Late Post on Girls Night Out....

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving 11/24/07.... I went out w/ a few of my girlfriends dancing. I'd like to tell you about a few of my friends. TK is one of my best friends I've known her since I was probably 11 or 12. It's very rare these days when friendships last as long as ours has not that we haven't had good times and bad but the point of it is that we've stuck with it. Whatever we face in our friendship we work through it sometimes it maybe tough or it may take time, but we always work through the hard times and try to be there for each other. The other thing about us is that we have totally different lives. TK has been married for 10 years to her high school sweetheart, her anniversary was just last week and she has four beautiful little girls. She is one of those people that I could tell anything and not worry that it would be the end of the friendship if she didn't agree with me. In some ways we are a whole lot a like and in other ways we are night and day type of different. I know that she is one of those people who has stood by me in times when I was struggling to make it. TK has been such a great supporter of my weight loss & just me in general. TK works full time and takes care of her husband and the kids and spends time w/ her family. We try to make time to talk on the phone or txt or email. We don't always get together as much as we'd like, but I know it's not for lack of wanting to be together. I admire the way that even though it must be hard for her to see my position in life, she always tries to see my point of view and I really enjoy that about her. TK and I have always liked to go out dancing it's just one of those things were we can lose track of time and have so much fun! The outfit I was wearing in the pictures from this night 11/24/07 was a goal outfit that I'd never fit into before. It felt so good :) not only to acheive something that I thought was impossible but to have TK there to celebrate it with me! She is just one of those people who I really care about and who really cares about me! She inspires me to do and be more and to not settle for that I'm very Thankful that I've been blessed w/ a friend like her. So here are a couple of pictures of the two of us!

This is my friend KT - I guess we met about 5 or more years ago, playing hockey for the Buffalo Thunderbirds. We were the youngest two on our team and hit it off and we've just always kept in contact. KT is one of those people who I can really relate to because she is single and my age and still looking for that Mr. Right. KT and I liked to work out together, go shopping, catch movies, talk, and talk or just play some hockey. Last summer we even played on a men's league team. That was a blast. Not to mention the locker room was always interesting. She and I both have one neice, we both have sisters who are married. Our parents are still married! She likes cars and I like 4 wheeling, but we just have a whole lot of fun together. I tend to push her beyond her limits to have her try new things like.... going out dancing. This was her first time and she did great and we had a blast. KT is also one of those people who has been really supportive about my weight loss and also my plans to adopt. Katie is a really great friend.

It's really great to have support from your close friends when you are working on such major life changes. I'm happy to say that I'm really blessed in this department, because not only do I have a great family, but also great friends who I feel are more like family! Merry Christmas everyone ... and as it's closing in on New Years I hope that you are all planning on celebrating whatever you've made it through this year or even celebrating all of the wonderful things to look forward to in 2008. Just so you know I haven't forgotten... I made a little list of things that I need to post about and here they are ...
in no certain order. IV's birthday, Grandma Runner coming to visit, My new job and quitting my previous job, and Christmas. Hopefully I can get everything posted before the new year comes so I can start fresh and not be behind!



11/25/07 - Girls Night Out

Great News.....

http://www.childrenshopeint.org/Russia.htm

Hopefully this will mean adoptions will start running faster in Russia for Children's Hope International!

Lost Battery Charger...

Okay .. so usually I don't like to do negative posts! It's just that I'm very frustrated that I've lost the charger to my digital camera! I'm wondering where to go to replace it! My camera is less than a year old I bought it for myself as a birthday gift last January! How could I have lost the charger? I use that camera for so many things that I just can't believe I misplaced the charger some how! I guess I'll have to go to National Camera and Battery and see if they have a replacement that I can buy or order. My grandma IAR is coming to visit on Thursday for IV's birthday and then IV's birthday is on Wednesday so I definitley can't miss these major going ons! Well I hope that the holidays are all going wonderfully for all of you! Also on Wednesday Alivia (http://baby-story.blogspot.com/) is having surgery. So could you all keep her in your prayers! She is a sweet little one who was adopted from Russia as well. I'm hoping that since her surgery is on Wednesday IV's birthday it will bring little Alivia good luck. Also Alivia's mom Jeana - just posted Alivia's cute adorable Christmas pictures! Check them out! Have a wonderful day everyone!
Blessings -
Mandy
Update ... I just looked all through my truck because my sister suggested I check there and guess what ... no charger! Back to the drawing board on places to search!

What Happens when the phones & internet go down at the office ...

What Happens when the phones & internet go down at the office ...

So all summer construction crews have been working down the street from our offices and even right in front of our offices, but besides causing traffic to be crazy we haven't really noticed them all that much. Until one day in November - we come in and all the sudden ... no phones... no internet... no nothing! Atleast we had power because it would've gotten very cold in the offices with no heat! So the question is what do you do when you have no heat at the office?
Hmmm......

Well since there isn't really anything to do in your office you might as well go out of your office and look around for something to do..... this might be a challenge as what could there be to do when you don't have any phone or internet....

Man... this looking for something to do is a tough job....

Ahh Ha... Here are some filing cabinets these don't need to use the telephone or the internet!

What is this other worker trying to do .... show me up? I better get in there and get some work done!

I'll show her how it's really done!

What are all these empty hanging folders doing in here .... looks like I might need to de-clutter!

Let me take this one out and well I'll mark it up w/ my highlighter while I'm at it make sure everyone knew I worked on it!

Geez ... this folder is outta here!

Now this is organization at it's finest! So glad this drawer looks so much better!

Hope you all have a good day! This was too funny not to post of IV!

Thanksgiving.... just a little bit late!

Thanksgiving this year was a rollercoaster ride. I digress ... let's go back a little bit to the weekend that my friend JM came to visit. I found out that weekend that the lady that I nanny for had decided that since her husband had to work and have meetings during the week that they were suppose to go to Palm Desert, CA and the husband wouldn't be able to go on the trip with them that she would like for me to come along! WOW! I was so excited especially since I've never been to CA. Plus I live in Minnesota and it's cold here in November. So cold that I haven't even wanted to really go 4 wheeling! Which if I'm turning down going wheeling you know it must be cold because 4 wheeling is just about my favorite thing to do! So the thought of spending time in Sunny California - I was just so excited! I barely knew what to do with myself. So I got ready and packed! We were suppose to leave on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and I would fly home w/ MK on Thankgiving night because she had a weekend hockey tourney to go to! I was so excited and the only draw back in my mind was that I would be gone for IV's first Thanksgiving. So we get down to the Friday afternoon before Thanksgiving & I get a msg from the lady that I nanny for that the husband has changed his mind, he's going and now I'm not going to have a seat on the jet. Then she asks if I can watch the dog while they are gone and so I said yes, but I was very disappointed. The girls were very said especially MM and MJ - of course I didn't really know what to say other than I wished I was going too, but it was not to be. So I ended up watching Kirby the dog and had a whole long list of things to get done, I had taken 3 days off of work and ended up going ahead and not going to work just because I needed a break and I had such a long list of things to do for the lady that I nanny for that I was lucky to get it all done on Wednesday so I could pack up Kirby the dog and take him out to my house, it's about an hours drive. To top things off IV got sick and I ended up watching her on Wednesday for AJ my sister. So it truely was crazy. I managed to drive home on Wednesday w/ a whiny dog, a sick baby and all my stuff packed into my truck. Geez it was quite the hour drive. So I got up the next morning and made bran muffins to share w/ my family and headed over to my sister's who was hosting Thanksgiving dinner. I even brought Kirby the dog! So we had a very healthy meal and I didn't overeat this year which I was very proud of myself for especially with my weight loss going so well at this point! I've lost 52 pounds and I only have 48 pounds left to lose. My weight loss is still going, but it's going slower now than it did at first. I knew that would happen - but it is harder to stay in the same place on the scale for longer periods.
We watched the Macy's parade, played w/ IV, talked and hung out as a family. We just had so much fun and it was so relaxing this year. I'm going to post some pictures that we took on Thanksgiving! I hope that you all had great celebrations with your loved ones.... From my family to yours: Happy Holidays! Blessings & Prayers - Mandy

So now here's what you've all been waiting for the pictures right :) !!! The first one is my family: EV, AJ, Me, IV, Dad & Mom.

In these photos my mom is trying to show IV - kirby the dog in his holiday sweater!

What was really funny about Kirby and IV is that she would grab the back of his sweater & he would pull her along trying to get away from the toddler's mighty grasp! So comical!

This is my Dad and IV - she loves him so much and he loves her too it's just too cute!

This is my Mom and IV - she loves being a Grandma and can't wait to have more Grandbabies!

This is my parents w/ IV and I just love this picture - I took it and I said: "Wow... I just really got that moment you know!"

This is EV, IV, & AJ on their first Thanksgiving as a family of 3.

EV & IV - so sweet!

So last but not least I couldn't leave out a picture of me and my baby sister AJ!

Happy Thanksgiving all... I've enjoyed reading about all your holidays! Thanks for Sharing!