Christmas Eve 2008

Each Christmas Eve, my family has dinner at our house. This year both my grandmas and pap came to visit for Christmas. After dinner, my brother and I always exchange the gifts we bought each other. This year, he bought me Wii points so I could download Tetris and the original Super Mario Brothers game. He also bought me a classic controller to use with my Wii.

Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve

Malone, Your Mom Cheats At Scrabble- Pens vs TB 12.23.08

On Tuesday night, I took my brother to the Penguin game against Tampa Bay. I know what you’re thinking…. easy win against one of the worst teams in the league…. NOPE! The Pens ended up losing 2-0. How they managed to get shut out against Tampa, well, let’s just leave it at- it was one of the worst games I’ve seen in person for a LONG time.


Santa made an appearance at the game...

Apparently my letter to Santa asking for 5 Orpik hits, 4 Malkin assists, 3 Sidney goals, 2 standings points, and 1 Fleury shutout got lost on its way to the North Pole… Apparently, Santa is NOT a Penguins fan!


The best part of the evening was wishing that Ryan Malone still played for the Penguins instead of Tampa and finally finding a Pens lanyard after 3 months of searching.

The funniest part of the night was when the guy in the section over kept yelling things to the players on the ice. Among the highlights are:

“Malone, your mom cheats at scrabble!”

and

“Hit him! He’s only 4 foot 8!” (in reference to Martin St. Louis who is really about 5’9, but compared to everyone else looks like he should be the star of Little People, Big World on TLC)


Since nothing exciting happened during the game, all my pictures are of warm-up

My boys...

Hockey Countdown

WooHoo... 6 hours until the drop of the puck... 'cuz ya know.. I'm not excited to be going to the Pens game tonight or anything...

in fact... I think I am starting to feel a bit indifferent about the whole thing...


:O)


Pictures to follow in the coming days!!!!!

Chicken Feet

My mom and dad went to Smicksburg to the Amish cheese and candy store. They came home with these.......

gummy chicken feet...

How cool are they?!?!?!?!?!?!

Grandma's 90th Birthday Party

My Grandma Wyant turned 90 years old on December 11, 2008, so the family had a surprise birthday party for her the weekend before.


What could have been a Jerry Springer showdown actually was a very nice afternoon...

Grandma had me laughing as soon as she walked into the banquet room. The look on her face when she saw everyone there for lunch was hysterical, she actually looked mad. Then, I think she realized that it was a party for her and she finally smiled.

You said she's how old??!!??!!?? Why, she doesn't look a day over 18.

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma!

Yum!Apricots!

After Lilly was fed and we were waiting for Grandma to open her presents, Kristie decided she was going to take a picture of me and her.

Here it is

That is what happens when you press the On/Off button instead of the shutter!!

Aunt Laura, I know I'm cute. Will you please stop taking my picture!

Photoshop and HD

On Black Friday, I bought Photoshop Elements 7, but I haven't had time to load it onto my computer. Once I do that, then I will be able to blog about my Grandma's 90th birthday party last Saturday.

My other major purchase, and the real reason I got up at 4 on Black Friday, was for my new 32" LCD HD TV. The HD cable is coming Tuesday... awoohooo! Seriously, can you imagine me watching Sid and the boys in HD???? Do I even need to mention that I will be so super excited!!

And in the words of Chandler... "Mini-wave in celebration of me... awoohoo!"

Follow-up to Thanksgiving Dinner

My first Thanksgiving dinner was a success!

I was in charge of dinner since my mom isn't allowed to put any weight on her foot for at least two more weeks. I cooked the turkey and stuffing (homemade!) in crockpots and made homemade mashed potatoes. Even though it took the pumpkin pies 2 hours to cook, they were pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. My mom was impressed- I even remembered to put the sliced bread in one of her Longaberger baskets.

My first (very simple) Thanksgiving Day tablescape.

Pre-Thanksgiving Cooking

Last Friday, my mom had surgery on her foot, and she is not allowed to put ANY weight on her foot until she sees the doctor in 2 weeks.

Mom who's not allowed to walk + Thanksgiving = Laura's in charge!!! Yikes!!!!!

Luckily, I only have to cook for my parents, bro, and grandparents, but still. Me.. in charge... of Thanksgiving dinner??? Seriously?? Seriously.

So today I made my first official pumpkin pie. I didn't make the crusts from scratch, but I did make the filling. And yes, this year, I did remember to add the sugar to the pie, unlike last year at Christmas. (It wasn't my fault- I was distracted last year!!!)

So, around 1:30, I throw the pies in the oven, set the timer and come back to check on them. They are still all gooey in the middle. I add some more time and check again... still gooey. After doing this SEVERAL times, it's now 3:30 and the pies are just finishing cooking. So I go in to my mom's room and say "Um, I put the pies in 2 hours ago and they are barely cooked all the way through." My mom says, "Yeah, I don't think my oven is working quite right."

Gee, thanks mom. You couldn't have told me that BEFORE I started????

I'll let you know how tomorrow goes. It might be my first and last Thanksgiving that I am in charge of.

Pens Game

So I went to a Penguins game this week. And the stories of the people who sat around me were more entertaining than the game (It was like watching the Devils from back in the mid-90's... BORING!!!!!!!) even though it went to a shootout.

So, the guys in the row behind us were the "married- left my wife at home- I know everything about hockey, so I should be the coach" type. They seriously did not shut up from 6:45 until 9:45. They talked the ENTIRE time! About absolutely nothing that had any value!

The girls to the right were the "I'm pretty, so I'm here to socialize, not watch the game" type. Therefore, they were in and out of the row about 15 times each period. Each time they would say "This is the last time, we swear" *hair flip*.... Me: "yeah, right..." *eye roll*

Kristie/Sars- I didn't see any triscuits, bummer... but, the Crazy Jagr Lady was there, except last night she was the Crazy Goncahr lady (even though he won't play til March).

Now, for the best part... pictures! Enjoy!

My car after the trip through the snow... GROSS!

How can you not love Staalsy?

Amber's Baby Shower

Today was Amber's Baby shower. It was such a nice day (inside, not outside) and we all had so much fun celebrating with her.

Here are some pictures...

The gift from teachers at Wright

How cute are Am's boots???

L.Ex. Girls

I *heart* Photoshop

So, on my day off, I have been playing with Photoshop, which is something I haven't really had a chance to do since school started. And with the help of my favorite cowgirl blogger, Pioneer Woman, I learned how to make website banners using Photoshop. And not only did I figure out how to make banners, but I also figured out how to download patterns to use on my banners. Today has been very successful! Thank goodness for Tuesdays off in November!

Now if only I can figure out how to add music to my blog...

What was I thinking update

Well, now I'm really mad that I am not at the Pens game... it's halfway through the 2nd period and it's already 4-0 Pens!!!!! GGRRR!!!!


Update: Seriously.... It's 5-4????? Let's go boys!


Whew.... thank goodness.. Pens win 5-4

What was I thinking....

So I had the chance to go to the Penguin game tonight and turned down the tickets! What was I thinking?!?!?! Oh that's right, I have an live chat for grad class, and I already missed the 1st live chat because I was at a Penguin game.

*Sigh* Right now, I could be taking pictures like this....

OR this...

OR this....


At least I graduate in May, and next year, live chats for grad class will be a moo point... "you know, like a cow's opinion... it's moo."

Seriously?!?!?!?!

It's not even Halloween yet and it's already snowing?!?!?! YUCK!

Pens vs Canes 10.23.08

On Thursday, I went to my second Pens game this season. After going twice in two weeks, I'm a bit spoiled with seeing my boys in person.

Have I mentioned how much I love the smell of the ice and the sound of the puck being passed between sticks or clanging off the crossbar?

There's nothing like being at the Arena in the middle of the week in the middle of October, screaming your lungs out because the Pens game back in the third to score two goals on back-to-back shifts.

Not that I'm biased or anything, but Sid and Geno are totally worth the price of admission. They are playing on a different level right now... it's insane to watch.

Pictures of my boys...