Our Christmas

We had a nice little trip to Indiana.  It was a white Christmas without the blizzard force winds we missed in New York.  There was lots of friends, family time, and sleeping in.  Unfortunately for the blog-o-sphere I didn't take many pictures.  I have a few from my mom's house and that's it.

yeah, we're goofy

I've already taken down our Christmas tree at home, but I've left out the flowers and candles for a bit longer.  Here are my three favorite ornaments on this year's tree.

The Pokey Little Puppy - this one is actually kind of old.  I got it in high school maybe? It's a Hallmark Keepsake Ornament, and this was one of our favorite books.

 

 

Pokey Little Puppy

This one we bought on our cruise in the Bahamas.  I like the idea of ornaments to remember vacations.

And this one we gave to each of our parents.  Different frames, same pic for each.  And of course I needed one for me too.  It made a great gift.  And will be fun to pull out next Christmas too.

Surprise!

Oh, and my cinnamon bells are starting to lose their nice smell.  I think I will have to make some new ones next year.  Next Christmas just might be the best ever...

The Aftermath

So we missed the actual blizzard, holed up in Indiana.  I'm so happy we decided to stay until Tuesday, our flight home wasn't affected at all!  According to CNN at the airport LaGuardia was open for business, but there was a lack of aircraft.  So arrivals were a go, unfortunately for those leaving NYC, departures were still kind of a mess.  We got in 15 minutes early and were on our way home.  The approximately5 mile trip took about 2 hours.  We waited 40 minutes for the bus, which (luckily? maybe?) was making express stops between its terminals.  The airport and the subway station.  This was due to the fact that local streets were still impassable.  So we took the expressway as much as possible and crawled through the local streets that were unavoidable.  We saw a couple of stuck busses and many stuck cars along the way.  Once finally at the subway, it was a quick trip home.  Oh, so good to be home.


Since I'm on break from school still, I worked on stuff from home today, venturing out to the grocery store.  Below are the picks I took along the way.  Believe it or not, this is a vast improvement over yesterday.  I can only imagine what Sunday and Monday must have been like.  We missed the big storm last year too over Christmas - and that was nothing compared to this.  I'm not sure if that is a blessing or not.  I was here for the blizzard of February 2006.  That was fun!

the intersection at 50 and Skillman

tire print in the side of a drift

intersection at 50 and 43rd - you can't really tell here but the pile across the street is up to my shoulders

snowman in front of the emergency boiler that has been there since Dec 10, 2009, I think it might become permanent

the entrance to our building

size detail, almost to the top of the meter

 

Merry Christmas Eve!

The card we chose to send.  Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

 

Send Holiday Cheer Christmas Card

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Adorable

These photos are from a few weeks ago, but I'll post them now anyhow.

Christmas Time is Here

I have finally exited my end of semester hibernation.  I just turned in my last final and can re-enter the blogging world!  There has been much elving going on.  I set up the tree and my table display (nativity, flowers, and candles) the day after Thanksgiving.  I am at peace with the fact that half of one strand of tree light burned out three days after I put the tree up.  It's ok, new lights next year.  We finished up our Christmas shopping on Wednesday, buying the final three gifts.  It will be kind of a small Christmas this year, but that is ok.  This morning, before finishing my final, I boxed up all the presents, and am on my way to the Post Office to mail them to Indiana.  We will be there, but have found it simpler to travel without presents when dealing with airport security.  There are a few handmades that need to be finished and will travel with us in the suitcase.  We are ready to enjoy this holiday.

Our tree is all decked out, but looks sad at the moment, sans presents.  I'll put the rest of our cards over there.  It's the only place for the fruit bowl, but oranges are festive.  On the lower right you see a glimpse of our stockings.  I need to get some real stocking hangers on sale after Christmas to put on the edge of the table next year.  We have a few new ornaments this year, commemorating trips and events of the year.  I'll give them a post next week.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here

Psst... Mom, make sure you read this one, there are pictures at the end of the post :)

Today marks the first Sunday of Advent.  It is also the day that our Christmas decorations are up.  As I sit here I am grateful for the Chrismas station on Pandora as I look at my tree, the candles are lit, and I am drinking hot chocolate and planning my Christmas cards.

It's been a few years since we've sent out cards.  In 2007, when Rob and I were dating we sent out a letter with pictures.  In 2008 I had just finished sending out what seemed like a million thank you notes from our wedding.  And last year, 2009, I really have no excuse, I just didn't do it.  This year I wanted to send out a photo card.  My favorite cards are the ones with pictures, and I just don't have the time for a letter this year...  There is a good chance I would have let it go again, I didn't know where to look to start with the photo card.  Then I found out about Shutterfly, and this awesome deal they have for bloggers to get 50 free cards.  What could be better.

While this will be my first experience using Shutterfly, I do have a couple of their photo books that were given to me as gifts.  I think these photobooks are a product we will be making in coming years.  But this time of year it is all about the cards.  As we celebrate Christmas and Santa and all that good stuff this time of year, the Christmas Cards are where I looked.  But there are cards for all holidays and occasions.  I've even received invitations.

The hardest part of creating a card was finding a decent picture of Rob and I to use.  One would think that we had more good pictures of the two of us.  Unfortunately, most of the pictures I have are the self-portraits, and while these make for fun facebook photos, they aren't really what I had in mind for a Christmas card photo.  I searched through the last 12 months of photos and found a few good ones.

So here is a preview.  Three of my favorite card designs.  But you'll have to look in the mail to see the card and photo we picked.  Can you handle the suspense?

Starlight Star Bright Christmas

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Frosted Glass Monogram Christmas Card

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Joyeux Noel Ornament Christmas Card

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So much to be Thankful for

Every year at this time I like to take a few minutes and count my blessings.  And really we have so much to be thankful for.  Rob and I have had a great year and have grown closer together as we have traveled the world and enjoyed being married.  I am thankful that we were able to take a couple of really great vacations.  I am thankful that we have a comfortable place to live, and jobs that we like.  I am thankful for the new friends we have made through going to a church in our neighborhood.  It's nice to feel connected to our neighbors.

I am looking forward to tomorrow when we celebrate here at our home with some family.  We will miss the folks in Indiana.  But will have a feast of our own to enjoy!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all the cooking goes well.

Pics to come.

Take some time to think about what you are thankful for.

What did we do with all of those apples?

Yum!

I-N-D-I-A-N-A

To Indiana again in mid-October to sort through my stuff in barn storage and then off to IU for tailgating and the Homecoming Game.  Good weekend!

 

Apple Dumpling Gang

And the last of the photos from our apple picking adventure.  

Here's what we found in the pumpkin patch.

Orchard Photo Shoot

As often happens when spending a day with the creative types (the husbands are all animators) there is some kind of creative endeavor taking place.  On this day it was the awesomeness that can be accomplished with an iphone / ipod touch, the hipstimatic app, and an artistic eye.  The following photos were not photo-shopped or touched up with the exception of the color enhancing picture.  The  distortion was all artistic eye.

Tiny Rob, Giant Jeremy

Robby wants an apple, mean Kasey.

And now here is some of the behind the scenes of the shoot.  These photos above are two of many.

And now I've ruined the magic...

Happy Halloween

Apple Pickin'

Fall is time for apple picking and pumpkins and cider.  We took our semi-annual trip to the Outhouse Orchard with some friends.  There were six of us so we rented a mini-van, and bought some pastries for breakfast and headed north.  This is the first time we've actually PICKED APPLES at the orchard.  Usually it's about the cider and the donuts, but picking apples is so much fun.  Mostly we used the apple picking claw, but at times with a little boost from someone tall were able to pick with our hands.  There was no tree climbing or apple throwing allowed.

I think we ended up with 30 - 40 pounds of apples.  We split them up, but Rob and I ended up with the bulk.  There are just enough left for a pie.  Yum!