christmas 2009 continued

bella and i drove to raleigh on christmas eve. traffic wasn't too bad..we made it in just about two hours. ;) my lesson learned for real? to shut bella in the spare room until we are really ready to go. she ran out when i was on the last load and went on an adventure all the way up to the front of the complex. dang dog! she continued that streak as she squeezed past my legs and ran into my parents' house--a big no-no! ugh! i had half a mind to put some coal in her stocking!

my dad was already at church, caring for rebecca so her parents could go to the 5:30 service; so, i drove my mom over. paul and paige joined us. after the service, we went back for our traditional swedish christmas eve dinner (white fish, white rice, candlelight). this year, my mom broke tradition and let my dad and paul open a gift on christmas eve. and what did they open? matching yellow remote control helicopters to fly outside on christmas. they were so cute (paul & dad, not just the helicopters)!

christmas morning, instead of rushing downstairs to open our stockings to see what santa brought, my parents and i got ready. we gathered all the gifts and headed down to paige & paul's. i drove separately because bella got to come too! paul used to have a dog and they love her. unfortunately, it was raining most of the morning/afternoon, so she couldn't enjoy the fenced yard. and, with her long, excited tail, she had limited roaming ability (particularly in the dining room with all the liquor bottles and glassware exposed), she spent most of the day in the spare room--the "man room/music room". ha.

we stayed at paige & paul's until about 2pm, rounded up our unwrapped gifts and headed back to my parents' house--to leave the newlyweds the opportunity to prepare for the next round of guests (his dad/stepmom and sisters). Once we got home, we opened our stockings to see what santa brought! then my mom brought out the puzzle. every christmas, mom gets a new puzzle; but, this one was hard!

originally, i was going to stay home the whole weekend, but i decided to go back saturday evening. and that's how my christmas went. :)

christmas 2009

christmas was quite a bit different this year. i got a tree this year, albeit a 2' tree. i got one for my office, that i set up with clear and silver ball ornaments with a green glitter star topper. it sat on my little bookcase, on a box and my tree skirt was leftover candy cane print fabric i've had on hand since my days in pirate's cove. i couldn't figure how to get lights on it so it remained unlit. having an unlit tree wasn't all bad--i didn't have to remember to unplug it after work each day!

for my tree at the house, i did get a string of mini lights from wal-mart (for under 2$). i strung and restrung the lights many times before i got it close to right..the theme for my home tree was red, white and silver. my mom sent me some teeny red & white ornaments from crate & barrel. so i picked up some silver ornaments while at wal-mart. i used a red glitter topper for my tree. i used more of the candy cane fabric for the skirt.

i rewrapped my garland with a couple strings of lights for the fireplace and hung my lighted wreath on my front door (at least that part was the same).

so, the photo above is bella in front of our little christmas tree. :)

Enchiladas

honey lime chicken enchiladas with chipotle tomato rice
i pulled this recipe off this blog as an attempt to get back into the kitchen, and to try something new! let me tell you, they are delicious! this is what they're supposed to look like:

i am apparently not as skilled in the rolling of tortillas, but no matter...they were just as delicious as i imagined. unfortunately, i could not find the chipotle for the rice, but it was okay. i've used spices i've never used before and it made my house just divine!

besides the chipotle, i did veer off course slightly. instead of poaching a chicken or using a rotissere chicken, i threw 3 boneless chicken breasts on my g.foreman with salt and pepper. i forgot the part about marinating the chicken for at least a 1/2 an hour..i would've preferred at least an hour; and, the 3 breasts made a whole more than my 6 enchiladas (so did the rice). i've eaten them for dinner two nights so far, and with all the chicken and rice, i'll be eating them until at least sunday. it's probably more of a dinner for a 2+ person household. bella did help with the grated cheese. ;) here's what mine looked like:

just a quick post

i am trying to decide how to neatly end the year..do i find my "best" pictures or write a "best of" list? or, do i simply sum up 2009 and list my goals for the new year? i have just a couple days to decide....

also to come: i found a recipe on a food blog i follow (well, 2 recipes) that i made last night. the food didn't finish its time in the oven until nearly 10pm so i didn't get a chance to taste it last night, but man, oh man, am i excited for dinner tonight! honey lime chicken enchiladas with chipotle tomato rice (minus the chipotle..couldn't find any). i took a picture too, just because it smelled so good so i'll be sure to post it as well. i made 6 (and there's plenty of chicken and rice left) so it is sure to be my meal for the week. i'm excited. :)

breaking up with your breakdowns
standing tall in your white gown
you're going nowhere, you're going fast
slowin' down, but it never lasts
take your time, woman
take your time

it's the wrong dream, with the wrong man
with a cold gun, in your wrong hand
get it right this time, get it off your mind
let the summer rain bring rest and shame and love

carve your name in a black stone
swear to God we won't let go
if you can't love, babe, then you can't hurt
we take the good times, with the worst
take your time, woman, take your time

it's the wrong dream, with the wrong man
with a cold gun, in your wrong hand
get it right this time, get it off your mind
let the summer rain bring rest and shame and love

bridge

it's the wrong dream, with the wrong man
with a cold gun, in your wrong hand
get it right this time, get it off your mind
let the summer rain bring rest and shame and love

let the summer rain bring rest and shame and love
and love..
and love..
and love..
and love..

and love.

rest, shame, love ~ augustana

can you tell i am in love with http://www.picnik.com? ;)

thursday, i took a half-day from work and got my hair cut (eek!). i came home and cleaned the kitchen & took out the trash..and realized that i still needed to pack and would be leaving during rush hour. so, i took my time..we finally headed for raleigh around 7:45. i spent the night in raleigh and headed down to greenville friday afternoon because....

after 7 years of money issues, taking time off, and working full-time, my best friend, has done it! friday evening around 5:15pm, adina and her purple chucks walked across the stage to officially graduate! i am so proud of her for pulling through and finishing her degree.

after the ceremony, it had started to rain...ugh. after losing adina in the parking lot (she ran off--silly girl!), we went back to toby & jenn's to start the celebration with some super mario on the wii. her "boyfriend" was there...that's a whole other story. i will say that it was nice that he came to her graduation.


i love my girls. here's the picture of the FIVE of us ready to go over to paul & stephanie's (jackie is pregnant!).


it was so nice to be able to see jackie (we didn't plan to match either!) and hannah. i can't wait to plan a baby shower for baby brown! :) it's due in june--what a great birthday present that'd be!

i will refrain from talking about friday night because it reminds me why i have come to hate greenville. it was great to see jacob & the guys, but let's just say that i'm not planning a trip back until hannah gets pinned for her associate's from pcc (in 2 years).

i headed back to raleigh late saturday afternoon and stayed with my folks. with the threat of wintry weather, i didn't want to be driving in the dark. we decorated the tree and watched "ratatouille". after a wonderful brunch of my mom's french toast & my dad's scrambled eggs, i packed up the car and we headed back home.

parental recap

my parents came to visit me in charlotte this weekend...my dad hasn't been here since he helped me move in march! we had a great time (bella too!) spending the time together, however brief it was.

saturday, after we ate a quick lunch (they got to my home ~1pm), we went and looked at a couple of apartments that i haven't visited yet (b/c they are new): the circle @ concord mills and arwen vista. my lease is up in march, so i'm contemplating leaving addison yet again. i'll do a comparison post in january, but at this point my options are: the circle, arwen, bexley @ concord mills, the reserve at stone hollow, phillips university center and ashford green..and addison of course.

after looking at apartments, we went to the billy graham library. to say it was "nice" would be an understatement. i really enjoyed it and is blessed to have shared the experience with my parents. there was a live nativity complete with a donkey (that looked cold & tired/drugged), a camel, a couple sheep and a goat, some kids...baby jesus was a doll of course. i learned a lot, and would recommend it to anyone..bonus--it's free!
after the library, we drove out to mcadenville/christmas town usa. i really wanted to see the lights. but traffic was a nightmare. i'll have to go on a weeknight i think...or earlier in december! so, we bypassed the lights and went onto dinner...at the olive garden by northlake. it was delicious! yum, yum!! after dinner, we went back and played with bella. she was extremely happy her grandparents were here..especially her grandpa. they are too cute together!

sunday, we went to hickory grove north for worship and then home for eggs and bacon. after brunch, we loaded the car back up and they headed back to raleigh.

after they left, i went to ulta and finished my christmas shopping (picking up a few things for me of course)-except for my dad and went to the grocery store. then it was an evening of laundry & cooking (i made a tender roast and veggies/broth in the crock pot)...i can't wait to have some when i get back from my artitudes event tonight! :)

hope everyone had a great weekend. i'll do a weekend & end of year preview later in the week. :)