Latest

The latest news is that I got a job! Which is great because I can now check off one of my new years resolutions! Today was my second day and so far I'm enjoying it! It's at a place called Landrum Staffing, an employment resources place. I help out with the contract we have with GE. It's a lot easier than my previous job, but still busy. And it's full time, so it's back to the grind!

In other news, Winston has officially graduated puppy school!!! I'm so proud of him. There are definitely still areas of improvement, but he's learned a lot. We've already enrolled him in Intermediate classes..he's gonna be the best-trained puppy around! (hopefully)

paws in the air..woot!

Also Jcrew spring stuff is out and i'm extremely excited!!! (even though my clothing budget can barely buy me 1 item)

PS I also redesigned my blog header using my novice Illustrator skills I've learned from Nicole's Classes and I"m somewhat proud of myself!

Weekend in Tampa

Over MLK day Duke and I decided to drive down to Tampa and check out Busch Gardens, since military can get in for FREE once a year. So we did just that. Busch Gardens was neat. I liked all the animals and it was kinda cold, so the lines were nonexistent! 

We also ventured out to check out Clearwater...

I love palm trees

AND we drove up to Orlando to see my long lost friend Anne and her precious little family!! We worked together in Utah for a while and I babysat beckett when he was just a little baby! They were visting Orlando for the week so timing worked out perfectly. SOOO good to see you Anne!!!!

The kiddos and me

Anne & I

Chicken Tikka Masala

I made this is a recipe a couple weeks ago and we LOVED it. While we were in Utah over Christmas we went to the Bombay House-(really good Indian food) and I had been craving it ever since. So I found this recipe and Duke and I both agree it's pretty spot on to Bombay's recipe! Also, it's not one of those daunting recipes with a million plus ingredients. Anyways thought I would share in case anyone else is interested in eating delicious food. Here is the link to the recipe: Chicken Tikka Masala
Also the website I got the Cafe Rio copycat recipe from. This lady knows how to copy a recipe.

Arkansas Trip

The day after Christmas/that we got home, I turned back around and headed for Arkansas- just Winston and I. Winston is an expert traveler. He made himself right at home and didn't complain once! It was reallly fun to see my family and friends. All my family was there except Britt and Jules. And Winston was spoiled with lots of attention from the family, but was shunned/attacked by the cat. 

I also got to go check out the new Crystal Bridges Museum just finished in Bentonville. Let me tell you, it's all the rage there, and I have to say it's pretty cool! Especially for little old Bentonville. It was a project founded by Alice Walton; she poured millions of her own dollars into it and so did the Walton Foundation as well. Plus Walmart donated I believe it was $20 million dollars so that the museum is free of charge to all who visit for the foreseeable future. I think its so great that they chose to do something so great with their money that benefits others instead of just themselves! (I think Walmart's great if you couldn't tell)

Some of Winston's interesting sleeping positions in the car

Here's a video that is somewhat painful to watch of my unsocialized cat meeting Winston for the first time. We were excited to see how the cat would react and so my Brittany requested that we film it so she could see. Anyways, needless to say, we kept them separated the rest of the time...

my little baby

We had some fun with this contraption my dad got for his back. Never a dull moment.

I took full advantage of all the awesome trails all over Bentonville and took Winston for a bunch of walks everyday.

Lots of games

Winston exploring the dog park

Crystal Bridges Museum

This was a really cool piece made entirely of spools of thread

Spools of thread

The detail on this was incredible

Celebrated Jeff's 25th birthday

lurve

So Duke's Christmas present to me this year was an Illustrator 101 class through Nicoles Classes. Which he actually got on cyber monday when it was 40% off. Yay! This was the first homework assignment..and although it may look like anyone could have done it, it kinda took me a long time. And I kinda ripped off a poster I had wanted, so that was my inspiration. Anyways, even though it is small, I'm kinda proud of myself! I actually did something in Illustrator!!!

I heart Sundays

Sundays are great, right? This last Sunday was really nice. The weather was perrrrrfect! We went to church, I came home and took a nice nap (nothing better than a Sunday afternoon nap), made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and took Winston to the park. It was just one of those glorious days you wish could be everyday.

sleepy mornings

One of my other favorite Sunday traditions is skyping with the fam. Recently we've switched over to Google Plus hangouts, so we can all join in no matter where we are. Sometimes, it's a little chaotic, but I still love it. (thanks for the screenshots britt!)

Our little family in Florida

Jonathan, Mushu, and my dad (not pictured) in Arkansas

My mom (with a dog in one hand & baby in the other-grandma hungry??) & Erica in Utah

Graham Crackers

Plus Britt in Provo and Tyler in Idaho. I love my family!

Utah Christmas Vacation

Christmas Vacation was great. We spent most of the time in Logan, UT with Duke's family. I also got to see Brittany and Jules for a few hours before they left to Indiana for their Christmas celebration. Then I got to see my friends Whitney and Scott and their pup Milo who were the best hosts ever!!! Here's some of the things I did:

Ate at Cafe Rio 3 times, of course

Attended my first deaf church service

Did 25 push-ups in our annual (as of now) Christmas push-up contest 

Played a bunch games!

Shot guns for the first time!

Delicious turkey dinner

Logan Temple

Watched Harry Potter 7 part 1 & 2

Went on a small hike (pictured below)

It was sooo fun!! Here's a million pictures! ps. Utah is so cold and I'm glad I don't live there in the winter anymore. So very happy. But I love the summers!

Duke's Grandparents opened this Nature Center!

Making Gingerbread houses with the fam!

The saddest house you ever did see

I know it looks like the gun is pointed at Duke, but it is behind him. Duke is a psycho about gun safety. He doesn't trust "civilians' with guns.

Helping me with the apple pie. Such a sweetie.

Flying home