Spreading some Christmas Cheer

As mentioned before, I have not done much this Holiday season. No baking, no decorating, no nothing. So when Adam gchatted me yesterday saying how he had received like 4 Christmas gifts from his co-workers, I realized very quickly that I needed to pick up my game. So with my new Christmas game-face on- I quickly came up with an quick, easy and cute idea that I had read about on Krista Kutter's blog. The idea came from THIS post (and, yes, her's turned out better than mine.... so don't judge me). I decided to make Jars with a cookie recipe inside, tie an instruction card to it and call it good.

Off I went to Michael's, the grocery store and Office Max. I got my ingredients, jars, ribbon, spray paint and cards.

I really like how fun this project turned out to be.... the hardest part?! Umm... that would be Step 1, which required me to remove the stickers from the jar.. Literally, they were impossible to remove. Luckily, I had some Goo Gone on hand to rescue me.

After the stickers were off, the rest was FAIRLY easy. Spray paint the lids, design the card, go to print the cards, realize we are completely out of ink... run back to Office Max... spending another $60 on ink, come home, get the cards printed and everything set and ready to go.

My sweet, Christmas-spirited husband decided he was going to help even though the KSU game was on. We muted the game, put on some Christmas music and went to town filling up the jars. Of course, I made a batch for ourselves (these cookies=delicious). The jars turned out pretty great, but next time, I am going to tweak some of my design... but overall, they were quick, easy, relatively cheap and I think they make the perfect gift for a co -worker, neighbor, teacher, friend etc. Plus, I have already compared these to the other gifts Adam received and so far I am in first place for most creative. Muhahaha.

Yes, thank you printer for eating some of the cards I bought. This is why there are two versions of the jars. This one pictured above and then the green or red cards pictured at the very top (which I actually ended up liking better anyways).

So there it is folks. My contribution to the Holiday season. And guess what?! I am off the mall here in a bit to finish up some gifts. I think this means I am un-grinchified.

Grinch

I am totally not the Grinch. I LOOOOVEE Christmas and this time of year, but I feel grinchified for several reasons listed below:

- We are not doing Christmas cards. I hate this. I really do. We are just in a major penny pinching period of our lives right now and I just can't justify it. Mark my words, from next year on.... there will be Christmas cards! I promise. Just not this year.

- As mentioned previously, we have zero decor up

- I can't hardly bake. We have the tiniest kitchen ever with little to no counter space and it is a pain to cook in there. I love cooking too, sigh.

- I have yet to go Christmas shopping, even though we are pretty much done buying every one's gifts (which are awesome, just did not require any leg work or shopping excursions).

I really hate feeling grinchy, so here is a promise to myself. Whether we are in this same apartment next year, or somewhere new.... I will decorate, send out cards, hit the mall and bake!

Who would have thought....

I have been working out consistently for almost two months now. Adam and I LOVE Crossfit. Like are obsessed. Like this could be one of the best things that has happened to us in a long time. I know, slightly dramatic, but it puts me in the best mood and I can tell a difference in my body in only 2 months.

For example, when I started Crossfit. I couldn't do a pull-up. I mean... who can?! So I had to do modified pullups which basically means, I used a stretchy band (or two or three) to put my foot through that helped me get my chin over the bar. I kid you not (I am still quite overwhelmed by this fact) but I can do pullups now with NO HELP! In fact, I can do pull ups with weight on my back (12 lbs to be exact...). It is pretty surreal.

I feel better about myself, even if I don't look very different yet and I truly feel like I am missing out on my rest days when I can't go hang out and see everyone else. The other members are so fun and the coaches are amazing too. I have talked to the owner of the gym and I think sometime next year, I am going to become Crossfit certified so I can become an instructor. I have never cared about how fast I can run, how much I can lift or how long I can hold a handstand for... but I care now. In fact, Adam and I come home from our workouts and record how fast we did the workout and what weights we used... I know, weird.

And I feel like if I told my family this, they would laugh. This is NOT the typical Emily. I am just really enjoying myself and I love feeling passionate about something. Yes, I used the word passionate about working out. WHO IS THIS GIRL?

Adam and I are going to do a few classes when we are back in KC if anyone wants to join. The only Crossfit in KC is at 95th and Nall so shoot me an email if you want to tag along and get your butt kicked :)

PS- I am MVP of the week on the Crossfit website.... www.crossfitlodo.com. Pretty excited when I saw that posted.

Disappointed in Denver

I love Denver. It is no secret. I mean.... it is mid- 60's this week - in DECEMBER! It really isn't cold here like people think (yes, it can be freezing, but then a day later be warm again). If you have lived through a KC winter, a Denver winter is a piece of cake. The mountains are beautiful, the culture, the outdoor activities, the general lifestyle of the people here... all loves of mine.

BUT Adam and I have discovered that Christmas time in Denver does not compare to Christmas in KC. People just aren't as into Christmas here. There are not as many lights up on houses and that just really bothers me. Maybe it is because we live in a college area, but overall, I haven't seen the lights like you see in KC. My mission this weekend is to find out where the lights are and go drive to find them.... I mean, there HAS to be some well-known Christmas light neighborhoods somewhere!

Sincerely,
Disappointed in Denver

PS- Don't get me started on the housing prices...

Cash System Update

A few weeks ago I posted about a new system that Adam and I were going to try out. It is the cash envelope system and you can read THIS post to catch up if you are lost. Anyways, I just wanted to give a public announcement to the world (or the 7 people who might read this) that WE LOVE IT!

Reasons?! Well, lets just say life is expensive. So when our dry cleaning is $40 and Tyson needs new food (which is about $60) and typically that just feels like a lot of money to spend.... oh wait! We already have that budgeted. In fact, The amount I need is in a cash envelope labeled "Tyson" or "Dry Cleaning". So I just go grab the amount of cash I need from the envelope- go run my errands and am back. It feels so much better knowing that we aren't overspending, we have all the stuff we need budgeted in.... and since it is cash, your bank account has the exact same amount in it. Simple but so genius.

We are really excited to get back on track today (payday) because we couldn't really do this system correctly when we were in Napa or on Thanksgiving break. If anyone else is thinking about doing this- I have 2 suggestions. 1) have an "Other" envelope for the stuff that is unexpected or if you overspent in another category. That way, this stuff is already budgeted too and you don't have to take it out of your bank account. 2) Always have some of the cash in your wallet and just keep tabs in your head of what category you are spending out of. Several times, we forgot to grab the cash before we left the house so we ended up paying with a card then going to the bank the next day to deposit that amount back in.... which is kind of a pain.

I highly recommend this to anyone. Hopefully one day we will be so rich that we won't have to worry about it (ha!) but for now, this is actually kind of fun for us (I know- SAD).

On a different note, is anyone having problems reading blogs? Like they won't load correctly? My computer went through updates and I couldn't even see my own blog- which is why my blog is plain jane right now. Vanessa- I can't see yours unless I am on my other computer either! So weird!

Sad Sad City

With Christmas right around the corner (holy cow!)... our favorite thing to do is decorate a tree. Probably like most, it is amazing when you step back- see the finished product and can feel the warmth and Christmas cheer in the room.

Last year, we went all out- this year, we want to.... but there is no place to put the Christmas tree!! Seriously, we barely got all our furniture in this place and since we have no extra storage, we can't make a place for the tree. I FANTASIZE about decorating a house (especially for the Holidays) and if we don't end up buying a house next year, I will probably go into depression....

So, with this being said, our one and only Christmas decoration is on our dog.

(Isn't he the cutest!). Tyson doesn't know, but there is a lot of pressure on him to spread the Christmas cheer around 2385 S. Race St. Apt. A. To everyone, please post pics of your decorated house! With my house envy in full swing right now.... looking at your houses is something I REALLY look forward to!

Merry Christmas! Arf!

Napa recap!

Jaunt on over to Ali's Blog to read about our amazing trip in Napa Valley! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this post! Ali was extremely kind because the last day when we hit up 6 wineries, there may be some not-so flattering pictures of me captured on camera (i.e. one with my head resting on the counter at a wine tasting- super classy, em).

We loved traveling with the Moore's and Napa is just a magical place. So beautiful and if you like wine, you have to go!

Starting now, new resolution

To take pictures! I have sucked at this recently and am not sure why because we have an awesome camera + I have a great point and shoot. I take it with me but it is always out of battery (from sitting dormant for so long) or I forget to use it. So..... here is a run down of the Griffin life we have lived recently, sans pictures (unless I could find some on the Book of Face).

We went on vacation (refer to Ali Moore's Blog), got back the Thursday before Thanksgiving and things have been non-stop. We landed from San Francisco, met up with Allen Miller at the airport and were off to our house to prepare for the KSU/CU game that weekend. My parents decided last minute to come in town for the game so Friday was spent cleaning and working, while Adam showed Allen Denver.

As you all know, we lost the game to CU, but luckily, Becky had planned an amazing day for the KSU Denverites that included taking a party bus to and from the game. It was so much fun!

So here is the only picture with Kayley and I actually in it... I told you, I am LAME with the picture taking.

Anyways, after the poor performance by the KSU Fball team, Kayley and I were pretty anxious to get home, especially, because there were CU fans on the bus. Who would have thought that we would LOSE?! I may or may not have gotten in a little tif with one of the CU fans on the bus (she was gathering all the CU fans on the bus to do a little chant and I looked at her and said "are you really going to be that fan" in a total snot-faced tone... but it did the trick, there was no CU chant).

Fast forward 4 days and we leave to drive back to KC for Thanksgiving. We had such a fantastic time in KC. I love being back for the holidays and there really is no place like home. I fantasize about decorating my future house for the Holidays and making it cozy. I ate and ate and ate- it was the never ending Thanksgiving.

Now, we are back from KC and are preparing for December and the array of Christmas parties + skiing! I am going up this weekend since Adam is out of town (in Dallas) and am planning on skiing a ton this winter. I want to become a bad ass.

In other news: BumblePost is coming along and we are shooting for a January launch date. We are pretty excited, it is just a lot of work!

Don't pictures make a post so much more enjoyable?? I thought so.... I am going to do my best to evoke my inner-photographer in the coming weeks. Peace out!