i love parties

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 16: i slept in (until 10:30, what??!), wore my neon pink pants, went shopping, had crispy tacos for dinner, and threw a new year's eve party (which consisted of a dance party, a few new year's games, martinelli's, and confetti filled balloons.)

side note: sparkling cider is delicious.

happy new year to you all!

such a cute kid

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 15: i went to church, took a nap, looked through some old scrapbooks of when jeremy was growing up, laughed a lot, and played fun games.

picture of the ultrasound when jeremy's mom found out she was pregnant with the TWINS!

amish country

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 14: we had a lazy morning, ventured up to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to the American Music Theater to see the Christmas Show, and ate a family style dinner at some Amish place before we headed home.

what a show! glad i was watching and not performing. it looked exhausting!

star struck

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 13: we did some more shopping and took a day trip to washington d.c. to see the air and space museum and get some famous georgetown cupcakes.

 space is so cool!

i love christmas cash

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 12: we had a lazy morning and hit up the mall for a few hours to spend our christmas money on some great deals.

that purse was $15 and i got those burgundy cords from banana for $10 (originally $80, reduced to $60, 50% off all reduced items, minus $20 in gap rewards = $10 cords!!!)

 

taking on the jellies

a photo a day - christmas tradition

day 11: we visited the national aquarium (where we saw dolphins, starfish, jellies, etc), witnessed another snow storm, did some shopping, and watched arthur christmas.

check out this octopus we saw!

merry and bright

a photo a day - christmas edition

 day 10: we opened presents, played with them, took naps, ate delicious food, chatted with my family, and stayed in our pajamas all day.

oh and it was a white christmas out here!  how magical!?

a child is born

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 9: i went shopping just for fun, enjoyed the SNOW, ate turkey and pumpkin pie, took part in the family christmas program and nativity, sang christmas songs, drank hot coco, played games, and late tonight we get to skype with our favorite missionary.  can't wait!

Christ is our Savior!

we have a house full

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 8: we went to church, took family pictures (because the whole gang is here now), ate delicious food, took naps, checked out the visitor's center and lights at the D.C. temple, and played games.

festive chaos

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 7: today i slept in, went shopping in the festive chaos (where i found some sweet deals at loft), wrapped presents to add under the tree, and watched elf with the fam.

now, that's what i call a good day!

world of chocolate

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 6: today more family came, we went to hershey, pennsylvania to visit chocolate world, and had dinner at chick-fil-a.

we are having a party!

america's first railroad

a photo a day - christmas edition

 day 5: we went to the train museum, ate at a famous bbq place, sipped some hot chocolate, and i read some of this book.

we are loving the holiday break!

they will look great

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 4: we ran lots of christmas-y errands, celebrated a birthday, played christmas bingo, and made costumes for this year's nativity scene.

so easy.  here's the how to:

go to clearance fabric section at walmart

get a yard or two of everything that could work in a nativity scene

also get some cording 

fold the fabric in half (to go along the shoulders)

cut a hole for the head with pinking shears

put it on a little person and tie the cording

and DONE!

 hope that makes sense!

a new tradition?

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 3: we decorated stockings and sugar cookies, ate endless goodies, and played fun games.

it was mostly for the kiddies we got running around here, but i loved it.
maybe a new tradition? 

knitting is my fave

a photo a day - christmas edition

 day 2: i knit a cowl while listening to christmas music and catching up with family.

here is the finished product.  i knit that puppy in one day, thanks to chunky yarn and big needles. :)

31 years... and counting

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 1: today i learned how to make santa cookies.

these are a clover christmas tradition. jeremy's mom has been making these every christmas since 1981.  when we first got married she gave me the cookie cutter and directions to make them, but we were never brave enough to do it ourselves.  this year i got my own private lesson on the whole bit.  i think we will be able to make them now.  it was fun learning from the pro.  what a fun tradition to do with our future kiddies?!  can't wait to eat them!

first christmas

this morning we opened presents. gasp!  we really did. we had first christmas.  there were lots of presents under the tree and we will be with jeremy's family this year for christmas.  like his WHOLE family!  all six kids with some spouses and the kiddies.  it's going to be chaotic awesomeness.  i am jazzed about it.  we just couldn't wait until after our trip, so we opened presents before we left (which were primarily provided by my parents, thank you!).

 

pretend there are more ornaments on our miniature tree, okay?
thanks.

we scored some serious loot!  check out my new mocs... sooo cozy.  love them.  jeremy got lots of basketball gear, office seasons, and other things he just loves.  thanks mom and dad.  you spoil us... and i love it.  the ipad mini has yet to be named.  suggestions?

well, we are now in maryland, waiting for the rest of the party to arrive.  i will be posting a picture-a-day of the festivities!

by the bald man

last night we had our official celebration for the end of the semester at... Max Brenner.  (the hot chocolate and pizza were just an appetizer.) when i heard about Max Brenner, i knew this was my kind of place.  a restaurant with the theme of chocolate?!  oh yes.  true story. so we went for dessert.  we shared some fondue and other delicious chocolatey treats with our buddies, dane (also a 2nd year dental student) and aimee.

 we devoured every ounce of the goodness.  yum! 

and with good company, too.  i loved every second.

well, i am sure glad we found out about this gem in the city.  it was taaaaasty! we will be back for some of their hot chocolate after the first snow of the new year. (when i will then buy a cool hugmug! it was so hard to resist the purchase, but i figured i should actually try their hot chocolate before i buy the signature mug.)

spread the word.  you are all invited.

to the market

jeremy and i both had our last finals today.
tests at 9:00 am. assessment and diagnosis for me, epidemiology for him.

we both finished at 10:00 (a Christmas miracle!) and we met up for a mini celebration.

we ventured to Quincy Market and ended up with the some very chocolate-ly hot chocolate with whipped cream (yum!) and we threw in some pizza, too. nothing like an early lunch. my tummy was rumbling.  all that brain power, you know.  i love moments like these.  me and my lover, chatting away, no care in the world, with the holiday excitement approaching.  it felt so good. i didn't have to run off to read some articles, prepare a treatment plan, run groups, write papers, study note cards, or anything else related to school or my internship.  i am so happy i get to spend almost three weeks with my favorite boy.  rest.  rest is good.

WISHLIST wednesday: No. 46

a calligraphy class would be a fun way to try something new.

i would love this!! or any artsy class really.

The Best

I went to visit my belly button surgeon today for my post surgery check-up.  He is the funniest old man.  He came in with his scrub top tucked into his scrub bottoms which were all hiked up and tied tight.  He was a sight to see.  He asked me how I was doing and I told him I was really worried at first because my belly button was looking really scary, but now it's looking more normal since the swelling has gone down.  He asks to take a look and says, "What?!  This is the best belly button I've ever made!  It looks great."  And he reassured me that the swelling will continue to go down and the scar tissue will soften over the next six weeks.  Funny guy.  So I guess I am all done and fixed and cleared for exercising and driving.  (another post on some exercising epiphanies will soon follow...)  So I guess it's been declared the best (although I bet he says that to all of his belly button patients).  I'm just glad mine is starting to look like an innie.  And plus Jeremy thinks my scar is pretty cool.

there we are.

me and jeremy.

standing in front of a house made of goodies.  

in all it's glory.  the version on the box always looks WAY better. 

 but hey... what can we expect if we only build these things once a year?

i love that i am in orange... they know me so well.

but it does look like i am missing pants.  brrrr!

top-notch

i spent a good part of the  
day working on a final for one of my classes.

the experience of it all was quite beautiful. (nerd? maybe. lover of humanity? yes.)  can i just say that i love what i do?  social work is the bomb.com. but that's not the topic i intended for today...

the funny thing is, is that this paper isn't due until midnight on december 16th!

 whoa!  and why do i have 9.5 pages done already?  

i don't really know how this happened.

you see... i used to be the BEST at procrastinating.

my momma can attest to this. there were multiple assignments throughout my junior high school years that i would start at 10:00 pm the night before they were due. projects we were supposed to be spending weeks and weeks on. remember those science projects, mom? 

i was a top-notch avoider.  

avoiding the work until the last possible hour.  it was a mess.  

i eventually discovered that a change was in order, after many almost sleepless nights and less than pleased parents, so i set goals.  that will get you right on track, right?  ha!  

i remember every year my new year's resolution became:

don't procrastinate

i guess i'm a slow learner because this was my goal year after year.  for reals.

something happened along the way though, and i can't really pinpoint when or what it was. 

i guess i actually made some effort in kicking this procrastination habit.

 i became better at not procrastinating... sometimes.  i thought i had conquered it, but even doing my undergrad every once in a while i would become that familiar avoider. i remember the first paper of my college career.  i was starting it the night before it was due and calling my parents in tears saying i couldn't do it.  stressful stuff.  not my proudest moment.

it's nice that as we get older we get better at some things and worse at others. these days i am getting worse at procrastinating (or we could say better at not procrastinating). i think i am currently at my personal peak for not procrastinating.  humor me while i share... i'm kind of tickled about it.  i turned in a paper a week early on tuesday, made note cards for a test i have next friday, and will turn in this current paper about five days early.  finals is almost stress-free.  :)

when did procrastination take such a backseat in my life?

i have no idea... but i'm loving it. (maybe it was when i discovered that writing was fun. who takes a break from writing a huge paper to write a huge blog post??)

WISHLIST wednesday: No. 45

i love my moccasins.  
i wear them ALL the time.   
wouldn't a red version be
just perfect?! they would 
jazz up any outfit.

fast and fancy-free

i have been doing some fast and furious knitting (and purling) over here.  well not really furious... but definitely fast and most definitely fancy-free.

so... fast and fancy-free it is.  i threw homework out the window last week and either laid on the couch like a zombie or knitted like a crazy woman.

so i'm a knitting fool these days and i'm loving every minute of it. i have all of the christmas gifts done that i intended to knit.  so now i only have one more project in mind and then i am out of ideas... do you have any awesome knitting projects to share?  oh please do share if you do!

i think i need to branch out of the scarves and cowls though.  i need to learn something new.  you know... challenge myself.

oh i love knitting season.

grinchy night

last night we went to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

we loved it!  the Grinch was hilarious and Cindy Lou Who was adorable!

 what a way to kick off December?!

thanksgiving party, days 4 & 5

day 1

day 2

day 3

DAY 4

this day, saturday, was particularly blustery and cold.  so with some minor adjustments to our original plan we survived.  first stop was jeremy's school to check out the dental stuff.  our hotel was only 2 blocks away.

 after realizing how cold it was, we stopped in the nearest dunkin' for hot coco and donuts.

apparently, it was a looooong 2 blocks.

  we bustled off to the T to stay out of the wind and ventured to the public library.

it was my first time.... and boy was it LOVELY!

 

 

i had no idea what a gem of a place the library is... i HAVE to go back!

 the rest of the day was spent on a heated duck tour, getting more hot chocolate, watching the light show at quincy market, and dinner at emmet's pub (the shepherd's pie warmed my soul).

DAY 5

sunday was another cold and windy day.  we went to the first hour of church (we were on vacation, right?) and then drove out to lexington and concord.

the battle green at lexington was our first stop.  this is where the shot heard around the world was fired April 19, 1775.  this is right where it all began.

 we read the plaques, had a moment of silence for the fallen (we are never really silent, but we chatted about what took place), and ran around pretending we were being shot at... at least i did.

then we followed the course of the regulars in 1775 and drove over to concord.

 

this is the bridge where the rebels had their first victory over the regulars in the revolutionary war.  GO TEAM!  so much history.  the towns are also all sorts of charming.  we decided we needed to go back on a more pleasant day and wander a bit more, but it was cool to see some of the historical places.

for the rest of the day: we drove around a bit more, checked out Harvard, drove by Fenway Park, got a glorious ticket, showed them my school, and then we headed to the airport to drop off half of the party, my dad and sam, and got ready for my surgery.  it was a great weekend.  i loved sharing this city with my favorite people!