What Our's Looks Like: {Ode to Christmas. Day#3}

Do you wanna know what I love? Christmas trees. Do you wanna know what I love even more? Christmas trees with a whole bunch of presents underneath. Now don't get me wrong, I love getting gifts just as much as the next person, but even if all those boxes were empty, I still just love the way a bunch of presents look under the tree. Presents are to tree as frosting is to a cookie. {Maybe that's the ornaments...} Anyway, you know what I'm saying. This is our tree. With our gifts. And our Jesus picture. Because there is no Christmas without our Savior, Jesus Christ. {That picture is there all year round, but how fitting that it happens to be right next to my Christmas tree each year} Anyway, don't be jealous y'all but see all those gifts? Yep, they will be all unwrapped TOMORROW!! Mike has asked me everyday this week if we could unwrap our gifts. "No dear, Thursday." Because when travelling for Christmas, these are your options: 1) Unwrap all the gifts before you go {our pick, for obvious reasons}, 2) Unwrap all the gifts when you get home {yeah, right}, 3) Take all your gifts with you {but then you have to pay the baggage fees for all that extra space, um....no}, 4) Don't give each other gifts {but that would just be sad and boring}. So see, we have definitely picked the best option. Plus we get to have Christmas 10 days earlier than normal! But I did have to tell Mike this year that when we no longer travel for Christmas {which will be sometime in our future}, our gifts will have to go back to being unwrapped on Christmas day. It's a rough life we have. 

What I Listen To: {Ode to Christmas. Day#2}

So last week I asked Mike what his favorite Christmas song was. He didn't have an answer. Ummmm. How can you not know what your favorite Christmas song is? So I gave him the charge to listen to Christmas music all day while he studied. When I got home that night, I asked him again. Not only did he still not know what his favorite Christmas song was, he did not listen to Christmas music at all that day. Punk. I love Christmas music. I start listening usually mid-October. These are some of my favorites this season...

The Canadian Tenors - O Holy Night


Michael Buble - All I Want for Christmas Is You


Straight No Chaser - 12 Days


Bob Rivers - 12 Pains of Christmas
{Just try not to laugh out loud when you listen to this...betcha can't}

What We Bought: {Ode to Christmas. Day#1}

Read this blog post first.

Happy Monday everyone!
Now look what I found!

I have been wanting to get an OU ornament since this will be our last Christmas here in Oklahoma. {Hooray!} So I have been on the hunt. And then I spied these Mr. and Mrs. Claus OU gnome ornaments and my search was over. I'm addicted. These little guys may even stay out all year.

What We Ate: {Chocolate Crackle Cookies}

A couple weeks ago I made Chocolate Crackle Cookies. If you can plan ahead, the cookies were delicious! The dough has to refrigerate for a little while before they can be baked, so that's why I say this is a plan ahead cookie. I even liked them so much, that I didn't take them to work to pawn them off to my coworkers as usual. Yep, I was selfish. I kept them at home, and kept them all to myself. Okay, I did let Mike have some. And if there were any extra pounds gained, I would like to say, that it was definitely worth it.

The Stuff:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/3 cups brown sugar, firmly packed

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup milk

1 cup powdered sugar, plus more for rolling

The Doing:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt bittersweet chocolate over medium heat {don't forget your double boiler, or it'll burn!} Set aside to cool. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

2. Beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add melted chocolate. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk until just combined. Divide the dough into quarters, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours.

3. On a clean countertop, roll each portion of dough into a log approximately 16 inches long and 1 inch in diameter, using powdered sugar to prevent sticking. Wrap logs in plastic wrap, and transfer to a baking sheet. Chill for 30 minutes. Cut each log into 1-inch pieces, and toss in powdered sugar, and roll the each piece into a ball shape. If any of the cocoa-colored dough is visible, roll dough in powdered sugar again to coat completely. Place the cookies on a greased baking sheet. Bake until cookies have flattened and the sugar splits, 12 to15 minutes.

What We Attempted: {Bench Press}

So anybody else watch The Biggest Loser this week? If you did, then you saw Antone {my favorite!} bench press his children. Which then led to me asking Mike if he could bench press me. Which then led to Mike attempting to bench press me. {Unsuccessful, hand placement was difficult :)} Which then led to me sitting in Mike's hands and him attempting tricep extensions. {Once again, unsuccessful, he was a little fearful of my rear end landing on his face} Which then led to this:

Hooray, success! {Please overlook several things: the attractive angle of the camera, the faces I'm pulling, the black leggings tucked into white socks, the messy house}

Look at Mike working those legs and me engaging that core.

Oh hush, we have fun together, and that's all that really matters.

What to Do: {Hair}

Yep. This is the kind of day that it is. At least that's what my hair tells me. I need a new do. Keep it long? Cut it short? Middle length? More bangs? More layers? Shave it and start over?

I'm just bored with it. And I need low maintenance. Which makes it harder. Early morning hair doing and getting to work on time is a challenge for me. Its one or the other, people. 4 out 5 times my hair ends up in a bun anyway. One of these days things are going to get drastic, and something irreversible might happen.

Figure it out soon. Okay, done with my rant for the day.

What We Ate: {Fancy Grilled Cheese}

Fancy Grilled Cheese. Name coined entirely by Mike. Want to give credit where credit is due.

The Stuff:
Garlic Bread
Mozzarella Cheese
Spinach
Tomatoes
Olive Oil

{Side note: We like to make our own garlic bread. Mix together 1/2 cup softened butter, 2-3 cloves of garlic {boiled for 1.5 minutes and then minced}, and either basil or parsley. Spread on loaf of french bread. Target sells wheat french bread loaves, for those interested.}

The Doing:
Put the garlic bread in the oven @ broil. Take out when about halfway done. And turn down oven temp to 400.
Saute the spinach in a small amount of olive oil.
On one side of the garlic bread, put the sauteed spinach.
On the other side, put the sliced tomatoes and then top with cheese. {It helps to keep the tomatoes in place}
Put back in the oven and keep your eye on it! Take out when the cheese is melted to your liking.
Put loaves together to make a sandwich.

{This would also taste great without sauteing the spinach. Personal preference}

What I Bought: {Running Shoes}

So who really cares if Christmas is only a measley 20 days away. I still bought myself something. And, no I didn't call it a Christmas gift to myself. I bought them because a) they were a good deal, b) because I needed them, c) because, dad gummit, I just wanted them.

Look at my new running shoes.....

Sexy, right?

Who doesn't love an extremely bright colored pair of running shoes? They seem to give me the little push of energy to finish my workout each day.

Which by the way, successfully made it to the gym 5 days last week. {Normally, I can't get past 4}

So pretty sure I deserved a new pair of shoes to show off, after a week like that.

What I Watched: {The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting}

Did anyone else watch this? I had no intentions of doing so, it was merely on as I kept myself preoccupied by other things, only half listening or so. Until...

WAIT.

I need a disclaimer. I'm not trendy. I hate the bandwagon. I just like what I like {which is how it should be}.

So this music video premiered during the Rockefeller tree lighting. And I suddenly went from half listening, to sitting on the floor right in front of my TV. And I have no idea how I got there.



So, Mariah Carey is an absolute dork. But I wasn't really watching her anyway. Um, lets all dig into our 14 year old personas. Okay, you there? I totally have a crush on Justin Bieber. This is a All-I-Want-For-Christmas-Is-You-music-video-crush only. Never before having given him a second thought/glance/listen. No, I will not suddenly be watching every video of his, listening to all his music and calling him "Biebs". But yep. How cute is he? As I sat on the floor in my living room watching this video, I yelled to Mike in the other room, "I totally have a crush on Justin Bieber." And without hesitation he says back, "Yeah, if you like guys that look like girls." Hah.

What We Did: {The Gravity Table}

Ever seen one of these? Its called a gravity table. Its supposed to help with back pain. Separates all the vertebrae in your back. Mike's brother has one so over Thanksgiving break we gave it a go. Its all controlled by your arms. The higher you lift your arms, the farther back you go. Eventually flipping you 180 degrees. Pain. Now when using the gravity table, you are supposed to tip a little bit and then stop, wait for your body to get used to it. Over time, you work your way to going completely upside down. Well we didn't have time for our bodies to get used to it. Mike just went for it. {Mind you, Mike feels no pain. Hercules or something} So when it was my turn, how could I not?  Um. Pain. The whole, blood rushing to your head, suspended by your feet feeling. Pain. As quickly as I was down, I screamed at Mike, "Hurry, take a picture." He quickly snapped one and I was back up. Pain. Funny though, I couldn't even post the picture of me being upside. It looked gross. My face was BRIGHT red, and my feet were like a sickly yellow color. Pain. I had such a headache the rest of the night. Definitely one of those never-do-it-again-and-if-you-do-make-sure-you-follow-the-instructions type things.