Holiday Eating Tips!

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a
holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas
spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave
immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum
balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. it's
rare. You can't find it any other time of year but
now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000
calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to
turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a
treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later
than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the
whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour
it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes.
Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made
with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why
bother? It's like buying a sports car with an
automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an
effort to control your eating. The whole point of
going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's
food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between
now and New Year's. You can do that in January when
you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long
naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet
table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that
vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a
buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the
shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them
and don't budge. Have as many as you can before
becoming the center of attention. They're like a
beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind,
you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a
slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have
two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When
else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor
Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded
with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it
at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you
leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't
been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but
hurry, January is just around the corner.
Remember this motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the
intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly
used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

My Secret Life as One of Santa's Dancing Elves...

Check it out -
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9627180301

A Very Wicked Thanksgiving...

Just kidding...it wasn't a very wicked thanksgiving. I just couldn't think of anything else catchy that encompassed everything I've done since my last blog.
For my birthday (Nov 17th) my friends and I went and saw Wicked here in LA. People had said that it was amazing, but "amazing" doesn't even come close. It was fantastic. The sets, the songs, the costumes, everything is astounding! I'm hoping to go again with my mom when she comes to visit for Christmas! Unfortunately, my dad and husband are not interested at all in going. *sigh* Where are all the cultured men?! :)
Then came Thanksgiving. I was sick. That pretty much explains how I spent all of Wednesday through Sunday. Bummer, huh? But, I am glad that I already had those days off of work. I just slept. Usually I can't stand being in the house for too long, I have to get out and do something, so Dave knew that something must have been wrong with me! :) What a patient husband I have! Dave even made half of the Thanksgiving meal (since we were splitting it with another couple). He was the brawn and I was the brains, I pretty much just directed what I wanted him to do and he did it, and it turned out WONDERFULLY! I'm contemplating cooking another turkey b/c I couldn't really taste the one that we had on Thanksgiving! Sad!
Anyways, the countdown to Christmas begins, and since this will be the first Christmas we've spent with family since we've been married we are both SUPER excited! We are going on Sunday with some friends to cut down our Christmas tree. I can't wait!

Me and Dancer (or Prancer or Vixen...)

Dave and I had the greatest weekend! We went to Disneyland to celebrate my birthday. I took off Friday from work and we spent the weekend down there. It was fabulous!

Dave surprised me by taking me to a character breakfast on Staurday morning. It was so neat to be eating breakfast and have the Dinsey characters randomly come over and give me a hug. My FAVORITE part was watching the characters interact with all the little children that were there. It was neat to hear them squeal with joy when they saw their favorite character.

Of course, we got to the park bright and early, because we're nerds like that. There was a sign near the entrance of the park stating that they were filming for their Disney Christmas Special. On the sign it said that they would be filming Josh Groban singing at the castle. I practically dragged Dave (actually I did drag Dave) though the whole park til we got the the castle. It was neat to see Josh Groban so close, there were only abut 50 people there. He sang Silent Night a couple times - it was beautiful. When he went to come off the stage, I sort of lost my presence of mind and may have rushed at him. :) I couldn't help myself. I got pretty close, but his body guard stood in front of him to block him from people like me! :) I'm sure Dave was MORTIFIED. :) He just stood back and took pictures.

Anyways, it was a great time. I'm so thankful for my husband. He did a great job planning this weekend.

Me 'n Martin

Who knew Luther married a cowgirl?

Last night my dad got the biggest wish of his life fulfilled. He had a red-headed daughter. :) Dad, this picture is for you.

Some friends of ours had a reformation party where you could dress as a reformer (or anyone else). Dave decided to dress as Martin Luther and I dressed as a red-headed...something...

This is the story. So, we hadn't thought about what we were going to wear until - oh - about four hours before the party. We ran to Walmart and scanned the aisles desperate for something to wear - anything! Pretty much everything was gone. Dave got the bright idea that he could be Martin Luther, so we ran over to the fabric dpt and got oodles of brown fabric and a rope for him to tie around his waist. We searched high and low and all we could come up with for me was a red wig. It was pathetic.

We headed home, and Dave spent the next while cutting up and sewing his "Luther" outfit, while I tried to decide what to wear. I ended up with a red flannel shirt, jeans, and a cowboy hat. I ended up looking more like the Wendy's Hamburger girl, though. Dave made a great Luther, and I was so proud of him for sewing his garb all by himself! Next time his pants need to be hemmed or a button needs to be sewn back on, he can't pretend like he doesn't know how. I have proof! :)

This is a picture that was sent to me by one of Dave's seminary profs. This is what the fire looked like when it was by their house. This is almost like what we saw last night, although for us the fire was down the hillside instead of just on the ridge line.