Recently I have:

1. Read the following parenting books:

I like to read parenting books for work and secretly hope that it will help me when I become a parent. These books had some great information. Very useful and quick reads.

2. Learned how to make Starbuck’s Caramel Apple Spice Drink

I searched on Google for the recipe and found that it was pretty easy (all you need is: apple cider, cinnamon syrup, whip cream and caramel sauce). I did end up going to Starbucks to buy their cinnamon syrup but it was so worth it!

3. Updated my Amazon Wish List. It mostly includes books and kitchen things. I need a life!

4. Ordered Christmas cards.

5. Thought about when I should put up my Christmas decorations and start listening to Christmas music. It snowed on Saturday and I was really tempted to listen to Christmas music but I decided I am going to wait until after Thanksgiving. AFTER Thanksgiving people. AFTER!

6. Thought about what to buy everyone for Christmas and wondered what it would be like if we could spend all our money on stuff for us and the house? I even started a wish list for that (hand written). How bad is that?

7. Celebrated my sister’s 20th birthday. That made me feel old.

8. Learned my Grandmother is not doing very well and they have decided to only give her pain medications and sleeping pills to keep her comfortable. She is still able to get up and go to the bathroom and eat at the table but she is getting weaker and weaker. It is getting harder for my parents and sister to care for her. The future is scary and unknown for her (will she have a stroke? will so go peacefully in her sleep? how much longer will she be in pain?) but God is in control.

Early this morning, Joey’s Grandpa passed away unexpectedly at the VA hospital.

We got a phone call 1:30 this morning saying Grandpa was in critical condition. So, we rushed to the hospital, along with all of the family here in town, but nobody made it in time to say goodbye before he passed away.

He will be greatly missed. He was the photographer of the family (this is the only picture I have of Grandpa) and I really believe he was the glue that held everyone together through his monthly newsletters and active role in the family.

We love you Grandpa!

Last night my family had to take their cat, Lily, to the emergency pet hopsital. Lily was having trouble pooping more than usual (she’s has this problem for a while now) and the doctor determined she would need to have part of her colon removed to fix the problem and relieve her pain.

With my dad’s recent job loss, my family was not able to afford the surgery and medical care Lily needed so the doctor had to euthanize Lily.

This is not an easy decision for any pet owner and I am sad that she is gone. I am going to miss her begging for food at the table and her snoring when she’s sleeping on the chair.

We’ll miss you Lily!

If you play a woodwind instrument and haven’t discovered these reeds, you need to. They are amazing. They are a little pricey ($25 a reed) but they are made out of synthetic material and you never have to suck them! They also last a long time and have a nice sound to them.

I played on my previous Legere reed for years but that was probably not a good idea. When I bought this new one and started playing on it, it was like playing a new instrument. I didn’t squeak as much and I didn’t work as hard to stay tuned. Definitely worth the price and definitely should be purchased at LEAST once a year not every couple of years.

A while ago I posted that I needed to get a dental implant. Well, in November we met with the oral surgeon and he said that I was a good candidate for a dental implant. I explained to him how much trouble I had with two root canals and then an attempted crown and he assured me that a dental implant would fix this problem for good.

Before we left his office they gave us an estimate of $2400 for the surgery. That night I felt sick to my stomach. That was a lot of money and that wasn’t even going to be the end of it. After the implant healed (~four months) we’d have to pay for the actual tooth (another $400).

Anyway. I had the surgery on December 30th (during my winter break from work and two days before my wedding anniversary) and everything went smoothly. Yay! Our anniversary, however, wasn’t the best one we’ve had. Joey booked one of my favorite rooms (before he knew I needed to have surgery) at the Anniversary Inn in Logan, Utah and I pretty much slept the entire time. Next year I will have to make it up to him.

After my surgery it took a long time before I could chew on the left side of my mouth – I have a big hole in my mouth where my tooth used to be – but I have finally gotten used to the hole and can chew like normal.

I attempted to take a picture of my mouth and this was the best I could get:

It’s not the most flattering picture I have of myself but you can see the implant (the silver part you see is the top of the implant) and that’s what I was going for.

So, at the end of April I will meet with the oral surgeon to make sure everything has healed correctly. Then I will make an appointment with my dentist to have an impression made (with the dental post in place) and the lab will make me a tooth and then two weeks later I will FINALLY get a tooth.

Note: If you are bored and/or need some entertainment, try to take pictures of the inside of your mouth.

This year was my first time cooking the entire Thanksgiving dinner. Joey’s family was out of town on Thanksgiving so it was just my parents, my grandma and my sister that came over.

Cooking Thanksgiving dinner is lot of work! I don’t think I have ever spent so much time in the kitchen. Wednesday night I made my mother-in-law’s famous Chocolate Angel Strata Pie. It is the most complicated and time consuming pie I have ever made. I think I will need to make it a few more times so it will be easier to make or maybe I’ll just wait and eat it when my mother-in-law makes it Anyway. It turned out okay. (Not quite like my mother-in-law’s.)

Wednesday night I also made a homemade cranberry sauce (it was delicious) and got some things ready for a homemade green bean casserole I saw on the Food Network. It was a lot more work than the Campbells version but it was pretty tasty.

Thursday morning my mom came and helped me get the turkey and her famous stuffing/dressing ready. Then everyone came over a couple hours later to eat.

Here are my parents and sister:

and Joey, Me and Granny:

Granny would probably like you to know that her forehead is red because of the radiation treatments she’s had for her skin cancer.

Overall, Thanksgiving turned out great. I enjoyed hosting my family and wish Joey’s family could have joined us too. I wonder who will be cooking next year’s feast?