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I cannot believe it’s the week of Christmas already. The weather today makes it easier to believe but because this is Texas, the weatherman has informed us all that Christmas day will be spent at an even 75+ degrees. Whats up with that?!

On December 6th, Stephanie had her annual Christmas party- SO MUCH FUN. Per usual, there was lots of delicious food, tons to drink and fantastic company to share it with. The white elephant exchange was nothing short of awesome (like it is every year) and Derek and I left with a set of wine glasses and a 13-inch TV. Derek was insistent on going home with said TV as he “doesn’t have one in his garage”- never mind the fact that he has about 3 billion other ones in his house, he needed another.

December 10th was my first Christmas party with my new company and they sure did a good job of keeping us all entertained. There was face painting, balloon animals and hats, caricature drawings (yes, we had one made and no, it looks nothing like us), wax hands, food catered from a number of local restaurants, and a Santa for the kiddos. Did I mention lots of booze as I work for a beer company? That part was the best.

December 13th through the 17th was spent in Puerto Vallarta Mexico with 6 of our friends and it was amazing. Seriously. No other word will even come close to describing the amount of fun we had together Bottomless amounts of food, drinks, beach, sand and fun and we soaked up every dollars worth. We were nothing short of heartbroken to return home to work and reality, not to mention the 30-degree weather here at home. Molly did indeed survive her stint in the “slammer” a.k.a. the doggy kennel. She seemed a little miffed with us for a few days after our return, but she seems to have forgiven us. Funny how dogs never remember to stay mad like us humans do.

Almost as quickly as we had returned home from Mexico, we had to leave again. On December 19th, my dear friends Katie and Richard tied the knot in a Catholic ceremony that took place in Fredericksburg. The ceremony was the longest Ive ever been to, but the reception was by far one of the most fun I have been to in a long time- and trust me, Ive done LOTS of weddings at this point ;)

Saturday December 20th was a dinner party at my friend Patrick’s house- I call him “Baby Clothes” so you will all know him as just that. Baby Clothes and his wife Allison have been inviting us to their dinner parties for quite some time now and turning them down is next to impossible. Derek and I always joke that its one of the few times we get away with feeling “adult like” or even fancy. The night usually starts off with a cocktail hour; dinner follows and is always perfectly planned and pristinely served with bottles and bottles of wonderful red wine. After we eat, the men will sometimes step outside to smoke Cuban cigars (movie like, eh?) while the ladies sit inside and gossip around the table and pitch in with dishes. Sometimes well play a game after dinner or watch a funny movie and talk all the way through it- but this time we played in yet another white elephant game. This week we left with a “Das Boot” (seen Beerfest?) and a bottle of Wild Turkey that will never- I repeat- never be consumed.

Last night marked the first of many family Christmas celebrations and this one took place at the Bohls’- like everything else we have been to in the last few weeks, tons of food, drinks and company poured over and Derek and I were sad to leave as we seemed to be the only people that had to work today. Boo.