My Top 10 in 2010

This year, we decided to make my grandmother a “Year in Review” photo album for Christmas.  As I was looking through the pictures and trying to narrow it down to my favorites, I was able to relive some happy (and sad) moments from this year.  Isn’t it amazing how photographs can do that?

Anyway, I decided that I wanted to pick my top ten photographs from this year…not because they are amazing photographs, or even because they are my absolute favorites, but because they bring back an emotion or a memory I never want to forget.  So here they are, with explanations of course (because it wouldn’t be my blog if I didn’t caption ALL of the pictures ;))

Here they are (in reverse chronological order):

1. BCS National Championship Game – Pasadena, CA (January 2010)
   

        This was by far not my favorite photo from the trip, but it completely captured our emotions for the day.  We were freezing and exhausted, but so happy, relieved, and of course in awe of what we just saw.  The phrase  “Remember the Rose Bowl, we’ll win then”, from our fight song will probably forever make my eyes well up with tears of pride thanks to this moment.  I will be forever grateful for having the opportunity to witness this moment.

   2.  My 25th Birthday (February 2010)

   Selfish for putting my birthday as one of the “defining moments” of 2010…possibly, but in my eyes it was.  It was not necessarily the birthday itself, but more the milestone age and what it represented.  25 had always been my “goal year”…that was the year that I was going to be all settled with a house, a great job, married, etc.  Knowing that I had not accomplished all of that was rough on my self-esteem.  Anyway, some of my very favorite people and number one supporters all came to town to have dinner with me and CELEBRATE turning 25.  After a nice “pep talk”, turning 25 didn’t seem so bad and as much as I hate to say it,  they were right…25 is not the end of the world ;)

   3.  Watching my old dance studio compete (March 2010)

   

When I was at home for spring break, I had the opportunity to go see my old dance studio compete.  I hadn’t seen my dance teachers in ages and before I left, I had the opportunity to get a picture with all three of them…together…literally, 3 of the most important women in my life (outside my family of course)

4.  Visiting Alex in Arkansas (April 2010)

I’ll just go ahead and say that I love everything about this picture.  Not only do I love that it is “frame-worthy”, but I loved the emotion behind it and the memories it brings up every time I look at it.  It was my first long trip to Arkansas and I had been begging to visit this park.  I remember walking under this sweet little vine covered walkway and being so happy.  I don’t know why I stopped and took a picture at that moment, but I’m so glad I did.

 

5.  20th Anniversary Dance Recital (May 2010)

This was such an amazing moment that I will never forget.  This was taken at the Alumni Reception after the dress rehearsal.  Although the shows the next two nights were awesome, this moment was more special because this was the first time we’d seen each other in a long time and we came together to rehearse in old studio just like we did years ago.  It makes me teary just thinking about how amazing it was that we were able to come together, dancers of all ages, and share our passion one more time.

My dance teacher made this comment on the picture on FB which I think perfectly sums up the moment:  “A room full of blessings!!! A heart filled with love!!”

6. ISTE Presentation

 

When my professor approached me last year about doing a conference presentation, I never thought it would happen, however, she took me under her wing and helped walk me through the process.  Standing up in front of that crowd was one of the most nerve-wracking and rewarding things that I have ever done and my professor was beside my side the entire time.  Although this is not the best picture, I’m so thankful that I had this wonderful opportunity and that I had someone capture this huge moment for me!

7.  My first day as a COLLEGE teacher

 

This year I got to live out one of my life-long dreams…I had the opportunity to teach at the University of Alabama.  This picture was taken just moments before my first class and I was so giddy with excitement I couldn’t hardly stand it.  As a teacher, I want to remember this moment and always have that excitement about teaching :)

8.  Celebrating 6 Years with Alex

 

Although this is not the best picture of us and definitely not my favorite from the evening, this picture meant a lot to me.  Yes, it is a big deal that we celebrated 6 years, but to me it was more important that we were celebrating an anniversary at all.  In the car on the way to the restaurant for dinner (as you see above), we were talking about how much had changed in a year.  In November 2009, we didn’t have a clue as to what was about to happen.  As soon as he found out and decided he was moving, I remember telling him  that I would be shocked if we made it to our anniversary…he of course told me I was wrong and that we would be fine, but being the worry wart I am, I didn’t believe him.  Lo and behold, he was right (yes, Alex…I put it in writing ;)) and here we are celebrating another year together, and even stronger than ever :) 

9.  Cooking and hosting my very first Thanksgiving dinner

Because of the way the Iron Bowl fell this year, my brother and I were not able to make it home for Thanksgiving.  Because we are a stickler for tradition, my mom and I decided to take on the daunting task of recreating my grandmother’s traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  It was a lot of hard work and wasn’t perfect, but I was pretty proud of myself for pulling it off :)

10.  White Christmas

We woke up this year to a very white Christmas!! The news said it had been since 1989 since we had so much snow on Christmas day :)  It was absolutely beautiful and I made sure to cherish every moment (as much as I could…I was super sick with a cold! :( ) because it may be a while before we see it again :)

So there you have it…my Top 10 in 2010!  Do you have some favorite memories from the year?  If so, please share :)

“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…”

And this year, we got one!  We’ve had snow flurries on Christmas morning (last year actually), but never this much snow!

I slept in our den because the heat pump that controls the upstairs (where my room is) was out and mom comes running in the den and opens our front door to show me.  It was SO pretty! (Instead of showing you the ton of pictures we took of the snow, I thought I’d show you a video slideshow instead :))

White Christmas 2010 from Maegan Slaten on Vimeo.

This time, we didn’t go play in it because I was already so sick!  We enjoyed seeing it through the window as we opened presents.  I refuse to show you my sickly make-up less, Christmas morning face, but I will show you all the goodies I got from my parents :)

A little flat screen TV for my bedroom, a purple toolkit, a food chopper, an Alabama luggage tag, a pampered chef spatula, an InStyler, Just Dance 2 & Michael Jackson Wii games, and a new coach purse :)  Thanks Mom & Dad!

After we finished opening presents, we got ready to head to my grandmother’s house for lunch.  We did snap a few pictures in the snow before we left :)

I had planned on wearing my cute gray suede Mary Janes, but since they would obviously be completely ruined in the snow, I had to trade them in for these hideous snow boots!

Brother Bear and I on the front porch…again, sorry for the swollen face! :(

The snow on Josh’s windshield…it was crazy!

 

Our snow covered house from the road

Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s house we go!!  I could definitely get used to this view :)

Once we got to my grandmother’s house, we had our traditional Christmas lunch of ham, cornbread dressing, fried okra, macaroni and cheese, green beans, corn, etc…it had been a year since we had HER cooking so it was delicious (although I attempted it, it tasted a million times better when I didn’t have to cook it :))

Earlier this year, my great-grandmother was put in the nursing home.  We have always done Christmas at her house (which is right next to my grandparents), but this year we decided to do it at my grandparent’s.  It was a little sad that she wasn’t there, but it was probably better changing the location.

After lunch, we got our annual grandkids picture, but we used the snow as our backdrop!  My mom and aunt were both snapping pictures and this was the best one I got on my camera (with a frame from Picnik :))  We don’t really exchange gifts amongst the cousins anymore, but instead my mom and my aunt bring presents for their children to open.  However, my grandfather ALWAYS gives us cash and my grandmother always buys me a Holiday Barbie (They started making them in 88 when I was three and my grandmother has bought me every one since then so I have the entire collection :)), and usually a piece of jewelry.  This year, she got me these beauties:

 

LOVE them! :)

We always stay the entire day and usually pull the food back out for dinner.  Since I felt so horribly, I had to take some medicine that completely knocked me out (I never take naps!), but when I woke up it was time to eat again :)

Once we started home, we realized Josh’s doors were frozen shut!  Dad, who sometimes does not realize his own strength (like seriously, he broke so many of my toys trying to fix them or put them together) and ended up pulling the seal off the door when he tried to open the door…yikes!

Once we got home, the snow had started melting some, but it was still gorgeous!  We have a holly bush right beside our front steps, and it was so pretty covered in snow :)

 

This “White Christmas” will definitely be one I never forget :)

Christmas with the Alex’s Family

My first (of 4) Christmas celebration was with Alex’s family.  When we first started dating, Alex and I just exchanged presents either before we left to go home for the break or on our own time sometime before Christmas. 

The past couple of years, his family has invited me over for a Christmas celebration at their house, usually a few days before Christmas.  This fits in perfectly with my family’s schedule and it gives me a chance to spend some time with them.  This year was no different!

The Christmas tree…I always love seeing all of Alex’s baby and handmade ornaments :)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care…;)  Can you find mine? :)

We had a delicious dinner of standing rib roast, brown sugar carrots, squash soufflé, and mashed potatoes….it was all delicious! :)

After dinner, it was present time…I was miserably sick with a cold so I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked, but I did take pictures of all my presents once I arrived home…I was so spoiled :)

Alex played “elf” (i.e. he hands out presents, each person gets one at a time, and everyone goes around opening it so everyone can see)

Anyway, Alex’s elf reign lasted about 1 round before I had to take over…what can I say, I’m OCD and bless his heart, he is not an organizer ;)

Look at all of my goodies!

A sweater dress from Alex’s Nanny Joyce…the lady who raised him while his parents were in the air force

Cooking/Entertaining Goodies from his parents:  cookbooks, season salt, peppermint bark, and a serving tray from Hawaii and then a t-shirt and a souvenir glass from her travels :)

R&R Goodies from their family friends in Seattle, Bob & Laura – Ms. Laura is always so cute and always does thematic gifts (a woman after my own heart!), even better…she includes a homemade card inside to kind of explain the gift.  This year, she left my card out of my gift, but she sent it later, but it had a bunch of pictures of famous hands like movie stars, philanthropists, models, musicians, etc and you were supposed to guess who they belonged to and she wrote a little note about how we use our hands to heal, to talk, to work, to play, etc and the need to take care of them…hence the little “hand pampering” presents.  Too cute!

 

The “Naughty and Nice” Lolita Martini Glass and an Alabama ornament from Alex’s brother and his girlfriend, Britney

My “PhD/Dissertation Survival Kit” from Alex:  A Keurig Coffee Maker, a box of my favorite coffee – French Vanilla, 2 elephant coffee mugs (he said “so I can have coffee with you when I come visit”…awww ;)), some Wizard of Oz magnets, and a book called “Lessons from Oz” and it takes moments from Wizard of Oz and talks about how you can apply them in your life…I loved it!  Even better, he wrote a sweet little message in the book telling me how proud he was of me and how he knew I would do well…I would share it with you, but he might kill me.  Take it from me though…it was so sweet and made me a little teary ;)

As for my gifts for his family (just for my memory :)):

• Alex: A bottle of Burberry Brit cologne, a sweater and dress shirt, a pair of Columbia Ultimate ROC Pants, and a new Columbia toiletry bag (his poor bag has about had it!)
• Andy – Alex and I gave him a gift card, movie, and a Star Wars bobblehead, XBox points
• Nana – Panera Gift Card
• Nanny Joyce – Hickory Farms gift set and Gibson’s Barbeque Gift Certificate
• Alex’s Parents – A basket full of my homemade goodies that I made during my baking spree :)
• Britney – A stationary set with her initial, a initial cosmetic bag and a pink sparkly shoe ornament :)

After we all opened presents, we had coffee and dessert:  a “Santa Claus” cheesecake from Junior’s Bakery in NY.  Seriously, this thing was almost too pretty to eat…

Yep, that’s the Norman Rockwell Santa on a cheesecake…isn’t it pretty?  It was a NY style cheesecake with oreo cookie crust…yum!

Everyone enjoying their cheesecake, coffee, and conversation   

Even though I was absolutely miserable, I had to get a picture with my guy…excuse the swollen face..yuck!

Anyway, we had a fantastic evening full of great friends, food, and fun :)

Christmas Baking

Ever since I can remember my grandmother always made candies for Christmas.  She would start about mid-November and cook multiple batches of every one of her confections and we’d eat on them from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.  I always gave them to my teachers and we would help ship them to our friends and relatives all over the US.  Everyone LOVED them and couldn’t wait to get their little candy sampler from her every year.

Since she has gotten older, she has stopped making them.  Since I did pretty well at cooking Thanksgiving dinner, I thought I would give the candies a try.  I’m a much better baker than I am a cook and since I had watched/helped her for years when I was little…I decided to tackle them.  We went next door to her house and got her recipes for our favorites (you know the recipes are good when they are written on old envelopes and are covered in buttered fingerprints :)) and figured out the game plan.  I compiled all of the recipes and made a master ingredient/shopping list and we started on our shopping adventure.  Bless her heart, I’m not really sure how she afforded all of this…it was quite expensive!

All of the ingredients, ready to go!

The next morning, I got up early, made coffee in my new coffee maker, turned on my Christmas station on Pandora and started cooking. 

Anyway, this is what I accomplished on baking day 1:

• Coconut Balls – My first dessert and absolute favorite…they taste kind of like mounds and/or almond joys :)

 

Ready to be dipped in chocolate

First dessert down, only 12 more to go!

• Marshmallow Santas – This was a recipe I found in a magazine and I thought they were adorable.  I decided they were purely for looks though as they were difficult to eat…oh well, live and learn :)

• Then I went on a dipping spree and dipped mint oreos, regular oreos, and pretzels (sorry no pictures :( ), I even made these Santa pretzels (another magazine find)  They looked much cuter in the inspiration picture, but oh well :) 

I only wish I had taken a picture of the kitchen by the end of the day because it was a disaster!  I was almost as bad…I was COVERED in chocolate. 

The next day, I got up and finished cooking before heading to Alex’s house for Christmas (My Christmas gift to his parents was a big basket of coffee and these goodies so I was banking on all of these things to turn out)

Since we live in an old house, our kitchen is teeny tiny with NO counterspace so finding places for all of this candy was quite entertaining.  I unfortunately didn’t get pictures of a lot of things because of this, but I’ll share what I have :)

These are all of the goodies laid out to go to my grandparents, but I put the same thing in Alex’s parents’ goodie basket :)  In the circular platter (clockwise from top):  dipped oreos, rolo pretzels, Marshmallow santas, chocolate peppermint chews, dipped pretzels and pecan pralines in the middle.  Middle platter:  coconut balls, crock-pot candy, and turtles, Back:  Turtles and Peanut Butter Balls

I bagged each candy individually, and put a tag on each to tell what it was and a little description.

The final product!  I gave them two bags of coffee (their favorites:  SBC Henry’s blend and Sbux Christmas Blend), bags of all 13 of my goodies, and two Starbucks ornaments (a cold cup and a hot cup).  They LOVED it!

Overall, the candies were a big hit.  There were some that were obviously bigger hits than the others, and not surprisingly, 2 of them were my grandmother’s specialties.  Everyone loved all of the dipped goodies like pretzels and oreos, but the three favorites were 1.) Turtles 2.) Coconut Balls, 3.) Peanut Butter Balls  Each person had other things they liked, but those were the three overall amongst everyone that tried them.  I had to agree though because I’ve always enjoyed the coconut balls and peanut butter balls. 

As I’ve mentioned before, I love the store bought turtle candies and when I found a recipe, I just had to try them.  I tweaked the recipe a bit as I went so I wasn’t sure how they would turn out, but EVERYONE told me that they were their favorites and they were better than the storebought kind.  I was so proud!  So now, that is my new specialty :)

My sweet grandmother, whose recipes I borrowed, said “where did you learn to make all these candies?  They are so beautiful they should be in a store window” I told them I learned them from her and she said “Well these taste much better than mine did” ;)  It made me smile :)

As with any type of cooking, I learned a LOT (like how you cannot put the undipped turtles on wax paper to harden…they will NOT come off and requires reheating!), but overall I was pretty impressed with how everything turned out :)

Anyway, I know that I will keep the top three and some of the dipped goodies for next year, but hopefully I can expand my candy making repertoire before next Christmas :)  

Andy’s Graduation Celebration

Because the ceremony ran so late, we went back to Florence the next evening to celebrate Andy’s graduation with a dinner at George’s Steak Pit in Florence.

Alex and I

We had a full table (and there are still 5 people that aren’t in the picture!)

 

Alex and I waiting on food and enjoying some fabulous conversation…I just wish I knew why I clasped my hands together like that.

Andy and Britney

Britney’s parents…I only included this picture because as you can probably tell, they play Mr. and Mrs. Clause every year for Christmas.  During dinner, all of these little kids kept coming up wanting to talk to Santa.  The best part is that he even has a business card with his “Santa” picture on it and the kids were so excited to have “Santa’s number”.  It was so cute!

Alex’s “18 ounce” prime rib…one of the other guys said to order the special cut and you could get it whatever size you wanted.  Alex ordered a 16 oz one and they brought out this monstrosity.  They said it was 16 oz, but I’m pretty sure is is more than that!  And no, he didn’t finish it!

One last picture of Alex and I…you could tell I was sleepy…my eyes were a little glazed :)

Overall, we had a fabulous evening full of great friends, food, and fellowship!  Congrats Andy!

Andrew’s UNA Graduation

Our first event of our Christmas break was Alex’s little brother’s graduation from the University of North Alabama.  We were so proud!

The ceremony was held on Friday evening in Florence.  We headed out pretty early so that we could get there and settled in before the ceremony started at 7 (it is a little over an hour drive for us).

Leaving his house to head to Florence.  I was so excited to get to spend that hour drive with him…we hadn’t seen each other in a month! :)

Andy had already saved us seats (first row!) so once we got there we got all settled in and ready for the ceremony.

 

The entire crew (minus our photographer, Mr. B):  First Row (L-R):  Mrs. B, Andy, Uncle Roy, Alex, myself, Nana; Back Row:  Andy’s girlfriend and her parents

And of course I had to get a posed picture with my man…doesn’t he look handsome?  (P.S. You’ll notice a lot of purple…their school colors are purple and gold and yes the “matchy matchy” was planned, carefully planned ;))

I am so used to formality of Alabama’s graduations, that it was very interesting to see a smaller college graduation.  Anyway, before we knew it, Andy was walking right in front of us (and I mean literally right in front of us…as in I could reach out and touch him) to receive his diploma.

See what I mean?  It was crazy being this close!

Getting ready to receive his diploma

 

Officially graduated…yay Andy!

As you can imagine, as soon as the ceremony was over, we had a huge photo session.  As much as I would love to share all of them with you, this post would be slower to load than it already is so I just picked some of my favorites :)

Another picture of Alex and I…only because I wanted a picture of my shoes that I bought especially for this outfit (and since it will probably be the only time I ever wear them ;))  What can I say, I love my shoes! ;)

And of course Alex had to show his baby bro some brotherly love…

Or maybe not ;)

 

 

Speaking of brotherly love, Alex, Andy, and I took a picture together back in 2005 at Andy’s HS graduation that has become a family favorite (as in everyone has a copy of this picture framed haha).  Anyway,  we tried, unsuccessfully, to recreate it at Alex’s graduation but it just didn’t work because Alex was the one graduating.  Now that we had the right graduate, we were determined to recreate it.  I think we did pretty well…see the comparison yourself :)

 Top:  Andy’s HS Graduation in 2005; Bottom: Andy’s College graduation in 2010

Family photo:  I love the color coordination (except Andy had on blue but it worked since he was covered up!)

The boys and their girlfriends

Mrs. B and “her girls”

    The Biehn family and girlfriends…check out all of that purple!  Surprisingly we were all in purple except for Andy and Britney who wore blue :)

Next up:  Andy’s Graduation Celebration :)