Friday, December 30, 2011

More Christmas Pics

Now that Christmas has come and gone I am slowly but surely finding what used to be called my free time again.  Here are some pictures from the party and from Christmas.  Thank you to my family and friends that provided pics.  We hope that you all have a safe and happy new year!


Friends having fun!


Captain Save-a-Ho and the Team Leader. 


Awwww!


I managed to make it into a few pics!


Family enjoying themselves and looking very stylish for the holdiay fun!


More family and friends hanging out together.


Can you tell these two are related?  I love my dad double-fisting it.  Nice job Dad!


Christmas morning at our house in the middle of our street.



The Team Leader had been trying to open her presents for days, and finally she was told ok.


The Nutrition Nazi's grandparents with the Team Leader.  I am fairly confident that her good behavior is due to some handouts.


Of course grandma bought the Team Leader another present - squeaky tennis balls.  Great.


This was the best group shot that I took.  They were getting antsy because it was almost time to open presents.


My brother got money, a loaf of bread and a sign that read "Heard you could use some dough."  He looks so thrilled.

Have a Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Christmas Party Pics

So I had this plan to take pictures at the Christmas party, but it all fell apart once the party was in full swing.  If you have pics please email them to me so that I can post that people were actually in the house to help us eat all this dessert. 


Our make shift dining table before the party.


Gingerbread Men - These seem to be a crowd favorite!


These were new this year.  Definitely one of my favorites.


The kids loved these.  We did not have any left over.


If you did not try these brownies then you totally missed out because they were the best dessert on the table.


Trying to keep the Team Leader away from it all was a full time job.  She played sous chef while I made it all so I guess she felt entitled!


So from our family to yours we wish you a merry and safe holiday season.  May all you wishes come true!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Chaos Here I Come

So as many of you know this will be a crazy week at our house.  Getting ready for the Christmas party is disorganized chaos at best.  Throw in a new house and dog that keeps exploiting us for treats every chance she gets, and sometimes I just want to go sit in the media room and hope it takes care of itself.  Alas I got myself into this and I am going to make it look like Christmas married dessert.

My baking time has been interrupted by this monster who watches for us to leave the pantry cracked open and then runs in and gets as many cookies as she can.  It hurts my feelings a little that she is smarter than us, and has been for several years.

As for dessert, this year I plan to bring it.  More room = more desserts!  There are several new desserts this year, along with some of the classic favorites.  Thanks in advance to those of you bringing appetizers.  It helps in more ways than you know.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Credit Where Credit is Due

The Nutrition Nazi and I sometimes disagree over things, shocking I know.  Once such dissension came from me a little over 3 years ago in Rome.  It was my first trip overseas and I was very trusting in my tour guide, for the most part.  He usually tries to find really cool non-tourist places to eat because the food is always better.  One such day he wanted to hit up a place he had read about that was allegedly close to the Vatican called Pizzarium.


These were the conditions on that day, cold and wet, as I smile for picture #987 standing over the Tiber river.  The Vatican is a ways off in the distance and we have to go past it to get to this place.  What you cannot see is that it is raining and that our pant legs are soaked from the knee down.  Good times.  By the way NN loves this picture.


So we stop and take in the Vatican and all the bajillion people waiting in the rain to get in.  It was very magical I must say, but we were on a mission to get some lunch so we trudged on our way.  After about 30 minutes and unbearable hunger I was getting ready to kick the Nutrition Nazi right back to America.  This place was a good 45 minutes past the Vatican in the middle of a neighborhood, so it was a sheer miracle we found it at all.



Food, at last.  It was truly authentic and amazingly delicious.  They actually cut the pizza with scissors because it is sold by the weight.  We did not get a picture of him, but the owner was this larger than life jovial Italian man.  I will never forget how all the kids were coming by after school to get a snack and he would come out of the back and play with them.  At the end of it all I was really glad I did not stage a mutiny and take a cab back to the hotel, like I was planning to do.

So why I am telling you this story you ask?  Last night I was watching a show called Layover with Anthony Bourdain and it was in Rome.  About half way through the program I see the larger than life pizza guy and the great pizza.  The shop has been over-hauled, but still the same food.  So let me give credit where credit is due to the Nutrition Nazi because clearly it is a worthy place.

Click on Pizzarium to see the clip from travel channel.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Suddenly I Don't Feel So Alone

So I was reading a few of my favorite blogs when I came across the post below at Aiming Low.  It spoke volumes to me.  Having a birthday on Christmas eve is not ideal to say the least.  I have never had a party on my actual birthday because well everyone is busy doing Christmas crap.  Over the years I have come to terms with all of it, but not happily some years.  I especially love this article because it brings to light some of the offenses non-December birthdays commit against us.  My mom, dad, and husband have always been really good, but over the years there have been some major offenders.  After stumbling across this post I can now go about life knowing that I am not alone and that there is another person even more pissed off than me who wrote about it all and that makes everything alright!

http://aiminglow.com/2011/12/birthday-december/


Thursday, December 1, 2011

Random Pics on My Iphone

I don't know how I ever lived without my IPhone.  I can do so many things with it, like play games, text message the Nutrition Nazi to stop at Sonic on the way home, but more importantly I can take random pictures.  So I thought I would share some of the randomness I found when going through my phone.


The Nutrition Nazi at Sonic - Priceless!
 

The Team Leader hanging her head out the window.  In her opinion the faster you drive, the better.


A wine fridge at Costco that I am trying to convince NN to buy.  He initially said no, but I have heard this before when he said no to a goldendoodle, and you all know how that worked out for him.


This is Jeff's niece.  If you hold your phone up to take her picture, she starts posing and smiling.  Silly girl!


This is from when I had some type of allergic reaction about 2 years ago.  I knew it was bad when the doctor shuddered at me when she walked in the room.  It took almost a week to clear up.


I was so proud the first time I made cinnamon rolls that I took a picture.  I am cheesy like that. 


This is my brother's goofy dog.  He weighs over 100 lbs, but the Team Leader usually wrastles him to the ground.  If he feels he might really get beat up he will go and sit by my mom and dad.  Sissy!



The dog got a Valentine's Day card from my parents this year.  This is the inside.  I am shaking my head right now.


The view from my desk one day at work.  I really thought about going home because the world just might come to and end.  I decided against it and sent it to NN.


My favorite pic of all.  I love the Daily Bitch Calendar.  It is an excellent Christmas gift!

Thanks for letting me share my randomness!

Monday, November 28, 2011

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the countdown is on to Christmas, my favorite holiday!  With less than a month to go until the big day, there are all sorts of things to get done, like wrapping presents, baking cookies, and decorating the tree.  We decided to go buy a tree Saturday night after the much needed heavy rain.  The Nutrition Nazi said it best when he mentioned that we hardly ever do anything on a small scale.


Here is our tree laying on the ground.  It does not look so big, right?


Here is NN standing next to it once it was it was righted.  NN is 6'5".

I know the pics are a little grainy, but here we have 3 of the workers with a ladder trying to put a bag over the tree for the ride home.  It did not work.


I like that they were concerned about the weight of the tree on top of the Tahoe.

Fortunately we managed to get it inside, though it is a tad bit bigger than we thought.  Now we just need a cherry picker to decorate it!



Monday, November 21, 2011

What I am thankful for...

I am very fortunate in life to be surrounded by wonderful people that help make me a better person.   So during this week of giving thanks, I would like to show you the people I am thankful to know.


My dad who has always been there to fix everything that broke, or read a bedtime story, or walk me down the aisle, whatever I need.


My mom who taught me how to be a strong person, and also the source of my hard-headedness.


My brother who quietly observes life only chiming in when necessary.


My bestie who has always been there for me.  Thanks for being a great wing man!


My other bestie who I have shared way too many great moments to count.


My girlfriends who can keep secrets and lend a hand or dress at a moment's notice.  I couldn't do it with out you ladies.


My in-laws who make me laugh and always over-feed the Team Leader.


NN's grandparents who treat me like their own.


My other in-laws that make me smile.


All our friends and family that came to our wedding in Mexico.  It was definitely a party to remember!


My fluffy little baby.


She truly is a child to me, happiness and frustration all in one bounding package.


The Nutrition Nazi who I can not count the ways how he makes me a better person, and his infectious smile brightens my day.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!