My Bit of Earth

Five years ago today...

...I did a very good thing!

Easter Celebrations

I love Easter.  

As a kid, it was always such an uncomplicated holiday and pretty much like the real first day of Spring.  The Easter bunny would bring new Spring clothes and buckets of candy and some sort of outside toy.  Then my cousins and I would spend the day outside hiding and finding Easter eggs, which generally culminated in an Easter egg fight around twilight (once the eggs were cracked beyond recognition and starting to become food safety hazards).  Looking back, our celebration was basically a pagan one--nothing more and nothing less than a day spent happily welcoming the sun back after being stuck inside all winter.  I can almost still smell the grass...it was awesome....

These days we try to make it back to the hometown.  I make Easter baskets for my girlies.  Sweet Husband goes to church with his Mom.  My brother and sister and I engage in our traditional, legendary, and fiercely competitive chocolate Easter egg hunt.  Then both families generally meet back up for Easter dinner at Nice-In-Law's house.  (Yeah, I know.  We don't have to take turns or try to split time, my in-laws just invite my family over--it's OK if you're jealous of me right now.)

How did you celebrate Easter when you were little?  And now?

(Oh!  And pictured above are my girlies' Easter buckets for this year.  The eggs?  They're full of confetti!  [I'm going to be in such trouble with their mommies, but we'll take them outside, I promise!]  I actually was able to buy them this way, but if you wanted to make some here are instructions.)

What is this day again?

Ya know how, when you're dating someone, you have all these little anniversaries....the first time we met, the first time we kissed, the first time we ate cheeseburgers on the hood of a car.  It's all very romantic, even if it is slightly cloying to outsiders--a sort-of inside joke that always makes you smile.

But then you get married, and it becomes less so.  Although, I'm told there are some couples that do keep celebrating those little days, it's always seemed too sugary-sweet to me.  Because once you're married you have the BIG anniversary.  The day you promised the be-all-end-all-forever.  And suddenly celebrating cheeseburgers seems superfluous.

However, be that all as it may, today Sweet Husband and I have been together for ten years, and I can't let that go without mention.  

But, in thinking about the fact that this day was coming up--although I remember we decided a long time ago that "March 3rd" was the day we "officially" got together--for the life of me I couldn't remember what actually happened on March 3rd....  

It was making me a little crazy actually.  It's just that, there were a few weeks there where things were kinda fuzzy.  He liked me.  I liked him.  But, being awkward teenagers, we were both kind of dancing around the idea of actually discussing it.  This resulted in three potential events, all of which happened on or about March 3rd; all of which could have been our "starting point".

First, it could've been that it was the first time we hung out together with a group of friends.  We were at a restaurant before a school basketball game, and a few people were joking about stealing the silverware, just to be funny.  I (goodie-two-shoes) opined that would be terribly wrong, so Sweet Husband (practical joker) secretly slipped a spoon in my sweatshirt.  And, to my credit, I did laugh when, with mock horror that I would commit such a transgression, he pulled the spoon out of my pocket later.  And, of course, a boy that makes you laugh is always worth getting to know better....

Which leads to the second possible event.  On what I think was the following weekend, I had my friend set us up on a double date with her and her boyfriend.  Chinese food and "Raiders of the Lost Ark".  During the movie, Sweet Husband slipped me a note, "Hello.  I like you."  For several years, I honestly thought that was what we were celebrating on March 3rd.  

But, the thing that was tripping me up was that I know we still didn't really talk about it.  And he did not--as he will never live down for the rest of his natural life and possibly into the afterlife--kiss me goodnight.  (Yeah, I know.  Completely sexist of me, I could've kissed him too, blah, blah....I've been holding this grudge for ten years and I'm not letting go of it now.)  And, on top of all that, as aforementioned, I was 99% sure that night was a weekend.  March 3rd was a Wednesday in 1999, so that didn't work.

The third possibility was that March 3rd could have been the night that he actually did kiss me--or maybe I kissed him?  Can't remember that part, but I know it was a few nights after the note, on a school-night, in the park by the lake.  And his hat was on backwards, which--while I'm ordinarily not a fan of--seemed terribly charming at the time....

After trying to figure this out for the last few days--and deciding it's a really good idea that they give you a piece of paper with the date on it when you get married--I finally decided to own up, and, last night, sheepishly asked Sweet Husband, "Soooo, what exactly does tomorrow signify again?"

Turns out, he's not positive either.  He thinks it was the night at the park--"It was our first date by ourselves"--but can't be sure.

 At any rate though, it's been ten years since something-or-other that was good. :)   

Valentines

I haven't really been excited about Valentine's Day this year.  I usually enjoy it, but we've had enough else going on lately that I'm just kind of feeling blah.

Of course, that hasn't stopped me from smiling at the little red and pink missives that have appeared in our mailbox over the past few days.  From a good, simple biscuit recipe (from Sweet Husband's grandmother who heard of his mission), to some chocolates from Cutie Niece, to a pretty handmade card, trimmed in red lace from Sweet Sister wishing us "the happiest Valentine's Day"....it's enough to make a person feel loved!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Plans and Resolutions

So, tonight we ring in 2009.  Silly how we compartmentalize time the way we do, as if tomorrow is in a completely different universe than today--but nonetheless....

This year, I've not got resolutions so much as I have plans.  Lots of plans.  Big plans.

But, contrary to popular belief, my whole life is not an open blog, so you all will just have to wait for my plans to unfold just like everyone else.  (I'm mean, I know.)  Let's just say, if everything works out the way I hope, it will be an exciting year.  (And if it doesn't, well...maybe that's part of why I'm staying mum....)

In between those big plans however, I also hope to squeeze in a few smaller resolutions:

1.  This year I will back up this blog.

I know, can you believe it?  Millions of words, tons of pictures, and, up to this point, I've left it all in the hands of fate and Typepad.  No more!  I'm thinking of doing a set of Blurb books.  I've resisted this in the past because there's not a good way to transform videos and slide shows into paper form, but at this point it's better than nothing.

2.  This year I will get down to my ideal weight.

Yada-yada, I know, it's an overdone resolution, but nonetheless it's on my list.  Last year I did really well--I lost twenty pounds between January and April and was able to maintain that for the rest of the year--but this year I want to finish the quest and get down to the ideal, healthy weight for my height and age.

3.  This year I will take some photography classes.

I love taking pictures, but so much of what I do is completely by accident.  Which makes it really hard to duplicate.  I want to learn why my camera does what it does, and how I can make it do it better.

Anyone else have resolutions (or plans) to share?

Christmas Collage

Some of my favorites from our holiday fun--click to make it bigger, more pictures here.

The No-Plastic Holiday Challenge...I Tried

If you will remember--encouraged by the CDG--I had great ambitions to make this a "no plastic holiday".  Yeah, that didn't necessarily go so well.

I tried.  And overall I think I did buy/use less plastic than I might have otherwise, but still my transgressions were numerous.  In my defense however, this was a hard challenge!

For example, looking for a gift for my cousin's wee lad, I went to our local toy store thinking I could find something made of wood.  But even the wood toys were all still packaged in plastic.

And then shopping for people like my Nice Mom, who really only wanted CD's this year (plastic wrapper, plastic case, plastic CD).  I ended up cheating and getting her a gift certificate to a place where she could buy her own CD's--so technically I didn't buy the plastic, but I'm sure she did.

I did do really well shopping for my girlies.  Cutie Niece got some cool watercolor pencils and paper.  Nice Sister, a book and a day at our local paint-your-own pottery place. 

And I did do really well shopping locally.  The only thing I had to have shipped-in was one gift for Sweet Husband (a kit to make his own mini trebuchet--one of those things you really have to order from wherever you can find it).  I think I got maybe two or three other things from big box stores, but everything else was from our local and lovely small businesses.

So, I guess I could've done better, but I think I did better than I have in the past--that counts for something, right?

Happy Holidays to All!

We are driving today, after doing just a little bit of work, to hopefully make it "home" in time for a family Christmas.  (They generally like us, so I think they'll wait!)  I hope you all have safe travels and merry times--Happy Holidays Friends!

Seven Things That Are Making Me Very Merry On This Christmas Eve Eve

1.  It's the last day of working before the loooong holiday weekend--yay!

2.  Tomorrow at this time-ish I will be heading towards family and presents and one of Sweet Sister's so-hard-it's-almost-painful welcome home hugs.

3.  Maine Momma's beautiful odes to snow and light. 

4.  This article--"The Joy of Celebrating a Godless Christmas"--on Slate that echos my feelings about the holidays completely.  In short, Jesus isn't "the reason for the season" for all of us and that doesn't make our Christmas any less meaningful.  Very nicely done in a way that speaks up for us atheists and agnostics without denigrating those who are religious.

5.  That Nice Mommy just called asking me to bring some freezer jam for Christmas breakfast.  I feel like a wise little chipmunk pulling out my carefully stashed summer berries for winter feasting. 

6.  Dear Veens who ever so sweetly named me "The most awesome pic taking Girl" on her blog.  I'm abysmal at doing the "pass it along" things, but I do so appreciate the nice thought.  (And congrats on the upcoming wedding--I can't believe you're still managing to blog and comment on blogs and not be going crazy and stuff!)

7.  The thought of a possible road-trip adventure.  I haven't decided for sure if I'm up for it yet, but I'm considering busing it to DC for inauguration and some Supreme Court argument (one of my co-workers has a case there on the 21st).  Any bus riders out there have thoughts?

And, while you're thinking, what's making you merry today?

Chestnuts Roasting

I was sitting in front of the fire reading this evening when I remembered that I had bought some chestnuts at the grocery store this week.  I had chestnuts.  I had a sorta-kinda "open" fire....well, what else was to be done but attempt some roasting, right?

(Legal disclaimer:  This was probably totally unsafe, so don't do as I do, K?  K.)

Lacking any type of roasting apparatus, I decided to just place the chestnuts on a large log in the middle of my fire, and see what happened.  I pierced them with a knife first so they wouldn't explode, and then very gingerly used a combo of my fingers and our fireplace tongs to sit them on my log.  It actually worked very well.  I had a few that were a little ashy, but since you peel the skin off anyway--eh, no harm done.  I let each one roast for just a few minutes, until the skin started to peel back, then it was off the fire (definitely using the tongs) and into my bowl for peeling.  (The info sheet that came with the chestnuts said they're much easier to peel when hot.)

They were pretty tasty too--all warm and rich and nutty.  I definitely couldn't eat more that a few, but I could see spending a satisfying winter's night in front of the fire just peeling them.  And Moe and Porter enjoyed sampling the one's I just couldn't quite choke down!

Cake and Pie/Freshly Blended Holiday Ornament Swap

Earlier this month, I joined the "Third Annual" Cake and Pie/Freshly Blended Holiday Ornament Swap.  I've gotten some lovely ornaments already--so fun and beautifully made.  Here they are so far:

Purple Buttoned Heart from Corrie Hill...My ornament for the swap (a spoon!)...Red Mushroom from Abbergail...Little Blue Christmas Tree from Mary Made Me...Flower from Andrea...A Bird from Heather...Glitter House from Velleity Pie.  

You can see more of the ornaments that were in the swap here.

Barefoot Bloggers: Savory Palmiers (And Good News!)

This month's Barefoot Bloggers bonus recipe (picked by Becky and being posted a day late by moi) was the Contessa's savory palmiers.  I made them for an office Christmas party, hence why they were photographed on my desk via g-phone.

But I'll get to them in just a sec.  Because, see that piece o'paper peeking out from underneath the plate there?  That's my very first winning case!  *Giddiness.  Happiness.  Glee.*

Back to the palmiers. Although the recipe calls for pesto sauce to be sandwiched within the puff pastry dough, I don't believe in pesto in December.  (Pesto needs fresh basil.  Fresh basil needs warmth.  Plastic wrapped basil sucks.)  So instead, I used a pre-packaged spinach-artichoke dip and roasted red pepper dip.  While these didn't quite bake up as pretty as I would have liked, they still tasted mighty good!

For the recipe, read on....

Yet Another Reason Santa Might Pass Moe Over This Year

'Cause he kicked him. 

Everyone was posing (reasonably) nicely for the picture, when the photographer's assistant started squeaking a toy to get the dogs to look at the camera.  Which sent Moe into a complete frenzy, of course.  Poor Santa held onto him valiantly, but--from the familiar way he was rubbing his side when all was said and done--I'd say Santa got some mad, crazy terrier paws in the gut.

But I'm sure Moe was just thinking, "Wow thanks Santa!  I see you already got me just what I wanted, now let me down so I can go kill it!"

Snowy Night Pretty

Taken at our favorite breakfast place, when we were there for dinner.  (I'm not telling where, you'd tell people, and it's already getting too popular as it is!)

Is there anything better than mail in December?

Uh-uh, nope.  I pretty much look forward to it all day long.  Today's mail was especially good.  Several Christmas cards, my nifty Obama sticker from moveon.org, and an Amazon order with two new knitting books (Doggy Knits and Last-Minute Knitted Gifts).  I think Moe might be getting that sweater on the cover sometime soon.  (After I finish this, perhaps, which means that "soon" might be next November!)

I especially love it when my Christmas card garland gets so full that I have to start hanging cards from other cards.  It gives me a very "cup runneth over" feeling, ya know?  

Yay to good mail!

Holiday Feasting

Oh, the foods of Christmas!  

...From childhood I just have to have a batch of my Grandma Mary's peanut butter balls.  

...From slightly later, a coke from a glass bottle.  You wouldn't believe how hard these were to find this year--I had to go to three stores!

...And a newly acquired taste, pomegranate seeds.  I like to pick a pomegranate apart (the oozy, messy way) and leave the seeds in a glass in the fridge.  I can almost feel the vitamin C in every bite, and they're addictive!

What foods do you have to have for the holidays?

Cookie Mobile

Inspired by Soule Mama who was inspired by Martha.  It's an embroidery hoop with ribbon attached with cookies attached to that.  (All with hot glue.)  I actually just bought the pre-cut out sugar cookies--which are ok for decorating, but not for eating--unless you like the taste of cardboard!

Incidentally, although it did make it hung in this corner for a few days, on the third day Moe took a flying leap from the stairs over the tree, trying to snag a cookie.  The cookie mobile is now under lock and key for it's own protection.

Poll: What's on your holiday playlist?

Although I add a little every year, last night Sweet Husband was expressing distaste for the repetitive nature of my holiday playlist.  I think it's well-varied--a few classics, a few updated classics, a few that are completely new--but, well, I'm always up for adding new.  Any suggestions?

And, so as not to ask for something without giving something in return, here are a few of my favorites:

All That I Want by The Weepies

Kidnap the Sandy Claws from The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack

Snowfall Kind of Love by Ingrid Michaelson

Christmas is Going to the Dogs from the How the Grinch Stole Christmas Soundtrack

Someday at Christmas by Jack Johnson

Somewhere in My Memory from the Home Alone Soundtrack

Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance! by Sufjan Stevens (and several others from the album Songs for Christmas)

Moe at Peace Under the Tree

I tucked Moe's sometimes-sleeping basket up next to our new little tree, and there he's snuggled almost constantly since.  Talk about Christmas peace!

Tree Two

Sometime last week I half-jokingly said, "Maybe we could tuck a little real tree into the corner in the kitchen...."

Sweet Husband looked at me a little puzzled, but said, "Yeah, I guess we could do that."

"I mean, we don't have to go cut one down or anything, we could just go to the Christmas tree lot and pick out a little one or something."

"Nooo....If we're going to get a real tree we're going to do it right--drive into the country, hot chocolate, the works!"

So, we did.

Sunday morning we made our way to Evening Star Pines, and picked out a fat, baby tree.  I think it might be making us both sneeze just a little (although mine might just be this icky head cold), but it's beautiful. 

Pictures will be forthcoming.  :)