Top 10 Songs of 2011

If you didn't know already, I love music. I like all kinds, although I tend to stick to radio-friendly music, whether that be pop or rock or some R&B or whatever else. I always like to look back and see my most-played songs in Itunes, so without further adeiu, here are my Top 10 Most Played Songs of 2011:

1. Moth's Wings by Passion Pit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niuU4JitGlg

2. Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C8e7nNLZNs&ob=av3n

3. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall by Coldplay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyMhvkC3A84&ob=av3e

4. Up in Flames by Coldplay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO4WNTKvtr4

5. Somewhere With You by Kenny Chesney

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n56hFE9Aquc&ob=av2n

6. Rolling in the Deep by Adele

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JcQqw&ob=av3e

7. Without You by David Guetta and Usher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUe8uoKdHao&ob=av2e

8. The Cave by Mumford and Sons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KkUeRPjc-Y

9. Letters from the Sky by Civil Twilight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wa7dFR09vU&ob=av2e

10. Paradise by Coldplay (I seriously LOVE this video!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G4isv_Fylg


Here are the Top 5 songs, period, on my Itunes playlist:

1. The Planets Bend Between Us, Snow Patrol
2. Breakeven, The Script
3. Set the Fire to the Third Bar, Snow Patrol
4. Whataya Want From Me, Adam Lambert (haha)
5. Your Ex-Lover is Dead, Stars

Christmas 2011

Our past two Christmases have been pretty low-key, and for the most part, we have liked it. This year was a little more difficult for me because I knew Todd would have to spend a lot of his time finishing up clinic things, and starting his preparation for the bar.

Fortunately, we were able to have a great Christmas Eve and Christmas together, and even though it's not as much time as I would like, since I'm home this week, I still see him a bit more than I normally would. 

Here is our baby Christmas tree all decked out. I love that most of the ornaments have some kind of special significance. That's what I want our Christmas tree to always be like, big or small, and it's so fun to put up the tree and think about different experiences or people who have made or bought ornaments for us.

Christmas presents this year turned out to have a kitchen theme! When we got married, we only brought with us things that could move 3000 miles across the US, from Delaware to California. Needless to say, most of our kitchen things have been a modge podge of small things we've picked up along the way. 

We added to our kitchen repertoire this year: a juicer, stainless steel pots and pans (WITH LIDS! YAY!), nesting bowls, liquid measuring cups, a digital thermometer, organization shelving, strainers, etc.  I married a wonderful man who bought all kinds of things we needed, but hadn't bought before. Or maybe this is all a big hint :) We shall see :)

We also ended up with some books, clothes, and candy. It was a really great day, followed by church. It was really nice to have Christmas on a Sunday. Our ward has a really fabulous ward choir, and they did a great job. Also, a returned missionary came home from Brazil, so Todd got to hear some Portuguese again :)

Here is our Christmas decor.

One of the fun parts about Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was Skyping with our families. Seriously, I love technology!  Here is Ari showing off his books he got from Uncle Todd and Aunt Megan. We also got to see baby Deklyn, who is healthy, strong, and sooooo cute!

Here is Ari holding up a my first softie--a little monster that I made. 

 We had a great conversation with my brother Ian, who is on his mission in Huntsville, UT right now. He seems really happy, and very busy! Missions sure have changed a lot...as evidenced by our Skype session! Also, we found it hilarious that Ian's digs our better than ours...he and his companion have their own bathrooms as well as a washer and dryer :) I don't think he ever wants to leave Huntsville!

Again, it was a really wonderful day. We are so thankful for our many blessings, including that of wonderful families, and our testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the gift of the gospel in my life and the reminder it gives me to be better. Many churches want you to "come as you are." I'm grateful for a church that reminds me I can be better and do better and serve more...so now it's time to get onto those resolutions!

Doctor Thomason!!!

Haha...so I guess technically Todd isn't a DOCTOR, but he now has a juris doctorate AND an MBA. I made him a cute sign to welcome him home the day of his graduation.

That afternoon, we went with Todd's parents to take some pictures of him and us around the school. Todd has spent a lot of time here the past three years...I'm sure he won't forget it, but we documented it for posterity anyway :)

 We also headed over to the business school. I had never been over there in all the time that Todd has been getting his MBA, so that was fun :)

Friday was graduation night, and it was nice to have Todd's family there, as well as several LDS families who also had students graduating. I lost my voice due to a cold, so I couldn't cheer too loudly, but I was SO PROUD!!! They forgot to announce that Todd had received his JD AND an MBA, plus he had 100 hours Pro Bono honors, but I'll record it here :) He looked so funny (okay, and cute!) in his robe and tam, but it was awesome to see it all get put together. When they called his name, his professor giving him his hood was his professor he did research for, and she gave him a hug, which was really sweet. No playing favorites there :)

We have been fortunate to have such good friends here in Topeka. We were able to say congrats and goodbye to several of the grads that are moving on. Here is Todd with his friend Sean Bartholick.

You know who this girl is.

Todd and the proud parents :)

Todd with his friend Peter Klc. 

There was a reception afterwards where we got to hear Todd's praises sung some more. I'm sure he was embarrassed by all of the attention. It was such a great night, and again, I am so proud of Todd!

Thanksgiving Pics

(do you see my creepy eyes in the picture above. Yep, IPhoto gone wrong...and I couldn't get it to go back to my creepy red eyes. Creepy black eyes it is!)

A Month

It's been nearly a month since I last posted, and like I told Todd yesterday, time is flying! It's hard to believe he graduates in less than two weeks, that Thanksgiving is already over, and that Christmas will be here in 3 weeks. We are hearing rumors swirling that our temple in Kansas City will have its dedication sometime in March, so we are getting really excited about that here!

November was a really busy and fun month. The first weekend, I went with about 16 other girls from our ward and the JRC to Time Out for Women. I just went to the Saturday sessions, but the speakers were fun, and our music was provided by Jericho Road. The overall message I found myself leaving with was that of wanting to serve others, to spend the time and resources I have helping others who have less than myself. I really remembered the love I have for the other countries I've visited, and I want to go back to them and do something for others someday. I think this will have to be a lifelong goal, as we're not in the position to take a lot of time and resources to do this now, but I hope Heavenly Father will bless us with those opportunities somewhere along the way.

Below is a picture of Jericho Road. My pictures didn't come out great, but I had a great time!

The following weekend, I traveled back East to see my family. Deklyn, my new nephew, made an early appearance, so we spent a lot of time at the hospital going in to see him, and supporting Jess and Joey while they were there. Every day, he got stronger, and he's now home, and we are so grateful.

I spent a lot of time being Auntie Megan, which I love. Ari is at an awesome age where he is talking a lot. He is a bright, happy kid and so fun to be around. We learned Spanish, played Mr. Potato Head, visited baby brother, and took lots of pictures!

 One day, we took a trip out to the local reservoir. I love the rolling mountains of Pennyslvania, and it was nice to take a drive like we would when I was little. We packed up the car, and did just a little bit of hiking (the perfect amount, haha). They were beginning to set up their Christmas lights, and it was a fun day.

After a very long and arduous return home--which came after a delayed/cancelled flight, a next day flight that was also delayed, a missed connection, and an 8-hour long stay in Cleveland's airport with a new-found traveling buddy, life started right back up again. I had a few days before Thanksgiving break, which was wonderful!

I slept in, spent time with Todd, ate dinner with some great friends here, and did some online shopping :) I've decided I just don't like the "trample or be trampled" mentality of shoppers in America, and I really don't need anything bad enough to stay up late or get up early and deal with the crazy. Todd and I instead went to a local Brazilian restaurant and got some very traditional Brazilian food, and Todd got to practice LOTS of his portuguese, so that was really neat. We hit the local bakery of one of my teaching teammates, and headed to Best Buy so Todd could get one of his Christmas presents :) Saturday and Sunday were spent relaxing and eating and eating some more...overall, it was a really great break!

This past weekend, we were both pretty worn out. Todd is in "finals mode" which means he has been at school late AND early, trying to finish up presentations and papers, and wrapping up his law school experience. We have been testing our little thirds to death at school, and frankly I am sick and worn out with it all. We had a 3L party last night, and it was good to see all of our law student friends in one place before we all start to move our different directions. The question that always comes up is "What's next?" Our answer is still, "Don't know, but we'll be here in Kansas figuring it out!"

So there's the update. Once I free my camera from its confines in my desk at school, I will hopefully be able to add some Thanksgiving pictures, and then....graduation pictures!

I'm Behind

on my thankfulness, and it will probably get worse cuz I'm going OUTTA TOWN!


Yes, instead of hosting a baby shower for my sister, I will be MEETING the little guy that came early :)

I am so excited, and hoping that he will be well enough to leave the hospital this weekend.

(Please take care of Todd for me...just kidding, he loves when I am gone so he can watch his documentaries without me complaining about how boring they are!)

School Shots

We had fall fest a few weeks, and we teachers went out and participated....which was followed by Halloween on a Monday. What a long week!

Day 6

I'm grateful for my calling in Young Women



crockpot dinners



and Sundays with Todd!

chillin at Lake Shawnee on a beautiful fall Sunday a few weeks ago.

Day 5

I'm grateful for fun girls to hang

 out with at Time Out for Women in Kansas City!

Day 4

I'm grateful to live close to a brand-new temple!

(On a side note...Todd and I attended a JRC meeting at the new stake center right next door, which hadn't even been dedicated yet. They told us they were NOT serving red punch that night!)

Day 3

I'm grateful for Theraflu :)

Day 2

I'm grateful for my husband. DUH!!! (Yes, one of my students says this, and she doesn't mean to be funny when she says it, but it cracks me up inside every time. So I'm channeling her when I type this)

Todd has had to put up with some major mood swings in the last few months as I figure how to deal with the awesome amount of stress I feel at work some days, I mean, in addition to the normal female mood swings.

He works hard, he works two jobs, he goes to school, he's doing clinic, he's studying for the bar...all at once. And he makes time to go see plays, and feed fish, and watch movies on the couch, and do the dishes, and take out the trash, etc. etc.

See?? Pretty much awesome. I totally love him. And I'm grateful for him EVERY DAY.

30 days of thankful

I feel like I am normally really thankful...I have a lot to be grateful for, and I don't want other people and especially Heavenly Father to feel like I'm not grateful. But I saw a friend doing this on facebook, and thought I would try to document the days thanks each day of the month for November.

So, here we go! (where do I even START???)

Nov. 1: I am so grateful for relax time after work. I'm not really someone who handles going from work, to another activity, to chores, errands, errands, busy busy...I NEED that quiet, "do nothing" time after work. And I get it. And it's awesome. Life only gets busier, so I'm so thankful for the time I have now!

Ew

I would like to point out the fact..

....that Todd graduates in ONE AND A HALF MONTHS!


Not that I'm counting down or anything :)

RABC run

A few weeks ago, a bunch of people from the school I work at participated in the Race Against Breast Cancer in Topeka. The best thing about my job is the people I work with, and there are lots of fun new people there this year! Anyway, about 2000 people participated in this race, with about 700 runners. I beat my time from last year--which is so slow I don't want to admit it!--so I was still pretty proud of myself. It was fun to watch our other team members finish the race, and it was a beautiful day!

500th Post!

I wish I had something fun for this 500th post, but alas, nothing too exciting here.

I just heard from Ian in the MTC. His main request was to please write letters so he could get real mail on days of the week other than his P-day :) Oh, and he asked my mom for flipflops :) Cute!

School is kicking my tail. I've had two students this year leave already, and I've gained one. We have a brand new reading curriculum, and the regular ole fun behaviors that I had to deal with, x2. The mother that came in the other day to pick up her new student was showing so much cleavage, I dropped my normal greeting of saying hi and shaking hands because I was terrified that a kid was going to say something awkward, and I was so distracted. People, when you come to school to pick up your kid, COVER UP!! Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up, and I am seriously nervous!

Todd and I are pretty busy this month. He is finishing up his bar application, which takes a ton of time, on top of all of his other school work, clinic, and regular work. Plus, I make him hang out with me every once in a while. We bought dinner theater tickets for Halloween weekend, so we are excited for that! Washburn's homecoming parade is coming up, as well as the ward and JRC Halloween activities. We are having the missionaries over for dinner Friday night, and I am heading to a YW leadership meeting tomorrow night conducted by Sister Dalton...she's a big fish swimming in a small pond!

So looking back at my first few posts EVA, I posted about politics and my sister's wedding :) Nowadays, I try NOT to post about politics, and my sister has a 3 year old and one on the way!  Time sure flies!

500 posts, narrowed down to a few pictures through the last 4 years!

Here's to another 500!