Chris' birthday

Chris' birthday this year fell on a Sunday, so we woke up, made waffles, and headed to church. Afterwards we invited friends over to watch football - pretty typical for Sundays this fall - and thankfully the Redskins got a win. That was a great birthday gift if you know Chris. I decided to take this occasion as an opportunity to cook again for the first time since Eleanor joined us and it was disastrous. The food came out fine, but about three minutes after I got started E started crying and wouldn't stop. Chris had to walk her around the house in circles during the Redskins game until I finished cooking and could feed her again. Then I had to eat my dinner one-handed while it got cold despite the fact that I fed her riiiight before starting to cook to try to avoid this problem. Oh well. It's been about a week and a half since Chris' birthday now and I haven't yet cooked again.

Eleanor chatting with Chris on the couch

Later that evening we had cake and our best friends in the area (soon to be neighbors...dream come true! I'm sure I'll share more on this later) came over to eat it with us. We have been able to share all our birthdays together this year and surprisingly, many years in the past, too, despite them living in Chicago and us in various places around VA. I believe Ashley spent a birthday in Farmville, Alex had one in northern Virginia, and I spent one in Chicago while we were there for their wedding a few years ago. As cool as it would have been, Eleanor did not help Chris blow out the candles as you can see from the pictures below. Guess she is still a little too young for that! She just looks confused by the whole process.

It was a pretty relaxed and fun birthday overall and we were glad to have been able to share it with lots of friends!

Nashville and playoffs

We've had a pretty slow start to the new year and today we tackled putting away all the Christmas decorations from the past month. Our house looks fairly empty now without the tree and everything we had out on the mantel, but at least it's fairly clean for a little while. Chris went to Nashville this past week for work to watch the Tribe play Vanderbilt. He had a pretty good time, as he usually does when he gets to travel for basketball.

Besides that we've just been getting back into the swing of things after our time home with family. I've been studying a little here or there for my boards (which I'll hopefully be taking later this month or early next) and we're gearing up to watch the Redskins in the playoffs this afternoon - here's hoping for a win! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Chris and me!

We have been hanging out with our families this holiday and it's been wonderful. The weather is great for getting outside, the food is delicious and plentiful, the Redskins beat the Cowboys, and I am wearing sweatpants...what's not to be thankful for?

We created a "thankful tree" this year for our centerpiece (as you can see, I was collecting branches of stuff on a walk we took the day before) and all hung leaves on the tree with what we were thankful for drawn or written on them.

In all seriousness though, we have so much to be thankful for: family, friends, faith, our marriage, jobs, where we live, our community, our church, full bellies, health, and everything we need and want. Our blessings are too abundant to count and if you ask me, that's a pretty good problem to have. We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Signs of Fall

I don't think fall really begins for me until football starts. Not because I eagerly anticipate football games on the weekends, but because my conversations with Chris about what we can do on the weekends start revolving around what time the Redskins play on Sunday. And not only do we build our weekend plans around game time, but also our errands, food, and even sometimes chores. I, on the other hand, build my naps and reading time into game time instead of around it. :)

So as you can tell, fall is here and the Redskins have started out 2-0. We've had rain and cool weather these last couple weekends and I pulled out my first legitimate hoodie the other night for one of Chris' intramural games (yes, he's playing intramural sports - maybe you'll get more on that later!). I made the first cold weather meal of the season this week and I think the air conditioner has been off for at least a week, maybe longer.

Other things reminding me of why this season is my favorite:
- I finally feel like I can start baking again without feeling bad about heating up the house with the oven on.
- Doors and windows are open letting the cool, fresh air in the house.
- When I go out to my car in the morning, there's a chill in the air and when you take a deep breath the air is so crisp that you forget about how humid it was during the summer.
- Chris doesn't complain as much about eating outside on the deck.

I know we'll get a few more warm days here and there and that's just one more thing I love about the fall. I love the sun and the warmth, but it's just so nice to be able to spend time outside without feeling like you're melting!

Me and my teammate

I believe I don't have to tell anyone that it's football season, unless you've been living under a rock or something the last couple weeks.  This means there's all sorts of college games on all day Saturday, and then NFL all day Sunday.  I typically sit around multitasking while football is on tv.  I just can't bring myself to give it my full attention on the only two free days I have a week!  Chris definitely has no qualms about that though :)

So while I bake cookies in the kitchen, wear my Redskins jersey on Sundays, and get called to pay attention to replays of significant plays, Chris happily monitors his fantasy football progress and keeps entertained by flipping to other games during commercials.  He claims that one day I will come around and be perfectly content to watch football game after football game all day Saturday and Sunday...we'll see!

 

For your viewing pleasure, a picture of me with my arm around my pin dodge teammate, hah :)

Maybe once it gets a bit colder I'll come around a bit more, but I'm not making any promises.  It's still just too nice outside to sit around indoors all day.  And it's not looking good for next week either..!

8th Annual Pindodge

This one slipped by the wayside last month; actually it was a month ago yesterday.  This event is so important that despite the fact that we just found out we had to move out of our house into a storage shed by the end of the week, we rushed through packing in order to finish by Friday instead and still make it up to northern Virginia for Pindodge Saturday before leaving for Texas Sunday.  Did you follow that?  Not even sure I did...

(Photo courtesy of my brother in law - or whoever was holding his camera)

This year my team came in second place - a slight bummer because I really thought we had a good shot to win being that one of the Redskins was on my team this year!  My bro-in-law's team came in first for the second year in a row (I was on his team last year and won!), and Chris' team came in third - a small victory for me :)

Game day

In order to get in the mood for the Redskins game yesterday, Lauren, Chris and I went out to kick field goals on the field next to our house. Surprisingly, all three of us got the ball over the crossbeam!

Then we headed back inside to make some Mexican dip for game time. Lauren and Chris chopped in front of the TV while I got the rest of the stuff ready. Look at what pros they are with those knives and chopping boards!

The dip:

And at the end of the day, the Skins won, so all was well in the Stratton household.

Thank God for Little Hotties

Handwarmers, that is.

Chris's brother got us free tickets to the Redskins/Giants game today, so off we went at 7:15 am to meet up with everyone.I layered significantly before we left. We tailgated from the time the parking lot opened until game time. Robert has season tickets, so he's a pro. He made beer-soaked bratwurst, brought out his portable beer pong table (anyone else have any idea these existed?) and we braved the rain.

Our tailgating neighbors shared some delicious hot chocolate and turkey soup with us, as well as some of their shelter from the elements.

The day started out promising. I stayed pretty dry and warm during the hours of tailgating, and the game was Sean Taylor's induction into the Redskin's hall of fame. Unfortunately the game didn't end so well. The skins played pretty poorly and I was soaked completely through despite all of my layers. My feet and hands and pretty much entire body was freezing, but it was quite the experience!This was my first skins game.. so I guess it can only get better from here. I'm hoping for a win and no rain for whenever I go to another.

A true fan.

As you all already know, Chris is a very dedicated Redskins fan. So much so, that he would eat dinner all by himself during a game so he wouldn't miss even a single play.

I bet some of you are wondering why I'm totally okay with this. Well, 1, because it was his birthday, and 2, because I know that his level of dedication to me is much higher than it is to the Skins :)

Disappointing Effort

Five thoughts about the Skins' opening-night loss:

1. Offensive line - Please block the people in front of you.

2. Antwaan Randle El - Don't leave until the ball is snapped.

3. Defensive backfield - Please stop getting run over and tackle somebody.

4. Jason Campbell - Stop staring down your receivers.

5. Jim Zorn - Your hair looks like an eighth-grader's.


The Good News:

It's only one game, we can get our act back together and get ready for the Saints. I have faith in our staff and our players and I think we'll have a much stronger showing in 10 days. It can't come soon enough.