Merry Christmas! This is the first white Christmas in central Texas since 1926. Its wonderful. We opened presents with Jon's family through Skype, which was fun. We were at his house, but our Christmas stuff was at my house. The roads were pretty icy, so we decided to walk. Its only a mile, and it was so much fun to be out in the snow. When we got to my house, my dad had the cinnamon rolls ready. Some of my neighbors had a snowball fight, and I'm so jealous that I can't throw.

This is my present from Jon. He wraps stuff in brown paper, which is wonderfully fun. He got creative this time and tied it up with copper wire. Inside I found a two-person four-season backpacking tent. I can't wait to go use it. He unwrapped his giant package to find a large tile wet saw. It may not sound that romantic to you, but he's in the middle of a bathroom remodel, and also has a kitchen and laundry room to tackle.

We went to dinner at a friend's house, and came home with full bellies and lots of leftovers. A nice Christmas.

Its Christmas Eve! And the weather outside is frightful. It started raining last night, and turned into snow today. The wind is about 30 mph, with stronger gusts. Jon and I made a lovely little Christmas Eve dinner. We ordered a smoked turkey from a barbecue restaurant, and made green bean casserole, garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. We're now making smore's in front of a very nice fire. I managed to get the last bag of marshmallows at the grocery store.

Today was a gorgeous day. It was around 75 degrees, sunny with no wind. I didn't want to spend the whole day indoors, so I came outside to be productive. I spray painted my rain barrel to match my house today. It looks glorious. And I'm sure this ring on the grass will go away soon.

Jon decided to stay with me this Christmas instead of going back to New York. How sweet. So we are having fun. We went to see Avatar today in IMAX 3D. We went to a 2:00 show on a Tuesday afternoon, but the theater was packed. The line was down the hall, around the corner, and down the hall again. We took Dramamine, and I was a little naseous before it kicked in. The movie was really good though.

I went to the gym today and rode the recumbant bike, and as I was leaving, I ran into Joy. She told me they were going to open the pool again next year! Yay! Its the only olympic size pool in town, and part of the city's budget plan for next year was to close all of the public pools. I like swimming. I'm not that good, or fast, but its fun. Its also a great core workout.

Its a beautiful winter day, so Jon and I decided to take the opportunity to trim his shrubs. I helped, even though I only have one arm. I trimmed the fig tree and hollies, while Jon planted a new bush and trimmed the Texas sage and the other shrub that I don't know the name of. We also cut down the oak tree that was growing inches from his foundation. It was a lovely tree, 11 years old according to the rings, but its location was just terrible. We cut it into firewood, so it will be used for something.

This is a parsnip. I've never eaten a parsnip before, so Jon and I decided to try some. I think they are very tasty, sweeter than carrots. They are also in season right now. I want to learn to eat seasonally and locally when I can. Right now, citrus, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, peppers, and greens are in season in Texas. I should also go to the farmers market, but I always forget.

This is the book I got from the library. I think its really good, even if it was kind of scary in places. Since I've been home I haven't done much besides read. I have cleaned up my office a little, and gotten pictures for my travel collage frames. I take George for walks, and yesterday I even went to the gym and rode the recumbant bike. I've been to the dentist, and the physical therapist, and the doctor, and even went and got my H1N1 vaccine. They gave me the nasal mist instead of the shot, I guess because I already have one arm out of comission they didn't want to mess with the other. With the rest of my recouperation time I want to organize my closets, plan my garden, go birdwatching, and re-evaluate my financial portfolio. I do have a few more books I want to read, and I'm researching bathroom stuff for Jon's remodel.

This afternoon I walked to the local library and got my library card. It was nice and sunny out, and it felt good to be outdoors. According to Google maps, its only 0.8 miles one way anyway. I used to go to the library all of the time. When I was in elementary school, I was one of the only kids in my class to have a library card. I went to the library when I first moved here, but haven't been in a long time. I will look up books I'm interested in on their website, but they never have what I want. This time they had the book, so I decided to go.

Archie has to go to the vet today. Poor kitty. She does not like to go anywhere, least of all the vet. Its very hard to get her into her carrier in the first place. She doesn't like to be picked up much, and most mornings she's not even in the mood to be petted, so she normally avoids you. My dad and I spent about five minutes chasing her around the house. We had all of the bedroom doors shut, so she couldn't escape. My dad was wearing a leather coat and oven mitts, so she couldn't fight back. She was running around, yowling, hissing, swatting, and trying to hide. It was so sad. She went behind the Christmas tree, under the end tables, and then, looking for a safe spot, she ran into the carrier. My dad and I decided that worked, and we shut the door. Poor thing, trying to escape and instead she runs straight to her doom. I felt bad, but it really wasn't her doom, it was just a rabies shot.

This is the last antibiotic pill I have to take. Ever since the surgery, I've had to take one every six hours. Its a pain, especially in the middle of the night. They are just a precautionary measure, its not like I was exposed to anything.

These are my surgical stitches. There is a fourth hole on the back of my shoulder. They don't bother me, except for the fact I have to keep band-aids on them. They have to be waterproof band-aids when I take a shower, too. Tearing off band-aids evey day or so for a week hurts.

It was really nice out today, so Jon and I went for a walk around his neighborhood. I think getting up and doing things makes you feel better faster than just laying around.

The black thing on my arm is the Ultrasling II, complete with the red squeezy ball holster. It has a thick pad attached to keep my arm out from my side a bit, and lots of velcro and adjustable straps. The gray thing is the icepack from my Iceman machine. All around the shoulder and upper arm is a water bladder, and there are two hoses that come out the bottom. I can hook the hoses up to a cooler I have full of ice and water, and the ice water will be pumped up to my shoulder. I only have to use the Iceman for the first few days, and then whenever I want. I have to wear the sling for 3 weeks day and night, and then for 3 more weeks just at night.

I made preserved lemons from some of the lemons from my tree. This is my first canning experience, although its not the normal pressure or boiling canning. The acid and salt and olive oil keep the lemons good. We made lemonade from the rest of the lemons, and it was the most delicious lemonade Jon or I have ever had. The Meyer lemon is crossed with an orange, which makes it more sweeter, and you can taste it. Yum.

This is the red squeezy ball that came with my Ultrasling II. I use it to keep my wrist and hand supple. The most uncomfortable thing about the sling is keeping my elbow and forearm in this position. But each day has less discomfot than the last, and this is the last surgery I need. So I keep telling myself that this is the last day I have to feel like this.

Today was surgery day! I've dislocated my shoulder several times from various and assorted sports injuries, and needed to have the cartilidge repaired. My dad took me to the hospital this morning around 7 am, and I went in to surgery an hour or two later. I woke up around 11, so it didn't take very long at all.

I wasn't in much pain at all when I woke up, I was cold and naseous though. I layed around the hospital for a few hours, then came home to lay on my couch. Archie decided to make me feel better by napping on me. Jon came by too with flowers and snacks.

When I was young my favorite outfit was a pink shirt and dark blue jeans. It was usually a hot pink t-shirt, and as I grew I always got a new shirt and jeans in my wardrobe. I don't know why it was my favorite combination, and I haven't thought about it in years, until I got dressed this morning. I felt good all day because of it. A favorite outfit is a powerful thing. I think the pale pink sweater is better than hot pink.

Its been really cold lately, and most of the plants in my garden have died. I guess December is pretty late for zucchini. I still have peas, swiss chard, lettuce, and rhubarb. I only have two little rhubarb plants left though. They can take the cold, but I'm covering them at night just to be careful.

Jon and I pruned some of the shrubs for winter and pulled a lot of grass out of the front planting bed. I used it to cover the garden. Now I just need mother nature to decompose it into wonderful humus for my plants.

This is Jon's Christmas present. The store's website said they had a limited supply, so I went to pick it up today after work. I hope he likes it. Archie likes the fact that its in a huge box, and she can stand on it to access more ornaments on the tree.

This is my last chance to go rock clinbing for approximately 6 months, so here I am hanging off of a wall. Its tons of fun, but we only seem to come here about once a year. We definately need to come more often. Its a pretty good workout, too. After about an hour my forearms and fingers were too tired to hold on anymore.

Its almost Christmastime, so its time to decorate. Today Jon and I each got trees for our houses and set them up. I think we got some very nice trees too. I don't like Christmas because its so bloated and over-hyped, but during December, I am willing to participate in the holiday. I set decorated the tree, hung my stocking, and put out my holiday throw pillows. Last week my dad put up the outside lights, so I'm done.

I liked driving around town with a Christmas tree hanging out the back of the car. I think a real tree is the only way to go.

Today was our holiday lunch at work. Last year I couldn't go because of my surgery, so I asked if the lunch could be scheduled early this time. We went to Texas de Brazil. They gave us garlic sirloin, house sirloin, parmesan pork, bacon wrapped chicken, and brazilian sausage. I think my favorite was the house sirloin. Yum yum. I did really well though, and did not stuff myself until I was sick. I was proud of that.

I noticed that I don't take very many pictures of my right hand. Its actually hard to hold the camera and take a picture left handed. The wrist strap is on the wrong side.

Karyn is starting a girls' get together night once a month (boys are allowed too, if they want to hang out with a bunch of women and babies). She calls it house happy hour, and it was lots of fun seeing everyone. There were a few people there I haven't met before, although I have seen all of their pictures on Karyn's website. We just spent a lot of time talking (a big topic was what to do with the toddler when you need to use the bathroom), eating pizza, and playing the Wii. I'm looking forward to the next H3.

Its snowing!! In Texas!! When I got up this morning, it was raining (after raining all night). As I was making my lunch, it transitioned to snow. And it snowed a lot! I think we got an inch or so on the yards and roofs, but not on the roads. It stopped snowing after a couple of hours, and warmed up and melted away. But it was so great to look outside the window and see snow.

Today was full of grocery buying and unpacking and laundry. Bleh. And that was after a long, tiring day at work. I was so sleepy today, but I managed to make it through.

This sculpture used to be in front of the World Trade Center, and was damaged on top when they collapsed. Its now at the South Ferry. We did go by Ground Zero earlier in the week. Its a big construction site.

We went back to the Jewish Heritage Museum this morning to see the Holocaust exhibit. It was very emotional. It was just crazy to see the progression from prejudice to segregation to murder, and how very few people did anything to stop it. I think the worst thing there was a little stuffed bunny that a kid took with him when he and his family were shipped off to Aushwitz. I think he did survive, although so many others did not.

After that cheery start to the day, we flew back home. It was a long day, but it was nice to be home. It was a nice vacation, now back to work.

A while ago I saw a book in a bookstore about the 50 best places to go birdwatching. I only flipped through it, but I noticed it said Jamaica Bay, New York. So since we are in New York City, it is the perfect time to go birdwatcing in Jamaica. They have a very nice wildlife preserve, with lakes and trails. We saw several Canadian geese, snow geese, and brants. We also saw a green-winged teal, and possibly a hooded merganser. We stopped at a blind and saw a little gray bird that may have been an eastern phoebe. It was great fun. Hopefully we'll come back one day in a different season to see more birds.

Today we went to the Cloisters, a museum full of religious art and artifacts. The museum looks like a church or castle, and its built out of different pieces of churches from Europe. It also had some cute little gardens, with espaliered pear trees. I like the espaliered trees. There was lots of cool stuff in the museum. Religious people make amazing art.

We also went to the Strand, a bookstore in Manhattan that has 18 miles of books. Its a giant used book store, and the organization scheme is a little weird, but it was great fun to explore and look for books.

This ice cream cone is from Carvel. Carvel is a yummy soft serve ice cream parlour (they also have regular ice cream) that I've never heard of before. We go here a lot when we visit. :) I have heard of a Carvel in Texas, sharing a store with Schlotzky's. I haven't tried it yet.

Jon and I decided to avoid all of the other tourists in New York and not go to Manhattan today. He took me to see his alma mater, Manhattan College (which is actually in the Bronx). He showed me his old dorm, the stairs he used to run up, the river he used to row on, and the old buildings on campus. There were a lot of new buildings too since he graduated.

We then went to a nearby park and walked the trail he used to run on. Its a forested park, you don't even realize you're still in the city. It was very nice, about 3 miles long and very hilly. We will have to come back and run it one day.

We then went to eat pizza at Broadway Joe's, where he used to eat a lot in college. It was delicious pizza.

Later we met up with some of his friends from high school and college, and played video games, ordered Chinese food, and looked up fun YouTube videos. Good times.

Its Thanksgiving Day!

Jon and I decided not to go to the parade today, but to watch it on TV. Unfortunately they just show a bunch of singing and dancing and not much parade. But laying around in our pajamas was nice.

Lots of family members and friends came over to Jon's house, there were 17 people including us. There was also tons of food. I think my favorite was the zucchini, rice and cheese casserole his mother made. Or his dad's homemade cranberry sauce. Or the stuffing muffins. Or the apple pie his cousin Anita made. Yum.

One thing that I've wanted to do since we came to New York last year was to go running in Central Park. I love seeing people run around, and I always want to join them. And what place is more spectacular for running then Central Park? So this morning Jon and I put on running clothes and went in to the city. We entered the park around 86th Street and ran around the reservoir for a while, then ran around some trails and along the road. We exited the park on the northwest corner, after doing 3.5 miles. We tried to find a cafe for lunch, but were unsuccessful, so we just went home. We got gyros and lemon potatoes from Kali Alto, a Greek restaurant in Queens. It was yummy, but tons of food.

For dinner, we went to Ben's, a Jewish deli. It was very good. We had matzoh ball soup, potato pancakes, and stuffed cabbage rolls. Also, there were half-sour pickles, which are awesome. Yum yum.

Today we spent all day in the city. We took the subway early in the morning, and went to the Met. They have an exhibit of Samurai Art that was very nice. Lots of sword blades, with decorative hilts and scabbards, as well as sets of armor and helmets. Some of the helmets were crazy, with huge decorations on them. My favorite piece was a scabbard that was decorated with very intricate mother-of-pearl birds and mountains.

We then met Jon's aunt for lunch at the King's Carriage House. It was a very nice little place. I had the pea soup, the portobello and goat cheese omelette, and the oatmeal fruit crumble for dessert. Delicious. Then we took the subway all the way up to Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters. Unfortunately the Cloisters closed early because its November, and we only had 15 minutes. They let us come in and wander around a little, and it was very cool. We should return when we have more time. The park around the Cloisters is also very nice. Lots of flowers and bushes, and we could hear interesting birds singing.

We caught an express train back downtown and found the theater where we have tickets to the 39 Steps. Its a comedy of the Hitchcock movie. It was amazing. Very funny, very good show. Jon and I both loved it.

Today we started sight-seeing. We went down to Wall Street. It wasn't that exciting, just a street. We didn't go into the stock exchange, but we did stop at the bull. We then went to the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Unfortunately, the floor with the Holocaust exhibit was closed because they were shooting an episode of Law & Order: CI. We did get to see the exhibits about Jewish life before and after the Holocaust, and they gave us a free pass to come back and see the rest.

We wandered around some downtown, and went into the World Financial Center for lunch. We just had some burgers from P.J. Clarke's, but they were very, very good burgers. Impressive, even. Afterwards we went back to wandering. We walked through the cemetery of Trinity Church. There were graves from the 1700s there, the oldest I've ever seen. Some of the headstones were so degraded, only a stump of rock was left. A few blocks away we stumbled upon the African Burial Memorial. Some years ago when the city was working on Broadway, they dug up a cemetery of African-Americans buried in the 1700s. The people were slaves and free people, and had all been buried with ceremonies and dignity. The city had thought all of the graves had completely decomposed and it was ok to dig, but once they started they discovered the graves were still there. Very interesting.

Our first day of vacation, but we didn't do much. We didn't even go into Manhattan, we spent most of the time on the couch. We did go for a run around a little park a couple of blocks from Jon's house. It was nice.

Vacation! This is not my bed. It is the guest bed at Jon's parents house in New York City! It has been a long day. The flight was a little bumpy, but ok. Flying is never that great anyway. When we got here we went out to lunch with Jon's parents and brother, and then later for dinner we went to a Korean hot pot restaurant with his brother. It was fun. We got a lot of assorted meat, seafood, mushrooms, and vegetables to cook in a pot of boiling broth on our table. I chickened out when it came to trying the cow stomach or sea cucumber. I did enjoy most everything else. It has been a long and tiring day, and I am glad it is time for bed.

Remember my lemon tree from February? (I bought a dwarf Meyer lemon in February and put it in a large pot on my patio.) I now have 16 lemons! In the spring and summer there were wonderfully scented flowers, which grew into tiny lemons, which grew into all of these golden lemons. I'm very pleased with this tree. I just need to figure out what to do with all of the lemons.

The thing with going on vacation soon is that you don't have much food in the house. Luckily, I have cereal. I like cereal, so this is my dinner. I'm also pretty tired and lazy, and don't feel like making much else.

This is my cat burglar outfit. Its also my cold weather running outfit. Thanks to daylight savings time, it is now light enough outside to go running in the morning before work. Unfortunately, its very cold. But I need to run to offset the truffles and other holiday yummies. I only did 1.5 miles this morning, but it was a struggle. I was running faster than usual because of the cold. I'll just consider it more interval training.

This is a truffle Karyn made. I do not know how she makes them, but I must learn her secrets. They are delicious. One day a year she and her friends make a few hundred truffles, and distribute them to some lucky friends. They are all sorts of yummy flavors, but I cannot tell which are which. They're all chocolaty to me.

I do enjoy laying around reading books. I got two new gardening books this weekend, one on organic vegetable gardening, and one on growing fruit and nut trees. Last week all of my classes and workouts and softball games ended, so now I come home to lay on the couch and read. I'm sure it won't take too long for me to find new classes to take. I already have a few on my to-do list. I like learning things.

I have a chace to lay down! Yay! We didn't do much today, mostly relaxing. It was gorgeous outside, so we went and played disc golf. We are definately getting better. And now we're laying on the couch :).

This is the aftermath of the party. I didn't have a chance to take a before picture, but it looked fabulous. We had everything scheduled pretty well, too. Jon cleaned most of the day while I fixed things, then when it got closer to party time we both fixed things. We were just finishing up the last two dishes when the guests started arriving. The food was delicious. Not everyone could make it, but I think we had a good time. I thought it was great fun. So here's the menu:

Assorted Fruit, Assorted Vegetables, Antipasto, Baba Ganoush, Cocktail Weenies, Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes, Stuffed Mushrooms, Bacon Wrapped Scallops, Deviled Eggs, Potato Skins, Mushroom Bruschetta, Assorted Cheeses, Finger Sandwiches, and Radish and Butter Sandwiches. For dessert we had Caramel Popcorn, Raspberry Shortbread Cookies, and Chocolate Fondue (with Pound Cake, Marshmallows, Graham Crackers, Strawberries, and Bananas for dipping). We had Egg Nog, but we never got around to drinking it.

Before the party I ran the JSF 5k. I ran too fast on the first mile (10 minutes!!) and was dead for the next mile. My legs were also very sore from being catcher last night. I was tired all day, and just wanted to lay down.

Jon's fridge wasn't empty before, but now it is stuffed to the hilt with ingredients. Tomorrow is the appetizer party. We made shopping lists, bought groceries, and figured out what things we can make early, and which have to wait until the last minute. We even made the caramel popcorn and raspberry shortbread cookies tonight.

Tonight was also my last two softball games of the season. My team finished first in the league. We have a good team. I didn't get a hit tonight (I did walk several times), but I did make two plays at the plate, so yay!

Hoy es la ultima clase de espanol. Termino todas las clases que TCC tiene. Pienso que puedo hablar ok ahora, se mas que antes de las clases. Necisito practicar mas con escribiendo, leyendo, y hablando. Espero que practico mas y ayudo mas. La verdad es no quiero tocar mas clases, pero quiero ayudar mas.

No class tonight! Yay! Jon and I decided to go to the movies instead. We don't go to the movies very often. Most movies aren't worth going to the theater (at least I don't think so), but even when there are good movies out there, we're usually to busy to go. Tonight we are seeing Zombieland. I don't like horror movies at all, but Zombieland is supposed to be more comedy/horror. I also read all of the spoilers, so I'm prepared.

I love movie theater popcorn. You can't enjoy the movie theater experience without popcorn, with lots of butter. I wish they would put some popcorn in the bag, put on some butter, more popcorn, more butter, etc, because only the top layer is really buttery enough. I know how unhealthy it is, but like I said, I don't go to the movies very often.

Zombieland was cute. It was kind of gross, but it is about zombies eating people and people killing zombies.

And happy Veterans Day!

Today is Jon and my two year anniversary! Jon gave me these beautiful flowers. He's very good at picking out flowers, and these are just so unique and pretty. They are kale, with blue thistles, and some other little pretty things mixed in. I also got one red rose :). People at work kept stopping to admire the flowers and wish me a happy anniversary. I gave Jon a book that he has wanted. No one stopped to wish him a happy anniversary though. Maybe next year I should give him flowers too.

Tonight was the final exam in the tax class I've been taking. It was actually a lot harder than I was expecting. We had to prepare a tax return, that had a lot of stuff to go on it, but wasn't hard if you just paid attention, and then there were several multiple choice questions. Some of them did make me think a bit. But I passed, and graduated. I made a 92. Yay me. Even though I don't plan to do taxes for money, I had fun, and I learned some interesting things.

Jon and I do not always cook fancy, complicated dinners. Sometimes we just open a can of soup. Like tonight.

Jon and I are scheming today. We are planning an appetizer party next weekend. Jon loves to order appetizers, as anyone who has gone out to eat with him is aware. And we both love to cook different things and entertain. We have a long list of appetizers we are planning to make, as well as some tasty dessert things too. I can't wait. I hope everyone can make it!

I got a pertussis vaccine today. There is a little knot on my arm, and it is sore. It should go away in a few days. I believe in getting vaccines. The scientific and medical community agrees that vaccines are important, and have saved millions of lives since their invention. Basically the only people against vaccines are crazy celebrities and people who are too stubborn to get a shot because they think they're healthy enough. If you get the flu by getting a flu shot, you're doing it wrong. I will believe doctors over someone's anecdotal evidence, and I would appreciate it if everyone else would get a vaccine too, to stop the spread of a virus.