Birthday chicklets

Yes, that's right, we have grown the zoo again and got chickens for my birthday. :)  On my birthday morning I opened presents (many chicken-themed ones) and Wade made me breakfast. After that Mom and Larry came up and we headed up to pick out our chicks at the farm in Largo.  A cold front blew through after Christmas, so it was absolutely freezing and windy out and we were a little afraid the chicks were going to be really stressed (chicks are very susceptible to cold and wind - so much so it can kill them pretty quickly, same goes for stress).  We got a nice tour of the farm and saw more of it than we had in the past - she has geese, pigs, goats, over 400 chickens, ducks, quails, and who knows what else.  We also saw another breed of chicken that was gorgeous, so we're already starting a mental list for the next round of ladies. :)  Unfortunately, one of the types of chickens we thought we were getting were all gone (Plymouth barred rock), so we had to choose a different type.  We found a cute little yellow fluff ball that we named Clementine (Clemmie) and a little yellow and brown one striped like a chipmunk that we named Dottie.  We carefully put them into their transport box that ironically had an old "fragile: handle with care" sticker on it, and headed home.  They mostly peeped in alarm the whole way home and the temptation to snuggle them was almost irresistible since they were covered in chick fluff, and just a few little feathers.

Peeking inside the box....

Once we got them home we cranked up the heat lamp for them and closed them up in our master closet with the space heater to keep it up to the 80's in there for them (the preferred temperature until some of their feathers start coming in).  They generally seemed shell-shocked and we kept checking on them to make sure they were eating and drinking despite the 50 degree temps outside.


That night we had a lovely dinner at one of our favorite restaurants downtown (with the world's best cava sangria), Ceviche.  Afterwards we strolled down to our favorite gelato place, Paciugo, for one of my favorite desserts in lieu of cake: 2 scoops of gelato (pistachio - the real nutty kind, not the weird mint kind, and coconut) floating in a giant mug of steaming hot cocoa and topped with hot fudge and whipped cream. Best.Dessert.Ever.


The next day we took Mom and Larry to lunch and a glass making class for their belated Christmas present.  After that we headed to Tampa for dinner and a movie with Megan and Jimmy at a full service movie theatre that serves gourmet food in the theatre and the seats are plush recliners.  We had a fantastic dinner and really enjoyed watching the new Sherlock Holmes with them.


For a belated birthday celebration the week after my birthday, Wade organized a party at the shuffleboard club when all of our friends were back in town from the holidays.  I was really touched by how many people turned out and we had so much fun that the night flew by.  Wade also made the best homemade key lime pie I have ever tasted (even drizzled with dark chocolate on top!) and it was a huge hit.  Sadly, we were having such a good time we didn't really take any pictures of the festivities.... but I did get one of a few folks playing shuffle:

Brett, Nick, Katie, and Lisa shufflin'.

You can also see more pictures of the chicks on our Picasa site.

Dreaming of a white Christmas

This year Christmas was a bit toastier than the previous years.  It was so warm in fact that the lettuce in our garden started bolting and tried to go to seed (once it does that it tastes funny, if not disgusting).  Drat.  It was in the upper 70s for Christmas, which was perfect for throwing open all the windows and enjoying the breeze.  For reference, the past few years since we left Miami, it's been downright freezing around Christmas and throughout the winter.  In fact, we were so worried this year we bought our first wool blanket for the bed and it has been miraculous on the freezing nights we've had (literally).

We spent Christmas day at our house and opened presents with the furballs.  They usually get presents first so they can entertain themselves while we open ours.  The cats, however, relish the annual paper pile.  We pile all the wrapping paper and packaging paper in a pile in the middle of the floor so they can play and hide in it.  I wouldn't be surprised if this is what they thought their actual present was. 

After presents, we packed up the kids and their new toys and headed to Mom and Larry's for lunch and presents before heading to my Aunt and Uncle's for Christmas dinner.  We had a fun night of catching up before heading back to Mom and Larry's to spend the night.  The day after Christmas was a holiday for both Wade and I, so we hung out on the island for the day with Mom and Larry.

This year was one of the first times I've taken any pictures of our decorations or our tree ornaments so I've put them up on Picasa in case you're interested in seeing how the house and tree look.

Gettin' in the Christmas spirit

December has brought another glorious month at home with no work travel!  Hooray!  Although, this morning I just finished planning my travel for January to Hawaii and DC and I am already dreading being away from home for so long.  Hawaii will be 10 days and DC will be 2, although I'm been threatened with California too... ick.  This month a lot has been happening at work, so despite the joy of being home, it's been stressful while we've been planning for what looks to be a very busy January and February.


So while we have the chance and I'm home, Wade and I have been cramming in as much Christmas flair as humanly possible...  The first weekend we put up all the decorations inside the house and all the lights outside the house, but it just didn't feel like Christmas, so we began a quest to see how many holiday events we could enjoy before we felt ready for the holiday. The first sign something was amiss - this year I had zero desire to do Christmas cards.  So we did an email instead and that was a nice change of pace.


We participated in the Jinglebell 5k Run in downtown St. Pete again this year (although we walked...) - Dustin and Katie ran, while we walked with Chris and Julie.  We enjoyed the live Christmas music and twinkle lights along the route and kept a running commentary along the way with all the interesting costumes people had.  I had a sequin Santa hat, jingle bell earrings, a jingle bell ring, neon necklaces, red sneakers, and my green fleece vest.  Wade donned his usual black "bad" Santa hat. A cold front was blowing through that evening, so it was windy and chilly and a bit rainy.  We still had fun though.  Afterwards we headed out for a late Thai food dinner with everyone.  

Dustin and Katie prepping to run while Wade and I search for our walking buddies, Chris and Julie.

The next day we headed to a Christmas concert with Mom and Larry that was two Irish singers/guitar players.  It ended up being a night of Irish pub-humor, story telling, and Christmas songs, and although it wasn't exactly what we originally expected, it turned out to be so much more and we laughed the whole night.


The following Saturday we had a little Christmas bonfire night with the crew from the Jinglebell run, Mark & Annette and their two kids, and Mike & Alison and their son.  It was a fun night by the fire making s'mores and the kids were having a blast surveying all the plants in our garden (once they were stuffed on toasted marshmallows!).


The middle of the month we also headed to the farm to check out the chick selection again to see what she would have for my birthday and how old they would be.  We'll be bringing home two little 3 week old ladies on my birthday next week - a black Plymouth Barred Rock and a brown Sussex (at least that's the plan, we'll see what happens when we get to the farm!).  When we saw them they were only about a week old and tiny little puff balls - it was almost impossible to not stuff them in my jacket pocket and bring them home right then!  But alas, we were definitely not ready and did not have the time to devote to chicks that little, so they're holding some for us until next week.


The weekend after that was Dustin and Katie's Christmas party/house warming and we stuffed ourselves on good eats and homemade egg nog.  We also had a white elephant gag gift exchange - we thought we were coming home with a Snuggie, but alas, it was stolen by Dustin and Katie, so we stole the gag gift they made from someone else: an 8x10 perky Christmas portrait of themselves that looked straight out of a Sears family portrait studio.  We laughed so hard we cried.  We managed to hold onto that one and I now eat breakfast with it every morning, giggling between every bite. :)  Well done folks, well done.


This week we topped off the Christmatizing by watching Elf with Dustin and Katie, which is hands down, my all-time favorite Christmas movie and our yearly tradition.  It seriously cannot be Christmas unless I've watched Elf.


So, we're ready for Christmas - we've done all we can do. :)  All the presents are wrapped, the cats are thoroughly thrilled with hiding under the Christmas tree, and the Christmas music is playing non-stop in the house (my current favorites are Tropical Steel Christmas by the guys who played our wedding, and Christmas With the Rat Pack).  

How could we not get in the spirit when there's this much cuteness under the tree?!

Hilo was not pleased with me invading his private time under the tree...

We also have spent the past few weeks running our own Santa's Little Sweat Shop as we're tried to get some of our hand made fused glass Christmas gifts ready in time.  Everything turned out pretty nicely, but a few things were a little late, so we know to start earlier next year and look forward to getting past our learning curve.


Hope everyone is prepared for a lovely weekend with family and friends!