Day 25 of Newlywed Christmas Activities - Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!!

Are you as excited as I am?

This year, Hubby and I decided not to give gifts to each other because we are still in that broke newlywed phase and would much rather save our money for a new washer and dryer in the new year. Even without gifts, though, we woke up this morning grateful to be alive and to be spending our first Christmas together, which has never happened even when we were dating.

We did have the Christmas letters that we wrote to each other on day 3. My letter from Hubby was so sweet and it made me so happy to be with him. I wrote an equally great letter, if I may say so myself, and I included a silly photo that I drew.

Next up was time for us to give presents to my mom and the zoo. The dogs got a new bed and "candy cane" treats while the cats received some small toys. (Unfortunately, their cat tower that I ordered didn't make it before Christmas...grrr...they won't know the difference though if they get it late.) My mom got a great sweatshirt and a gift card. Everyone was happy and loved their gifts.

Now we are about to sit down to a late Christmas dinner. It has taken FOREVER for the oven to finish the ham and the chicken. All of the sides were completed and we have been waiting on the main features. Better planning will be needed for next year. Lol.

After dinner, we plan on all cuddling on the couch to watch "The Christmas Story." Hubby would not let us watch it before now because he wanted to watch ON Christmas Day. Silly man.

Before I go get into my food coma, I want to thank you for following my journey into this 25 Days of Christmas activities. It has been fun at times, disappointing at times, but I do not regret doing this. Hubby and I have bonded so much this past month and I have truly learned so much about him.

Will I do this again next year? YES! My bestie even sent me a wonderful advent calendar that I can put on my wall. She even had our last name put on it. (She is amazing and I love her. Shout out to you, Cara!) It is super adorable and I can't wait to plan for next Christmas.

I hope you all have a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Talk later - XOXO!
Crystal

Day 24 of Newlywed Christmas Activities - Christmas Eve Dinner Prep

Day 24 is a great day. My mom is here, it is Christmas Eve, and everyone is in a good mood.

For today's activity, we are doing a lot of Christmas dinner prep. We are southern so the Christmas dinner feast will be the usual classics - ham, mac and cheese, collards, dressing, rice and gravy. This year, though, Hubby has asked that I add my Peruvian chicken to the mix.

This chicken is the most flavorful chicken you will have in your life, but it takes a million herbs and spices and a whole 24 hours for it to marinate. Believe me, it is worth it and you must go out to get the ingredients to make it now. Recipe here.

Other than the dinner prep, mom and I grabbed a few bottles of wine that we will gladly drink this week while we catch up. Of course, my Jam Jar is one of those. :)

That is about all for now. I am looking forward to tomorrow being Christmas. 

Talk later - XOXO!

Crystal

Day 23 of Newlywed Christmas Activities - Mom is Coming!

Rain, rain, go away. Come again some other day!

No really, go away. On day 23 of our newlywed activities, Hubby and I went to get my mom for Christmas! I haven't spent any time with my mom in over a year. She will be staying with us until after the New Year.

Everyone says we look like sisters. I don't see it. Lol

The weather was horrible, though. Going to pick her up was shadowy and overcast, but on the way back, we came into heavy downpour. And guess who's turn it was to drive for the return trip...mine! I think we drove 50 mph on a 70 mph highway the whole way back.

This Christmas trip is really important to me because Hubby and my mom have not had any time to get to know each other. I want them to bond and get to love each other. I want them to love each other as much as I love them. We shall see. That may be another blog post.

My mom came in and was immediately overwhelmed by the zoo. She got to meet the new kitties and Frankie, while loving on the old members who she already knew. She, like I, LOVE animals and she even brought her dog, Boots. It was a full house now of animals and people.

Remember all of the work that we did to the guest room? She loved that too! I think we impressed her with all of the luxury that we put in there.

Oh well, that is all. It is two days before Christmas and we have lots to do.

Talk later - XOXO!
Crystal

Day 22 of Newlywed Christmas Activities - Finish Gingerbread Village

Back on day 16, I started my gingerbread village. Unfortunately, I did not read the instructions to notice that it would take more than one day to complete because I would need to let the base dry. Well I kind of walked away and totally forgot about it. 

Today, the weather was bad, which eliminated the option to go snow tubing at Stone Mountain Park, which was supposed to be our original activity. Instead, we sat down and completed the decorating of our village. Not much to report here. Lots of icing and candy was placed and also a lot was eaten. In the end, we had a great village that we put up on the counter by our Christmas tree. Enjoy the great photos of our artwork!

Talk later - XOXO!

Crystal

Day 21 of Newlywed Christmas Activities - Christmas Themed Paint Night

OMG, it is officially the week of Christmas! It came so quickly. I must admit, readers, I have kind of lost some of the excitement of Christmas. The activities are definitely helping, but my energy level can't keep up. Well today, our newlywed activity gave me a huge boost of fun and excitement for the season.

On the 21st day, I booked us for a painting event at a local bar. A month ago, I came across a deal on LivingSocial for a Paint Nite event. They supply the painting materials and the teacher. All we had to do was pay for the drinks and bring ourselves. I loved that.

Hubby and I took the Marta train into the city which is a rare occurrence for me since I work from home. I hate all forms of public transportation and I despise sitting in seats that are probably filled with germs, but unfortunately, it was a necessity since we were going to be drinking. Don't drink and drive, people!

Public transportation...ugh!

We arrived at Publik Draft House about thirty minutes before the event and proceeded to order unlimited mimosas. Yes, you read that right...UNLIMITED MIMOSAS!!!! Can this day get better?! We people watched and talked while our teacher, Aleigha, set things up.

They give you a personal carafe of mimosas that
they make with a full bottle of champagne. 

There were about twenty people in the class and it was a great group. Hubby and I had a ball with the painting. Don't have much to say about painting, mostly because it would be boring to describe every stroke, but also because we had quite a few mimosas.

It was a great night. Afterwards, we stopped at Benihana for some sushi, then headed home. We haven't decided where we are going to put our paintings, though. Wherever they go, they are beautiful to me.

If you have a chance to do this in your city, get a ticket. It is a great time any time of the year.

Talk later - XOXO!
Crystal

Day 20 of Newlywed Christmas Activities - Ice Skating at Atlantic Station

Ahhh, Day 20, I had so much hope for you. The promise of a great outing was on the horizon, but alas, you were a bust. The title of today's post should be, "How I spent $26 to spend 5 minutes on ice skates."

All over Atlanta, there have been ice skating rinks popping up. I have never been ice skating in my life. No surprise since I grew up in South Carolina, but I wanted to try this year. I took Hubby and I to the newest one at Atlantic Station in Midtown Atlanta. It promised not only ice skating, but a fake snowfall every hour and lots of stores to shop in after we were done. 

It was a gorgeous night for ice skating. It was a clear, slightly cold night. Atlantic Station was totally lit with lights and had Christmas trees everywhere. I was actually quite surprised, though, because it was not busy to say it was the weekend before Christmas. 

A gigantic tree at Atlantic Station

We went to the skate store to rent our skates and store our things in a locker. The staff were quick and really nice, which I appreciated. After about 20 minutes, we were ready to strap on our skates and get on the ice. 

Picking up our ice skates. 

I should have known that something was not right when I closed the strap on that ice skate. It felt tight, my ankles started hurting right away and I could barely walk. I thought, "Oh, it is probably just because I am new and it will get better after I get on the ice." Well, Hubby had the same idea. He, like I, was complaining as soon as we stood up. 

So we trudge to the ice and took our first careful steps on the ice. And then it happened...the immense pain in my arches and sides of my feet started immediately! I was in real pain, ya'll. Not uncomfortable because it was new. Even with the pain, I took more steps. I tried doing the skating motion, but the more I tried, the more it hurt. 

I looked up to find Hubby to see if he was having any better time and by looking at the pain on his face, I knew we were done. The problem...we were now half way around the ice and had to make it back around to the exit. Oh no!

After five more minutes trying to get to the exit, we both fell onto a bench and quickly took those torture footwear off. Total time skating? Maybe 5 minutes, with another 5 minutes hobbling on the wall trying to get back to the exit. Sigh...

We turned in our skates, vowed never to ice skate again, and then went to get something to eat. I was sorely disappointed, but like Hubby said, "We would not have known if we had not tried." He is so wise. 

That is all for today. Hopefully your ice skating forays go much better. 

Talk later - XOXO!

Crystal

Day 19 of Newlywed Christmas Activities - Christmas Guest Room Renovating

On Day 19, we did a little renovating for our Christmas guest who was coming. Yes, I know, it is not really a Christmas activity, but it was necessary and it gave me a chance to use my Christmas gift - my new power drill!!!!

It took Hubby and I a good four hours to clean and organize the guest room. We went through every box from our last move and put away, donated, or threw away all of the items in them. It was really cleansing to the soul to get rid of the clutter. I definitely did not want my mom to see all of that junk.

After we put the new linens on the bed and laid out the bedroom, I was so pleased with the outcome. It was super cozy, luxurious, and a true oasis. I was actually jealous that I could not stay in there myself. Lol.

Now it was time for my favorite part of the day...using my new power drill. Looking at me, you would not know that I LOVE power tools. Anything mechanical that causes holes make me happy to my soul. Well we had bought the TV and decided that we wanted to mount it on the wall, so we bought one of the wall kits.

I was so intimidated by this kit at first. My worst fear, that we would put it on the wall and the TV would just fall off, was at the front of my mind. However, after reading the instructions and getting down to it, it was super easy! I think, total, it took 35-40 minutes and it snapped right on to the frame and did not fall off.

Because we were so busy, I did not snap any pictures, but I will take some later to supplement this post. I am really excited for my mom to come visit now and know that she will love all of the hard work that I have done.

Talk later - XOXO!
Crystal