Christmas...

I have to say that I had a GREAT Christmas this year... Christmas eve I went to Doug's parents and had a lovely dinner with the family, then I stopped by Shane's to see the boys before candlelight service at church... a very complete day celebrating our Saviour's birth...

Christmas morning I went over to Lisa's to find her and Doug in their jammies 25 min before everyone arrived for breakfast...

I jumped right in and started to help cooking...

I have to say when my sister and I man a kitchen, things happen!

Everyone arrived and they looked mean and hungry... hahaha

I fried up the latkes nice a crispy...

Lisa tested one and approved!

We sat down to a feast of latkes with apple sauce, sour cream, biscuits and gravy, orange juice, coffee and tea...

After everyone was full we started opening presents... Lisa got Dad & Doug's parents a huge wedding picture - it was beautiful... and all were happy with them...

Laurie and Rich are such a great addition to our family... I really love them around...

Doug and Lisa went overboard with gifts for each other, as they should I guess, after all it it their first Christmas married to each other...

I made my Pop a book of pictures from snapfish.com and he was overjoyed... hahaha he also liked his snuggie - I got a red one to match mine...

Dad got us kids our own season tickets to the Pantages Theater... OMGoodness it must have cost him a small fortune but we were so greatful! Finally no fighting over who gets to go to the shows downtown... now we can all go together - ugg I love the theater!

It was such a great day... everyone was happy and loving... my little sister actually gave me a hug and said she loves me... she never does and that, ever, and it was so nice :...-(

Merry Christmas everyone!

Shuffle...

Sunday after church I went to play cards with James and Caitlin... I don't know how to shuffle... I just don't... please don't judge me by my shortcomings... ;-)

Christmas Party...

So James and Justin had a super fun Christmas Party over the weekend... I was so glad to be back in town and hanging with my friends... we all got pretty buzzed and had a really great time.

Towards the end of the night Justin started playing DJ on his AppleTV and horrible singing and dancing ensued...

Some people cuddled up with their angel and took a nap...

fun times...

Amarillo by Morning...

So I spent last week in lovely Amarillo, Texas. Being winter time the high each day was about 40 degrees - so cold! I stayed in my favorite hotel there - The Courtyard... it's centrally located in town and close to lots of good restaurants... and boy did I eat when I was there... among many rib plates and biscuit and gravy breakfasts I had an amazing steak dinner at the Country Barn, appropriately garnished with fried okra and hand battered onion rings and a buttery yeast roll...

I made more than one stop to my favorite Whataburger for a bacon cheese Whataburger with mayo both sides and jalapenos.... just wonderful...

I even stopped at Long John Silvers (haven't been in probably 5 years) - got the anniversary platter with a side of fried lobster bites...

needless to say between Amarillo and Houston I have put on 7 chunky pounds... not good... I need to get back into the gym routine and eating like a normal person...

Karaoke at The Boulevard...

On a cold winter night before I left for a trip to Texas, James convinced me to go out to the club... Against my better judgment, and after a few drinks I actually got up and sang karaoke... not a good idea... Justin and James' pal Caitlin was in town for the holidays so she was fun to have along too...

Pregos...

Congrats to Nicole and Micah! They have a bun in the oven!

The Grinch...

So a last week The whole gang went down to the Pantages to see the Grinch Stole Christmas - it was a fun play (probably geared more towards children) but still cool.

This time we went to Philippe's for dinner... Mimi and I had a feast! 1 pork dip sandwich, 1 beef dip sandwich, potato salad, macaroni salad, and of course coconut cream pie...

ohh so good...

Orange, Texas...

Probably one of the most God-awful places I have had to work... EVER... talk about small towns, this place had a Chili's to eat and that was about it...

I stayed in the Hampton Inn which was pretty nice (brand new)... I did my work at the store and watched TV at night... pretty much sucked... no good food, no night life, just work and cows and fields...

Fun in Houston...

So my always glamorous work travels took me to southeast Texas this week... I made a pit stop in Houston for a night and had a blast... after flying all day long I checked into the Courtyard Downtown Houston for a night to explore and have a good time... Thank God I had enough Marriott Rewards to cover the stay.. the room was pretty upscale, with an amazing view...

I walked down the street to a happening bar and found these fun girls to dance with... had a blast and stumbled back to my hotel to get a few hours sleep before having to drive 3 hours to Orange, Texas... hmmm...

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

So last week I had my buddies over to decorate the house for Christmas... we had drink and some awesome turkey soup while we put up the tree... it was a lot of fun...

Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving was fun this year. Missed not having my Mom and Jim around but the house was still full of people I love... Sheri and the kids came this year so it was great having little ones running around...

This year I did my first fried turkey.... Basically you get a pot of boiling oil and slowly lower the bird in...

Not only have I heard that they are delicious but, they cook fast as well... this 18 pound turkey took just under 1 hour to cook in the bubbling peanut oil. The temperature has to be monitored the whole time so I will have to remember that I need someone out there watching next year...

When it's done you simply lift it out and let it drain... I used the thermometer to test all the thick areas and it was piping hot all the way through... and so crispy!

Bryce was bouncing around in the kitchen waiting for me to slice the bird up...

The skin was crunchy - just like fried chicken - and the meat (including the white) was very moist and tender... 12 people ate about 15 pounds of turkey... pretty impressive

I really scaled back this year, but we still had all the favorites; mashed potatoes...

Rich turkey gravy (I had to make it by baking the neck and giblets)

Cranberries

Sweet potato casserole... yuk... I'm glad the others liked this - not my favorite...

Stuffing from the crock pot - super moist and bouncy...

and of course we could never go without the green bean casserole...

It was quite a spread...

The table was quiet for a while as everyone gobbled...

After all the eating we played with the kids and just relaxed...

We have so much to be thankful for in this country...