Variation on a Theme

I've been thinking about making these for a while and just haven't gotten around to doing it. Well, tonight was the night I did it - I finally (!) put them all together. Tomorrow we will see my parents in the morning for an investment club meeting that will be held in their home, and then in the evening, we'll be heading over to my mother in law's home to have dinner and celebrate her birthday. Since I wanted to make one for each of them, I figured this would be the perfect time.

I'd seen a version of these last year in the December issue of Better Homes and Gardens, and thought they were so cute and clever...and EASY! Then, just before we left for winter break last year, I received this one from our PTA president as a Christmas gift. When I started thinking about them, I knew the possibilities were endless and I began thinking of all of the different things I could do when making them. Well, here's the first round:




I bought a ton of Christmas ornaments last year at Michael's after Christmas, so I already had these in my stash. Then, last weekend I went to my favorite thrift store to see what I could find. Jackpot! (I just love that store - I can find nearly anything I'm looking for there...and lots of things I'm not looking for, too!) I found these wonderful Chinese lacquered trays - the perfect shade of rust for a fall arrangement - for just fifty cents each. Then, I spied the tiny little Chinese tea cups on another counter and went to check them out. Score! They, too, were just fifty cents each. One set of the tea cups was the perfect size for a pair of tapers, while the other set was just right to hold a pair of tea lights. The fall flowers and (unusual) hibiscus pods I picked up at Trader Joe's this afternoon.

They're phenomenally easy to put together: remove the cap and hanging wire from the ornament; hot glue the ornament to your chosen surface. Fill the ornament three-quarters full of water and add your flowers, arranging as you wish. When finished, hot glue candle holders as desired. Add candles.


I think they turned out well. One thing I can say, though, is buy more flowers for the arrangement than you think you'll need. Why? Because you're trying to force a fair amount of flowers into the very small opening at the top of the bulb, the flowers heads tend to break off as you push the stems in.

Go ahead. Ask me how I know.

Holiday Mania!

I'm just finishing the last of a four-day weekend and I've been the busiest little bee getting ready for the holidays! I've got lots of little projects in the works and I took this opportunity to finish up as many as I could. Actually, I did quite well and I'm so pleased with the progress! Many things were finished in their entirety and others progressed nicely, but still have a few things to do before being completed.

Yesterday I made three big batches of cookie dough and stashed it in the freezer for the annual Holiday Cookie Bake-Off with Deb which will be here before we know it. WHEW! When I say big batches of cookie dough, I'm not kidding! I began mixing at 12:15 yesterday afternoon and finally finished at 4:00...when I promptly plopped myself down on the couch and refused to move for the next hour. No matter - I'm glad it's done, and I'm grateful that I had the time to finish up this project before things became too hectic and crazy - as it always does around the holidays!

Here are the chocolate chip cookies (yes dad, they've got LOTS of walnuts in them!).
I find it a huge time saver to freeze the cookie dough once it's been scooped into individual cookies. That way you can just take the bag out of the freezer and place each scoop of cookie dough on the baking sheet and bake them off; no worries about waiting for it to thaw before you can scoop the dough into cookies. I also made a big batch of chocolate crinkles and a big batch of molasses crinkles. YUM! Just the smell of all of that cookie dough gave me a wonderful sugar rush!

Mmmmmm...Gingerbread!

Today was a perfect fall Sunday afternoon. It rained last night so everything was nice and fresh this morning when we went out for our walk. But it was cold (!) and later turned quite blustery. We lazed around the house this morning just relaxing and reading the paper. This afternoon we decided to go look at a few houses. We're not quite ready to make the move to purchase anything yet, but it's getting closer and there were a few houses that have just recently listed so we thought we'd go take a look. Not bad, but...we're definitely glad we're still waiting! The cutest house was actually in an area that we like, but that particular house is much to close to the freeway and there was way too much noise. Oh well, time is still on our side.

When we got home, I wanted to make something for dessert that matched my fall mood - and also isn't drowning in fat calories. What fits the bill? Gingerbread! I haven't had any for a long time and it sounded wonderful. So there you have it - tonight after dinner, we'll have a nice warm square of gingerbread and a dollop of light whipped cream. Mmmmm...I can hardly wait for dessert!!

Voting Day

So today is the day - finally! After nearly two (LONG) years of campaigning, today is decision day. I don't know about you, but I'll be so glad to not have to listen to political commercials!

No matter who you choose to cast your ballot for, please do remember to get out there and vote today. It's both an honor and a priviledge. Besides, how can you NOT feel patriotic standing there in line with your fellow citizens to cast your vote? Just thinking about it almost sends a shiver down my spine!

God bless America, indeed.

Turning 50

Today we celebrated Debbie's 50th birthday. Fifty? How did that happen??
We had a wonderful celebration! Just the family and a party at mom and dad's house and a yummy dinner. Thanks, mom and dad, for hosting ... and cooking! Every thing was delicious.

Mom and I had fun decorating the house before the LaLa's arrived... ...and we all had a great time watching Deb open her gifts.

As some of you may know (mostly because I was looking for help with ideas!), the gift that Kevin and I gave Deb was somewhat out of the ordinary. We figured that, since you only turn 50 once, and because it is a monstrously significant birthday, you really should have fifty ... gifts ... of fifty different things ... in the amount of ... fifty. Right? Yep, that's right: fifty pennies, fifty (Hershey's) kisses, fifty stickers, fifty feathers, fifty fortune cookies, fifty - well, you get the idea...



I'm not sure who enjoyed going through the box of gifts more: Deb, or P and D...
Why is it that, once taken from the box, you can never get anything to go back in quite the same way?
Mom made a photo album filled with of pictures of Deb from the time she was a baby through today. It was a huge hit! I don't think the boys have ever seen any of the older family photographs and they were having a blast looking on with Deb as she explained what was going on in each of the pictures, how old she was, where the photo was taken, etc.


It was a very special day for a very special person. We love you Deb! And hope that the next fifty years are as wonderful as the past fifty have been. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

For all of you crockpot nerds out there....

Nice to know I'm in such good company!

A friend of mine, Christie, over at the Frugal Living Forum suggested this crockpot blog. I think I'm addicted. It's absolutely fascinating! I can hardly wait to try some of the recipes. I'd already asked Santa to bring me a new crockpot for Christmas...what a coincidence!

...now I need to ask him for one of the 'Little Dippers' so we can have Fondue Friday at home!

Football Day in America...or at least in TO

Saturday, Kevin and I headed out to TO to take in one of D's football games. What fun! We had a great time sitting on the sidelines cheering on # 2-5.


Well, at least I sat on the sidelines - Kevin was enlisted to be part of the 'chain gang'. It started out that Bill and Kevin were the chain gang.

Then apparently P was enlisted, too, and it was Kevin and P.

In either combination, they make a good looking chain gang - don't you think?
We had a really fun time. GO VIKINGS!! (and yes, they won!)

The First Annual FA Chili Cook-Off

This past Friday night we had a great staff party: the First Annual FA Chili Cook-Off! We had a blast! I can't tell you how lucky I feel to work at such a wonderful place. Everyone there is just like family. It's a wonderfully warm, close knit group and we always have a good time together. New boss, old boss and the usual cast of characters.

Okay, so our chili didn't win the cook-off. There's always next year. And honestly, Doug does make a pretty mean chili! Thanks, Linda and Jerry, for hosting our little get together. Your home and yard were truly meant for entertaining!

The Doors

No, not those Doors...these doors:



Mom and dad had new bi-fold doors made for their bedroom closets. The doors looked great! ...but everything around them - all of the woodwork - looked dull by comparison. Enter: Kevin. Kevin painted all of the woodwork around the doors to make everything look cohesive. Now, if only we could convince mom and dad that the walls need to be painted, too!

(Great job, Kevy!)

Ten Pounds Down

Me and the Wii...we're getting along muuuuch better these days. In fact, we're celebrating the fact that I've lost 10 pounds. Yeah, I know - it doesn't sound like much. But it is. Really! To be honest, it's not all because of the Wii. It's also due to the fact that Kevin and I have been much more conscientous about how and what we eat. However, we'll keep that our little secret and make it think that it's done all the work. The things we do for relationships, eh?

Reaching our goal! ...by default

Well we did it - we reached the goal for our house savings! And even before the end of the year! I must admit though, we kind of reached the goal by default. I had a small account at a brokerage firm that's been there for a long time and really hasn't done much of anything - one way or the other. It's money that I received from a former employer years ago and I just kind of plopped it in this account. With everything losing so much money over the past months, we decided that it might be a good idea to cash out this account and have some extra cash on hand should we need it.

Since we don't need it, and the plan is to save as much money as we can for the house, we went ahead and put the lump sum into our house account. I must say...I just love looking at the amount in that account! Even before we put this extra cash in there, we both had an enormous sense of accomplishment at how much we were able to save...especially considering circumstances were less than optimal. Since I've been giving percentages of where we're at, here's the latest: 106.16% of our goal. YAHOO!!!

Now...on to set a new savings goal!

Bistro Meal

Mmmm...beef bourginon! Nothing says fall like a big crock-pot of bubbling beef stew! That's what we're having for dinner tonight and I just love how wonderfully 'homey' it makes the house smell. We're trying to be good and cut down on a lot of the fat in our diet, so this dish is kind of a new one ... with reduced fat. I reduced the amount of meat in the dish and used 99% fat free beef broth. There is a touch of butter in there, but only one tablespoon to make the roux - much less than has been used in the past. I even found reduced fat bacon! And, as you can see, there are lots and lots of delicious veggies in there! Oh, and I thought I'd add some sun-dried tomatoes, too. They add a wonderful richness. Tonight's menu: crock-pot beef bourginon, red leaf lettuce salad with tomatoes, persian cucumbers and red peppers, and asiago cheese bread. For dessert: fresh sliced strawberries over chocolate angel food cake and a dollop of light whipped cream. YUM! I can hardly wait for dinner!

Fall Breakfast Spread

This morning we had a small gathering at our home and we provided some goodies for breakfast. By the time we finished setting everything out, it looked - to me at least - like the perfect fall breakfast spread! We had strawberries/blueberries/kiwi, bananas, scones, freshly baked pumpkin bread with a lightly sweetened cream cheese spread, crustless quiche, hard boiled eggs, pomegranate juice and lots of fresh, hot, strong coffee. Mmmmmm. Now that's a spread worth waking up early on a Saturday morning for!

And here's Slippers...just hoping that something might fall on the ground!

Workin' for a Livin'

YAHOOOOO!!! Kevin is now back among the fully employed! We are both so excited!

He'd interviewed earlier in the summer for SGUSD; he did not get that job, but we remained hopeful. About three weeks ago we saw another posting for a position at SGUSD; he applied and they called him in to test for the job. Since he'd already tested there earlier for the other position, he called to say that, if they still needed him to test, he'd be happy to do so, but he reminded them that he'd already tested there in June. They pulled the results and told him he was definitely qualified and they'd call him when interviews were being scheduled. This last Wednesday, he interviewed for the job. Friday morning they called and asked if he could come in for a second interview with the principal - which he did. They hit it off and had a great interview! She asked him to 'sound surprised when they call and offer you the job.' Sure enough, about two hours later they phoned from the district and offered him the job - which he gladly accepted. YAY!

Tomorrow morning he will go in to the district office and get all of the paperwork started. We're guessing he'll be starting the position by the end of the week. It's a middle school position similar to mine, but his position is a ten month position whereas mine is eleven. This is wonderful news! It means that we'll both be off all of the same holidays, 2 weeks for the winter break, a week in the spring, and we'll overlap for our summers off. There will be no worries if we can get this time off for vacation, or that time off for a weekend away -- we'll both be off at the same time!! While the pay is a bit less than what he was making before, it's definitely something we can live with -- especially since he'll have wonderful benefits and retirement.

It's been a long few months, and we're so grateful the dry spell is over!! Go Bulldogs!!

Operation: Bucket 'o' Oatmeal

Kevin and I have been on an oatmeal kick recently. We both love it and, while not *terribly* time consuming to make in the morning, it does take a bit of time. The solution came one day when we were talking about making a batch in advance. That went over so well that Kevin decided to do it on an even grander scale; he called it "Operation: Bucket 'o' Oatmeal".

This particular operation yeilded no less than 12 sandwich sized baggies of oatmeal. YUM! Add a little brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped pecans, and some 1% milk. Mmmmm. Now *that's* a good breakfast!

Mom and Dad's Kitchen Update

After 6 long weeks...it's finally finished! Mom and dad's kitchen has been completely remodeled. You've seen the 'before' pictures. You've seen the 'during' pictures. And now...the 'after' pictures! Here they are:




Isn't it just beautiful? I absolutely love it! I know mom and dad do, too. Moreover, I know they're glad it's finally finished and they can have their kitchen back - sans work men!

Just a little update...

With all of the hoopla going on in the financial sector, we've not figured out yet where we stand with our own housing situation. The landlord still has our house up for sale and, until recently, it's not bothered me at all. However, within the last month, he's lowered the price three times (!) - which leads me to believe he's having financial difficulties. We're still not sure what will happen yet, but we've been putting little dribs and drabs of money into our house fund. With only 2 1/2 months to go, it seems unlikely that we'll reach our one year goal by December. That said, we're not going to miss it by too far!! We are currently sitting at 70.30% of goal so my guess is that we'll reach probably 85 to 88% of our goal. Not bad at all! Especially considering we doubled the amount we first thought of as a goal. So, in one respect, I guess you could say we met our goal and went far beyond. In the end, though, I'm glad we doubled the original amount; because we set our sights higher, we worked really hard at increasing our house savings every month. If we hadn't, we would have reached the initial goal, but probably wouldn't have made as much progress on furthering the amount we saved.

Sweeeeeeeeeet Caroline!!!

A few months ago for our anniversary, Kevin bought us tickets for the upcoming Neil Diamond concert at Staples Center. Well, last night was the concert. It was SO much FUN!! Kevin teased me about singing every song, but don't let him fool you...he was singing right along with me! Staples was packed to the gills - a fact that didn't escape Neil who asked to have the lights brought up so that he could see how many people were there. With the exception of a few seats that were blocked off because their would be no stage visibility, the arena was completely sold out.

It was great fun singing along to all of my favorite Neil Diamond songs. Well, me and 18,300 of our closest friends! Kevin commented before we left that we'd probably be the youngest people in the crowd. Again, don't be fooled. Every age group was represented in that large crowd - from grandmas all the way down to young children. And while the grandmas certainly recognized more Neil tunes than the younger crowd, there was definitely something for everyone...including 'I'm a Believer' which the younger crowd no doubt recognized from the movie 'Shrek'. (By the way - Joe, if you're reading this...because he thinks you look so much like Neil Diamond, Kevin said we went to see *you* in concert last night!)

Before heading off to the concert, we stopped first at the Original Pantry Cafe for bite to eat. Nothing fancy, just good comfort food...and lots of it. However, I didn't want Wii to have a Fit, so I was good and had coleslaw, bread and soup. Not exactly lo-cal, but certainly much better than other options on the menu. The result this morning: didn't lose anything, but didn't gain anything either. It was exactly the same as the day before. You can call me steady-Eddie. Kevin called me a brat =)

Me and the Wii

I'm happy to report that Wii Fit and I are getting along much better these days. Our relationship is still new - today was our eleventh day together - so we're still learning about each other. But I must say, it looks like our relationship will be a long and happy one. Yes, it still says 'OH!' when I step on the balance board, but, as with any relationship, there are things you just have to learn to overlook; this unfortunate trait is one. No matter. I've discovered many wonderful things about Wii Fit, and I'd prefer to dwell on these.

One thing, though, if you're considering a Wii Fit relationship of your own - don't be too thin skinned. You must remember, when it chastises you for not working out for a day, it only has your best interest at heart. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Free Museum Day

This past Saturday was Free Museum Day courtesy of Smithsonian. Kevin and I used this opportunity to visit two local museums for the price of one! The first stop of the day was The Pasadena Museum of California Art. What fun! They had a wonderful exhibit of plein air paintings of the California Missions - though only one etching of my favorite mission - San Juan Bautista (even, with my limited artistic ability, I drew a sketch of the bell tower!). They also had a photography exhibit of Greene and Greene architechture. The museum was nice, but a bit small. I'm glad it was free because the $7.00 per person admission is a bit steep in my opinion for such a small museum.

Next stop was the Norton Simon Museum. I love that place! If you've ever watched the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, you've seen the Norton Simon.

Recognize it? Anyway - if you ever have the chance to go, I highly recommend you take advantage of it! Especially if you're a fan of 19th Century art - Degas, van Gogh, Pissaro, Cezanne, etc.
I loved so many of the things we saw it would be very difficult to choose my favorite. I loved van Gogh's Mulberry Tree, and the Degas bronze casts among other things. However, if I were pressed to choose a favorite, this would be it. Both Kevin and I just fell in love with the colors. So much so, in fact, that we bought a print of it to take home. We need to have it framed and then we will hang it over the piano. It matches the colors in our home perfectly!

All in all it was a wonderful adventure. I can hardly wait until next year's Free Museum Day!