Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas.... I hope everyone had a great holiday! We had a wonderful day, complete with snow showers to make it a "white Christmas".

I am a little behind, but wanted to share some of our Christmas decorations around the Christman house :)


Enjoy the pictures of our mantle/fireplace with stockings, Christmas tree, kitchen table, pantry door with wreath, and decorative ledge in the kitchen (above the sink).

Happy Holidays!!

Delays, Delays, Delays....

I am sitting here in MCO (Orlando International Airport) waiting on our flight back to Baltimore..... and all we keep hearing are delays, delays, and more delays.

I am not sure what the reason is.... maybe the bad weather back home or the high volume of travelers but I don't like it at ALL!

When Rusty and I first arrived to the airport we saw that our flight was delayed by about 20mins (not too bad) and then it was moved to 45mins (ahh, not too good) and now we are up to 65mins (getting pretty bad). I hope they are done updating us on delays. I guess I can't feel too bad- the people that are sitting near us are already delayed four hours!!

Hopefully we will get on our way soon and we will be back in snowy, cold Pennsylvania! The one good thing about getting home is getting to see these wonderful little faces that have missed us.....

Fun in Walt Disney World!

Rusty and I are down here in the "world" and are having a blast! We met up with some good friends, Alex and Fred, and are having so much fun together. Here is a little sneak peak of our fun adventures- many more pictures to come!




It is a little on the cold side (well, actually very cold) but we are still having so much fun!!! Hope everyone is having a good week- talk to you when we get home :)

When You Wish Upon A Star.....

In just two very short days we will be heading to the best place on earth- Walt Disney World!!! I just can not wait.... you guys have no idea.

I have had two very long weeks at work and REALLY need this vacation and time with my love. I grew up going to Disney World and would often listen to this song as the fireworks were going off over the castle and think of my dreams. Many of my dreams have come true (and I hope many more as well). Many of my dreams have actually come true right at Walt Disney World- I got engaged in the castle to the love of my life, spent our honeymoon at Disney, and celebrated a wonderful first year of marriage there as well. So, you can see that this place is now even more special to me.

I am looking forward to a wonderful week away with Rusty.... I will blog when I get back and share our new memories :)

Until next time....

Christmas Cookie Swap!

Tomorrow I will be heading to my first Christmas Cookie Swap! I am pretty excited about it.... the first holiday event of the season and we get to eat some yummy cookies.
For the cookie swap, I decided to make Reese's Pieces Cookies. You can check out the recipe here. The recipe is super easy and doesn't require a lot of ingredients- which is always nice! It really didn't take me long to do at all and the recipe made about six dozen cookies.
Here is a picture of the finished product :)



I can't wait to try all the cookies tomorrow and hang out with Julie and Ashley (who invited me- thanks!) and meet some of their friends!!!
I will keep you posted on the yummy recipe's I get :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope everyone has a great day celebrating Thanksgiving! Rusty and I are heading to my parents house to eat and then his parents for dessert! I am actually on call tomorrow- lets pray for a easy day of call!

I made a quick (painless) trip to the grocery store to pick up some last minute things- I don't have to make much, so I didn't need to get much!

I bet you can't guess what I am in charge of this year from my picture.....




That's right- Green Bean Casserole and Oreo Dirt!!!!

I can't wait for all the yummy food tomorrow :) Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!

T Minus 17 Days!!!!!!!!!!!

Until our Winter Disney Vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rusty and I are so excited for our trip! We can not wait for Friday December 10th when we will be heading on an early flight from Baltimore to Orlando to celebrate!

These beauties came in the mail today and we just can not wait to use them :)











In 17 short days we will be looking down this wonderful street they like to call Main Street USA!!!!!

LAZY WEEKEND!!!

Just what the doctor ordered..... finally a totally relaxing weekend :)
I can not tell you the last time that I did not either work on Saturday or have tons of stuff to do on the weekend. I was actually suppose to work this Saturday but do the unit having a low census, I got cancelled- which was such a blessing! I needed a break, bad ;)
I stayed up late Friday night just laying in bed and watching TV. We got our Direct TV boxes replaced since we were having problems with them and now we have DVR upstairs in our bedroom. I LOVE it!!! I am secretly addicted to the Game Show Network and the new box allows me to DVR all the good games (you know, $25,000 Pyramid, Lingo, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and The Newlywed Game) and watch them as I am laying in bed. I am really into this whole new process- I have been going to bed way too late this whole week (but I really don't care- its bed fun!)
I slept in on Saturday (something I love to do but rarely get the opportunity to do). I spent the whole afternoon just relaxing around the house, watching TV and hanging out with the pups. Late Saturday afternoon I went out and got my hair done (colored and trimmed) and did a little shopping! I decided (kind of last minute) that I would get my hair colored, jut to try something different. I went darker for the winter season and I love how it turned out! Its always nice to do something different and new!
Saturday evening, Rusty and I went out with Julie and Danny to dinner and a movie. We tried this new place in York called Crimson! It was really good, I think we will definitely return for a second visit sometime soon. We followed it up with a movie- great night with great friends!
That brings us to Sunday. Another day to sleep in- this has been a great weekend ;)
We ran to the grocery store in the morning and got some stuff for dinner. I put together dinner, I am making pot roast in the crock pot! Chuck roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions- pure perfection! We use Rusty's mom's recipe and it is always so good! Here is a picture of it cooking away, I will try to take an "after" picture and post that as well.


The rest of the afternoon is going to be spent just laying around and watching the Cowboy game with Rusty. I might catch up on a little documentation for work or clean a little around the house, but who knows! I don't want to mess up my perfect, lazy weekend!!!

I think I forgot to mention that our new chair and half arrived to our house! We put it in our new office, here is a picture (not the best, but somebody in the house LOVES the new chair!)


I hope you all had a great weekend- I can't believe Thanksgiving is this week! Wow, did this year fly by.

DWTS- Who Do You Think Is Going To The End???

Tonight is Dancing With The Stars.... we will find out who is going to the finale!!! I am so excited :)
This is a new show for me- just started watching last season. I have enjoyed it so far this year, my two favorite are Jennifer and Kyle (just because he is so much fun to watch!)

Who do you think will make it to the finale and be able to dance one more night for us???

Personally, I am hoping it will be
1. Jennifer
2. Kyle
3. Brandy (even though she gets on my nerves- she is good!)


I have no idea how poor Bristol is still on the show. She is not terrible but I think there were definitely people who were better than her that have already been eliminated!!! I guess we will see what happens tonight!!

Leave a comment (if you watch the show) on your predictions on who you think should win!!

I Need Your Help!!!

Let me just start this blog by saying, I love my husband very much!!!! But he is driving me CRAZY!!!!!!!!! He has a very bad habit of laying things around the house (where they do not belong). I need to come up with a solution and fast. I really do not like things to just lay around, but after awhile I just get tired of picking them up!
Do any of you have this problem and if so what are your suggestions??

Technology.....

You either love it or hate it!!! I am hating it right now.... too many problems at once!!!
I know I have been MIA lately in the "blog world" but I think this post will help to explain why- haha

In the past two weeks, I have had some bad luck when it comes to technology! Don't get me wrong- I love technology, but these past several weeks have tested my patience!!
It all started off with our laptop breaking (which is what I usually blog on while I am watching tv, hence the lack of blogs the past two weeks!)Somehow the spot where you blog the charger in broke off (inside the computer) which made us not be able to charge the laptop. We are in the process of getting it fixed- but its not as easy as what you would think. The only good thing that came of our laptop breaking was that we finally got a new desktop computer (something we needed for some time- I am in LOVE!)

Then my cell phone started acting up- its not broken and I can still use it but it gets so slow and freezes up every couple of days. I need to make a visit to sprint and get it checked out- I am pretty sure I would die if I had to go without a phone for a few days... haha

The next thing to go was my work laptop (which is essential for my job and documenting my patient care). I work from home a lot (which is just easier sine I make home hospice visits than going into the office). Thank goodness the computer guy at my job was able to fix my computer in a few days (thank you Charles!)

Finally, the last piece of technology that broke was BOTH of our Direct TV boxes at the SAME time. For those of you who know me, know this is a BIG deal (espeically with all these great fall shows that are on now). Direct TV must have known that this kind of thing would send me over the edge and sent someone out to replace our boxes within 1 1/2 days!!

But come on..... how much more can a girl take??? I hope "technology" is done playing jokes on me and this will be the end of my list!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sophia Rose!!

Today is my little baby girl's 2nd Birthday :) We celebrated in style- with doggie cookies and hats :) Snickers and Sophia loved every minute along with mommy and daddy!
I guess you can really tell from these pictures that we don't have any "real" kids- so our fur babies fill that void for now (and that is just fine with me!)

Here are some pictures from our fabulous doggie Birthday Party!!


The Birthday girl- Miss Sophia Rose









Birthday Cookies (yes they are Halloween themed- only cookies the doggie bakery had that I knew both pups would like!)








Oh course no party would be complete without your best friend to help you celebrate- SNICKERS!









Snickers and Sophia enjoying their goodies- with their matching shirts and hats (yes, I know I am a little over the top but I don't care!)











I think she had a great birthday- what else could a little pup need???
Happy 2nd Birthday Sophia Rose- and many, many more!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

I have never been much on dressing up for the holiday but I love this time of year and giving out candy to the little kiddos! I love to see all the costumes and the little kids eager to say "trick or treat" and see what kind of goodies you are giving out ;)

Rusty loves to dress up, so he really doesn't understand why I am not really into it.... but that's ok! Last year he dressed up as a human Pez Dispenser (it was great- you can see pictures here I did this post to show what is really important in my husband's world- haha j/k

Although he has decided not to dress up this year he has seriously thought about being a "depressed cowboy fan" (although this relay wouldn't be a costume, sadly it would be reality). Poor Rusty is having a hard time accepting the outcome of his poor Cowboys and of course his favor QB Tony Romo!!! It was pretty bad this past week- I was starting to get worried about him.... he is doing a little bit better. I told him he would just have to take things day by day.... it is a true loss for him
:( He still tells me that he might put on his Romo jersey and a brown paper bag over his head! If he does.... I will be sure to take some pictures for your enjoyment :)

Rusty and I are going to just hang out the rest of the evening and wait for the kiddos to come. We are going to carve one of our pumpkins (a tradition we started two years ago on Halloween) so we can enjoy the pumpkin seeds while we pass out candy! Pictures to come....

Here is a picture for your enjoyment (the pups of course, ready and waiting for the fun to begin):





Have a great rest of the weekend and HAPPY HALLOWEEN from the Christman's :)

What a Week....

Well it has been over a week since I have last sat down to share my life with you all.... and what a week it has been!
It all started Sunday and Monday with Rusty having a little cold. I played the role of a good wife and made hime some chicken noodle soup and hot tea- he pretty much recovered by Tuesday and was feeling pretty good!
Come Tuesday evening, I was feeling pretty bad myself. By Wednesday it was clear that I had taken over Rusty's cold, a guess just another joy of marriage they don't tell you about ;)
It started to get worse and worse through the week, by time Thursday I really thought I was going to die! It heard to breathe because my lungs/chest were so full of yuckky stuff and sleeping was next to impossible. Doctor appointment and pharmacy visit later, the verdict is bronchitus and double ear infections!!!
Oh course all of this could not have happened on a worse week/weekend. As you might remember from my previous posts, I was suppose to head to North Carolina for Barton College Homecoming weekend with some great friends!
Instead of a great weekend in the south, I have been laying on the couch, taking naps, drinking hot tea, and a diet of hot soup..... not much fun at all! My chest is so full of yucky stuff and my cough feels like it is NEVER going to let up. From all of the coughing, my lungs hurt so bad that even breathing is just about miserable!
Anyway, enough complaining.... I hope that all my sigma ladies from Barton had a great time at Homecoming. I missed you all and can't wait to see you all again....

Message From South Korea....

A certain crazy, fun-loving red headed southern belle sent me a message from South Korea saying that she was coming home (well to her home in North Carolina) for a visit!!!!!!!!
Which means that I get to see my good friend who has been stationed in South Korea with her husband for over a year! I don't know about you but its the best news that I have ever received from half way across the world.
Kati- thanks for the great message and I can't wait to see you. I have certainly missed our wonderful phone chats and friendship- see you soon :)

Happy 100th Post!!!

WOW!!! I can't believe that I have done 100 wonderful (well I seem to think so) posts! I also can not believe that I have stuck with this whole blogger world thing, but I can actually say that I really enjoy doing it! I just can't believe that I actually have people who read my blog.... well at least I think that I do! Hit me back with a comment if you are reading- just so I know that I really do have some readers ;)
I am looking forward to another 100 posts here at Life: Through the Eyes of Monica!!

Happy 2 Year Wedding Anniversary!

Rusty and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary on Monday (October 4th). We both took off for the day, which gave us two days to celebrate!!!
We really didn't do anything too exciting, just a lot of relaxing and hanging out together. On our anniversary we both slept in and then headed to breakfast at Cracker Barrel which is always a good time and good food! We then headed to a local furniture store and ordered a chair and half for our new office. I wanted to make a "reading corner" which would be comfortable for both Rusty and I. I don't have a picture to share with you, but will certainly post pictures when it arrives. We did a special order which allowed us to customize the colors to match our office, so it is going to take 6-8 weeks to come in. I can't wait for it to arrive- I hope its going to look good!
Anyway, back to our anniversary. We then headed to the local orchard, Brown's, and got some apple cider, apples, Carmel apple, and carrot cake. We couldn't decide between the Carmel apple or carrot cake- so we got one apple and a single serving of carrot cake to share for dessert!
We then came home and decided to just sit around and relax (it was raining really had which made it a good day to just relax). We watched several episodes of Greys Anatomy (we were catching up on Season Six- very good might I add!)After watching several episodes, it was time to head to dinner. We decided to go to The Olive Garden which was delicious! We then came home and enjoyed our dessert we got earlier- they both were so good- it was a good thing that we couldn't decide and got to try a little of each :)
We also had these goodies to snake on throughout the day! Our friend, Julie, made these for us and they were so good- thank you Julie!!!!












Overall, it was a great day. It was so nice spending the two days together. I almost forgot- we exchanged some presents. We didn't do anything too crazy but I loved my gift. Rusty got me a new Vera Bradley for work. For those who know me well- you know that I LOVE Vera Bradley!!! Here is a picture of the bag- I love the colors and the style is perfect, it fits my work stuff and my laptop which is perfect.












I got Rusty a new Cowboy Jersey he had been wanting and an i-tunes card, which is always a good choice for him. He enjoyed the jersey and of course used the i-tunes card right away- he loves getting new music!

Thanks for reading about our anniversary! I can't believe that it has already been two years- I guess it is true what they say, time flies when you are having fun ;)



<3 I love You Rusty- thanks for the most amazing two years <3

New Look???

I am laying here in bed (should be going to sleep, but too busy on the good ol' lap top) and just noticed that Blogger got a face lift!!!
I am liking some of the changes right away (like how they are now listing all the blogs you follow on the side) but I am not sure how I feel about how they are listing the most recent updates.... but I am sure with everything else, we will all get used to the changes!!
Rusty and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary on Monday- I know I am super behind, but I promise a post will be coming soon with pictures!!

Fall Is In The Air!

Its official, the Christman house is ready for fall! It is our favorite time of the year and this weekend was a perfect time to prepare for this wonderful season! We have had wonderful weather this weekend- sunny, cool, and breezy just like a perfect fall day!

Today Rusty and I went out to a local pumpkin patch to get our fall decorations. I wish I had my camera while we were there (but I forgot it at home) because this little pumpkin patch was so darn cute!! We will definitely visit again next year, they had a wide selection and the prices were great. We got everything for $20 dollars, which I thought was a pretty good deal :)






If you look closely in the window to the left you can see little Sophia looking out at her Mama! You can click on the pictures to make them bigger if needed.











Another view- if you look closely in the door you can see little Snickers looking out at his Mama- they are never too far from me or Rusty :)











Close up- after putting everything together I have decided that we want to get another mum to sit on the corner, perhaps maybe a yellow one?











Indian Corn- one of my favorites, the colors are so pretty!











I was working in our new office on some computer stuff for work and I caught these two little sweet pups looking out the window at their daddy cutting the grass! Snickers and Sophia are also ready for fall/Halloween- their shirts glow in the dark too! At night it looks like a little pumpkin and ghost running down our steps haha!










Speaking of our new office- here is a picture of the progress so far. We still need to get a comfy chair for our reading corner, hang some pictures, and get some more lighting in the room. But here is a sneak preview so far....












Rusty and I plan to spend the rest of our evening watching Greys Anatomy- we are catching up on last season, so far it is really good! I think I am most excited about having two days off (Sunday and Monday) with Rusty. Tomorrow is our two year anniversary and we will be spending the day together, Rusty has some surprise plans which should be a good time :)

Until next time, enjoy the fall weather!!!

Love Notes!

Just when I thought romance was a thing of the past- he leaves me a little sweet love note..... cyber style :)




Rusty has been working a CRAZY schedule this week, which has left me alone many nights this week. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I really missed having him around. I feel bad saying that- I know that there are many people out there that live this way all the time, and I too had my time of having a long distance relationship when I was away for college. I guess I just have gotten used to spending every evening together, so being apart for a couple of evenings is now a big deal! My heart goes out to those who are apart way too often (especially my favorite girl Julie!)

Anyway, back on topic..... Rusty had been gone for two evenings in a row and I was complaining to him that I missed him (typical girl, huh?) Well the next morning he made me a little love note and left it on the computer for me to see when I turned it on! How cute...... and a nice high-tech alternative to the typical love note :)

It's A Boy!!!!!!!

Its a boy....... for my friends Amanda and Lou! Baby Leo was born 09/21/10 and is so cute! I took a trip to the hospital to see the little bundle and got these cute pictures to share.








New Mommy and Baby Leo! She looks so young in this picture- hard to believe that my high school best friend is already a mommy! I have to say she looks pretty good for having a c-section following 20 hours of labor!!! Another reason why I don't want any kids.....right now!




















Close up of Baby Leo! He is sooooo cute, look at his little lips :) It almost looks like he had a smile on his face, I know he is a little too young to be smiling but its still cute!
















I hope you guys are all enjoying my new blog design! I had to give the good ol' blog a little face lift for fall, my favorite season!!
Rusty and I had a great weekend- spent some time together, watched some TV, made some good food for dinner, and just enjoyed some relaxation. I also spent some time with Julie, doing some much needed girl time and shopping- always a good time :)
But all good things must come to an end- now its time to get ready for the work week, but not before watching Amazing Race!!!

Get Out of Town!!!!!!!!

If you live in Southern Pennsylvania, you know what I am talking about!! They have invaded our state, county, town, and neighborhood! They make our lives miserable, they look gross, and they even smell bad! They are about the size of a nickel, but don't let their size fool you- they will get you!
They are the........ STINK BUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



We usually do not have this problem, but for some reason they are CRAZY this year in our area. There have been featured in newspapers, magazines, articles, and news reports all about these crazy bugs. They have even been featured in the top story on yahoo- titled "Stink Bugs Invade Pennsylvania". Per experts, they are moving south and have now been spotted in Maryland- so watch out you Southern folks! You have been warned!

They love light and hang out on your house all day in the sun and then once it gets cooler at night, they try to make their way inside for warmth and light. They know exactly when you are getting ready to open your door and just like that are inside. I think I have officially become a crazy woman with them- I scream, yell, and run from them. There is just something about them that freaks me out!!!

So, next time you walk outside and see what looks like an "innocent little bug" think twice!!!! Does anyone else have these little annoying bugs flying around their area? I would love to know that I am not the only crazy person that HATES them.....

Fall TV is BACK!!!!!

My life has gotten just a little bit better these past few days...... all because fall TV is BACK!!
My husband and I are officially addicted to TV- something he got me into when we got married. I don't really mind it, because it gives us a reason to cuddle on the couch together with the pups!
Here are the fall TV shows that we are or plan to follow (when they start):
- Amazing Race
- Biggest Loser
- Dancing with the Stars
- Survivor
- How I Met Your Mother
- Big Bang Theory
- Kate Plus 8 (this one I only watch and yes I am embarrassed to admit it!)

We are thinking about checking out Modern Family and The Event- but who knows!

Thank the lord for DVR!! We would not know what to do without it! Not only does it allow you to always catch your favorite TV shows but you don't have to watch commercials!! I have a hard time watching "live" TV thanks to DVR!

What shows will you be checking out this fall??

Just Call Him Chef Rusty!

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged.... it has been a weird past couple of days! I have been in a funk- trying to work my way out!! I am not sure why I have been this way- but this beautiful fall weather day has made it a little better!
Not to mention, that nothing too exciting has been happening in my life! Tonight Rusty and I both had an eye doctor appointment and got to pick out some new glasses, which is always exciting. Both of our prescriptions were increased- gotta love having bad eyes and hearing the news that they have only gotten worse- ha!

On a positive note- Rusty made an amazing dinner on Sunday! He is always able to come up with some great ideas for dinner and everything is always so good. This Sunday, he made Chicken Kabobs. Here are some pictures while he was busy preparing and grilling away!!

















They turned out so good and we even had enough to have left overs on Monday! Nothing like enjoying a good meal Sunday evening and then knowing that you don't have to cook on Monday :)












Once we finished dinner on Sunday, we call the pups back inside from the deck. I walked outside on the deck to find this sweet little face- she absolutely loves the deck and was trying to tell me that she was not ready to come back inside!!

Sorry for the glow on her eyes- but you can still see just how cute she is- ha!









On a side note- I think Rusty is in just as much funk as me! He is a devoted Dallas Cowboy fan and is feeling the pain of their 0-2 start. I hope (for his sake) they are able to pull off a win this Sunday. Game time in the Christman house is always entertaining- everyone has their jerseys on, including the pups! Here are the pups getting ready for another day of Cowboy football.

Welcome to My New Blog World!

Thank you Paige for hooking me up with some good advice about making collages! I worked on this for a few days... I believe that I am slow learner, but hey at least I did it :)
I still have to figure out how to make my blog title look a little better... but there is always tomorrow and the weekend!
I hope you enjoy my new blog look! Let me know what you think- I hope you are able to get a little look into my life through my pictures!!
This is not the change I was talking about in my previous post (just in case if thats what you were thinking). You will still have to wait a little longer to find out what "that" change is- sorry Jodi ;)

CHANGE!

CHNAGE- to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of something different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone (per dictionary.com)


Some people are very scared of change, some welcome it with open arms. I think I am someone who is sort of in between- some change is good while other change is REALLY scary.
It is time to face some of those fears and make some much needed changes to my life- stay tuned for some more information!!

North Carolina Weekend Recap!

I headed out of town to North Carolina this weekend in this wonderful little car for a six hour drive (by myself since Rusty couldn't get off of work)















I stayed with Alex and Freddy- one of my favorite couples to hang with!!
















and spent some quality time with some great college friends

















while attending Erin and Tom's wedding! She was absolutely beautiful- her dress was amazing and the reception was a good time.


































It was a wonderful mini Tri-Sigma reunion- I miss my girls from college :(




















No trip to North Carolina would be complete with some Bojangles and a stop at Potomac Mills to pick up the hubby some of his favorite shoes!!!














It was a great weekend, always fun to catch up with old friends and get away for a few days! Until next time, I will hold the memories we made and the taste of Bojangles Chicken biscuit and sweat tea close to my heart :)