:: twas the week before Christmas... ::

wow! i can't believe it is just one week until Christmas!! where in the heck did this year go?! craziness! well, for once, i have all of my shopping done way before Christmas even gets here! i can't wait to give Matt his gifts! we both submitted a "wish list" this year...something we have never really done. we've "mentioned" things we'd like to have, but never had a full blown list. we put tons of things on there so we wouldn't know what we might be getting! i don't think Matt knows what his "big" gift is, and no, i'm not going to tell...because he WILL find out...he has his ways...haha! he "found" a johnny cash DVD that i had gotten him in the closet last week...ugh...i was irked! i can't imagine what our kids will be like when Christmas rolls around if their parents are this curious! haha!

anyways, we're stoked! because this week, our friends, amy and russ, are coming up and will be here mon-thurs! YAY! they left today and are spending the night in nashville with a friend...then will head on out tomorrow and get here sometime around lunchtime probably. i am taking a half day tomorrow, and full days on tues, wed and thurs. we're gonna have a blast! it will be so good to have them here so close to Christmas! i'm so glad they are able to come! here they are..

hope y'all are having happy travels now!! :)

well, i spent most of the day yesterday working on Christmas cards. i LOVE doing Christmas cards! i think that, and shopping are my 2 most favorite "preliminary" Christmas activities..haha! although, i was early with my shopping this year, i wasn't early getting our cards in the mail! haha! with matt's crazy work schedule, it was so hard to find a time that we could go and take our picture for our card. we needed "daylight" for it, and since he doesn't get home until the evenings (and since it gets dark at 4:45 here), we've had a hard time finding a time to take our picture! haha! so we FINALLY went last sunday afternoon, and BARELY got it taken before dark! whew! haha! i loved the way it turned out! i hope you do too!

matt didn't get home from the store until 2am this morning, so we didn't quite make it to church today. :( but it has definitely been a day of rest! haha! we haven't left the apartment all day long, and matt has been in the bed most of the day. i cooked breakfast this morning, so he had breakfast in bed! haha! so, it has been a good day! the Lord had our best interest at heart when he commanded a day of rest! and real rest! haha! it sure does make you feel good! because we haven't had a lot of "together" time here, we spend a lot of our sundays running around, doing this and doing that, shopping and stuff, that we are exhausted by the end of the day. i'm glad we stayed in today. matt especially needed the rest! i just can't stay in the bed all day though...i wouldn't consider myself a "busy body", but i do like to keep myself moving most of the time...haha! oh, back to "2am" last night...yeah, matt and some of the other workers at the store stayed to clean last night, because their closing staff consisted of only 3 people last night. so the 3 of them, had to clean everything after they closed at 10:30. after they finished, around 12:30 or so, they were leaving and one of the guys had a flat tire! ugh! so matt took him to walmart to get some fix-a-flat...that didn't work. they got 2 more cans...still nothing. so matt ended up having to take him home. poor thing was a zombie when he walked in.

i think we may go see Narnia tonight! wheee! i never read the book...can you believe it? haha! i think i started it once when i was in the 5th grade or something, but, like most books, i never finished it. not because of lack of interest, i'm just such a horrible reader. i either get the movie or the audiobook, on most occasions...haha!

oh, our anniversary! yeah, it was GREAT! we took each other shopping...matt got a new cable for his bass guitar, and i got the first season of the Cosby Show! haha! and we ate at this really cool restaurant out at "the valley"...that's what they call it. it's a humongo shopping area out in the middle of nowhere...it doesn't look like a valley, because there are no mountains, so i'm not sure why it's called that. haha! but the restaurant was really good...kinda like "on the border", but more authentic mexican food, and a better atmosphere. when we were finished, we ordered Smores! they bring a little fire thingy to your table, and you roast your own marshmallows and everything! haha! it was fun! oh, and it started snowing while we were there too!! it was so pretty!

well, i think this is quite possibly one of the longest posts i've ever made...i think i better sign off before you fall asleep! haha! oh, before i go...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RALPH!!!! today is ralph's bday!! he is 54! wowsa! HAHAHA! WE LOVE YOU, DAD!! :) and with that, i will leave you with this....

:: happy 4th anniversary...to US!! ::

wheee! today is our 4th anniversary!! i'm in a rush to meet a deadline at the moment, but i'll be back to expound later! haha!
until then...here's a pic from 4 years ago tonight!! :)

:: more snow today!

here is a pic of the pond taken yesterday afternoon...


...and here it is today!


...and here's the parking lot and our lovely, tacky chrima lights! i love 'em!! haha!



well, i just got in from my 6 month dr's appt. everything was well! dr freeman said, once again, that she is a very active little thing. oh great. hahaha! that is fine...we're just glad she is healthy! now instead of every month, i will go every 2 weeks back to the dr. i am really going to miss my doctor here...and the nurses. they have just been wonderful!! just so friendly and helpful. i was a little anxious about switching doctors going into this pregnancy, but it has just been great. SO great that i wish i was going to deliver here...that is, if friends and family were here. but i'll trade the good doctor and nurses for my friends and family any day! HAHA!

i just realized that i never posted the ultrasound pics on here...here they are...these were taken oct 13.


this is my favorite...of her feet! haha!


well, i have bunches more, but you really can't tell what they are of...unless you use your imagination! haha!

well, that is all for now! happy holidays!!!!! wheeeee! :)

:: snow is on the ground! whee!

this is the view outside my "home office" this morning! wheee! so pretty! not much of it...and that's all of it for today. they are calling for a big snow on thursday, so we'll see! the E looks cold out there...poor thang! haha!

:: Brrrr!

i've always wanted some of these, but could never justify buying them, because why would you REALLY need flannel lined jeans if you live in the south? well, i can now justify the purchase! (although, of course, now that i need them, they don't come in maternity sizes...haha!) yesterday, matt and i were out doing a little christmas shopping, and holy moly! it didn't get above 27 all day...but it felt like -27! haha! it pretty much felt like i wasn't even wearing any jeans! just cut right through! haha! and right now, it's a balmy 16! holy majoly!
well, this was a random post...but at least it's a post! something i tend to forget to do! right, rita? haha!

:: Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

okay, so i've kinda gotten behind again on blogging...i think that is how it's just going to have to be...haha!

we had a great thanksgiving and i hope you did too! stephen, holly, kaylee and sunny were all here...and boy, did we have a good time! we didn't do the turkey thing...holly and i were kinda scared of that madness. but we had a roasted chicken, stove top® stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams (matt's request), sweet potato soufflé (sent by my mommer), rice, gravy...and i think that's about it. oh, and i made 2 pies...a pumpkin pie and another pie that pretty much tasted like a big ol' block of baker's chocolate because i ran out of whipped cream to mix with it...so it was a little on the strong side...haha! but we had a great time, and it was fun even though our meal wasn't like mom's...haha!

stephen and holly were here for a week, and that was nice! matt had to work most of the time, so i showed them around st louey the best i could...i'm not great with directions, but i must say we got around pretty good even though i had to be the navigator. haha! friday, after thanksgiving, is one of the craziest days at the store...since all those crazy shoppers like chicken so much. so i went in for a few hours to help out. i washed dishes and made lemonade. oh the joys! haha!

here are some pics of our fun week!

poor matt...even had to work on thanksgiving! he had to make a few runs to get fries to be ready for the next day of craziness! he was only gone a few hours in the morning, though...just in time for our scrumptious spread! haha! here he is on the phone with the family!


here's our holiday spread of food! haha! look at matt's face..i think he is snorting at holly or something...haha!


sunny and kaylee at the kiddee table...haha!


we had Christmas together (on Thanksgiving...haha) since we won't be able to go home for Christmas. here's Sunny opening her little strawberry shortcake art set.


...and kaylee got a bead making kit.


sunny, the artist...


and kaylee, the fashion queen! she made those herself! well, with a little help from me and holly...but it was her "vision"...we just helped...haha!



all bundled up...ready to go look at the christmas lights!


anheuser busch was pretty much the only place that had their lights up early! boy, was it gorgeous! here are the stables where they keep the traveling hitch of horses. so pretty!


saturday, we went downtown to take in the arch. on the way we swung by busch stadium. they are in the process of tearing it down, as you probably know, if you follow baseball at all. they were taking out another section while we were down there...there were a lot of people hanging around to watch the ball swing.


we went up in the arch. sunny didn't really like the ride up...it was too loud for her, i think. but once we got up there, they loved looking out the windows! here's a shot looking down at the city. you can see the stadiums...the old one on the right, the new one on the left.


there's the happy family! see 'em? over on the right...real tiny! haha!


kaylee and sunny posing by the mississippi...


this is kinda random, but i FINALLY got a picture of this massive Amoco sign. it's on the way out of downtown. it's so funny...i just laugh every time i see it, but i never have my camera! so i was glad to finally get a picture! haha! what's even more funny, is that it's not even an Amoco...it's a BP...haha!


the last night they were here, we went to clayton to eat some of the best pizza ever! here's sunny peeking in one of the store windows...soooo cute!


i love sunny's face in this picture! that's her "i'm freezing my hiney off" face! HAHA!


this isn't the best picture of us, but i haven't posted one of us in a while, so here it is...as good as it gets...haha!

:: GO TIGERS!!

Whoohooooooey!!!
Clemson beat USC yesterday! 13-9
I wish we could have seen the game. The Midwest doesn't believe in broadcasting the best games of the season though, for some dumb reason! Haha!


Well, we are so excited because Holly, Stephen and the girls are coming on Tuesday and staying for a week! So we won't be "family-less" for Thanksgiving! YAY!


Matt is having to work out at the store today and catch up on some cleaning...so I am trying to catch up on some freelance work before next week hits. But tonight, we are going to see Walk the Line and we can't wait! YAY! I've heard nothing but good things about it, so that makes it even more exciting. Unlike Jarhead, that we wasted $16 on last weekend to see. Just heed my warning...don't waste your money. I'm not going to start a rant about it, because I will never stop, and then I won't get my work done. So, just take my word for it. Haha!

:: fall is definitely and FINALLY here!

here are a few pics of some pretty trees here in our backyard/parking lot...haha!


this is the view looking out my office window...that tree is soooo perty! :)


well, clemson plays duke today. i sure do hope they win! they've been quite on a losing streak here lately...but were all really close games which makes the loss even tougher, to me. well, if they don't beat duke, they might as well turn in their uniforms...haha!


matt and i will be getting on a plane today at 1:20CT and flying to greenville on CFA business. i will be able to share more when we return. but we're SO stoked about going home! YAY! especially matt, since he hasn't been back since we moved. i got to go back for my 10 yr high school reunion...WHICH btw, i still haven't posted pics of...still to come! we'll return on tuesday night. :( but we'll take what we can get! haha!

oh, and here's something funny...matt went to take his rental car back to AVIS yesterday for some servicing...instead of changing the oil and all that stuff, they just gave him a different car...a pimp daddy ride! LOL!

:: happy birthday, gateway arch!

Today is the 40th birthday of the Gateway Arch! There are lots of festivities going on downtown, so maybe we can make it down there at some point...I hope they are giving away some cool arch foam-hats...haha!

My camera has died or I either have forgotten it on the occasions that we've been down to visit the arch. But here are a few pics someone else took, and some random ARCH facts. One thing that isn't mentioned is that it is as wide as it is tall...630 ft!




The St. Louis Gateway Arch is an elegant monument to westward expansion in the USA. Located on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri, the 630-foot tall stainless steel arch rises above the city skyline. The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial consists of the Gateway Arch, the Museum of Westward Expansion, and St. Louis' Old Courthouse.

How the design was chosen: There was a nationwide competition in 1947-1948 to design a monument in St. Louis honoring western pioneers. The architect Eero Saarinen (August 20, 1910 - September 1, 1961) won the contest with his sleek arch.

Construction: Construction of the arch began on February 12, 1963, and was finished on October 28, 1965. It was opened to the public on July 24, 1967. (after one of the trams was completed). It cost about 13 million dollars to build. The two bases are equilateral triangles (triangles with three 54 foot-long sides). At the top of the arch, the triangle is only 17 feet long on each side. Visitors enter the arch from an underground visitors center and can travel to the observation deck at the top in a 40-passenger tram that runs inside the arch.

The arch has 60-foot deep foundations. The arch is very stable and was built to withstand high winds and earthquakes. The structure sways about one inch in a 20 mph wind; it is designed to sway up to 18 inches in 150 mile per hour winds.

The Arch: The St. Louis Gateway Arch is in the form of an inverted catenary, which is a very stable structure that is often used in bridges, domes, and arches.

A catenary is the shape that a chain or necklace forms when held by the two ends. The Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens named this curve from the Latin word catenarius, which means "related to a chain."

:: tune in tomorrow!

tomorrow on ellen...


derek and ginger!! you go guys!!

derek is one of my peeps at work. they just had twin boys, Kade and Kyle...miracle babies! and they have a 2 year old, Kendall...she is precious! ginger entered a drawing for a lifetime supply of ALL laundry detergent and won the preliminaries! so they were whisked off to LA yesterday for the filming and the grand prize drawing! the show will air tomorrow...in greenville WYFF (ch 4) at 4:00pm. most peeps will be tuning in from around there...just check your local listings if you're tuning in from somewhere else.

good luck y'all!!! i hope you win! i'll send my laundry over if you do! :)

:: more backtrackin'

pooooo! i was just about finished with this entry and lost it all! WAAAAH!!
i'll recap real quick...there's been a bit more that has happened since that last date on the last post...so here goes!

i'll start by showing you our lovely apartment...haha! here's the den and the dining area...that's all that was clean when i took these pictures! haha!



here we are in downtown clayton. clayton is about 10 min east of here...it's a cute little artsy town. you can kinda see the "attack o' the hives on my arm"...haha!


we went to the zoo one sunday after church. it was SO hot! most of the animals were in hiding, but we did manage to snag a few pictures of some!



i think the zebras and horses were mixed together in the same cages and produces this offspring! how weird! haha!



doug, a fellow upward employee and milwaukee boy, was in town one week and hooked us up with some cardinals tickets! it has been so hard to get tickets since this is their last season at busch stadium...well, and since they were in the playoffs. this game was on sept 28, so it was pre-playoffs, but it was still packed! cardinal fans are NUTZ about their team! we've gotten sucked into it a bit since we've been here...haha!

here's where we sat..they were GREAT seats! doug is da man! haha!


me and doug...the hook-up KING!


me and matty! bye bye busch stadium!! it meets it's demise on Thanksgiving Day! so sad!


i'll do more backtrackin' later...

today is thursday and i am so glad! whee! matt gets off at 4:00 today!!! something that doesn't happen very often, so we try to do something fun...although, he may just want to rest which is fine with me too! haha! i helped him last night with paying the bills and counting the money...i'm in training...haha!

lots of work to do today, so i must close this out...

:) carla