Blog Neglect and Home Improvement

First and foremost, let me apologize for my terrible neglect of the blog. I can't believe that it has been a month since I last posted. Unacceptable.
Here's the update: nothing new is really going on at the Pretekin household. I am working and helping with the basketball games on some nights. Michael has found himself VERY busy at work recently. He has been spending many a late night at the office trying to complete the project he is working on. Linus, Lucy, Piper, and Prue are their usual selves. Although, I'm pretty sure that Lucy now outweighs Prue. We have been affectionately calling her "chunk-a-munk."

In the past couple of months, we made a few small updates to our house. First, my mom and dad gave us their old couch. They are getting new furniture for the house in Evergreen. The couch is in great condition, is super big, and looks great in our family room!

We also replaced all of the blinds in our house. There were white wooden blinds when we moved in. They weren't the worst things ever, but in the past few months had been breaking and were looking pretty rough. We opted for cordless cellular shades. They look great and fit nicely in with the decor.



Next up, more painting!!

Bring On 2010!!

The Pretekin's 2009 in Review:
We got married!
We celebrated 1 year in our house.
Michael celebrated his 1st year at his job.
Jenny turned 27.
Michael bought his dream car (the Prius!)
Jenny celebrated her first year at her new school.
We visited California and had a wonderful time!
We lost Grandpa Smith, but smile remembering his teasing sense of humor.
Michael turned 28.
Linus and Lucy turned 1.
Piper turned 5.
Prue turned 7.
Jenny caught the H1N1 virus.
Michael completed more classes towards his electrical engineering degree.
We had a wonderful year spending time with friends and family.


Cheers to 2010, we wish everyone the best! We promise to continue living our lives to fullest and finding happiness in 2010!

Jenny Pretekin, Movie Critic

As part of my wonderful Winter Break, I have had the opportunity that watch some pretty good movies. Below are my reviews:

(500) Days of Summer: you are told upfront by the narrator, "this is not a love story." It is, however, the story of a relationship about two people who are almost meant to be together. The story is told out of order from Tom's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) point of view about the 500 days he spends with Summer (Zooey Deschanel). The movie, overall, was cute, quirky, and not your typical Hollywood love story, I really dug these apsects of the movie. What really won me over was the wardrobe that Zooey Deschanel's Summer wore. Her clothes were FANTASTIC. A wardrobe I would LOVE to own. Also to be noted: the movie has a pretty great soundtrack.

The Hangover: I had heard a lot about this movie being hilarious and strange. I had no idea how hilarious and how strange until I watched it. Definitely a classic. The groomsman (Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Bradley Cooper) are perfectly cast as 3 guys who loose their groom after a crazy bachelor party. What ensues is their effort to unravel the events of the previous evening, and their quest to get their friend to the altar. What happens in Vegas, really should stay in Vegas. I hear that they have already planned for a Hangover 2. I'm not really sure how that would go, but I'm interested to see if it can compare to its predecessor.

Invictus: This movie really touched me. I do not have a lot of background knowledge about rugby or the time after apartheid was abolished in South Africa and Nelson Mandela took office. However, I really appreciated Morgan Freeman's portrayl of Nelson Mandela and his effort to bring his country together with the Springbok's, South Africa's rugby team. Mandela was met with opposition from his family, friends, and government, but he moved forward with his idea that winning the 1995 Word Cup in South Africa could unite his nation. Matt Damon gave a fine performance as Francois Pienaar, captain of the Springboks. A great, inspiring movie!


On the list to see: Up in the Air, Precious, Avatar, A Single Man,
Harry Potter, and The Hurt Locker.

Grandpa Smith (1916-2009)

Wieb Smith (my mom's dad) passed away on Friday. Grandpa, you were so loved, and you will be missed.

Week in Review

Here's our week:
One week down, two to go before I am on Winter Break! My classes went well this week and the kids were pretty great. However, I can see them starting to also get antsy for Winter Break. We're almost there, guys! The Henry Eagles started their basketball season this week. For all of the home games, I run the scoreboard. Even though it means staying until 6:00pm, I really enjoy watching the kids play. Our boys team is pretty good! On Friday after school I went to see "Paranormal Activity" with a friend from work. Even though it was my second time seeing it, we had a lot of fun. I love scary movies, but Michael isn't really a fan. It's nice to have found some fellow scary movie buddies!

M was hard at work this week. He is back on overtime, as a project needs to get finished by the end of the year. He is working hard at school, as well. He is currently taking an economics class. The Prius is still one of the loves of his life, and he has done a lot of research on electric vehicles. I am sure it's only a matter of time before one is being built in our garage.

The cats are doing very well. They definitely missed us while we were visiting California. Lucy's mouth has healed up really nicely, and she is eating more than ever.


I would like to take a minute to send good vibes to a colleague of mine. This past week she lost her sister to cancer. This comes 1 year and 1 day after they lost their mother to cancer. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their family in this very difficult time.

Thanksgiving: By the Photos

Turkey, Sand, and a Birthday, Oh My!!

Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope everyone had an enjoyable and yummy holiday. Our holiday was absolutely fantastic. We traveled to Ventura, California to have Thanksgiving with Michael's mom's family - Linny's sister's family, The O'Hollaren's (Sissy, Bob, Shaun, and Ian) and Moyie (Michael grandmother).

California was beautiful. We had an amazing view of the beach, the O'Hollaren's have a great house, and the weather was awesome (85 degrees Thanksgiving day!). M and I took a trip with the dogs down to the beach. We all ended up wet and sandy, but had a fun time.

I was able to get in some fun shopping trips with the girls. Who knew they made a dress you can tie about 10 different ways to create different styles? The dress looks super-cute with my beloved leggings. I also enjoyed our trip up to Ojai where we went to some funky little boutiques...right up my alley!

Our Thanksgiving dinner was absolutely delicious. Moyie made her famous stuffing that no Thanksgiving dinner is complete without. Linny taught me how to make some pretty yummy mushroom gravy, and we had some of the best pumpkin pie!

We also celebrated Linny's birthday with presents and a trip to see "The Blind Side." The movie is a tear-jerker that I highly recommend seeing. Love Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw in it! And Happy Birthday Linny! We wish you many wonderful birthdays!

I, being pretty scatter-brained the morning we left, forgot my camera. Luckily Zach had his and took some great shots. Now I just need to keep the pressure on to upload those pics and email them to me. I will post some just as soon as I get them (Zach, are you reading this??!!??)