WEEKEND UPDATE

Good Things From This Weekend:

New camera purchase!

Rigsby's. 

Friends.

Brussel Sprouts. 

Hubby dropping me off and picking me up for work.

Bad Things From This Weekend:

 Overzealous butter consumption.

Sore back from coughing all night. 

Too sick  for yoga and church.

Too busy this weekend to get over my cold! 

Is it Monday already?

New Year's Resolutions

Ah...the new year. I loathe the month of January as it is dark, barren of holidays, and 31 days long. The beloved scents and scenes of last month are now stale and begging to be placed back into their basement boxes. 

But! If I get a kick out of anything, its a fresh start. As much as dislike January,  I adore making New Year's resolutions, taking serious time in the last days of December to contemplate and most importantly, write them down. Even better, this process involves one of my other great loves: making lists. 

Here goes for 2010:

1. The obligatory weight loss resolution: I resolve to do some type of physical activity two times a week. That's twice as much as last year's weekly output. Wait, two times zero is still zero. Nevermind.

2. Read the daily devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, together with my husband. We'll be creating our own little book club for daily spiritual food. Additionally, I am attempting to blog about my Christian faith more. 

3. Remember more birthdays and anniversaries with phone calls and cards, handmade or otherwise. I am really, really bad at this. I am ashamed to report that it was my own MOTHER'S forgotten birthday that spurred this into existence. Sorry, mom. 

4. Watch more movies with Jeremy and read more books in the evenings...instead of mindless channel flipping and Facebook.  TV exceptions include: the Food Network, the Travel Channel's No Reservations, and Thursday night NBC. :)

5. Make our bed every day. 

6. This one is going to be the toughest. You know the word tithe? So it means 10%. We are resolving to get a lot closer to that number in our weekly church offerings. Gulp.  

WISH US LUCK!

Merry Christmas

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

(Luke 2:10-11)

Naughty or Nice?

Here is my first attempt at publishing a video. 

This is Peanut making friends with Shelby, Holly's new pup!

 

A Griswold Family Christmas!

Don't you sometimes wish there were more than 24 hours in a day? After times like last weekend, I do. This weekend was GREAT. Christmas at Mom & Dad's. What more could you want than family, food and festivities. Too bad we never got around to those board games, Mom...maybe this weekend!

Presenting the Morris family Christmas card!

Happy family!

When have you ever been this excited about anything?

Close up of Coach and wifey...

Mark, the Ultimate Gator Fan, dressed as Brutus Buckeye! And its not even Halloween! Baby #3 is starting to show HIS/HER little noggin!

Finally, a family portrait courtesy of the good old Nikon point-n-shoot and its trusty timer. We got this picture on the first try and everything! Really, it turned out better than a lot of posed shots of our families. All eyes open and Rindler munchkins looking at the camera! Not sure what pose Peanut is making, though...

Merry Christmas, everyone! May your holidays be merry and bright and full of family and friends and faith and food and festivities and FUN. :) 

Best. Cookies. Ever.

Its Christmas cookie time in the Morris house!

Featured above are molasses cookies. I first sampled their deliciosity as goodie bag contents featured at Katie & John's wedding in October...try 'em and see! 

Molasses Cookies

INGREDIENTS

Cream together:

2 cups white sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Crisco

2 eggs

1/2 cup molasses

Sift together:

4 1/2 cups flour

5 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Additional Ingredients:

Raw sugar 

One helpful husband with nothing to do after the Bengals game

 

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet. Form into 1 1/2" balls and roll in raw sugar. Bake 10 minutes in 375deg oven. 

Perfect with milk, coffee, tea or Great Lakes Brewery Christmas Ale. 

Special thanks go out to Kristin Flickenger for the recipe, Emily Baran for the cooling rack, and Brandie Boerger for the ice cream scoop that makes perfectly round cookies every time, for the anal-retentive dentist in all of us. 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The Christmas season was kicked off in a major way. After Thanksgiving Day, I tagged along with Mom and Dad to Chicago. It was perfect. Except Jeremy couldn't come...and except for the unnecessary silent treatment I recieived on the drive up. Really, Dad, I was only 35 minutes late for our departure! And I was only late because I was hanging out with this party gal. 

Thanks for lunch, Grandma! Happy Thanksgiving!

Mom and Dad finally forgave me, in enough time for me to play personal shopper and get them ready for their big wedding reception at The Peninsula. 

They clean up nicely, don't you think?

No trip to Chicago would be complete without a visit to my bestie, Meredith. We tried out Zed 451 and Pops For Champagne!

Love this girl.

David and his buddy. Hope you are feeling better, soon!

Okay, as many of you know, champagne is my favorite drink. Well, maybe only second to Slim Fast (of recent recall notoriety, which is REALLY complicating my normal breakfast routine).  Meredith and I had been planning on visiting Pops For Champagne since we finished residency. Unfortunately, the 25-dollar a glass (!) cocktails were a bit of a disappointment. Yikes. I only stayed for one drink, but it was a nice finish to a lovely evening on the town.

Mom and I got plenty of shopping in! I am officially finished with my Christmas list!

I love this tree--its by Bloomingdale's and Williams-Sonoma on Michigan avenue. Lovely.

The MOST wonderful time of the year...and to top it off, tonight is the Nationwide Children's Hospital Medical Staff party! The most wonderful NIGHT of the year! Too bad hubby is on his annual boys' trip HERE and won't be in attendance.