Pre-Christmas festivities

So, we began the Christmas season per Jasen's idea of putting up outdoor lights. It goes without saying that this did not go smoothly, and Jasen reminded us all about how much he dislikes two story homes. :) So, many hours later, the lights were up, but the environment friendly christmas lights labeled "cool white" that Jasen bought in good conscience actually looked blue, and the red and green lights that I put up around the windows looked like they were done by someone who maybe had been doing some boozing recently. Ha! Regardles, we had a good laugh and it is safe to sat that we did NOT win best christmas decor in the neighborhood.

The tree decorating went much smoother. We all three helped decorate the tree, and Matt insisted that he just might be tall enough to put on the star....almost! Maybe next year! :) Roxy was scared of the christmas stuffed animals, and after barking at the bear repeatedly, she finally made a friend.

On December 20th we hosted our second annual Holiday Party! Although Jasen and I were a bit partied out from all of the wedding celebrations this year, we managed to pull together the event. It's amazing how these ideas sound simple, but turn out to be quite time consuming! I spent at least 10 hours baking cookies, plus grocery shopping and preparing half a dozen homemade appetizers. While I was doing all of this cooking, Jasen cleaned and arranged the whole house. It seemed to be a big hit though, and everyone looked like they had a great time! The chocolate fountain was quite popular again, and after the party I used the left over chocolate to make chocolate covered pretzels...one of my favorites!

Matt and I finished some last minute christmas shopping today, along with many other procrastinators who apparently like to write checks. Who does that? Anyway, I fly back to Illinois to see my family on the 26th, and although I will be very sad to leave Jay behind, I'm really looking forward to spending time with my family.

Happy Holidays!

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Mis Hermanas!

My sisters came to visit for Thanksgiving! Meghan now lives in the San Jose area, so Lindsey flew from Phoenix to San Jose, where Meggo picked her up from the airport and they drove in late Tuesday night. In fact, very late...purposely so they would avoid being caught in traffic since the drive from the bay area to Sac can be densely packed with cars during the holidays. Traffic can turn that 2 1/2 hour drive into 4 or 5.

Jasen had to work the next day, but I was off, so I waited downstairs on the couch. Around 12:45am or so, I awoke to Jasen standing over me telling me that my sisters were at the door! Apparently, I had fallen asleep waiting for them, and I didn't hear my cell phone (sitting right beside me on the table), nor did I hear the house phone, the doorbell, or constant knocking! Fortunately, Jasen did hear the house phone, so he came down to let them in! Otherwise, they may have had to sleep in the car :( ha!

It was so wondeful having my sisters here! Lindsey isn't so much into baking, but turned out to be a big help with many other things in the kitchen....like preparing salads! On Wednesday we went to the grocery store for a few last minute things (along with hundreds of other procrastinators apparently). We then spent most of the day baking: three pumpkim pies, one cheddar crusted apple pie, and one pumpkin role. Matt was a big help as well, and after a little "peeling 101," he peeled all 4lbs of apples for the pie! He was quite proud :)

The Thanksgiving meal turned out really wonderful! Jasen's mom (Shari), and a friend of her's from work both came over for dinner. So it was a small gathering of the seven of us, but its was very nice!

Unfortunately, there were a few mishaps.....for one, my pumpkin pie crusts didn't turn out quite right, and by that I mean they were chewy (couldn't cut with a fork, had to eat the slice like a pizza), the apple pie was more like apple sauce which made the pie quite hollow, and Jasen may have cooked the turkey upside down. When Jasen took the bird out of the oven, I quote, "Something just isn't right. This meat doesn't look right, it's too dark..." Me: "It's upside down!" It was still delicious :)

The three amigas ventured out on black friday....even Lindsey! Our patients were short and so were our budgets, but we still had a good time! Lunch at Cheesecake Factory was the highlight for me... :) We spent alot of the trip watching Christmas movies and going for long walks, since the weather was gorgeous! Before Lindz and Meg had to go on sunday, we went out to hear a local band and have a few drinks with friends. It was one of the best Thanksgivings....and I already miss mis hermanas!