Christmastime is here!

A friend of mine lamented on her Facebook wall that weekends go by too quickly.  I would definitely have to agree with her... mine was great.

First of all, I've gotta say that vitamin D is awesome.  My mood has improved dramatically, and although I still feel like a downer sometimes, overall I feel much happier.  Now if only I could talk to whoever is in charge of the weather.  Seriously... another 8 inches of snow today?!  More in the forecast for Thursday?!  Springtime can't come soon enough.

Due to our crazy work schedules this week, future hubs and I decided to celebrate our annual private Christmas celebration on Friday night.  He had the day off Friday, and had plenty of time to prepare.

He did surprise me at work with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  I love this guy... he spoils me rotten! ;-)

Roses and stargazer lilies are my favorite flowers.  They smell divine!

I drove over to his place after work, and the table was already set for our meal.

We both love candles, though I think we're also closet pyros.

Blue is his favorite color, too.  I wish I remembered the name of the flowers in the vases.

Mark prepared an amazing meal for the two of us: smoked white cheddar with apple slices (appetizer), spring greens salad topped with dill and shredded cheddar, and salmon cooked in extra virgin olive oil and smoked sea salt.  The wine paired perfectly with our meal.

For dessert, we enjoyed sea salt caramels from Abdallah Chocolates.  Yum!

We exchanged Christmas presents after the meal.  My favorite gift from Mark this year was a beautiful necklace.

You can tell I love running, can't you? ;-)

Then, we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas and took in the roaring fire in the fireplace.

Not as good as the real thing, but it will have to do until we can purchase a house with a fireplace.

What a great evening!

I finished up the last of my Christmas shopping on Saturday and also did some cleaning around my place.  My brother was due home from Boston on Sunday (he rode Amtrak home because he hates flying) and was supposed to spend a couple days with me in the Cities, but he was suffering from a cold, so he opted to have our dad pick us up at the Amtrak station in St. Paul and go directly home.

Mark and I immensely enjoyed our church's Christmas service on Sunday morning.  I feel like my faith has been renewed after being tested by seasonal depression.  Then, we headed to St. Croix Falls, WI to stop at our favorite winery.  We usually go to Chateau St. Croix Winery & Vineyard three or four times a year.  We tried a couple of their new wines (their 2007 chardonnay is un-oaked, which I like, and their Marco V cigar wine is delicious), sampled some old favorites, and I renewed my case club membership.

On our way back to the Cities, we stopped at WineHaven, a Minnesota winery that I had heard about at the State Fair.  At the ag building at the State Fair, you can sample wines from several Minnesota wineries.  I tried WineHaven's raspberry wine at that time and didn't like it, but I figured they would have something I'd like.  Future hubs and I were glad we stopped at this cute little winery.  The staff was knowledgeable and their wines were tasty.  We particularly liked their Strawberry-Rhubarb fruit wine and their Deer Garden Red.

Back at my place, we baked Christmas cookies, ate a small meal, and then watched Wicker Park, one of my favorite movies and a movie Mark had never seen before.  He liked it, which surprised me because I thought he might classify it as more of a chick flick (even though it's not... I'd call it a psychological thriller).

I'm looking forward to spending time with my family and Mark's family this Christmas.  The work week can't end soon enough!