Two days ago, on a total whim, I decided to email out a link to my blog to everyone. Up until then, this blog had been my dirty little secret and I wasn't sure that I would ever share it. I’m not exactly sure what I was thinking, but within seconds of hitting send I was consumed with this horrible feeling not unlike being naked in public (or at least what I’d imagine that feeling like. I’ve never actually been naked in public- thank goodness!)
But now you all are here so WELCOME. Thank you to everyone who has told me that they enjoyed reading my postings. I’m sure you’re lying, but I’m OK with that. If you decide to keep coming back, I promise to try to make it worth your while.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Merry Christmas from the Savats
Christmas is almost here and I couldn’t be happier about it -- I have been especially in the Christmas spirit this year! There’s one thing I didn’t do, though, and that’s write my annual Christmas letter. I just couldn’t get motivated to do it in time to send it out with my cards. So here it goes: here is my 2008 Christmas letter to the Internet!
Christmas 2008
This year, more than ever, I am very aware of all the blessings I have in my life. 2008 will be remembered for the collapsing markets and record job losses, but life in our household has been fairly stable. Sure our retirement accounts have taken a hit, but we still have our jobs, home, family and each other. I am truly grateful!
During the first half of the year we traveled a lot. In January we ditched cold St. Louis for the beaches of Punta Cana. In August we drove up to Wisconsin to visit our good friends Mark and Chris Keller and their adorable daughter Katie (who has become my pen pal). And this fall we took a long-weekend trip to Branson for a little R&R.
The best trip by far, though, was our anniversary trip to Napa Valley. We stayed in this fabulously quaint bed and breakfast on a small vineyard in Calistoga and had a great time winery hopping through Napa and Sonoma. If you ever get a chance to visit Napa, make sure to stop by the mountain-top Sterling winery and the castle winery, which were worth the trip alone. We also loved Hess winery, and the scenic drive through a red wood forest to get there.
This fall we tackled the biggest house project yet – the kitchen. I’m happy to report that we survived and now have a beautiful, modern, and most importantly, WORKING kitchen! Check out the before and after pictures. The difference is amazing.
On the family front, everyone seems to be doing well. Here's a brief update on everyone:
Christmas 2008
This year, more than ever, I am very aware of all the blessings I have in my life. 2008 will be remembered for the collapsing markets and record job losses, but life in our household has been fairly stable. Sure our retirement accounts have taken a hit, but we still have our jobs, home, family and each other. I am truly grateful!
During the first half of the year we traveled a lot. In January we ditched cold St. Louis for the beaches of Punta Cana. In August we drove up to Wisconsin to visit our good friends Mark and Chris Keller and their adorable daughter Katie (who has become my pen pal). And this fall we took a long-weekend trip to Branson for a little R&R.
The best trip by far, though, was our anniversary trip to Napa Valley. We stayed in this fabulously quaint bed and breakfast on a small vineyard in Calistoga and had a great time winery hopping through Napa and Sonoma. If you ever get a chance to visit Napa, make sure to stop by the mountain-top Sterling winery and the castle winery, which were worth the trip alone. We also loved Hess winery, and the scenic drive through a red wood forest to get there.
This fall we tackled the biggest house project yet – the kitchen. I’m happy to report that we survived and now have a beautiful, modern, and most importantly, WORKING kitchen! Check out the before and after pictures. The difference is amazing.
On the family front, everyone seems to be doing well. Here's a brief update on everyone:
- We’re looking forward to Dereck and Jennifer’s wedding on June 20, 2009 (we’re both in the wedding).
- Erin’s starting cosmetology school in January.
- There’s been a mini baby boom on Allen’s side of the family – both Tina and Dusty are pregnant and expecting this spring/early summer.
- Mike and Stephanie bought a house recently that's less than five miles away (which will make it easy for us to spoil Ella as she gets older!)
- And most importantly, our parents and grandparents and everyone else is healthy and happy.
This year we will be spending Christmas with my family and then heading down to Cape on the 26th. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a 2009 that's filled with hope, joy and love.
Love,
Sara and Allen Savat
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Happy birthday Ella!
Today is my niece Ella’s first birthday! I really can’t believe how fast this year has come and gone. From her first smiles, to laughing, sitting up, crawling, babbling and now walking, it’s been so much fun to watch Ella grow up over the last year.
It doesn’t hurt that Ella’s one of the cutest little babies, either. She loves to be the center of attention and is always smiling that huge smile of hers and babbling. She’s also one of the few kids who Allen is comfortable around, which is saying A LOT. Allen has said more than once that if we had some kind of guarantee that our kid would be like Ella or Elisa (my adorable cousin) he would have no hesitations about having a kid!
I really love being Aunt Sara and I am looking forward to doing special things with Ella now that she’s getting older. So happy birthday Princess Ella – I love you!
It doesn’t hurt that Ella’s one of the cutest little babies, either. She loves to be the center of attention and is always smiling that huge smile of hers and babbling. She’s also one of the few kids who Allen is comfortable around, which is saying A LOT. Allen has said more than once that if we had some kind of guarantee that our kid would be like Ella or Elisa (my adorable cousin) he would have no hesitations about having a kid!
I really love being Aunt Sara and I am looking forward to doing special things with Ella now that she’s getting older. So happy birthday Princess Ella – I love you!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
No freakin' excuse
Ever since I started working at SLU, my excuse for not working out has been that the gym is too far away. This isn’t just a lame excuse – it really is too far away. Depending on traffic, I may have to drive 30 minutes OUT OF MY WAY to get to the gym, which is a long way to drive for something you really don’t want to do anyway. And sure I could go back to working out in the morning, but without the wedding to motivate me that’s just not going to happen. Needless to say, working out has been sporadic at best.
Well Allen’s been all health conscious lately and wanting me to go to the gym with him (he swears it just because he wants the company, but I have my doubts!) So over the weekend we signed up for a new gym that’s like two miles from the house. Now I have no excuse not to work out and burning legs – great!
Well Allen’s been all health conscious lately and wanting me to go to the gym with him (he swears it just because he wants the company, but I have my doubts!) So over the weekend we signed up for a new gym that’s like two miles from the house. Now I have no excuse not to work out and burning legs – great!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Blaming it on the holidays
So I’m not off to the greatest start with this blog – I blame it on the holiday busyness. Maybe I’ll make posting more regularly my New Year’s resolution this year (of course that means this blog -- like many past diets and exercise plans -- is pretty much doomed!)
Life in the Savat household has been very busy and cheerful lately. I love the holidays and this year is no exception. Jeanne and I braved the stores on Black Friday and had a blast. Since then I have kept busy with shopping (I am nearly finished with my list already!) decorating the entire house, completing the Christmas cards and wrapping the gifts. I can’t believe how much I already have finished, which means I’ll have plenty of time to bake cookies in my new convection oven!
Last weekend Allen’s dad and Freda came up for a nice visit. We kept them very busy with a trip to the St. Louis Mills Outlet Mall (which I had never been too), going out to eat and a fun night out at a local dueling piano bar (that was a lot of fun). Allen’s dad is one of the funniest people you’ll ever meet. He always has a new joke to share and he usually starts them off with “did I tell you about the guy who…” so the punch line is even more unexpected.
In addition to the general holiday busyness, I am also busy preparing to teach next semester! Teaching has always been a part of my distant future plans, but this opportunity was too good to pass up. I’m going to be teaching an intro to public relations class at SLU. It’s a junior/senior level class so hopefully the students will be really engaged and interested in the material.
I met with the former teacher yesterday to get all of the classroom materials, but now I have just one month to get my lesson plans (and my act!) together. I’ve already had a nightmare about teaching (I was dressed in the dream, but that's about the only thing I had going for me!) Fears aside, I'm really excited to get in the classroom and see if this could be a good fit for me.
Life in the Savat household has been very busy and cheerful lately. I love the holidays and this year is no exception. Jeanne and I braved the stores on Black Friday and had a blast. Since then I have kept busy with shopping (I am nearly finished with my list already!) decorating the entire house, completing the Christmas cards and wrapping the gifts. I can’t believe how much I already have finished, which means I’ll have plenty of time to bake cookies in my new convection oven!
Last weekend Allen’s dad and Freda came up for a nice visit. We kept them very busy with a trip to the St. Louis Mills Outlet Mall (which I had never been too), going out to eat and a fun night out at a local dueling piano bar (that was a lot of fun). Allen’s dad is one of the funniest people you’ll ever meet. He always has a new joke to share and he usually starts them off with “did I tell you about the guy who…” so the punch line is even more unexpected.
In addition to the general holiday busyness, I am also busy preparing to teach next semester! Teaching has always been a part of my distant future plans, but this opportunity was too good to pass up. I’m going to be teaching an intro to public relations class at SLU. It’s a junior/senior level class so hopefully the students will be really engaged and interested in the material.
I met with the former teacher yesterday to get all of the classroom materials, but now I have just one month to get my lesson plans (and my act!) together. I’ve already had a nightmare about teaching (I was dressed in the dream, but that's about the only thing I had going for me!) Fears aside, I'm really excited to get in the classroom and see if this could be a good fit for me.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thanksgiving Blessings
When I started this blog I didn’t intend for it to be sappy and yucky! But for some reason I have been in a particularly sappy mood lately, so please humor me :)
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which got me thinking today about all the things for which I’m thankful this year. With the economy in the gutter, just having a job and a roof over our heads is a blessing.
But I’m fortunate to have so many more blessings in my life. I have great friends who I can share great times and secrets with. Recently we have been doing a lot together – everything from club hopping to a New Kids on the Block concert (seriously) and I have had a blast with each and every one of them. The best thing about my friends is that they’ve seen me at my worst, helped me through it and then laughed with me (or at me) when it was over. Hopefully they know they can count on me to do the same
Of course I also have an awesome family that only got bigger and better when I married Allen. There are few things I enjoy more than hanging out with my family or having ALL 10 of my younger cousins over for a slumber party. I realize not everyone has this and I am so thankful for each and every one of them. I’m also thankful that I will be able to share them with my children some day.
But more than anything or anyone else, I am thankful for Allen. Over the last five years, Allen has not only showed me how intense love can be, but how to love someone completely with no exceptions. My favorite days are the days where I spend my time with him playing around, teasing, relaxing, working together – whatever. It doesn’t matter, because as long as I have Allen everything is OK. So when I count my blessings, I count him twice!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which got me thinking today about all the things for which I’m thankful this year. With the economy in the gutter, just having a job and a roof over our heads is a blessing.
But I’m fortunate to have so many more blessings in my life. I have great friends who I can share great times and secrets with. Recently we have been doing a lot together – everything from club hopping to a New Kids on the Block concert (seriously) and I have had a blast with each and every one of them. The best thing about my friends is that they’ve seen me at my worst, helped me through it and then laughed with me (or at me) when it was over. Hopefully they know they can count on me to do the same
Of course I also have an awesome family that only got bigger and better when I married Allen. There are few things I enjoy more than hanging out with my family or having ALL 10 of my younger cousins over for a slumber party. I realize not everyone has this and I am so thankful for each and every one of them. I’m also thankful that I will be able to share them with my children some day.
But more than anything or anyone else, I am thankful for Allen. Over the last five years, Allen has not only showed me how intense love can be, but how to love someone completely with no exceptions. My favorite days are the days where I spend my time with him playing around, teasing, relaxing, working together – whatever. It doesn’t matter, because as long as I have Allen everything is OK. So when I count my blessings, I count him twice!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Analytical thinking
While Allen loves children and is a devoted big brother in the Big Brother Big Sister program, the idea of having a baby is a little bit too much for him, which has made for some pretty comical conversations.
It’s the engineer in him, really. Babies are not “practical” – his words, not mine! They don’t do anything, they cost a lot of money and they are a lot of work.
The more he tries to convince me that his reasoning is sound, the more I laugh and anticipate how he’s going to melt when we have a baby and he holds him or her for the first time. There’s not a doubt in my mind that Allen is going to be an unbelievably great dad. I’ve known this from the beginning and it’s one of the things that attracted me to him. He’s going to be the first to brag when our baby “smiles” (aka passes gas), rolls over and laughs. And he’s going to have so much fun teaching him or her how to ride a bike or drive mommy nuts :)
So in the meantime, I just laugh when he tells me that he’s not really interested in kids until they are old enough to do something – you know, like 10! Boy is he in for a world of surprise.
It’s the engineer in him, really. Babies are not “practical” – his words, not mine! They don’t do anything, they cost a lot of money and they are a lot of work.
The more he tries to convince me that his reasoning is sound, the more I laugh and anticipate how he’s going to melt when we have a baby and he holds him or her for the first time. There’s not a doubt in my mind that Allen is going to be an unbelievably great dad. I’ve known this from the beginning and it’s one of the things that attracted me to him. He’s going to be the first to brag when our baby “smiles” (aka passes gas), rolls over and laughs. And he’s going to have so much fun teaching him or her how to ride a bike or drive mommy nuts :)
So in the meantime, I just laugh when he tells me that he’s not really interested in kids until they are old enough to do something – you know, like 10! Boy is he in for a world of surprise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)