25 Things

This has been going around for a while now and I'm going to follow the leads of the lovely EmilyPie, the lovely Katie from La Petite Chic, the lovely Colleen from See Sherm Blog and lastly the lovely Carmen from Mom to the Screaming Masses.

So lets see, pretty much I'm just supposed to list 25 interesting or weird facts about myself. To be honest, by the time I get to the end of this it will probably be just the odd things I can come up with! If you'd like to play along just go ahead and come up with your own 25 things!

1. My middle name is Marie. I really don't like it at all.
2. I love to rearrange furniture. I actually just rearranged my room this afternoon.
3. I really enjoy cooking and trying new recipes.
4. Fortunately I have someone willing to try everything I make and tell me how good it is even though it may not be!
5. I have a wonderful boyfriend (see #4).
6. I love animals especially dogs and horses.
7. I got the gift I had been lusting after for over a year for Christmas last year.
8. The gift? A Nikon D60.
9. I am not too good with it yet, but got some books to learn from.
10. Sometimes I really wonder why I started a blog.
11. There are times that I have absolutely no idea what to write about and frequently doubt that anyone cares.
12. That being said, I still attempt to write and truly enjoy reading other people's posts.
13. I'm attempting to do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.
14. Andrew and I are planning a trip to Hawaii in June!
15. I am graduating from college on May 9th with a degree in Business Administration.
16. I'm a little worried about finding a job in this economy. Okay, worried quite a bit.
17. Andrew and I hope to buy a house soon. I'm super excited about that!
18. I'm in the process of training my very own filly. Guess she's not a filly anymore since she's almost 3.
19. I will turn 23 in 22 days. Crazy how time has flown by.
20. I have a goal to lose 25 pounds by the time we leave for Hawaii.
21. I've even gone so far as to get a bikini for motivation!
22. I love romance. Candles, music, all that stuff.
23. I love to read.
24. I am so incredibly excited to be Mrs. Andrew _____. July 23, 2011!
25. I am deliciously in love with him.

Stockings!

I tried to write about this last Thursday and got a little, okay a lot sidetracked talking about the cleanse I attempted to do, but I'm focused now!

I am a stocking lover. I love finding little things to put in them and I especially love the little things that are in mine! The picture is the one I made for Andrew last weekend. I keep finding things to stuff in, so hopefully it'll stretch a bit. And everything is wrapped so he has a lot of things to open!

So, why am I showing you a picture and rambling on? Well, I do have a point. Amazing, I know. I want to know what some of the things you either like to get in yours or like to put in others' are. Do you have any must haves? I think our only tradition with them is that we always put something stuffed on top. I really don't know why...

Here are a few things I like to put in:

-Chapstick

-Nail clippers (seems people can never find theirs)

-Lotions

-Chocolate

-Small trinkets (I like little things that say words on them, like trust, hope, love, etc.)

-Ornaments

-Knives (specialty ones) or somewhat pricey kitchen utensils the recipient wouldn't buy for themselves.

Pretty much anything, just little stuff. What about you?

Pumpkin Carving!

I mentioned in yesterday's post that today I'd be posting how to carve the purfect pumpkin, so as promised here it is:

First, go to a pumpkin patch or your local grocery store if you're short on time and pick your pumpkin!

Second, figure out which ones you want to carve. Mine on the right, Andrew's on the left. You'll see in a few pictures why you'll want to go with an orange one rather than one with too much green.

Second step, part 2: Pose with your pumpkin!

Third, figure out what you want your carving to look like and get the appropriate utensils. This is the stencil I chose.

Fourth, cut the top off your pumpkin.

Fourth step, Part 2: Let you dog take a chew. Molly likes pumpkin, who knew?

Fifth, take the guts out!

Fifth step, Part 2: Keep a smile on your face while gutting although it's 36 degrees out and you're freezing!

Sixth, carve away. We froze enough Saturday night and ended up only starting the carving process. It was about 25 degrees warmer the next morning, much better! The problem with a green pumpkin is that the walls are so thick it makses it very difficult to get all the way through to pop the pieces out which took a little while.

Sixth step, Part 2: Pose with your half carved pumpkins!

Here they are all done!

Seventh step: Put a candle in them and take pictures!

This is my mom's jack-o-lantern.

Andrew's Happy Halloween.

And my window.

So there you are, our tips to pumpkin carving!

(Oh, my last tip is buy the kit with the knives that look the most industrial. The ones that came with the sencils broke right off the handle after my first window pane. Luckily we'd gotten an extra kit!)

Just, sigh (in a good way)!

You may remember this post that I wrote a little while ago after Andrew had come down here for a visit. Well guess who came down again yesterday evening?! I know, how great is he? I just, I don't even think I can put together the words to accurately describe how much I love him. He is amazing and I wish that you all could meet him and find out for yourself how great he is. Yes, all of you, even you. You'd love him, I sure as hell know I do.

Why you may ask? Well here are a few reasons:

He comes all the way down here and doesn't complain when my roommate and I want him to play the Wii Fitness to see what his age is. (Unfortunately for us, he is a year younger than he actually is...we are both 6-8 years older than we actually are. We suck, I know.)

He sleeps with me in my little twin bed when he's here and although neither of us sleep well and he has two ridiculously long classes to go to today, on top of driving back up, he still holds me all night long. And, he gets ready (without complaining at all) in our tiny little bathroom area. (While his girlfriend takes pictures of him for her blog...)

He hasn't gotten tired (and if he has, he hasn't mentioned it) of all the self portraits I take of us. Seriously, a lot. But I love them all. I think I'm so obsessed because during the first 5 months of our relationship we were never in a photo together, weird right? Anyways, although I 9 times out of 10 cut off his hair, he still puts up with it and always smiles. Doesn't he have a great smile?

And then, even after a few self portraits, he'll take another one.

I just, my gosh I can't even explain what I feel for this man. He is everything I have ever wanted and I am so lucky to be with him.

Thank you so much for coming down here baby, it means the world to me when you do...(and sorry you didn't get all your reading done...). I can't wait to see you tomorrow! Loves!

My top 5 list...

Of places to see before, well you know.

I have this book sitting on my window sill entitled 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. (As a side note, I'll be honest: 4 years of college and I still can't remember if a title should be underlined or in italics. I know.) Inside are incredible places throughout the world that would be amazing to visit. Unfortunately for us Washingtonians, there are only a handful in the Pacific North West.

So, to begin, please note that there are not just 5 places out of the entire book I'd like to see, but possibly over one hundred little flag scattered throughout the pages. Two more lists of places 6-10 and 11-15 are to come in the following few posts. And, please also keep in mind that this is if there was no budget in place.

1. The Northern Lights - Tromso, Norway
"The same extreme reaches of northern Europe that provide endless days of summer sunshine promise something just as remarkable during the otherwise daunting winter months: the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights, an eerie, silent display of dancing lights in the heavens above." Evidently, as the book goes on to say, that on most clear winter nights Arctic winds collide with the electron-charges atmosphere of the earth, creating an aurora of these swirling apparitions around the magnetic North Pole.
It just sounds like it would be amazing. I think I recall seeing glimpses of them on TV, but to see it in person would be incredible.

2. Sydney Opera House and the Harbor - New South Wales, Australia
The Opera House was a design chosen in 1957 and took 15 years to complete. It was such a controversial project that during the construction, designed Joern Utzon removed himself from the project, never to see it completed.
I would love to someday cross the Harbor Bridge and at least see the opera house. It is such a symbol of Australia. Andrew really wants to visit the land down under, too, so hopefully someday we'll make it down there!

3. Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand
Welcome to the home of bungee jumping and jet boating! In this location you can do many things. First, the bungee jumping. There are many high bridges here that drop you down into an oasis of plants, and jungle of species or over a waterway. As the book says, at least at publication time, everyone had lived to tell about it! Next is the jet boating. This seems to pretty much be like white water rafting. It says they take you over steep rock walls, and white-water rapids in flat bottom boats. I'd just be going for the bungee jumping, though!

4. Horseshoe Bay Beach - Matangi Island, Figi
What part of that doesn't sound enticing? Beach, Fiji...sounds great to me! This location is a horseshoe-shaped, 240 acre island that is the remains of an ancient volcano that fell into the sea creating one of the finest beaches in Fiji. The thing I love most about the island, is that the accommodations were built to house only 28 people at a time. There are 14 circular Polynesian-influenced bures and also three honeymoon tree houses built in enormous almond trees. This place sounds like the best getaway yet, I may have to slip this one into first place!

5. The Great Amish Country Auction- Pennsylvania
We were just so close to it, too! Unfortunately, not enough time reserved in our trip to make it up there bust next time. The Amish just fascinate me. Mostly because they are still using horses for transportation and for work.
The auction the book talks of occurs weekly and people begin to arrive before daybreak. People come to purchase other people's items, sort of like a big rummage sale. Things range from kitchen items to hand powered tools, horses to antiques.
I would love to just take a day and be a tourist here. Although, it would be even more amazing to take that day and be on someones farm and see what really goes on. Probably not too much of a vacation, but rather a learning experience.

So what about you? Even without the book, or with it if you own a copy, where are your top 5 travel destinations?