Favorites of Last year

Here are just some of my favorite pictures from this last year.  And it's not that the pictures are that great, but the memories that go with them are some of my favorite.  So I guess I should actually say here are some of my favorite moments captured on film.  They are not in any particular order.  Just random....like Life.

Our family loves to play games, it's good bonding time.

Our family worked together on our first garden and amazingly, we all loved it.  So much that we decide to make the next one bigger.

My sister and her husband came to Sidney's 10th birthday party, we all had a blast!

Hayden took this awesome picture in the garden!

John and I in front of one of my favorite temples, Mt Timpanogos.  LOVE the tulips on the grounds.  So glad John's brother got married there.

We reaped these veggies from the garden, they were so yummy!

Love some cousin playing time!!!!

Schwan's mint flavored chocolate cones, a new family addiction.  (I'm drooling just thinking about them!)

The beach in Cabo, we couldn't swim there, too dangerous.  Loved snorkeling at a beach farther away and the beautiful resort there.

My sister came to visit in the Spring, so glad we got to spend time together!

Sidney was her team's volleyball star.  Girl after my own heart!

My two oldest brothers and my mom on Christmas Day.  Feeling blest.

Our game playing gets invaded by yummy mint flavored candy.

The last time I got to see my sister in person.  Miss her.

Face time with the kids.  Gosh, they are such good kids!

Me and the honey.  It's probably just me, but he is getting funnier the older we get, and he was pretty funny when we met. 

What a full year!  And looking forward to having more of ....Life.  Bring it all on!!!

Hooked

I would like to think that I do not have an addictive personality. I am pretty strong willed and can say no to pretty much everything. It's just that some things I don't want to say no to. If offered or readily available, I will not turn down Skittles or Reese's Peanut butter cups. I also enjoy cake, not much of a pie gal, but always cake (especially wedding cake, they're usually made moister to withstand being out in the open). Peanut butter cookies are less common than the chocolate chip cookie, but a favorite of mine. But I still stand by my original statement that I could pass them all by...if I wanted to.

Other things that I am hooked on, but not addicted to...salads and salad dressings. Some of my favorites are the classic Caesar, a good Greek salad, and just about any kind of vinaigrette, especially when added to baby spinach. Yum, yum.

A family favorite is baked pork chops with baked potatoes (better to do in the winter, since the oven can heat up your house more in the summer). Everyone almost literally licks their plates clean after having seconds.

Now, I can't say I'm hooked on scrapbooking, but I thoroughly enjoy it. My pages aren't very fancy, but I could sit for hours reminiscing about the events that the pages reveal. I usually scrapbook in spurts...I work on quite a bit in one week and the next couple of weeks I work on nothing, so nope, not addicted.

I also enjoy a cute pair of new shoes and new top to go with it, but not hooked on shopping either. I think I'm fairly picky about styles and colors...or I'm just stingy with my money so I hate to part with it! (Can't pinpoint which one it is, or perhaps it's a combination of both).

Exercise. Now that's pretty funny. I don't like to, but I do it occasionally because I like how I feel afterward. And I enjoy the looks I get from John when I've been doing it for awhile.

TV. We got a dish almost a year ago, so I've been enjoying some of those shows that I've heard others telling me about. As far as favorites are concerned...I enjoy the rush of emergency rooms, police stories, and sneaky spy sorts. I tape reruns of Third Watch. And I enjoy Criminal Minds, ER and my guilty pleasure of Grey's Anatomy. And since I'm a geek at heart, I heartily get a kick out of Big Bang Theory.

Now, I am ready to admit that I am a gameaholic. I have to have my weekly fix of either Settlers of Catan (tweaked a bit), Ticket to Ride, Carcassone or just any game that requires a little bit of gray matter and competition to try to beat other players. I don't think I'm that competitive, I just thoroughly enjoy playing the game. I used to cheat A LOT so that I had a better chance at winning and found that I didn't enjoying winning when I did, so I don't even cheat and I still occasionally win. I love the banter between couples as they compete between each other and the small talk that happens during turns. Honestly, if I never won another game again I would still want to play every week. As long as I have that, I think I can make it.