Merry Ho Ho's & Happy Ding Dong's!!

WOW! It has been an eventful week!

Well, if you haven't seen it or yours was lost in the US mail (as many things have been so far this season)... here is our Christmas Card this year. Since you can't read the bottom corner, it says:

"Wishing you the very best of

everything this holiday season.

Merry Christmas and God Bless!

~Paul & Alicia Jacobson"

Well, we have had 3 days of Christmas this year, because we were sticking to the typical "McClees" tradition of Christmas Eve gift opening and "Jacobson" tradition of Christmas morning gift opening and dinner celebration. Well, due to the blizzard conditions in the great white north (aka Seattle), Steve & Kerry's flight got cancelled and John & Mark no longer wished to drive in the weather's dangerous conditions... so we sent gifts up to them and vice versa their gifts were sent down here - but they didn't show up until today. As soon as Paul got home from work, he wanted to open more gifts and have our "third Christmas!!" Not only that, but yesterday we had a full on turkey dinner with all the trimmings, and Uncle Jim, Aunt Judy, and Auntie Michaele came over to enjoy it with us!

CHRISTMAS #1 - "McCLEES CHRISTMAS" - Christmas Eve night

Tree photo #1

Really mom? Cashmere? Mmmmm... so soft!

Legos and Wii! Nothing goes better together!

Wii game, DVDs, and new cozy PJs!

Some light reading... OK, so some of us do more intellectual reading than others... :P

CHRISTMAS #2 - "PandA CHRISTMAS" - Christmas morning

Tree photo #2

She looks like a pink nightmare!

Paul looks like a happy 8 year old, opening up his Zune MP3 player!

And Alicia looks like a 3 year old, opening up her Wii Fit from Santa!

Christmas breakfast with danishes - ham in the eggs - a new twist to the ol' favorite

Playing with our new Wii toy

Holiday PJs, toes, fingers, and Wii Fit balance board

CHRISTMAS #3 - "JACOBSON CHRISTMAS" - Earlier today, the 26th

Mmmm... birch bark!

Tree photo #3, after boxes arrived today! ;)

Hung the stockings back up with care

Discontinued balls...

Wii game (a penguin one from Mom 0024, imagine that!) and DVDs

Paul's new Man Utd jersey

Opening the last gift... finally! ;)

Well God (and Santa!) has been very good to us this year. Even though I was laid off from my job and the economy / interior design business is down the drain, He had a plan to give Paul a new job and managerial position to balance out the loss we were feeling in my salary. Through his new job, we were also blessed with health insurance (very important to me) and a transportation allowance. On the side, we were still able to afford the mortgage on our home, plus we even started up life insurance this year (wow, we are so becoming adults!). Also, thank you to everyone for all the Christmas gifts! We will enjoy them, and hopefully you'll do the same with what we sent you! :)

So rather than looking back on the year and regretting what we didn't have, we are counting our many blessings! We hope your year has also been as much of a blessing to you and your family, and truly cannot thank everyone enough for being such an important part of our lives and support in this last year. To celebrate, we are having a small, casual get-together on New Year's Eve with some close friends, couples, and their kids that live around in our area. I'm sure the Christmas meatballs and BBQ Lil' smokies will be making an appearance as well as a bottle or two of Asti (my fave)! :)

We hope your Christmas was all that you wished for and full of family & friends!

May 2009 bring you much peace and prosperity, health and happiness!

(Will post photos from our New Year's Eve party

after it happens next week... so stay tuned!)

Posted by: ~A*

What Christmas is all about...

(Click to enlarge)

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Luke 2:8-14

Merry Christmas to us, Merry Christmas to us! (to the tune of Happy Birthday)

So, we were going to keep this a secret until my parents got into town, but Mother Nature seems to have conspired against us... so the secret must be let out!!!

Remember those really bad Lexus commercials where a car is on the driveway Christmas morning, and everybody thinks "Who buys a car for Christmas???" We always asked the same thing... but apparently, WE DO!!!! Meet the newest addition to the Jacobson family - our 2007 Volvo XC90, Sven/Glenda (There's two names because it has both a male and female voice on the GPS). In fact, we might just call is Svenda (who am I kidding, we already call is Svenda!).

In a time of epic financial difficulty for the country, this is my company's newest attempt to save the economy. Who cares if Obama or McCain won, consumerism is the biggest victor!

Initially, we were looking to get an S60, the rental car I loved so much on our last trip up north, but we fell in love with the SUV when we got on the lot (I know, I know, stupid Americans and their huge cars.) We had to get one with a special package that folds in the side mirrors automatically to fit it easily in our little garage, so the manager offered to go buy one just for us at the auction! He went out with our Christmas wishlist and found us exactly what we were looking for, and even added heated seats for fun! A didn't think that she needed heated seats, but then she sat down on them for the first time, and now they're her favorite feature. Imagine that.

Now A has all the space she needs to put tables, artwork, and helper monkeys in the back, and with the prices of SUVs these days, it cost the same as a sedan made a heck of a lot more sense.

So, this is our Merry Christmas to us! I guess we'll be getting rid of the Honda, she has served me well. I'll miss her and her two doors that were impossible to get into and out of in the garage, and the hole in the arm rest, and the inability to tell me how fast I'm going or how far I've gone, and the... well, you get the picture. I'm sure she'll serve some 16 year old well until she goes the way of the Yugo.

Until next time, stay classy Stockholm.

Posted by PJ

Pick-a-Pic!

OK, so I may be copying my sister-in-law's post, but it's too funny not to forward.

Here's the rules:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 people to do the same NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)


This picture was taken May 15th, 2008. This is on "Irvine's Bike to Work Day". Paul had a nice chilly ride, about a 9 mile trek. He regretted the decision once he got to the hill on MacArthur. But on the way home, found he didn't really have to pedal until about 2 miles away from home! I got up early that day to document the ride, and I'm not sure he's touched the bike since!

I don't have enough people to tag other than mom, unless Evey and Andrea want to do it again with the 5th folder, 5th picture!

MAD-libs! Yes, I'm that bored...

Dear Evey,
I don't really know how to tell you this, but I'm in love with your dog. I think I realized it when I threw up in your sock drawer in your closet and sit on the elephant in the corner. I'm sure you're frostbitten enough to understand that I get turned on only by garbage men. I'm returning the pictures from vegas to you, but I'll keep your collectoin of butterflies as a memory.
You should also know that I haven't showered in a month and our friendship is ruined.
Please don't hurt me,
Alicia.

HAHA! This is fun, now do your own!

Dear (someone),
I don't really know how to tell you this, but (1). I think I realized it (2)(3) and (4)(5).I'm sure you're (6) enough to understand (7). I'm returning (8) to you, but I'll keep (9) as a memory.
You should also know that I (10) and (11).
(12),
(Your name).

1) What's the color of your shirt?
Blue - I'm in love with your dog
Red - Our affair is over
White - I’m joining the Convent
Black -Our romance is over
Green- Our socks don't match
Grey - You're a leprechaun
Yellow - I'm selling myself for candy
Pink - Your nostrils are insulting
Brown - The mafia wants you
No shirt - You're mean
Other -I dislike your eyelashes

2) Which is your birth month?
January - That night you picked your nose
February -When you smacked my ass
March - When your dwarf bit me
April - When I tripped on peanut butter
May - When I threw up in your sock drawer
June - when i quoted forest gump
July – when you put cuffs on me
August - When I saw the purple monkey
September - Last year when you peed your pants
October - When we skinny dipped in the bathtub
November - When your dog humped my leg
December - When u finally changed ur underwear

3) Which food do you prefer?
Tacos - In your apartment
Lasagna- In your car
Pasta - Outside of your office
Hamburgers - Under the bus
Salad – As you were eating Kraft Dinner
Chicken - In your closet
Kebab - With Jean Chrétien
Fish - In a clown suit
Sandwiches - At the Elton John concert
Pizza - At the mental hospital
Hot dog - Under a street light
Annat- With George Bush and Stephen Harper

4) What's the color of your socks?
Yellow - Ignore
Red - Carve your initials into
Black - Hit on
Blue - Knock out
Purple - Pour syrup on
White - Put whipped cream on
Grey - Pull the clothes off
Brown - bit of
Orange - Castrate
Pink - Pull the pants off of
Barefoot - Sit on
Other - Drive over

5) What's the color of your underwear?
Black - My boyfriend
White - My father
Grey – The Catholic Priest
Brown – The Montreal Canadian’s goalie
Purple - My corned beef hash
Red – My knee caps
Blue - My salt-beef bucket
Yellow - My illegitimate child in Ghana
Orange - My Blink 182 cd
Pink – Your ‘My Little Pony’ collection
None – My prized statue of Michael Jackson in the nude
Other --The elephant in the corner

6) What do you prefer to watch on TV?
One Tree Hill - Senile
Heroes- Frostbitten
Lost - High
Simpsons- Cowardly
The news - Scarred
American Idol - vexed
Family Guy - Open
Top Model - Middle-class
Other - Slutty

7) Your mood right now?
Happy - How awful you are
Sad - How boring you are
Bored - That I get turned on only by garbage men
Angry - That your smell makes me vomit
Depressed – That we’re related
Excited - That I may pee my pants
Nervous - The middle-east is planning their revenge on you
Worried - That your Ford sucks
Apathetic - That you need a sex-change
Ashamed - That I'm allergic to your earlobes
Cuddly - That Santa doesn't exist
Silly - That there is no solution to you being a dumb kid
Other - That your driving sucks

8) What's the color of your walls in your bedroom?
White - Your toe ring
Yellow - The cut toenails
Red - Your Hannah Montanna underwear
Black - Your pet rock
Blue - The couch cushions
Green - Your car
Orange - Your false teeth
Brown - Your nose hair clippers
Grey - Our matching snoopy underwear
Purple - Your old New Kids on the Block blanket
Pink(ish) - Your love letters to me
Other - The pictures from Vegas

9) The first letter of your first name?
A/B - Your collection of butterflies
C/D - Your photo with the mustache drawn on it
E/F - Your neighbor dog
G/H - The oil tank from your car
I/J - Your left ear
K/L - The results of that blood-sample
M/N - your virginity
O/P - My common sense
Q/R - Your mom
S/T - Your glass eye
U/V - Your criminal record
W/X – Your sucide note
Y/Z - Your credit cards

10) The last letter in your last name?
A/B - Haven’t showered in a month
C/D - Always will remember the pep talks
E/F - i hate your cooking
G/H – am better off without you
I/J – Mocked you behind your back constantly
K/L - Will tell the authorities that you did not steal that whale in the back yard
M/N - Told in my confession today about the moose poaching
O/P - Was interviewed about the car you stole
Q/R - Always wanted to break your legs
S/T - Get sick when I think of your feet
U/V - Will try to forget that you broke my heart
W/X- I told my psychiatrist about the bruises
Y/Z-bought tampons from winn dixie

11) What do you prefer to drink?
Wine- Our friendship is ruined
Soft drink – I’m off to lead a new life as a lemon
Soda – I will haunt you when I’m reincarnated as an Eskimo
Milk - The apartment building is on fire
Water – You should get that embarrassing rash checked
Cider– I have a passionate interest for mice
Juice – You ruined my attempts at another world war
Mineral water – I'm scratching my butt as you read this
Hot chocolate – Your Cucumber-fetishism Is Weird
Whiskey - I love Oprah Winfrey
Beer – you should stop picking your nose
Other – Thanks for the Cocaine

12) To which country would you prefer to go on a vacation?
Italy - Warm tingly sensations
Australia - Best of luck on the sex change
France - Love always
Spain - With tears of sadness
China – You make me sick
Germany – Please don’t hurt me
Japan - Go milk a cow
Greece - Your everlasting enemy
USA - Greetings to your frog Leonard
Egypt – Kiss my butt
England - Go drown yourself about the bruise