I got tagged by Charity so here is some very random information all about me!
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE ?
My Aunt Rumiko (my middle name). It is Japanese.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
today
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
No
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Turkey
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
The Tobester
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I think so.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Actually yes ..I do.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
My first inclination is to say no but I do have an adventurous side so there is a possibility.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
I actually had to think about this because I do love me some cereal. It is a tie between Cinnamon grahams and Apple-cinnamon cheerios.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
No and it drives Rodney crazy!
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Physically-no not really. Emotionally-for sure!
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Mint Chocolate Chip
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Smile and eyes
15. RED OR PINK?
Red
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF?
I have a crooked smile, I bite my nails, I am lazy, I have a short temper(believe it or not), I am painfully shy, and the list goes on....
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My Daddy-everyday
18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Navy sweatpants and white socks
19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Chicken salad sandwich, tortillas with roasted red pepper hummus, grapes, and a diet coke. Wow I sound really healthy. It just happens to be a good day!
20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The fox and the hound playing in the background.
21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Dark blue
22. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Brown sugar and spice, lavender and vanilla, apple-cinnamon
23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My sister-in-law Libby
24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Basketball. It is the only sport I will watch.
25. HAIR COLOR?
Lt. Brown w/ highlights
26. EYE COLOR?
Blue
27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No
28. FAVORITE FOOD?
Pizza and brownies.
29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy Endings!
30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
October Sky. I had forgotten how good it is.
31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Hot pink
32. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter
33. HUGS OR KISSES?
both
34. FAVORITE DESSERT?
brownies
35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
I am in between books at the moment.
36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
We don't have one
37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
House.
38. FAVORITE SOUNDS?
Tobey sleeping-just kidding!
39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Switchfoot
40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Alaska
41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I like pottery but it is more of a hobby
42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Dallas, Texas!
I have been trying to get to this post all week long and it just hasn't happened. We had such a great time on our ski trip. No I did not ski down the Geronimo because it is a black trail and I do not ski on black trails although I did have some geronimo experiences which I will elaborate on shortly. For you non skiers out there blacks are considered the most difficult, blues are intermediate, and greens are the easiest. I am a mostly green-occasional blue kind of girl. We left early on Friday morning and the drive was not too bad. My friend Mindy and her husband Lee went with us and we all rode on a van together. We played Spades for about 3 and a half hours straight. It was intense but it made the time fly by. As we neared Ruidoso and the mountains we all got very excited but a little concerned at the lack of snow in town. I was kind of hoping we would have snow around our lodge but the view of the mountains made up for it.
Our lodges were really nice. They were 4 stories and by the end of the week my thighs were burning. We stayed on the very bottom level with Mindy and Lee. The next level had a game room with a pool table that we had fun with especially the guys. I have to throw in that I did beat my husband once. I was quite proud. The next level had three more bedrooms. My friend Melissa and her husband and her family stayed on this level. Melissa's husband Jimmy hurt his back about three weeks before the ski trip. We were really sad that he was not able to ski. He was actually in alot of pain most of the trip but such a good sport about it. And then the top level had a living area and the kitchen. The whole lodge was very roomy and comfortable and the view was spectacular. We had 45 people on this ski trip ranging in age from less than 2 to greater than 70. We were spread out over 5 lodges. But we met for meals and bible studies at the biggest lodge. It was such a fun group of people to go with and get to know better.
We woke up at the crack of dawn Saturday morning to dress in layers and prepare for a day of skiing. The drive up the mountain was very interesting. I tried to avoid the treacherous cliff side that lacked railing. There was rope at some points of the drive but I doubt it would have prevented us from flying over the edge. I tried not to think of these things on the 40 minute drive to the resort. We finally got there and unloaded our skis and boots that we had picked up the night before. There is no way to be graceful when you are dressed in bulky ski pants and snow boots trying to hold onto clunky ski boots and slippery awkward skis. It was actually colder than I expected and there was more snow than I expected. We got our skis on and made are way to the easiest green. It was actually called Easy Street. I was amazed at how fast it came back to me. It really is like riding a bicycle. We took it really easy that first day and stayed on greens mostly. Rodney and I split up after lunch so he could ski some more difficult stuff with the guys and then we met up later and skied a blue together. Amazingly I did not fall once that first day. Now the second day is a different story. This was my least favorite day. I was extremely tired and sore. My body was not used to the early hours and all the physical activity in addition to the altitude. That morning we skied more greens with some of the new skiers particularly Mindy and Lee, Melissa and her sisters Vonda and Mary. After lunch we all rode up in the gondola to the top of the mountain for some photo ops. I only took about 20 pictures of the whole trip which is totally unlike me. But I was too busy having fun! Everyone else rode the gondola back down the mountain but Rodney and I decided to ski all the way down. There were several blues to choose from and we decided on one called Ambush. I should have known better. This was one of my geronimo moments. I looked up the exact definition of ambush. One of the meanings is hidden peril or trap and I couldn't agree more. The first part of this trail was not that bad and then we turned a corner. Rodney was ahead of me and then he stopped and looked back at me and grimaced. My heart dropped to my knees as I stopped next to him and saw the steep hill up ahead. It was the only way down and I was literally terrified. He skied about half way down while I waited at the top for my courage to arrive. There was another girl up there in the same boat as me. Her man was at the bottom waiting for her. She started down the mountain and I recognized her slow unsteady winding down the mountain. So I went for it. I was about a third of the way down when I lost control and fell. The mountain was so steep that I immediately started sliding head first and couldn't stop. I frantically dug my fingers into the snow and tried to turn myself around. After about 10 seconds of sliding, although it felt much longer, I was able to get my skis underneath me and dig them into the snow. I finally stopped and to my amazement I was smiling. I couldn't help thinking to myself or I may have even said it aloud "Well, that was one way to get down the mountain". My skis never came off and I was able to get up easily and slowly made my way down. By the time we got to the foot of the mountain I was worn out but exhilarated. I was ready to hang out in the lodge and drink some hot chocolate. I reached into my pants pocket for my cell phone so I could call Mindy and Lee but it was not there. Then I realized that my pocket had been unzipped when I fell. I grudgingly told Rodney and he made the executive decision that we had to go back and look for it but I was not looking forward to it. We were very quiet as we rode the gondola back to the top of the mountain. I was trying really hard not to sulk but it wasn't working. I did send up some silent prayers that were less about my cell phone and more about me getting down the mountain in one piece this time. This time I took my skis off and hiked down that steep hill but we could not find my cell phone. I checked with lost-n-found several times. Rodney was very kind and said I could just get a new one. We were about to leave for the day and our fearless leader Wayne got a call from my mother-in-law saying that ski patrol had called her and said they found my phone. Whew! I was relieved although I was looking forward to a new phone.
The third day was my most favorite day. It was Monday and hardly anyone was on the slopes. There were no lines to get on the ski lifts. It was great. We skied several blues that morning including the Capitan. Mindy and Lee even braved this one and did really well. I ended up skiing the Capitan three times and never fell once. I took my time winding back and forth. I did have two big falls on this last day though. First, I fell off the ski lift because I waited to long to stand up and had to perform a small leap (another geronimo moment). I landed all wrong and ended up on my tush. It hurt but I was more embarrassed than anything. Then later I was on an easy green and my skis got to close to each other and I fell. One of my skis hit the inside of my thigh and I have a pretty nasty bruise that I just discovered today. I quit early on the last day because I was starting to get clumsy and didn't want to seriously hurt myself. I already had some pretty close calls. It felt so good to take off my ski boots. I met up with Mindy and Lee and we all got some hot chocolate and thawed out in the lodge. Rodney did a few more runs by himself which I encouraged because he had been so patient in waiting for me. He likes to go fast and I like to go slow. Which is strange because in real life he is much more cautious than me. By the time we got back to the lodge I was starting to miss my little man at home really bad. The drive home was not much fun. We were all worn out and miserable because we couldn't sleep on the church van. I was just ready to get home to see Tobey. He was so good while we were gone. I think it really helped that Rodney's parents stayed at our house. I am not even sure if he missed us at all. He and my mother-in-law were both sick all weekend while we were gone. So they just stayed in the house and played and watched movies. He was still awake when we got home and he ran into my arms. I think I cried I was so happy to see him. We were only gone five days but I am sure he grew an inch. We are so grateful to Mimi and PawPaw for allowing us to get away. I know y'all read my blog sometimes so thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts! 
The Capitan!
First Baptist crew enjoying some grub.
Taken from the gondola.
Our first trip on the gondola. I was not smiling on the second trip.
On top of the mountain with Mindy and Lee.
Me and Rodney
Melissa, me, and Mindy
Mindy and Lee on our last day.
Finally got some hot chocolate. Farewell slopes!
Probably not but if you look here you might see me on the slopes. We leave bright and early in the morning for Ruidoso, NM. I just checked the weather report and it did snow last night. Yay! I am a little sad right now. I just put Tobey to bed and I could not quit loving and kissing on him. We exchanged I don't know how many eskimo and butterfly kisses. Bedtime is about the only time that he will let me kiss on him. During the day he usually pushes me away and says "No Mommy". I am going to miss my little man. We took our luggage up to the church tonight and my friend Mindy was already teary eyed too. At least we can cry together over the next five days. But I know he is in good hands. He loves his Mimi and PawPaw. So I am signing out for a few days. I am sure I will return with some amusing stories involving bruises and a wet tush. It has been five years. Hopefully I will pick it up quickly again on the first day. Yikes!
This past Saturday my friends and I hosted a baby shower for our friend Suzanne at my house. She is about six weeks from her due date and miserable but so beautiful. I was really tired because I had worked the night before but I had so much fun hanging out with my BFF's from high school. We have been friends through so much and we have fought like sisters but we always come back to each other. They are my gang and always will be no matter what. In a way they are like my sisters. We are all so different from each other and don't always see eye to eye but I love them fiercely and would do ANYTHING for them. That night after the shower I browsed through my old pictures and reminisced on all the good times we have had through the years. I thought I would share them. Suzanne, I know you will appreciate these. 
We are posing at our church after youth camp. So many trips and activities we went on together. Youth camp, Acteens, mission trips, ski trips, winter retreats, disciple now, Sunday night fellowships. Those were the good ole' days!
The year is 1997 and we are high school graduates. (Kari, Mindy, Suzanne, me, and Melissa)
At my wedding shower!
My wedding rehearsal.
Mindy's rehearsal dinner.
Kari's wedding.
Melissa's wedding.
Suzanne's wedding.
And the latest, Suzanne's baby shower. I love this picture!
How far we have come from silly high school girls to wives and mothers!
"A friend loves at all times"
Proverbs 17:17
We leave for our ski trip in 10 short days. I am very very excited. It is just about all I can think about. This will be our first vacation since Tobey was born. We went on a little weekend outing this past summer but this time we will not be bringing the Tobester along. I do have mixed feelings about leaving him behind but I have to admit I am kind of excited too. And I feel really guilty about it. Thankfully he has fallen head over heels for his Mimi and PawPaw in the last month. So the timing could not be more perfect. I doubt he will even notice we are gone. I will miss my little man but it is going to do this Mommy some good to get away. My plan was to get out of the house and do some shopping for ski clothes today among other things like getting soy milk for Tobey. Well this morning when Tobey and I got ready to leave I couldn't' t find my keys. We searched high and low. I even checked the front door because I have been known to leave my keys in the door over night. Finally I went out to the car and peeked in and there they were innocently displayed in my cup holder. Rodney had driven the night before and he used his set of keys to drive my car. I locked the front door as we were coming out of the house and I guess I just dropped them into the cup holder when I got into the car instead of placing them in my purse. I was a tad bit upset with myself. So we were stranded. Tobey was not very happy with me either because I had promised him doughnut holes that morning. So I went back in the house, put my pajamas back on and started making pancakes for Tobey which he grudgingly ate. It really was a blessing in disguise though because I had a ton of work to do around the house. I am hosting a baby shower at my house for my friend Suzanne on Saturday and my house is not up to par. It is mainly just cluttered with a certain little boy's toys. I went through all of Tobey's toys and packed away the ones that he is too big for now. His toys have a way of migrating to the living room so I transferred all of those wandering toys back to his bedroom. I left one small basket for all of his balls. I finally moved his train table to his bedroom. It has been in the living room floor since Christmas morning. That alone was a major improvement. I also had loads of laundry which I got started on. So I really had no business going shopping. But then my mother-in-law called during Tobey's nap and said she would come over and I could take her car. She is SO wonderful. I found all of my ski gear and everything was 50% off. I was very happy about that. So now I am set and patiently counting down the days. Since I am really hyped up about skiing in 10 days here is a list of my 10 favorite things about ski trips!
10. Believe it or not but I actually like the long drive it takes to get there. I like being on the road driving towards a new adventure. I love the anticipation that builds and builds as you get closer and closer to the mountains. We are going with a group from church and I will be bringing some cards along to play in the van. And I will catch up on some reading and dozing.
9. I won't have to fix my hair because I plan on wearing my black toboggan 24-7.
8. I will actually get to wear some of my winter clothes because winter is kind of scarce in these parts. We have seen a few chilly days but not many.
7. Mountains! I love being in the mountains. It always calms my spirit so. I get so excited when they first come into view and I watch and watch as they loom bigger and bigger in the horizon. It must have something to do with growing up in the flat plains of Texas.
6. We usually will ski in the morning and then take the chair lift to the very top of the mountain and eat lunch. Most resorts have a restaurant or snack bar at the top of the mountain and the view is spectacular. We have never been to this resort but hopefully that is the case. There is nothing like eating on top of a mountain peak. And then we ski the rest of the afternoon.
5. By the end of the day you are worn out but those sore muscles actually feel good to me. I really like the tired and sore feeling after working out and it is kind of the same thing. I know that's weird.
4. The cold mountain air. Who needs make-up when you have the rosy glow of wind chapped cheeks! Maybe just a little mascara and lip gloss and your good to go.
3. Mountain tubing. The last time we went skiing we also went night tubing and it was lots of fun. This resort has tubing also and I plan on doing it again.
2. Snow, Snow, Snow!
1. Being with my one and only doing something we both love and enjoy. Rodney is a much better skier than myself but he is always so patient with me. And he never pressures me to go down a trail I am not ready for. He is a great ski partner!
Christmas 2004
I was pregnant in this picture and didn't even know it yet!
Christmas 2005
Christmas 2006
Christmas 2007
I can't believe I am just now blogging about Christmas. We had a great celebration this year. My sister-in-law and her husband flew in from Seattle the Friday before Christmas and we had Christmas with Rodney's family the next day on Saturday. We spent the whole day together laughing and enjoying each other's company. My mother-in-law made a delicious meal. We opened gifts for hours. I mean literally because we go around the room and one person opens their presents and then the next and so forth. Tobey watched Small One for the first time. Rodney and I played a game of Sorry with Jeff and Shanna. Rodney won which was so not fair because he didn't want to play in the first place. Then on Sunday we had Christmas with Rodney's extended family. I worked Christmas Eve and arrived home Christmas morning around 7:30am and slept for about two hours. Then we got up and had our family time that morning. We fixed a little Christmas breakfast casserole and Rodney's Mom and Dad came over and spent the day just hanging out with us and playing with Tobey. My sister-in-law's were with their significant others so Tobey got some good one on one time with his Mimi and PawPaw (his two most favorite people besides Mommy and Daddy). I was off work the rest of the week and Rodney ended up not having any calls so he was off too. We just hung around the house and watched Tobey obsess over his new train track and basketball goal. We actually played a few games of HORSE ourselves while Tobey ran around laughing hysterically and chasing the ball. On Friday night we drove up to Oklahoma and had Christmas with my family. That night we ordered pizza and played my new Scene It game that I got from Rodney for Christmas. My mom made a big dinner on Saturday even though she had worked all week and was getting over a cold. I spent most of the day at the kitchen sink cleaning up after her so she wouldn't be left with a big mess when we all went home. My grandma and I managed to squeeze in a game of Gin Rummy after lunch and I won. I actually kind of felt bad about it. She is losing her eyesight and I think she was having trouble seeing the cards. I spent most of the game telling her the cards that had been played on the table. So I had a little bit of an advantage. I should have let her win but she would have scolded me for doing that anyway. It is exhausting trying to fit everyone in at Christmas time but I wouldn't dare complain about it. Family is a blessing and you just do what you gotta do. We were really blessed this year. With gifts-yes, but with love most abundantly! I apologize in advance for all the pictures.
Aunt Libby got some love from Tobey. He stayed like this for about 20 minutes and she was loving it.
Later he spent some time with Aunt Shanna and helped her wrap some gifts. He really enjoyed placing the bows on top of the boxes.
The guys hung out in the kitchen. Good for them!
Shanna and Jeff (the Northwestern tree huggers))
Tobey helped his Daddy out with playing Santa. He really got into it. I was so proud.
Then he got a little over zealous and started unwrapping one of my gifts! I quickly redirected him to his own presents.
Mimi got really excited about her mini muffin pan. Actually she was like this with all her gifts.
Tobey got some cool flash cards from Shanna and Jeff. We are finding out that he knows many more words than we originally thought. I think I am seeing the beginning of our languuage explosion. Praise!
Some gifts came with tears. Like these pearl earrings that Libby has wanted for years.
And this beautiful black and white bridal picture that was enlarged and framed for my father-in-law.
Then there were other gifts that came with a good laugh such as this black apron for El Jeffe (Chef Jeff). Jeff is actually a really good cook which works out well for Shanna who is not. 
Tobey the train conductor with his Toby the Windmill
He was very serious about his train track for several days. I mean it was just about all he played with.
I gave Rodney a Mavericks Neon wall clock for his office and a few other things. We had a limit of $50 for each other this year and that clock took up most of my money.
I think Rodney went over the limit but I wasn't complaining. 
Tobey spent alot of time in his PawPaw's lap over the holidays. 
He even fell asleep in his arms one afternoon. It was very sweet especially when PawPaw fell asleep too. 
this is my sweet little grandma holding my new nephew. I don't have many pictures from our trip to Oklahoma because i was a little worn out on the camera.
And Tobey was just worn out period!
Thanks for enduring my pictures and Happy New Year fellow bloggers!
