It's not officially winter according to the calendar...

...but they who live in the valley could give a damn about "official." As soon as the first post-fall rain storm comes in it's officially winter. Mostly because it rarely snows or gets blow 31 degrees. Every year Tyrell and I have the same discussion, "you would THINK after YEARS of living in the valley that people would learn how to drive in the rain!" I say this because every night when I get off work and get onto HWY 20 (where the speed limit is 55) ALL of the drivers go 35-45 miles an hour!!! Yes, those who know me will agree that I'm the most impatient person in the world...but COME ON!!! To top it off, when it snows less than a quarter of an inch...SNOW DAY! I'll admit I still don't know how to drive in the snow (stop laughing Tyrell and Lindy), but when you can still see asphalt through fresh snow...there's little need to panic. I say all of this because it actually snowed in the valley...in November. Mind you it wasn't SNOW by my husband's standards (being from Eastern Oregon where it starts snowing after Halloween), but still white powdery goodness none the less. So what kind of tradition do we form as a newlywed couple? We made coffee, poured it in mugs, and stood on the porch and looked at the white dust that settled into our neck of the valley. I even almost fell on my ass, which pretty much cemented that new tradition for us, because nothing says typical annual occurrence like Dani falling on her ass in 1/8 of an inch of snow and the ONLY patch of ice in our driveway. I can hear the chuckling now...

Not much else going on. We're staying here for the holidays because we couldn't get the requested time off work this year. That's OK though. It's our newlywed year, and everyone has been super understanding of the fact that we need to kind of make our own traditions (see coffee in snow above). Some new things that have happened though:
New Toys:
Tyrell got me a Sony Pocket E-reader as an early Christmas present! It's AWESOME! He had to really work on me logically to get me OK with a piece of technology that goes against every nerd fiber of my being. I like books. I love the feel and smell and sound of pages turning. What I don't like is how expensive they are, and how much space they take up, and packing them when we move. Seriously. So after months of logic and persuasion I said, "OK." I gotta tell ya, I haven't been able to put it down (except when I'm working, obviously), which has led to a few, "Um, sweetie...I"m over here!" moments from Tyrell. Hey...he started it!
Tyrell's computer is dying, so we also got him his dream computer (currently on the road on a Fed EX truck). I can't even begin to describe all of it's features...mostly because I can't pronounce them...let alone spell them.

New Cars:
Most of you know that Tyrell and I got a Subaru Outback (named Lucille-Lucy for short). I think most of you are also familiar with the big 30 year old blue beast that's been sitting in the driveway next to it. It's been breaking down and eating gas and oil constantly, and pretty much just being a burden all together. We both came to the conclusion we should just sell it for what we can get for it, and use it to get a car that will last us until the new car loan is paid off in a few years. We actually managed to sell it for $1700, and used that to get a 1993 Nissan Maxima! It's red, in great shape, and only has 113,000 miles on it. It's almost done being worked on by his brother in law, and Tyrell can't wait for it to come home. We decided on getting that for a few reasons: 1)Tyrell obviously needed a more reliable car 2)we were able to afford it and 3) it met both his and my standards. It's pretty much a guys car. It's got a super awesome engine and a bunch of accessories that guys pretty much only get excited about. So I told him he should name it Carmen. It's a sexy name, and it's pretty much a "car" for "men". Go ahead and groan, I thought it was pretty clever. So what were my standards? It had to fit car seats...

NO I'm not pregnant...yet. However, Tyrell and I are officially trying for little ones. Well, trying in the sense that we are no longer PREVENTING little ones from happening. We're doing the 'que sera sera' method. Whatever happens happens, and let nature take its course. No ovulation tests, no basal temperature, no calendars. Just normal everyday life-but without birth control. Wish us luck everyone!

Well, time to get ready for work. Hope all is going well with everyone, and we'll keep you posted!

Carmen:

From Drop Box