Last Class, Dog & Fun.

So, I'm taking the last class to complete my degree! How exciting, right? It's Decision Management - something I admit that I should be studying sometimes! It takes me a long time to make important decisions.
Well, I talked to Mike and we've been talking about getting a dog after I get out of school, though I'm not sure if we are going to do it until we get back from Jamaica, just because it might be tough to find a sitter. I'm kind of excited about looking for a dog so I can have someone (besides Mike of course) who will always want to go tromping around with me!
At the same time I am also concerned about getting a dog because I don't know how CooCoo is going to react - well, I kind of do know how she is going to react, but it won't be much different than she acts now. I would hope that she and a new dog would get along!
This weekend I took her to Pierre's House of Grooming again to get her hair trimmed because when we went on our trip over Christmas I wasn't here to brush her like every other day so she got all matted. She seems much happier now and has been coming out to visit a lot more often. While I was out there I went snowshoeing for the first time this year! Yay!! There is something amazing about going out to snowshoe and ski in the winter time - it feels so good to go outside!!

Ok, so can you believe that a couple weeks ago Mike and I found a place to go snow tubing right in our neighborhood? I got him a snow tube for Christmas. We had so much fun throwing ourselves down hills that night. I ran into a fence one time though and that kind of smarted a bit!!

Ohhhh man. It's been so long since I've blogged that I could probably go on for a while. It's been kind of strange not really having access to a computer this winter just because it is so cold in my office that I do not want to spend an extended period of time in there. I'm actually using Mike's computer right now.

I guess I'll save it for another time - I wonder if anyone really reads my blog anyway - especially since I haven't been posting as often!

Hope you are all having a good winter.

Holidays are over now but the excitement is not...

So, all of the obligations that I had at the end of December have been met and it was all worth it because now is a time when I can relax a bit.
Christmas was really good - but for us it isn't over yet. This weekend Mike and I will go over to my mom's house to celebrate Christmas with her and my brother. Sometime soon I will go visit my grandparents in Rome as well. It was too crazy to have four Christmas parties before going to Jamaica - I could only fit so much!

We had two parties here at the house - one for my dad and stepmother and siblings and one for Mike's parents and sister. It was great having everyone over for the holidays and it was unique because it was the first Christmas that the dinner was hosted at my house. We opened presents and played games. Visiting with family around the holidays is a lot of fun - but I am sorry that there wasn't any snow even though everyone else was grateful for that. How can we be in the true Christmas spirit without any snow? No skiing opportunities? Oh well. We did take Mike's family to Lights on the Lake which made for a nice Christmas experience. I enjoyed having the time to spend with our families.

Right after our guests went home we finished packing for Jamaica and went on our way. It was truly an awesome country. The culture is very different from ours. I was expecting some of the behavior, but some of it I was not! I accomplished my goal of going off the resort. Michelle, Mike and I went on a shopping trip in Montego Bay where we were able to interact with the locals in their setting. They are very dependent on tourists there and the locals think that every American is very rich. In a sense, we are rich in their country. It seems like you can get more for less money there. When we were there the conversion rate was 66 Jamaican dollars per 1 American dollar. I converted a dollar just so I have a 50 dollar bill from Jamaica. You wouldn't believe the weather there too - it was amazing. I wore a swimsuit everyday and did not even need to wear a fleece to cover up.
In Jamaica we went snorkeling, went sea kayaking, swam in the sea, went on water slides, played volleyball everyday, had quite a few tropical drinks, ate expensive dinners and as much dessert and breakfast as we wanted to. It was the longest vacation I've ever been on in my adult life and it was truly fabulous.
And... if visiting paradise wasn't enough... I didn't know this ahead of time but Mike intended to propose to me while we were in Jamaica. On New Years Eve morning he and I got up early enough to watch the sunrise. It was my goal to see the sunrise at least one day while we were there. We walked to a remote gazebo that we found two days earlier while exploring. Just as the sun came up Mike asked me to be his wife.

I have a fiance!

Hope all is well with all of you. Things are great here.