8th Anniversary

Today was our 8th Anniversary.  We got to go to a very nice lunch together at Fogo de Chao, and they were nice enough to write Happy Anniversary in delicious raspberry sauce on the plate which is the only way we stuffed the dessert down, after all that meat.  For dinner, we had a smoothie and called it good.  This season we think of what we are blessed with, and there is nothing I am more thankful for than Helaman, who is amazing in so many ways.  I lucked out big time with him!  To many more!

Good News Excerpt

November has been a much better month.  We were able to enjoy a delightful evening at RA Sushi (my favorite) on a perfect night for sitting outside.  The lights were up at the Shops at Legacy, providing quite the holiday atmosphere.  Yum!  I also enjoyed a fabulous Supper Club and a visit from Grandma B.

Sometimes (always) I gripe about Customer Service, so I thought I would highlight some companies that have done me right as we start this holiday shopping season.  Recently my watch broke.  Helaman bought it for me for our first Valentine's Day together, and when I brought it to a repair shop they said it would be $70 fix.  Since that was more than it was worth, I thought I'd just get a new one.  I started looking, but also emailed Guess, the manufacturer, explaining my dilemma and asking how much it would be for them to fix it.  They emailed back the next day, and said they would fix it for free if I paid for shipping.  They would also replace the scratched crystal, as that was under warranty.  Yay!

 

It always pays to contact the manufacturer, as I have seen when I got a defective KitchenAid knife block from  Kohl's (at a great discount) and my Breville blender blew up. 

This week Kroger sent me some cookies to try:

 

I must admit that I am a tad biased against store-bought cookies, as I personally love to whip up a batch of cookie dough and smell them baking in the kitchen.  But... lacking the motivation and energy to do so lately, it was nice to have some ready made ones available for munching as an alternative to the endless amount of Halloween candy we still have.  I popped one of them (okay, several) in the microwave, and they came out warm and tasty.  The consistency wasn't as soft as I normally prefer, but the flavor was good, and the cookies had no problem being devoured quickly in my house.  If you'd like some coupons to try em, let me know!

October in a nutshell

I can't believe it has almost been two months since I have updated this blog!  October was crazy.  We finally solidified after melting all summer, and have been out enjoying the fall.  Helaman logged 16+ hour days most days of the month (including weekends), and we are celebrating the end of his VA Hospital rotation (for now). 

First, we went to my parents house in Houston for conference weekend.  The girls enjoyed matching skirts, ice cream cones, many park days with Grandma, and running around the house terrorizing everyone during each session. 

Next, we hit up some sweet garage sales.  I scored these brand new matching dresses and plenty of other clothes that I surely do not need, but are super fun to have.  Seems like all garage sale stuff is like that...

Then it was time for the ward trunk or treat, in which Miss Olivia won second prize in the children's division for Best Costume.

 October can't go by without a trip to the pumpkin patch.  Here's our best shot, with random kid in it and all.

This fine looking gentleman is the rarely glimpsed Helaman, who stood in line with us for an hour to get into Safety Town, though he had been up since the wee hours.  I guess he had to put in his time, as he has consumed more candy this week than all of us combined.

 An out of sequence shot of a park day.

 My lighting was off for these shots, I hope you can appreciate the hours we put into carving this year, as always.

My little sweeties in front of the library.