celebrate, celebrate, celebrate

Well, apparently I am not as inspired to write on this thing as I thought I was... Since I posted last, I have thought of many wonderful things to write about, none of which have come to fruition. So instead, I will post some photos of my latest adventures. So, for your enjoyment (or lack thereof), here is a photojournalistic view of the last couple months.

Fall came to Pittsburgh. It was beautiful! I can see why it is the favorite season of so many people here. Because there are literally millions of trees in the Pittsburgh area, the effect was stunning! I decided to be Elphaba for Halloween. Folks weren't absurdly fixated on my vertigree, but it was fun, and I secretly sang wicked songs in my bathroom while getting ready in the morning... The office had a costume contest (I wasn't allowed to participate because of my close proximity to the judge, who happened to be my boss). My cute friends dressed up and participated, and did quite well. DJ, on the other hand, did not dress up, but makes quite the cute student! Right after Halloween I participated in a play festival. I was in a spoof on eighties action movies. It was well received, and I really enjoyed the people I worked with. As you can see, there was much blood, and much cheesiness. The Holidays hit, and we were so lucky to spend a week with both my family and DJ's family. Thanksgiving was in Mesa. It was so nice to see everyone, and the food was wonderful as always! A big thanks to Mom and Dad Jones for treating us to many meals, movies, and some greatly appreciated new clothing... I must say, we were very proud of our first Christmas tree (DJ didn't decorate the house while I was in Utah last year). This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but it's all we have... I rocked Skeeball at the DynaVox Christmas Party at Dave and Busters... In all honesty, I think the machine may have been broken... We headed down to Vegas for the BYU Bowl game with the Frandsen Fam. We really thought they were going to lose, but it was quite exciting when they blocked that field goal for the win! Go Cougars! We had a wonderful Christmas.
We especially loved seeing our friends and family. Here are some photos of our wonderful friends we were able to see over the break... My parents and siblings have not been together since last December, so we tried to make the most of it by never sleeping and listening to my brothers bicker over politics. It was actually quite nice. ...A few photos of the victims of those late night talks... Well, all good things must come to an end. Reggie was waiting not-so-patiently when we got home, but he was VERY happy to see us. We were able to spend New Years with some pretty decent peeps. They even made me a birthday cake. Seriously... so nice... But, I wasn't really looking forward to my birthday. I had received gifts at Christmas for my birthday, and my family was too far away to celebrate together. However, I have a wonderful husband, family and wonderful friends who made the day special. Two of my good friends at work stole me away for a yummy lunch. When I got back, this is what I found... And when I got home I found these beautiful flowers from DJ's parents. Not to mention the scrumptious dinner DJ took me to along with a new lens for the camera I got for Christmas. I am so lucky to have people in my life that love me and take such good care of me! Thanks all!

As for this coming month, I start rehearsing for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat tomorrow. It will be an extra 35 hours a week on top of my full time job right now. As DJ says, I just need to take it one day at a time, and I'll be fine... If you made it through this whole post, you deserve a cookie. Until next time...