Day 190

What a crazy couple weeks in the "new" Waycott household! Chris and I have been busy getting ready for the holidays and trying to orchestrate all of our destinations for the upcoming events. We embarked on our 9 year anniversary of dating; however I was told that those anniversaries do not count anymore. That's just nonsense!

As many of you should know, my sister is expecting another baby this December... the first boy on the Goldstein/Gold side! We celebrated his upcoming birth with a scrapbook baby shower at a local shop in Valencia. We had a wonderful time and Chris and I are extremely excited to be Auntie Jen and Uncle Chris again. We're looking forward to Lil' Frazi's arrival in late December; however I'm convinced he's coming sooner than Staci and Frazier think!

We've broken another milestone! We've been married for a little over 6 months. It's hard to believe that a little over 6 months ago we were hauling over wedding stuff from our tiny apartment to our parents house to get ready for the big day. Nothing was really done in celebration of the 6 month mark; I ended up with a nasty stomach flu that put me in bed for 24 hours. What should have been a nice steak dinner was a cup of lipton soup. {YUM}

We celebrated our first "married" Thanksgiving, and nothing really was different, other than we had a few extra family members at this year's festivities. It was great to finally meet a few of the Waycott's and reconnect with those I see so regularly. Of course the ritual of HATE YOUR NEIGHBOR {also known as GET NANCY} was played. I came in last place; yes last! I always come in last... I always think it's who I'm sitting next to, but now I'm beginning to think I should play GO FISH instead. So I have a few weeks before the next game, I may brush up on my skills. For Thanksgiving dinner, Chris and I made homemade Butternut Squash Soup. It was delicious and a BIG chore to make. The recipe is quite easy, it's getting to the melon of the squash which was the hard part. We brought over a huge stock pot of soup and it was about finished by the time we cleaned up. We may have to experiment with some more with additional soups in the future.

There wasn't really any big shopping this year on BLACK FRIDAY; thanks goodness too! It was so frigid to stand in line. We heard there were some awesome deals on televisions and kitchen appliances, but luckily we had been fortunate enough to get most of those items from our wedding gifts. THANK YOU!

Last night we attended our 10 year high school reunion which was a blast from the past. I never thought 10 years would have come that quickly, and that I would have attended; nonetheless, Chris. Last minute, we got ready and headed over to the event. It was so great to see some old high school friends and of course the ones I see on regular basis! I was happy to see that everyone was a little more 'grown up' and eager to reconnect with everybody! After all was said and done, I was extremely happy that we attended and look forward to the next one... maybe 15 years but definitely 20 years! I feel a little like my parents, they are always getting together with their classmates from '75!

Lastly, my favorite part of the holidays is decorating and I FINALLY got to do it yesterday! I look forward to it in October when the department stores are hauling out their trees and placing those extra lights around the stores. I ask every day from November 1st through Thanksgiving Day when I can bring out our Christmas tree, and every time Chris says AFTER Thanksgiving! Luckily, Chris and I have everything so organized so it really only takes about 2 hours from set up to tree topper. We always throw on the holiday music and light a gingerbread candle just to get into the spirit of things here. I love the smell of the holidays! This year we documented our set up process for you to enjoy.

Chris and I are so very blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives. You have touched us in so many different ways and have left an impression of memories for a lifetime. We wish you all a very joyous holiday season filled with love, laughter and of course sweet treats. Nothing screams more like the holidays than sweet treats! You know this household will be filled with them. So here's to another 4 weeks of 2010; we'll be sure to make each day count! We love you all!

xxoo,

Mrs. Waycott

Day 173

9 years ago TODAY, Chris 'asked' me to be his girlfriend... little did he know that he would be stuck spending the rest of his life with me. Here's the story in case you hadn't heard...

It was a rainy Sunday in November. I worked at a local day care facility inside the gym taking care of babies and kids while "mom and dad" worked out. This day was like every other. I would get to work, play with the kids, talk with the other employee's and get spit up on. It was pretty chill and every-so-often Chris would come by and say 'hey'. This particular Sunday we made plans to attend a show {concert to those of you who think it's going to the movies} at The Troub to see THE ANNIVERSARY. Chris popped in towards the end of my shift wearing a baby blue jacket that he had recently purchased at Skidazzle. When he came into my work, he was soaking wet... but hesitant to remove his jacket. My co-worker had noticed something handwritten on his tee shirt and asked Chris to remove his jacket to read it. As Chris took off his jacket, it was clearly written on a baby blue tee shirt "Jen will you be my girlfriend"... it was one of the most romantic things that had ever happened to me. OF course I said YES; after all, we're married today!

We headed down to The Troub to see one of our most favorite bands, THE ANNIVERSARY... and that's the story.

I am so grateful to have you in my life today and so happy you 'asked' me to be your girlfriend. Did you realize that only 7 1/2 years later you would ask me to be your wife on a similar tee shirt? I love you Mr. Waycott. Happy 9 years being together and for MANY more to come!

Day 163

Happy Halloween {be-lated} and with that being said, I guess I can start saying Happy Holidays! Over the weekend, Dad and Karen hosted yet another successful pumpkin carving party, fit with delicious chili, {so I heard, because I don't like chili} spinach dip, the new favorite mummified weenies, red velvet cake pops and snacks to feed an army.

We kicked off our day at the pumpkin patch with little Layler's, where we picked out our pumpkins and took some annual pictures. Layla posed a few times before running like a maniac through the pumpkin aisles, and I managed to get a cute smile out of her since all she does is give crazy faces. As Layla and Chris were horsing around the patch, Kim and I had some serious business finding the perfect pumpkin... I was destined to win this year. Every year, I show up, participate with the most amazing design ever AND lose! I just don't understand. Do these other participates not like my designs?

For the past 4 years, I've tried different techniques and this year was quite a year. I used my first dremel drill and got my hair caught in it. Chris saved the day and got it untangled. I also tried scraping the pumpkin to get a 'glow' and realized it wasn't deep enough. The winning pumpkin was from the Gerardo's... they carved the quintessential haunted house with the bats flying in the sky. It was pretty good! Kim came in second with the Evil Queen and Staci came in third with INAPPROPRIATE. No, I will not post it! I should have asked if I received any votes. Here's my pumpkins from the past 4 years, and have to say my favorite is "Allan".

2010: Dia de los Muertos

2009: "ALLAN" {this is my dad smoking his cigarette, AND I should have won this }

2008: Cheese and Mice {mine was #6) and was very MARTHA STEWART of me

2007: Self Portrait {can you see my flower in the hair? No this was not a winner}

Layla showed up that night as Cinderelly for the pumpkin carving contest. She was so stinkin' cute!

On actual Halloween, Chris and I took Layla trick-or-treating! We really hadn't gone since we were kids and had a great time with little Layler's. We went to a few houses by Dad's and then went around the neighborhood where Layla lives. She was so concerned over the monsters {one showed up at the house in costume} and she told her story to every house we went to! At one point, "the monster" had been on the same property as us but Uncle Chris made sure she didn't see him. He saved the day! After all was said and done, Layla ended her night with a full bucket of candy and a sugar high. Glad I get to leave that house at anytime I want!

Chris and I had a fantastic, non-stressful Halloween with our family and look forward to the many traditions in the years to come. So bring on the Holidays, we're ready for you, especially you THANKSGIVING! We're looking forward to seeing some family members we haven't seen in a long time {if in fact, at all}.

xxoo,

Mrs. Waycott