Jingle Cat

My mom retired earlier this year and now travels a lot.
We adopted Kona from her a few months ago.
She is at least 6 or 7 years old.

Here she is with an early Christmas present, a shiny, new, red collar with a jingle bell.
Now she looks and sounds very festive!

She tried to run away from the jingling sound when we put it on her, cute!



Her eyes are glowing blue and green probably from my flash. I think it makes her look awesome.

"Mom, stop flashing that camera in my face!" ~Kona

"O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree"

When you step into our house this is the first thing you'll see.
Such a spectacular feeling. This picture doesn't do it much justice.
That tree is about 9 feet tall and our ceiling is about 12 feet tall.



And the tree is finally complete train and all!

"Baby, its cold outside!"

The cold wet weather kept me inside most of the weekend.

So I forced myself to put all the finishing touches on our Christmas decor.
I made a bow for the wreath and added a few extra ornaments and berries.

This is my favorite nativity collection made by Willow Tree.
Every year I purchase another few pieces to add.
This year Aunt Jalane bought us the Shepard and Stable animals.

This is our table centerpiece.
It has more Fall colors than Winter but I spruced it up with a few ornaments and holly berries.

Our mantle with the cards we've received and our "stockings hung by the chimney with care".

And what home is complete without mistletoe?

" ...cuz Baby, It's Cold Outside...!"

Christmas Cards!

I love sending Christmas cards every year as much as I love to receive them!

This is our 2008 Christmas Card.

Thanksgiving

This year we decided to host Thanksgiving for the first time. It was quite a challenge coordinating schedules and passing out cooking assignments but everything turned out amazing in the end. My biggest challenge was to cook the turkey.

A friend of mine from work suggested that I brine the turkey. So I looked up how to do this and decided to give it a try. Dave and I put the turkey and brine in a bucket and back in the fridge to soak for the night.

Here is my turkey when I put it in the oven at 5:30 a.m.

It took a lot longer to cook than I expected but 7 1/2 hours later it was done!

The turkey was excellent and very very moist (thanks for the suggestion Richard!). I also had a chance to make deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, and a lemon meringue pie. I loved playing cook and hostess. 12 people is definetly the max that can comfortably fit in our home. It was such a wonderful day with family and the food was amazingly delicious.

Here are a few more photos from hosting our first turkey day, enjoy!

 

Relay for Life

Have you lost a loved one to cancer or know someone that has been affected by it? Relay for Life is an annual fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. Dave and I participated this year at the event in Folsom. My sister in law and niece decided to do this project to honor those in their lives that have been affected by cancer.

This event is very close to my heart because Dave and I have both lost a parent to cancer; Dave's mother when he was a child and my father just a few years ago. We decided to participate this year to honor our parents.

If you've never been to Relay for Life this is how it works. You sign up to be part of a "relay team". Each team then has someone walking at the event for a total of 24 hours. Groups camp out at the event and team mates take turns visiting, eating, sleeping, and walking. That night all the luminaries are lit and there is a silent time to walk the track and reflect upon those we've lost, those who have survived, and future generations. Then there is a concert of local bands, karaoke, and other fun events that keep everyone on their feet until the wee hours of the morning.

This was our camp-out station. The cardboard box in the foreground is a race car that my niece built and painted her grandfathers name on. She sometimes "drove" this around the track when it was her turn to relay.

These are the luminaries that our team lit that night.

Each candle represents either a loved one who has been lost or someone who is a survivor.

This was certainly a night for reflection and celebration.