Time to Say Good-Bye

Today was the day. Today was the day our Christmas tree had to come down. I usually like to keep it up a little longer (aka the first of the year), but it was time for this one to go. Poor tree had seen its better day. Last year we didn't get one until the first full weekend in December. This year, I insisted that we get one Thanksgiving weekend. I think that was too early and we'll wait later next year.

Bye bye Christmas tree. Thanks for the memories.



We dropped our tree off this afternoon at Memorial Park to be recycled.



Don't the trees look sad in their little pile?



Although our Christmas tree is gone, Christmas can still be in our hearts all year round. Although Chritmas trees are beautiful, let's not forget the true meaning of Christmas.

Feliz Navidad

Another Christmas has come and gone. We hosted a house full of family this Christmas. Heiners were coming and going for several days.

Mom, Bryan, Stephanie, Neal and myself went to church on Christmas Eve in the "big" church. We usually go to the contemporary service in the parish hall so it's a treat to go to Christmas Eve church in the sanctuary. I think Christmas Eve church might be my most favorite thing about the holidays.



Neal and I had a little rhyme and reason to our gift giving this year. We each gave each other something we want, something we need, something to wear, and something to read.




Through out all the Christmas Day festivities, our Christmas puppy wasn't feeling too good.

Festival of Lights

Last night, we went with Justin and Kate to Moody Gardens to see their Festival of Lights. The Christmas lights were neat. I could have walked through the place several times.





But then came the ice skating. "Wanna go ice skating? Sure, I got this!" Famous last words. I think I'm officially old. The makeshift ice rink was terrifying. I hugged the rail for a total of one miserable lap and then decided that I really like all my bones and prefer them to remain unbroken. Justin and Kate showed no fear and were zooming around the rink. Mom shared my sentiments, had a panic attack, and hung up her ice skates for good.

A Merry Pinterestmas

Mom and I had a Christmas bake-a-thon today. All. Day. Long. I found all these recipes on Pinterst, the new Internet crack. So here's what went down in the little kitchen on Maux today:



Candy Cane Fudge, Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge, Hershey Kiss/M&M/Pretzel thingies, Haystacks, Gooey Vanilla Sparkly Cookies, Rolo Cookies, White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies, Peanut Butter Kisses, Peanut Butter mini-muffin cookies, Chocolate Crockpot Christmas Candy, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

In the last week, all our trees in the neighborhood have decided to drop their leaves. Our neighborhood is covered in a blanket of leaves. Instead of raking the entire yard, Neal got out the trusty blower. Mom traded the baking in for some raking.

December Faves

Oh how this has been the best Christmas break so far. The past few days have been a great marriage of productivity and relaxation. Here are a few things I'm loving right about now:

~~Christmas Cards~~
I look forward to checking the mail everyday to see whose cards have arrived. Today we hit the jackpot with 5 cards in one day. Our Christmas Card Tree is full and a physical reminder of what great people we have been blessed with to have in our lives.

~~A Clean House~~
So it's taken me a couple of days, but our house is a happy, clean house. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's been fun, but I have enjoyed cranking up the Christmas tunes and getting our house ready for the family to arrive.

~~Morning TV~~
Although I don't sit down and watch these shows all the way through, I love having Good Morning America, Live with Kelly, and The View on in the mornings. I'm getting pretty good at this "not working" thing!

~~Working Out~~
I've had zero energy this semester so I've neglected my workout routine. I made a pact with myself to do some kind of physical activity every day during the break. So far, so good. I also got a free trial for an audio book site. I've been listening to one of Ellen's books while I work out and it seems to make the workout go by faster.

~~Christmas lights~~
Oh these make me happy. Even driving through our neighborhood and seeing the same lights every day. In the next couple of days, I hope to venture out of Royal Oaks and see more lights. Neal could probably care less but he appeases me and drives me around like a good husband. :)

~~No Schedule~~
I've been working on my own schedule this week. I've had some errands to do, but I've just been doing those whenever I feel like it. It is so nice to not have to be anywhere at any certain time.

I'm thankful the good Lord gave me a good job that I enjoy most of the time, but I'm thankful this said job also allows me the luxury of time off!

Christmas Cards

Now that we're married, I was excited to send out Christmas cards this year. I probably sent out too many, but I love sending mail to people. It's rare that something fun arrives in your mailbox. Here's our 2011 card:



I searched and searched on Pinterest for a way to display our Christmas cards. I didn't really find anything I liked but happened to find a gold Christmas tree card holder at Kirklands.



As you can see, the pup loves it when I photograph him!

A Few of My Favorites

Growing up, we always had a Christmas tree full of ornaments that didn't match but meant something. No matchy matchy perfect Christmas tree for us. I loved it! Especially now that we have both old and new ornaments on our tree.

Here's my new favorite. I had been on the hunt for a wedding ornament for us. Neal actually found this one at the Schlitterbahn Christmas Shoppe during our little visit to Gruene.



What can I say, I am a child of the 80s. Hence the Cabbage Patch, Strawberry Shortcake, and Miss Piggy ornaments.







Here's the first ornament we ever got together. The first Christmas we spent together in 2008.



This is special to me. Baby's First Christmas 1978.



A key ornament when we bought our house last year.



And, Merry Christmas from 1983. My kindergarten picture.

The Reason for the Season

Mom came over on Sunday to go with me to the Michael W Smith Christmas concert. Full orchestra, MWS on the piano, and a zydeco group from Lafayette singing with him. The music was amazing. I love hearing traditional Christmas music. It's so beautiful and reminds me of my childhood.



After taking this picture, I made a secret vow to myself to start carrying around the papparazi camera (AKA my brother's Canon Rebel that is on loan to us that he may or may not be getting back.) It takes much better pictures than this. George and Barbara Bush were at the concert too. A shot I could have gotten with the papparazi camera.

I read lots of blogs and have come across a few posts lately like this one and this one about not going overboard with all the fluff of Christmas. It's easy to do. More often than I care to admit, I find myself putting just one more Christmas thing in my shopping cart. I'm human and need a daily reminder of what it's really all about. I found this print on Pinterest and framed it on our mantel.

Gruene River Inn

We stayed at the Gruene River Inn Saturday night on our little road trip. We had the Blanco room which overlooked the Guadalupe River. It looked extra chilly on the raindy day. It's cold during the summer so I can only imagine what it would feel like this time of year.





It might not have been far, but it was nice to get out of town. Even it was for only 24 hours.

Holidays in Gruene

Although this is what our drive to Gruene looked like...


...Mother Nature cooperated and let us walk around the town on Saturday.

Neal was a good sport as I drug him in and out of the little shops. He found a "man cave" in one of the shops that offered football and beer for the men. He looks thrilled, doesn't he?



I love being in Gruene Hall. Wood floors. Chicken wire covering the windows. Good music. Cold beer.



We watched these guys from Austin perform. They were an entertaining, bluegrass group. Love the stories that these songs tell.



We had dinner at the Gristmill. Food was "meh", but the weather held up so we were able to sit on the patio overlooking the Guadalupe River. That in itself made up for the mediocre food.



Merry Christmas from Gruene!

Year of the BFF Weddings

Friday night we attended Ann and John's wedding. This one might just be the sweetest one I've ever been too. The look on John's face when he saw Ann was priceless. Her brother wrote and sang the sweetest song for the ceremony.

I'm still amazed that 2011 turned out to be the year for weddings. Especially for those of best friends. Me and Leslie. Neal and Chris. Ann and Dara. Funny how things work out. Hopefully 2012 is the year of the babies!

The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

It's Christmastime in Texas. We actually bought our tree when it was cold out this year. Last year, we went to buy one in shorts. That was on Sunday. We shopped around and ended up back at Lowe's where we got ours last year. So Sunday we brought it into the house and set it up in its stand. No energy to put the lights on it. Last night (which was Monday), I started stringing the lights. Either our tree is bigger this year or I did the lights differently because I did not have enough lights. Now it's Tuesday and I picked up a couple more strings along with a few other things after school today. I'm proud of myself in that my trip to Hobby Lobby only cost me $21.69. That's amazing given all the Christmas goodies in that place. So three days later, our tree is up and decorated. I still need to find a tree skirt. It was fun pulling out all the old ornaments. I love that I'm a child of the 80s with my Cabbage Patch, Miss Piggy, and Strawberry Shortcake ornaments. Last year we debated on whether or not to set our Christmas tree up in our front room with the big picture window where you could see the tree from the street. Since we never go in that room, I decided I'd rather put the tree in our living room where we can see it everyday. I'd rather us enjoy it than our neighbors.



Turns out Christmas decorating is hard work for a puppy!

Louisiana Black Friday

I am NOT a Black Friday shopper. Nothing about that seems fun to me. Instead, Grandma and Ite took us to Louisiana on Black Friday to test our luck. We started out in Lake Charles at L'auberge de Lac. Me and casinos don't really get along. I never win, but luckily Neal always wins something. I'm perfectly content spending (or I should probably say losing) $20 and then being done. I do enjoy the video roulette, but the minimums were high so my money didn't last long.




Neal got a free cupcake since his birthday is this month. Too bad is was the worst cupcake I've ever tasted.



We then went to Delta Downs. I threw another $20 away. Neal turned $15 into about $150. We got to see the horses. I mentioned to Ite that I thought one of the horses had a cool name. He gave me money to go bet on it. Of course, it lost. However, the other 3 bet on the #8 horse right before we left. It won and they all collected their winnings.

Thanksgiving Tidbits

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house again this year. We're getting better at it. We stuck to our plan this time and had a very nice day.

My sister inspired me to make a banner for the mantel. I did cheat and didn't string it like she did, but I was still happy with my little project.



Mom arrived on Wednesday with our Mack dog. She had been puppy sitting for us the previous weekend when we were in Port Aransas. She was so diligent in getting him back in the house safe and sound that she locked her keys in her car. Luckily, she has roadside assistance and the service was there within 30 minutes.



Here's us modeling a wedding gift we received. Mr and Mrs aprons. Neal did the "heavy lifting" of the cooking and I did the easy stuff. Every went smooth and drama free.



I made a couple of Pecan pies. Here's my Betty Crocker pose.



We did our table a little fancier this year. Still no real dining room table. You can tell we've gotten married in the past year. Real tablecloths, crystal candlesticks, matching dishses, crystal vase. Our Thanksgivings are growing up as we are.



Ite, Neal and Mack watching football. I can't really remember if this was the Cowboys game or the UT game. I think it was the UT game because most everyone was napping in the afternoon during the Cowboys game.

Our Thankfulness

Neal was a good sport and played along with an idea I saw on a blog. Every day (well most days), we wrote down one thing we were thankful for on a post it and put it in a jar. We read them on Thanksgiving night.
WHAT THE WOMAN IS THANKFUL FOR:
*For a good day with family
*For a husband that helps me clean
*For good dinner conversations
*For the rain today
*For my iPhone to entertain me during boring meetings
*For my sister who has turned into a beautiful woman
*For my friend Jackie, the baby expert
*For a loving and forgiving God
*For an easy going family that goes with the flow
*For a man who cooks dinner
*For our Mack dog
*For a job where I can help kids
*For Jenny Sultenfuss who is the nicest person I've ever met
*For my kids at school that make me laugh
*For Mack dog loving us unconditionally
*For Coleson who makes me laugh
*That my mom and I have become best friends


WHAT THE MAN IS THANKFUL FOR:
*For rain and cool weather
*For his wife
*For energy efficient equipment
*For technology
*For rain from the sky
*For Nueces A/C
*For not needing charity
*For vacation
*For his family's support
*For a house and home
*For a puppy sitter
*For Mack Brown (not sure if this is the dog or the coach)
*For his job
*For his health

These are just a few things we're thankful for. There are many, many more. We're blessed to have the life we have.