why hello there.

well hello everyone! long time no talk, THAT’S for sure! my blogging life [what little i had] got away from me, and it shows by not having a single post since october. i’ll spank myself for that one. ::ouch::

lots has happened on the home front since our last encounter together. there was thanksgiving, a 3 year wedding anniversary, christmas [which included a new camera, more on that in a bit!], me going back to school, vegas talking, walking, and basically running now. and i’m sure so many other things that i am forgetting, as i should have been blogging to remember them all!

to not bore you with the longest catch up blog post ever, i decided to make this a multi part series. so here you go - part uno.

christmas.

this was this FIRST year that cj and i set a limit on christmas gifts for one another. it was $150 this year, and let me tell you that was significantly dwindled down from the past few Christmases. We did this not to spend the excess on vegas, we just did not want to be one of those families that finds themselves in a huge amount of debt come December 26th.

don’t start on me about how that’s not what christmas is about, i know, but again we are not religious and you would be beating a dead horse if anyone tried to preach to me on the importance of this holiday. moving on, i was a good girl and stuck to my budget, almost to the penny. funny thing is, cj seemed to be having a hard time with it. he kept making comments about how it was “hard to find gifts that i would like”, and still have a bunch to physically open on christmas morning. opening gifts around our house is a two hour event; each person opens one gift at a time while the others watch. i understand NOW why cjs family did this, it makes for a longer and more enjoyable experience in my opinion.

let’s fast forward to the good stuff. about five or six presents in and still have a few to go when i get to this box that has that is adorned with about every scrap piece of ribbon CJ could find. needless to say it wasn’t the “prettiest” present under our tree. we like to save our “big” presents to one another for the very end. i start to open it and notice cj get pretty excited. guess what i found?

THIS! [well, almost this] Canon Rebel XSi – someone went over the budget this year!!

He said he got it for me because he knew i would actually use it and im convinced he was just tired of hearing me whine about how i wanted one. i was realllllly shocked that he got it though because i truly was not expecting it. THOSE are the best presents! and this was most definitely the best christmas present i have ever gotten.

im definitely still learning all of the features, even now - but i can say with confidence, that my portfolio of vegas pictures just doubled or possibly tripled.

i’m glad to be back blogging! i missed you all!

*the first two pictures are from my old point and shoot. you will not be missed!