Christmas Dinner at Auntie Gail’s


Derek & Mitch


Tommy was tickling Kate and Kate was giggling like crazy.


Derek playing the pinball machine that’s so old his dad and uncles used to play it at his age.


Ben, Derek, Chris, Mitch – Nintendo DSi was a popular gift this year.


Chris & Kenji setting up for the adult’s gift bag swap.


Mitch in the midst of the swap


Aly was excited to win a Snuggie in the swap. Cool, because we brought it!


Aly modeling her new Snuggie


Kids are all ready to go home and to bed: Derek, Tommy, Ben, Kenji, Kate

On Christmas day we always go to Dallas’ Auntie Gail’s house in Mt. Prospect. This was the first year we had a car to actually drive ourselves out, which doesn’t seem like a big deal, but in the past it’s always been a hassle to try to get a ride.

Auntie Gail made the same dinner she makes every year: beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, corn, green bean casserole and her mom’s lettuce/mayo/crab/pea/something salad. Not a huge fan of the salad but everything else was fantastic, as always.

All of the adults have a $10 gift bag exchange after dinner. This year didn’t get too crazy, except when someone took away Aly’s gift. She had her eye on one and it turned out to be a Snuggie, which she was really psyched about. And it was awesome for us because that was one of the gifts we brought. Dallas ended up getting a metal water bottle and I got a scrapbook with two $5 bills taped on it. Not sure how that works out. Aly brought it and tried to explain it to me, but I wasn’t following. Ha.

Previous Christmases at Auntie Gail’s:
2008
2007
2006
2005

As Seen on TV @ Bed Bath & Beyond

Snuggie & ShamWow at Bed Bath & Beyond

Historic Victory Obama Collectable Plates at Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond, River North, Chicago

A few weeks ago I was at Bed Bath & Beyond on State & Grand. This is the store where you walk in on the street level and then have to take an escalator to the second floor where the store is located. Right at the top of the escalator there is a whole pallet of Snuggies and ShamWows. Standing in front of this pallet you could turn your head to the right and stick your arm out and touch a large display of Historic Victory Obama Collectable Plates. I never realized it before, but Bed Bath & Beyond is a secret As Seen on TV marketplace. There was the Ped Egg, Strap Perfect, Kinoki Detox Foot Pads, that super absorbent hair towel thing, and many more, I’m sure. I didn’t see the Slap Chop, which is good, because if I had I may have had to buy it.

The Best Valentines Day Gift Ever

snuggieFor an early Valentines Day gift Dallas got me a Snuggie. It’s the best. As you can see, I can read a book (with the free book light that came with the Snuggie) and use the remote without my arms getting cold or being tucked under the blanket!

All joking aside, it really is very warm and cozy. Plus it’s fun to say Snuggie. I will ignore the blue fuzzies that are gathering on my clothes and furniture and how difficult it is to walk on the stairs and the fact that it smells slightly plastic-y. The Snuggie is awesome. It has occurred to me, though, that I’ve been wearing the Snuggie backwards a lot and then essentially I’m just wearing a robe. .. but where can you get a nice, oversized, fuzzy robe like this for only $14.99? And did I mention the free book light that was included?

This all came about from watching the “As Seen on TV commercials on the Sleuth Channel where we watch Magnum P.I. reruns all the time. And one night about a week ago I was downstairs in bed reading. It was freezing. I keep the heat down to save money. Instead of continuing to read I just bundled under the covers and rolled over to go to sleep, saying I was too cold. Dallas was all “You need the Snuggie to keep your arms warm.” Here I am now typing this while wearing the Snuggie.

Hosting a Super Bowl Party

Super Bowl 43Originally we were going to spend Super Bowl 43 at Jen & Chad’s house, but Jen and Quinn are visiting relatives in California and Chad was traveling on business and got stuck there longer than he’d anticipated. So Dallas and I volunteered to host the party at our house.

It ended up being a fabulous food party. Dallas made 4 pounds of slow cooker pulled pork and blue cheese cole slaw to eat on the sandwiches or on the side. I made cocktail wieners and guacamole. Loden made cheesy potato casserole and mini football-shaped brownies. On each one there were the frosted football details. Kristin made cornbread and chicken fingers. Jill made pumpkin cake and chocolate chocolate chip cake. Liz made cookies. And everyone brought beer and wine. So much food and drinks. So delicious.

The game? I thought it was ok. Everyone keeps saying how it was such a good game, but I don’t think any of us really got into it until the 4th quarter.. and specifically Brian and Loden were just cheering for their numbers at the end (they both won money). I don’t really even remember any of the commercials. They weren’t that great this year. Some were even old commercials that were already playing on TV. We did like the Cash4Gold commercial, though. It sparked a long discussion about Snuggies and ShamWows.

Killian and Liz brought their new dog, Sandy, over to the house. She’s only about 6 months old and they’re still training her so they couldn’t leave her at home the whole time. I thought she was going to be a crazed puppy, but she was really relaxed and listened very good. .. and no accidents! Sandy is the 4th dog (Maggie, Milo, Jackson) to visit our house and we’ve only lived there 3 months. Guess that means we have a dog-friendly condo. Jill and Brian brought their extra Wii controllers and the Mario Kart game. After the football game we all played Wii.

Abby and Phil’s wedding was Saturday night (more on that later) and I was so exhausted that I couldn’t bring myself to take any photos yesterday. I know. Crazy!