Merry Christmas Baby!

We have had a rather magical christmas so far- Chewbaca had babies! We found her yesterday huddled behind the toilet having pulled every rug and towel in her reach back there with her. She was panting something fierce. Soon we had 4 healthy puppies squawking at us. 3 boys and 1 girl. As I have been telling my dad- He just about doubled his grandchildren in one day!

Did I go overboard?

I just moved in to my new house a few months ago- and I must say it has been very difficult getting to know my new neighbors. The one just west of me has been great, and I see her almost daily- but the rest have been somewhat elusive. I think part of the problem is that I go to a young single adult ward. If I were going to the family ward I am sure I would be meeting and getting to know more of my neighbors. But as it stands I have had to find creative ways to meet people.

I decided Christmas was the perfect excuse to go and meet some of my neighbors. I spent about 8 hours cooking; I made fudge, caramels, gingerbread men, white chocolate covered popcorn, sugared almonds, and wassel. I even made these cute little "Merry Christmas" tags to go on the boxes. I used these goody bags an excuse to meet all the neighbors. I figure if they wont come to me I will go to them... and bribe them with goodies!

Most of the deliveries were successful, I was only able to really talk to a few of the neighbors the rest will just have to be surprised to find treats on their step. There is one delivery that was particularly bad. My next door neighbor is an older lady that I have tried several times to meet. Everytime I have gone over it was around 8 pm- so when she didn't answer I figured she was already asleep. So yesterday I went over in the afternoon when I knew she was home. I knocked and waited patiently for several minutes for her to answer. She's old- it might take her a while to get to the door right? I finally just left the treats on the door step and left. On my way back home I noticed the curtains move and 5 minutes later when I left my house again the treats were gone... wow! this lady is really avoiding me! I think I am just going to have to be more creative in the future!

Home, Home on the Range

Forgive all the old cowboy song refrences.

As promised I have pictures ready to post! My house is still not finished, but it is so much nicer than it was! enjoy!

My Living Room







My Kitchen







And these are the cutest salt and pepper shakers I have ever seen!

Basement Family Room


My Bedroom

I found this fixture in the attic- it's so cool! its about a quarter inch thick crystal that is really ornately carved. I love it!

My house isnt the only thing that got more color- I did too- I am now a brunette!

Back in the Saddle

I feel rather terrible- it has been 3 months since my last blog posting. Suddenly this has become my journal that I have been neglecting… I am resolved to have interesting posts on a more regular basis!
First- I feel the need to explain my long absence from my own blog. These past few months have been rather intense! At work we have been putting together a Global Convention for over 12,000 people! It was insane for both the few months leading up to the event and the actual week of the event. But that is a blog post in and of itself (I promise its coming).
And of course there is the buying of my house! It was stressful trying to juggle work, closing on a house and moving in all at once, but I survived and now I have an adorable yellow house to show for it! I have been in the process of fixing the walls and repainting the house for the past few weeks, but my kitchen and living room are almost finished so I will be posting the before and after pictures soon. I just need to do one more coat of paint to complete my awesome kitchen.
I am just trying to get my house hooked up to the internet and then we will be back in business!

The Carnie Life

Last week mom called me and invited me to the circus for last night. Apparently dad ended up with some extra tickets so he and mom were going to take Alayna and I and make it an awesome family outing. It has been years since I have seen the circus and I thought it would be fun.

I've been seeing billboards all over town for the Barnum and Baileys circus, so naturally I assumed that was where we were going, I was so wrong! Barnum and Baileys isn't in town until the fall- it was Cirque Du Solei! So while I as getting excited for Elephants, Tigers and seriously creepy clowns; instead what I got was acrobats, improv performances, beautiful set design, live music, and only slightly creepy clowns.

It was such an incredible night! I could not believe the talent and strength of these performers! The only downside of the night is that I kept getting distracted with thoughts of what kind of life a carnie lives. How much do they actually travel? Do they date? if they do it must be to other carnies, right? Maybe there is a online dating service for carnies, something that fits their busy lifestyle. All my questions went unanswered, but it did give me a goal of someday meeting a carnie. Someday.

Boredom

I was at work today looking through some folders on my computer for a file I used a year ago, while searching I found a picture I had created with my friend Micah while we were both extremely bored at work.

It started out as a fun game, I would draw something he would add on to it and we would continue with that until we ended up with this fantastic picture. I should add that we drew this in the microsoft paint program. I could be wrong, but I think that adds to the fantastic-ness of it.

I call this "ninja: the silent, swinging killer".

10 Reasons Why I Love Summer!

1. The 4th of July- BBQ’s, illegal fireworks, lawn games, parades, paid holiday! Honestly can it get better? But my love for the 4th is not limited to those things, I love everything about the holiday- even the smell! Sulfur and burnt meat… So good!
2. Flip Flops- I love shoes. I have a rather large collection. But when summer hits that is time for everything but my flip flops to go back in the closet! Second to flip flops is being barefoot, even though I know the pavement will burn my feet I still love being barefoot!
3. Gardens- I don’t have one of these yet, but that has not stopped my love! I can not wait for my own garden someday! I have already been collecting information about all the different vegi’s I want to try out and what kinds grow best in the dry Utah dirt so that someday when I have my own garden it will be awesome!
4. Sun Tans- I don’t know if there is anything better than lying in the hot sun! Just a few weeks ago my sister Alayna and I headed to the backyard to sit in the sun for a while, and we ended up staying out there reading an awesome book about zombie cats to each other. 3 hours later I was fried! It is wonderful to just sit there and soak in the vitamin D while sweating! Which brings me to number 5….
5. Sweating- I know its weird, but I love sweating! Ever since my mission to Taiwan I have loved to be places that get so hot you can hardly breathe! Sometimes I will get in my car on a really hot day and wait a while to turn on the AC or open a window.
6. Late Nights- There is something about summer that just begs me to stay up late! When I was younger it was fine, I could sleep in as late as I wanted the next day, but even now that I have to get up at 6am I still find myself staying up late!
7. Night Games- there needs to be a support group for people who love night games as much as me. “Hi, my name is Andrea and I still love kick-the-can.”
8. Bon Fires- I don’t think this one needs an explanation. Bon fires + Marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers= awesome, its simple math people.
9. My Birthday- August 23rd! I turn 27 in just 5 weeks!
10. Slip ‘n Slides- it is a little known fact that the Core family has rockin’ good times on a Slip ‘n Slide. Mommy and Daddy Core have a hill in the back yard that is easily turned into this favorite water past time. But it is not with out accidents, we have had dislocated shoulders, grass burns, and some embarrassing moments on this slide. But it has yet to stop us! And for all you Cores out there- I am so very excited for the Family Reunion!

Now Keep in mind this isn’t a TOP TEN list… just the first ten that came to mind.