Happy New Year's Day!

Happy New Year's Day! I hope 2009 is wonderful for everyone and I hope you made it home safely from last night's festivities. The Stenmans stayed home because neither of us is really interested in going to a crowded bar with a bunch of idiots to ring in the new year. Eli made duck (very good) and we watched a movie. Eli fell asleep on the couch at 9:30 p.m. like he did last year.
When it got closer to 11 (midnight on the east coast), we watched Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper on CNN. I LOVE her. And it's funny to watch her and Anderson, cause you know that Anderson loves her and thinks she's funny but is acting all Prada-wearing journalist. (snaps to him for having her on when she makes fun of him in her show).
The best part was that people were heckling them and Kathy yelled at them, saying she was working. She goes "Hey, I don't go to your job and knock the d*cks out of your mouth!" Hysterical. CNN quickly went to commercial. I hope she doesn't get in trouble for that, cause it was damn funny. And, really, what do people expect when they hire her?
Anyway.
So my new year's resolution this year is to find out what is next for myself. I'm kind of going through a phase of trying to discover what's next in my life, how to grow as a person, in relation to Eli and our marriage. It's a very tricky thing.
I remember going through several emotional growth spurts in high school and college and now I feel like I'm going through another one. I am now married, have a good job (considering I'm in journalism), and am so not ready to have kids.
So now what? I have no idea. I've been reading a lot, sort of as food for the soul so to speak. So maybe something will inspire me. I'm just kind of searching.
So that's my goal this year.

Tagged

Jaci tagged me to post the sixth photo in the sixth photo file on my computer. And describe it. So here's the photo:

I have no idea what this is. Eli goes to hockey games and takes a thousand pictures, like he's shooting for Sports Illustrated. So this is one of those said photos. This guy looks like he's about to score...

Maybe Eli can comment and shed some light on the situation.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Big day today: Lots of cooking, cleaning and some shoveling to prepare for the arrival of the in laws. Should be a fun time. I figure I'll have about 15 people in my house. Nuts, but nothing I can't handle.
Eli did all the prep work for me this morning so the cooking should go well. He chopped onions and finely cut a carrot (What does that mean??) and cut up a couple of other skills. My knife skills are nonexistent.
My true skills will be put on display as I clean the house and prepare it for the guests. No one can vacuum like this little lady!!
Last night I bought $50 worth of booze, so that should get us through. Jaci is bringing wine so that will also help.
I promise to take pictures tonight and let you know how it all goes.
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Last night I volunteered to host Christmas Eve with Eli's family. I think it's a for-sure thing. Hard to tell with that family.
I'm kind of excited about it, though. I grew up in a house where we were always hosting and it was a lot of fun. My mom is a great hostess, so I learned from the best :) (No, I'm not sucking up, I'm serious).
The best part is that my father in law is making the food. So I'll just have to throw a few salads together. Buy some beer. No problem.
My only concern is that my house is rather small. But it's about the same size as the house I grew up in was, and we were able to stuff people into that place. This was before my parents bought their party-ready pad.
Wow. I'm really falling into this St. Joe housewife stuff with such ease and grace ;)

Home improvements

Yesterday we got our first real home improvement in: a kitchen island. It really made no sense for us not to have an island. We have the perfect space for it and have little storage and counter space in our kitchen. My guess is that our house's previous owner was trying to save money when building.

Anyway, Eli and I decided that we would use our remaining wedding money to put the island in. On Friday I was so excited about it- Christmas was coming early!

It was installed yesterday and it looks great. Looks like it should have always been there.

Also yesterday afternoon I made Christmas cookies and was loving the extra counter space. I also put my pots and pans on roll outs, so I no longer have to dig for what I need.

Here are some before and after photos:

Layoffs

What a week. We had major layoffs at work this week. I kept my job, thankfully. The burrito fortune hasn't kicked in yet so we must remain a two-income household, thank you.
But 10 percent of staff was let go, including a good friend. So it's very sad. Now they're reorganizing, so I'm hoping that will improve things a little. And hopefully some of the stress will go away.
I do have to say though that I of course managed to open my mouth and speak my peace and piss off a bunch of editors. People take things out of context or assume one thing when I meant another. Either way I think I have smoothed things out. Oh well. Everyone has been on edge.
I had today off cause I have to work tomorrow (Saturday). Got some Christmas shopping done and managed to buy myself some new tunes- Cat Power and Eric Hutchinson.
And yes, Cory, this lady still buys CDs. I'm like those people who are in love with vinyl, except I love having a CD instead of downloading songs off the Internet. Somehow it seems more personal to buy the CD.
Oh and in response to a post my sister had on her blog: Please know that when I refer to myself as a St. Joe housewife, my tongue is placed firmly in my cheek.

New format

You'll notice that we now have a new look to more accurately reflect the content of this blog. It will be more of a general, I'm a newly wed kind of thing. Random stories and thoughts. Those sorts of things.
Anyway.
We made some home improvements this weekend. Really the first we've done since buying the house last year. And by "we" I mean Eli and his stepdad.
A new ceiling fan in our bedroom, that Eli bought me two birthdays ago and finally just put up. And an electrical line was put in for our new kitchen island. We decided to use the last of our wedding money to put one in. Our kitchen is huge and we need the storage space. I'll put up before and after pictures after it's all installed. But today Eli and his stepdad put in a line so we can have power on the island.
I was in awe that it was actually getting done. But we are making small improvements where we can...