2am check-in

after living with my mother, little sister, and family golden retreiver, we're back in the apartment. took a few days to get back in the bedroom, cause it stunk like mildewy grossness in there, but we're back in it now. yay! it's a super huge mess in there, but the living room is back to normal, and our bed/box spring is out of the kitchen. so tonight, seeing as we were able to move in our kitchen, we made this second batch of sugar cookies:

Husby got all fancy-schmancy with the frosting!
we also straightened the house, baked muffins, and surface level cleaned (not sure what i was thinking when i invited half the staff over for breakfast tomorrow). at least it looks nice and we're ready for Christmas!

the most fun thing we did today was go caroling at a few staffers homes. it was so fun!! we brought treats and sang a few songs and were invited in along the way! i got great goofy gifts from youth at two homes, drank part of a hot toddy (my first ever, and last) at another, and was offered drinks at our pastors house! so weird. but we had a ball. i think this'll be a great girl-n-Husby family tradition. hope you're having fun with your family traditions!
aer<><

guess where we are?

Husby and I are sitting in old Chicago drinking. We are across the parking lot of the hotel where we are staying tonight. We are not in our home because it flooded tonight. A pipe burst outside our apt and flooded our bedroom, bathroom, all closets and hallways. Everything is in the living room and kitchen. And Christmas is in appx 8 days. Uff da.
Aer<><

life is good!

on our way home from nashville, we went via st. louis. outside st. louis is the cutest little town ever - st. charles! it was adorable, with a sweet coffee shop and bakery, candy store, gift shops and this amazing life is good store. it was the best pit stop Husby and i made!

here are a few snapshots from nashville!

this is a girl & Husby outside the grand ol opry. we went to the rockette's radio city Christmas spectacular! it was the best date night.

@ the arch in st. louis

here we are with some "carolers". can you find us? :)

such a fun trip. december has been great too. i've been blog-slacking, mostly because my sister is coming home! we've been chatting online, etc. more than usual, so i didn't feel like i had to update the blog as much for her sake. and i'm not sure if anyone else reads it :) anyways, so far this advent, our life has been good! we've gone to the winter walk in northfield, mn (they line main street with luminaries, all the stores have an open house with treats, there are carolers... it's fun!), the vespers service for augsburg college (my alma mater) at a huge cathedral downtown, attended a Christmas dinner theater at camp wapogasset in amery wi, attempted to host a Christmas party but had to cancel due to snow, put up our Christmas lights, and baked gingersnaps, fudge and almond bark pretzels. and it's only day 11!!! today is my mostly day off (i've got a middle school event tonight), and i think i'm going to go shopping. for a dress. ew. but it must be done. then some laundry, a quick clean, and hopefully baking a batch of something. a day off... right! :)
aer<><

the current 3rd love of my life

The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., "Over the Teacups," 1891

i find as i grow up that my loves don't change very much. family has been a top love, music, books, baking, and God has always been at the very top. Husby is the newest and deepest love on my list. =)

so my top two loves remain unchanged: Jesus and Husby & fam. but lately, something new has been creeping up the list. it makes me feel warm, and loving, and brings a little oomph to whatever i'm doing. i smell it's aroma and get giddy waiting for the cup...

yeah, it's coffee. for the past few months, i've grown completely, utterly and hopelessly addicted fond of the brew. i stumble out of bed in the morning, pour myself a cup, add the few tablespoons of coffeemate (seasonally, peppermint mocha; regularly, french vanilla), sit on the couch, and wake slowly to good morning america and my perfect cuppa joe.

down here in the valley, there aren't many independent coffee shops. we rely pretty heavily on big chains. as a result, somedays i wouldn't mind this:

...but instead i settle for a non-fat latte with a shot of cinnamon. side-note: when my mom was in the hospital recovering from some illnesses, they actually hooked her up to a caffeine iv drip so she didn't have to go through symptoms of caffeine withdrawl. isn't that awesome?!

Husby has also become a coffee lover. we love our starbucky's! so in honor of it all, we bought our latest ornament: happy brewing!
aer<><

barbie and superman

i am the sole blonde-haired, blue-eyed one in my entire family. everyone else? olive skin, brown hair, hazel eyes. i just know i am the milkmans baby.

and i would fall in love with a brown-haired, brown-eyed boy! by the way, these aren't just any brown eyes... they're melty and sparkly and full of good things. i love those eyes. his dad and sister and grandpa has the same eyes, so i'm guessing that although my recessive genes will put up a fight, eventually they'll get beat down.

anyway, so now we are a blonde/blue girl and a brown/brown boy. when Husby and i were looking for our first apartment, we met a landlord who called us ken and barbie. i LOVED it! however, the ficticious character Husby relates more to than ken, is superman. he even has a couple superman shirts. he is kind of like superman. strong, strikingly handsome, kind to all, a quick clothes changer... he's my superman :)

because of the solo blonde thing, my dad's always given me a barbie ornament for Christmas. one year i gave Husby a superman ornament. this is a picture of those two ornaments hanging on our tree:
can you see that they are both in the same flying position?! it cracks me up! heehee! happy wednesday!
aer<><

it's snowing!!!

here's a picture of a lantern on our "patio":

yay!! i so love snow. especially during the Christmas season! Husby's out on a guys night tonight, and i've just been bumming around and somehow missed the fact that it was snowing! oops. so the second i saw it snowing, i popped in the polar express, strapped on my apron, and made a batch of gingersnaps.

but apparantly the smell of molasses makes me feel like hurling everywhere. i got so queasy that i only made one cookie sheet's worth - the rest of the dough is in the fridge. sealed up tight.
Husby said they tasted like regular gingersnaps, but i can't bring myself to taste them! maybe tomorrow. for now, we're going to finish the polar express in bed, with the door shut to block out the molasses stench :) there'll be an ornament post tomorrow. sweet dreams all!
aer<><

happy advent!

december 1st. i love the first day of each month. it's like a tangible fresh start, you know? and this december is going to be so great. we've got so many fun plans!! Christmas is my absolute favorite, but i feel like this one is going to be just the best.

we put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, and just finished the rest of our little house tonight. i can't wait for other people to see it!! so to get a jumpstart on that, i'm posting pics of certain decorations here. i'll post a decoration or two a day with the story that they come with, or something they remind me of, or why it's a part of Christmas. so fun!!

Husby and i bought this last year, after Christmas when it was $1 =) we will treasure those memories of the first Christmas we spent together in the same state, in our first home. it was a hard Christmas, as my grandma was dying, but it was a really beautiful Christmas for our family.
i just know this Christmas is going to be so good! =)
aer<><