Happy Easter, Bobby.

These days, my husband and I spend most of our time thinking of ways how we can spoil our nephew next. We weren't sure we could top last year's Christmas present (a Wii)-- until Jim thought of the Ultimate Easter Basket. See below.







I would give anything to see the look on his face come Easter morn' !

A Good Week.

What a great week it was! Here's a recap of all the reasons I'm smiling:

1. The week started out with Jim and I sitting down and having a very serious conversation concerning a potentially life-changing decision: to buy or not to buy. ... Billy Joel/Elton John tickets that is! We decided to go for it! So from now until mid-July I will probably listen to Piano Man and Philadelphia Freedom on repeat until the big day...or until Jim decides to rescind the decision and scalp the tickets at the last minute. Either way - I can't wait!

2. I was half right with my American Idol prediction on Wednesday night...which puts me in 2nd place at the office! (along with 15 other people). Jorge went home...as well as Jasmine.

3. Possibly the most exciting news, # 3 and # 4: We got our federal and state tax returns! They went to:

4. We paid off a credit card! The unfortunate news though is that now that Citi isn't banking off of our ridiculous interest rate each month, The Mighty O has decided to increase their share of the stimulus pack - sorry fellow taxpayers. But it had to be done.

5. And the rest of the tax return (since we had so much of it) went to savings and paying down student loans. Weeee.

6. And last but not least...anticipation. I'm going swimming with George tomorrow! Pictures will definitely be taken!

American Idol - My First Year

2009 has been a year full of firsts for me, and being that it's only March, that's pretty impressive. I celebrated my first Valentine's Day as a married woman, made my first dinner without needing to pull the smoke detector's batteries out, and will (I hope/better) get my first raise in 2 years. The only thing that was missing was getting addicted to a new TV show. So why not American Idol?

I've been a pretty faithful "AI" watcher this season. I even stay up an hour past my bedtime on Tuesday nights. My husband has even suffered silently on evenings when AI is extended to a 3rd night of the week, when it takes the time slot of "Bones", my husband's second-favorite show next to Obama's weekly speeches. Anyway, here's the big news: At work today, as my boss' boss called me into his office and I started preparing myself for what he would be asking of me...he threw a piece of paper towards me. "You have to join the pool! The American Idol Pool!"

That's right. My office as an American Idol Pool.

This week, we are supposed to predict 2 things: Who will be voted off tonight, as well as who will make it to the final 3.

Each week we predict different things (well, like who will be voted off), get points each week for our accuracy, and at the end of the season whomever has the most points wins some dough.

What better way to pay down debt!

Here they are, my predictions for tonight's elimination round:


Jorge and Megan....adios!

Music to My Heart

Tonight is the first night of the year that I can hear the tree frogs.

They sound absolutely beautiful.

Their song, announcing the upcoming arrival of Spring, reminds me of the new life that is to come at the end of these 40 days of Lent.

I adore this time of year. Only good things to come.

I love love.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a wedding at Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. My college roommate, Breah, got married to a wonderful man named Michael. I have not really gotten to know Michael too well, but from stories being told at the wedding, the slideshow during the reception, and the little that you can tell about a person by being their facebook friend, I can tell that these two are a match made in heaven. I don't know if I've ever been to a wedding other than my own where there was so much joy and love, especially between the two families. The Wests and Madsons were so genuinely happy to be gaining a new daughter/son, who they recognized as a God-send to help each other achieve Sainthood.

Aside from being overjoyed at their nuptuals, I was also so excited to really truly give my new camera a test drive! Here are a few of my favorites.







So what do you think I should call my new business? Conrad's Candids or Em's Gems? Or stick with my day job perhaps?