Something to Talk About...

The other night, our house alarm started going off in the middle of the night. Weird thing is, we don't have our alarm set up. I made the decision to not set it up here after paying $30 a month for the 3 years we lived in NC and literally NEVER setting the alarm other than on the day I got it. I'd rather buy a new pair of shoes or 2 each month. Speaking of shoes...I went to the DSW 30% off Clearance sale yesterday during my 30 minute dinner break, and wound up getting a pair of Merrells for 80% off. Amazing. Anyway, so we don't even have the alarm monitored and it started going off. It sounded like someone was trying to talk to us through the speaker, which made me start thinking about the UFOs that were reportedly seen in Stephenville. Were aliens trying to contact us during the night?? Creepy. Ryan started ripping cords and things out of the ceiling while I decided to just go unplug the whole thing, which turned out to be much less destructive than Ryan's method.

The next morning we woke up and the temperature in our house was 56 degrees. Now, I like to sleep with it cold in the house so that I can pile on lots of covers (can I get an Amen?) but 56 was a LITTLE bit chilly. Obviously the heater had gone out, so Ryan went into the attic to try and fix it himself. After trying and trying and trying to get the heat to kick on we finally had to "call the man" as my Dad always says in his most defeated voice. Why do guys hate asking for help? The guy came out and charged us $60 to show Ryan where the switch is that turns the heat back on. Hmmm...how can I become a heating technician? I'd be happy to go flip people's switches all day for 60 bucks a pop. Now I'm sitting in our nice and toasty house with a working heater and no alarm going off.

The next morning, my brother called me right as I was re-setting my alarm for at least the 4th time and said that he had been in a wreck and needed a ride. Now THAT'S what I love about living close to family. So I went and picked him up at the collision place and drove him to work in Weatherford (who works in Weatherford?!?) I was only 2 hours late to work after all that. Now that I think about it, I should have milked that wreck for at least a 1/2 day off. What was I thinking?

Don't bad things happen in 3's?? If so, then I'm going to have a great weekend!

I've Got the New Year's Blues...

I think the first week of the year has to be one of my least favorite. I should be excited and refreshed as I've made my list of New Year's resolutions (or not...) and have a blank canvas on which to paint my life for the next year. Somehow, it doesn't work that way with me. Instead, I'm bummed that my Christmas decorations are all put away for another 1o months & 28 days (but who's counting), I can no longer justify eating WAY too much because "it's the holidays", I have to be a responsible adult and go back to work, and even worse--Ryan has to go back to work, which means lots of time away from home.

I'll quit complaining though. We had a really great holiday, and unfortunately, I have NO pictures to show for it. I'm now regretting not asking for a new camera for Christmas because mine is a piece of...well, you know. Brad, Kendall, the 2 dogs, Ryan & I packed ourselves and all of our presents in the Jeep and went to Abilene the weekend before Christmas to celebrate with my family. There is nothing like being at my parents' on Christmas...it smells the same every year, I love our matching plaid stockings, playing Christmas music on their piano sounds better than any other, and breakfast on Christmas morning (or whatever morning we're celebrating Christmas on) is the best of the year. We played games, ate, watched Christmas Vacation (of course!), ate some more, and just relaxed. Then, we drove back to FW on Christmas Eve in time for our Christmas Eve service. When I started my job in October, I had no idea that part of my job was to put the little no-drip sleeves on all 550 Christmas Eve candles, so there was no way I was gonna miss the candlelight service after all of my hard work!

On Christmas Day, Ryan, Jack, Harley, and I woke up at our own house, in our own bed, with our own presents, under our own Christmas tree, and had our very own Christmas just the 4 of us before heading to Flower Mound to spend the day with Ryan's family. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to be HOME for Christmas and not traveling from the East Coast. That may have been my favorite part of the holidays. Ryan's family came in full force, and we spent the day opening Round 1 of presents, then eating lunch, then opening Round 2 of presents. It was a busy day, but lots of fun. We were definitely spoiled!

On the 26th, our friends Jeff & Kristy Skains and their new baby girl Aubrey Claire came to visit from California. Because Ryan and I did our fair share of traveling over previous holidays, we know how hard it can be to see everyone you want to see. So...we had about 30 of our college friends over for a party that night. It was a BLAST to catch up with people that I haven't seen for the past 5 years. And to think, we all live so close together! My house may never recover, but the party was well worth it.

Luckily, this week will be over soon enough, and 2008 will be well underway. I hope you all have a VERY Happy New Year!