Happy Chinese New Year!

It's the Year of the Ox - a time to work hard, discipline ourselves, and next year we will be thanking ourselves as we reap the fruit of our labors.

Drill Baby Drill

I started this Monday morning in the dentist's chair, staring up into the big light, trying to ignore the water squirting, teeth munching, drill action that was happening in my mouth. I imagined I was in Italy, walking along the lake. I mentally redecorated our apartment. I remembered how much I liked my dentist in New York, except for the fact that the filling he put in a year and half ago wasn't very good and now I was having to have it replaced. I think I like my new dentist better. Plus, he's really cute. Now I'm back at work, feeling like a numkin because the entire right side of my face feels pouffy and funny. I'll be slurping soup for lunch and hopefully soon I'll be feeling good as new!

Feats of culinary prowess

Last night (before the creeper Grey's incident) Jessica and I made dinners. Two dinners, to be precise. She made hers and I made mine. It was very exciting for two girls who generally subsist on pots of chili or protein shakes. I made barbeque chicken (with my magical barbeque sauce from Texas) and cheddar jalapeno cornbread with farm fresh sweet butter (which I washed down with organic chocolate milk). Jessica made orzo with feta, tomatos and green onions, topped by honey/red wine vinaigrette. Both were scrumptious. We also had the pleasure of wandering Whole Foods prior to cooking, which is always fun. I had a chunk of the cornbread for breakfast and it's still completely delicious. Everyone is invited tonight for a feast of leftovers!

Creepy!!

I'm totally, totally creeper creeped out by last night's episode of Grey's. Jessica and I were totalled creeped out last week, and she wouldn't even watch with me last night. Sigh. It was sad, scary, creepy and sad. Thank goodness today is Friday. I need a weekend to recover from it.

Thank you

Karl Rove has written a lovely tribute to former President George W. Bush. I know some people felt let down and angered by his administration, but let me tell you this: as someone who lived through September 11, being kept safe for the last 7 and half years means the world to me. He outlined and executed seven and half years of policy that protected America from further terrorist attack. I am grateful for that. I am so glad Mr. Rove has the opportunity to say that President Bush was right when it mattered the most.

Also read this interesting post by On Life and Lybberty.

The most wonderful time of the year

Yes, I know, it's really Christmas, but a veryclose second place is Oscar season, which got kicked off today with the announcement of the nominations. Here is a complete list of the nods, but the one that I am most excited about is for Best Documentary. Trouble the Water is a Hurricane Katrina documentary, made by Kimberly Roberts, a Lower Ninth Ward resident who lived through the storm, and filmed the storm and its aftermath on a small, handheld video recorder. It is such a remarkable story. Read about it here and here.

Lately

I've been up to this and that...Jessica and I spoke in church on Sunday, which is always exciting. Made tripley exciting by the fact that here in our branch, they only have two speakers, not three, which lengthens the amount of time said speakers get to speak. I've never been that 20 minute, anchor speaker before. Now I can say I've done it! We were very lucky in that 1) someone got confirmed, taking a nice amount of time and 2) a whole cruise ship of people was visiting which meant that passing the sacrament took really long. Jessica's talk was wonderful and she said mine was wonderful too so we feel good about that. Went to a few movies over the long weekend, talked about doing yoga (and talking about it is nearly the same as actually doing it) and practically froze to death because of the cold snap down here. I know, I know, in New York and DC and Ohio it's actually very cold, but it's really cold down here too. I think Jess told me it was 34 degrees here this morning. Which, when you left your winter parka at home because "it never really gets that cold in NOLA" is cold. Thank you to A and E who are lending us some winter warmth - we really appreciate it!

Amazing

Inauguration fun

While I am still disappointed that CNN didn't show more of the Neighborhood Ball's first dance, serenaded by Beyonce, I loved every minute of yesterday. I am happy that everyone yesterday was caught up in the feelings of hope and change. It was truly infectious and inspiring. I believe that President Obama will not only work very hard to make our country healthier and safer, but that he will do so in an honest, fair, and cooperative way. What more could you want from the leader of our nation? I love Malia and Sasha too, and wasn't it so nice that someone thought to get an apple box for Sasha to stand on?

What a wonderful day (and night).

The 44th President of the United States

I just spent the last 45 minutes in the conference room watching the Inauguration. I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of this occasion. I am grateful to have witnessed it and am proud of the spirit of the American people. I am proud of the graciousness of everyone present today. I am in love with Aretha Franklin's hat. God bless America.

Just to chat

Last night I got three lovely phone calls from friends. I just love talking and catching up and hearing everything that's new! Thanks for the calls and sharing the good news and the sad news and letting me be a tiny part of your lives. I think you're all wonderful.

Yippee!

I just got the best news ever. Hip hip hooray!!!

I offer a smile to the new year.

I have always been a Christmas devotee. I love Christmas, can take or leave (usually leave) New Years. Change, historically, is neither my forte nor my favorite. Resolutions that inevitably get broken simply seem depressing to me. And January always seemed to me like a horrible white expanse of time that existed boringly until the blossoms of Spring.

Except...this year...things were a little different. Something about the holidays seemed off. I couldn't get my Christmas magic to click. No matter how hard I tried, the Christmas spirit seemed to elude me. And so Christmas passed me by. (I loved being home, wrapped up in love with my family and friends - in no way am I suggesting otherwise. Everything about my time at home was delicous and magical.)

It's just that...I never really felt holly and ivy about the whole thing.

I have always known that I have issues with change. I've never liked it - even going as far as crying on my birthday and dreading New Year's. I clung to the past, rather than looked on to the future. Somewhat ironically to me, my last 8 years have been riddled with change. I've never lived in any apartment longer than a year, last year even inhabiting 3 different apartments. Friendships have come and gone, as have relationships. People I love have left this life. The more these things happened, the tighter my grip became on keeping things just as they were. And sometimes I felt like someone was playing a trick on me.

I once heard the following about life:

When we pray for patience, God gives us experiences through which we will develop patience. When we pray for courage, God gives us experiences to develop courage. When we pray for kindness, God gives us experiences where we can develop our kindness.

Etc.

Can you see where this one is headed?

I have never, ever prayed for change. Or the ability to deal with change. Or anything like that. But to my eye and my head and my heart, I have consistently been given experiences to develop the ability to cope with change with reason, compassion, patience, adaptability, balance and kindness.

Well.

This past year was witness to the most magnificently wonderful and gut-wrenchingly awful changes I've experienced in my 27 years.

I believe that I finally have it through my head that change is hard but change is good.

As the days following Christmas faded away, and the days leading up to New Year's rushed towards me, I felt some of the boulderous weight I've been carrying around in my heart start to fall away. I felt my vision start to clear a little bit. And I rang in the New Year with love around me and hope for the future. Never has my cry of "Happy New Year!" been more heartfelt.

(Full disclosure: this has not been an effortless process. My sad girl face made so many cameos in the last few months she nearly got upgraded to co-star. And lest any of my darling readers thinks otherwise, this has not been easy for me. At all.)

The thick, muddy, murky glasses of confusion have been knocked ever so slightly askew, and now I find lovely rose-colored spectacles beginning to take over.

Today is January 6. Today is the real 12th day of Christmas. Today is known as Epiphany. Very, very fitting.

I have never been so relieved for a big white expanse of the January calendar. I've never been so happy to finish vacation and get back to real life. To go back to work, and to keep going on the path of figuring out how to make my dreams come true.

And so, I tip my hat to the new year. Grateful to be at peace. Here's to 2009.

Merry Christmas

Happy to go home.

Happy to decorate the tree.

Happy to bake cookies.

Happy to drink hot chocolate.

Happy to sing carols.

Happy to hear Grandpa's jingle bells.

Happy to be with loved ones.

Happy holidays.

Winter Weather Advisory for Ohio

All that pretty pink in the picture above is ice and snow.

Weather.com tells me to expect a "mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain, from 1:00PM to 11:00PM this evening. This will cause ice accumulation, which will result in hazardous travel conditions. A winter weather advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties."

Oh, bother. I was really hoping for a calm evening of travel. Perhaps that is not in the cards for me tonight. Well....there are 38 hours between now and Christmas Day. As long as I am delivered home in that time frame, all is well! And once I arrive, then the Christmas can be white.

A Sunday night cocktail

I have had such a fun weekend. Lots of pictures to come (eventually, when I get them from Liz!) but in the meantime, I have to say, the lemonade I had last night at Pat O's was the best ever. So tangy, tart and sweet. The bartender even made it pink!

Friday and a sigh of relief

A big step of progress was made today. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who helped me get this part done.

One of my bestiest besties is coming to visit for the weekend, and I am looking forward to showing her all my favorite new places. We will be such merry little rabble-rousers. Happy Friday and happy holidays!!

It's Christmas time in the city

I'm back from an office holiday luncheon where the main dish was jambalaya. It was delicious!!

In other news, check out what the MTA is doing to celebrate the holiday. If I was still in the city, I would absolutely go catch a ride on one of these vintage train cars. I'd get hot chocolate, dress up and feel very "old New York."

Yes, I'll hold

One of my coworkers just put me on hold, and I discovered that our hold music is "Frosty the Snowman." I love it.

Time flies...

I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed these days. Underwater. Swamped. In the pressure cooker. Don't worry, it's all self-inflicted and it will come to an end (eventually) but in the meantime, yowza.

Today, I had a firm schedule mapped out for my lunch hour. A to-do list longer than my Christmas list. And you know what? After having a mini sobbing meltdown behind the loading dock at my office, I decided I needed an hour off. I got real food for lunch (no scant cup of chili for me today!), a very contraband Diet Coke, wrote my Christmas cards, and socialized with real live human beings. We even sat outside in the 70 degree sunshine.

I feel a bit restored. Wish me luck and please, please, someone figure out how to make the days longer....

The best gifts of all

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.

~Burton Hillis

With all the letters to Santa and festive shopping taking place, I just want to say to my loving and amazing family that I love each one of you so much and I cannot wait to be with you again!

Holy cow!

I am drinking chocolate milk from the farmer's market as my after lunch snack. It is delicious. It makes me feel like I'm 5 years old and drinking it with my mom and dad. This feeling is also delicious.

A snowfall extravaganza

A baby palm with snow. So pretty.

A palmy, snowy walkway.

Palms at the zoo. I hope the giraffes are staying warm!

Entrance to the park.

Audubon Park.

Snowy trees.

The palm outside our front door!

Snowy rotunda.

Streetcar in the snow.

Streetcar getting closer.

Passing the streetcar! I'll bet it's chilly onboard!

The lovely park.

Trees in the park.

Have a great day!!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

It's as is some wonderful little Christmas angels heard I was feeling blue instead of red and green. My last 12 hours have been jim-jam packed of holiday fun! Last night, Jessica and I decided to go on a spur-of-the-moment elfing mission (work can wait, we said!) and had so. much. fun. buying gifts for people. I think you're really going to love them.

Then we went grocery shopping and spent an extraordinary amount of time discussing the merits of various mouse traps. Like, longer than 20 minutes. (And I'm going on the record to say that they are both awful, I'm so, so, so glad that I became Mistress of the Cockroaches....because by default that made Jessica Ruler of the Rodents....which is way, way, way worse.) I can't even talk aobut setting the traps, because there is just no way to express the absolute terror and hilarity of the situation. Let's just say that peanut butter, screaming, and the coinage of a new word was involved. Shardy, anyone?

The funniest part of the whole thing is that if you recall, I had resorted to barricading the door shut with our stool. What I didn't tell you is that Jessica mocked me endlessly about this. Well, I went to bed long before Miss J did, and woke up this morning to find my original barricade back in place, with layers of reinforcements around it. Oh, I laughed, wondering what terrors had driven her to such levels of protection. (I know you're all wondering how all this talk of rodentia is Christmassy, but we had holiday tunes playing and there are mice in the Nutcracker. And we laughed really, really hard. So it works.)

But the most magical of all was this morning, when we woke to find that New Orleans was being snowed upon. Snow! In! New! Orleans!! It's so gorgeous. Snow falling on palm trees is something everyone should see. Jessica drove me to work this morning (usually I walk) and since the traffic was so slow, we spent most of the drive hanging out the windows taking photos. As soon as we can get pictures loaded, I'll post them. Oh happy holidays!

Wait - what?

How did this happen? Christmas is two weeks from....tomorrow? How is this possible? I am not ready! I haven't decorated. I haven't shopped. I haven't eaten Christmas cookies. I haven't sung any Christmas carols. I haven't felt enough Christmas spirit yet.

Unfortunately, I have about 4652938475293 non-Christmassy things to do before I can even think about being merry!

Perhaps I should write my to do lists in green and cross them off in red. That would make it more festive!

Lessons

Learning to say what you really think. Learning to stand firm in what you think is right. Learning to be gracious even when others tell you things you don't want to hear. Learning to forgive someone for hurting your feelings. Learning how to start from scratch. Learning that you're not always right. Learning to trust your own judgment. Learning to compromise. I'm learning.

'Tis the season

Last night was the annual Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center. Singers sang, the Rockettes kicked and mankind celebrated. It was a lot of fun to watch from my living room in New Orleans, and made me so nostalgic for the many years I was actually there. (Including last year!) I'm so glad I always went, because those memories make me incredibly happy.

What also makes me happy is knowing that after glistening and glimmering and being the source of much holiday cheer, the trees go to good use: last year's tree was turned into lumber that built homes for Hurrican Katrina victims. One of the families even got to attend the show last night! Tracey Davison, 40, a teacher's assistant from Pascagoula, Miss and her four daughters: Ashunti, 10; Nylah, 9; Majsa, 8; and Karly, 4, were so excited to be in New York for the annual tree lighting. The family, who fled Katrina with just a few suitcases, recently moved into a new three-bedroom house built by Habitat for Humanity. Parts of the walls and floors in their living room were made with lumber from last year's tree. "It's been an awesome experience," said . "I have a famous living room because of the tree from last year, and my girls and I have had a spectacular trip to New York for the first time. It's kinda like Christmas before Christmas," said Davison. "It was a dream come true. We're very, very excited to be in the house."

In past years, the Rockefeller Center tree has been recycled after the holiday season, being made into toys for animals at the Bronx Zoo and mulched for hiking trails.

This year's tree is an eight-ton, 72-foot Norway spruce masterpiece. It is decorated with FIVE MILES of lights! Dad, what do you think about that??! But no tree could ever be as beautiful as ours. You do such a great job every year. Thanks!

I've loaded up the iPods with Christmas tunes and the speakers are going full blast. It's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas! Now we just need to decorate the apartment. Our tree is about a foot tall, but what it lacks in height, it more than makes up for in holiday dazzle.

Information about the trees is from the AP.

The grass here is plenty green

It's warmer out today, and fairly humid, so after my lunchtime workout, my hair acquired a bit more body. There are also a few little krinkles in the back where my clip was. But, you know what? It's 72 degrees and December 3.

I can live with it.

I heart Stuart Little, but don't want to live with him

I'm just going to come out and say it: we have a mouse in our house.

Jessica has long suspected that we have a third roommate. She has been vigilent about pointing out funny noises to me, and always noticing where in the walls the little critter seemed to be running. I, refusing to believe such horrors, simply listened and then told her she was imagining the noises.

Then came the case of the mischievous trashcan bag. Our kitchen garbage can is a sturdy black plastic one, purchased with great care from Home Depot. It has a nice, wide brim and a nice "lip" that catches and holds plastic bags extrememly efficiently. But lately, the back left corner of the bags have consistently been escaping and collapsing into the can. We take out the trash very regularly, and so this strange bag behavior was definitely noticible and odd, but we didn't think much more of it.

There have also been strange little remnants of our garbage bits scattered about the bottom on the "under the sink" area--shredded paper towels, mostly, and bizarrely, broken egg shells. (Jessica and I are quite fastidious about staying clean, and especially with keeping our garbage clean, or as clean as garbage can be--because if you're sloppy with the garbage, you're just hanging out the welcome sign for those other roommates--cockroaches.)

Then came the scuffely, scurrying noises. I remained unconviced, telling myself that the noises were just the pipes creaking and New Orleans ghosties keeping me company.

But last night, when I was home alone, there was no mistaking the noises coming from below decks. It sounded as though there was a herd of mice, roaming far and wide, exploring the depths of our garbage can and racing each other from side to the other. There was probably only one, but I was spooked and completely reasonably put a stool in front of the cupboard doors (lest the giant mice push open the doors and come attack me) and then proceeded to yell and pound on the counters and doors to scare them away. Did it work? I can't really say. But this morning, the tell-tale egg shells were there, nibbled in piles around the garbage can. Hey, at least our mouse is tidy....

....but it sort of befuddles me why a mouse would choose our house, anyways. It's not warm, especially not in the kitchen and bathroom, and we don't eat good food (at least not good to a mouse). What is the mouse going to find in our trash? Perhaps a baggie that contained protein powder. Yummy. Egg shells. Mini-cans of organic tomato paste. That's about it. Although, come to think of it, a tin can is always good to have around. Maybe the mouse feels the same way.

One of these days I just know I'm going to go to throw something away in the trashcan and there will be a little mousy face staring up at me. That will not be a great moment. Stay tuned.

A very special occasion

Today, something very exciting happened. I got a shout-out on a lovely friend's blog! I am so completely tickled by this. I've been in love with Brenda's rolls for years--I can't wait to try out her recipe. Thank you so much, Brenda!!

Back on track

I cut off my hair three weeks ago. And for the last three weeks I've been learning and figuring out how to style it. I've learned to deal with the humidity and the rain. But I decided that in order the keep the coiffure coiffed, my mid-day workouts would need to be relocated to before or after work. Well....my intentions were good, but if I'm being honest I must admit that they have definitely not been happening--before, during or after work! And now that the weather has cooled into winter (it's 50 degrees out, brrr! I know I will get absolutely NO sympathy whatsoever from anyone above the Mason-Dixon line), I decided to see what would happen if I got a little sweaty during lunch. So today, armed with hair clips, elastics and a headband, I went to the gym. I worked out. (It felt so good! I'ts been far too long.) And then I took down my hair to discover that...it basically looks the same as it did before I worked out. Which is great! There is a little wrinkle where the elastic was, but I can totally live with it. I am very, very excited about this new development.

Happy 200th Post!

And Happy Holidays!!

It was such a let down...

Nastia Liukin's much anticipated (by me at least) cameo on Gossip Girl has to be one of the lamest of all time. She was on screen for a total of maybe 5 seconds - a blink and you miss her kind of appearance. And her dress was awful. Ugh. I'm so sad.

At least Blair looked stunning.

Read the Daily Intel here.

#1 on the wishlist

This has been on my holiday wishlist for several years. I love it so much. The VHS version, which we've had since I was 4 years old, and was taped off the television in Americus, GA, (my mother has always had impeccable taste) is nearly worn through and the sound is going funny. I watch it every year at Christmas. More than once. So, you know....should someone be looking for a little something to get me for Christmas, please know that should you give this gift to me, you would go down in the history books. As the best gift-giver ever.

Oh yes, it's December!

Happy holidays!

Elvis Aaron Presley, Too

Someone must have put something funny into one of the dishes at Thanksgiving dinner, because after we ate, cousin Rachel piped up with a crazy idea. "Hey ya'll, let's go to Graceland Too!"

Uh, wha? What's this you speak of? She tells us about this crazy man, with a crazy house that he's built to look like Graceland, and all the Elvis memorabilia he's collected over the years. For $5, he will let you tour his house and listen to his lecture about Elvis. Anytime, day or night. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Rachel assures us. And crazy us, we decide to go. We pile everyone into two cars, and off we head to Holly Springs, MS. Please keep in mind that it's 8:00PM on Thanksgiving Day. After a short 30 minute drive, we pull up to this beauty:

Now, dear reader, would be a good time to ask if any of us stopped to ask, is this a good idea? Not a one of us did. (I'll admit that I was feeling quite apprehensive, but our parents were with us. And I've always said, when we go, we're going together!) My dad marched up to the front door, where, except of the "decorative" porch lights, no lights in the house were on. We wondered if anyone would answer the door. Knock, knock, knock. No answer. I silently beg to leave immediately. 30 seconds later, the door swings open, and the owner of the home, Paul McLoed, greets us with, "Thanks for stopping by! Glad you could come!"

We stepped over the threshold into the most surreal foyer ever:



and Paul asked us to sign his guest book. Do you think we used our real names?? Hehe, no.

Then he took us on the tour. There really aren't words to describe it. You really had to be there. So I'll let these pictures speak their thousand words and hope that someday everyone will get to experience the experience that Graceland Too is.

And the next time someone is speaking to you, take my advice and pay attention. Otherwise, they just might start singing, shrieking-like, New Orleans gospel music into a microphone, while you stand 3 feet away. Or worse, put you in his homemade electric chair. These things are not old wive's tales--they could actually happen to you.

Remember, Rachel, next time you go, you're a lifetime member. And Paul's got that great gold suit that he could slip on and wear to marry you to his son. Because he's a great catch--not only is a dead ringer for Elvis (with the moniker to boot) he's raking money, not leaves. Just remember.

Where to even begin?

This Thanksgiving weekend was one for the ages. Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, oh my! So much fun packed into 36 hours. How did we do it?

We started off with a delightful 5 hour drive. Upon arrival in Oxford, where I may have caused a brief detour on the way to the hotel, we checked into our hotel room and waited for our parents to arrive. Jessica snoozed immediately, I managed to wait up, and when they arrived, they came prepared and bearing goodies!

Fresh rolls and cranberry sauce from Bob Evans! Our perennial favorite. It's kind of like StoveTop--nobody does it better! Why mess with success? They were a delightful midnight arrival snack. After the snacking and laughing and talking that carried on endlessly, we finally snoozed into dreamland, all together as a family.

The next morning, ready and raring to go (after a breakfast of rolls) we headed over the big house. This, incidentally, is where Jessica and I stayed over Gustav. It was much more fun having it full of laughing relatives! We spent the morning and afternoon in fine style, bowling on the Wii, as demonstrated by Grandpa,

and helping in the kitchen. Our fruit salad was delicious!

After everything was ready, and the table set and enough chairs put at the table, everyone wiggled and wormed thier way into seats. It was a tight squeeze! My daddio gave a wonderful toast to the returned missionaries, and we dug in.

After the tasty meal, we all left the dishes in the sink to head outside and leaf surf! So much fun. Here is my dad demonstrating exceptional form.

After hours of leaf fun, we trooped back indoors, helped with the dishes and then some people watched a movie. I tried, but succumbed to the pull of the turkey and took a nap.

It was a really wonderful and fun day. And the fun doesn't stop here. Oh no, it keeps on coming. Let's just say...we were raking leaves, not money, at this point. That was all about to change...