Happy new years eve from the embassy suites

Gotta love the free managers reception baby! More to come!

still rockin it since 2001

we met the summer of 2001.
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got engaged in july of 2006.

then married on dec 30 2006.

last year we celebrated one year of marraige.

then we took the big plunge and got a home this august.

im excited to say that today is our 2nd wedding anniversary and we are still rockin.
a lot has changed in the past 7 years but our love has done nothing but get better.
joel is an amazing man and i am blessed to have him to take such good care of me.
thanks for your love mr joel.
...also thanks for the tiffany's bracelet.
you still know the way to my heart. :)

feliz cumpleanos linsey

happy birthday girl!

oh penny cat...

why do you always get into shenanigans?
christmas morning i found penny lane in the box my dad sent with our christmas gifts,that was full of packing peanuts, of course.
being the little furry static ball she is they all stuck to her...
pretty funny stuff folks.
like america's funniest home videos stuff.
gotta love her.

christmas cats...

felix and pj in their christmas outfits.

thanks a lot megan...

just what we needed...
a 10 ft lil red. haha
NOT!
too bad joel loves it...
he can live outside under the deck, i guess with joel's homemade gigantic red N that lights up the whole backyard...

ugly sweater

after jimbos surprise party joel and i headed to e'z place for the ugly sweater party minus our ugly sweaters.
it was fun to see connie, kathy, linsey and matt all in ridiculous sweaters, sweater vests and holiday turtlenecks.
next year i will plan ahead and get us some ugly ones...

bff's forever...literally.

meet kylee and chrissy.
we met at mary johnson's home daycare in 1985 (or around there)...
people let me tell you we were trouble with a capital T.
we spent most of our days at daycare eating soap and with our noses on the wall...
but boy did we have fun.
we were the 3 musketeers and did everything together growing up.
i heart these girls.
kylee has since moved to north carolina and chrissy lives in kansas.
last night was the first time in about 6 years that we have all hung out together.
we decided to stop by mary's to say hello.
we ended up sitting around the old dinning room table were we use to make crafts and eat our meals last night for about 3 hours and just chatting about the good old days.
where we were, where we are going and overall how old we have all gotten and how weird it is that we all grew up.
mary still runs a daycare and her house looks almost the same.
we had to check out our old stomping grounds in the basement and it was crazy to see the same old toys! too bad we all dont fit the same...



thanks for the fun mary.
we heart you and the years we all spent driving you crazy!

surprise! happy birthday jimbo

jimbo was sure surprised at hiro friday night!
there was good sushi, good spicy peanut butter chicken, good drinks, and good (sometimes crazy) conversations.
happy birthday baby!

these are a few of my favorite things...

snowdays and mr joel...yep that's joel scooping snow. what a gentleman.


having a house to decorate for christmas...our christmas tree with presents wrapped underneath.


penny lane cuddling with holiday stuffed animals.


potpies


my new johnny cupcake hat


and of course...the new tony bennett christmas cd.

i heart johnny cupcakes

as you have probably heard me say before i heart johnny cupcakes!
today the ups man came with this fun christmas gift for me from mr. joel.
they have the cutest packaging and marketing ever.

yes that is a yo! mtv rap trading card included in my gift, a johnny cupcakes breath mint and a little panda cupcake button.
joel even got me a sticker that will soon be stuck to my car once i get this snow/salt/grim off of it!
someday i hope to get to one of their bakery stores back east. :)
keep on rocking johnny!

the jerk

speaking of favorite movies...
if you havent seen the jerk watch it.
you will love it.
now i'm going to sleep so joel can talk to me in my sleep.
nighty. night.

View from my desk...

Looks pretty but burrrrrr! And winter doesn't even start until sunday. ugh

legacy

i have always loved this song.
it always makes me think.
how will people remember me?

they would probably say things like:
man that girl loved cupcakes.
she also loved mr joel with wild abandon.
she loved a good rock show and a good glass of red wine with good friends.
danelle was a good and honest friend.
she loved to travel and somehow managed to see a lot of the world before she left it.
she might not have had much money but she could throw one heck of a party.

i hope they would also remember me doing good things for others.
my feeble efforts to make the world a better place through the work i did with the red cross.
the photos that i took that will speak louder than words to generations to come.
the mission work i did to help others around the world.

the legacy i hope to leave is simple.
danelle loved and was loved.

what is your legacy?

Legacy
Nichole Nordeman

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me
And I enjoy an accolade like the rest
You could take my picture and hang it in a gallery
Of all who's who and so-n-so's that used to be the best
At such'n'such ... it wouldn't matter much

I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights
We all need an 'Atta boy' or 'Atta girl'
But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides
The temporary trappings of this world

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

I don't have to look too far or too long awhile
To make a lengthly list of all that I enjoy
It's an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile
Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy

Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred
Just want to hear instead, "Well Done" good and faithful one...

if i had a delorean...

i would go back to wednesday and remember to post my mom's happy birthday blog. doh!
this is what it would look like:
happy birthday mama...

love you.

favorite...

one of my all time favorite movies, all year long, is elf.
i love love love this movie.
ever since the very first time i saw it before it opened in 2003.
i wrote a review for the gateway at uno on the movie.
to read my 'big elf, big city, big laughs' review click here.
i own this movie and still watch it every time i see its on tv, which is like everyday on usa or tbs. so far this month i have watched it 3 times.
love it!
probably because i love will ferrell, he reminds me of joel.
dont be a cotton headed ninnymuggens...watch elf a few times this season!

King of the castle...

Or the orpheum.
Joel in a gold chair in the basement at the orpheum.
We are here tonight to see jim brickman with mom and randy for her bday!

happy birthday daddio schlegelmilch

hope you have another awesome year living the dream!
ride on kim,
ride on.

ketv video link

click here to see the news story ketv did on our holiday card event.
enjoy

cant forget...

so i started this blog friday but never finished it.
friday was the 1 year anniversary of the von maur shootings.
it seems crazy to re-live that day in all its horror.
this whole week it was all i could think of and i am still speechless a year later.
my von maur friends.
the families of those lost.
the ever so sweet survivors. (i heart fred)
friday i went to the remembrance ceremony to support my friends.
it was good to see everyone again but a bittersweet surreal moment all together.
my friend steph (my new orleans police hero) was in town and i invited her to go with me.
as we stood in the freezing cold wind the sun somehow still shined down on us all as friends, families and tears gathered.
a few people spoke as the dozens of news crews went live and feverishly snapped their cameras.
i couldnt help but look at my friends, the survivors, and think wow i wonder what they are thinking now.
i just kept praying that they find the peace i have been praying they would find for the last year.
fred wilson, one of my dear friends and shooting survivor, looked over at me and smiled and said that he was going to be calling me soon about a red cross speaking engagement i had arranged for him. people let me tell you how amazing this man is. he is a living example of forgiveness and hope. so inspirational. every time i see this sharply dressed soft spoken petite man he never ceases to amaze me. his story is an simple story of a man that loves to tell everyone that he is blessed to be alive and feels it is now his job to share his story of forgiveness. he has blessed the red cross by sharing this story about how blood is truly the gift of life and it saved his life.
i always tell him he should write a book every time i hear him speak.
i hope he does. i know if everyone could hear his story the silly things we are worrying about would quickly melt away and we would all be brought back to reality.
life is short-
but life is good.
fred now wears the life is good shirts and i think its a symbol of how with faith and a little hope life is always good no matter your circumstance.

holiday cards for heroes

today we hosted our first annual holiday card for heroes sorting event and it was a great success!
i got to read cards that local schools had made for the troops and they were so cute. below are some of my favorites.
we had around 60 volunteers show up to help us short through a few thousand cards, that came from all over the u.s. for the troops and veterans both locally and serving overseas.
click here to see a story ketv did on us.
if you want to send some cards to help us reach our national goal of 1 million cards you can send them until dec 10 to:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456








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