Recipe for Happiness...

Hey friends.

Anyone else catch the knockout bug

that I caught this week?

 

Oh man, I sure hope not.

 

After a really fun yet exhausting

 week in Vegas for work,

I came home and promptly got sicker

than I've been in a long long time.

 

 

After 5 days (!!!!) of sleeping and

eating not much more than soup,

I'm finally feeling back to normal.

 

So this afternoon,

my happy list is pretty simple.

 

Sam Cooke on the record player,

football on mute,

pot roast and root vegetables in the oven

and a glass of whiskey in hand.

 

 

The hubs and I bought a record player this weekend.

Why I went this long without owning one,

I have no idea....

because it's awesome.

 

Growing up I would lay on my grandparents floor

listening to Peter and the Wolf

on the record player over and over.

 

Oddly enough,

Anthony did the same thing at his house with the same record.

(awwwwwww).

 But seriously, I'm going to be obsessed with it for a while.

What about you?

What records are must haves?

I'm already on the search for Pink Moon and

Sinatra's Fly Me to the Moon.



Holiday Hangover

 

Now that the Christmas holiday season has passed,

I'm feeling the back-to-work-blues.

(yes, that is a legit thing)

To add some cheer back into my grumples,

I've been looking through pictures of the happiness and laughter 

from the last couple of weeks.

 

 

I was lucky to be able to take a week off,

so we packed up the wagon

and headed to the midwest for the week.

(a lot of caffiene was consumed)

 

 

And now, prepare for a giant picture dump, friends.

It's a big one ;-)

 

We went to Posey County first

because my grandpa was getting married.

It was great to be part of the celebration!

 

 

My other grandpa, Bob,

is pretty famous around town

for his peanut brittle.

He makes upwards of 100 lbs of peanuts for the holidays,

and tins of it at local auctions

even went for 36 bucks a piece this year!

 

 

One morning we were lucky to spend it with him,

learning the fine art and drinking out of frosty mugs.

 

 

The peanut gallery enjoyed telling us what to do.

Har Har ;-)

 

 

 

 

Very serious operation over here.

 

 

We also made the mandatory Turoni's stop.

Thankfully my family still indulges me in this request.

 

 

Jax also enjoyed the always filled food buffet at my parents house...

 

 

....and the constant acess to all outside goings on.  

 

 

To combat all of the treats,

we also did a lot of running while we were home.

 

 

 Southern Indiana is truely one of my favorite places to run.

 

 

 Before we knew it though,

it was time to say good-bye and head north.

 

 

 Oh Indiana,

you sure do know how to make pollution beautiful.

 

We also downloaded one giant book for the trip.

Because well, 30 hours of driving can get boring.  

(thanks Game of Thrones!)

 

I'm not as good at paying attention as Anth,

so I had to put my Education Degree to good use

and create a giant character map.

 

 

It got pretty out of hand,

but was totally useful.

 

In no time at all (thanks book!),

we had made it to Michigan just in time for fondue!

 

 

And although he hates cold weather running,

(I happen to looooove it)

I convinced Anth to go on a run Christmas morning.

 

As we left, it immediately started snowing.

I took that as a cue to blare Christmas music.

We even passed a guy in a truck dressed as Santa!

 

 

Seriously, it could not have been a more perfect morning

with my two favorite guys.

(yes, Jax is hidden in there)

 

The rest of the week was spent

playing games, clowning around and cooking with family.

So blessed to have joined these monkeys. :-)

 

 

 

 

 The kids sure do love their Poppa Bear.

 

 

As you can tell, the lake house in Michigan

is one of his favorite places too.

 

 

He snuggled in his bed with anyone who would indulge him.

 

 

...even his human friends ;-)

 

 

And again, time sped up and it was time to head back East.

 

And although it's hard to see,

here are even more great pics from our trip,

plus one oldie but a fav of mine -

(our first photo together at camp catching crawdads).

 

In which, Anthony looks normal

and I like an idiot. hahaha

 

 

Kara got me this great camera for my bday,

and Anth and I have been toting it around wherever we go.  

 

Cheers to great trips and two awesome families that we love dearly.