Here are the watermelon socks on mom’s feet on Christmas day. I finished them at 11:41pm Christmas Eve while she was asleep in the guest room. sneaky sneaky! I didn’t weave in the ends on the afterthought heel just in case and it turns out I need to rip out a couple of rows as they are just a smidge too big. She really liked them, so I’m excited!

Ps. Happy New Year, World! 2012 is gonna rock! :)

It has been brought to my attention that there was no Annual Posting of Christmas Tree and Sydney 2010 on the blog. In light of that error, here are the best ones:

Sydney is somewhat afraid of the Christmas tree and is very good about staying out of packages even if they smell like they might be for her (assuming dog toys have a smell, I’ve really no idea). But, I thought this would be a cute pic, so I threw a treat under there and told her to “get it!”. She gave me a look that said “seriously? now why would you throw a perfectly good treat in a hard to reach place? I’m standing right here with plenty of free floor space around. crazy people.” and then she very delicately proceded to dig it out. She’s such a good sport.

This is one of my all time favorites. I think I’d thrown her a treat and it was just a little out of reach (cause let’s be honest, I’m not always that great of a shot). After snapping the pic I ran over and fetched the treat to her.

Ps. If you are a knitter, I promise that I’m working on secret Christmas knitting and I’ll have knitted goodies to show as soon as you hear the departing bells on Santa’s sleigh! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Sunday –
I headed off to visit the super cute nephew and SIL on the east coast.
After getting settled on the plane, the flight was delayed. There was a warning light on that would not go off. I was hoping it was a light problem and not actually the problem the light was warning about. The captain said he’d let us know as soon as he knew how long the delay would be once the mechanic arrived. Not five seconds later, the lady behind me asks the flight attendant, “how long are we going to be delayed?” The flight attendant, to her credit, did not say, “Are you f-ing kidding me? HE JUST SAID we’d let you know.” But instead stated, “We’re not sure, but even if we’re delayed an hour, no one is going to miss their connections.” I found this information comforting and settled down to knit after texting the SIL my status.

As promised, I did not miss my connection and arrived safely in Virginia. After landing, I texted SIL of my arrival. And then, my phone rang. It was a different SIL with a crochet question…and then someone texted me with a work question….while I was trying to figure out where my gate checked bag had gone. It was a little bit of a perfect storm…for about 5 mins. whew! but everything settled down. I found my bag and my peeps, finished up with one SIL, and the work thing got settled. All was well with the world…except for food. I was starving. I got Panera. MIL and SIL got Starbuck’s.

The in-laws visit for Nephew’s birthday overlapped with mine by one day; here’s a picture of the handsome bunch.

You’ll notice I’m not particularly dressed up on the left there. Those are my airport clothes.

After the group pic, we went to see a “Trail of Lights” type thing. Nephew was super cute as we pointed out lit trucks, boats, and sharks to him. He was a good sport and repeated a lot of the words.

Then, that night, he got a bath as usual. Grandma and Aunt and mom in the bathroom proved to be a bit much and he did take the opportunity to show off by washing himself. When mom said it was time to wash his “bum bum”, he stuck his rear end right under the running faucet.

Gotta love that hair!

Monday –
Grandma and Grandpa were leaving for home and Nephew was pretty sad to see them go. We put on some tunes and had a dance party in the living room and that seemed to help a bit.

We took the Nephew to his check up. One of the questions was, “does he know 50 words?”. I thought he knew an awful lot of words, so sure, 50 sounds reasonable, but we double-checked with the doctor and turns out only mom has to be able to understand them, so yea, he clears 50 by a mile. good times. As a PSA, I will let you know the doctor said to watch out for peanuts and button batteries as choking hazards. No peanuts til they’re older. I’m not sure how old. peanuts are probably ok once they can vote?
This was his first time to meet this particular doctor after they moved. SIL was talking to the doctor and was closer in proximity to him, so the Nephew analyzed this and decided that since I was not on as good of terms with the scarey doctor that I was a good haven and tried to crawl up my legs. I immediately picked him up and cuddled him while his mom and the doctor finished talking. One of the high points of my life, I’m telling you.
That took up a good chunk of the day.

We had Chipotle for dinner. His mom claimed we’d have to hurry because he eats fast, but I’m married to his uncle and one must eat fast or have to get to go bags a lot, so I beat him……I believe at every meal.

And then we got Starbuck’s. SIL was on the hunt for a Starbuck’s that had the Thanksgiving blend on tap. Sadly, this one did not.

Tuesday –
On the next day of my adventure, we got up and hung out around the house a little bit. Once we were all ready to go, we went to get lunch at Chick’s Oyster Bar. I love this place. They had the broth kind of clam chowder that is healthier than the cream based kind so, while it looked funny, I was pleasantly surprised by my choice.

We enjoyed eating on the balcony over the water at picnic tables.
Then we were off to the beach.

step 1: Put on my super cool sock money hat (courtesy of Michelle).

step 2: Take photos with crazy adorable Nephew.

step 3: Get near the ocean and lean over so Nephew can touch the water. The water is very cold, so it is important to stay at the edge. Focus on the toddler so he doesn’t get wet and cold. Pay no attention to the water suddenly rushing around my shins and soaking into my sneakers. It seems I forgot exactly how the ocean works. oops! whew doggies it was cold!

step 4: Embrace the hilarity of the situation.


Next on the agenda was a yarn shop (The Yarn Club). I opted to go in barefoot so as not to share my sand and seawater with them. The first lady that helped me did not seem to notice my bare feet. She just directed me to the locally dyed yarn and left me to peruse. The lady that assisted me next (Andrea) and ended up ringing up my purchase nicely asked, “What happened?” and I told her that I’d accidently waded in the ocean and didn’t want to bring the sand in her shop, so I’d taken my shoes off. She told me how nice that was of me and continued to discuss knitting, buttons, and Austin with me. She must have been thinking Texans are a little off if they are accidently wading in the ocean, but she didn’t give it away if that was on her mind.

This yarn shop had a nice selection and pretty much bothered me exactly the amount I prefer, so I can recommend it if you’re in Virginia and need knitting-type stuff.

After grabbing Starbucks, we went back to their casa to nap. I’ve never been much into naps, but I tell you what, keeping up with a two year old wore me out!…and before you ask, no, the coffee did not keep me awake but it was delicious! This Starbuck’s did not have the Thanksgiving blend either, but he informed us that they usually didn’t have it brewed in the afternoon…..information she could have used several weeks ago, I think.

Wednesday –
I kept Nephew while SIL picked BIL up. I got Nephew up, changed him, dressed him, fed him breakfast and put Mickey Mouse on the tv with very little incident. I felt like I’d accomplished something monumental. When he asked where his mom was, I explained that she’d gone for Cheerios and he seemed to think that made perfect sense. When they got home and it was mom and dad. He was THRILLED! He seemed to have forgotten about the Cheerios falsehood immediately.

After a bit of interaction, BIL needed a nap, so we took Nephew to Chick Fil A for lunch and then hit the grocery store to procure a last minute turkey. After that, you guessed it, I napped (on the couch this time so I could occassionally wake up and chat with SIL).

Later that evening. SIL gave me lessons in how to make spanish rice (healthier than I expected) and home-made salsa (YUM!). We had that and baked chicken for dinner.

Nephew tried to ride the dog shortly after dinner, but she did not seem in the mood. I was impressed that she was as patient as she was.


BIL kept Nephew and SIL and I were able to sneak off for some girl time that evening. We hit up the local Target. We had a lot of fun just doing the mundane clothes shopping and ended up mostly just looking. I did inform SIL about reusable stainless steel K-cups so she can now have her Thanksgiving blend whenever she likes, so the trip was definitely a win.

Thursday –
Thanksgiving!

This is the first turkey that Ryan has supervised and it was delicious. Way to go, BIL!

SIL and I got several sides from Boston Market because we had planned for a pretty low key Thanksgiving. While there, a gentleman asked for a sample of a side in a cup. The Boston Market employee said, it is the same as the side you see here. And he said, I need a sample “cause if my woman likes it, I’ll buy it.” SIL and I shared a look. I’m still not sure how I feel about the lady in question being referred to as “my woman” but I suppose if she’s ok with it then….well, I guess that’s up to her. Thanksgiving progressed as planned. We also hit up the grocery store for a few odds and ends on the way back. The cashier there was so pleasant, I’m giving her special mention. Way to go, for being in such a good mood when you were working on Thanksgiving! (I wish I could recall her name)

All the Aggies had our maroon on. Ready for the big game! Sadly, this did not go according to plan.


Nephew is a whirling dervish. This is the best pic of him and his new blanket. We gave him a camera to take pictures while we took pictures of him, but that resulted in a lot of pictures where his cute face is covered by the camera.

Nephew and BIL enjoy A Charlie Brown Christmas.
I was a little sad to be leaving the next day but was also ready to go home to my bed/pillow and TH. SIL and I stayed up past midnight talking, but then we had to crash so she could take me to the airport EARLY the next morning.

Friday –
I woke up at about 4am (Eastern) to be ready to leave for the airport by 4:30am so I could be a the airport by about 5am for my 6:25am flight. That came really early. It was super weird to be up so early on Black Friday and not be shopping.

Ps. Nephew is now able to say, “WINNING!”.

Pps. BIL & SIL, THANK YOU for the hospitality!! I had a PERFECT time and have so many beautiful memories! :-)