Merry 2010

Happy 2010 everyone!!! We hope all of you were able to spend New Year's with those that are special to you. Ryan and I had a very fun, unproductive, relaxing vacation...EXACTLY what we needed! But all good things must come to an end... We go back to work tomorrow. BOO!!! Oh well there is always Spring Break to look forward to, and a couple of 3-day weekends in between :) We spent the first few days of our break doing our favorite thing which is absolutely NOTHING! Then on December 23rd, we packed up the car and began our drive down south to Alabama to spend Christmas with Ryan's cousin Chris and his wife, Janet. The drive was looooong, but the scenery was beautiful... We stopped in Nashville to grab lunch and visit my friend Jenn from high school. Here I am posing with her and her adorable daughter, Emma. Jenn moved to Tennessee several years ago, but is CA born and raised like me and Ry. On the road again... Pretty Lake...Sunset...Cotton candy sky...Ahhh....Sweet Home Alabama! Isn't their house pretty? I LOVE all the brick. Chris and Janet live in a town called Phenix City, which is right next to the Georgia border. Chris is an Army Ranger and is stationed at Fort Benning.Where they live is wooded. Their side and back yard butt up against a creek. It is just gorgeous! Chris and Janet were awesome hosts. They cooked up a storm! Here they are preparing fondue for our Christmas Eve dinner.Here is their festive holiday table...

I LOVED their tree...I can't wait until Ryan and I buy a bigger tree with coordinating ornaments. I love our lil' Charlie Brown tree with the mix-match ornaments, but I am ready to purchase a bigger, more substantial tree for future Christmases.

Our stockings were hung by the chimney with care. These 4 stockings were all made by Chris and Ryan's Grandma Barbara. Is she talented or what??? Ryan and I did not buy Christmas presents for each other this year. Our trip to Alabama/Florida was our gift to each other. Here is a pic of Chris opening presents in his living room.The day after Christmas, the four of us headed to Destin, Florida. Destin is a beach resort town about 3 hours away from Chris and Janet's house. We stayed at a military resort and got a very reasonable room rate thanks to Chris. It was beautiful, but don't let the pics fool you- It was too cold to enjoy in a swim suit or shorts...50-60 degrees each day. Oh well, at least the scenery was pretty to look at...

Enjoying dinner at a seafood restaurant. We must have ate at 3 or 4 of them while we were out there...

The beaches of Destin were beautiful. The sand was soooooo white! I bet it is absolutely stunning in the warmer months when the sun is out and the water appears more turquoise in color.

Destin reminded us a ton of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which is where we honeymooned a little over 4 years ago...

White sand and lots of grass growing...

Ryan and his cousin had a great time together. They went fishing a few times, but unfortunately didn't get a single bite! Oh, well at least they had fun hanging out. Janet and I hit up the outlet malls and got our hair done...

It was so nice of them to open their home to us and to take us to Florida. Hopefully one of these days they can head up our way and we can show them around our neck of the woods!As soon as we got back to Indy, we met up with two of our best friends- Erin and Kellie! Erin flew in from California and Kellie and her boyfriend Greg rode in on a bus from Chicago. They had been visiting a friend of Greg's in Chi-Town a few days prior. They all live in the Riverside/Moreno Valley area. Erin and Kel are sisters. We have been friends for over 20 years!

I uploaded my pictures a little out of order. These are pics from Saturday, January, 2nd. Here are Kel and I at the bowling alley in Noblesville.Kel and Greg :)Me and Ry :)

Having fun with our neighbor, Eric :)

Eric and Liz :)

Cheers to the beers!

Having fun...Throwing darts...

Intense concentration...

It was sooooo cold!!!!

I wasn't lying!!! Check out the temp in the rearview mirror...Brrrrrrrr!!!

On New Year's Eve, we threw our 2nd annual "Black and Bling" Party! I was soooo glad these 2 beauties were able to join us!

Here is Kel in her usual spot, helping with the cooking :)

Erin cooked too, well actually, she baked....

Ta-Dah!Ryan was the "official" chef of the evening. He made awesome shredded chicken and beef burritos...

Here are all the fixings...yum-yum!

The finished product...

Delish!!!!

While Ry was busy slaving away in the kitchen, our friends were playing some serious Jenga!

Once Ry was done, he joined in the fun...

Once Jenga was done, the guys congrugated upstairs to the loft for some Poker...

Ryan ended up taking 2nd place, our neighbor, Eric was the big winner of the evening!

While the boys were playing upstairs, the girls were in the kitchen painting wine glasses :)

Even baby Elise joined in the fun....us girls have to stick together ;)

Liz working hard...Erin and Kristin are all smiles....

Kel is a regular Picaso...The glass painting was really fun. I bought the goblets at the dollar store and ceramic paint at Michael's. It kept all of us occupied until almost midnight...Here are the finished products. Once the paint dries, you bake them in the oven at 350 for 40 minutes and then they are good to go! Can you guess which one is mine? My 3 favorite neighbors (minus Kristin- I'm not sure where she went...hmm). Sabrina, Liz, Lisa and me...Ryan and his co-worker, Eric. Eric is so sweet- we all LOVE him! He is such a blast to hang around :)

Liz and me :) Happy New Year! Woo-Hoo!!!

Parties, road-trips, relaxing, friends, food, drinking = FAT!!!! Ryan and I both need to lose some pounds muy pronto! Now that the fun is over, it is time to get SERIOUS. We are playing Biggest Loser with 3 of our neighbors for the next 12 weeks. Each week there will be a cash prize for the highest percentage of body weight lost and a large prize for the grand finale. I'm gonna win baby!!! We are both super motivated to be slim and trim ;)

We wish everyone a wonderful 2010! May you be blessed with everything your heart desires!!!

Until next time...xo