if only it weren't $52

I was finishing my Christmas shopping last week when I got back to Austin and stopped into a store on Congress. It looked really interesting because they had these really awesome Mexican skull masks and I wanted to see what else they had. As I was looking around I found this gem.

I wish there was a card next to it explaining what it was supposed to mean, or if there was a specific Mexican tradition that I didn't know about, seeing as how I'm not Mexican. I also don't understand why she doesn't look pissed that this man is on top of her strangling her next to a wall of flames. I really wanted to buy it for someone, but it was $52 and that is pretty steep for something I don't even know who I would give it to.

resolutions

I'm not the type to typically make a New Years resolution because I know after about a month I'm kind of over it, and don't care anymore. Because of this I don't really make any anymore. However, when I was reading Mile Markers yesterday, it made me think about making my resolutions differently than I had before.

 "...this year I will keep it simple. Three things that I can keep top of mind at all times, and therefore quickly assess the rapid-fire decisions of life and determine whether something fits for me or not. Before midnight tomorrow, I will come up with three things that will be left behind in 2010, and three things that call me forward in 2011. It sounds simple enough.

Think about it for yourself. What gets left, and where are you heading?"

I've decided that I will do what Kritsin is doing this year. Instead of making one, or several daunting resolutions I am going to split my focus a bit. Here goes:

What I am leaving behind:

1. self-doubt
2. holding on to old anger, and situations I can't change
3. obsessing over the small things
   

Where I am heading:

1. continuing to challenge myself without giving up on myself, even if that means running a full marathon next time
2. being the best aunt, friend, teacher I can be
3. keeping all my doors and windows open...to the unknown, to opportunities...

As I start off this year I will follow suit and ask myself, am I heading where I want to? Or am I falling backwards into old habits or thinking? Let's see how my resolutions work this year.

Happy New Year everyone!

christmas part 2

It snowed while we were there, and I made my first snowman! (I realize I'm 26 and have never done this, but I live in Texas so give me a break.) The snow was really dry so creating balls was tricky. It would have been more enjoyable had Rebecca not been sitting inside the door yelling at me the entire time about what I was doing wrong and what I needed to do differently. I'm still pretty pleased with how he turned out.

When things got boring we would just watch Rebecca's stomach when the kid was going nuts. I think she had just eaten a lot of sugar before this video.

Rebecca and Michael took us to It's a Wonderful Life at the Biograph theater. It was so good! They even passed out audiograms where you could write a message to someone that they would read during their commercial breaks. They even read the ones Michael and I (with Michael's help) wrote. The audience laughed pretty hard at them. Why wouldn't they? We are pretty hilarious.

Another Christmas tradition is we always do a puzzle, so of course when we got back to Houston that's exactly what we did. I even found earrings in the box!

Merry Christmas y'all!

christmas part 1

Because Rebecca is super pregnant she can't fly anymore without having to jump through hoops with her doctor to get permission. (Not literally, although that would be fun.) Since she can't fly that meant an early Christmas in Chicago. It was great being somewhere that was actually cold on Christmas! We have a lot of traditions for Christmas Eve, and everyone decided we should start a new one. The new tradition is "How long can you stand outside before you freeze to death." It was 1 degree outside with the chill factor, and I wasn't allowed any extra clothing other than what I was currently wearing. I'm not quite sure why I volunteered.

When we have Christmas in Houston the tradition will switch to who can stay in the pool the longest. I'll probably win since I showed my superior cold weather handling skills. I was able to stay outside for 5:57 minutes and only came in because we were all getting bored of watching me. Actually, since I was the only one who was outside I think this means I will be the only one carrying on this tradition...maybe I need to rethink this...

Some of our other Christmas Eve traditions:

Mexican train

 

Pizza making

 

Yup, drinking straight from the bottle is also a Christmas tradition.

We also always watch a Christmas movie while we make and eat our pizza's.

This was part of Holiday Inn I think, one of the most redonk Christmas movies I have ever seen. I don't think you can even count it as a Christmas movie since Christmas is only in it for about 5 minutes.

On Christmas day mom always makes a big, delicious meal for us. Since Rebecca was hosting, she was in charge of making dinner. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal for her because she's an awesome chef...but my food issues just about killed her. It took her forever to figure out what to do so I could eat and everyone wouldn't be pissed about the meal. I think she did an awesome job! She even got me coconut ice cream for dessert since I couldn't have their dessert. (She did say she had to use gold bars to pay for it because it was so expensive. Sorry!)

The best Christmas present was Bananagrams. This is probably now going to become one of our Christmas traditions.

I also learned all about Krampus. I'm sure glad I didn't grow up in Michael's family because I probably would have feared Christmas all year long knowing about this guy. I would rather meet Satan than this dude. I think Satan would be more forgiving. Check out Rebecca's blog to learn more about him. The video is my favorite I think.

The rest of Christmas will be posted soon.

houston (again)

This time I was home for Jillian's bachelorette party. Before all the shenanigans happened dad told me it was time to empty my piggy bank because it was officially full. Let me back up and explain. In high school I was wanting extra money but not wanting to actually do anything to get it. So, I made a box and drew pictures and wrote things like "I love the sound of money" all over the sides and top. Dad started putting in his loose change at the end of the day, probably thinking after a few weeks I'd be done with it and get rid of it. He apparently underestimates my love of unearned money! The box eventually broke and I upgraded to an actual piggy bank, and yes, dad still puts money in. I hadn't emptied it for a year and a half, and was quite excited when I realized how much was actually in there!

 After totaling it all up there was $327. 15. Thanks dad!

I also thought I should point out the amazing ornament I made in kindergarten that still gets put up on the tree.

 

It is made out of a walnut shell I painted, and a clay baby Jesus with a poorly drawn on face. I know you are jealous!

I ended the weekend celebrating Jillian's last night of freedom. (Well, not really since she doesn't get married until January, but whatever.) Here are a few pictures you are allowed to see. It was a crazy night, just like all bachelorette parties are supposed to be!

angie got married!

weAngie got married earlier this month, and I'm a little late on sharing some of the amazing pictures from the big day.

 She had a mariachi band come and play before we ate at the rehearsal dinner.

The bride's room at the church was being remodeled so we were in the youth room. The room was right off of a big hall where they were having a huge potluck dinner. Walking in with all of us holding her dress up and carrying her long veil was interesting, of course everyone was staring at us. It was pretty weird walking through their food line every time we had to go to the bathroom. 

Of course we started playing with all of the games and toys we found while we waiting for the wedding to start!

I have a pretty awesome friend. Her sister got me gluten free cupcakes for the hotel room before the wedding (only 2 were for me, not an entire box), and Angie made sure my dinner was a gluten free dinner.

I believe this was right before the Footloose dance circle began. They probably win for best dance music so far.

Angie also had a photo booth outside the reception with props. The line was long, so Wes and I decided to make our own photo booth.

It was an awesome wedding! She even got a huge bottle of wine from Jimmy Buffet who was playing a charity event upstairs. Congrats Angie and Michael!

really?

Are beavers really a problem here in Austin? Also it says etc. What else could be an issue? I'm going to trap a beaver and let it loose in Crissy's house to see if these people really know what they're doing.