What's Christmas without a fun toy?

We just got back from Sioux Falls, SD, where we spent Christmas with Jeremy's family! Here's a shot of the gift that got the most use this year. Yes, that would be the flying monkey! (with accompanying monkey scream). You had to keep your eyes peeled once those two monkeys were unwrapped... they could be launched at any moment.

The highlights of the trip included...

Seeing all of Jeremy's Siefer cousins in Storm Lake.

Seeing Grandpa Higman try to eat an Oreo Ball!

Watching as Josh's magic tricks amazed Grandpa Higman at dinner.

Being "Yule-a-bached" - Think "Punked" but with Christmas Carolers in scary masks!

And finally, enjoying Jeremy's homemade Christmas decorations!

Want to have super powers?

Ahhh, the things I learn because I am married to Jeremy! I would like to introduce you to my everyday life with Jeremy...and to sum it all up I would like to share this little conversation we had this weekend. I feel like this is a good representation of my husband and the things he likes to tell me!

Set the Scene: We just went out to dinner and have come back to the apartment. We parked Jeremy's car and are heading inside when....

Jeremy: You have to watch this! It will amaze you!

Rory: Watch what?

Jeremy: (Walks about 40 yards away from our car)

Rory: Where are you going?

Jeremy: See, I can still lock my car from this distance (the lights blink).

Rory: Great, so you have good unlocking range! Can we go inside yet?

Jeremy: No...(still walking further away from me - almost to the next apartment building)

Rory: Where are you going? Hellooooooo...

Jeremy: (In more of a yell)... See, now my car remote won't work... but watch this...

Jeremy: (Holding key remote to his chin - like photo above. Yes it did look very strange.... Suddenly the lights flash on his car, which is now a good 70 yards away).

Rory: Wow, I did marry someone with super human strengths...or something like that!

Jeremy: (Jumping up and down like a little 3 year old!) It worked, It worked! Coooooolll!

If you would actually like to see this in action, here's a YouTube Video on the subject. Just don't blame me if you look like a nerd trying. But maybe you too can convince someone of your superhuman powers this holiday season! (And yes, Jeremy was as excited as this guy when it worked!)

For another video demonstration, click here.

Empty Plane Etiquette

So here's the scene...yes, another plane story from last week! I just boarded the plane. It was a 2 and 2 plane, so two seats together on either side of the aisle. I was one of the first to board, so I dutifully went to my window seat, closed my eyes (it was 6:00am), and waited for the rest of the passengers to board.

When they finally closed the door and started to make the announcements I opened my eyes, smiled blearily at the gentleman seated next to me, and looked around. The plane was almost empty. I could have had 4 rows to myself if I'd wanted them.

It's about this time that I figure my fellow armrest neighbor will move to one of the open rows....right?

I mean given the choice:
1) Sitting next to a stranger, fighting over leg room, and hoping they aren't sick and breathing one you... or
2) Having an entire row to yourself

... isn't the choice obvious?

Apparently not! He just smiled and me, and all I can think is "Please move!"

So now I'm in a precarious situation. I'm the window seat, so I can't be the one to move without making a big deal about it. We finally take off, I wait for the seatbelt sign to go off, and think, "He'll definitely move now..."

Wrong!

So here's my question to you...if the plane is empty, and you are sitting next to someone, don't you think it is a bit weird to not move?

Thanks for the affirmations!

Christmas Balls

Jer's office Christmas party is tomorrow, so I whipped up an easy dessert... balls! Chocolate covered oreo balls to be exact!

Actually, I received this recipe from Molly's bachelorette party. Her cousin brought these tasty treats, and they were the rave of the night, and not just because they fit with the theme so well! Everyone kept sneaking into the kitchen freezer to grab one...and Jeremy has already snagged 4 of them tonight!

Soooo, if you want to be super popular at those holiday Christmas parties this season, bring some of these along!

OREO BALLS
1 package Oreo cookies, crushed
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 package white almond bark/ white chocolate morsels/white bark coating
1 package chocolate almond bark (optional)

Using a blender, crush the oreos (including the filling); then blend Oreos and cream cheese together (by hand or using a mixer). Roll into walnut size balls. Chill for an hour.

Melt approximately 3/4 package of white almond bark. Stick a toothpick in an Oreo ball and dip it in the melted white almond bark. Allow to harden on wax paper. Takes about 15 min.

Keep them in the freezer and grab one out when needed!

Optional: While waiting, melt about 1/4 package of chocolate almond bark. When Oreo balls are no longer sticky to the touch, decorate with drizzles of chocolate almond bark. Keep refrigerated until served. Makes 25 to 30 balls.

Jeremy shouldn't play with fire!

Since all my friends are writing out cute things their kids say, I couldn't resist telling you about a couple of funny conversations I had with Jeremy last week.

The scene: Jeremy had just dropped me off at the airport, it was 5:00am, he headed back to our apartment. It was technically one of the first times it was cold in San Antonio (a.k.a. below 50 degrees). Phone rings as I'm sitting at the gate - it's from Jeremy...

Jeremy: Make it stop!!! Make it stop!!

Rory: What? Make what stop? Wait - what is that noise, where are you? (loud obnoxious siren in the background) Are you under arrest?

Jeremy: I just turned on the heat and it set off the fire alarm in our apartment... and I can't make it go off...ahhhhhh!

Rory: Turn off the heater dork!

Jeremy: I already did - Oh no, are the neighbors going to come after me. It's 5:30am!!

------

The scene: Fade to two days later. I am still on my business trip. Luckily the alarm has long since stopped going off... or has it? My phone is ringing and it's Jeremy...

Rory: Hello. What is that sound?

Jeremy: Make it stop!

Rory: Is that the fire alarm again? What the heck are you doing?

Jeremy: I made a pizza for dinner, but forgot about it, since the football game was on. Now it is just a black charred mess, and the alarm won't stop!

Rory: Open the doors! Start fanning something... I don't know! I've never set off the alarm ever! =) (45 seconds pass and all I hear are bangs, sirens, and the occasional grunt).

Jeremy: Okay, under control - talk to you later! I have to go figure out if the pizza is still edible - it should be okay, right?

See, husbands can be just as entertaining when they are trying to fend for themselves!

Why we aren't ready for kids...

For Christmas, Jeremy's work decided to adopt a family in need. So tonight, Jeremy and I went shopping for our 1 year-old girl and 2 year-old boy at Target. This proved to be a lot more challenging than we thought, and again showed us that we are definitely not ready for parenthood...not even close!

First we headed to the clothes section. How hard can it be to find clothes in sizes 2T and 3T respectively? Wrong! I held up some jeans that were a size 2T and looked like they could easily fit a kindergartner, not a one year-old! Plus, do one-year-olds even wear jeans?

Jeremy had the same difficulty. Somehow his little sweatshirt looked right, but the pants were definitely out of proportion, by a factor of three! There were T's, M's, and 24's swirling in our minds and it was just way too confusing. So we decided to go to something easier...

Fearing that our sizing abilities were shot, we headed to the shoe section. We knew that they were sizes 5 and 9 respectively, but suddenly there were multiple sizes for infants, toddlers, and beyond. And should I get my one year-old something practical or red ruby slippers like Dorothy? Or do the kids like Dora these days? When was the last time I babysat again? And what kind of arch support is best for a newly walking little one?

Scared off by the overwhelming options on shoes we decided to head for the toy section. How hard could this be? I mean they have stickers on the boxes to tell you how old the kids should be. Unfortunately my sheet told me that my one year-old liked barbies.... is it possible to like barbies at that age? Wouldn't she try to eat the high heeled shoes off or something? No, I'd have to find something else.

Twenty minutes later, after walking the toy aisles at least 5 times each, and actually watching a woman laugh out loud at us as Jeremy proclaimed, "The kid is one, come on. I mean what can a one year old do?" ....we finally found our purchases.

The old standbys. Mr. Potato Head, Play Do, a Care Bear, and Dora the Explorer (who apparently smells like cherries). I don't know how parents make sense of all this, especially with a kid in tow. I had one big kid in tow and it was hard enough!

Mind Tricks

So while I was traveling last week I definitely had one of those mind-trick moments.

I had called Jeremy to say goodnight, crawled into my 3-star-a-night hotel room bed, flipped back the sheets, turned over onto my stomach, and then screamed as I saw something brown, fast moving, and headed straight under me!!!

What I thought I saw was this, but not a cartoon version:

What it turned out I saw was this:


One of the leftover Whoopers that I had somehow missed from my snack earlier that evening. Man did that thing roll straight towards me! =)

Needless to say I was happy it was the chocolate covered option instead of the other one!

Don't Mess with the M&M Cookie

Just got back from the store and decided to get Jeremy some cookies - since for the past 3 weeks, right around 10:00pm, he will turn to me and say "A cookie would be really good right about now!"

Apparently I committed a major error in judgment this evening when I bought the standard HEB chocolate chip cookies and not the M&M ones. I was told that there is no comparison...can anyone help me out here?

Can't I get a little credit for just getting the cookies in the first place! =)

I wish it was Florence, Italy!

Good early morning to you! I'm currently at the San Antonio Airport with vanilla latte and scone in hand, waiting for my 6:00am flight heading to Florence, Alabama (apparently the whole San Antonio Missions hockey team is going to be on my flight too...this could be exciting...or anticlimactic the more I think about it). Ahhh, the things that entertain you on 3 hours of sleep!

When my client said that I'd was headed to Florence to interview her mother-in-law, I immediately thought this was too good to be true. My first Italian biography project! Yep, too good to be true. I'm heading to Alabama folks! On the bright side, the flight is a lot shorter!

This is actually my first trip to Alabama, so I have tried to research their specialties. As of now I can only identify fried catfish - which I'm not so sure about, so I'll keep you posted!

According to Wiki:
Florence is often known as "The Shoals," which kind of reminds me of some kind of tobacco chew? right? Luckily I'm not into that, so catfish it is!

Have a great week everyone! Get that holiday shopping done early...and if you're still looking for a great idea, I highly recommend making a family photo book from a company called MyPublisher.com. My brother and I make one every year for my parents...and their new 11x17 format makes anyone's photos look amazing! Plus it always makes Mom cry, and isn't that what we're all looking for! =)

It's beginning to look a lot...

Not that I haven't been counting down to this day since early November, but tonight we had the chance to go pick out our Christmas tree!

I had to walk past all of the really big and gorgeous trees to find the perfect one for our apartment...what they like to call a "table top" tree - I'm sure you can guess why...

We were the only ones there, so I had them open up a few of them to find the perfect one! Jeremy thought this was more than hilarious, when I kept saying, "I think we can do better!" =)

Nothing like fitting the whole thing in the trunk of my mustang!

Here's the decorating in progress - and yes Delilah was on the radio playing all her favorite holiday songs... Jeremy was a real trooper to put up with her poem about twinkling lights and garland...and luckily they didn't bust out the Feliz Navidad song again, it was all Kenny G, all the time!

Taa....daaaaa! Here's our table topper Siefer tree!

For the past couple of years we have tried to pick out an ornament together...even if the ornament weighs down the entire right side of the tree. Here was our pick for 2006...

2007.... inspired by Jeremy's broken leg last year.

And here is this year's latest addition! Jeremy wanted the hedgehog one, but I convinced him the snowman was cool too!

Hope that all of you can have as much fun decorating your trees and spending time with your loved ones this holiday season. It's these cheesy memories that are priceless! =)

Turkey Day in Dallas

We just got back from Dallas and a great trip home for Turkey Day with the family. Here are some of the festivities we captured:

We all took part in the Turkey Trot downtown - Ry ran the 8 miles while the rest of us walked the three! Gotta love seeing people dressed as turkeys and reindeers!

Jer helping make the Thanksgiving feast - his corn casserole is now a Werner favorite.

Gotta love the pilgrim placeholders that my Mom made for the whole family circa 1987, Jeremy was excited because Mom added one for him this year...that's when you know you are an official part of the family!

I wanted to learn "Turkey Carving 101" from my Dad this year. The best part was stealing the good pieces before they got to the platter!

You have to take a picture of the table before you eat!

Nothing like watching my parents try to play Mario Kart on the Wii! "Mom, you're going the wrong way!!"

Being home also means being my parents' IT department! Here Jeremy and Ryan are trying to get back the sound function on both laptops...how did they delete their sound drivers?

Here's the Uno Stacko champion at work...about thirty seconds later my Dad knocked down the whole tower...you know it's coming, but it still cracks me up!

Hope all of you had a very thankful holiday with your families!
For the full complete set of photos, check them out here!

Why are all the good ideas taken?

Just the other night Jeremy and I were saying that all the good ideas are taken...and here is just another great example... the Snuggie... I mean, don't you wish your favorite blanket had arm sleeves?

Throw away that robe, stay warm as a family making smores, and look really cool at college (I'm sure this girl has a lot of dates. Nothing says "date me" like the Snuggie!)





Just in case you are still looking for Christmas gifts...though I'd help you out!

P.S. Yes, it does come with the free book light - I knew you would ask! =)

Am I crazy?!

This week will have to be one of the crazier weeks I have ever attempted... unless you count freshman year when I put off studying for all six classes until the week before exams. Don't worry, I learned my lesson when my grades arrived over Christmas vacation! =)

I headed up for Austin on Monday morning and set up a booth from my company, for the big Austin show that kicks off with a big black tie gala tomorrow night.

Then Monday night I came up to Dallas for the day to set up a booth for the fair here. Basically I'm trying to be in two different places at the same time this week...and this magical feat will only be accomplished with lots of help from my parents, mother-in-law, and husband. I just hope they will all be talking to me by Sunday night! =)

My dad was a great trooper and came with me today to set up my booth at the Chi Omega Christmas Market. Here he is in the completed booth:

He was a master bow-tier, and even tried to take down the entire row of booths when he accidentally fell off the step stool he was using to hang signs. Let's just say the entire aisle of 10 booths swayed precariously while women in the other booths let out screams! Great way to meet your fellow booth neighbors! =)

After our hard work we headed over to Eatzi's for lunch and took our meal down to Turtle Creek and enjoyed the outdoors... that is until all the ducks noticed our arrival and came over for lunch too. Notice my unsuspecting dad in this photo... ten seconds later the ducks launched their attack!


Off to Austin for the day tomorrow, and then I'll be back in Dallas for the rest of the week! Stay tuned!

Little Italy in San Diego

I'm chillin' in the Phoenix airport between layovers and thought I'd show you some photos from my amazing trip to San Diego.

I got off the plane on Wednesday evening and headed for the rental car counter to pick up my "compact" car. The funny part was that the desk guy at Alamo made a big deal asking me if I still wanted my compact car that I'd reserved. Heck yea, I wanted my $16/day special! I walked out to find this waiting for me:


Not exactly compact... and not very cool looking either, but I grabbed my lipstick red Cheve and hit the road!

Wednesday night I started with interviewing Nicole's dad about his life history. We captured some great stories and then I headed back to what would be my "home" for the rest of the week. Nicholas, one of Nicole's friends let me take over his 19th floor condo, overlooking the San Diego bay, in the Little Italy part of town. I was in HEAVEN! =) Here was my breathtaking view every morning:

I woke up super early on Thursday and walked the bay, checked out the boats, and even discovered a little Italian bar on the corner that quickly became my favorite find.


The best part was ordering my latte in italian and being called "bambino" by the bar owner! =) Don't tell Jeremy! I was instantly transported to my life back in Italy...even though it was almost 5 years ago! I got a chance to practice my italian and headed back to the condo with a nutella filled croissant in hand...all in all it is only 8:00am and I feel like I've accomplished a lot.

Nicole's family hosted a wonderful event with their friends and family on Thursday night and I presented my biographies. I left them all with four memory-saving activities that they HAVE to complete this holiday season with their loved ones. It was a great night and fun to spread the word about what I do!

Today I had to say goodbye to Nicole, her family, and my new Italian boyfriend/tutor at his coffee shop on the corner! =) We hit up the Italian market, had an AMAZING lunch at Buon Appetito (a must visit if you love fresh handmade ravioli).

Nice find in the market - mini pumpkins!

Nicole and I checking out the market in Little Italy.

It was a wonderful trip and I almost was tempted to "miss" my flight home! I'm off to Austin and Dallas this week for the two big gift shows, Austin's Christmas Affair and the Dallas Chi Omega Christmas Market. Should be a crazy week! Come see me if you can!

From Houston to San Diego

I just got back from a wonderful trip to Houston and a chance to see my good friend Kyle. We go way back to high school, singing Britney Spears on road trips, and trying to talk our way out of a speeding ticket in String, Oklahoma... let's just say it didn't work so well! I also got a chance to meet Francis, their 9 month old poodle. Check this dog out and tell me he is 9 months! =)


Kyle has an amazing company in Pearland, Texas called Expresso GoGo, high quality coffee to go! She started it from concept to reality and I'm super proud of all the hard work she has put into it... can't wait to see how the launch goes in a couple of weeks. If you are in Houston look for an Expresso GoGo coming soon!

While in town, I also presented my biographies at a very special fund raiser for Kris and Amy Brown's foundation, KickClub. Kris is the kicker for the Texans and 10% of all proceeds from the special gift show went to Texas Children's Hospital. I had a chance to talk about my biographies and maybe even find a few new customers.


Then I high-tailed it out of Houston only to hit some major rain on the way back to SA. This picture is more of the sun after the storm!

But don't worry - I was a total nerd and listened to Harry Potter's latest book on tape, and I was back in town before I knew it!

Off to pack for San Diego for a great biography event with the Mazzola family and their friends! We'll see if I come back to Texas after three days in paradise!

Side of the bed debate

Before I married Jeremy I had a really small full sized bed, so I guess I can't say that I really slept on one side of the bed or the other... more at a diagonal!

But now that we are married it is time to stake a claim for which side of the bed is your's... this is a very important discussion to have and I can't believe that the pre-marriage counselor did not go over this in our 4-weeks of sessions! =)

Well, for the first 8 months of marriage I gave Jeremy the right side of the bed, since he spent over 8 weeks on bed rest with a broken leg, I thought it was nice for me to give him the side closest to the door, tv, bathroom, etc.

But now that his leg is back to normal, I think I'd like to claim the right side of the bed... for some reason it just seems better? You can sneak in and out of bed easily, you can see the TV at the foot of the bed, without looking over the other person, there are just lots of perks to the right side.

This weekend I tried talking a truce with my husband. "How about I get the right side one week and then we switch." That seems fair enough, right? =)

But he claims that he has already taken over that side, especially with his own things on his night table and that it is too late in the relationship to be shifting things like side of the bed.

So last night I tried to sneak into the right side of the bed early and pretend that I was asleep - Nope, didn't work! I got nudged all the way back to the left in a not so nice manner! =)

Can anyone help me out on this one - I still can lay claim to the other side of the bed, right? =)

Back to Bachelorhood

I'm on the road again tomorrow night... headed to Houston for a day and then I'll be in San Diego through Saturday for a very fun business trip with my good friend Nicole.

This means that Jeremy will get a nice taste of bachelorhood for the week. I think this is also a chance for Jeremy to realize how great he has had it around the house for the past year and half of marital bliss...(I don't think he's cleaned the bathroom more than once).

... okay, so I didn't want the poor man to starve, so I did my best to stock up the freezer with foods that should take no longer than 5-10 minutes to prepare... otherwise I'm pretty sure it would have been Whoppers for 5 days straight. Although, knowing his love of whoppers you never know!


I'll take some photos in Houston and San Diego and update with stories soon!

Where in the world is Rory?

We just finished up a whirl-wind weekend here in San Antonio. I had a booth at the Junior League's biggest fund raiser of the year - Ole Marketplace. They had about 90 vendors from across the country bring all their wares. You could find everything from bedazzled necklaces and little kids clothes to spinach dip mix and to-die-for pralines.

Here's a quick look at my booth:

I even had a very special guest, Joe O'Connell. I just finished up his biography back in July. He and his daughter and son-in-law came to help me tell the world about my company.


It was a long but really good weekend. I couldn't have done it without my good friend Katie, who came in all the way from Houston!

Speaking of Houston, that is where I'm headed next. This Wednesday I am putting on a very special event at a great little wine bar called "The Vineyard on the Square." Click here for the invitation. It's in Sugarland, this Wednesday the 29th from 6-8pm - so if you live in the vicinity please come by for some wine tasting and bring your friends! It looks like a very nice place:


More news later, but here's my schedule coming up in the next few weeks:
- October 29-30th - Sugarland, wine and biography party
- November 6-7th - Austin, coffee and biography party
- November 12-15th - San Diego, biography party
- November 17-23rd - Dallas and Austin gift shows. Come see us at the Austin Christmas Affair and the Dallas Chi Omega Christmas gift fair!

So more fun news to come!