After Christmas Day Slider.

3 Christmases: Part 3, Denver.

The third and final Christmas was in Denver on Christmas day. It definitely wasn't what I wanted in that we weren't around my family. But, due to changing circumstances and ticket prices that were beyond what we could pay, it still turned out great. It was a low key holiday. Low key did not come without a lot of work...

We worked a lot in the kitchen. A Lot! We started Christmas eve eve with a brine and butter toffee.

I decided to try brining a turkey, pioneer woman style. I must admit that it did not turn out that great. It was dry. Probably had more to do with our lack of cooking skills and therefore over cooking it than the brine itself, but who knows. It was my first time cooking a turkey.

The little Christmas tree that could survive the wrath of our cat Nora.

After almost a full day of prepping, we started Christmas off the right way, with homemade sticky buns. I would eat these every morning if I could afford the time to make them and the time to work them off.

Nora was quite excited about presents. She got kittens of boxville postcards and cat treats!

I got an anthropologie sweater from my sister and brother-in-law.

Micah got a burr grinder from them.

I found this little gal stuffed in my stocking. She's this year's new ornament.

Since we weren't going to be around family, we invited some friends over for dinner. It was nice to have people to spend part of the day with.

I wanted to spruce the dinner up a bit, so we got some white spider mums and I printed out a menu of all the food we were having. Here's the table setting, complete with the Christmas menu,

and salt and pepper shakers (Christmas present from my parents).

I think the simplistic decor looked nice.

Overall, we had good food,

and GREAT company.

And that concludes the 3 Christmases of 2010.

3 Christmases: Part 2, Birmingham.

Birmingham was the second stop for Christmas celebrations. I had scheduled to go early to help out my parents when my dad went back into the hospital for the second part of his cancer treatments. Unfortunately, it was postponed yet again, but on the positive side he was feeling much better while I was there. My dad and I went shopping for a christmas tree together on the Tuesday after I flew in. We went to I don't know how many places and walked at least a couple miles in the mall. We eventually found one with my mom, when she joined us later that afternoon. It's a pre-lit one, and amazingly not that difficult to assemble. I think it looked nice.

When I first got to Alabama, it was freezing. And, I mean really cold. For example, here is a picture of one of the fountains at the Summit (an outdoor mall). If you can't tell, it is thickly coated in ice.

Further proof that this fountain was actually in Birmingham. Here's Heather posing in front of it. Too bad it's blurry.

These pictures were taken at our annual Christmas dinner (wish I had taken more). It's a tradition that Heather, MK, and I have kept going strong since we graduated from high school 9 years ago. It first started out with us actually making the food, but a couple years in morphed into us just going out for food. Much easier. This year we went to Flip Burger, a fancy new burger place in Bham. Burgers: I'm sensing a Christmas theme this year. Anyway, the best part was their milkshakes. The four of us (Heather's twin sister joined us this year) split 2: Nutella & Roasted Marshmallow and Yule Cake. Both were delicious, but I think my favorite was the yule cake. Every time this tradition roles around and "survives" another year, I feel so thankful for long-lasting friendships. I'm the type of person that doesn't have tons of friends, but I have a small group of really close friends. I like it better that way. I am grateful for the richness that they bring to my life, for their laughter and encouragement, and simply put their presence.

Changing topics. This is Jav. He's been around for a long time too. 15 years (I think) to be exact.

He's a bit of a grumpy old man.

He pretty much sleeps the day away.

But that's ok. He's old, so he gets to do that.

The night before we left, Micah and I celebrated Christmas with my parents. My mom set up the table all cute and we made tons of food, including my favorite sweet potato dish.

We shared favorite Christmas memories,

and then popped opened some champagne before opening presents.

The next day, before leaving, we went to a new(ish?) Greek restaurant, Do Di Yos. I was actually impressed by the meal (maybe it has something to do with the fact that Denver restaurants are so terrible, they've lowered my expectations.) One thing I did find odd though was that they bring out hummus for you to mash up yourself. Huh? You want me to do your job for you? They claim that this way you can make it as creamy as you like. I can't puree garbanzo beans with a mortar and pestle. And who likes their hummus chunky? Enough people to warrant a do-it-yourself experience? I seriously doubt that. Anyway, here's Micah trying to smooth out our hummus.

Oh, and the pita chips were incredibly OVER peppered. It was way too much!

But my salad and main entree was tasty. It definitely kept me full for the flight back to Denver (which was delayed and lengthened by about 2 hours.) Southwest makes me want to pull out my hair sometimes, but yet they have the best deals and everyone knows I'm a sucker for a low price.

Mom. Dad. I had a great time!

3 Christmases: Part 1, Los Angeles.

Part one of Christmas was really Thanksgiving in LA, but we did celebrate by decorating the tree, drinking hot chocolate, and opening presents. For some reason, every s.i.n.g.l.e time I visit LA, it is unusually cold. For some unknown reason, it is in the 70s before I come and in the 70s after I go, but while I'm there it is always much cooler, or overcast, or rainy. It's a mystery, but I've concluded that LA just doesn't like me.

I guess I can't really complain, because even bad weather in LA, is nothing compared to other places. I mean, we still went for a beautiful walk on the beach, while spotting dolphins and admiring a perfect sunset.

One thing I unfortunately did not think of doing was taking a picture of all 6 of us. But, at least I got everyone is twos. So, here's Tana and Crystal.

Thanksgiving was bursting with food, and the leftovers were still in abundance when our Christmas celebration came around. Everyone thought it was time for a little something different in our diet, so we got in-n-out. Oh, in-n-out, how I miss you. I'm not even ashamed to admit that I ate in-n-out twice while in LA. Best fast food place ever!

After eating our Christmassy burgers and fries, we gathered round the tree, all lit up and decorated with memories. My mother-in-law loves Christmas decorations. She bargain hunts for them in the off season and takes joy in each piece that has been gifted to her. I loved listening to her share memories that are wrapped up in the different ornaments and figurines and holiday dishes she owns.

We opened presents (me, moreso than anyone else because I had birthday presents as well!). I made a couple of the presents we gave, clutches for my sisters-in-law and a table runner for my mother-in-law. I think they liked them, but I know I had fun making them. Piecing the fabric together and creating something out of nothing (ok, there might have been a few moments when I cursed the day I thought taking up sewing would be a fun/easy hobby). But, I'm glad I did it.

whatchu looking at?

whiskers.

Nora's whiskers take up the vast majority of her face.

They are by far the biggest whiskers I have ever seen on a cat.

But, they make her her.

And, I love them (and her).

Broncos vs. Raiders.

For our 1-yr anniversary, I gave Micah tickets to the Broncos/Raiders NFL game. He's been a Broncos fan since he was little (odd, I know). And, the Raiders drafted a player from Alabama last year, so I thought it'd be fun to see him play.

Our seats were high up in the stadium though. I mean, really high up. There were two rows of seats behind us and that was it! Here we are all smiles, before the game began and before the fan drama went down. Oh, to be innocent again.

They had a number of different pre-game activities, one of which included 4 people parachuting

right onto the field!

They really pulled out all the stops for the Broncos grand entrance. Smoke. Fire. A huge blow-up bronco. Cheerleaders. And a cowgirl riding a horse in front of the players.

And that's pretty much where the fun stopped. I won't go into the whole story, but it included the 4 class-less people sitting behind us yelling expletives at the Raiders and then at us to the point that I did not feel safe. So, we got up and left. I was SO angry. I have lost count of the ridiculous amount of poor encounters with Coloradans, and this was just the icing on the cake. I was literally in tears, walking towards the exit, hoping that by a miracle we could, instead of going home, get to the airport and never turn back. I was THAT ticked off. I know it was a highly emotional response given that one can't expect much from people that are regular football game attendees, but come on!

Our first thought was to just leave the game, because it had been such a bad interaction. But, after being assured by security that they would take care of it, and after talking to guest services and being offered new seats, we decided to give it another try. And, I'm really glad we did. We got seated in the plush club level and this was our new view.

You can definitely tell that I had been crying before this photo was taken,

but there were still smiles to be had.

You could actually see the players quite well from our new seats. See #55 on the Raider's team? That's Rolando McClain, he played for Alabama! And, I was secretly rooting for him. He made some great plays.

And then came half time. It was probably the best part of the entire game. It was some little leaguers vs. a whole slew of mascot characters. I still can't understand why all these mascots were at the game, but it made for a good laugh, mainly because they would just chase after some little kid and plow them over.

The game didn't get any better in the second half (the Broncos loss 14-59), but let me remind you, we had some sweet seats!

The weather was amazing, and I took this picture as a few darker clouds rolled in. A little dramatic, but I like it!

Lastly, here's a shot from one of the bars inside the club level. It had a nice view of downtown in the background.

All in all, I won't be back for a Broncos game. I'll cheer them on from home or a bar, but I'll keep my sanity and lessen the potential for interactions with stupid people.

a birthday surprise.

So a good, almost month and a half ago, my dad turned 60. It was a big deal. He's been through a whole lot this year, and my mom and my sister and I all wanted to make it a special occasion.

We both (along with Micah and Hsiong) flew to Alabama under the pretense that we were going to a band reunion (yes, laugh all you want, I was that pimply-faced teenager in the band that could give you a million "remember that one time at band camp?"). It wasn't a lie either, because we did attend a pathetic attempt at a reunion. I think there were about 10 people, ok 20 max. But, it was a part of the plan, and it got us in town without suspicion.

Friday was my dad's actual birthday, but the party was planned for Saturday night. I was quite surprised that we were able to pull it off, with all the little white lies and covering things so that he wouldn't know anything was up. I wish I could have seen his face when he opened the door and there inside was a gathering of family and friends that have been faithfully supportive and encouraging over the years. He was quite shocked!

My dad and some family friends.

Kristen, Hsiong, and April

My mom (on the right) and some family friends.

Darn this picture for being blurry, it's so cute!

My younger cousins were eager to help my dad open all his presents.

My dad got an ipad for his birthday. Here he is with the keyboard attachment.

It was also Kristen's birthday!

Me, Heather, and Sarah

My grandmother and my youngest cousin (isn't he adorable?).

Micah and Hsiong. Not quite sure what they're talking about here,

looks like it was concerning.

Micah, Heather, and I

My parents (with one of my cousins ruining the picture in the background!)

I should have gotten some pictures of all the amazing cupcakes Kristen made. I think there were about 5 different kinds. And, they were all a hit at the party. I'm extremely glad that we all got to be home and celebrate together. Dad, if you're reading this, I hope you know how much I love you! You continue to amaze me with your honesty and perseverance.