Here are the Christmas cards we sent out to family and friends.
(I scanned this from the original. If you click on the card it will enlarge to make it easier to read)
We hope everyone has a Very Merry Christmas!
Sketchy Santa
I am posting a link to a blog that has been circulating throughout Facebook. For a good holiday laugh you definitely need to visit Sketchy Santa's!
Enjoy!!!
Santa and His Elves
The Organ have been officially "Elfed"! I could not let this holiday season pass by without having a little fun. So here are 3 different versions of "Elf Yourself".
Enjoy!!!
The 25 Days of Christmas?
I absolutely love Christmas! This holiday is very special to me for two different reasons. The first reason is because as an adult I have come to a greater understanding of "the real reason for the season" (sorry for the cheesy quote!). The second reason is because as I get older I appreciate more and more just how special my parents made Christmas every year. One of the things I remember from my childhood Christmases is having an advent calendar. I remember it was always a paper calendar with perforated doors. It was so exciting to open a new door each night to find a little surprise.
Since I have been married, the advent calendar was definitely a tradition that I wanted to start in our family. Since we don't have children yet, it wasn't a pressing issue but I was always on the look out for not only a cute wooden advent calendar, but also an inexpensive one.
Three years ago I found a nice wooden calendar on an after-holiday-clearance sale at a craft store. It was not the style I was looking for, but I figured I couldn't pass up an $8 deal. I knew I could be creative and paint it more kid friendly. So for the last two Christmases I have set it out to be displayed in its original form.
The other night Mike & I were watching TV and he said "Do you know that there are two number 16's and two number 17's on your calendar?" The jokester that he is, I figured he was pulling my leg. But after promising he wasn't fibbing, I looked at the calendar and this is what I saw...
I am still in shock that for two years this has sat in the living room and no one, not even me, has noticed the numbering. So I guess I will definitely be repainting this advent calendar. Who knows, maybe I can sell it to some other unobservant person and just buy me a new cute one.
Organic Update
A few months ago I made this post. Thanks to some great guidance from friends and family I wanted to share with everyone the solutions to my Organic problems.
Dishwasher Detergent: My solution to this major problem came from me just switching from a liquid detergent to a powder detergent. I am currently using Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Powder and there is no more mystery film on any of the dishes!
Deodorant: I got rid of the organic deodorant that I was using and switched to The Crystal. Mike has been using one for 3 years now. I wish I would have made this switch years ago! I still sweat, after all it is a deodorant, not an anti-perspiriant, but no odor what so ever! They aren't that expensive and they last for over a year. I got mine at Kroger for around $5.
Laundry Detergent: This is the one area where no one really had any information to share, so on a whim I tried a detergent that I had never heard anything about. I bought ECOS: Magnolia & Lily. Thankfully I loved the detergent. I just finished the first bottle and I plan on buying the same detergent when I go back to the store.
To all of you who helped lead me in the right direction on these issues, I can not thank you enough!
The Naughty Kitchen
A few months ago Mike traveled to Dallas for a business trip/conference with the company Behringer-Harvard. All the guests of the conference stayed at the Hotel Palomar and were treated to an amazing dinner at the restaurant in the hotel, Bistro 214. Little did they know that they were going to take part in the reality show called "The Naughty Kitchen with Chef Blythe Beck".
The show airs Tuesdays at 9 central on the Oxygen Network. We finally caught Mike's episode on TV. The episode is entitled "Reviews, Revenge, & Redemption" and it originally aired on November 11th. Mike is seen on a few occasions standing around socializing. Then at dinner he is sitting directly to the right of the Behringer-Harvard lady. We originally started watching the show just so we could see Mike, but over the season we have really come to love Chef Blythe and all her Naughty Kitchen staff!
Below are some grainy iPhone pictures of Mike and Chef Blythe.
Martini & Dixie
I couldn't post about Thanksgiving 2009 and not talk about the two 4-legged members of our family. This was the first time since Martini was with her litter mates that she has been around another dog for this length of time.
Both pups got along fine. You could tell at times that Dixie "puppy energy" was a little too much for Martini, but what do you expect from a 6 week old puppy.
Here are a few pictures of the two of them together...
I just love the next 3 pictures...
I am so glad Kyle brought Dixie to our house for Thanksgiving. I can't wait to see how the two girls interact at Christmas, when Dixie is 4 weeks older and probably 3 times bigger.
Thanksgiving 2009
Since Mike & I had just traveled home to Searcy we knew we would be staying in Nashville for Thanksgiving. We were blessed to be able to spend time with both sides of the family during the holiday season.
Due to busy holiday schedules we had the Organ Family dinner on the Monday night before Thanksgiving out at Phil & Amy's. Sherry did an amazing job cooking! It was great getting to see everybody. I could kick myself because I didn't take any pictures that night. So, I have made it my mission to get some great Organ Family pictures at Christmas!
My family drove over from Searcy for Thanksgiving and were able to spend a few days together. Thanksgiving day was mostly spent cooking, eating, & watching football. The ladies did get a little shopping in Thanksgiving night.
On Friday, after the ladies did a little shopping, the whole family loaded into the car and headed to Radnor Lake. We all needed some time out of the house and we also wanted to take a few pictures.
Blvd. Bolt 2009
It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving Day 2009 has already past! Where does time go? Sorry I have been lacking in the blogging department, but things in the Organ house have been crazy.
Those of you who know me or who follow this blog know that running has become a big part of my life and Thanksgiving morning was no exception. This year Mike & I participated in a 5 mile race called the Blvd. Bolt. Over 8,000 people participate in this race each year and all the proceeds are used to help the Nashville homeless community.
For this race, I was part of a running group put together by my boot camp instructor. Our team theme for the Blvd. Bolt was "The 80's". All 9 ladies wore 80's inspired attire and everyone looked great. My outfit was complete with bright blue eye shadow, Shutter Shades, headband, lace gloves, off-the-shoulder shirt, & leg warmers.
I do have to give a special shout out to the 3 husbands (mine included) who bravely ran with their 80's clad wives. You all deserve a special award! What a great way to start the Thanksgiving Holiday. Now I will leave you with the incriminating evidence!
This last picture is of the two of us after we arrived home from the race. Unfortunately before we made it home we had to stop at Kroger and pick up the turkey. That meant that I had to go into a grocery store looking like I just stepped out of an Olivia Newton John music video!
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
A couple days ago I got a phone call from my brother. He wanted to let me know that a beautiful young blond named Dixie would be joining us for Thanksgiving dinner! (sorry the pictures came out so small)
Yes...my brother is officially a parent! Dixie is a 6 week old yellow Labrador and we can't wait to see her! We will definitely have a full house for the Holidays:)
Monster Mash-Up
Happy Halloween!!!
In honor of Halloween I have put together a little Monster Mash-up. Click here to enjoy. It may take a few seconds to upload so be patient. It is definitely worth it:)
Trunk or Treat
Mike & I spent this past Sunday night at church for our annual "Trunk or Treat" event. Mike & I don't have any children, but we absolutely love the 6 children that are in our life group and we wanted to see them all dressed up. So we grabbed our camera and headed to church for this sugar crazed evening.
Here are pictures of our favorite little ones!
Ninja Boy
Bob the Builder
Spider Man & Super Man
Silvermist & Sleeping Beauty
Run 4 Mercy
This past Saturday Mike & I, along with our friends Amy, Rebekah, & Brad, participated in the Run 4 Mercy 5K. This 5K benefited Mercy Ministries which is a national biblically-based program that helps women ages 13-28 overcome life-controlling problems such as: drug & alcohol addiction, depression, eating disorders, unplanned pregnancy, physical & sexual abuse, and self-harm. We were so happy to be able to help out such a great cause! As far as the race goes, we all did really well on our time. This course was definitely one of the harder 5K courses that I have run. It had a ton of steep hills, so it was challenging to say the least. No matter how hard the course, we are hooked. Mike & I already have our next 5K picked out. It will be the Dunkin' Donuts 5K on November 7th benefiting cancer research.
Searcy High School Class of...
This past weekend Mike & I traveled back to Searcy to enjoy our high school reunions. It just so happened that Mike's 20 year reunion was the same weekend as my 10 year reunion. So for those of you who are just now figuring it out, yes...Mike & I are 10 years apart. Anyway, this "double booking" actually worked out quite nice. Even though we both had events scheduled for the same time but different places on both Friday night & Saturday night, we just split our time.Our two reunions were completely different, but they both were a lot of fun. I knew a few weeks before the reunion that not very many people had RSVP'd for my reunion. So I was prepared for it to be a small turn out. Mike's class we weren't sure how many to expect, and in the end I was blown away by how many people showed up for his.
Friday night we tailgated with Mike's class before the Homecoming football game. During the game we sat with a dozen or so of my classmates. Our agenda for Saturday, was a morning tour of the high school and then Saturday night were the more formal parties. Mike's reunion on Saturday night was at the Country Club and mine was at the Tea Room. Even though we had to bounce from reunion to reunion we both had a great time getting to catch up with everyone. And a big thanks goes out to all of those who helped plan both reunions!
Mike's Reunion:
Michelle's Reunion:
