Christmas in Wales - Part I

Happy 2012!!  We spent Christmas and rang in the new year in the United Kingdom, and we had a great holiday.  We left the Thursday night I got out of school, December 22nd, and returned home January 3rd, the night before I had to go back to work. 

We had a wonderful Christmas, woke up and opened presents, then had a wonderful Christmas dinner.  During dinner, we watched the Queen's speech on tv since I had never been there over Christmas before to see it. 

On Boxing Day we went to visit David's family in Birmingham.  We saw his Grandma on his dad's side and his aunt, along with his grandma on his mom's side  (or I guess I should say mum's side).  My camera battery died, so I only got one picture:(

Tuesday morning, David and I went into Cardiff and did some shopping.  Things are so expensive!!!!! The rest of the week we spent time with David's sister, brother and law, and our niece and nephew.  More to come on that next!

Christmas a week away!

We have had a great Saturday!  Today we braved the mall, Costco and the Post Office.  They were crazy!  We waited in line at the post office for 45 minutes to mail gifts to my family.  Then, we went to Ballard Design outlet and got my Christmas present, three stools for our kitchen.  Now, they in no way match our kitchen, and our counter top isn't even designed for stools, but I have always wanted them and they were 75% off!!!  We paid $90 for all three!!!!!  One day when we update our kitchen, they will match and look perfect.  For now, I will enjoy sitting in them as David makes dinner:)

We also opened gifts from my family, since we will not be celebrating Christmas with them this year.  I feel old, suddenly I get excited over gifts I would have had no clue about when I was younger.  Some of my highlights were my new lunch bag, label maker, a velor sweat suit, and laminator.  David got a Best Buy gift card, pajama pants, and a cookbook.

On another note, last weekend we ran a 5k, the Jingle Jog, in Dunwoody.  David of course finished before me, but we had a great time.  Then, Saturday night we had some people over and we all (well most of us) wore ugly Christmas sweaters.  It was a lot of fun, and the first time we entertained in our new house!



It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We have a fake tree...well two fake trees, and I miss the smell of real trees.  Today I bought an air freshener that smells like a real Christmas tree.  It's amazing to me how one smell can make my mood change.  I have been walking around the house spraying it and singing Christmas carols, I think there are few, if any, things that can change my mood during Christmas time.  I put up some Christmas decorations in the house this weekend, and I think the only thing I have left is to finish the outside of the house.  Hopefully I will be done tomorrow.

The Christmas Tree in our Family Room

So excited I have a chimney for Santa!

The Christmas Tree in our formal living room

Nativity Scene in Dining Room

We saw THE best Christmas movie this weekend "Arthur Christmas".  It was great, and even though some people don't like animated movies, I highly recommend it. 

Giving Thanks!

We went to my parent's house for Thanksgiving.  We had a great time, and I did most of the cooking, with the help of Jill and David.  We missed my two brother n laws that celebrated Thanksgiving elsewhere.

About to eat!

I made my first turkey!  Although, it was a little too dry.

David made his own dessert

My 97 year old grandmother was able to come up for the day.

David did a lot of this while we were there!

Yes, we did make a gingerbread house.  I can't understand why David didn't want to contribute, so he took pictures.

On Thursday night, or Friday morning, at 12 am, my dad, David and I went out to some black Friday sales.  The stores were INSANE.  It was impossible for us to find parking and every store was so crowded it was uncomfortable.  We went to Wal-Mart, Target, Kohls, and drove by Best Buy.  Even after opening at midnight, Best Buy was so crowded that there was a line around the entire outside of the store. 

As always, it was hard to leave.  Holidays go by so quickly and it's always hard to say goodbye.  We had a great Thanksgiving!

It all went down!

We finally got our wood floors installed on Saturday!  They are in the formal living room and dining room.  We were not sad to see the carpet go. 

Here are some before and after pictures of the formal living room.  This room will eventually be our office, that is why there is nothing in there, because we have nothing to put in there yet:)

The wood was delivered on Wednesday



Starting to remove the carpet!



What a difference!

I can't wait to get furniture in this room!

On to the dining room!

Almost all the furniture is out!

Carpet is gone

New Floors!

Ready for Thanksgiving!

My First 5k!!

I ran my first 5k this morning!  My time was 34:37, which I realize for "runners" isn't great, but for me it was!  It was so cold outside this morning, but as soon as I got going, I warmed up.  The race was for Girls on Track.  David was a good sport and got out of bed at 6:30 to go watch me and take pictures.  I feel inspired now and can't wait to run another race. 

                                                                       Before the race

I did it!

Just finished!



Go Hokies!!!

Last night we went to the Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech game.  We had such a great time, but it was FREEZING.  The hokies won, which made it even more fun.  After taking the Marta downtown, we ate the Varsity, which was packed, and then went to the stadium.  Our seats were decent and luckily in the Virginia Tech section.  The final score was 37-26.  We got home around midnight, which for me was late, seeing as I am usually in bed by 9pm;)  But, the hokies don't play in Atlanta often, so the lack of sleep was worth it.

The Hokie Bird!

Soooo Cold!



Players after the game