We'll take a cup o' kindness yet...

So I decided not to make any New Year's resolutions this year. I decided to make goals instead. They're different. I'm saying they're different. Goals are easier to achieve in my opinion. Resolutions feel a bit more...um..resolute? At least with Goals, if I don't reach them appropriately, I wont feel as guilty. Before I make a list of goals (because I love lists) I want to take a moment to remember the things that made twenty-ten so fabulous..















That made me smile. A lot! And that's not even a quarter of how wonderful this year has been!..NOW, on to the "Goal" List.

1. I need to spend more quality time with my Husband this year. Not that we don't spend a ton of time together. We do. I'm talking about the quality of our time. We have a date night tradition that kinda became a thing of the past between our wedding and holidays. We used to do one a week. We really are going to try to renew this tradition and get a bit more creative with it. I'm really looking forward to these new love fests with my husband :)

2. See our families more. Its hard. Its really hard to make it home as often as we'd like but we're going to try to do that more. A lot more. And in return we're hoping we have a few visits from them as well :)

3. Call the cousins. On Thanksgiving, we sat at the "kids" table and talked about how special the cousins really are. We need to call each other more and see each other if at all possible. We are going to try to spread the cousin love to one and all this year :)

4. Minnesota. Lee has never been able to take me to Minnesota in the summer time. He wants me to experience Union Lake in all its glory this year. We are hoping to make a trip up there in the late Summer :)

5. Finish School. I hate been pursuing online courses in medical coding. I started in October. This is not something I'm going to do forever. This is just something to have under my belt for backup if I need something to fall back on. Not to mention, it will pretty much double my current salary :)

6. Spend time with girlfriends. This is a MUST on my to do list. I love my husband but I need to spend time with humans that are a little more girly. I'm going to make a better effort of doing that. Because I cherish my girl time :)

7. Get Healthier. Its the elephant in the room. Maybe I shouldn't say elephant but its something in the room that no one can help but notice. I need to get healthier. I've been doing well at not eating meat...well..not eating much meat. I've never been a big fan of it anyway. Fortunately, Lee does enjoy a lot of the meatless products I buy, so thats a plus. We also buy most of our food organically and cook almost every night. Being that we live in such a small apartment with such a small kitchen, we haven't cooked as much as we should have, and have really enjoyed the assortment of amazing restaurants about town. We are limiting our eating out to once a week. And if that includes our date night, so be it. Also, we haven't been going to the gym as often as we should. That is changing now. I'm more focused on the healthy part than the losing weight part, but I know that those go hand in hand. I'm just not going to set any losing weight goals..because for me its unrealistic. I know I will lose it and that is all.

8. If all goes as planned in number 7, number 8 will be our next goal. Starting a family. Lee and I both have had baby fever for some time now and our goal is that this time next year, or almost this time next year, to be in the process of starting our family. It's important to us and something we are really looking forward to.

9. Projects. I'm crafty..I'll just say it. I have a WHOLE list of things that I want to complete...decor, furniture, pillows and accents...etc. I've goodwilled and thrifted all year long but I haven't gotten around to some of the things I wanted to Pr0-JECT if you will. That will be happening a lot more. Get ready. I'm pretty excited about it.

10. Organize, downsize, and purge. This should be my number one goal but it made its way to number ten because its going to take the longest. I'm a sucker for spring cleaning and things smelling lemon fresh. I constantly get rid of things I don't need so that I don't one day become a hoarder or something of that nature. We donate, we reuse, we recycle, and we feel the benefits. I'm ready for the freshness of spring and cleaning...and ahhh peacefulness.

Remember, these are goals, not promises..I'm not preaching from a podium. I'm just hoping that everything goes as planned and we can feel resolute with our decisions :)
Happy New Year one and all....drink champagne and confetti yourselves and don't forget your black-eyed peas! :)

XO- Hammarbacks

Here comes Santa Clause

Ok, so I know I'm a little behind on the Christmas post, but we've been so busy since we returned from Roanoke! So here it is..in all its yuletide glory.

We were fortunate enough to get to spend Christmas with my family this year. Usually we spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my family and make a mad rush after that to High Point and Winston-Salem to see Lee's family. This year we decided to officially stay with my family. Normally, if we spend Thanksgiving with Lee's fam, then we do Christmas with mine and next year it will be the opposite. We divide up Easters and Mother's days, and 4th of July's. This was the first year we spent the ENTIRE Christmas holiday with my family. Thank goodness. I was homesick. I said it. I actually missed Roanoke. I know, right? Hard to believe. I do "like" Virginia Beach, what with all its amenities..and er..beaches..and concrete? BUT, I sure do miss those Blue Ridge Mountains and those cheaper home prices... haha. I used to think that Roanoke homes were expensive...(they are) but they've got nothing on VABEACH and Norfolk. Ok I'm going off on a tangent. I love Roanoke. Thanks.

We left Norfolk on Thursday night after work and made the long drive to my dad's house. I love road trips with my husband. We always find the most interesting things to talk about. Don't ask me for an example because I can't give you one. We come up with our most random conversations in that Honda...
After a long drive...we finally made it to Bedford. So naturally, we went to look at the Christmas lights..one of our favorite traditions.




No we didn't get to have dinner at the train station, but seeing the lights is one of my favorite Christmas memories.
Then, when were almost to dad's, Lee and I both caught a glimpse of a falling star. Yeah, I've seen a shooting star before, but this one seemed SO close. It was huge and we both said "WHOA! did you see that??" We made a wish and continued on to find my Dad and Tina about to fall asleep on the couch waiting for us and watching "That 70's Show" reruns--because it NEVER gets old!

The next morning, we woke up early and went to my best friend Julie's house. Julie came to visit me back in November and we decided to start a new Christmas tradition together of baking goodies. I got to explore her new house..(which is now actually three years old, but time flies when you're not speaking) :( ahem! Which is EXACTLY why we had to start this tradition.








We also both have a "thing" for gingerbread men. We both got a sweet little gingerbread man that we keep on our stove for Christmas and we are going to buy each other a gingerbread SOMETHING every year for Christmas. I bought Julie and I aprons from Vera Bradley for the occasion..but unfortunately, they were among the Christmas presents that were stolen from our front door. I did manage to find some of these in the CHKD gift shop...perfect :)



Lee and I had a great time at Julie's and got to meet her new boyfriend Todd. He's pretty amazing and Lee and I really like him a lot. Not to mention the fact that he got Julie a trip to Cancun for Christmas. Julie, Marry him! :)

After spending the morning at Julie's abode, we went to my mom and grandaddy's house to spend some quality time with them. The whole family was going to be there the next day, so I wanted to get in my time with them :) I bought my mom a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and I wanted to give it to her so she could set it up for Christmas. My dad and I have a HUGE love for ALL of the Charlie Brown TV specials. I don't know why we love it so much, its just a thing. Lee can't stand it, but he watches it with me anyway, because I force him to just to humor me :) Anyway, our favorite is Charlie Brown Christmas. I sent my dad a Charlie Brown Christmas tree too, complete with Linus's blanket so that he could set it up in his house for Christmas. I'm obsessed I know.




Next, we headed over to Grandma Pat and Grandpa Frankie's house for our annual Christmas Eve dinner. Something I've done since I was abou 1 or 2 years old. We have a big feast and open presents. They have a habit of spoiling me to the bone. Lee too. And anyone who comes within 50 feet of them at Christmas time. They are pretty much a big pair of givers. They think my eyes light up and get so excited when I open gifts, but what they don't know is the secret behind the gushy happiness glow that I give off, is Grandma Pat's cooking. I always love the Christmas Eve dinner. A way to a woman's heart is money food after all! :) Don't even get me started on the pineapple punch..that's my favorite. My Christmas Eve memories and dreams would be squashed without it. It puts the jingle in my bells and the white in my Christmas. No, that wasn't a racial slur.

We had a great time eating, opening gifts, eating, opening more gifts, eating dessert and eating. And opening gifts. AND...eating. UGH I lost track of my Christmas carb count, but I'm pretty sure I blew Santa out of the water, and he eats like 90 million cookies or something close to that..

I think the highlight of the evening was when the G-rents opened their gifts from me and Lee and not only that, but put on a Snuggilicious fashion show for us. These are the things we remember folks..




On Christmas Eve, Lee and I have several traditions. 1: We bake cookies for Santa. Yup we do that. 2: We open 1 present each. The tradition is that its pajamas..no matter what. And that will be the tradition when we have kids too. AND it will probably only take them a few years to figure out that its Pajamas but..not just any pajamas. The pajamas you MUST not only change into, but wear to bed and wake up with on Christmas morning. I know, a lot of people have this tradition but there's something about cottons and flannels that makes my heart beat a little faster :) I will say however, that this year, we already opened our jammies in advance..actually they were never wrapped. BUT, we did open a gift from each other. This year, we'll just keep that gift private. Just for fun ;) 3. We read the Nativity story from the bible. This is our newest tradition. Its something I've always wanted to do. Lee and I can just picture ourselves....sitting in our amazing wonderful home..in the living room, in front of the fireplace with out kiddos in their new jammies (Charlie Brown Christmas music playing in the background) and reading the Christmas story. After all, we are most certainly celebrating Jesus's birthday. He's our homeslice. Without him, there would be no CHRISTmas at all :) Thank you, Jesus. 4. We finish off with reading.."The night before Christmas." Just when you thought it all couldn't get anymore cheeseball..it just did. We know its cheesy but its Our Christmas..and we love it! ...after all the traditions are finished, we'll head off to bed and dream about sugar plums, dancing if you will.

Christmas morning. Cue the fireplace.



Stockings and christmas photos where everyone's sleepy and not wearing make-up. My dad, Tina, Lee and I all opened our stockings.







Lee and I had stockings from each other...er..I mean Santa and then two more stockings from..um Santa again. (dad and tina) They had stockings too..from who else? Santa! Lee pretty much slathered me with gifts this year..I wont go into detail I'll just make a list. :) This laptop that I'm typing on..yeah, I had it before Christmas, but you gotta admit that's a pretty amazing purchase and its the gift that keeps on giving. It's helping me complete my school course work and its perfect for blogging of course! Next, I got a brand new..VANITY! We have a TINY TINY TINY apartment. I hate getting ready in our little bathroom. I feel like I don't have the room. So, I've been sitting on the floor in our bedroom in front of a floor mirror doing my hair and makeup every morning. I was ok with that. But, Now I have a beautiful white vanity that Lee put together himself. It has a stool for lots of storage, because organization is my favorite thing (and Lee knows that!) Its so pretty..and modern..and well I just gush over it! He might have also spoiled me with some Vera Bradley traveling pieces..to accompany on my trip to Punta Cana next week! yay! Thanks hubs. My gifts to you were lame in comparison.

After some quality gift opening we made our way over to mama and grandaddy's house once again. We have a HUGE Christmas brunch every year. It's probably my favorite meal of my entire year. It even beats out Christmas Eve dinner..which is near impossible. YUMMO! We always do secret Santa on Christmas morning. I love it. I had grandaddy. I of course gave him the gift of choice this year. I'm pretty sure he loved it. I hope he did. Even if he does look like a royal monk when he wears it. :)



We pretty much gathered on loved on each other all day...we watched A miracle on 34th street, my family got to see our wedding video..we might have even played in the snow a bit..oh yeah did I mention that our FIRST christmas as HUSBAND and WIFE...was WHITE!?!?! It was. How perfect!?



Christmas night, we came back to dad's and got into our jammies and watched Elf. BECAUSE, my dad had NEVER seen it! How is that even possible? You tell me. We were supposed to leave the next day after church, but guess what? Church was cancelled and apparently VA Beach got stormed with a huge blizzard..over a foot of snow. ITS STILL not melted and Our road has yet to be scraped. Its a big icy mess! So, I had no problem spending an extra day all cozy at dads. PJ's, movies, dad's spaghetti. It doesn't get any better than that. I got my fill of family time, carbs, Santa, and just general lovin! I hope everyone had a Merry Merry Christmas :) This one will stand out in my memory for a while....

XO

Birthday Boy

Dear Lee,

I wanted to take this moment…pause the rotation of the earth if you will…and just tell you something. Maybe a couple somethings.

I know that I am a pain in the rear end sometimes. I know that not everyone would be able to swallow spending 24 hours 7 days a week in the same house as me…heck, there are some people who probably can't even stand me..but you? You chose me. You love me. You are my friend and do it with a smile. A sweet smile that makes that makes me blush and still gives me butterflies.

I just want you to know that I savor you. I let the time spent with you melt in my heart. And there are numerous times a day that I stop myself from doing and focus all my energy on making my mind freeze a little memory. Like, on our wedding day when we were standing on opposite ends of that garden waiting to go into the ceremony. I looked over at you. You looked SO incredibly nervous. Then you looked up and saw me and smiled and winked at me. I'll never forget it. I love those moments when you hug me and make me believe for a split second that I am the most beautiful girl in the world. I try to remember the sound of your voice when you are on the other end of the phone telling me to buckle up and drive safe. I try to remember the sheepish little grin on your face when you try to hide the fact that you ate an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream but you know that I know. I love all of our memories together. I hope I remember every single one. Even the bad ones because they make the cherished ones so much sweeter.

And more than anything, I want you to know that I love you today. And I will love you tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day. And the day after that. For all my days. And for all of yours. And for every day after that.

Just wanted to tell you that.

XOXO-your girl :)

Do you see what I see?

This weekend, my best friend, Hope came to visit! I haven't seen her since the week we came back from our honeymoon. She graciously offered to babysit our babies while we were in Florida! We've been trying to get together ever since. Unfortunately, I have not made it to Roanoke since the wedding, even though I've wanted to! I can't wait to go home for Christmas!
Hope arrived on Friday night. We spent the night in, talking and catching up. We even watched the wedding video...which she LOVED of course! I also showed her some fun home videos from Thanksgiving! Gotta love the Flip video camera! (thanks, Grandaddy!) We stayed up late talking and drinking Lee's homemade Russian Tea. On Saturday, we slept in, and then got up to do some Christmas shopping! Although, there wasn't a LOT of shopping done, we still managed to get in a little. We had a late lunch at Carraba's and headed home to give Lee our leftovers. We pondered going to a movie or doing some more shopping, but I think they must've put something in that food...like maybe the stuff they put in Thanksgiving food. The stuff that makes you want to go straight to sleep and hibernate through the winter! YES, that's the stuff! We ended up getting our cozy pants on and watching one of my favorite Christmas movies,
"Santa Clause." AND no, NOT the Tim Allen movie..this is the one I watched as a child and have such fond memories of. Hope loved it...SO MUCH that she fell asleep right in the middle. Womp..womp. She was asleep at 7:30! WHAT? After the movie she woke up and said "We gotta go do something!" I was up for it, but she insisted that it must be something we could do with our jammies on. HMMMMM? Lee suggested that we go to the Boardwalk to see all the Christmas lights! So that we did, only to be greeted with the first snowfall of the season! It was so pretty.....and peaceful.
The Christmas lights were much better than last year and we really enjoyed it. Our favorite part was the big Christmas tree! You could turn to a particular radio station in your car and the music would match up with the lighting on the tree. It was so cute! They also give you a CD of music to follow along with you on the boardwalk. We had a great time!







The next day, Hope was supposed to go home, but decided to spend another day! We spent the whole day in our jammies, baking cookies and watching "25 days of Christmas" and "Fa la la la Lifetime!" I said "Hope, are you disappointed that we basically sat around in our PJ's all weekend?" She said "NO, this was the BEST weekend ever!" God love her.
We saw lots of Snow and LOTS of Christmas lights and lots of Lifetime and lots and lots of cookies and jammies. Tis the Season to Veg out and be cozy :)

Decking the Halls!

Lee and I put up our humble little Christmas tree tonite! We've decked out the rest of the Hammarback household, but we were saving the tree for last. For the last two years, we've had the exact same tree. Red and Green. I swore last year that I was going to do something different this year. We chose white together. Not only is white one of my favorite colors...but we thought it would be a nice color to start off our marriage with. Clean, simple and pure. We wan to do something different every year..and maybe on day work our way up to two, three, maybe four trees throughout our home! :) Here are some of our favorite shots from Christmas decor 2010 :)