Christmas Getting To Know Me...

Laura posted this questionnaire on her blog and I decided to "copycat" yet again!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I don't have a preference, although this is the one time of year I actually use wrapping paper. It is worth the extra effort at Christmas...even if only to keep your honey from peeking :)

2. Real tree or Artificial? We did a real tree our first 3 years of marriage (and in both our families, it is considered sacrilegious to consider anything other than a live tree--sorry moms and dads :) ) Then, we determined since we are often not at home for Christmas, we found more needles on the floor than on the tree when we got home (that and we would only enjoy the tree for a day or two). So we broke down and bought our first artificial tree 5 years ago and have never turned back--sure we miss the smell, but...We have since added to our collection with two more free trees from freecycle. (check out the link on the left of my blog)

3. When do you put up the tree? Different times every year. With an artificial tree, it can be earlier and longer...We have had excuses the past two years to have it up early (right before Thanksgiving)

4. When do you take the tree down the tree? Also varies. With the 12 foot tree this year, it may be sooner than last year...I want my floor space back!

5. Do you like egg nog? Yes! --although we discovered a brand last year that we did not like very much--unfortunately, don't remember which brand it is :( Tested the Schepp's this year and find it much to our liking...

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Have no idea! We did laugh about all the stocking stuffers of tape, glue, toothbrushes, and chocolate coins that we got as a child--especially since we always have clues on our presents. After the 3rd child has opened the same stocking gift, it is not much of a surprise for the last child to guess!

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, a cheap glass one gotten at the dollar store, but it is sweet, and someday I will have a nicer one.

8. Hardest person to buy for? people I don't know so well... (the saying that boys are harder than girls is true, but even the boys in the family are OK because although they may have only expensive items on their list, they can always be satisfied with gummy bears, Goodwill ties, etc...)

9. Easiest person to buy for? My sister's kids, Michael

10.Mail or email Christmas cards? mail (is there such a thing as email cards?)

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Not sure that I can think of one, but I will say that when I was 16 and received some revereware pots and a few other kitchen tools--which I did not use for 7 years--I was rather disappointed. However, not such a bad present because now I am very grateful for them!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Probably Sound of Music (didn't that play all the time at Christmas?) It may not be a Christmas movie, but we did not watch too many...Oh, I do like Eloise at Christmas.

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? yes...but wouldn't you like to know which ones?

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? stollen was probably the only traditionally Christmas food we ate (can you tell by now that I did not grow up with a hugely traditional family?) By the way, stollen is a German cake that is not very sweet and normally has nuts, dates, and candied fruit in it and then is coated with powdered sugar.

15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear

16. Favorite Christmas song? Don't know that I have a favorite. But, I will answer for Michael on this one! We stole a CD from my brother--which he generously gave us a couple of days ago after having it for more than a year. It has "Baby, it's cold outside" on it...for days, Michael would play that particular song over and over! It is still a favorite.

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Mainly travel. Last year was actually the first year since we have been married that Christmas was at our house. (but in fact, we did leave Christmas day for Saudi...so after Christmas at our house, we did travel!) This year, will be our first year not traveling at all!

18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers? ON Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on Vixen, on Comet, on Cupid, on Donner, on Blitzen...( oh, and then, of course, Rudolph)

19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning--actually usually afternoon

20. Most annoying thing about this time of year? the Traffic!

21. Favorite ornament theme or color? never had theme until this year...love the bird thing though (will have to add some more next year) and of course, I really prefer the individual ornaments on our big tree that each have a story.

22. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? It is never the same from year to year...but we have decided that we really like Brisket for dinner either Thanksgiving or Christmas! Are we really southerners? This year we are talking about enchiladas and a Mexican theme!

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? Christmas ornaments (check--although always could get more!), GPS (check), calendar (check), Goodwill shopping spree, silicone bowl covers, and perhaps a few other things

As I know there were probably 25 questions for the 25 days in December, I will not delete the last two, but...will change them.

24. Any Christmas traditions? As I suggested, I did not grow up in a very "tradition"al house. BUT...we did always put clues on our gifts and each person had to guess the gift before opening (the guesses alwasy got more half-hearted as the day went by, but started out pretty well!) The other tradition, my family--and now Michael--dress in the most unmatched, Christmasy outfit possible (for example, plaid pants and striped shirt with loud tie and Santa hat).

Here is last year's example...a rather poor example since it was rather too well matched.

25. Open your presents all at one time or one by one, taking turns? Definitely one by one...how else could we relish the responses to the clues! Now it's your turn!

Christmas in less than 2 weeks...Yikes!

I realized today that we are already in the mid-part of December. That means Christmas really is less than two weeks away!

I suppose it is time to post a few pictures of our house decorated for Christmas too...especially since it has been decorated for about a month already (we did have a Christmas party Dec. 1st here...and were gone for Thanksgiving, so we had to start early!) (we do have candles in the upstairs windows too...can't see them here?)

One of our 3 trees (this one acquired free) resides in the study. It is sparsely decorated with really cool feathered birds.

This second tree (my personal favorite) is upstairs in the loft. It was a prelit tree that we purchased several years ago--and this year, was also one of the many contributing factors to our "unlit" drama (we have had about 10 different strands in different locations that all seemed to go out this year)

And last, but certainly not least, Michael's favorite...our 12 foot monstrosity! It is again another free tree that actually looks quite alive. This was a new acquisition this year so I treated myself to an early Christmas present and invested in some ornaments (try covering a 12 foot tree!) This was a massive feat to decorate and light (not a pre-lit), and it takes up half of the family room, but it is beautiful and very peaceful when all the lights are turned out, and we sit in the room by tree-light!

Extra Progressive Dinner Pictures!

Here are a few more Progressive Dinner Pictures from last weekend's Sunday school adventures.

I will also include the link to our class blog (since I forget that not everyone who reads this, reads the other) The video portion of our entertainment is posted there...since it took so long to upload, I will leave it there and just link it here.

http://cfbcstartingpoint.blogspot.com/

Copycat

If copying is the sincerest form of flattery, then here's to you, Ashley!

(and by the way, folks, this website is really cool as you can create a quiz for anything...so showing my real copying spirit, I decided to follow Ashley's idea one step further and also do a "How well do you know me?" quiz.)

Please take the quiz below and I will be interested in who knows me best! (Michael already scored a 90--can any intuitive girl beat him?)

How well do you really know me?

Have fun!

Thankful at Thanksgiving!

There was so much to be thankful for at Thanksgiving (and still thankful for!), but one of them was the opportunity to fly and visit Michael's sister and bro-in-law and his parents. We flew in Wed. night (supposed to arrive at 11:30 p.m.) but sat on the ground (at the gate) for 2 hours in Houston due to delays from the airport being shut down by storms earlier in the afternoon. We got in actually around 1:30 and then by the time we got to bed it was closer to 2:15 AM (for those who know me, this was a killer!) We stayed with Sarah (Michael's sister) and her husband, Rich.

Our sweet host and hostess

The next day, we celebrated Thanksgiving dinner and the parents came over as well as two of Rich's coworkers without family in the area.

The beautiful Thanksgiving table

Michael's mom and I

two of the three siblings

obligatory self-portrait

Jess, a coworker

One of Michael's favorite foods he talks about every time his family gets together is a baked brie appetizer with apricot glaze. Here, Sarah made one just for him but did the quick version with apricot jam and it tasted just as great!

Mandi (another coworker), Jess and Dad sample the baked brie

Michael's look of expectancy as he tastes the brie!

After dinner, we played Mexican Train dominoes. Michael even put together a spreadsheet to keep up the scores. It went well into the night...Rich finally won. And then, Sarah and I, out of the pure adventure of it, headed to the outdoor outlet malls that opened at midnight (the parking and lines to get into stores was crazy when we showed up and even worse when we left...and boy, it was freezing!) That made two nights in a row that we went to bed after 2:00 AM!

The next day, we went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum to see the Asher Durand paintings (he is an artist in the Hudson River School style which Mom Weyler loves so much). On the way, I again marveled at the culture and history in our nation's capital (and how much can be seen and done free--example, all the Smithsonian museums) Next time we go to visit Michael's family, we decided that we would go an extra couple of days for pure tourism reasons...even though we lived there for a year and a half, like many residents, you forget to take advantage of the tourist things until you are gone! Afterward, we walked around Chinatown a bit...and ended up eating at Legal Seafood.

This guy was making his own noodles

Washed out faces, but notice the signs to the restaurant. (remember, we are in Chinatown) That evening, we spent several hours decorating Sarah and Rich's house for Christmas!

Rich seemed to have a thing about crawling under Christmas trees! :)

another one...

Michael looking on

This is my favorite! Ever seen a pop-up tree? Well, we had not until last year. This year we took a video to time the "setting up" of this famous pop-up tree. (the blooper is authentic!)

TADA! (again) The tree is done...as is the rest of the house!

Accents...

While you are waiting to hear about our Thanksgiving...

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I found this interesting...not too suprised at the response, but here's to Cindy, Anna, K, and some of my other friends who I would love to hear your responses!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

While I was off skipping around Alabama, Michael found his own amusement here at home. Through an odd set of circumstances, he met a fellow who is also an avid car fanatic. (although, if you know anything about car fanatics, it does not seem to take a whole lot for them to find each other ;) ) Michael was invited to help run the flags at a car race... (Notes by Mike)

Bryan (from CFBC) and another fellow that flew in from Dallas worked the corner with me. These guys taught me a lot about flagging/officiating in one day… Here comes the field of Spec Mazda Miata racers, otherwise known as the Beginners Class/Entry Level Racers, paced by a Lotus Espirit. These guys are the rowdy ones, with not much to lose. There were about 8 classes of racing, with qualifying in the morning and the official races in the afternoon… Racer that lost his way while making a trip to the grocery store (I swear, honey, that guy ran me off the road and slapped those stickers on!). Higher end/Higher action class of Atlantic, Indycar type, etc., racers. These guys flew by and meant business! I might have this type to look forward to next April at the Grand Prix!!! I will get my SCCA membership soon, so that I can work these events! There should be one event every month from January until next April.

~Spontaneity~

Well...spontaneity is not my middle name...in fact, it is way on down the list. I am usually a big planner/researcher.

So, it came as quite a shock (even to me) when I decided on my birthday (Nov.13th--Tues. this year) to fly to Alabama on Wednesday to visit some friends. (yes, this was the next day!) I hurriedly reworked my schedule and packed some clothes. This had been a far distant thought in my mind for a while, but it came to life when one of my best friends there told me her husband was traveling for a week and it would be a great time to come! I found tickets for the same price as usual and took off the next day for a five day jaunt...

I was quickly reminded about how beautiful it is there in Huntsville (Northern Alabama). The trees were magnificent in all colors and I could not stop taking pictures of them. If one tree looks much the same as another to you, just don't tell me. :)

They had a leaf blower in the church parking lot which created a magnificent scene of swirling leaves!

And here...we discovered that we really were seeing life through rose colored glasses. Kristina and I both had polarized glasses which made the colors even more magnificent. Here is a comparison below.

As seen with the naked eye

Taken through my "rose colored" glasses

I visited two dear friends, Kristina and Laura...

K and I used to go for long walks...we picked right back up and enjoyed the beautiful weather!

Her sweet daughter Emma riding a tricycle

and her baby son Alexander (dressed in his monkey suit :) )

Emma strikes a pose

We even fed the ducks!

We went to the ROC (our church's Recreation Center), and I finally got to meet Marcy, another of K's friends, whom I have heard so much!

She has two children, Maryn and Tate.

I couldn't help but include a few pictures of the two adorable (and oh so sweet) children!

Emma is wearing her innertube around the house

Playing with the "Princess" paper dolls I bought Emma.

Right before the lower lip got stuck out

Emma's 3 yr. old side comes out

My 3 yr. old side comes out too!

K took me to the new "Bridge Street" mall (for those from Texas, a perhaps pretty version of the Woodlands riverwalk area) It is still only halfway open, but the Christmas decorations were fun and it was interesting to see how chic the stores were. Pretty temperature, not so pretty with the lack of sunshine. (imagine this on a sunny day!)And yes, that tree really is that tall!

Our first attempt at a self-portrait!

Fountains everywhere... And there even was a carousel

Time to say goodbye to K for several days and hello to Laura (my sinus infected, bronchitis infected friend :) )

She and I went to the Schuster's (mutual friends) house for dinner. We had homemade pizza and watched Ocean's 13.

The next day we went to church (at our old church--we know each other from church) I got the opportunity to say hello to old friends, but it also reminded me how thankful I am to be here in Houston! Our church is so alive, our Sunday school class is fantastic, we have lots of friends here, we have been here for family as various family members have needed us over the past 2 years, and most exciting, I have seen my husband grow in a way that I have not seen at once in many years! He has been given the opportunity to lead, and he has flourished! He is also counseling at the Crisis Pregnancy Center here and has really grown through that too...He has been successful at work and received his long awaited raise and promotion and even more...the P.E. license that he sought after for years. I have so much to be thankful for living here!

Sunday afternoon, Laura and I went downtown to the craft fair. We took a walk to Big Spring Park. She even took me by our old house...

We went back to the Schuster's house for dinner and had yummy fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

Me, Laura, and Melissa

The following day, was Monday, the day I left. Laura and I met Kristina (and family) at the Chick-Fil-A for lunch and play time.

He's not Just My Daddy, He's My Hero

Laura playing hide and seek with Emma

a pretty common sight while on the trip (and I don't mean her belly)

I have to include two last parting shots of Huntsville.

Where would we be without the NASA space needle? And the incredibly easy airport?

The trip was wonderful...both as a mirror to show how happy I am here and as an incredible time of friendship and sharing!