street fire

Ryan and I went to dinner tonight.  It was good, a nice meal and night out.  But, that wasn't the highlight... We were almost home, and as we pulled onto Oakleaf Lane, this is what we came upon:

ashes still smoldering and put  in the trash can...not a good idea...

Ryan called the fire department. 

It took them 7 minutes to arrive, and the fire got pretty big.  It very well could have caught the lawn, and then house on fire.  I rang the doorbell, and it took awhile, but eventually the owner came outside.  Just in time to see the firemen save HIS day. 

Lesson:  DON'T THROW YOUR ASHES AWAY!! Put them in a metal can and let them sit for a LONG time!!

merry

 Merry Christmas.

With Love.

quiet eve

Merry Christmas Eve.

a quiet evening, just the 2 of us.

Train to Sports, Dinner, Movie, Train to home

...and the city will finally sleep...

pueblo pride

The 3 cutest kids that reside in Pueblo!

My sister Raenie's kiddos, Alayna, Dallin, and Kenzie.

I love you guys!

foutz fam

Tonight we had the Foutz sibling Christmas gathering at Carmen and Kelly's.  We had dinner, a gift exchange, a performance by Nicholas the Ventriloquist, and a birthday celebration for Will and Andrew.

It was nice to be together and share some cheer.

Nicholas and "Freak Out" doing their act.  He is actually pretty good.  He says he loves Jeff Dunham, and that's who inspired him.

Will turned 4 on the 17th, and Andrew is 11 on the 21st.

These poor kids who have Dec. birthdays!

tradition

Our annual tradition. 

Usually we have the kids with us.  But, they couldn't make it this time.

Merry Christmas!

special visitor

Last night Santa came over on a special errand to scold Mr. Bailey for his Scrooginess.  Apparently the Jackson's across the street tattled.  They told Santa that I had complained to them about being the only home on the street with no Christmas lights outside. All because of my husbands lack of Christmas cheer.  Mr. Claus explained how important it was for ALL of Oakleaf Lane to outwardly express holiday festiveness by putting up lights.  Ryan promised Santa he would do better next year.

We'll see if RHB keeps his promise in 2012...

finale

Thanks Sharon, for another great year of poker playing.  But, more importantly, for another year of some really good times, laughs, and friendships!

And, the year would not be quite complete without the finale...

Sean and his friend John Denver! ;)

Lastly, Congrats to the 3 finalasts: Shane, Ryan, and B-Rock. 

I promise, in 2012, at some point, I am going to take ALL of you down!  (even RHB!)

real lasagna

  It doesn't seem like 12 months have passed since we celebrated Giovanni's birthday... but it has!  We went over to the Spitale home last night for some amazing, 'real' homemade lasagna (at the Bailey home, we fix Stouffers frozen)  and good company.  All in a petite effort to celebrate the birthday boys beginning of his final year of his 30's. 

None of us were too energetic.  It has been a long week for everyone.  We'll be saving and storing the energy and excitement for his 4-0 next time around... ;)

Brenda, Giovanni, and Erin Spitale

dc destruction

When Ryan and I first met, the topic of where the most ideal place to live in Utah came up. 

As I am a mid-westerner, I didn't really have a strong opinion.  Coming from them-there parts, anywhere is fine, everyone is our friend; we like 'em all.   BUT, when I learned that HE, on the other hand, had a very strong opinion about geography in Utah, and where he would and would not like to reside... that stuck my Arien side, my ears perked up, and then I thought that I should have an opinion. So, since the business that I started in Utah, and the clientele I had, was in Sandy, I was all of a sudden a South Valley girl.  I was only going to reside, and establish myself there.  He swore to me that if I would just give the DC (Davis County) a chance, I would fall in love, and never want to leave.  I didn't believe him, but I was in love with him, so I trusted, and I followed....

Yesterday,

 while South Valley was asleep and oblivious, this is what happened in the DC:

First off, this is where, during the months of March-October, my husband resides:

and this is what 106 mph winds did to it:

and, then this is just a photo of the Centerville McDonald's sign that happened to make the national news... It was a CRAZY storm!!

Luckily, all is well on Oakleaf Lane... no destruction, no loss of power, no mess.

And, I have to admit that I really do love residing in the DC...

black friday vegas

Instead of shopping, we went to Vegas on Black Friday.  We met our "out of town" friends for 2 days.

ryan and "seattle" jared

me and tara with "charlotte" melissa

the girls posing inside one of our favorite things to collect

and, me with "german-charlotte" heiko

(i had to give him some love as i was reminding him of a time when he 'taught me how to dance')

never again

Note to self:

Dear Self,

If you are going out of town the day after thanksgiving, and you realize the evening before that your coffee pot is broke, the prilosec is gone, and you need a multi-vitamin... maybe you should re-think venturing out to fetch those 3 measly items.  It won't be worth it.  I promise. 

I had my 3 items in hand.  But I had to fight all this to pay.  It wasn't worth it.  I went home empty handed.  (sorry store workers, I left my stuff on top of the coke by the exit)

Those people were animals!

happy thanksgiving

  Have a grateful heart, atleast for one day...

jelly to my pb

Kinda cheesy... I KNOW!  But, it still made me smile. 

And today, as we said good-bye to old condo tenants, and hello to a new, someone at the beginning stages of a divorce after 35 years of marriage....Just meeting him made me once again realize how grateful I am for the "laces to my sneakers", and the companionship that Ryan and I have.  It's not easy all the time to be in a relationship, a marriage.  But, I wouldn't have it any other way, and it's those challenges that we have faced and conquered, that cause pause within, and remind me how grateful and happy I am.

...and I wasn't even trying to be grateful cuz of Thanksgiving... but gratitude must be in the air. ;)

mike and lo

On 11.11.11 it was my good friend Lo's husband Mike's 30th b-day.  She deciced to throw him a party downtown at Bourbon House.  It was fun to hang out in a different setting, as most of our socializing happens at Private Design. 

me and lo

mike's cake

friend clint's cake

lauren gently feeding mike his first bite

(she wanted to shove it, but he would have nothing to do with it...what a good wifey)

five pieces of my heart

I couldn't resist.  My little sis just got back from a visit to my brother Jakes' house to pay a visit and give some warm auntie fuzzies to his kiddies.  He is doing his duty overseas at the moment, so any help to their mom is a welcome.  I cannot believe just in 3 months time since I've seen them, how much bigger they have gotten.

Chance, Ruby, Sierra, Stan, and Gideon

xoxo,  love you kiddies!

Ps:  thanks rocko for sharing love and photos

just cous

it must be something to do with cold weather cuz i'm in the mood to create in the kitchen.

ever heard of this?  i changed the recipe on the back a bit.  and, even mr. bailey likes it.

heat

It's firetime. It's snuggle with blankie time.  It's Sunday football time.

I love being warm.  And since I can no longer sun myself, I'll just lay next to this.

first snow

Our first snow

Bogey L-O-V-E-S it. 

It's a pain cuz he gets so wet when he goes out, but he prances back into the house wagging his tail, all excited.  It's hard to not be happy for his new found fun, even if it is a mess.

in the basement on friday

My Friday night was spent organizing the basement.  I went to Ikea earlier today and purchased a bunch of canvas bins and supplies.  I was so excited for my project.  Here is the result:

the necessities

"food storage"

bins labeled

mostly Ryan's stuff

my wrapping table

another comfort food

I'm so proud.  In a joint effort tonight, Ryan and I made creamy chicken enchiladas for dinner.  A first for us both.  Although they were tasty, and I am so excited for leftovers tomorrow for lunch, we both decided that the recipe could use a little further tweaking.  But, for first-timers, I give us a high five.

birthday dinner

And, on our last night we celebrated Jared's birthday at a nice and quiet Italian restaurant in downtown Bellvue. 

Cheers to a really fun visit, and to our friend, the birthday boy.

Thanks Jared! You're a great host.  It was a good time!

halloween

I've changed my mind about Halloween.  I used to not really care for it much.  But, I've decided that it is the coolest.  It brings out the inhibition in even the most shy, the fun and lively sides of the more serious, and the silliness in most everyone. 

getting in character before we leave for the night

Jar Po with Karla

Upon entering "Seduction" they were putting the final touches on her painted costume

In their DWTS pose