politics aside: santa for president

Seriously, put it aside and hear me out. I promise, its funny and wildly outlandish and not an attack on any party in particular.

I have Lewis Black's 'Anticipation' stand up CD and it is absolutely amazing, or at least parts of it. Yes, he is a flaming liberal and I find myself mostly down the middle of the road; everything in moderation, right? But this one bit in the CD is FAN-tastic.

Let me begin, Christmas is shopping. Not that it is all Christmas is about because I certainly do not believe that, but gifts are given so shopping must be done. Yesterday, the US saw a huge jump in the stock market. We are slowly dragging ourselves back up, working to get the country back to where it needs to be.

Lewis goes into how great Christmas is {because it is} and how it really spurs the economic status of the US. He says this:

When did the American economy 

become tied to Santa's a#s?

And if Santa is THAT important,

then may I suggest

that in November of 2008

we elect him president. 

Yes, this is an old bit. But the man has a point! Look at what Christmas does for us? We are the most prosperous economy in the world. I know it may not seem like it but other countries are rioting due to their current situation. We just have annoying people occupying at the edge of each downtown. 

I understand, Santa is a fictional character. Lewis goes on to say that if perhaps we just added an amendment to the US Constitution that whoever is the president has to wear the Santa suit.  What if we took it one step further? All leaders must wear the Santa suit. THINK about it. You are watching the news. Regardless if you were watching the leader of the House, Senate or our Executive branch and that person is driving you crazy. If they were in the Santa suit, there is no way to avoid the feeling of love and compassion with the Big Guy.

This is the future, people. I say parties join together. Santa for president. After all, he seems better than the nincompoops running for 2012.

that dog is part hound

That's what B's grandpa said after taking Ringo for a walk over Thanskgiving.

I am starting to agree with him. You can see his adorable black nose is a fairly important part of his face. He really has been letting it lead the way recently and its driving me crazy. He can sniff out anything edible or not so edible in a 100 meter radius. Going on a walk or run with him has become a game of tug of war with his leash, making me feel awful for choking him!!! But eating that bad piece of plastic or munching on anothers scraps is not the best thing for his tummy. What would I do without this furry little nugget? He may drive me crazy but gosh is he a good companion :)

Maybe Grandpa is right! Perhaps a tetch of hound resides in his sniffer, he was adopted from the humane society and we don't know what he is mixed with. I always assumed it was a terrier though...because of his stellar jumping skills. But that's another post all together.

i love you

I was reminded yesterday of how precious life is. This holiday season, remember to never pass up an opportunity to say, "I love you" to the ones you care about. Say it with gusto and sincereity. Say it often and followed by a hug. It will make you both feel good.

first christmas

This is it, folks! Our first married Christmas. Yay!!! I'm still so happy we will be together this holiday season. It really is awful to be away from  your love on Christmas!

In honor of our first year, I decided we should have a special ornament to celebrate. I told you I love ornaments! My parents were given a BEAUTIFUL ornament from my grandma their first year of marriage and they still have it: a partridge in a pear tree.

Isn't that a wonderful idea? It is also a daunting task. To find an ornament that will stay beautiful and meaningful forever? Till death do us part also applies to the ornament ;) So I started my hunt. I try not to be a cheesy person. It doesn't always work, but I try and that's what counts, right?

Ever google 'first Christmas ornament'? Do it. I dare you. The cheese that will erupt through your computer will astound you. Swans with their necks forming a heart, wedding cakes with the bride and groom standing atop, hands with rings. Its enough to nauseate me. Oh wait, it did. Regroup! No more googling 'first Christmas'. Plainly, that was not the avenue I needed to venture down.

My first stop was Neimans. Known for their classic and beautiful gifts all year long, I knew they would have what I was looking for, and they did! I went to a few other places but always came back to NM. We decided on the Swarovski snowflake. They create one each year and this year happened to be the 20th anniversary! Can you say SPARKLE??? What girl can resist?

Swarovski

It even has the year so when we're old and senile we can reference the ornament to remember how long we've been married. I'm very pleased, as is B. So, sorry cheese, classic won this battle.

annual ornament exchange

bippity boppity boo

There are no truer words. I hosted our Annual Ornament Exchange on Friday. Last year B and I hosted a blow out Christmas party that ended with a mouse in the house and too much indulgence. I decided hosting this for the gals instead of the whole crew was a much better idea. 12 of my closest friends from the DFW area gathered for food, spirits and ornaments to get us in the holiday spirit!

We had a great time and it was so nice for a gals night...I hate to say its been months since I've had one, and it was much needed. I ended up with this beauty from my friend Erin. She has impeccable taste! Head to her blog, The Simply Fabulous, for all of her fabulous ideas for your home, children, friends and yourself!

I have a very eclectic tree. The beads are from my childhood tree, I have lots of ornaments that are from when I was a kid too. Note: golfer for B and the cat ballerina to the bottom right corner. I have lots of glass balls from my parents coordinated tree. Sparkle, natural, child-like, I do not discriminate! I love ornaments. As long as they have a special place for you they have a special place on the tree! I always appreciate the beautiful and coordinated trees with the bows, matching balls and ribbon but I will stick to my random tree of happiness.

What's your tree like? Coordinated and classic or random and eclectic?

we are survivors

We survived our first Thanksgiving! In fact, we more than survived. We are champions. B took the reigns with the turkey and it turned out just beautifully! Moist and deeelicious. The herb butter recipe from Stop and Smell the Rosemary really flavored it just right.

I am so glad we prepped as much as we did. We made the cranberry sauce, also from Stop and Smell the Rosemary, on Tuesday so we just needed to put that in its serving dish. B's mom came over early to teach me the family recipe for stuffing and then we put it to the side. Potatoes were made by my sister in law as well as the pies. B's step grandmother made marinaded vegetables. I made a Barefoot Contessa's gravy recipe. It was ok - but I think I'll keep searching for another one. Green beans, amazing crunchy bread from Whole Foods and my mom's Waldorf Salad recipe rounded out the meal.

I felt very lucky to be able to use all of our wedding gifts! Our china from my Aunt Cynthia, a table runner from the wedding, Nambe candle sticks from a cousin and our formal silver. My in laws brought gorgeous leaded glass wine glasses that belonged to B's grandmother. They were colorful and really added something special to the table.

I'm so proud of us and one holiday dinner under our belt has prepared us for all the others. We are a great team in the kitchen and I am thankful to have a husband that wants to help prepare a special meal for family. Where I come from food = love, so we certainly showed the fam some love :)

I am however, exhausted. As soon as my in laws left we cleaned this morning and are decorating for the holidays now :) I am hosting the ornament exchange on Friday so everything must be in perfect shape. The garland is done, wreath is on the door. The small tree upstairs is put up. I'm still lighting the big tree and need to put up all the other little details. Ringo has been surprisingly good for the process. I figured he would be barking and chewing on everything but he just stares with awe. Christmas must be his favorite holiday too.

Offically, happy holidays, folks! May your holiday season be filled with many blessings and loved ones.

once in a while

Well, isn't this the best thing ever? For several reasons, in fact. I love the quote. As a newlywed, this will be our first holiday together. We have always observed holidays with our own families since we weren't legally bound. I'm really excited to be together because it was always so sad to only be able to call the one I love the most during the most wonderful time of the year. But that also means bringing family together to form new traditions. So this will be a season of compromise. Learning other's traditions, embracing them and creating a few of our own; not necessarily sticking to what we're told.

I also love this because, HELLO, The Sound of Music is one of my favorites :) I watched it every day as a child and can and will put it on replay and just enjoy the music and dialog while I go about my day. B and I want to take at least one great trip together before we start a family and I think Austria is it. Its on my bucket list, I'm DYING to sing The Hills Are Alive as I prance through the hills, arms out, feeling as though I'm home. Brian will finally embrace accept my love for the film and sing along side me. I've promised him that we can also go to Prague because, well, who wouldn't want to? This trip is far in our future. But this morning it was a great inspiration for saving and planning what we will do, other than The Sound of Music tour, of course.