HAPPY NEW YEAR!

SIT DOWN, HOLD ON AND READ, THIS WILL BE A LONG BLOG.

(Is this the funniest little ornament you have every seen? I think that I found it in a give away box at my moms and decided for some sentimental reason this funny little guy needed to continue to live on and so he does on my christmas tree.)



I know that it is nearly two weeks into January, and I have been very bad at staying on top of my blogging, but tonight is my blog update night. I have two addictions one had been with me forever and is sitting beside me right now and that is CHOCOLATE! and the second one is a new addiction called PINTEREST! and I think the latter of the two has been getting in the way of my regular blogging. And as I sit here talking about it I am itching to pop over and see what is new, but I am using my will power and will continue blogging. However, if you don't know about Pinterest then you need to check it out ASAP, but please note... it does have addictive powers so be aware, be very aware. YOU'LL LOVE IT!



This week I go back to my regular exercise routine, TOTAL BODY CONDITIONING HERE I COME, after not doing much for the last two week and I am a little afraid. Over the holidays I have indulged and overindulged on very good food and sweet treats and as I sit here looking at MSN one of the title stories is "WHAT TO EAT FOR A HEALTHY HEART AND MIND" my brownie and peppermint ice cream is at my side melting. So I have to break for a bite.





Okay I'm back and ready to review christmas. I can't believe it but I think this is first christmas day that I didn't take one picture, not one! I guess that goes along with the fact that it was a very different christmas for Jeff and I. The last few years we have taken a ski trip to Canada, (about 4 years now, i think) sometimes with some of the kids, or all of the kids and a couple times with just Jessica and Grandpa but this year no trip. This was the year for the kids to go their other families to celebrate and boy did I miss them. Jeff and I had a sweet little gift exchange and Jessica joined us in the afternoon to open her
presents and eat dinner before she was off to work.





Ben started his new job in Walla Walla, Washington on the 19th of December so they were unable to come home for the holidays It was their first christmas there and so Jeff and I went to visit them. We left monday morning and got there about 8 1/2 hours later.



We had a traveling companion on this trip. Lexie has not had the pleasure of joining us on many trips, but because we couldn't get her into the kennel till 2 in the afternoon, we decided to take her with us. She is a great traveler, doesn't require much and never complains.







We couldn't make this an easy trip though, I thought that Portland was only 3 hours away and made plans to go to visit my brother Steve, when in reality Portland is about 5 hours from Walla Walla. However, despite the additional hours of driving we still wanted to go see Steve and Alice, it had been since Ben was in High school that I had been to see them and Jeff had never been there. It was such a great visit, and even though it was short I am SO SO glad we went. The older I get the more I realize that your family is worth a little extra driving. ( and you never know there just might be an outlet mall on the way with an Ann Taylor Loft in it :) )

Side trip on the way back from Portland we stopped at Multanomah Falls. It was so pretty and if it hadn't been raining, we would have walked up to the bridge. Maybe another trip.





We returned from Portland on Thursday evening and on Friday afternoon we left for yet another little side trip. About 3 hours away is a Bavarian town called Leavenworth, not to be mistaken for the prison, and it is full of cute shops, which means more shopping. (it's not like we just had christmas or anything, but you have to take advantage when the shopping opportunity presents itself. RIGHT?)

LEAVENWORTH ALL DECKED OUT FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

I LOVED THIS SHOP... THE OIL AND VINEGAR COMPANY.

(I think Jeff enjoyed the taste testing as well.)

They have flavored balsamic vinegars and flavored olive oils. We bought a

pomegranate balsamic, just a nice hint of sweet to it, a basil olive oil,

can you say pesto, and a rosemary olive oil which will be excellent on foccacia bread.



Ok I am exhausted from all this posting and I would love to know if any of you reading this have as many problems putting pictures on your blog as I do. I think I spent 1/2 my time adding pictures and readding pictures that just go away with the stroke of a key.



AND JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS DONE I FOUND THIS PICTURE OF BEN AND MICHELLE. AFTER JEFF AND I HAD ALREADY LEFT WE REALIZED THAT I HAD NOT TAKEN A PICTURE OF THEM WHILE WE WERE THERE, SO WE WENT BACK AND TOOK A PICTURE OF THEM. SORRY KIDS I KNOW YOU WERE GETTING READY FOR CHURCH, BUT A MOMS GOT TO DO WHAT A MOMS GOT TO DO AND THATS TAKE A PICTURE BEFORE SHE LEAVES TOWN.





Oh well, I am done for tonight and if I am still alive and kicking after exercise class tomorrow night I want to show you what we did last week to my storage room.



Now I am off to check out the latest on Pinterest