Almost Christmas...

So Christmas is almost here. Oh so close, yet it seems so far with everything left to do around here. It seems to be a family tradition to wait till the last minute to get all the wrapping done. But since we don't celebrate until my sister gets here with the kids, we have a little extra time. Though last year, they did show up a little earlier than expected. Luckily we were ready. :) But it's all fun...

Here are a couple of pictures from last years 'chaos' we call Christmas. I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

The aftermath....

I'll post some pictures of this year later (after it happens, obviously). In the meantime, I hope you and yours have a great Christmas!!

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas...

It's not weird for me to think that I'll be trading a white Christmas for a green one, and actually smile about it. Most people think I'm nuts, but honestly, I've never experienced a white Christmas, so I know nothing other than my green Christmas in Florida, with a trip to the beach afterwards. Granted, we haven't done the beach thing in many years... but it's still fun to say. :) Anyone who knows me well knows I love my beach and miss in incredibly up here! So I like my green Christmas! It was cool to be able to get a bike for Christmas and then take it right outside to ride it. It's a little harder to do that if there's white stuff on the ground! ;)

But at the same time, I'm a little bummed to be leaving the white stuff behind this year. We got a decent amount yesterday and last night.

Oh what fun it was to shovel!! But I guess it wasn't too bad... mostly powder except for the plow spray area. I made it through though.

Oh well. I'm sure one day I'll experience a white Christmas, and maybe then I'll get what the fuss is about. But I fugure if you can have a Christmas in the summertime, anyway (in the southern hemisphere), there's nothing wrong with a green Christmas. :)

Time to Get Cozy

So I'm hunkering down in my house right now, watching the snow fall outside. It's really pretty when you don't have to drive in it!

Though I did get to do that earlier this morning... I was all set to run errands this morning BEFORE the snow started, but it started earlier than expected. I still had to do my errands, so off I went! Wasn't too bad since there wasn't too much on the ground yet... but I'm still glad to be home now.

So now I'm figuring out what to do inside! Christmas gifts are all wrapped cause, well... I had to ship them all last week! So that's done. I'm doing my big cookie ordeal tomorrow. I guess I could cuddle up under a blanket and watch a movie - it is good weather for that! But I feel like I should be doing something productive today... hmmm...

Phoenix Pictures... FINALLY!

Okay... so technically, the weekend is over, but I haven't gone to bed yet, so it's really not over until then. :) Anyway, I promised some pictures, so I must deliver!

The first couple are of a sunset I caught... starting from where the hotel was and ending at our destinations. It was awesome!

The next morning, we went on a hike up the Squaw Peak/Summit Trail at sunrise. This is a hell of a hike - 1200 ft grade change over about 1.2 miles. Definitely one way to stay in shape. Anyway, since we went at sunrise, we caught the sunrise...

And finally, here's just a couple of the Arizona landscape...

So there you go... these really give AZ no justice. Like I said before, if you ever have the opportunity, just go!

It DOES rain in Phoenix!

This may be a little shocking to some, but it does actually rain in Phoenix! I was witness to this today. It wasn't a lot, mind you, but wet stuff did fall from the sky. :)

I know I promised pictures, and they're still coming. I'm sitting in the Phoenix airport right now, though, and it's not exactly convenient to download the pictures to my computer right now. But this weekend... I got some cool ones to share of sunsets AND sunrises. Good stuff. :)

Phoenix

If you've never been to Phoenix, AZ, I highly suggest you go sometime.

For the second year in a row, I'm out here for a conference for work. It's the one conference Eric and I go to every year (for two years now, anyway). And we don't go because it's in Phoenix, we go cause it's relevant. It just happens to be in Phoenix every year.

Anyway, it's so different out here from any other place I've traveled. Which, anyone who knows me knows that work has had me all over the place... Seattle, Portland, Boise, and of course South FL. And then living in Indiana, of course. The first time I came out here last year I was entranced by the super blue skies that served at the backdrop to the rocky mountains covered in cacti. The mountains don't quite have the same look you find in Colorado... but the rock formations are crazy cool! I have my camera, and I know we'll get out and about a little later this week, so I'll post some pictures so you can see what I'm talking about.

The real big bonus to this year's trip, though, was we flew out of Indy just in time to miss the first snowfall with accumulation for the year. I have nothing against snow - love the stuff! But the first snowfall always seems to catch people off guard and the plows and salting get behind and/or people just freak out for their first drive in it for the season. So hopefully we'll go back to calmness on the roads. :)

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

I love this time of year. There's something about Chritmastime... it always seems to bring out the best in people. Most people are genuinely happy and giving more than they are at other times of the year. And the decorations... though some can be gaudy, it's always so much fun... all the lights and shiny things (yes, a slight case of ADD going here). I learned this year that if I didn't decorate outside, I would greatly disappoint the neighborhood kids that have watched me do it every year since I've been in my house. I actually heard one little girl excitedly tell her Dad "Miss Kara is putting up her lights!!" And she's only seen me do it for a couple of year - her older brothers have seen it since year one in my house, when it was only icicles along my roof line. And in the office, in honor of all my travels to FL anyway, I decided to bring a bit of FL indoors... a lighted palm tree. Everyone who's seen it has just smiled and think it's a trip. I love making others smile. :)

Christmas has always been a big deal in my family. It's always very family oriented, and always very BIG!! I think that's part of what I love. We probably overspend on gifts for each other, but it's not to show each other up or beat so-n-so from their gift last year... we just want everyone else in the family to be happy and have a good Christmas. Every year, we say we're going to downsize and spend less. But we never do. That's always what we've done. It goes back to that love of making others smile.

The main thing I love, though, is the fact that it always brings us together as a family, every year, no matter what. I always joke that whatever man is lucky enough to get a ring on my finger had better expect to have NON-white Christmas for awhile cause being married will not keep me from my family Christmases!! My parents are in Jacksonville now, and my sister comes up with her family from Palm Bay, I head down from Indiana, and my grandmother (Nan) comes down from Pennsylvania. I love watching the expressions when they open up that one perfect gift, no matter who it came from.

I'll post more pictures later of the decorations and other craziness I incur. My company Christmas party was last weekend... but I'm not sure if I need to post any of them. let's just say we all had a good time and leave it at that. :)

Woe is me...

So my Jags lost to the Colts today. Not to say that's not what I expected, but it still bums me out.

The Jags are actually having a better year than I thought they would this year, so I can't really complain. And you gotta respect the Colts for what they are - a good team. So to lose to them is at least a respectable loss.

If nothing else, I'm glad they're not in the NFC... that conference is lacking this year. Granted, if the Jags were in it, they'd win it, no problem! But I digress on that.

I just continue to hope that my Jags will just make it into the playoffs again. They've had their run at the opportunity to go to the Superbowl many years ago, and missed out (back when the Titans were good and could win games). Their day will come.