Our First Christmas Eve

Finally...

Yes, I have totally neglected my blogging duties lately due to an absolutely crazy schedule. Of course, we had the obligatory Christmas celebrations (multiple stops on both sides of the family), and then there was my momentous 27th birthday. Yes, I am one of those unlucky people whose birthday happens to fall between Christmas and New Year's. So, needless to say things have been a whirlwind, and I have a lot to fill you in on.

First thing's first... Christmas...

Christmas Eve is a big celebration on both sides of the family. We start out at my parents and then head over to celebrate with Josh's side of the family. It is a very long evening (from about 3:00 pm until 1:30 am) but we have an absolute blast.

Everyone hanging out at my Mom and Dad's :).

We get one of these shots every year. It is all of my cousins (well minus a few in Alabama :)) with my Grandpa (sadly my beloved Grandmother died in 2002). Although, I feel a little cheeseball lining up to take this every year, I'm so glad we do it. How fun to look back on these photos, when I have children and grandchildren of my own (god willing).

I missed the picture of my mom and all of her siblings with my Grandpa, but here is one of all the "married intos". As in, my Dad "married into" this family when he married my Mom. Josh is hard to miss as the giant of the group, and my Dad is next to him on the right. If I do say so myself isn't my Dad adorable :).

Later that evening, Josh and I head over for some time with his family. All of the Goellner women (which I am now proudly a part of). From the left (Josh's sister Sarah, me, my SIL Steph, Josh's sister Abby, and my wonderful MIL).

The girls opening some Christmas goodies...

All of the men in Josh's family go on, what they call "the walk" every year. Don't ask me how this ever got started because it's actually pretty ridiculous, but basically they take a few "adult beverages" and some cigars, and they all go walking around the neighborhood. I know! It's freezing out and they choose to randomly walk around outside rather than hang out in the warm house with us. I think that it makes them feel "manly" or something. They sure do seem to enjoy it :).

And, of course the girls wanted a turn...

And, can you believe all this was only on Christmas Eve!!! More to come later on Christmas, my birthday, and New Year's. Like I said, it has been a crazy couple of weeks.

Everyone have a safe and happy New Year's Eve tonight :)

Weekend in Review

Josh and I survived the weekend! We were busy, but had a fabulous time. It took me all of Monday to recover (and Monday evening spent on the couch), but it was worth it.

Friday night we ate the italian beef for dinner that had been simmering in the crock pot all day. (It was fabulous by the way. I highly recommend it.) And, we actually ended up having my family over for dinner. I work with my Dad (family owned business) so at 5:00 pm I thought, "Hey, why don't you and Mom come over for dinner. I have a crock pot full of italian beef."

Well my brother and sister were in town from college, so they came over as well. It was a wonderful last minute get together. Minus my sister, Jessie (I'm the oldest of four) who had other plans Friday evening. Sometimes those last minute gatherings are the most fun. Needless to say, Josh and I were in bed by 10:00 pm - thank God - because we were going to need our rest to survive the rest of the weekend.

After a long day of running errands in the snow on Saturday, Josh and I had our Tacky Christmas sweater themed birthday party to go to. The party was for one of Josh's oldest friend's 30th birthday. We had a blast! I was truly loving everyone's outfits. And, the turnout was good considering the weather. I mean it was nasty out! And, it took us an hour to get from St. Charles to Brentwood (going about 30 mph the whole way). But, at least we got home safely :). Some pictures for your enjoyment...

Josh (in his ugly tie) and I (in my very ugly sweater). Both items were picked up very last minute from goodwill. Can you believe that the sweater I ordered off ebay is STILL not here?!

The birthday boy in his sweatshirt. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it lights up. His lovely wife actually made this for him.

Kurt, a very dear friend of ours. He isn't afraid to show a little skin... This after taking off his t-shirt to reveal the woman's dickie he was wearing underneath. Look at how hard Josh is laughing in the background :).

Oh it gets better...

Lastly, a guy shot. All of the buddies... Awwww....

I mean, do we know how to have a good time or what. Josh and I have some awesome friends :).

Onto Sunday...Josh and I had two Christmas parties to go to, but first we had to go over to my in-laws to get the annual family shot in front of the tree. I didn't get one of the group, but here is Josh and I.

And, here's one of my husband with our beautiful 7-month-old niece.

And, since I didn't get a picture of our nephew. Here is one from Josh and Braden at our house last weekend. They were having ice cream together :). I mean, this just melts me heart...

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures at our other two Christmas parties, but we had a great time. As I said, Monday was a little rough, but it was a very memorable weekend. Can you beleive that Christmas is in one week!!!! So much to do... :).

Crock Pot Italian Beef

You will quickly learn that I love to cook and bake. LOVE it! Unfortunately, during the week I am somewhat limited on what I can make due to time restraints. I go right to the gym after work, so I usually don't get home until 6:30 or 7:00 pm. Now, Josh is almost always home after me (he is a work-aholic), but that still doesn't leave me much time to throw dinner together. I have classic standby meals that I often use, but the time limitations prevent me from trying a lot of new new things. So...I have decided to start using my crock pot more often for meals. I can prepare everything the night before, set it on low before I leave for work. And wa-la...Josh and I come home to a hot fabulous meal.

Today, is my first foray into crock pot cooking. I found this Italian Beef recipe on one of my favorite websites - http://www.allrecipes.com/.

• INGREDIENTS
  3 cups water
  1 teaspoon salt
  1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  1 teaspoon dried oregano
  1 teaspoon dried basil
  1 teaspoon onion salt
  1 teaspoon dried parsley
  1 teaspoon garlic powder
  1 bay leaf
  1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
  1 (5 pound) rump roast

• DIRECTIONS
  Combine water with salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, onion salt, parsley, garlic powder, bay leaf, and salad dressing mix in a saucepan. Stir well, and bring to a boil.
  Place roast in slow cooker, and pour salad dressing mixture over the meat.
  Cover, and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours, or on High for 4 to 5 hours. When done, remove bay leaf, and shred meat with a fork.

Based on many of the reviews, I made a few changes. I used beef broth instead of water (thus using only 1 tsp. of salt) and I used a 2.5 lb eye of round roast (there's only 2 of us) but used the same amount of ingredients for cooking the 5 lb. roast. I also threw in one jar of banana peppers (Josh loves them). I got everything ready last night and placed the crock pot insert into the fridge. This morning I took it out and started cooking. I if it tastes half as good as it smells, I will definitely be using this recipe again. It was so easy, not to mention low fat. We don't do a lot of red meat, but since it's a Friday what the hell (during the week it is almost all chicken, pork, or ground turkey breast).

I'll let you know how it turns out :)

Weekend To-Do's...

Well, Christmas is quickly approaching, I am STILL working on thank you notes from the wedding, we just got our brand new kitchen table delivered, I have tons of Christmas shopping left to do, and Josh and I have three parties to go to this weekend! Yes...three. So what is on my "must do" list this weekend, and what can wait until next.

1.) I finally contacted a company about getting my wedding gown preserved/cleaned. It has been laying accross the bed in the guest bedroom since the wedding, and Josh is going to kill me if I don't get it out of there soon. A friend of mine used Imperial Gown Restoration Company and she was very happy with them (http://www.gown.com/) so I gave them a call. They send you a box ready to go with the UPS label and all. You package your dress and anything else you want cleaned (shoes, veil, petticoat, etc.).

Once, they get your dress they look it over and call you with a price quote. You give them a "thumbs up" if you like the price, and once it's finished they mail it back to you. And, they don't have any ridiculous warranty rules. For instance, never opening the box. Basically, I feel really confident in my choice. What's the catch, you ask...the price. Their average cost for cleaning/preservation of a dress is $475.00!!! I have a feeling mine will be less for a few reasons 1.) it isn't very dirty 2.) I don't have a train 3.) I don't have much beading. It's still a lot of money though. But, after what I spent on it, I want to make sure that I have it preserved correctly, and lately I've heard so many horror stories about girls dresses getting ruined by local places. So....I bit the bullet. Pretty soon this lovely dress (pic courtesy of Jon Koch - http://www.kochphotography.net/) will be in a lovely box :). One thing done....many more to go.

2.) I have to get some Christmas gifts bought this weekend. That means Saturday - in the snow. For some, I know what I'm buying. Others, I have no idea. So far my running list is as follows:

• Josh's Uncle - some sort of grilling goodies (maybe a new cookbook)


• SIL's boyfriend - Burberry or Armani cologne


• SIL (actually a gift from Josh) - a shirt or sweater from J. Crew, Banana Republic or Ann Taylor


• Josh's cousin (again, a gift from Josh) - Again, I'm thinking a BR sweater. Safe and something he will definitely wear.


• My side of the family - This year we decided to do something different, so rather than exchanging names we are each buying two $5.00 gifts and playing a sort of "rob your neighbor" thing. I'm excited for this, but have no idea where I am going to find two $5.00 gifts that aren't crap. Bath and Body Works maybe? Josh is just going to buy lottery tickets. I wish I had thought of that :).


• Both sets of parents - I honestly have no idea. My creativity is tapped out after the wedding.

3.) In addition to the Christmas shopping above, I now have to find a tacky Christmas sweater for the first of our three parties on Saturday night. I had originally ordered this baby off ebay.

Awesomely tacky right?! Well...despite my very clear shipping instructions in order for the seller to get it to me on time, it has not yet arrived. So...unless by some miracle this sweater shows up tomorrow, I have have nothing to wear. I am so glad :) I bought this hideous sweater that I will never, ever have another reason to wear. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a theme party. It's just a lot easier when you have some clue as to what you plan to wear to it.

Now I have to spend valuable shopping time tomorrow trying to find tacky Christmas items... Lucky me. In the meantime, Josh has no idea what he's going to wear. It must be nice to be a man and do everything last minute...

In any case, I'm sure the party will be a blast and I cannot wait to see what everyone is wearing. I will be sure to take lots of pictures, so I can share the tackiness.

4.) On Sunday, I will spend the first part of the day recovering from Friday. Then, Josh and I have two Christmas parties to attend. One at a friend's, and the other is being thrown by one of Josh's clients. Thank God, no more themes :). I should be able to find something in my closet that would be appropriate.

And to think, after this weekend there is only one more before Christmas and I have yet to even think about wrapping presents or baking Christmas cookies. Our lives are definitely crazy (especially this time of year), but I will NEVER take for granted all of the fabulous friends and family that we have. We are so unbelievably blessed.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!

Random Favorites

Trisha had a fun little poll on her blog http://seelenfamily.wordpress.com/ So...I stole it :O

1. Favorite Number…. Seven

2. Favorite Color…. Purple

3. Favorite Day…. Saturday

4. Month…. November, because now I get to celebrate my anniversary :)

5. Song… I don't really have one. I listen to everything.

6. Food… Pizza - I am so addicted

7. Sport… Football

8. Drink…. Non-alcoholic - water or a Diet Pepsi Max, Alchoholic - a great glass of red wine or a Miller Lite :)

9. Candy…. I really don't have much of a sweet tooth and almost never eat candy (I am more tempted by potato chips), but I love Milky Way and Twix

10. Ice Cream…. Cookies and cream

11. Season…. Summer - I love laying out by the pool and catching some sun with an ice cold beverage

12. Band…. Maroon 5

13. Movie… Impossible to choose just one (or even a few). But, I love The Devil Wears Prada, Love Actually, A Lot Like Love and The Matrix

14. Website…. http://www.perezhilton.com/ - It has become an addiction.

15. Animal…. Dog

16. Item of Clothing…. The perfect pair of jeans or a great pair of heels

17. Word…. Poppycock!

18. Place…. It is a tie between Maui and Napa Valley

19. Holiday…. Christmas - who doesn't love Christmas...

20. Vehicle…. Any cute (not too big) SUV, such as a GMC Envoy. Definitely my next car purchase.

21. Smell…. Cookies baking

22. Shoes…. My Nine West black heels. They look fabulous with jeans and they are sooo comfortable.

23. Quote… "Love is not a thing you have, it's a process of taking away--removing all walls between you and another person until there's no space left between you." I even put this quote in our wedding progams I loved it so much.

24. Gum… Orbitz Bubble Mint or Trident Original

25. Nail polish color… Any dark color. I love reds, purples, burgundies. I paint my nails constantly.

26. School subject…. English, fo sho!

27. Gift… To give - a great bottle of wine. To get - Josh surprised me with a trip to New York City for my birthday last year. I have a hard time believing anything can top that.

28. Midnight snack…. I never eat late night snacks (I'm too healthy for that). But, let's say that I was waking up one evening after consuming a few "adult beverages", I would probably raid the fridge hoping to find some leftover pizza (there I go with pizza again)

29. Year (of your life)…. 2008. Because I'm newly married and the best is yet to come.

30. Candy bar…. See Question 9.

31. Food to cook…. I love to cook period, but I'll go with my lasagna. I am one hell of a baker too.

32. Soda… Diet Pepsi Max, please.

33. Hobby…. Right now, I feel like my hobby is writing thank you notes. But, generally, I LOVE a good book, cooking, and shopping.

34. Flower…. Tulips, roses, peonies, and gerber daisies. It's impossible to pick just one.

35. Tree… Big ones.

36. Fruit…. A granny smith apple

37. Vegetable…. Sadly, I'm not a big vegetable person, but I love green beans.

38. CD that you own….. Nowadays, all my CDs are mixed ones that I have burned.

39. Actor…. Ryan Reynolds

40. Actress…. Reese Witherspoon

41. TV Show…. Anything reality (another addiction). Project Runway, America's Next Top Model, The Hills, Top Chef, etc.

42. Vacation… Once again, Maui or Napa Valley. Although, I cannot wait to travel to Europe and Australia.

43. Letter…. G because that's my new last name.

44. Body part… Smile/Mouth

45. Memory… All of them. I wouldn't be "me" without all of my experiences.

46. Job… Huh??? Mine, I guess.

47. Name…. Joshy - my new hubby.

48. Splurge… An awesome pair of jeans. It is one of the few things that I will spend a ridiculous amount of money on.

49. Game…. Scene It or Trivial Pursuit

50. Spice… Garlic - there can never be too much garlic.

Christmas Presents

Sadly, with recovering from the wedding and working on getting out over 200 thank you notes, I haven't done much Christmas shopping. And, the shopping that I have done has been online. But, I am almost totally finished with Josh. Since he has no idea how to locate my blog *yet*, here is one of my purchases.

He asked for some slippers, so I got these Uggs...

I think that he'll love them.

As far as what I've asked for for Christmas and my birthday (December 28th)...

From Josh, I have asked for a couple of things. 1.) A new pair of designer jeans (I am addicted). Which pair has yet to be determined. I need to get to Nordstrom's and pick some out. 2.) This Tiffany bracelet - http://tinyurl.com/29m2dp . I bought this for my sister (who was my MOH) as a gift for the wedding. What can I say? I have jewelry envy and now want if for myself. Besides...I already have these earrings that go with it - http://tinyurl.com/25sgsq .

I finally caved...

Yes, I did it. I finally gave in and started a blog. And, I actually resisited for a quite a while. I don't know what it is... Maybe I feel slightly pretentious. As in, what is so special about my life that people want to continually read about it? A "who do I think I am?" kind of a thing.

But, then again, I love reading everyone else's blogs and don't find those bloggers to be at all pretentious or self-absorbed. So...what the hell. You can now add my blog to the list. I don't know what exactly I plan to say, but I hope it's interesting :) .