2010: It Was A Very Good Year

Dan loves year in review lists. So here's one from this year. I present: The Garfield Family Top Ten Moments/Events in no particular order.

1. A great Thanksgiving with Dan's family and mine. We were able to do both this year and it was a good time.

2. Eli learns to walk at 10 months. Nothing has been quite the same since. As I survey my house at present I can see the contents of all the drawers in my kitchen dumped on the ground. Ah well.

3. Going to Telluride with my family. This trip was an epic adventure in the woods. ATVs, deer, fires, and fun are the words that sum it all up.

4.Making copious amounts of jam. I am not very good at crafty things. I fail at pretty much every domestic project I take on. But I can make jam and this year I made it in mass quantities. I did apricot, raspberry, blackberry, plum, strawberry and peach. What fun!

5. Speaking at Ignite. This was fun. And stressful. And oddly therapeutic. So pretty much it was like watching an episode of 24. (Ps, here's a link to the vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUEKN6fxFTU)

6. Moving. After 3 years in our little house in Provo we made a move to Orem. And while its not quite as far from Ptown as I would have liked, I do love the new house and amount of space we have. Its great to have a spare bedroom to put our junk in.

7. Dan goes sailing in Colorado. We went out to visit my brother in May. Dan was able to reunite with his love of sailing on a little lake at their country club. It was most amusing to watch him from the shore. So euphoric. So fun.

8. Eli says his first word. And it was "Indi". That's pretty much all he's said. I've been working on "mama" and "dada" but to no avail. Its still just "Indi". Which is sad really, seeing as that dog's days in our home are most likely numbered.

9. Visiting Brad and Crystal in Cali. We ventured south and had a lovely visit in August. Dan was able to surf, I was able to lounge. It was wonderful.

10. Dan's massive robot birthday. It was a lot of fun. Good times were had by all, except maybe the pinata who took quite a beating. Poor robot.

Memor-ees

I was thinking today. And apart from the now-headache, it went pretty well. I was reminiscing really, about my younger days. Raising a baby has gotten me all sentimental about my childhood. I want Eli to have a childhood as grand as mine.

All that thinking made me wonder; what will Eli's first memory be? Mine is of a bright day in California when I must have been two or three. I'm out on our back patio with my mom...we're sitting on a pink blanket. That's all I've got of the moment, but I can remember it like it was yesterday. I wonder what Eli will recall as his first recall-able memory. I need to make sure its a good one.

Christmas: A Recap

That whole "one post a day" thing kinda fell apart over Christmas. I didn't actually get on my laptop for 5 days...it was a little overwhelming to long on and have 25 emails and 40 unread items in my Google reader account. But I pressed on and now all is back to zero.

The Christmas holiday has changed so much for me since I was a kid. It used to be, as I'm sure is the case for most people, a day to anticipate the receipt of gifts and surprises from Santa. Now I honestly get much more exited to give away the presents I've bought for other people. That's not to say I've become Saint Roby the Benevolent. Its just to say that I enjoy so much more shopping and wrapping and giving. I got Dan and XBox for Christmas this year and could barely stand the anticipation of seeing him unwrap it. Eli was pretty nonchalant about the whole present thing. I think in years to come he'll get a little more excitement out of it.

Christmas also has changed in another significant way since I was a kid. In my days of youth I would spend all Christmas day assembling the legos I had received, or playing with the Lincoln Logs (that was one of my favorite years) or dressing up Barbies. Now I spend a good portion of the day stealing the toys my nieces and nephews got and playing with them. Have you guys seen those Nanobot Bugs? Coolest thing ever. Totally buying them for myself...I mean Eli, as soon as I can find some.

Make it Sew

At around 8pm last night I decided to make quilt as a Christmas gift for a family member (identity will be revealed after Christmas). I usually start these sorts of projects way too late and without all the proper equipment and supplies. Last night's endeavor was no exception. Now after two trips to the craft store for backing, extra thread, more fabric and some tying needles I'm back in business. Unfortunately Eli just woke up from his morning nap so...there goes my afternoon of working on this thing. I'll post pictures of the offending quilt when I have time to actually get some headway on it.

Let it SNOW!

What a great day! Dan took the big car to work with him and Eli and I just stayed in and did Christmas things. I loved the snowy day. It made everything feel so Christmas-y. We must have got over a foot of snow. I let Indi out to go potty at 9am this morning and I didn't see her until noon...I think she went on a winter adventure.

To pass the time I started a few sewing projects. And by a few I mean like...ten. That's sort of my m.o. when I decide to sew...if I start a project I have to finish it that day. Which makes the quilt, skirt, ten stockings, and baby pillow I started today seems much more ambitious now at 9:00 at night. I've almost finished the the skirt...but it may fall apart the first time I wear it so...look out!

3 Years and Counting

Its been three years ago today that Dan and I tied the knot and started married life. I'm sure he would agree when I say some things have gone as planned and many have not. No matter what has come our way I have always been so thankful we decided to get hitched and stick together through tough times (many computer crashes) and good times (baby birth, fun vacations, Android Hero release...maybe not in that order). On this day, I would like to embarrass my husband and awkward the internet by sharing a list of the top ten things I love about Dan, in no particular order.

1. He knows his appliances. Dan is a man's man, but he knows how to clean a blender, work an iron and start a washing machine better than most men and women I know.

2. Dan is the most intelligent person I know, and I've met Michael Bay.

3. He is the world's best daddy. All I have to say now is "Eli, Daddy is home" and he goes running full speed towards the door in anticipation of the arrival of his favorite person.

4. He can quote Simpsons with the best of them...me I mean...

5. He puts up with and encourages my stupid ideas (Biblecats anyone?).

6. Dan has a soft side. He may hate me for saying this but I have seen him tear up watching movies. That may take his street cred down a notch.

7. He is grounded. And I don't mean in a "You're 16 and your parents found out about your text bill" grounded kinda way. I mean Dan is a man of principles. There have been so many times I've tried to cross ethical boundaries and he will always pull me back, dust me off, and tell me to do the right thing.

8. Dan is so thoughtful. He does the dishes, he plays with Eli, he gives me time off. He does amazing things without being asked or wanting any credit.

9. He is one sexy beast.

10. He's stuck with me for three years and loves our family. I am so lucky to have a man like Dan who has patience, loyalty, goodness and love oozing from every pore.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HONEY! (please don't beat up my husband at work for all this lovey-dovey crap)

Sunday Rainy Sunday

I can't believe its been raining all day. This is Utah...snow already! I really do enjoy the whiteness around Christmas time. I get sick of it come, oh, January first, but I do like a fluffy holiday. With that said this warmer winter is making it easier to get around with a baby. Not as many layers and such needed for outings.

We have been, as of late, again pondering the fate of our border collie Indi. I actually listed her on KSL classifieds a few days ago and have gotten a few calls. She is just getting so anxious in the house and its a daily battle for me to keep her a) happy and b) from driving me crazy. She's just so HYPER. So if anyone has any good (cheap) suggestions on how to keep a sheep dog entertained during the winter or knows of anyone who could giver her a very good home, let me know.

Saturday is a Special Day

Weekends are wonderfully lackadaisical around here. Eli has a new trick too that adds to the laziness of Saturdays called sleeping in until 8:30 every day. He is definitely his mother's child. I'm chronic sleeper in-ner and it's so nice to have a child that, for the time being, follows in my footsteps.

This afternoon we walked around the Provo Tabernacle. It was so sad to see this giant of pioneer architecture laying in waste at our feet. The smoke was gone and we had a pretty good view of the interior. All the benches from the upper level had fallen to the main floor and looked like charred kindling. I think they could still re-build, but Dan said it would be quite the undertaking. At least I hope they do more than just sell the land to Nuskin so they can build another city center ruiner...but it will probably come to that. Sad day.

Ho Ho Heaven!

A much better day today! Eli was in better spirits, errands took much less time, and Dan stole baby away to a work party leaving me free to go out to dinner with a friend without screaming and throwing.

Eli and I ventured to the mall today to see about getting his picture taken with Santa. I thought it would be a little pricey, but I was planning on $8 or something. We got in line and then I saw the pricing sign and almost choked on my gun. I mean gum. Dumb typos. Anyway...for the cheapest package (4 prints and a cd) it was $16! That was the starting point-the prices went up from there and didn't stop until they hit the 40s. In my day you could just get a picture of your kid (in my day I was that kid) for 5 bucks. One photo. No packages and ghastly prices. Sheesh. So we walked passed the life-size Santa display at Tai Pan. That'll hold until Eli's old enough to know who Santa really is.

Ho Ho Hell

Errands at any time of the year can be arduous with a walking one year old. But around the holidays they can be down right brutal. Today we had two stops on the list; the Post Office and Walgreens. The Post Office was surprisingly calm. Eli enjoyed his time running around, dropping things in the trash cans and trying to run out of the automatic doors. But is was ok.

Things at Walgreens got ugly. I had to get a few stocking-stuffers for Dan...that was it on my list. We spent 30 minutes in the store. Eli had to run up and down every isle and grab a random item, discarding the previous on the floor and taking off in another direction. Why didn't you just pick him up? You ask. He will not tolerate it. Not a bit. This small human has got to be moving at all times. In the end we made our $5 worth of purchases, apologized for the many messes, and made our way out the door.

Oh the Humanity

This is my, count it, fourth blog I've started in the last three years. Each one serves a varied purpose in my life. But I've realized lately that I have a strange hole in my many blogs...I don't have one where I can dump my mom happenings on an unsuspecting populous. So...in case you've been sitting up at night wondering "I wonder what a bored, stay-at-home mom does during the day"...here it is. An update every day. Don't expect greatness. Don't even expect goodness. But do expect...uh...words and a font choice.