Sorry I've been MIA! We've been a bit busy between Thanksgiving, moving, new jobs, and Christmas.

Here is a picture of our new house! I'll post photos of the inside when it isn't full of piles of stuff. :)

My Latest Crafts

Aprons & matching gloves!

Happy Anniversary...

Noah and I are about to have our 2nd anniversary (crazy)! To celebrate, we took a trip to San Francisco. As I planned the trip, I tried really hard to think of something to get him. Keep in mind, he is the hardest person to shop for because he doesn't want anything, which I love about him all the time except for on his birthday/our anniversary/Christmas. Anyway, I was SO PROUD of myself when I came up with the idea to get us tickets to a cool jazz club in San Francisco for part of our trip! Noah loves jazz and we've never been to a jazz concert before. Jackpot.

The night of the concert arrived and I told him what his surprise was at dinner. He was so excited! I finally picked a good gift AND managed to surprise him! Hooray! We anxiously arrived to the jazz club 30 minutes early and were the first people in the room.

Our table mates arrive shortly after and were raving about the group that was performing that night.

Girl 1:"They're from Minnesota and they're my favorite band!"

Girl 2:"They are great!" "

Me: "Excellent! We really like jazz."

Girl 1: "Yeah, I guess they're kind of jazz."

Wait... whaaaat?

Meet the band:
They were not 'kind of jazz.' They were kind of crazy with a little funk on the side.

Here is a run-down of the rest of the evening:

After the first note the band played:

Me: [whispering to Noah] "I think they might not be a jazz band."

10 seconds into the first song:

After the first song:

Me: [whispering to Noah] Do you think this is one of those things we'll look back and laugh about later?

Noah: [pauses... then solemnly nods]

Ohh it was bad. One member of the group just stood behind a keyboard and jumped up and down all night. A large portion of the evening involved the singer singing unintelligible sounds at us and then having the audience sing back. Which they did. With fervor. I am pretty sure we were the only people in the audience who were not totally loving it. The girls next to us did not sit down once and knew every word to every song. The group got several standing ovations. I felt like I was taking crazy pills.

After what seemed like days, but in real time was only about an hour, they sang their last song and left, at which point Noah and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. That is, until the girl next to me took a break from screaming at the top of her lungs, grabbed my arm, and yelled, "DON'T WORRY! THEY'RE COMING BACK! DON'T WORRY! IT ISN'T OVER YET."

Honey, I'm so sorry. I'll try to do better next year. By the way, please let me know when it's time to start laughing about it.

Alaksa

This summer 5 of my college friends and I got to spend a week in Alaska! The 6 of us are all petroleum engineers for different companies and since college have spread out across the US for our jobs. One of them has been working in Alaska for the last 3 years, and the other 5 of us FINALLY found a week that we could all go visit. We should have done it sooner- it was one of the best trips I have ever been on. It was 50% the company and 50% the amazing views and activities that we got to do. I don't think we left a single Alaskan adventure un-conquered.

Landing in Anchorage: it is already gorgeous (it is 9:30 PM here)

Hiking Flat Top! I was impressed that I survived this one.
Yay!
Eliot, the friend that lives in AK, has his pilot's license and took us up!
Eeee!
Of course we had to try on a coonskin cap... (Eliot, me, Chad)
We rode the Alaskan train to Seward... see the huge glacier? It's not fair that people get to live here.
We went white water rafting in a class V river... and didn't drown...
My favorite group shot (Derrick, Chris, me, Lindsey 2, Chad, Eliot) on our Fox Island dinner cruise.
Thanks for obliging me on all of my Kodak moment demands, boys.

Skipping rocks at sunset

We took a fishing charter... unfortunately, this was all I managed to lure in. Isn't it a beauty?
Luckily for me, the other 5 collectively caught 34 lbs. of halibut and salmon. We took a few filets straight to a restaurant where they cooked them for us. It was by far the best fish I've ever had- it doesn't get much fresher than that!
Then we crashed on the train ride back to Anchorage...
Lindsey, Derrick, and Chad
Eliot, me, and Chris
Panning for gold!
And, of course, we shopped. Here, Chris is modeling my new Fox earmuffs.
I came home ready to move Noah to Alaska! I would highly recommend a vacation there, especially if you are tired of Oklahoma's heat.

We are... MOVING!

This November, Noah, Zorba, Poppy and I will be packing our things and heading down south to Houston where I have a new assignment with Marathon. Noah, who works for his family's business here in OK, has opted for a change and is working to become a certified personal trainer. Maybe he can whip me into shape!

We are heartbroken to leave our family and friends, the house that we just finished remodeling, and the great state of Oklahoma where we met and fell in love, but we are also excited for a new chapter and the adventure that it holds. We will be sure to buy a place with a nice guest room for all of our OK loved ones if you ever get the urge to visit!

Love,

Lindsey

Italy

I have been a terrible blogger lately! Technically, since May. Not to make excuses, but it has been a fun and busy summer, starting with an incredible trip to Italy. Noah and I went with my sisters and dad to Rome, Pompeii, Venice, Florence, and Pisa and got to see a ton of once-in-a-lifetime things. Here are some highlights:

The Colosseum [Rome]

The whole gang inside the Colosseum:At the Vatican [Rome]:
Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius:
Pisa:
Venice:

Florence:

Last Remodel Project!

The last 2 projects (indoor, anyway) in our almost 2-year remodel project are done: new countertops and floors in the kitchen. I have wanted this kind of kitchen floor for as long as I can remember, and the new countertops are cement and are super-duper cool. What do you think?

Old, icky floors:

New, BEAUTIFUL floors :)

Old formica countertops:

New cement countertops... LOVE them!

My Sassy Work Attire

Ta-DAAA! This is my glamorous work attire. It is coming into style soon, I assure you. :) Other benefits include: nobody expects you to wash your clothes regularly, lots of pockets, I physically cannot catch on fire, and it takes 3 minutes to get ready in the morning.

Recent Creations

I think the abuse that I inflict on the left side of my brain at work everyday has gotten worse lately, because I have been on a knitting, sewing, and all-around craft-making binge. Here are the things I've made this week:

My first every knitted pair of socks! I have been knitting since I was 6, but I have always heard that socks are the hardest thing to knit, because you have to turn the heel. Well, over Christmas I got brave and decided that it was time, and I did it! I finished the first sock in a few days, immediately wished I only had one foot, set it all aside for 3 months, and then knitted the last one this weekend. Now if I could only bring myself to wear them...

Ducky Hat! I knit lots of baby paraphernalia, but I've gotten bored with knitting the same old patterns over and over. I found this one online and it turned out to be pretty darn cute!

Quack!

The latest thing I've taken up is embroidery. I have to admit that I have a long way to go (WAY harder than it looks!) I made this for a co-worker. She and her husband are both engineers, so this was a necessity. They don't know what they're having, so just in case, I made a matching bow so if it is a girl, everyone will know that she is a future FEMALE engineer. :)

Next up: aprons!

There are an awful lot of funny people in this world, but I have to say that I married the funniest one of all. In an effort to be a good sharer, I thought I would try to bottle some of his humor for others to enjoy as well because I don't want to hog his wonderfulness.

----

Noah: "I cannot WAIT for the state fair!"

Me: "When is that?"

Noah: "Next September."

Me: "So... in 5 months."

Noah: "Yes. I just really love those fried snickers."

----

Me: "Bye! Love you!"

Noah: "XOXO... Gossip Girl"

----

Noah: "It looks like my chick cookie just laid a turd."

[it did]

----

Noah: [driving] "WHERE is the floss?? I need it."

Me: "Honey, I don't carry floss in my car."

[not to worry- he found some]

Right?? Funny!! If you don't think so, then that just reaffirms that I married the right person because he keeps me laughing all of the time.

Love you, Noah! XOXO (Gossip Girl)