Belated Christmas Post

Christmas was really wonderful this year because my 10-month old niece was home with us. It's so hard having her grow up in Colorado and I crave these times to see her and watch my brother as a daddy! It was also a BLAST watching my parents as grandparents. They itch to spoil her and cuddle her and rain kisses down on her.

Because Danny and Shannon were here the week leading up to Christmas, I kinda worked a modified week in order to spend time with them. They left on Christmas day, Shannon and Grey up to Santa Cruz, and Danny back home to work the following day. During the week, we hung out, had a girls dinner, had an open house at my mom and dad's, a family dinner at my house, then the big Johnson family hoopla at mom and dad's on Christmas Eve. All 10 of my grandparent's great grandchildren were there and Santa even made an appearance. : ) On Christmas morning, we all slept in a little, then tore into a million gifts. It was sad seeing them leave. We also visited my mom's mom that evening. It makes me terribly sad to see her all alone (she's a recluse) and I don't understand why a person chooses to live that way...

2007 Christmas pic

My and my pretty sissy
Okay, how freaking cute is she?
Grey-bug eating sweet potatoes. It was a crack up to watch!
Our big Christmas gifts were plane tix to Hawaii this summer. Grey got a new Hawaiian outfit and some stylin sunglasses!
How Miss Kitty celebrated Christmas...snuggled in my bed, snoozin away! This made me laugh!

I should also mention that Barbie and I went to Christmas Eve Eve service at Mariner's. The music was incredible and the message really inspiring. Because Christmas Eve is usually nutso at my house, Christmas Eve Eve service has kinda become my tradition. Back in the day, churches used to celebrate Advent and I really feel like a lot of our teachings about Jesus' birth have diminished a little. Having said that, being at church on the 23rd really recharged my batteries. I hope that you all felt the presence of God as you celebrated His birth, too!

Happy Santa Lucia Day!

A couple years ago (gosh, I can't believe it's been that long), my clever coworkers Wendy and Krissy-pooh made me a card for Santa Lucia Day...I used it for an invitation and called it "Sammy Lucia Day" as that was the name of my cat back then. I found it again today in order to shoot it off to a couple of family members in honor of the Swedish holiday!

Santa Lucia Day is the beginning of the Swedish Christmas season when the oldest girl in the household dresses up in a white gown with a red sash about her waist and wears a wreath of candles. Naturally, I never wore real candles as I've always been bald-ish...no, my mother made me wear battery-operated candles - safety (and hair) first!

Any way, here's the fabulous pick. I still love it as much as I did then. Sooooo creepy, yet sooooo cool!

Company Holiday Party

On Saturday night, my company had its annual holiday party. It was AWESOME! We rented out a yacht in Newport and had a big shindig. Of course the moment I got there people started asking me if I'd brought a date, so I naturally gave a few people the finger. Anywhooo, the moment we walked onto the boat, we were handed a glass of champagne and were escorted up the stairs to where the dinner was held. There was a full open bar, a DJ, and downstairs there were casino tables. Some people got tanked and even planned it because they hired drivers for the night - no joke! I was alone, so I tapered off pretty early in the evening. So, after dinner, which was scrumptious, the gambling began. I'm not much of a gambler, but after a quick trip to the restroom, a bunch of the dealers taught me to play blackjack. Pretty soon, the table had filled up and it got rowdy - name calling and all. : ) Each chip earned got you a raffle ticket and by the end of the night, I had won Laker tickets! I'm excited to go because I've actually never been to a basketball game. Finally, the dancing began and I'm telling you, there are some dancing machines in my company! It was a blast!!! When we arrived back at the dock, all employees were given freaking iPods!!! Not a bad way to celebrate! Too bad it was freezing and rainy that night, but even though it was, I didn't feel like I'd missed out on anything.

Not so Martha Stewart

I was proud of the fact that I had my tree up and most of my gifts wrapped until I looked at it in a photo. Martha would NOT be proud. I need more color and more lights... BUT, I went to the Depot on a whim on Wednesday night and grabbed a tree that was still tied up, and am pretty impressed that I got a good one! : )



I'm also trying out a new living room layout. I've got my couch and chair flipped and angled. I think I like it like this.

Also, for those of you who have NOT taken advantage of the Bombay Company Going Out of Business Sale, you've GOT to check it out. I got some killer fancy schmancy ornaments for dirt cheap that were originally more than $20 each! Nevertheless, after seeing these photos, I've decided I absolutely need to add more colorful ornaments. Good thing my storage closet isn't too far away! : )

Vegas, baby!

Went to Vegas this weekend with some campaign friends and had a GREAT time...except for the fact that the crazy weather out here on Friday cancelled most of our flights, though some arrived after 1am... After rebooking and heading back out on Saturday morning, I met up with Julie and Lisa at the airport and we drove over to STJ's house. We all got ready, went outlet shopping, then came back and made a big dinner. Clarke and Jason came over for dinner and Jason brought some DELISH cupcakes for dessert! They were so pretty I had to take a photo of them!

After dinner, we all got gussied up and headed to the strip to the Venetian. STJ's hubby is their lobbyist, so we got in to Tao through the VIP list. The club was really fun, but really packed. There are dancing girls and naked girls in bathtubs there...it was really odd! Before we headed home, we did what any normal group would do and had InNOut. : ) On Sunday morning, we got up and had brunch and lounged around and hung out before heading to the airport. I love this gang!

SAS, me, and Clarke being silly before hitting the club!

Tom & Ani, Jason & Clarke, SAS, me, Jules, Lisa, and STJ at Tao - What a blast!!!

WICKED

Over Thanksgiving weekend, my mom made plans for the family (minus Danny and Shan) to go and see Wicked. It was AMAZING! The four of us went to dinner at The Ivy, then went and saw the show. I thought the story was really good and the music was awesome. Here are some photos of us Johnson's being goofy as usual!