Marching for the Babies!

In 2004 I traveled to D.C. for my first March for Life. It was a very powerful point in my life. Standing for life is something that is very important to me. I decided then, that as long as I was able, I would try to make it back every year. I was fortunate enough to be able to go in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Sadly, I missed 2008. This year, my work schedule just so happened to work out perfectly for me to spend 3 days in D.C.! I flew out there on my own, and ended up staying with the Pitt State group.

All the people gathered on the National Mall for the Rally! (the porta-potties aren't for us..they were still there from the inauguration)

These girls also flew out...instead of riding on the bus. Kathie is going to school out in D.C., so Stacy, Michelle, and Loretta stayed with her.

My good friend Caitlin! We started the March together, ended it separately, and stayed to watch the "Silent no More" rally together.

After the march, Caitlin and I went to Union Station for dinner and shopping. These shoes really were for sale. Seriously? Obama heads? Really. No kidding.

This is the Shell gas station right next to our hotel. I heard sirens that morning, but didn't look outside to see what was going on. My surprise! When I finally headed out, there were like 5 fire engines and a burning Shell! Evidently some car blew up? I had to walk like 2 miles to get to the metro, because the bus stop on this corner was down because of all the commotion. This little fire created quite an adventure for me!

Annual White Elephant Christmas Party!

I had to work this past Saturday which I was a kinda bummed about. I almost never work weekends, and it just so happened that my friends planned our annual Christmas party for Saturday. So, while they all partied here at my house, I worked. But, I had to smile when I walked through the door to find their proud creations...

Impressive details...See the snowwmen? They even drew the time in on the clock tower.

On the other side they even made a wreath and tied a twizzler for the bow. This was obviously the girls' work!

The guys did a good job too!

Between this and some other random white elephant gifts left around the house, it was an interesting morning! Too bad I wasn't able to join them for the fun!

Hanging out with good friends!

I had a really fun time tonight hanging out with Laura, Ryan, and Danny! Danny and I were Best Man and Maid of Honor in the Sponsel wedding this past October. This was the first time we all have hung out together since then. Danny is studying in the seminary to be a priest and is on his Christmas break, so it was very good to see him! We started off the night with dinner at D'Fazio's italian restaurant. Then we drove around looking at all the pretty Christmas lights in town. Next we headed to the Newman Center to hang out with a few other people who wanted to see Danny while he was in town.
All of us chilling back, drinking Bailey's and coffee and playing pitch!

Loving our scarves! I made Laura a scarf just like mine last year for Christmas! We were matching tonight!

Oh, what Bailey's will do to you! This is Ninja Ryan! He had so much fun playing with that scarf..I eventually had to take it away from him! (he wasn't really drunk ;), just a little tired and acting a little goofy)..but Ryan is always a little goofy!

Now for tomorrow night (or I guess now it counts as "tonight"), I'm headed to Lyons, KS to celebrate Christmas with my mom's side of the family! I love Christmas!

Blah week...

You know when you have those weeks that you feel like you don't get anything accomplished?! This week was definitely one of them. Sometimes I wish my life would just slow down so I could get more done!

First of all, I had a hard time switching back to my day schedule this week and slept in till after noon every day. Which makes the day fly by and leaves me with long nights. Sadly, most of my friends are asleep at 3 in the a.m...so what is there to do?! I've been thinking a lot this week about switching to days at the hospital. In the beginning, "Day" shifts scared me. But now, I think if the opportunity for me to switch to days came up, I would probably take it. I would love to have a normal sleep pattern!

Although the week was mostly unproductive, I did finally get my house cleaned today! (from Friday's party) There were a lot of dishes, sticky spills, extra tables and chairs, and lots of trash. I was having a hard time building up the motivation to get it all done...but today was the day! After 5 loads of laundry, 2 loads of dishes, some serious swiffering, and other random tasks, the house is clean again!

Back to work tomorrow night :(

To end on a happy note:
1. Christmas is very close!
2. I bought a plane ticket for Washington, D.C. today! I'll fly out January 21st to be a part of the March for Life!
3. Less than 1 month and I'll be in Idaho with some of my dearest friends!

Life really is good...

Tacky Christmas Sweater Party

Well, our 1st Annual Tacky Christmas Sweater Party went off without a hitch! Laura and I baked cookies, made chex mix, mixed drinks, and I think it's safe to say a jolly time was had by all!

This will be the picture for next year's invitation! We know how to be "tacky".

My older brother, Gabe, came over early to help us set up. He worked at Eberly Farm for years and is always therefore very proud of his food display skills at parties. He always says, "It's all about the display". So here you see him proudly showing off his
display of our food and some of the beverage selection.

My surprise for the night! My mom told me she had a surprise for me, but didn't tell me what. Then she showed up at my front door with my Aunt Pam! She drove from about an hour away (Lyons, KS) to come to my party! It was a great surprise and they fit right in! :)

Some people chose not to dress tacky...

This was how the night started out..playing some card game? This was about half the people that came. The house was pretty full!

And, my good friends Kate and Megan! They looked super cute and tacky! So glad they came!


CAN HARDLY WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!!!

Christmas Time!

December is finally here! It makes me so happy...Christmas is by far my favorite time of the year!

My best friend, Laura, and I took a trip to elfyourself.com and got our picture taken. Then we decided we wanted to have our first annual Tacky Christmas Sweater Party! So this is the picture we proudly posted on all of the invitations we sent to our friends. Nerds, but cool nerds! :)



I bought my very first Christmas tree! Cheap little walmart special, but it makes me very happy! My mom helped make it extra special..every year since I was born she gave me a Christmas ornament. Now, 22 years later, I have 22 ornaments to put on my own tree, making it extra special :) I put it up tonight as I listened to Christmas carols on the radio. My house is Christmasy now!





To finish off the night, I started a fire and sipped hot cocoa while I read my book. Ahhh....so nice! Sadly though, every time I have a fire I think of the Marneys and the many nights I spent with them and Sonic and yarn and computers..Miss you guys!

Slippers are really done!

I know I posted these before..but they weren't actually done yet. I just tucked in the loose ends. They really are done now and Baby Madelyn is here! So I had to take just one more picture for memory's sake. They're all wrapped up now, and I'll give them to Maddie soon! (and the pictures are bad quality because my camera isn't working) :(