Christmas 4 & 5: Maryland

As I said in my previous post, we woke up Saturday, Christmas Day, to snow and it didn't stop until Tuesday. Lucky for us we had plans to leave Boone early Sunday morning, so we just barely scooted out before the driving got too rough.

Christmas 4
We arrived at Jimmy's mom's condo in Columbia, MD late afternoon on Sunday and festivities began shortly thereafter. Martha had yummy pizza and snacks for us. We exchanged our "Secret Santa" gifts, Kevin found the pickle ornament and for that was awarded a new Redskins Jersey. We played Apples to Apples and Taboo for Target gift cards. I love that Martha sweetens the deal with gift cards - as if the O'Connor's need anything to make them more competitive than they already are!


Christmas 5
We woke up Monday morning and quickly made our way to Jimmy's dad and stepmom's house in Woodbine, MD for Christmas 5. Marisol had swedish meatballs and homemade crab soup for us to munch on. Again, we exchanged "Secret Santa" gifts and then opened our Marisol, made-with-love, stockings. Best stocking gift - the matching flannel pajamas for the whole family - see the group shot below! Oh and Marisol and Dan got the cutest puppy named Buddy!

After the debris was cleaned up and we were once again spoiled with lovely presents, the girls quickly started on prepping the turkey feast for that evening. About 3ish, the extended family, Uncle Jamie, Aunt Aileen and Uncle Pat, in from Chicago, and cousins Austin, Kelsey, Meghan and Michael showed up. I stayed in the kitchen with Marisol, but the rest of family played the "Minute to Win It" games Kelly had set-up in the basement. From the sound of it, it was very fun!

We had a wonderful turkey dinner and then began the annual O'Connor Grab Bag, or Dirty Santa, game. Always a good time. And then Marisol and Dan gave all the cousins matching hoodies with built-in headphones!

Though that concludes our "Christmas" celebrations, the fun didn't stop there. We stayed with Dan and Marisol on Tuesday night as well. We went for a great walk through the woods near their house and then just laid around and read and I even snuck in a little nap. In the evening, Dan and Marisol introduced me to a new (to me), but I think really old, game called Skip-Bo. It was fun.

Wednesday Dan and Marisol left for a New Years trip to SC, so me, Jimmy and Kevin just hung out around the house. Jimmy and I went for a hilly, MD run. It was brutal.

Thursday was a very exciting day for miss Martha and boyfriend, Ron - they got the keys to their new house in Riva, MD near Annapolis! Being three able-bodied youngins', we met Ron at the old Columbia condo to help with moving day. A short 8 hours later and we were enjoying a cold beer in the new place. It's an amazing house that I know they, and we, will enjoy for years to come. Couldn't be happier for them!

To celebrate the new house, we went out to dinner at a local crab house and then called it a night. Friday we had plans to see Annapolis before we headed back to NC in the afternoon and let me say that I am so glad we did. Annapolis was such a pretty place. I honestly think I took 200 pictures of other peoples' houses. A little weird...

Anywho, we got back to NC at about 10pm on Friday, New Years Eve, stayed awake long enough to say "Happy New Years" to one another and then pretty much went into R&R mode for the rest of the weekend.

More to come on other life happenings soon...

Christmas 1, 2 & 3: Boone, NC

2 weeks, 5 Christmases = 2 very tired, but very fortunate humans and 1 likewise pup! Alright, now where do I start... Friday, December 17th Jimmy and I had a full, busy day at work while Malloy was at the puppy play center down the road. At the stroke of 5pm, we were out the door to pick up Malloy and hit the road towards Boone.

Christmas #1
First stop was my dad's for a couple days with the Grandparents in from Ohio and, of course, Colin in from Arizona. We lasted just a little while Friday night then Saturday was a fun-filled day of hiking (Malloy loves big sticks!) and our annual "Christmas Eve" dinner of steak fondue, Heintzelman hashbrown casserole, salad and garlic bread.

Sunday morning was our "Christmas Day" with Grandma and Grandpa. First thing after we woke up it was time to begin the cooking prep for our annual "Christmas Day" turkey feast. Mom came over in the afternoon to enjoy dinner and the gift exchange with us. Great presents were both given and received and great company was enjoyed!

Monday morning - what was the date at this point? - right, Dec. 20th, Jimmy and I woke up to 17 degree weather and snow flurries, but still decided 2 full days of over-eating was enough to justify an early morning run. So we set out and did about 2 miles in the chilly and hilly mountains of NC. After a shower it was time to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa, concluding Christmas #1.

Christmas #2
Our next stop was Boone proper to spend a couple days with mom! Ali's boyfriend, Dieter, was in town with his 2 bulldogs, we had Malloy, Ali had Nala, my mom has Mikey - it was a show with all the dogs, but very fun nonetheless. We hung out during the day and then went out to dinner at our favorite local Mexican restaurant. It was important to my mom to have us spend the night with her before we opened gifts, so we decided to do our "Christmas Day" with her on Wednesday, which made Tuesday "Christmas Eve".

Tuesday we went on a great hike where there was tons of snow, like feet of snow in some places. Dieter almost got Ali and I stuck in a snowy ditch. It was an adventure. Needless to say, the hot tub and a holiday-festive sneaky pete cocktail was just what the doctor ordered. That night we played our new game, The Game of Things, and had delicious heavy appetizer foods for dinner.

Wednesday morning we opened the majority of our presents, saving our stockings and a gift or two for actual Christmas Day. Again, too many wonderful gifts were given and received. Man, we're so fortunate. We then spent the rest of Wednesday playing games and hanging out. We made a great dinner of pork tenderloin, twice baked potatoes, asparagus and an incredible salad. My mom's friend Tim joined us which was an added perk! Wonderful Christmas #2!

Christmas #3
Thursday morning we woke up at my mom's, but quickly headed over to my dad's to spend the next two days with him and exchange a few gifts between the five of us. Thursday day was pretty uneventful and relaxing. We made a Mexican feast for dinner with "Taco Bell-inspired" double decker tacos, refried beans and Mexican rice. Friday morning was our "Christmas Morning" with my dad. Among a couple other things, I got an iPod shuffle. I've been running without music since my iPod died months ago and it's been torture. Yay for music again!

Friday night Ali made the family spaghetti and meatballs recipe and hit it out of the park. Great job Ali!

Saturday morning, actual Christmas Day, we woke up at my dad's to a WHITE CHRISTMAS and drove to my mom's to spend our last day in town with her. We opened our stockings and then went out to lunch at our favorite local Chinese restaurant. Yummy! We then went back to my mom and hunkered down for a great snowfall and soaked up our last day together...

 Stayed tuned for our wonderful adventures in Maryland - Christmases 4 & 5!

On the Road

We're so exciting this morning because after work today we're heading out of town for 2 weeks. First stop is Boone to see my family, including Colin, in from Arizona, and my grandparents, in from Ohio! Whether is actually snows on Christmas day is questionable, but there is no doubt that we'll see snow at some point over the next week! Boone has been in the midst of a near blizzard!

Then it's off to MD the day after Christmas to see Jimmy's family! We didn't make it up there for Thanksgiving, so this is a long awaited visit with everyone. Jimmy's Aunt Aileen and family are coming in from Chicago. Jimmy's mom and her boyfriend just bought a beautiful home near Annapolis. Fun will be had by all!

Can't wait to see everyone!

Sad Day Turned Happy

Today began on a grim note as we had a funeral to attend for our CFO, Tim Brennan, who lost his awful battle with cancer late last week. We joined colleagues and Tim's family and friends for a mass, burial service and reception in his honor today. Everything was gut-wrenching as far as I was concerned with bagpipes, Ava Maria, Bugle Taps and very touching speeches, including one from his super brave son, Connor.

With nowhere to go but up, moods lightened at the reception. Jimmy and I actually ended up having a nice time with everyone and even took a few minutes to take in beautiful Southport, NC, stopping in a few cute shops before heading home via the ferry. We've since been relaxing at home and counting our blessings. Tim's family is certainly not the only one missing a loved one around the holidays this year.

Feeling very fortunate to end out this day with imminent family visits ahead. Love you everyone!

Mom's Visit and My Little Cuddler

My mom came into town Wednesday night for a long weekend in Wilmington. We stayed up way too late chatting Wednesday. Thursday we met for lunch and my mom ran around town. Thursday night we had a great dinner of these mussels, crusty bread and a big salad with warm goat cheese. Yummy!

Friday I worked again and my mom actually had an interview with a local mental health agency in town. Friday night was the Castle Branch Christmas Party in Wrightsville Beach. It was fun to have my mom meet Jimmy and I's colleagues! We were both eager to get home early though as Jimmy was flying in from a business trip later that night.

Saturday we went out for breakfast and then I ran around with my mom looking at property in Carolina Beach. My mom actually decided to head home early because Boone was forecasted to have a horrible snow/ice storm Saturday night/Sunday morning.

Good thing is we only have 5 days left until our Christmas vacation. Just wrapped presents. Have brownies in the oven. Feeling very much in the spirit...

In other news, I've never known another dog to love being burrowed in blankets/towels so much. Here is Malloy caught relishing in the moment...

One Third

Jimmy just took his last final for this semester which means...he's a third of the way through the program and no more school until 2011!! I thought he'd feel like the XBox 360 kid on Christmas morning, but in reality, the excitement naturally builds gradually when you've been working so hard for so long. I'm very, very proud of him. Can't wait for our break away from it all starting Dec. 17th!

{via mashable.com}

Weekend Happenings

Not a whole lot... Jimmy had class on Saturday and hours and hours of studying to do for his finals on Monday and Tuesday. Despite it being frigid for Carolina Beach, we attempted to ride our bikes to watch the holiday flotilla on Saturday night. I got all bundled up - felt like a sausage - come to find out it was raining, so the flotilla was canceled. Oh well - Malloy didn't want us to go anyways...

Jimmy's done with school until January on Tuesday. Woo hoo! He heads out to a trade show in D.C for work on Wednesday. My mom is coming Wednesday evening for the weekend to check out some job prospects in Wilmington and explore the town. My mom is going to be my date for our company Christmas party on Friday night and our December Dinner Club on Saturday. Should be a good time...