Marley was dead to begin with.

This year I have struggled a little bit with finding the Christmas Spirit, and I don't know how to react to this strange phenomenon. Usually I am one of those people who loves the day I hear the first Christmas song on the radio and can't wait for that first snowflake to fall. This year, however, I think I litererally said "Ugh" when I woke up to "Angels we have heard on high". I don't know what's wrong with me. My Christmas tree is usually up the first weekend after Thanksgiving... I promise I will finally put it up today, along with the Simpson's Christmas Village, and my favorite Children's Theatrical Nativity.



So back to the snow, I used to love the snow! I would stare out the window on any stormy day in October hoping the rain would change to big fluffy flakes. Well, I married a man who is accompanied with a curse of "snow means work". Ryan worked with the school district for 10 years as a custodian, if it snowed he had to plow before any lawsuits happened. This fall Ryan took a job with "Turf-it" a landscape company, who also offers snow removal as a service. So now I find my self chanting "let is stop, let is stop, let it stop" when ever a snow fall begins. Deep down in my heart I still love the snow, I just wish that Ryan and I could sit home watching it out the window together for once!



A Redeemed Spirit

Last night Ryan and I were lucky enough to go see "A Christmas Carol" at Hale Centre Theatre. The gift card was a present from my boss, and one of the most thoughtful gifts I had ever recieved. See Stephen knew I loved the theatre and haven't gone to more than a high school production in many years. I didn't care what play I saw so Ryan and I agreed on A Christmas Carol. I was extactic at the thought of seeing some amazing talent. So all day yesterday the snow would come and go and my stomach was in knots at the thought that Ryan might have to work. He did get to come with me and it was a wonderful night! I think it really did help bring out the Christmas Spirit in me. The actors were spectacular, and our front row seats helped us catch every wonderful little detail. I loved every moment, and would love to see another one very soon!

Tag, I'm it!

Well, Kristi has tagged me... and from what I understand that means I need to share 6 things about me that most of you probably don't know. This will take some thinking but I'll do my best:

1. I love old movies, some of you already know this because I have forced you to watch them with me. I don't go as far back as black and white movies but more 50s and 60s. To name a few: On Moonlight Bay, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Tammy and the Batchelor, White Christmas, The Music Man, That Darn Cat, The Pajama Game, Calamity Jane, Come September, Pillow Talk, and so on. I love the Doris Day- Rock Hudson era.

2. I have a talent for impressions and remembering song lyrics but my childhood... almost completely gone from my memory. I lot of people tell me that once I have children of my own things will come back to me, I sure hope so because it really saddens me!

3. I cannot stand for my pillow and Ryan's pillow to touch. I know that I have OCD when it comes to a lot of things, but that is probably the most evident situation. I cannot sleep if his pillow is touching mine or if the mattress isn't perfectly aligned with the box spring.

4. I color and cut my own hair. It's so funny to me to listen to ladies talk about their next hair appointment, and the fact that they schedule them so frequently! I had a bad experience paying 40 dollars to have my hair streaked black when I wanted some "low lights", and a bad experience when I wanted "layers" and got a mullet. So I figured I am really the only person who knows exactly what I want, so I do it myself.

5. I don't like pie. It's quit ironic that I am posting this tid-bit on Thanksgiving. I would much rather have cake or cookies. It's not that I hate pie all together, there are a select few that I like, turtle (which is more like a cake), and berry pies are alright. But I don't like pumpkin, key lime, banana cream, apple, and definately not shoofly.

6. Okay last one... I better make it good. Well, I had my four front teeth knocked out when I was two years old. That's right, I went 5-6 years saying things like "thpoon" "thnoopy" "kitheth". It's amazing I don't have a lisp, I still have a little trouble speaking but not nearly what it could be.

All right so I am now tagging the only person other than Kristi who reads this blog.... JULIE! Jules it's your turn to name 6 interesting things about yourself.

This is Halloween

Well, it was yet another exciting time at the credit union this year. It's always a big event when Halloween roles around. Employees get to vote for three categories: Best Theme, Scariest, and Most Creative. This year our department thought, "all we really want to do is win anyway, so why don't we "run" for Best Theme?". So that's what we did, we were politicians. My boss Stephen and I were a little more excited about the idea than our supervisor Kathy but she was a good sport! Feel free to check out our website with political commercials (I don't know how long it will last) www.spiritheroes.com/votehr/

I still enjoy the evening of Halloween simply because I get to have most of my nieces and nephews stop by and see their costumes. My brother Ryan's kids are getting older now and may not be trick or treating much longer but my brother Eric and his wife Amy are keeping the legacy going with their little girl Brigitta. I love to see what costume Amy has made each year. Amy is so talented, I am envious of her abilities, I just hope her family appreciates it. This year Brigitta was an elephant escorted by her zoo keepers.

So although I am a little late posting them I hope you enjoy the pictures, and Happy Holidays!

Family Pictures

I don't know how many people actually read this thing, at least Julie... thanks Jules! So I really don't know why I am still going at it! I have a myspace, I have a facebook, I'm even part of WAYN (I think), and blogging. What has this world come to? That I have to be involved in four different internet-based lifestyles to keep in touch with past friends? It's a sad thought really, what ever happened to picking up the phone or even better taking a trip? Oh well, I'll do my best trying to create myself through a keyboard.

My point of this babble today is that we had family pictures last weekend, yay! It was a lot of fun and past due. It's been four and 1/2 years since Ryan and I had good, nice pictures done. Honestly it's difficult to be motivated to get up-to-date pictures without children. But I figured that I need to be proud of the life and family that I do have, and take advantage of it. So here are some of the pictures... I apologize if you have already seen them on myspace or facebook!

The House that Love Created

Three years ago in October we bought our house. Any of you who own a house know what money pits they are! Our house was 26 years old but definately livable, we just wanted to do some updating. We had a list of 5 projects: paint the master bedroom, tile the upstairs bathroom floor, re-do the entire downstairs bathroom, put in a sprinkling system, and do some landscape changes. Consider those done! However the list has never stopped. Since then we have put in new carpet, created a built-in entertainment center downstairs, put in slate around our upstairs shower, re-decorated the laundry room, built a mantel for the fireplace, and built a 200 square foot shop in the backyard for Ryan's wood working.


Before


After

On top of all the projects there is the fact of simply buying new furniture, which I think we have taken care of for every room. I tell you... money pits! But it has been fun and I can only imagine how difficult it will be when we leave this house. Every room is a momento of the time we spent remodeling. We will be happy in our home for another good 10 years and I'm sure the projects will never stop!

Before
After
Current and future projects: Cement parts of the old drive way, build-out front porch, put in cedar fence on the south side of the house, new furnace, more new carpet, put up molding in master bedroom.

Our Dog Tessy

As I sit in my bathrobe starring at the computer this fine Saturday morning listening to my dog moan and stretch on the floor I thought, "I need to tell her story".

Our dog Tessy has been a part of our family for 3 years now. We adopted her from the University of Utah. There she was used as a test subject for pain medications used for cancer patients. But before she began her career as a drug dog she was born in New York City and lived happily on a farm (or I imagine) for the first year of her life. On her first birthday she flew to Salt Lake City and spent the next year in a laboratory.

Approximately two weeks before the sale of our house was finalized we went to the U of U to pick out our Beagle. She was in a study group of five. George, Paul, John, Ringo, and our Yoko. When we came into the room Yoko was on the table getting an IV in her leg. She was such a good girl, didn't bother her a bit. While she was on the table we visited with the boys, but none of them struck us like she did. When she came down from the table she greeted us like an old friend. It was love at first sight. She still have a few more weeks of studies to do and then she would be ours.

Tessy the first few days at home

She moved in our new house almost the same day we did. The name "Yoko" had to go, so with the same process as naming a child (I imagine), we came up with the name Tessy. We actually heard the name on a "King of Queens" episode but it seemed to be perfect since her "testing" was now over. The first few days seemed a shock to poor Tessy, never having experienced carpet, stairs, grass, or couches. She also had just been "fixed" which meant carrying her up and downstairs while trying to potty train her and hand feeding her because she refused to eat out of a bowl. I thought, "what have we got ourselves into".

Now three years later, I can't imagine life without her. She has adjusted to this lifestyle just fine. She lays where she wants, goes outside when she should, and even let's us know when it's dinner time.

With no children yet, I'm so glad we have Tessy around!

Our family last fall

New

I don't know what I have gotten myself into (thanks Jules). I got addicted to myspace, my brother added me to facebook, and now blogging... yuck!

My name is Kristy, I live (and will forever live) in Tooele UT. I am married and have been for four years. I work for a local credit union and have for 5 years. I started as a teller, of course, then moved to File Clerk, Quality Assurance, back to Teller, then to Head Teller (my favorite position), and am now the Training Specialist. My job consists of training new tellers and training all employees on various topics. I work with the Staff Development Manager, I am his "assistant" and it's just us for most of the day.

My husband, Ryan, and I like to garden, do home improvement projects, and spend money. The two of us and our dog Tessy bought a house 3 years ago and the remodeling has never stopped. Any excitement in our lives mostly consists of La Frontera on the weekends and the occational geo-cache.