Days Gone By.

Hard to believe 2008 is gone. Is it just me, or was it a really fast year? I guess they all go by fast, though, don't they? I'm not really a new year's resolution kind of person, mostly because I don't think a new year in and of itself is enough to inspire change. But for this upcoming year I hope to have less chaos in my life overall. Period.

I hope you have a wonderful new year. We're ringing it in with friends over prime rib, cheesecake, and a ping pong tournament. *Hopefully* we'll make it to midnight. We're such party animals!

See you in '09....

Having Withdrawl Symptoms

I know we all know the benefits of reading books: reading stimulates the imagination, it expands vocabulary, improves creativity and memory, gives us a glimpse into other lives and worlds, etc., etc. But I know there is also a dark, disturbing side to reading a good book that is rarely mentioned...and one that I am experiencing right now, first-hand. I'm here to caution you.

Hello, my name is Keri, and I am going through Twilight withdrawl.

I know, I know. I'd heard the warnings: "You'll be addicted!" "You won't be able to put it down!" "You won't do anything else until you finish the books!" But, truly, I thought I was strong enough to resist the lure. I figured I'd read the books and be mildly entertained and move on with my life. I have enough self-control, right??

Wrong. Little did I know that I would be reading the books every free second I had. I read in the morning before taking the kids to school when I should have been unloading the dishwasher...I read while I was blow drying my hair...I read in the parking lot while waiting for Riley to get out of school...I needed a hit constantly.

And now - remember that dark side of reading I mentioned? - I've finished the books and I'm lost. I hardly know myself anymore. What do I do in the morning? I am forced to unload the dishwasher. When I dry my hair, I actually have to just stand and stare at myself in the mirror. It's awfull, I tell you...awful.

I know, I know. I can pick up another book and carry on...I have a new one sitting by my bed right now. But I first need time to mourn the fact that the Twilight series is no more. I'll get over it, sure, but it may take awhile.

In the mean time, to feed my addiction, I'm going to go see the movie with my mom this week. Because another horrible, awful, side-effect of reading a good book is that I have become an enabler and allowed my mom to get sucked in to the series as well.

Hello, my name is Keri, and I am addicted to a book series that was intended for teenage girls and not thirty-something year old women.

Can someone get me an intervention please?

I'm a Baking Fool.

Really. I'm not kidding. I've been baking pretty much all day, and all by choice. That pretty much qualifies me as a baking fool. (Or, maybe, just a fool?) Because there's a lot around here that still needs to be done. Wrapping, namely. Lots of wrapping. And, of course, that darned laundry. (Why is it that laundry never takes a day off. No day of rest like the U.S. mail or the bank? Shouldn't we get ONE day where clothes just don't get dirty?)

The activity in the kitchen today consisted of:
*a cake for a friend's birthday
*hashbrown casserole for Christmas morning (I guess that's technically not baking, is it.)
*one batch of chocolate chip cookies for Santa
*two batches of sugar cookies
*one MASSIVE batch of cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning (recipe courtesy of Pioneer Woman)

Here are the cinnamon rolls in their pre-baked state. I haven't tasted them yet, so I can't give a complete assessment, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say they're going to be y-u-m-m-y.


Like anything with cinnamon, sugar, and butter could be bad, right?

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Wishing you and your family a Christmas full of contentment, peace, and gratitude for the best gift of all.

Luke 2:8-12

My Laugh for the Day

I was sitting in my craft studio (read: dining room table) making a few hair accessories (coming soon...promise!) and my ever-present shadow Colin was sitting across the table from me staring at the gingerbread house.

I guess I should back up a little, and say that I probably field 10 questions a day about that gingerbread house: "When can we eat it?" "Can we eat it on Christmas morning?" "Can I pick off a couple of candies that are falling off?" No matter how I try to explain that the gingerbread house will be weeks old, and probably not fit for human consumption (like that's ever stopped them before), there's no swaying them. They desperately want that gingerbread house.

So, this afternoon Colin was sitting across from me at the table gazing longingly at the house. I hadn't really noticed him there, so when I did see him I asked, "Whatcha doin' bud?" (I prefer to speak to my children formally at home.) He said, "Oh, I'm just looking at the gingerbread house." He sat quietly for a few moments more, then said, "Mom...do you think I could have some alone time??"

Um...alone time with the gingerbread house, huh?

When I started giggling, I got this face:


Then, once he knew he was busted, he started laughing like a madman.


I guess he figured it was worth a try.

All is Calm.

Wishing you a Silent Night as well....


(Sleep in Heavenly peace.)

Feasibly, the Final FFL Favorite

You know what they say about the road to hell....

I had every intention of posting another of "FFL's Favorite Things" last night, but then somehow I managed to fall asleep face-first and fully-clothed on my bed at 9:30. How did that happen? I can't even remember. I did wake up at 12:30 and groggily go stumbling into the living room to find Gary asleep on the couch with all of the lights and the TV on. We are a wild and crazy duo, let me tell you!

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I will preface this FFL's Favorite Thing by saying the following pictures were not easy to come by. Taking these pictures reminded me in some odd way of taking a philosophy course in college and studying metacognition. You know: "thinking about your thinking". Very deep. I had a tough time with that then (I wonder what Freud would make of that?), much like I had a tough time with these pictures. Let me just shut up and show you.

The next thing on my favorites list is my camera. I use a Nikon D40 with a 18-200mm Quantaray lens. I love-love-love my camera. It's amazing, and definitely makes the photographer look good. (Kind of like Spanx.) The lens I have on the camera is not the lens it came with, and while that lens is excellent, I like the 18-200mm because it provides a wider range of field of view (an extra zoom factor), but without the humoungazoid telephoto lens thing going on.

Turns out it's not such an easy thing to take a picture of your camera. I tried first to take a picture in the mirror, but I ended up looking like some crazed paparazzo stalking John Mayer.


(Because if I was a crazed paparazzo and was going to stalk someone, it would be him.)

I had to resort to using my phone to take a picture. Not the best quality, but at least you don't see my crazy eye.


There are several features I love about this camera: I love that it's a digital SLR, so it gives you the options of a traditional SLR with the clarity of digital. And of course it has the full auto mode so you can get the aperture and exposure right each and every time. One of the things that drives me bonkers about most digital cameras is the delay. You probably know what I'm talking about: your kids are hugging and cuddling, you grab your camera to capture the rare moment, and in the 1.5 second delay that occurs between when you push the button and when the photo is actually taken, they are now strangling one another with their bare hands. This camera has no delay. None. You press the button and it takes the picture. Period.

So there you have my final favorite thing. And now I'll stick to taking pictures of subjects that do not include me in the mirror. I promise that is the last time you will ever see my crazy eye.


Ahhh...much better.

No Rhyme or Reason to This One.

First I'd just like to say, uh...seven days left until Christmas? I request a recount. Thank you. However, I do think I am *officially* done with my Christmas shopping. Wrapping, however, is another story. There are three gifts wrapped under my tree, and Colin wrapped all three. (A big fan of the Scotch tape, that one.)

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I am struggling a bit this year with what to put in the stockings. Santa always brings new toothbrushes and some books, and this year he's going to replenish the crayons and markers that are getting broken and dried out from the beginning of school. But what else? I just remembered that every year Santa used to put an orange in our stockings (in addition to our other goodies) and I thought it was so lame. (Sorry Santa.) Any more suggestions for me other than just the traditional candy route? Or oranges?

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Whoever invented children's adjustable waist pants deserves a Nobel prize.

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I am OK with admitting that I am going to be sad when I finish this final Twilight book. It's a pretty fun series and has totally sucked me in. Of course my family will have more clean underwear once I'm done reading it. (My laundry is taking the brunt of the neglect.)

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It is C-O-L-D here, but the kids wanted to go outside for a bit yesterday afternoon. They played outside until Avery stepped in something not-so-nice and I decided the fun was over. Cross my heart, I took this picture before the doggie doo incident...this is just mud on her shoe.


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Lucy follows me around the house to the point of being annoying. She is the neediest dog I have ever seen. I try to make Lucy stay on her bed and stop following me everywhere I go, but c'mon...look at those sad eyes.


She loves Avery, as well, because Avery has decided that feeding Lucy Cinnamon Toast Crunch is just about the greatest thing ever.


(In the interest of full disclosure I feel I must say that I did not buy Lucy the collar she's wearing. It was a hand-me-down from a certain dear Southern friend of mine - who shall remain nameless - who apparently spoiled her dog Hank much more than I spoil Lucy.)

(Also in the interest of full disclosure, those are absolutely not hand prints on my dishwasher in the above picture. They are, uh, smudges on my camera lens.)

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Not Me (Oh how I wish)

Here is my second installment in MckMama's “Not Me Monday”. I'm sorry in advance for the last entry on this “Not Me” list.....

First, I was not so tired of washing dishes that I did not decide to throw away three perfectly good tupperware containers rather than wash them. That would be wasteful and foolish.

I did not allow Colin to go to his church Christmas program without wearing underwear because we were running short on time and I didn't feel like fighting with him about undergarments. I definitely would not allow my son to go commando in church.

I did not wear the same jeans three days in a row this week because I was trying to reduce my laundry load. That's just plain gross.

I did not allow Avery to each a piece of fudge this week and subsequently laugh that she now refers to fudge as “mmm”.

I did not have to tell one of my sons that we do not use the term 'penis missiles'. (Is this really my life??)

I think that's more than enough. Thanks for reading, and if you need me, I'll be hiding under the covers in embarrassment.

Blah.

I'm a bit grumpy this evening. Well, more than a bit, if I'm being honest. I'm down right irritable. I don't really know the root cause of this mood I'm in, but I'm guessing it could be caused by one of the following factors (forgive me in advance for this whiny post, I beg of you):

a) It's freezing here. Today was rainy with a high of 45 degrees. I guess for all of you mid-westerners/east coast-ers out there that would hardly qualify as cold, but it's pretty cold for California standards and my blood is pretty thin. I couldn't make it in somewhere that got snow.

b) Gary has been working a lot lately and I haven't had much of a break from the kids. I needed some time away from them this weekend but Gary worked Saturday and today was Colin's preschool Christmas program, so there was no break to be had. I am feeling the effects of this extreme togetherness. Not in a good way.

c) Avery has been sick and was up several times last night and the boys have been DRIVING. ME. BATTY this weekend. Some days I could swear they team up against me just for the fun of it. (I saw an SUV yesterday with a license plate that read 'ASYLUM'...I briefly considered stealing it because I'm pretty sure I'm headed there one of these days soon.)

d) For 45 minutes today I thought my debit card was lost. After church the boys and I went to get gas (Gary stayed home with Avery) and the pay at the pump wasn't working at the Shell station. Rather than unload the two boys in the rain to pay inside I drove two miles to another station, and when I got out to use my card it was nowhere to be found. I called the first station and had Gary go back and look for my card...still nowhere to be found. I called the bank when I got home and cancelled the card. Twenty minutes later when we all got back in the car to run another errand my ATM card slid out from some phantom crack in my center console. I called the bank right away to see if they could undo my cancelled card, but it was too late. Figures.

e) Finally, I had to clean the boys' bathroom for the third time today because one of them just can't seem to get the whole aiming thing down pat.

**Deep Breath......and Exhale.........**

OK, I apologize again for my whining and complaining and I promise I will be better tomorrow. Double promise.

I'm going to go watch "A Christmas Story". I'm thinking that will cheer me up considerably. ("You'll shoot your eye out, you'll shoot your eye out!")

Oh, Fudge.

Well, a couple of you guessed correctly yesterday:
that diabetic coma-inducing set of ingredients on my table
was the beginning of a batch of fudge.
And, silly Tia, you thought there were four cups of sugar in that measuring cup?
No, of course not! I would never put four cups of sugar in fudge!  That's crazy talk!
It was actually five.

One of my favorite things about Christmas,
from as far back as my memories go, has always been my Pampa's fudge.
My Pampa (my mom's dad) is the very best fudge maker anywhere,
and I'll stick my tongue out at anyone who says otherwise.
I'm pretty sure this is the only thing my Pampa knew how to make,
and throughout their 50 year marriage,
my Mamma let him take over the kitchen just once a year, when it was time for fudge.
Pampa is now 85 and no longer able to make his annual batches of fudge,
so I make my own.
And I think of him throughout the entire process.

Now, I know the menagerie of ingredients is a bit horrifying:
copious amounts of white sugar, marshmallow cream,
evaporated milk, chocolate chips...not exactly doctor's orders.
But let me assure you, this fudge is not something
you'll have sitting around your countertop tempting you.
You'll really want to make this fudge and give it away to your friends.
Or, another option, give it away to your un-friends.
Kill them with kindness.
You know who I'm talking about, that neighbor down the street who doesn't ever cut their grass
or pull the weeds, or the one that revs up his Harley at five in the morning.
My point is, make this fudge and give it away.
They (whoever they are) will thank you.

Pampa's Fudge
1 can evaporated milk
1 jar marshmallow cream
24 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (No Guittard for me this time: times are tough, you know)
1 1/3 sticks butter
5 cups sugar (I know, I know...I'm sorry)
1 Tbsp. vanilla
pinch salt
2 lbs. chopped walnuts (optional) (I ended up not including the walnuts because I didn't have time to chop them)

Put milk, butter, and sugar in sauce pan and heat on medium until boiling.
Boil, stirring constantly, for 8 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in chocolate chips, marshmallow cream,
vanilla, and pinch of salt and beat with beater.
Stir in nuts by hand. Pour mixture into greased (with Pam) jelly roll pan
and let sit until fudge consistency.
Cut into squares.

Enjoy. Then run as fast as you can to the nearest treadmill or elliptical machine.

A Sinful Cast of Characters

I've been slaving away in the kitchen a lot the past couple of days. The results of my toils have all been Christmas goodies, and none are even remotely on the healthy side. Which is why they all need to be given away - quickly. (I took a tin of Snickerdoodles to the pediatrician today, so I am making some progress.)

I was in the kitchen again today, this time making something that I have enjoyed every Christmas for as far back as I can remember. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Until then, here's a little preview of the goodness (or badness, in this case):


I realize that there's an obscene amount of sugar there in that measuring cup but let me assure you that, um....I'm sorry?

I guess I don't have anything redeeming to say about that.

Another Fave...Christmas Music.

**Don't forgot to enter my giveaway! You know you want to. Time's up tomorrow morning.**

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One thing that drives Gary crazy about me (and not in a good way) is my extreme love of Christmas music. I usually start turning it on right after Halloween and could listen to it pretty much non-stop every day until Christmas. Gary only likes it in small doses and gets burned out with my Christmas music pretty quickly. I created a 6 hour holly jolly playlist for our drive to Southern California, but he vetoed it pretty quickly. (He might have slight Scrooge-ish tendencies, but don't tell him I said that.)

I have a lot of favorite Christmas songs, but some of my all-time favorites are Harry Connick, Jr.'s “When My Heart Finds Christmas” album (very upbeat and festive!) and, of course, Vincent Guaraldi's “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. It's so nostalgic for me and relaxing, and the kids love it as well. I also frequently put Christmas music on Pandora and just see what comes along. I would like to kiss whomever invented Pandora. They're genius.

I was tagged by Peach out of Water, Baby Tunnel Exodus, True Love is a Mama, and couselormama (whew!) for the Deck the Halls Christmas meme, so here I go:

Egg nog or hot chocolate?
 I guess if I have to choose one it would be hot chocolate. Marshmallows too, please. And do you have a mug with a snowman on it? Thanks.

Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree?
 He wraps. And he has his own paper that doesn't match any other paper in the house, and he makes sure his handwriting is unique and unlike anyone else's in the house. And he usually does it around 11pm Christmas Eve.

Colored lights on tree or white?
 This year it's white, because we broke down and bought the pre-lit tree (which I HIGHLY recommend), but every year before that I was a colored lights girl.

When do you put your decorations up?
 I like to do it all the day after Thanksgiving, if possible, but definitely the weekend after Thanksgiving. I want to enjoy them as long as possible.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
 No dessert? What's up with that?? Then I guess I'd say twice-baked potatoes. Or homemade tamales. (Homemade by someone else.)

Favorite holiday memory as a child:
 Spending Christmas with my family and grandparents was always a highlight.

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
 I was probably seven or eight years old and I noticed that Santa had the same beautiful script handwriting as my mom. It was just a lit-tle too suspicious.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
 Yes, we open gifts from family on Christmas Eve, then Santa's gifts on Christmas morning.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
 Plug in the pre-strung lights (hallelujah!) and then watch the kids go to town with the ornaments. Try to discreetly put the breakable ones on the upper third of the tree and not cringe as they bunch all of the ornaments on two or three branches.

Snow! Love it or dread it?
 I'm a fan...from afar. Although I'll admit I've never had a white Christmas (I'm in the Bay Area - no snow here!), so maybe if I ever experienced it I'd like it.

Can you ice skate?
 Not really. One of my first dates with Gary was ice skating, and as we were making our way around the rink a guy in front of us tripped and fell and split his nose on the ice. I think the blood and the ambulance might have soured my idea of ice skating just a bit.

Do you remember your favorite gift?
 It's gotta be my Cabbage Patch Kid (Eve Jordan) when I was seven. I was so surprised and so excited.

What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Making sure the kids know what Christmas is really about and making family traditions they'll remember forever.

What is your favorite holiday dessert?
 My dad's cashew brittle and my Pampa's fudge. Hands-down.

What is your favorite tradition?
 Having Christmas Eve dinner with my family and then opening presents after dinner, and then having cinnamon rolls Christmas morning -- just the five of us.

Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving.

What is your favorite Christmas Song?
" I love "O Holy Night" - sung by almost any artist - but one of my new favorites is "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by the Barenaked Ladies. Love it!

Candy canes! Yuck or yum?
 I'm not a big fan of the peppermint version, but the rainbow cherry canes are not so bad.

Ever recycled a Christmas present?
 Christmas present? No. But I refuse to answer any questions about birthday gifts.

I tag Mama Lovelock, Kimber's Space, flssgrl, C. Beth Blog, and Giovanna Diaries. Play along if you wish!

A Little Busy

**Don't forget to enter my give-a-way! Click here! I mean, if you want to. I'm not trying to boss you.**

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So, I've been a bit distracted lately. I'm working on a few projects that are occupying my time. I'm 'sewing' my creative oats, so to speak. My laundry is suffering a bit - surprise, surprise - and I've decided I need a craft room because crafting on the dining room table is not working for me for many reasons. [Have you seen Meg Duerksen's (aka whatever) craft room? I know the commandment "Thou shall not covet", but...have you seen her craft room? I digress.]

I'm working on - perhaps? - an etsy sight. (Surely you all know etsy? If not, click here and prepare to fall in love.) I'm a little infatuated with all things felt and am working on a few goodies. I'll share when I'm finished, I promise.

Until then, here's a teaser:


To be continued....

Until then, I'll be back tomorrow with another favorite thing. Or two.

How to Waste 30 Minutes of Your Day.

Elf Yourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Dancing with the Stars ain't got nuthin' on us.

Favorite Things - #2

The next item on my favorite things list is one that I'm pretty sure Oprah won't be including on her lists anytime in the near future. It's my crock pot. I'm a fairly recent crock pot convert, thanks largely in part to my dear friend Lori at Peach out of Water. She's the crock pot queen and gave me my first favorite crock pot recipe: frozen chicken breasts, chicken broth, 4 hours, shred and add to tortilla soup, salad, enchiladas, pancakes...just making sure you were paying attention there.

My new favorite crock pot dish I discovered through my blog friend Beth at C. Beth Blog. She posted a crock pot recipe a couple months back for one of my other favorites, quinoa (pronounced 'keen-wah'). I was introduced to quinoa about a year ago, and ever since then I've been searching far and wide for great quinoa recipes. If you've never heard of or tried quinoa, you should. It's filling, yummy, and oh-so-healthy. And Beth's recipe includes black beans, corn, and cumin...need I say more? So good. Even Gary likes this recipe, and he's normally a little skiddish around quinoa. I add sour cream and salsa and there's dinner.


It sure does look like I used a ton of sour cream in this picture. It didn't seem like that much when I was eating it...maybe I blocked the actual quantity out since it was so good.

I guess I should amend this post to read "Favorite Things - #'s 2 and 3". The crock pot and quinoa...it does a body good.

FFL's Favorite Things!

Here we are in a brand new month, and to celebrate the month of December I wanted to do something a little different. I called a board meeting with the Forever Folding Laundry executive committee to discuss possible ideas, and we were all in quick and complete agreement that this will be the month of FFL's Favorite Things. On a side note, coming to a consensus is so much easier when there's just one person on the committee. Try it sometime, you'll see.

The executive committee wondered why Oprah has the monopoly on the favorite things market? Why does everyone hang on her every word to see what's new and great for the year? Is it because she's rich and powerful and has an audience of millions? Who cares! Look at me! I'm...uh...well, let's see...not rich...not exactly powerful...I do have an audience of a few...oh never mind. I'll give you a few of my favorite things anyway a few times this month, despite my lack of Oprah-esque credentials.

I figured since we're gearing up for Christmas, the first item on my list would be my Christopher Radko ornaments. I really love glass ornaments, and Radko's are some of the prettiest. Every year my parents give me an ornament for Christmas and I try to buy one for myself as well. Last year I really scored and found them 50% off at the Christmas store after Christmas.

My parents gave me this guy last year. I love him!


This St. Nicholas was from 2006. He's very sparkly.


I bought these two Santa's last year. I realized that I like Santa ornaments, I guess.


Here's yet another Santa.


And an elephant. Did you know that the elephant is the official pachyderm of Christmas? True.


The last Radko I'll show you is a great big Santa that my parents gave me several years ago. I like this guy. He's sitting on the sofa table as you walk into the house. He's happy and festive and I like him. Did I say that already?


Thus concludes the first item on Forever Folding Laundry's Favorite Things List!

What? Was there something else? Oh, OK, I'l say it:

YOU get a Radko! YOU get a Radko! YOU get a Radko!

Aack! What am I saying! Sorry, I got caught up in an Oprah moment there for a sec.

Remember when I wondered aloud in the beginning of this entry about why people hang on Oprah's every word? It's because of the give-a-ways, isn't it? Shoot. I guess I can't compete with Oprah after all.