Hauskaa Joulua!

That’s “Merry Christmas” in Finnish.

I mainly wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas in Finnish so I could post this lovely picture.
 

 
What the hell??  Nothing like some lawn gnome-esque people chasing after a pig down a snowy hillside. Sweetness.

Wait just a second…those might be a few of my Finnish family members…

Just yanking your chain. My family would totally only chase after a pig if it was running off with a case of beer. ;)

Have a very Merry Christmas, everyone!

~as

Anne Stefl, Artist Extraordinaire

As the holiday season continues on, Eric and I hit up Christmas Gathering #4 this past Saturday. It was at a friend’s house and part of the festivities later in the evening involved game of Cranium. Mind you, the one and only other time I played this game was a few years back and at the time, I thought it was awful - boring and just plain dumb. Maybe I just sucked at it, though? I never considered that option before. Huh.

Naturally, when it was busted out on Saturday, I was hoping I just had a bad past experience and this time would be better. And it was!

And while I royally suck at Pictionary, I seemed to have the Gods of drawing looking down on me because I dominated the sketching challenges! I was like a modern day freaking Van Gogh. Okay, that’s probably taking it too far.

Anyway, usually my drawing resembles something a 4 year old would muster up, but for some oddball reason, my drawings actually looked at least like a 10 year old’s and miraculously got the job done. AND THAT’S NOT ALL, FOLKS! I apparently have also discovered an unknown talent of drawing with my eyes closed as the “Sensosketch” challenges required.

And for me, apparently all it takes is one good experience with a game before it finds itself as a last minute add to my Christmas list. Score! :)

Speaking of Christmas lists, for Wii owners and lovers out there – the Wii Resort Sports game should be a must-have on your Christmas list this year! It has a ton of island-themed sports, such as:

Wakeboarding
Canoeing
Table Tennis
Sword fighting - WTF?!? Not sure who actually sword fights while on an island vacation…hmmm...

There are about eight other sports on the game as well that I’m completely forgetting at the moment.

Although an interesting choice of resort games, it’s especially fun to watch the sword fighting game. It’s probably even more fun to play, but I wasn’t in the mood to leave my comfy spot on the couch, so I relegated to just watching. Oh, and a certain select friend of ours really gets into it... We’re talking flailing arms that even the most agile of people would have a hard time dodging.

~as

Party on, Wayne.

Every holiday season, all of my close girlfriends and I have an annual Christmas party where we all get together, eat and drink too much, and exchange gifts.

We’ve been doing this for several years now and each year we have an absolute blast!

...minus that one year where I had too much fun with red wine and….you can imagine what happened next all over my light beige winter coat.

RIP beige winter coat.

Rest assured, no coats were harmed in this year’s festivities. I did; however, learn some valuable lessons:

1. Cranking up the heat too high on a chocolate fondue warmer will never end well…will usually result in smoke and burning chocolate.

2. Socializing for too long while opening gifts may result in others not waiting their turn before opening their gifts. We had two creepers this year that had to be stopped before opening out of turn! The nerve. ;)

3. Accidentally “competing” with another girlfriend in the dessert category will result in her threatening her sister’s life if she eats my dessert over hers. HA!

4. Drinks mixed with a fast-moving game of Catch Phrase will always result in a full beer being spilled on new carpet.

5. Drinking mixed with a fast-moving game of Catch Phrase will also result in select team members thinking it is okay to give a clue for “Jeepers Creepers” as “It rhymes with eepers eepers!” Really?!? NOT okay. :)

Happy Holidays to all!

~as

It’s a Chrismukkah Miracle!

Every year before Christmas rolls around, I always swear I’m going to be more organized and on top of things in terms of shopping for gifts. And year after year, it never seems to happen. I always have good intentions, but things seem to come up and before you know it, it’s the week of Christmas. Well, no more, folks!

That’s right – you heard it here first – I’m 95% complete with my shopping!! WOO HOO!!

I just have a few little things to pick up (which I even already know what they are – just need to make it to the store) and then I’ll be done. It’s a miracle!

And I’m super excited to give Eric his gift/s, too. I think he’s going to love it/them. Sorry, I have to use single and plural so he has ZERO clue and can’t try to guess!

Speaking of gifts…is it just me, or is there always a bit of apprehension present (ha…pun totally intended!) when opening presents on Christmas morning???

Don’t get my wrong…I LOVE gifts (I’m a woman, afterall!), but I’m also pretty certain we’ve all been there…opening up what looks to be an awesome gift given the nicely wrapped box just to find it’s contents are less than desirable. Ugh.

And because I never want to hurt anyone’s feelings, I always give my best Oscar-worthy performance and exclaim how much I love whatever it is that I can’t understand why in the world someone would give me.

I know I’m partially enabling these oddball gifts by not saying anything, and letting whomever continue to think I like receiving gifts such as a leopard print purse or Christmas themed thongs, but oh well. It’s about being together and the holiday spirit, right?

That’s what I keep telling myself, at least. ;)

~as