Goodbye old friend...

As many of you already know, the week before Christmas Southern California experienced an incredible amount of rain. It poured for several days straight, without so much as a little peek of sunshine to break up the gloom. Normally, I love the rain. And love it I did, right up until Wednesday morning, when I was on my way to work and....

Yes, that is my poor little neon. I hydroplaned across three and half lanes of the 91 freeway, head first into a brick wall. Thank goodness I didn't take anyone else out with me, and I was fine, just a sprained wrist and some bruises and scratches. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my car. It was a great car for many years, but there's no recovering from this one. But every cloud has a silver lining, and what a lining this cloud had. Actually, I think this was more of a platinum lining! On Christmas Eve, Chris and I went to "look" at new cars, and lo and behold...



Merry Christmas Eve to me! Isn't she beautiful?! We got a 2011 Chevy Equinox in twilight blue. We've had our eye on the Equinox for a while, but I was hoping to hold on to my neon for at least another year before getting a new car for me, especially since we just paid off Chris' Jeep the Sunday before. Obviously, that wasn't an option anymore, but now that I've got my new car, I'm okay with that! Every time I drive it, I fall a little more in love. And those heated leather seats at 5:45 on a winter morning make it much easier to face the work day! ♥

It's Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas...

At least it is in the Strautman household with all of the baking I did yesterday! Every year I've wanted to bake some Christmas goodies to take to our neighbors but always run out of time. This year I was determined to make it happen! I woke up early and spent the whole day making yummy goodies. Chocolate peppermint bread, chocolate drop shortbread cookies, candy cane brownies, walnut fudge, and iced sugar cookies. Yum!

Good thing I'm not keeping all of these goodies for myself or I'd have to buy bigger pants!

The Merriest Place on Earth

Yesterday I was able to convince Chris to finally take some time off work and take me to Disneyland! We participated in the Give a Day, Get a Day volunteer program Disney had in the beginning of the year, and got two free tickets that I had been saving to use at Christmas time.

Everyone who's known me very long knows that I love Disneyland and all things Disney. There's something magical there that transforms me into a kid again every time I go. (Too bad it's too dang expensive for me to go very often!) Add a huge helping of Christmas cheer to Disneyland and, well, you've got a true wonderland!

Chris worked in the morning, so by the time we got there it was almost three in the afternoon. It was a rather grey and gloomy day, which was fine by me. I love to bundle up, so it was fun to actually need a jacket and scarf. Plus, I think the impending rain storm kept most of the holiday crowds at home, so the lines weren't too bad.  The longest line we waited in was for the Haunted Mansion, which I love anyways, but it's extra fun when they redecorate it with Nightmare Before Christmas! 

In the evening we enjoyed the amazing fireworks show, then traipsed over to the Rivers of America to watch Fantasia. The forecasted rain was finally arriving, but luckily it stayed at just a heavy sprinkle til we had left the park just after 11 and were on our way home. What a wonderful way to get in the Christmas spirit!