Gishmas 2012

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  Here is a quick photo tour of Gishmas 2012:

Come on in!

Doc is ready in his Christmas sweater

Presents are accumulating!

Nutcrackers, galore! (Plus awesome Pinterest idea for what to do w/Christmas cards!)

The stockings were hung by the chimney fireplace with care.

Me and my babies on Christmas Eve

Lydia gets some Pin action

Opening presents at the Gishes

Matching sweaters....

YAY!

ANOTHER matching sweater...

Doc and Chloe on Christmas morning

Opening presents

Burying her treat underneath the Christmas tree and pushing a present on top of it with her nose.

ohboyohboyohboyohboy

Doc unwrapping

Joey's new Mickey Mouse Nutcracker

Mimosas for us and a nap for Chloe- she's had enough of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

~SG

Little B!

We are still recovering from the busiest weekend EVER!

Joey and I went up to PA this weekend for the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert, my brother's engagement party, and my family Christmas "Trim the Tree" party.  Whew! 

I'm still compiling all the craziness from the engagement party because I did a lot to plan and organize, so there are a TON of pictures.  Plus, the party itself was pretty rockin'!

One of the best parts of my weekend was that we got to see our Goddaughter, Brooklyn.  She is growing up SO FAST.  It is amazing to see her learn and grow.  We're so blessed.  It was so good to see Steph (her Mom!) and we had a great time visiting.

Look at this little munchkin! I love her so much.

We opened Christmas presents and played with her new Melissa & Doug puzzles!

Joey helped her hang some ornaments on the tree.

She sat in my brother's rocker and played with the monkeys

Steph, Brooklyn and Me!

Shrek the Halls!

I know I've been a terrible blogger lately but I've been a little preoccupied with running.  It's a solid excuse, right? 

A couple weekends ago, Joey, my BIL Jason, and his GF Lydia went up to National Harbor to see ICE! at the Gaylord National Hotel.  We got there early and after picking up our tickets, headed to the Irish pub for a beer and some dinner.

National Harbor is pretty small, so naturally all the restaurants were crowded.  We managed to arrive at the bar RIGHT when a group of 4 was leaving, so we got really lucky.  We watched some college football and waited forever for our food.  It was really awkward when mine came out way before everyone elses, and then we realized I was eating someone else's dinner.  Whoops.

After dinner it was time for the show!  If you haven't gone, please do realize that it is really cold in there.  Don't underestimate how cold it can be! Wear gloves, warm socks and shoes, and bring a hat!

Here are a few pictures from our adventure:

Joey with the sign, made of ice!

The crew

Village Idiots ;)

Me and Lydia in the outhouse

Classic

Me going down the ice slide!

Me and Joey

Pretty angel!

Happy Tuesday!

~SG

Gingerbread Pins

It's like a Gingerbread MAN... except it's made with a Min Pin cookie cutter!

Oh stop it, you really thought I wouldn't have one of those?!

Joey even took the liberty of snapping a few photos because I was channeling my Mother and wearing an apron.  Unfortunately, we don't have a rolling pin.  Luckily for everyone, I had an unopened bottle of wine that worked just as good!

The pins tend to plump up a bit in the oven while baking.  I was joking that they went from looking like Doc to looking like Chloe....... (It's not her fault- she's a bigger dog!)

I used store-bought dough (come ON...you didn't think I'd make this from scratch did you?) and it worked out really well.  I had alot of fun using the flour and the cookie cutter and making a big mess.

After the cookies were cool, it was time for icing! I made a Chloe and a Doc first because naturally, they are Min Pins.  Chloe is the one with the nipples and the eyelashes and is slightly more plump...  Doc has a lump on his side which was recently deemed a harmless cyst by the vet. Nonetheless, it has incurred the endearing term, "Lumpy" (or "Rumpy") so it had to make an appearance on the cookie as well.

The 'recipe' made quite a few too many cookies and I needed a creative way to get rid of them.  Luckily, we were set to pick up Jason and Lydia for our double date to ICE that evening, so I was able to offload a few cookies there.  Mom, if you're lucky (and they aren't stale) I'll bring some for you and Dad in a couple weeks!

We have several leg-less Min Pins in our Min Pin Tin (omg) but they are still delicious.

~SG



It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Which is weird because this is the earliest I've ever decorated or even thought about the holidays.  And here I am with holiday nails, buying holiday presents, with a box full of finished holiday cards (that I am not sending because it is too early), and a house full of holiday decorations.

Last week we put up the tree.  We decided to go with a fake tree because it's free, it was accessible, and we still have time to go get a real one if we change our mind. (Or, have two.)

There is still much decorating to be done, garland to be strung, outside lights, things to buy, etc.  But getting into the Christmas spirit is oh so fun!

~SG