When I was living in West Point with my parents, my friends in that singles ward used to call me Marzipan, named after this little character from Home Star Runner. We LOVED Home Star Runner!!!!
Anyway, Marzipan somehow turned into Marci-Pants but I forget how exactly. So that's the reason behind the name of my blog. Was that a dumb story?
Gary wasn't as good as me...he he!! I had to beat a couple of the harder levels for him. 
I walked in the bedroom one day and saw Gary trying to snuggle with Stewie. I'm glad I caught this moment because almost as soon as Gary layed down, Stew bolted out of the room in annoyance. He doesn't like to be woken up.
I was at Target a couple days ago and when I pulled up into a parking slot, I looked over and saw this dog sitting in the car, looking like he had driven there himself. I was laughing so hard!
It was my nephew Mason's birthday yesterday, he turned one, and I think he wins for most entertaining cake eater! It's always fun to see a baby go crazy with their first birthday cake, but this was beyond hilarious! I wish I had a video of it! Here is the after math at least. Love his cute little face!
Gary and Rick got a little rambunctious after the birthday festivities, so they started to wrestle. Always a good time until someone gets hurt! I think Rick got a little rug burn on his face.
And Gary wins!
I understand that resolutions rarely make it past the first month of the year, but for me these are resolutions that were already a work in progress before the New Year. It's simply coincidence that I'm making more specific goals right now!!
This last year I have worked really hard with trying to get in better shape. I refuse to diet because let's face it, diets make NOBODY happy, and since I have a history with an eating disorder, I chose not to make food a large factor in losing weight. I manage an office for a physical therapist, so everyday after work, I have all the gym equipment to myself, along with advice about working out from our athletic trainer. I NEVER weigh myself either because I find it very discouraging. I chose to approach my fitness goals with a very relaxed attitude when I started about six months ago, and to my delight, I stepped on a scale at the doctors office a couple weeks ago, and found that I had lost ten pounds! My resolution for 2011 isn't really to lose more and more weight, it's just to keep staying active and to maintain this lifestyle.
I'm really lucky that I have a husband who likes to take different trips and vacations, because I haven't been to too many places. Every year since we've been married, we've been able to take some really cool vacations. For 2011 I have a couple of ideas in mind. I have never been to the Grand Canyon and since it's not that far away from us, I'd really like to make the trip there. That will probably be more of a long weekend trip. Gary has always wanted to take a cruise, so our week long vacation this year will more than likely be a cruise. To where? I don't really know yet. My dream would be an Alaskan cruise, but Gary's probably thinking more along the lines of a tropical paradise. We'll see!
Before we were married, Gary and I each had some debt that we combined into one account. We have been able to bring the amount down significantly, and for 2011, I want nothing more than to see it disappear. I'm really proud of us for not acquiring more debt (other than our home and school) and being able to chip away consistently at the balance. This last General Conference there was a talk about debt, and how we should do all we can to get out of it right away. I forget who the speaker was, but he said that he prayed for him and his wife to get out of debt somehow, even though it seemed impossible at the time. He said that it wasn't long after, that they were able to wipe their debt clean by a few little miracles. So I thought about it, and even though it seemed impossible for us to be debt free ASAP, I prayed about it and through little miracles and unexpected funds coming our way, there is no reason why 2011 won't be the year we erase our debt away!
I really miss reading...I used to read non stop growing up and into high school and then lots after the fact. I'm not sure how or why I stopped reading so much, but I really miss it and really want to make it a priority since it's something that makes me so happy! My neice Hailey told me about how she was going to be reading Oliver Twist soon, so I thought I would read it with her since I had it stashed away somewhere. Poor Oliver! Remind me to read happy books next time!
I have quite a few more but there's no need to list all the "wrong" things I have been doing that I need to change =). But I really think that 2011 is going to be a great year!!
I don't remember ever having a busier holiday season! And I have been terrible at taking pictures, but here is one for the books! Last Christmas Eve, Gary bought us matching flannel jammies! I love them mostly because they are PINK!!! I didn't think there would be many other occassions other than Christmas for Gary to wear them again, but I found one! Our ward had a Christmas breakfast, and it took some convincing, but Gary wore them to breakfast with me! I'm such a lucky girl!
Everyone loved it, especially the younger kids who thought it was so scandalous! It was great seeing their reactions to Gary!
We've made it through both our work Christmas parties, one family party so far, and Gary is finished with school for the semester! He finally gets another little break and it's so great to have him around. My best friend Kimber had her little baby girl, Adelaide last week and she's gorgeous!! Gary's brother got engaged last week as well and is getting married in March. There are so many family functions this last few days before Christmas and I'm really excited to hang out with my Grandma on Christmas Eve! Gary's sister's family is in town too and it's really nice to have so much family around!!
Everyone have a Merry Christmas! 
So it's Christmas time and there is a lot going on and a lot of things to buy. For me, I get to a point where I don't even listen to the total cost of my purchases anymore because I don't care...I just want to get it all done and move on.
A couple Saturday's ago I went to the Mrs. Cavanaugh's chocolate factory right by our house to get a couple boxes as gifts to give to my grandma, and Gary's grandparents. It was the same day as my BFF Kimber's baby shower, and I know how much she LOVES Mrs. Cavanaugh's! So I thought I would stick a few chocolates in with the baby's gift as a treat for just her. I grabbed to boxes of chocolates, chose the few little ones for Kimber, handed over my debit card, took the bag of my purchases, and headed out.
Kimber loved the chocolates by the way.
A few days later I logged on to my bank account to do some balancing and budgeting, when I saw the charge for Mrs. Cavanaugh's. $4.28???? One pound of chocolate is about $23.00 so I immediately realized that they never charged me for the two boxes!!
I debated in my head what I should do...go back and pay for them or just keep them. I mean, the girl knew that I wanted to buy them and even bagged them for me, so it was her mistake right?? Then I thought of who these gifts were for. Blanche, Lila, and Dennis...the most celestial people in the entire world. I couldn't give them morally tainted chocolate or I knew I would go straight to hell.
I went back to the store and told the girl behind the counter what had happened and she looked really realieved because she said "That was me!! It was all my fault!!" So she let me pay for the chocolates, and then took it upon herself to see that I was rewarded for my honesty. So, she let me have one more box of any chocolate that I wanted!! Yay for me!! I love Mrs. Cavanaugh's chocolates!!!
Poor Stewie didn't know what the heck he got himself into when he decided to live with us. It took a while before we could get a decent picture but we finally got something we could work with in the end!
Every Thanksgiving, right before we eat, my family has the best tradition ever. My cute Grandma Blanche sings her Thanksgiving song. She sings the first verse and then the rest of the family joins in for the second verse. You can tell that I only know a few of the words. I'm so thankful for technology that allowed for me to capture this moment!! I love this lady so much!!
