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ARCHIVES:
DECEMBER 2005
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Saturday,
December 31
...Dear
Sleepypie of the Future, December 2006:
Here is your Christmas craft. You will make these cute little ornament
birds using felt and scrap material. (Don't forget the curly cue
on the tops of their heads.) Yours won't be as precious as these,
made by Anthropologie people, but don't despair. You can only do
what you can do.
Good luck with everything else!
Yours truly, Sleepypie of the Past
Wednesday,
December 28
...We
got back home last night, from Virginia. Naturally, my stepsister
gave birth to her baby girl today. I left yesterday and she gives
birth today. I predicted that's how it would happen. I am already
pricing tickets for a trip back out there.
.... We didn't see any movies while we were gone.
....I didn't end up doing much Christmas baking this year, which
is sad. Today, I made some granola to help get it out of my system.
It's a Barefoot Contessa recipe: Coconut, Cherries and Almonds (I
used pecans, left out the cinnamon [Can't we have oats without cinnamon
for once?!?!] and added some salt). I've never made granola before
and I'm curious to see if its that much better than what you can
buy in the store. We have recently gotten in to plain yogurt and
adding our own flavoring/honey/ etc.
....Speaking of sweets and our Christmas travels, I think there
was one thing I ate that stood out far and above in my mind. It
was pecan pie squares. I am not sure what they are officially called.
Anyway, they are so much better than actual pecan pie because the
crust is a little bit thicker and the mystery goo part isn't as
gooey and there isn't as much of it and there's proportionally more
nuts. In the end it comes out perfect.
...I was thinking I would do a Christmas Regrets list/post or a
Christmas Resolutions. The idea is that I would reread this information
about mid-november next year and I would heed my own words. I have
been making this list in my mind for about a month but I didn't
write anything down. I know there were some key ones that I can't
remember. Anyway, in the hopes that it does SOME good, here it is:
Christmas Resolutions:
1. In November, start making your christmas craft, whatever it will
be. Also, decide who you will give them to because you always end
up with ones the have no home merely because you weren't sure who
to give them to because you didn't have very many.
2. Don't forget to make your neice a felt snowman with a pink scarf
with her name on it to hang at your dad's house with the other family
snowmen.
3. Don't forget to make your husband a christmas card. You made
a really nice one for your first year of marriage and then promptly
dropped the ball.
4. Do another gingerbread house if possible.
5. You'll never have enough time to do everything you want to do.
Oh well.
6. Make some pecan pie squares.
Wednesday,
December 21
...Pretty
lame to have a Christmas countdown on your blog and not even be
around for the final count.
...Hurray! I am off from work for a little while.
....I ran a few errands at the mall this morning before work. I
was there around 8:15am and it was the most fantastic mall feeling
ever! Every store was open and every clerk was waiting to take care
of my shopping needs! There were no lines or crabby shoppers! It
couldn't have been better if I had been skateboarding down the aisles
trying to avoid flying cinnabons! I'm telling you! Bummer that all
i had time for was running errands and doing exchanges. Want to
hear what I almost bought? A real winter coat---Like the kind that
comes down past your butt and is black. I can't remember the last
time I had a winter coat. At the same time, there are moments where
I think the weather here hardly qualifies anyone to own a real winter
coat. I mean, my flannel sheets are pushing it.
....Alright then, there is cleaning and packing and wrapping and
sorting to be done tonight. Tomorrow, we split.
Merry Christmas!
---Ok, now I can't stop laughing. I had been trying to tell Snail
how Terrific our flights to Virginia are, but i don't think it sunk
in at all until tonight when he was looking at the details. I bought
them November 4 (is that considered late?!?) and not only were they
the most expensive tickets i've bought (including our trip to Hawaii)
but the are by far the most heinous. We make 2 stops EACH way.
And each of those stops has anywhere from an hour to 2.25 hour layovers.
AND we get to stop in Houston/Cleveland the way there. Atlanta (home
to the worst airport customer service EVER) / Houston on the way
back.
Oh goodness. Its going to be good.
Neither of us has anything to read, so I guess we'll just poke each
other for 9 hours.
Sunday,
December 18
...The
new drink in our house, not exactly winter inspired, is sparkling
water and o.j. Freshy fresh.
...Tonight, a friend is coming over and we're making our pita pizzas.
This time with pesto and goat cheese.
...I am starting to pack-- mainly gifts that we're taking with us
to Virginia. This year seems no different than any other in that
I wish there was more time for leisurely strolling and shopping,
hot chocolate sipping, and craft making. Again, I didn't get around
to doing a gingerbread house.
...We went out to a lovely meal downtown last night to Roy's Hawaiian
something or other with Snail's mom. We had had a $25 gift cert
( to Outback and any of their affiliates) on our fridge for nearly
a year and it was time to cash in. While we all agreed that the
food was great, we also agreed that it lacked heart. I come and
go with chain places and lately I am going. They feel sterile and
fake.
Not to self, when I get back from Christmas break I am going to:
try acupuncture for allergies, organize another girls movie night,
get my annual eyebrow shaping and take Snail's mom to the cozy Italian
place.
Errands left to do:
Mall store for my dad
UT junk for the boys
Rice cooker for my dad and stepmother
Oh, if you have time, stop in Pottery Barn Kids. They have some
cute ornaments and stockings.
Sunday, December
11
Yesterday
morning I drove up to a friends' house. She lives a bit up north
and she's someone I work with. It was a morning gathering of suburban
ladies, most of which i didn't even bother to strike up a conversation
with cause i couldn't even fathom where to even start. There were
many sweater vests with reindeer and santas. I went purely because
my friend didn't expect me to drive all the way up there. Reverse
psychology works.
After all but 3 of us had left, i learned that my friend had chickens
in her back yard and we went out to take a look. It was a sunny
day and we walked out to the corner of her regular sized yard where
her husband and 2 boys had built the 2 story chicken coop.
I think its fantastic to have chickens. And I think what struck
me about all of it is that I don't meet enough people that surprise
me and I was completely surprised to find 3 chickens in my friend's
backyard.
While we were out there looking at the chickens and I was asking
101 things I've always wanted to know about owning chickens, she
took 2 eggs from the coop. And then I started thinking about nature
and how mind-boggling all that is, and how out of touch we are with
it.
There's nothing like having things in your backyard that you can
eat, be it a garden or whatever. That's definitely something i'd
like to be doing one day.
I am happy to have finished reading Harry Potter: Half Blood Prince
about an hour ago. Great book. I think i'll be going back and reading
Goblets of Fire either before or after I see the movie. Also, a
friend of mine gave me a copy of Chronicles of Narnia on cd for
me to listen to in my car. Hoooooooray for that. Also, I started
doing my christmas cards today and I plan to wrap at least one gift.
I can't believe how far behind I am on gift buying and I can't believe
that I don't care. No one needs anything. They really truly definitely
don't.
I love these intricate plates from Sprout
Home. This
one, and this
one.
The accompanying glasses
are nice also.
Thursday,
December 8
For
the first time (in 10 years) I had to take care of a very sick Snail.
This was yesterday morning. It was sad to see him in such a wretched
state. And i hope you know what i mean by very sick, without me
having to give up any details. Luckily, the bad parts didn't last
too too long and he's had a speedy recovery. And luckily, Snail
is funny when he's sick too -- unlike me who would rather be left
for dead as long as i have a cold washcloth.
Today, I worked from home because of some ice on the roadways. I
think we are both a little tired of eating whatever's around the
house, but with the cold weather, i'm not that excited about getting
out there. Especially now that its dark. I know that I have to be
patient; my mexican meal is waiting for me and I will get to it
soon enough.
 Saw
an ad today for Shower Soothers. Hmmmmmm.....
"SudaCare Shower Soothers react with the water in your shower
to create steamy vapors of eucalyptus, menthol, and camphor to temporarily
comfort you when you are congested. The Shower Soothers tablet uses
a patented technology to instantly release a unique blend of vapors
on contact with running water. Simply place a tablet onto the floor
of your shower for soothing comfort all shower long - a comforting
way to start (or end) your day when you are congested from sinus,
cold, or allergies. Contains: 7 vaporizing shower tablets. "
Tuesday,
December 6
While
i was watching tv tonight, Snail brought me a bowl of popcorn. I
have been on a popcorn rampage lately. The popcorn was mostly burnt,
but thoughtful. He had popped one of those mini bags, which are
quite easy to burn. I ate a few kernals.
About 10 minutes later, he brought me a new bowl of popcorn. When
i looked down, I could tell that it was different looking. It looked
perfect, like every kernel was puffy bright white and the hulls
were golden yellow. The taste was delicious - slightly seasoned.
I asked him what was going on. He said he dumped the contents of
the mini-bags into a pot and cooked it on the stove.
It was the perfect corn. You should try it.
Sunday,
December 4
Sundays in our house are made for painting, football and eating
hassle-free tasty treats. Today's tasty treat was a toasted pita
with feta, olive oil and salt&pepper. It was exceedingly delicious.
You could definily make some low rent pizzas on pitas. They get
good and crispy.
The christmas spirit seems to turn on and off with the weather.
Yesterday, it was 85degrees and even though I was surrounded by
signs of the season at the mall, i was not struck by even a small
chord of cheer. Today, its a tad bit cooler and i'm all ready to
work on christmas lists, crafts and cards. (but that doesn't mean
i'm going to DO any of that stuff....)
I believe there's one item I may be taking off my list of thigns
to do and that is to bake Snail some black walnut chocolate chip
cookies while he watches the Chargers play this evening. He's been
nagging me about black walnut cookies for about a year. I have no
excuse for not having done this sooner.
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