And we caught him!

Yes, we finally caught that darn mouse that took up residence in our house a couple weeks ago. Since we're (according to some people) bleeding heart liberals in just about everything, this naturally carries over to our treatment of rodents, however unwanted they may be. So we used the humane trap, where it doesn't actually kill them. On Sunday after Tracy and Dan left, we saw that we had got him, so we drove to a field a mile or so away and let him go. Poor thing; he was actually kinda cute. I hope he didn't freeze to death.

But we have another problem. We caught another mouse last night..... a tiny one. Yup, I think our unwanted houseguest got a little amorous before his capture, and apparently decided that my garage would be a good place to breed. Ack! How many mice are in a litter, anyway? Please say it's like one, or two, tops. Please don't let it be in the double digits!

A Post-Holiday Celebration

I love to still have holiday get-togethers even after the fact; it makes it seem like we're stretching the holiday season out, and really, who wouldn't want to do that? On Saturday, we drove down to Chicago for dinner and a gift exchange with my aunt Christine, uncle Mike and cousins Katrina, Matthew and Karissa. The drive was a little treacherous (there was a bunch of freezing rain) but it was fun to see them all! I always like seeing how other people decorate their houses for the holidays, and theirs looked beautiful (of course!).

Then last night, we had Tracy, Dan and the girls over to dinner for a gift exchange. It was so much fun! I love doing simple things like just getting together, talking and spending time together. Kirsti and Rori spent a bunch of time on the Wii; Rori is seriously the master bowler. Holy cow! I always get beaten by a 5 (soon to be 6) year old, and Kirsti suffered the same fate. It's crazy :)

For dinner, Dan made this delicious chicken piccatta; it was his first time making it, so he was a little nervous, but it turned out great. We also had butternut squash soup, french bread and veggies. Dessert was some of the cookies my mom sent us (thanks, mom!) and See's candy. Rori said my mom's cookies were "the best cookies ever in the whole wide whole world" (yes, the word "whole" was used twice). Wow!

It was really a wonderful evening and a great way to "end" the holiday season.

And we're back

Dan and I returned home on the 28th after a fun and relaxing week at home. The only problem is, it was MUCH too short. But we were able to spend some great time with our families, we hit up all our favorite restaurants and just had a wonderful holiday. I'll post pictures when I get home.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Deck the Halls!

Jenny (randomramblingofaragingraven.blogspot.com) tagged me with this survey, so let's give it a whirl! :)


Eggnog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate. I like eggnog, but hot chocolate with whipped cream is so much better

Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree?
Now that we're older and get "smaller" gifts, they're wrapped. When we were younger, our "big" gift (playhouse, bike, etc.) was usually sitting under the tree.

Colored lights on tree or white?
Colored, although when I have a house and I can do more than one tree, I think I'll do one of each.

When do you put your decorations up?
The weekend after Thanksgiving.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
My grandma Eleanore's creamed corn. So yummy.

Favorite holiday memory as a child:
My brother and I would always look outside our bedroom window, hoping to see Rudolph and Santa. If we ever saw a red dot, we were sure it was Rudolph!

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I think I just kind of figured it out when I was 8 or so. I asked my mom, and she wouldn't tell me. So I asked my dad, and he did. My mom wasn't too happy with him for that :)

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Sometimes; it's usually pajamas, if we do.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
We have the "traditional" tree with multi-colored lights and brightly colored ornaments.

Snow! Love it or dread it?
I love the snow! Absolutely love it!

Can you ice skate?
I'm certainly no Olympian, but yeah, I can ice skate.

Do you remember your favorite gift?
My grandparents got me Super Nintendo when I was 8; I LOVED that. Also, since I'm a huge bookworm, my parents would always get me lots of books ever since I was little, and those invariably ended up being one of my favorite gifts. And, when I was 9-10, I was really into Barbies, so those were always a big hit :)

What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Being with family. I love being with my parents and brother, and Dan's sister and her husband. I just wish we could be with Dan's mom, too; then it would be complete!

What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Probably my mom's pinwheel cookies. They are SO addicting!

What is your favorite tradition?
We have dinner on Christmas Eve and then go to the 11:00 candlelight service at my parents' church (Lutheran). Even though Dan and I are not religious, we love going to this service and hearing the Christmas carols sung. Then we come home, hang up stockings and read The Night Before Christmas while sipping hot chocolate. We usually get to bed around 1 am.

Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Giving. I love giving presents. There's something so wonderful about picking out the perfect gift for someone! I always get so impatient, wanting to see them open it, that I'm tempted to give it to them ahead of time! I always hold out, though ;)

What is your favorite Christmas Song?
What Child Is This & Oh, Holy Night

Candy canes! Yuck or yum?
They're ok, but I can really only eat one at a time.

Ever recycled a Christmas present?
Never.

Don't Be A Scrooge! Tag your friends to Deck the Halls...
I tag:

robnangiew.blogspot.com
nancycoatesjournal.blogspot.com
mulling-it-over.blogspot.com
soggycheerios.com

Our weekend

We had a typical December weekend--filled with holiday parties and yummy food. On Friday, Dan and I went to my friend Liz's apartment for a holiday dinner. She made the BEST chicken picatta I've ever had, Meghan & Drew brought some delicious butternut squash soup, Dan & I brought a mandarin orange and sugared almond salad, and Melinda and Steve brought homemade cheesecake. Everything was so good, although with my luck, I've probably gained back the seven pounds I've lost ;)

Saturday was my work's Christmas party. As usual, we were picked up in limos (so fancy!) and went to Marll's (one of the owners) house for dinner and drinks. The food was absolutely delicious! After that, the limos took us to Frida's, which is this cool Mexican restaurant/bar downtown. Since we're a fairly small company, I always enjoy our parties because it's not like there's a million people you need to try and talk to; instead, you can converse with everyone and their dates. It's nice :)

So all in all, our weekend was great!

Congratulations, Austin!

I know, I'm doing two blog posts in a row, but I thought this deserved its own post. My little brother (he'll always be little to me, even though he's almost 25) is graduating from Weber State University today! Congratulations, Austin!!

I am so proud of him; he is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in History with a minor in Legal Studies, and he's graduating magna cum laude. I really, really wish I could be there, but sadly, I don't have enough vacation time to go (especially since we'll be out there next week anyway). I am just so incredibly proud of him; it's been a long road (for awhile after high school, he didn't even think he wanted to go to college, and now he's graduating with honors!)

So, CONGRATS!!!

I love living in Wisconsin

I really do. The other day (Tuesday, I think it was) we had a snow day from work. A snow day from WORK!! In my entire 12 years in the public school system in Utah, I think I had one snow day ever. And now living in Wisconsin I get a snow day off work? Heaven, I tell you!

I got so much done, and it made me realize how much easier it would be if I didn't work outside the home (but we'd also be a lot poorer, so it's a tradeoff ;D). I got three loads of laundry done and put away, my bedroom was cleaned, my Christmas tree got put up, my living room floor was vacuumed (which, in hindsight, I should have done after I put up the tree, since now there are needles all over my floor again. Oh well), and my kitchen was cleaned. Oh, and I was able to work out for over an hour. I loved it! Ok, ok, I probably wouldn't want to be home full-time (until we have kids, that is--then I'm definitely being a stay-at-home mom) but if we could swing it, I would love to only work part-time. My home would be so much more orderly!

Tonight we're going to my friend Liz's house for a little holiday party. That should be a lot of fun; I don't get to see my friends as much now that I don't work with them, so I'm looking forward to it! Dan and I are bringing a mandarin orange and sugared almond salad (yum) and I spend last night baking (in between watching The Office and 30 Rock, that is) so I'm bringing cute little tins of frosted sugar cookies, toffee, and white chocolate and peppermint popcorn. I made that for the first time last night, and it is SO good!