christmas feast

i made my first duck this year. i have eaten duck once or twice before, and jeremy has had it several times, but neither of us have ever made it ourselves. it was actually really easy AND i got to use my monster crockpot/roaster oven. the meal also included le suer peas, salad and baked potatoes. i completely forgot when i was at the store that i would need something for dessert, so we made cookies the day after christmas. oops!

the cats LOVED the liver and gizzard. pulling that stuff out of the duck was really disgusting. but i'm glad they enjoyed it, seeing as jeremy wouldnt let me buy them new toys or christmas outfits. apparently cats dont like being dressed up in elf ears. but i still think rumpy would be the one who does. i guess we'll never know. :D

gingerbread, gingerbread, gingerbread house

here is how it started: pieces from a kit that mark and lanelle gave us. jeremy and i had been talking about making a gingerbread house, but he wanted me to bake my own slabs of gingerbread and that just wasn't gonna happen.we each decorated a side and i got the front door and jeremy did the back door. we all know he is infinitely more patient than me, so he was also in charge of the icicles. it was the perfect activity for christmas evening. we finished up studio 60 while decorating away. surprisingly the cats weren't interested in all the candy, which is good, because the absolute last thing we needed for christmas was rumpy high on sugar.

other christmas activities included talking on the phone with all of our families, opening lots of great presents, and just hanging out. we have spent christmas day by ourselves for the past few years and it is nice. of course we miss being with our families and seeing everyone etc. but we also very much appreciate a day to just be together all day without having to even take a shower or put on shoes. that is the true meaning of christmas.

rumpy's first bath

after he got out of the tub, aka the sink, rumpy tried to dry off. big sister cricket helped. or maybe she just likes the flavor of the kitteh shampoo.

box office christmas party

steph and i threw an amazing party for our staff. we had a potluck and a white elephant yankee swap. it was the first box office christmas party ever, which made it even more fabulous.

we bought christmas crackers (a tradition in my family) and all popped them open for our paper crowns and fun little toys. we also played last word, which i totally stole from the ellen show. i picked the category, then two or three people take turns naming things in that category (like christmas songs) until time is up and whoever gets the last word wins. i wound up with a baby aloe plant from the yankee swap which i named juliano, after julianna. she wanted me to name the plant after her, but since all my plants are boys, i had to alter the name a little bit.

this will defiitely become a new tradition at the palace!

Santa...

Came a little early this year so that all the good little girls could look amazing at the christmas parties. I love santa!
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our tree

this is the first year in a while we have put up a tree. last year we didn't have one since our apartment was too small, and most of our stuff was in storage and not very easily accessible. this year, we got to go out to my friend's parents tree farm and pick our own. it had snowed the day before so it was the perfect setting.

after much deliberation and hemming and hawing, we settled on a huge one. jeremy and ryan cut it down then cut several feet off of the top and bottom so it would fit in our living room.

we got it home and dug out the christmas decorations. we have collected so many ornaments over the last two years that hadn't hung on a tree yet, and so many of our older ornaments hold special memories. it was fun to tell stories about our childhood memories connected to ornaments we grew up with, or reminisce about vacations we have taken together (we get an ornament at every vacation locale).

it feels and SMELLS like christmas at our house now. there are presents for jeremy under the tree (he hasnt gone shopping for me yet) and lots of boxes from our out-of-town people scattered around the living room. i'm loving it.

merry merry merry merry christmas

what are your favorite christmas carols?

silver bells is a favorite. it reminds me of playing poker with my grammer in the summers, sipping chocolate milk shakes and burning incense. weird? yes. but i do love that song.

carol of the bells is one of my favorites to hear live (when done well of course).

oh holy night is my all-time favorite christmas song.

i also love little drummer boy and silent night. i'm pretty traditional.

i'm not a huge fan of the non-traditional ones like grandma got run over by a reindeer and the like. they are funny on occasion but i wouldnt buy them on a cd or anything.

what songs make you feel like it is christmas?

Hot hands

I don't need them anymore. I can take rumpy with me everywhere.
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in which i try to write a song

i've been trying to post for days and every time i try at home my whole computer freezes. so im trying this at work.

we had our first real snow yesterday/last night. its beautiful outside. we are going to stephanie's boyfriend's parents house this afternoon to pick out our tree. i've started wrapping gifts and jeremy is at the mall today while i am at work finishing up the list.

on thursday i had the day off and i wrote a song about what i did. it is incomplete. maybe you can help me finish it?

on the second of december, on my day off there were:

7 rounds of fetch with rumpy!
6 rooms a'vacuumed!
5 loads of dishes!
4 batches of Christmas cards ordered!
3 loads of laundry cleaned!
2 pounds of veggies chopped!
1 pot of soup made!

as you can see, it was busy but i had fun. i love having days off in the middle of the week.

Family TV Time

Ain't nothing like it!
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