Imagine my surprise when I opened Elizabeth, Figurine of the Year for 2003 from Royal Doulton. Ross bought her for me. I cried my eyes out! I made my mother-in-law cry too! She even has a lovely wooden plaque to stand on with a brass plate that says Royal Doulton.

What else did Her get?
toolbox
scrapbook and little scrapbooking goodies
whiffer slippers (they smell like strawberries)
gift basket with a chinese tea set and green tea and cookies
Lost by Gregory Maguire
2 J.R. Tolkien books
ROOTS jammies from hubby (and they match my slippers)
clay chiminea. Ours is top, middle - with grapes.
candles
ABBA DVD with all 30 of their music videos
Nelly Furtado's new CD
3 new sweaters
Body Shop goodies

ok, you get the picture. I'm spoiled! Ross has two new outfits from the GAP, from his lovely wife. He looks very.... gappy...hip....

I was going through some old recipes to send to Amber for her family cookbook she's working on. She's compiling all of our favourite recipes and we're each getting a cookbook.

This recipe is from Kim's Cookbook for Young People. I've never made this one, but I know that the recipes in here are really yummy, so it's sure to be a winner!

Eggnog

Beat until stiff but not dry 1 egg white.
In another bowl, beat 1 egg yolk.
To this - add 1 tblsp sugar and 1 cup milk.
Beat until well blended.
Add 1/4 tsp vanilla.
Fold in beaten egg whites. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. (Fresh, grated nutmeg would taste better)
Makes one serving.

Just for Christmas, of course! Love this one. Funky Santa and His Pals Two Hearts Design (very, very cute) Awesome Clipart for Kids

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

What a year! We've certainly gone through some changes in our house! This year we became Uncle Ross and Auntie Amanda when Patricia & Andy had their first baby, Dawn Alexandrea Laroque, born May 26, 2003. “Monday’s child is fair of face…” and indeed she is!

My course for Occupational Therapy/Physiotherapist Assistant ended in September and I now have these letters: OTA/PTA after my name. I have graduated with high honours, although we have not had our ceremony yet. Grad is set for Jan. 30, so I've heard. My OT placement was at York Central Hospital in Richmond Hill. While I enjoyed working there for the 8 weeks, the hours were doing a real number on me. The trip was roughly 2.5 hours on the transit. Ross giving me a ride into Union Station in the mornings at 6 am was a blessing. I worked 7:30-4 and then I'd have to turn around and make that crazy trip home. For a few weeks, I stayed with Bob and Kathryn. Riding in with Kathryn in the mornings was so lovely! Only 1.25 hours and I got to see deer nearly every day!

While I was finishing up with school, Ross was riding his bike in the early mornings from the office. He belongs to a gym near the apartment now and bikes 15 - 40 km per day, 5 days per week. He also runs (I think he's up to 5 km), lifts weights, rows, swims and uses other equipment there as well. Ross has lost 50 lbs this year and he looks and feels great. I think his goal now is to get me working out too.

In October, I began working for Bridgepoint Hospital. I run the Pool Program for Arthritis and also work in the Wellness Program. I went on an Instructor Training Certification program which the hospital paid for in November and have the next 5 months to complete my written and practical exams. The Wellness Program includes a fitness centre, Tai Chi, Meditation, Community Art Projects, and hopefully some new things very soon.

We are quite unprepared this year. With one week to go and still no tree or decorations up, no baking done, and no decisions on what we’re doing for the holidays, we’ve really got to kick it into high gear! Ross is on holidays and is working hard on his Christmas projects and shopping. He’s also whipping the apartment into shape. Yay!

The wandering traveler found himself in Rio De Janeiro, Brasil in March. He came back with some really lovely pictures. Ross also visited the Lake (Ottermere) this July with Gavin. I think it was fun for him to have his birthday with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. He was in Montreal and also Las Vegas, but missed out on a trip to Carthage, Tunisia in October because he was the Best Man for his friend Doug. The wedding was in State College, Pennsylvania so we had a nice trip out there. Along the way we saw a big
banner on the front of a Fire Hall: “10th Annual Gun Bash”. That’s a good way to scare a bunch of happy Canadians heading to a wedding.

You can keep up to date on the Rader’s by visiting our Blogs:

Amanda’s http://her.blogware.com
Ross’s http://www.byte.org

Lots of love, Ross and Amanda xo

Santa is on the web! Thanks to Allyson for finding him! Santa's Nice-o-meter let's you check to see how you're doing on his "Naughty or Nice" scale. Here's my rating:

"Nice," but you'd better watch out! I'm checking my list (twice!) and I see that the manners sometimes slip a bit. Please remember to say "thank you" especially in a season when people are giving gifts and doing such nice things. Good work brushing those teeth! Floss regularly and you'll earn extra "Nice" points!

Of course I have to check Ross now:
Ross Rader
"Nice, with a few exceptions. Needs to be nice to everyone not just friends. Could try a little harder when things are tough. Good sense of humor. Made list last year. Needs to be good all December."

So funny!!

How many days are left until Christmas? Find out! Better get your shopping done and Christmas cards done! I mean, I better get to work! EEK!

Dad and Marian get us Advent calendars every year; the yummy kind with chocolate! Ross and I decided to photoblog our chocolatey month. His Incredible Hulk calendar has 6 bonus chocolates. I'm sure that once Christmas rolls around, I'll have plenty of chocolate of my own. The way to my heart is through chocolate, to be sure! I even tell my patients that. They even bring me some once in a while :) The windows on my calendar are much bigger than Ross's so I figured while he may have 6 bonus chocolates, mine were bigger. I opened the window for Dec. 1st only to find a tiny little square in there, the same size as Ross's. I have them hanging in the hallway.