Christmas!

First let me wish you all Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa!

Yesterday was such a beautiful day. We started the day by waking up somewhat early and going to St. Andrew's Church and enjoying a nice Christmas Mass. I was afraid that Rich would spontaneously burst into flames - come on a Jew in a Catholic Church! Thankfully he arrived and left in one piece although it was a close call as he nearly got in to the line for the Eucharist. Phew! Anyway, I have to say that it was so nice to go together! Rich was a total sport and I was very thankful that he came with.

Unfortunately neither Rich or I could fully understand the Priest's homily (strong Irish accent and tangential thought pattern is never a good combo) although it definitely looked like he was having fun - he was jumping up and down all over the place! Now I would have taken a pic of this for my bloggies but for some reason thought that it was slightly inappropriate.

After Mass, we came home and took some pictures however our doggies were SOOOO hyper! This was our first attempt. Sigh.


Below is the best pic that we could get of Shila and Taz. Yes Shila is upside down. Yup, that's my girl. I swear, if this was the best pic can you even begin to imagine the rest that we took??


And this was the best pic that we could all manage. And yes we are literally shoving our dogs' heads towards the camera and grinning through it.

I had marinated a chicken the night before with my Mum's infamous Christmas marinade. This would be my very first Roast Chicken and I was pumped (!) to make it yummalicious. All I had to do was the stuffing, roast potatoes and asparagus. Although this may not seem like a large menu, to me it was fairly extensive! Although Rich offered to help I shooed him away to play Scramble - a very addictive game on Facebook. Rich managed to up his score from 26 to 88! He beat me! Bahhhh! Needless to say that evening I was furiously trying to beat his score. Hey, who said a bit of a competition isn't healthy? And ps - I still haven't beaten him but don't worry, it will happen soon. (insert spooky laugh)

In the midst of cooking we decided to take a break and go on a drive with the troubles to South Mountain to check out a wedding location that we had previously stumbled upon. It was pouring outside and we each had a dog in hand so no pictures from yesterday however here is a picture from when we first found it. It was during Helen and Michael's visit (Rich's Mum and Step-Dad) and a celebration had finished up. Here it is:

Whatchya think? We would probably have everybody faced towards the mountains instead of the smoggy city. There's a near-by ramada where we would have the reception. Although we both like the idea we're not yet convinced. Not sure how many ladies would appreciate jumping over a picnic bench at a wedding reception. Perhaps I should warn invitees in the wedding invite.

"Please join us for the Wedding Reception in the near-by Ramada. Be ready to hip hop in to your seat."

Yes, I can see it now...
Well anyway, I'm digressing. Where was I? Oh yes, so after that we came home and I finished off preparing dinner. Et voila, le cluck cluck...

And don't forget that we were celebrating Hanukkah too!

Dinner was sooooooooooo good! The stuffing (my favorite) was so moist and deeee-lish. The chicken came out incredibly moist, tender and tasty! The potatoes....well I burned those but Rich kept re-assuring me that he liked his potatoes 'well done'. Awesome fiance, no? :) Here's my plate before it found it's way home to my belly. (Potatoes are non-burnt side up).

And of course as we were eating both doggies were begging. I caught a cute pic of Tazzie silently pleeeeeeeeading for a piece of chicken...

And Shila? She's a little bit more forward....

:) Nah, just kidding. I asked her to jump up on my lap. Thankfully she's realizes my weight (or lack thereof) and only puts her front paws on my lap, not all four. And in case you haven't already noticed Shila hates the camera and hence puts on her best 'save me' face.

In the evening we watched The Dark Night which is the latest Batman movie. Rich won the DVD at a White Elephant doo-daa at work. Pretty good movie! Heath Ledger was fabulous in the movie. Made me sad knowing that he's no longer here. Sigh. What a loss for the arts.

All in all, Christmas Day was great. Not being with my family was of course hard but being able to share my traditions with Rich was such a joy. I think it made me feel better about the whole day. It's also a warming thought to know that Rich and I are starting our own traditions for life. For life! Aaaaaaaaaaaah!! (sorry, mini freak out).

I hope you all had a fabulous day with your friends and family! We had a great Christmas season what with our engagement, a couple fun Christmas parties and a very sweet Christmas Day. And to end, I will leave you with this...

Don't under-rate the joy that can be experienced whilst dancing with a naked chicken.
Talk about new traditions!