I love Jackson P<><

I am aware that Valentine's Day is still a few weeks away (San Diego here we come!), but I wanted to pen a love letter to my husband. Feel free to stop reading now. ;)

Jackson,
I love you and not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined marrying such a wonderful man. You are truly my best friend. You care for me like no one else ever has. I would do anything in the world for you. If you needed the heart beating in my chest, I'd give it to you. At that time you'd also get a lot of insurance money. See? I do love you. :) You are the most thoughtful man. You know exactly what to say to me and when to say it. You can read my mind and pass most of my "tests." I think we were made for each other. I could spend every second of every day with you and only need a small break. (HA!) I love laughing with you. I love that after 2+ years of marriage people give us a hard time for flirting with each other so much. I love that other people gag at how in love we are. I love that I get to love you. I feel so blessed to get to walk beside you in life. You are amazing. And I really enjoy our "silly" last name!
I love you,
Jenna

Ok, I just had been feeling rather appreciative of Jackson lately. I have been working full-time, going to school and trying to get this knee healed. Jackson has taken on full-time MacKenzie duty (taking her out in the cold and snow!) and has helped out tremendously around the house. He has cooked dinner and packed lunches. He has come to bed early with me when I am too tired to do anything but sleep. He has been awesome. This knee surgery has really taken it out of me and he has been there every step of the way. I am blessed.

Slumdog Millionaire

Tonight we went to Slumdog Millionaire with our dear friend Meg. It has got to be one of the better movies that has been released in a long time. This movie makes you want to cry at the injustice of India's caste system. It makes you want to cheer for the main character. It is a movie of love triumphing all. It is a wonderful, beautiful film. I cannot recommend it more highly.

I am trying to see all of the movies that are nominated for "Best Picture" before the Oscars. I have seen 2 of the 5 now. I still need to see Frost/Nixon, Milk, and The Reader. Poor Jackson! :) I am hoping that for Valentine's Day Cupid brings me Kerasotes gift certificates and this...

There is nothing wrong with dreaming...right?! ;) We are actually going to San Diego for Valentine's Day and I am pretty excited for some warmth, the beach, and a reunion with Kyle & Megan Parton (Mocha, too!). It has been far too long!

Until then...it is the start of another long week of work and school. Yippee. :) (We are actually quite grateful to have jobs, a warm home, the ability to learn, each other, and the ability to walk/hobble- God is good!)

Confessions of a SHOEAHOLIC

I did it. I bought a pair of Uggs. They are still uber cool here in Colorado (since it is normally cold here in the winter). I have always hated Uggs because they were expensive and ugly. I had always heard that they are soo comfortable, but I was unable to deal with their appearance- until now. This year they came out with crocheted boots. They look like a sweater! They can be worn slouched or folded over. They're very versatile. I got them in black. They were expensive, though. $140. Can you believe that? If I had not been looking for them for WEEKS I would have been discouraged by the price. Finding these- they were sold out EVERYWHERE- became a mission for me and price was not going to stop me. I highly recommend them for everyday errands in these winter months. 

While I was at Nordstrom spending an insane amount of money on boots, the sales guy got me to buy a pair of heels. WHAT?! I cannot even wear heals for another 12 weeks. How does someone get me to buy purple suede shoes 2 weeks after knee surgery? EASY! I was weak. I miss my heels. I have at least 40 pairs and they are just sitting in a neat, color- coordinated manner in my closet collecting dust. Once I got home and realized that this man had me spend an additional $100 on something I could not use for 3 months (and let's face the fact the purple suede does not exactly scream spring!) I decided to return them. Whew. That was a close one. 

Moving on.

I had a scare with my knee this week. Thursday I went to get my stitches out. I had physical therapy first and my PT noticed that my knee was really swollen. I had to go have a scan and they found that my knee had filled with blood. SICK! I was so grossed out. I have to watch it for 1 week to make sure that it does not swell anymore. If it does, I will have to go to the ER and have it drained. So far, so good. It has actually gone down by 2 inches. I am not too worried anymore. I got the stitches out and it appears to be healing nicely. I am beginning to walk a lot better. By the end of the day I am always ready to elevate, but I am pleased with the progress. 

Friday we went shopping for Jackson. He had worn a hole through his black dress shoes! Who does that?! I can honestly say that I have never worn a hole through a pair of shoes. He had also worn his tennis shoes down. The shox on the sole were worn down. Once I realized that his shoes were in such disrepair, we headed to DSW. (He pretty much refuses to shop for shoes anywhere else.) We got both pairs of shoes replaced for less than my Uggs cost. Shoot! He is such a bargain shopper. I love him for it. 

Today we decided to go to a movie. We saw Revolutionary Road. I do not recommend it. It was kind of slow and had an odd message. The acting was top-notch, but that could not make up for the lacking plot. There were, of course, ladies in front of us talking and laughing way too much for such a serious movie. We attract rude movie-goers. GRRR. We finally ended up having to ask the ladies to hush after they burst out laughing at a very serious scene. How annoying. They were grown women! GRRR!!! 

Tonight we are just hanging out with MacKenzie. She is such good company. Tomorrow we are headed to church and we are also having dinner with our friend Meg. We are going to see Slumdog Millionaire tomorrow, too. We have been on a movie kick lately. Benjamin Button was excellent. So was Seven Pounds. Marley & Me was also worth seeing. (I told you we had been on a movie kick lately.) I hope to do what Meg does and see all of the movies up for Oscars before the award shoe. I like to know what people are winning for.

We hope you're having a nice weekend. 

Funny

I knew that my cellular phone blog would spur some comments. I did not expect to get punked by people. Today Jackson called his mother and she answered with, "I guess this is a good time...what do you need?" HA! She took the bad time things pretty seriously. :) Then I called our friend Meg to firm up plans for a movie this weekend and she sent me to voicemail. I assumed it was because she was watching Lost. Nope. When she returned my call, Jackson answered and she told him that she had read my phone blog and sent me to VM. HA!!! Jackson says I'll never live it down. Too funny.

Today was a funny day of reconnecting with old friends. Jackson had to call into American Funds for work. American Funds is where we worked when we met and fell in love. Aww. Anyway, we still know some people there and Jackson needed help on a case. He talked to some of our old friends and found that some of them were on facebook. I looked them up and caught up. It has been nice to hear what everyone is doing. 

School was long tonight. I get so tired after the first hour since I've been at work all day. I get my stitches out of my knee tomorrow. I hope that it does not hurt too much. I also have physical therapy in the morning. Yick. What a life. :/

Cell phones

Happy Martin Luther King Day! I'd like to thank him for his contributions to our society. 

I'd also like to thank all of my blog readers for the support during this tough time of breaking up with Tiger Woods. It has not been easy. I watched his speech just now. He only spoke for 2 minutes before he introduced a military glee club. What was the point? Tear. I'll miss him. Tear

Since we did not do much today but sleep and go to school I won't bore you with our lives. No, today I am going to rant. Leave now if you wish. ;)

What is up these days with people and their cellular telephones? I was in a restroom this weekend where a lady was blowing the place up- sick, I know, but relevant to my point- and she was on the phone. Who wants to hear your explosive diarrhea over the phone?! I know that they- unlike me- didn't have to smell it (lucky souls) but hearing it is gross, too. Could this grown woman not have hung up her phone and returned the call after she finished torturing me? I exited the restroom as soon as I could so I didn't have time to scold her. What a shame.

Also, why do people even bother answering their phones at bad times? What is a bad time? Well I have a lot of bad times. I just got off of work and all I want to do is scream along to the new Britney Spears cd; calling at that time would be bad for me. I am cooking or eating dinner. That is a bad time for me. I am resting comfortably on my couch watching Gossip Girl. That's a bad time for me. So what I have it on tivo and could pause it?! I have voicemail. Leave me one. Why are people afraid of voicemail? I welcome being sent to voicemail. I still get the props for calling and didn't have to chat! YES! I get to tell the person what I wanted and do not have to answer any questions at that time. AWESOME. Power to the voicemail people. POWER! If you are busy or do not feel like talking: VOICEMAIL! (I am going to get a bunch of hate comments for all of the people I have sent to my voicemail recently- I can feel it!)

Next, what is with people who do not respond to you in the same way you contacted them? If I text you please, DO NOT CALL ME. I clearly wanted to text. DO NOT CALL ME! I WANT TO TEXT! Perhaps I am in a meeting and cannot answer. Then you feel shunned because you know I have my phone and will not answer. Perhaps I am bored in class and want to check in on you. I cannot listen to your voicemail during class so TEXT back. UGH! (If you can't tell, this one gets me!) There are occasional scandalous stories that require a call during a text session and that is fine. Just send a text letting me know that you're now calling and I will confirm or deny. ;) 

Finally, if you are: typing an email, expecting a call, not feeling like talking, having a conversation with someone else that is with you in person, or on your way to do something just TELL ME! Do not ignore me. Do not make me feel like a second-class citizen. Offer me a call back. Do not make me angry I ever called you in the first place. Come on!!

I think that is all for now. I will not complain about cellphone drivers because I am one of them. I can drive and talk. If you cannot, you should not. I think that is up to each of us to decide. 

P.S. I say most of this in jest- I love hearing from you! :)

Visitors

Saturday night I got a call from my friend from 6th grade, Shaya. She had driven out to Denver for her boyfriend's friend to move here. They needed a place to stay so I went to pick them up. YAY! Visitors! We LOVE visitors! 

Jackson stayed home and cooked dinner while we ran errands that evening. He made homemade spaghetti and meatballs. YUM! He's awesome. We spent some time catching up with Shaya and Matt then we ran them downtown to visit another friend of theirs. 

We ran to Wal-mart and I got a new mini-vac! Yay! I had missed mine ever since it died on me last month. (We are so exciting- right?!)

This morning we woke up to Jackson's french toast! He is such a good cook. We took our visitors to Red Rocks. We couldn't hike this time because of my knee, but we did climb the stairs and walk around the amphitheater. My knee held up really well. I was pleased. Red Rocks has become one of our favorite places to go on the weekends. It is so lovely there. 

We went to lunch at our favorite bar in Denver: The Cherry Cricket. We watched football and enjoyed some laughs together. Shaya and I escaped to the nearby Crate & Barrel for a little bit before watching the end of the game with the guys at the bar. 

Tonight we are going down to Castle Rock to have dinner with a bunch of people that Jackson used to work with at Schwab. The lady who moved here brought along 3 of his old team members. He is excited to catch up with some old friends. 

This has been an unexpected but very welcome visit. We've had fun! :)

Back to work

I made it back to the office today! Yay! It was nice to be out of the house and back with people again. I am extremely sore after a full day of being up and around on my crutches, but so be it. It felt good to drive again. It was not too painful minus the whole getting in and out of the driver's seat part. You forget how much you take for granted being able-bodied. I keep telling myself that I will never do that again. I will appreciate being able to open doors for myself. I will appreciate being able to scurry into the office on a chilly morning. I have learned to appreciate all of the handicap access that buildings have now. Those automatic doors are lifesavers!

People were very friendly and helpful today. There are some days when you feel down and out about the state of the world. Then days like today make you believe in mankind again.

Tomorrow is Friday! Alright! Lovely! Jackson and I have being lazy around the house this evening...something we plan to continue into the weekend! It is tough being a hobbler.

I hope you all have a lovely LONG weekend!

P.S. How about that plane crash out in NYC? God is good. No one died?! That's incredible. Hats off to that captain,his crew and the true Man in charge.

"The nation's evil"

I didn't make it to work today. :( I woke up feeling awful. This darned surgery/ pain medicine has kicked my arse. I haven't taken a pain pill for over 24 hours now so I am hoping that I will get back to normal feeling. Sure, my knee is killing me. I just couldn't take any more upset stomach- that's worse! MacKenzie and I lounged around the house until Jackson got home from work. I had to miss school because I didn't want to throw up in class. Nice, right? We had to be out of the condo tonight because our landlord was showing it to potential renters. What a bad night to be kicked out! I spent an hour tidying up and we were out the door. (Side note: Our landlord got stood up! Bummer! We were hoping to move sooner.)

We decided to eat a Texas Roadhouse tonight because I really wanted a salad and sweet tea. I crutched in to the restaurant- after 2 nice gentlemen held doors open for me- and got a table. I was so thirsty and just wanted a sweet tea. We were seated across the aisle from an older nurse and her son who was leaving to go into the Navy this weekend (I eavesdrop- sue me!) anyway the nurse was one of those know-it-alls. Jackson would argue that all nurses are. ;) She was drinking unsweetened tea and when the waitress accidentally refilled her tea with sweetened she flipped out. She told the waitress that ingesting so much sugar in tea was the cause of diabetes in this nation. (Which should mean that NO ONE in Colorado should have diabetes since you cannot find sweet tea here to SAVE YOUR FREAKIN' LIFE!!!!!!!!!!) The waitress nodded and moved on. When she came back by to refill my sweet tea I told her to load me up with the "nation's evil!" The nurse gave me a dirty look. So be it. She was rude to go on a rant about a southern treat.

The rest of our meal went on without a hitch and we're now in for the evening. I don't take kindly to people dissing sweetened tea. I bet that lady smokes! Ugh!

Good night! I have to work tomorrow for sure. Please keep me in your prayers.

Walking...almost

Ugh. This morning I had an appointment with both my doctor and physical therapist. Talk about a rough morning. Jeesh. The doc just did the normal, "this is what the inside of your knee looks like" chat and sent me on my way. They are always so proud of their pictures from inside your knee. I always feel badly when I tell them that those photos mean nothing to me. I do not know what a "normal" knee looks like so showing me my "abnormal" knee looks fine to me. I was able to see how out of place my kneecap was- that was neat! Other than that I just nod...kind of like clients do in tax meetings. ;)

I had a new physical therapist today, Michael. He was nice and we talked football as he bent my knee in 900 ways. I was not entirely ready for PT today, but so be it. I ended up being able to get my knee bent to 105 degrees! Yay! (That's darn good for my 1st day!) I also rode the stationary bike for 5 minutes! Again that was a superb accomplishment for my first day back in PT. Michael was pleased and sent me on my way. Jackson left work to take me home as I was not quite ready for work yet. I'll return tomorrow.

I made myself a quick lunch and took my medicine. I am now off to nap the afternoon away. I made progress in PT, but now I am sore!! I plan to be off of my crutches come Thursday.

Vote for MacKenzie

Susie saw in the IndyStar that Riley Children's Hospital was having a photo contest of pets and nature. We, of course, entered some photos of MacKenzie. You can vote for her @ http://www.photosforhealth.com/ She is on page 80 of the "Animals and Ecosystems" page. Her photo appears mulitple times for some reason so please only vote for the photo that has existing votes. If she wins she will be framed and posted for all of the sick kids to see. How sweet!

Here are the photos we entered:

S. Petefish departs

It snowed this morning. A lot. We took Susie to the airport and then we went to lunch today at our favorite Chinese place. It has been the only thing that sounds good to me lately. Then Jackson had to deal with our bank and McDonald's for charging me $50 for a $25 gift card. UGH! I have been dealing with this since 12/31. McDonald's told us we were trying to scam them out of $25. Yeah, I normally spend hours on a $25 scam! Oh wait. NO! I was so annoyed. I had to crutch myself into the McDonald's to regulate. We finally got the $25 back from the manager's personal wallet. I still have no idea why they thought I would lie about this. I will never go back. 

We took a long nap this afternoon. My medicine makes me really tired. And taking care of me seems to make Jackson really tired. Oops. :) We ran some errands this evening- mostly me keeping Jackson company in the car while he ran my errands. Poor kid. He is not used to this stuff! I think he is ready to be back at work all day! 

We finished off the lasagna that Susie made for dinner tonight. It was a good batch. Thanks again for coming out, Susie. You were super helpful. 

MacKenzie is so tired tonight. She has been snoozin' all evening. Grammy played a lot of ball!

 

Feelin' the pain...

Yesterday was not too bad as far as pain goes. Today, with the anesthesia wearing off, I am not feeling nearly as good. I slept from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. Then from 12:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. I woke up at 4 crying because I missed Madison (my parent's dog). She is such a good nurse dog and has been with me through my other 2 knee surgeries. Jackson was sweet enough to get up with me at 4 and give me more medicine, take MacKenzie out so she could cuddle with me, and stay up talking with me until I felt ok enough to go back to sleep. He is such a good man. I slept from 4-8 then just couldn't take it anymore. I had a pain level of 0 (on that stupid pain chart they make you use at the hospital) and I was ready to go. I took a "European Shower" and then started some laundry. I made myself some breakfast (chicken dumplings again) and just tided up around the house. I took a nap this afternoon while Jackson and Susie went to the grocery, picked me up some Wonton Soup from the Chinese place down the street and baked chocolate chip cookies! YUM! What a spoiled girl I am!! 

Susie changed my dressing on my knee and we discovered that there was an extra hole!!! 4 holes! 4 holes! 4 holes! There were only supposed to be 3! No one asked me! No one told me! HOW RUDE! I was freaking out. I have been told to calm down more than once. I am upset. The doctor will hear about this. Grr. 

Jackson walked MacKenzie to the mailbox and found PRESENTS IN THE MAIL! I LOVE presents in the mail! Danielle sent me the cutest ornament EVER! It is a hand-painted ornament with MacKenzie on it. Oh my goodness is it cute. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT! What a great friend! I wanted to leave it out all year, but decided against it since it was so very Christmas-y. I will definitely look forward to getting it out next year. Thanks so much, D! You are wonderful!! :)

Susie is making her world famous lasagna for dinner tonight. It is Jackson's favorite food. She's been good to us.

I am hoping to iChat with my Mom tonight so that I can see Madison. Guy is trying to find a way to send me a chicken pot pie in the mail. He didn't think he could mail Madison to Denver. Boo. :( They also think flying would be too scary for her. She is getting older. Sad.

If you cannot tell by how boring this post is- I am BORED! Susie is very against us going to a movie tonight, but I intend to keep begging. I am not made to be laid up. :/

I hope you all are well! 

Mummy knee!

Jenna made it through her surgery.  The doctor reported that she has some torn meniscus that he was able to clean up, and that he put a few holes in the tendon that holds her knee cap in place so it can move back in to place.  The whole time in the recovery room she insisted that her nurse looked like little Mackenzie because she was little and had white hair.  I really did not see it, but she was on a lot more drugs then I was  She has been the trooper so far in her recovery she would not even let us make dinner tonight with out her help she peeled the carrots.  After a long day she is now going to be heading to bed, but she wanted everyone to know how much of a help Susie P has been and plans on going to a movie tomorrow despite what Susie P says.

Have a nice weekend.

-Jackson

Married to Jackson...workin' for Jackson

Sorry that this post is a little late. It has been a crazy week! 

Monday I started at Jackson National Life Insurance Company in the Marketing Print Fulfillment department. I work with 5 other ladies who are super nice and very fashion forward. They are all around my age. I have really enjoyed being around my peers. Yay! All of the people on my floor are so nice and all pretty young. I love it! It is also nice that Jackson (my husband! The name of the company and the name of my husband get confusing!) is in the same building- working for a sister company- so I can see him during the day! We have had lunch a few times. Love it!

I started school this week. The prof is the dean of the school and really seems to enjoy teaching. That is a nice change from last quarter! I think this class will be a real challenge- a welcome challenge. 

We had our friend Meg over this week for dinner. She is getting her hair back! YAY! Chemo can't hold her down. After having this busy week at work Meg has been renewed as my hero. I cannot imagine working full-time and doing chemo. She's such a trooper. I am so proud that she is our friend. 

Jackson and I finally got to watch some t.v. tonight. We had not even turned on the television for days! Susie got in town tonight and we took her to our favorite Chinese place. It was great. MacKenzie had forgotten Grammy! She growled, barked and peed! She had NEVER done that! Poor Susie was heartbroken! MacKenzie eventually warmed up and remembered her. Grammy throwing the ball hasn't hurt. ;)

I cannot eat tonight after midnight or drink after 8 a.m. to prepare for my surgery tomorrow. I have to be there at noon and have surgery at 2. Yes, that is a LONG time that I cannot eat or drink. Annoyed. I hope that this surgery will help things. If not, I will again be annoyed.

I will update again when I can. Until then, have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Heidi!

Heidi- we hope you have a wonderful birthday! We love and miss you! (Gunner and Porkchop, too!)

Busy week ahead...

Tomorrow- Monday- is a big day for us! MacKenzie has to go back to Camp Bow Wow (after Mommy promised she did not have to go for a long time- oops!) because I have class and Jackson has a work dinner. I am hesitant to call it "work" since it is at the ESPN Zone in downtown Denver with a bunch of dudes. Whatever. He has to go. That would mean a long day in the cage for MacKenzie. Instead of feeling guilty all day for our dog's legs being crossed we just decided to fork over the cash and send her to camp. I have not told her yet. I am waiting until the morning so she will continue to cuddle with me on the couch tonight. ;) It is really nice though because she gets dropped off tomorrow morning and we won't get her until Tuesday evening and we'll only pay for one night! We'll miss her for the little time that we are home between those times though! She is so much company!

I begin my new job tomorrow, too. I go in at 8:30. I already purchased a bottle of 5 hour energy to help get my through what promises to be a long day of firsts! My first day of work and school. Nothing in my life ever comes gradually. I should work on that. Luckily (or unluckily- it depends on your view of the world) I only have a 4 day week because of my knee surgery on Friday. I have not been to the job yet, but I hope it beats having my knee cut open. I am betting it will. Susie flies in on Thursday night and Jackson cannot wait to see her. I mean I love her and all, but this kid is amped for his "mommy to come visit." I am aware that he is 31 and that is mildly pathetic, but I'll take it.

We spent today running a few errands before our busy week. I had to buy some flats to wear out and to work after my surgery (and possibly before since they're so cute and my knee kills me in heels anymore). Jackson enjoyed driving us around in his new unit. I even drove it. It is like a tank. I'll stick to my luxury Mazda. ;) Oh and new on my car: the tire place lied and told us something was bent that was not. I got the whole thing fixed for an additional $70 instead of $500. Not bad! :)

I feel that God has really blessed us lately. I hope the same is true for all of you.

Have a GREAT week!

Jackson's new ride

Today we felt a little spontaneous so we bought a new car. Yep. We bought a new car on a whim. I know. It is odd. We got a heck of a deal though. They way overpaid us for Jackson's trade-in and we also got the employee discount thanks to our brother-in-law. (Thanks, Tom!) Jackson was so excited. He was like a little kid. He kept calling me the coolest wife ever. I'll take it. ;) (Quite a turnaround from yesterday's grump, I might add!) Smiling with the new unit. It is a Toyota FJ Cruiser. The thing is honestly uglier than sin, but Jackson thinks it is rough and tough looking. Whatever works. :)

Jackson and MacKenzie posing next to the new unit. It snowed a ton here today so it was a perfect day to get Jackson into a 4wheel drive. I think he will really enjoy this ride.

Like I said, I know it is weird to randomly buy a car.

Wash Park

Today I enjoyed my last weekday of "freedom" before school and work starts again. Sad. I am excited for this semester though. And starting a new job is always interesting. Notice I did not say fun.

Jackson had a short work day so I met him at his office at 2:30 and we went to Wash Park. (I have posted about how cool it is before- you may or may not recall. If you don't recall then you better be happy that you do not have to sit for the GMAT, GRE, SAT or LSAT anytime soon because reading for comprehension and memory are important.) Being that is was January 2nd and 60 degrees (again with the love for CO) the park was FULL of dogs. No one had them on leashes! YAY! MacKenzie ran wild for a long time. She loved it! We found an old tennis ball (there are tons of tennis courts there...Jackson is going to join a league this summer! I'll stick to tennis on the Wii) and Jackson threw that ball as far as he could for as long as he could. MacKenzie was in heaven! I got to chat with some fellow dogs owners. Mainly about Marley & Me and how funny it was that MacKenzie can jump so high to get a ball. She impresses people. Except when she won't stop playing ball when we are ready to go. Then Mommy and Daddy are less than impressed. And we matter. We hold the food. ;)

Other than that we did not do much. Jackson seems to be coming down with a cold and has been a bit grumpy this evening. Tomorrow is a new day. I am thankful for that.

Cabbage Rolls!!

For as long as I have been alive my Dad has been making cabbage rolls like this on New Year's Day. There is some superstition that cabbage brings one good luck in the year. I won't argue with it because my life has been pretty smooth sailing for the past 24+ years. I know. I'm getting old. Let's move on.

The rolls in the pot! After I finally convinced Jackson that these are not baked and that I'd seen Dad cook them for years in a pot, we got started. I also had to convince Jackson that I didn't have to cook the rice beforehand. Again. I've seen it done before and he hadn't. After that he gave in and let me lead. Thank you. ;)Yum! The finished product! A cabbage roll is just hamburger (I know. I do not like hamburger but I make an exception for cabbage rolls), onions, white rice (UNCOOKED!) and salt. You roll that mixture into a ball and stuff into the cabbage leaf. It is quite easy and really fun!

And I have added a photo of MacKenzie because she was looking sharp for the new year.

New Year's Day hike

Since we were blessed with a beautiful, sunny 55 degree day on January 1st, we decided to hike at Red Rocks. It is a gorgeous area of Denver. (We'd take you there if you visited! Hint, hint.) I took a ton of photos because my sweet husband bought me a digital picture frame the other night. Why? Just because. Collective Aww. Thank you. I know. He's awesome.

This is looking down into the Amphitheatre built into the rocks. It is awesome. We ran the stairs. That was not so awesome. We intend to go to a concert in the summer because the venue cannot be beat!
This is the view of downtown Denver from to top of the Amphitheatre. Gorgeous.

My husband and perfect little dog. I look at this photo and wonder how I got so lucky!?

MacKenzie taking a break with me during our hike.

It was such a gorgeous hike. I love it! I call this one "A Man and his Dog." This is normally my view during hikes because MacKenzie has never ending energy and pulls Jackson along. (I cannot lead her during hikes because my knee is still too unsteady! BOO!)

This is MacKenzie sitting on a huge rock. She looks so peaceful. I love this little mountain dog.

Today is one of the days that makes us just love being in Colorado. Half-way through of hike we removed our jackets. In January! It was just too awesome. I love that all of this outdoor adventure is right in our backyard. We are truly blessed.

Happy New Year!

Our trip to Indiana

Saturday night Susie picked us up at Indy's new, fancy airport and we headed to dinner downtown. We ate at Harry & Izzy's. It is a sister restaurant to St. Elmo's and has the same shrimp cocktail. YUM! It was so good. Thank you, Susie. After dinner we dropped Jackson off at a bar to hang out with some of his guy friends. Susie and I went to Kroger then headed back to her place. It was so nice to be in Fishers after a few crazy days in NYC!

Sunday morning we woke up and cooked breakfast: Jackson's famous french toast. It was great. Then we headed to church at Grace. It was so nice to be back in our home church. Susie went with us. It was baptism day so she didn't get to see Dave Rod speak. Bummer. After church we ran some errands at Hamilton Town Center. I cannot believe that they built that place as I was leaving. Jerks. We then went back to Susie's house and has Christmas. YAY! Who doesn't love to open presents?! Thanks again, Susie.

My Uncle Duane had some spare front row IU tickets for Sunday's game so we ran down to Bloomington to see our beloved Hoosiers lose to some school we'd never heard of. What a bummer. We still loved seeing our Hoosiers play. While we were in Bloomington we ate a Moe's Mexican Grill and they had-wait for it- white cheese! I was so pleased!

Monday we slept in because Sunday was so busy. Leave us alone. We were on vacation. We went to lunch for Mexican again because it was so good the night before. We took Susie to see Marley & Me. It was a really cute movie. We went from seeing no movies since we'd been in CO to seeing 3 in two weeks! After the movie we headed up to Marion to see my dad and step-mom. We visited with them for a while and saw all of their new toys! We met Christina and Ben for dinner at Pizza King. What a treat! I gave in and went to see my parent's new house. I got to see Macy and Madison so that was a plus. It was nice to see my parents even if the conversation was extremely strained.

We got back to Indy and had 4 hours to sleep before we needed to head to the airport. Sweet. Susie had a flight to Orlando at the same time that we did to Denver so we carpooled. It was nice to get to spend the morning with her. Our flight to Denver felt like it took a lifetime because we were so tired! I dropped Jackson off at his office and headed to get my little dog. I was so happy to see MacKenzie! She was happy, too. I think she thought we had forgotten to come get her. Poor little girl. She was so dirty! We came home and showered right away!! Jackson only had a half-day so I went to get him and we went to lunch. After a quick, but brutally expensive trip to the grocery store we went to bed! Yes, it was about 4pm. We were so tired. We got up for a bit that evening, but not much. We pretty well slept into the next day!

Wednesday Jackson didn't have to be at work until 12:30 so we were lazy and loved it! We had nowhere to be and didn't feel guilty for sleeping in. (Not that the guilt hurt us much on our vacation, LOL!) MacKenzie went for a haircut at Petsmart. She was so mad that I was leaving her again. She screamed and cried. I felt awful. She looks so cute now though. She has a real schnauzer haircut. I did some shopping, but the mall was still insane. I thought by New Year's Eve the mall would have calmed down some. It had not. Where is the recession when I need it?! The rest of our day was spent running errands and catching up after being gone for a week. We never vacation for that long so it really threw us off schedule. We cooked a turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy for a New Year's dinner. (We missed Christmas dinner and had a cold pizza so we felt it was fitting to do it up for New Year's!)

We made it to see the ball drop on NYC time, but were in bed before it was officially 2009. We're old. What can I say?

Happy 2009!