[Old and New] Traditions

Christmas time. A time for family, friends, prayers, jokes, laughs, booze and travel. I left my new home in OKC to my 'forever' home in Deer Park. (Forever- as long as my parents live there, anyway. It's certainly been my 'permanent address' through the 72 other addresses I've had over the last several years.)

Per usual, didn't quite leave as early as expected- but I put at least 32% of that blame on the icy conditions we woke up to in OKC on the 21st....

---(I got this is in the mail that morning. As Alainis would say, "Isn't it ironic? Don't ya think?!"---

Literally, my mailbox was iced shut. I couldn't even pull it open, I had to get hot water to melt it away!! 

So as my noon departure turned into a 4 pm departure, I found myself arriving home around 11:30 pm. My house wasn't quiet at this hour, oh no, my brother, essentially another brother, parents, cousins, and their kiddos were waiting up for me! I'm sure it had nothing to do with their boozing and everything to do with my arrival, but either way, there they were margaritas in hand and hugs all around! Family = love. 😍

Of course, I had to make a B-double E-double R-U-N  when I got home, but otherwise it just wouldn't seem right. 

Sunday morning, two families came together for the annual Christmas brunch with the in-laws. I'm so lucky to not only like my in-laws, but truly love them AND (believe it or not) enjoy spending time with them!! 

Sunday night, the fam-bam went to Elf the musical. So. Great. [That is a standing tradition, going to see a musical/show at Christmas time!] 

My 'essentially sister' had a bebe in September so time between Saturday and Wednesday was spent oogling over her handsome little man!! 

Wednesday. Christmas. 

This year, we decided Christmas Day should not only include our traditional meal of "Uncle Steve's Fried Ribs," (which needs its own post to describe the delicacy) but also (our new tradition) tacky Christmas Sweater wear! 

Want to see VINTAGE?! My grandma donned her homemade shirt from '95, back when she only had 9 grandkids and zero great-grandkids. I'd like to say the original 9 are pretty great, but it's hard to beat a child's smile.

While grandma got second, mad props to my mom for making the winning shirt for my daddy-- 

The day was spent playing outside with the kiddos, skyping with my cousin currently serving in the Navy, eating until we couldn't, showering our grandma/matriarch with gifts and the usual smart-ass quips our loving family dishes.

Unfortunately my hubby was working and we didn't get to spend his Dirty-30 or Christmas together this year. Fortunately, I will spend the new year with him in South Korea! Afterwards, we'll hop over to Tokyo for some sushi for several days then return stateside so I can be back at work the second week in January. 

Our schedule is exhausting, but I wouldn't have it any other way. ;) 

Merry Christmas, ya'll. 

Starting... Again

I wonder how many self-proclaimed 'bloggers' have written the "Ok I'm going to start blogging again--and this time I really-will-keep-up-with-it!" post. Be advised: that will be the essence of this post.

I looked back at my old blog and realized that my last entry was in anticipation of our move to Midland last spring. I was worried about our house selling in Houston [sold first showing, first day] and finding an option in Midland that was reasonable [found a house we liked and paid so much more than it was worth]. Fast forward 20 months and we have already been residents of Oklahoma City for months. Like, about three months... woah.

Midland was certainly west Texas at its finest. Dirt. Pump jacks. Wind. Heat. Flatland. And then-- living near and meeting some of the best friends we will have in this lifetime. I had about a 7 minute commute to work and 3 minute drive to one of my BFF's house (Yes, at 28 years old, I used the term 'BFF.' Judge me.) I started playing golf, wasted lots of shot trying to kill clay birds, found an appreciation for a cigar with wine and discovered the good-ol'-boy culture of the oilfield. We purchased a couple hundred acres in the beautiful hill country of Texas with a good friend, and hosted our first (of many to come) crawfish boil. We had a heck of a Halloween Party at the house and spent many nights grilling, drinking and watching TV on our patio. We wiped dirt from the window sills daily and embraced bottled water--because you JUST CAN'T drink from the faucet in Midland. It was a learning and growing experience, out in the wild wild west.

So now here we are in OKC--loving it.

Our first snow at the 3rd Casa Shults.
We are loving the variation in seasons!

Would have never guessed my mailing address would read Oklahoma City, but I can certainly say I'm pleasantly surprised at how happy we have been here so far. As of today, our house in Midland is sold [another day, another blog, learned some lessons with that one], and we are looking forward to what will unfold in this new chapter of our crazy, beautiful life.

So, here's to another attempt at keeping up with my blog-- Cheers!