The End.

For my final 2010 blog entry, I think it's fitting to end the year with a nice recap of my blog over the 1 1/2 years I've been keeping up with it.  The larger the word, the more frequently it showed up on my blog, and I'm glad to see that "reading" and "book" were two of my most used words so far.  Enjoy, and wishing everyone a happy and successful 2011!

Welcome Home, Leia!

Because we have a tendency to name nearly every item we buy and bring into our home (i.e., Sally the Step stool, Teeveetwo the new TV just to name a couple), it's only fitting that we have named our most recent large addition to the house.  Leia (short for Liatorp), found her way into our hearts while perusing the display rooms at IKEA on Monday afternoon...  

One quick look at her and we knew that the price and design were right, and that we needed her nestled in the Southeast corner of our dining room.  Luke and I have been in search of the perfect sideboard server/buffet for over a year now, and after several close calls, we just couldn't find the right one for the right price.  Sure, I fell in lust with multiple hutches and servers that were well out of our price range, but Luke was always good at keeping me from actually wanting to seriously pull the trigger on the purchase.  Did we think that we would be walking out of IKEA with a sideboard?  No, not a chance (I had looked so many times on their website, and somehow this one never came up in any of my searches, plus we were only going in there for another set of Hemnes drawers for our bedroom).  Are we glad we did?  Definitely (not including the 2 1/2 hours of quasi-stressful assembly- Damn you IKEA and your non-verbal instructions).  While we originally wished that she had a more natural wood colored top board on her, we figure that as our home decor tastes change she will do a good job withstanding that sort of change, and will be enjoyed by us for many years to come. 

Lastly (to make sure our other purchase made at the same time as Leia doesn't feel left out...), we also brought home Hemmy II.  He will hopefully be put together in the next couple of days so that I can get my clothes off of our bedroom floor. 

Overall, I must say that we had a very successful After-Christmas shopping day at IKEA.

Blizzard!

Today, we have been officially snowed in. Thank goodness both Luke and I have the day off (well, my parents gave me the day off since there was no way that I would be able to make it from Saint Paul to Minnetonka today). They're predicting that it could be almost as bad as the Halloween blizzard of 1991 in some parts of the state. I'm not 100% sure of how many inches we've gotten so far, but I know that our snow reaches the top of Luke's wellies!

Yes, I know that the shorts weren't the best decision on my part :-)

Pocket Degu!

Franz and Bruno (our boy degus) LOVE to nest in the pocket of my bathrobe. Just thought that I would share this video from today of them. Enjoy!

Things I love right now

1.)  The fact that I just made kraft mac 'n cheese with half and half instead of milk (we ran out of milk this morning, so fortunately I had over estimated how much half and half I would need for cooking just before Thanksgiving).  I added a whole bag of peas to the one box of pasta, so that cancels out the half and half, right?
2.) Luke's LEGO mess all over the basement.  I feel like I have a little boy living in my basement :-)
3.) Soy Chai Lattes from Starbucks- I can't seem to get enough of them.
4.) That it's Christmas season, and it's time to start shopping for gifts!
5.) My job (especially that this upcoming week is the only full- 5 day week I have before winter break)
6.) The snow, even the shoveling isn't that bad
7.) My zoo

Things I don't like:
1.) Luke's new schedule (though it's supposed to be done by Christmas).  Only being able to see my best friend once or twice a week really sucks.  We basically just sleep next to each other, and talk on the phone about once a day, but I really don't enjoy not seeing him.  It's been a hard adjustment, going from seeing each other every day and doing everything together to trying to make the most of the day or so that we do get to see each other.
2.) Cooking for one.  I don't have any incentive to cook well-balanced meals (or at all).  The only thing keeping me cooking is the face that I need to have something for lunch the next day.

And it begins.

The weirdest thing for me regarding Luke starting 2nd shift this week is trying to figure out when to eat dinner.  If I wanted to, I could just make popcorn and peas, or eat a can of beets, or even make myself a real meal if I so desire, but I'm realizing very quickly that I do not like making meals for one...  I have a feeling that the next 5 weeks are going to go by very slowly...

Looks like salad and roll, followed by some coffee-heath bar ice cream is what's for dinner tonight!

A November Winter Wonderland

We've got SNOW!

This morning we woke up to our first real snowfall of the year, and I'm giddy over it.  I love the snow and everything that comes along with it (except for bad drivers and black ice on the roads):  Chunky sweaters, hot chocolate, the festive red cups from Starbucks, shoveling, snowmen, Christmas shopping, my red pea coat, Love Actually... just to name a few of my favorite things. 

Today's favorite thing is the fact that my mom called to tell me not to come into work today due to the amounts of snow and the lack of plowing (they've got a Ford Excursion which can handle the snow, no problem), so I actually get to enjoy being snowed in for the day instead of trying to slowly make my way to the other side of the metro- Thanks Mom and Dad!

Time to go put my robe back on, start a new pot of coffee, grab season one of The Big Bang Theory (thanks to a coworker who lent it to me), and relax for the day :-)

Christmas 2009