Ugly Christmas Tree

I heard this essay a couple of weeks ago on NPR and I immediately thought of my sister, Emily. You see, Emily hates those ugly trees with homemade Christmas ornaments. I guess she likes the idea of a beautiful, coordinated tree. She always says that when she has her own kids, she is going to give them their own little Christmas tree for all those handmade ornaments. I have a feeling she will change her mind once her kids say, "Hey, Mommy...look at this ornament I made you!" :)

This essay is called "Appreciating the Ugliness of a Christmas Tree" by Ken Harbaugh. Enjoy!

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/21/143276270/appreciating-the-ugliness-of-the-christmas-tree

WooHoo, New Planner!

BIG NEWS! I just got my new 2012 planner!! Haha :) A few years ago I found my beloved planner (the red one) at Barnes and Noble. I always loved getting my new school planner back in junior high, high school, and at ASU. I remember being at Barnes and Noble and debating whether or not to splurge on the red one, but I did...and it was the BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE! I bring it to work everyday. Not only that, I HAVE to have it out on my desk, next to me. One time I thought I lost it and I started freaking out. I can't explain it, I just love having a planner. It probably stems from my obsession with being on top of things.

The last couple of years I have been able to get the refill from Barnes and Noble. This year, the store near me was completely out. They did have the same planner, just in a different color...so since the spine on my red one is tearing, I decided to replace the red one. AND it rang up 50% off (all of their calendars are 50% now).

ANYWAY, now you all think I am really strange and probably want to stop reading. Here are some pictures





It was kind of fun to look back on my 2011 planner (the pages were full of wedding stuff in January and February). I have saved other planners from years ago and those are really fun to look at too. Well, got to go...I have some planning to do :)

Christmas Recap

Belated Merry Christmas to everyone! I was back to work today so Christmas feels long gone! George and I left for AZ on Friday afternoon and came home last night. We had a very, very quick couple of days with family. On Saturday (Christmas Eve), we went to church at 3pm, followed by some appetizers at home and then Christmas caroling. This is our second year Christmas caroling and I think the tradition is going to stick!

Last year on our way to AZ for Christmas, George was playing Christmas songs on his ukulele. I was kind of singing along when I had a great idea...we should carol later that night with my family!! So, when we got to the house, we ran the idea by everyone. Most of them thought it was a horrible idea, but we convinced them and everyone ended up loving it! All of our neighbors/friends were waiting for us this year. Our two songs this time were "Joy to the World" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". George played the guitar which definitely helped cover up my not-so-good singing :)

We spent Christmas morning with my family and Christmas afternoon/evening with George's family. We ate a tasty breakfast on Christmas morning (some kind of breakfast casserole and monkey bread) and then a delicious dinner (steak, mashed potatoes, etc.) at George's parent's. At night, we went to a see "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo". It was a really, really good movie (fyi- there are a few disturbing scenes). BUT the best part of the movie was the theater! Nick (George's movie-loving friend) suggested we go to AMC Cinema Suites near the Biltmore. It was one of those theaters that serves food and has reclining chairs. It is a very unique experience that you all should try out.

Like I said, the weekend went by too fast as I'm sure it did for you all. I hope everyone had a great Christmas too.

My blog is still being strange about picture uploads, but I managed post a few...

Caramel Corn

Caramel Corn...check! (kind of)

Just finished up a batch of caramel corn. My goal was to make 12 little bags of it, but one batch only got me 8 so it looks like I'll be making some more tomorrow night.

I hit up Costco today too. Normally I love browsing the aisles of Costco to see what new stuff they have, but today it was so busy that I just wanted to get in, get the stuff I needed, and get out. I didn't even stop for samples :)

I will leave you with the caramel corn recipe...


Caramel Popcorn:

(Recipe from Audrey Warren)

1 C. Butter
2 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Light Corn Syrup
1 Tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Vanilla
6 Quarts popped corn
Peanuts, optional

1. Melt butter in saucepan

2. Add sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Stir continuously until mixture comes to a boil. Let mixture boil without stirring for 5 minutes

3. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla

4. Slowly pour caramel over popped corn and optional peanuts. Mix well

5. Spread on 2 large baking pans. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and break apart. Store in covered container.

7. Temperature 250 degrees

8. Time: 1 hour

GRR! Something strange is going on with my blog and it won't let me upload the pictures of the caramel corn. If I figure it out, I will add them.

Christmas Plans

WooHoo, I am excited! Our Christmas cards are in the mail and presents are wrapped and ready to go. 6 days until Christmas and 4 days until we are home for Christmas :)

I plan to do some baking for coworkers tomorrow night and Wednesday night....caramel corn and cookies. My mom has a great caramel corn recipe. The stuff is addicting! I post the recipe later this week.

It is a tradition at work to do a big Christmas breakfast on our last day of work before the holiday. Last year was obviously my first time participating and it was SO MUCH FUN! We arrived at some ridiculous hour (like really ridiculous...2am?) and cooked up pancakes, eggs, breakfast potatoes, and bacon/sausage for our drivers, sales reps, and the entire office. I'm looking forward to doing it again this year.

Is everyone else ready for Christmas?

Weekend?

Just a quick update before I go to bed. This weekend has been busy with work! I was helping prepare for a tour and well, it took up some time :) I got a taste of the HORRIBLE Los Angeles traffic on Friday. I am pretty spoiled as my typical commute is just 15 minutes. However, on Friday, I was heading back in from LA and I kid you not, it took me over 3 hours to get home!!! Oh my goodness, I do not know how people do that on a regular basis. I called George on my way home and vented about the ridiculous traffic. So, George, being the loving husband that he is, bought me some beautiful flowers to come home to. There is some pine in the bouquet and it made our room smell great!

We have been to the movies twice in the past week. Go figure...we haven't been the movies in quite awhile and then twice within a few days. On Thursday night, we saw Mission Impossible on opening night. When we lived in Arizona, George and his buddy Nick used to go to the movies a lot (they are both "movie people"). I am not a big movie person and I am really picky about the kind of movies that I like (I really dislike any kind of science fiction). Sherlock Holmes came out this weekend...I actually wanted to see that movie AND the movies are half price on Sundays so we went again tonight. I recommend both movies. If you haven't seen the first Sherlock Holmes, definitely watch that and then watch the new one.

Off to bed! Hope you all are well rested and ready for another work week. For those of you in school, enjoy your break (the rest of us are jealous).

Weekend at Home

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I enjoyed laying low and just hanging out around the house with George after a few weekends away. I did get some stuff accomplished though....I finished up the majority my Christmas shopping. I think I did more online shopping this year than I have done ever before. So many places have free shipping and special online discounts so in some cases, it is cheaper AND no driving, no traffic, and no lines. But sometimes I find the mall/stores fun too :)

It is officially "winter" here in Southern California. It has been in the 50's (and rainy) the last couple of days...which makes it hard to get out of bed in the morning. George had off yesterday which made it extra hard. I get so jealous when I have to wake up and he gets to sleep in. Oh well, it is payback on the Saturdays that he has to work! Hahaha!

We didn't get to do much Christmas decorating this year because our Christmas stuff is in boxes. However, we do have one decoration in our room and I love it!

My Grandma Warren got us this little hand-carved wooden nativity scene as part of our wedding gift. Such a wonderful reminder of the meaning of Christmas. Thank you, Grandma!

Sweet and Salty Pretzels

Happy Thursday night! I can taste the weekend....

Real quick, I wanted to share a super easy recipe that I got from my lovely sister-in-law, Terrisa. She brought these to an ASU game that we went to last month and everyone loved them. I'm not too sure if they have an official name so I will just call them Sweet and Salty Pretzels.

There are just three ingredients: mini pretzels, Rolos, and M&Ms

Lay the pretzels on a cookie sheet and start unwrapping the Rolos (most time consuming part)

Place the Rolos on top of the pretzels like so...

Slightly melt the Rolos (225 degrees for 3 minutes should do the trick). Remove from oven and press the M&Ms into the Rolo. And if you're weird like me, you will make sure the "m" is facing up on each :)

Place in fridge and VOILA!

What a great little treat! Per George's suggestion, I might get crazy and use Peanut Butter M&Ms next time.

Now off to something else....hmm, perhaps an episode or two of Criminal Minds!

Denver Trip

I am finally getting around to updating my blog after a busy couple of weeks. I think I mentioned in my last post that George and I celebrated our Thanksgiving on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving morning together (I made a big breakfast for us) and I hit the road in the late morning. I arrived in Arizona just in time for Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Paisley even joined in on the Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, bread, and even a little bit of turkey. Emily, Hannah, Terrisa, my mom, and I planned out our Black Friday shopping strategy after dinner. So many stores actually opened on Thanksgiving day or 12am on Black Friday…which we did not like so much. We hit-up Michael’s and Wal-Mart on Thursday evening, and then called it quits until 6am on Friday morning. We weren’t going for any big electronics so we headed to the mall and ended up getting some great deals. I actually worked out of Phoenix on Monday and Tuesday and made it back to California just in time to do laundry and pack for our Colorado trip. We dodged the crazy Santa Ana winds here in Southern California and made it to Denver on Thursday afternoon. My cousin Dan and his wife Alaina joined the family this year on our annual Beaver Creek ski trip. Of course, The Ritz did not disappoint!! George’s skiing improved so much this year with his new skis – I was very proud! Emily, Terrisa, and I were in charge of the annual Friday night spaghetti dinner with all of the other Hill-Rom families (my mom and Hannah didn’t arrive until Friday night)…I think our execution was pretty good for our first time cooking for about 40 people! Today, it was back to reality….no more heated floors, valet, Ritz cookies, or a tea/coffee bar. Hannah and my mom, however, are off to Hawaii for marching band. Hannah’s band is playing for the 70^thanniversary of Pearl Harbor. She is the first of my siblings to make it to Hawaii………needless to say, I think we’re all a little jealous :)

I am happy to be home to enjoy the Christmas season with George. I love this time of year!! We are finalizing our Christmas plans, but it’s looking like we will be traveling to Phoenix a couple of days before Christmas.

I will leave you all with a couple of pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Just arrived in Denver and waiting for the others...

Paisley and Hannah ready for some snow!

Got to love her mode of transportation!