Tunay Na Mahal

Clover: 2010 - Feb 2012.

2012-02-23T18:59:00.000-05:00

This has been the most difficult week... I've had four losses... Hazelnut due to old age & a tumor on 2/12. Rosie who passed during a spay for a prolapsed uterus on 2/13. And now Fern (2/22) and Clover both to pneumonia... this sucks...

Clover was adopted from Star's Rat Rescue in South Dakota in August 2010. She always loved running around on the floor and exploring. She never liked to sit still, she was always too curious.

I really hoped Clover would get better... she drank some water on her own earlier today, but she had stopped eating. I tried giving her antibiotics in baby food, ensure, etc in an oral syringe, but she did just not want it. When I came from work today, she was doing very poorly, she did not even want to move much. I wrapped her in a baby blanket, and cuddled her and pet her head until she passed away...

Fern: 2010? - Feb 2012

2012-02-23T05:20:00.000-05:00

It has not been a good month for me. I already lost my Hazelnut to age & a tumor and my Rosie during an emergency spay for a prolapsed uterus just last week. Fern contracted pneumonia. She's been having respiratory issues since she's getting a little older. Fern was somewhere around 1.5 years maybe 2? I'm not really sure.... she had been doing very poorly the past few days, not taking her medicine in baby food, so I would have to try and get it in her mouth with the oral syringe. She stopped eating... I knew it did not look good. Fern passed away yesterday evening around 5pm...

My spunky girl, I adopted her last April from SRR, along with her sister Olive (RIP). Fern was shy, but she was spunky and territorial in her own cage. She lived with her other SRR sisters. She was my short little pudgy girl.

The sad thing is... Clover, who is already 2 years old, has been getting frail also and I'm pretty sure, contracted pneumonia from Fern. They were both ill, so I had them set up in a hospital cage together and have been giving them their antibiotics in baby food and Ensure, etc. Clover is stronger, but she's barely eating at all during the past 24 hours... which is not good....so please keep Clover in your thoughts, it has been a tough month...

Wordless Wednesday: Snuggly Boys

2012-02-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

Teddy, Aspen, Templeton & Curry

Aspen, Templeton & Curry

Ikea Loot! :-)

2012-02-20T16:27:00.010-05:00

I finally got down to Ikea in South Philadelphia, I've never been there before. It was pretty busy down there and bit picked over, but we picked up some decor for our apartment. :-)

(Click on photos to see full size).

(The Loot!) Almagrundet bathmat, turquoise $6.99 (Not online)

GODTA Bowls 7", turquoise $2.99

GODTA Bowl 10", turquoise $3.99

SOMRIG Vase, assorted colors $2.99 & Artificial Rose, $2.99, Assorted plants $1.99

Closer Look. :)

Artificial potted plant, House bamboo $3.99 & Plant pot, galvanized $0.79

Gestalta Artist $4.99 (No longer online)

5-piece cookware set, stainless steel $9.99 & STEKA Frying pan, dark blue $2.99

P.S. Bring a reusable bag with you! I didn't know so we had to pay $0.59 cents for a large Ikea bag during check out.

Betta Fish: Pretty Boy!

2012-02-19T08:50:00.001-05:00

Meet Pretty Boy! My 1st Betta fish. We brought him home February 11th. :-)

More Home Ideas.

2012-02-18T10:47:00.000-05:00

I have a theme when it comes to our apartment. Black/White & Aqua colors. Our Sofa is black. Our end tables & coffee tables are black. And my 2 favorite armchairs are black & white floral. There are small bursts of aqua around in the throw pillows, baskets on my coffee table, etc. I recently bought black & white damask dishes to keep on with my theme.

Now I finally found the perfect place mats for our dining room table. And finally found the perfect coasters in an aqua floral color for our living room. For some reason, it's REALLY tough to find coasters at the store! Plus it was a great price for both!

Turquoise Flower Leaf Tile Coasters $6 -Etsy

Torre & Tagus Floral Print Placemat Set of 8 $9.99 -Target

I really would like to check out Ikea during my long weekend. (No work on Presidents Day yay!) I've never been to our Ikea. It's downtown in Philadelphia.

I really want to get a few of these realistic plants for our apartment:

Artificial potted plant, grass $3.99 -Ikea

Artificial potted plant, House bamboo $3.99 -Ikea

2 new men in my life.

2012-02-16T05:30:00.001-05:00

So... I have 2 new men in my life... lol. Teddy & Templeton. It was time for a change after losing 2 female ratties. Curry & Aspen now have 2 little brothers. ♥

Teddy is a cocoa Berkshire. But he also has some sort of mask on his face that makes him look slightly like a raccoon. And Templeton is beige variegated & I think he may have a blaze.

Yes... I am the crazy rat lady with a dozen ratties. :-p

Wordless Wednesday: Valentines Day 2012

2012-02-15T19:44:00.001-05:00

Roses from Hubby

The gift I got my husband!


From hubby :)

Hazelnut & Rosie: 2010 - 2012.

2012-02-13T17:14:00.000-05:00

It's not been such a great 24 hours... very early Sunday morning (1am or so) we discovered Rosie had a prolapsed uterus. (It looked a lot like this picture). Unfortunately the vet wasn't open until Monday.... so I had to wait until then to call & make Rosie an appointment.

Also this past weekend Hazelnut wasn't doing so well either. Her tumor had been getting larger and she wasn't as energetic anymore. I had a feeling she would be passing soon and Sunday evening Hazelnut passed away. She was one of my Star's Rat Rescue girls and she traveled 1,500 miles back in August of 2010. Hazelnut was already around 2 years old. She was a very curious girl who always loved getting off the bed to run around and explore. And she loved sleeping in any kind of cardboard box or oatmeal tube that we put in her cage. ♥

Rosie had her appointment at the vet this afternoon. We decided she would go in for an emergency spay. I was pretty nervous already to put her through the surgery considering she would have been 2 years old around June/July. But the only other alternative was having her put to sleep, because her uterus was coming out and the tip of it was already badly infected. So we left Rosie at the vet to be spayed. (I had a female rat, Cinnamon spayed years ago but she was only around 6 months old). Unfortunately, I got a call directly from the vet himself a little later in the afternoon.... Rosie passed away during her surgery. The vet said her uterus was in really bad condition. Sadly we had to go pick up Rosie from the vet. We dropped her off at my parents house to be buried with Hazelnut...

Rosie was so laid back and special. She was my nap rat. She loved taking naps with me. She loved laying near your feet. She was cuddly and would give kisses occasionally. She was such a friendly little rattie and I'm so sad to have lost her so suddenly... ♥

Homemade Pizza Crust Tutorial!

2012-02-03T15:32:00.004-05:00

My Dad gave me a live in person tutorial on how to make homemade pizza crust a few weeks ago. I never had much luck with getting any dough to rise, lol. But I followed his instructions and we enjoyed fresh homemade pizza the other night. I thought I would share his tutorial with all of you. (Pictures included!). You can double this recipe. I've underlined the ingredients you will need below.

1st step: Combine 1 cup of hot water (the hottest you can get out of your sink tap), 1 teaspoon of sugar & 1 packet of dry active yeast in a bowl. Use a rubber spatula to give it a few quick stirs then let it sit for 15 minutes uncovered.

Hot water, sugar & dry active yeast

When you come back your bowl of yeast should look like it has beer foam on the top of it. (Which is how my Dad explained it to me, haha!) That's how you know your yeast is working.

See: "Beer Foam" lol!

Step two: Pour 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt into your bowl with the dry yeast mixture. Use a rubber spatula again to fold the flour into the mixture using a circular motion, sometimes pressing the spatula into the dough like kneading. Once your dough begins to stick to your spatula add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and continue to work the dough in a circular & kneading motion with the rubber spatula. You will not need to touch the dough with your hands.

Dough ball!

Step three: Once your dough is in a neat little ball. Grab a dish rag or washcloth and run it under the hottest water you can. Wring it out a bit, then drape the rag over your bowl. You want a nice warm place for your dough to rise, so I always pop my rag covered bowl into the microwave and let it sit for one hour. (I keep my microwave unplugged when not using it). You won't be using the microwave- just storing your bowl of dough there for 1 hour.

Damp rag with hot water- let dough sit for 1 hour.

Step four: Take the damp rag off of your bowl of dough. It should have increased in size by now. You can give it a few more kneads with your rubber spatula, but then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in your fridge for one whole day. Letting it sit for a day makes it easier to roll and work with the next day. And as my Dad said, he thinks it tastes better when you let it sit a day before using it. (Your dough can be stored for up to 5 days in the fridge).

After sitting for 1 hour- the dough has risen.

Step Five: Enjoy making homemade pizza with your homemade pizza dough! I know I did! Roll out your dough to fit your tray (don't forget to sprinkle a little flour before rolling), add sauce cheese & toppings. To cook your pizza, heat your oven 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

This is supposed to be pepperoni & onion- next time... cheese first- then toppings, lol!

Our 2nd homemade pizza! Hawaiian! Mmmm!

Wordless Wednesday: Quotes

2012-02-01T00:00:00.015-05:00

Some of these are from Pinterest!

(Graphic I made, my favorite saying. ♥ )

Pinterest might be bad for my wallet lol!

2012-01-29T12:23:00.004-05:00

Pinterest might prove to be bad for my wallet, lol. I'm having a lot of fun organizing my Home & Kitchen Decor Idea boards. Most of the stuff is a little out of budget for me, but these dishes... omg. I fell in love with them. I love anything black and white, and damask is so elegant! It matches the color scheme of my favorite living room chairs. (Our color scheme seems to be black, white & a pop of bright aqua or teal).

It's my Valentines gift. ♥ I'm sooo excited! I love them! It's a 16 piece set from Target.

Damask 16-pc. Dinnerware Set - Black/ White

I also bought a gorgeous hoodie on Amazon.com. But the price was right. It used to retail for $180.00 because it was Christian Audigier, but that & the Ed Hardy stuff isn't as popular anymore so it was on sale for $29.99! It is GORGEOUS in person and so well made, I love it! ♥

CRYSTAL ROCK Christian Audigier Love Faith Womens Tunic Hoodie

Soooo.... while Pinterest might be great for ideas, recipes, home decor ideas, it can be bad for your wallet! At least all our bills are paid for the month, lol! ;-)

Pinterest: Just a little bit addicting...

2012-01-28T11:00:00.001-05:00

I joined Pinterest last week. At first I was a little confused of what it was all about. But now it's getting a little addicting. It's like a giant bulletin board of your own. You can pin and share recipes, funny pictures, links of crafts or home decor you like. Pretty much anything you like. You can create categories for each of your "bulletin" boards. It's quite addicting. You can also share your posts on Facebook. :-)

If you would like an invite to Pinterest, please leave a comment with your email or your Facebook name (if we are already friends on Facebook). :-)

My Pinterest Page.

Wordless Wednesday: The world's saddest snowman.

2012-01-25T09:00:00.001-05:00

Cherry eyes, carrot nose & toothpick arms! Lol!

The snowman was made as a joke. We got 3 inches of snow on Saturday & my Mom was teasing my husband saying he should make his 1st ever snowman. :-p

I ♥ ♥ ♥ my Kindle Fire!

2012-01-22T12:07:00.004-05:00

When I last wrote about the Kindle Fire, I was still unsure, whether it would live up my expectations. There were so many conflicting articles online about what it would do or what it couldn't do.

I've had my Kindle Fire for a little over 2 months now and I can say it has definitely lived up to my expectations. I absolutely LOVE it. The 7 inch touch screen is really vibrant. I love it's compact size. It's a bit heavier than I expected it to be, but I've gotten used to it.

I love that even if I'm waiting for my train in the freezing cold with gloves on- the touch screen responds! I don't even have to take my gloves off! That is so neat to me, considering most touch screens won't respond when you have gloves on! The keyboard is a nice size when you have your Kindle Fire in landscape mode, it's almost like typing on a real keyboard. I've heard people have had issues with the sensitivity of the touch screen, but I haven't had any.

It's true that you don't have access to the actual Android Market. You have to go through the Amazon App Store, but they have been pretty good at adding all of the apps I normally use. Plus they offer a free paid app every day for free! I've gotten a few good ones that way! (Monopoly, Drawing Pad). I also own Sim City Deluxe and the graphics are amazing on that!

My Apps

I use my Kindle Fire every day on the train and at home. I love that on the train I can use my T-mobile Sidekick 4G as a mobile router so I can browse the internet on my Kindle Fire when there are no hot spots available. (I have unlimited high speed internet from T-mobile). Plus I'm lucky that when I'm waiting for my train home, 30th Street Station has free wi-fi!

My library offers free e-books now. So I'm constantly checking out books. There's also a lot of free books & classics available in the Amazon Kindle store. And I've also purchased a few books.

Just some of my books.

The Kindle Fire only has 6GB of internal storage. I have a bunch of books, 1 movie, photos, music & apps installed, and I still have 3GB left. Plus I love the Amazon Cloud Storage. You can store unlimited music on your cloud drive. (You can only access your cloud drive when connected to the internet). The other neat thing about the cloud storage is if you remove a book or app from your Kindle Fire, it will still be in your cloud drive- to be downloaded again when you want it.

My music

Movies I've downloaded from Amazon.

I love that I have access to Netflix & Pandora. I only used the Amazon Prime for the free month Amazon gave me. (I still love my Netflix, there's more variety). With headphones the sound on the Kindle Fire is amazing! Very rich sound & bass. Without headphones... I wish they had included two more speakers on each side, because you do have to turn the volume up to it's maximum to hear shows well. (Sometimes I plug in a portable speaker when watching movies without headphones).

I've tried out a few magazine subscriptions on my Kindle from the Amazon newstand... though I still prefer paper magazines. The actual paper subscriptions are much cheaper too.

The Amazon Silk browser, isn't as fast as Firefox or Internet Explorer. But it does support flash. I have run into a few websites that weren't compatible with Silk, so they showed up a bit funny. (Wouldn't scroll right, etc). But for the most part I can browse more websites on my Kindle Fire than compared to my cell phones browser. Facebook & Twitter are viewed in the mobile Android format.

All in all, I've had no regrets on purchasing my Kindle Fire. It's an amazing little device. I take it with me everywhere. I don't regret that it doesn't have a camera or microphone- my cell phone has those anyway. The pro's definitely outweigh the few con's I've mentioned. The price was also a factor in my purchasing it. You can't go wrong for $199! It is worth every dollar!

(I do use Amazon Associates, but not because I've made any money- because I haven't! lol! But I like that I can show a picture/link with a product when I'm blogging. Plus I do recommend Amazon.com for their low prices. That or Ebay!)

Daisy & her wheel!

2012-01-08T13:20:00.000-05:00

My husband & I were at Petco last night getting some food & treats for the ratties. He talked me into buying another wheel for the rats. (9 inch wheel) I had one a long time ago and the ratties never used it, so I ended up donating it to Star's Rat Rescue.

Well... this time... I finally have a rattie that uses it! Daisy my curly haired blue rex girl started using it this afternoon. She loves it! She runs round and round. Then she'll stop and take a break for water or to relax, but then she's right back on there running around. (She's running as I write this, haha!) The other girls come down to take a peek at her, so maybe one of them will get the hint that's it's a toy for them!

Here's a video of Daisy running on her wheel!

Crock Pot Beef Stew for 2.

2012-01-07T15:32:00.000-05:00

I'm still having fun with my new crock pot I got for Christmas. I made beef stew last week and it was sooo good! I took a combination of a crock pot recipe/ the recipe on the back of the beef stew seasoning packet.

Here's my recipe for beef stew for 2:

3 cups of water
1 can of tomato paste
1-2 lbs of beef stew meat
2 medium potatoes diced
5-6 small/medium carrots sliced
1 medium onion sliced
2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
3 tablespoons of Worchestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
McCormick Beef Stew Seasoning Mix
3 tablespoons of Flour
Few shakes of Goya Adobe all purpose seasoning. (Red Lid)

Put all the ingredients into the crock pot, stir. (You may need to whisk the flour into the sauce). Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

This was sooo good! The beef was so tender and the tomato paste really made a thick hearty gravy. It was perfect because the evening we had this it was only 29 degrees out. Enjoy! I know I'll be making this again sometime soon!

Happy New Year 2012! (and some other stuff)

2011-12-31T16:56:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone! Unfortunately I'm ending 2011 and starting 2012, with a yucky chest & head cold. I'm getting better, slowly.

F.B. & I will just be celebrating New Years quielty at home this evening. We'll have some cheese, crackers, pepperoni & Martinelli's sparkling cider at midnight! And watch the ball drop in New York on TV. New Years Day, I'll be cooking ham & sweet potatoes. And we'll get to try our chocolate chip panettone cake.

Christmas Picture of us both:

I ordered some more goodies. I ordered another one of these chairs from Walmart, because I absolutely love it and I want a matching set. The chair itself is really comfortable and even cuter in person!

Arista Arm Chair- Black and White Floral (Walmart)

And these super cute sheets!

Royal Opulence Satin Sheet Set: Zebra (Walmart)

I also ordered a Santoku knife, 10 piece Pyrex storage set and 2 non stick cookie sheets.

Oh and I got the best deal on a 4 cup Pyrex meauring cup from Big Lot's last week! $6! (No more baking disasters now, yay! Lol!)

Wedding Rings: Do you takes yours off?

2011-12-30T00:00:00.002-05:00

My husband thinks I'm crazy because I never take off my wedding band. I have a very slim 3mm titanium wedding band. I also have a "blingy" part of my wedding ring that I do take off when I come home. But the wedding band itself, never comes off.

I occasionally remove my wedding band to apply lotion. But I sleep with it, shower with it. It never comes off. (It never tarnishes either because titanium doesn't! hehe!) My husband takes his wedding band off to shower & sleep. But, I'm always afraid I would forget to put it back on if I did that, lol! I mean occasionally I forget to put the "blingy" part of my ring on when I leave the house.

So how about you? Do you take your wedding band off? Or am I the only crazy one. :-p

Iris: Nov 2010 - Dec 2011

2011-12-29T20:03:00.004-05:00

My sweet Iris, my "ratatouille" passed away sometime last night.... I found her this morning when I woke up. My sweet girl was getting frail, she had an abscess on her one paw and what appeared to be a tumor growing in her belly. (She had a paralyzed tail from a back injury when she was younger). Though weak & getting frail, her energy was good, she was always so very excited to see me when I opened the cage door, and her appetite was good.

I will miss my "ratatouille". That was her nickname because she was the colors of Remy in the Disney movie. She was a blue berkshire. Iris was very affectionate, like her sister Jasmine. She loved to give kisses to your hands, your face. She loved grooming your nails. She had a hearty appetite like her sister Jasmine. They even looked a lot alike when they were both younger. I will miss my blue girls... it really sucks losing them so close together.

♥ I love all of my pet rats, but blue rats are my favorite color, if I had to choose. Goodbye my sweet Iris. ♥

Jasmine on the left- Iris on the right.

Iris & Jasmine- By Ciara Kay Barsotti

Crock Pot Soups for 2.

2011-12-28T15:52:00.027-05:00

I got a crock pot for Christmas from my parents. Something I've wanted for awhile. The first thing I made in it, was potato soup! :-)

Here is the original recipe. And below is the recipe altered by me to serve 2 people. Perfect soup for a cold winter evening.

Potato Soup for 2 in Crock Pot

3 large (or medium) potatoes, chopped
1 half of medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1/4 teaspoon of minced garlic (I use the kind in a jar).
1 tablespoon of honey (adds some sweetness).
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup water
Few shakes of Goya Adobe all purpose seasoning. (Red Lid).

Put all the ingredients into the crock pot, stir. Cover and cook on low for 5 or 6 hours.

After it was done cooking, I took a potato masher and mashed some of the potatoes up. So the soup had a creamy texture, but still had chunks of potatoes in it. Then I whisked the soup real good before I served it.

Top with cheese or croutons & enjoy!

Getting ready to cook for 6 hours!

Ready to eat!

I also made homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. Mmmm!

Chicken Noodle Soup for 2: Crock Pot Recipe

2 chicken thighs (fully cooked), bones removed & cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Few shakes of Goya Adobe all purpose seasoning.
1 tablespoon of honey (Trust me!)
3 cups of water
1 can of chicken broth
1 half of a small onion diced
1-1/2 cup of frozen mixed veggies (peas, carrots, lima beans).
Half a box of your choice of noodles, (All I had on hand were the mini shell kind).

Set aside noodles. Add all other ingredients, stir together & cook on low for 5-6 hours. One hour before it's done, add the noodles & 1 extra cup of water. Stir & let finish cooking. (I also added a potato because we had some around the house).

We still have leftovers of the chicken soup! It made a lot! And it was sooo good!

I've been fighting a nasty cold since last Thursday, which turned into a chest cold this past Monday, so hot soup was just what I needed!

Now... can't wait to make pulled barbeque pork & beef stew in my crock pot!

Buttercup & Sweet Pea

2011-12-24T16:48:00.001-05:00

Early Christmas Gift. :-) Meet Buttercup & Sweet Pea!

Buttercup is beige capped with a blaze. She's a chubby little roly poly girl, and pretty brave and not afraid of people.

Sweet Pea is an extremely light cream hooded with red eyes. She almost looks like a PEW her markings are so light. She is smaller and more nervous than her sister.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T16:31:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to everyone! F.B. & I will be celebrating Christmas Eve at our apartment. This will be F's 1st Christmas in the USA, our 2nd Christmas married & our 3rd Christmas spent together. :-)

I'll be making alfredo pasta with mushrooms, bacon and ham for Christmas Eve dinner. Also Texas toast with cheese, and Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for dessert. Mmmm.

Christmas Day we'll be meeting my family at a Chinese Buffet for brunch. (3rd year we've done this tradition). Then we'll be heading back to my parents house to exchange gifts. F.B. & I will be exchanging gifts tonight.

I made a batch of cookies Friday night and two batches this afternoon. Of course I had some cookie baking disasters though... 1st off, I really need to buy a GLASS measuring cup- my plastic one melted while trying to melt chocolate in the microwave, lol!

And I really love Dollar Tree. My apartment is stocked with stuff I've gotten from there. But their cookie sheets... epic fail. The metal warped in the oven and my cookies ended up looking like.... brownies? The perfect cookie on the right is from the cookie sheet my Mom gave me. The cookies on the left... are from the Dollar Tree cookie sheet...

I made a batch of these White Chocolate Cherry Cookies:

And Thumbprint cookies with strawberry jam!

Jasmine: Oct 2010 - Dec 2011.

2011-12-20T13:53:00.001-05:00

We had to take Jasmine to the vet this morning, to be put to sleep. I hate having to make that decision... it's the worst.

Jasmine started with an eye injury back in November. We think maybe one of the girls scratched her in her eye. It got infected and started swelling. The vet started her on Cipro eye drops & oral antibiotic. She was doing betterish, but then developed a nasty respiratory cold on top of things. Poor girl was wheezing and losing weight and her appetite was really decreased. She had a re-check at the vet and they switched her to Baytril antibiotics, plus the Cipro. Her eye started to get worse a few days after her 2nd vet visit. The eye had ulcerated. If she hadn't had the respiratory infection, the eye could have been removed. Poor girl wasn't doing so well though, she was hardly eating, and we could not get the antibiotics down her. Even when we tried mixing them in baby food or Ensure.

Jasmine was always really sweet and energetic. She LOVED to give kisses. She would kiss your hands, your face all over. She was a sweet mellow rat. She also loved to eat- when she was well. She loved treats or scraps of food. I will definitely miss her kisses. ♥

You can see just how bad Jasmine's eye was in this picture with Violet & Daisy.

2 year wedding anniversary! ♥

2011-12-19T00:00:00.009-05:00

Today is our 2 year wedding anniversary! (Though "legally" our marriage certificate says December 18th. See why here). I get 2 hours of administrative holiday leave, so I am using it to leave work a bit early on our anniversary. We will be heading to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner!

I finally finished unpacking on Sunday! We have internet now too. Yay! January is going to suck with all the new bills being due though... I may have to call the electric & gas company to change my due dates once I pay the 1st bills, so that my one pay check will just be for rent, food, gas & my other check for all the other big bills.

We had my cousin Jessica over Saturday night for dinner. (Darn we forget to get pictures together!) We also Skyped with her sister, my cousin Chrissy who lives in Georgia. We ordered Chinese take-out and exchanged Christmas gifts, had some wine & watched 'The Social Network'. It was a really fun evening.

Our new apartment is really close to where I used to work, before our office relocated to Center City Philadelphia. It's a shame, because if we still worked at the old location I could probably WALK to work! The Chinese take-out place is one that my co-workers used to order from for lunch. :-)

My cousin spoiled us with some Christmas/Housewarming gifts!

Sparkling wine!

Christmas day, we are hopefully meeting with my family to have brunch at a Chinese Buffet & exchange gifts. For New Years Eve, I think my husband & I will just be celebrating here at the apartment. I already bought a small half ham, sweet potatoes with brown sugar, crackers, cheese, pepperoni & Martinelli's sparking cider. And a chocolate chip Panettone cake.