Vacations planned in 2010

My thoughts lately have all been about vacations. I think I just really wish I could run away from real life and escape in a vacation. Since I can't do that - I'll just tell you about my planned vacations.

March: Hershey and Philadelphia, PA

Jason has a friend that lives out in Philly, on our way to visit him we are going to spend a day in Hershey. I imagine it will be really touristy, but who cares - we will be eating chocolate!

June: Multiple cities in Alaska, then Vancouver B.C.

An Alaskan cruise! This will be my second cruise to Alaska and Jason's first. We will visit with some friends who live in different cities in Alaska during this trip. I also want to spend a day in Vancouver B.C., which is where the cruise ends.

August: Grandview, WV

Jason's grandparents have been kind enough to invite family to the cottage they are renting. We are going to spend a weekend visiting with them and enjoying the sights in WV.

So that wraps up all the big stuff happening in the vacation category of 2010 for us. There are a lot of little trips that I want to do as well. There are so many festivals that happen in Ohio and I want to visit some of them this year. I'm looking forward to camping and hiking again this spring/summer. I'd also like to go on a canoe ride (haven't done that for years).

Babysitting Eli

Jason and I babysat Eli for the first time. I have to say it was a success. Eli was still alive when his mom and dad returned home! He was a little cranky (teething or congestion) and I think he is having seperation anxiety when Jenna is not in sight, but all went well.

Stone Massage

I enjoyed a LaStone therapeutic hot stone massage this past weekend. I had some incentive money from getting preventative screenings. Instead of saving it, I got a stone massage at the spa. It's basically just a massage using hot stones, but they don't push hard (not deep tissue massage). I was relaxed for the day, but that's about it. Just a nice treat that I deserve.

Next month I'm getting a facial. Another new thing to try.

Cake

I know people who have taken a cake decorating class. I decided to bite the bullet and take one, too. I'm going to take the first course in March and the second course in April. Not sure if I'll take it at Joann's or at Michael's. Either way it will be near 23 and Polaris, if you want to join me.

Emily's Baby Shower

If you are like me, it seems like everyone is pregnant right now.

Baby Palozza 2010 has officially begun with Emily's baby shower.

She flew in from Seattle to be here!

Emily is hardcore - sporting heels at 30 weeks.

Ferrari

As a child, I had a red Ferrari for my Barbie.

My doctor keeps saying I'm like a Ferrari;

I'm high performance, I just need some fine tuning.

Everytime he says that I think of my Barbie's Ferrari.

Eli playing the organ

First Big Snow of 2010

Cheddar

UPDATE: The cheddar is ready to eat!

I decided to make nachos and fajitas with the cheddar. It tastes good, but crumbles like Feta. The recipe said "Farmhouse Cheddar" so that might be why it's so crumbley.

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I made some serious cheddar this month and I'm not talking about money.

Grandma is 90!

We celebrated Grandma Dodok's 90th birthday this weekend.

Alum Creek Dog Park

Dog Fancy magazine is doing a travel piece about three parks across the US to visit if you have a dog. Our very own Alum Creek State Park was one of the featured parks because it is the home of the Alum Creek Dog Park. I submitted this picture because it includes a background showing what a nice dog park we have. We'll have to wait and see if they use it. Too bad I couldn't find a good background with Chewy in it. But at least Kiki, Guinness, and Duncan will be famous if they choose my picture.

If you have a good picture, the deadline to submit is Jan 20th. Let me know and I'll forward you the information.

End of the year

Jason is brewing some brown ale.

Grandma Dodok visited with Eli and the Duffy family.

Natalie hosted our Theus family Christmas.

Eli 6 months old

Eli is almost 6 months old! He's so big.

Trying out the new video camera

Merry Christmas 2009

Getting Crafty

I decided to dive into some new craft ideas. They are not actually "new" since I've been meaning to make them over the last couple of years. I bought a 12 days of christmas kit to make a christmas tree similar to the one shown below. I also want to make stockings for Jason and me. My parents have really cute hand-knitted stockings for all us kids and I love that they are special and different. The one shown below is just a sample I found online.

happy thanksgiving!

Christmas decorations are up!

Jason's Holiday Concert

As you probably know, Jason is in a band. They have just announced the date and time of their annual holiday concert. It's a lot of fun, so I recommend you attend.

Catching Up

We had dinner with my parents two weeks ago and here are the pictures.

Of course, Chewy gets the first picture.

Ralph is very shy and it's hard to get his picture.
Max loves pictures, so he is in every shot.

Max likes to chill on the treadmill.

Natalie, Mom, and me.

Mom and Dad