The New Year is upon us

I simply cannot believe it is a day away from being 2005. It just doesn't seem right. I think my timing is thrown off because we're down in Orlando. It didn't really feel like Christmas, partially because I was away from 'home' until Christmas eve, and then we had rush back so I could make back for work. Ohwell. The older you get, the faster time really does go.

We were really blessed this Christmas, we received some nice gifts from our families. The big gifts from my parents were money for each of us and a new microwave. (My mom complained ours was too small to cook in.) The Flatons gave us season passes for Universal, so we definitely plan to use those over the next year. We enjoyed seeing our families during our (very quick) trip home. We didn't even have time to stop in with any of our friends, but we were just thankful we got to leave for Christmas.

Poor Dave has been home all last week and this week while I've been at work. He's been sleeping in and catching up on things around the house. I know he'll be glad to get back into classes, though. Me, on the other hand...well, I took advantage of my month-long break and slept till noon and thoroughly enjoyed it. No more of that for me anymore. Early mornings and late evenings. How I wish I could go back to sleeping in over Christmas break. How nice it would be...

For those who wondered, we're still here

Okay, I'm finally getting around to updating the blog, since I haven't written in two weeks! Life has been mad crazy (my new phrase) for the last two weeks, as I'm sure it has been for most everyone. As for me, I finished my shadowing and went through five days of training last week. Eight in the morning until five every evening. I learned so much and I actually picked things up quicker than I expected. So today was my first day having my own drawer, balancing, dealing with customers' money. For those who don't know, life at a bank can be just a teeny tiny bit stressful. But it all ended well today.

As for Dave, he's been enjoying his nice little two-week break from school. He's been sleeping in, going shopping, watching movies. Oh, the hard life. We had our first Christmas party last Sunday night and we had a lot of fun. Dave's friends, Brian and Kenny, came over with their wives (and Kenny brought his two little girls) and we all had a great time. I made lots of food for everyone, so we're still munching on leftovers.

Today is our seven-month anniversary as well as our "we-met-two-years-ago today" anniversary. Ahh. How sweet it is. After I leave work (shhh...), we're going out to dinner and to a movie. We've been having so much fun buying gifts and trying to keep them from each other. He wraps mine while I'm at work and I have to shut the bedroom door and tell him he can't come in so I can wrap his gifts. We'll be leaving for Pensacola (for a really quick trip) on Friday, so we're going to do our gift thing before we leave. And then we'll be leaving to come back Sunday night because I get to work the following Monday. I'll try to write sooner to keep everyone updated on our happy little life.


Have a blessed, merry Christmas to all of our precious friends and family

Crazy days

It's only Wednesday and it's felt like two weeks already. I'm praying I make it till Friday. I began working at Bank of America on Monday and I was feeling slighty (understatement) overwhelmed when I got home. Life is going to be crazy now, but c'est la vie. I'm actually enjoying the teller job more than I thought I would. There are a lot of nice people that I'll be working with, which is always nice. At least next week will be a little better. I'll be in training all week from 8-5. I know it will get better once I get used to the schedule. It's just really hard in the beginning.

Dave has been taking and printing photos like crazy now. You should see our dining table when he gets home from his photo lab...pictures everywhere! He took these really cool ones. (We'll have to post them.) He had two of his friends look into the camera with a candle by their faces, and then he did the same with his face. It looks really cool. My hubby and his abstract mind. We're supposed to be taking my portrait photo Thursday night. That should be really interesting. We'll see how that works out. Other than that, he adapted his 10-page screenplay to fit the guidelines for a 16-mm film to be made. (It had to be down to seven pages.) It's a really unique story idea. Again, Dave and his creativity.

We FINALLY decorated for Christmas! We still have a bunch to do, though. We need to get some pine garland and some more white lights, and of course, the tree. We're going out Friday night to look for a tree and hopefully, they won't all be gone. Our friends, Jason (Biggums) and Kristin are coming over Saturday night, so we've got to have the house all pretty and Christmas-y. And we've decided that every year before we decorate, we're going to watch "Elf" (with Will Ferrell). It's so funny! If you haven't seen it yet, it's a really cute Christmas movie. I love Christmas! I love decorating and baking and listening to Christmas music (I'm still working on Dave about that) and looking at Christmas lights. This Christmas is going to be special, of course, because it's our first 'married' Christmas and we get to make our own Christmas traditions and everything. I love it.

Christmas decoration procrastination...

Okay, the decorating for Christmas (minus the tree) WILL be done by this weekend. I have been saying all week that we need to decorate, and then we'll either be too tired or there's too much going on...so it must be done. We'll be getting a tree next weekend, I think, but there's much other cute stuff to put up. Our Christmas decor is blue and silver and snowman stuff. So cute! I'm really wanting to plan a great Christmas party and have all of our friends over to enjoy some holiday food and eggnog. Fun stuff.

Dave is thoroughly enjoying his photography class. He's been taking photos and making prints, getting all kinds of ideas. His screenplay class is going well, too. He's writing this really creative story that his instructor said he might use after Dave gets done writing it. But of course, photography is what he enjoys most. He has such a great eye for photos, and what would look good. He's so great.

The window for the car will be getting fixed in the next few days, which I know will make Dave a little happier. It's hard when you see your car messed up from a wreck or from something like this. And then he'll start building up his CD collection again. From now on, he's making a copy of all his CDs and keeping the originals in the house. Yes, hindsight is 20/20.

Things are going well...I start the new teller position at Bank of America on Monday. Things are going to be crazy for a while, juggling two jobs. But I'm up for the challenge. I love working at Orlando Weddings and everything I do there, but it will be nice to get part-time hours with full-time benefits from the bank. Today is actually crazy. There's a wedding I'm assisting with, and I won't be home until probably 9 or 10. Dave's having his friends come over tonight to shoot some photos, so I'm glad he won't have to be home by himself. The three married guys hanging out together. Isn't that nice?

Our first Thanksgiving being married

We're back from Thanksgiving and refreshed from a nice little break. We had a few days to relax and see friends and family and enjoy good meals. On Thanksgiving day, we first ate lunch at my parents' house and tried not to get too full. Mom and Glennis made so much, it was definitely hard. One of the best things was getting to see my precious kitty, Snuggles.

A couple hours later, we went over to Dave's parents to have yet another good Thanksgiving meal. Again, lots of great food. We enjoyed our time over there as well. Getting to see the Flaton's little Jack Russell terrier is always fun. Baby is one happy little dog.

After we left the Flaton's that evening, we headed to Seville Square park to take some photos and have some special time for us. November 25 was our one year anniversary of our engagement. Here in this park was where Dave got on one knee and asked me to be his wife forever. Being there made all those butterflies come back again.

Early Friday morning, I headed out and hit some sales. Love it! We drove around the area later that day and saw some of the devestation left by Ivan. One of my favorite spots, down Floridatown road, had some of the most beautiful homes overlooking the bay. Now you can see through most of them. Some are not even on the pilings anymore. Clothes are strewn all over the trees and there's debris everywhere. It was really sad to see such beautiful, expensive homes and these people's lives ripped apart by this.

Friday night, we finally got to go over and see friends of ours, Jason and Ellen Beck. We miss them terribly and it was so great to see them again. Aren't they adorable? They made pizza for us, and we brought the dessert platter. And then, like always, we played a game. I usually win the games they teach me, but it wasn't my night.

I kept trying to coax Snuggles to sit with me, telling her I'd give her some turkey. We stocked up on groceries on Saturday and went over to visit the Flaton's again before we left. Saturday evening, we met up with our great friends, Ian and Teresa. We had a great meal at Smokey Bones Bar-B-Que and sat and talked for a long time. We ended up going to see National Treasure at the Rave (which was SO good!) and we really enjoyed that. That movie is a good movie with no cursing, no gratutitous violence, no sexual stuff...it's rated PG and it's great. As Dave says, Hollywood needs to get a clue.

And that was basically our little Thanksgiving break. We left on Sunday and spent about eight hours on the road home (it usually takes seven) through all the traffic. We had a great time with everyone and we're now looking forward to our first Christmas!