Ready for Santa: The Inside

We're still ready for Santa at our house in Wisconsin.  We went "home" to Columbus for Christmas and just got back last night.  We won't do our gift exchange here until this coming weekend.  Wanted to share a few pictures of the inside of our house decorated for the holidays.

Two years ago, right before I moved to WI, we didn't have a Christmas tree.  Since we were packing everything up to move, it just didn't make sense to then drag out all the Christmas decorations.  Not having a Christmas tree sucked.  It was a rather depressing Christmas.  Apparently we have been making up for it the past 2 years.  Last year, we had 2 Christmas trees in our house.  This year, we have 3.  This is the primary tree in our living room.

This is a shot of the living room from the landing of the staircase.

This next one is looking up the staircase to the second floor.

This is a close-up the sofa table located in the entry way by the front door.  Last year, one of our neighbors stopped by to deliver cookies.  I don't think she ever took her eyes off the Santa.  I'm guessing she hasn't seen one like that before.  Who said Santa has to be white??  Not only is he cute, he has on a fabulous velvet outfit.

Here is a shot of the mantle....

This is our second Christmas tree, located in the kitchen.  It doesn't have a tree skirt around it, which admittedly looks kind of tacky.  The tree is nice, though, and I love having one in the kitchen.

Finally, we put up a small tinsel tree in our dining room.  It's so glow-y.  I love that.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our holiday decorations this year, both inside and out.  This time next week, they will be tucked away for another year.  Until then, though, we continue to eat, drink and be merry.

We're Ready For Santa: The Outside

For tonight, a few pictures of the outside of the house.  Scott does so good with the lights and all the exterior decorations.  Best on the block (or cul-de-sac in our case). 

A close up of the front porch area.  The little bit of snow on the ground really brings out the lights.

I sure do wish my friends from Columbus were closer by and could come over, have some holiday cheer, and see our holiday decorations.  We love it so much and wish we could share. 

First Snow

We are getting our first snow of the season here in southern Wisconsin.  They were calling for flurries, but we probably have a half inch on the ground and it's still coming down pretty good.

It's kind of late in the season for a first snow in these parts, which is fine by me.  I guess we'll see what the winter brings.  Without a doubt, this is the first of many snow falls.  Such is life in Wisconsin (which I have actually grown to love....mostly.)

Funny Face--Fat Face

I'm going back a couple weeks here....

Scott had to work 7a to 7p on my actual birthday.  So, the night before my big day, we went out.  One of our stops was for drinks at a very dark, comfortable, and lounge-y place called the Capitol Chophouse.  It's attached to the Hilton hotel downtown and apparently that is one of the few hotels in the area that allows pets.  As we sat in the bar and looked out towards the lobby of the hotel, we saw this funny face....

I love Bull Dogs.  They are so funny lookin'.

My friend, Kori, knew Scott had to work all day on my birthday.  So, she invited me out for brunch on my big day-- which was a Saturday.  We met at a pub/restaurant named The Green Acre.  The Wisconsin Badgers were playing football.  Every time you bought a drink, you got a ticket.  When the Badgers scored, they drew a ticket and the winning number got free drinks until the next time the team scored and then they drew another number.  Hello!  It was my birthday.  I had a winning ticket (thanks to Kori) and it carried me all the way through half-time.  Mimosas??  Bottoms up.

 
So there is my big ol' fat face with my Mimosa, some more tickets, and a very cute gift bag from Kori that had the coolest necklace in it.

I'd pose the question:  who is cuter, me or the Bull Dog?  But, I already know the answer and I ain't even mad about it.  I once heard a preacher say, "Facts is facts and truth is truth".  The facts and truth are, the Bull Dog is much cuter.

lol. 

On Tap

Where else but in Wisconsin can you go to a hip, trendy joint and find 29 beers on tap...

...including Schlitz, Blatz and PBR all in a row...

Schlitz, Blatz, PBR.

On tap.

In a trendy joint.

And fried cheese curds.

You've got to love Wisconsin.

(I might post this on Facebook--if I can figure out how to do it.  I think Schlitz, Blatz and PBR deserve some good press.)

Prayers for Jada

We just found out yesterday that our dog, Jada, likely has a mast cell tumor on her leg.  Some mast cell tumors are benign.  Others are cancerous and can be very aggressive.  Those of you who have known me over the years know that I lost my first Doberman, Emmy (the love of my life), to a grade 3 mast cell tumor back in 2004.

Needless to say based on my history with these things, I'm very worried about sweet Jada.  She is one of the sweetest, most gentle, loving dogs I have ever known.  She adores me.  She's a total mama's girl.  And I adore her right back.  She's on meds right now to get the swelling around the tumor down and then she will have surgery to have it removed on November 22.

Positive mental energy and prayers for Jada would be appreciated. 

Winter Weather

Dane County (where we live) is under a winter weather advisory until 3 PM today.  Up to 4" of snow is possible.

Winter weather advisory?
4" of snow?

C'mon now.  It's just a little too soon to be starting up with all that.

*sigh*

Halloween

It was trick-or-treat in Stoughton tonight.  Much like last year, we had somewhere between 150 and 200 kids come to the house looking for candy.  That's a lot of kids.  It was pretty much non-stop kids at the door for nearly 2 hours.

The kids expected candy when they came to the door, but what they didn't expect was this.

Scott had this old crazy mask on and scared the be-jeez-us out of a couple little kids, who took off running back to their mama's as soon as they saw him.  Some other little kids were scared, too, but they just stared at him in fascination with their eyes all big while he growled at them.  One little boy said, "that's just a guy."  No fooling that little Einstein.

Here is a shot of Scott with one of our neighbors.

Scott had carved a couple pumpkins for the evening.

He did those free-hand.  Pretty good job.  I don't think Scott even realizes  how artistic he is.  Artistic and meticulous.  He's a talented boy.

Here is a picture of the entry way to the house as we geared up for the first trick-or-treaters.

This was one of my favorite costumes of the evening.  A Rubic's cube, with hand openings...

Last year for trick-or-treat, I was on my own.  Scott was back in Ohio working.  Trick-or-treat was so much more fun this year with him here.  We laughed and had a good ol' time.

Actually, it's not just trick-or-treat. Everything in my life is better and more fun when Scott is around.

Another Crime Scene

You may have read this post (link) about 2 crime scenes I discovered in our house.

Yesterday?  Another crime scene.  Here is a picture:

What was the crime?  90 minutes of pure, unadulterated, uninterrupted BLISS, otherwise known as a massage.


Ahhhhh.......

The massage was courtesy of someone I work with who gave me such a wonderful and generous gift because she knew I have been feeling heightened levels of stress at work over the past few weeks.  How nice was that??