Day 5 and Day 6

Creative heading, huh?
Day 5:
Exchange Gifts

Sam gave me a cute tiny little book~

They always give two options, one seems to be girly and one is more earthy. "Try on couture gowns at a fancy boutique OR Take a hike with binoculars and a notepad to record your thoughts." "Light candles and listen to Mozart as you get ready for work in the morning OR
Light candles and listen to Mozart in your office at the end of a rough day" "Reread a Jane Austen novel all day while drinking tea OR Write bad poetry on your front porch" It goes on and on. A nice fun little gift. And you can't see this, but it's glittery on the front and it's so cute and little about 3x3 inches!
I gave him Red Vines black licorice~yuck! for some reason he likes it though~and it has to be red vines.

The group left today, phew! They ate so much food! I can't believe it! We really didn't have any food leftover.

So I wrote that yesterday, just forgot to post it, oops! I guess I don't like this blog thing that much to post every day, but I'll keep trying.

Day 6:
Cut down a Christmas tree

I was so mad that I forgot my camera! Sam and I always like to cut down a tree from the forest, the good old fashioned way. This is so much fun, but much more difficult, especially where we are here because they don't have many Christmas type of trees growing naturally in the forest.. I didn't think we'd be able to do this activity today, but we unexpectantly had a day off, so we took advantage. The US forest service is the way to go, only $10 for a tree, can't beat that. And there is just something about cutting it down yourself. Sam had fun driving the truck through the snow, now that we have a four wheel drive vehicle, these activities become more fun! We ended up with a good one. I haven't decorated it yet, it's still outside. We need a stand and it's going to need to be trimmed down.

Since I didn't take pictures, I'll leave you with some of my favorites from last year.
The two sleepy heads! My nephew Alex with his Daddy!
My niece Taylor, delighted with her new gift, the Game Boy Micro
Alex thoroughly enjoying the eggs Grandma made for him while Aunt Heidi figures out how to put together moon boots!

{Day 4}

Day 4:
Go to Borders and each pick out a Christmas CD

So I'm thinking there are good ones on Metafilter I saw. They recommended Relient K's "Let It Snow Baby... Let It Reindeer" and Sufjan Stevens' "Songs For Christmas" box set. What do you think, any good ones? I do like the good old standbys, but I want some new fresh fun music. AND- I have all the good classics on the Time Life Treasury Christmas Set {Sam laughed when I told him I was looking for it, but it's a good set}, but I can't find it. I have some CD's that have been missing since we moved to Winter Park, and I didn't get those on our Ipod, that was before the time of the Ipod. So I'm very sad about that. But, VERY HAPPY that I'm not working in a retail store this year to hear the same set of Christmas tunes over and over. I can control it. And we're kinda hermits over here, so it's nice to be away from the madness this time of year! Of course, this activity will have to be saved for our one day off a week. This advent calendar was quite tricky because of this schedule.

Some things I'm enjoying:

*going on solo hikes at the state park
* Reading
Finished my book last night.
The Memory Keeper's Daughter- really loved it (found it at a thrift store for fifty cents, can't beat that, I think it's a store where a group of rich bookclub women discard their books. They had a few other copies, along with several copies of The Pearl, Where the Heart Is, That Ya Ya Sisterhood book- whatever it's called- so I'll definitely go back there for some books)
Going to start reading A Year in The World Journeys of A Passionate Traveller by Frances Mayes. I loved Under the Tuscan Sun, so I'm looking forward to this. It's been so long since I've been able to finish a book this quickly
Sam picked up The Anti 9-5 Guide practical career advice for women who think outside the Cube by Michelle Goodman at the library- that was one of the first things he did when he got here- he signed up for a library card. And he was SO THRILLED that he could put one on his key ring!
*enjoying simplicity of eating ice cream (never could have it living in the van, and our freezer wasn't cold enough in Eau Claire
*enjoying making things
*spending time with God
*spending time with Sam
*cooking with sage, rosemary, oregano from my herb garden! love that!
*composting scraps of food, and bringing a bag with me everywhere I shop
*not drinking pop- I'm really trying to seriously quit
Our snowman totally melted- snow is all gone. still green!
*no crazy storm-yeah
*the group that is here is world vision- hoping to learn more about them- and they're the south america division. i'm thinking this might be my connection to living in a spanish speaking country! it's so cool how God works- He keeps sending Christian groups our way
*cooking for this group- sometimes stressful [tiny kitchen-not well epuipped] kinda fun
*getting netflix- sam had to get Northern Exposure- he hadn't seen it, do you guys remember that show? He had to see it because the log cabin in it and a lot of it was filmed right here where we live (not our cabin, but one in the same town) and I guess the cafe too I think. That was kinda a fun memory. What were some TV shows you liked back in the day? Party of 5, Life Goes On, Punky Brewster. It's kinda fun to go back and watch them and how cheesy they are now!

Our snowman totally melted- snow is all gone. The grass is still green!

Day 3

It's been a long day here. So far, the power is still on (obviously, or I don't think I'd be doing this right now) but it is out at the owner's home about 25 miles away. I don't think it seems to windy. Who knows.

So todays thing was a gift for Sam and Becca. Sam got a little scrubby for doing dishes. It's crazy how little stuff like that delights him! Although, it's frustrating- he had already bought one for us. Even though I said- it's December, we're doing this gift thing let's not get anything for the house. And I thought I was pretty obvious- I said it right after he talked about getting one! Oh well. He got me a cute white piggy bank. And get this- you won't believe it. He used my rub-ons and put the letters Fund on it. So I'm supposed to go back and put what kind of fund I would like it to be. I was quite impressed. I'm the most amazed by the fact that he found them without asking me where they were. He said it was his first time with the rub-ons. He did excellent- and it was an uneven surface and everything. I better watch out, or he might want to start stealing my stuff to scrapbook!

Advent Fun

I've been busy crafting away. Finally, "All Things Artsy" will have an artsy post. I made an advent calendar out of a muffin tin last year for my niece and nephew (filled with treats) I decided to upgrade it for grownups this year. I'll post some pictures in an upcoming post. And stay tuned- get this- I plan on posting every day for the month of December! We'll see if that happens, especially for the next few days. My friend Jess and I are totally kindred spirits because when we talked on the phone we both had the exact same idea for the advent calendar and we didn't even discuss it at all! So each day Sam and I will be doing a fun, romantic, advent activity and I will post about it each day! Yesterday Sam opened a gift. He received a clip on book light. (Luckily I had a hunch, the snow started to fall and I was filling the tin with the activities and figuring out when to do each one. And they say it Today's activity: In the meadow we can build a snowman
Boy, the kids back in the midwest would be jealous. This is the wettest, best snowman, snow ball constructing wet snow!



Here is my attempt, Sam went back out to complete the features

Weather changes fast here. Our snowman had a good, but short life! In just two days, he melted away!

Now for the lodge! We're expecting a big storm. We're talking going back to Laura Ingalls Wilder times! We have candles and water all ready to go. We have big garbage cans loaded with water for the toilets. We have charcoal for the big grill outside. That's where I may have to cook. So I may try to plan ahead and do some crockpot cooking today! There are supposed to be crazy winds- 100 mph! So it will be a lot of work if the power goes out! I don't really want it to happen, but a tiny part of me does. I always thought it would be cool to go back in time! But with 9 guests counting on us for the next 3 days, it could be tricky. We do have a generator, but it will pretty much just keep the lights on. So please pray for us that the power doesn't go out! I'll keep you posted!

A lot to do today. The guests arrive in a few hours. I want to do a little Christmas decorating before they arrive. And I want to make soup today, and maybe the pulled pork? We also have the last bit of unpacking to do. It was abandoned while I did the Advent project!

A Very Happy Birthday

So after the age of 12, usually birthdays aren't that eventful. The older you get, the less big of a deal it is. But this birthday was wonderful! Especially after last year (I was working in a bakery in target- right after Thanksgiving is the worse time, especially when you have to be there at 3:30 am) I had a wonderful day this year. It started the day before my birthday, Sam gave me a new pillow! A memory foam contoured for side sleepers! He also gave me 14 pink roses! Oh, come to think of it, I guess the fun really started 2 days before, Sam's parents came and gave me some fun napkins and things for the b&b, Katie gave me a beautiful scarf. Then on my actual birthday we celebrated! I did have to clean 4 bathrooms, but that was it! It was the first night since we've been here that we've had the place all to ourselves. So we took advantage and used the hot tub and the fireplace! I got to sneak into town and do some shopping. I got a sweet card from my grandma. A great package arrived from my parents, money for a lamp! (Which we really need, it's so dark down here!-we did get a chance to do a little shopping on our day off, I'm torn between a few that I like) And a great travel book, some scrapbooking things, and my mom made the cutest felt star ornaments. (I haven't taken a pic of those yet) So it was so relaxing, and Sam kept surprising me! He even made me the most wonderful chocolate cake. He completely surprised me and made it while I was gone! He cleverly wrote my name in red sprinkles!


He made us a great pasta dinner! And I'm totally excited to get a subscription to Cloth, Paper, Scissors. It's such a fabulous magazine. You just have to click on the image to see it larger to read what Sam wrote on the little print out he gave me to tell me about the mag.


Sam found a gift for both of us here, it's a book for keeping our appointments, it's so fancy. It's so funny, I do feel like I'm a cross between Laurelei and Suki, taking care of The Dragonfly Inn! It was such a fun birthday! So thank you everyone! I didn't think birthdays would be that fun again!

Thankful

Sam and I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. God is so amazing! Everything is going so well here we have been truly blessed. I can't believe it. The transition is pretty good. We sometimes have to work really hard, but we do have a lot of free time to spend together which has been great. Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves to realize that we are here, living in a 6000 sqare foot log cabin with gorgeous mountain views! We are finding time to do the things we love. (Well, we're really working on the unpacking, but we take little breaks and we're anticipating how great it will be) We got most of the unpacking done, we rushed so that we could enjoy Thanksgiving. Cooking was a nice break from all the unpacking. I baked an apple pie on Wed. I had to get that done quickly before the group came on Wed. (I don't have an oven in our downstairs apartment.) I cooked the turkey in a big roaster oven that was here. I made everything else in a two burner plug-in makeshift stove. It worked out just fine. Sam was the photographer. Usually I'm the one who wants to take a million pics, but Sam surprisingly insisted on taking them and I had to convince him to stop or our food would be cold! We had a quiet meal, just the two of us. We had a really cool group composed of friends and family staying here at the lodge. A lot of them were young, mid to late 20's. They invited us to their Thanksgiving dinner. I had spent the day cooking, so we wouldn't have a pathetic Thanksgiving, and then these nice people invited us, so we decided to have our own meal, and then we joined them for dessert. It was so much fun. The great thing about this job is all the cool people that we are meeting. Some of the people flew here from out east- Rhode Island. We met a couple who owns a ski shop in Seattle. Another couple who lives in a houseboat who have traveled all over. I can't wait to explore the area we are in and get our place all fixed up in time for the holidays.

Sam's parents came and stayed with us on Friday night. We had a reheated thanksgiving leftover meal together! That was nice. On Sat. some relatives were visiting family and stopped by on their way to Seattle. So surprisingly, we've already had some visitors. We gladly welcome more! We can't wait to have a family get together of our own here! Soon I will post some pics of our place. I do want to do some painting, we'll see!

Moving Day

So we packed all weekend. Said our goodbyes, headed to Chaska Sunday night. Sam did a job for his dad Monday morning and I met him around noon to leave. We drove and drove. We had to drive so slow. 55-60 mph the whole way! So it took us till Thursday to get here. Wed. night we stayed in Spokane and then we got here around 7 pm. We had great weather the whole way. No snow on the road, but snow all around! We didn't hit bad weather until Thursday evening going down the mountain from Spokane to Goldbar. Can I just say that I have so much more respect for truckers now! We have definitely driven across the country before, but we usually do marathon trips and get it done with in one 24 hr period. And that is driving at a normal speed. But this was miserable. It dragged on and on. So I really hope that truckers get paid really well, they deserve every penny! So we have been unpacking. Right when we arrived here we had the surprise of Stephano, a man from Venice, Italy. So right to work when we arrived. We had to cook breakfast the next morning! It was rainy at night when we were unloading.




The video shows all the stuff Sam packed into a 5'x8'x5' trailer. So all that stuff was simply in the trailer, not the back of the truck or the car! I don't know how he did it! Mike and Sam worked hard and got it all in. It was crazy, you should have seen the 3 of us trying to get the mattress to fit! That was crazy! So I just have messy unloading pics. I'll get some other pics up on here as soon as we get this place settled. There was a group here this weekend. Luckily we didn't have to cook for them, so we have been able to focus simply on the unpacking. We do have space for once, yeah! Although we need to get more furniture. It's nice to finally have a place of our own. A place to call home. It's been 3 months since we had to leave our other apartment. So it's about time! I've been noticing people already going crazy about Christmas. I found a few radio stations already dedicated to 24-7 Christmas music! Everyone tends to forget all about Thanksgiving and head straight to Christmas. People move it up earlier and earlier each year, next year we probably won't even talk about halloween, it will be Christmas starting in October. I love Christmas, but I love this fall season so much, we need to enjoy it while it is here. I didn't realize that Thanksgiving is next week already! Crazy! I thought for sure I had 2 more weeks. So we'll have 2 different groups here, and we'll be stuck in the basement, but I think we'll try to have a Thanksgiving meal for just Sam and I. We have a lot to be thankful for this year. Thank you to everyone who helped us move, or gave us a home, and all the support through this little crazy adventure.