Rock Chalk Christmas 2010

Now this is someone with some serious Christmas & KU spirit:



For those that live in the KC area & want to make the drive, you can see this house at 4530 Larissa Drive in Lawrence, KS. For more information go here

Top 2

Top 2 Favorite Games (board, card, video etc)

1) Mexican Train Dominoes - this is a game that is played every holiday &/or get-together by my family. After dinner, we usually gather around the kitchen table & bring out the dominoes game. It is always a great way to bring the family together - even the little ones for what always ends up being a lot of fun.2) Pictionary - we have played this game often at our "Game Night" gatherings over the years. It is always fun watching grown adults try to draw their version of the subject - especially after having a few drinks :)

Sick :(

This thing has invaded my body. I have been fighting it for the last week & it finally has taken over & gotten the best of me.

What is it you ask?

Why this pretty, prickly colorful ball is the Rhinovirus. AKA: the common cold & it got me good.

Day 1 - Friday: Denial - It’s the end of the day & I feel wiped out. I can’t remember doing much of anything, the tired feeling indicates otherwise so I assume I must have done lots of things, had a productive day, & that is why I don’t have any energy. I stop by the store after work to get some OJ, extra Vitamin C & cough drops & end up going to bed early - I am NOT getting sick!

Day 2 - Saturday: Anger - I wake up & my throat is a bit raw from the nasal drip all night long. I struggle to get out of bed & find the energy to get going. My morning coffee & granola bar do not taste as expected. I am adamant that this will not slow me down so I get my day started & rush out the door. Lots of errands to run & a Christmas party in the evening! By the end of the day, my throat is now a bit scratchy. I repeat to myself “I REFUSE TO GET SICK!” & pop another Vitamin C tablet into my mouth. Dinner is not very appealing as it has no taste & I find myself getting irritated with the hubby & the furry children when they suggest I might be coming down with something. Off to the Christmas party I go...scratchy throat & all!

Day 3 - Sunday: Bargaining - I wake up with a completely congested nose & sound like a frog when I try to croak out my morning greetings to the furries. I stagger into the bathroom & just stand there. I figure a hot shower will make me feel better – I CAN beat this. I start to list my symptoms & look into the medicine cabinet to find I am out of Tylenol & cough medicine. DAMN! I need drugs! They will cure this & make me feel better! Later that day I stop at the pharmacy. I need some serious cold medicine to help defeat these symptoms. I leave with a bottle of NyQuil, Robitussin Cough & Cold, Sudafed, Tylenol, DayQuil & almost $30 poorer.

Day 4 - Monday: Depression - The next day, I wake with a dry, hacking cough. My nose is still congested so every time I cough, my head feels like it will explode. The NyQuil has fogged my brain. I add Tylenol to my morning breakfast along with the DayQuil which makes my morning juice taste bitter & my blessed coffee now resembles tar. Just then I feel a sneeze coming on & even before the big event, I know how much it is going to hurt. I brace for impact but it doesn't help. The sneeze comes & it is painful. My equilibrium is gone & quick movement is not wise. I walk slowly to the bathroom & let my hot shower last a good long time. At work, I am miserable. I can’t focus nor can I quit coughing. Everyone tells me to go home. At 1:30pm I finally give in.

Acceptance: I am sick. I have a cold. There, I’ve said it. I get home & take a long hot shower before going to bed – hours ahead of schedule. Organized on the bedside table, I plan out my night –Robitussin with Tylenol; the NyQuil ready when I inevitably wake up in the middle of the night; I don't skip the NyQuil as I have already decided at 2am that I will be staying home tomorrow; consume mega doses of Vitamin C, along with Tylenol & DayQuil with the morning juice & granola bar but I skip the coffee; then right back to bed. This will be my routine for the next couple of days. Then I will start to find my way out to the other side of this miserable experience.

Today is Wednesday & having been off of work for the last 2 days I am slowly starting to feel better but this non-productive cough is what's going to kill me. No amount of Robitussin or Hall's cough drops helps & I feel like I have done 200 sit-ups....hourly for the last 2 days!

Ugh - it sucks being sick....

X-mas Party #2

This evening was Christmas party #2 which was our annual Cath Lab party hosted by my gracious co-worker Lori & her husband. They own a gorgeous Tudor home in Overland Park & it was decked out in beautiful holiday decor consisting of reds & golds with evergreen garland & poinsettias everywhere! I think I counted 16 poinsettias on the main floor alone.

The fire was roaring in the fireplace & the holiday music was playing all around. It was gorgeous & smelled heavenly with all her holiday candles burning everywhere. The food was over the top, the company friendly & warm & the entertainment oh-so fun. I was on-call for the evening so I couldn't get too crazy but I did manage to have a little bit of fun :)
There was a little of this:

And a little bit of a conga line:

And some holiday karaoke:

And a group photo:

My dear friend Stetson (whom I have talked about here & here & here) & his wife Janice were present & he ended up joining in the karaoke by serenading us all with a holiday song! He also brought his fabulous chocolate cake to share! YUM! He is SO very talented!

Me & my co-worker Renee getting a "self-portrait" shot:A great time was had by all & it ended up being a really enjoyable evening. At least it was up until I walked outside to go home & was greeted by a blizzard with 40+ mile/hour wind gusts! Made for a really fun trip home - NOT!

Two X-mas parties down....two more to go!

Down-time

We had some down-time today at work so we all decided to decorate our department for the Christmas holiday. Not sure who's idea it was for me to stand on the gurney to hang ornaments from the ceiling but I "took one for the team" & we got them all hung. It's a good thing I got good balance! Darcy was in charge of cutting out the snowflakes as well as painting them on all the patient bay's.

Marlo (L), Peggy (R) & Kitty (center) decorated our little ol' Charlie Brown X-mas tree & the waiting room.

It all looked so festive by the time we were done! Now we just need to fill up the candy dishes & can say our department is officially ready for the holidays!

Top 2

Top 2 Favorite Christmas Ornaments

1) Kansas Jayhawk - I got this stained glass Jayhawk ornament for my husband back when we were dating. I didn't know much about KU pre-marriage but for the last 11 years I have become a huge fan & now this has become one of my favorite ornaments. It looks so pretty all lit up in front of the X-mas lights.

2) Lenox ornament: First Year in New Home - We got this as a gift when we moved into our 1st home together which was November 2003. It always makes me smile when I see it amongst all the ornaments & it brings back so many wonderful memories of our 1st year in our home.

X-mas Party #1

Our neighbors Ken & Keri hosted the 2nd Annual Jackson Christmas Party this evening & it was yet another fun & successful event! There was a plethera of dee-lish food, plenty of beverages to go around & many laughs shared by all.

We did the White Elephant gift exchange again this year purchasing gifts only from the "As Seen on TV" collection. There was some great gifts opened up & lots of "stealing" went on which made it even more fun! I ended up getting the Neck Slimmer. It is a device used to tighten the face & neck muscles for a reduced-slimmer neckline. There were many laughs from the crowd but I think secretly they were all a bit jealous that after using my gift, I will have a much slimmer looking jaw & neck line :)

Like last year, there was a prize for the BEST gift & Melissa walked away for the 2nd year in a row with the prize. As to not offend anyone, I can't post a picture of the actual gift but I can tell you it was something similiar to a leopard print Snuggie & was to be worn on a certain male body part. Do I need to explain any further??? It was hilarious to say the least...

Group photo of the girls

Me, Melissa & Erin

The girls practicing taking "self portraits" - after about 5 tries we got this one :)

After most of the crowd left, the remaining few of us decided to go to our favorite local dive bar - the Hideout. When we got there the place was packed with Spring Hill's finest so it made for great people watching. We had fun playing darts, dancing & socializing with the locals. We closed the place down & considered it another successful visit as much fun was had by all!

Me & Keri before leaving the Hideout - way too much to drink & way past our bedtime!

Thank you Jackson's for another fun event! Looking forward to another one next year :)

Contest

If you look to the left of my blog you will see a picture of Santa holding my nephew Tanner & he is NOT a happy camper. This picture makes me LOL & so I found it appropriate to enter it into the Scared of Santa contest on our local Fox 4 News website - with my sisters' permission of course.

Now here is where I need y'alls help. It is kind of a pain in the butt to vote - AT FIRST - but after that it is quite simple. So PLEASE - I am pleading with you all to help a sista out & do some voting. The prize for winning is a $300 gift card to Price Chopper & a $200 gift card to a local automotive shop here in the Kansas City area.

Here is how you can place your vote:

1) Click on the picture to the left

2) Click on the registration tab

3) Fill out the info & submit

4) An email will be sent to you to confirm registration.

5) Open the email & click on the confirmation link. This will open a new window to the Fox 4 website.

6) Log in, click on page 4, find the picture that is title Scared of Santa (has my name taylorh522/city under it) & click on the vote button

7) type out the word scramble & click on "save vote"

That is it. Like I said, kind of a pain at first but an easy process. Voting will continue until Jan 2nd & you can place votes EVERY hour so be sure to bookmark the page & come back & vote often. You shouldn't have to keep logging in each time which makes it easy. Just repeat steps 6 & 7 everytime you vote.

Thank you very much to you all for your help! Hoping with your support I can win :)

Luminary Walk

This evening I met up with the neighborhood crew for the Holiday Luminary Walk at the Overland Park Arboretum. Shane had to work so he unfortunately missed out on a fun outing :(

We all met at the front gate & spent the next hour strolling down candlelit trails, through the gardens & woods, around the ponds checking out all the light displays while enjoying a cup of hot Louisburg Cider. It ended up being 48 degrees with no breeze so it was a perfect night for a walk through the lighted gardens with good friends.

Here are a few pics from the evening courtesy of my neighbor Melissa:

This was so much fun & such a great way to get into the holiday spirit! I so enjoyed being a part of this outing with our friends & am hoping we can do it again next year - with the hubby included!

Top 2

Top 2 Cleaning and Organization tips or tricks!

For organization:

1) a daily planner - believe me when I say I would not be able to function without this. I lost it for 1 week last year & I was a psychotic mess! My calendar is my life! I work at 3 different hospitals, am on call & have a big "social" circle that is always meeting up for various fun activities. I use my planner to keep me from showing up at the wrong place, to let me know what nights I am on call & it alerts me to all my upcoming appointments. Plus it is nice to open it up & glance at the week ahead to see what I got going on! LOVE my calendar...For cleaning:

2) Magic Eraser - I LOVE this little magic sponge! We have white wood-work, white doors & 2 slobbery English Bulldogs. Not a good combo. However, one little wipe with this white magical sponge & the wood-work & doors are sparkling white once again. I have even cleaned dirt/spots off the walls with these. Absolutely love them!

Out with Fall - in with Christmas

I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving has come & gone! It is bittersweet for me as I LOVE fall & all that comes with it! And even though I am sad to see the pumpkin & fall decorations come down I am VERY excited for what goes up next - Christmas decor :)

And just as fast as fall came it was over with even faster! I spent all day today taking everything down & have replaced it all with the Christmas decorations. Christmas lights are hung outside, the xmas tree is up & twinkling, the mantel is decorated with a swag & stockings, the 2nd xmas tree is decorated, the mistletoe Yankee candles are burning, holiday music is playing, the bannister's are covered with greenery & bows & it is beautiful! Oh how I love Christmas....

While I was putting the X-mas tree up, Millie would not leave the tree alone! She kept sniffing it, took a nap under it & kept trying to hang her Cuz Ball on the tree. Can you see her under the tree in the 2nd picture? She hasn't moved since! I have a feeling she is going to be "trouble" these next few weeks!

And just like that, I think the Taylor's are officially ready for the holiday season!

Thanksgiving Week Review

Wow - what a whirlwind of a week! Sorry I have been MIA with my blogging! Been a bit busy this past week! Here is a summary of what went down:

Tuesday, Nov 23rd - I had my Dream Dinners session which took up the majority of my evening.Here are the 12 meals that I whipped up that are awaiting their arrival to my freezer! I made 9-layer Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, stuffed pork chops, along with several other chicken dishes. Oh how I wish I had that chest freezer already!

Wednesday, Nov 24th - My parents made their way from South Dakota to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with us. When they arrived I put the Papa Murphy's Pizza in the oven, opened a bottle of wine & enjoyed catching up with my folks. Later in the evening, I made a homemade cherry pie for the next day's dessert. My brother is coming over tomorrow & he doesn't like any kind of pie other than cherry so I wanted him to be able to enjoy dessert as well as his favorite pie for Thanksgiving.I am becoming quite the pie maker! First my apple pie & now a cherry pie from scratch. Wonder what kind of pie I should conquer next!?!

Thursday, Nov 25th - Not only is it Thanksgiving, but today my dear husband celebrated a birthday - 37th to be exact :) Mom & I spent the majority of our morning in the kitchen preparing the turkey, putting all the sides together & getting the table ready while my dad & Shane enjoyed a relaxing morning of sipping coffee, reading the paper & watching Fox News.

Around noon, Shane's brother made his way over to our house as well as my brother Steve, his wife Meghan, her son Caleb & my girlfriend Renee also came to join us in the feast. There was 9 at the dinner table & we all stuffed ourselves beyond full! We had the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes & sweet potatoes along with green bean casserole & corn casserole. As always, there was too much food but am thankful for the leftovers!

Afterwards, the ladies cleaned up the kitchen while the guys headed down to watch some football. Once the kitchen was clean, we got the desserts out & ate some more :)The desserts from L-R: cherry pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie & in the middle Turtle Cheesecake made by my dear friend Stetson. There are no words to describe how dee-lish this cheesecake was!

The rest of the afternoon & evening was spent on the couch in front of the TV with our full bellies & a glass of wine. It was a pleasant afternoon spent with family & friends & I am so very blessed & thankful to have these wonderful people in my life. Hoping you all enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving as well!

Friday, Nov 26th - Black Friday!!! I am not one of those shoppers who get up at 3am to hit the stores. I have been there, done that & swore I would never do it again. As much as I love to shop, I love to sleep even more! My mom & I got going around 9am & we still managed to get some really good deals! We stopped at Toys R Us, Kohl's & Hobby Lobby & were home by noon! The lines were short. the traffic not bad & we got what we set out to buy!

After we got home we made a quick lunch & were off again but this time Shane & my dad were with us. I thought it might be good to get us all out of the house & enjoy some sites of KC while my parents were here so we all headed into downtown Kansas City to see the Steamboat Arabia museum.

This museum is dedicated to a steamboat called Arabia that sunk in the Missouri River in 1856. This steamboat was full of cargo & merchandise that was to be delivered to little towns along the river so when it sunk, the merchandise went with it. It was discovered by a group of men 20 years ago in the middle of a corn field by Parkville, MO & they decided to dig it up. The "treasure" they found was amazing & is all on display at the museum. Here are a few pictures of the findings:

I won't say anymore so you will need to check it out for yourself when you are in Kansas City! It was truly an amazing place & it definitely didn't disappoint! We all thoroughly enjoyed it & so glad we took the time to go see it

And no trip to Kansas City is complete without eating some BBQ! After the museum, we took my parents to Fiorella's Jack Stack for barbecue & it was oh so good! Ribs, burnt ends, cole slaw & the baked beans were had by all & it was dee-lish.

After dinner we headed back home for a movie & some relaxation. It had been a busy week so I was ready for some down-time with the family!

Saturday, Nov 27th - My parents were heading back to South Dakota today but before they headed north, we all stopped at Granite City at the Legends for lunch with my brother, Meghan & Caleb. It was a nice but quick visit & we were soon headed our separate ways. It was so very nice to have my parents here for a few days & as always I enjoyed seeing my brother & his "new" family! I am looking forward to seeing them all again at the family gathering over the Christmas holiday!

After we parted ways, I ran a few errands & then made my way home to get a start on hanging the outside Christmas lights. It was 65 degrees out & beautiful so definitely perfect weather to hang some lights.

Tomorrow the fall decor goes down & the Christmas decor goes up! Oh how I love this time of year!!!