I'm Dreaming of a Waggoner Christmas...

We had a great time at the Mom and Dad Waggoner's place - once we got there. For the third year in a row our flight was canceled. But quick response time got us on the earliest flight out the following day. We were able to get off the ground before they shut down O'Hare.
We were very glad to spend time with everyone while we were there. We enjoyed a tour of Grandma Waggoner's new pad, Uncle Bob's book signing, a cousin's piano recital, and a few family business meetings.
Here are some of the better pictures we would like to share with ya'll.

My parents always have the best tree. This year was good.....but last years was pretty hard to follow.

Stockings hung with care. Please note the sweet Target bag that filled in for "a certain new member" of the Waggoner family. I have been assured she will have a nice monogrammed one next year.

White Christmas breakfast.....an excellent tradition.

There were 2 new furry additions this year, one was Zoe's new dog Rylee. I think Rylee and I really connected......or at least she urinated when she saw me. I think that is a good sign.

The second was Puccini who Mom apparently found one day. Neat. Nice cat.

One of the nicer things about living out in the country is that there are wild animals roaming in the back yard. If your "big city" eyes cannot see there is a deer eating in this picture. One day Dad will get a .22 and we'll have venison for Christmas......mmmm.

Well those were the highlights. We hope you have enjoyed.

The Downturn of the Economy

Well our snowman is back - or at least there is a flatter version of him coating our porch. It snowed 5" today. On the news this morning they were telling people that it would be a good day to take public transportation....so we drove in! Well that wasn't the reason - actually Andrew and I are both really busy at work so in an effort to get more time in at the office we decided to drive in. The drive in was quick, we left plenty early and there were few people on the road. The way home was a different matter. It took us over an hour to get home, at 8pm - it was really amazing - it appeared that nothing had been plowed...AT ALL.
Now, for those not accustomed to driving in Chicago in the winter - it is usually not much different then driving any other time. It always seems that when a big snow is predicted they get the full fleet of snow trucks out and cruising hours before the snow is supposed to start. The roads - especially the main arteries - are usually well plowed and salted by the time we head home for the night.
Tonight was a completely different story. Politicians in Illinois aren't usually known for their honesty, but when Mayor Daley said he was going to reduce the numbers of plows on the streets and cut the amount of salt they use in half - he was not kidding around! The whole ride home I only saw 2 snow plows and neither of them were going in our direction. Even Lakeshore Drive was covered in snow and unplowed. It was the first time I have ever seen cars abandoned in the middle of Lakeshore Drive with snow piled so high, it looked like it had been there for hours - and we saw two such vehicles.
The snow driving seemed to put Andrew in the holiday spirit, as he spent a great majority of the ride either singing or humming Christmas carols. He even got to do a few fun turns when we got into Evanston. I am so thankful that he is so comfortable driving in snowy conditions - lord knows I get tense and scared enough for the both of us.
But we are home now and warm - and there is no snow in tomorrow's forecast.

Our frighteningly frosty foreign friend

When I went to the store I came back to this masterpiece. It appears that the first snowfall of the year inspired Michelle's creativity.

I tried to talk with it, but much to my chagrin it never talked back. Oh well, there goes that thought.

ps - I just checked and our snowman bff is.........not so forever.

We're Crabby

I haven't been feeling the best the past few nights. Just a lot of congestion, it always seems to happen when there is a change in the weather. So we were planning on having soup and grilled cheese for supper. Andrew wanted tomato soup, and we didn't have any. So after getting off our train we walked to Whole Foods. We got tomato soup, orange juice, and crab legs. They were on sale and Andrew asked very nicely.
When we got home I put the legs in the frig and we had our soup and sandwiches, Andrew did a little work, I read, and we headed to bed.
Fast forward to the next evening. It is 9 pm and we are on the phone with my parents. We tell them about the crab purchase and debate on how they are to be prepared. Andrew does a little Internet research he found that the legs should not be refrigerated, they should be frozen. And if they are put in the fridge they can only last 2 days before going bad.
So at 9 pm, Andrew started boiling a pot of water, to fix the legs. Once the water had boiled the legs cooked in no time. They turned out just lovely.
As you can see Andrew really enjoyed playing with the legs.

And we BOTH enjoyed eating them!

Fran gets FURminated

Christmas came early for Fran...or at least one of her stocking stuffers came early. After doing some Internet research I discovered the FURminator. I would encourage you to check out some of the video's on the site - they are unbelievable. I shared my find with a woman at work, and she convinced me to order one (so she could get one too.) It should be noted after watching the videos and seeing the pictures, Andrew and I were really excited to get the tool that would be the end to the hair ball tumbleweed that is our apartment.So the tool came in the mail on Wednesday. The product came with a spray in no rinse shampoo. The instructions were to clean the fur with the shampoo, dry completely and then comb. After reading the reviews stating that the tool creates a lot of static, we decided it would be best to FURminate in the bathroom - a room Fran is normally not allowed in. She immediately knew something was up and she wasn't having any of it. She was pawing under the door and meowing like she does when she is being taken to the vet (or should I say WAILING.)

Here she is plotting her escape.

She HATED the spray bottle shampoo, though seemed to not mind it as much when I applied it by hand. She just didn't like the spray noise. And once she allowed us to brush her, she was purring louder then we have ever heard her purr before. She started getting antsy again and biting, so we decided to end the FURminating session. It wasn't as successful as most of the testimonials, but that was because of Fran not because the FURminator didn't work. Below is a picture of the fur that will not be found on our floor, hallelujah! And we have great hope that we will be more success next time - now that Fran knows whats coming.

No Fran did not have kittens - that is all her loose under coat.

You may not be able to tell in the picture - but Fran's hair is a lot silkier and thinner.

Tour le Chateau du Waggoner

Welcome...(please wipe your feet) Within the first door on your right you will find the spacious bathroom - isn't the shower curtain lovely?!? And what nice towels!

Now that you have seen the bathroom come a little further down the entry hall way (Note: we do have a cat - so if you are allergic you might want to go grab some medicine, before going any further.

Our entry room opens up into the great room, with our large floor to ceiling windows.

Here is the living room/office area of the great room.

And here is the kitchen - were many lovely creations are made.

And a view of the living room from the kitchen - Andrew hung all our wall art this weekend. It is amazing what a motivator company can be!

Yet another view of our living room with fireplace and new television.

Now we will take you upstairs...

But first a picture of our balcony.

Alright, everybody - up the stairs!

The view from the top!

The bedroom.

View down the stairs - Note: we have hung some work from my favorite artists - my sister, my brother-in-law and Holly.

The bed - I really like the bedspread and the tree above.Thank you for taking the time to tour our humble (yet lovely - we think) abode! Bon Nuit!

Please take note

Fran has added a wish list to our family sidebar - if you feel so inclined.

For your Christmas shopping ease...

I have posted links to our respective wish lists...browse away.

Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

Well my home alone time hasn't been what I had planned. The hallway and closet are just as cluttered as they were when Andrew left. The cause - all those late filers. Because of the October 15th tax deadline, my minimal time at home in the evenings has been filled with me eating dinner then going straight to bed. The good news, it is the 15th - which means it is almost over!

Home Alone...

Well I made it through my first night home alone. Andrew left for the airport around 4 pm yesterday evening, leaving the whole evening for me to fill with events of my choosing. I watched a chick flick, cleaned the bathroom, and went to bed at 9:30. I have decided to clean one room a night until Andrew gets back. This plan should make the time go by faster - and it can't hurt to have a clean house. Tonight I tackle the hallway and hall closet - I know it doesn't sound like much, but trust me the closet is a mess! It is were we have just shoved everything that won't fit in our upstairs closet.

Coooooookie Crisp!

Well the masses have cried out long enough. Here it is a new post!

Most of you, our faithful readers, know Andrew took a part of THE exam yesterday. While he was busy doing that (4 1/2 hours!) I decided to do my weekly grocery shopping. I am pleased to report that I shaved a good 30-45 minutes off my shopping time - it only took me an 1 1/2 hr. this time. I know you are impressed - I am actually. I attribute it to my organized, by location in the store, list - and the fact that I now know where to find most things. I even told one woman where she could find bread crumbs after the STORE EMPLOYEE was unable to do so - Booyah! However it wasn't ALL easy going. Andrew and I decided on Cinnamon Toast Crunch as the cereal we wanted. The box in front was banged up so I reached behind and grabbed a box - it wasn't until I got home that I noticed what I had grabbed:


It was a nice little blast from the past...that both Andrew and I have enjoyed.

I am refining my cooking method, making a menu for the next two weeks - as opposed to last time when I just picked the recipe that night at random. So I have my recipe books lined up in a row for the next two weeks - I know you are all impressed.


Another good addition to the house has been our bar stools. I think they go nicely in the room and it is nice to have something to sit on when we eat at the island.


And Andrew says they are good for studying - more like good for bowling! ;)

Andrew says he feels good about how the exam went - so pray that materializes to a pass! It was a little bitter sweet dropping Andrew off at the test center - don't get me wrong I am glad the whole thing is over for me - but I had come to know the exam - it is a feeling that is hard to explain. When I told Andrew this, he told me there are plenty of other exams I could take - ha, we will see. :)

Anyway, as a sort of "it's over" celebration I made some crab Rangoon. Andrew LOVES crab - and we both love crab Rangoon. It turned out well, but the won ton wrappers came with a recipe different form the one that I made that I think looked better, so we will have to make them again.

I also felt inclined to bake a little. So, I got out my recipe for creme puffs. I think they turned out great - so did Andrew. I kind of globed the chocolate on the top - since they were just for the two of us.
In other news; here are some of the meals we have had in the time of the blogs silence. I was sick last week, so we haven't cooked much, but here are the highlights:

Seafood Lasagna and garlic bread...


Feta stuffed lamb patties with steamed asparagus. (Andrew's version w/ tomato w/out sauce)

My version - w/out tomato w/sour cream and pesto sauce. This has got to be my favorite of all the recipes thus far. But then again I LOVE feta!


Salad made by Andrew (w/ edamame -yum!)

Carmel Apple cake - this was supposed to be made in a bunt pan, but I don't have one - d'oh!

It didn't look as good as the picture - but as you can tell from Andrew's crazed expression it tasted just as good - as I imagine the one in the picture tasted.

Well that completes the pictures we have taken since our absence.

Until next time Bon Appetite!