thanksgiving... about a month later

Well I know Thanksgiving was almost a month ago! But I have just not had time to blog about it til now. It was a fabulous day. This year we stayed home and had Justin's Mom, Grandma, Sheldon and Dustin over, as well as Gary and Becky.

So I cooked a Turkey. And it was surprisingly good. Anyhow, the food was great. But I just loved actually having a great day to relax with my hubby in my new home!! As newlyweds, we are usually the ones traveling to our families and never at home. While I like that most of the time bc it is like getting away, this year staying home was just what I needed. A few posts ago I talked about my favorite place on earth- my backyard. And at Thanksgiving we made another fire and had smores again!! Yay!! Here are some pics.

Tag I'm It!!

Ok so it took me a long time to follow thru with this- mostly bc I didnt have a clue how to "link". But I will give it a shot! Cheye tagged me, and now here I go:

#1. I am terrified of the dark... I mean terrified. I dont like being home alone in the dark, I pretty much wont walk around in the dark etc. I have been begging Justin for a night light lately, but he says I need to face my fears! hehe

#2. If I could have done anything with my life without the fear of failing, I would have been a dancer. (Like ballet or jazz kind of dancer- dont get too imaginative!) Or a chef, or a photographer. Or a lawyer... ok I had alot of dreams! hehe

#3. I love love love the internet! I could play on the internet all day without getting bored. Seriously!

#4. When I go to the supermarket I go into a trance. Suddenly I am slowly gazing at everything and imagining if I was a rich person or chef that could cook all these amazing gourmet things. If I am not careful I could spend two hours in there and not even notice (ok I have done it but not very many times)!

#5. In high school, I ate Easy Mac for breakfast everyday. Then (in the summers) I would have salmon and easy mac for lunch. No joke. It was what I lived on. And I was under 100 pounds... oh the irony of that!

#6. I suffer from seasonal depression (self diagnoised... i have never seen a doctor about it). Every winter once it is cold and gets dark at 4pm, I turn into a blah creature. I dont like to move, go anywhere or do anything but sit on my couch. I sometimes even lose the ability to have an intelligent adult conversation. I really should live somewhere that skips the season altogether!

#7. I hate to bathe. Really I know I am a dirty girl, but I just do not enjoy the whole cleaning up and having to get ready again process. To bad God has not put me in Europe!! geez!!

Ok so now I will tag Kristi, Nat (although I doubt she will do it), Peace, Megan, Abby, Crystal, Emily, and Regina. Basically the only other bloggers I know! hehe!

swagbucks

so a friend recently told me about this new search engine called swagbucks, which is a place you can earn money, gift cards and prizes just for searching! here is how it works:

you just have to register (which only takes a sec and you have to give little info) and then anytime you would normally go to google and search for something you just go to swagbucks instead. such a great way to earn money!

plus you get more money by referring people. so if interested click here. thanks friends and good luck earning money!

my favorite place on earth!!

so i totally needed to blog about this and forgot.

i have found a new favorite place on earth... can you guess where?

my backyard!! i know, sounds lame, but it is seriously the most amazing place for me. let me tell you about it...

my hammock: our back yard is filled with big old trees. and in between two of these trees hangs my wonderful hammock (compliments of the sims). i love to lay in this hammock and read, while taking in the sights and sounds surrounding me.

the sights and sounds: usually these include the sun coming thru the gorgeous tall trees, sushi- the Alaskan shepherd dog who lives behind us and is oh so cute and playful and a great jumper (pretty sure she is coming into our yard one of these days), and my husband hitting yellow foam golf balls around our yard or at me (yes my husband hits golf balls at me... the abuse i live with geez)

the courtyard: our house has a built on workshop behind the garage that helps form a little courtyard between it and our kitchen (see the picture). it is a fabulous little spot, esp in the fall! the seller of our house left us a massive fire pit that i am soo grateful for. this past weekend we built a fire and actually made smores with some friends- i love this so much!!

so there is a small tour through my backyard. i assure you it is much more amazing in person and if you are nice i might even let you come over....

the daily grind...

I have been putting off posting for a few weeks now, mostly b/c i was waiting for a time when I had some hilariously cool thought to share. but who am I kidding- i never have anything like that to say! hehe!

so here is an update on the pate life. no big philosophical thoughts or spiritual challenges- just whats been up with us.

1. homecoming! two weeks ago I celebrated my 8th WKU homecoming. our students at the BCM were not as into this year at all, so it was kind of a let down. also it was Halloween weekend, so that cut alot of people from participating. but my dear pregnant friend amanda came in and it was a delight to hang out with her for a little while! ... also for any WKU alum that havent been to a game this year- the new stadium rocks and is super exciting to be at!

2. trunk or treat! i didnt actually go to this bc of homecoming stuff, but our church in little ol smiths grove had like 300 or more people come to runk or treat. we even had some people come and give candy out of their trunks who dont go to our church! so it wasa good outreach all the way around and a neat way to come in contact with some people we never would have otherwise. The Lord can work in the coolest ways!

3. fleas! we have been invaded by a fleas at the pate household. about three weeks ago we had an exterminator come and fog the house, and we hardcore treated zoey. and yet fleas are still attacking us! so the exterminator is back today, zoey is back at the vet getting treated, and i have never felt so americanized! i have to spend money on the stupidist things.

4. sickness! justin was sick for the last two weeks, i have been sick this week. yuck!! the pates have been whiney and down and stuffy lately. hopefully we are getting over it though.

humm thats enough updates i guess. i have such an exciting life eh?