It's back to work for...Officer Graves

Folks... We have hit another milestone. Eric has been my "steady schedule man" for the last 10 years, and was a stellar employee up to and including his last day on February 25th.

When he originally gave notice, he had planned on only having a couple days off to lounge around and relax until he was off to a crazy schedule. Lucky for him, things were not planned out as quick as we thought and he ended up having over a week off. Yeah for us!!! We had a plethora of gift cards that we just hadn't gotten around to using, so we finally did. We had dinner at Stanford's to celebrate his last day; we ate at the The Cheesecake Factory, used my Pottery Barn gift card to buy a super cute vase (let me tell you how excited he was about that. :-)) and he tagged along to bowling with me (he never has been with me since I started, as it begins so late on Monday nights). It was really nice just to spend time together.

Eric was finally sworn in, as a full time officer this past Thursday. (for our friends and families.....you know the city but I am keeping the name private) Both sets of his parents were there as well a few regular and reserve officers. Unfortunately, there was no time to go out and celebrate as it was off to work for Officer Graves. He will be working weird shifts until he leaves for the academy in June. Then he will be gone M-F, home on the weekends.

In the ten years that we have been married, we haven't really shaken things up. This is definitely going to make things interesting. I am so very happy and proud of this man I love with all my heart. He followed his heart and made his dream came true.

P.S. Who doesn't love a man in uniform? :-)

It's Official!!!!!!!

Eric has finally been hired, full time, as one of Gladstone's finest. It has been a long process, which included waiting, more waiting and just a little bit more waiting. However, it is done and I am so proud of him. He has wanted to be a police officer for most of his life. Being in the reserves for 1 1/2 years put him a bit closer to that dream. With his patience and dedication he will give the policing community a good name. Just be careful if you happen to be speeding through Gladstone. He just might get'cha.

It's a little late but HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

I started this post about 3 weeks ago, then got busy and totally lost my train of thought. I figured I better finish it before 2009 is over. :-)

A new year is here and I can't believe it. December was a huge whirlwind. We had the most unbelieveable weather that Oregon has seen in some 50 years. It definitely made it hard to get around and a bit nerveracking when we did venture out. Thank God for Eric's training at the academy as he was the lucky one to drive us everywhere. (I love you honey, even though I gripped the door for dear-life most of the time.) Being "snowed in" gave me lots of time to think about life and all that I am so grateful for. So, without further adeau, in no particular order, here is my list:

1. HOME - If it wasn't for hard work and some sacrifice, I wouldn't have a roof over my head, heat to keep me warm and food to make me full. We are fortunate that we have extra room to be able to help out a few friends in tough times.

2. FAMILY - without parents/grandparents, I wouldn't be here. They love and support me which gets me through every day. They have given me more than I could ever ask for. I am who I am because of them.

3. HUSBAND - I thank a higher power every day that I was lucky enough to find a wonderful man who loves me for me. I am very proud that he has persued his life long dream of being a police officer. You are my hero!

4. WORK - Even with the economy down, Eric's job has maintained steady as well as the paychecks. I am lucky to be self employed, to choose when and where I work. I help so many people in so many ways.

5. FRIENDS -I have so many friends that love me and would do anything for me. I couldn't ask for a better group. I didn't see them nearly as much as I would have liked to in 2008, but they are never far from my thoughts.

With that being said, heres to a prosperous new year. God knows we could use it. I have decided not to make any resolutions, because frankly, I NEVER keep them. I write them down, tell everyone I know and by Februay 3rd, I have already fallen off the wagon. I am going to keep all of the things that I am going to do better to myself and maybe, just maybe I will actually accomplish some of them. Here are a few wonderful memories from the holidays.

My candle runneth over

If you have looked at my blog recently you have seen the pictures of my Christmas decorations. (Go ahead....look below....you know you want too.) As much as I love the flatscreen above the fireplace, it does create a challenge when it comes to holiday decor. Especially candles. I can't help but think that I may melt the speakers right off the wall if I put too many candles up there. Regardless, I am very happy with the way it turns out, not to mention how yummy the house smells mere minutes after lighting every stinkin' candle I have spread about.

I had to run out for a couple of hours the other night, confidently leaving my beautiful candles glowing. When I opened the front door upon returning home, I was immediately greeted with the same intoxicating scent that I had left behind. Everything was as I had left it until I glanced at the hearth and found this:

OMG!!!!! I had the Multnomah Falls of red wax in my living room. Eric had already gone to bed so poor Steve got the rath of Melanie. My first question was "What the $%^*@ happened?" My next comment was "I can't believe that neither of you noticed the waterfall of red wax splattering all over the floor?" BREATHE......the house didn't burn down and the tree didn't fall, everything will be clean once again.

Luckily, even after my rage, Steve was a super guy and helped scrap it off. (it may have been that he was just scared to death of me, but I am going to go with that he is just a nice guy) Along with the vaccuum, scraper, brown paper bags and an iron, I managed to get it off of the tile and the carpet. The candle holder is another story. It is still in the garage just waiting for me to clean it. I don't think that I will be using any expensive pillar candles this time. Thank god for HGTV and all of those home shows I insist on watching and recording. I may not have known how to get wax out of the carpet.

Even with the candle debockle, I will continue to enjoy the fabulous aroma of my holiday scents. Maybe just not in pillar form. :-)

(The void of red wax on the floor was where one of our wooden shoes sat. I forgot to take pictures of those but Eric's had about a 1/2 inch of wax over half of it. )

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

What can I say.....I love Christmas!! What's not to love? You have yummy food & drinks, delictable desserts, holiday parties, special time with family and friends and decorations.

For Eric and I it starts right after Thansgiving. We plan a day to put up the outdoor lights and can only hope that it doesn't rain. Inflatable Santa adorns the porch next to a tree, a BIG red bow sits at the top and Frosty gives cheer to all who pass.

Then we pick out the perfect tree at the farm just down the street.

The perfect Tree (a little blurry, but beautiful)

It takes me about a day and 1/2 to completely decorate the inside. This year I had 2 special helpers. Dexter decided that he was going to check out every container as I opened and emptied them. Sadie made sure not to leave my side. Heaven forbid she miss out on something. Eric, of course, was along for moral support. I guess I could give him the afternoon off, since he did climb on the roof to hang lights.

I love driving thru the neighborhoods and looking at the lights. We all do so much to make our homes sparkle for the holidays and I love being able to share my sparkle with all of you.

Happy Holidays and a joyous New Year.