A Wrap on 2010

Merry Christmas from the Standridge's! Ok, that's a little late but I was lazy on Christmas and wasn't on the computer much. I cooked our dinner at lunch and we ate and then passed out for a few hours for a nap. It was awesome!! I convinced hubs to see Black Swan with me and after that we walked around the Christmas Village's here and enjoyed the lights. Our families in the south were blessed with a White Christmas. The first one since the 1800's. We were very excited for them but I was a little sad that we were here in Utah and had no snow whatsoever. We were pleasantly surprised the next day when we walked outside and were covered in snow.

I can't believe tomorrow is New Years Eve!! 2010 has really flown by. 2010 for me did not start out that well. I endured yet another heartbreak but it ended up being the best thing for me because it made me soul search and reach out to the now hubs. I am so excited to see what 2011 will hold for us. We're already planning a couple of trips and a possible move in the spring.

I hope all of you have a safe and Happy New Years and that 2011 brings you health, happiness and most importantly, love. I look forward to all the new blogs and sharings of great adventures!

Christmas in Dixie

I've been listening to all the classic Christmas tunes for a few days now and Alabama's Christmas in Dixie came on and I just started to cry. For many reasons,

1) It did make me a little homesick. I haven't spent a Christmas with my parents in 7 years

2) I miss my dad like CRAZY this time of year. He has been gone for almost 13 years, but every Christmas I think about him constantly. It was his favorite time of year. If it stood still long enough, it had lights wrapped around it. And don't get me started on the baking!! He purchased a BHG Christmas Cookies cookbook in 1985 and every year we baked out of it. It was just our tradition. People still talk about his goodies and it makes me feel so good.

3) I took a moment to just stop. I know this is going to sound sooo cheesy but it's all true. I have never felt more blessed than I do this Christmas. Even though we're far away from our families, I am finally with the person I love most. My true soulmate. I would've never thought that I met him at 15 years old, but I did. And now we get to spend this Christmas as husband and wife and I couldn't be happier. I have a beautiful, healthy son who is growing into quite the little man. We have a roof over our heads, food on the table, presents under the tree, and jobs to get up and go to everyday. We truly are blessed.

This Christmas, I hope everyone takes a moment to just reflect on all you have. Maybe you were like us and couldn't afford all the fancy gifts you wish you could give/receive, but there is so much more to be grateful for. I spent a grand total of $50 on my husband and am incredibly proud of my resourcefulness and can't wait to see his face on Christmas morning when he opens the gifts I put more thought than money in to.

I made everything that we gave to my new in-laws. It's all cross stitches that we framed and wrapped and mailed. Pray they make it in once piece!! Lol. It was incredibly time consuming, but I'm so proud of how they all turned out. I hope they enjoy getting them as much as I enjoyed making them.

I probably won't get another chance to blog before Christmas so Merry Christmas to everyone!!! I hope your holiday is filled with love, laughter, and great food!

We're Married!!!

Well, we did it!! We tied the knot! Nothing spectacular, but we enjoyed it. And my coworkers surprised us with a cake, wine and engraved glasses. I got my Christmas wedding and my best friend even got to attend via Skype! Gotta love technology!

Lots of News

Ok, so I've been a horrible blogger lately but I have a really good excuse. I've had a TON going on. It started with our awesome company Christmas party. The next day boyfriend and I went down to Salt Lake and did a little shopping and came home with something COMPLETELY unexpected. Cute boyfriend is now cute fiance!! He tortured me by holding on to the beautiful ring all the way home from Salt Lake and even stopped for dinner! Then when we got home and it was just the two of us he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes!!

The next week I ended up in the ER with the worst stomach virus. That was on a Tuesday evening. I made it back to work on Friday for a few hours to take care of a Chrysler meeting and then I was back at home on my couch bed with my stitching. I finally started to feel really well Saturday so Sunday we went back out and about and did some more shopping. We got a grill and fiance made us steaks for dinner.

I've been back and work and busy busy busy. Oh, and the biggest news yet. WE'RE GETTING MARRIED FRIDAY!!!!! We decided to just do it. So we're getting married at my beautiful dealership on Friday afternoon on the showroom floor in front of the huge Christmas tree. Just a very simple ceremony, but I couldn't be more excited! I'll post pictures after!

Hope everyone has a great week and weekend and is enjoying the holiday season!

Christmas Kick Off

Last night we had our annual company Christmas party. I went all out this year. New dress, got my hair did, and booked us a hotel room so we could both enjoy the benefits of free booze. My adorable boss gave me a hint that there was going to be a big announcement made at the party so as to make sure I was there to hear it. I was, and luckily I had already had a few drinks so I took the news with a happy face. I now have ANOTHER new car franchise to take care of. We are adding Mitsubishi to our Suzuki store. Thanks to the alcohol, here is me and my adorable boss after the big news!

We continued to party on and I even got boyfriend to dance with me. We did have some party crashers in the form of a bride and groom, but in true Greek fashion, our owners welcomed them with open arms and even danced with the bride!

We also had some fun raffles and giveaways and a crazy Christmas sock contest! One of our VW sales managers and his wife made their creative socks and won the contest

All in all, we had a great evening!! I work for a wonderful company that really takes care of their employees. I hope everyone else had a fantastic weekend and I look forward to hearing about everyone's Christmas activities!!

A Little Shutterfly

So, I read a blog the other day telling me that bloggers can get 50 free Christmas cards from Shutterfly this year, so I decided to check it out. Boyfriend and I are having some outdoor pictures done soon and I thought it would be really nice for all our southern family to receive a card with pictures this year. I have to say, I am super impressed with Shutterfly. They have a ton of cars to choose from and I already see it's going to be difficult. I've spotlighted a few and when I get the pictures back, then I'll choose based on how it comes together. Definitely think I'm going to do a black and white photo though. Those are super classy and elegant looking in my opinion.

But its not just the cards! Shutterfly offers a huge variety of other products as well. I think I'm going to compile my favorite pictures of my mom and son and make her a calender of him! I might include a pic or two of her other grandchildren as well. LOL

You can also just print photo's at Target, CVS, or Walgreens. That is super exciting to me because I never print pictures anymore because it's a pain in the butt to put them on the thumb drive and take it down to Walgreens and then have to go back to Walgreens to pick them up. Hello!! I'm a busy woman here! Now I can just handle everything from the touch of a keyboard. LOVE IT!!

If you want to investigate and take advantage of this offer like I did, just click this link and be on your way!! Happy creating everyone!

Some Self Promotion

Ok fellow bloggers, some of you know this, but most of you don't, I am a business owner. For the last 5 years I have operated a little online website called A Lil Bit of Everything. I make and sell mostly military family merchandise and apparel but I can do anything custom. Please check out my site and share with all of your friends!! Also, look me up on Facebook as from time to time I will be giving out coupon codes for purchases and even some giveaways if I can get enough "Likes".

http://www.cafepress.com/albe