Life: Happy New Year!

Ok, so this isn't the normal New Year's blog.  This is the long over due blog.  The, I haven't blogged since before Thanksgiving, which means I have a lot to update blog. So, I think the fastest and easiest way to provide you with a proper update is through pictures.  Since I have last updated....

We finished the kitchen....

My family came to visit. So we went skiing...

And visited Pike's Peak and had dinner at P.F. Changs....

Then I hosted Thanksgiving dinner...

I sliced open my finger trying to julien carrots (whoops!)...

I had my wisdom teeth pulled (with no swelling woo hoo!)...

I got glasses...

A pipe burst in our crawl space...

We saw a play starring a friend (bet you can't guess what it was)...

We went skiing with friends (and my husband was not happy about stopping to take a picture)...

I got a hair cut...

We traveled to Illinois...

...where I got to see my friend Sam and her family...

...and meet my sweet niece for the first time which was my favorite Christmas present this year...

...and Kevin and I took our puppies for a two mile run and wore them out...

...and played killer bunnies (twice)...

...and then we drove home, and Hoeffer couldn't get comfortable...

...where we picked up a friend's dogs while she is out of town with her husband who is on R&R...

... and I got to plant my aero garden (countertop, self-sustaining herb garden) that I am really excited about.

Also, without pictures, I set up my Christmas tree and Kevin has started working on building a server in our house.  Our media server is up and running and now he is working on our NAS.  I have also mostly packed for Mexico (we leave in a couple of days).  And my stocks are doing great (I passed a 75% gain on my initial investing today!).  I have no New Year's resolutions, but I am excited to start the year.  Once we get back from Mexico, we plan on trying 30 days of Paleo eating, so you all can expect that our favorite recipes will definitely be shared).  I am also looking forward to a slower pace that allows for more workouts and blogging. But this year is also bringing a new job in a new unit and I have to say, I am excited about the change.  

Life: Glad to be home

New patio

So, I have been home for a few weeks now and really haven't stopped since I arrived.  Last week Kevin and I started renovating our kitchen and should be done late tonight.  We also had a patio put in in our backyard.  It's been a little crazy, but in a good way.  And it isn't stopping as this week my family (Mom, stepdad, brother, aunt and two cousins) are coming into town to visit.  We will be hosting Thanksgiving at our house and that brings the total to at least 11 for dinner.  So we have a busy schedule coming up for the next week and then a couple of (hopefully) more relaxing weeks before heading back to Illinois for Christmas and then on to Mexico for a romantic week away with my husband!

The current state of my kitchen

So a few quick updates...
Patio's done
Kitchen's done (almost)
Looks like I have a new job at a new unit lined up (more to follow once it is official).
I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled after Thanksgiving and will start the process of seeing if I am eligible for Lasik.
My stocks are doing really well (at on point this week I checked and saw that I had a 60% gain off my initial investment).
I finished reading through the whole bible this year (after about 9 months of reading) and am going to start a doing a new study on love.
Kevin and I are creating life goals for our family and things we want to do and achieve (we are doing this over several weeks, so once that's done, it will probably be it's own blog post).
I haven't been working out hardly at all and need to get back in the swing of things, especially before going home.  But we are planning on getting some skiing and hiking next week, so that will be good.

Ok, for now, I need to get back to putting my kitchen together and cleaning my house so I can drive to Denver tomorrow and pick up my beautiful Aunt and wonderful cousins.