#78 - TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA

Tonight my family and I attended the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Frank Erwin Center. The evening started with the VIP Pre-Show Dinner in the Lone Star Room and then we enjoyed the sights and sounds of Trans-Siberian Orchestra! Dinner consisted of Caesar salad, a pasta station, pot roast, garlic potatoes, stuffed tomatoes, bread, creme brulee and drinks. To cap off the dinner we all had coffee, then headed to our seats. TSO was spectacular! The Trans-Siberian Orchestra consists of strings, a rock band, multiple vocalists, a narrator, pyrotechnics, lasers — and even some snow. ;-) TSO played for 3 hours straight and never slowed down. It was the perfect holiday show!

#8 - Unpack, #15 - home cooked meal(s), # 41 - clean out closets

#8 - The house is finally unpacked! I finished the last room done today (study) and all is well. Everything looks spectacular. My parents have really helped me out and sped up the process immensely. The only thing left to do is organize the garage (it's a mess). The garage currently holds all my Halloween boxes, Christmas boxes, and tons of other odds and ends of stuff. It's gonna take a good day I think to arrange it and put some stuff up in the attic. However, the inside of the house is done! So I'm marking this task off my list. :-D

#15- With my parents here we've had several home cooked meals. Since I helped make them I'm counting them. ;-) We've had manicotti, chicken and dumplings, apple dumplings and rahm schnitzel...well I helped with all but the rahm schnitzel. I love it when my parents come to visit.

#41 - I wish I had time to do this before the move but oh well. While unpacking I decided to get rid of old shoes and purses that I no longer wanted or used, I think I eliminated about half them! I also decided to get rid of my VHS tapes and my spare VHS player, my old boom box from when I was a child (yes I still had it...now I need a new one because I don't have a stereo system) and some old books. I'll be taking it all to Goodwill once the new year starts. I still have to go through my closet and get rid of all the clothes I no longer wear...that's gonna be a big one.

On a side note, I put up all my Christmas decorations! Even assembled my big Christmas tree and we all decorated it together. It was a great family moment. :-) My brother flies in tonight (Christmas eve) and he'll get to see my new place all decked out! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

#11 - Buy energy efficient light bulbs

As a new home owner I want to be energy efficient. So I've gone out and bought some energy efficient light bulbs! I've also bought a couple new light fixtures that came with them as well. I haven't switched everything over yet but I'm on my way!

#44 & 45 - Failure

Well I'm sad to say I'm not doing too well on this item.  I tweaked my knee so I haven't been able to run and do the cardio classes I started...and with all the holiday foods, cookies, and eating out it hasn't been good for my diet.  I can do low-impact stuff like the bike or elliptical, but now that I'm on vacation and no longer have my apt gym...not sure when I'll get to work out.  Plus there's family in town that I have to entertain.  :-)  Hopefully I can watch what I eat but I'm guessing I won't be able to really work on this task until the New Year.  Oh Joy!  Will Power where are you???

#2 - paint bedroom and bathroom, #14 - Meet my neighbors, #8 - Unpackmy stuff (IP)

Wow it's been a busy weekend/week.  Closed on my house on Friday, parents came into town on Saturday, went to Copperas Cove on Sunday to visit relatives, painted bed/bathroom in the new house on Monday, did the last of the packing Monday night and moved on Tuesday!

So yes, the painting is done!  My parents did most of it, but I did help!  They started on Monday while I was at work and as soon as I got home I jumped into the fray. I helped with the bathroom and the laundry room.  Wish I had taken pictures, I was covered in paint, it was quite amusing.  Not to mention I practically gave myself a concussion.  :-S

Tuesday was moving day!  Movers arrived at 8:30am and were done by 1:45pm.  Thankfully there was minimal damange in the move (lost a couple glasses).  Right after the movers left the cable guy showed up.  Perfect timing!  Everything is up and running after only a few hours of being unplugged.  I also met one of my next door neighbors during the move.  They seem like a really nice couple and hopefully I'll get to hang out with them once I'm settled in.  Now commences the unpacking of a plethora of boxes.  :-P

Tonight we'll clean up the apartment and continue with unpacking.  I also have to figure out if I really want to get out my Christmas tree and decorate it...with everything going on...I'm not sure we (my mom & dad & I) could handle yet another task.

Oh, btw, my knee is fine.  Just tweaked it.  Should be good to go in a couple weeks...I just have to stick with low-impact stuff.  Not the best time for this to happen with all the Holiday foods and cookies around.  :-(

 HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

#1 - Become a homeowner! What a glorious day!

OH WOW WHAT A DAY! At first it didn't start out too well. My knee has been bothering me all week. I must have slept on it funny last night because when I woke up I was in so much pain it was unreal! I couldn't bend it at all or stand on it. Finally after mustering up all my energy I made it to the freezer to get a cold pack and then take some ibuprofen. 30 mins later I was feeling a little better, enough to finally take a shower.

By 8:15am I was heading downtown to the Title company to close on my house! By 10am I was the proud owner of my very own home! I'm so excited! My Realtor even gave me a poinsettia and a gift bag which contained a bottle of wine, 2 boxes of Ghiradelli chocolates and a $50 gift card to Target! I love my Realtor. ;-)

From there I headed to my works offsite at The Oasis. I haven't been there since it burned down and boy does it look awesome! I arrived just in time to get my raffle tickets and find a table before the meeting started. Since this is our Holiday offsite, we had to bring a gift for the White Elephant exchange and if we wanted we could bring a toy for the Toys for Tots program and get another raffle ticket for the prizes our team was giving away (a monitor and Dell TV). The meeting went by fairly quickly and then they got to the awards. Next thing I know my manager is calling my name and bestows upon me an award for one of my projects. What a great surprise! I couldn't be happier! :-) After lunch we gathered in groups to do the gift exchange. It was crazy! My first gift I get a $20 gift card to home depot, which gets stolen. Then I get a $15 gift card to home depot, which gets stolen as well! Next I pick a small glass Christmas bowl...which to my surprise gets stolen! Where's the love people! My next gift are some crazy bear slippers (one pink pair and one black pair)...I figured they'd make great stocking stuffers. Too my astonishment someone stole them from me! So then I steal a co-workers $10 gift card to Starbucks and the game is finally over! I got to keep a pretty good gift after all that stealing. :-D

Then we do the final raffle drawing for the TV. Wouldn't this make for a great housewarming gift for my new home? We all anxiously await as the numbers are read...and they stop with one number to go. HOLY COW! So far I have a match! Tom asks who is left standing and 5 of us raise our hands. Then the final number is read. I look down at my raffle ticket and OMG....I WON! I WON!! Hands in the air, screaming at the top of my lungs I run, skip, hop to the front of the room and tackle Tom in a gianormous hug. I think he thought I was going to tackle him to the ground. Really?!?! Did you really call my number? I compare tickets and sure enough, I won the 37" TV! The perfect ending to a perfect day! The TV actually fit in the back of my car and Amanda and I take it to my new home. At the house yet another surprise awaited me! On my doorstep was a beautiful flower arrangement in a beautiful vase compliments of Nate. :mrgreen:

Since I seemed to be having a pretty good day, I decided to stop at the gas station on the way home and bought 10 lottery tickets. Hey, you never know. :-P

#15 - Cook weekly home meal(s) (3/143)

I love Super Suppers! They make cooking so easy. Tonight I made the Pecan-Mozzarella Chicken with Basil Pesto for dinner. It was awesome! 30 mins in the oven along with a salad and fresh bread makes a perfect meal! I was actually quite impressed with the flavor. Two thumbs up! Delicious!

One slight difference, I put the basil pesto on top of the chicken instead of underneath. 8O