Bah, humbug!

In early November, I decided that I wasn't going to send holiday cards this year. It was a combination of factors that led me to this decision, but time/lack of planning had little to do with it, as evidenced by the fact that I made the decision a month before I would have sent the cards.

Now that we've received over a dozen cards and photos, I've begun to reconsider my decision. Not because my reasons weren't good ones, but because I wonder if some of the people who don't receive a card from us will think that we forgot them or - even worse - that we left them off our list on purpose.

I'm sticking with my decision this year, but think I will probably go back to sending cards next year, albeit with some reluctance. I've sent cards to at least a handful of family and friends for probably 15 years and despite the rather wasteful nature of it, holiday cards make both the sender and receiver feel good. And after all, isn't that what the holidays are all about - giving and receiving? Other than celebrating Jesus' birth, of course.

Consider this blog post our holiday wish to you and look for our card next year!

Cookiextravagnza!

You may recall the long day Melissa and I spent making Christmas cookies last year. We were only able to squeeze in a weeknight this year, and last night was it!

Fortunately, I made the spritz and mexican wedding cakes dough the night before. Otherwise, we may have seen the sunrise before we finished!

I bought a new spritz cookie press last year after the difficulties we had with my old (yet still new-ish) one. Well, this one was not better! We couldn't even get the dough to come out without cutting it off the press. JUNK!! Or user-error, but I find that hard to believe! :)

Melissa's solution puts any spritz cookie I've ever seen to shame. Look at these beautiful wreaths and candy canes!

Melissa gets all the credit for both design and implementation. It was quite time-consuming, as you can see from her process below.

My far less creative, albeit quicker, solution was to slice the dough and sprinkle some colored sugar on the cookies. Next year I think we may devote the whole cookie day to Melissa's new designs. I will say that the dough tastes fabulous. It was a new recipe with a secret ingredient! The first taster who guesses the ingredient wins a prize - another cookie!

We also made mexican wedding cakes. There must be about eight dozen and I'm not thrilled with the taste. I'm eating one now and they're ok, but not as good as last year.

Does it look like Melissa did most of the work? I think she did! I made two types of fudge - one (with nuts) that I've tasted and is so-so and the other (fudge with peanut butter topping) that I hope is better.

Next year I hope the cookie baking will be different in two ways: on a weekend so it will be more relaxed and maybe in a newly remodeled kitchen (although that's what I said last year).

Regardless of how it all turns out, cookie baking with Melissa is wonderful time that is now becoming a tradition!

Flippin' our Wigs!

Mom and Grandma Dottie visited last weekend. Highlights included: meeting Bonnie and Mom downtown on Friday evening. They missed the Holidazzle Parade, but we were able to visit Macy's 8th floor Christmas wonderland. It really was quite amazing, but required quite a lot of standing in line!

Bonnie returned home and Mom stayed at our house. On Saturday, Bonnie and Grandma came to our house and after some tasty Puppy Dog Tails from Isles Bun & Coffee, we set out to find Grandma a new wig. (I'm pretty sure she doesn't mind if people know she's "wigging it" these days, so no secrets here).

After quite a bit of looking, we found a great one. It almost looks like Grandma's new hair was taken straight off Bonnie's and Angie's heads! They are quite the blond trio!

Have you ever wondered what I would look like with long, dark hair? Well, wonder no more!

Frankly, I don't think I've been missing anything. Or maybe it was just this color/style, but I look a bit like a My Little Pony brought to life.

On Sunday, we went to Bonnie's for her amazing waffles and other delicious accoutrements. Even Jack, whom I rarely see due to his 3-11 schedule and few days off, was able to join us!

Disconnect

I am frequently amazed at how often I hear or read something with which I completely disagree. I am not talking about Fox News or conservative blogs. These disconnects happen with my preferred media outlets.

Today, MSN's Lifestyle newsletter is enticing me to "Eat like Oprah." I don't mind Oprah and actually enjoy her show when I see it a couple of times a year. I've even read many of her book club recommendations and loved a couple of them. But there is no way I want to eat like she does!

Oprah has a well-documented weight problem and claims to have a food addiction. I realize she has a cultural influence so vast that she may have even swayed voters this election season. I also realize that the headline writers were referring to recipes from her magazine, not her actual diet. But when I read "Eat like Oprah" I think "Look like Oprah." Sorry to be rude, but who wants that?

The other disconnect I've experienced this week is regarding media descriptions of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Numerous publications, from the New York Times to the Economist have described him as "handsome." My television news experience taught me that people tend to look more attractive in person than they do on television. I've scoured the web for a photo of Blagojevich that I consider even remotely handsome and this is the best one I found:


Is this a handsome man? I'm really, truly not someone who sits around criticizing how people look. Is it that Blago has so little going for him (his approval rating is 13% - that's even lower than Bush's!) that in order to create the "fallen from grace" image they have to label him as "young and handsome"? I don't think 52 is necessarily young, either, which further supports my theory that the media are simply crafting a positive persona where none exists.

I suppose this all sounds snarky and superficial. It is not that I want to be critical of these people (although Blago deserves it for his actions), I just find it so interesting that my perceptions are the polar opposite of what I am reading!

In the Spirit

We had an enjoyable and busy weekend. There had been talk of Jon and Amber coming for a visit, but when they weren't able to come, we made the most of our days!

After the gym on Saturday morning, Chris and I stopped by Home Depot to buy a tree. We were woefully under-prepared for tying the tree to the top of our car. The wind chill must have been at or below zero and we were gloveless and hatless. Not to mention somewhat clueless about tree-securing methods. Not that we haven't done it before, but last time we were in Florida and the temperature was somewhere in the 70 degree range.

We recovered from near-frostbite and made it home with the tree - a lush and fragrant Noble Fir - intact.

The decorating commenced, under Chris' direction this year. What does that mean? Chris got to decorate the tree however he wanted. I helped, but I promised not to move or rearrange any of the ornaments.

In anticipation of "Chris' tree," I picked up multi-colored lights as well as gold and red tinsel after Christmas last year. He says these are essential for creating a "fun" tree. I have to admit, I agree!

The angel, along with several of the decorations, are a little fancy for the "fun" tree, but they do add to the eclectic look. I think I'll look for one of those obnoxious cool multi-colored stars on sale this year.

Photos can't truly capture how fun Chris' tree looks. Nor can you smell the fragrance that has overtaken the house. We are feeling the Christmas Spirit!

The house is not decorated extensively, but I love having a fireplace mantle on which to hang our stockings. Jack even has one. Chris is certain Jack wishes he had a Cartman stocking, too!

After decorating, Chris cooked ribs and our friend/neighbor/my former colleague, Rebeca, came over for dinner, wine and conversation. Chris lit a fire in the fireplace, as he has done several times since it was cleaned. Some may question how I can enjoy such an environmentally unfriendly activity.

I have given it much thought and have determined that I can live with the guilt, particularly since I bought TerraCycle fire logs made from cardboard waste. The cost per fire has increased, but you can't put a price on sitting by the fireplace on a cold winter day. Who says I'm hard to please?

On Sunday, Chris and I met Melissa and Steve, a nice guy she has been dating for a few weeks. Melissa and I had planned ahead and purchased tickets to Wicked at the Orpheum as soon as they went on sale back in June. We were smart to buy four tickets, although we could have made some cash as tickets to this sold-out show are in high demand!

For those not familiar with the plot, Wicked is a musical that tells "untold story of the witches of Oz" (as in Wizard of, aka one of my favorite movies of all time) and is based on a 1995 novel of the same title.

What a tremendous show! While it followed that typical musical story arc that can begin to feel long toward the end of Act I, Act II flew by and the ending literally brought me to tears! This may not seem like an achievement, but I don't think that happened since my first Broadway musical (The Sound of Music, another all-time favorite). I also didn't know how this one would end and the conclusion took me by surprise.

After the show, we grabbed a bite at Keys, which happens to be in the Foshay adjacent to the W. Jack was working so we stopped by to say hello. I spared him an embarrassing photo-op, since I know Mom and Grandma Dottie will get him this weekend!

Thanksgiving Recap

Amber gave an insightful review of Thanksgiving weekend. It even took a second post to tell it all!

The most exciting news? I will be a lucky auntie once again in July. Congrats to Jon, Amber and soon-to-be-big-brother Trevor!

Here are a few of my best (ok, only) photos from the weekend.

Competitive and large-scale Cranium match, handily won by the Chris-Tiffany-Shawna-Jon team, yet fun for all!


I've never played Cranium with such a large group and while it could be difficult to hold everyone's attention, it was fun to involve so many of us in one activity!

Bobbi got creative with the clay. I think she was making a cinnamon bun here? And look at poor Jason's pirate look! Unfortunately, that was not a Halloween costume but was the result of a losing battle with an errant tree branch. I hope the scratch has fully healed!


Even Olivia got in on the Cranium action from her playpen-perch! She knows just what to do when a camera is pointed in her direction.


She must have learned that from her mommy...or her aunt Tiffany. Both ham it up when the camera turns their way! (Unlike Tony - scroll back up to the second photo. He knows how to hide from the paparazzi!)


Tiffany's awesome Princess Leia 'do, courtesy of Julie the hairstylist/racy conversationalist. Thanks for keeping things interesting!