Goodwill Finds :)

Greg and I decided to get out of the house for a bit today and try to find an ottoman/coffee table. We had originally been looking for an ottoman, but with how picky I am we couldn't find anything that I liked well enough for the price. We then decided maybe a coffee table was the way to go for now. We had $60 in Walmart gift cards from Christmas (we usually do not shop at Walmart, but figured we would put the money to good use). The "furniture department" was somewhat lacking so we used the gift cards on items for the iPad instead :)

While leaving Walmart we saw a furniture store that was going out of business. We hopped in there for a few minutes and Greg found a pretty nice/functional coffee table, but my picky taste quickly vetoed it. I guess I'm looking for a coffee table that has been repurposed into a coffee table, something that I won't feel bad painting over or sanding down at some point.

After that it was off to Goodwill which was also in the same area as the other two stores. We did not have much luck in the coffee table/ottoman department, but I totally scored in the book section! Being a teacher, children's books always grab my attention and for $0.99 or less I could not pass them up! I limited myself to 10 books, I had 13 but put three back before the purchase. Here were some of my cool finds.

my students have always loved this book. it is a story of all of the typical fairytales, but with a humorous twist.

boys always need their nonfiction shark texts as well as their Captain Underpants comic!

books with great illustrations. verdi is a snake that is afraid to change and become like older snakes, but realizes that change doesn't need to be scary. Little boy is a cute poem.

All books that I remember loving growing up. Why not get them for my own little one someday for only $0.99?!

I also got two other books that had the book sleeve missing with the cover illustration, but the books themselves are in excellent condition. The Mitten and The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett. I was so excited about my 10 books for $8.92. It was exciting to find ones that I cherished as a child, a student, and a teacher. I will definitely continue my Goodwill book search in the future. There were so many I had to pass up!

Under Construction

I figured I would take some of my free time to do a blog makeover. Trying a lot of new things to figure out what I like so you may see a lot of changes here over the next few days. Also, one of my New Year's resolutions is to take more pictures (even of the mundane things in life) and to document through blogging WEEKLY. This will by no means be loads of fun and interest for anyone who follows my blog, but will allow me to look back at my blog years down the road and feel like I didn't miss out on documenting any memories. Happy New Year everyone! Have fun and be safe :)

Back to Oregon

We helped Janell pack the best that we could, but by Monday morning (day of departure) it was clear that not everything was going to fit! Thankfully she has wonderful friends who offered to store items until she can come back and take another car load. This is what our vehicle looked like...

from the back

middle

front

Amanda's cocoon. She swore she was fine and didn't mind the tight space

We ate here twice on the drive home. I never knew what the big deal was about In N Out Burger, but I admit, it's pretty darn good!

We didn't leave Janell's place until 12:30 that afternoon. Luckily roads were clear and traffic wasn't too bad. I crawled into bed at 5 am Tuesday morning. I don't see any 16 hour road trips in my near future. At least not where we drive all through the night!

California Family

Another "must" on my list (I guess the only other one besides Disneyland) was being able to visit my cousin Karen and her family. Janell was so blessed to have family living near her in California. I appreciated her sacrificing packing and moving time to allow us to visit The Jones'.

with my cousin Karen's adorable kids Naomi and Elijah

we got there just as they woke up from naps

Janell will miss her snuggle buddy

Naomi and I played a lot of hide and seek while we were there

I just realized I did not get a picture of my cousin Karen! She was taking pictures as well and I know we got one of us all with her camera. I will have to add one of those photos to this post later on. Hope you all enjoy seeing family this Christmas season!

My California Adventure

I realize it seems crazy that I am blogging the day before Christmas Eve. Especially since Greg and I have a family get together in Portland tonight and I haven't even packed. I figure I am going to be so busy the next few days that by the time I have a chance to blog I will have SO much to write about I may as well write an update before more blog worthy things happen.

On December 13th my cousin Amanda and I flew to southern California to spend the week with my cousin Janell who would then be moving back to Oregon a few days later. We had offered to help her pack and be road trip buddies on the long drive home, as long as we got to go to Disneyland. It was a fantastic trip and it was great to be able to relax, and also enjoy the near 70 degree weather!

on the tram heading to the park!

I had never been to Disney over Christmastime, but it is beautifully decorated

The Haunted Mansion was in the theme of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Even the entire ride was changed inside. We had to ride it twice to take in the whole thing :)

I loved the fun Christmas decor throughout the park

What is it about a castle that makes me feel like a five year old little girl?

with Janell in front of the castle

I was a nerd and wanted to document all the "Christmasy" things. Thanks for posing with me Amanda!

Thunder Mountain

Okay, so Amanda and I seriously debated on going on Splash Mountain. It was only 66 degrees out and we knew would be at the park for 9 more hours at that point, possibly soaking wet... but we couldn't resist! Naturally we were sat in the very front of the ride, and we did get SOAKED. But it was worth it!

They had a cute Christmas parade that night.

Don't worry, we know the guy in the back HA! We didn't know he was creeping in our pic at the time though.

Waiting for the fireworks

I tried to capture the fake snow... even though I am an Oregonian and have experienced real snow, this was kinda magical :)

Probably the best firework show I have ever seen.

in front of It's a Small World

this ride was also changed for Christmas

the song throughout the ride was a medley of It's a Small World and We Wish You a Merry Christmas

The last time I had been to Disney with my cousins was twenty years ago. We had such a good time together!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Lights

Greg and I decided not to get a tree this year because we don't have the room in our apartment. After making that decision I am regretting it. I have my other Christmas decorations up, but it's just not the same without a tree. I even stopped by a tree lot today to get a tiny 3 footer, but it was $22!!! I think we got our 6ft tree for $25 last year.

Anyway, I needed my Christmas tree fix so when I was in Monmouth for class on Tuesday I had to document the decorated tree on campus :) I had a bit of a moment realizing this would be the last time I would be around to see the tree on campus. Can't believe my time at WOU is almost over...

And of course on my way home through Corvallis I had to drive through the PEPSI Co Christmas lights :) So for all you OSU grads, here is a little bit of Corvallis Christmas for ya!

I remember the first Christmas Greg and I were dating he drove me through to see the lights at Pepsi and I loved it. Driving through by myself on my way home from a class, not as memorable, but still fun.

 Christmas would not be Christmas without light up Disney characters lol ;)

Hmm, maybe since we aren't getting a tree I can make up for it with Christmas lights inside :)