2009....a new dimension.

I always feel welcomed in Wausau!
Inside The Wausau Mine Company. Great food and amazing atmosphere.
It was cool to re-connect with Holly
I loved this pic of Heidi. It is definitely Facebook material.
I stayed at The Hotel Marla. She is an awesome friend!
This is my new hat. I think it may just be on my head permanently.

So, have you broken any resolutions yet? Me either, but it is only 1:30 a.m. here. It was a great last day of 2008. I was able to head up to Wausau on Tuesday. I went real early because snow was in the forecast and I am so glad I did. I am very thankful that my dad knocked on my door at 8 a.m. and encouraged me to get going in order to beat the storm. In Wausau they got about four inches during the day. I met up with some friends at The Wausau Mine Company that evening. Can you say: "I want some cheese on my cheese, please?" Me either, but their food is amazing. My favorite is the Italian french fries which are little morsels of goodness consisting of a pizza crust smothered in mozzarella cheese. We also had some pizza but by the time you pig out on the fries you have very little room for the pizza.

Marla and I stayed up until two talking. She is an awesome friend. I really am so blessed to have the people in my life that I do. I am always in awe due to the way that I can be away for months and instantly re-connect with my Wisconsin friends.

Today, I was able to meet up with an old friend from my ward in Wausau and her family. Holly is a good kid who just returned from her mission. She is figuring out her life and it will be fun to see where it all takes her.

Tonight, I came back to Rhinelander and spent time with the fam. We met for dinner and then came home. Andi and I watched Friends and then turned to each other at midnight and said nonchalantly, "Happy new year." I didn't watch all of the episodes that we watched because I was asleep for about half of them. I guess I really am getting old. Old people don't make it to midnight. They go to bed at like ten or eleven. Maybe it is true that you revert back to your childhood as you age seeing tiny kids usually miss the ringing in of the new year. Life sure is a roller coaster.

2008 leaves with many adventures had. It was the year of, "Whatev," for me. I really like that theme so I am keeping it this year but adding the theme "opening to possibilities" to it. Of course, I also have some resolutions but I am keeping them to myself so all of you cannot point and laugh at me when I break them. I should write a list for myself before going to bed tonight, though. Then the only person pointing and laughing will be me. I look forward to all of the experiences I will be blessed with this coming year.

Here is to 2009 being one of the greatest years for each and every one of us. Happy New Year to all and to all a good night. I cannot even say see ya next year because I missed my chance. I guess I will have to settle for a see you in the future!

Christmas...

We finally had Christmas on Friday. They Meyer Nuthouse was here(my seester's family). It was an adventure as always. We had to, at the request of Rebecca, open presents as soon as they arrived. The pajama pants I sewed for everybody were a hit. Everybody wore them at least once during the weekend(by the way everybody had their own pair, they did not have to share just one pair like the last sentence may have implied!)! After we opened presents, we had a great lasagna dinner. I always get lasagna when I come home, I love it!

Yesterday and today we just hung out mostly. We did make a trip to the grocery store and to Goodwill yesterday. Good times. Last night, most of us played a game all together. It is always fun to spend time with family. We had a lot of laughs.

Today half of the Meyer crew headed back to Madison. I already miss the dog, Divot. Okay, I miss my nephews and brother-in-law too. Divot was a fun addition to our celebration. He was funny because he kept getting on the counter and stealing food. He loved to help "do the dishes" as you can see by the photo of him searching for treats in the dishwasher. I had fun playing pull with him and he took me for a walk yesterday. Yes, I did say that he took me for a walk. I was guided where to go by him and he even pulled me on the ice a few times. Adventures everywhere!

Today has been a quiet day filled with breakfast with family and watching the Packers win! Yipee. It as fun to just lounge around and watch and read my book as the commercials were on. I am currently reading Yes, Man. It is the real life story that the new Jim Carrey movie is based on. I am enjoying it. I do not know why I favor non-fiction, I just do.

Well, not much else going on here. The winter sunsets have been wonderful lately. At work two weeks ago, I made co-workers stop what they were doing and go outside to look at a fabulous sunset. The one here tonight was awesome too and I enjoyed just vegging in front of the computer and taking it in. Pausing and loving life in moments is very fulfilling. Try it sometime.

Well, until later: Cheers!

Meet Gabby!

This is a picture of my cousin's daughter. She made me smile and laugh quite a lot in the last few days. When Shannon told Gabby that she had to get ready to go to Nana and Papa's to go see them and Alice, Gabby said: "Alice won't be there mom, she lives in wonderland and wears a blue shirt." Shannon convinced her that I would be there anyway and it was pretty funny when they arrived and I actually was wearing a blue shirt. Funny thing, it was the only shirt I had with me on the trip at that time. Cool that it was blue. The funnier part of this story was when Shannon was getting Gabby ready to leave Gabby said: "We can't leave mama, people will miss me." Shannon then asked who would miss her to which Gabby responded: "Nana, Papa and Wonderland." This is really the first time ever that I have not been offended by somebody refering to me as Alice in Wonderland because it was just so honest and cute and new. Wonderland is a great name. I may, in fact, legally change it. I won't even keep my last name either because of all the misspellings and I will just go by one name, Wonderland. I will be a part of the elite group of people who go by one name: Madonna, Jewel, Prince, Diddy, etc.

Another cute thing about Gabby is that when she was about one and was being explained the concept of Christmas, she decided that for Jesus' birthday there must be "happy cake." Each year my aunt and uncle buy a cake for Gabby so they can sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and blow out candles for him. I would think this were a weird tradition if the kids weren't involved but I highly enjoyed singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus yesterday. Here is a picture of the cake:

It was funny to watch as Shannon's other kid, Thomas, tried to blow out the lighter every time Shannon tried to light the candles, which said 2008. We did not help matters by all laughing at him when he tried this. He thought he was pretty funny and kept blowing the candles and lighter out about four times. So cute! I had a lot of fun playing with those kids while being in Green Bay. Really, when it boils down to it, I am sure I was supposed to be in Green Bay early. I honestly believe you are always where you are supposed to be. I really enjoyed seeing my cousin and aunt and uncle and of course seeing my Grandma Rita. It as a nice experience to have them all to myself for a change seeing I usually am sharing them with other family. It was a fun experience.

Enjoy a picture of my cute grandma when I surprised her the other day when my uncle went to pick her up for a hair appointment. She is so cute. I just want to fold her up and carry her everywhere with me in my pocket. Okay, so that is a bit morbid but I would like that thought, if we really could fold people up and carry them everywhere with us.

And here is a picture of the snow across the street from my aunt and uncle's, it was very high:

Well, I am off to have the family Christmas party in a bit. It will be so awesome to see everybody. I like that Christmas gets to be about a week long and not just one day. Good times! Cheers.

Green Bay Times

Today it was snowing. I think it does that a lot around here seeing the snowbanks are about at my waist in most places. Some are so big that the mailboxes look as if they were meant to be held up by the snow. It is weird. So, Utahns, you cannot complain about the little snow you have had so far(yes I know some of you are going: "but we just got six inches the other day"). The total here in Green Bay is about 36" and that is just in December alone! Crazy. I am regretting not bringing boots along.

Many of you did not get the end of my story of my flying adventure. I did get on a flight to Green Bay, obviously. The little ticket counter lady was very nice to me. I thought I would just come here seeing my parents had planned on driving here today. I figured I saved myself a bus ride(the only way to get to Rhinelander last night was to get on a chartered bus) and a car ride. The total of all the driving would have been about five hours. It was a good deal to get on a GB flight seeing that many flights were booked. My aunt and uncle picked me up and took good care of me. I am even without clothes because my luggage went to Rhinelander without me. Apparently, the luggage would fit on the later flights just not the people. My aunt and uncle provided me with pajamas and I just wore the same clothes today. It as nice to have an easy choice when it came to what to wear today! Ha.

I got to surprise my grandma because she thought I would be with my parents today. (The parents have not gotten here btw. They decided not to brave the weather and drive.) I went with my uncle to take my grandma to get her hair done. When she was getting in the car, I said: "Hi, grandma!" Luckily, that did not startle her and she was delighted to see me. Her appointment was in Walmart so it was convenient for me to go and buy a few things that I needed, like deodorant and a few shirts.

My cousin also came to visit with her two kids today. I had a fun time coloring with them and playing. They are so very cute. Unfortunately, I do not have my camera cord so you will not be seeing any pictures until that gets here. I am glad to know where my suitcase is but am frustrated about all the stuff I do not have. Sigh, oh well.

By the way, Happy Christmas. I hope that the warmth of the holiday is settling into your soul. I hope you feel the love of God and how amazing the gift of His son truly is. I hope you know that I know Christ is the Savior and that I also know that he still lives. He not only was born for us but the greatness of his life and the gift of his death was for us. I know that life's journey is all about learning and drawing closer to our Creator through Christ. Please take a moment and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. I am saddened by the loss of that true meaning of Christmas. Some people might as well just call it Mas, because Christ is lost in all the presents, decorations, and food. I feel so blessed to know my Savior and to celebrate his birth at this time. I hope that all of you have a very merry Christmas and that you are surrounded by love and peace. Cheers!

The Traveling Alice Update

Here is the latest in the long saga. I read my ticket wrong and actually was booked on a flight to rhinelander for tomorrow. That would have made for difficult times because my parents are planning to drive to Green Bay tomorrow. Well I got on a flight going to Green Bay tonight at seven. My wonderful aunt and uncle are going to take me in for the night, saving me a five hour bus ride tonight followed by a two and a half hour car ride tomorrow. This is good news. I am hoping that this next flight will have no problems. If it does, I may just request a flight to Fiji and say sorry family...I got a better offer.

Here is to all of you having the Christmas spirit and to me getting it back! Cheers!