Almost 11 inches!  And at least a couple pounds, I’m sure :)

Scored some great deals for my classroom at Staples (Just a warning to my family that it’s 1 cent folder week at Office Max so I’ll be requesting some help!)

Bought a $35 lamp that I’ve had my eye on for $15 after remembering about a gift card I’ve had for at least 2 years.

Great lunch of baked veggies over noodles.

Awesome, long nap on the couch with Tony.

Happy hour slushes at Sonic.

New fishing pole from the sporting goods store (for Tony, not me.)

Reading on the canoe around Reed’s lake and on the grass on the shore of Reed’s lake.

Catching a fish (again Tony, not me.)

Ready to tutor and work in my classroom tomorrow!

This year I am determined to prove that I can keep plants alive, not only because I want something pretty to look at on our deck, but because I want to prove that I can be trusted with the plants I’m hoping to plant in the front of our house this summer.

So I headed to Meijer for some potting soil, then grabbed a shovel, the empty planter, and some flowers given to me by a couple students this year and started planting!

Here is the final product.

I realized once I finished that I should have added more soil before I put the plants in because they look pretty low in the pot, but I didn’t think pulling the plants out and trying again would help my chances of keeping them alive.

I watered the flowers yesterday after planting and again today, but only after Tony came home from work and reminded me.  The potting soil I bought says Miracle Grow on the bag.  I’m thinking that’s what it might take for these flowers to make it to the end of the summer!

We followed dinner with a game of scrabble…

…while we ate scrabble tiles- rice krispy treats cut in little squares and decorated with frosting letters- for dessert.

My highest word score was 36 and Tony’s was 42!

In order to try to save as much money as possible and to keep in line with my New Year’s “word” (more on this later, but it’s along the lines of a New Years resolution) I decided to sign up for a $1, four week trial of the grocery game.  In short, this program matches store deals to coupons to give you the maximum savings.  One of the stores I am signed up for is Walgreens.  This afternoon, armed with my coupons, grocery game list, and a pair of scissors in my purse, I ventured out to Walgreens to see what I could do.  Here is what I brought home:

Two tubes of mascara, two packages of girl stuff, three containers of Ajax, one bottle of shampoo, one bottle of hand soap, one package of 25 Electrasol dishwasher tabs, and one small package of m&m’s (which I threw in just so I could use another coupon) came to a total of $47. 03.  What did I pay?  $2.09.  Yes, $2.09!!  What’s even better is that after I send in $1.50 rebate my total out of pocket expense will be $0.59!!

I’m looking forward to playing my newfound game at Meijer later this week.  From what I understand grocery gamers can save between 50 and 60% each week on their groceries.  I’m excited to see how it all works out and if it’s worth continuing “the game” once my initial trial period is over.  I’ll be sure to keep you posted!

Tony and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary at the beginning of January.

We celebrated Tony’s 27th birthday in February!

My 27th birthday weekend in March was celebrated with family at my Uncle Tommy’s house up north. We skiied Schuss Mountain, sledded down the deck stairs, and enjoyed our time together.

My Yiayia and I took a very last minute trip to visit my Aunt Wendy and Uncle Billy in warm, sunny Florida in April. We spent a wonderful few days laying in the sun, walking on the beach, and spending time with my aunt and uncle.

Our beautiful neice, Ellyssa, was born in May on her parents 4 year anniversary! Tony and I first met her when she was just a couple hours old and fell in love with her instantly.

A few days later we had family over to celebrate Ellee’s homecoming.

Tony played with two different bands at the Grand Rapids arts festival in June. This was the beginning of many different gigs, including a small group leader’s celebration, a wedding, and an ex-prisoner’s retreat!

Tony was a groomsman in our friends Jeff and Jess’s wedding on June 13th. We had a great time celebrating with them!

During a bad storm that caused our power to go out in July, Tony created an alarm to let us know if the water in the sump pump gets dangerously high.

We also saw some amazing 4th of July fireworks in Grand Haven with Jen, Phil, and the kids. We decided next year we’ll try to camp in Grand Haven over the fourth of July to avoid the traffic after the fireworks, and because it would be fun!

We took a trip down to Marshall in August to attend an annual summer party hosted by Tony’s college friend Amy’s family. Tony was asked to sing a couple songs with the band!

After leaving Marshall we headed to Silver Lake to vacation with our extended family. We had a blast camping for the first time together. We went boating, climbed to the top of a very tall lighthouse, drove Jeeps on the dunes, rode bikes, and had some hilarious conversations around the campfire.

Over Labor Day weekend, Tony, Dana, and I spent a night with my Aunt Cinda and Uncle Kenny at Crystal Lakes. Tony and my Uncle Kenny spent a lot of time fishing, prompting Tony to buy his (our) own canoe a few weeks later.

We also enjoyed hosting family who came to visit and see our house for the first time.

We celebrated a beautiful fall day in October with Jen and Phil and the kids. We carved pumpkins and made fall-like soup and dessert.

In November we spent a fun filled day in Muskegon with Jen and Phil and Phil’s extended family. We took a walk through the woods, took a tractor ride, ate amazing caramel apples, the men did some shooting, and we cooked our dinner on the fire.

In November Tony had the opportunity to sing with the Grand Rapids Evangelical Choral Society. It was fun to see Tony performing, even if I did struggle to keep my eyes open during the concert :)

We traveled down to Kentucky to spend time with Tony’s family for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time! Tony skillfully conquered the Gordion’s knot puzzle, impressing everyone.

In December we shoveled A TON of snow what seemed like a couple times a day! Tony perfected the art of making faux round ball soup, and we celebrated Christmas with my side of the family in Detroit.

We have been so blessed this year, and we looking foward to seeing what God has in store for us in 2009!

This is the view from our garage this morning:

I started to tackle the driveway this morning starting with Tony’s side so he won’t  have to hike up the house when he gets home tonight.

After a glass of water, reeses pieces, and an episode of Gilmore Girls, I’m heading back out to work on the other side!

Tony loves me :) He tells me multiple times a day. But that’s not how I know he loves me. I know because…

-He vacuumed the living room yesterday because he knows I like the house to look nice when people come over.

-He made me special chicken noodle soup that mimics (quite well, I might add) my favorite soup growing up.

-He tells me I’m hot, even when I have Kleenex stuffed up my nose to keep it from running.

-He thought to take and bring home a serving of this amazing cheese and a piece of the best cheese cake I have ever eaten after he played at the women’s event at church and served it to me on the couch.

-He doesn’t mind that he has been eating soup and cereal for dinner because I haven’t felt like cooking.

-He gets up during his favorite show to fill my water bottle to make sure I’m drinking enough water to get this cold out of my system.

-He drives slowly and carefully in the snow so that I feel safe in the car.

-He took the bathroom trash out before garbage day because it was full.

-He wraps up random things around the house and puts them under the tree so that I don’t guess what he is getting me for Christmas.  And then when he realizes that my body would benefit from the Vitamin C he wrapped in one of the packages up thinking we didn’t need it he opened the gift to get it out.

I love that Tony tells me he loves me often, but I don’t need to hear those words to know.