NYC

Hey blogging world! I have a question for you.

Has anyone out there been to New York in the winter? I would love some tips, places to see or eat, what to avoid, things of that nature. Were leaving tonight on a red eye to be there for New Years eve! I'm a little excited if you cant tell. We'll be there at 7AM tomorrow morning and are just spending the day there and coming back new years day. Yay! And it's basically free! Double yay! So give me what ya got people. Thanks friends.

This is all you get. Sorry.

I'm a bit of a slacker this year and am not doing Christmas cards. Actually, I probably won't until there's a kid to take the attention off us. So its not that we don't love you. Cause we do.

I'm just lazy.

Kristal did take some pictures of us this past weekend in Joe town and they turned out quite nice, considering Brennon can't open his eyes for pictures and I'm usually a little akward. Kristal is a photography genius.

She also took pics of my family, which turned out adorable.

Yes, it was a very difficult landing in high heel boots.

Just the girlies.

Thanks for all the lovely Christmas cards; they brighten my mailbox full of bills and ads.

Coming soon... the beloved tree!

Thanksgiving

I was SO excited to be able to have Thanksgiving at our house. I wanted to get all Martha Stewart but sorta lacked the time and talent. But I got to use all the dishes we got for our wedding that I've never used, so that was fun.

I also got to spend the whole morning cooking with Grandma G so that was a blast. She told me lots 'o' stories and taught me how to cook a turkey. I pretty much just stood back and let her do her thing.

The spread. Yes my mouth is watering just looking at it.

The tablescape. I wasn't expecting such a big square table so thats why the centerpiece looks so measly.

I really miss doing floral arrangements. I couldn't wait to make it and being the lame-o I am, I was up at 630 making it, as happy as can be.

The whole crew. We had a couple cousins over later for pie as well, but they dont get to be in the picture. :)

We did this jump about 3 times and my heels are still suffering. My face is obviously lovely.

My mom and I's sad attempt at being crafty. We made, like, 3 and were sick of it. So the rest of them were done with begrudgingly and with alot of whining (mostly on my part).

Then we did my FAVORITE THING EVER!! We put up the Christmas tree! I wanted to put it up 2 weeks ago but Brennon and I settled on Thanksgiving.

(Pictures soon to follow of the fully decorated one. It is pretty much the same as last year.)

Then we got to Skype with the Fish's. I had no idea how cool Skyping is. Our laptop has a camara built in and its free to download so now we can talk to Cara and Evan while there in Europe this Christmas! You can even play games with the person your talking to. Does everyone know about this and I'm just totally out of the loop til now? Anyways, it was a great thanksgiving day.

Then we headed up to Showlow for the rest of the weekend. And for some reason, we never take pictures up there! But we had a great time, just eating, playing games, watching movies, just generally being lazy. There is something about Show low (and the whole nothern AZ for that matter) thats makes me just want to nap all day long. I'm gonna blame it on the elevation. Yeah, thats it.

Good times, good times. Now I'm SO ready for Christmas and all its lovely-ness.

Turkey day.

Only 2 days away!

I'm soooo excited to be having Thanksgiving at our house this year! Even though the guest list will be short (just my family, grandma & grandpa G, and hopefully some cousins for pie), I'm gonna do it up right. I've been looking online all night (during class!) to find cute thanksgiving-ish decor that is cheap and easy, since I am neither crafty nor rich. Here are some ideas I've found...

Cute little turkey guys.

And these are the place cards I'm gonna use. One of the bottom 2, probably the one with the acorns cause acorns are cute.

A thankful tree! Except mine will be a little (alot) less purple and alot more browns and oranges. Everyone writes things they are thankful for and hangs them on the tree. I found this cute template for the little leaves.

These are cute and simple napkin holder/rings.

I'm also excited cause I'm gonna make a floral arrangement, which is something I love to do. These are my inspiration.

Oh and these are some adorable placemats for the "kids table". I think I'll be sittin there so I can color on these.

And wouldn't it be fun if THIS was your tablescape? Maybe someday...*sigh*

What are some of your favorite ideas??

I'm not sure how much of this will come into frutation but hey, I've got good intentions. Hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Yessss, Puffs tissues.

1. Memories....so I was thinking today about those three months we spent in Minnesota/North Dakota when we were first married. They were fun and challenging. I remember loving it but also getting verrrrrry homesick. Yep, I'm a bit of a homebody. I'm grateful for my mom's almost daily calls and my aunt Kristal's almost daily emails. They were much needed and I'm not really sure why I thought about it, but grateful-ness is never too late, right?

2. The dreaded cold has hit the Fish household, mostly me, and so I am grateful for the quilt my grandma made us and my box of soft Puffs tissue. They have made me happy and are helping to nurse me back to health.

3. Brennon got the whole 4 day weekend off so I'm so excited to spend the whole weekend together with our families, eating lots of food of course.

Lame-o

Yeah. I'm not so good at posting everyday.

But in my defense I didn't have a computer alllll week. And it was quite difficult I might add.

And I would really like to post pictures but we (as in you, honey) have not transferred the stuff from our old computer to the new one. So alas, you are forced to have only words that aren't even worded that well. Too bad for you.

1. I'm grateful for our new computer! Our old one would randomly shut down and run out of batteries within 10 min. Good times. It's hard living without the Internet! I have frequented the halls of CGCC this week.

2. My fabulous parents. We went over there tonight to say hi and it just reminded me how lucky I am to have, quite possibly, the best parents ever. We talked and laughed with my mom and went to visit my dad at the new church building (at ten oh! clock, mind you). I just love how he's so excited about the building, the art work, everything. Its endearing.

3. Less than a month left til winter break! 'Nuff said.

Oh, and B is home for good! Yay!

Loving the weekend.

1. I'm so grateful for my adorable nursery kids. Yes, I'm in nursery. And I actually kinda like it. Imagine that. I do wish that Brennon was in there with me so he could see all the cute things they do. It a fun calling and an added perk: if I forget to eat breakfast, there's always lots of snacks for me to munch on.

2. The pretty flowers Brennon brought home for me on Friday. They are Fall-ish and make me happy when i walk in the door.

3. Sunday afternoon naps. I'm not really lacking in sleep right now but its so relaxing to take a little nap in the middle of the day. I guess I just better enjoy it while I can.

4. The wonderful night we had last night with the King's(the family I nanny for) and my family. We had yummy steak, delicious pumpkin cheesecake, funny conversation, and a game of Cranium where Brennon and I lost terribly. We were not on our game last night. But it was a great night and I'm so grateful for good friends.

5. So i had to do this online assignment yesterday that was really hard cause I had no idea what I was doing. It was about html, making websites, and Java Script (!). So I worked really hard on it and much to my surprise, I got 100%! I was really proud of myself and grateful that I had the time yesterday to do it well.

6. Oreganos yesterday. Pesto pizza, pablo pacasso salad, and pazookie. The 3 delectable p's.

Random note: So Brennon has a real hard time saying no to kids selling things at the door. And we've had 3 in the past 2 days. He bought a magazine subscription from the first one and I had to put my foot down when it came to the cookie dough. He reluctantly said no and walked in looking all sad. It was cute. Then this adorable little girl came to the door with her mom selling her homemade doggy treats. She gave us an adorable little sales pitch and we were goners. We don't even have a dog and we bought some. So if you have cute kids and there doing fundraisers, DO NOT send them here cause were obviously suckers for that. Were gonna run out of money.

He's home!

1. Brennon's back! I'm such a baby when he's gone. I do ok for the first 2 or 3 days, then I just get grumpy. I'm so glad he's home for a couple days.

2. The fact that he was able to get home on an early flight. He was supposed to get on the 12:30 flight. That was full, or so they thought, and he call and said the next flight was not til 6:30 which would have put him home around 9. But, by some sweet little miracle, 4 people didn't show up for thier flight so the 3 Phoenix guys were able to fly home at 12:30. Yay for little joys like that.

3. Our lovely little date tonight. We had a picnic at Tempe town lake, rode the pedal boats, and went and saw a movie, which is very much like our first date. It was so fun and some much need Brennon-and-Danica-time.

A Question...

So Brennon and I are planning on traveling quite a bit as you know, when his flight/ hotel/rental car benefits kick in. I have a whole list of places I want to go BUT I'de like to get some suggestions of places (in the US) that you've been to or heard about that are less normal/touristy. Places that are awesome but sort of secret I guess. So if anyone has any suggestions, let me know. I'm getting so excited for this summer and this next month!

I would also love to get a suitcase like these and cover it with stickers from all the places we go!

Party house

Unfortuantly, Brennon has the computer with his in Denver so I haven't been able to keep up with my gratitude posts. I'm not going to attempt to catch up, just gonna start fresh.

1. I'm grateful that Kayla is staying with me this week in my big, lonely house. And even tho I'm a loser and fall asleep at 10 she still kinda likes me. We've had lots 'o' fun watching movies, eating chocolate and just laughing.

2. I'm grateful that I have to keep my house clean. We have to keep it in "showing condition" at all times just in case someone wants to come see it. It's really helped me gain better cleaning habits like not leaving clothes on the floor, putting the dishes right in the dishwasher, things like that. Hopefully it will translate when I don't "have" to keep my house clean.

3. I'm grateful that I got to go see Madagascar 2 with my fam yesterday. Great movie, Tessa's adorable laughter, my mom and Kayla sitting on each side of me, and all the popcorn I could eat. What could be better.

Catch-up.

I've been super busy this weekend so now its time to play catch up. The whole weekend I was thinking about things I could write on my grateful list so here I go...

Friday...

1. Time Out! It was so much fun and very much needed. It was kinda like a mini EFY and who doesn't like EFY? The speakers were great but what taught me the most was the music. Hillary Weeks, Cherri Call, Jenny Jordan Frogley, and the cute guy from Jerico Road were all there. It was so fun to be there with my Mil, Sil, mom, grandma, and almost all my aunts on my moms side (we missed you Tammee!). Anyways, it was fabulous. Pictures soon to follow..

2. Brennon's leaving out of town for the whole week today. No, I'm not grateful for that but I am grateful for the fact that he was able to get this job. When he went for his interview, there we 50 people there for 5 open postions. (I'm gonna brag a little.) He was able to make it thru 2 rounds of interviewing and even beat some people who had airline experience. THEN, we just found out a few days ago that because of budgets, they had to cut 2 people from the 5 they had already hired. So he was in the top 3! So I'm pretty proud of him and grateful I got such a wonderful hubby.

3. Cara's curry chicken on friday night. I almost forgot how good it is.

Grateful...ness.

1. The Office! That show is quite often the highlight of my day/week. Its pretty much the only TV we watch during the week and it never fails to make me laugh. I just wish it was an hour long.

2. Shirts at Target that are 3 dollars! Yes, that's right 3 dollars. I love there 75% off racks, they bring me joy. I can feed my shopping addiction without draining the bank account (too much).

3. The fact that my in laws, grandma and auntie Kristal are coming into town tomorrow! I am so excited and grateful to be going to Time Out on Saturday with all them plus my mom, Cara, and I'm sure lots of other random people. Some much needed girl time and some spiritual upliftment as well.

Good stuff.

1. Excedrin migrane. Those pills work like a charm for me when those weekly headaches come around.

2. My adorable piano students. Seriously, the 2nd best job. I love seeing these kids every week, helping them, motivating them. There all so cute and fun and have each made such progress since we've began. Now its time to plan a Christmas Recital! I just love it.


3. I'm grateful that Brennon starts his new job next week! He got a job with the airlines and he'll be in Denver for 2 weeks for training. :( BUT, it'll be so worth it. Free flights, great benefits, flexible schedules. We are gonna travel the world this summer! Yay!

Nervous.

1. I'm grateful for the chance to VOTE. It was my first time being able to participate and what an election it has been. Even though it hasn't gone the way I had hoped, I know we'll be ok. I am nervous about what will happen in this country with our morals and values. I am nervous about Prop 102. But I believe and have faith we'll be ok.

2. Pumpkin pie ice cream with whipped cream and a graham cracker sprinkle. Yum.

3. The fact that all the ANNOYING ads about the props and candidates are OVER! It was getting very old.

Halloween 2008

We now have a two year tradition of going to the State Fair on Halloween night with Cara and Evan. Its pretty much awesome. Cheaper price+No lines+few kids+greasy food+fun rides=a good time. This year we added Cara's cousin Candice and her husband Troy to our fun tradition

and had a blast./

We decided to be cheap and make Brennon sit in the back so we wouldn't have to pay for parking 2 cars. I don't think he minded it too much.

The Fair!

This is by the Ferris wheel that went on FOR. EV. ER. We spent the whole time taking frightening pictures that no one shall ever see.

Except for this one. Cause its funny.

No fair experience is complete with out a little fried food. I chose deep fried cookie dough. Brennon apparently chose my head.

This is the ONE scary ride I will go on. It freaks me out so much that when I get off, my hands are shaking SO bad. I can only handle it once a year.

I'm also pleased to report that Brennon went the roller coaster with me! I was quite excited about this since he never does. He claims he gets "sick", but I think he's really just a little scared.

The boys also rode the mechanical bull which was very entertaining. I never knew I married such a ham. He had everyone laughing with his theatrics. Cara got a video of it but I don't know how to get it one here at the moment.

We also thought it was hilarious to randomly break out into dancing throughout the night so those videos need to be on here as well.



All of us at the end of a fun night. We tried to use the self timer but it didn't work out too well so we found someone to do the honors.

We had such a fun Halloween night!

And my 3 things for today...

1. Cancelled class tonight! I now get to sit and watch a movie with my hubby. :)

2. How great my job is. I am so grateful for the wonderful family that I nanny for. They are so fun, considerate, and the boys are just plain adorable. They are such great parents and the best people to work for and be friends with!

3. Wearing shorts in November. Can you believe it? Most people don't like it, it doesn't feel like fall, blah blah blah. But I love it. I hate being cold. I'm defiantly an AZ girl through and through.

Haloweeeeeeen party

So Rachel and I decided we wanted to throw a Halloween party about 2 weeks ago. Living in the mansion, I thought why not. This will most likely be our only Halloween for a veerrrry long time in a house this nice so anyways.... here's some pictures.

Appearances made by:

A flapper and a gangsta.

An amazing chicken costume HOMEMADE by Bethany

Some hippies, a ref and a black cat.

Hugh and a playboy bunny

Cute V-ball star.

70's couple and Lil' Red Ridding hood & her big bad wolf (in some cute pjs I might add)

An Office couple.

Dog the bounty hunter (?) and Obama w/ his nun wife.

And now for the decorations. I hit about 5 bazillion dollar stores and thrift stores that week and spent lots of time on Martha Stewart.com finding ideas. We work ALL day on this and I think it turned out pretty awesome. I don't think the pictures do it justice personally. :) I borrowed stuff from everyone and their mom, literally. So thanks to everyone. I also had lots of help from my mom, Rachel, Kayla, Emaly and of course Brennon.

Spiderwebs, bugs, rats lining the floorboard, LOTS of candle light, and a ton of spooky stuff.

We hung out and talked, played a fun game, ate, talked some more and a few couples stayed to watch The Birds, which proved to be a little more cheesy then scary. All in all a great night but I'm not sure if I'm ready to commit to it being an annual event! Whew!

And now my grateful list of the day:

1. A hilariously funny Family Home "Morning" today. Seriously, we were in tears. I have the funniest family ever. We decided to go around and each say one thing we are grateful about each one of us. It proved to be a little more silly and a bit more like a talent show than anything else. But it was FUNNY. Lets just say dance moves, a 3 year old wink, and some blonde airheads.

2. The laziness of Sundays. I almost always get to take a nap which is one of my favorite things. I love just being able to hang out with family and just relax. Ahhhh.

3. Stake conference. It was cool knowing that everyone in AZ was hearing the same thing and that we were able to here from the GA's more than just at General Conference. I loved the talks and had an added bonus of going at 1:30 instead of 8:00.