Rock Band, Yummy Pasta, LOTS of Candy and Four Christmases

We had breakfast with D&D, and then headed on the road to the SB Airport to retrieve my bag! What a teeny tiny airport, but thank goodness my bag was there when I arrived. Phew....it was the one with some Christmas presents in it, and that was really what I was concerned about in the end!

After work, we promptly hit up Rock Band.......Kyle, Brett and I were pretty awesome, as usual. HA! I'm really not that good, but it really is such a fun game....and can fill up hours upon hours of entertainment. After a little while of playing, we decided it would be nice to get out of the house for some food and a movie.


We got some din din at California Pasta on State Street. I took one look at the menu, decided on the lemon chicken pasta - "Sauteed chicken, black olives, onions, bell peppers, artichoke hearts. Finished in a light lemon and olive oil sauce."....yeah, it was good. I was very happy with my choice, even though I needed some help finishing it all up!

After dinner, we were on our way to the movie theater, when the boys decided that we needed some candy first....well, Brett decided. He really likes candy. I found the moderate sized bag of Swedish Fish, Kyle opted for the new Premium Mint M&Ms, while Brett couldn't decide on one item....so he went for the 2lb bag of Willy Wonka candies, and stuffed his pockets, and his sweatshirt front pocket, with all of it so we wouldn't have to go back to the car first. We were very ninja like in getting into the theatre without being discovered.....and the whole scenario left us with more laughs than the movie did. Four Christmases was rather disappointing...there were about 2 funny bits in the whole movie.....and we've all seen this Vince Vaughn character before. (But I still love Reese!!!)

A fun Friday night overall! State Street was all lit up for Christmas!

The longest trip ever!!!

This isn't very exciting....but let me tell you about my last few hours.

I got to the airport this afternoon at 215 for my 340 flight. The 1st of 3 (8 hours) to get me to my final destination. Here was my original itinerary.

Depart Austin for Houston at 340pm
Depart Houston for LAX at 6pm
Depart LAX for Santa Barbara at 9pm
Arrive in SB at 940pm

Here is what ended up happening.

To kill time in Austin.....I fiddled with my wifi (which decided to stop functioning properly)....and then realized that I'd left my earphones on my dresser....but made it out of Austin (despite the crazy heavy fog from all day) without a hitch.

Arrive in Houston. It's sunny outside (yay!)....let's hope for no weather delay! I landed at gate C45....next flight is at C43 (double yay!). Walk up to the gate. Everyone sitting, no one getting ready to board. DOH!! Flight delayed from 6 to 659pm. Oh boo!! Causes problems for my transfer in LAX to SB. Not to worry, I get on the phone with my Mom, and find a flight that leaves LAX to SB on United to get me to SB after all in the same night. Things looking up.

"I'm sorry maam. We can't get you on a transfer flight due to weather delays".

Boo!!! So, I'm going to essentially be stuck in LA without my checked bag, with no way to get to SB. Well, luckily Brett could drive there to come get me, and it turned out to be great, because we got to visit (and stay with) Dave and Dayna in LA for the night. Woohoo.

So, things are good. I land in LA, and do what the Continental attendants told me, and waited for my bag to come off the carousel....it had no where else to go. Well, after a while, I ask, and turns out I was misinformed....bags will be at American Eagle. Stand in that line for almost 45 minutes to realize that I just missed them, and they shut down already for the night. My bag will be going to SB tomorrow morning, and we'll get there shortly thereafter to retrieve it.

Almost 11 hours later.....I'm here, in one piece, and all of my things should be accounted for. Finally got to D&D's house around 1130. It was all worth it as I'm here now, and we had a nice evening chatting with D&D. :)

9 years!!!

I can't believe that it's been 9 years since the first Girl's Christmas Party....I am pretty sure I was at the first one....a long time ago....and have been fortunate to be part of many of them over the years. This year was awesome, once again, even though I opted to not participate in the gift exchange. Admittedly, this is always a blast, but I'm trying to downsize, and while the gifts were so much fun, I really don't need anything else!!

A few of the girls have done some great write ups (Kara, Shaunna, Courtney), and they include the best of the pictures..so I'm going to be super lazy, and just borrow their work. :)

One thing I will add though, is on Shaunna's comment regarding meeting people that we hadn't met before except through blogs. I knew most of the girls already, and follow their blogs, but tonight was the first (I'm sure) for me and Kara. I was standing in the kitchen, when one of the girls I hadn't met yet, said "Oh my gosh, it's "All Things AP!"....." and then not 2 minutes later, after she walked in....."and that's Kara!!!". It was so different to be on the other side of the fence, being the one that is known for these silly things called blogs. I can remember back when almost a year and a half ago, I went to meet Amalah, someone who's blog I'd been reading for a while, and never met (and never commented), and how neat that was. So, thank you to my new friends, for making me feel special. :)

Lots of girls, snacks and earrings....

As I was leaving the holiday get together at Renae's tonight, Laura asked if I was going to have this posted before the night was over.....well, duh!!! Hello!!

Tonight we had a good old fashioned girl holiday party at Renae's. We all brought a snack, and a pair of earrings for the gift exchange. I made the oh-so-yummy White Chocolate Peanut Butter Thingys....to this day yet to be named something better than that, and an adorable gift that I'd found on etsy.com.

It was so wonderful to spend some time with the girls, relax, and unwind, before the holidays get really nutty....like it will for me as soon as I hit Publish on this post.



Thank you Renae for having all of the girls over to your house!! Wish you ALL a wonderful holiday season with friends and family!!!

Tuesday Smiles

Totally random, but I thought I'd share a few things that are making me smile today!

Song and Dance MAC LipGlass from my new holiday pack! It's pretty and it tastes like chocolate!! Perfect combo (thanks to the special someone who gave this to me too!). :)

I got my $100 Apple rebate in the mail today! I just filled out the form less than a week ago....they are FAST!! Wish ALL rebates worked that fast! Oh...and it was SOOOO easy. I filled out the form online, hit submit, got the confirmation, and wha-la - it's here a few days later. No copying, faxing, mailing, etc. Love it!!

The JUMP shot picture on Bobby and Lindsay's blog today. They are on this amazing trip through SE Asia, and are updating each day with fabulous pictures of their adventures. Anyways....it's been a while since I'd taken a JUMP pic of my own, so this one made me smile.

Christmas cards from friends in the mailbox this morning! I especially love the ones that have pictures....all of my friends have such beautiful families!!

That's all....what's making YOU smile today??

The Armstrong Family Story

I met up with the Armstrong family on Sunday at Mayfield Gardens off W 35th......what a neat hidden spot. I'd stumbled upon it back in July with some girlfriends, and knew that I'd want to go back one day to take pics. I was thrilled when Denise thought it'd be great.

Trey and Brooke were a ton of fun.....and next time, maybe Mom and Dad will join in on the festivities! :) Brooke was a great guide...we followed her lead for most of the way....AND she got us back to where we started. More than I can say for myself, I was getting pretty good at getting us lost I think. :)

She might also have a future in directing photoshoots....she was so awesome at finding spots for us to take the shots. Thank you, Brooke, for all your help! I'll have my people call your people for the next one.....

Thanks Denise for bringing the kids to hang with me for the afternoon. I hope you enjoy the story!! :)











For more of Trey and Brooke, watch the slideshow.

Seriously?!??! What is the deal with the weather?!?!

I am trying to thaw my fingers to type this. It was 80 degrees yesterday in Austin. I was sweating as I was hanging out with the Armstrongs at Mayfield Gardens.

I got home yesterday afternoon, and turned the thermostat to OFF.

This morning, I woke up, and thought....hmm....it seems like it might be a little chilly in here, but I didn't really check the temperature, and dressed for work as if it was still 80.

Um....bad move. It was 30 something outside....so I quickly grabbed my sleeveless puffy jacket, and a scarf to go with my attire. It was fine for indoors....but oh MY was it freezing outside. I think it stayed around 34 all day.

Thank you SO much (I'm sure they are thankful too) to the Woody family for willing to reschedule until Wednesday, when it's supposed to be back up to 70.

Just thought I'd leave you with some fun from my phone....and me and Molly....I'm trying to get her to help keep me warm. She barely stayed still long enough to take this shot!