving with us.
  16. My family in Colorado who were so awesome to share grandma.
  17. Being able to travel.
  18. Being free cause I love roaming around.
  19. My life!
  20. Getting to spend Thanksgiving with some pretty great peeps!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Cake pull!

Has anyone ever heard of a cake pull? Well, since having an amazing wedding, like many brides, I am a bit obsessed with weddings! Fancy that! Anyways, I occasionally like to Google what’s new on the wedding front, even though I am happily married! Maybe I will use some of the traditions I find for a vow renewal! Who knows!

So this tradition seems like a nice one, as long as it is pulled off in an “interesting” manner. The tradition is to tie a ribbon to little charms. The charms are placed in the cake, with the ribbon protruding, and the bride and groom can pick who pulls the charms out. May be the parents, family, or wedding party. Each charm has a meaning behind it and this meaning can be announced when the charm is pulled from the cake. Check out this site for a list of traditional charms and their meanings http://www.scottish-wedding-dreams.com/heraldic-symbols.html.

I could see this activity going one of two ways. Either splendidly well, or a complete bomb! I think it is key to figure out how you will pull the charms, what you will say, and how much guest involvement is used. Does each bridesmaid pull a charm, say what it is, and read the meaning to the guests? This could be part of the speeches section of a wedding and could be more of a “well wishes” type of activity. Like I said though, with little planning, this could seem like an unplanned, messy event and that is not what any bride wants on their wedding day.

I will add that even though I described using this tradition at a wedding, I have read that people do them for birthday’s, shower’s, and other sorts of parties. I see this being a great activity at any of these events!

So there you have it! A cake pull! I have always wanted to be a wedding planner, especially since J-Lo showed me how it’s done. Maybe this is some foresight into my future. Pretty sure every bride thinks they could be a wedding planner…but really, most of us shouldn’t! Ah, to take my own advice or not to take my own advice? That is the question!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Flash back Friday and a post!

Forgive the flashing, I was singing Santa Baby!


Every year I get so excited when the holiday season starts to arrive. I love the warm decorations, the crisp air outside, and the wonderful Christmas music that I can blast from my car radio from Thanksgiving to Christmas day. What I do not look forward to is the premature nature of the retail world and their insistence on blasting Christmas music and dousing their locations in red and green puke right after Halloween. Seriously, the Tuesday after Halloween, Election night, me and my BFF for life Laura went to get our scrap on and WHAM! Christmas music…I have to admit that they were playing it very softly and it was a bit therapeutic, however, it was TOO soon! Additionally, the second job I have procured, which I seriously love! (-no joke! This is a fun job!), has also started playing Christmas music! That’s right! An entire shift of Christmas music, once or twice a week, for the duration of November and December…TOO SOON! I know I would have loved this as a kid, and only Lord knows why my parents did not take me to Archivers or retail locations more often so I could get my fix, but as an adult, you realize the absurdity of Christmas music in November. It truly takes away from the Spirit of Christmas, the Glow of the season. When that magical day finally arrives, we are turning our radio stations back to rap, pop, country, classic rock, WHAT HAVE YOU, as we are completely and utterly sick of hearing the same Christmas song every hour on the hour as we have been listening to it for the last two months and can’t possibly listen to it anymore.

I digress…make sure to remember what this season is about. It’s about love, joy, faith, friendship, and the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The Girlz!

This weekend I am headed to the great plains of the Midwest to embark on a little scrapbooking, Christmas shopping, and hanging with my girlies. Very excited to get my scrap on, my shop on, AND my drink on!

Cheers to a girls weekend! Now pass the Boone’s Farm!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

updates galore...

Big changes are in the future for the MN based Durgin clan. Come Dec. 31st, we will officially reside with D. Lo. This will help offset the cost of owning a house for her and additionally, will allow Mr. Chaz and myself to start saving some money! Woot woot! This will be a short term move, maybe around 6 months, as we are looking to find a bigger place, maybe in a suburb! No buying! Just continued renting! We are not ready to plant our roots yet but we do want something a little more “house” like!

We are also looking at fostering a cat just like Faith. I say foster as if she does not get along with Faith, we can continue to find a place for her to call home, but if they get along, we may add another family member to our little family! More to come but for sure two cats is my max! I don’t want a house full of cats someday! Just a few furry friends! And we have always wanted a dog so that is in the distant future but when this does happen, I am sure Faith will NEVER TALK TO US AGAIN CAUSE WE ARE MEAN HUMAN PEOPLE FOR BRINGING A DOG INTO THE HOUSE---Faith has a pretty large attitude which is why I emphasized that statement!

School is going great for both myself and Chaz. I am loving what I am learning and working really hard to get a good grade as this is required in order to receive financial aid and without financial aid I could not afford school and would have to pay back student loans which I also can not offered…ah the joys of growing up! But Chaz is well on his way to graduating. He has a year to a year and a half left and is really looking forward to getting his hands dirty and getting out into the “real” world. It is hard at this age to be a full time student and I completely understand. You want to be making money and providing but we just look ahead to the future and how this will benefit the end means!

So yeah, all is good! Life is great, the holidays are around the corner, and we are enjoying our little life in the big city!

Monday, November 1, 2010

For the love of America...

Tomorrow is Election Day. It is the day to get out and let your opinions be heard. A day to let freedom ring and come together to initiate change, transform our country and sprinkle a fresh layer of hope across our political system. Two years ago on Election night, America made a huge decision. They chose to give themselves their first black President, a President voicing change, opposition to a brutal war, and the promise of a different future. It is also the night that Chaz Durgin asked me to be is wife, promising a future of love, faithfulness, and a boat load of adventure. I can’t help but love this time of year!