It's that time of year... 12/4/06

...the weather gets colder, more time inside, preparations for the Christmas holiday, the end of the semester (for Hiroe), and the pressures of work (for me). Not sure why my work pressure is tied to this time of year. Maybe because I'm ready for a new task at work and I'm kind of turning that into my new year's resolution.

Oh, hey, I just realized I didn't share pictures of the cinamon rolls Hiroe made over Thanksgiving weekend. Here they are. 100% home made. Even the frosting. Fantastic.


















And in return I taught her how to make an american treat. We ran out of Ritz and I had to buy more last night...













This weekend was the annual pick up the free tree event, courtesy of our realtor. The first year we got a free tree Hiroe suggested we buy a new house every year to get the free tree. Fortunately we get one every year without having to move. Whew. As part of the tree event, Santa and Mrs. Claus stop by to pose for a few pictures. Sorry for the poor photo quality, this was taken with my camera phone. As I watched the children funnel through, Mrs. Claus seemed quite lonely. No one thinks to tell her what they want for Christmas. There's no apparent payout. Maybe if the kids knew that the female of the house is the one in charge, they'd turn to her. When Santa says "No presents!" because they've been naughty, they can appeal to a higher power.













Then we were off to pick out our tree...













This is what we ended up with. There are no decorations yet. Maybe this weekend.