Author Archives: Joel

The Friday before Christmas — “Christmas Excellence”

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Joel

Busy, busy day. I worked from home Friday in the morning, and we got a notification of early dismissal for 12 noon. That worked out great, because my sister and her family were coming over for the annual “Christmas Excellence” … Continue reading →

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Ah, time for the annual family portrait

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Joel

I don’t know why getting a family portrait can be such an ordeal. It should be a simple act of scheduling everyone, getting everyone together, and taking a good photo. Instead, twenty different variables come into play. Nobody is free … Continue reading →

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The annual Christmas party with friends

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Joel

We had our Christmas party with friends on a busy Saturday evening. Luckily this time around, I wouldn’t have to cook anything like last time. I was DJ’ing, so I only had to collect some song requests, download them, and … Continue reading →

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Our first real Christmas tree

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Joel

In 2005 after Josh was born and we moved into our first house, we wanted to have our very first Christmas tree. We opted for a pre-lit artificial tree. It was fairly easy to set up, turn on, and get … Continue reading →

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Dinner party for friends

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Joel

On Sunday night, We hosted dinner for Namita’s coworkers and their significant others. Nums was making a big South Indian spread of entrees, with some basic appetizers and desserts. As ususal, there was much preparation beforehand with an inadequate amount … Continue reading →

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Breakfast with St. Nicholas

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Joel

Our church hosts an annual St. Nicholas Breakfast event in December. Volunteers start making the pancake batter the night before, and get to the church early Sunday to set up. Before the service, you have pancakes, breakfast sausage, muffins, and … Continue reading →

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The end of the 2011 Fall soccer season

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Joel

And that’s it for soccer for at least a little while. This was the first year where we had both kids in soccer programs, and we found trying to get both kids to practices and games on weekends a bit … Continue reading →

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Friendsgiving 2011

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Joel

Turkey time, same as the first! First off, I gotta talk about the great turkey-napping of 2011. We do almost all of our grocery shopping at our local ShopRite, especially after our local SuperFresh closed down. We found out on … Continue reading →

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The Muppets (2011)

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Joel

Ah, I love a four day weekend. Today, we bought our tickets early, and took the kids to see The Muppets, the latest Muppets film, which I believe Disney wants to bring back in a big way. Jason Segel both … Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving 2011 @ my sister’s

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Joel

As early as last month, there was much discussion within the family as to who would host Thanksgiving this year. Ultimately, my sister Julie and her husband Robbie agreed to host the holiday dinner, while my wife would bring the … Continue reading →

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