Lori went shopping with her mom on Thursday and came home with a bunch of goodies.  The picture above is one of them, an enormous 7lb. can of refried beans.  The other can of beans is there for reference, it’s the size we usually get and can’t eat the whole thing at once.  We’re at a loss as to what to do with this thing.  There is a recipe for Queso Dip on the back, but it calls for 12lbs. of cheese and 6lbs. of enchilada sauce amongst other things so we probably won’t be doing that.  Perhaps a Fiesta is in order?

Lori has been a photographer for quite some time now, taking stunning pictures of anyone who’ll let her.  Now she has a blog featuring her work, and as soon as we get tax money back we’re going to setup a formal website.

Check out her blog at http://bluemoon-photos.com.  Right now she is offering FREE photo sessions to build her portfolio. This is an amazing deal!  You’ll get to spend time with Lori, be a super-model for a day, and get a free 8×10 picture from the shoot.  Contact her through her blog, Myspace, or Facebook to get more information and to schedule your FREE session.

Let’s start by saying that this year was a lot better than last year.  I (Daniel) admit I didn’t do a great job at all last year, I flat out sucked at the whole day. I didn’t have a gift or a card, and I almost took her to a bar (because she loves the atmosphere). We went to Nakato and I was in a bad mood that night. I did get her flowers, but it was after we got home and I realized how i ruined the night for her. Yep, I was horrible. But that was all last year, in the past, not the point of this post.

This year was better.  Heck, I didn’t have to try hard to top last year.  We went to Ikea for free breakfast (I’m cheap so what, it was quality time we were spending together), then Lenox Mall where I was finally able to get Lori Silent Hill 4 which she really really really really wanted.  And for dinner we went back to Nakato, I had a happy face on the whole time.  Lori got a Japanese Margarita that was the prettiest blue she had ever seen in a drink and wanted to swim in it.  The food was great!  We don’t know why people get meat there because the vegetables are the best!  We both went to bed early that night, not in a good or bad way, Lori had to get up for work on Sunday.

This is a picture of the line going out the front door and into the parking lot at Ikea to get a wristband to get a set of 400 ct. sheets, regularly $40 for $10.

Ringo is almost a year old, and he’s beginning to mature.  He used to like to cuddle, and absolutely hated being locked anywhere alone.  It was horrible the first few weeks we had him, he screamed as loud as he could because we locked him in the bathroom.  He probably thought we were abandoning him.

But now that he’s older he’s changed.  He’d rather nap on the sofa alone, and if you touch him he gives you the evil eye.   He meows when we leave the room, because he can’t find us.  We have to yell his name so he knows where we are and he comes in and wants face rubs.  Instead of us locking him in the bathroom, he shuts himself in there now.  It’s like he fells the need to get away from us and be in his comfy place.  Maybe.

He also has a new game, tag.  Except he doesn’t play it whole heartedly like we used to when we were kids.   He’ll run up behind you and jump on your leg then run away.  If you chase him he’ll stop running and look at you weird.  And then when you tag him, he doesn’t seem to want to play anymore.  Like the kid that gets mad when he loses and storms away with his ball so nobody can play anymore.

Last week we packed up and moved out of North, and headed down the road to our new apartment. Turns out we have a lot more stuff than we ever imagined. But we had lots of friends and family and two big trucks and a van  so it went rather quick.

Now the real fun, unpacking. Not. They just found out the furnace is broken, so it’s super cold in here. Daniel’s grandparents let us borrow a space heater which helps in whatever room you put it in. They also gave us an antique (retro red 50’s era) dinning room table they had in their basement.

Pretty soon it’ll all be packed away and you can all come over and see it. It’ll be great!

Last night we ended ‘08 in a garage full of friends in masks, and we started ‘09 with sore legs and aching heads.  There was lots of loud music and dancing and laughing about how we can’t dance or hear each other.  We took Adam with us, he out danced us big time.  At one point he had people chanting his name while he was booty dancing with Catherine, “Go new guy, go new guy”.

Lori’s new year’s resolutions are to cook better and to get paid for her photography.  Daniel’s new year’s resolution is to not worry about money.  So if anyone needs some, or knows someone who needs some really awesome pictures taken, you should let Lori take them.  That would help us both with our resolutions.

To everyone, Happy New Year!

We put up our tree last week, but have been procrastinating about posting a picture.  Why, though, it’s so awesome!  This is the same tree we had last year, but this time we put it on a box to add some height since it’s short like us.  On top is MC Hammer, keeping the tree legit.  (Here’s another picture)

And . . . we ordered Christmas postcards to send out to everyone we can think of.  It’s our first mass mailing as a family!  Very exciting stuff.  We’re putting addresses on them this week, and can hopefully get them to the post office by Friday.  Expect to see our cheesy faces sometime next week.