Christmas Break

We spent Christmas this year in Virginia with my family. Nothing says "Jolly" quite like leaving for the airport at 4:30 in the morning for a 7:00 flight in San Francisco. But not to worry, i had a flight attendant who felt that she would make the passengers more in tune with the holiday spirit but changing the lyrics to classic christmas songs to fit with traveling with Delta, it was very awkward. The flight was a little early, but both Aaron and i arrived safe and sound in Virginia . Our holiday was fantastic, full of quotes from Christmas Vacation, grandkids running a-muck, and lots of family togetherness, i wouldn't have had it any other way. Here are the usual million pictures from Christmas break. Enjoy.

Hanging out with Carly and Tay by the heat dish. It was freezing in Virginia.The Christmas Eve Nativity Scene. this was Round 2. There were two rounds so that both girls could be Mary. The Nativity is always more fun when the little kids do it. Taylor, Stacey, and Carly by the tree.Christmas Morning! Don't we look fabulous?
Organizing the presents into piles for each person. There were a lot of people involved in Christmas this year.So Christmas Vacation is our favorite holiday movie, as you might know. In the movie Cousin Eddie and family stop by randomly to help celebrate with the Griswolds. They aren't the classiest of folks and at one part in the movie, Eddie is wearing a black "Dicky" under a white sweater. A dicky is a turtleneck without sleeves, just the neck part and some material coming down. Well, my mom found a dicky at a thrift store and gave it to my dad as a gag gift. this was his reaction.Matt and his Wii. We had a lot of fun playing this over christmas.The Stringham KidsThe Stringham girls being awesomeWhat is a holiday without taking the obligatory family picture?
And of course, the most important members of the family, the grandkids. Brooklyn, Taylor, Carly and Lulu (Emma).

HMS3 Baby!

Kate and I are officially awesome!

Feeling Festive

Despite the fact that its already December 6th, i have yet to get into the Christmas spirit. Shocking, i know. I see the decorations, i hear the music, but the weather is throwing me off. Its not cold enough for Christmas time! California is confusing me a little, and my festiveness is suffering. That confusion, however, ended today. I woke up this morning and Aaron had bought me a gift from Target. Christmas Booties!! I'm in love, aren't they adorable? I can now keep my feet warm and feel festive all at the same time. Later today i got a package in the mail from my mom. In it i was delighted to see that my Christmas jammies had arrived. Yes! So i'm sitting here with my Christmas booties and jammies on, and its safe to say that i'm feeling pretty dang festive. Finally!

Thanksgiving Festivities

Well its about time that i put up my thanksgiving post. This years thanksgiving was extremely spontaneous. Aaron had thought about driving to Utah to celebrate, but we weren't sure whether he would get off work. We never made solid plans to go, but instead we waited until the last minute to make the decision. Tuesday night Aaron came home and said that he could roll some hours and get wednesday off. In about 30 minutes we packed up our suitcases, got in the car, and headed off to Utah.
Thursday was wonderful because there was no cooking or dishes involved. This year Aaron's family decided to go out to eat. We drove up to Ogden, picked up Aaron's grandparents and headed off to the restaurant. I made a vow with myself that i would bring my camera and take a copious amount of pictures while i was there. Unfortunately my battery died in my camera, so i didn't take any pictures until the last night that we were there.

The day after thanksgiving the girls headed off to the movies to see Twilight. Yes, that was the second time for me, and i still loved it. The guys headed off to the mall to see how crowded things were on black friday.We also went and saw Australia. It was a really good movie, and Hugh Jackman was so delicious the entire movie. The only downside was that it was like 3 hours long. So i wouldn't recommend it if you don't like long movies, but if you like Hugh Jackman... definitely worth your time.this was my attempt to take pictures the last night that we were there. Aaron's Mom and I
Aaron and his dad
Our thanksgiving posse.It was so nice to be able to spend thanksgiving with Aaron's family and to have a little vacation. It was definitely not long enough (like most vacations), and we were really sad to go. Thanks for a great trip.

A Day for the History Books

Today is my half birthday, i know, you're excited. But that isn't the historical part of today. November 24th marks the day that i have gone 6 months without eating dessert.

I stopped eating dessert over the summer because of a diet that i was on. Unfortunately by the end of the summer i didn't reach my goal weight and i didn't want to start slamming on desserts (which are my biggest vice) and ruin my diet before i even reached the weight that i wanted to be. I've been maintaining my weight , which to be honest, i've never been capable of doing, and have now started to lose weight again. I didn't want to start eating desserts and do the whole roller-coaster thing, so now its kind of become a game. I've already gotten this far, why not keep going? My goal is to go a whole year without eating dessert. I've already got 6 months down, only 6 months to go.

Here are two of the things that are the hardest to go without:

Ten Things I'm Grateful For

(Written by Aaron)

10 things I am grateful for (not in any particular order):

1.) The time that I have been able to spend studying for the CPA exam thus far and consequently having passed the three sections I have taken.

2.) The 48.5 cents a mile I reimbursed when I drive to a client’s location. It gets me just enough money each week so I break even buying lunch out.

3.) My new car. Not because I particularly love my new car but it means that I don’t have to worry about my old car breaking down all the time. May you Burn in Purgatory you giant piece of Passat crap.

4.) Our Apartment’s Parking Stall #16. It’s the best 15 bucks I spend each month. I get a second spot so I don’t have to circle the block finding a spot and worrying about my car being on the street.

5.) Our sound machine. There is nothing better at the end of a long day to lie down in bed and get lulled to sleep by the sound of a light river flowing by.

6.) 25 cent sodas at the office. Up until about three weeks ago I was able to get a can of soda at the Deloitte office for a quarter. However, three weeks ago they raised the price on soda and used our office food subsidization to reduce the price of “healthy foods” in the vending machines instead.

7.) My wife making dinner every night. I love to come home to a home cooked meal and just relax with the Mrs.

8.) The Dallas area sports teams. I will always have a deep profound man love for the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Cowboys. Without Dirk, Romo, and the other guys my life would be incomplete. Que the Back Street Boys song.

9.) The brown jacket I bought from Banana Republic like two weeks ago. I have always wanted a brown three quarter length jacket and I finally got one. I wear it pretty much every day.

10.) Friday Night Date Night at Costco. The title explains it all.

Disclaimer: What about my wife, my family, and the gospel? All three of those would supersede any thing on this list. They are the three most important things in my life without exception. Without those three things my life would be without meaning.

And the Utes Win

Congrats Aaron!

Utah: 48 BYU: 24

I hope that Utah busts the BCS wide open.

The "Holy War"

Kara says: Go CougsAaron says: Go UtesWho will end up at #1?

Here is Aaron getting ready to go watch the UofU vs. BYU game with some guys at work.
We'll just have to wait and see what the results are...

The Twilight Movie

Last night Kate, Travis, Aaron, and I got tickets to see the Twilight movie. Actually Kate had bought the tickets a week in advance to make sure we got them before they sold out (Thanks Kate!). To be honest, i was really nervous about seeing the movie. I didn't think that they were going to be able to make the movie as good as the book. I was worried that the guy playing Edward wasn't going to be able to do him justice. I just wanted the movie to be as good as the book. So needless to say i was very skeptical. We started the evening by having dinner at Kate and Travis' apartment. After dinner we watched some college football to pass the time until we had to leave for the movie.We got there an hour early, but the line was still out of control. The wait wasn't bad at all though, they let us into the theater pretty early . Aaron was such a good sport and came with us to the movie even though he was the only that hadn't read the book. Isn't he so cute?Walking into the theater. I was so nervous. I wanted the movie to be really good, but was worried that it was going to be bad.I don't want to hype anything about the movie.. but with that said, I LOVED IT!! I was a million times better than what i expected. I have some thoughts on the movie, but i'll keep them to myself and just say that you should go see it. Aaron said that he really liked the movie, and like i said before, he hasn't even read the book. I'm thinking that i might want to go see it again, any takers?

The Results are In

Thanks to all of you who suggested books for me to read, i knew you would come through for me! I figured there might be some people out there who are looking for a good list of books to read so i thought i would share the results.

Erika suggested this little number: The Poisonwood Bible. She said it was slow at first but has a great finish.
Chelsea suggested any book written by Jodi Picoult, including: Ninteen Minutes, My Sisters Keeper, The Pact, Change of Heart, and Plain Truth.Kate suggested: Pride and Prejudice, and said that it puts Edward and Bella to shame (bold statement Kate!) We'll have to wait and see... Although i have seen the movie (the six hour version) and i LOVED it, so i'm thinking i'll like the book too. Kate also suggested: These Is My WordsJacque suggested Jane Eyre, which she said is along the same lines as Pride and Prejudice and there is an Edward in the book. I love Edwards. Last but not least, my mom suggested that i should go back and actually read the books that i did book reports on in middle school. To be honest mom, i actually thought about going back and actually reading them. Maybe then i can see how legit my B.S. was when i wrote those reports.

Thanks again for all your suggestions. I'm glad i now have a long list of books to read. For future reference if there are any books that you come across that you like, let me know. Happy Reading.

Calling All Readers

Alright, for some reason i have been FLYING through books lately. Over the summer i acquired a few books that i added to my "To Read" list, at the time i thought the list was long and it would take me awhile to get through them... Well i am now officially out of books to read and want to head out to Barnes and Noble for some retail/book therapy but i need a little guidance. Do any of you have book recommendations? Books that you loved/can't live without owning a copy? Your help would be fantastic. Thanks.

Senor, Enough Already!

I'm not feeling so well today. The only thing that i want to do is crawl into bed and sleep. I, however, have been unable to do so because one of my neighbors has his stereo on full blast and is singing at the top of his lungs and array of spanish songs. I'm one spanish ballad away from throwing my cough drops at him to try to make him stop. If i wasn't so sick i might enjoy the music, but right now i just want peace and quiet. Oh great, now he's blasting Celine Dion... He does have a wide variety of music interests. I'll let you know if he sings as well as Celine does.

Mastermind

I think that its safe to say that my sister Ashby is a crafty mastermind. Once she had Brooklyn she taught herself how to make bows. After a while she started to sell the bows. Now she has set up a website where she sells bows but also tutors anyone who wants to know, on how to make bows. She recently made bows that look like the Disney Princesses and a Minnie mouse bow, all out of ribbon. I think all of the craft talent that my family has is all with Ashby. Check out her bow website called Brooklyn's Bows, its definitely worth your while!


Update: I was just informed by my sister that there is a giveaway on her blog. She's giving away two minnie mouse bows, a tinkerbell bow, and an expandable bow headband. Not to mention the fact that some of her friends have chipped in and are giving stuff away as well. All of it is free, you just have to give your name and email address in the comments section. She's also taking suggestions if people want to learn certain bow techniques. Enjoy! And i hope you win : ).

Halloween Festivities

After Aaron got home from work we met up with our friends Kate and Travis to start the Halloween celebration. We first headed off to Round Table for some pizza. It was mine and Aaron's first time going there, so kate wanted us to document the momentous occasion. Here we are with our delicious slice of "Big Vinnie" pizza. Mmm it looks just as good as it tasted!
Then we headed off to DC Cemetery for a little haunted house action. It was featured on HGTV, and if they featured it you know its worth it. Gotta have love for HGTV.Everything in the Cemetery is robotic and the guy does it all for free. Its amazing how talented this guy is. The crowd there was nuts.Me and Kate standing in lineAbout to enter the DC Cemetery. We ended the night with a Wackee 6 competition where Kate kicked our butts. Overall it was a fantastic Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I hope you have a wonderfully spooky day! Happy Halloween.

Yes!

Aaron just took the Business section of his CPA exam today, so no more studying!! He has 3 sections down with one left to go. We won't find out if he passed this section for a few weeks, but at least for now he is taking a break from studying. I'm so glad to have him back!

Aaron also pointed out that i needed to make a correction to my last blog post. As you can see in the previous post i displayed the picture of "Wiley's" CPA study guide. Aaron said that Wiley's is for sissies and that i should change my picture to the Becker review, which is the review that he's actually using. Here you go sweetie, I'm proudly displaying the Becker picture for you.

Ugh!

Dear CPA Exam,

I'm sorry to say that we can't be friends right now. You are causing me to only see my husband for about 20 minutes a day and when i do see him, he is either worried about studying for you or he is about to fall asleep because he has been studying all night. Not cool. Please give me my husband back as soon as possible. Thanks!

Sincerely,
Kara



When i was searching in google images for "CPA Exam" this picture came up. It made me laugh. Based off the picture of the guy on the front, who i can only assume is an accountant, they are definitely losing the battle against the nerd label. (does anyone else think he looks like a nerdy Adam Sandler?)

Pleasant Conversation

Today i called home to talk to my sister. When the phone picked up i could hear music in the background and an animated voice talking about Dora the Explorer. A few seconds passed by and i heard Carly say hello. I was caught off guard because whenever i call Carly never wants to talk to me on the phone. This girl cracks me up. We spent a good twenty minutes talking on the phone about halloween (she's going to be a black cat), Pumpkins (she sang me the 5 little pumpkins song.... i was impressed), what she does in kindergarten, what she likes to eat at the cafeteria, and the list goes on and on. How many five year olds talk that much on the phone? I loved it. The best part was when i asked to talked to my mom or my sister she sets the phone down and yells "Mema! Mom! Kara is here, does anybody want to talk to her?" My mom and sister both had no idea that i had called and thought that Carly had been talking to herself the whole time. My nieces and nephew are awesome, i love being an aunt.