Dates of Christmas... celebrating... life

Oh, hello.

It's been a while.

But you know, life gets pretty hectic during the holidays.

We did go on a couple dates of Christmas (though, wow we got really behind so this may turn into the 8 or 9 dates of Christmas (with a deadline of New Years).

Last weekend we went on a little dinner date for the sixth date of Christmas...

 

But for the seventh date of Christmas we did something *really* special & spent the afternoon in Philly to do some Philly Christmas things! We took the train into the city (did I ever mention I dislike the train? It smells, makes me nauseous, and some weird people ride the train. Though our train attendant did not charge us for tickets, so it was a positive ride) & we saw the Macy's light show, strolled through Dicken's Village, & went to the Christmas village at LOVE Park. Sadly, no photos of the LOVE sign as there were too many people & I have no patience.

 

a very sunny train station

 sorry for the blurry photo. one of my new years resolutions?

to take better pictures.  :)

light show at Macy's

 

if you go through Dicken's Village,

you should read A Christmas Carol... at least once. (ps. I have)

 the best pretzel I've ever had

 

 and the best chocolate covered banana I've ever had

sodas from reading terminal market

 

We celebrated Christmas eve with my family & Christmas day with Dan's family.

I got a really cool Holga camera adapter for my iphone & played around it with a little ....

Our first Christmas together as husband & wife was special. We slept at our apartment & let Max open his presents first & then Dan and I alternated. We got some cool things for each other but it was really nice to have a real Christmas morning together.


Unfortunately, it was tainted a little by the intense & disgusting stomach flu we both got the next day - which is another reason for my absence from the blog. But we are still alive & kicking!

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In a day or two I will share my resolutions for 2013. 2012 was a weird year (good but weird) & will be sharing my favorite parts of it as well.


Enjoy your weekend!

After the tragic events on Friday, I've been feeling a little helpless.

If a national disaster happens, what do you do? You donate money, you help out the people affected by offering them shelter & food, and you come together to fix areas that have been destroyed. And that is exactly what happened in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

But after a tragedy like the shooting in Connecticut? What do you do after that? It's a very different circumstance... and sadly, one that has happened in schools in the past and very well may happen again, God forbid.  I've been racking my brain because I know that there must be SOMETHING I could do.

Maybe it's the gym nut in me or the runner in me or just plain coincidence but I found something that I could do (and you could do it too).

Active.com is offering a virtual half-marathon event (don't worry, there is a 5K option too!). The registration money will benefit the United Way of Western Connecticut Sandy Hook Victims.

This is a virtual run - meaning you can complete it anywhere in the world and you have until January 31st to complete your miles. You can sign up for the half marathon option and complete the miles over the month of January if you want. Or all at once. Or pick the 5K option. Do a mile a day. Whatever you want.

The important thing is, this is one way you can help the victims in Connecticut. In a situation where I've felt hopeless, I have found something I could do. I enjoy running and knowing my registration money will be going directly to the victims makes it worth it.

 This won't bring the children or teachers back and it won't change how people feel about gun control or safer schools and it won't change the violence that overtakes our world. But it is something I am capable of. I can pay the measly $20 registration fee and run those 3.1 miles for a purpose.

For more information and to register go here.

The Fourth & Fifth Dates of Christmas... and other things

Life has gotten a little busy & so I have barely thought about this blog yet alone had time to write anything but I have 15 minutes before kickboxing so I figured I'd do my best.

On the fourth date of Christmas (yes, we are still doing these, despite Dan's eye rolling), we went and got fro-yo....  despite the cold weather and despite the fact that it was a random week-night. (I like the word "despite", can you tell?)

 Dan won't take pictures with me in public... so I just posed outside of the fro-yo place.

On the fifth date of Christmas, Dan treated me to a lovely little breakfast at the little diner near us this morning. No frills, just good breakfast food. We love Michaels and hadn't been there in a while so it was nice when Dan took me this morning. ...Now I REALLY need to go to kickboxing to burn off breakfast!

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Other than these Christmas dates, I have been working (started a new job!), working out, trying to get my Christmas shopping done, and even did a little babysitting. The kids are awesome & we ate pizza & made a gingerbread house.

And once the kids were in bed, I got to hang out with this guy.

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And of course, my heart is heavy after the tragedy in Connecticut. My prayers & thoughts are with all the families and teachers and the children.



Happy Saturday, friends.

On the Third Date of Christmas...

Lunch & Christmas shopping!

The third date of Christmas was special. Dan had to take off work due to some top secret business we had to take care of and once we were free of that we grabbed a late lunch & got the bulk of our Christmas shopping done.

Ruby's has pretty good food and their milkshakes are yummy. 

Though sadly, we skipped the milkshakes... 

got to watch our figures, you understand.

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Can we all just take a minute & discuss how unbelievably handsome my little boy is in the plaid snuggie my mom bought him?

It's a little big.. but I think he likes it. He especially liked napping under the kitchen table with it. Very festive, Max...  and thank you Susan! We love you.

Opt to Adopt!

I'm a huge dog lover. I haven't always been - of course, I always liked dogs but my interest in them really sparked after Dan & I made the decision to adopt a dog.

It was a really quick decision but one of the best we've made (aside from you know, the whole sharing a life together thing...)  Back in January 2010, a couple weeks after I'd moved to Pennsylvania, Dan suggested we go check out the animal shelters and we ended up at the Abington location. And from then... it was love at first sight.

I mean, how could it not be?

Adopting Max is one of the best things we ever did. He is not just our pet but rather part of our family. He runs the show and he knows it. He had been at the shelter for a couple weeks and was going to be euthanized if not adopted soon. I couldn't let him stay there after hearing that and if it had been up to me, every single dog there would have come home with us too. (In fact, I can't even drive past a shelter without my heart hurting. Dan and I have stopped by one other time and I left in tears... as much as I want to adopt another we are afraid we just don't have the room).

Of course, adopting from a shelter has its ups and downs. We love Max and he has grown very attached to us but adopting an animal from a shelter can be hard work. They could have health problems, behavioral problems, and separation anxiety and while these can be hard to deal with at times the love and friendship we developed with Max trumps it all. You are saving a life and giving an innocent animal a home and a family.

While I believe those puppies in the pet stores need good homes, so do the ones in the shelter. No, they may not be puppies but a plus side is the dog (or cat!) you choose to adopt is probably already house broken and trained. And don't believe the crap about pit bulls. They are adorable and the ones with aggression and problems are due to how they are raised and NOT because of the breed.

The reason I chose to write about Max and adopting an animal from a shelter is because an animal shelter in Sayreville, NJ is sadly closing their doors due to financial reasons (from Sandy and just the economy in general). They still have many animals that need to be adopted and if they are not, the animals will be euthanized. The shelter is not going to be charging adoption fees because they so quickly want to find good homes for each animal.

 I suggest you consider it if you are in the NJ/PA area (Sayreville is not that far of a ride from the Philly area - my aunt lives there, I know).

Adopting a dog or cat may be the best thing you do this holiday season. So think about it.

Sayreville Pet Adoption Center
1400 Main Street Sayreville, NJ 08872
(732) 727-3895

Also, hint hint Dan. While our apartment may be small, I think we can make it work...   ;)

On The Second Date Of Christmas...

For our Second Date Of Christmas, dinner at Fox & Hound...

(...good food & good atmosphere - we have very good dates at Fox & Hound....

.... but I think their service is horrible...)

 and then the night continued with a trip for dessert. Wegman's for him...  for their delicious sugar cookies & Cheesecake Factory for me... what?? They have the Peppermint Bark now!

And then we put in a movie (Christmas Vacation) but Dan fell asleep 15 minutes in (he'll deny it).  

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23 days until Christmas! (Maybe I purchased a Disney Princess advent calendar... maybe).

On The First Date of Christmas...

I found a cute idea on some blogs I've checked out called The Twelve Dates of Christmas - 12 dates during the holiday season with your significant other. They don't need to be elaborate or expensive - just 12 things you do together as a date that you both enjoy to spend time together and ignore the busy bustle of the season.


We decided to do our first one on Sunday but sadly a bad cold prevented me from doing too much so we decided to do something simple and laid back and go to the movies.

Perfect for the windy day we had.

And cheap (we had a free ticket!)

Though Dan rolls his eyes at my crazy ideas, I know he enjoyed our First Date of Christmas.

I took a picture to commemorate though I looked (and felt) awful.

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The snow has started falling here in KOP! Once it is over, it's okay if it never snows again. One snowfall is enough in my opinion.

Max hiding under a tree to get out of the snowfall

Deck the Halls

 

 

Christmas decoration & tree are ready! 

They make the apartment more homey & comfortable, I think. 

We have the most eclectic mix of ornaments & I love them.

My mom has been putting up her tree the day after Thanksgiving for years & and I've come to love that tradition. I try my hardest to not do any Christmas-y things until after Thanksgiving so once thats over, I feel like I explode in holiday things - Christmas music, putting up the tree, watching every Christmas episode of The Office, making my lists (for Santa & for my friends & family), & secretly wanting snow.

Thanksgiving Walk

Thanksgiving morning I usually like to get a good workout in but my shoulder has been hurting so I decided to take it easy & instead took a nice walk around my parents neighborhood with Dan & the dog. Taking a walk near the bay is always enjoyable but it was a little sad this time because there was some remnants left over from "superstorm" Sandy.

 

 

 

 

 Thanksgiving was wonderful though. Quiet. 

Thanksgiving is nice because you don't have to stress over gifts & sales & wrapping. You have one day with family (or friends) - no pressure. You just enjoy each others company.

As much as I love that, Dan & I did go to the KoP mall at midnight with all the other crazy nocturnal people. We were there until 3AM. We figured since we live in the shopping mecca of the east coast we should take advantage of it. 

Hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous....   32 days until Christmas!