Jeffrey's in Town!!

This past week I got to hang out with one of my best guy friends from college, Jeff, who was in town visiting his family for Christmas. Jeff says that Florida (where he's getting his doctorate right now) just doesn't have good Tex-Mex. Lucky for him, Logan and I recently found a new restaurant nearby called Cyclone Anaya's that has fantastic Mexican food. Mike and Leanne, Jeff, Logan and I all got together for dinner and margaritas the other night and had a great time!

I LOVE when Jeff comes to visit, and I can't wait for him to come back.

Merry, Merry Christmas!

I can't believe its already over! Christmas was wonderful this year. I actually had the entire holiday off from work so we got to spend lots of time with family. Logan and I spent Christmas Eve together at the condo, just the two of us. As you can see, Logan was really excited about all the Dallas Cowboys stuff he got.

He was also excited about the coffee mug he got me. It says: "I've got attitude, and I'm not afraid to use it". It's the perfect size, and he thought it described my morning personality all too well. (Pardon the lack of make-up in the picture. It was late.)

We got to spend Christmas day with Logan's family. All three of his sisters were in town and it was great to get to visit with them. We played Trivial Pursuit, of course, and once again Leah and I were required to be on opposite teams as we are without question the two "weakest links". Either way I'm still proud of myself for getting at least two questions right. Never mind that they were: "What is the most common color of a basketball", and "What company produces the iPod". Right is right, right? We were so busy eating (then napping), playing games and just visiting that I only took one picture there - but its a good one. Look at all that loot!!!

The day after Christmas we went to my parent's house. One funny thing was that my brother got three pairs of the same pajamas. Obviously they were Batman pajamas... for a 24 year old... but we all knew how much he'd like them and I guess everyone had the same idea when coming across them. Here's my dad modeling his new pajama pants.

I got my mom one of my new favorite candles - Cranberry Chutney, by Yankee Candle Co. I've always thought its hard to find candles that actually fill the room with fragrance until I started using these. If you're a candle lover, definitely try these and Volcano #6 from Anthropology. LOVE them.

So mischevious... and so handsome!

Lucy had fun opening her present from my parents - a very squeaky new monkey toy. I've never met a dog that would just sit around and squeak any toy she can find. If it doesn't squeak, she moves on to the next one. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone was that easy to shop for? (And don't worry. I've groomed Lucy since these pictures were taken.

Toby and I took a nap together.

For some reason, Logan fed Ross the chocolate chip cookies I made? I think they're bonding.

And lastly, a couple of random pictures that need no explanation.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

I am so excited! For the first time in my life, I have a real, live Christmas Tree! Its perfect. Logan and I went last weekend to pick it out from the Christmas Tree stand down the street. The guy said we picked the kind that sheds the least and is the most fragrant. I think its a noble fir? Anyway, after we first got it into the condo I was a little worried about all the pine needles everywhere, but it really hasn't shed much since then. Of course I'm terrified I'll kill it. I didn't inherit the green thumb gene. Mine apparently is black. As hard as I try I just can't keep plants alive. Although, surprisingly my poinsettias are doing very well. I was at home depot a couple of weeks ago and saw the most beautiful poinsettias I've ever seen. They are some special "breed" of poinsettia - I can't remember what they're called... Ice Punch or something? Anyway, the leaves are bright red with white swirls in the center. Sort of like peppermints. Anyway, I wanted the larger $30 arrangement, but decided that it made more financial sense for me to kill off the $10 plant instead. I told my mom about my flower find and she said that the trick to keeping poinsettias alive is to put about 4 ice cubes on the dirt every day instead of watering them. Apparently they like the cold. It must be working because they're still living - and still looking good. Back to the tree. Check out my cute tree skirt I found! Its sort of velvet with different sizes of red sequins along the trim. I love it! While its all worth it, I've realized that putting a tree together is a LOT of work. I now understand why after begging her grown children to help out (and not getting any help) my mother decided to just throw some lights on the ficus a few years ago. (Not that I condone this mom, I just understand.) Lucy has completely ignored the tree. Its like she doesn't even know its there - even though I had to rearrange furniture and everything, and its supposed to be very fragrant, she just doesn't notice. I guess I should be thankful. Rather than her knocking it over, or eating it, this just means her daily doses of doggie xanax are doing their job. Even still, I had to try to get some cute pictures of her in her Christmas collar in front of the tree. Logan makes fun of the collar and takes it off her every chance he gets while I sneak it back on when he isn't looking. Hey, its the only time of year I can dress her up! She definitely needs to be groomed, but I think she's still pretty darn cute. Last night Logan and I were supposed to go see the Gaylord Ice exhibit with Mike and Leanne. The traffic was unbelievable, so we ended up pulling over and getting dinner at Don Julio's instead. (The boys had a hard time containing their excitement over the good fortune of not having to see the ice sculptures.) We had a great time with Mike and Leanne as always. Since I've only bought one Christmas present so far, I guess I should use this day off to get some shopping done. I'm not officially a procrastinator if I still have 11 days until Christmas, right?

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! This is my favorite time of year: the short time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love how festive everything is. I love the Christmas music that you can't seem to escape. I love how friendly people are (except when shopping). I just LOVE Christmas! But before I jump the gun and go in to full-on Christmas mode, I want to post some pictures from Thanksgiving. Seems like Thanksgiving always gets the short end of the stick by being overshadowed by Christmas, so I want to take a minute to appreciate my family. They absolutely mean the world to me. I love them all to pieces!

This year we went to my parents house for Turkey Day. We were lucky to get to have Jessica and Logan with us too! Jessica's family was celebrating in New York, and since she had to work the next day we got to have her with us. Logan's family decided to have their family Thanksgiving on the following Saturday to give all his sisters time to make it back into town, so we got to have him with us too. Mamaw and Papaw came, and of course brought tons of yummy food. It was one big happy family! (Well... most of the time...)

This first picture explains that last comment. My dad was in "Vacation Ron" mode, which means he was more hyper than a kid that just consumed 4 gallons of Coke. Jessica and I were trying to get a picture together, and my dad kept jumping in behind us and squishing between us. After a few times I'd had enough, which is reflected in my favorite picture of the weekend. (Love you, dad!!)

Here's what we finally ended up with when my mom got my dad under control. ;)

Now Ross and Jessica.

Here is a picture of Papaw, Ross and Jessica about to dig in!
Next, I decided I HAD to have a picture of my dad's plate. My dad is a metabolic mystery. The man can consume an unimaginable number of calories and never gain an ounce. It is increadibly frustrating for the rest of us. Anyway, every year he loads his plate up - at least twice - and this year I got a picture of the first round. He looks a little scary in this picture, but he's just really excited about eating. Oh, and apparently we should be proud of him. He "only" had 6 rolls, one piece of apple pie, and two servings of my 4 layer dessert. This is an improvement!After lunch comes my favorite part of the day - the Cowboys game and nap time.

Logan and Toby dozed off waiting for the game to start. Who doesn't love that dog??
Later that night we played the new edition of Trivial Pursuit that Logan and I bought. That didn't last long though. Jessica and I gave up on it, so we played Battle of the Sexes instead. (Great game, by the way.) After that was Scattegories, my favorite game.
Lucy chomped on her bone and ignored everyone, as usual.
And Toby was still worn out from the hours of stalking the kitchen for dropped food.

The next morning my mom made her world famous homemade pancakes. Mine were shaped like Mickey Mouse because she loves me... and I'm spoiled. ;)

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!!

Coldplay Concert

This past Wednesday, Logan and I got to go to the Coldplay concert with Chris and Leslie, and Jason and Laura. It was ah-maz-ing! They are such a great band, and even better live performers. You know how some musicians sound terrible live? Chris Martin sounds exactly the same on his albums as he does in concert, which is hard to find these days in my opinion. Their drummer is also ridiculous. Chris Martin even made a joke at one point about how they have the loudest drummer since Animal (from the Muppets).

In addition to the live show being performed by Coldplay, we were "fortunate" enough to have our very own personal entertainment just two rows in front of us in the form of Drunky McDrunkerson. This woman was WAAAAAY too old to 1) be that drunk in public, and 2) be "dancing" like she was. Seriously, I have never in my life seen such horrible out of control moves, such ridiculous girations - and I just got back from Vegas! On a scale of 1 to 10, the lady was constantly at a 14, and every time a new song came on, she shot up to a solid 20. You had to see it to fully appreciate it, but trust me when I say it was unlike anything I've ever witnessed. I was fortunate enough to catch an action shot for your viewing pleasure, and while it helps, it still doesn't provide the full effect.

Back to the concert, the set was great. They had these giant colored balls hanging from the celing that changed colors and had moving pictures and things reflected in them. They were definitely one of my favorite parts.

At one point, Chris Martin did a great piano solo on this runway that came off the stage that was closer to our side, so that was cool. The entire band also went and did a couple of songs from the middle of the second level of the audience too.

This is one of the huge screens that was on the other side of the venue hanging from the celing. I thought it was a good picture, plus, it has one of those great colored balls that I love so much next to it. :)

Towards the end of the show, they released a TON of confetti from the celing all over the crowd. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, they released more confetti and turned on the blacklights!

We had a fantastic time, and I think we'll definitely go see them again the next time they come to town. Next concert coming up: The Killers!!