Apparently Mother Nature didn’t take kindly to my poo-pooing all of her efforts to totally freak us out.  The very next morning, shortly before five, I woke up and realized that the power had gone out.  As I let the dogs outside, I blearily noted that another couple inches of snow had fallen.  I shrugged it off and went to back to bed unconcerned.  I had faith that the good folks at PSE (Puget Sound Energy) would soon have us up and running again.  

Maggie felt that standing on my feet was the safest option.  No, she’s not spoiled!

Several hours an hour or so later, I woke up shivering.  I  pulled the spare blanket over us and grabbed my beloved iPhone to see what was going on in the world.  Hmmmm….maybe things were worse than I had thought.  PSE was working hard, but over 200,000 homes didn’t have power, there had been an ice storm that closed down our airport, and our governor had declared that the entire state of Washington was in a State of Emergency!

Knowing that the National Guard was ready to come rescue us at any moment told me that maybe I should be just a little more concerned about our well-being.  I decided that my best course of action was to remain very quiet in hopes that this entire mess would be resolved before my family woke up and panicked.  (This philosophy may have something to do with the fact that I have yet to be elected Ruler of the World.)

As luck would have it, Shaun woke up.  My husband isn’t one of those people that can be content to let the National Guard come and rescue us.  (I, on the other hand, had already placed my order for a skinny cinnamon dolce latte and was patiently waiting for it to be delivered)  He insisted that we head out into the world and go exploring. 

I grew up and learned to drive in sunny San Diego, where we simply don’t “do” snow. So it’s only natural that I do my best to avoid going out in the snow. I’m perfectly happy enjoying it from the comfort of my window.  Shaun, on the other hand,  is proud of the fact that he grew up in the snowy Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  He’s been known to mention how he drove a Chevy Nova with bald tires and bad breaks.  Instead of being scared silly, my husband looks at driving in our Seattle snow as an adventure.

It took a lot of cajoling on his part, but eventually, Shaun convinced Mimi and I to bundle up and trudge through the nearly hip-deep snow to the Jeep.  Then he pointed it down the icy road in front of our home. 

                                                         Honestly, it’s hard not to look at this picture and recall the overwhelming feeling of panic.  And the gleeful cackling of my Beloved.  

After a few days of heading out to “explore” I gradually managed to calm down and enjoy the ride.  (You didn’t think Shaun would be content to stay home in a cold, dark house when there was exciting things to see, did you?) Everywhere we went, we saw tree branches down, line crews working to restore power, and beautiful white snow. 

It’s been an interesting week.  Snow storms, ice storms, wind storms, power outages, and now flooding.  (I refuse to ask what’s next because I’m sure Mother Nature is just waiting for someone to egg her on!) Happily, Seattle has stuck true to her reputation of being an incredibly friendly city.  We’re so grateful to the many friends with electricity that have invited us to weather out the storm in their homes.  And of course we’ve been happy to assist folks without four-wheel drive.  It’s a good feeling to know how well we, as a community, have all pulled together.  

As fun as it’s been, I’d rather not do this again.

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1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

Um….I got a facial piercing.  Yeah…I’m still a bit in shock over that one…

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions and will you make more for next year?

I don’t really make New Year’s Resolutions. It seems like such a silly thing to do.  Of course, making a list of 45 or so things for my birthday isn’t silly.  Not that I did it last year, but I have high hopes for this year!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My niece Tomi gave me a brand new grand-niece! (Yes, she did it just for me!)

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, thankfully.

5. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

Wow…I can’t think of anything.  Isn’t that wonderful?

6. What countries did you visit?

I went to California.  Some folks think that counts as a foreign place.

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? 9. What was your biggest failure?

(I bunched all three of those together because they have pretty much the same answer.)  *crickets*

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I fell down the stairs outside our house.  Again. Sigh…

11. What was the best thing you bought?

A vacuum sealer for Shaun.  He loves it and I love him.

12. Where did most of your money go?

We have a child in college.  ‘Nuff said.

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Well, I don’t know if it’s a three “really,” but I was pretty happy that Costco took back my almost two year old Keurig that abruptly died on me. 

14. What song will always remind you of 2011?

I don’t know that it’s specifically 2011…but Magical Trevor is constantly running through my  head.  And All the Single Ladies.  It drives me nuts, but the side benefit is that it drives Shaun even more nutty when I’m always singing it. 

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? Happier

ii. thinner or fatter? About the same

iii. richer or poorer? Did you see #12 up there? Definitely poorer!

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Write.  And bake.  Two things I love to do and just…didn’t. 

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Worry about things needlessly.

18. Did you fall in love in 2011?

I don’t think my husband would approve. 

19. How many one-night stands?

I REALLY don’t think my husband would approve.

20. What was your favorite TV program?

I’m not really into TV shows.  ***GASP***

21. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

As my father always said, “Hate is an awfully strong word.”

22. What was the best book you read?

I have NO idea.  I read an awful lot of books, but I’m pretty bad about keeping track of them. 

23. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I discovered that after years of trying, my oldest daughter learned to whistle.  Something I still can’t do. 

24. What did you want and get?

Well…I didn’t want a puppy, but I got one and I adore her

25. What was your favorite film of this year?

Films are like TV, only longer. 

26. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

That was almost a year ago and I’m old.  You don’t really expect me to remember that do you?

27. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A maid.  I could really use maid.  And a personal assistant.  And a masseuse. And…well, you get the idea. 

28. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

Wow…I have a “personal fashion concept?” Do jeans and a tee shirt count?

33. What kept you sane?

Who says I’m sane? Certainly not my family!

34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:

Um…always expect the unexpected.

34. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: From Noah and the Whale’s 5 Years Time

Oh well I look at you and say
It’s the happiest that I’ve ever been
And I’ll say I no longer feel I have to be James Dean
And she’ll say
Yah well I feel all pretty happy too
And I’m always pretty happy when I’m just kicking back with you

Oh there’ll be love love love
Wherever you go
There’ll be love love love
Wherever you go

Hmmmm…..well, that was interesting.  Maybe I should’ve gone over this before I started it.  Have a wonderful, love filled 2012!

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I suppose I agree that the packaging can make a difference.  Yet, I have a slight issue with spending all that time and effort on something that is meant to be ripped to shreds and tossed out.  I’d rather spend all that energy on finding the perfect gift.  Call me lazy, but  for family birthdays and such, my preferred wrapping is a kitchen towel…or maybe a pillowcase if I’m feeling fancy. 

Christmas is different.  Instead of one or two gifts for a special someone, you have a small pile of gifts for everyone, from everyone, piled under a tree.  That makes things complicated. Not only do I not have that many kitchen towels, how would we know what goes to whom?

Traditionally, I put off the tedious task of wrapping gifts until everyone has gone to bed on Christmas Eve.  Wondering why I do this to myself every single year, I pull out my secret treasure trove of presents and start wrapping.  It seems as though I finish up and fall into bed mere minutes before my excited children are anxious to see what Santa has brought.  (Hmmm…maybe I could hire some of his elves?)

This year has been different.  I didn’t get all my shopping done early as I usually do.  So, instead of braving the crowds, I sat down with my laptop and exhausted my finger.  (This had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the letters to Santa I intercepted from my children contained direct links!) Then, those plain brown boxes started showing up on my doorstep. 

                                     Yes, this is a horrible photo taken with my phone late at night in my very messy workroom.

Now for me, the sole purpose of wrapping a gift, is to keep the suspense going just a little longer. I just love surprises. Not knowing exactly what was in each of those boxes was driving my crazy. So I made a deal with myself.  I could open those boxes and see what was in them, only if I re-wrapped them in cheerful Christmas paper right away. 

I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun I enjoyed this. I got a huge grin each time I discovered what was in each of the boxes (Although it’s wasteful, I’m really glad they sent lots of little boxes instead of one big box!) Suddenly my onerous chore, was fun and exciting.

My only problem, now that all the gifts are wrapped, is what am I supposed to do until the wee hours of the morning as I’m waiting for Santa to arrive? I guess I’ll  need to find a new tradition to keep my occupied. 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

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“Breakfast?” I asked, “Um…how about coffee?” 

“Mo-o-o-o-o-o-m.” 

My daughter hadn’t even been home from college for a full day and already she expected me to feed her. Not just anything either, apparently she wanted a fancy breakfast. You know,  something a little more upscale than toast.

Obviously I had been remiss in teaching her just how far a nice strong cup of coffee could take her.  I suppose this is my own fault.  You see I’ve been telling both of my girls that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” ever since we can remember. This is despite the fact that I’m not a big fan of breakfast. I encourage my kids to eat, but I need a few hours to nurse a cup or two of coffee to slowly wake myself up.

Still, in an effort to appease my starving child, I started offering all the breakfast-y type foods I could think of. Fruit, a bagel, pancakes, cold cereal, even some tofu scramble. Nothing sounded interesting to her. I decided to take my coffee into the other room and just let her starve. 

A few minutes later, KT followed me into the room reading from a cookbook.  (A cookbook? Who uses a cookbook when the sun is barely in the sky?)  She said she had found a recipe for Cinnamon Coffee Cake.  I told her that sounded wonderful.  We even had cinnamon and coffee and cake…pans. KT flashed me a quick grin, told me to “c’mon,”  then ran back into the kitchen. 

I finished the last few sips of coffee in my cup then headed toward the kitchen to make a coffee cake for KT.  I was pleasantly surprised to find my amazing daughter nearly ready to pop the cake in the oven.  

Half an hour later, we were happily feasting on a beautiful Cinnamon Coffee Cake. Hmmm…maybe there’s something to be said to having a cheerful girl home from college, prepared to make sure we all enjoy the most important meal of the day. 

Louise wasn’t being facetious.  I usually do have all my shopping done long before December even arrives.  I’m one of those people that thinks about gifts and the people they should belong to all year long.  The only problem is to remember where I have squirrelled all those treasures away. 

I wasn’t worried.  Lots of people wouldn’t even consider preparing for the holidays early.  I was fine.  That was until I looked at the calendar this morning.  Wow…it’s the middle of December already!  How on earth did that happen? Ten days until Christmas…how on earth did that happen?

It’s not that I’m unprepared, I’m just not ahead. For some strange reason, (Because I am not, by any stretch of the imagination) an organized person, this really stresses me out.  As of right now, I’m letting go of the stress in my life (Well, I’ll try.)

Oh my…that’s better. 

Now I can make some time to tell you what we’ve been up to.  It’s been everything from the falling down Christmas tree and middle-of-the-night dumpster diving to a visit to a tattoo parlor.

I’ve even been considering getting one of those elves that seem to be all the rage now.  (Although I probably won’t, they look a little creepy to me and the only one that would hunt for it would be our dog Sam.)

                       Photo from this fun blog along with a lot more creative elf images.

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season.  Oh…and that you are stress-free…just like I suddenly am!

             Mimi and my puppy taking a nap and getting cuddles.  (really bad camera shot, but so sweet!)

Now that we’ve properly celebrated and given thanks for all the wonderful things and people in our lives, it’s on to the next holiday.  They just keep coming faster and faster every year!

Don’t worry, the faux-tryptophan is finally wearing off and I’m back on the blogging job.  I’ll be sure to share our December merriment with you…although probably not every day. There’s something to be said about cuddling up with a sweet puppy and sleeping on the job, after all.

After much consideration, I chose to go with a chocolate cheesecake.  I printed out the recipe that I thought I had used a few years ago and got to work.  As I lovingly shaped the Oreo cookie crust into the pie plate, I realized that I had way too many crumbs for my pan.  (My spring form pan decided to go for a walk some time back. It hasn’t managed to find it’s way back home yet. I don’t think it ever will.) It worked out nicely that I also happened to have too much “cheese” filling for one pie pan as well.  So I popped two pies in the oven, crossed my fingers and hoped these cheesecake pies turned out tasty.  

An hour or so later, my family was slowly drawn to the kitchen by the scent of baking chocolate.  First my daughter  jokingly asked if she could have some pie.  She didn’t believe me what I said that she could. 

Then Shaun came up and also asked if he could have a pie.  I teased him he couldn’t have a whole pie to himself, but he could share one.  After verifying several times that it really was okay to cut into the pies that were earmarked for Thanksgiving dinner, we were all sitting around eating pie.  Sadly, nobody was all that impressed with this recipe I  had followed.  I concluded that it must not have been the same recipe I thought it was after all. 

When I got up this morning, it appeared as though the pie wasn’t as bad as it seemed at first bite.  In fact, somehow, nearly all of the pie had mysteriously disappeared. 

Of course, nobody knew what had happened to the rest of the pie.  They had all had one teeny little slice.  I’m going to blame it on elves.  They are sneaky like that.  I can only hope they like the vegan pumpkin pies that are currently cooling on the counter. 

I hope those of you in the States are enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Those of you living elsewhere…don’t you think it’s a good day for pie? 

How about a cornucopia filled with pineapple, lemons and watermelon? (Thank you clipart from Windows Office, you make me happy)

Wherever you are and whoever you are with, I hope your day is wonderful!

I refuted by reminding them that it’s become the four-day-gorge-yourself-weekend that comes after Halloween, and serves as the starting line for Black Friday.  In fact, hardly anyone even calls it Thanksgiving anymore, it’s becoming known more commonly as “Turkey Day.”

As I child, I remember Thanksgiving as a day for all of our family to gather together and just be.  The had women planned for weeks who was going to bring what, and which house it was going to be at.  When it was at our house, I can remember Mom getting up at what seemed the crack of dawn to prepare the stuffing and turkey for it’s time in the oven. 

My brother and I would stare out the window, (when Mom didn’t have us busy doing something) watching for cars of our relatives to show up.  One by one, a car would slow down and park in front of our house.  We would dutifully hug our grandparents or aunt or uncle and then take off with a cousin.  There weren’t that many of us, but we all enjoyed each other’s company and had to hurry and catch up for time lost. 

When it was finally time to eat, we would all sit down at a table that spanned the entire length of our enclosed patio.  Adults were at one end, and kids were at the other.  I can still remember standing at the end of the table, looking down and seeing all those faces I loved so dearly. 

Before anyone was allowed to eat, we would all quiet down and bow our heads.  We were supposed to be thinking about the good things we had in our lives, (but I’m sure most of us were thinking about the mashed potatoes right in front of us.) and then Grandma would prepare to say the same prayer that she said every year.  In her raspy lifetime smoker’s voice, she would say,

We thank thee Lord

for the food that thou has provided

Bless it, and abide with us always

In Jesus’ name, Amen

It’s not the meal that I remember, it’s the feeling of family.  Of being thankful to be together with the same wonderful people, with the same exact tradition year in and year out.  There was no planning of the best Black Friday route.  No Christmas decorations in sight.  Just being together.  Laughing, giggling and sharing secrets. 

Our family has scattered to all areas of the country.  As my grandfather predicted, once he, the last of his generation died, we no longer gathered.  We celebrate with different friends, a family that we have created, if you will.  

It’s always a good day.  Yet, I can’t help but feel as though most people think it’s just something that has to be done in order to get to the real December holidays.  Then again, maybe I’m just being a bit melancholy for those memories of old. 

I hope you plan on enjoying your feast, and spare a few moments to think about the many things you have to be thankful for.  And try not to think too much about the mashed potatoes while you are doing so.