Because I can't get enough of it...Merry Christmas Y'all!

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Happy Christmas Eve!

I can't believe Christmas is already here! This year I'm spending Christmas with Will's family here in Nashville and then driving up to Decatur early Friday morning to do Christmas with my family. It works out well since my family is postponing Christmas festivities til Andy and Sandy get in to town on Friday. I'm glad that I am going to get to be with Will's family, but not have to miss my family's Christmas to do it.

The good news is that I get to see LOTS of kids open presents! I love watching little kids open gifts. In Will's family, Santa makes one stop at "Papa's" house, so every year the whole family stays at his house on Christmas Eve, and then Christmas morning the kiddos (and the adults) open up their gifts from Santa. So that means that tonight Will and myself, Cari, her boyfriend Curtis, and his son Mitchell, Sue, Pete, Luke, Olivia, and Avery are all going to cozy up at Will Jr's house! We are going to the Children's mass this evening and then we have a HUGE feast planned for tonight. I'm not contributing much- some bruschetta and cookies, but I'm doing the Mason family a favor by introducing them to sausage rolls for breakfast tomorrow morning. They'll be thanking me later, I'm sure. :)

I love learning about different family's traditions. Like, at Will's house, Santa wraps EVERY gift. Even stocking stuffers. The Santa I grew up with didn't wrap anything- not even the presents under the tree...that's how we knew it was Santa and not Mom and Dad who gave us the presents. Like I said before, I am excited to watch all the kids open their gifts, but I'm also really looking forward to watching everyone open their gifts- at BOTH houses. I think Will and I did a good job of picking gifts out this year for both families.

Will and I exchanged gifts the other night...mainly because I begged Will to let us open them early. But also, we both ordered from online and the packages looked SO similar we were curious to see if we got each other the same thing. Curiosity won over patience! :) I made a photo book for Will of all the places we have travelled together, and Will bought me a really nice wine journal. I have been saying for awhile now that I'd like to learn more about wine (as opposed to "that tastes good" or "I don't like that one") so this is a great start! Now I just have to find a wine class and soon I'll be able to start my sommelier career. :)

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and safe travels to wherever they're headed!

Weekend Visitors

Mom, Dad, and Ella drove down to Nashville to visit this weekend. It was a quick trip, and we didn't really do a whole lot, but it was still fun to have them here. I find that it's hard to do a whole heck of a lot with a 2 year old in tow. Ella is such a handful right now! She is very cute, and extremely funny, but still a handful.

Our current apartment, with its lack of doors on the bathroom and minimal hot water, is not really conducive to hosting houseguests, so they stayed at a hotel. Saturday morning they came over to check out our apartment, and then we hit the mall to do some Christmas shopping. One good thing can be said about where we live right now- we literally live within 5 miles of any store you could possibly want to shop at.

At the mall Ella was a bit distraught when we walked by the carousel and wouldn't let her ride it...but we made up for it by letting her take a ride on the Christmas train they had set up by Santa. There were about 7 kids on the train, and when the ride ended, 6 kids happily exited the train. One little girl was left sitting alone, refusing to exit. Ella was not ready for the train ride to be over, so I had to literally pull her out of the train car. The picture says it all- she was NOT a happy camper after that.

After the mall we met up with Sue, Pete (Will's sister and brother-in-law) and their kids at Chuck E Cheese's so the kids could play. Luke, Olivia, and Avery were all very sweet with Ella. They had a jungle gym that Ella wasn't quite tall enough to climb up alone, so Avery and Olivia helped her up--every single time. And I'm pretty sure that they climbed this gym about 20 times. It was hysterical to watch. They were being so helpful, especially Avery, but I'm sure she was exhausted by the end of the afternoon. Avery is about 8 months older than Ella. I think she enjoyed having a younger person around that she could look after, especially since she's used to being the baby. She followed Ella all through the jungle gym making sure she was OK. The kids brought Ella a present, too, which delighted Ella. She loves to color, so her new Crayola paper and markers will surely be a big hit.

Saturday night we headed down to visit with my Uncle Bobby and Aunt Jeanne. I had no idea they lived so close to me! It's nice to have family nearby. We enjoyed some tasty spaghetti with homemade meatballs and sauce, and, of course, Ella entertained us all night. Uncle Bobby as it turns out, is quite handy. He brews his own beer and has made a lot of furniture that was in their house. I was very impressed- the furniture he made is beautiful!

Sunday morning they hit the road after church. I am looking forward to seeing them again for Christmas. It really is nice to be close to family again. Quick weekend trips are always nice.

Happy Birthday Ale!

Our Chilean exchange student, Ale, turns 29 today! She and her husband Francisco are having their first baby in April. Ale sent me some pictures of her growing belly bump, so here are a couple to share! Of course in Chile right now it's summer time, so she's spending December at the beach. Ugh. Must be nice. :) I joked with her that she is finally starting to look like a Wingard girl (at least the ones in my immediate family)- her chest has grown! Hahaha. She is planning on being a bridesmaid in Andy and Sandy's wedding, so we will get to meet her baby when she is about 6 months old! We can't wait!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALESITA!!! We love you!

Confession time...

Working from home can be boring. I miss having human interaction during the day. I am definitely not the type that is happy to sit alone all the time. Don't get me wrong, some days it's really nice to roll out of bed, stay in my pajamas, and have a 15 second commute from the bedroom to the "office". But for the most part, I'm not really into it. I need to look into finding a job that allows me to be around people. I just wish I knew what my calling in life was! It's especially hard since I don't know many people in Nashville yet, aside from Will's family. So even after work is done for the day, I'm still not that involved with other people, except Will. We have fun together, but I would really enjoy having a social outlet in my new town. That, however, is not my confession.

During the day I try very hard to avoid the temptation of turning the TV on. This is no small feat, especially since my job doesn't involve a huge amount of concentration- just patience. I could easily watch TV while getting my work done. And, on occasion, I have given in. However, I feel like this is somehow cheating my coworkers back in Denver who don't have the option of watching TV during their work day. Some days it's justified, though. I think about how they get social interaction and get to go to lunch together, so why can't I just catch the 12 o'clock episode of "No Reservations"? This, though, is not my confession either.

To prevent myself from turning the TV on, I use Pandora, an online radio where you can design your own stations around a song or an artist. This has been crucial to me since I started working from home in October. Since I don't get to talk to people during the day, I use my vocal chords in other ways. And now, finally, comes my confession. I love to listen to Broadway tunes and belt them out loudly while I work. I am fortunate enough to have learned lots of lyrics while working at the Fox in college, and listening to the station brings back fantastic memories from my "younger" years. I don't claim to have the greatest voice in the world, but when I'm singing "Phantom" or "Aida" I suddenly feel like the next Celine Dion. :) And I won't lie...chair dancing is sometimes involved, as well. And yes, I also sing in character, depending on the song. One can not sing "Hakuna Matata" without sounding like Pumba and Timon.

I feel better getting that off my chest. Thanks.

Ella the Artist

In the past couple weeks I've received a series of picture messages from Molly regarding Ella's newest talent--she's an artist! I had to share the pictures of her creative "art" projects. They're hilarious!

First pic message:

Second pic message:

She's quite creative with her canvas! Molly is heading to Chicago this weekend so Papa and Grandma are being brave and bringing Ella down to Nashville for a visit. I can't wait for them to come see my new town! I'll be hiding my feminine products, though! :)

In other news, it's been raining non-stop the past couple days which means that Will and I are dealing with ground water coming into our place again. This time we were prepared, but I spent all day yesterday washing and drying the plethora of towels we used to keep our bathroom floor dry. In sad news, the closet started leaking, too (a spot that we weren't aware of), and my favorite boots got soaked! I'm trying to dry them out right now and really hope they survive. I LOVE those boots!

Titans Games Seats

Like I have said in past blogs, Will and I have been able to go to quite a few Titans games since we moved to Tennessee. I talk about how great the seats are, but yesterday I brought a camera to try to really capture how truly awesome it is to watch the game from the suite. The pictures don't do it justice, though. I really appreciate Will's dad giving us his extra tickets every game. We always have a blast! And I seem to be good luck. The one home game I haven't attended this year was a couple weekends ago during the Wingard girls shopping trip. The Titans played the Jets at home....and lost. The first and only loss of the season. That makes it a scientific fact that I should always attend the games from here on out. I must be their good luck charm. :) Anyway, here are some pics from the game.

Christmas Wish List

Every year Will and his family are required to write out their Christmas Wish Lists for each other. I've been told that the goal is to both make people laugh and to tell what you want for Christmas. We decided to do a joint wish list fairy tale this year, and I had so much fun writing it with Will I had to share it here! We had a great night of drinking wine, decorating the tree, listening to Christmas music (thank you Pandora!), and writing our "wish list". I love Christmas time!

Will and Meaghan’s Fairy Tale Christmas
(Wish List is bold and italicized)

Once upon a time in a far away land called Colorado, Will and his girlfriend Meaghan were enjoying the fruits of His Wine of the Month Club when they decided to pack up their Men’s tennis shoes (size 11), Men’s Merrill Slip-on shoes (black) and also (brown), Women’s tennis shoes (size 10), Women’s black boots (the swanky, suede slouchy non-heeled kind), Women’s black dress coat (with or without a hood and button up), and sail to Ireland in their new 46 foot Catamaran Sailboat. While traveling around the Irish countryside, their 2002-2008 Toyota Tacoma took them everywhere they wanted to go, including McDonalds, where Will was destined to work. During their trip they took several pictures with a super sweet Brown Canon SD1100 Digital Camera, which all of you have seen. Also while driving, it would have been really nice to have had an iTunes Gift Certificate so they could have listened to their new favorite tunes, or even followed in Cari’s footsteps and bought a book on tape.

Shortly after returning to Colorado, Will decided to take a 5 Day Ski Trip to Jackson, WY (Ski passes included) while Meaghan accompanied him since she’s never been to Jackson Hole, only to sit by the fireplace and work in her new desk chair, while intermittently enjoy the fruits of Her Wine of the Month Club. One snowy day, while watching Will tear up the slopes, she decided to tear up the rubber belt on the complimentary treadmill followed by a sweat-inducing round of Wii Fit (Wii entertainment system included). After a long hard day of hitting the slopes and the gym, they were delighted to know that they could take long hot showers because the hotel had just installed a Brand New Water Heater!

Feeling refreshed after 2 long vacations, they made the epic voyage to Nashville in Meaghan’s Jetta. It would have been much more enjoyable had Meaghan’s car had tinted windows to protect their belongings from the sun. Upon arriving in Nashville, they lacked the Down Payment for a house that included hardwood floors and granite countertops, so they opted to take up a great guy on a great offer and live in the Ghetto. After a solid remodeling effort, the place turned out to be quite comfortable, though still in the Ghetto. Will and Meaghan turned out to be the only “White Christmas” around that year. Considering the neighborhood, Meaghan wanted to fit in and add a little bling to her style, so she wanted a new

Diamond earring set. And even though they lived (temporarily) in the Ghetto, they were very happy to be closer to family and friends.

The End

My old co-worker from Chicago, Morgan, has had quite a whirlwind of a life the past few weeks. She was married in Mexico just a couple weeks ago, and then a couple days ago, flew unexpectedly to New Zealand. Her sister, Torey, was working over there (I imagine in much the same fashion that Will and I wanted to go to Australia for) and she was involved in a car accident and suffered head trauma. They had to remove part of her frontal lobe to reduce the swelling in her brain, and she is now heavily sedated. My heart goes out to Morgan and her family. Shaughn's accident was by far the scariest thing that I've ever experienced, and I hate to think that another family is going through the same emotions, especially half a world away.

Normally I wouldn't write about this in my blog, especially since most people don't know Morgan, but after Shaughn's accident, I'm a firm believer that God answers prayers, and the more prayers that are being said for Torey, the faster she'll recover. Please keep Torey in your thoughts today, and say a little prayer for her speedy recovery.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/toreyphelps