Well, it's that time of year again. Ben and I have decided to ring in the New Year by not doing anything because Im not feeling great. It's been a lot of years since I haven't done anything for the New Year, but it might be nice. Or I might go to sleep before midnight. we'll see.

This year was better than last year. It was still stressful, but there were a lot of fun things too. Let's take a random sampling of pictures from the year. (Flurry ended up being featured prominently, but it's because she doesn't mind getting her picture taken. And really, she's just super cute.)

January: I received a Lego Ice Cube maker for Christmas and color some of the ice cubes. I also colored my hands.

February: snow!

March: the laundry never stops. Luckily Flurry was making it a little more interesting this day.

April: Flurry got her cast off! It took another month until she seemed fully healed though.

May: Flurry sleeps! I love it when she covers her eyes with her paw. It's so cute.

June: picnic! Look at all of that delicious food.

July: cereal-luck. Come share your favorite cereal.

August: we visited NYC with Dusty and Laura

September: Ben and I went on a trip to St. Lucia. Here's Ben on our way to a zip-line in a rain forest.

October: we bought a pound of dice

November: we went to Holland for Thanksgiving

December: Flurry had a huge photo shoot as we tried to get a good one for the Christmas card.

Friday: we're home

We're home! We made it a lot farther last night than we were planning, so that was nice today. However, we're still exhausted from the trip. Hopefully some warcraft will help.

Various days: pictures

Well, I had meant to put this picture on before but forgot.

AAHH!! The Christmas monster is going to get Nathan and Liz.




It was Ben's Dad's birthday yesterday. We went out for a delicious dinner. I had perch almondine and it was amazing. Then ice cream pie with a special chocolate sauce. yum. well, I only have a good picture of Ben.



finally, I made my own donuts. They turned out rather well, although they made me rather thirsty.

Ben says hi

yesterday: skiing

first a picture that I forgot two days ago...all of us in our Christmas shirts. Ben's shrunk though, so I'll be inheriting it.




Then yesterday I went skiing. We chose to just stay on the easiest hill since most of us were learning, so Ben decided to try snowboarding.

Here's Travis teaching Jacob.



Ben looking like he knows what he's doing.




Ben in his normal position in the beginning (by the end he got much better)



Brothers




Us

Today: funny things

last night there was an animal alphabet spinning wheel and for N the animal was newt. Someone asked the question...is newt really the best N animal? So seven of us think. And think. Ben and Kate came up with some off the wall animal that I don't know what it is and Judd got nightingale. Ben finally looked it up on his phone and there are only about six animals that start with N and newt really is the most common. too bad it doesn't make a sound.

Then at breakfast Nathan ordered the vegetarian skillet with a side of sausage. While I completely understand why he did it, it did seem rather funny to order both of those things.

Christmas: Merry merry Christmas

Today was a busy but good day. We ended up spending time and opening presents with both sides of the family...something that has never happened before.

The day started out by packing up the car and hearing some runners with jingle bells go by. It was a nice way to start.

then we opened presents with Ben's family. I don't have any great pictures, but here is one cute on from afterwards.




Then this evening was spent with my side of the family. I got to give Nathan and Liz their quilt!



Here are the pictures I took at home last week. the first one is the front and the second one is the back.







I also got a donut maker today! I'm super excited to try it out. And Ben got me a 2-4 player card game that we played tonight. at first while he was explaining the rules I was a little bit leery, but it quickly started to make sense and was a lot of fun.

And throughout the times I remember the reason that we celebrate Christmas. This year I've thought a little bit more about the wisemen. They are often mentioned in the Christmas story, but never seem to get a lot of attention. Maybe because they didn't show up for three more years. But they were men of learning (I.e., smart) and they still chose to come and worship Jesus. So while I can identify with the shepards in some aspects, I can also identify with the wisemen and are glad for both sides of the spectrum.

Christmas Eve: Merry Christmas Eve!

Today was just a nice day around the house. I read, took a nap, and talked with people. After a delicious dinner we played Catan and I won! It's been a long time. my favorite quote was when Nathan offered to trade Dad "two or three wheat for a brick.".

i also found out that my high school was completely renovated and looks nothing like what I picture in my mind. It's a little sad, but at the same time I know that buildings need to be updated.

day: Nathan!!!

Nathan and Liz arrived today!! Woo-hoo!! Since we've moved we only get to see them about once a year, so I definitely treasure the time.

Thursday: packing

This morning I had a really interesting idea for a blog post. I've since then forgotten it. Tonight we packed. We have a crazy amount of stuff for such a short trip.

Sunday: Flurry and the bag

This morning Ben and I were in the bathroom getting ready, and we noticed that Flurry wasn't there. This was a very strange occurrence as Flurry loves the bathroom...apparently it has the best tasting water.

Anyway, a few moments later she drags herself in with a large plastic bag attached to her middle and falls pitifully to the ground. She had managed to get halfway through a handle and got stuck. Ben helped her out and she happily went to get her water.

Saturday: a laugh

Scene: Amanda is going around the house, trying to find the right sized box for a present.

Amanda (to herself): hmm, I thought these boxes would be larger. Oh, this box by Ben's drum stuff might work. It's a little big. I'll keep looking but might come get it.

Amanda (to Ben): I'm looking for a box for this present. I think the box on your desk is too small. The one by the drums might work.

Ben: well, I'm not really ready to get rid of that box yet.

Amanda: ok, I'll see if I can find something else.

Ben and Amanda have lunch. They finish lunch.

Ben: Did you find a box?

Amanda: Yes.

Ben: oh, that's good. Did you notice that I still had stuff in that box? (or something like that...I don't remember the exact words)

Amanda: light goes off. That's my Christmas present! You hid it with all the other boxes that came with the drums! That was super sneaky. I thought something might be in it when I nudged it with my toe but didn't think twice about it.

Friday: dinner

We went out for dinner tonight with Clay, Jess, and Hugh. And then we came back and played Hand and Foot. Well, four of us did. Hugh played chase the ball. It was a nice evening. And the girls won, which makes it even better. :)

Thusday: a look inside Amanda's head

5:45am: Brr, it's a bit cool under the blankets. Flurry must have dragged the top one down a bit. I'll just snuggle with Ben.

6:30am: Brr, I'm still cold. I'll just snuggle closer to Ben.

7:23am: Dumb alarm. Fine, I'll get up. Wow, it seems really cold!!

7:24am: Hmm, the thermostat says 58 degrees. That's too cold. Why isn't the heat coming on?

8:30am: Phew, Ben found someone to fix the furnace and it wasn't something small that we should have known how to fix.

11:00am: Yay, we have heat! I'm glad Ben was able to work from home this morning and deal with that.

11:30am: is it lunch time yet? Maybe I'll go get a snack from the break room since Pam brought all those treats in. Oh, I should count how many of shoeboxes of cookies and candy she made for us. ...nineteen. Wow. Well, this peanut butter rice krispie thing just melts in your mouth!

12:00pm: is it lunch time yet? I'm smelling good food from the break room.

12:05pm: Surprise! It's Glenda's retirement potluck. Oh, she found out last night. Bummer.

12:10pm: crock-pot liners! I just learned about those yesterday from Denise and here they are in action! cool!

12:20pm: that was absolutely delicious.

12:22pm: how much longer until I can go home? All the fun stuff is done for the day.

2:45pm: how come excel doesn't have some of the automatic functions that I want? I guess I'll have to write it myself. :(

2:55pm: I guess that wasn't so bad. I shouldn't be complaining.

6:30pm: Castle Season 1! I'm tired.

8:00pm: Aaaww. Flurry's sleeping on my lap. Too bad my legs are falling asleep and I need to type things. Wake up!

9:00pm: I hate it when I make something that we use to eat and then as the liquid cools fat globules congeal. Gross.

9:30pm: I like Boggle. I should play it more.

10:30pm: Time for bed!

Wednesday: phone

At 7:29 this morning my phone rang. As normal, I didn't even realize that I had a phone call.

I don't carry my phone with me very often. Nope, that's incorrect. I don't often carry my phone with me and get reception. Let's look at a normal day...

midnight - 7:35: I'm in bed and my phone isn't. Or I'm awake and haven't put it in my pocket yet.

7:35-8:00: I'm getting ready for work. I'd probably get most calls during this time.

8:00-8:15: I'm driving to work. I'm not supposed to pick up the phone, but you will probably get a response when I get to work if you leave a voicemail

8:15-5:15: I'm at work were I don't get reception. But I do have my phone! I mainly use it as a clock.

5:15-5:45: I'm on my way home. Driving again.

5:45-5:50: Cuddle time with Flurry. I'll probably pick up.

5:50-midnight: I change out of my work clothes into pajama pants that don't have pockets. If my phone gets out of my work pants I put it on the dresser. Either way, I pretty much ignore it for the rest of the night.

(The exceptions are Tuesday nights because of Bible Study and Sunday nights because I'm waiting for Dad's call.)

Moral of the story: email me. Or call Ben.

Tuesday: white elephant

In continuing with the week of food tradition, we had a potluck at small group tonight. (Yesterday were bagels, today was yesterday's bagels for breakfast, a Christmas lunch for lunch, and then a potluck for dinner).

Then we had our white elephant party. It's always a lot of fun. This year we had more stealing than last year, but not so much that it went forever. It was great. And there was a lot of laughter as people discovered things in the box and tried it out. (Like putting a candle decoration in one's hair)

Monday: data types

Sorry, I'm a bit rambly today. And it's probably about something that most people don't care about.

Data types got me again.

I wish that when I say "does 2981000 = 2981000?" the answer would always be yes. But no, the answer is sometimes no. Because apparently one of them is really a string and one of them is a number.

As much as I complain about this, it's been one of my largest problems with the program I've written and so I'm always on the watch for it. Sadly though, it also tends to be a latent error as the question is often "does 298A231 = 298A231?", to which the answer is always yes.

Don't you wish that the computer was just smart enough to know what you want?

P.S. I don't want any comments about any crazy camel programs that could do this. :p

Sunday: this and that

Our church had it's Christmas play today. I thought it was really good. It had an interesting introduction by Luke, the author of the story. And it had some funny parts (like the innkeeper and his wife with their dialog back and forth).

All of our snow is gone because it was rainy today. I'm rather jealous of everyone that getting the snow storm right now.

I still haven't swiffered the floors. They really need it but I keep not doing it.

However, I still have ten fingers. I just counted. If we only had eight fingers (but still had ten toes), do you think our number system would be base ten or base eight? My guess is base eight.

I'm going to go make some spice tea.

Saturday: cookies

Today I made cookies for an event at church and put two M&Ms on each one. I wondered what the red-red, green-red, and green-green distribution was, so I counted.

Red-red: 19 (23%)
Green-red: 50 (60%)

Green-green: 15 (17%)

This tells me I need a larger sample size. Or possibly that there is a higher percentage of red M&Ms. But probably that I need to make more cookies.

Friday2: drinking

I was taking my shower while Ben was getting ready for bed last night, and I said I was hurrying to finish because I was so thirsty. So Ben got a cup of water and handed it to me. Wasn't that nice of him? On top of that, I got to do something that I've never done before: drinking in the shower.

Friday: YouTube

Ben sent me this link the other day. Since then I've watched a lot of their stuff. I like the collages of the singer(s) and instruments.

This series of videos is also pretty fun. It's between the instrumentalist/producer of the video above and another guy, but they played pop songs with random instruments, such as a recorder. Here's the first one to get you started.

Thursday: a thing that annoys me

Today I had a stomach ache on and off for most of the day. I'm blaming the tea I had with breakfast.

While stomach aches do annoy me, there was something that annoyed me more: not feeling sick enough to go home. Sure, it was bad...once in a while. And it's a stomach ache, so it wasn't contagious nor did I expect it to stay around for very long.

I'm also annoyed in the mornings when I don't feel great but don't feel bad enough to stay home. It's the same thing...I expect my symptoms will go away soon and I can still function even while not feeling well. I don't really have a good reason to be home, except that I don't want to be at work.

Wednesday: a story from Monday

Well, this story happened on Monday but I can tell it today because it was about exercising and we exercised today. I don't like trying to spell exercising. It always comes out wrong (and I've tried writing it three times and they've all come out differently).

Anyway....

I was biking along, probably about 15 minutes through my workout when I take a break from reading my book and put my hands on the automatic heart beat reader.

I wait a moment.

I'm at 88 bpm

87

86

85. Hmm, this is odd. It seems to low.

Wait, it's changing again!

188

187

186. Hmm. That's rather high.

Wait, it's changing again!

122. Well, that seems more normal but by this time I don't trust it. To have a different of 100 bpm with no significant change in activity level must mean it isn't getting a good reading.

So I go back to reading.

(Did you like that juxtaposition? I just realized it was a rather boring story and needed to do something so it would have a cool ending.)

Tuesday: Ben

This is how you know Ben is a little crazy (but just a little):

Monday: Christmas cards

Every year I think about sending out Christmas cards around Christmas time. Well, maybe not cards but those cool photo cards. I love getting them from people, so why shouldn't we send some out? Well, normally the answer is because I'm too lazy. It would mean that I would need to pick out the pictures, find addresses for people, and actually get them in the mail. The holidays are stressful enough, and so often another year passes and I haven't sent any out.

But this year I'm hoping will be different. The main reason is that Shutterfly is giving away 50 free photo cards, and it seems like too good of a deal to pass up. Of course, then I'll need to figure out out 49 closest friends and family. (Let's have a vote! Will we easily come up with 49 close friends and family or will the last few be only semi-close friends and family?? Forty-nine is a lot of family units.)

I feel like I'm back at school; I'm at 172 of 200 required words. By the end of this we will easily hit the 200 mark. Tell you about my favorite Christmas cards? Check (second sentence) (but really my favorite Christmas cards are the ones I receive.) (Hint, hint.) Include three links to my favorite Shutterfly products? Almost check...

1. I like the collage Christmas photos that have at least a little bit of room for a note on them:

2) The unexpected photo card that comes in the mail:

and 3) coasters! Who doesn't need more coasters?

If you're interested, fill out the form here by December 10th.

Thank you for helping me get free stuff. :)

Sunday: coats

As you may or may not know, I'm not a huge fan of coats. I understand that they are very important for keeping me warm and so I wear them, but I don't want to. I haven't pin-pointed the exact reason. Sometimes I think it is because I feel so bulky in mine, but that would be a very easy fix...there are lots of non-bulky coats. Maybe I don't like the texture. Maybe I don't like the hassle that comes with having to take it on and off and remember it. Or maybe I just don't like coats.

Anyway, there is a reason to all of this. I was at Kohl's today, spending the last of my birthday money, and saw a sign that said "sweater-coats". I briefly looked, but continued on my way. After finding another grey sweatshirt to replace my beloved one that is dying, I thought I'd look again...it obviously won't work if I need to be in the cold for any amount of time, but for dashing between buildings a sweater-coat would be perfect! And Ben won't be able to tease me about it not really being a coat because the sign said that it was. The only problem is that it doesn't have pockets, but I'll work around that problem. (It does have a hood.)

Saturday: alone

Today marks the day that something new happened. It's something that I've always wanted to happen, but never has quite worked out.

I saw a movie in a theatre alone.

Well, Ben was with me, but there were no random strangers also in the theatre. I've often been really close before, with maybe just one other group, but this is the first time no one else was there. To commemorate, I stood up and stretched during the middle of the movie. I almost felt like I was breaking a rule. :)

Friday: this and that

Tonight we were going to go watch Harry Potter. We knew that downtown was going to be busy so we smartly chose a restaurant that wasn't downtown. So far so good. Then we went to the theatre, which is downtown. Opps. There was no parking for about six blocks. We were rather surprised that the lighting of the lights could bring out so many people. Although if I recall correctly there are also carolers and bands and fireworks, so there are a lot of people involved in the event. Anyway, we changed our minds about the movie and just came home.

I finished all my new quilt blocks and even got one row all put together. It's going much more quickly than expected.

end of Thanksgiving: kids

Well, this is one of the first times I've come home and not been glad that we don't have kids. It's not that I don't love being around the nieces and nephews, but it's always been nice to be alone again.

It seems like a good place to be.

Thursday: drums

Ben got his drum set today! He's been super excited about getting it for these last two weeks. So he put it together while waiting for runs to finish at work. So far it seems really nice...and when he plays it isn't very loud in the rest of the house, so that's been good too.

Flurry has also been very excited that the drums are here because it is a lot of boxes to explore. Last night we got just the bass pedal (two boxes and two bags) and she explored all of them several times. Today the number of boxes increased a ton, but she isn't allowed to be in the room with them for very long as there are too many other things that she could get into.

Tuesday: laughter

Here are some long awaited things from the vacation that I wasn't able to post...

Here's Flurry trying to stop us from going.

And here is a classic home video. If you watch it without the sound it'll be pretty dumb.

Tuesday: surprise!!

Surprise! We made it home safely.

Oh, that's not really a surprise? Let's try again...

Surprise! We're in the middle of buying a car.

Yeah, that works better.

It's a 2003 Corolla with a gazillion miles, but is still working fine and we got a nice deal on it. Getting it from Michigan to NY is slightly complicated, but Ben's wonderful brother is trading cars with us until he drives out here next time.

Monday: the meeting spot

for lunch today I went to The Good Earth with Dad. Apparently it was the place to be...I saw my cousin (who didn't recognize me at first because it's been many, many years), an old teacher, and an old friend.

The rest of the day was pretty relaxing.

Sunday: fun with family

This afternoon we played Hand and Foot with Ben's grandparents. We're claiming that they won all four hands of the first game because they didn't tell us about the changed rules until we started. However, we beat them all four hands the second game, so it came out evenly.




then we went over to Jamie's for pizza. Afterwards we played some Rockband and then Ben, Cheryl, and Jacob put together a knex roller coaster. It turned out pretty cool.

Saturday: Thanksgiving 2

This afternoon we saw some of Pat's kids for a while. It was fun to watch the little kids run around.




Then I took a nap. I thought about using the giant blue gerbil blanket (yes, that's an inside joke) but ended up with a red fleece blanket with a white hole-y crocheted one on top. It looked like snowflakes and the colors reminded me of Christmas.

Then on to Thanksgiving 2. The food was delicious. I ate way too much. and then there was a cherry pie that I couldn't resist. oh, it was delicious. Just the right amount of tart and tangy. It was also fun to see all the family...I think it's been a few years since I've seen a lot of them, so it was fun to catch up.

Friday: Ben's birthday in pictures

We saw our first snow.



We met some friends and their daughter



We went to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner. It was delicious.






Then to a home for presents and cheesecake.

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Sometimes I find that in the bussle of the holiday and the other things going on in life that it's easy to forget to take some time to reflect on all the blessings that God has given us. But when I take a look at everything, I realize how really blessed I am.

I only took three pictures today, so here they all are, even though they aren't all very good. I also took good movie,but it needs some editing first.

Wednesday: my day

very early in the am, Ben is getting ready for bed and Amanda has been asleep
Amanda: Ben, there are some things that I really need to remember!
Ben walks out of the bathroom
Amanda: oh, maybe it was a dream. Was it? Yeah, I think so.
Amanda goes back to sleep. Fast forward 30 minutes. Ben is still awake
Amanda: Ben, it is really important that I remember this!!
Ben: What do you need to remember?
Amanda: Something something camera and something to say.
Ben: Flurry can say it.
Amanda: Flurry can't really talk. We just pretend that she can.

Amanda goes to work.
Guy Amanda works with: Hey Amanda, do you have a twin?
Amanda: no, why?
GAWW: I was jamming with this guy last night and he looked exactly like you. I couldn't stop staring.
Amanda: haha.

Amanda leaves work. yay

As we're leaving in a rush, not really late but trying to be early because of the busy travel day, we wonder were Flurry is. Usually she tries to get in our way and convince us to stay.

We found her looking cute under the Christmas tree (and not eating the tree), showing us once again how cute she is. I have a picture but can't get it on here.

We try going to the library. It's closed. It's one of the problems living in a small town...the library has weird hours. We continue on our way. Ben's glasses' lens falls out at the stop light. Surprise. We make a quick detour to the optometrist (who is open) and Ben gets his glasses fixed in three minutes.

We make it to the airport, not really know what to expect. The security line was closed. Oh. It opens about 15 minutes later and we get in line. We were about number 10 and 11 in line. Twenty minutes later we're finally going through security. I don't know why it was so slow. there weren't any of the new scanners and no one seemed to be causing any trouble, but they could not move the people through.

Shortly after we hear the boarding announcement: "This is the final and immediate boarding call". It was rather surprising as there wasn't a first and non-immediate boarding call.

the plane made my toes really cold. and then my toes got as cold as they could so my legs started getting cold. well, maybe not as cold as possible but almost.

And now we're waiting for our connection and because there are only so many things to do in the airport you heard an almost complete accounting of my day.

Tuesday: potluck

Tonight we had a potluck with Bible Study. I'll admit, they tend to be some of my favorite nights. It's nice to get caught up with people again. We also played this fun game that involved finding things on a screen. It sounds rather dumb, but it actually worked out pretty well. :)

I'm rather tired tonight, but glad that tomorrow is a shorter day of work.

Monday: Kingdom of Loathing

Ben and I started playing Kingdom of Loathing (again). It's probably about the third time that we've started, but I also think it's the longest I've played it. One of the fun parts of it is the text that comes with the mobs. The other is that everything has a real-life reference. Below are some of the things I've fought in the last few days.

This is a play on Hello Kitty, the famous cat character created by the Japanese company Sanrio. "Iiti" is the ancient Egyptian word for "hello", making this an ancient Egyptian mummified version of Kitty, hence the mention of merchandise with her face on it.

The second part of the use message is a reference to the environmentalist cartoon Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

• haxx0r = hack or hacker
• 1337 = 'Leet' (as in an elite hacker)

PS: Should you consider playing the game there are two things to consider. 1) It's free and 2) the on-line wiki is a must use