Christmas in Pictures

A Very Merry BCE

Sending warm holiday wishes to all of my loved ones on this very merry [white] Christmas.

Ours was:

Christmas in the cabin.

Holiday tunes to say good morning.

Big wavy hair.
The arrival of the Swistaks.

A gazillion thoughtful presents.

A for real Asian tiger.

Seven of my favorite people.

Love that filled the room.

Sledding down neighbors’ driveways.

Two slip and falls on the icy road.

One collision into the wilderness.

A few fresh mouthfuls of snow.

Clean, warm clothes.

Hugs for thank yous and goodbyes.

A scary drive home down the mountain.

Followed by a safe arrival home.

Some kisses goodnight.

Chicago for breakfast.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

The Day Before the Day of the Night Before

Twas the day before the day of the night before Christmas.  I hope all of your shoppings are shopped, your cookies and cooked, your elfings are elfed, and your wrappings are wrapped.  Also, I hope you have found your very merry Christmas spirit.  Love your loved ones and hug your hugged ones.  That is all.

Oh, and lunch at Capital Grill?  Don't mind if I do.

I love when the city is splattered in red, green, and gold.  Christmas trees galore and ornaments the size of my (extra large) head.

The MPY

Once upon a time, I got a new cat and a new cell phone at the same time.  They sell them in different stores though, so I’m kind of just guesstimating here.  This is the first picture I ever took on my then super sweet phone, which now looks like a giant calculator for the visually challenged.  I give you ... the MPY (Mini Panther Yawn):

Do you know how hard it is to capture a mini panther mid-yawn? The answer is: very. Even when you are using a decent camera. So basically, I am exceptionally gifted. And you should probably go get your own sleepy mini panther – stop fantasizing about mine.

[PS: Mini panther/ghetto cell phone combo packs make excellent stocking stuffers.]

Pre-Christmas

A pre-Christmas present from my favorite big elf:

(Thanks, Banana!)

I may or may not have put in a special request for a gift this past Saturday. Either way, it was given (and received) with lots of Christmas spirit filled love. Oh, do you wish you had a big elf, too?  I hear you can get them at the store.  They're sold on the same aisle as the big tigers.  And basically, they are the same thing.

Holiday Fiestas

This weekend was full of holiday fiestas with Ryan’s [fun] co-workers.  I made friends with some of the wifeys, and we even hosted an impromptu dance party.  What?  This surpises you?

I also ruined a brand new pair of shoes and wanted to cry about it a little bit.

On top of holiday fiestas, we experienced the first snow fall of the year on Saturday. The skies were gray and the snowflakes were slushy and huge (like the size of the ones I made out of white paper in elementary school – not really, but does anyone remember how to make those? I’ve tried, and they always end up looking like Halloween horror movie masks.)

I’m ready for Christmas. Perhaps I got you a homemade Jason mask. Please wear it with love.

A Rockin' Aunt

 At one year old, I am pretty serious about a few things.

1.  Eating 

{See my cheeks?}

2.  Music 

{Have you seen me dance?}

3.  My ATB

{I think she rocks! Don't you?}

 I love you ATB.

PS - You didn't include "snuggles from a Zoo Bear" on your Christmas wish list. 

Guess I'll have to take them back.

Love, Alekzander

Blog hijacked in the spirit of Christmas by Alekzander and his mama.

Un Mas

I forgot that I also wanted the magical ability to speak Español. Hopefully you still have one more item in the budget for my Christmas presents?

And I’ll take this guy:

Even though he is already mine, I haven’t seen him for four days ... plus one if we include tomorrow, and don’t like that. So this is me moping.  (Apparently my forever positive attitude hasn't arrived yet.)  But don’t you love this picture?  It was in the lost and found section.  As in:  I lost it, and then found it.

My Wish List

In case you aren’t done with your Christmas shopping yet, here are a few small items that I would love to find in my stocking this year:

1. One house.
2. A forever sun kissed tan. Forever. Always. But no skin cancer allowed.
3. A forever manicure. Forever. I’m not asking for much here - just short, cute, always painted nails. A forever pedicure can be included too.
4. Free healthcare for everyone.
5. One medium sized black SUV.
6. Some babies to put in the previously mentioned house and SUV.
7. No more split ends. None. Ever.
8. A forever loving and non-judgmental heart. Forever. Always.
9. Tigers.
10. Funds for a few more college degrees.
11. Clean drinking water for the previously mentioned everyone.
12. Mile long eyelashes. (Woah. Didn’t your mother tell you to be careful what you wish for?)
13. A forever positive attitude. Forever. Always. No matter what.
14. One surprise.
15. Tim Riggins. (Haha! Just kidding, Ryan!)

So if I get all of this, do you want to come over and play at my new house with my new babies and new tigers? I might need your help getting my new mile long eyelashes into my new car.  And I guess I can let you borrow my new Tim Riggins (you know, from Friday Night Lights) since I already have a boyfriend.

The Day I Found My Toothbrush

The day I lost my toothbrush was yesterday. The day I found it was today.

Yesterday afternoon I came home from a lovely holiday party coated weekend at Ryan’s. I did a little secret elfing around, realized I needed more elf supplies, and brushed my teeth with my pink toothbrush. I like to brush my teeth before going to the Target, don’t you? So with my clean teeth, purple Nikes, and black tights, I hopped in my merry red sled and went on my holly jolly way. Upon returning from the Target, I did some more elfing – much more elfing, in fact – and went into my bathroom to brush my teeth around midnight. Not a creature was stirring (except for my psychotic pet mini panther reindeer named Rex - he really likes to craft, by the way.)

And here is where the mystery of the missing toothbrush reveals itself. My pink toothbrush. It was missing. I checked baskets, bowls, and under the sinks. I checked here, checked there; I checked everywhere! Luckily, my handy green spin brush was ready to step up for the teeth brushing challenge of the evening – and so it did. And again in the morning.

Fast forward through the following work day, the hour long sled ride home, the reindeer petting, the elfing around, and the dinner eating. There I am, standing in my kitchen, pasta bowl and fork in hand. I open the dishwasher to place them inside, and there it was! My pink toothbrush! Nestled safely in the utensil holder of my dishwasher.

What the h-e-double hockey sticks?! All of this elfing around is clearly getting to my head. Bring on the holidays.  Soon please.

Twenty-One Sevens and Cities

Happy 21st seventh, Ryan!

You are a tiger, not a lion!

I love you here, I love you there,

I really love you everywhere!

So far, I’ve loved you in these 21 places,

Where we’ve taken pictures of our faces:

Arapahoe, NC

Biloxi, MS

Blowing Rock, NC
Boone, NC

Charlotte, NC

Chicago, IL

Cleveland, OH
Cornelius, NC

East Rutherford, NJ

Grayslake, IL

Holden Beach, NC

Kiawah Island, SC

Lake Lure, NC

Las Vegas, NV

Morristown, NJ

Munich, Germany

New York City

Newport News, VA

Pittsburgh, PA

Rockwell, NC

Wilmington, NC

By planes, trains, buses, and cars,

We’ve traveled near and traveled far.

I love you here, I love you there,

I really love you everywhere!

I can’t wait to love you in more places,

And take more pictures of our faces.


(P.S. - If you are wondering when and why we went to Rockell, NC, the answer is: TIGER WORLD!  And also, yes, I took 3 semesters of creative writing: poetry to obtain my bachelor's degree in English.)

Forgive and Forget

Sometimes I am gone way too long

[Like the entire weekend and then some]

But he is always so happy to see his mama

[He’s such a good forgive and forgetter]

Piggy

Last night Ryan invited some friends to join him in his company’s suite at the Bobcats stadium.  Who knows who the Bobcats played, or if they even won. 

Clearly, I was not on the friend invite list. Apparently I’m not tall enough to make the cut (have I told you about how Ryan only hangs out with giants?). But that’s okay because this little piggy stayed home and painted her nails with Ashley. The nail painting was actually a disaster, and I am actually not a piggy. (Except for when I eat half a bag of York Peppermint Patties, which I did. In fact, next year, I think I am going to hole punch the wrappers and hang them from my Christmas tree. I love them.  I also love the word piggy.)

After the game and the nail painting disaster, we took a cab to Kazbas and met up with the four studs pictured above. I never thought I would live in a city where I could just walk outside and get in a cab that will take me to my destination. I guess I technically don’t live in a city that I can do that, but it is nice that I am in love with someone who does. And also someone who will go get me nail polish remover at 7:30 am on a Saturday. (Yes, that really happened).

And then I walked home in my argyle socks and Ryan made fun of me.  But we still lived happily ever after.

The Strange Cats

Bienvenidos to December. And how do you feel? I feel like I have bought three pairs of shoes, returned two pairs of shoes, wanted to buy another pair of shoes, bought a cardigan, returned a cardigan, and eaten a pumpkin muffin and two handfuls of Skittles for dinner. Oh wait. That’s because all of that happened within the past 48 hours. Eaten is a weird word. Do you think I used it correctly? Circle yes or no.

Today I came home from a two hour cup of coffee with Krista and snuggled super hard with Rex. Sometimes I like to tackle him and squeeze him until he lets out a little puff of a meow that lets me know I am probably fracturing his ribs. But he really likes it. And then he makes out with me. I think it is okay for me to say that my cat makes out with me – I’m sorry if it offends you. But you are probably just jealous that you don’t have a mini panther that licks your nose and grabs your ankles when you walk by him.

On Monday I was talking to my mom about all of the strange cats we’ve owned. And then I texted my kindergarten BFF and asked her if she remembered when my cat peed on her lap when he was in my car. Previous to the pee in the car incident, he was attacked by a wildebeest in my backyard and had to get a purple cast on his paw. On the way home from the cat doctor, he peed his pants, therefore peeing Katie’s pants and I am pretty sure she cried the whole way home. And then she screamed and did the yucky dance and my sister had to take her pants off for her.

Also, Ryan is in Milwaukee. I had to look up which state that was in because I thought he was in Wisconsin, not Milwaukee. And then it turns out that Milwaukee is in Wisconsin.  Don't judge.