One of the Best Days Ever

This year, Carlos (one of my hubster's best friends) decided to join us for our annual tradition of going to the car show. To make his trip down to see us really worth it, we decided to also have lunch at Buon Appetito, roam the Air and Space Museum, and ice skate outdoors at Horton Plaza. It was so much fun. On our way home, I told my hubster that it felt like we just went to Disneyland. We couldn't ask a better way to end 2009.

Catch Up: Nice to Be Back

One thing on our holiday fun to-do list was to visit Old Town. I hadn't been there since I was in elementary school. We were pleasantly surprised that parking and most of the museums were free. The only museum that charged admission was the Whaley House. We roamed in and out of most of the museums and munched on fresh tortillas. So many fond memories rekindled. I was such a geeky little kid. Loved it!

Top Words

I had to be cool like everyone else on Facebook and find out which words I used most frequently in my statuses. Check out the list:

1):weekend - used 28 times

2):yay - used 24 times

3):tomorrow - used 21 times

4):home - used 20 times

5):over - used 19 times

6):hubster - used 18 times

7):ready - used 17 times

8):wait - used 17 times

9):excited - used 17 times

10):happy - used 16 times

Don't I look wonderfully jolly? In general, I don't post every little thought. I totally know how overwhelming it can get when all you read are sad posts from friends. I don't want my friends to be feeling sorry for me or worry about me, but I do want them to know when good things happen. :)

Catch Up: The Original Tannenbaum

In the midst of all of our festive fun, I forgot to post about my parents' Christmas tree. I was so excited this year because it was the real-tree year. My parents have decided to alternate buying a real Christmas tree and using their fake Christmas tree. Initially, I was heartbroken. Every year as a wee one, we always had a real tree. Now that my hubster has caved into my Christmas tree request, it doesn't hurt as much. We'll always have real tree at our home. Anyway, back to my parents. Here are the highlights.

Our custom adorable angel topper.

My all-time favorite tree trimming.

Martha-inspired pipe cleaner project.
Made 50 for only $2.

We got this for my daddy last year.

Love how my mom is putting more whimsical ornaments on our tree.

Oh Tannenbaum!

"Nothing in Life is Certain."

After watching the trailer for Brothers on Hulu, we've been debating if we should make a trek to the theaters or just wait for it to come out on DVD. When my hubster got an awesome deal through Fandango, it was a done deal that we wouldn't wait. I am not familiar with the original Danish version Brodre. With that said, we loved it at least as much as you can for a gut-wrenching drama. Tobey Maguire was amazing. As my hubster says, he's so convincingly messed up in the movie. Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal also deliver solid performances. Tobey is definitely the driving force of the movie though. It may not be the uplifting movie that one would normally see during the holiday season, but it's definitely worth watching.

Gobble Gobble

My hubster has been working hard to perfect his turkey. This year, he did it! It was succulent moist deliciousness. Can't wait for turkey sandwiches tomorrow.

Thanks Mama!

When we first arrived at our hotel last weekend, I immediately wanted a picture of my hubster and me by the hotel lobby Christmas tree. I tried to set up my camera with no flash and on a timer to avoid getting an overexposed picture. After setting it accordingly, I passed the camera over to my mom to take the picture. Unfortunately, my mom doesn't have patience or much experience with digital cameras. With this said, we still got a totally cool picture. Yay!

Here's how it was supposed to look. I totally prefer the one above though. Merry Christmas with lots of love!

Biggest Compliment

Two years ago, we had a little garden party and all of our favorite people were there. The few times that we have seen our favorite people between then and now, they have shared with us the things that they loved about our wedding. Most often, they tell us how beautiful Cambria is. Last night, David told us that they had the best barbecue sandwich when they were up there. We're just so happy that people have happy memories of our wedding and Cambria.

Traditions

Since we've become grown-ups with a cozy home of our own, I thought it was time for us to start some holiday traditions of our own. I have managed to convince my hubster to get a Christmas tree after many negotiations (including agreeing to have a Douglas Fir every other year).

Some of our other traditions include:

Sending Christmas cards. I know a lot of people send them, but my parents never did. This year, we were ambitious and made homemade cards. Double the work but double the fun.

Making homemade ornaments. I had way too much free time this year and wanted to make use of my stockpile of crafting leftovers. Now, we have a bunch of felt edibles and scrabble pieces adorning our tree. My hubster even helped make his friend's ornaments.

Watching everything that has to do with Charlie Brown and Christmas. I love Charlie Brown, especially at Christmas time. It doesn't feel like Christmas without hearing Linus' shepherd speech.

Throwback Tuesday: Regulate - Warren G

As suggested by the hubster:

On Happiness

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.

-Helen Keller

Size Does Matter

Viva Las Christmas

As my hubster likes to joke, this year was my mom's big 21st birthday. Where else would you celebrate? Vegas, of course. It was really fun seeing Vegas decked out for Christmas. I think it was also our saving grace. Before my mom saw the gorgeous decorations, she was not that interested in much. As always, Bellagio's conservatory had me in awe.

Throwback Tuesday: Stop - Spice Girls

"...It's the Idea of a Tomato."

Lately, my hubster has been really into food movies after watching The Beautiful Truth. Food, Inc. is an important movie to watch because we should know where our food comes from. We've already been moving more and more towards buying more organic foods. We're also lucky to have amazing farmer's markets nearby that we should be visiting more often. This movie was the extra push that we needed.

Two of My Favorite Things: France & Mr. A-Z

Crafty Clip Tips

I'm in full craft mode. I don't know if it's because it's the holidays or I'm making up for lost time. Maybe, it's the weather. We've been stuck indoors a bit more, so I need things to do. While searching for craft ideas on Martha, I learned that she has clip art. Her clip art isn't the cheesy kind either. They are great additions to any gift. Here are some of my favorites.

Kindle Me This

More than ever, I'm contemplating purchasing a Kindle. Why have I finally decided to consider it? Well, I have started to lay my books horizontally on top of other books. When I open my the door for my bedside table, I can only squeeze a few more books. The top shelf of my closet has several poetry books piled beside my other mementos. Just too many books and I still want more books. I'm looking forward to purchasing The Sweet Life of Paris soon.

Back to the Kindle, I'll still have to do my research and see if it's the right choice for me. However, I can't imagine reading a book without feeling the weight of it in my hands. I just love the comfort of feeling the weight of it in my purse. I don't know if these are things that I can give up. I know I can't keep going on with my book collecting either though. Another option I could try is Swaptree.

Cowboy Up, Cupcake

I finally made my way back to The Legend of Colton H. Bryant and finished it up. Lately, I've been taking long breaks from books and then finishing them up. I suppose it's my restlessness that's getting the best of me.

Anyway, back to the real reason why I'm tossing up this post. Fuller does an amazing job of setting the tone for this novel. The prose has a beautiful rhythm to it much like an old western movie. Some of the lines rekindled my love for writing and made me want to be a writer again. For example...

And you wouldn't believe the cemeteries in Wyoming. How quickly snatched life is out here, like the sky was always too big for the earth in this high, square borders and so it inhales the breath of the living. Like the sky stopped being able to tell the difference between the wind on a gentle day and a person's exhalation.

Holiday Fun List

Usually, we go to my parents' home for Christmas and bum around. Bumming around includes lounging on the sofa, watching tv, and snacking on the chocolates that my mom got as gifts or any other munchies my parents left for us. After some convincing from my hubster, I agreed that we should do more than that eat and bum around. Here's what we've come up with so far:

• Visit the Air and Space Museum
• Roam around Old Town
  
• Go ice skating at Horton Plaza
  

We'll be budget-friendly-busy bees. Hopefully, it'll make for good times and good pictures.

Throwback Tuesday: Back Here - BBMak

Luminaries Part 2

Luminaries

Last night truly felt like a dream. The kind of dream that when you wake up you keep thinking about it over and over, so you can hold onto it. Hold onto that pure happiness. There are so many different holiday festivities in our wee town and neighboring towns. We would be all Christmas-out before Christmas even comes.

Because we missed our favorite holiday parade, we decided to go to this Old Fashion Christmas event two towns over. We played bocce ball in the evening, ate delicious cookies, and sampled roasted walnuts that tasted like popcorn. Listened to country Christmas songs. Saw a trolley pulled by horses with Santa and Mrs. Claus on board. After a good amount of waiting, we watched as all of the little luminaries lit up the town. Simple and magical.

Pictures to come of course. After some Christmas card writing gets done...

One of My Favorite Actresses...

Catch Up: Thanksgiving