New Years Eve

It is New Years Eve and I am sitting on the couch in our living room. The birds (well, one bird in particular) is just tweet tweetting away and the other (Candi) is sitting with her head tilted and for all the world she looks like she is listening to the John Coltrane cd currently playing on our blu-ray player. We had New Years Eve Fettuccine which was taken from The Holiday-- one of Jered's favorite movies-- which we watched on Christmas morning while laying in our couch-bed.

I awoke with two very inflamed eyes this morning which was disappointing because I'd woken up with Pink Eye last Monday and missed work but went to the walk-in and got a prescription for eye dropps which I'd used religiously every four hours for three days like I was supposed to. And here it was, Saturday morning and I had crusty gunk in my eyes and they were burning and red and all in all, I felt completely miserable. This was all besides my popping sinuses and inflamed throat. Oh, the joys of a early-winter cold.

Jered had said something about going for a walk/run today and since at 11a it was 60 degrees, I couldn't really stay inside-- Pink Eye and razor-blade-throat or no. We walked four times around the park by Maranatha (2.4 miles in all) and by the end, I was feeling a bit better. We arrived home by 1:00 and I threw open all the windows and sliding doors and allowed the uncommonly gentle December breeze flow through the house. My thought is that it cleaned all those terrible Pink-Eye inducing toxins out, but perhaps that is just my thought. Jered worked on editing a wedding video and I worked on number crunching Artistic Imagery's year-end stats. I like to do this every NY Eve. I also like to take down the Christmas tree which is also something I accomplished today.

Dinner was made with Diana Krall crooning in the background and it consisted of pan-fried chicken that had been marinated in citrus vokda, garlic, onion and salt. I coated the pan with lemon grapeseed oil before cooking. Our fettuccine was served with the chicken and some steamed vegetables. For our beverage, we indulged in eggnog.
We are going to finish a movie we began last night called The Good Year with Russle Crowe. It wasn't quite good enough to keep our attention last night and I'm not sure it'll be rewarding tonight either. However, we should at least finish it.

That's all for now. Nice, calm New Years Eve.

Christmas season

Our dear friend, Aimee, gave us her Christmas tree this year since she has a tiny apartment and can't set one up. Since it is the thing to do, here are a couple photos of our Christmas tree.

Aunt Charlotte was in town this past weekend and we had dinner with her, Dad and Lisa last night in celebration of Lisa's birthday. We took pictures, I'll have to get them up some time here soon.

I got all our Christmas shopping done today with the help of Amazon.com. It's my first day off after my 6-in-a-row and this weekend was ridiculous. I'm quite done with all things retail. It seems the closer it gets to Christmas, the meaner people get. Can't wait for January and I can't believe I'm saying that!



First truely cold run

I pushed myself to 3 miles although I really was inclined to give up after 2.5. We went shopping this past Saturday and picked up some great winter-wear (fleece!) and it was good to have good gear to go out in. As an aside, let me just say what a fabulous and supporting husband I have. Instead of telling me I was crazy for wanting to continue my runs in the winter, instead of trying to dissuade me or giving me that disbelieving or disapproving look I've been inclined to get lately from others, Jered was pretty gung-ho about helping me get the right gear. He, of course, is extraordinarily knowledgeable about all things athletic and I think perhaps he felt flattered that I sought his knowledge about cold weather sports (such as running). We picked out matching outerwear (by coincidence that one particular style was on sale) and boy, that came in handy today on it's inaugural run!

The bank said it was 24 degrees when I left work at 4p on the dot and drove over to the park by Maranatha. There was some lady walking her dog and that was it. The sky was gray and flocks of geese flew over head. It was terribly windy and at first, I worried that my fleece (!!!) running pants weren't going to keep me warm. And of course, everyone knows about my crazy fingers that get all numb and bloodless when I get cold. They went all tingly and then numb but started hurting around the first mile  so I knew they were warming up. And my pants were more than adequate and the only and last thing that I told Jered I need to invest in is a mouth cover to warm the air I breathe in. Thankfully, he knew exactly what I was trying to describe.

The best part is really the ability to be out side in nature even though it is 24 degrees outside. My body is not designed for temperatures below about 45. This is seen easily by the five fingers that always go numb. But I love being outside. I really dislike being cooped up for any extended amount of time and this is the reason I despise winter. Perhaps this year, it won't be so bad. Perhaps I might even enjoy January. . .

but that's pushing it.

Another month

November flew by. I was quite busy at work for sure. Started my new position November 7th and went on from there. For my birthday, we went out to dinner on the Plaza Saturday night (Jack Stack) and stayed in a suite at Fairfield Inn at the Legends. Good times. Jered got me the new Coldplay CD plus the Eclipse soundtrack.

Aimee's 30th bday was this month. Our friend Robyn came back in town and we did dinner. Good times.

Thanksgiving was crazy as well. Dinner at Mom's house Wednesday night, our Turkey-Day 5k Thursday morning (we ran the first mile then walked/ran the other 2 for a grand total time of about 45 minutes). Lunch at the Feldmans's and dinner at Grandma Marian's. I had to be back at Target at 11p to open at midnight. Apparently, some Occupy KC protesters were there and we had to call the police. Of course, I say, let them protest! If everyone goes home we can go back to bed! Of course it was the busiest Black Friday in years so I guarantee this'll be a yearly thing from here on out.

Madison came back in town on Thanksgiving and I hung out with her all day Tuesday. Heard some great stories. Glad to have her back in town at least for a while. The weather has been extraordinary lately. I don't work today till 1:30 so I went running outside. I even had to take off my fleece jacket! Hope all December is as fabulous.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Here's some photos:

In this photo Jami and I are playing Sonic on our ps2. I am aparently quite into the game.

Madison and I at Planet Sub. After dinner, the three of us when to see Sam's bball game.

Us at dinner for Aimee's 30th Bday.