Day 7

Saturday at the Straussers brought more family fun. Everyone kept working away at the 12 Days of Christmas artwork...

And in between the eating, washing dishes and preparing the next meal, there were naps, playing and goofiness. For example... This is what happens when a roll of tape is passed around at a card game:

After the kiddos were in bed, Mom put together a fun wine-tasting game to test our taste-buds. Then we did the White Elephant present swap and things ended with everyone throwing wrapping paper at each other. You know, like families do.

Day 6

I've become spoiled by Sam Hills. You walk into High Five Salon and are greeted by smiling faces and a big hug from Sam. He immediately starts to compliment... My hair, my small stature, my bag, my outfit. He is somehow able to let out a constant stream of encouragements with such genuine sincerity, it's no wonder he's booked solid months in advance. And apart from great conversation and feeling like the Princess of the World by the time you leave, you also have a fab haircut to boot. 

Also, Sam is the only person on earth who has ever successfully straightened my crazy curls.

Almost as soon as I was home from my head pampering, Mom and Dad showed up at the house to pick me up for our roadtrip north. It's time again for the belated Lazear family Christmas at Aunt Amy's house!! Kissed Adam goodbye, since he had to stay home and work on some animations, and hit the highway with the folks. 

Stopped at a fun Japanese place on the way up and Dad treated us to buffet and sushi (which I had been craving for months!)

yum.

Arriving in Perrysburg, it was the usual mixture of hugs, food, wine, card games and general hilarity. Never a dull moment. Pappy had brought a huge wooden plaque that he had carved of the 12 Days of Christmas, and wanted each person to paint an image in the scene. 

It was such a great time with all (most) of the fam. Especially fun to hang out with my cousins' kids, who are unfailingly adorable. (And happy to see Nancy's third on the way as a supercute baby bump!)

Sophie ("So-So")

cousins Dylan and T.J.

Yes, there were presents. Of course there was eating. And you can be assured that there were plenty of hi-jinx, tom-foolery, goings-on and what-not.

Day 5

Since before Christmas, I've gotten into this routine of making lattes for hubby and myself every morning. Sometimes I feel like an alchemist with my little espresso machine; grinding the beans, brewing the espresso, steaming the milk, mixing the chocolate powder. Feel like I'm conjuring the tea ceremonies of the ancient East.

Day 4

One word: Massaaaaaahhhhge.

Yes, hot stone massage to be specific. Purchased a great deal on Living Social a while back, and finally got around to cashing it in. It was a tiny little office in West Chester called Pamper My Feet. The massage therapist, Craig, had giant manhands that could span the whole width of my back. And enough weight to put full pressure on tight spots to just melt them away. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that 1. I have a very high tolerance for pain and 2. I'm not nearly as knotted up as I would have expected. Afterwards, we sat in his office and chatted for a good 30 minutes. We talked about fine art and massage as art, finding your passion and putting your passion to work. It was a pleasure to meet someone who is so genuinely excited about their work.

Feeling all loose and gooey, got dressed up to meet the girls for dinner. Hooray for $5 Bang Bang Shrimp! Yippee for fun time with my besties! Cheers for a nice finish to a lovely day. 

Day 3

Feeling all pumped up about Zumba, I decided I needed some more clothes for exercising, so I headed over to Goodwill to check out the inventory. I walked away with 3 long sleeve shirts, 4 t-shirts, 1 exercise shirt, 1 tank top, 1 sweater, 3 exercise pants and a pair of jeans. Grand total... $31.80! Score!

Thomas does a little Vanna White action with my bounty

Spent the rest of the day buying supplies and planning for a paper-making workshop I'll be doing with some Girl Scouts later this month. I haven't made paper in so long, and I'm excited to get back into it!

here is a great tutorial

Later in the evening, we unpacked a Christmas present from Adam's cousin, Matt, and put it to use for game/movie night.

That's right...

...popcorn machine.

Don't be jealous.

Day 2

It snew!

It wasn't much of a snow, but enough to put me in the mood of pj's all day. Got plenty of cleaning done in my studio... So that when I actually start to pick up business again, I'll be ready to work!

Later in the evening, I finally got dressed and ventured out into the "white death" to attend my very first Zumba class! Whew. What a great, fun workout!

The instructor was all...

"I'm so cute and fit!"

And I'm all like...

"I'm a big, dumb monkey!"

It was seriously fun, though. The other ladies (and one guy) in the class were super friendly and not intimidating at all. (This is important, because I'm easily intimidated when it comes to displaying physical prowess.)

Day 1

Happy new year! After a fun time with friends last night, dancing and noisemakers, today is a sleepy, quiet beginning to 2012.

The Bengals lost, but we had fun watching the game. Ended the day with tea, cookies and Scrabble.