Christmas Tree Decorating Party

Every year the ladies in my family gather to have a Christmas tea party. The past few years, we've combined this with decorating my grandparent's Christmas tree.




This year was no different. I made meatballs and stuffed mushrooms for appetizers, Melissa brought chips and dip, and Brittney made some yummy dessert goodies.





We unpacked the decorations, set up the tree, and sipped hot cocoa and snacked while we decorated the tree.

In no time, we had all the lights strung, and bird decorations my Grandmother loves placed.

And we can't forget the angels. These two adorn the fireplaces mantle while the older angel gets placed at the top of the tree.

Halloween 2012

I love Halloween, but rarely ever do anything to celebrate. This years was no different. My nephew was unfortunately with his father, so I didn't get to take him tick or treating, and I don't really drink or party, so that was out. Melissa and I did go to the haunted corn maze at a local farm, and it was fun. But on Halloween night I went to my math class then went home. Here's to a blow-out Halloween 2013! :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Braydon!

My nephew turned 3 years old on Monday! I can't believe he is already so old. It seems like yesterday that he was born, and I held my breath until I heard him cry for the first time. He is such an amazing kid, and he had a great birthday party.

This is the cape and mask I bought him. He always gets so many presents, that I just got him a few little things. As soon as he saw it he wanted to put it on, even though he was in the middle of opening all his other gifts.

He had a Spongebob/Pokemon/Mario birthday party, since he couldn't decide on a theme. The decorations were mostly Pokemon, but he had a few Mario things, and a Spongebob cake.

Albuquerque, New Mexico 2012

My first trip of 2012!

I flew to Albuquerque, New Mexico at the beginning of March. Well, first I used Craigslist rideshare to find a ride to Portland. From there, I stayed the night at my friend's house, THEN flew to Albuquerque.

Let me start my summation of my trip by saying I love to fly. Love it. However, I was sick my entire trip (and the month before hand), so flying was a little less fun (and a whole lot more painful) this time.

When I arrived in Albuquerque, I called the Hotel Blue (where I was staying), and they sent a shuttle to come pick me up. Check-in was quick and easy, and before long I was unpacked and resting in my nice (especially for the price!) room. I eventually ventured across the street to have dinner by myself at a nice Italian restaurant.

The next day I decided to go exploring. I walked up and down Central Avenue which is a part of historic Route 66. Before long my feet were killing me, and I had blisters. So I returned to my room to rest and patch up my feet. 

The next day I had brunch at an amazing restaurant (organic, local food), and then walked to the Kimo Theater to see the Sleeping Beauty ballet. The show was very good, and after I walked back to my hotel.

The next morning I woke up very sore. My entire body, but mostly my feet, hurt. I had intended to go to the aquarium and zoo, but by the time I got on the bus, missed my stop, walked to the aquarium, I was pretty done. So I called a cab to take me back to the hotel, where I holed up and ordered pizza.

The next day (my last day) I did make it to the zoo. As well as Old Town (a historic, tourist spot) and the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History. I then took the train four hours (round-trip) North to Santa Fe and had dinner there. It was a nice way to end my trip.

The next morning I took the hotel shuttle to the airport and flew home. When the plane started to descend into Portland, my head started to feel like it was going to explode. Yawning did not work, and it was quite painful. When I got off the plane, I headed to the transit station to take the train to my friend's house. I could only partially hear, and that made asking for help buying my ticket a little difficult. But everything worked out fine. I got on the ride train, held my nose and puffed out my cheeks to pop my ears (which I had to do several times, and each time hurt badly), and made it to my destination. 

My dear friends took me to the Greyhound station a few hours later, and I rode the bus to Grants Pass, where my uncle picked me up and took me to my home. Trip concluded.

It was a great experience. I had never been to New Mexico and it was nice to be on my own and have a little vacation from life. Now it's time to plan my next trip! Kidding. Kind of. I already know I'm going to Disneyland in October. ;)

A New Year!

Okay, so it's February. I haven't posted in forever. I have a tumblr blog too, and I liked that layout more, but now that Google has updated Blogger I think it is time to return.

Since I last posted, my mom and step-dad moved to Brookings, Megan (my youngest sister) got her own place, I went to visit my Aunt Tina and Uncle Bob in South Carolina for my birthday in October (I turned 23!), it turned into 2012, and I book my trip to New Mexico for March. Phew! That is actually quite a bit of stuff.

So yes, it is now a new year. 2012, which if you believe the doomsday-ers, is the end of the world. I personally don't believe that, but figure even if it is, what can I do to change that? So I am just living life, embracing the things that come my way. Like my trip in March! I wanted to go somewhere with my tax refund money. Melissa (my sister) and I were thinking about going to the Grand Canyon, but she didn't want to miss school and it turned into a bigger hassle than I wanted, so I am going to Albuquerque by myself! I'm very excited. I love flying and traveling, and can't wait to just have a few days to myself to explore a new city.