Merry Christmas!

I hope all of you wonderful readers have a very safe and Merry Christmas and holiday season. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by, and all of the amazing things that have happened. I'll be sad to see 2009 go!

That being said, what a strange Christmas. I spent the last week in Mexico, and I was much more consumed with getting ready for my vacation than I was getting ready for Christmas. We only bought gifts for the kids in the family this year, and my house is not nearly as festive as I had hoped. We went to my parent's house yesterday and were the only ones there other than one of my sister's family. We ate pizza. It was fun though, just different. Wade and I decided not to exchange gifts this year due to all of our recent major purchases, so we just woke up like it was any other day. He has some bread dough rising and is playing an Xbox game, and I'm...well, I'm here! We are going to go out to eat with my father-in-law and two of the sibling-in-laws later, which is also really strange to me. I've never 'gone out' on Christmas day. After that, we'll come home and just relax. Tomorrow evening, after work, I'll go to my mother-in-law's to celebrate with her and the sib-in-laws and have dinner. I'm hoping next year will be much more traditional, and maybe we'll even host the holiday at our house!

Merry Christmas again!

12 more days, 12 more days!!

Mom and I talk almost every day, but for about the last month we have talked about nothing but our Cozumel Vacation!! I can't wait to take our first (and possibly only) mother-daughter trip. We have so much in common and are both very spontaneous and adventurous. We like so many of the same things, so I know this trip is going to be awesome. We've got so many plans for our 8 days in Cozumel, and I hope we can do everything we want and still have plenty of time to relax at our resort. In 12 days, we'll be settling into an adorable little bungalow!

Quaint, cute, and completely Mexico!

That really didn't do it for me.

I really wanted to do some Black Friday shopping, but we're not exchanging many gifts this year since I'm going to Mexico with my mom in a couple weeks, we just built our house, and I just bought a brand new car. The moola is running a little low for Christmas gifts this year. But, I still love shopping. I'm not a crazy, gotta-shop-all-the-time, my-closet-is-stocked-full-of-things-I-never-wear shopper, though. In fact, I pretty much recycle the same handful of outfits over and over because I almost never shop for myself. At least not for clothes. I like stuff shopping. I like looking at things for the house, DVD's, cookbooks, things like that (of which I usually don't end up actually buying). I'm the type of shopper who just loves to be in the stores. I go for one or two things, and can look at others for hours.

So anyways, since I puffy heart being in the stores with the masses, it was fitting to at least go out for something on Black Friday. Since I wake up at and ungodly hour anyway, there was no need to set an alarm. I woke up around 4:50, threw on some sweats, and was out the door. I figured if I got to Target after it had opened that there'd be no line waiting outside. Uh, yeah...wrong. I got there around 10 after, and there were cars circling the lot trying to find a spot (just big enough, I could park my old truck --- ha, song lyrics came out there...it's too early). I ended up having to park in the back of the store along side the building. And there was STILL a line. I had to wait outside a few minutes before I was able to get in, and there were no carts left. Good thing I wasn't there for much! The only thing on my list was a set of 700 thread-count sheets for $30. Luckily there was one queen size set in the color I needed. I snagged it along with a few DVD's (can't wait to watch Up later!) and headed out. I was home and back in bed before 6:00, with this overwhelming sense of disappointment. What am I doing back home?! There are crazy sales out there! Ugh. I'm having a hard time here.

I wonder if Best Buy still has any of the $50 LG Touch Chocolates...

6 months post op!

I haven't posted about my breast augmentation since June when I was only 10 days post op. What a difference 5 and a half months have made! After years of wanting it, I finally made the decision to have the surgery last spring, scheduled a consult, and 10 days later on May 22nd, I gave myself the gift of boobs! I haven't regretted my decision for a moment, and finally feel so good when I'm trying on dresses and tops. It's great to feel like a woman! I was told by posters of an augmentation board that the look and feel of my new breasts would continue to change throughout the first year following my surgery, and I'm surprised at how true that is. Looking back at the pictures from my first month, it's crazy how natural they now look. Anyways, here are my 6 month post op pictures!

Why in God's name did I ever take an online Algebra class?

I suck at algebra. Really, I do. I'm good with numbers, but when it comes to algebra my eyes glaze over and my brain starts screaming. And to take matters worse, I'm taking it online. Why I have to take algebra again, I'm not even sure. I graduated with my AA in 2007 and thought I was done with those sorts of math classes. Apparently not.

But back to this whole online business. My homework for each week consists of posting and solving a problem from the book in a discussion forum (easy because we choose our own problem), taking a test from the previous week's chapter (semi-easy), and completing and submitting 10 problems from the book (hard as freaking hell). The problem with this class is that there is no guidance, no real instruction. We get a book which shows you how to solve the easiest, most basic problems in the section. Well, that's all good and fine until the problems we need to do for the homework are NOTHING like the other examples in the book. I and many of my classmates have emailed our instructor for some help, only to receive replies such as "look over the discussion questions again" or "read the book". Yeah, duh, read the book.

I'm getting a solid C (sucks), and I don't see my grade going up in the next 4 weeks. I'm struggling so much with this week's chapter on rational expressions and equations that I'm considering not even turning in the homework.

::throws algebra book on the floor::

Happy Birthday Chester!!

My little man is a whole year old today! I can't believe how big he's gotten, and how much we love him.


Kids? Who needs kids? I have my kitty.


I had planned to get him a birthday hat and a kitty cake, but I didn't have time. I think we'll be celebrating with his 'grandparents' this weekend.

I miss him being so tiny!

My life is amazing, so why do I feel this way?

I grew up poor. I was born into a trailer park poor. My mom and bio-father divorced when I was about a year old, and my mom started dating my dad. Things were better than with David, but still never great. We moved from house to house, town to town, and disposable income was completely unheard of. We moved to our permanent home when I was 7, but things were still shaky. I remember my mom agonizing when it was time to buy school clothes. I remember getting free lunches. I remember broken down cars and no money to fix them. I remember the fights.

I think you get the idea.

But I look at my life now, and my family's lives. I don't know really when or how things turned around, but they did. I thank my lucky stars every day that we are where we are now, and I don't take anything for granted.

This has been the most amazing year. I have been happily married to such a wonderful man and my best friend for a year now, I was able to have breast augmentation --something I've wanted since I was 15--, we built a brand new home, I got a new car, my mom and I are going to Mexico in a few months, I have the most amazing family I could ask for. The list just goes on. Granted, most of these are material things and in the grand scheme of things, truly don't mean much. But to look at where I've come from and where I am now...I don't know, I guess it's all just hitting me tonight.

This feels like an amazing, unbelievable dream. And I'm just waiting to wake up. Is all of this just too much too fast? I'll never forget where I came from and what my family has overcome, but I can't help but wonder what if everything I have is taken away from me? I don't know how or why I got so lucky when there are people out there who are suffering with no hope.

I'm feeling oddly depressed, and it is utterly and completely unwarranted.