Christmas

Christmas Eve, Mike made me the best meal ever!  I wasn't allowed to help in the kitchen (yay!) so I cleaned up the house.

Creamy, cheesy potatoes

Delicious beef

It did make quite a mess....

I got to taste test

Enjoying a wine break

Then we opened stockings (right after stuffing them )

Hey! Get outa here I'm stuffing your stocking!

He's on the phone with his family, fyi

First gift out of the bag--a lighter for the grill

 

A storm trooper flash drive

One of the pairs of earrings from my stocking

Christmas tags in progress

Christmas Day after Mass

Santa came to our house

Mike making the BEST cinnamon buns EVER

Mike's big gifts from Gammy and from me

We all got to play with Dad's Christmas gift

The scope needed some adjustment

Mom making....something

The best vanilla bean cheesecake ever (by Mike)

It's beginning to look a little tiny bit like Christmas

We got a Christmas tree yesterday - we had just a little tiny bit of fun (see Mike, left).

We went to a tree farm and cut it down ourselves. There were snow flurries!

The place was huge, but really picked over.  We split up to cover ground faster.

This tree looked promising from across the field, peeking out behind another tree.  Too bad it was a little top heavy.

Recognize this sweater Kelly?

Before

We picked colors for our apartment and Mike has been painting all weekend.

After

Our finished tree

Dynamic

Sangia red in the dining room

Mike probably wishes I was helping instead of taking pictures.

Mike's ankle is better and he's able to drive himself now. =) He's going to physical therapy twice a week.

The day after he was able to drive again, the Honda broke down. It seems that there is a problem with the transmission. Oh boy.

My thesis was approved! The defense was way easier than I feared it would be. The presentation went smoothly and I answered pretty much every question no problem.

Last weekend was fun--Dan came to visit and we made a birthday dinner for him. Carly came and went Christmas shopping at the KOP mall (we didn't buy any gifts =/) and stayed for dinner.

Wednesday we went to wing night with Mike's coworkers. It was a good time with good conversation. We came up with a new TV show--"My Python is Longer than My Mobile Home"

Mike and I are officially registered at a church now. That feels nice to belong somewhere, hopefully we'll start getting more involved somehow.

I had a bad dream the other night and I punched Mike in the back by accident. And I mean I punched him good. I woke up to him yelling and I realized I didn't just punch the dog I was dreaming about. =(

Extended Weekend

Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh was a blast--we visited Mike's relatives a couple days and one of our friends another day. Mostly we just ate, sat around, watched football, drank, and played a little cards.



















Shopping on Black Friday was a lot of fun, even though I hardly bought anything and only some of it was on sale. We may be the only people in history who have stood in line for Best Buy when the doors opened at midnight only to look around and leave with nothing. I amused myself by imagining people's faces if I ran around the store snatching stuff out of their hands. Or someone--specifically one of the people who had camped out since Monday--having their credit card denied at checkout. I also tried to start a flash mob when a group of gleetards behind us in line broke out into a disharmonious tune. Mocking isn't nice, I know. Side note: flash mobs require a mob and planning.

This week I have my defense on Thursday of course, Mike is trying to start physical therapy for his ankle (he may be able to drive soon!) and Saturday we're going to the Villanova basketball game. In the meantime, I am prepping for my defense and applying for new jobs and trying to lose all the gravy/stuffing/beer weight I gained.

Thanksgiving

We leave for Pittsburgh tomorrow! I will be driving, since Mike is still wearing a cast (and will be for the next 2+ weeks). Today I am going to attempt recipes for some drinks to bring. I haven't been cooking nearly long enough to have any confidence in bringing a main dish to a Thanksgiving meal, like THE mash potatoes.

Still haven't heard back about my latest interview. Mike actually has an interview today for a job within his company.

Thursday will be 1 week before my thesis defense. Yesterday I did a dry run with my mentor so the presentation is ready to go. All that remains is lit review and preparing for unpredictable questions.