Christmas 2009

Christmas was wonderful...as always! We celebrated Christmas Eve with our traditional lunch at Maddox and then on to the theater for a movie. We saw The Blind Side (which I had already seen but didn't mind going again because it's amazing!).

Christmas Day was spent the way it always is...at home with my family. It was good to have everyone around! Along with the fabulous company, we were spoiled with delicious food and great gifts.

I just have to send a shout out to my brother and sister-in-law who got me a Jacoby Ellsbury (my favorite player for the Red Sox) jersey that made its way across China on a donkey (those two are great shoppers, let me tell you) then hopped a plane to the states and found its way to my house by Christmas.

Speaking of Ellsbury... since this post is otherwise void of photos, let's look at his amazingness...


Don't you love him already?

I hope you all had a great Christmas as well!

Correspondence with the North Pole 2009

Utah United States

Dear Santa Claus,

My name is Juli. I am a girl and I am already 29 years old!! I live in the great state of Utah in the United States, but I'll bet you knew that!! This year I've been so good that I should be the angel on top of the tree!

Santa Claus, some things I might like for Christmas this year are:
- books
- a pair of boots
- a husband

Love, Juli

		#1, Rudolph Way North Pole, Canada HO HO HO
Utah United States	Wednesday, December 23, 2009

What a nice surprise Juli!

Thank you for sending me your email all the way from Utah! The Net sure is wonderful because now I can get emails from Utah and around the world in the blink of an eye. Even Rudolph gets emails... from pets! Why, here's Rudolph right now! HO!! Ho!! ho!! He just asked me to say 'Hi!' to you!

Well bless my whiskers, Juli! Are you fibbing to ol' Santa Claus?!? You can't possibly be 29 years old already! Why it seems like only yesterday that I was leaving presents for a certain little girl and here you are now, practically one of Santa's elves! (*grin*)

Sorry the presents the last little while probably haven't been quite as exciting as they were when you were a little girl but, well, you know how these things go (*wink*). Anyway, Santa's glad to see some of the 'older kids' (not to mention anyone in particular!) still take the time to write. I also hear you've been a REALLY REALLY good girl. (Of course, you won't mind if I do a little checking, will you? HO!! Ho!! ho!!).

Let's see what you put in your letter for Christmas wishes: 1. books; 2. a pair of boots and; 3. a husband. I think that's wonderful that you are interested in books. I love them too! Of course, the only book I ever seem to have time for is my BIG, BIG book of who's been Naughty & Nice. HO!! Ho!! ho!! HO!! Ho!! ho!! Well that *would* be quite a present if I brought you a husband for Christmas! But, as you know, that's one present the elves can't make -- and anyway the last time I stuck a new husband in my toy sack to deliver Christmas Eve they weren't too happy with me by the time I dropped them down the chimney! (Besides, I know you're going to find a very nice husband all on your own without any help from me.)

Oh yes, before I forget Juli, the elves really want you to visit my new blog! It is called Santa Claus' Christmas Blog. My blog is all about Christmas, life at the North Pole, and me, Santa Claus ! You can even write messages to me and see what others have written. I can hardly wait to see what you write!

Oh no! Rudolph just sneezed and now there's Nose Wax everywhere. I'll see you soon but now I have to go clean off my computer because it's glowing like Rudolph's nose! Take care Juli and don't forget to come back and visit me here at EmailSanta.com on Christmas Eve!! And remember... only 2 more sleeps until Christmas!!

Lots of Love,

P.S. Ahh! That nice cola you sent me sure was refreshing! Its thirsty work getting ready for Christmas so "Thank You" Juli!

Utah United States

Dear Rudolph,

My name is Daisy and I am a girl dog. I live in the great state of Utah with my owner. Of course, that's in United States, but I'll bet you knew that!!

Rudolph, I've been a good dog this year (honest!!) and the 3 presents I would like the most for Christmas are rawhide, a squeaky toy and a bag of treats. (Please put in a good word with Santa for my owner too!)

P.S. Rudolph, I also wanted to say that... I am excited to see you tomorrow! Please let Santa know that my owner is amazing and that she deserves something extra special this year.

Love,
Daisy

		#1, Rudolph Way North Pole, Canada HOH OHO
Utah United States	Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Purrr!! Tweet!! Baaaa!! Daisy!

Thank you Daisy for woof meow öink squeãl squeak baaaa your email squeak moo woof from Utah, United States! Meow purr roar rîbbit woof baaaa. It's always wonderful to get an email from you, Daisy! Öink baaa meow hiss roar squeãl!! So Daisy, have you been a good girl this year? (Of course, you won't mind if Santa and I do a little checking, will you? woof chirp? baaaa! neiiiiiighhh).

Chirp, purr gurgle roar woof baaaa rawhide SNARF!!! Öink moo woof squeaky toy SNARF!! Squeak good dog squawk woof baaaa bag of treats SNARF!! ARROOooooooo!! Purr blub tweet ribbit ¿¿warble??

Take good care of your owner Daisy and don't forget to listen for Santa and me Christmas Eve!! Squawk slither baaaa!! Just a reminder that the secret password this year will be Öink!! squeaks rîbbit SPLAT!! woof grrr chuuurrrrrp!! That way you'll know its us at your house so you can let Santa in and not make any noises to wake up your owners!!

So thanks again for the email Daisy. Did you have a hard time typing with your paws? Keyboards weren't really designed for us critters were they?! Tikki-tikki squawk woof!! Of course, don't forget to get your owner to email Santa too so Santa knows what they want for Christmas. Otherwise, you might have to share that rawhide with them!! ARROOoooooo! ~sproing~ squeãl öink!!

Season's Greetings!

'Tis the season

For lots of snow, lots of fun, and time with people we really like!

I had one of the best nights out I can remember. It was a fabulous evening filled with dinner, Christmas lights in downtown Ogden (just like we used to do when I was a kid), and hot chocolate. Aside from being "gunned down at knife point" it was great!


And for our second installment of "snowy weekend fun" we had a fake gingerbread (graham cracker) house (or in this case...cabin, fishing hut, outhouse complete with toilet, and tree complete with Frosty and Rudolph) building extravaganza. Oh my...was that a messy, sugar loaded, and delightful night!



I am really glad to have such great friends to spend my time with... my cup runneth over.

My quest for the best

Okay, so I have decided to begin a quest. A quest to find the perfect mascara. Does it exist?? Who knows, but I am going to find out. It may cost me a fortune...but I have had it with mascara and am determined to find one that I like!

I have already tried all that Mary Kay has to offer... so not perfect. I tried Maybelline's Define-A-Lash which was even worse. So now I'm on to Maybelline's Intense XXL Volume + Length. I just bought it tonight so I don't know about it yet, but I'm excited at the prospect. It's been recommended by a friend as "more tolerable than most" which is at least a start as far as mascara is concerned.

If you have any suggestions...please share! Otherwise, I'll keep ya posted...

The holidays are here and you know what that means...

That's right my friends...I am talking about cheesy made-for-T.V. Christmas movies!!!!!!

Yes, it's embarrassing to admit...but I love them! They are so full of hope and cheer...even if they are cheesy and kinda lame. :)

Between ABC Family's



and


and Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas...

I'm so not bored!

Forgotten Carols

My good friend Stephanie bought four tickets to The Forgotten Carols a couple months ago. Steph, Angie, Shara, and I were all really excited to go! We've looked forward to December 2nd for weeks! Unfortunately, Angie got sick...but thankfully Penny was able to come with us. We still missed our Angie. :( I hadn't been to The Forgotten Carols for YEARS. We went to dinner at the Coppermill and then to the production. It was amazing and such a fun night with some of my favorite people. Thanks Steph for inviting me! And thanks girls for "linking". I can still feel the power of the "link".

Gratitude

In honor of Thanksgiving (which was fabulous by the way, because my whole family was here and they pretty much rock), I figured I'd make a list of 10 (because lists should always have 10 items right?? who knows why) things I'm grateful for. So here you have it, 10 things I'm grateful for right this minute...

1. The Gospel
2. my crazy awesome family
3. a warm puppy of my very own
4. amazing friends
5. the best job of all time
6. my cute, reliable, and fun car
7. a super comfy bed
8. good books
9. pajama pants
10. Steve Jobs

Speaking of Steve Jobs...here is a great quote from him that I find rather appropriate for me at the moment.

"You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

Birthday moment...

Happy Birthday, Dad! Love ya!

Mexican Cruise

Back last spring when I was trying to make this years "before my next birthday" list I consulted my family and it was decided that I should go on a cruise and that some of them would go with me (I know, I have a super awesome family). My brother, sister-in-law, niece, parents, and I all decided to go. My brother used his unofficial travel agent skills and figured it all out and we made reservations. It was one of the best vacations ever.

My niece on the plane


We went to Sea Port Village where my brother was attacked by a pigeon. :) There was also a guy in a fake-o Mickey Mouse suit.


Even after the pigeon incident with her dad...my niece was fascinated with all the birds.


I got up the courage to pet a dolphin at Sea World.


My niece was less of a chicken and had no trouble touching the animals. She's also a wise little soul. "Tell Grandpa what a dolphin feels like." Her response... "Like a dolphin." Good work.


Possibly my favorite part of Sea World was "walking with the mingos". Flamingos are pink (in case you didn't know, ha ha) which makes them simply amazing to a little girl who is obsessed with pink. The flamingos were taking a walk down the sidewalk so my niece and I got to walk with them and she was excited to take a walk with "my mingos". :)

After Sea World we were on to the main event of the trip. Welcome to Carnival Elation...


We had rooms on the Verandah Deck (the eleventh floor). This meant we were up with the lifeboats...nice.

We saw a lot of this


There was a lot to do on the ship. We had all kinds of fun!


We ate in the fancy dining room every night and a few days for breakfast.


I got an airbrush tattoo, just for fun.



My sister-in-law and I went to a Thriller dance class.


We went to karaoke almost every night.


My parents got to really kick off their retirement.


This kid was way too much fun.


Such a cute family (minus the baby who was home with his other grandma).


We went to Catalina Island.


Some of us went on a glass bottom boat while others of us rented a golf cart to drive around the island.


I like this photo of my brother with our ship in the background.


We won the shipwide scavenger hunt. Here's the trophy to prove it.


We spent a day in Ensenada Mexico.


LOVE them!


A particular little girl was pretty excited about the sea lions that were chillin' and just barking away at the port in Mexico.


My niece kept us entertained. She used the deck plan of the boat as a book to read to her bear. "Ready bear? One day a boat was moving. The end. That was a great story!" She was also upset when one of the crew was washing the deck. "He's washing my ocean!"

I'd also like to say that my brother is a great "wing man". He made a very sly exit when a good looking and single pilot for Southwest Airlines starting talking to me on the front of the boat one night. Good work. :)

We even snuck in a trip to Build-a-Bear before flying home.


Thanks family, I had SO SO SO much fun!

Check, check, check!

I have been busy working on my before 30 list! I can cross off #2, #3, and #6.

I went on a cruise...to Mexico...and sang Karaoke one night on the ship! I sang "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks. The cruise was amazing! Mexico was fun! As for karaoke...it was terrifying and also incredibly fun. I'd totally do it again!

Pumpkin Walk 2009

I SOOOOO love fall. There just seems an endless amount of seasonal activities to participate in. One of my favorites is the Pumpkin Walk.

This one was my favorite...


Look who came with me...


and...


and my mom...but she escaped the camera somehow.

We then went to Iron Gate Grill for dinner and headed back home. It was fun. Thanks for coming with me family!