Lisa and Michael

So, I woke up Tuesday to the sound of Shelby shouting, “Fire! The bush is on fire!” (or something to that effect). She seemed serious about it all, so I jumped out of bed wearing just sweats and ran outside in the snow. Sure enough, the damn shrub was burning! It took a minute or so, but I was able to put the fire out. My aim is good.

Shelby and Lisa were having their morning coffee, I guess around 5am or so, when Shelby noticed the Christmas lights were blinking. She asked Lisa about it, but Lisa thought they were just turning off. But they kept blinking, and at some point noticed the flames. Hell, I’m not sure how they could have missed the smell!

(click on pic for full size)

Anyhoo, when I inspected the scene in full daylight, the bush really wasn’t that badly burned, most of the flames were coming from the extension cord, outlet, and LED lights themselves. It would seem the snow we had the night before had shorted the cheap Lowes outlet, causing a fire. It’s a good thing someone noticed the flames, since the bush is right next to the house and who knows what could’ve happened if left to burn unchecked.

It sure seems like it at the Zanussi house.  The outside of the house is all lit up with lights and wreaths and the Christmas tree this year is gorgeous thanks to Shari.  Yes, it seems like Christmas but we have yet to have Thanksgiving.  It is hard to believe the holidays are here and it has been one year since our trip to Colorado.  Time is flying.  It’s also been five months since we got married and we are still very happy!  We have been working hard on the house the past week getting ready for our Thanksgiving guests.  We are excited to be hosting this year.  It is hard work but we both agree that it is great having friends and family to entertain.

Free on November 1st at Albertson’s, and with a baker’s dozen, that means tons of baked pumpkin seeds.

And we are still very happy!  We have been busy watching the news of the economic downturn and the upcoming election.  It is an important few weeks coming up and we will be out there in the middle of it.  We all vote on Saturday, go see Mr. Obama afterward and then off to school on Sunday to learn how to work at the polls.  What a busy weekend but well worth it.  Hopefully we can sneak in a bit of Christmas shopping in there too?  What with everthing already on sale I doubt that I will have to drag Michael out at the crack on dawn the day after Thanksgiving to go shopping this year.  I will take Robin and of course Michael is more than welcome to come along.  I am looking forward to a very busy Thanksgiving at our house and a very quiet Christmas this year.  Of course I tried to talk Michael and Shari out of putting the tree up before Thanksgiving what with us expecting 12 for Thanksgiving this year.  Seems like it might be too much but I was out voted.  Me out voted??  I will of course step back and watch them put it up and decorate it and I will enjoy it more than anyone else!  I love this time of year!

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays around the house. It’s one of the things we look forward to when fall rolls around. It is by far our favorite season. Cool mornings, warm days, the first fireplaces lighting up, not to mention football, Balloon Fiesta, Zozobra, and the smell of roasting chile! Oh man, what’s not to love about it all.

Halloween 1991 – Shari and Shelby

Halloween 2006 – Shelby and Puppy

I went on a run this afternoon (about half of which involved walking) and all I could think about was a carne asada burrito and an ice cold Negra Modelo. Yum.

Seeing the muffin top in the mirror was enough to put an end to that.

What a wonderful day it was! Of course neither of us really stuck to that $20 limit that we set! It was really nice tho. Even more exciting was the day after Valentines Day when I picked up my wedding dress! It is gorgeous and the two girls are in awe of it. Now of course, they are wondering what they are going to wear… Sitting here, I just realized that we have about four more months to go before we board the ship and I am so very excited!! We still need to get Michael ready with attire and I think that needs to be addressed soon. He’s looking great with his recent weight loss and he is taking much better care of himself too. Once we start tanning in a month or so, we will look better than ever I’m sure!! haha! Next week Michael will be 40 and I won’t feel so old anymore. He makes 40 feel like 30 for me. Shari is currently in Las Vegas Nevada and is LOVING it. She has called and texted us all day to make us jealous because we both love Las Vegas as well. She has suggested a girls weekend/bachelorette party before the cruise….not a bad idea I suppose! I have been to Las Vegas twice now without Michael and is just is not the same at all, so going without him again would have to be for a short trip only–or maybe he can come too and babysit???

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, baby. My love for you grows by the hour, the minute, and the second. The 24th of June can’t come fast enough, doll. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you.

I love you so much.

It is my hope that this will be the first of many great years to come!  Being home on vacation the past two weeks has been so wonderful!  I have been able to accomplish so much around the house but more importantly, I found a gorgeous dress and we picked out some other things for our special day as well.  We still have a lot to do, however it seems to all be coming together–thank goodness for wedding planners too!  Really it has come down to us picking out our attire, colors and invitations!  Now, if we can just get through 3 more months of cheerleading, we should be able to make it through about anything else that life can throw at us….   It is my sincere hope that our little Shelby makes it onto the UCA roster and can travel all summer long and teach! What a great experience for her.  I also am very happy that she has chosen to try out for the UNM Cheerleading as well.  We are ready to purchase season tickets to watch!!

…has come and gone. We all had an enjoyable time together this year, one of the best ever, and Lisa’s gift to me was perfect, a new gas grill! Forget turkey or ham, or the other traditional foods, we went with grilled burgers, corn and chicken this year. Yum! I love this time of the year, I wish it hadn’t gone by so fast.

Unfortunately, I’ve been sick the past week with a particularly nasty cold that I can’t seem to shake. Lisa knows how much I love going to the doctor; it’s not that I don’t like it, but it’s impossible to get an appointment within 1 month in this day and age of HMOs and PPOs so you have to spend hours in urgent care. It sucks. But I promised Lisa if I’m not any better by Saturday, off we go.

While weather prevented Lisa’s friend from making it into town this weekend, I was a happy substitute for her, and just to let you know, Lisa did find her dress… and it’s absolutely beautiful.

P.S. The Thanksgiving pictures are up!