Christmas on the Bayou

It took us 2 1/2 extra hours to get to the bayou due to the snow. Here's my list of what went down in Louisiana:

• Wedding dress shopping with my BFF and her mother
• Visits with friends that were much too short
• A trip to the dentist and to the orthodontist (yay), Lucy's birthday celebration at Copeland's, and my mother-in-law's birthday celebration all on the same day
• Christmas day preparations
• Christmas Mass, lunch part 1 at Nanny Mary's and lunch part 2 at my parents'

• Myriam's bridal shower preparations
• Boiled crabs and squeezed-in quality time with the Perry's and the Chatham's
• Myriam's bridal shower
• Myriam's trial make up and hair appointments
• Lunch at Mr. B's

Now you can see a sample of the crafting (and it's happy recipients) that kept me so busy:


We were making excellent time on our trip home so we stopped at PF Chang's in Knoxville. It started snowing around 11 and we decided to stop for the night 2 1/2 hours from Charlottesville since the interstate was turning white and I was about to have a nervous breakdown. The Holiday Inn Express allowed us to have Theo in the room. Theo repaid the kindness by peeing on a pillow and puking twice in the hallway.

While I was crossing my fingers that the snow would be gone I was secretly happy to see the same breathtaking views of Virginia's countryside blanketed with snow that I failed to take pictures of on the way out.
There are still piles of snow in Charlottesville, but it's hardly a nuisance. I am happy to be back in our cozy home. I felt like I needed a vacation after a week of the holiday hustle and bustle.

Merry Christmas

More Fun in the Snow

Our duplex neighbors knocked on our door around 11 this morning to see if we wanted to walk with them to the shopping center near our place in order to go to the grocery store. This sounded like an adventure so we suited up to join them. It was still snowing. We helped another neighbor get his jeep unstuck. I say "we", but I mostly watched. We saw a fallen tree, stranded cars, and mountains of snow in the parking lot.
When we made it back home we ate lunch then headed to McGrady's Irish Pub to join more neighbors for beer and shuffleboard. Nice and toasty we walked back home around 4:30. Michael and John went to Washington Park to sled before it got dark and I took a nap. We are so grateful that we lost power for only 15 minutes and we weren't even home for it.
After dinner we spent an hour and a half digging my car out of the snow. Michael borrowed a shovel from the neighbors and I used our dust pan which I preferred to the shovel.
My face is defrosting as I type and I am about to do some last minute packing. We think we should be able to get out tomorrow. The temperature won't get warm enough to melt the snow but we're close enough to main roads to be able to leave. We're keeping an eye on things and we're not planning on doing anything stupid.

It's a Marshmallow World

It started yesterday around 4. I was smart and finished any Christmas shopping and ran errands in the morning before this storm started. Michael finished his test, we went to lunch, and then to the grocery store which took at least two hours because of the traffic and the insane lines in the grocery store. We played in the snow last night and Theo is like a kid in a candy store. As it got closer to midnight the snow was up to his head. This did not deter him. We will definitely take a video of him leaping through the snow today. Well, he might have to tunnel his way around because it's way over his head now. I was pumped about building a snowman. But I feel like that's not possible.

It's looking like I won't be going to work today. So there's lots of crafting in my forecast.

My car has a flat top. Tres cool.

I took this through the window so you could see my Christmas flag. Oh wait, you can't.

We opened the front door and I realize I will need snowshoes.

Dear Snow,
I know I was excited about seeing you. But I think it's time we called it quits.
xoxo, Marie

We are the Champions

I went bowling with my boss and co-workers along with Cha Cha's (a super fun boutique on the Downtown Mall) employees and owner. We bowled against each other and Alakazam walked away victorious.

After bowling we went to the Brick Oven for good food and conversation.

Don't Hate Us 'Cuz We're Beautiful

I know it's a little cheesy, but I love it. Plus we did it ourselves, obviously. Two weeks until Christmas! We can't wait to be home with our loved ones. It's the most wonderful time of the year :)

Now I'm going to do some serious crafting before I go to work at the toy store today. I have ten ornaments to make for my Etsy shop before attempting to finish Christmas presents. Yikes!

A Lion and His Prey

I know. You're sick of seeing my super cute dog. Well, I'm not sick of talking about how cute he is. You remember Bolt from the previous post. Not a day after he's out of surgery Theo is working on his injured leg.

This photo reminds me of a show I saw about lions on Animal Planet. The host of the show would try to get as close as possible to the lions to see how they react. I don't know what the point was, but the lions would look up from their dinner and watch the crazy man creep closer. Theo is probably just posing for the picture, because he does that. Or it's just more proof that he is, in fact, part kitty. My favorite part about that photo is the way Theo is holding Bolt.

The Surgeon

Michael got to perform two surgeries today all by himself!

That's right, folks. $40,000 later, Bolt and Dirty Rotten Kitty are back in action.

So Much for National Blogging Month

I'm sorry I'm doing an awful blogging job. I had a whopping one post in November. This is what has been consuming my life.
I mailed the majority out on Tuesday, and since I subbed yesterday I am a bit behind in finishing. But I can say for certain that they will be done and mailed on Monday.

The cough from hell that I had last year for the entire winter is back. I'm going to get someone out here to test the air quality in case it's something like mold. I don't feel sick, but I sound like I have the plague and I'm sure that's bad for business.

We went Christmas tree shopping the week before Thanksgiving in order to beat the fake Christmas tree rush. We checked out Kmart before heading to Big Lots where we got a sweet deal on a 6' pre-lit tree.
I intended to take silly pictures like my family does when picking out a real tree. I got this one shot in Kmart and completely forgot to take more in the midst of all the excitement at Big Lots.

(This is a side note that Theo is currently running laps around the living room. Poor thing, but I really don't feel up to walking him in the cold and cloudy weather. The Puppy 500, as we call it, will have to do for now.)
Theo was pretty excited to put his new personalized dog bone on the tree. This picture was taken before he tried to eat it. The ornaments start about a foot and a half from the bottom of the tree. Oh, Theo.

We missed the community tree lighting this year. Michael was working overnight and I had signed up to chaperone a dance put on by Parks and Rec for 5th and 6th graders. Two straight hours of rap. If I had attempted to dance in such a way I would have surely blown out a knee and not been able to walk the next day. Then again I'm sure I wouldn't have been allowed to go to a dance at that age much less walk home after. Things you keep in mind when they're trying to drive you crazy in the classroom. Not everyone is as blessed to grow up in the home that I did.

Oh well, back to happy thoughts. Here are two custom dog bone ornaments I made for a friend.
I am so happy how they turned out. I used different greens for the holly leaves and I think it really jazzed them up more than Theo's (which can be seen in my Etsy shop). I have two more orders for custom ornaments and I will be starting those as soon as the invitations are done. (And here I am blabbing away on the blog with errands to run and lots of Christmas presents waiting to be crafted.)

And speaking of Christmas presents, here's my wish list on Amazon. Maybe it's tacky, but at least you know :)

Hungry? If you are in the mood for some serious comfort food and have 2 hours to spare Ina Garten's Chicken Stew with Biscuits will not disappoint. It might disappoint your post-Thanksgiving pre-Christmas diet. But it is amazing. I didn't use those tiny onions and I used half and half instead of heavy cream. Don't be intimidated by the biscuits. Make them. You will not be sorry. We are so sad that the leftovers are gone.
Earlier this week I made pasta primavera. I used this recipe, but subbed green bell peppers for red and I also roasted the tomatoes. I used whole wheat spaghetti instead of bow tie pasta because that's what I had on hand. I bought herbes de Provence since I'm not a huge fan of Italian herbs. And let me tell you.... yum yum yum. Fast and easy. Sorry no picture. Plus my pictures of food usually make the food look gross.

Tiny goose likes to lie underneath things. He's under the couch as I type.

So long for now. Time to be productive.

Um...

...hi. I told you November would be busy.

My 24 hour trip home for Mimi's birthday was very eventful starting with an adventure on the side of highway 90 five minutes from my parents' house which began when my friend Stephanie who eagerly volunteered to pick me up from the airport at 9:00 p.m. ran out of gas. Margaret and Brent brought us gas. The next day was filled with as much happiness and laughs that can be packed into such a short time.

You are also wondering about Myriam's bachelorette party in Vegas. I didn't think I would like Vegas as much as I did. It's so bizarre- Disneyland for adults- shopping, eating, gambling, shows. Wow.
On my flight I watched The Time Traveler's Wife, which I don't recommend watching in public since I was sobbing as the flight attendant asked me if I was finished with my water. But I do recommend seeing it.
Myriam started things off right by losing her sweater and the Bachelorette Mad Libs before she even arrived. J_____ from Taiwan tried to kill our fun with her incompetence at check-in at Treasure Island. Luckily she was not successful. Perhaps this is where Kitty Glitter (a slot machine with an angry fluffy kitty on the sign) entered. I found it highly amusing that such a slot machine existed.
We had dinner at Enoteca San Marco in the Venetian. I recommend the prosecco and the margherita pizza. Then we headed to Mirage to see Cirque du Soleil LOVE, which was phenomenal. I called it an early night since I had been up since 3:15 a.m. EST.

Saturday we intended to walk down to New York New York and sight see along the way. We didn't make it past the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace (which was our first stop and only one casino down from Treasure Island). I didn't have the guts to go into Harry Winston, but we did stroll into Tiffany's. Perhaps the sparklies are what caused my headache. Or dehydration. Stupid desert. My hands are still dry. I digress... We had lunch as Wolfgang Puck's Spago which is supposedly famous. The people watching was fantastic minus Dior's store emitting as much light as the sun and blinding me. The food was better. I had the Hanger? or Flank? Steak Quesadilla and it was SO good. Then it was time to head back to TI for a lingerie shower complete with an assortment of cupcakes from The Cupcakery and an Edible Arrangement. Then I took one of the best naps of my life.

The bachelorette

Hitting up the Walgreen's for Dr Scholl's gel pads before dinner

We had dinner at TAO in the Venetian (which was across the street). I had the mojito I've been searching for and a filet with some kind of wasabi/ breadcrumb crust. And it was so good. We felt super hip in this way trendy restaurant.

The mojito that could hold it's own against the one I had in Paris and the Volcano's

In front of the giant Buddha at TAO

Eating at TAO got us to the front of line (for free!) at their nightclub. There was some big fight in Vegas that night and Mickey Rourke was supposed to have some kind of after party at TAO. (I inquired about this as we left in the wee hours and the bouncer gave me some kind of shady answer. Oh well.) Myriam and Laura made friends with a bouncer who got us into a VIP area. I should mention that if you wanted to sit you had to pay for bottle service at a roped off table- we're talking $900 minimum. I'm not sure if we were allowed to sit in that area but at that point I wasn't concerned about it. We danced all night then headed back to TI to play Kitty Glitter and find some food.

Sunday we headed to the Bellagio to have brunch at The BUFFET. The line was insanely long when we got there and some guest at the hotel was looking for a party of 6 to give her line pass to. Um. Awesome. Talk about good karma. The BUFFET was awesome. We all had crazy assortments of food and laughed about all the fun we had the night before. We changed a group of girls' lives by passing on the line pass then watched the Bellagio fountains. I can check that one off my list. After chilling at Serendipity 3 (the restaurant from NYC that makes Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate) three of our party had to leave for the airport. Mim, Steph and I headed for Madame Tussaud's where we met all kinds of celebrities.

Snoop D-o-double-g y'all

The King

When we went back to TI to get our bags and hop in a taxi, the bell hop who had taken my bags earlier gave us VIP passes. Which I don't think meant anything in real life, but the guy said we were VIP in his heart sooo I guess that works. Too bad it didn't put a dent in the 45 minute cab ride that should have taken 15 minutes but didn't because Joe Biden's motorcade shut down traffic on the strip for an eternity.
My flight left Vegas at 9:30 p.m. I had a layover in Phoenix which almost made me cry because I had to switch airlines i.e. switch terminals by a bus and I had to go through security again so they took my water. What genius came up with that idea? I didn't sleep on my 4 or 5 hour flight to Atlanta and the movies on the flight weren't free. What's up with that, Delta? Maybe you should not give us snacks and give us free movies. Jerks. I take it back. I love those cinnamon cookies! In the Atlanta airport I felt like a zombie. Everyone else was bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6:30 in the morning. Ready to seize the day. Luckily I was in the back of the plane and there were empty rows behind me. I grabbed a row and slept like a baby for an hour and a half. I got into Richmond at 9 a.m. and drove home, showered, and snuggled with Theo for four hours and was completely unproductive for the rest of the day. I felt like I had been out of the country and was struggling to come back to reality.

So if you're considering a trip to Vegas, I say do it.

My First Sewing Project

Instead of wearing the Honey Bee mini dress, I decided to go for a more family friendly approach. I sewed those stripes on with my sewing machine! Now I have the itch in my right foot to press that pedal! (After I finish addressing those wedding invitations, of course.) Thanks again Mrs. Linda for those lessons :)

Happy Halloween

Here are our pumpkins- mine, Michael's, and Theo's. I wore a bee costume to work and handed out candy to trick or treaters and homeless people. There was a big crowd and I had lots of fun. We just had hot dogs and chili and we'll have s'mores and hot chocolate for dessert.

Oh last night we saw the silent Phantom of the Opera film with live musical accompaniment. What's interesting is that each movie theater was responsible for creating their own score for silent films. So the guy in charge of the music last night wrote what he heard when he watched the movie. It was really cool. It cost 25 cents to see the movie and there was quite a crowd. A neat experience indeed. And this is what we came home to...

Now that he is completely off his allergy meds he is WILD. I guess we didn't realize exactly how sedated he was. He doesn't seem to be licking his paws so it could be possible that the medicine made him itchy which is one of the side effects. So the crate is back in the kitchen for when we're not home.

Is My Chin Really that Pointy?

Spirit Walk

After adventures in chinese cuisine (I made egg drop soup and we made sweet and sour chicken- double yum!) we headed downtown for the Charlottesville Albermarle Historical Society's Spirit Walk. Here's Michael (studying for his surgery rotation) and I waiting outside the oldest cemetary in town, Maplewood.
The tour lasts two hours and takes you to at least 15 stops around the Historic Downtown. Each stop had a local spirit dressed in period attire. They told their tales, some sang, and we sat in the original courthouse to hear the end of a trial from the early 1900's. One actor was a direct descendant of the spirit he was portraying. We also met the first Ms America, a man who had a part in starting the Pony Express, and Dolly Madison among others. It was very well done with lanterns lighting our way. I thought it was fantastic, and I learned a ton of stuff about Charlottesville.

To do:

• Practice practice practice calligraphy
• Address wedding invitations, stuff invitations, mail invitations before Dec 1
• Cake topper
• Crafting frenzy to finish Christmas presents

The month of November is looking like I will be traveling three weeks in a row- flying home after work on the 7th to be with Mimi on her birthday on the 8th and flying back on the 9th; Las Vegas the following weekend for Mim's bachelorette party; and Thanksgiving in Kentucky the following week - at least I will get some Christmas crafting in on the plane rides.

Oh how I love being so busy :)

We Now Return to our Regularly Scheduled Program

You've probably been losing sleep at night. Tossing and turning. Wondering what we've been up to...

The weather here was gorgeous when the Perry's came to town. Mrs. Linda came to the knitting night with me and made a cowl for Theo. We had a delicious dinner at Orzo. Mr. Ernie approved the yummy Spudnuts. Michael took his parents to Monticello while I worked on Saturday then cooked beef and vegetable soup while they watched the LSU game. Mrs. Linda and I went to the Fall Fiber Festival and Montpelier Sheepdog Trials. It's a shame the only picture I have from their visit is of some alpacas.

Mrs. Linda gave me a crash course in sewing and I am so excited to get started on a certain project I can't speak of since it pertains to Christmas. It was a very nice visit and I am so grateful to have such wonderful parents-in-law.

When the McChargue's came to town it was cold and dreary. We saw Frankenstein (1931) at The Paramount. We took a drive along Skyline Drive to see the fall foliage. We got a new toilet!
We went to enoteca after work for dessert and drinks. It was chilly enough to enjoy warm apple cider donuts from Carpe Donut and a glazed donut from Spudnuts.
We cheered on Michael and his classmates at their innertube water polo game (which they won, but unfortunately had to forfeit the next game in the playoffs because of schedule conflicts). We saw Gypsy: a musical fable at Live Arts. We ate at the Downtown Grille before seeing Loudon Wainwright III and Richard Thompson at The Paramount. We got cupcakes before work and saw Inglourious Basterds after work on Saturday. We had brunch in Fredericksburg with the Love-Bakers then went to the Belvedere Plantation fall festival where...

...we got "punkins"...

...we got lost in a maze...
(perhaps it was the shady do-it-yourself rubbing map)...and we slid down a slide.

Needless to say I was not up for level 2. We also raced some mini pedal tractors on a track. I failed to test my brakes ahead of time and crashed into the railing. I now have three lovely bruises on my legs. It was fun, especially seeing mom's face when she was cruising along the track. She beat me even though I think I started out a minute before her.

Finally the sun came out and we took advantage of the beautiful day to visit Monticello. I really enjoy the house tour and the new visitor's center is very spiffy.
Another wonderful visit and again I am so grateful to have such wonderful parents. I am looking forward to more family time during the holidays.