uncompetewithable

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

I hope everyone had a fun, enjoyable Christmas. My weekend was very full, but enjoyable nonetheless. I ended up doing a shift exchange at work so that I could have Christmas Day off which meant I had to work 6 days in a row last week. Luckily I got through it pretty easily and as long as I got to spend time with my family for Christmas I was happy.

Saturday I went to Baraboo and spent the day at my parents. We had an awesome dinner of bacon wrapped beef tenderloin, twice baked potatoes with cheese and bacon crumbles on top, broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce, and cheesy biscuits. We exchanged gifts and hung out for awhile, and then I headed to Sun Prairie late Saturday night to be ready for Christmas day with Zach and his family. I did a black and white oil painting for my parents (from a picture of me holding Alyssa the day she was born) which made my mom tear up a little bit. [Success!]

"Widdowe Beebees"

Sunday I spent the entire day with Zach's family. I was seriously impressed with the lunch spread they had - a huge, delicious meal for THIRTY people. The entire meal went off quite well (so well, that I was stuffed full for the rest of the day/night). There was an 18.5 pound ham, 2 turkeys, stuffing, ranch mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, carrots and onions, rolls, some cabbage thing (that I stayed away from), and lots of cookies and other snacks throughout the day.  The afternoon held lots of running around, lots of present opening, and a few drinks for the adults. My presents for Zach's family (his parents Jodi and Dave, twin sister Meghan, and little brother Sam) were what I was most nervous about. I've spent pretty much the last 3 weeks knitting their Christmas presents, and I was really hoping that the sizes of everything would work out and they'd enjoy their gifts. Soooooo....

Meghan's Scarf

[dark purple, very hard to see - but SUPER warm!]

Dave's Hat

[my own pattern I made up on the spot - also SUPER warm]

Jodi's Mittens

[cabled cuffs and one of my favorite colors made them hard to give away]

Sam's Hat

[Sam has a hard time finding hats that fit his giant head (because his brain is so big) 

so this one needed to fit just right, and it did!]

I was very proud of myself because I was finished with all 5 of my projects by 2 am on Friday night - the earliest I've ever finished all my presents! The last few weeks were a little jam-packed but it seems like everyone enjoyed their gifts, and you guys know I just like spoiling people so it all worked out. 

My parents were also able to come to Zach's to spend some time on Christmas Day. Dad had to work so they hadn't planned on really doing anything, so Jodi and Dave invited them down. They got there around 5 pm and stayed through halftime of the Packer game, so we got some quality time in and my parents finally got to meet Zach's parents. 

Phew! Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time I got back to Madison last night (sometime around midnight). I was sleeping by 230ish which is about 3 hours earlier than usual. I'm excited to relax and be lazy for a little while now that all my projects are complete. 

I hope everyone enjoyed Christmas and you'll hear from me in the new year!

dark was the night

Thought I forgot about you? There's still 17 minutes left of Blog Monday!

This'll be a short one, as I've got about a million things to do tonight/this week. Christmas presents are coming along nicely....I've got 2 projects done, 1 project almost done, 1 project halfway done, and one yet to start. BUT if I work hard, I think I can do it! I won't lie though, I'm ready for the holiday to be over with...well, I'm ready for it to finally be Christmas so I can stop rushing around.

So, a brief overview of my week: I forgot to include last time that (thanks to a donation from my grandparents) I now have REAL kitchen chairs! The mismatched folding chairs have been put away in the closet, and this place already looks a bit classier. After Christmas, the search for a couch starts again.....

Saturday Zach and I had a fancy holiday party to go to. We took a little trip to Zach's friends' condo about an hour and twenty minutes from here. There were Tom & Jerry's, hors d'oeuvres and some pretty entertaining (albeit frustrating) games, and we had a lot of fun.

Before I close, I wanted to say a quick congratulations to my friends Lisa and Chris on the birth of their baby girl, Nora, this morning! A mere two weeks after the due date, I'm sure Lisa and Chris are excited to finally get to hold their little one.

Enjoy Christmas everyone!

handle with care

The month of December has to be one of the most tiring months of all. Maybe....... you know I can't pick favorites or pick the top of anything. But in December, everyone seems to be rushing around shopping, getting ready for the holidays, complaining about shopping and getting ready for the holidays, and it all seems endless.

As such, it feels like I've had another busy week. Lots of early [by my definition] mornings, and let me tell you, by last night I was delirious with sleep. (However, we did make some time to relax and go to the movies!)

My days off were particularly busy. Friday I spent the day cleaning, working on Christmas projects, and baking cookies! Saturday we had our family Christmas. Both sets of grandparents, our good family friends, Alyssa and Andy, and Zach and I all went to my parents' house for lunch and presents. It was really nice to see everyone, since I knew I wasn't going to be able to see them on actual Christmas.

Mom, Dad, Me, Zach, Alyssa, and Andy

I did finish one project which I can actually share with you now. Unfortunately, thats because it was supposed to be a Christmas present last year that I didn't finish until last week. It is a pair of mittens for my mom that I knit to match the argyle scarf that I knit for her last year.

Now I must get going, because I've still got a million things to do tonight! 

it's time to get out of the desert and into the sun

This week has been a very productive week....at least it feels that way, because I'm exhausted.

I worked on one of my Christmas projects during the week, and finally got it done last night. This is a big feat, because I've been working on it for more than a year. I also started to plan a little more for my other Christmas projects and gifts. Now I've got some momentum going, so it'll be a little easier from here on out.

I did get to decorate for Christmas this past week. There wasn't a lot to it, but my favorite part is complete - the Christmas tree is up! When my parents got their dog 5 years ago, they had to get a "temporary" tree, one that they could put on top of a table where the puppy couldn't eat the ornaments. Since he is all grown up, they've gifted the tree to me. It's a 4 foot tree, and although I would love to have a real, giant tree this one does just fine and puts me in an excellent mood. [I wouldn't even say a Christmas-y mood, because it's just a general happiness.]

I also finally got all of the boxes emptied and recycled from when I moved. Yes, three months ago. But that got me motivated enough to start putting some more stuff up in the apartment. I finally hung my decorated bulletin board where I hang all my jewelry and I've got some ideas where I want to put some artwork and pictures.

Friday and Saturday were pretty busy days, which is why I am so exhausted today. Friday was mostly a day of preparation for Saturday. Friday afternoon I met up with my old roommate to take care of some final things from our old apartment, and I got to sit down with her for almost 2 hours and catch up which was really nice. Even though we both live in the same city, we haven't seen each other since moving out because we work completely opposite schedules. Afterwards I picked up some groceries and went home to....... brine a turkey! After Thanksgiving, Zach and I got a turkey for a very good price. We figured it'd make a really nice meal and a lot of leftovers for soup and sandwiches. So I got that all set to sit overnight, and I also got some meat marinading and made a batch of teriyaki beef jerky [which has already been entirely eaten].

Saturday my parents came down, because I was hoping to buy a used couch that I'd found on Craigslist, and I needed a vehicle that could transport a couch. Unfortunately the seller was terrible at communication and just stopped replying. But since I was going to be roasting a whole 13.5 lb turkey, I convinced my parents to still come down (and to bring the dog!). So we ended up inadvertently having a mini-Thanksgiving. We had turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, and roasted carrots and onions and topped everything off with apple pie.  It might have been one of the best turkeys I have ever eaten. The meat stayed very moist and was super flavorful. I happen to think that Zach and I did a pretty awesome job with the whole meal. Plus we got to spend the whole evening with my parents and the puppy. Zach got my dad started on some video games, which I'm sure my mom is very excited for.

I'm currently in the process of making turkey stock out of the carcass so I can make some soup for this week. The rest of the evening I will be busy working on some more Christmas projects. If any of you have a special request for a Christmas card, let me know and make sure that I have your address!