Christmas in the Northwest

It's been a long day, but a good one!

Presents in the morning! Dad got a PlayStation 3 (He's such a big kid) and Kari got Rock Band. Mom got lots of stuff (precious moments Nativity Scene, dvd recorder, lots of books, and a lot of hair stuff). I got a backpacking tent and cooking utensils. Santa was very good to us this year!


We then headed down to Grandma and Grandpas for dinner with the family. Tiffany and Zack were there with their two-year-old daughter Emma. She's so cute and provided hours of entertainment. It was really nice having a kid around for Christmas! Note the hot Christmas vest! It's a new tradition to wear tacky chrismats attire to Christmas dinner. Good times!


We then ended back home to play with our new toys. We ended the evening with a nice little "Beetles" jam sessions. It was a good day with the family!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays,
'Cause no matter how far away you roam,
When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze,
For the holidays, you cant beat home, sweet home.

(even if you are going home to sleep on an air-mattress because your mom turned your room into her craft room)

Friday Favorites: Christmas Movies and Songs

Friday Favorites are back for at least two weeks. January is going to be another busy month, so I'm not sure how many Friday Favorites I will be able to complete.

I love Christmas! It's one of my favorite times of year. I especially love the music and the movies. Here are a few of my favorites.

My favorite Christmas songs:
Baby, It's Cold Outside
Santa Baby
Ave Maria
Little Saint Nick
Do You Hear What I Hear
Little Drummer Boy
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
The First Noel
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
Breath Of Heaven (Mary’s Song)
Where Are You Christmas
O Holy Night
Ave Maria

Favorite Christmas Movies (in no particular order)

(Dear Santa) PS....

Hey Santa,

Sorry, I have a few extra items to add to my list.

A new umbrella: I realized on my way to get lunch in the rain that my umbrella is really old and kind of broken. A new one would be great!

North Face Coat (black or blue): It's so cold! I really need one of those down coats from North Face (not too puffy). I'm looking for something that's mid thigh or knee length. I'm freezing Santa! Help a girl out.
A new apartment: I would greatly appreciate it if a beautiful four bedroom apartment on the upper west side would open in January! It would really start my year off with a bang. I really just need a bigger room. I want to sleep on a big girl bed (anything larger than a twin!). I feel like I have slept on a twin long enough. Please help!
An arranged marriage (well, maybe a coupon for one): So, I just heard that someone asked for an arranged marriage for Christmas. I didn't know you could ask for this! I would have asked years ago! Well, I don't know if I need an arranged marriage, but I would love to have it as a fall back plan. So, maybe a coupon or something would work. Let me know.

So, I know some of these things are kind of bigger, but if you could give me two out of the four, I would be a very happy and promise to be good girl for the rest of my life!

“You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas” (Davy Crockett)

On my last day in Texas, Sarah took me to see the Alamo. We started at the Rivercenter Mall and walked down the riverwalk to the Alamo. I love the riverwalk. I wish we could have stopped for dinner, but the Salt Lick was calling our names.


I really enjoyed the Alamo. We did an audio guided tour, so we learned a lot. I'm glad we did, because I didn't really remember a whole lot of what happened at the Alamo (except that we lost).


We then went to the Salt Lick Bar-B-Que for dinner. This is one of my favorite places in Texas! It's the best!

I really love Texas. I love visiting with Sarah and her family. I always have such an amazing time.

Just Around the Riverbend...

Day two in Texas Sarah and I went to the lake for a little time on the water. I'm not sure what this is called, but basically we paddled around on surf boards. It was a lot of fun. The man renting them told us that the fall-in rate was very high, so plan on getting wet. I'm proud to announce, that we both didn't fall in! It was really cold, but it was a lot of fun.


We then went shopping while we waited to meet Sarah's parents for dinner. Sarah was kind enough to take me to one of the Tiffany's in Austin. I got a toy soldier Christmas ornament.


We also went to see the bats. Supposedly there are a lot of bats that live under a bridge near downtown Austin. At twilight they all fly out in a line. It's supposed to be very impressive. Unfortunately, the bats had all flown south for the winter, so we didn't see much. I'm hoping to go back in the summer to see these infamous bats.


Sarah surprised me after dinner by taking me to see Esther's Follies. It was hilarious! It's a musical/comedy/magic show. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.

Rocking around the Christmas Tree...

We decided to get a tree this year! While we walked several blocks to find the perfect tree, we found one a block from our house. Just like last year! I feel like this is going to be a tradition.


We had our own little Christmas tree lighting party with Karen Z on Monday. We made Christmas ornaments and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas. It was so much fun!

Good game, but I was sitting in the wrong row...

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I got sick the night before, so I didn't get to eat much. My Thanksgiving dinner consisted of water, Cliff drinks, and pretzels. Good stuff. Well, I was too sick to eat, but not too sick to go to the Texas vs Texas A&M football game.


It was so fun! I love football and so does the great state of Texas. The fans were crazy! It was a lot of fun watching everyone get into the game.


Every time A&M scored a guy in the row in front of us walked down the row kissing every women. I realized then and there that it was an error wearing UT gear instead of A&M. I totally would have slipped down to the row below. I will never make that mistake again!


At half time, no one left the stadium. Everyone stayed to watched the bands. They were amazing. The UT band was good, but the A&M band was unbelievable!


I'm so glad Sarah was able to get tickets! We had Show alla blast!

DEAR SANTA,

How are you? How’s the misses? I hope you had a relaxing yet productive year this year. Thanks so much for all of my Christmas gifts last year. You know just what I want/need. You’re the perfect man! Well, I just want you to know that I have been particularly good this year (loads better then the past two years), so I hope you will award me “nice” on your list.

Here are a few things I would like this year.

A cute ornament stand: Something like this. I have some really heavy ornaments that I can’t put on my tree, but I would still like to display them. I would prefer something that’s back or silver, but I will take what I can get.Nalgene Wide-Mouth Loop-Top Round Bottle - 32 fl. Oz: I like the one below. I need this one so it will match the other one I have and you know I’m all about matching.A car: I really don’t care what kind of car, but I think it would be nice to have a set of wheels.

A nice parking spot in the city: I only need this if I get the car :)

Sea To Summit eVent Compression Dry Sack - 7 x 16: Gotta keeps things dry
World peace

New Furniture for my room: I’m tired of sleeping on a twin…I want a big girl bed.
The movie Up

Jewelry: I really want some cute earrings.

Cocoon Cotton Mummy LinerBooks from the Penguin Cloth-bound Classic Series (covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith): I only need Wuthering Heights, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and The Picture of Dorian Gray to complete my collection of all books available in the US.Tickets to the Opera: I keep saying I’m going to see an opera and never do. Maybe if you get me tickets I would actually go.

A knight in shining armor – armor is optional – A prince will do too: I know I have asked for this the past two years…third time’s a charm, Santa!

A cute recipe book

A lifetime supply of Rice to Riches.

Well, I think that will do for this year. Thanks again for everything! You’re the best. Don’t work too hard over the next few weeks. Remember to get your rest.

Merry Christmas!
-erika