A Marvelously Merry Christmas 2011

 Christmas 2011 was absolutely awesome!! Here's an illustrative recap!! For Christmas Eve, Jon and I went over Jeff and Danielle Botbyl's beautiful Home (pictured below) where we celebrated and exchanged gifts.

(Their house is extremely gorgeous, and they've only been living there for two months, by the way!!) We had a terrific time!! Now, the following is a recap from Christmas morning...

Later Christmas morning, Jon and I left for Lancaster, where we had made reservations to stay at a beautiful hotel called "Eden". We desperately needed time for relaxation since during the school year, there is no such thing, and we both become exceedingly stressed out. Also, because we don't have children yet, we might as well take advantage of the great opportunity to get away, have a fancy dinner, spend some quiet time by the pool, (let our poor kitty fend for herself), and visit a couple...or more than a couple adorably unique home decor shops in Lancaster, which is extremely well-known for their Amish-made furniture and great deals.

Isn't he...or she(?)incredibly adorable?! We were extremely lucky because we ended up with a room in the greatest location - Poolside and two yards from the gym, so awesomely convenient!! I spent most of my "pool time" listening to new music on Spotify which I plan to integrate into my General Music curriculum.

We had a fantastic time and are hoping to return maybe next year??

Finally, here are a couple photos from this afternoon, during which Jon and I spent quality time with my parents who just returned from South Carolina, where they were visiting my sister Ashley and her boyfriend, Dan.

 How cute and clever is that Home Depot Gift Card?? Love it!!

Hope everyone had an incredibly tremendous fun-filled and stress-free holiday this year!! Looking extremely forward to moving on to 2012!!

Merry Christmas!! Hope your Holidays are purrfect!!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my pretty kitties out there!!

Jonathan Botbyl has been...Caught in the Act!!

Gotcha Botbyl!! What better way to enthusiastically celebrate the wonderful Holiday Season than to bake the yummiest and most fattening treats for your family of two!! I'm intentionally not considering Cece the "Christmas-cookie-eating-type"...She's more like the "Christmas-Kitty-Chow-eating-type" although she'd undoubtedly sink her curious little paws into a creamy delicious peanut butter filled cookie batter without a moment's hesitation on any occasion if cats could eat cookies, that is...So, that only leaves two of us!! Ironically, Cece just confiscated a mini candy cane from my "gift wrapping station" as I'm typing this post, lodged it under my desk, and is presently creating a loud clanging sound as she attempts to wiggle it back out...then feast on it...wait for it...wait for it...Got it!!

 As I was saying, of course, Jon always means well, in that he "plans" to serve his amazing cookies to other people (family and friends)

It's just that the cookies are usually gone before that happens (for which I'm occasionally to blame...I said occasionally, meaning usually, or even more than usual??) All in all, I'm exceedingly lucky to have such a great-cooking, but still extremely good-looking husband, who I love very much!!

Well, I sincerely hope everyone is ready for an amazingly fun-filled Christmas, and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas Eve!! (and a Happy New Year to come, but hopefully not too soon...)

Enjoy!! and hurry, finish your shopping. Just for the record, I was shopping at Ikea in the photo above, not Five Below. (Does Five Below make anyone nauseous by the way?? That was actually my Birthday present, from my husband who took me to Homegoods & Ikea on the same day!!!! (Ahhhhhh...the same day!!) See, there I am, clutching my Ikea Catalog along with an interesting array of other items for my entryway, and a couple of awesome Christmas Gifts, which (I made sure) are hidden, or disguised in the picture!!
Without any further ado, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!