Merry Christmas!

We traveled to Pat and Ted's house in Payson, AZ for Christmas this year!  They did not disappoint.  Pat had the house decorated to the nines, and there is no doubt that Ted did his fair share of 'decorating' as well!  Here are a few quick pictures of the house.

Sitting Room

Family Room

Oh Christmas Tree....

We were able to meet their two new puppies, Dorothy and Toto.  Sweet 10 month old brother and sister labs.  They are very sweet, well behaved, and full of energy.  They are just puppies...and they love to play.  We had some fun walks with them and John thoroughly enjoyed getting them wound up.

Pat and her pups--with a little devil eye going on...

Toto

Pups at play

Did I mention we drove?  It was a very long drive, but nothing beats seeing AZ mountains after being in the car for 19 or 20 hours.  I never tire of seeing the mountains and beautiful views.  I couldn't help myself...I had to take a few pictures.

Just entering the AZ state line

First AZ sunset of the trip

Snow on the rim

View driving down the mountain

Leaving AZ (Southern route)

On the first full day of our visit, we went to the Valley and saw Cavalia Odessyeo.  It is a mixture of crazy gymnastics, horse stunts, the Circus and a trip to the theater.  It was beyond cool.  I was a nervous wreck the entire time because I did not want to see anyone break their neck-not a person and definitely not a horse.  The whole show was such a treat!

Big White Cavalia Tent

Cavalia Tents in the AZ desert

After the show-whew, I can relax!

We also did a little Christmas light looking.  I wish I had gotten a picture of the outside of Pat and Ted's house.  It was fantastic--lights on the roof line, wreaths on every window and light post, door lights, decorated outside plants etc.  You name it, they had it!  I did, however, get the below gem of a photo.  There are three photos of the same house.  The photos do not do the "decorations" justice.  This home was the "winner" of the Payson light contest.  This is good stuff.

Notice the first place sign between the penguin and snowman.

I don't know where they put their vehicles since the carport was used for additional decoration area. 

To the left of the snowman are a few deer.  Their heads go up and down and they are drinking from the red/green "river".  Somewhere Clark Griswold is smiling.

Christmas day was a great day.  For the first time in my life, we did not attend Vigil Mass.  We actually went to Mass on Christmas Day.  There is something to be said for really marking the feast of Jesus' birth by attending Mass on the actual feast day.  I don't know that I'll do it for the rest of my life, but it was a very nice change.  I don't think it is my last Christmas Day Mass.  We woke up and had some breakfast and quickly got down to business opening gifts.  I must say that I did an awful job with pictures during the opening of gifts.  I have to get better about that!  We got some wonderful gifts from each other and our families.  I am blown away by the generosity of our families year after year.  We are so fortunate and we count our blessings.  After presents, we went to Mass, came home and took some pictures and then took the pups for a walk.  We ended the day with Christmas dinner and a relaxing evening.

The stockings were hung.

The evidence

We tried a few "poses" for our Christmas Day picture

A full view of the "outfits"

The final shot.  John is sporting his new bow tie!

The perfect pre-Christmas dinner appetizer--cheeses, olives, garlic, pears, dates, crackers...oh my!

Overall, we had a great Christmas vacation.  I got some reading in and John worked a little.  We tried our best to get some rest, go for walks, see some friends, and basically eat our way through the trip.  I think we succeeded! Oh, John got fitted for his new golf clubs.  He was like a kid in a candy store trying out clubs at the PGA store in Scottsdale.  He worked with a golf pro who used a computer system to analyze his swing.  He is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his new, perfectly fitted, clubs.

We are looking forward to rounding out the Christmas season and starting 2013 on the right foot!  We can't complain, it has been a very blessed year for us.

Advent is here!

It isn't a good sign when you totally forget to photograph your newest project!  I have been wanting to learn how to make truffles, and Miss Vicky finally taught me.  It took a little trial and error before we got into our groove.  I can't believe I didn't take one picture during the process.  The only photo I have is of this one below--after production and packaging.  Oh well, unless somebody gets sick from eating them, I hope to make them again next year!  I'll definitely take photos next year.

Truffles & Cocktail Napkins--Merry Christmas Friends!

Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving from Shreveport!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving in Shreveport this year.  Dad and Suzanne hosted, and we anticipated a full house.  The closer we got to the holiday, the fewer people we had confirmed!  Between the flu, back troubles, and travel logistics, a few of Dad's siblings dropped out and we ended up with Uncle Sirini and Aunt Diana along with their children, Alison and Ryan.  Ryan brought his new girlfriend, and she was darling.  Suzanne's niece and great-niece came as well, so we still had a house full.  Just not a normal Jucas house full.

"Cousin" Table (we actually outnumbered the adults)

"Adult" Table

Tracy, Suzanne & Kerry

Six Cooks in the Kitchen

Delta Bistro

Lunch w/ Tracy, April and Emily @ Delta Bistro

Lunch w/ Alice, Candice & Jennifer @ Delta Bistro

This past weekend, I had the good fortune of spending a long overdue weekend with my college girlfriends.  We had this planned months in advance, and I will admit, this was not our first attempt at planning a weekend away.  Life happens, and only a few of us actually live in the same town.  Needless to say, a night or two together is definitely a treat that doesn't come along too often.  Alice introduced us to the Viking Cooking School in Greenwood, MS.  What a fun, fun, fun time we had.  We had some great meals, fun shopping, lots of wine and visiting, and we learned how to make a wonderful meal.  In addition, Greenwood, MS is the town where The Help was filmed!  For anyone who read the book and/or watched the movie, it is a thrill to see the actual filming locations.  It is a charming town that revolves around the Viking Headquarters and caters to the tourism industry that is a by-product of the famous kitchen appliance company.

This is a place I not only recommend but look forward to many more visits in the near future!

The websites are:
HOTEL- www.thealluvian.com
SCHOOL- www.vikingrange.com (click on the School tab and click on Greenwood, MS tab on the left)

Serious Business

Alice, Jennifer, Tracy, April, Candice & Emily
Aprons on, Glasses filled & Ovens pre-heated!

Watching milk burn...oops!

Spinach Pasta--we MADE this!

The finished product-spinach lasagna & broccoli rabe 

A Man and his Travels

As I've mentioned in the last few blogs, John has been on the go lately.  Hardly a week goes by that he isn't driving or flying somewhere.  I'm not complaining, and I don't think he is either.  He had some meetings in Colorado recently and was able to catch and Arizona State University football game in Boulder.  I hear it is very beautiful and I know he had a great time.  He also traveled to New Mexico and caught a few sights and ate a good meal while there.

Since this blog is mainly for John and I to re-cap our lives and have the opportunity to look back years from now and "see where the time went", I wanted to include a few pictures from two of his recent trips.

Pre-Game Fellowship in Colorado

Catholic Mission Church, built in 1610-Santa Fe, NM

El Pinto Mexican Restaurant in Albuquerque, NM

The Big Easy

I can't complain.  Life has been good to us lately.  John travels like a maniac, and I am on the road more than ever.  The good news is that some of John's travel is down to New Orleans, and yours truly had the good fortune of accompanying him on his most recent trip.  I took three luxurious days of vacation, and we drove down on Wednesday morning returning on Sunday.  Michael Murphy was gracious enough to host an event called Key to the Cure which raises funds for cancer research.  It is an annual shopping event at Saks Fifth Avenue, and a percentage of the proceeds go to cancer research.  Michael sponsored the fur salon, and this year, his sponsorship was in memory of his grandmother and my mother.  I was truly honored, and she was truly smiling down on us.  Anyone who knew my mother can attest to her love of fur.  She literally convinced me to have a winter wedding by dangling a new fur in front of me like a pony to a carrot.  I bit.  I have a beautiful white mink to show for it.  The evening was awesome, and I'm only sad that we didn't get more pictures.  It is hard to try on furs AND take pictures of myself.

On Thursday, I slept in and the men went to work.  We had a late lunch at a local restaurant in the Garden District and then went looking for a costume for the upcoming Superhero costume gala.  We had dinner in the Garden District and took a wonderful walk around while I coveted the houses (and vespas).  The vespas...oh, the vespas...the colors are to die for...mint green, Tiffany blue, candy apple red.  I wish I would have taken more pictures of the vespas.  John is concerned I'm going granola.  I just love pretty colors and the sleek look of them.

On Friday, John and Michael stayed home from work to play with me (lucky me).  We had coffee at Sandra Bullock's favorite coffee shop (or that is what John is telling me) and brunch in the French Quarter.  We spent the day driving around all of the different districts, walking in the French Quarter and antiquing.  We had so much fun and ended it with a wonderful dinner at home.

We had tea on Saturday at a downtown hotel-what a treat!  We all got different teas and they were all fantastic.  We had beautiful sandwiches, scones and a variety of desserts.  I could have stayed there all afternoon and people watched.  We saw a wedding party, a birthday party, and lots of tourists in and out.  We also saw a tiny mouse that ran under our table and the desire to people watch ended abruptly.  Ok, it was funny and abrupt!  We napped, lounged on the patio, took another walk and finally got ready for the costume party.  Well, since we completely sputtered out on the costume part, we went in suits/dress.  I think the kicker was that it was a superhero costume party.  I'm sorry, but there just is not a female superhero that doesn't don some sort of super tight outfit.  I just couldn't do that to myself.  What can I say, I'm a stick in the mud.  John wanted to start a drinking game based on the different variations of the same costumes.  It was pretty funny.

Sunday was time to wrap up the fun.  We attended early Mass (8 AM) at St. Patrick's and then headed out for our last New Orleans breakfast.  Let me say that I ate lots of good food, but my omelet on Sunday morning was the best.  It had brie, lobster, and asparagus with a lobster sauce on top.  Shut the front door.  It was AH-Mazing!

Thanks to our hosts for the great great great time!

Key to the Cure-Fur Salon Sponsor 

Thursday lunch @ Gott Gourmet

John & Michael in front of Michael's beautiful house!

The look of a true sugar high

My favorite part of New Orleans--fantastic houses

Charming

Love

Perfect

Yes, please...

Why didn't I take more pictures of these glorious Vespas?

My favorite house (next to our hosts' house)

Um, cutie pie-taking a rest on the front steps

High Tea

Tea and my honey

Tea Time

Lovely

Almost too pretty to eat

To die for sweets

By the end of the night, Michael found a costume!