Pre-Christmas

I am not huge into getting tons of family pictures. But time seems to be flying by very fast, so I got a friend to snap a few pictures so we'd have a holiday family photo this year. Here are a few that turned out well. (We are pretty amateur models---with lots of blinking and awkward smiles in the rejects.)

Since we are traveling to see my family in New York for Christmas, Brian's parents were so nice and spoiled us with gifts before we left for the holidays. Grandma and grandpa got James this car which he loves!

Here I am posing in my Christmas gift from the in-laws. It is a gorgeous Calvin Klein coat I had been eyeing. They were sneaky and had Brian pick it up for me! I love it and it will be very warm for NY. 

Brian got a smoker. He's been wanting one for some time and we are excited to use it to make some smoked pulled pork. My uncle makes the best smoked pulled pork and once you've had it you will know that it is the only way to eat pork! So yummy! 

We feel so spoiled with the gifts from Brian's parents! Thank you so much!

Eat Fresh

Since we've been married, Brian and I don't usually eat out. One reason is to save money (that's the big one), but also because we can make healthier and yummier food at home. It's funny adjusting to marriage (even after three years) because I come from a family that eats out a few times a month. And Brian's family goes out to eat on birthdays or other significant events. But occasionally we will splurge, and when we do, you can find us at.... Subway! Wild, I know! We love it and we pile on tons of veggies. **We love it so much that one of Brian's dreams is to open a Subway next to his law firm.

And here is a throwback picture of Brian and me at Subway when we were engaged in 2008. So romantic!

**And owning a law firm is also a goal of ours down the road. I like the idea of owning the two businesses together because then Brian and his clients and have a healthy lunch. I remember watching a show on PBS several years ago that was about the most famous and best hot dog restaurants in the USA. And one of these hot dog places was owned by an attorney that give free legal advise one day a week in an office attached to the restaurant and I just loved that idea. I think we should incorporate (pun intended) a similar service where Brian could give back and provide free legal advice too.  

This past week I went to the Hoover Dam with my church's youth group and we were given a behind the scene tour of the dam after hours. Maybe I'm such a nerd but I thought this was so awesome. We learned about the history of the dam and its construction during the Great Depression. We also learned how it worked and what it does today compared to years past. Most of its function today is generating electricity, but it also controls the flow of water to California. 

This view is from the top looking down to the dam

 This view is looking straight at the dam (The top of the structure in this picture is where I took the previous picture from.)

These pictures show the hydrolic turbine generators and they are pretty amazing to see and interesting to learn about. I found it especially cool because I grew up in Schenectady and my dad works for GE in Schenectady where these generators were made. Pretty awesome, eh?

Completed Shelf

We finally completed the book shelf! It took longer than we thought it would because there was a slight learning curve. But once we got the hang of staining and sealing and after Brian did lots of drilling it all came together. It's was lots of fun building this together with my husband. It was sort of a fun date we would do a couple nights a week after James went to bed. 

I also love having all of Brian's huge red law books around because I think they are so pretty to decorate the house with them.