About that time....

I have been trying to post this for about 3 hours...here's to hoping this one works...Well, here it goes. The annual run down. Here is my mostly condensed year in pictures... This is me...at the Alamo. THE ALAMO! I started a new position at work in January. I am now officially an Event Coordinator. This is from my first trip after starting the position. It was for an event called "Spring Sprint." We hit 26 cities in about 6 weeks to train 19,000 people! It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. I got to visit El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and Oklahoma City. The Alamo was one of my biggest excitements of the trip. I will always remember it. I also loved seeing the OKC bombing memorial. It was tragic and beautiful.

Ruger spent the Spring trying to dig up our entire back yard. Judging by the picture (and the state of our backyard), he did a pretty good job. Dozer on the other hand, spent his Spring growing out his hair. After a particularly GREAT (emphasis added for sarcasms sake) trip to the groomer, he came back completely shaven. We’ll just say, we won’t be going back to that groomer.
This summer was one for the books. We missed Mr. Anson's 1st birthday in January, so we decided to make a trip to Mississippi to see my brother and his family in June. It was so much fun. We took Rory to see some battlefields, ate some good barbeque, put some feathers in our hair, and mostly spent time with our favorite mini southerners. I learned very quickly that this spunky little miss is "NOT SILLY." She's serious. I can't get enough of her.

This summer also offered a lot of travel opportunities for me with work. In June, we went to Disney World for our annual incentive trip. It was magical just as Disney World should be. We even worked a little bit while we were there. At the end of June, I travelled to Richmond, VA for a site visit and took the train to Washington D.C. to see one of my best girls, Caitlin. It was so hot I thought for sure I was dying. It was so much fun to see her and catch up, even if it was only for a few days. Finally, in August we made our way to Fort Worth, TX for our annual Convention. It was lots of stress and long hours, but always rejuvenating and a great reminder of why I love my job. There were approximately 9,000 attendees this year, and everyone was so pumped up and excited about Scentsy. It is definitely contagious. Plus, I work with some wonderful ladies and I love them to death.

In September, Rory and I celebrated two years of marriage. We were visiting my parents in Seattle, so we celebrated with the Mariners. Apparently, professional sporting events are becoming our tradition. For our first anniversary we went to a Seahawks game. Maybe we should hit all the major sports. What should be next? Hockey? Soccer? Curling? We'll see. In any case, I still love him more than ever and he is still the best husband I have ever had.

Fall flew by. It was great. I started out the holiday season with an awesome Halloween. (yes, halloween is a part of the holiday season, because it is awesome) We went all out for our office trick or treat. Our theme was "the event of the living dead." I love any reason to dress up and be crazy. It seems like Thanksgiving came quickly after Halloween. Mom and Dad came to our house to spend the holiday. We had so much fun eating, shopping, and playing with the nieces while they are here. I love my family. And bonus! I made a very successful batch of rolls for dinner. I only had to wake up at 5:30 am to make it happen.

December was a very eventful month for our family. We got to welcome our new niece, Chloe Ann. She is the sweetest little thing. I could just cuddle with her all day. She is already cracking us up. She has very distinct facial expressions. I just love that girl.

It also brought on a lot of shopping (read: goofing off),` lazying around with our favorite puppies, and the Aggies made it to a bowl game...in Boise! We were stoked to be able to see the team play so close to home this year. We made it to the Idaho Potato Bowl in time for kick off. In true Aggie fashion, our Ags lost in the last minute of the game...by one point. OUCH! In any case, it was fun to spend the day with my manfriend.

And then there was Christmas. My awesome inlaws let me have their old Christmas tree. Rory is such a bahumbug, it took a little convincing to get him to help me put it up. I loved it. She turned out beautiful. AND...Rory even hung lights on the house. What a guy. I love him.

Overall, 2011 was a great year.

Here is to 2012, living up to all my expectations.And now a few resolutions, because after you set a goal you should always write it down...for everyone to read on the internet...

1. Get to my goal weight. I know, I know...this is everyone's goal. But this is a must for me. In the two years since I got married I have gained exactly 26 pounds. yuck. My goal is to lose 40 pounds. I can do it!

2. Organize and declutter. This one is pretty self explanatory.

3. A Picture a Day for 2012. This is both to force me to document my life, but also to sharpen up my photography skills. My father in law is an amazing photographer and so is my sister. Brian gave Rory a really nice camera before we got married. I have been thinking lately that I need a hobby, and I have access to equipment and people with a wealth of knowledge. It is a perfect fit.

4. Start saving...a lot. My first goal is to start on Dave Ramsey's seven baby steps.

5. Revamp the old blog-a-roo. My goal for the blog is to post at least once a week. look for a follow up post for more information.

Most of all my goal is to BE HAPPY!!!

#2

I love LOVE the crusty crystalization on the bread of a peanut butter and honey sandwich. It is so delicious and it makes me so happy!

#1

I'm starting my thankful list early this year.

Today I am thankful for We TV for playing "You've Got Mail." And really to all Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movies. They just put me in a good mood and remind me how much I love my manfriend.

A List

I was going to try and start this blog as if I had never stopped, but really it has been two years since i have written anything. There is really no way around that. I guess it is about time that I get my act together. Sheesh.

A quick run down of what has happened in the last two years: we bought our first house, we painted...a lot, we got a dog, we got a new car, we got another dog, we got new jobs, and we still love each other. I always used to think that the expression about life going by at the blink of an eye was silly. I understand it more and more everyday.

This past weekend we were able to go to the BL and spend some time with my parents and my brother and his family. It was a lot of fun and totally exhausting. Watching my brother with his kids and being back with all my childhood things has me a little bit stressed out about the thought of being a mother. I mean really what if I forget all of the things that I am supposed to teach my kids. I have been thinking about this subject for a few weeks, and I am starting a list. Here it is my MOSTLY COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF THINGS TO TEACH MY CHILDREN...you know someday when I have them:

• World's best chocolate chip cookie recipe



• How to fold a towel in thirds



• The story of Johnny Appleseed



• How to make hospital corners



• How to two step



• How to clean a sink



• Funny Bunny (ok...this one is actually on Rory)

I mean really...how do mom's remember all of the stuff they need to teach their kids. Other than the obvious stuff like shapes and colors, how do you remember it all? Luckily, I have some time to figure this out seeing as I don't have any kids, and I am not pregnant. It stresses me out just thinking about it. Yikes. Cheers to all you great mom's out there.

Goodbye Forever 2009

Happy New Year! Today is the last day of 2009. In just a few hours we will be in a new decade. I get excited every year during the holiday season knowing that I will soon have a chance to start over. I realize that I could do this any time of the year, but being slightly OCD, I like to have a time that is the beginning of something. (Kind of how I only like to get out of bed if the clock is on :00 or :05...but that is besides the point). The following is a list of some of my favorite things from 2009:

This year really started off with a bang. On January 24, I was tricked by the one that I love the most. Rory proposed on this freezing day on top of a breezy mountain. It was freezing. He took me up there to "show me the valley." As soon as we reached the top a storm blew in and we waited...and waited....and waited for it to blow over. I was totally clueless, but when he finally got me out of the car and I saw the giant sign saying, "Abby Shai, Will you marry me," it made it all worth it. If you ask Rory, he will tell you that I was more excited when a week later we saw Clay Olsen at an Aggie basketball game and he told me he was going to ask Jen to marry him. I have to admit I was pretty excited about this. Jen Adair is one of my very best friends in the world and the best roommate ever. Clay is a lucky guy!

The next few months were marked by wedding plans and shopping for a wedding dress. Then crying when I either: a) couldn't find a dress, or b) could never get one in the store to fit me.

One of my favorite parts of 2009 was going to Santa Fe, New Mexico to see my sister, Katie, graduate from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Santa Fe has such a good vibe. There is so much to see and do, and it is full of culture. The graduation itself was pretty amazing. There is just a spirit there that is different than you will find anywhere else. I don't know how to describe it.

My summer was spent on a mountain with delinquents. Good ole Mountain Homes Youth Ranch. At the time this stressed me out to the max. Between trying to finish my final 13 credits, planning a wedding with 2 receptions, and working for 8 days at a time, I went a little bit crazy. Looking back, it was the best job I have ever had. It was fun to camp and make fires and eat nothing but tuna and pop tarts. I loved the hiking and the wildlife. Literally living with the students gave me an opportunity to really get to know them (sometimes in ways you really don't want to). It added a whole new dimension to what we did and how we interacted with them. It was really nice to be part of a program that really seemed to make a difference in some lives.


One of the best parts of being on the mountain was that I got to read...a lot. Here is a brief list of some of the best reads of '09. Everything is Illuminated: This is one of my absolute favorite movies. This year Rory got me the book for my birthday. I loved it. It was amazing. It brought the story to a whole new level. It is about a boy who is on a search for his Jewish grandfather's home town in Ukraine. My Sister's Keeper: Oh Jodi Picoult...you really know how to rip a girls heart out. This book is so good and also sad. I bought it at the airport on my honeymoon...bad idea because all I wanted to do was read it. Such a sweet story about a family dealing with the effects of cancer. The Alchemist: This book was on the required reading list for the kids on the mountain. I read it one week when one of my students had to read it. Honestly, I found the beginning really boring, but the end made it all worth it. The Harry Potter Series: I just never get tired of these guys. I started reading them again around Halloween and they still get me excited and keep me reading. I just love Harry Potter. He is the man. The Lovely Bones: This is the book that I have finished most recently. I couldn't put it down. I loved every second of it (ok...well...there was one or two parts that I was kind of weirded out by). I would highly recommend it. Although, I am now afraid when I turn off the lights that there is a ghost in my room, and I have to get in bed really fast. *This is a highly condensed list, but these were some of my favorites this year.


On 09/09/09, I was married for time and all eternity in the Logan Temple. It was pretty amazing. There are only a few things that I would do different if I had the chance, and most of them deal with being nicer to people and less bridezilla. (Though for the record-and mom and Lisa may dispute this-I was really only bridezilla for like the two days before).

The best part about getting married was the honeymoon! We went on our first cruise to the Bahamas! It was amazing. I love the sun and the ocean. I could have stayed there forever, though I don't think Ror would have appreciated that much. It was kind of a wild adventure sometimes, but it was great.
And probably the final and greatest achievement of 2009 (drum roll please......): I GRADUATED COLLEGE! I guess at this point I should clarify...Most people think my biggest achievement of 2009 should be getting married. I personally don't think that getting married is an achievement. It is a great thing. It is a wonderful life experience, and I would even agree that it is probably my biggest life moment of the year and I couldn't be happier about it. I have the best husband ever. Without his love and support I would never have reached my goal of graduating. I got all of my classes done in the summer, and on the last day of classes in Summer semester I failed one stinking test. After retaking it two times...I finally passed. And I'm done. I am so proud of myself!I hope everyone had a year as great as mine. It has been awesome and I am glad I got to spend it with family and friends.

The Beginning

I decided it was about time for me to jump on the band wagon and start (or maybe I should say restart) a blog. It seems to be the thing to do these days. I have many reasons for doing this I suppose:

1. I like being able to keep up with friends and family. Besides being a generally nosy person, I sincerely enjoy hearing about what other people are doing. It makes me feel more normal.

2. It has been a long time since I have spent any significant time writing anything. I used to have a book (usually some novel I thought would make me look smart) and a notebook on my person at all times. I no longer have the urge to do this, which is fine, but I miss writing and I am excited to start again. I will need to thank my dad for inspiring me this time to keep writing and not give it up.

3. The most important reason is that I recently went to the blog I created my freshman year of college and reread some of the things that I wrote. All I can say is "WOW!" I was kind of a stuck up, pretentious brat. I am grateful to my friends and family for still loving me and putting up with all my ranting and lecturing. I am hoping that maybe I can redeem myself a little bit here. I guess only time will tell.

So here is a quick update on my life since my last post-I moved across the country...back to the evergreen state. From there I went to Utah State University and have since graduated. My very awesome husband, Rory, proposed to me during my Senior year. We got married on September 9, 2009. (Yes, that is 09/09/09. And yes, we were aware that it was a Wednesday when we planned it. Apparently 9 is a magical number). We are now living the life in Boise. Marriage is a blast and I feel blessed that I get to be with my best friend everyday. My favorite thing to do these days is try and embarrass Rory in public. (Dancing in public always gets him in case you are wondering). There really is nothing exciting going on, and it feels great. I love being able to relax and just enjoy life!