the calm after the storm

Well, Christmas has been over for 6 days now, and I'm still recovering. Don't get me wrong...it was great. It was just allot. Allot of traveling, allot of hanging out, allot of eating. I'm thankful to have some "me time" again.

So much happened, its overwhelming to think about what to post about first. So, I think I'm going to post in stages, and mainly just pictures. Here goes...

1. The Family

Seth and I spent 3 nights with my whole family, and believe it or not, it was really great. Sure, there was a tense moment here and there (usually involving a game we were playing...no one in my family likes to loose), but overall, a good time was had by all. Here's the whole family before the Christmas morning chaos ensued:

I don't have an after-the-chaos picture because the present opening process took 3 and a half hours, and by then we were all ready to move on to something else...

...like hanging out with the kids. Overall, they were really well-behaved the whole time, and allot of fun to be around. Isaac (the one lounging on the couch below) really took to Seth...he told his dad one night that "Uncle Seth calls me 'Buddy' and 'Dude' and he's a really nice boy" :

After the family time, I got to hang out with my buddies Al, Chi-Chi, and Ben, and it was great fun as always.

Then Al got to come to Knoxville for a night, and we at sushi with Seth. Isn't his dinner the most beautiful dinner you've every laid eyes on?

Shew. That's enough for now. I'll write about the rest later. You know how people say they need a vacation after their vacation? Those people know what they're talking about. More later...

Oh - Happy New Year, everyone!! Can you believe its 2007?!?!

Holiday Wishes

Christmas is 2 days away, and its time to step away from day-to-day activities (emailing, blogging, what-have-you) and actually enjoy it. I've worked so hard this year...decorating the tree and the apartment; baking a christmas cake; buying, making, and wrapping what felt like a million presents; going to Target 7 times in 1 month because no matter how many lists I made, there was always something I forgot. Its been exhausting, really, but I'm glad I did it, and even more glad that I'm done.

Merry Christmas everyone...from my family to yours!!

...hehehe :)

Its the thought that counts, right?!

This might be the ugliest cake I've ever made:

And I'm pretty sure its undercooked, too. Is it just me, or do the leaves look like snot and the berries look like drops of blood? My co-workers sure are in for a treat tomorrow...

:)

Ruby's big day

We just got back from Grandma's house, and Ruby had so much fun! She sniffed the air and rolled in the grass...

Played football with Seth (Ruby played defense)...

And had some good mother/daughter moments with me...laying in the grass and soaking up the sun.

You just can't beat 70 degree weather 1 week before Christmas :)

Hal

My dad turned 65 years old yesterday. 65!! Do you know what else he did yesterday (for the first time, I might add)? Bench pressed 200 lbs. My 65 year old dad bench pressed 200 lbs. I think that's pretty amazing, and it makes me proud that he calls me "Chip" (as in, "chip off the old block") :)

Happy birthday, Dad!!!

Ho Ho Ho

I can't believe Christmas is just a week and a half away! Its amazing how it sneaks up on you. I never really noticed before because I was all "not into Christmas" :) Anyway, I'm just so glad that I've got all my shopping and wrapping done so I can actually enjoy the next few weeks. And by the way, buying gifts for your family and your family-in-law is no small task!

Big thanks to Stacy for these awesome giant mugs. They were perfect for overdosing on hot chocolate last night!

For anyone who reads this blog, I apologize for going on and on about Christmas in every post. I promise there's more to me than this...I've just been kind of preoccupied :) On a non-holiday related note, I finally painted something on that big blank canvas about a month ago, but I woke up the next morning and hated it, so I'm going to gesso over it and start fresh. Once I like what's happening on that thing even a little bit, I'll post some pictures of the progress. Painting is hard. I'm still having such a hard time getting my brain around how direct it is. I have all these ideas, but they are things I know how to do through printmaking, not a brush dipped in goopy acrylic paint. Anyway. More on that later. After the holidays are over, I plan to cope with the cold weather by painting. Or something arty. We'll see...

Early Bird

I woke up today at 7:30 am! I haven't woken up that early by choice in a long, long time. Now its 9:30 am, I've already been up for a couple hours, and I feel like I have so much time ahead of me on this chilly Saturday to do whatever I want. Did I mention that its 21 degrees outside? Brrrr.

I'm pretty sure I irritated Seth and Ruby by getting up so early (and taking pictures of them sleeping). I couldn't help it -- they were too cute!

Notice they've both turned away from me in protest by the last shot :)

Today is my neice's 3rd birthday, and she's having a party at Chuckie Cheese! She's going to have a ball. My very first memory of my whole life was at my 5th birthday party at Showbiz Pizza (which is now Chuckie Cheese), and it was such a great day. Robotic animals and a chocolate cake...what more could a girl ask for :)

I'm off to do some more Christmas shopping...

The big game

Phew. I've been sick all week, and I'm still not really feeling 100% yet, but I'm better, and glad to be off the noodle soup and saltines diet. Anyway, that's why I haven't posted a new blog in awhile...that, and Seth and I were in Nashville last weekend watching the Titans beat the Colts!!! It was pretty incredible. For anyone who isn't into football, let me just tell you - this was a big upset. The Titans haven't been doing well this season, and the Colts have the #1 quarterback in the NFL. The best part? We won in the last 7 seconds with a 50 yard field goal!! That almost never happens. Here are some pictures from the day...

Here's Seth in his big coat on the way to the game:

And here's my dad in his funny fur hat:


Never in a million years did I ever expect to go to a football game with my mom!!

I'm so glad she got to come to the game...we had so much fun together. The only downside? Sitting outside for 4 hours in 38 degree weather. It was seriously so freaking cold...even with all this covering, I was still freezing:

Al was somewhere in the section behind me...I looked and looked but could never spot her :(
Look at Nashville's pretty skyline!


The ride there was fun, too. Ruby ate her dinner in the backseat of the car...here she is licking her chops and looking especially wacky:

Hahaha! If she were a human and was vain like people are, she'd kill me for posting that picture of her :)

That's enough for now. I'm pretty tired from working all day instead of watching TV and napping randomly throughout the day. I hope everyone had a great Thursday!