say cheese!

A BIG purchase deserves big font ;)

I finally bought it, I finally bought a decent camera! This has been on my shopping list for quite some time and yesterday I crossed it off that list, with a big help from and thank you to Dominic for contributing to the fund and for going with me to pick it out. I also used some Christmas cash from Dom's sister/brother-in-law and my aunt and uncle. Thanks everyone :)

Our original plan was to have a HaPpY day at Disneyland, but Dominic is under the weather and we weren't sure if it was the best idea. We ended up deciding to go for it much later than we should, and after spending over an hour on the road and almost an hour in line to get into the parking structure, we come to find out by the parking payment guy that Disneyland had SOLD OUT!!! WHAT?? I didn't even know that was possible. We were so bummed :( We're trying to make it there in time to see their Christmas set up and it ends on Jan. 3. We're heading out tonight or tomorrow morning to the desert for New Year's (Dove Springs) with a big group of people and if we're up to it when we get back in a few days, we'll try on Sunday.

We managed to ease our Disneyland's-sold-out-blues with a yummy lunch at BJ's and then a little shopping trip at REI. We both left with a small bag full of merch, some for our very cold, upcoming trip to the desert. I knew REI would lift Dom's spirits, just like he knew camera shopping would lift mine. Now all that's left is to buy a camera bag to carry all the gear, along with the SECOND lens I bought (Nikkor 55-200mm). We'll be returning home with some great pictures!

Christmas 2009

Christmas is here! The presents have finally been purchased, wrapped and are under the tree and everyone I love is in the same room waiting to share and create some new and lasting memories together. Before opening gifts, we had our traditional family breakfast. Michael, my stepdad, used to be a gourmet chef and he made us Eggs Benedict from scratch along with sausage and potatoes. We filled our bellies and sat around the tree to start the gift giving. My mom took her usual position as the passer-outer. Everyone got something they wanted, and a few "hmm's." From my family, I got a gift card to Urban Outfitters (my fave store), Sport Chalet, a Spa gift certificate, a month of tanning at the salon, movie tickets and a big cupcake and cookie carrier! Dominic gave me a subscription to a photography magazine and $200 towards my new camera! He gave me a pretty heavy Baking cookbook with really great recipes (one of which caught his eye, so he bookmarked it for me with a cute note). I found another sweet little note on the inside of the cover, too :) He also got me some LED flashing lights to wear when I run at night along with some reflective bands...safety first :) Thank you, thank you, sweets!

(just the guys)

Then it was off to Dominic's home for Christmas, continued. I made it just in time to open gifts with his father, sister, brother-in-law, and Roxi. Dominic decorated this lemon tree with lights and put gifts under it and surprised his sister by giving the tree to her as a gift. I wrapped a big doggy bed from Costco in a bunch of newspaper and tape and had Roxi open it herself! It's much softer and fluffier than the last. In all the opening excitement, she bonked Dom in the face and gave him a busted lip. Oops.

We were all enjoying each other's company and lost track of time, creating a bit of a rush in the kitchen to get the food cooked in time for the rest of his family that was on their way over. I made a new recipe of macaroni and cheese from scratch (with sun dried tomatoes) and a Caesar salad. Dominic grilled a few types of really tasty sausage, his dad made ham, his sister made an amazing broccoli souffle, there were sweet potatoes with marshmallows, rolls, green jello and pie. Dominic's best friend, Paul (aka Hippo) also came over for Christmas dinner along with his new puppy, Oliver. They both stayed the night. He and Dom made their traditional Bloody Marys...and by traditional I mean, every time they see each other.

The food was great and I stayed around at the dinner table to chat with Dominic's family, which are over the age of 60. I like listening to conversations had by people that have so many years of life and experiences and who have become so blatantly honest over time. You can really pick up some good advice and words of wisdom. One aunt was so honest she flat out told me that out of the other girls Dominic has brought around them, I am the BEST because I'm friendly, talkative, I help around the kitchen and contribute meals and a good presence. Thanks Aunt Kay. I told her I appreciated her honest words. I also told her that Dominic knows it, too ;)

Dominic, Paul and I spent the rest of the evening playing the game Outburst. Each person is given a topic like "things found in a briefcase" and you have 30 seconds on the clock to name off as many items that are listed on the card. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game, wins. We were all surprised at how much fun we had playing, and at how long it actually lasted (hours!). Dominic and I tied for first...but he was also scorekeeper so some "fuzzy math" may have been to blame ;)

Christmas was really special this year.

Video of Roxi opening her gift from me :)

And no, we're not returning it...she likes it!

Holiday sights and smells

I can't believe Dominic's never heard of the Christmas lights SPECTACLE at Hastings Ranch. There are literally blocks of houses that participate in fully decorating their homes, a few outdoing themselves. Each block has a theme to help the viewers keep track of which street they've seen by posting a candy cane cut-out (for example) on each tree or lamp post on that particular street, another street may have a bell, or a dove, etc. It's too late for this year, but seeing how lovely these homes were only inspired us to get a little more light crazy next year.

Yes, Hastings Ranch was impressive, but it was more exciting to find people in our OWN neighborhood getting all decked out. We took my mom with us and found some great finds. We even found a house that has all the lights rigged so that they light up to the beat/rhythm of selected Christmas songs on a set radio station that we tuned to while viewing the house. There's a video below, but it's much better in person.

Another tradition, baking holiday cookies for my friends and family. I LOVE to bake...LoVe it! I always keep a few favorite recipes that always work and taste great, like my brownies and chocolate chip cookies. I've found amazing recipes for them and have nearly perfected them. A few new ones I tried this year were white chocolate and peppermint cookies, peanut butter kiss cookies and some red velvet cookies with cream cheese and peppermint frosting (not pictured).

party, it's christmas

A few weekends ago, Dominic and I attended a Christmas dinner at the Legion his dad is a member of in our town. Most of the attendees were veterans and a few of their family and friends. Dinner was good, it was like Thanksgiving with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce and corn. After dinner, there was a raffle in which Dominic won a $25 gift card for groceries and I won a bottle of wine. The two gifts together will make for a good date night. After that, we played bingo! I've only played as a kid, never in an adult group setting.

On an unrelated note, lovin' that early Christmas gift (sweater) I got him...and that smirk ;)

After dinner, we headed over to Dominic's cousin's 12th Annual Christmas Party. Wow! He lives in a really nice area by a country club and threw a really impressive party. There was an open bar that didn't accept tips, it was catered with really yummy Mexican food, a dance floor was put on top of his pool so of course there was a DJ and a giant tent was set up over the whole yard. All the guests were dressed to impressed and were having a great time. He had a $$ theme going on and all the tables had these box centerpieces with fake money coming out.

Cash money! So baller :)

first "kiss"

Another FIRST with Dominic...well, kinda. I've never kissed anyone underneath a mistletoe before. There is one hanging on the doorway of my kitchen and Dominic didn't notice it. He was about to head out when I asked to him stop, then directed him right under it. I walked up to him to give him a big smooch but my smirk along with the weird directions confused him so I started laughing, pointed up, he laughed, which made for a half laugh/half kiss...didn't really work but it was still funny. Can't outsmart mistletoe.

(This is NOT the pic from the story, but it will do)

Tree hunt

I have always wanted to cut down my very own Christmas tree so since the rain let up today, my mom, Dominic, Roxi and I took a little road trip into Valencia by Magic Mountain to a tree farm to do just that. Wow, that Christmas tree scent was thick in the air. After walking through a maze of trees, we finally found one we could all agree on...a 9-10 foot Monterey Pine. We have a really high ceiling in the living room so each year I try for a tree a bit taller than the last. Next year, it will be a 12 footer for sure.

I busted out the saw and began to get instructions from Dominic on how to use it and to effectively saw the tree. He used to work at a tree lot for many seasons so it was very useful to have him there with his helpful tips. I get a little excited when playing with tools.

Okay so sawing a tree stump is NOT easy! I had a lot of trouble doing it smoothly, it kept sticking in the stump and Dominic tried the best he could to patiently instruct me. I worked up a sweat and became frustrated a few times but I finally got it. Dominic helped hold the tree steady and saw a few times.

No pain, no gain. It was totally worth the physical work once the tree came down and we all had smiles on our faces. A job well done. Then we had the task of carrying the tree to the truck. It was a bit of a walk. Dom and I carried it the first half and then my mom gave me a break and carried it the last half. There she is helping below. She's a pretty tough lady :)

We put the tree on a shaking machine and it shook the tree to empty any loose needles and bugs. My mom thought it looked like the tree was having a seizure. Silly. We also bought a stand and had them evenly saw the bottom of the trunk. We ran into one of Dom's friends, Tom, and he helped load it onto the truck. We brought it home and we all helped set it up in the living room.

I hope to do this again each year. It was a pretty cool experience, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Thanks Dom and Mom.

Go Team :)

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

...up to the highest hight. Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring. Up through the atmosphere, up where the air is clear, oh let's gooooo fly a kite!

C'mon, name that movie. Duh, Marry Poppins :)

Well that's just what we did. We woke up late on a cold windy Sunday and I thought what a perfect day to fly a kite. And can you believe it, I've never flown one before. I'm realizing now that I missed out on a bunch of the most simple yet fun childhood pastimes...I mean, it was last year in Decemeber that I made my first snow man. Anyways, Dominic agreed and pulled out the coolest kite I've seen from his garage. It's a hawk!

We drove to the Rose Bowl since they have a huge grassy area used for soccer fields and we of course, threw the frisbee around with Roxi. What a fun activity that I don't think will ever get old, no matter how old you get. The hawk started veering to one side after a while so we had to call it quits, but from here on out I'm keeping my eye out for unique and interesting kites to try and will keep my hopes up for more windy days :)

Look who we found right by the truck. We were just about to leave when Dominic spotted him pushing dirt out of his hole and grabbing grass and pulling it back in. He wasn't scared at all when Dominic got real close and handed him more plants. The little guy took it right from his hand. He was pretty cute and distracted us for at least 15 minutes.

Another used gear sale

Of course, Dominic and I can't pass up another REI used gear sale! This time, we only scored one used item for about $10. I found some dog shoes for Roxi! I wish I videotaped her reaction once we put the shoes on her. She walked around like those prancing horses, lifting her legs up high and her hind legs were sprawled out further than normal. Aww it was hilarious, we couldn't stop laughing! She sorta got used to them after a while. We tried to break them in by playing a little "catch" with the frisbee...still it was a sight to see.

The 3 amigos :) Roxi felt like she finally fit in! Haa, right ;) Look at her in those wee little boots.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this dog! She's exceptional.

XO

Dominic and I also went in together on buying a pretty pricey purchase, a 4 season tent! This has been on our list for a while and we finally found one we both liked and just went for it. It's pretty light, I think only 9 or 10 lbs. so we can carry it on our hiking packs for an overnight hike. We set it up in his front yard and took a nap in it with Roxi for a little bit. We're ready to test it out in the wilderness :)

SLOSHball & Quarters

For the past few years, my friends and I have put together a game of Sloshball the day after Thanksgiving. It's pretty much a tradition now and each year more people (friends of friends) show up. It's definitely "the more the merrier" for this game. Babies are even welcome! This is one of my long time, most favorite friend, Kasia, with her gorgeous girl, Victoria. Even with the baby, Kasia still got a turn to kick and run bases.

The idea is basically this...it's a game of kickball except beer is involved. There are 2 teams, one on the field and one up to kick. The pitcher rolls the ball to home plate and the kicker must kick the ball with a full beer in their hand. You then run the bases with the beer and drink as much as you can. You cannot run home unless your beer is empty and to prove it you run while holding it upside down. Now, if you have NOT finished your beer, you and your teammates are allowed to "pile up" on 3rd base until you've finished. This just means more than one person can be at 3rd. Another option (which we have yet to see) is you can run home with an unfinished beer while dumping the rest of it on your head. You do this until there are 3 outs, then the teams switch. We play for hours which means 3/4 of the game is hilarious, with drunk players heckling and shouting at each other and of course stumbling over bases.

You can see in the top photo I made it to 2nd base (yay!) which is a cooler full of beer. I think we had about 20-24 people at one point in the game but some had to leave early while others showed up late.

We played well into the evening, but as you can see only 15 of us lasted for the END photo op. We're making plans to catch a second wind and continue the party at Barney's in Old Town, Pasadena later that night. A smaller group made it out and we took over one of the smaller rooms upstairs to play a game of beer hockey and quarters. We rearranged their furniture to accommodate our drinking games :)

I love all these people and we love this time of year where we all can get together again to make more great and lasting memories and keep with our old traditions. Steve, who lives in Arizona now, even postponed his flight until the next day so he could finish out Sloshball and hang out that night. Love you guys!

Thanksgiving Eve...

...is a big night out in my town since everyone is "home" for the holidays. About 10 of my friends started the night with sushi at Blue Fish along with sake bombs, of course. A lot of sake bombs. We moved next door to Fat Dog, a decent bar, where I did my best to get a decent picture with Dominic. He's "camera shy"...and a punk.

Here is one of my best friends, Stephanie, who we were all surprised and glad to see. We never can tell when that will be since she always SAYS she'll be somewhere and then mysteriously has something "come up". Ha. I even had my friend and boo, Steve (below), bet me a drink that she wouldn't show up. I win :)

We all hit up 818 Lounge next, then Dom and I (mostly Dom) thought it would be a good idea to walk from there to Leo's...which is definitely a long walk. We gave up halfway and decided to head to my house instead. This is my "I can't believe I'm walking home at 1am in the cold with my drunk boyfriend" look....and that's my drunk boyfriend ;)