Don't Put it in the Dishwasher

I usually am pretty good about what goes into my dishwasher, ya know nice knives specific plastic containers and so on are not allowed in there. So I loaded the dishwasher with the dishes, started it, and then later started to unload it. Low and behold I pull out two plastic water bottles that were clean and ready for use again, I reach for the 3rd one and this is what I get......

Other two water bottles great, this one just didn't make it. Now this isn't even the best part. I am on Skype chatting with Megan my sister and I show her what happened and she laughed, and said "Does the Lid still fit?' I go "Meg have you seen it? It won't even stand on the bottom, it has to balance on the top! why would I even care if the lid fits, I'm not using it again" She laughs and goes well I would still use it!

Really Megan? you would use a $3.00 melted water bottle instead of just going to Walmart and getting another one? Ya Megan you are weird.

So please be careful what you put in your dishwasher.

Newest Addictions.

My new years resolution was to add addictions not lose them. I mean what kind of life would that be to give up things that may not be good, but still are awesome to me! ha ha anyways so here they are:

#1: Frosted Mini Wheats Little Bites Chocolate, I can't go a night without having these delicious little things. They are well kind of good for you and its better then eating real chocolate, but I love them! I get so excited when I pour ice cold milk over them and I get to sit down and enjoy a big bowl of them. Definitely give them a try.

#2: Sushi, I really used to hate sushi, but all of the sudden I had a sample of sushi, and I was like "DANG THESE ARE GOOD!" Ever since that particular moment I want sushi like all the time.

#3: Last but definitely not LAST, The Mighty Ducks 2. Oh man I have been dying to watch Might Ducks 2. I have searched high and low for this movie, and no store seems to have it. I looked on our netflix watch instantly and NOTHING! I did find it to have them send to us so I am looking forward to that, I have been keeping myself busy watching #1 and well I guess its alright.

TRUE ADDICTIONS NEVER DIE!!!!

Christmas with the Canadians

Hello! I'm Back! my fellow blog readers I have let you down by taking forever to post things, but I am here now so no need to worry. I promise to do a lot better its just last month was craziness. Ok so by the raise of hands who wants to hear about my first Christmas experience away from home? (LOTS OF RAISED HANDS) ok well lets get started...

It all started on December 22, 2009 we woke, and our great friend Rob drove us to the airport so we wouldn't have to park our car for 2 weeks. Wow what great friends we have. so we fly and the flight it actually smooth (which rarely happens) we get into Calgary and have the rest of the evening to chill. That's exactly what we do....

DECEMBER 23, 2009. This day was my birthday and I was in tears the whole day! Yep 23 years old and I cried on my birthday.

This was my first birthday away from my family, and your probably thinking boo-hoo get over it, well when your birthday is part of Christmas its a little difficult, and this was my magical birthday.. 23 on the 23rd that only happens once and I spent it in tears. Don't get me wrong Dan absolutely spoiled me and it really was a great birthday but well I cried because of reasons, (stories I can't share on the blog-people might be reading)

So the next few days where good, Christmas eve and Christmas were spent doing the traditional things, reading and acting out the nativity that was a lot of fun. We played a lot of Nintendo Wii and opened gifts.

Christmas was different, GREAT, but different.

BOXING DAY (CANADA HOLIDAY)

-Side note, do you guys notice that i put words in parenthesis a lot?

This was my first boxing day, and I loved it. Dan's parents gave all of us kids money for shopping and it was awesome. We hit some pretty good sales I do have to admit. It was a lot of fun. we went with Dan's brother Dave and his wife Vanessa. We were on the hunt for a Nintendo Wii for ourselves but who knew they would all be sold out on boxing day. HA HA I crack myself up.

DECEMBER 30, 2009- We left Dan's house and headed southward to our friends Brady and Lisa's apartment. We spent the day laughing, playing Mario Kart and catching up. Had a great dinner and we all went to bed.

DECEMBER 31-2009 Adam and his new fiance Nicole came down and we all hung out. Went shopping and waited for Lisa to get off work. We all got ready to party. That night we hit the Calgary Zoo lights and firework show, a very late dinner, and well what happens when you get 6 couples together?....? you all head back to the apartment and realize how tired you are. Ha ha I feel old but who cares. We actually celebrated the new year with the cheering and kissing, and of course Mario Kart, and a great way to end new years eve was Star Trek.

JANUARY 1-2010 We realized how tired we actually were, but we all were troopers and got ready for the day. The boys got caught up on things (Which I don't know what because these boys basically talk everyday, but I think its very cute) then we headed to a movie, Sherlock Holmes. By the time it was over we were all beat, he ordered Pizza and finished the night with a few episodes of House.

JANUARY 2-2010 Said a goodbye to our friends and got back in the car to spend the last few nights with Dan's family. We played games, Dan and I conquered Mario, and slept. I felt so tired even though we really haven't done anything. But Vacations wipe you out.

JANUARY 4-2010: Going home day. Well thanks to a bomber dude on some plane flying international became way more of a headache then it already is. Due to this bomber we had to arrive at the airpot 4 hours early, no carry ons, and 3 long lines. checking baggage, Customs, and Security. I feel very violated when being checked through security. they do one heck of a search up and down our bodies. Great fun. We got on our flights and headed towards warm weather. TEXAS! Rob and Lauren came and picked us up at 11:30p.m meaning we didnt get home until about 1:30 a.m. THANK YOU SO MUCH ROB AND LAUREN!!!

JANUARY 6-2010: So here I am sitting in my bed after a long day at work, with my love sitting next to me thinking about Christmas, and how I will never forget it. We were so spoiled and got a lot of great things, way to many to share, but I will say that after all the Wii playing Dan and I are now proud owners of wii & wii fit. Its simply great. Life is simply great.

Enjoy the pictures.

Dan and I went for a walk at like 7:00 am on my birthday it was so fun to be in snow again.

Christmas Eve dinner, W/our crackers sitting on our plates

Crossfield has this sweet tradition where the firemen come around dressed as Santa's and bring all the kids Candy Canes. It was awesome

Christmas eve Pajamas of course Dan gets me Baylor pajamas

SLEDDING, I don;t think I mentioned this in my blog up there but we went sledding.

DAN SURE IS ONE SEXY MAN

Will & Jess with their girls about to go down

So funny. My brother in law Mike went off this jump and totally missed his tube. It was great

Dave and Vanessa

Our small little family is now complete with Nicole (WELCOME TO THE FAM NICOLE!)

The Zoo lights had this tunnel of love it was really cute.

The girls. Nicole is a lot taller then us but we still love her.

Thats the end... STOP!

Goodbye 2009

2009! The year of change for the Lancaster's. I started to right down my top ten things that happened to me this year, but as I started to think about it and going back to old blog posts I just couldn't do it. Yes there were things more important than others but each event had a change on my life. I can't believe where my life is, a life I never thought I would be so lucky to have. 2009 brought on major challenges for both Dan and I, some I have shared and some that i can't. I look back on this past year and laugh at all the ridiculous things that i did, and all the accomplishments I have done. There are things that we are still waiting for, prayers to be answered, but if 2010 is anything like 2009 then bring it on!

Thanksgiving at Home far from Home

Does that title make sense? To me it does, because I honestly feel that Texas is becoming my home. I know I know we haven't been here very long, but man Texas is really growing on Dan and I. We really like it here! I must say that I am a bit surprised to say I like somewhere else other than Rexburg, but its true.

So this past week with Thanksgiving, well except for my dear Canadian friends and family who read my blog, to them it was just an ordinary day, but for you other readers it was a time to be together with family, and friends and say exactly what you were thankful for without sounding cheesy or foolish. Its a wonderful tradition which I love. But as we all know 2009 hasn't been a very ordinary year for Dan and I and of course Thanksgiving wasn't the exception. MY FIRST THANKSGIVING AWAY FROM HOME! To be truthfully honest I was completely dreading it. I hated knowing that my family was going to home on Thanksgiving doing the Mendenhall traditions like watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade while my dad has on this 1990's green apron chopping something. my mom preparing her amazing rolls and putting in the turkey. I could almost smell the sent of my house and the hustle and bustle to get everything done. It wouldn't be thanksgiving without all that happening at my house. So I was, I completely was dreading this holiday!

Thanksgiving day came, and I had an amazing day! It started basically at 8:00 am when Dan got up to go play some football with some friends. Of course there has to be a turkey bowl! I got up with him and started to prepare some of the dishes I was making for Thanksgiving dinner. I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade, and had on a green apron. I guess some traditions never die. Dan got home, and we headed over to our friends home. All I can say is Thank goodness for amazing friends because I know it would have been a weird holiday without them! We finished making Thanksgiving dinner, scooped out the good sales for black Friday, and sat down for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. My friend Lauren definitely knows what she is doing in the kitchen, she is such a good cook! We sat down at the dinner table and ate, ate, and ate! It was so good! We cleaned up and headed to the movies. We left the movies going our separate directions just to meet back up in 5 hours for the Black Friday Sales.

Yep thats right, Rob and Lauren went to go get in line at Sears at 3 a.m. while Dan and I held the line at Radio Shack! Rob and Lauren met up with us in line, and we started our shopping. We got some amazing deals! Holy smokes it was so much fun. My adrenaline was pumping like a mad women. It was great! we all got what we went for and walked away feeling exhausted but satisfied. The four of us had an early breakfast and then it was time to go back to bed! It felt so good to crawl back into after waking up at 3! Later that night we went back over to Rob and Lauren's for left overs and to watch a movie on their new flat screen and surround sound system. They hit some good sales for that. I am a firm believer that if you take those ad's and make a plan then you will get a good deal!

All in all it was a good thanksgiving. I can tell you that this will be a Thanksgiving that I will never forget. I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving, and are getting ready for a very Merry Christmas! Here are some pictures. We didn't get a lot but a few!

Ha ha Lauren probably right in the middle of saying something

Yep, Dan just hanging out

Lauren and I finishing up Dinner

Lauren's beautiful Turkey!

Rob was very proud of his electric carving knife, He did a great job carving the turkey

The Boys doing the dishes

Me planning out the next days shopping route, and in the store plans!

AmaZiNg!!!

Words cannot express the excitement, the fun, and the laughter that my three sisters, sister-in-law, my mom, and I shared through our Journey in NEW YORK CITY.

This trip meant so much to me because I was able to see my family! I won't be going home for Thanksgiving this year, and its harder then I thought, but knowing that I just had the most amazing experience with my mom and sisters helps me get through. I honestly can't say the next time I am going to see my family, hopefully soon, but New York definetly was AWESOME. I love my family, and love being apart of it. I Love how close my family is, and how all my sisters and mom are my best friends, besides dan of course ha ha. Anyways I made this video to capture the basics of our trip, but if you don't want to watch it you can just look at some of the pictures I posted.

ENJOY! oh if you watch this video, make sure to turn off my blog music down at the bottom! also if you want to watch it bigger double click on the screen!

Street Market! Us chowing down on some watermelon

All of us girl eating at the Shake Shack, Best hamburgers ever!

Brooke an I on a chilly New York Night

Smiling for the Camera

Eating Lunch at Central Park before we hit the streets

Waiting for the Subway

Me and my mom at the statue of Liberty

OUR LIMO RIDE TO MEGS APARTMENT

After the Yankee Parade, Yankee's just won world series

Of course megan showing canal street who is boss

All of us at the Statue of Liberty

So happy to be in new york!

Here is how we slept every night, it actually worked out pretty well

all us girls at the airport

Surprised Anniversary

Now I am about to brag about the best husband in the world!

Dan and I are about to celebrate our 2 year anniversary on the 10th of November and really I wasn't expecting much this year, simply because it falls on a Tuesday which is hard for Dan to get away with School, and I will be in New York that week so really I was thinking dinner Tuesday night when I got home, and Dan got done with school, Do a little kissy kissy and call it a night. Really I had no problem with this. But Dan had a different idea.

Dan told me to be home by home 2 on Saturday, ya I had to go in to work for a while, but thats not the point. The point is he told me to pack some classy clothes for the evening and comfy clothes for the next day. I threw an over night bag together and got in the car. We headed North for Dallas, we pull into the City about 3:30 and drove into the hotel... Remember Dan planned all this. We were staying at the Adolphus Hotel right in the heart of the city. The rooms were beautiful. We did some stuff and I was told to start getting ready. about 6:00 I had my high heals on, my pearls around my neck and a huge smile on my face with the excitement of the night.

We strolled down the city, and I was honestly expecting to be heading to like an Olive Garden or some place like that, I do admit that Dan and I aren't the richest students out there, so going out to eat is a huge treat for us, but this was beyond expectations. We head into a restaurant called "craft". Owned by Tom Colicchio. Now the reason why this was the most greatest place to be and so thoughtful, is this restaurant you have to make reservations like 2 weeks in advance, and because I am a huge fan of TOP CHEF, It literally is my favorite show and Tom is the Head judge of the show, also a well known and respected chef. Dan knew I have always wanted to eat at one of his restaurants and here we were walking in to this place being treated like royalty.

This place, I cannot even put into words, was immaculate. The waiter's were so on top of things that we didn't even realize when our plates were being switched. I admit that half the things on the menu I had no clue what they were, but I didn't care I mean I was in Tom Colicchio's restaurant. We spent the next 2 hours eating, and eating and eating. I can honestly say it was the best food I have ever eaten in my entire life. Chef's like that really know how to treat food. I mean nothing needed salt, dipping sauces, vinegar, everything was an explosion of taste. I really can't explain it except that unbelievable. we received complimentary dishes for it being our anniversary which was a nice little surprise The bill came and I couldn't even look. ha ha I won't even say how much it was but know that we probably won't be eating a meal like that for a long, long while. after we ate, Dan took me to a movie theater to watch a little haunted film. I mean it was Halloween after all so he thought we would do something a little spooky. We went back to our Hotel..... Woke up had a great breakfast, and it was time to leave our little fantasy life, and back to our apartment.

Sorry I know that this was a lot of detail for a restaurant, but it meant so much to me that Dan would do something so great for me, and I was so excited. He works so hard, and is one of the smartest people I know, and I am not just saying that because I am married to him. He is brilliant and he is going to do great things in his life. I love Dan with all of my heart. Happy 2nd Anniversary Sweetheart!

Right outside of the restaurant

Inside at our table. We had our own little private setting, it was great!