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.