Steven and I had an absolutely fantastic weekend filled with friends and lots and lots of fudge. Well, there was plenty of other food too but the fudge is what really made the impression.
On Friday morning I was already in "Christmas break" mode. When Steven got home from work we had a quick breakfast and cozied-up on the couch to watch Morning Glory together. It was a very funny movie by the way. We were both pleasantly surprised by how entertaining it was.
I was so bummed to have to get up and drive to work but so so SO happy to come home Friday evening knowing that I have two full weeks off. It was a rather emotional start to the break as I had been a little on-edge all week long. And when I say "a little on edge" what I really mean is hanging-on-to-my-sanity-by-the-fingernail-on-my-pinkie. Yeah... I cried at about every other little sad or slightly frustrating thing Friday night but was ready to roll come Saturday morning. Phew, glad I got that out of my system in a hurry.
By Saturday afternoon it was time for our Christmas party. Steven and I had been looking forward to this for months -- literally -- and were definitely more than slightly bummed at how few people were able to make it. Not to say that it wasn't fun! Because it was a REALLY good time, but the scheduling just ended up being so crazy. We had planned it for Sunday afternoon but only Lena & Aaron said they could be there then and Tim & Annika said they would plan to come over around 8pm on Sunday... I figured Lena & Aaron would probably be gone by then so things weren't really shaping up into much of a party -- more like back-to-back double dates. Then Jeremy & Ronnie and Scott & Kristen all said they could come if we had it Saturday afternoon so that's what we ended up doing. And we kept the double dates for Sunday.
So at 2:30 on Saturday we were sitting in our lovely little dining area with two couples who had each driven 3 hours to come to our Christmas party, haha! It made me smile. Our friend Chase showed up a while later and then Lyle & Samantha came and brought Liam, who is now a year old and very very cute.
Wow. Steven and Chase kind of really do look like a couple there. Isn't that sweet? Maybe I should have made Chase take the picture...
We played a game of Betrayal and drank rum slush and ate and ate and ate. We had cookies and fudge and crackers with goat cheese and hummus and chips and salsa and it was all slightly too much but completely wonderful.
The White Elephant gift exchange was a huge success. Steven snagged himself a Maglite flashlight, Jeremy managed to take home the coveted "trick switch", Samantha won a box of sweet-tart candy canes and Ronnie scored a VHS copy of Corky Romano. Scott was not at all pleased that he was unable to unload his Mickey Mouse top hat and gloves -- they ended up back with him by the end of the evening :)I wish I had gotten a picture of Liam! He's SO cute! We dumped the dominoes out for him and he was trying to carry all of them at the same time. I think he managed to get three in each hand and was walking around with one sticking out of his mouth. It was really funny. I love babies. Want to know a secret? So does Steven. He was definitely loving having Liam over and hanging out with him. But I won't tell you that because Steven probably wouldn't want it to be public information ;)
Sunday was a total food day. We started the morning off right with a huge breakfast. We had French puffs and bacon and grapefruit and pomegranate seeds and satsumas and hot chocolate. (the boys had friend eggs too but Kristen and I don't eat those). Doesn't sound like much but I couldn't even finish what little I had put on my plate. I should have taken a picture. I left about a bite and a half of everything. It looked really silly. What really got us into trouble was when we discovered that everything tasted better with fudge... first Steven and Scott were eating fudge with pomegranate seeds. Then we started eating fudge with little pieces of bacon. Oh. My. Goodness. That is definitely where it's at. Always eat fudge with bacon. You'll thank me for this tip one day. I'm sure of it. After Scott and Kristen had started their long drive back down to Vancouver, Steven and I were out the door for a late lunch with Lena and Aaron.
It was so fun to see their home all Christmassy! They have 3 (three!!) nativities, twinkle lights all around the windows, and a pretty tree that they cut down while they were in Yakima last month. Lena even made stockings that are hanging in the living room. I just really liked it. It felt cozy. We spent the first few minutes making peanut-butter-cup-type-treats and then spent the next two hours eating them :) We also taught them how to play Cargo Noir. Steven won. I know, you're shocked, but it's true.
Sunday evening we had a quick dinner at home with Tim and Annika, watched Prep and Landing for the 5th time this holiday season and went to bed early, leaving a sink (and a couple of counter tops) full of dishes to be done the next day.
Monday we got meet Dad's new puppy. There were other things that went on that day (Ticket to Ride with Sam and Charlie Piehler, wedding planning with Annika, amazing phad Thai and pumpkin curry at Thai Ginger in Redmond) but I'd say the puppy was probably the most exciting. And definitely the only thing that I took pictures of.
This is Tebow. He is a 10 week old labradoodle and he is adorable! I want one. Not really. I don't want one in my house. I just want one that I'm allowed to play with and visit with whenever I want to. Maybe we should get one for Mom (not that we could afford one even if we wanted to). One of the best things about Tebow is that Steven didn't show any signs of being allergic to him -- yay for finding a dog that I'm actually allowed to pet and pick-up and love on!!
I might have put the puppy on Steven's lap just to watch him lick Steven all over his face. I thought it was a good game. I'm definitely looking forward to visiting with Tebow more over the weekend. Dad and his family are going to be out of town for Christmas so Amanda is puppy-sitting, which means he will be coming with her to all of the family functions. Rainier is not going to be pleased about this...
I had a shopping date with my friend Joy yesterday. She lives in Portland so we met at the Centralia Outlet mall. We finished up our Christmas shopping and then spent two hours chatting at Quiznos. I hadn't seen her since her wedding last July and even though we've talked on the phone a couple of times since then, it was so fun to catch up in person! I don't get enough dates with girlfriends. Lena and I usually see each other once a month but that's pretty much it. I love talking with Paige and Chelsea and Rachel on the phone every now and then and there are e-mail updates and the occasional facebook comments but I really miss just being around girls and having friends nearby. Dear friends, let's live near each other in the future. Love, Steph.
My little Tar-Tar Sauce and her kitty-cat peeking at each other through the window. So cute.
Tara, Mom and I went to Red Robin last night and then to Michael's basketball game at Woodinville HS. Michael plays for Skyline and it was nice to be able to go to a game so close to Mom's house.
Papa and Grammi came too. They're the best. They go to ALL of our games and concerts and plays and recitals and just everything. I'm always impressed by their dedication.
They even put Michael in for the last 47.5 seconds of the game! Woohoo!! His team won by 17 points.
We saw the new Sherlock Holmes today. It was FABULOUS! I loved it. Can't wait until we can get it on DVD. I wanted to watch it again as soon as it was over. You should definitely go see it if you haven't already (there's a very good chance that Paige and Steven are my only readers in which case this is completely irrelevant because I know you've both seen it.)
We have a busy week ahead of us, including many holiday celebrations and some slightly more serious family time. Steven's grandfather passed away a few days ago and we're attending a memorial service for him tomorrow. Steven didn't know him very well and I had never met him but this kind of family stuff is difficult and emotional for everyone just the same. Steven was fortunate enough to get some time off of work so that he can spend more time with his family than he had originally planned this week. He will be able to visit with them for most of the day on Christmas Eve. It will be nice for all of them.
We will be having 5 Christmas celebrations over the course of the weekend including our own little Christmas morning just the two of us -- have I mentioned that having a husband to spend Christmas with is the best thing ever? Because it definitely is. I highly recommend it.
We are also very much looking forward to seeing Chad and Whitney who will be arriving sometime Friday evening I believe. We already have a dinner date planned with the two of them and Jeremy and Ronnie next week. Should be a blast!
I still have some of my Christmas baking to do... okay, all of my Christmas baking to do. Other than that I've tied up most of my Christmas-related loose ends. The shopping is done. The cards have all been sent. Almost all of the gifts have been wrapped. The movies have all been watched (with the exception of I'll Be Home for Christmas -- love that JTT!! -- and It's a Wonderful Life) and I think I've listened to every Christmas song I own at least two times. Now it's time to relax and enjoy.
For now, I'm signing off to watch Muppet Christmas Carol with Steven before it gets any later and we fall asleep. Goodnight!
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