My horn of plenty is extra full this year.

2008 has been one of the best years of my life, hands down. It has been a pretty crazy year and filled with lots of emotions at times, but it's been a great year and I feel very very blessed.

And here is my thankful rant...

I'm so thankful that I got to marry Scott. He makes my life wonderful. He has made me the happy girl that I am today. It wasn't all that long ago that I felt pretty yucky/unloved/bad about myself, and he has changed that. He has brought a smile to my face every day since we met. He makes me laugh all the time. He makes my life easier by putting my needs in front of his own. He shows me he cares in thousands of ways. He's awesome and I am grateful for him every day of my life. I'm thankful that I'm married to the guy who is able to put everybody at ease, be the life of the party and can still let me know that I mean the world to him. Makes me feel pretty special. :) I'm excited about our first Thanksgiving as man and wife.

I'm thankful for my family that has grown exponentially this year. My dad continues to be a major part of my life. I feel lucky that I'm his daughter. He loves me so much and helps us out whenever we need it. He really, really helped us with all of the wedding craziness. He insisted that they day be perfect and it was. He's one of the most kindest and generous people you could ever meet.

I'm thankful for my new family- the Livesays. They were pretty much my family before we got married, but are now legally so and I can honestly say I have awesome inlaws! Scott's mom and I are so close, and I'm SO thankful that her cancer is GONE! There will probably be some emotional times about that tomorrow, because it was a scary time for all of us. But she's doing just fine, maybe even fiestier than before. :) We are all so relieved. Thank you, Livesays, for welcoming me into your family the way you have. I can't wait to give you grandbabies!

I'm thankful for my friends- both the "old" and the "new." I have had some of the same best friends for 10 years, and I love that. I love that these girls know me inside and out and know how to put a smile on my face on a lousy day. I love that our friendships have grown and that we know how to support each other when times get tough. I never would've made it through some of my life's events without them and I'm thankful that with their help, I am where I am today. I'm thankful for my new friends, too. I've inherited a lot through Scott, but also found lots on my own since the big move. I look forward to years of friendship with these newbies and am thankful that they have entered my life. I'm thankful for the way all of my friends make me feel- like I'm a special girl with lots to offer the world. I really appreciate that.

I'm thankful for the many changes this year has brought to my life. First of all, marriage! Our wedding (in my humble opinion) was the perfect kick-off to our marriage. I know we haven't been married long, but so far, so good. :) My work duties have changed pretty much totally. I'm thankful that I've been stretched and know what my boundaries are, what I like doing and what I don't. I'm thankful to have a job in these terrible economic times. I'm thankful that Scott and I are learning what it means to budget (ok, we are trying!) and become financially better off. I'm thankful for baby Crosley that has entered the world. I'm thankful for getting to see my family members at our wedding that I haven't seen in far too long. I'm thankful for our newest addition to our family- Biscuit (don't get too excited there ;). She is a sweet sweet puppy and we have fallen in love with her (even though she's constantly loud). I'm thankful that I'm learning to keep up with cleaning and that I have a husband who does his share. I'm thankful that our country has elected a president that I feel like can change the way the world sees us, even if just a little bit, for the better. I'm thankful that Britney has normalized a bit. I'm thankful that I discovered 30 rock. I'm thankful that I've continued to create new things and will have much more time in 2009 to do so.

If I only lived my life this thankful every single day...

If we all did. I guess the world would be a better place.

Enjoy your special time tomorrow.

& the Monday after...

1. I cuddled with Crosley and he's such a lovable baby. I can hardly wait to go back to Richmond to see him and his Mama!


2. My hair has changed. I got about 3 inches off (which seems like a lot considering the length of my hair.) I also now have red low lights and updated blonde highlights. Here's a self-portrait.



3. I attended a surprise party for our friend Dan on Saturday night and made this banner (that I found out later didn't photograph like I would've liked, but I guess worse things have happened.)



4. Our upstairs bathroom is clean! Here it is, very sterile looking BUT with a new shower curtain!



5. Sugar's nails are trimmed. Biscuit didn't quite need it like I thought. Here Sug is in her adorable bandana that I had a hard time taking off of her because of the sheer cuteness!




6. I took Scott to breakfast at IHOP on Saturday and he made us delicious omelets on Sunday. No photo evidence of either of these events. Please take my word for it. :)

7. We went to a 30th surprise party for our friend Dan and it actually worked. I feel like most surprise parties never quite pan out as planned, but this one did. He was pretty stunned! We got to hang out with lots of our friends all together that evening. I also got to hang out with Laura yesterday for a few hours and it was great. We haven't been able to spend much time together recently, so that was definetely a wonderful treat! :)



8. Thank you cards aren't finished. They will be tonight, if I can get my computer to print... I think printers have way too much emotional influence in my life. Anyone else? :)

9.We did watch The Office (and LOTS of 30 rock!!). I'm so glad Toby is back!

10. I started knitting Crosley a hat. It's coming along, photo to follow. Not sure it'll end up being a hat because I'm not sure how its going to turn out. But that's my intent.

How was your weekend? I'm SO excited about Thanksgiving! I'll be doing a "What I'm thankful for" post over the next few days.

Weekend To-Do

Here's my plan for the weekend. Half-day Fridays are my favorites!

*Visit Katie and snuggle Crosley. (And Katie, if she's interested. :)
*Change my hair style. Tomorrow 1PM. I say change because I'm not sure what I'll have her do...
*Make gifts/crafts/projects, some of which I've already started.
*Clean our bathrooms. Ew. My least fave.
*Get our babies nails trimmed. This is a chore. The last time Sugar got her nails cut at Petsmart they put a mini-muzzle on her. God love her...
*Make Scott a yummy breakfast on Sunday morning.
*Enjoy the company of good friends.
*Finish mailing out thank you cards from our wedding.
*Watch our DVR'd episode of this week's The Office.
*Sit on the couch and knit.

Should make for a full weekend. I'm headed to Richmond now! Welcome to your weekend!

Funsies!

*One of my besties just had her first baby! Crosley Bartlette Evans was born on Weds. night (I must be a bad friend because I don't know the exact time...but it was around 7:30 PM. I was there so I really should know when it happened. But alas...) I can't wait to get back to Richmond to spend some time with this new little family! Go to Katie's blog to see pictures!

*I've updated my blog's look. I've been meaning to do that for some time and decided that at Saturday morning at 7:00, that was going to happen. I hope you like the changes! I'm a fan :)

*My husband is now blogging :) His blog is linked on the right (Just My Blog). He's a funny man.



*I have a new show that I'm a big fan of: Thirty Rock. Does anyone else like this show? I LOVED Tracy Morgan's Bill Cosby "Impression": "I'm Bill Cosby. Jello, Sweaters." LOL...If you haven't seen this, I highly recommend it.

*I have LOTS of creative projects in mind right now! I can't wait to put some of them up for sale! When I do, I'll provide the link.

If you are Katie Evans...

Look no farther!!!!! You will see what is below in the very near future.








Seriously, Katie, NO LOOKING!






Everyone else, have a looksie at the gift I made.




















This is a guest book for all of the baby's visitors to sign! It has lots of nooks and crannies and will be made perfect only when it is filled with notes and wishes for the new little family. I made one for Scott's mom when she had her hyspterectomy last week and she is already treasuring it, which makes me feel very warm inside. I hope that Katie, Chad and baby will do the same! These are fun and (RELATIVELY) easy to make (UNLESS you have annoying sewing machine problems!) But alas, it is finished and I am pleased. Can't wait to take it to Richmond sometime in the next week to meet my new neice or nephew!

When all is said and done...

Some of my thoughts, do with them what you will. They are nothing more than my personal thoughts and opinions, so please don't take them as anything more than that.

As an Obama-voter, I'm happy with the way the election turned out. I understand that there are millions and millions of voters who do not feel the same way. It's been said (probably been said too much) that the beautiful thing about our nation is that we can have different opinions and that we get to have a say in how things turn out. I hope that voters on both ends of the spectrum will now come together, show each other respect and make our country the nation it can be. Whatever the results of the outcome might have been, we knew that we would soon have a different president who vowed to make things better. Our country is in a hard time, and I think in order to pull ourselves out of the mud, we have to stand united like all of the great presidents of the past have said in their finest moments. A new era awaits us and I hope we will all choose to make the best of it.

You, my friends, are cordially invited...

I finally have my scrap/craft room the way I [kindofalmost] want it to be. And I would like YOU to come over and have a holiday craft fest with me. I think it'd be really fun to have people over and create together- I'm sure we all have holiday projects a'waiting! I'd love some girl time and what could be better than laughing while we make things together. Multitasking! So anyway, for real, if you are out there and remotely close, let's get something on the calendar this month before the season gets crazy. (PS, there will be plenty of room around my home, we will not have everyone crammed into this tiny area. :) He doesn't know it yet, but I plan to kick Scott out for the evening and send him on a man-date. :)

Yaaaaaaaaay for Updates!

Scott's mom's surgery was yesterday and went very well- the doctor is confident that they got all the cancer out but is doing additional tests just to be sure. Teresa is doing well and in good spirits. She had lots of guests today and was up and moving around, which is something the doctor wanted. So, we are feeling good.

In craft news, I made her a guest book for her hospital room and am very happy with how it turned out and she loves it {which is the most important part}. I will sneak it away from her in the next couple of days and snap some photos once its good & filled with autographs and notes.

Thanks for all your support during a yucky time.