Sunday, December 30, 2007

Christmas With The Hoovers

Here is a little pictorial of Christmas at our tiny apartment.














Here is our Expedit bookcase turned Christmas hearth.














These are the shiny ornament tea lights that I got from Grandma Dorothy this year. Pay no attention to my goofy reflection.














This is my Santa mug. My brother and I have each had one since we were babies. I don't drink out of him anymore, although I have once or twice. Now I just set him out to bring back happy memories.





















Here are our Christmas stockings. We use the stockings we've had since we were little, instead of getting new matching ones. I like it much better this way. Besides, where am I gonna find a new stocking with a pocket for my little stuffed Santa like this one?














I set the table for Christmas breakfast the night before so I wouldn't have to get up as early the next morning. I love the look of a just-set table. It gleams with anticipation of the food and conversation to come.














And here's a little close up of a salty Santa Clause peeking around the centerpiece.














Here's our somewhat dismal Christmas tree. By Christmas morning it was one dirty look away from bursting into flames. And half of the colored lights burned out two days before. Not the best looking tree we've ever had, but it still made us happy to look at. The giant safety hazard went out the day after. We realized why our tree wasn't fairing so well though, so next year we can avoid the mistakes.














Here are my gifts to Josh right before he tore into them with glee.














And here are Josh's gifts to me, so well wrapped and with his ever clever tags. Every year it's a surprise what he might write on them.














And here we have our delicious Christmas morning breakfast. If you want to see and read more about what he had you should head on over to Small Time Cooks.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

The Day After

I know I should have wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Instead of leaving my little blog out in the cold for a week. But things were busy. I left work Thursday evening to start my Christmas vacation, but at times it seemed as if I had left for a holiday interment camp. I had a lot of fun, but I also did a lot of work, and there were moments where I wanted to just collapse. But I watched a lot of holiday movies, wrapped a bazillion gifts, and was lucky enough to even squeeze in some cuddly couch time with Josh. Not enough of it, but some is better than none for sure. So it most definitely wasn't all bad. And then of course I got totally spoiled with gifts. I got the Astaire & Rogers box set, Woody Allen's new book, and Radio Days, along with a plethora of other items. Josh got me Clotilde Dusoulier's latest book, one of my favorite MST3K movies, Help!, the three season Good Neighbors set, Ghost Hunters Season 3 Part 1 dvd set, my favorite Barbra Streisand movie- What's Up, Doc, and Dial M For Murder. I told you, spoiled. I also got a knife sharpener, a cookie scoop, and Born Yesterday, from my mom, in addition to the Astaire & Rogers box set. And my bro, his wife, and my niece got me French Women For All Seasons, Team of Rivals, and Broadway Danny Rose. That means I've moved past the halfway point in my goal of owning all Woody Allen's movies. We went to see Josh's brother, Alec and his wife Kim along with their new little baby boy Griffin, on Christmas Eve. They ended up having to go to the hospital the day we were supposed to do our gift exchange, so we were finally able to do that. They got us this awesome set of soup & sandwich trays. I've got at least 2 soups on my recipe to-do list, so these are gonna be so useful. The biggest surprise gift this year though was the iPod shuffle that my cousin Mike got for me. It was especially surprising because I had no clue who got my name in the Christmas exchange, and as the gift pile dwindled and my name hadn't been called, I began to worry that I'd been forgotten completely- not an impossible thing in my big family. But then I finally got a package and instead of being overlooked I was spoiled once again!

Of course the best part of Christmas was spending time with all of our family. And getting to see the look on people's faces when they opened the gifts I had chosen especially for them. And I will think of everyone and how much they love me while I enjoy my new toys, and I hope they do the same with their gifts.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Christmas Wishlist No. 5

I'm in a slightly more chipper mood after a successful dinner last night and some Christmas decorating. Still have a trillion chores, but they don't seem so overwhelming now. It must be the twinkle lights. Anyway, now that I'm in a more seasonal mood here's another item from my wishlist.













It is my goal in life to own all of Woody Allen's movies on DVD. I'm about halfway there, but this little gem has yet to make it into my collection. This movie is really quite sweet, a lovely nostalgic look at the growth of a little boy and his family when big radio was big entertainment. This is a movie I can easily watch over and over. I hope this flick will be nestled next to my other Allen movies this holiday season. And I couldn't help but share one of my favorite scenes from the movie. Diane Keaton's singing is simply divine!

Monday, December 17, 2007

Chores

I really wish I hadn't gotten sick when I have so many things I need to get done. I'm feeling mostly better now, but the overwhelming amount of chores to be done in such a short amount of time is making me feel a bit queasy. Tonight we have Christmas with Josh's dad's family, which doesn't leave too much time for tasks. But no matter what I have to get some gifts wrapped to mail out tomorrow. Just a few of the 30 gifts I have left to wrap. Oh jeez. And then there's the laundry. And the cleaning- made extra difficult due to the broken vacuum. Don't forget all the double cooking I've signed myself up for to help stock Alec & Kim's freezer for the impending baby days. Hopefully that won't be as hard as it feels like, since I'm just doubling everything I'm making for our dinner and popping it in the freezer. And I really, really, really want to get some cookies made. I realize that's not quite a chore, but gosh darnit, I'm determined to get it done. And at some point I should probably bathe. I think everyone would appreciate me crossing that one off my list each day. Josh is being a very sweet boy and going to Target when he leaves work to get a cheese tray for tonight, along with laundry detergent and stopping to get the Chili's GC my sister requested for Christmas. He offered to do more, but I don't know when/how he can do much more than me, since he's got drum lessons T-Th. I'm staying home Friday, and we don't have any plans yet for Saturday, so I'm hoping to get most of the laundry and gift wrapping done then. I'm sure everything will be A-OK. I just felt like some frazzled venting was necessary. I'll stop whining now since I brought this all on myself and it's not like some great tragedy is playing out over here. Oh jeez, I have to wrap gifts and make cookies and do my normal chores too, ha.

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Wake up early
-Unload dishwasher
-Sit on couch and watch TV
-Eat chicken noodle soup
-Sit on couch some more
-Sleep on couch
-Wake up just before Josh gets home
-Get dressed
-Go to store for sick supplies
-Eat Chipotle
-Decorate Christmas tree
-Go to bed

Saturday:
-Sleep in
-Lay in bed watching 30 Rock
-Eat chicken pot pie, chicken noodle soup, strawberry ice cream and gold fish crackers through the course of the day
-Shower
-Get ready
-Head to Dallas for Chemistry Set show
-Hang out with Diggy, Steve & Meri
-Eat a crappy grilled cheese sandwich and fries
-Visit with the Sea Lion boys
-Enjoy the show with Diggy
-Say our goodbyes and head home
-Go to bed super late- 3:00 AM!

Sunday:
-Sleep in
-Make grocery list
-Shower
-Rush to get ready
-Head to YWCA for Carrie & Casey's wedding
-Enjoy the ceremony
-Hang out at the reception with Spencer & Deb discussing their wedding plans, wedding #3 in the trilogy, ha
-Head home
-Change clothes and go grocery shopping, despite still being a little drunk from the reception :)
-Eat a frozen pizza
-Wrap Ann & Kim's gifts for Hoover family Christmas
-Hit the hay
-Have very fitful night of sleeping, resulting in me sleeping in going in to work late this morning

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Blech

Dudes. I'm sick again. What the H. I'm hoping it will pass quickly. Maybe it's sinus problems from the weather shifts. Yeah, it was hot last Friday. And then cold on Sunday. And then this morning we had freezing fog. I had no idea what freezing fog was, and until the nice man on television finally explained it to me I refused to open my door for fear I would walk directly into a cloud of solid ice. Once my fears were laid to rest and we established that Josh's way to work was more or less free of accidents we left for work. I was planning on working tomorrow, but now that I feel totally yucky I'm think maybe not. I've got about a trillion things to get done around the apartment too, so either way I'll be busy, but at least I can be busy in my pajamas if at home. Am I right? What, you don't walk to the laundry room in your pajamas? Stop trying to make me feel bad.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Christmas Wishlist No. 4

This year I asked for a few kitchen tools that I've been meaning to buy, but just haven't gotten around to. I didn't ask for this specific citrus press, but I wouldn't be sad if I saw it's cheery color peeking out at me when I unwrapped a gift.

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Work, blech
-Run errands to Target and Pier 1
-Grab a few groceries at Central Market
-Get dinner from Chipotle
-Eat and watch 30 Rock, hilarious!
-Grocery shopping
-Watch TV and tidy up
-Go night-night

Saturday:
-Wake up and make coffee
-Get Beef Stew ingredients into Crock Pot
-Make Beer Bread
-Clean living room while doing laundry, 6 loads!
-Make bed and put clean cover back on couch
-Prep salad
-Eat Chipotle leftovers
-Send Josh to store for salad dressing
-Shower
-Start on dessert
-Start over on dessert, sigh.
-Welcome Spencer & Deb with congratulations on their engagement!
-Spend a lovely evening enjoying good food and pleasant conversation
-Leave the dishes to Josh
-Watch MST3K: The Giant Gila Monster
-Hit the Hay

Sunday:
-Wake up
-Watch Graham Norton
-Eat cheese toast for breakfast, best ever!
-Finish getting ready
-Head to Stephanie's
-Hang out while she finishes cupcakes for Ryan's birthday
-Play with Rylee
-Head out to Grapevine Mills
-Buy some super cute things at Forever 21, Steve & Barry's, and Banana Republic Outlet.
-Grab some grub at Chili's and chat old school while we eat
-Hit Old Navy and Target for some Christmas gifts
-Head back to the DeMeglio casa
-Go home
-Show Josh all my new clothes, yay!
-Crash into bed

Friday, December 7, 2007

First Official Christmas Gift


Last night we got our first Christmas gift in the mail from Grandpa Jack, the step-mom-in-law's dad. Grandpa Jack likes to send useful items. Especially if they happen to be sitting around his house. Things can be hit or miss. Josh has gotten several shirts that he likes. But then one year there was the ice scraper from a Kansas City TV station. Jack lives in Rochester, New York, so we never really figured out why he even had that to send to us. Usually he sends things to the In-law's house, but this year he sent it direct, so it was my first time opening the package and seeing the wide array of items all at once. Our first gift of the season consisted of:

Matching argyle hat and scarf
2 pounds of Heluva Good Extra-Sharp Cheddar
2 4 watt night light bulbs
2 pens
2 expired coupons for Swanson chicken broth
1 pair of men's work gloves
Large Ziploc bag of mixed nuts
Small Ziploc bag of rubber bands
2007 American Eagle silver coin
Christmas wrap and gift labels
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund 2008 calendar

For the most part a nice way to start off the season. We'll definitely enjoy the cheese and nuts. I put the silver coin with the one's we got for 2005 and 2006. The expired coupons have gone the way of the trash can and the work gloves are in the goodwill pile cause they smelled a bit mildewy. Josh likes the scarf and hat though. We might each wear one so we can be sickeningly cute and matchy. I might give the Christmas wrap away, as I've been planning on a more cohesive theme for my gifts this year. Pens, light bulbs, and rubber bands are always useful, right? And the calendar has some really lovely pictures, although it's alongside the morbid law enforcement death totals for each state. All in all not a bad package this year. I'll send Grandpa Jack a thank you note and a separate Christmas card because he likes getting mail. Sending him anything else would rather defeat the purpose of his packages though, don't ya think?

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Wishy-Washy Weather

Sometimes I wish that what they taught me in school about there being four seasons were apparent in my surroundings. After it snowed on Thanksgiving I figured I had better get my sweaters pulled out and my t-shirts stowed away for the next few months. Last week it was cloudy and grey out, while being comfortably warm. Sunday it was bright and sunshiny while there was a nip in the windy air. And now they tell me that it's going to be 80 degrees this weekend? I guess I shouldn't be bothered. I'm sure I can manage with the uni-seasonal items in my closet until it's in the 40's on Monday.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Wedding Wears

Josh and I have a wedding to go to in a week and a half and I've been having trouble figuring out what to wear. Emily came to my rescue with some great advice though. I'll be going shopping this weekend with Steph, so I'll be looking for a little something like this. Thanks again Emily!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Christmas Wishlist No. 3

I am currently obsessed with ballroom dancing. This isn't a new obsession by any means, but is currently moving full throttle thanks to the finale of Dancing With the Stars last week. And is also being helped along by my purchase of the dance game inspired by the show. And constantly watching videos on youtube. I've been fascinated with the idea of dancing ever since I fell for Fred Astaire as a kid. And I think if I found this gem under my Christmas tree that my ballroom obsession would probably last right through till the next season of DWTS, and beyond.

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Sleep in
-Clean house
-Run errands to Walgreens and Target
-Eat Chipotle and watch 30 Rock
-Watch What A Girl Wants
-Hit the hay

Saturday:
-Sleep in
-Pick up prescriptions
-Get PS2 to PS3 controller converters for dance pads and Dancing With The Stars game
-Figure out that PS3 & Dancing With The Stars won't recognize dance pads properly
-Watch some WKRP In Cincinatti
-Stop by Justin's new casa to borrow PS2
-Play Dancing With the Stars
-Shower
-Get ready
-Head to 6th Street Live for Professional Juice and That1Guy show
-Enjoy show with Josh, Matt, Randy, and Steve. Spot Chris & Heather, OP and Gretchen, and Sea Lion boys.
-Play more Dancing With The Stars
-Eat late night Whataburger
-Go night-night

Sunday:
-Sleep In
-Play Dancing With the Stars- so hard!
-Watch rest WKRP In Cincinatti dvd
-Get ready
-Run to grocery store for salad ingredients
-Make salad for dinner at Mom-In-Law's
-Make menu plan and grocery list for week
-Finish getting ready
-Head to Mom-In-Law's for post-Thanksgiving dinner
-Watch Casablanca and eat fried chicken, dumplings, and peach cobbler
-Head home
-Attempt to sleep

Monday:
-Stay home with headache and stomachache and total lack of sleep
-Watch White Christmas while tidying apartment
-Grocery shop
-Make dinner and eat
-Clean kitchen
-Clean bathroom
-Shower
-Work on party ideas
-Fall asleep watching Dinner At Eight

Sunday, December 2, 2007

What Did I Do With My Saturday Night?

Rock out to the stylings of Professional Juice and That1Guy, of course.