Goodbye Ruby Lee!

I had to part ways with my Liberty recently. (a.k.a. Ruby Lee because the license plate was RLE.) I leased my 2005 Liberty for three years and loved it! It was a super great car for me. I was pretty happy with how the whole leasing process went. Very easy! Not sure if I would ever do it again....owning something is far better. But at the time that's what worked for me. I'll be back to the JEEP dealer someday.
For the time being, Corey and I will be sharing the Tahoe until he gets his Jeep fixed and we can both have our own vehicle again. I thought I would be sad about it, but I'm kinda relieved....I won't have a car payment and I can save up some money.
Here's hoping to an easy transition. Cheers!

Quote of the Day

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,

so love the people who treat you right,

forget about the ones who don't,

and believe that everything happens for a reason.

If you get a chance, take it.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."

Another Birthday....

Happy 2nd Birthday, SUMMIT!

Quote of the Day

"We all get at least one good wish a year over the candles on our birthday. Some of us throw in more...on eyelashes, fountains, lucky stars. And every now and then one of those wishes comes true. So what then? Is it as good as we hoped? Do we bask in the warm glow of our happiness or do we just notice we've got a lot of other wishes waiting to be wished. We don't wish for the easy stuff...we wish for the big things, things that are ambitious, out of reach. We wish because we need help and we're scared and we know we may be asking too much. We still wish though because sometimes they come true."

-Grey's Anatomy

Corey's 30th!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Corey, Happy Birthday to you!

Homemade cake by Aimee!


A visit from Parker before the party.

A 'family' calendar from my Grandma.

A 'five-pack' from Mike and Aimee. LOL.

30, Over the Hill?!?!!?!

Birthday Boy with his friends.

Mom, Corey, Peggy and Matt

Bob, Sue, Birthday Boy, Lorie, Grandpa, and Rick

Dad, Doris Mae, Corey and Glen

Corey, Natalie, Mike and Gemma

The Brower Brothers.


Jackie, Todd and Corey

Corey and his Mom

Corey and his Mom and Dad

Corey, Miles and Sue

Corey and his cousin Bryen.
(Bryen flew in from CA and Surprised Corey!)

Jane, Corey and Uncle Dave

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY, Corey!

Looking Back...

I went back into my archives to see if I followed through on my resolutions of 2008.
Here's what I've found...

*Continue to have a wonderful, open-communication marriage with my husband, Corey.
I love this one...I feel so lucky to have such a great marriage. I especially enjoy our 'date nights' and love that we still find ourselves laughing at each other everyday.

*Call my family more and invite them over for a visit.
I think I've done better with this...

*Remind myself how friends are so important in life, even if we don't see them as often.
I've noticed we all stay very busy but I'm thankful to still have a great group of friends.

*Continue to email my cousin Lauralee and get to know her more, I'm very lucky to have her back in my life.
I didn't do so well with this one.

*Give Summit extra attention when I'm home, even when I'm really tired from a long day of work.
I think I've done good with this one. For Christmas this year she got a dog tag from the Norby's that said..."Not Spoiled, BLESSED!" That says it all, she gets plenty of attention. :)

*Continue to tell Corey I love him everyday.
I ALWAYS do.

*Take time to hang out with my sisters and go back to having a 'sister day' once a month.
It hard to do our sister time with little kiddos in the picture...but I have enjoyed a few visits and funny conversation.

*Have a better relationship with my sister-in-law, Jackie.
I can only hope that it's working.

*Give more to those I love and not always expect things in return.
I do what I can.

*Read more books.
I read a lot this summer. A few of my favorites are "Friday Night Knitting Club", "WICKED", and the "Twilight" series.

*Crochet a blanket.
Working on it...
But I have done a few more scarves.


*Let my students know how much I love teaching them.
I'm always praising my students...especially their good manners.

*Be more patient with my student's parents.
Fortunately I have a GREAT group of parents this year. It's been fairly easy.

*Tell my co-workers that they are talented and do an awesome job.
I've done better with this one. I give compliments often.

*SLOW DOWN and enjoy life.
I took many long walks and had some quiet reflection.

*Save more money.
I WISH! Just when I think I'm all caught up...I fall behind again.

*Be more confident in wearing shorts this summer. (I should be proud of my fair skin, it makes me look young.)
I got into Capri pants this year. That's a big step! LOL

*Have more 'Melanie time.'
I had lots of time for myself this year...I hope it continues.

*Not worry so much. (I always manage to get through anything.)
I only got one cold sore this year.

*Think about starting a family.
I think about it all the time. "Good things come to those who wait" It'll happen when the time is right.

*Give blood.
I followed through with this one and laugh when I think about it. For 4-5 weeks my arm was black and blue and a little sore. I'd like to try it again and hope to have a better experience.

*Be more productive with my future teaching career.
I keep doing my best and it's paying off!

*Take a compliment.
I'm doing better at saying Thank You and leaving it at that. Sometimes I explain too much.


As I look back I feel I've done pretty well. I can only hope for the same, if not better, in 2009!