Get Creative, Get Green

As much as I am looking forward to decorating next week, I am also trying to keep in mind that it is very easy to get carried away this time of year and spend way too much money on overpriced Christmas decor. People want it, so they'll buy it, no matter what the cost. Here are a few ideas I've come up with that could hopefully save you a few dollars in the coming weeks.

Decorations

• Use trimmings from your tree to decorate your mantle, tables, etc. Instead of spending money on special holiday candleholders, centerpieces, and decorations for your mantle, use what you have! Chances are you will trim a few bits from the bottom of your tree, or to shape it a little nicer. Why not use those trimmings, some pinecones, and a bit of red or gold ribbon to decorate a tumbler, create a masterpiece for your mantle, or add a little spirit to a bookshelf or table that features family pictures? It'll not only save you money, but will probably smell divine. If you don't foresee having spare branches, ask the people at Home Depot, the garden center, or tree farm where you get your tree if you could take some scraps home with you that others have cut off. I'm sure they wouldn't mind you cleaning up their mess!
• Make your own ornaments How many of us have a junk drawer, or baskets of "stuff", little things that do nothing more than collect dust? Get creative! Bend paperclips into snowflakes or stars, whip out some paper and glue. Last year, I took 2 small Star Wars action figures (about 3 inches tall) from Sean's collection, tied a piece of string around their underarm, and hung them on the tree. It added a nice little geeky touch to our tree, and they'll go up again this year. They were given purpose instead of taking up unnecessary space.
• Use paper grocery bags to wrap your gifts Don't spend money on rolls and rolls of fancy paper that will be ripped apart in a matter of seconds. Instead use that stack of 20 or so brown paper shopping bags you have hiding behind your trash barrel or under the sink. Turn it inside out and go crazy decorating with markers, glitter, leftover ribbon and bows. Remember the days of wrapping textbooks in paper bags? Think of this as the adult version! Give each present its own personality. Plus, the brown paper material is more hardy and sturdy, so you're less likely to rip it by accident while wrapping, necessitating even more paper.
• Make your own cards Some of the more memorable Christmas cards I have gotten (although few, definitely memorable) have been homemade. One year it was a homemade snowflake, still folded up, with a simple "Merry Christmas, Love So and So" written on the edge. I have the pleasure of unfolding and opening up a simply stunning paper snowflake that I know was one of a kind and made with care. My uncle created his own invitation for our family Christmas party by making a digital picture collage of everyone in the family. If you have access to Photoshop, compile a collection of pictures of yourself, places you've gone during the year, fun moments you'd like to share with friends and family. Have you gotten married or had a baby? What better way is there to introduce them to long distance family or friends? You don't need JC Penney to do it for you. Trust me.

The key is to be resourceful. Look around your house or apartment. Use what you already have. All it takes is a little creative thinking, glue or tape, and you can have a house full of your very own Christmas creations to show off when guests invade in the coming weeks.

Missing You

I have grown accustomed to going to bed before Sean gets home, or waking up after he leaves for work. But one thing I have not experienced is a whole night of him not there next to me. And no roommate. This is strange. I'm ok with it, but it's so quiet. What a strange feeling, realizing what a huge piece of me he has become in just his everyday presence.

I don't know how some people live alone. I think I would go crazy. Yes, it's nice to have peace and quiet and privacy and all that, but I would want someone to talk to. I don't think anyone would do though. I think in the past 5 months I have found someone that I truly love living with, sharing space and food and the couch with. He makes me laugh and he makes me feel secure. I have my time to myself, when I just want to do my own thing, and when I need him to talk or cuddle or cry, he's here.

I had forgotten what it's like to really miss him. It's one thing if I go home and I have my parents to talk to, and friends to visit. But right now, it's so quiet.

Now I know how he feels when I leave for the weekend. I will enjoy the quiet for now, with a glass of wine and Heroes. But I eagerly await his coming home.

Dog Adoption

There are many benefits to adopting a dog rather than going to pet shops (ew!) or breeders ($$$cha-ching$$$). I have been doing research on pet adoption, and it is amazing how many pets are given up everyday to shelters. In this economy, it's predictable that many families who have had a pet for either years or just a few months finds that they can't keep up with the cost of food, vetting, emergencies, pet daycare, etc. Many people don't thoroughly think through how much of a financial and life commitment it is to own a dog. So these poor pooches are heartbreakingly left at shelters, away from their families, and they just want someone to love them and make a forever home.

We have been looking at dogs in local shelters for months now. I tend to look (probably more than I should) each week at the dogs that are up for adoption. I want to know which shelters are run locally, which places people have had good adoption experiences with. I have read of horror stories of people who go through all the paperwork and process of adopting, only to have agencies or shelters heckle them for months after the dog has been brought home, "just checking in" and at times harrassing families for whatever reason.

In looking weekly, I have seen some really amazing dogs looking for homes. There is one in particular that I fell in love with last week. Lo and behold, they were having an adoption day on Saturday, and I knew she would be adopted. I still had hopes that if she was there after Christmas we would get her. She was a hound/lab mix with gorgeous coloring and the sweetest eyes I've ever seen. I checked yesterday - she was adopted. The downside of looking at dogs when we still have a month or two before we can actively pursue adopting.

So, I will still keep my eye out there. I hope families that can manage having a dog choose to adopt this holiday season. There are thousands of dogs, just in the greater New England area, that will spend the holidays in crates instead of curled up on someone's lap or cozy by the fire, where maybe they were last year. It's so sad...

I am going to be that lady that just keeps adopting dogs once we get our first one. Just you wait and see. I'll keep you posted once we get going with this.

Happiness is...

...getting to look forward to not only a whole day with Sean, but a holiday! He's going to be off for Thanksgiving, so we will have an entire day to spend together!

This might sound stupid, and you might be thinking 'Silly Shazzie, you live with the boy. You see him all the time!'. Well, this is not so. We rarely see each other for a whole day. The last time we did was in October when we took an overnight trip to Massachusetts. Before that, I don't remember. With our work schedules being so different, we get our quality time usually Monday and Tuesday nights, usually Friday nights, and Sunday nights if we both manage to stay awake once he gets home. He works nights and weekends, so our time is limited, and therefore, precious.

This will now be not only our first Thanksgiving together living together, but also our first Thanksgiving where he isn't leaving around 3:30 to go to work and I'm not leaving to drive up to my parents house. I can't express how excited I am!

I love tea. I have been drinking it more and more lately, slowly weaning myself off 4 cups of coffee a day. It is so calming and easy on my stomach, and it smells like a cup of heaven on a frosty November night.

I am enjoying a cup of chamomile right now, and I must say, if you're looking for a way to make all desires to eat popcorn or cookies or ice cream while watching your evening programs, a cup of tea might be the key to boosting your diet and health. I am finding that I don't necessarily crave something sweet, just something comforting to hold onto and sip while watching Grey's and The Office. I'll gladly take no calories, no fat, and no carbs over a bowl full of sugar and dairy that'll inhibit my good night's sleep any day. Decaf, of course.

As a guilty nighttime grazer, I am delighted to find something that rids the habit of thinking I need to be munching away all night when I'm sitting at the computer or watching a show. Do you have something you do to keep from eating everything in sight at night? Or are you one of those freaks of nature that finishes dinner at 7 and is in no way struck with hunger pangs at 9:30? Wouldn't that be nice...

Gluten-Free Thanksgiving

When Sean was diagnosed with Celiac, one of my first thoughts was 'Dang, this is going to make for a difficult Thanksgiving...'. I did my best to make a meal that was delicious and full of favorites, but would also be completely safe and lacking all things gluten. This year, I am feeling much more confident and adventurous.

Here is my menu:

• Turkey - provided by my work, grain fed, delicious. Roasted while stuffed apples, celery, carrots, and seasoning for flavoring.
• Stuffing - I'll probably make a smaller batch, and sub some of the bread volume with ground sausage. Yum!
• Green bean casserole - One of the boy's holiday favorites. It will require making a homemade batch of cream of mushroom soup and french fried onions, which I can do Wednesday night to make life a whole lot easier Thursday morning.
• Mashed potatoes - Homemade, of course.
• Rolls - Sean picked up a GF mix by the same company that does a breadstick mix that we really like, so I'm confident the rolls will be just as good.
• Steamed carrots
• Cranberry sauce - From the can. Need to master other recipes first!

I am undecided at this point on dessert. I will be making the apple pie this weekend, so if that's successful, I'll probably make another next week, heat it up that day, and throw on some vanilla ice cream.

Is anyone else's mouth watering? I can't wait for Chefette Fest '08 to commence!

Traditions

With Thanksgiving next week, I have been thinking a lot about traditions with family and friends. This being our third year celebrating Thanksgiving together, I suppose our tradition is to spend the day cooking, eating, and watching football together. When I was little, we went to the high school football game, Duxbury vs. Marshfield (Marshvegas!), would come home and drink hot chocolate while we thawed out, eat dinner early in the afternoon, and then go for a short family hike in the woods across the street from my house.

These traditions changed when I got older, when my brother and sister were in college, and my dad started working on Thanksgiving. I was in marching band and spent the morning eating donuts with the band, playing Louie Louie in the stands (I loved being drum major senior year and getting to conduct and dance with the crowd!), catching up with alumni, and trying not to lose my fingers to frostbite. We'd have a quiet day, sometimes with pizza or Chinese food, and then have our big family dinner on Saturday when everyone was home.

Now that all of us kids are moved out, it's hard to say what the traditions are. My sister and her husband alternate years at my parents' house and his parents' house for Thanksgiving and Christmas. My brother and sister-in-law usually make it to both in-laws houses for either dinner or dessert. During college, I would have Thanksgiving dinner at Sean's parents' house (usually my mom and brother would come too), and then eat Thanksgiving again that Saturday with my family. I guess we're lucky that we're laid back and even if we can't get together on the spiecific day, the effort is there to get home and spend time together - and eat!

What are some of your Thanksgiving traditions? Do you watch football while dozing in a comatose state all afternoon? Does an aunt always bring a dish that no one really likes? Do you order out for pizza? I'd love to hear what warms your heart this time of year!

The first turkey I ever cooked all by myself, Thanksgiving 2006 at Sean's.

Ok, I Caved...

The past week or so, I have had trouble focusing at work. I have been tired, lethargic, and getting a good ol' case of S.A.D. Yesterday I made the executive decision to cheer myself up with some Christmas music from my favorite Boston radio station, 105.7 WROR. The same one I grudgingly posted about earlier this month and scolded for playing Christmas music so early. The way I see it, though, Thanksgiving is next week. If I just listen while I'm at work (I have yet to find a radio station locally that plays anything Christmas-y), I'm not getting such an overload. But it has been making the past 2 days a bit brighter. And, there was a slight dusting of snow on my car this morning.

Ok, rip into me. Call me a bad person. I don't care anymore, I'm happy! So there.

As of Nov. 28, the gloves are off, I'm going all out. I hope you're all prepared.

Keep it Fresh, Keep it Warm

I just finished plastic wrapping my bedroom windows, and am about to move on to the living room. About half the windows in this house are new, and the other half, well, they are sad and old and drafty. I don't mind putting up the plastic wrap. There's nothing worse than a really chilly night of having the heat cranked up to 75 because the house can't retain it. And then you crawl into a freezing cold night because you can't justify leaving the heat turned up when you're asleep under a big pile of blankets. Sound familiar?

I always smile when the windows are done, it makes me feel like I'm living in a tupperware container of goodness.

I am also big on "atmospheric warmth"> I am more apt to feel warm if my surroundings seem wamr. For instance, I keep at least 1 candle burning in the living room and in the kitchen to make the house smell cozy, and the little flicker of fire invokes a feeling of being wrapped in a sweater and thick socks under a crocheted throw, sipping hot chocolate. And it's just a candle! I also have been making something either baked or in the crock pot. The smell of something sweet, spicy, or bread-based can totally make any house feel warm and cheery. Right now I have butternut squash and apples in the crock pot with a little nutmeg, sugar and cinnamon. I haven't decided yet if I will add vegetables or just leave it to be a creamy soup once I puree it. I'm going to make steak and potatoes for dinner once Honey calls that he's on his way home.

Have Some Time To Waste?

Stumble! Linkdump:

Horse Quartet - pure delight

The Ultimate Rejection Letter

The Scribbler

Incredibly Cool Interactive Site

"Smart Kid" Commercial

A Woman From the Inside Out (not gross, don't worry)

University of Michigan's Drumline

Star Wars Light Saber Simulator

Food Sculptures

Movie Fonts

10 Rules of Being Human

...And Last But Not Least

Enjoy being distracted!

Gluten Free Baking

I woke up this morning with a strong desire to do some baking. It's a really crappy kind of day out, and seeing the Rice Crispy Treats in Uncle's Deliyesterday got me thinking that there has to be a gluten free rice crispy treat recipe out there somewhere. I just need to find it.

I also have the hankering to make an apple pie. This would require going and getting a pie dish and a rolling pin. And any other baking staples I might be missing. I have sugar, gluten free baking mix, salt, eggs, oil...

Definitely need to do some recipe hunting.

TA DA!!

Extra Thick Apple Pie - I can easily sub the gluten free baking mix for the flour.
&
Rice Krispie Treats (GF)

I think I'll tackle the rice krispie treats today since that looks like the easier of the two recipes. Apple pie will wait till tomorrow.

I guess I should go shower and go grocery shopping! Wish me luck!

It's In My Blood

Trying a cleaner looking layout, more up-to-date picture, etc. It's definitely easier on the eyes.

I took this new picture tonight. Something I want to work on in the coming months (and, you know, forever) is improving my digital picture quality. For years I shot film, I even took a photography course to learn how to develop my own film, process negatives, create a photograph from beginning to end. I feel like using digital these day, a lot of technique is lost because you can take unlimited pictures and pick the very best. In film, you are more careful, more precise, more planned.

Both of my grandfathers were photographers. My mom's dad, Grampa Clark, did it as a hobby. He had a dark room in their house, he belonged to a couple camera clubs, and he was...phenomenal. He just had it. He always had a camera with him, and he knew how to work any kind of camera, old or new, fancy or a pinhole box. He also explored drawing and painting. I have several of his pieces, both painting and photography, hanging in our home. I love being surrounded by his work; it gives me a feeling of peace and serenity. It also is a daily reminder to be the best person I can be, because he believed in me, and he always made me feel like I was worthy of whatever I wanted in the world.

My Grampa Trask was a professional photographer. He worked for the Boston Herald for years, and has 2 photos in particular which were impacting on our familiy history and our country. THe first is the Andrea Doria:


The Andrea Doria collided with the Stockholm of the coast of Martha's Vineyard on July 25, 1956. My dad was just over a month old, the oldest of 7 kids, and my grandfather took this picture just before the Andrea Doria sank. You can get a more extensive history of this event here or do a Wikipedia search. He won a Pulitzer Prize for this, and my sister, the oldest granddaughter, is named Andrea Doria.

The second photo of notoriety is this one:

In 1967, irate race official Jock Semple tried to forcibly remove Kathrine Switzer from the then all-male Boston Marathon simply because she was a woman. Luckily for Switzer, Semple was bounced out of the race instead by her boyfriend and she went on to finish. Photo by Harry Trask for AP Images.

GRampa captured this moment on film, and Kathrine remembers him and thanks him in her book, Marathon Woman, as that was a pivotal moment that changed her life, and many others. On Marathon Monday in Boston, this photo series usually pops up in newspapers, magazine, and one year when I was in school in Boston, I was switching over from the Red to the Green Line, and these photos were featured billboards in the Park Street Station. It caught me completely off guard, but it was a moment that made me truly appreciate my grampa's accomplishments.

So, as you can see, this is a huge part of my family. We have all dabbled in photography, and I want to return to shooting for quality, not quantity. A woman I work with belongs to two camera clubs in the area, and she has suggested I join her for a few meetings to see if I like it. I want to invest in a better camera too. I have a Canon Powershot, which is nice and small and good for on the go. But it is very automatic. I want to feel more in control of the quality of what I'm shooting.

I will try to get decent pictures or scans of Grampa Clark's work to share with you soon.

A Night Off

Sometimes you just need a night off.

I just got home and started feeling the onset of a headache. Not sure what's causing it, but this week's been pretty busy. We had the concert Tuesday, I babysat last night, have choir rehearsal tonight, babysitting Friday and Saturday nights, and then church/choir Sunday morning...I just emailed the choir director that I'm not going to make it tonight. I don't want to run myself ragged before the holidays start, and next week is looking to be pretty busy too. Given what my body's been telling me, this is around the time of the month I get those headaches that could be anywhere from a 5 to 13 on a scale of 1-10 in pain. So I'm going to sit tonight out, drink some tea, and just relax.

I've gotten a lot accomplished this week, between work and home. The big thing was getting my car tax paid, emissions test done today, and re-registration of the car mailed out. I did some major budgeting at work today, hopefully the rest of the year will be fairly easy. I was surprised to find that I was actually a month ahead on one of my bills, so I have a bit of a cushion for the next couple weeks. It's nice to be ahead for a change!

I think dinner tonight will be leftovers, no need to make more dirty pots and pans. I can lie down and finally watch Becoming Jane. I've had it sitting on the desk for 2 weeks. And of course Grey's. Hopefully I can get to sleep relatively early tonight. That is, if I don't fall asleep on the couch watching the movie in about an hour.

No Day But Today

Todays post is inspired by a favorite song of mine from the musical Rent, which Idina sang an arrangement of last night. Some of the lyrics are...

There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret
Or life is yours to miss
No other road
No other way
No day but today...

I can't control
My destiny
My only goal is just
To be...

Do you ever find yourself living in the future? Not actually warping time, of course, but making plans, constantly trying to see what's ahead instead of what's right there in the present?

I am constantly worrying about the future. Well, I don't know if worrying is the correct word...I like to plan. I like knowing what's coming up not just in the month or so ahead, but throughout the year. When I get a fresh calender at work, I immediately fill in my family's birthdays and anniversaries, and anything I already know is happening. I am always looking forward to a wedding or a birth, or a celebration of some sort. I feel like at time, I lose focus of the day I'm existing in while focusing on what's coming up. It's easy to do this around the holidays, as a glance at my calender will tell you the month is already jam packed, but I feel like it's more and more becoming a regular thing for me to focus on the future instead of the now.

I don't know anyone who successfully lives each day completely in the moment. I think it's important to remind myself that today is the only today I have. I'm not guarenteed the vacation I want to take in the spring with Sean, or that something might come up and I can't go to so and so's wedding. I can only really live right now, love right now, and hope for the best in what's to come.

I am constantly learning new things about myself as an adult. I am a lot less laid back about things than I thought I was. Is this a lifestyle change I've recently gone through? Have I always been like this and just wanted to be seen as laid back? Is it a result of my job and my need for attention to detail? Who knows...I wish I could be more laid back and not care about some things. I suppose it's just how I need to be at this point in my life to accomplish my goals.

This also applies to an area of my life I've been trying to improve upon for well, years it feels like. My health. I feel like I am always trying to lose 20-25 pounds, and I never get there. And I think it's because I focus too much on the big number, the finish line, without trying to conquer the small bumps and hill in the road that will get me there. So I am going to make a list of short term goals that will hopefully put me on the right track and keep me in line.

• Replace soda and coffee with water.
• Less red meat, more lean meat (less meat in general)
• Do something active every day, whether it's cardio, strength training, or dancing around the living room like a lunatic for 20 minutes.
• De-stress (this will probably have many subcategories to work on)
• Encourage myself! Recognize when I feel good and energetic and happy and celebrate those achievements.

I feel like that's a good starting point. Nothing new, nothing surprising. But a good starting point.

Random Tuesday

I've been having a good week for the most part. The weather cooled off, and I splurged on 2 new sweaters from Ann Taylor Loft to help me feel the comfy, cozy goodness that is the fall.

I had a mildly hectic day yesterday, including needing to run around at lunchtime to get my car tax paid, and then a filling right after work. The right side of my face was pretty numb from 5 - 9pm, so Sean was a sweetheart and made dinner for us. It was quite the fest! He made a whole chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce. I tried very hard not to chew on my numb lip, and the food was delicious. We had a nice night together, since the past week we didn't have much time just to us.


Tonight we have a date (I am spoiled!) which will include dinner and a concert. He got us tickets to see Idina Menzel, and I am psyched to see her and hear some of her solo music. For those unfamiliar with Idina, she originated the role of Maureen in Rent, and the role of Elphaba in Wicked (she is the green one). She has also had roles in Enchanted, Rent: The Movie, and is married to the incredibly sexy Taye Diggs. It's going to be a fantastic night!

British Email Spam

Courtesy of a friend, here is some delight for the day...

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

(You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

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1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').

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2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'

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3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

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4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist,then you're not ready to shoot grouse.

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5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

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6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

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7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

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8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

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9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

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10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

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11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

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12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

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13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

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14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

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15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

God Save the Queen!

PS: Only share this with friends who have a good sense of humour (NOT humor)!

Mad About: StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon is an add-on for Firefox in which you enter any number of categories of things that interest you, and it brings up webpages that have something to do with your interests, each time you click the "Stumble" button.

WARNING: You could lose hours of your life staring at your computer screen stumbling from one page to the next in awe of the cool, interesting, and dowright weird things you will see.

Here is my most recent fantastic discovery: Chocolate Cake In 5 Minutes!

I will post cool things as I find them...I encourage you to check it out, but you have been warned. Don't forget to eat 3 meals a day and go to the bathroom. Showering is also recommended.

Already The Dark and Gloom

I slept for just about 12 hours last night. I started nodding off just after 10 while trying to watch The Incredible Hulk, and I went to bed just after 10:30pm, and woke up at 10 this morning. Please, don't be jealous.

I haven't slept that much since college if my memory serves me correctly. And I can only sum it up to this week being long, slow, and dark and gloomy. Thank you Daylight Savings Time. I wasn't even happy that it was a balmy 65 most days, because it's November! I want to be wearing sweaters and boots and heavy jackets and scarves! What happened to the frigid days of October that made for a promising winter full of snow? I don't live in New England to enjoy warm November days where I don't need a coat. The rain is fine, just please, be cold already! At least my lawn would stop growing, thus not needing to be mowed anymore.

Usually by February I'm ready for winter to be over and to have some sunshine and warmth. But I enjoy these earlier days of winter, anticipating the first snow, the holidays coming up, bundling up in the coziest of sweaters. Other than the Christmas "stuff" mentioned in my previous entry, there's really nothing telling me that winter is coming.

I guess I'll go fight the lack-of-winter-blues with a run. I might as well, it's only 59 out.

How early is too early?

I had to run an errand to Wal-Mart (*shudder*) this past Saturday, and just as I anticipated, all of their Christmas "stuff" was out. Luckily, I couldn't find what I was looking for and was able to zip in and out. Hearing a carol blaring on the loudspeakers, I must have had a look of disgust on my face, because a woman I was passing looked and me and said "CAn you believe this?! This is just ridiculous!!"

I couldn't agree more.

I have to pause to say that yes, I have had my moments of sitting on the couch, gazing at the living room, picturing it decorated with garlands and pretty ornaments and a nice tree in the bay window. Picturing is the key word.

I have nothing against people who do their Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. My sister in law is great at finding deals, and if she sees something she knows she could get for someone for Christmas, she'll get it. Even if it's August. She probably saves a lot of money (and the hassle of braving the stores around the holidays) this way. She's usually done when she picks up a few final things on Black Friday. I hope she's done by then because she'll be 2 weeks shy of giving birth to my niece!

Sean has said several times in the past week that Christmas stays packed away until Thanksgiving is over. I agree to an extent. I will start listening to Christmas music maybe that week. I logged in to one of my favorite Boston morning radio shows today, and they had the Christmas tunes coming full swing. I abruptly turned it off. We will probably get our tree the weekend or so after Thanksgiving (or whenever we have time to go together). I am excited to decorate this place. It's the first year I can really go "all out", albeit on a tighter budget, I'll have to get resourceful.

So I pose the question to you - how early is too early? I love the spirit of the holiday, but the consumerism is really killing it for me. I don't want to be sick of Christmas before Thanksgiving even gets here.

With that in mind, I do live in The Christmas Tree House. Our neighbor upstairs is 92, and God bless her, loves all things Christmas. There is a plaque on the outside of the house that says "The Christmas Tree House", there's a wreath on her door, and she has little Christmas trees in window-boxes around the front porch - year round. From the moment you step in the front door and go up the stairs to her house, there are Christmas decorations from floor to ceiling, wall to wall, on every inch of space that will allow something to be hung, placed, draped or displayed. It's really quite incredible to take in. And at 92, if this is what she loves, I'm not gonna knock it.

I do not intend to be a Grinch this year. I want to enjoy my first Christmas living with Sean, enjoy the season, my friends, the parties, and hopefully snow! But on days like today when it's a balmy 65 and rainy and leaves are covering the ground, "Here Comes Santa Clause" is really the last thing on earth I want to be listening to when I'm doing my grocery shopping.

YES!

I have hope.

McCain had a very gracious and eloquent concession speech, and I have the utmost respect for him. He has served our country and experienced more than we can imagine so that we can enjoy our freedoms.

President Obama...What can I say? I am overwhelmed. I am proud. I am inspired. This man will be a great leader. I pray that we as a nation deserve him, and give him the support he needs to lead us and heal our nation.

It's time to go to bed with a smile on my face and tears of joy in my eyes.

Election Day Thoughts

This morning on my way to work, I got a little teary eyed; overwhelmed with emotion, perhaps. The past few months have been the ultimate rollercoaster for our country, with more twists and turns (lies or half truths?), stomach churning corkscrews (did you watch Palin's Katie Couric interview?), and the biggest, scariest (economic) drop we've experienced yet. And we're stil not sure if we've reached the bottom. Picture Six Flag's New England's Superman, Ride of Steel, where the first plummet is so steep and fast, and the scariest thing is you can't see the bottom.

These are times when we are nervous, scared, and looking for someone to give us hope that things will get better. We want to believe that our country can once again be the great nation we once were. When I watch Obama speak, I have hope. I feel it in my heart, and he inspires belief in me that we will come back, and we will come back strong.

I have hope.

Today will mark a significant time in history where we can potentially elect the first African American President to the United States of America. That isn't why you should vote for him, but the fact that we're at this turning point in history is fantastic. I am proud of America. When our parents and grandparents were young voters, do you think they ever pictured a day like this?

I have hope.

We are a great nation. When we treat each other with respect, when we support each other, when we support our troops, I have hope. When we walk miles for peace and run marathons for the fundraising of research to beat cancer, diabetes and heart disease, I have hope. When we are so inspired and full of passion that we have tears in our eyes at the thought that things can and will get better, I have hope.

Go out and vote. I said it before, be informed, trust your heart, and vote. Don't be angry or violent if things don't go how you'd like. What makes our country great is the coming together of different beliefs, different backgrounds, different people.

It's not too late for us. I have hope.

Online Bullying

The past couple months have been very interesting in regards to this political race, and I will be happy when it's over. I have watched people, friends even, rip each other to shreds over contrasting political views, saying things that I hope they would never say directly to someone's face. I have seen it in political blogs, regular blogs, a forum my friends use, Facebook. It is amazing what some people will say when the element of online anonymity is thrown into the mix.

Here's an interesting article on online bullying which inspired this post. I am curious as to how many people who read this have fallen victim to online bullying before, be it through blog comments, email, forums. How did you handle what was said to you? Did you know the person or was it a stranger?

It really upsets me that this happens, especially to kids. It's hard enough being young and trying to fit in, develop a self-esteem, without someone tearing you down publicly. I'd like to say it gets easier as an adult, but words hurt no matter how old you are.

Superhigh Me

I love watching documentaries. There's something about moderately raw footage cut together sans special effects and written script that makes me hope I could actually learn something for sitting and watching a movie for an hour or two. We watch them once in a while, if the topic strikes our fancy. One's I have enjoyed are Supersize Me, Fahrenheit 9/11, and God Camp. I doubly enjoy mockumentaries in the likes of Waiting For Guffman, Best in Show, and Borat. 

A couple months ago, I heard this guy on my choice morning show, Doug Benson, a standup comic who regularly smokes pot. He was talking about a documentary he made, inspired by watching Supersize Me (while high), in which he spent 30 days pot-free, recording how he feels, and then 30 days of smoking pot day and night. The guy sounded funny, and it sounded like it could be interesting when they go into the medical use of marijuana, dependency, etc. So I added it to my Netflix. 

I'm about 10 minutes into it, and it's not as funny as I expected (or hoped). It's going more into the history of marijuana in regards to the law. Did you know there are "Dispensaries" in California that legally sell pot to "qualified patients", out of a jar, like a candy store? 

It's time to sit back and see what the rest of this has to offer. Peace, dudes.

I am not in any way promoting the use of marijuana. If you choose to, I don't care, but this entry is written for the purpose of reviewing this documentary. 

Halloweeny Came and Went

I have not been that into Halloween the past couple years. Some of my friends are incredibly creative and come up with some really fun costumes, but as I stated in an earlier entry, I have been lacking creativity in that arena for the past couple years. 

Sean and I were happy to be invited to a small party last night where we saw a couple friends of his from Fairfield and met some new people as well. Sean dressed up as House with the cane, limp, scruffy hair and bottle of pills in his pocket. I did the best I could throw together with a sexy pair of navy blue scrubs, a surgical mask and my comfy crocs. Tonight I will be a different kind of doctor, but last night was very fun and spent in great company. 

My favorite moment was when we were leaving our house to go to the party, we had kept the porch light off so no one would come looking for candy at the house. Our door is slightly set back from the street, and we saw a group of trick or treaters walking by, probably 7 or 8 years old, with their moms.  The kids were just screaming as they walked down the street. "Ahhhhhh!!! AHHHHHHHH! WAHHHHHHH!!!!", just being silly. So Sean, standing in the shadows of our porch, started screaming. "Ahhhhhhh!!! GAHHHHHH!", which they in turn started screaming back, once they realized where it was coming from. This went on for the minute or so it took for me lock up the house in the dark. I couldn't help but bust a gut laughing. 

I hope you all enjoyed your Halloween, or continue to enjoy if you are still celebrating tonight like we are. 

And Happy November! Christmas is in 54 days. Yikes.