You know it's Christmas when..

Your Dog eats part of the Christmas tree as his main meal and 3 feet of garland for dessert!! :S

Family Parties..

Never a dull moment with the fam..

Christmas is around the corner.. let the craziness begin!

In exactly 10 days, Christmas will finally be knocking on our doors.. 10 days!?! I still can't believe it! Our first holiday party of the year kicked off the Christmas spirit train and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight! The house is decked to the nines and Rufus is finally getting used to having a real tree in the house.. it came close a few times, but he seems to be getting the logic behind having the tree indoors. (At least we think he gets it.. oh well!)

Christmas is usually an insane time of year for the better half and I. We spend %98 of the holidays running around with our heads chopped off and skipping from one family gathering to another.. we hardly get a chance to set our feet up.. it's exhausting. Since we have 3 families to deal with (a visit to my mom's for Xmas eve, my dad and in laws Christmas day) and if you add our extended families to the mix (a visit on the 19th and 26th respectively) it's really hard to find a second to tone down the crazy.

I thank my lucky stars, we have a bit of a break this year.. (more on that later)

Also, this coming year marks a huge milestone.. (well not huge but still, pretty crazy) it'll be the beginning of a new decade.. a Decade!! Now that's something to celebrate! We are really looking forward to a little New Years celebration in NYC with our dearest friends.. but don't worry. We aren't planning on waiting hours in line, like a bunch of cattle, in the freezing cold for a ball to drop in Times Square.

Any suggestions?

The Snow, The Snow is Here!!

Tuesday, Dec 8th 2009, 6pm EST
Outside the office...

Wednesday, Dec 9th 2009, 6:30pm EST

Outside the office..

The aftermath...

The first storm of the season came as advertised Wednesday with about 20 cm of snow and gusting winds that sent cars into ditches and jets back to their hangars.

I assume 20cm was more of a guesstimate.. The weather has been so disgusting today.. at 3pm this afternoon the big boss sent an e-mail to all supervisors to inform them their staff may leave for the day due to terrible road conditions.

I'm still stuck at the office, waiting for my better half to swing by and pick me up.

It is now 6pm.

Whenever there is a snow storm, us public servants are notorious for taking "working from home days" or as I call them "snow days". (hey! If the kids can stay home from school, we can work from home too!) Since it was very quiet in the office, I entertained myself by taking pictures of the parking lot outside my window every couple hours to see how much snow really fell...

Can you spot the differences?

At some point in the day, you could barely see the buildings and apartment complexes located across the street (which are usually very visible during a clear day).

ahhh yes friends... winter is finally back with a vengeance... *sighs*

And it begins...

17 days 'till Christmas... : )

December is here..

Today is December 1st… unbelievable… It snowed for the first time yesterday, but it's the kind of snow that melts away after a few hours. Usually, around this time of year I'd be concerned.. we've been without a good set of winter tires for a very long time to protect us from the dangerously slippery roads we get here in Canada, but this year, we will kick winter in the bum. Finally, 1 less thing to cross off the list.

The better half has also started a major project on the house. I've never seen him this excited to work on the house... ever…

He is channelling the Grizwalds..

Rufus is a star!!

Our lucky little guy was selected Dog of the week at the Ottawa Dog blog!!

We're convinced this shot won him the spot..

Ricko Sauve!

Tuesday date night...

At the Sens Game...

Wouldn't have it any other way.. : )

An open letter…

Night Rider..

You, were supposed to be reliable. You were supposed to suck it up and last for at least another year. You better have a good explanation as to why you choose this moment to quit on us.

Yes, you quit on us.. We didn't quit on you. We may not have been the best of owners in the year that you've been with us.. But you could have given us some warning signs that the honeymoon was over.

Well my friend, the joke is on you. We found another match for us. You are nothing compared to this one. It outshines you %100 and more…You are dead to us. So pack up your trunk, and leave my driveway for good. Just leave and don't look back. You are not welcome here anymore.

Good riddance,
Dom and the clan.


P.s. new car comes tomorrow.. PUMPED!!

How to Cheer me up...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.. I am a huge fan of Starbucks and their over priced drinks. I love how their cups of coffee (and staff) can turn any crap day into a perfect one.. Even if it's just for 5 minutes. The Red Holiday cups are finally out at Starbucks.. usually means the holidays are right around the corner (wither you want them to be or not).

p.s. this is a Peppermint Hot Chocolate... I suggest you pick one up when you have the chance... mmmmmmmm

They've also got their usual holiday inspiration quotes..

Soooo true right??

pp.s All my holiday decor boxes are ready to go, and I'm going to start decorating next weekend (you think I'm kidding?! Don't you!!) <- more to come on that later..