Monday, November 27, 2006

Messiah 2006

Since I don't know if I'll ever get Michael to sing with me again, I thought I should document the event! For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, every year here in Calgary, Keith Wood (who's actually my sister-in-law Emily's grandpa) forms a choir, and orchestra to perform a number of selections from Handel's Messiah. It's become quite the tradition here and I've been in it now for 4 years. I convinced Michael to join this year, which was a miracle in and of itself. Well we have about 5, 3 hour practices and then 3 performances. Last night was our last one, and by far the best one. The music is so fun to sing and I've come to LOVE it so much. It's not Christmas to me without starting with Messiah! Anyhoo, just thought I'd share the pictures. Oh, everyone wears red ties, we're not just matching for fun! It's the uniform.  Posted by Picasa

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Christmas is Coming

I'm so excited to be living in twinkle light land now. I wait all year for my house to be festive. I love the gentle glow of the tiny lights all over, and I hardly turn on the overhead lights once my house is done. One of my favorite things is to just sit on the couch with all of the little lights on. Ahhh. I'm excited! I'm finally done my decorating so I just thought I'd share what I've been up to since Monday. I can't believe it's almost a month away. I still haven't gotten to my shopping. I HATE the malls right now. They're so busy already. I'm most stumped on what the heck to get Michael. He doesn't give my much help though. Everything he wants, is way outside the budget. A little frusterating.

Not much going on with me. I have just been up to the usual. My weekends have been busy with Messiah, but since it's over after this weekend, I'll be loving my Sunday nights again. Two performances this weekend, but at least they're close to home. Last weekend we were at the opposite end of the city. Next weekend, we're headed to Banff for a girls night. I'm so excited, except it will be freezing. I hate the kind of cold where you step outside and instantly, you can't feel anything. It'll be worth it though, and you can count on the fact that the trip will be well documented with pictures! I'll be sure to post. Well I just found out there is no new Office tonight, and Michael is out with his uncles and his dad, so I just might be heading to bed early. Wow, what would that be like? Oh one more thing. Michael bought Nintendo Wii, and I have to admit, it's awesome! I've never been one for video games, but I really like this one. Maybe that's because I can actually do it. Oh, and last Thursday, Michael and I camped out all night in order to be some of the few to get Playstation 3's. Yes, we slept outside, but we did get 2. We're in the process of trying to sell them. Michael's had this idea since last year. We're hoping that the need for them as Christmas presents can help us get a little extra cash for our own Christmas presents. We'll see. If not, we'll break even and have a crazy story to tell. I'm telling ya, last Friday at work was NOT fun. After being up most of the night, the last thing I wanted to do was go to work. I'm just glad it's over!


Here are a few shots of the decorations. I call it decorating on a budget, but it's fun for me!
Our stockings are already hung! This is the wreath I made the first year we were married. I couldn't bring myself to pay the money they were asking for a made one, so I did my own for way cheaper! All it took was a gluegun. I'm going to go to the craft store and see if I can make anything else for a bargain!

Cyndi bought us this Nativity last year. I really love it! The detail on the pieces is so beautiful! Posted by Picasa

My House

I've been wanting to take pictures of my house forever, just to show. I could never get it clean, and be wanting to take pictures at the same time.

Before After
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Nook

This is the nook. I finally got some pictures in there about 3 months ago. Last Christmas, we didn't even have a table. Wow, what a difference a year can make in your life hey?

Before
After Posted by Picasa

House Transformation Continued

And another section of the main room.

Before After
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The office quotes from last week

So in anticipation of tonight, I thought I'd let you know what I liked from last week. Since Jeni stole my favorite one (even though I'll still post it), I'll have to pick my next favorites! Wow, how much do I LOVE this show?!?!?!

Andy: I’ll be the number 2 guy here in Scranton in six weeks. How? Name repetition, personality mirroring and never breaking off a handshake. I’m always thinking one step ahead like a carpenter who makes stairs.

Andy is a great addition to the cast in my opinion!

Dwight: Why are you looking at my forehead?
Jim: I’m not.
Dwight: Meet my eye-line Jim!

This one was more funny when you could see it, but I laughed so hard that it's still funny to me just reading it!! I love how Jim tortures Dwight!

Dwight: I am fast. To give you a reference point I am somewhere between a snake and a mongoose…and a panther. (This is the one Jeni posted too!)

Until tomorrow with a whole new set!

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Winter's here!

And just like that, it's winter. I can't believe another year has come and gone already. I'm super excited for Christmas. For sitting around the tree with just the little white lights on. For drinking hot chocolate after coming in from the cold. For the smell of baked goodies. For the mystery of what could be under the tree. For the family gatherings. For the good food. For the dark nights by the warm fire. For Christmas movies that you can ONLY watch this time of year. For putting up the decorations and having your house be taken over with beauty. So many more! I'm just excited! I LOVE Christmas and all that goes along with it. I'm going to start decorating this weekend I think. I love when the trees get like this. The frost just sticks right to it. And I just liked how the berries looked with all of the snow on them.
The kick off of Christmas for me is going to be my trip to Banff. I'm going there with my mom, Lara, Erin, and my Judy. It's like being in Christmas town I swear. You sleep in what feels like Hogwarts Castle, in the mountains. Ahhh, nothing is better. We went last year and I hope the tradition continues for years to come. Well not a lot new for me. Just working hard, doing Young Women stuff ( Young Women in Excellence is tomorrow and I made all of the gifts), and getting ready for the best time of year. These are my Beehives in case you were wondering. They are so fun, and I can't believe how fast I've grown to love them. They are just so sweet. I'm losing some and there are 11 more to be gained shortly. They keep me on my toes that's for sure. Other than that, there are a lot of November birthdays in my family so that's been fun! Happy Birthday everyone! Well it's now late, I'm wiped, and so I'm off to bed!
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Friday, November 10, 2006

Best Moment from The Office

Jim: I don’t have a ton of contact with the Scranton branch, but before I left I took a box of Dwight’s stationary. So from time to time I send Dwight faxes, from himself, from the future. [reading] “Dwight at 8 am today someone poisons the coffee. Do not drink the coffee. More instructions will follow. Cordially, Future Dwight

I laughed so hard at this one!