Current Obsessions: A Meme December 31, 2009

I couldn’t find a meme to perfectly fit what I was wanting to write here, so here I am!  Authoring!  My first!  Meme!  Can you believe it?

It’s not that spectacular, actually.  Feel free to modify it and put it on your blog, but if you do, please leave me a link in the comments so I can read!

Current Obsessions

Book: A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle.  I just got the sequel, Toujours Provence, and hope to read it soon!  It’s fun reading all the little French phrases and actually being able to understand them (I took French in HS and college).

Snack: Oddly, ice.  I put some crushed ice in my water, wait for it to get a little melty and saturated, and then I eat it!  Plus side–it’s very low-calorie.  Minus side–it’s bad for my teeth and probably means I have low iron.

Beverage: Sparkling juice.  I haven’t had an abundance of it, but it’s my celebration drink of choice (even when not pregnant).  I think I’ll have a glass tonight as I watch the ball drop on TV.  Happy New Year’s Eve to me!  Peppermint hot chocolate is good, too.  I have some Ghirardelli stuff in the cupboard–yum!

Decor: Wall decals.  I find them so fascinating, and I can’t get enough of looking at them.  I only have one in my home (and one on my car), but this I plan to remedy soon.  I don’t talk about decorating much on this blog, but it is one of my dwindled passions.  (Seriously, who has time for all the passions when you have a kid and a job or two?  I have a hard time remembering what I did with all my time before!)  I have a long post on decorating coming on Sunday.

Actor: It’s still Robert Downey, Jr. for me!  Has anyone seen the new Sherlock Holmes?  Recommend or no?  I am eagerly anticipating the Ironman sequel, though sequels are rarely as good.

Movie: I finally saw Julie & Julia.  It was adorable, especially to someone who loves blogging and cooking.  I think it has led to my next obsession…

Actress: Amy Adams.  Seriously, even though she had bad hair in that movie she was so cute!  And I was, ahem, enchanted with her in Enchanted.

Hobby: Crafting.  Anja has had a scrapbook waiting in her closet since shortly after she was born.  After things in the photography world settled down last week, I set up “shop” on the dining room table and completed all the pages for which I already had photos printed!  I am not an hour per page type scrapbooker.  More like 10 minutes per page, and call it good enough.  This is actually only the second scrapbook I have ever done.  I’m not a huge fan of hobbies that pit women against each other in sneaky, might-not-even-know-it’s-there competition.  But I am far from a perfectionist when it comes to this.  It’s just something fun to do.  I hope/plan to do one book for each child we have, and the rest of their photos will just get put in albums and (hopefully, eventually) labeled.  While I’ve got all the supplies out, I’ve also made some cards to replenish my stash.  I have all sorts of card-making goods, but I’ve been buying them in the $1 section at Michael’s for years since I haven’t had time to make them.  And I did some other stuff I’ll hopefully get time to post about before Baby #2 arrives.

A photo to break up the monotony
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Actually, I think that’s all I’ve got.  Too much baby stuff in my brain to hold anything else!

One of Anja’s Christmas Gifts December 30, 2009

Was a “princess dress” handmade by my sister-in-law.  Click here for a couple photos.

Snippets of Christmas December 25, 2009

Alternately titled: I edited some photos and will post them because I’m stuck at home on Christmas Day.

Our tree died so we took it down on Monday. Now you can’t see any of it, because it’s covered with a mound of snow.

And the tree decorations are sitting on the dining room table, waiting to be put away next week with the rest of the Christmas decor.

Anja received LOTS of Duplos for Christmas from Husband’s family, so we spent a lot of this week doing things like this:

And this:

Until this week, I had only heard of the wonder of these cinnamon rolls, but now I can heartily recommend them. Pre-frosting:

Post-frosting (oh, the humanity!):

And on my plate:

Today we scooped some snow off the balcony and brought it in to play.

And Mommy’s Christmas present arrived in the mail, so I opened it. Oooooohh….

We’re still hoping the snow will let up so we can travel to be with family this weekend. But in the meantime, I hope you’re able to snuggle up with your family or rock next to a cozy fire.

And I hope your Christmas is white, but not quite as white as ours!

2009 Goals Update 12.19.09 December 19, 2009

I think it’s been since July that I’ve done this (so sad), but thought I’d at least see how I’m ending the year…

1. Spend daily time in prayer and the Word (I used to do this no problem, but since Anja was born, my discipline in this area has slipped)

This has been pretty good in the past couple of months.  I know it will probably lapse again when the new baby comes, so I will enjoy it now while it lasts!

2. Read 2 photography books

Finished with one. Started a second. Can’t even remember if I finished.  Sad!

3. Read 1 Photoshop book

Then one I was reading became obsolete when I upgraded to CS4 and Lightroom (which I have had since August but haven’t even installed yet because I haven’t had time to deal with learning new stuff).  Last night Husband brought me home two books from a co-worker about Lightroom, so that will probably be my new goal book.

4. Book an average of 4 on-location sessions and 1 wedding each month

Was able to quit my other job and stay home with the kids thanks to my wonderful clients. Now booking 2010!

5. Sell our townhome and purchase a home with a $500 less per month payment

Nothing.  Market is too saturated with foreclosures and cheap townhomes.  If we don’t sell in a year, we’ll probably end up refinancing and staying here.  Prayer appreciated!

6. Organize an office for myself (instead of using the dining room table…)

Still waiting for the house in which to do it.

7. Have a baby or get pregnant

Second part of this goal attained!

8. Lose 10-15 lbs.

This will probably carry over to 2010 in the form of 20 lbs.

9. Make healthier meals most nights each week

Healthy has been balanced, at this time of year, with feasts with family and friends and too many baked goods.  Oh well.  I’m trying not to make a fuss, as long as we’re healthy.

10. Reduce grocery bill to $250/month (this could be the hardest one…seriously)

I pretty much consider this, as I mentioned in July, a giant FAIL for the year.  We probably spend $30-40 a week just on produce, and I have no idea how to reduce other things without compromising our health (as in I’m not about to start cooking from boxes just to save $).  Nor am I willing to buy 47 bottles of Pert Plus and 13 bottles of Tide just to get in-store credit at CVS.  I do clip coupons whenever I can and take advantage of sales.  If any of you have been able to cook primarily from scratch (we do store-buy things like tortillas, crackers, cereal, some canned goods, etc.) for $250 a month or less, I am all ears as to how I can save some dough!

10 about Christmas December 16, 2009

I got this fun Christmas meme from Gretchen (sorry dear, tried to comment with my link and had trouble again…hope you get to read this).

1. Best childhood gift from Santa: Santa pretty much brought the same things every year: socks, underwear, candy canes, and some other trinkets. He’s gotten much more adept with the gifts as I’ve gotten older. Now I get gift cards for gas and groceries!  And some socks.

2. Best childhood memories: Going to my grandparents’ homes for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The two celebrations were different, but each special in their own way.

At my mom’s parents’ (Eve), there was usually just our family of four, my two grandparents, and my great uncle Ed. We ate our traditional meal (corve* and lutefisk, and some sort of red-and-green jell-o dessert cut into rectangles, always served on a separate plate), read Luke 2, Grandpa prayed (for what seemed like FOREVER when I was a kid), then my brother and I handed out gifts and we all opened them (one at a time, by age, youngest to oldest). And then Grandma finished up with her last 21 gifts while we watched and oohed and aahed appropriately at each pair of elastic polyester pants and crossword puzzle dictionary. We threw wads of wrapping paper at Grandpa, and he smiled his crooked grin and chucked it back at us when we weren’t looking. After cleaning up the wrapping paper and boxes, the menfolk and myself would sit at the table with a giant Tupperware bowl of nuts, still in the shell, and use nutcrackers to shell them. They were usually enjoyed with a can of 7-up or Pepsi.

At my dad’s parents’ (Day), we arrived shortly before noon to find Grandma bustling about the kitchen, putting finishing touches on the meal (varied from year to year). Other families would show up (everyone came to this celebration every year—our family, all 6 aunts and uncles, Grandma and Grandpa, and 9 cousins…almost everyone still shows up, too!), everyone bringing salad or vegetables or rolls to share, and we’d eat around 12:30 or 1:00. Dishes would get done, and we’d take family pictures on the staircase. I miss that staircase… Then the kids would pass out gifts, and we’d open them in the same style, one at a time, youngest to oldest. Grandma would end with her last 15 gifts while most of the cousins scrambled off to play with new toys and the older folks (and me) stayed to ooh and aah over every bathrobe, sweater and cookie jar. After clean-up, the trays of Wheatie Bars, caramels and Nut Goodies would get passed around. Friends and other, more distant relatives would show up throughout the afternoon, sometimes sharing a meal or bringing a treat. Games like Taboo, Scattergories and Pictionary were played in large groups around the dining room table. We would have leftovers and buns for supper and continue playing until it was time to go home.

3. Favorite Christmas cookies: Tough one. My mom makes way more bars than cookies, and they’re super-yummy, but my favorite cookie is probably a frosted sugar cookie.

4. Icky Christmas memory: Driving from Husband’s folks’ place up to my folks’ place on Christmas Eve through a snowstorm our 2nd year of marriage. We didn’t get there until LATE.

5. It’s not Christmas without: Jesus. He’s the reason for the season, after all!

6. Our Church Service: I remember Christmas Eve services at my mom’s parents’ church—all glowy in candlelight, kids I grew up with playing instruments and singing, scriptures being read. Loved it.

7. Christmas Pet Peeve: Feeling stressed when it’s supposed to be a time of tidings of comfort and joy.  I’ve been better with my expectations this year and made specific plans to NOT stress out.  The work part of December has driven me nutso, but I think I should be able to wrap up before the 24th, so I’m looking forward to some time to relax…

8. Favorite Christmas CD: Probably Christmas with Conniff, just because I grew up with it on vinyl, and it reminds me of so many good memories.

9. Real or Fake: Real, much to Husband’s dismay. I don’t know what he’s complaining about, though, because when his family has a tree, it’s real, too. That way we can enjoy the fragrance and we don’t have to store it, right?

10. I spend Christmas Eve: varies every year now. Sometimes with Husband’s family; this year we’ll spend it just the three of us. I am really looking forward to that, actually. I have plans for a special breakfast and to attend our own church’s Christmas Eve service.

If you play along, leave a link in the comments section—I’d love to read!

*Corve is apparently so obscure that I couldn’t find a single thing about it on the interwebs.  It’s a homemade sausage of sorts, containing some sort of meat (Mom?  Is it beef?  Pork?).  Husband’s family makes potato sausage, which is similar, but corve doesn’t have the potatoes or onions in it.  I kind of miss corve…

The Nester’s Christmas Tour of Homes December 13, 2009

I’ve been looking forward to this bloggy carnival for a few weeks now…and it’s here!  BooMama used to host this tour, and she handed it over to The Nester this year.  Can’t wait to see everyone’s decorating!

We’ll start in my living/kitchen area, where the theme is blue and silver (my husband’s 1/4 Jewish, but that’s not the reason behind the scheme; I just like it).  I have a balustrade hanging on the wall above my piano that gets changed fairly often.  This year some tinsel, snowflakes, and my Willow Tree nativity are featured.

Next to the couch on my little green sewing cabinet:

A tinsel wreath with more snowflakes hanging in front of the doors out to our balcony (you can see my pregnant self in the reflection…nice):

Behind my sink, giving me something pretty to look at:

And also in the kitchen on a little ledge:

My kitchen table centerpiece, this darling chipboard house that a co-worker gave me last year (I’ve since decided to make my own every year to add to a collection of them):

And, of course, the tree (I forgot to get a picture of the full tree):

We get a real tree every year, and this is part of the price we pay.  Needles everywhere!

In the dining area, my theme is more neutrals, reds and silvers.  Here’s my dining table centerpiece (got the tree as a gift from Mom, made the runner, and picked up the silver votives at Michael’s a few weeks ago):

A little Nester-type garland I made to hang on my old farmhouse window:

A candle setting (and seriously, it’s impossible to photograph Christmas decor without ending up in the photos!) and this adorable little advent house (MAJOR score at Kohl’s…was $50, got it for less than $5!) grace my sofa table turned buffet.  Anja, my daughter, enjoys opening all the little doors, even though there’s nothing in them this year.  :)

Festive stuff pours into every room, but I’ll just give you a couple more peeks.  Another tree and nativity in our bedroom (can’t wait to paint that occasional table someday):

And some little vignettes of our guest bath/Anja’s bathroom, all girly in pinks and burgundys.

Wish I’d had some time to prepare snacks for y’all, but those we did have made have been eaten!

Click here to see more fabulous Christmas tours!

Fake Trees Aren’t So Bad… December 11, 2009

Husband and I still get a real one every year (much to his chagrin), and so does Mom. But she has a pretty realistic-looking fake one in the basement. I get the honor of decorating that one.

They Looked Up and Saw A Star December 10, 2009

“Shining in the East beyond them far
And to the earth it gave great light
And so it continued both day and night.” (The First Noel)

Cookie Jar Queen December 9, 2009

There was a time when all of my aunts (and my mom) on my dad’s side of the family collected cookie jars.  I don’t know how many my aunts still have, but my mom has not yet parted with any of her collection.  At Christmas, the buffet in the kitchen gets covered with Christmas-themed cookie jars.  Even though my mom bakes all the time, none of them are filled with cookies.

My favorite is the Christmas tree with the ladder.  But this is one collection I’m hoping not to inherit (don’t worry–my mom already knows this).  :)

The Stove December 7, 2009

Mom’s old stove/oven…it’s seen better days, but keeps on ticking.  I’ve pulled countless pans of cookies, warm buns, caramel rolls, and bars out of that oven.  Mom’s pulled most of them, actually, but I helped with the eating part.

And I’ve stirred pots of soup, skillets of gravy, double boilers of frosting on this stove.  Mom plans to re-do the kitchen sometime, and it will probably make way for something newer and fancier, which is fine.  But it won’t be the same.  Why do I get so attached to silly things like cars, ovens, even towels?

Here’s my favorite sugar cookie recipe. So yummy!

Joan’s Sugar Cookies

350 degrees/6-8 minutes

Cream together:
3/4 c. soft shortening (Crisco)
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Sift together and stir in:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Chill at least one hour Roll out 1/8″ thick. Cut in desired shapes, sprinkle with colored sugar if desired, and bake on ungreased baking sheet. Bake until delicately golden.

Once cooled, you can frost them:
4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 lb. (one stick) melted butter
Pour butter over sugar and mix. Add evaporated milk for spreading consistency.

We also like to add food coloring or sprinkles to ours, depending on the holiday. Enjoy!