Out with the old...In with the NEW...

Ahhh - here we are - only a couple of hours from the NEW YEAR!!!  Am I ready for 2011?  I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be.  My biggest gripe is that I will continue to write 2010 on everything for awhile.

Most people make New Years Resolutions.  I don't.  Why?  Because I suck at trying to keep them.  You won't hear me say that I am going to lose weight in 2011.  Would I "like" to lose weight?!  HECK YEAH!  Will I try to lose weight?  Probably...but ultimately, I will fail - LOL.  At least I admit it :)

I have been thinking about things I'd like to accomplish this coming year, however.  Here are a few that I have come up with.  Perhaps if I have them documented on this blog, I can keep reminding myself of them.

1)  Clean off my bookshelf.  It is horribly cluttered with VHS tapes, pictures, picture albums, books, yearbooks, church directories, etc.  It is long over due for a cleaning.

2)  Take the dog and cat to the vet.  They are also over due for their shots which isn't like me.  I am usually on top of taking care of my animals.  I think that I was so worried over my own issues and dizziness that I just let time slip by.

3)  Work with Logan more on his letters, numbers, writing, etc.  My baby will be starting school in 2011 and I need to get him prepared!

4)  HOPEFULLY get over my sinus/inner ear troubles for good.  My dizziness is less now, but still flares up at times.  The sinus issues are almost an everyday occurrence, though. Ugh.  It has gone on long enough I say!

5)  Make something cute or neat with my sewing machine!  I am super excited that I even know how to get it turned on and that I got the thread in it the right way...that's a start, right?!

6) Make sure I go to Sonic every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school - these are our normal Sonic days.  As it is right now, I haven't been in weeks (with the exception of my birthday) and I have a gift card that needs to be used!!!

7)  Go to church more.  We do pretty good in the spring and summer, but then the fall hits and everyone ends up with colds or snotty noses or annoying coughs.  I hope that we can get back in the swing of things soon and get back in church - I miss it and I know how important it is for my kids to go!

8)  Keep on being ME!  I might not be perfect, nobody is.  I might annoy people with my goofiness and random, rambling status updates on Facebook, but that is just me.  I like me most of the time.  I would like a more patient, less tired, skinnier me, but overall, I like me pretty well!

Here's to 2011 - I hope that it is a wonderful year for everyone and I am super excited to see what the New Year holds!!!

My Best of 2010

Well...here we are.  Almost at the end of 2010.  I find myself wondering where the year went, most of it seems to be a blur to me.  It seems like one minute, it was summer and now we are at the end of December.  Whew.  Time goes by too fast!  I have been pondering 2010 in my mind and thought I'd post it here for everyone to relish in my 2010 highlights!

1)  My sweet little Logan turned 4 in 2010.  We had him a birthday party at Gatti Town and had a blast!  Later that night, I ended up with the most  horrific stomach virus, ever.  While the stomach virus part wasn't a "highlight," I am thankful that it held off until that evening, after the party.

2)  My pretty girl, Leah, turned 9 in 2010.  She had a skating birthday party which was loads of fun.  I got to show all the kids my amazing skating abilities.  There was a horrible storm that come through while we had her birthday party - the storm sirens were going off and it was pouring the rain.  But we all had a GREAT time!

3)  2010 was an awesome year because we had my Grandad with us another year.  He turned 91 in June and I am just so super happy to have him in my life.  We had him a birthday party at the church and had lots of fun.  Of course, it is hard not to have fun when Grandad is around.  He always amazes me!  I sometimes reflect on how lonely he must be at his house without my Granny - they were married for over 50 years.  He has held up so well and I just love him to pieces!

Birthday dinner at Ryan's

Grandad and his sister, Lucille at his birthday party

4)  One of the biggest moments of 2010, for me, was taking both of my kids to the beach for the first time.  Neither had been and it was so neat and exciting to see them playing in the ocean!  Logan was fearless and in his own little world the whole time.  Leah found some pretty neat sea shells as well.  We had a great time, once we got there, and I hope that we can go back again sometime soon!

5) July was full of adventures as well...the Lincoln County Fair, 4th of July (which is also my Mom's birthday), and Brad's birthday.  

My family at the LC Fair

Happy Birthday to my MAMA!!!

Grandad with his plaque he got for being the oldest member of the American Legion Firing Squad

Daddy Brad's birthday cake!!!  

6)  In July, we also got to venture to Girl Scout Camp which is so much fun!  Granted, at night, I am terrified, but other than the darkness and the bats and the spiders, it is a blast!  I had some great girls in my tent this year and we all had a good time.  The first night we were there, it was burning hot and it was hard to go to sleep.  About every 5 minutes, Kaitlin would say, "Mrs Erin, it's SOOOOO hot."  We all had fun and I love getting to spend some quality time with Leah.  I did the zipline again this year, and seriously, it was more terrifying this year than it was the previous year.  There's not enough money that can make me do it the next time we go!  Some pictures and video highlight from camp:

The rest of the year had many highlights as well...Leah started 4th grade (*tear*), we went to the zoo, Kids Fest, and had Halloween adventures.  The pumpkin patch is always one of our favorite things to do and this year we went with my friend Victoria and her cute kiddos.  The Forkland Festival was also on our list of "accomplishments" although it wasn't the same this year since Grandad didn't go and Leah was sick and couldn't go.  Mom, Logan, and I had a good time though.  

Fall Break was another wonderful highlight for us this year.  An adventure to Pigeon Forge is always one of my kids favorite things to do.  Lots of go-kart riding, putt-putt golfing, and having fun!  This year we went to the Titanic place too and it was really neat.  The wax museum, however, was by far our funnest time there!!!

2010 has been a trying year, don't get me wrong...it was the year of my horrible ear infection/sinus dramas which resulted in non-stop dizziness.  Physical therapy and doctor visits took up a lot of my summer.  Trying to pretend that I felt good and trying to do things with the kids while my head was spinning was hard to do.  Thank God I managed somehow.  I spent a lot of time praying, a lot of time crying, and a lot of time wondering what was wrong with me.  Finally, back in November, I went for an MRI and was so thankful to know that my brain was NORMAL!  Now when I have the dizzy spells (although they aren't as frequent), I can rest easier because I know that there is no tumor, there is no nervous system disorder, or anything like that going on.  I think that, for me, 2010 has been a very trying, but also a very rewarding year!  

Thanksgiving has passed and so has Christmas.  Another year has passed that I have been without my precious, sweet, and ever-faithful Granny.  I still miss her so terribly.  Another year has passed that my kids have grown and my hubby has continued to work so hard to provide for us.  Although time passes and the years go by, I am truly thankful for all that God has blessed me with.  My family, my friends, my faith, my health, my home, everything!!!  

2010

You have been a rough year

You have been a great  year

I am just thankful to have had another year!!!

Looking forward to what the New Year has in store for the Johnston's!!!

The Great Christmas 2010

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I love Christmas, don't you???!!!  My kids are super excited on Christmas Eve night and especially on Christmas morning.  Last night,  I don't think that I slept much at all.  I kept waking up every 30 minutes or so and looking at the clock to see what time it was.  I knew that the kids would be up early and ready to tackle the presents.  Leah and Brad woke me up, chatting, this morning.  We got Logan up and headed downstairs.  Santa left the kids an air hockey table - SWEET!  That's something we ALL can enjoy :)  

Brad fixed his turkey - the man gets SO excited over cooking things like this.  He was so proud of it that we had to document it when it come out of the oven.  If you look close, you can see some steam coming off the turkey!

The food has been eaten, the dishes are washing, air hockey has been played, the dogs have gotten their Christmas presents and I am completely worn out!  

The next few days will be full of washing new clothes, playing with new toys, watching new DVD's, listening to Brad ask repeatedly if we can take the trees down yet, and eating lots of leftovers.  I always get sad when Christmas comes to an end.  I love the festiveness (is that a word?) of the holidays.  The house always looks so bare when the trees and decorations are gone back to the attic storage.  

We had a great Christmas of hanging out together, being goofy, and having fun!  Leah and I wore our "fancy dresses" last night and did karaoke - she thought that was so much fun (I must admit, I did too!)  Christmas Day has been just as fun!  

I guess we'll wrap the Christmas season up and prepare for a new year of new adventures!  Hope that everyone else has had a wonderful day!

I had a birthday...

My name is Erin and I had a birthday.  I have found, over the years, that birthdays just aren't what they were when you were a kid.  I no longer have that anticipation of "my birthday is almost here."  I just wake up and think, "huh, it's my birthday," and then go on with my normal business.  It's not that I dislike my birthday, I like it...It's not that I don't care about my birthday, I do.  I guess it is just an age thing that makes me just not excited about it anymore.

This year, my sister in law, Sara wanted to have my brother a surprise party.  His birthday is also in December, 10 days before mine.  Her mother, Sue, was in on the plan, and I thought I was too.  I was so super excited about his surprise party - I just kept trying to picture his face when he jumped out and yelled "SURPRISE" at him.  For any of you who know my brother, you know that these things can be iffy with him!  Luckily, he was a really good sport and he really did seem pleased with the party!  What I didn't realize, however, is that the party was also for me.  I was so shocked and then so excited!  I was excited for my birthday!  YAY!

We had a great birthday party, complete with an appearance by Elvis (for me) and Elvira (for Jason)

The next week was my "official" birthday.  December 18th, in case any of you want to add that to your calendar for next year :)

I had a great day on my birthday - Brad got me the 2nd season DVD's of "The Big Bang Theory," which is one of our favorite shows.   I love me some Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Rog.  Leah picked me out a napping garden gnome which I love.  And Logan wanted to get me a stuffed dog...actually, he wanted to get me a stuffed moose, but Leah told him that it would probably be too hard to find one of those, so he went with the dog.  

We ventured to Stanford on my birthday, where we did Christmas with my family.  The next day, on Sunday, we ventured to Harlan to do Christmas with Brad's family and also attend my niece's birthday party.  It was a super busy weekend, but we survived.  Especially me, with my age, these parties can be too much at times!  LOL!

Although getting older isn't exactly a pocket full of sunshine, I don't mind it too much.  Sure, the achy knees, sinus issues, ear issues, never ending face full of zits, fat rolls, cellulite, and general aches and pains aren't fun...at all...but I am thankful for each and every day that God blesses me with!  34 years.  To some, it is old.  To others, it is young.  To me, it just is.  Here's to another year of aches and pains, screwed up inner ear, zits, fatness, and sinus troubles.  Next year, I will be half way to 40, and wonder if I will feel any different than I do this year!?

Stay tuned - next year will be here before you know it!!!

Saluting the Potato Peeler

I love food.  We all know that.  Just like we all know that we need air to breathe.  That's how I am with food.  One of my favorite foods is potato soup.  It is just so good.  Sprinkle some cheese on it.  Dip some bread in it.  My, my, my...yummy!  We found an awesome recipe online for potato soup that is supposed to be like the potato soup from Outback.  Here it is if you are interested: 

http://www.recipezaar.com/Outback-Potato-Soup-253163

The thing that I hate about potato soup, however, is that it takes so long to make it.  Wash the taters, peel the taters, cut the taters, boil the taters.  My life has always been pretty easy with taters, though, thanks to my trusty potato peeler.  I have used the same one since I was married I think.  Not that I ever peeled many potatoes in our early years of marriage - we were more fans of Chef Boyardee back then :)  

My trusty tater peeler...I loved it...it fit in my hands great, it peeled those potatoes like magic...and then, tragically, it BROKE!  Along with the broken potato peeler, my heart also broke.  I might be able to super glue it back, we'll see.  

I hadn't peeled anything since my broken potato peeler incident, my heart just hasn't been able to accept it's fate.  However, today, my urge and desire for tater soup proved too strong and I had to give in.  I peeled potatoes with *gasp* another potato peeler.  This one is too big, my hand doesn't grasp it as comfortably as it did the other one.  It cuts too deep into the potato too, I think.  However, with it being bigger, it also made potato peeling a bit faster.  I might not be able to use my  hand tomorrow since those muscles got a good workout, but at least the taters were washed, peeled, cut, and boiled and are now resting, happily in the pot on the stove top.  

Today - I salute you, hard to hold potato peeler, because you stepped up and helped  me fulfill my stomach's desire for tater soup.  Thank you tater peeler...you can never replace potato peeler #1, but it is nice to know that there's always someone else to lean on when I need to.

Baby...it's COLD outside!

This cold weather is already driving me crazy and we are just a little over half way through December.  I hate being cold.  As most of you parents know, cold weather also means lots of indoor time with the children.  Here are some sights from our past few days/weeks.

The Grinch and his trusty sidekick, Max provided
my kiddos with some fun

Leah was sick with Strep on the day of the Christmas parade.
The Girl Scouts were supposed to dress up like characters from "The Grinch."
Since we couldn't go to the parade, we did our own thing at home 

Cold weather even makes Cosmo pretty lazy...

We got up and got ready for church, and then it started snowing.  We chose to stay home and
had our own story and activity at home.  The birth of Jesus!  It all worked out well and Leah
even suggested that we have our own church service EVERY week!  LOL!

The first snowfall of the season was lots of fun for the kiddos!

Our beautiful snow lady

I hope that all of my blog followers, friends, family, and Facebook friends have a wonderful Christmas!!!

And most importantly - STAY WARM!!!