Fun B-Day Weekend!

Instead of a birthday gift from Travis this year, I decided that I wanted a day to do whatever activities I wanted. We picked Saturday (Dec. 13th) because it was one of the few full days that we had open. It turned into an entire fun weekend becuase we had other events going on Friday and Sunday. Here is a brief re-cap of the weekend:

Friday Evening:

We went to the Street Smarts holiday party. It was very laid back - a potluck event at the new office. I was worried that I would be uncomfortable or bored, but I enjoyed myself. We sat beside people that I knew from his office and others that I didn't know were really nice and funny. The white elephant gift exchange also ran very smoothly (sometimes those can take forever becasue people keep "stealing" gifts)... we took a singing fish and brought home a tin with playing cards and plastic poker chips.

Saturday (My Day):

1) I got breakfast in bed (thanks Travis) from McDonald's. It was funny when he gave it to me because he bought several options (not knowing what I would be in the mood for) -so we split them all.

2) We cleaned the house. I know, this isn't exactly fun, but it was nice to have it done and it was much faster than usual becuase I got Travis to help.

3) Travis let me win putt-putt at Peachtree Golf Center. He almost always wins when we play mini-golf, so I'm convinced he either changed some of the scores or he intentionally missed some putts.

4) Travis made lunch.

5) Break time - we played on our computers, watched TV, and lounged around.

6) We went to Dave and Busters to play video games. We also got our picture "sketched" in a photo booth... it wasn't too elaborate, but it did turn out better than when we combined our photos to see what our "child" would look like.

7) The day ended with cosmic bowling at Brunswick with Heather and Scott. Unfortunately, I didn't do well with actual bowling... so I think I'll stick to Wii bowling for a while.

Sunday:

I bought Falcons tickets a long time ago because the 8th graders at the school I work at were going to play at the Georgia Dome. Our seats were pretty far away for the Falcons game, but we got to move up close to see the 8th graders play. It was a lot of fun to see them there!

Afterwards, we went to the Varsity to have dinner. I wanted to go there for lunch on Saturday, but the traffic was more than I wanted to deal with. It worked out on Sunday though, since it wasn't too far out of the way on our way home.

"Christmas Tree-ing: 101"

Step 1: Put up other decorations around the house so that others become aware of the fact that you are ready to go get the tree.



Step 2: Go to the Tree Farm (or Home Depot, that's what we did) and pick out the first tree you look at in order to not upset those that you convinced into going with you. If you can, convince them to pose with the tree while holding it up for you to look at... this can probably only be achieved if you really do get the first tree you inspect.

Step 3: Securely tie the tree to the top of your car... then get the next victim to pose with it (notice Bailey being a good sport too).

Step 4: Attempt to not argue with each other about the angle of the tree as you place it into a stand. After getting it situated, you will probably need to vacuum up the pine needles on the floor (from moving it 2 inches back and forth) and water the tree.

Step 5: Light a fire and put on Christmas music in order to get into the mood for decorating the tree. If others aren't getting into the mood, send them out to replenish the stock of spiced rum for the egg nog.

Step 6: Mix drinks, then put decorations of your choice on the tree. We used white lights, blue and silver balls, white sparkly snowflakes, and a silver star on top. (Expert Tip: If you've had too much egg nog by the end of decorating, I would recommend waiting until the next day to put the topper on the tree.)

Step 7: Put dumb reindeer antlers on those that have been drinking the nog and take pictures.

Step 8: Admire the tree!

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is nothing fancy for my family, but the food is really good (thanks Dad). Here's what happens...

We all sit around before eating - notice my mom lounging (in the first picture) while my dad is working in the kitchen in the background. Travis and my grandparents are also sitting around, but since I was taking the pictures, there's no proof that I wasn't working hard (smart, huh?).

Then, we all grab food and head to the table...

Eventually, Lucky enjoys his 8th meal of the day (my dad gives him tons of scraps).

Finally, my mom and I clean up the kitchen and then get back to sitting around. I know, there's no "picture proof" that I did any work, but unfortunately, that is my job every holiday that involves food.