Our First Married Christmas!

Our first Christmas together as a married couple was wonderful!  While we missed our family and the snow, we had fun creating new traditions of our own that we hope to pass down to our children some day.  We went ice skating (yes, in Okinawa!)...

 Decked the halls!

 and opened lots of presents!

Karate Christmas Party

It's been a long time since I blogged!  A lot has happened in the last year and I promise to blog most of it during the week, but for now, this should keep you satisfied in the world of Ryan and Sasha.

Ryan recently started learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Sasha joined Nix Dojo and is learning Seidokan Karate.  We both love it!  Sasha especially loves karate.  The dojo is like a family and Sensei Ron and his wife, Akemi, make us feel at home.  This weekend we had the dojo Christmas party and Sasha participated in an Okinawan dance with some of the other women in the adult class.  It was fun getting all gussied up in a kimono and learning the dance.  It is very similar to Indian dancing.  Ms. Akemi kept telling me I was good at the dance because I'm "Indo."  Haha.  Enjoy!

Sasha in a Kimono

A Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sorry this is so late into the New Year, but I wanted to post about our fabulous holiday, even if it's 2 weeks into 2009. Christmas was amazing! We spent a fabulous Christmas Eve at the Nutcracker Ballet before packing up and heading out to Long Island.

My handsome man with our champagne during intermission.

Me with the champagne (and my new nine west purse, thanks Mom!)

Us in Lincoln Center (oops, we weren't supposed to take a picture in here.)

We ate a fabulous Christmas turkey dinner with all the trimmings, thanks to Nan! She sure knows how to mash potatoes! That evening, we watched Elf and drank my homemade eggnog, which Micaela said tasted just like a vanilla milkshake. My eggnog is so much better than store bought (especially when you add brandy!).

On Christmas morning, after Ryan got the coffee percolating and I got started on the cinnamon buns, we woke everyone up to open presents. This year, all the siblings decided to do a secret santa instead of getting 5 gifts. Ryan got me a wii, mario kart, a Barefood Contessa cookbook, and beautiful white gold hoop earrings! I got him Guitar Hero World Tour, a book about JAGs, a bulldog bottle opener, and a Frasier DVD set! Kev (Ryan's secret santa) got us Japanese for dummies, a Japanese phrase book, and a Japanese cookbook (which I promise to put to good use!). Ryan's family got me a great gift - my first Coach purse!!


Mom and Bobby (it was early)

Micaela (future Hofstra superstar)

Nancy's excited for presents!

Kevin - "Are you kidding me?!"

Sasha and Paddy Boy

My first Coach purse!!


Bros Ryan and Kevin

"Look, honey! I'm going on a world tour now! "

After we opened presents and got ready, we went to visit Ryan's Dad and Ryan's Grandma. Ryan and I liked our Polo Ralph Lauren gifts and we hope they enjoyed their gifts as well.

We then visited Dad Gallagher in the hospital, though we wished he could have been home with us. Later that evening, Aunt Steph and Uncle Tommy came over with dinner - filet mignon, lasagna, veggies, biscuits, and my potato gratin followed by cookies, pie, and my chocolate swirl cheesecake. Delicious!! I always love seeing Aunt Steph, Uncle Tommy, Marisa, Samantha, and Andrew and they gave us a beautiful wedding album that I can't wait to fill! What a great 1st Christmas together!

Our New Year's plans were very last minute. We missed the chance to hang out with Joe at a party in Bryant Park, so we decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants in the city - Xunta's! We had our 4th date there and love going back on special occasions. What better occasion than New Year's Eve (and our last night in NYC, but that's a whole other post)!! We got lucky since there was hardly a wait and they had a flamenco performance that night. With all the yummy food, sangria, and cava, that would have been enough for a great new year's eve but then they also brought out party hats, noisemakers, streamers, and salsa dancing after midnight! It was the best New Year's ever!

Last picture of 2008

Cheers to 2009!

Boys like balloons!

I hope everyone else had a fabulous holiday season!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Ho ho ho! We're so excited to celebrate our first Christmas together! Usually I am on vacation with my family while Ryan celebrates with his family, but this year we are celebrating together.

Yesterday, I spent the day making cookies - peanut butter kisses, chocolate-dipped citrus biscotti, mexican wedding cookies, and peppermint bark. I also made a chocolate swirl cheesecake and a gruyere and parmesan potato gratin for Christmas dinner. I have cookies everywhere!

This afternoon, I am getting my first present. Ryan is taking me to the Nutcracker ballet! This is one of our favorite traditions where we get dressed up for the Nutcracker and indulge in champagne during intermission.

After the Nutcracker, we are heading out to Long Island to spend Christmas with the Gallaghers! My tiny studio apartment is filled to the brim with boxes and suitcases! We're bummed that Dad Gallagher is in the hospital, but we're hopeful that he will get a pass to come home for Christmas morning.

I can't wait for Ryan to open all of his Christmas gifts, and I can't wait to finally find out what he got me! I usually guess my gifts beforehad, but Ryan was super sneaky this year. He even deleted the cookies off of his brower so that I couldn't do any investigating. Haha. Now if we could only figure out how to get all these presents out to Long Island....

We elfed ourselves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas!

On the drive from Newport to Boston, Ryan and I heard the hippopotamus for Christmas song. Though I have heard the song many times, and love it, Ryan had never heard of it! He kept saying "hippopotamuseses" and laughing for the rest of the drive. I found a video of the song on you tube. Here it is...I dare you not to laugh!

I love that Christmas brings out the traditions in each family. Ryan and I have created some of our own traditions over the years. We go to the NYC Ballet performance of the Nutcracker and get champagne during intermission, we see the tree in Rockefeller Center, we set up our Christmas "shrub," and we exchange presents over my homemade eggnog. I also make a homemade meal of filet mignon, potato gratin, roasted green beans, and creme brulee that we eat while watching Christmas movie favorites such as National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Elf, The Grinch (the original), Charlie Brown's Christmas, and one classic movie that changes every year. These traditions helped shape our relationship as a couple and we hope to share them with our future children someday.

I'm so excited to celebrate Christmas with Ryan's family this year! They have a great tradition where all the "kids" sleep in the same room and then wake up at 4am to exchange presents in their pajamas. They also watch a Christmas Story on Christmas Eve. It will be so much fun to participate in all of that and also to bake cookies with Nan. Nan already decorated the house and now 9 stockings are hanging - Mom, Dad Gallagher, Ryan, Kevin, Bobby, Patrick, Micaela, Nancy, and ME!! I love being a part of the family!

Though my family doesn't really celebrate Christmas, Sabina and I have a tradition of watching Home Alone 2. In particular, we like to watch the brick throwing scene over and over and laugh while we scream "EEECHEEBUBBAA!!"

Oh, I love Christmas season! It's a great excuse to be a kid again!