Two Years Ago Today...December 31

And now here we are! We don't have as exciting of an evening planned as we did in 04, but we're happy to spend our anniversary together anyway! Wedding day photos taken by Mrs. Hovan and Stephen Martin www.stephenmartinphotography.com. Today's photo taken by David.

December 29 and 30

December 29- Kathy S. and I went for a pedicure at Coco's. I snuck this picture. I was totally embarrassed about taking a pic, so I made sure the flash was off and pretended I was looking at pictures of my grand-neighbor that were saved on my camera! Coco's is so relaxing...just look at those recliners! It felt good to splurge for the 40 dollar pedicure and get the great foot massage instead of just the polish change. I was nervous about how well my freshly-pedicured feet would hold up after Saturday's 15 mile run (2 hours 23 minutes), but I was impressed... between the super-base-coat and my cushy new running shoes, not a bit of polish was rubbed off and no blisters made their way onto my toes! And that's December 30th picture to prove it! Silly I know.

December 28

Lots of pictures today. I'll keep the typing to a minimum--a beautiful day for a run, although I was hoping for rain so I could curl back up and sleep. Also, I met our new grand-neighbor, Phoebe Elizabeth! She is a little cutie! I didn't get to hold her, but someday I'm sure I will! I was soooooo excited to see that they had covered her up with the blanket I made when she came home from the hospital! Tracey from ScrapVillage says that's a big honor--for my blanket to be THE one that she was brought home in! When David got home from work, we went to see her again and I swear she was even cuter than she was at lunch time! We are so excited to be grand-neighbors. It's so fun to have a baby upstairs that we can go look at anytime we want to, but we don't have to change it's diapers, care for it, or pay for it to go to college! It's great being a grand-neighbor!

December 27

It's a big job, but somebody's gotta do it. I've waited and waited but it gets clearer everyday that that somebody is going to have to be me. Tackling the scrap room is no small task. I don't just want to put things places, I want to throw things away, re-organize and put things in places that make sense. Which makes the chore take a really long time and makes me lose interest in working in here very quickly!

December 26

It's officially finished! All loose strings have been woven in and the butterflies are completely sewn on. Hooray! And just in time, too...
I took the blanket upstairs to give it to Valerie and Guillermo for baby Phoebe who is due on December 30... Guillermo answered the door quietly and I didn't see Valerie. So I asked if she was napping. He said she's still at the hospital. Phoebe was born on Christmas day at about 10 pm! How exciting! We're grand-neighbors!

December 25

Santa came! He really did! David was up early to watch the NY Giants game, and I guess Santa wanted us to get our presents at the same time, so he hid David's golf clubs in the bath tub! Ha! That Santa is one clever man! He also brought me a new camera, some crocs, and 2 magazines (I already had one of them, but I know Santa has a lot of things to keep track of, so I'm just going to give it to a friend). Today's picture is of my old camera, taken with my new camera!
I talked to Ami in the morning which was really nice, but it made me almost late to Christmas brunch. So I had to skip taking a shower. We met running Rhonda, Mike and Jill and Jill's husband for brunch which was a fun group of people to spend the morning with. We lounged around the house until it was time to cook dinner. We had invited David's troop over for dinner, so I made super-tasty corn chips with a cilantro-lime-corn-and-bean spread, delicious Christmas Pasta, Mediterranean veggies and some veeerrrrryyy tasty Chocolate-Banana Bread Pudding. Wow that stuff was good! We also had Grandma's famous Christmas candles. I got 2 cherries on mine just like Grandma would give me if I was at her house! The worst thing about dinner was our guest...he was an hour and a half late!

December 24

Christmas Eve was great! David was dying to open a present in the morning, so we each opened 1. I opened a Post Secret book, which I already knew I was getting, and David opened the corn-on-the-cob griller from my mom, which had stumped him ever since it got here! To keep David away from the presents for a while, we went to see Pursuit of Happyness at the theater. I thought it was really good, David didn't. He says that it was 'slow'- because there were no alien invasions or explosions.
When we came home, we ate and then opened lots of presents! Lots!
I got:
SB embellishments and a card kit stack
16 (!!!!) stamp sets!
Inks, Cardstock, ribbon, buttons, chipboard, punches
Mojito Mix!!
Some moose things- a cutting board, a magnet and a coaster
A WISHBLADE!!!
A toaster!
Pajamas and socks
Christmas decorations
Scrap Gurl T-shirt
books
movies
kitchen stuff- pasta pot, turkey carver, condiment server, cutting boards
photo printer
table cloth & placemats that I wanted
new scrapbook album

Told you it was a lot!
David got:
clothes
grilling stuff
golf balls
pj pants
watch
scale
wireless keyboard & mouse
video game
sandals
and I don't really remember what else.

I was so excited the whole time we were opening presents. But, I came down hard when it was over and I remembered how much I missed spending Christmas with the rest of my family. So I made a lot of phone calls and kept myself busy cutting out stamp sets!

All caught up! December 22 and 23

It felt like I hadn't posted a pic in a long time, but catching up didn't take that much time at all!
December 22- Since Survivor is over, we had to change up our typical "Chili's and Survivor" Friday routine. So we had Mike's Italian Garden and watched a movie. David picked these movies 'for me' because one is about a teacher and the other is something that I'll need to see in order to chat with my students about it! We watched How to Eat Fried Worms and it was really cute! I haven't read the book.

December 23-It's not even 3 pm and I'm done with my photo for the day AND my post about it??? What the heck is going on? (It could possibly have something to do with the fact that I realllly don't feel like cleaning my scrap room. Or the living room. Or the bedroom.) Well, last night David asked me if I'd make "Christmas dinner" for his troop since he has nowhere else to go. I said I'd make something, but not to be advertising it as a traditional Christmas dinner. There will be no turkey. There will be no ham. There will be no mashed potatoes. There might be some cranberry sauce since I think I have an extra can and I love that stuff! Last year we had Rachael Ray's Christmas Pasta on Christmas Eve. It made a lot, so this year we'll have it on Christmas day when the guy comes over. I also invited my newest set of neighbors to come down since they said they didn't have anything planned.

Catching Up- December 20 & 21

December 20- Our last school day! I got several gifts from my students- mostly candles and candle-related gifts. Like this candle holder from Bailey. I love it because it reminds me of these tiny old fashioned Christmas houses that my Grandma puts out at Christmas. They have glitter on the roofs, and so do the houses painted on this candle holder. I think I saw the same kind of houses in a Martha Stewart or similar style of magazine recently. I have always loved them! So this gift makes me happy!

December 21- Our house guest, Black Cat, in one of his two spots. If he's not sitting in the dining room on top of the bookshelf, then he's curled up in the very back of my closet, and I always think he is a black shirt that fell off its hanger!

Catching Up- December 18/19

December 18- Binding off! Finally finished the blanket! After working constantly on it for 2 weeks, I let it sit untouched for almost as long. But finally... a whole blanket made by me!

December 19- More crafting...we made these cute little fingerprint snowman ornaments in class as Christmas gifts for parents. A poem is attached, it says, "These aren't just little snowmen, as anyone can see. I made them with my hand, which is a part of me. Each year when you trim the tree, you'll look back and recall/Christmas of 2006 when my hand was just this small."

Catching Up Again

December 16- My new running shoes after their first run. They're Saucony Grid Triumph and they're wonderful! Not a thing bothered me after 13 miles (2 hours 13 min) in these puppies! The photo is under the Christmas tree because, technically, they were a Christmas present. But I just couldn't wait!

December 17- David insisted on opening a present the week before Christmas. He let me open a Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cookbook and I let him open these puzzling items from William Sonoma. For a while David was just like "What the...??" Finally after piecing them together (and looking at the packaging) he figured out that they're salt & pepper shakers with really long handles for grilling.

Everyone, meet Black Cat

David and I are catsitting! A teacher from school is leaving for Christmas, so we get to take care of Black Cat until mid-January. Unfortunately, BC is a little shy and wouldn't come out for a picture. Yet. I'll get him one of these days!
The great thing about having a shy cat in your house is that you can knit in peace--something I'd never be able to do with Moby in the house. So, thanks to Black Cat (and a 3 hour Survivor finale) I finished the baby blanket! 12 days before the baby's due date! Hooray for me! Pictures later...

Of all the cookies I could be...

You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie

Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting. You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Looks delicious... but how do I end up being a Tinsel Tree and a Chocolate Chip Cookie? Quiz courtesy of Tracey.

Got Cookies?

I had a fun time at my cookie party... except I'm really irritated that 3 people did not show. Do they not understand the concept of a cookie party??? Only 1 called to say she was sick and unable to make it. The other two just didn't show. Anyway, the people who did show were fun and so it didn't matter that the others didn't come! I have plenty of cookies anyway. I also made the bacon-ranch dip (that I first had this Thanksgiving), fudge, spiced cider (never made it before!). I set out cheese cubes, chex mix, and dried fruit with peanuts.
Angel arrived first...while I was out picking up Saori at the gate. Her cookies came out very cute! I haven't actually tasted any of the cookies except Stacy's Snickerdoodles. Saori made honey-nut-raisin cookies, Jill made lemon cookies, Angel calls hers Christmas Cups, and Beth made "Easy Cookies". I made the cran-white choco and also some chewy chocolate.
We used reindeer plates for snacking and I set the table with Santa Baby plates.

We also used the reindeer wine glass charms on mugs for hot cocoa or cider.
We did a left-right story to see who got what party favor, and then I allowed trading because I am so nice. All in all, it was a nice afternoon, and I don't think anyone left starving.

December 15-America's Next Top Model

I brought home this pearly garland today to use in a decorative glass bowl filled with ornaments. (The bowl is big and the ornaments are 3 bucks each, so I wanted to find a cheap-o filler).

Have I ever mentioned how living with David is often like living with a small child? For instance, as quickly as I got the pearly garland in the bowl, he had it out, wrapped around himself and acting like a fancy lady. I knew it had to be my picture of the day...but how can I choose just one?

David hits the runway.
This is when the high-fashion photographer in me said "You're angry with me baby!" (In my head, for some odd reason, I sounded just like Austin Powers)
David's through with fashion... he knows he's got the bod for Muscle & Fitness. Ha!