Christmas Sweater Spectacular

Nothing says Christmas like an ugly sweater. Last weekend we attended Ashley and Kyle’s “Semiannual Ugly Sweater/Turtleneck Party.” The party was fantastic! It was a night filled with yummy food, great friends, crazy sweaters, and the always entertaining, white elephant gift exchange.

Here are our friends Vanessa and Curtis with their treasures from the gift exchange; a beautiful plaster cast Native American statue and a homemade photo album covered in satin, lace, and fake flowers (Note: the photo album was an actual gift we received for our wedding—no joke!)



Let’s get to the main event. After the parade of sweaters, we took a vote to see who would take home the crown of “The Ugliest Sweater.”

In third place, we have Kyle’s “Toncho” - a turtleneck, poncho combo.

In second place we have Sean’s “12 Days of Christmas,” complete with bells and a pear zipper. (Don’t tell the winner, but I still think Sean was robbed. He deserved to take first place!)

And the winner is….

Curtis in “Can't Beat The Wreath.” Congratulations Curtis!

Of course no contest is complete without a prize. The winner got to take home this lovely illuminated Mary statue. A perfect addition to any Christmas display. Hmmm...on second thought…I think I’m glad Sean didn’t win.

Thank you Ashley and Kyle for a fantastic party. We'll see you next year!

Merry Christmas!

An Evening at the Apollo

Tis the season of holiday parties! Last weekend Sean and I attended the corporate Christmas Party for my work. It was my first year attending, and it was fabulous! This year’s theme was “An Evening at the Apollo.” It was held at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Scottsdale and the ballroom was decorated in Hollywood style, complete with a red carpet entrance and golden Oscar centerpieces. It was a night to dress up, mingle with coworkers, and rub elbows with the big wigs. We got hang out with the owner of Apollo Group, John Sperling, the CEO, the CFO, the President of UOP, the Mayor of Phoenix, and several state Senators.

After appetizers and mingling, we sat down for dinner and entertainment. This is where things got strange…and hilarious. The entertainment was supposed to be Hollywood themed, right, but the best they could do was three impersonators and a magician who was obsessed with yellow canaries. The first act was a Dolly Parton impersonator. Last time I checked, Dolly was not an Oscar winner, and Nine to Five is NOT considered an achievement in film. However, Dolly was much better than the Bette Midler impersonator whose adam’s apple had our undivided attention during “her” rendition of Wind Beneath My Wings. Had we not been stuffing our faces with filet minion and lobster, I probably would have been laughing out loud during the finale, wait for it…Dolly Parton, Bette Middler, and The Temptations all together singing a I’m Proud to be an American. It was the strangest musical number I have ever seen. I’d like to know the party planner who thought that would be a super idea. It was bizarre, but totally gave us a laugh.

All in all, it was a great evening. We enjoyed dessert, dancing, casino games, and lots of funny work stories. Here are a few pictures from the evening and a few of my favorite coworkers. Happy Holidays!

This is my sweet friend Ashley and her husband, Craig. Ashley and I sit next to eachother at work and I don't know how I would get through the day without her!!

Here's our "Pod," Aaron, Ashley, and myself. The three of us sit in an area together and we spend the entire day laughing , making jokes, and teasing each other. We have a blast! Aaron is the only boy of the group, so Ashley and I like to gang up on him and tease him whenever possible. Thanks Aaron!

And here we have Ashley M., Aaron, and Tim. God bless funny coworkers.

Hot Chocolate Anyone?

I absolutely love being Auntie Paige. I have the cutest nieces and nephews, and I just love them to pieces. Last Sunday my sister Leah and her husband Ben came over for some Sunday night treats. They brought their two precious daughters, Eden and Gracie, whom I just adore.

We had a great time making hot chocolate, dancing to Christmas music, and eating yummy treats. Eden helped me make the hot chocolate and she was such a good helper. She helped me measure the chocolate and stir it until it was just right. As we were stirring she shouted, “Yay, chocolate milk!” It was so cute.

This was Eden’s first time drinking hot chocolate, so she was a bit surprised when she found out her “chocolate milk” was warm, but once she got the hang of it, she was obsessed. Here is Eden on her 2nd cup of hot chocolate.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate the holidays. Show us that smile Eden! Say cheese!

Let's Go To The Movies

I don’t typically run out to see new movies the first weekend they are out, but in the past two week I have made some exceptions. I rushed to the theatre to see Daniel Craig (be still my heart) in Quantum of Solace, and then last weekend we did a Girl’s Night and went to see Twilight. Now, before I go any further, let me just say, I am NOT a Twilight girl. I have read a few of the books, only to see what all the fuss was about, but I do not own a Twilight t-shirt, I did not go to the midnight showing, and I do NOT dream about falling in love with a vampire (No offense to any of Twilight lovers who might be reading my blog).

Naturally, when you see two new movies right in a row there’s going to be some comparison. Unfortunately for Twilight, there is no comparison here. Quantum of Solace wins, hands down folks. Twilight is so out of its league on this one. Quantum is action-packed and has some very talented actors. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure Twilight used actors from a high school drama club and I’ve seen better special effects on the Teletubbies. I literally laughed through Twilight. It was so bad—I couldn’t stop laughing.

Okay, so maybe Twilight didn’t have the same budget as Bond, so let’s just compare the main characters.

James Bond vs. Edward Cullen

Hmmm…I wonder what would happen if Daniel Craig’s James Bond got into a fight with Edward Cullen? That would be a pretty good fight, but sorry Edward, James Bond would kick your trash…and he would look way better doing it.

Well, I guess that settles it. Moral of the story: If I was in need of a resuce (or a boyfriend) I’d pick the secret agent over the vampire any day of the week.

And the winner is...

Smorgasbord, Orgasbord, Orgasbord

I think Templeton said it best when he sang, “A fair is a veritable smorgasbord, orgasbord, orgasbord.” It really is a place where one can glut, glut, glut, glut!!!


A few weeks ago we made our annual pilgrimage to the Arizona State Fair. I have gone to the State Fair faithfully, every year since I have moved to Phoenix, and it is something I always look forward to. Not only is it a chance to eat all of the yummy fried foods you can fit in your tummy, but it’s also a chance to see the always exciting, demolition derby.

Now the demo derby may not be the first thing you think of when you think of me, but I confess—I love it! The crashing, smashing, and the roar of the crowd. It's seriously a blast. Vanessa and Curtis joined us for the spectacular event. Here are some highlights from our trip to the 2008 AZ State Fair.

Rock the Vote

Happy Election Day!! I just got back from voting this morning. Did I mention that I love voting? It’s so patriotic, so American, and so fabulous! I always like to vote before I go to work, so I can wear my “I Voted” sticker to work. I also like to plan out my outfit to make sure I am wearing a red or blue shirt. Too much? Perhaps, but I still love it. So, don’t forget to get out there and vote today!

Now, there are two things in this world that I couldn’t love more…donuts and voting. Luckily, Krispy Kreme has found a way to combine the two into one spectacular event. Hop on in to Krispy Kreme with your “I Voted” sticker and you will be kindly rewarded with a star shaped donut with patriotic sprinkles. Patriotic sprinkles?!? A-dor-a-ble!!! I’m totally on my way.

McCain Fine Gold

Just in case you missed it last night, here are the John McCain skits from SNL. I give McCain two mavrick thumbs-up for his performance. Well done!! After Sarah Palin's less than stellar performance on SNL a few weeks ago, I was a bit nervous for McCain and I was wondering why he would do SNL so close to the election, but he was very funny! I totally respect a politicial who can make fun of himself. I also think I'd like to purchase a set of those John McCain pork knives.

Don't forget to vote this Tuesday!

We'll Always Have Paris

Our final destination was Paris…the City of Lights. We only had a few days in Paris, but we got to see just about everything on our list.

We started out at the Palace of Versailles. This is was a high priority on my list—I’ve always wanted to see Versailles! It was the palace of Louis XIV and the location of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles which marked the end of World War I.

The palace was so beautiful and so ornate. It was especially fun to stand in the Hall of Mirrors and think about all of the historical events that took place in that very room. I loved it!

The gardens were also a spectacular site.

Our next stop was Notre Dame. We LOVED this building.



The gothic architecture is fantastic and was so different from all of the other churches we had seen. The stained glass was also a spectacular site.


Next, we decided to take a stroll through the Luxemburg Gardens. It was a cold and cloudy day, but the gardens were beautiful.

It was fun because all the trees had started to change colors, so there were these gorgeous fall leaves everywhere. We don’t get to see many fall leaves in Phoenix, so it made for a great stroll through the park.

It was technically fall, but then in the center of the garden it was still summer! There were still lots of bright, beautiful flowers. We were just sitting in the park enjoying the scenery, so we decided to practice our photography skills. Such a beautiful park!




Of course no trip to Paris would be complete without a trip to the Eiffel Tower!

We decided to go just as the sun was setting so we could see it at night. It is a really amazing structure, and the blue lights made it glow.



Here is the view from the top. (Luckily they had an elevator, so we didn’t have to the climb stairs this time. Yay!)

Next stop is the Louvre! By this point we had seen a thousand museums, so we decided to stick with the highlights at this one. We still saw lots of great art and beautiful sculptures.

Of course we visited Leonardo’s Mona Lisa (along with a thousand other tourists). It really was fun to see her in person, but she’s so small!! The whole time I was thinking, wow, Leonardo must be looking down thinking, "Hey guys, I’ve done much better than this. Why the big fuss?” Funny how certain things become so famous, isn't it? But still...it was great to see it in person!
Last but not least, we took a walk around the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe.

Our European vacation had now come to a close. It was time to pack up and head home. We had a spectacular time in Europe and it was everything we had hoped for and more!!! Thanks for letting us share our photos with you.

To see the rest of our pictures from Paris, click HERE.

I Dream of Michelangelo

After we finished up in Rome we took a train to Florence--the birthplace of the Michelangelo and the heart of Renaissance. We instantly fell in love with Florence. It's a beautiful city that is filled with great architecture and Tuscan charm. It was a nice change from the fast paced streets of Rome. Florence is much smaller and you can go just about everywhere on foot.

We started off at touring the Medici chapels and then we made our way to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore and the home of Brunelleschi's dome...A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Sean and I had both read a book about the building of Brunelleschi's dome, so it was so much fun to see it in person! The dome is an engineering masterpiece and it is still the largest masonry dome in the world. A pretty fantastic creation for a man in 1436.

Of course we had to climb to the top! We climbed 463 stairs for this breathtaking view...all I have to say is WOW!



We also got to see some incredible art in Florence. We saw Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Leonardo's Adoration of the Magi. The art highlight of Florence was definitely Michelangelo's David. We saw a thousand and five statues on our trip, but Michelangelo's David is by far the most amazing piece of art I have ever seen. It's so beautiful and so perfect. I guess I had thought it was just famous for being famous, but it really is a masterpiece. Three cheers for Michelangelo.


This is Ponte Vecchio—a Medieval bridge across the Arno River. It’s very cute, and filled with little shops…jewelry shops that is. When you walk down the bridge everywhere you turn there is beautiful sparkling jewelry. It was every girl’s dream. Cha ching!

On our final night in Florence we climbed (yes more climbing) up to Piazza Michelangelo to watch the sunset. The Piazza is on a hill just south of the city so you get to see these incredible views of Florence.

It was gorgeous. It was one of those breathtaking views that you could sit and stare at for a lifetime. A perfect way to end our Florence adventure.

Our flight to Paris was leaving from Pisa, about an hour outside of Florence. We took the train to Pisa and had about 2 hours before our flight left. Just enough time to check out a leaning tower. We hopped in a cab, drove through the streets of Pisa, got out and took a few pictures, and then we were on our way back to the airport.

It was really fun to see it, but it was definitely smaller than imagined. If you ever want to boost tourism in a small town, simply build a small tower with a terrible foundation, and the crowds will come flocking. Think about it Winslow.

If you would like to see all of our pictures from Florence, click HERE.