Ewa spent the entire day after Christmas stranded at the Round Rock outlet malls just as happy as can be. And she's totally ready for more. So today we attempted the unthinkable. We braved the insanity that is the San Marcos outlet mall during after-Christmas sales.
At 11 a.m. there were already tons of cars, but not too bad. There was still decent parking, and you could navigate the shops with relative freedom from frustration or strangers encroaching into your personal space. We were happily shopping until about 2 p.m. when things started to get a bit claustrophobic. By the time we decided to break for lunch the parking lot was absolutely packed with lines of people desperately circling like buzzards for exiting shoppers so they could pounce on their spots. We had to resort to Taco Hell because every other place was filled to the breaking point. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. Then again, I rarely brave the malls. Is it always like this? Surely not.
Anyway, we escaped unscathed and with a trunk full of pretty things. Yay! That's my shopping for the next year.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas Day
Merry Christmas, everyone!
More food! And Christmas crackers.I don't know why I look hungover here. I wasn't. I swear!
Greg and Ewa model their crowns.
The kids. All together now - Awwwwww...Monday, December 24, 2007
Christmas Eve Fun & Food
The evening started with herrings on toast and Christmas crackers.
After dinner I got to play Santa.
Greg modelling his new sweater.Time for fat pants and a James Bond marathon? I think so. Yes.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Spa Day, Baby!
As part of Ewa's Christmas present, we had a girls' manicure day at Lake Austin Spa Resort. May I just say, a girl can get used to this kind of treatment...
We met up with my friend Katie, her mom, sister and sister-in-law for manicures and lunch. We also took a tour of the grounds. Its absolutely lovely. And if I ever go again, I'll make sure to bring my swimsuit. They have an outdoor lounge area with pool, jacuzzi, and massive padded chairs, which were unfortunately soaked with freezing cold water, a rather rude shock when Katie and I tried to sit on them. But there's also a heated indoor lap pool. What a way to spend a lazy day. Ah...
We met up with my friend Katie, her mom, sister and sister-in-law for manicures and lunch. We also took a tour of the grounds. Its absolutely lovely. And if I ever go again, I'll make sure to bring my swimsuit. They have an outdoor lounge area with pool, jacuzzi, and massive padded chairs, which were unfortunately soaked with freezing cold water, a rather rude shock when Katie and I tried to sit on them. But there's also a heated indoor lap pool. What a way to spend a lazy day. Ah...
Friday, December 21, 2007
Bumbling Soccer Wannabes...
How sad is it to be slaughtered on the soccer field in front of your mother-in-law, who apparently spent the entire time laughing her ass off at us.
Actually, I probably would have done the exact same thing... :)
Actually, I probably would have done the exact same thing... :)
Thursday, December 20, 2007
TexMex and Chocogasms
Greg and I took Ewa downtown tonight for a TexMex and champagne fix. Try as they may, the Brits haven't quite pulled off excellent TexMex just yet so Ewa gets her fill while she's here.
We met up with Dilek, Kenan and Jill for dinner at Serrano's downtown. One plate of beef fajitas later and we headed to Cork & Co for their Thursday night Chocogasm. Tastings of five sparkling wines and chocolate truffles are an excellent way to end any evening.
Dilek and Kenan with us waiting patiently for our desserts.
Greg K, serious connoisseur of all things alcoholic or chocolate
We met up with Dilek, Kenan and Jill for dinner at Serrano's downtown. One plate of beef fajitas later and we headed to Cork & Co for their Thursday night Chocogasm. Tastings of five sparkling wines and chocolate truffles are an excellent way to end any evening.
Dilek and Kenan with us waiting patiently for our desserts.
Greg K, serious connoisseur of all things alcoholic or chocolate
YouTube Superstars!
Brian tried bribing me with half his poker winnings to make that footage disappear. Silly, silly man...
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Cruel and Yet Also Hilarious...
So along with our usual Wednesday poker night, we also host a white elephant gift exchange near the holidays. Gifts have to be in the $10 range. Everyone draws a number. The person who draws #1 gets to pick a present first and unwrap it in front of everyone. The second person can either steal the opened gift or choose a wrapped one to open. The third can then steal either of the two opened pressies or select a wrapped one. It goes on and on like that until everyone gets a present. Any single gift can only be stolen a total of 3 times. If a person has their gift stolen, they can't directly steal it back in that same round. Good stuff.
The presents range from really good ones - bottles of wine, gift cards to the Alamo Drafthouse, etc - to really crappy ones like, for instance, a dirty sweatshirt grabbed from someone's floor 2 minutes before the game (Lance!). And everything in between.
So Chris S brought as his gift a collection of lottery tickets. Four were real. One was not. The fake was a $10,000 winner. Greg and I were apprised of the situation beforehand so we'd have the camera ready. Of all the people at this game, Brian, the consummate gambler and lottery ticket scratcher, got those tickets (fantastic!) but soon had them stolen. So being the wheeler and dealer that he is, he struck a bargain with Aubrey. He would steal her cashews (yes, that's right - a giant tub of cashews) so she could then steal the tickets back and they'd split the winnings. Aubrey gets to unload the cashews. Brian gets to scratch off his tickets. Everyone's happy. (But none happier than me, Greg and Chris since we knew what was coming.)
I had the camera poised and recording when Brian saw he had a winner.
Oh my God. It was beautiful! I'll just have to post the video so you can see for yourself. Priceless.
The presents range from really good ones - bottles of wine, gift cards to the Alamo Drafthouse, etc - to really crappy ones like, for instance, a dirty sweatshirt grabbed from someone's floor 2 minutes before the game (Lance!). And everything in between.
So Chris S brought as his gift a collection of lottery tickets. Four were real. One was not. The fake was a $10,000 winner. Greg and I were apprised of the situation beforehand so we'd have the camera ready. Of all the people at this game, Brian, the consummate gambler and lottery ticket scratcher, got those tickets (fantastic!) but soon had them stolen. So being the wheeler and dealer that he is, he struck a bargain with Aubrey. He would steal her cashews (yes, that's right - a giant tub of cashews) so she could then steal the tickets back and they'd split the winnings. Aubrey gets to unload the cashews. Brian gets to scratch off his tickets. Everyone's happy. (But none happier than me, Greg and Chris since we knew what was coming.)
I had the camera poised and recording when Brian saw he had a winner.
Oh my God. It was beautiful! I'll just have to post the video so you can see for yourself. Priceless.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Guests & Fish...
In a few minutes we will be on our way to the Austin airport to pick up Ewa, my mother-in-law. She'll be staying with us for 3 weeks over the holidays. I'm sure the next few weeks will entail lots of shopping and wine drinking and hopefully peace and harmony for the holiday season.
She's going to cook us a traditional Polish meal Christmas eve, which will include fish (no meat!), wild mushroom soup, fruit compote, and minced meat pies. (Although I think that last one's more a nod to the English tradition.)
I'm sure her bags will also be filled to the brim with English sweeties. So much for healthy eating over the holidays. Oh well. More motivation to train for the upcoming 10K.
8 more days 'til Christmas! Are you done with your shopping yet?
She's going to cook us a traditional Polish meal Christmas eve, which will include fish (no meat!), wild mushroom soup, fruit compote, and minced meat pies. (Although I think that last one's more a nod to the English tradition.)
I'm sure her bags will also be filled to the brim with English sweeties. So much for healthy eating over the holidays. Oh well. More motivation to train for the upcoming 10K.
8 more days 'til Christmas! Are you done with your shopping yet?
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Holiday Celebration Pain...
Ugh. Highly polluted. Head hurts. Slightly queasy.
Not fun.
But last night was! What started as a somewhat dull company holiday dinner morphed into a pretty kick ass party. I have to say it was the most fun we've had since the first year back in 2002, when Greg was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed new employee and we'd only been dating for two weeks.
Back in the day, Greg hadn't known what to expect and his only advice from the very sage Kenan was just don't be the drunkest one at the party and you'll be fine. Although that bit of advice was not exactly followed to the letter of the law, Greg did win a prize as the person who had the most fun during the karaoke competition. The band had packed up, but we weren't done dancing so the most logical course of action at the time was to gate-crash another holiday party down the hall at the Renaissance with a few of Greg's VPs. (Somewhere an Austin Energy employee has photographic evidence but we're confident that incident won't come back to bite us.)
Its a good thing he's at a relatively young and small company or that could have been messy and more than a little embarassing. But seeing as the VP's were our co-conspirators, he has nothing more dangerous than a reputation to contend with.
Anyway, back to last night...
Its always lovely catching up with friends and Greg's co-workers who I usually only see once a year. And an open martini bar is major enticement. But after a while it sometimes starts getting a bit forced and awkward. For the past couple of years, we've made an early exit at that point. But this year, we just kept running into people and having a few more drinks and hearing good dancing tunes from the band. So we stayed. And stayed some more. And then stayed a bit longer. Next thing we knew, the boss had gone, the drinks were flowing a bit more liberally and the band busted out a few raunchy tunes. Everyone loosened up and it was a party!
I think we got Kenan in trouble with his missus... He was sweet enough to offer us a ride to our next party, but I'm sure he would have left much sooner had it not been for us. Oh well. He was having fun. Even dancing, which is a rare occurence. When we finally tore ourselves away, Kenan dropped us off at Kristin's house for a very late graduation congratulations.
Wait a second... Its all coming back to me now. It was the damn Franzia that she kept offering me! Boxed wine - that must be the source of today's yuckiness!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Not fun.
But last night was! What started as a somewhat dull company holiday dinner morphed into a pretty kick ass party. I have to say it was the most fun we've had since the first year back in 2002, when Greg was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed new employee and we'd only been dating for two weeks.
Back in the day, Greg hadn't known what to expect and his only advice from the very sage Kenan was just don't be the drunkest one at the party and you'll be fine. Although that bit of advice was not exactly followed to the letter of the law, Greg did win a prize as the person who had the most fun during the karaoke competition. The band had packed up, but we weren't done dancing so the most logical course of action at the time was to gate-crash another holiday party down the hall at the Renaissance with a few of Greg's VPs. (Somewhere an Austin Energy employee has photographic evidence but we're confident that incident won't come back to bite us.)
Its a good thing he's at a relatively young and small company or that could have been messy and more than a little embarassing. But seeing as the VP's were our co-conspirators, he has nothing more dangerous than a reputation to contend with.
Anyway, back to last night...
Its always lovely catching up with friends and Greg's co-workers who I usually only see once a year. And an open martini bar is major enticement. But after a while it sometimes starts getting a bit forced and awkward. For the past couple of years, we've made an early exit at that point. But this year, we just kept running into people and having a few more drinks and hearing good dancing tunes from the band. So we stayed. And stayed some more. And then stayed a bit longer. Next thing we knew, the boss had gone, the drinks were flowing a bit more liberally and the band busted out a few raunchy tunes. Everyone loosened up and it was a party!
I think we got Kenan in trouble with his missus... He was sweet enough to offer us a ride to our next party, but I'm sure he would have left much sooner had it not been for us. Oh well. He was having fun. Even dancing, which is a rare occurence. When we finally tore ourselves away, Kenan dropped us off at Kristin's house for a very late graduation congratulations.
Wait a second... Its all coming back to me now. It was the damn Franzia that she kept offering me! Boxed wine - that must be the source of today's yuckiness!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Week-End o' Parties
Last night we toasted Chad and Mireya as they said their goodbyes to the U.S. of A for a while. Mireya has a great postdoc opportunity at Oxford. Chad is interviewing right now but has prospects for a postdoc in London. I can't imagine having to make that commute twice a day every day, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right. Besides its a small price to pay for 2 years abroad. I'm slightly jealous of all that easy access to the rest of mainland Europe. They could fly to Italy cheaper than I could fly to El Paso. Now, that's insane...
Next, we zoomed off to Claus and Morgan's for some Danish spiced wine and pastries. We spent most of the night chatting to another Dane who is a free-lance journalist. He recently did a 25-minute news story for Denmark's PBS equivalent on the Minutemen, that, ahem, special group of well-armed men and women who spend their free time and money on a vigilante mission to guard the U.S. border of Mexico by building fences and using intimidation tactics to deter illegal immigration. Very interesting. Needless to say, his liberal sensibilities clash completely with the philosophy of the Minutemen. Regardless, he's still entertaining the invitation they extended to him to spend a week-end out on one of their ranches learning to shoot guns and do all kinds of good ol' hick pasttimes, the likes of which I'm sure few Danes have ever seen. :)
Tonight is Greg's company Christmas party at the Renaissance Hotel and then a possible graduation celebration. WooHoo!
Next, we zoomed off to Claus and Morgan's for some Danish spiced wine and pastries. We spent most of the night chatting to another Dane who is a free-lance journalist. He recently did a 25-minute news story for Denmark's PBS equivalent on the Minutemen, that, ahem, special group of well-armed men and women who spend their free time and money on a vigilante mission to guard the U.S. border of Mexico by building fences and using intimidation tactics to deter illegal immigration. Very interesting. Needless to say, his liberal sensibilities clash completely with the philosophy of the Minutemen. Regardless, he's still entertaining the invitation they extended to him to spend a week-end out on one of their ranches learning to shoot guns and do all kinds of good ol' hick pasttimes, the likes of which I'm sure few Danes have ever seen. :)
Tonight is Greg's company Christmas party at the Renaissance Hotel and then a possible graduation celebration. WooHoo!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Evidence
I just unearthed these photos from our wine and cheese party last month.
The boys are such loving drunks...
Actually, I think they were accosting Brian because he's uncomfortable with man hugs. So maybe not so sweet. But definitely funny. :)
Greg doing some kind of deranged typewriter dance. I never did get the explanation for this one.
The boys are such loving drunks...
Actually, I think they were accosting Brian because he's uncomfortable with man hugs. So maybe not so sweet. But definitely funny. :)
Greg doing some kind of deranged typewriter dance. I never did get the explanation for this one.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Oh, Puh-lease...
This morning as I was getting ready, I was listening to one of those morning news programs. You know, the ones that are about 10% actual news and the rest is entertaining fluff. They had a holiday segment about doing the world a favor by giving "green" gifts - of the environmentally friendly kind. Besides non-toxic household cleaners (and you know people love receiving cleaning products as gifts), one of these guilt-free treasures was jewelry made from "100% recycled gold".
Huh?
I hadn't realized that gold wastes in our landfills had become such a big problem. I mean, I know when I get tired of my gold necklaces, rings and bracelets, I just chuck them in the trash. But had I known recycling programs were in place, I would have much preferred to do that rather than contribute to this growing problem.
Ugh. No shame in the marketing world. Seriously...
Huh?
I hadn't realized that gold wastes in our landfills had become such a big problem. I mean, I know when I get tired of my gold necklaces, rings and bracelets, I just chuck them in the trash. But had I known recycling programs were in place, I would have much preferred to do that rather than contribute to this growing problem.
Ugh. No shame in the marketing world. Seriously...
Monday, December 10, 2007
Eerily Quiet...
My boss is gone (on his fab tropical holiday conference, grrrr...). Its dead week here on campus so the students are nowhere to be found. The weather is cold and cloudy and drizzly. Its Monday.
In short, I feel like I should be at home in my pj's, sweats and fluffy socks. Instead I'm trying to motivate myself to write exam questions on my least favorite biochem subjects (amino acid and nucleotide metabolism, if you're wondering). Work, ugh.
The week-end was good though. We stuffed ourselves with Aussie meat pies at Mark & Brianna's, followed by a pathetic go at Dance Dance Revolution. Pathetic in that I suck! I also went on a baking spree and whipped up 3 different kinds of cookies. Now the problem is getting them out of our house and in the mail to friends as quickly as possible. Greg finally chopped down all the scraggly, dying bushes in our backyard. I shudder to think about uprooting them and preparing the soil for new plants. The never-ending joys of home ownership. :) We lost our second game of the new soccer season, but as always, we had a great time doing it. And that's our super exciting week-end in a nutshell. Oh, what glamorous lives we do lead.
In short, I feel like I should be at home in my pj's, sweats and fluffy socks. Instead I'm trying to motivate myself to write exam questions on my least favorite biochem subjects (amino acid and nucleotide metabolism, if you're wondering). Work, ugh.
The week-end was good though. We stuffed ourselves with Aussie meat pies at Mark & Brianna's, followed by a pathetic go at Dance Dance Revolution. Pathetic in that I suck! I also went on a baking spree and whipped up 3 different kinds of cookies. Now the problem is getting them out of our house and in the mail to friends as quickly as possible. Greg finally chopped down all the scraggly, dying bushes in our backyard. I shudder to think about uprooting them and preparing the soil for new plants. The never-ending joys of home ownership. :) We lost our second game of the new soccer season, but as always, we had a great time doing it. And that's our super exciting week-end in a nutshell. Oh, what glamorous lives we do lead.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Bring on the Holiday Parties!
The next few weeks are jam-packed with festivities. Everything from an Aussie-style Christmas dinner party (complete with meat pies) to a Glogg & Aebleskiver party (its a Scandanavian thing). From Greg's company holiday party to a farewell kick-off for friends moving to Oxford. And let's not forget the holiday-themed book club meeting. And a white elephant gift exchange at our next poker game.
Right now I'm trying to forget about my holiday to-do list and focus on enjoying my time with friends and family. Who cares if they don't get their cards until the New Year? They'll still know I love them. If I can't find that perfect gift for Greg, will he even notice? Doubtful. I just need to relieve some of the pressure and enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy...
My new mantra.
Right now I'm trying to forget about my holiday to-do list and focus on enjoying my time with friends and family. Who cares if they don't get their cards until the New Year? They'll still know I love them. If I can't find that perfect gift for Greg, will he even notice? Doubtful. I just need to relieve some of the pressure and enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy...
My new mantra.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Paying Dues
I am very begrudgingly finalizing the slides of my work that will justify my boss's attendance at some tropical island getaway in the middle of December under the guise of a scientific conference. Ok. Whateeeeeveeeeerr.
I've seen the pictures!
I know all you and your buddies do is spend a morning comparing notes and then its off to the beach. Or hiking a waterfall. Or tubing some river. Or sipping pina coladas from extravagant glasses with little paper umbrellas.
God, I'm jealous...
I've seen the pictures!
I know all you and your buddies do is spend a morning comparing notes and then its off to the beach. Or hiking a waterfall. Or tubing some river. Or sipping pina coladas from extravagant glasses with little paper umbrellas.
God, I'm jealous...
Accidental Overdose
Have you ever made it to 3 in the afternoon and suddenly realized the only thing you've consumed all day is coffee?
I guess that would explain the shaky hands and queasiness...
I guess that would explain the shaky hands and queasiness...
Monday, December 3, 2007
Post-Dinner Coma
My husband shortly after a dinner party...
After stuffing himself with chicken parmiagan, green beans with almonds, chili-rubbed sweet potato and a strawberry tart, the poor thing didn't stand a chance.
We'd been neglecting our friends Claus and Morgan for the last six months so I cooked us all a fabulous dinner, if I do say so myself, on Friday night. The chicken parm was demolished, and I spied Claus using his fingers to swipe the last crumbs from his tart plate at the end of the meal. Haha! :) Between the 3 drinkers (Morgan is 6 months preggo so she's off the sauce, poor thing), we polished off 3 bottles of wine. Yikes! That probably had a lot to do with Greg's state after they left.
The rest of the week-end was spent celebrating our friend Kyris's defense and meeting up with soccer peeps for practice. The work week started entirely too soon again. We miss our 4-day Thanksgiving week-ends...
After stuffing himself with chicken parmiagan, green beans with almonds, chili-rubbed sweet potato and a strawberry tart, the poor thing didn't stand a chance.
We'd been neglecting our friends Claus and Morgan for the last six months so I cooked us all a fabulous dinner, if I do say so myself, on Friday night. The chicken parm was demolished, and I spied Claus using his fingers to swipe the last crumbs from his tart plate at the end of the meal. Haha! :) Between the 3 drinkers (Morgan is 6 months preggo so she's off the sauce, poor thing), we polished off 3 bottles of wine. Yikes! That probably had a lot to do with Greg's state after they left.
The rest of the week-end was spent celebrating our friend Kyris's defense and meeting up with soccer peeps for practice. The work week started entirely too soon again. We miss our 4-day Thanksgiving week-ends...
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