Showing posts with label Christmas06. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas06. Show all posts

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Barnes & Noble


My in-laws gave me a very sweet gift card to Barnes & Noble for Christmas and it occurred to me the other day that I could probably use it online. Sure enough! I placed my order and then went to work and talked to Phil. It turns out two of the six books I picked out, he had also picked out for himself for Christmas. One he read and loaned me last night and when I got home this morning I managed to quick cancel that book from the order. The other book I decided to leave in my order since I really like the author and would rather have my own copy. I knew Phil and I had similar taste in reading material but that still kinda surprised me. Anyway, here's what should be delivered to my home on Tuesday the 9th of January:

Hawke by Ted Bell (first book in a new-to-me series)
Relic by Preston & Child (Phil and I read Still Life with Crows and loved it. Phil actually picked up the sequel to Relic for Christmas called Reliquary)
Seven Deadly Wonders by Matt Reilly (this is one that Phil picked up too)

And I picked up two romance novels that I thought my mom and I might enjoy.
Anyone but You by Jennifer Cruisie (an author that we have already established that we like)
Help Wanted, Desperately by Ariel Horn (it was cheap and the reviews looked good)

Brimstone by Preston & Child is the one that I canceled because Phil loaned me his copy last night. I gave him Cell by Stephen King (Steve gave it to me for Christmas and I devoured it in a day) and London Bridges by James Patterson which I haven't read yet but I know Phil will get through it faster than I will, especially since I'm still reading Temple by Matt Reilly. He gave me a couple of others but I can't recall what they are at the moment. If you couldn't tell, we have our own little book club going.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Now That Christmas Is Over

Remember our live tree expedition that we take every year with our friends? This year we went further out into the tree farm so we ended up taking the wagon out and back. We picked our tree to fit in a tall and narrow space, chopped it down and gave it to the guy on the wagon. He affixed a number to the tree and gave us the other half of the ticket with our number on it. Our friends did the same thing and then we all went and had hot cocoa.

So last night we were over at their house to have our one last Christmas gathering - lasagna, fondue and gift exchange - and Md was saying how she was going to take the tree down today but had decided to leave it up since we were all coming over. That's when Ed chimed in that he thought maybe they had our tree.

We started really looking at the tree. It was much thinner than they usually pick out and Ed said when they brought it in the tree was scraping along the ceiling. He and his daughter Alli were looking at each other wondering how they'd managed to pick a tree that was too tall for their house. When they said that, Steve and I started laughing. He had set our tree up the day after we'd bought it and when he'd cut the strings and the tree popped open, he and I were thinking our tree was much, much fatter than it looked when it was out at the tree farm.

Since we both turned our trees in one after the other, we think we didn't look closely enough at the numbers on our tickets when we picked the trees up.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Our Favorite Gifts

Look Ma, I'm upright! The Wednesday before Christmas I'd worked and one of my residents coughed right into my face. I should have known I was in for it. Yesterday I was starting to feel better so we went out and today I finally uploaded Christmas pictures. Took me long enough, hey?

S3 asked my mom and dad for a new skateboard for Christmas this year and the little stinkhead found the receipt from CCS a few weeks before the big day. I told my parents and my dad emailed that he had something evil planned for boys who sneak around and figure out their presents. So the day we celebrated Christmas with them rolled around and my nephew opened a tall thin package with his custom skateboard inside. S3 and Ty opened their tall thin pacakages and found old scooters inside. Shortly after I heard Steve say to Ty, "Try not to pout," and Ty reply, "I know but I just really wanted a skateboard." After a while my dad brought out two more tall thin packages. When Ty opened his this time he found his custom skateboard inside but S3.... Well this is what he pulled out of his package:

Later my dad relented and gave S3 his actual board. Poor Ty was more upset over the whole gag anyway since (as S3 put it) S3 was sure he'd get his board eventually. Brat.







Steve gave my dad some disgusting looking gummy eyeballs.










My children gave me Elvis for Christmas. It's one of those glass blocks with the three-dimensional picture inside. It sits on a base that alternates between red and blue lights.

Steve surprised me with an auto detailing package for my van which is absolutely perfect since I have become the clean van nazi ever since we bought the new one.












Chef E is going to cook us all sorts of meals.






















G pulled out the pottery wheel today for the first time. I don't think she did half bad for her first attempt.














And of course, the ring that I knew I was getting. It's such a shame to put such a pretty ring on such ugly fingers but hey, something has to be done to make them look better.







I gave Steve a money clip with his initials engraved on it since he doesn't like to carry a wallet anymore and a new golf bag. Ok really, I think my dad should get the credit for the golf bag. Sometime in November he emailed me and said, "Hey remember when we were talking about that gift idea for Steve?" I was totally baffled. Even after he reminded me of his idea (he'd noticed Steve needed a new bag one of the times they went golfing together) I still didn't remember the conversation. Anyway, Dad picked out the bag, hid it at his house and then when Steve was in Italy he even delivered it to my house with a large plastic bag to "wrap" it in. Pretty much all I did was stuff it behind my tree for a few days and then pull it out and say, "Ta-Da!" If you ask Steve what his favorite gift was this Christmas he'll tell you the bag but I know really it's the bluetooth headset my parents gave him for his cell phone.

I think it's going to take a whole different post to tell you about the DDR that Ty got...

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Merry Christmas




I meant to post this the other day but didn't get a chance and I've been pretty sick since Christmas day. I hope you all had a blessed holiday!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Poof, She's Gone

Sorry for the disappearing act. Steve's in Genoa, Italy and I've been working. I keep having experiences that I think, "Oh I should blog that," but by the time I get the chance, I've forgotten what happened! I hope I'll be back later this week but for now I'm just trying not to go under. I think this week my kids have spent more time at my parents' house than home in their own beds. Thank God I'm off tonight.

After all this time, last night I had my first fall. Some of the residents tend to roll out of bed at night or they'll try to transfer themselves without calling for help and they'll fall when I'm not in the room but last night was the first time I was actually in the bathroom with my resident when he fell. He's the sweetest man who says the funniest things but because he tends to fall, he has an alarm and when he's not in bed, someone has to be with him. He'd finished using the facility, had washed his hands and had pitched the towel toward the trash can but had missed. The same thing had happened when he used the toilet at midnight too and so I started to say, "Mr. L, don't worry about it, I'll get the towel," which is what I'd said at midnight too. Unfortunately I didn't even get the "Mr. L" part out and he was falling forward and about to crack his head on the counter. I tugged him back onto my legs and he and I managed to slowly lower to the floor without injury. Luckily for me the med nurse was down my hall so I hollered out to her that we were on the floor and she came in and helped me get him back up on his feet. It was a pretty scary experience. I always wondered if the time came if I'd be able to lower someone onto my own body the way the textbooks instructed or if my reflexes would be too slow. I really thank God for his protection last night. I believe otherwise my reflexes would have been too slow and also we'd have been in a real pickle if the med nurse hadn't been nearby since Mr. L's room is all the way at the end of the hall and the other aides were down their halls doing their rounds.

This morning the kids had their six month cleaning at the dentist. I believe I had mentioned in a previous post that our last dentist has retired so this was our first visit with this dentist. Ironically before we left my mother's house this morning she asked if E would be ok in the car since she'd had breakfast (E tends to get carsick very easily - we have a bucket in the car just for those moments) and I had replied that she'd probably be ok since we'd be on all highways. G and Ty went first for their cleanings and E danced around me the entire time asking when it was going to be her turn. Finally the dentist called her back and about twenty minutes later she came back to me with something brownish and wet staining her shirt and pants. This poor dentist! He said he sat her up so she could get a sip of water and she just spewed all over. He was amazed that it didn't faze her at all and she was indeed running around playing as if nothing in the world odd had happened. Well I guess for her spewing up her guts isn't that unusual but OMG that poor dentist. Can you imagine that surprise? HA! I feel bad for laughing but I just keep replaying that scene in my imagination.

Steve called a minute ago. He says Genoa is gorgeous. He told me to picture that scene in one of the Star Wars movies (I think it's the #1 movie, fourth one released) when the ship is landing on that planet that the queen is on - can't think of her name either but she is Luke and Leah's mom - and the way the city is on the cliff side with the sea below and that is a lot what it looked like when he flew into Genoa. So far he said he had a stromboli for dinner the other night and he could tell the cheese, mushrooms and ham were all really fresh. He's hoping to get over to Christopher Columbus' home at some point but since he forgot to take the digital with him, it'll be a while before we get to see any Italy pictures at all.

And last of what I can remember I wanted to tell you, I know one of the things I'm getting for Christmas! Before he left, Steve and I were in the mall looking for a gift for Ty and passed by a Kay jeweler. On a whim we stopped in and they happened to have the anniversary ring I've been wanting for three years (since our tenth) and it was 40% off. Yay! It not only looks fantastic next to my somewhat unique wedding band but also I can wear it to work. There are no prongs so there's no worry that I might accidentally scratch a resident with it. I'm very excited.

Ok friend, I'm off. I have a basketball game in Lansdale to watch. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow! Ciao!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Strangers with Candy

Well I'm strange and I made candy... That counts doesn't it?

Yesterday I began the candy making phase of Christmas. I usually make a little box up for the bus driver, the postman and my neighbors and I try to make different candies every year with one exception. Peanut Brittle. I always get lots of compliments on my brittle and I really think it has everything to do with the Watkins Vanilla that I use. In any case, here is my recipe and photo guide for making 10 Minute Peanut Brittle.


10 Minute Peanut Brittle
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup

  • 1/8 tsp. salt

  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups peanuts

  • 1 Tbsp. butter

  • 1 tsp. vanilla

  • 1 tsp. baking soda



Combine sugar, syrup and salt in 2 qt. casserole or mixing bowl.







Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Be VERY CAREFUL whenever you remove the brittle from the microwave. Both the bowl and the candy is very hot and will leave a nasty burn.






Stir in peanuts and then microwave 2 to 5 minutes, stirring after 2 and 4 minutes until syrup and peanuts are lightly browned. This is the most important step! You do not want to under or over cook the candy.







In the mean time mix butter, vanilla, and soda together in a prep bowl.







Stir in butter, vanilla, and soda until light and foamy.













Spread to 1/4 inch thickness on large well buttered cookie sheet.








Break into bite-sized pieces once cooled.


Once you've made it with peanuts, get brave and experiment with other nuts. I love cashew brittle!

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Who Really Cares?

I read this op in our local paper and was wowed. I'm not particularly a fan of O'Reilly but I would like to read Mr. Brook's book now...

RELEASE: WEEKEND OF DECEMBER 2-3, 2006

CHARITY: IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO

So what are we to make of the fact that conservative Americans donate 30 percent more to charity than liberal Americans? A new book called "Who Really Cares," by Syracuse University professor Arthur Brooks, is not going to please the Howard Dean crowd. The book states flat out that religious Americans who vote Republican are far more likely to be generous to the downtrodden than secular-progressives.

The big question is, of course, why? Liberal philosophy is all about "nurturing" people who need help. The "tax the rich" crew can't yell loud enough that more money needs to go to Americans in need. Just not their money.

That may be unfair but probably is not. The cornerstone of liberal economic thought is "income redistribution," that is big government taking assets from the affluent through taxation and giving said assets to the less well off through entitlements like subsidized health care, housing, educational scholarships and the like. The left is also big on imposed "economic justice," things like guaranteed wages and lifetime job security.

But a funny thing happened on the way to socialism. Americans who believe in "income redistribution" give 75 percent less to charity than Americans who do not, according to Dr. Brooks. That is a stunning differential.

I believe this is a religious thing. Secular-progressives believe in individual gratification, and that often takes money. Buying that jazzy new SUV and a vacation home can deplete disposable cash fast. If it's all about you -- then you are thinking about you -- not about poor Dave down the street.

But devoted Christians, Jews and Muslims are compelled to help the poor by their beliefs. Personal gratification is not a big theme in Scripture. Jesus was a huge "help your neighbor" guy. For J.C. it is all about Dave down the street, not the latest material possession.

The statistics say that religious Americans give four times as much money to charity each year than secular people and are 23 times more likely to volunteer to help people than folks who never attend church. And here's another crushing stat: If liberals donated blood at the rate conservatives do, the nation's blood supply would rise 45 percent.

So in this season of giving, Christmas, a word some liberals don't like to say, it might be worth pondering just who is really looking out for the have nots. The leftist media often portrays conservatives as mean, cruel and insensitive to the plight of the downtrodden. But, as the tax returns of multi-millionaires Dick Cheney and Al Gore prove, the media image is false. The vice president gives millions to charity, Mr. Gore very little.

So the next time you hear a big government liberal bloviate about helping the poor, please trot out the statistics mentioned in this column. And then tell that person that in America today giving money to charity seems to be the right thing. What's left is not even close.

Veteran TV news anchor Bill O'Reilly is host of the Fox News show "The O'Reilly Factor" and author of the book "Who's Looking Out For You?" To find out more about Bill O'Reilly, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com. This column originates on the Web site www.billoreilly.com.

COPYRIGHT 2006 BillOReilly.com.
Originally Published on Saturday December 2, 2006

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Sweeny Sister

Actually, my sister got roped into singing at my grandfather's assisted living community the other day - go read her blog about the details, it's pretty funny - and then her husband recorded the show when it aired on TV. He has been threatened not to show the video but he and I decided at dinner the other night that no one said that I could not share the video with the entire world, or at least the piece of it who visits my blog. I'm having trouble getting the whole file to download at the moment however so you'll have to click the link rather than just watching on YouTube. Sorry. I'll edit later if I can ever get it to work for me.

Aqua and Pearl Necklace

It's a Christmas gift that gave me such heartache while I was making it but it really turned out exactly as I'd imagined.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Christmas Concert 2006

G, Ty and S3 had their school concert on Friday. I tried to pick their three best songs and keep the clips under 20 seconds each. Here's the highlights video:

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

O Tannenbaum, Pt. 2

So I wouldn't overwhelm you guys with tree pics, I split them into two days. If you missed our tree-hunting adventure, you can read about it here.

We have really lucked out every year in that our lights have magically worked without any fuss or muss on our part. Unfortunately this year out luck ran out. I think the guys managed to combine enough of the strands that we ended up with one that worked. I'm slightly disappointed that we only have one strand of lights on the tree this year but I'm sure I'll make up for it next year.







I thought the girls were really pretty patient while Dad and Mr. Fix-It worked on the lights. They were so excited to start decorating and the dancing around was driving Steve crazy so I stuck them on the couch with pinwheels and that entertained them until he finished.










Usually I do all the work when it comes to decorating for Christmas but I was grumpy so this year I decided no matter what happened I was going to sit on my butt and watch everyone else decorate. It was the nicest decorating experience I've had yet.

















































Tuesday, December 05, 2006

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum...

We went this weekend with our friends to the tree farm to pick out our Christmas tree. Going with our friends has become a tradition and I believe we celebrated our fifth year of tree hunting with them this year.





Alli is such a sweetheart. She'll be 16 this year and she never seems to mind that my girls hang all over her. They idolize her of course. Anything Alli does or says is wonderful and is copied.








How did the Unibomber get into the FBI?















Everyone takes turns using the saw. E was having trouble so Mr. Fix-It had to step in to save the day. I believe Steve didn't saw the tree at all this year. I think S3 had the final cut.












This tree farm had the most unique trees. They had legs and walked themselves up to the tree pick-up.












Look at the look on E's face. She knows noone should have let G have that saw.

















This was the first year we went far enough from the "base camp" that we rode the wagon out and back. The sun started to set (which actually made picture taking very tricky) and when went over this hill, we could see the Pagoda lit up on the mountain. It was very cool. Unfortunately we were in a bouncy wagon and I couldn't get a shot.











Every year I take a picture of the boys to show their growth in a year's time. You can see how much they've matured.


Ah, our favorite part of the tradition... Cocoa and cookies.











G tried to help Steve put the tree on the car but it took Mr. Fix it to come to the rescue again.

Nutcracker Dresses

My niece Eeyore is in a production of the Nutcracker this month as a mouse. I can't wait to see her perform! G thinks Eeyore should be Clara but I think maybe she's a little too young yet. Anyway not only do I get to see my niece perform but because she's performing it also means I'm guaranteed to get to go to the Nutcracker this year. It used to be a regular Christmas ritual but has fallen by the wayside in recent years. So now we've picked our dresses!








E wanted pink. Don't mind the jeans and sneakers. I had her throw her dress on over her clothes to take a quick picture for you!G tried on a lot but we thought the blue was the most flattering. Dad thinks it makes her look too grown up.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

I'm Going to Buy Myself a Christmas Present


I received a catalog from Hallmark yesterday and they have this fantastic ornament in there. This always happens to me this time of year - I start finding little things that I'd like to have or that I need so I buy them for myself, wrap them and throw them in my stocking. Christmas morning I open the gift and ooh and aaah and thank Steve with big wet kisses for being so thoughtful. He just laughs and rolls his eyes.

Sadly, sometimes I forget that I am the one who bought and wrapped the item!