Pickle-weasel!

It was so good. Turkey, wild rice, rolls, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, cranberries, mashed potatoes and gravy (which were amazing, seriously some of the best I've ever had) and mac and cheese with turkey noodles!

Lauren Helen Graham

Ria... I'm starving here right now reading it!

Okay, I guess it's at the time for some Florida pictures Here you go!

That's me at Sanibel Island doing some sports, posting and other crap I had my stupid day back then

Lutesse

Wonderful pictures, Kris! The ocean view looks amazing, and so do YOU!

Pickle-weasel!

Kris looks gorgeous and that you had a lot of fun, can't wait to see more pictures from your trip.

Here are some recent ones I have to share.

This thing came back in a box at work so my co-worker and I decided to put it on. i walked around the warehouse with it.


My city puts on this parade of lights downtown every year, and this year was the last run. I went on the last night.


Here are my Christmas pjs and socks


My sister and I on Christmas with our themed hats


My sister and I at our family Christmas with our "ugly" sweaters

Lauren Helen Graham

Aww, thanks, girls

Ria, what are those funny things! Love the book boxes

And why is it the last year your town is doing it? The parade I mean. That's really sad because it looks great.

Btw, what is this about the Christmas pjs and socks? I'm curious. Kind of a tradition? And what's the ugly sweaters? I'm confused.
But you even wear Christmas themed hats! Cool!

Some more pictures from the beach

Lutesse

Ria, all of your pictures are so cute! I love those Egypt-themed cutouts (for the library, I guess?) "He who reads Sphinx better" and "Read with your Mummy!" Adorable!

I don't think your sweaters are ugly at all. They're both as cute as can be! I have seen some ugly Christmas sweaters, believe me, and yours ain't. The reindeer pj's are tres chic.

Kris, you and bf look so nice together. Any future plans there?

Lauren Helen Graham

Sherry, we're together since Januar 2006 now, so almost our 8 year anniversary. But at the end of 2012 I was in the hospital for six weeks and I've been diagnosed a chronic disease called systemic lupus and since then the only medication that worked was cortisone. So I take cortisone since November 2012 and at the moment we try to get me on another, more harmless one. With cortisone, you are not allowed to have children because disabilities are almost for sure... And this systemic lupus for example advances miscarriage. So yes, the last year hasn't been easy for me. But with the docs trying to get my off the cortisone now and it looking not too bad is a good sign. So yes, maybe the next two to three years, I'd love to get a child. Or two No marriage plans since I'm not at all a believer in it and so isn't my bf. We live together already. So that's for the future plans

And thanks so much

I'm sorry for all the beach pictures but it was such an awesome day





This was fascinating... A sand bank and you could walk into the water as if there wasn't an end

Lutesse

Kris, I'm sorry. I didn't know about you having lupus, so it was gauche to ask of the future. I didn't necessarily mean marriage or children .. and of course didn't know you were together 8 years already.

And now I will just shut up before my foot goes in my mouth again, except to say the additional pictures are a joy to see.

Lauren Helen Graham

Sherry, no worries at all I'm totally okay with it and I'm not negative about my future. There were times that I sat down and just cried, for example when they didn't know for a year what it really is and also when another medication that was supposed to get me rid of the cortisone didn't work. But you know, I'm feeling amazing and when it wasn't for my blood parameters getting dangerously worse each time a medication doesn't work I wouldn't even know I were ill So everythings just fine and I don't have a problem talking about it. I guess me being open about it helped me through the last year

Lutesse

That's a lovely, so positive attitude to have, Kris!
I hope you'll be free of the cortisone soon. And from the pictures, I think you must be feeling pretty amazing, as you say!

Lauren Helen Graham

Thanks Yes, I'm somehow an unbelievable positive person. Don't ask me why... But it helps

And to end the day, some more pictures... That's another small beach where people were fishing right next to one bridge that leads to Sanibel Island. And our rented car





In my face you can see the result of taking cortisone. But could be worse, right? My docs and other people are always kind of stunned that I didn't gain weight... Or at least not more than 2-3 kg.

Lutesse

I see a lovely face!

It is surprising, I know most people gain quite a bit of weight from cortisone; but you are apparently very active and that probably makes all the difference.

Lauren Helen Graham

I work in an office and I'm not very active tbh. Just when I'm on vacation.

And you should have seen the amounts I ate when my daily doses of cortisone where higher. Crazy! Not even my boyfriend could eat that much.

Lutesse

Your metabolism must burn at a high rate then!

Pickle-weasel!

Kris, I don't really know what those were, aside from being cutouts that came from the theme of the book fairs. They said they are going to do something new, because they've done it long enough I guess. It was a little sad because it's kind of a tradition here, and I would have liked to bring my kids to it sometime, when I have them. Well the socks, I love Christmas socks, and have a tradition of doing what I call 25 days of Christmas socks, meaning from Dec 1-25 I wear a different pair of Christmas socks everyday. As for the PJs, that's just what I wear on Christmas eve. The ugly sweaters are because my work had an ugly sweater day were we were all suppose to wear ugly sweaters and then they'd pick the ugliest one. And then my family wanted to do that as well, so I wore it then too.

Sherry, you need to see the elves faces, they're so creepy. The theme for the Scholastic book fairs this year is Egypt, so they must have sent those out to the school or something. I had never seen them before that.