Happy third birthday, marriage!

Trick to see if your wedding photographer is bad: When you are sick of pictures and he asks you what else you want to do, say "go up to the top level of the rotunda and we will stand so that we are right in the middle of this garish, enormous Christmas wreath." If he agrees without hesitation, you got yourself a lemon.

But I don't need a poster sized artsy photo to know how this day changed my life forever. In the coolest way possible.

This picture made me laugh. About four of you might remember that there is another picture of me (at Ghandi's birthday party years ago) eating cake, and Jon's hand is also questionably posed like it is at left (sadly, Jon was cropped out). And it took me a while, but I found it.

And yes Mackenzie, I acknowledge I am making crazy dreamy photo eyes. Crazy, dreamy, and even staring off in a completely different direction.

It's the most wonderful time of the years!

 (I love this last picture because it demonstrates perfectly how we all could be doing the most random things while Darien is always ready for the camera)

All these people are in my Christmas future. I could not be more excited. It's been three years since I was home for Christmas (Jake's fault) and then, I was 2 days away from getting married and I think I stole everyone's stress free Christmas away. The year before I was heartbroken and alone with my parents (all I remember is watching It's a Wonderful Life nearly in tears and sending a spiteful text message--I was pretty much insane). This year, everyone is together, a dog will be flown in, we will be sewing our faces off, making adventurous food, watching a bowl game, Dad will cry at whatever movie we see, and the wedding will be for my wonderful friend Nikki. AND there is no freakish snow on the ground that would delay our flight for a week. I want to do a little dance, I am so happy.

Boo finals

Jon's finals have left me bored, carless, and without cable. I've gotten a lot of hand quilting done, which is good, but I have to watch horrible things like Jay Leno (nevermind--hello Star Trek Next Generation!). Why does Kenz live three time zones away? But I do have a couple exciting things to announce. One, I bought 24 boxes of Chex last night and spent $36 and saved $60. Two, I bought our anniversary present today. We usually don't get presents because our anniversary is two days after Christmas, but this year we decided we wanted matching, supersoft bathrobes. Not monogrammed yet, but hopefully soon.

Photoboothing yourself in your new bathrobe is admittedly lame, but in the process I found out that Jon takes random pictures of himself when I am napping. Talk about an early Christmas present.

What do you think he was looking at?

Am I 24? or 54?

 I was just thinking about how I don't know what I want for Christmas. Mostly, I am so excited to see all my family and I am content with my mostly present-less Christmas (reason for that apparent in two sentences).  Well, I do want a few things, but they are so...not exciting when said out loud. I've gotten a few things already, like a cast iron pot (fist pump!) and my beautiful, amazing, already-been-used-for-hours-and-hours-and-more-hours Viking sewing machine (swoon!). I know, real exciting. The only other thing I could think of to tell Jon was jersey sheets, but then I watched Martha this morning and my world turned upside down...

A PASTA PRESS ATTACHMENT FOR YOUR KITCHENAID. And yes, it needed to be shouted. I think I was sold as soon as I saw it included a plate for bucatini, the best pasta ever. Like hollow spaghetti.  You just plop a lump of dough in there and you can have amazing homemade pasta. I need this. I want to make fresh rigatoni, fusilli, and macaroni. I am way too excited about this machine. Especially since it is $180. Jon, think of all the money I will save us...

I am so lost in homemaker gadgetland I can never be recovered. Which is fine. Back to sewing!

What I could be like with more motivation and talent

My sister Mackenzie is cool. She has a name that you can legitimately shorten (she is mostly known as "kenzie" in the professional realm). You can shorten my name ("mal") which many people call me, but mostly because it saves two syllables. (Does your nick name inherently mean "bad?") Sometimes Jon introduces me to new people as Mal, and it upsets me because I think he is telling people my name is the sound a cat makes. Anyway. Back to Kenz. She crafts and does wonderful things with crazy crafting tools and has a dream of crafting fo' life. And she is living it! Over Thanksgiving she sold her stuff at Second Storie Indie Market in Rochester and casually and easily made friends with some of the biggest crafters and bloggers in the country! (some from Portland, ps) Jealous! If you need ideas for some Christmas gifts head on over to her etsy site--her magnets look amazing and are so powerful if you try to make fake earrings with them it really hurts. Which is a good thing. (psst you should post your cards too sis)

And I love Kenz because she does not use the words "found" and "bespoke," two words that for me have become the equivalent of "moist." 

Why have my last 3 posts been about TV?

Mal: Scrubs--Medical School seems a lot like...
Jon: Saved By the Bell: The New Class.
Mal: Exactly.