It's been too long

Sorry to those of you that check my blog and see that I'm terrible about posting here. I need to change that. Hmmmm where to start. Well my parents are coming to visit. They get here tomorrow. It will be fun to have them up. I don't know what exciting things we will do but I'm sure they will be fun. The only thing we have planned is to take a pie making class in Talkeetna. That should be fun. We will probably make bacon as well. On that note, I've taken up making bacon. I have found that it tastes better and that it's cheaper than store bought bacon. It's also pretty easy. I'm currently in the process of curing a ham. I'm not sure where the desire to start curing meats has come from but it's been pretty fun and it makes for interesting conversation. As I reflect back on this year, I had some fun firsts. I went to Kodiak for the first time, with Bryan, and we took the ferry. Bryan's brother Anthony got married. I went to Hawaii for the first time, by myself and for 3 whirlwind days. I went to Oregon for the first time for a whirlwind weekend, again by myself. I took two weeks off of work so Bryan and I could go to my friend Crystal's wedding. I got to take Bryan to St. Louis and to see my college. We stayed in a B&B for the first time. Although it's not quite a first, but I now have evenings with Bryan. Bryan quit UPS back in the middle of October. For the first time in our marriage, I have him home at nights. It's really made a difference and been an adjustment. It's nice to hang out with him and eat dinner together and go to bed at the same time. Of course he's asleep right now as I type this because I decided that going to bed at 7:30pm was a good idea and then proceeded to wake up a little over 2 hours later, and I'm still up (it's 11:30pm as I type this). I did get his christmas presents wrapped though while I've been awake and I've succeeded in losing my phone somewhere in the house. I'll find my phone, I'm not really worried about it. It's just a thing, it's not that important. Since it's been so long since I've written on here, I haven't updated that I got a new job. I'm still with the Regulatory Commission but now I'm a Tariff Analyst. I've done this for 1 1/2 years. I've been with the Commission now for 3 years. There are some days I shake my head about my job but overall I like it and they still like me, which is important. As I think about this time of year, I'm grateful for my family and my friends. I'm grateful for my inlaws, who have been my family since I met them (which was almost 5 years before Bryan and I got married, and it was months before Bryan and I actually met). Honestly, I'm grateful for all the people in my life. I'm grateful for my church and my faith. Of course I can't forget that I'm thankful for my spouse. Geez, I don't know how he puts up with me some days, I'm sure it's not easy. Regardless, he's always there for me and usually with a smile on his face. It's so easy to get caught up in the daily grind and forget the things that are truly important. It's important to love and laugh. It's important to focus on the good things instead of the bad, which is really hard sometimes. Always smile. Get plenty of sleep and drink plenty of water. Eat cake or some other dessert that you really like. Serve other people. Sometimes all anyone needs is a couple homemade cookies. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. I will try to make an effort to write more on my blog. Merry Christmas and lots of hugs.