Tea and Bonbons

Why I'm a Republican

2012-01-24T13:39:00.001-07:00

...or rather, why I'm a conservative, to be more accurate.

With the elections coming up later this year, and all the nonsense going on in the Republican primaries, it's only natural that I would want to discuss politics on my blog from time to time. It's a subject I became interested in in 2000, and I follow things more or less closely depending on the political climate.

Oh God. These are our choices, folks.

Before I get into all that, though, I thought it would be helpful to explain exactly why I'm a Republican. Since many of my friends are Democrats, this might help them understand where I'm coming from; also, I'm hoping a few of my more open-minded readers might hold back on the knee-jerk reactions they sometimes may feel when they hear that word.

More than a Republican, I'm a conservative. It just happens that the Republican party most closely resembles my political beliefs. I might explain later, however, how the GOP may just be losing me, and many like me, if they don't stop the stupidity. But that's another post.

At the absolute core of my political beliefs is the value of liberty. Liberty is the concept on which we must hang all policies of government. Liberty as we Americans know it was a radical movement at the time the Constitution was drafted, but it has proven to be the basis for greatness. We are great because we are free. As we lose our liberties little by little, we will consequently lose our greatness.

This eagle doesn't need the government to know his greatness.

Some may argue that compassion is more important than liberty, but I would argue that liberty is the greatest form of compassion.

The video at the link (no embed available, sorry) contains the answer of a prominent and articulate Republican, John Bolton (former UN Ambassador) to the question, What is the greatest misconception that most Democrats have about Republicans?

He says (emphasis mine):

“The core misimpression is that a fundamental belief in liberty and its implications is somehow cruel and uncaring. When in fact, liberty is absolutely central to the most massive economic change in the history of the world that has brought more concrete material advantages to people in the last few hundred years than in millennia before that. And that understanding liberty means you have to value the possibility of failure as well as the possibility of success. Because if you don’t have failure as an option, you’ll never have success as an option.

It’s not lack of compassion that drives many Republican policy preferences, it’s a belief in the inherent importance of individual self-worth and not being dependent on external factors like the government.”

So, to paraphrase, conservatives recognize that success and failure go hand in hand. Liberty allows even the most fallen to rise.

Where does that leave us with the less fortunate of society? Conservatives believe that helping the needy is an individual mandate, as opposed to a governmental one. It's very easy to say "let the government take care of them," because it requires very little personal sacrifice. I believe that anyone with a compassionate heart will make personal sacrifices to help the needy, whether it's through money or time.

This article gives evidence that conservatives are indeed more involved with the needy on a personal level than are liberals. An example: "People who reject the idea that "government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality" give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition."

I don't say that from a position of moral superiority, but to show how a difference in philosophy is played out in reality. Our family does give regularly to non-profits and charities, and believe me, I would love to give more if we could afford it. If the government would cut entitlement programs (most of which I disagree with) and return to us more of our own income, I could give more money to local programs that I really have a heart for reaching the unfortunate in our area. And that's not just theoretical.

A natural outgrowth of my belief in liberty is my belief in small government. I believe the Founders envisioned a small federal government, with more power going to the individual states. In the last 235 years, the federal government has grown much too large and deals with things that are really none of its business. Let people decide how they want to live within their states, but leave federal government out of our personal lives and business. Whenever the federal government tries to "help," it ends up doing more harm than good.

Of course, the larger the government, the less personal freedoms we have. The more money they take from people, the less people have for themselves. A large government tends to treat its people as dependents, and of course a fundamentally American value is that we are all in charge of our own lives. It is up to me and how I live my life whether I am a success or failure, and government needs to stay out of the way. We don't need more government to ensure our liberty; we need less of it.

Government does have legitimate roles, of course, and that is why I'm a Republican, not an anarchist or even a libertarian. While I have some libertarian tendencies, I believe government does provide some protections that are necessary and vital. I just think that government has become too invasive lately, and that capitalism, which relies on liberty, needs the freedom to do its job. When the markets are allowed to work, everyone benefits.

That's a somewhat libertarian view of things, however, when it comes to things like marriage, abortion, the legalization of drugs, etc., my opinion of protection goes to the conservative Republican side of things rather than libertarian.

For example: I don't care (or want to know) what goes on in the bedroom between consenting adults, and practices that repulse me should not be illegal as long as they are consensual, but for legal purposes I believe marriage is between one man and one woman.

Anyway, there you have it. No mean-spirited jerk here, just someone whose political beliefs are rooted in the concept of liberty. As the primaries continue and things really start to get ugly, I'll share my feelings on the whole GOP situation going into the 2012 elections. You might be surprised. (Then again, maybe not.)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2012-01-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to my mom!

I chose this picture because that's what we had yesterday. Angel food cake with strawberries and cream. Yum.

I might get in trouble for revealing her age, so I'll just say that today is one of the Big -0's. A milestone. Considering that I'm 35 and her middle child, she's not that old at all. Of course, she's always looked younger than her age anyway. What I'm trying to say is, she's got a lot of good years left.

I'll stop before I really get in trouble.

Now I realize that lots of daughters are close to their mothers, so maybe it's not all that unusual that I consider her my best friend. We don't talk on the phone every day, or even every week, (Digression: I don't get people who do. What the heck do you talk about all that time?) But when we do talk, it's kind of like sinking into a comfy old chair ... comforting and familiar.

What I love most about our relationship is that she is probably the only person on earth with whom I can completely be myself. I don't have to worry about how she'll judge me, or if she'll still like me if I say something un-P.C., or if a disagreement will be the end of us. I don't have to be "on" with her like I am with almost everyone else. Of course, she's better than most people in that she almost never says anything hurtful. How she does it, I don't know. I certainly didn't inherit that trait, much as I wish I did.

Mom is also the most disciplined person I know. When she sets a goal, she almost always achieves it. She sticks to daily routines like glue. I really admire this about her because, again, I'm not like that at all.

I have never known a single person who doesn't like Mom. Not only is she gentle and kind, but she shows a genuine interest in everyone she meets. She can learn more about someone in five minutes than I have in five years.

Perhaps the most amazing thing is she has faces just as many hardships as the rest of us (if not more), but never has anything tarnished her character. While I know how she really feels about some things, she still is not bitter, cynical or sarcastic. At the same time, don't be fooled by her gentle nature; she is the strongest person I know. You can't go through the dark places in life and maintain your goodness without strength of character, and she has it in spades.

Oh, we don't share everything with each other. There are some things you just don't tell your mom, ever (and vice-versa). And I do have a wonderful non-related best friend as well. But Mom is someone who "gets" me and loves me anyway. I am thankful that God saw fit to bless me with such a wonderful mother.

I love you, Mom!

High Tea in Denver

2012-01-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

While the name "Tea and Bonbons" did not originate with an actual connoiseurship for tea, I do enjoy drinking tea from time to time. A bigger tea drinker is my mom. She's into all the loose-leaf, this-and-that varieties, steeping times and what have you. I'm a teabag dunker myself. Despite my laid-back approach to tea, I really enjoy tea and its trappings as long as someone else is serving.

A few times a year, Mom and I will go out for tea together. And since her birthday is coming up soon, my gift to her today was to treat her to high tea at a local teahouse we hadn't tried before. We went to The Denver Tea Room on Colfax, and let me just say, what a wonderful little gem. It's tucked away in The Holiday Chalet, a fabulous Victorian bed and breakfast scrunched between pawn shops and liquor stores on the notorious Colfax strip. While the neighborhood is sketchy, the B&B is anything but.

And I'll be honest ... I'm a sucker for diamonds in the rough.

They completely won me over with the semi-private room they had for Mom and me.

It was a surprising and cozy change from the more formal teahouses. The rest of the team room was a communal area holding only four tables. Again, small and intimate and very welcoming.

This tea room serves a traditional English tea (we've learned that there are many types of tea service, everything from Chinese to Americana to places that cater to hipsters). I ordered a mild black tea, and Mom ordered a cherry-flavored white. I personally don't like flavored teas, with the exception of florals like jasmine or peony, so I stick with the various unflavored blacks, greens, whites and oolongs. Mom is more adventurous than I, and we've tasted some unusual teas together.

The best part of high tea, in my opinion, is the food.

What we have here is

Herb Cucumber Sandwich
Spinach Tomato Crustless Quiche
Mini Beef Wellington
Sweet Potato Tarts with Coconut Crust
Pear & Stilton Crostini
Cream Scone with Devonshire Cream
Holiday Sweets

All of it was to die for. Soooo yummy.

If you've never been to high tea, I recommend it as a fun way to bond with your female relatives or friends (and British and/or tea-loving males, if you happen to know one). It's a little bit different experience than many Americans are used to. I do have to warn you though -- it's not cheap. It's really an indulgence. You'll pay a lot of money for not a lot of food, but of course the experience is part of the price.

For the ultimate in classy high teas, you simply cannot go wrong with the Brown Palace. They're the gold standard in Denver and I find myself comparing all other tea houses to it. The Denver Tea Room is a very good place as well, and probably my favorite find so far. It's not quite to the Brown Palace standard because a) the environment is less formal (which can be a good thing); b) the sketchy neighborhood; c) smaller selection of teas; and d) fewer food and dessert offerings. However, I really enjoyed the intimate atmosphere and the teas and food that were available were absolutely delicious. Because it's a family operated place, the staff is more personable than you'll find at a place like Brown Palace.

If you like an Asian-inspired experience, the Ku Cha House of Tea in Boulder is a great choice.

Have you been to a tea house in the area that you enjoyed? I'm always ready to try out a good recommendation!

Beware of Teenager

2012-01-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

Oh, not really. At least, not this week.

Today is a momentous one for our family...we got our first teenager! My oldest daughter turned thirteen today and so this post is in honor of her.

Modeling the t-shirt I gave her...which she loves!

I've been thinking of what I should say about A, and it's not easy. Out of all the kids, she's the hardest to pin down. She can't be pigeonholed, and maybe that's a good thing.

Challenging authority is not new to her just because of her age. She was born protesting everything--loudly. I recently read an article that kids who argue with their mothers are less susceptible to peer pressure, so I am praying that is true. Actually, it's easy to see how that could be true. She's never been gullible a day in her life. That girl won't be pushed around, stepped on, or steamrolled, that's for sure. It's not easy being the one dealing with her, ah, strong personality, but I'm totally okay with her being strong with others.

I do, however, pray for her future husband. May God grant him the patience and perspective he will surely need.

Being the eldest child, A is the one who was supposed to fulfill all her parents' fantasies about having genius-level intelligence, being extraordinarily talented, driven to be the best, and all those good things. I naturally assumed she'd be a lot like me, participating in everything available, from music to sports to spelling bees.

While I still believe she is intelligent, she has absolutely zero interest in proving it to anybody. She could get straight A's...if she wanted. Which she doesn't. She could excel in something (anything?), but she won't. Competitive activities are her worst nightmare.

Around the time she was 10 or 11 I finally came to accept this about her. It was hard. I mean, I didn't understand why she wouldn't just try. Leaving behind my expectations has allowed me to see her for who she really is. Which still isn't something that's easy to describe.

Here's what I know: she has a lot of friends. People really like her, and there must be a good reason for it. She loyal and nice and ... something I never used to place a lot of importance on ... FUN. That's right. She loves to have a good time and people are drawn to her. That's awesome. Her best friend wrote a tribute to her on Facebook that barely sounded English, but it was touching. I'm glad to know she is such a good friend.

She also has a very good eye. Whether doing something artistic or just dressing herself, everything she puts together manages to come out looking good.

She's beautiful. People say that doesn't matter, but of course it really does. That's something we non-beautiful people say to make ourselves feel better. I don't know if it's wrong to be proud of having beautiful children, but I am. Partly, I'm just a little awed that it happened because I have no idea how.

If I had to describe her in one word, it would be "irrepressible." As in, cannot be repressed. Usually it means that no matter what kind of influence we try to exert on her, she is always herself. She is comfortable with who she is. Sometimes, she's irrepressible when we try to discipline her, and at those times I'm not so appreciative of that. Other times, she's irrepressible in her humor. Other times, it means no matter how we've tried to get her to conform to our ideals, she absolutely refuses. She's kind of like a buoy: no matter how you try to push it down, it'll always bounce back to the top, exactly the same as it was before. I suppose that's why I finally gave up trying to make her more like what I thought she should be. Her resistance was not futile. It was irrepressible.

And that makes her irresistible.

Being thirteen, she often claims that I don't "understand her" at all. And because we have such different personalities, that may partly be true. (Though I understand a lot more than she thinks!) I may have cared a lot about grades and joined everything I could in school, but I am none of the things I described above. And believe me, there were a lot of times I'd wished I were more like her.

She surprised me by deciding not to have any friends over on her birthday. She never explained herself, but apparently she just wanted family around her today. My parents came over and hubby made his always awesome burgers, and we just kind of hung out. Well, she spent most of her time on Facebook. Now that she is thirteen, I finally let her join. Two hours into it half the middle school had sent friend requests. She had fun playing on there, and the rest of us had fun watching the Broncos win.

Gratuitous Tebow picture
My boyfriend...or my future son-in-law. I can't decide.

Let me just say...that game was AWESOME. Even if you're not a Broncos fan, which I'm not (Go Pack), you have to appreciate a game like that.

Anyway, I just want to tell my daughter that I love you, and I'm proud of you, and I'm glad you're irrepressible. If designing you had been left up to me, I would have messed it up big time! You're perfect just the way you are.

God Save My Son...

2012-01-05T21:30:00.001-07:00

...because I am about to go medieval on his skinny little ass.

I realize if you're my Facebook friend you've already heard about this, but it is too aggravating a story to limit to status updates. And I! Need! To! Vent!

Here's the back story: I am applying to a graduate program at UCD to get my teaching certificate and eventually my Master's. I've completed everything in the application packet long ago (and, by the way, why must applying to college be a part-time job in itself?), and all I had left to do was the essay portion. I guess I work better under pressure, because I've been putting it off, but now it's crunch time. The application deadline is January 15 and I've got only a few days left to finish.

No big deal, really, because the essay is only about three pages and isn't a terribly difficult subject to write about. So I was feeling very good about things last night, as I had sat down and written some really good stuff. I came up with all kinds of bs that sounds great in an essay. The words were flowing, and I had the power of my convictions behind my words. In short, it was good work. As as former writer and someone with an English degree, I know what good work looks like. All I needed to do was some tweaking and polishing, and it was good to go.

Then. THEN.

My son had to write a story for his Destination Imagination challenge, so I said sure, he can use my laptop. And here's what I am very sure what happened, despite the fact that I never got a straight answer out of him.

Instead of clicking on the Word shortcut on my desktop, he clicked my essay shortcut, which was written in Word, and so he thought the icon looked like Word. Here's what he won't tell me--what he did when he saw all my writing on the page. I can only assume that he deleted my writing so he could start with a blank page, and the proceeded to write. Dinner time came and I told him to stop now, and he said, "But how do I save it?" I started to reply but then said, "Never mind. Just close the lid and we'll come back to it after dinner and I'll show you how." Well, apparently he just went ahead and saved the document. When I went to look at it after dinner, I noticed the top of the window carried the file name of my document. My stomach dropped.

After checking the file for any sign of my writing--any at all!--I went in a panic to super-computer genius, my hubby. He tried and tried to find an older version of my file, but no luck. Well, we found an older version of the file ... the version I made before I started any actual writing. What's infuriating is that if I had rebooted my computer this morning, he could have restored my computer to the reboot point. But guess what? I rarely reboot my computer (it's a pain). I just close it and let it sleep. Also, it's been quite a while since I've performed a backup. That may not have helped me unless I'd backed up last night, but still. It's way overdue, obviously.

So here I am, attempting to write my essay again. Except I'm not writing, am I? I'm blogging instead. In my defense, I must vent before I can move on. I'm feeling angry and sick and frustrated, mainly because what I had written just 24 hours ago was so good it will be hard to replicate. I almost never cry, but I really felt like it for a while there. (If I feel like crying, you know it's bad. Ha!)

Don't worry, my son faced no bodily harm. I did tell him he'd better stay out of my sight for a while.

Just had to vent. But don't worry, it could be worse. I was thinking about blogging about politics. So you lucked out (for now).

Christmas Card Follow-up

2012-01-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope your 2012 is off to an auspicious start. As opposed to a suspicious start. That would not be good.

We had a wonderful new year's, which started with our annual New Year's Eve party. We're not the super-cool kids on the block, planning zany themes or games or even a music list. We just invite friends, put the food out, and hang out together enjoying each other's company for a few hours. It is always fun because, of course, our friends are awesome. Yesterday was recovery day...I only wanted to nap. But I didn't. I laid around on the couch watching a lot of football, but no sleeping. I'm also very proud of myself for getting all the Christmas decorations down yesterday. Last year it took until mid-January, so this is progress!

Anyway, on to the original reason for my post.

If you've been reading for a while, you know I am the Crazy Christmas Card Lady. Apparently, I am not alone, because it is my third most popular post. I even had someone google "Crazy Christmas Card Lady" on my blog, which totally cracks me up.

So I was putting everything away yesterday, and as I do every year, I took the time to go through the cards we'd received, reading them one more time before putting them away. (Actually, I throw most of them away. I'm not nutty enough to start saving them forever. Yet.) We got some really beautiful cards, and since beauty is meant to be shared, I thought I'd scan my favorites and share them with my dear readers.

5th Place
This card comes from the parents of my daughter's best friend. I picked it because, personally, I find it difficult to find religious cards that are attractive. This one, with the simple foils of copper and silver, depicts the Three Kings elegantly. Plus, I love the foil look, as you will see.

4th Place
This card come's from my husband's co-worker and simply meets the cuteness factor that I'm such a sucker for. Mice in real life are disgusting, but on Christmas cards? Love 'em. What's cuter than Christmas mice and dogs? As demonstrated in this card (all of them, actually), I also prefer simple. When it comes to any kind of art, less is more, for me. I'm not a fan of ~~cluttered up~~ highly detailed pictures. This type of drawing is right down my alley.

3rd Place
These top three cards I like so much that it was hard to put them in order. This card was from a good friend of mine, and I like it, again, for its simplicity. And I really like the silver and red foil together. It's just an all-around pretty card.

2nd Place
This one almost won, but not quite. It's from friends of ours, and the wife is very crafty. She did not make this, however (it totally would have won if she had--bonus points!). But it's easy to see how it appeals to her crafty nature. First of all, the card meets the ultra-cute standard. This card goes the extra mile because it's original in shape and uses felt, buttons, ribbon, etc. Also, the base folds out so it stands up just like a snowglobe! Love!

I looked up the brand because both this card and the next one are Burgoyne cards, and I thought I might try to find some for myself to send in the future. I ultimately figured out that these cards are probably sold in Costco. So if you're looking for awesome cards, that's a great place to start.

1st Place
This card is from my husband's boss. It is not "cute" or even all that "creative," but I picked it as my favorite this year because it is just beautiful. My scanner did not do it justice, so I had to photograph it. Every time I looked at my cards this season, this one just caught my eye. I love the monochromatic scheme, the elegant pinstriping, and the foil tree and border that reflects the rainbow back at me. Plus, the paper is a much higher quality than the others. For me, this is the ultimate in class and I love it.

Clearly, having favorite cards does not make the senders my favorite people, and I enjoy getting all of them. So thanks to everyone who sent, if you're reading this. I treasure them all!

Reminiscing 2011 -- Not!

2011-12-31T15:50:00.000-07:00

Thinking back on 2011 ... well, I don't want to think back on 2011. It's the past. Time to move on. Besides, I never did like prime numbers. They make me feel a little off-balance.

Truly, I may be one of the least sentimental people you've ever met. I rarely look to the past, I hold on to very little, and the things that are worth remembering will come back to me as I need them. In fact, I've noticed lately that my memory for past events is really weak. My theory is that dwelling on events reinforces them in your memory, as does strong emotional connections. Since I rarely dwell, and I'm not a highly emotional person, a lot of events just don't stick in my brain.

Some people might think this is "cold." I call it "healthy" or "well-balanced." Heck, it's just the way I was born, okay? I see it as a good thing. Way too many people live in the past, if you know what I mean.

In all seriousness, 2011 was a decent year for me. Better than 2010, which sucked the big one. I'm a lot happier right now than I was a year ago. But since I'm a forward-thinking person, let's talk about the future.

2012. I like that number. Nice and even at both ends. Plus, it's a leap year. What do you call it: Twenty-twelve or two-thousand-twelve? At what point will people start saying twenty, versus two thousand? I lean towards twenty-twelve myself. It has a nice ring.

Oh, the future. Well, in my immediate future is the New Year's Eve party we're hosting tonight. I've spent all week cleaning house (and tweeting about it--I'm such a party animal, ha!), and now I am ready to relax and enjoy my friends. Not all of them are coming, and let me just say, they are missing out. It's not because I throw such awesome parties, but because the company is always the best. What better way to ring in the New Year than by renewing and refreshing the ties of friendship?

As for tomorrow, I'll be taking down Christmas decorations (maybe). And watching football, of course. My life, it is exciting.

Resolutions? I don't make them. This is because I don't keep them. I do, however, wish to improve myself in the coming year. One way I plan to do this is by improving my daughter at the same time, which is a lot more motivating for me. We're going to volunteer at a local girls' home this year, and I am actually looking forward to it, even if my daughter is kicking and screaming. This isn't a resolution so much as a commitment.

I never resolve to lose weight, because I like to keep my goals realistic. So I've decided to start going to the gym regularly again, instead. Baby steps. I have had a gym membership these many years but have not utilized it lately, alas. So I have no excuse, other than I just haven't wanted to go. Also, I plan to cut wayyyy back on the sugar and carbs. Not completely mind you, as we're talking realistic goals here.

I also hope to get a job this year. Or decide what advanced degree to get. Still working that one out. But really, I just want to work. So, if you're hiring ... look no further.

As I pointed out to my kids this week, however, if I'd had a job this year, I would not have been able to be home with them during their Christmas break from school. Would've had to get a babysitter, and none of them looked thrilled at the prospect of that. So, there are always still those little things that chip away at my, ahem, resolve.

One of the big questions of 2012 is, of course, will the world end? I guess a better question is, if it does, are you ready? I just hope that if it does, it's before the Elections.

Happy New Year, and a great big THANK YOU to my readers. I hope you'll keep reading as we navigate the murky waters of the coming year together.

(P.S. Don't forget to vote in my poll in the sidebar!)

Legal Question

2011-12-30T17:46:00.001-07:00

Today we received the following letter:

It has come to our attention during an audit conducted by the City that we only collected sales tax for Colorado and RGD on your retail sale. According to the City, our sale to you is also subject to City sales tax that should have been collected from you and remitted to the City. To that end, the City has identified those transactions and customers for which tax should have been remitted. If the sales tax is not collected upon a taxable retail sale, the customer can still be held liable for the tax until paid. See Columbine Beverage Company v. Continental Can Company, 662 P.2d 1094 (Colo. 1982).

Some additional points:

The purchase in question was three years ago this January.
The letter says "can" be held liable, but does that mean "must"?
The case referred to has a lot of legal jargon, but has to do specifically with leases. However, I've seen online that the case means the consumer is ultimately responsible for sales tax.
However, if the store failed to collect tax, isn't it then their problem?
The letter doesn't appear to be a legal letter and was delivered by regular mail. The person whose name is on the letter appears to be an employee of some type, but nowhere are there attorney credentials.
They also suggest that we could possibly be responsible for any penalties and interest. Which just seems ridiculous to me, as the store is at fault, not us. We would have gladly paid at the time, had the tax been added to our bill.

So my question is, are we obligated to respond to this letter and pay the (3-years-overdue) tax, or can we disregard it? Have you seen anything like this before, and what did you do? The tax is a significant amount since it was a large purchase. Otherwise, I wouldn't be bothering to quibble over a few dollars.

Thanks for any help!

Icy Predicament

2011-12-29T14:39:00.001-07:00

These trees

are baaaad news. The ponderosa is at least 50 feet tall and sits on our neighbors' property. I wish we could demand that they chop it down. I hate that thing! Not only does it drop needles on our yard all year long, but in the winter it blocks the sun in front of our house, causing huge ice sheets on the street that never melt. On top of all that, it's an ugly SOB. But, of course, the tree doesn't bother them in the slightest because it's on that little strip of land on the far side of their drive--closer to our house than theirs. Punks.

The blue spruce is ours, and while I like it better than the ponderosa, it's (a much smaller) part of the problem as well.

Now that the weather has warmed up significantly, we're enjoying some major melt-off on the street. The huge ice sheet in front of our house, however, will not go away until spring. Thanks, Stupid Tree. Because we (I) didn't shovel out the gutters a few snowfalls ago (but isn't that a man's job anyway?), we are now contending with the runoff pooling up onto our sidewalk and forming ice there. So now that the ice is finally softening, I got the wonderful task of chipping the ice out of the gutters so the water can run off. Yay me.

Mission. Accomplished.

That was me, all me. And, FYI, those broken chunks of ice are much bigger that they appear in the picture. And stinking heavy. There is more behind me as well. You can see the shadow from the trees here. What you're looking at right there basically never sees the sun for five months running.

My tools include a snow shovel, a pointed garden digging shovel (the most useful thing ever), and a crowbar and mallet for the most stubborn chunks. And gloves, for all the lifting and throwing (whimper).

And now, I am tired and sore and don't want to move for the next several hours.

While I was doing that, C was doing this:

It's the Farnsworth House from the Lego Architecture series. It was delivered today, and he was so excited. For the money, it's a relatively small package, but it's a lot more complicated than your typical Lego sets. The box says ages 12+, and he's 8, so it took him a lot longer to put together than usual. Which is a good thing. For fifty bucks, I expect a toy to keep him entertained for a few hours. I also like that it's different from the other types of sets; he was ready for something novel. Anyway, he's super proud of it, so I just had brag on him a little.

The picture is important, because this is the last time the set will ever be put together like this. Look for original creations in the future.

Don't ask me what the girls were doing all that time. All I know is, if I hear any whining about having to "do everything," I'm going to drag their little butts outside and have them move the ice chunks into the sunny spots just for the fun of it.

So there.

Video Game-Free Home

2011-12-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

My kids got some things they really liked this Christmas, but not among their gifts are video games. They never have, nor ever will, receive a video game from me. I've made the choice to run a video game-free home, and it's a decision I've never regretted. There are several reasons for this lifestyle choice.

The first is principle. I just don't like them. Which is to say, I probably would like some of them if I would spend some time playing them, but mainly, I don't like what they do to people. I c-a-n-n-o-t stand the zoned-out look of a kid sitting in front of the TV with a controller in his hand.

A scene never to be seen in my house.

I realize that video games have come a long way in recent years, with activity-oriented systems like Wii and party games like Guitar Hero and Dance Revolution, so my thinking has changed some. I know that many games are a lot of fun. Also, I no longer believe that video games turn your brain to mush. Some of them are quite complicated and probably even improve problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination, and other things. (I do still believe gaming contributes to childhood obesity.)

But the fact remains, for every minute a child spends playing video games, he's not doing something more engaging with the physical world around him. And I have to confess -- I just don't have a lot of respect for gamers in general. It's an attitude thing.

The second reason, which has actually become my most compelling reason, is the expense. It's not enough to buy the expensive game system, but then you have to buy all the games. And of course, no one system offers everything, so many families have more than one game system to accommodate all the features they want. And then there are the add-ons, and don't forget that updated versions are released with regular frequency, so you have to buy new game systems all over again every few years. That adds up to a boatload of money, and, just ... no, thanks! I don't know how you all can afford it, but there is no room in our budget for this.

The third reason, the one that keeps me from giving into my weak moments, is how I know the kids will behave. I've seen them in action, and without a doubt introducing gaming to my home will result in bickering and hurt feelings and being left out and sore losers and, frankly, we have enough of that around here already.

They actually look pretty tame, compared to my kids.

I used to let them play games like Poptropica and Webkinz on my computer pretty frequently, and I eventually put an end to even that because heaven forbid one kid got 15 minutes more than another one, or someone got two turns in a row. Sometimes we had three laptops going at once and that just looks ridiculous. Not to mention that, it got to the point where all the kids did all day long was hassle me to play on the computer. Once I put a moratorium on the computer, all that ended. The kids found other things to do and mom is happier too.

The last reason we don't do video games is that as the kids get older and the games get more sophisticated, there is a lot of questionable content out there that I just don't want to deal with. It's hard enough monitoring their TV and movie consumption; I don't need to add games to the mix.

I don't forbid video games altogether. I tell the kids that they can play at their friends' houses all they want. I even held my son's birthday party at an arcade this year. But I can tell you, it is with some regularity that a kid comes home disgruntled because all they did was watch their friend play and it was "boring."

I'm not going to say that my kids are somehow better adjusted than their peers just because they don't play video games. I don't even secretly think it's true; there are a lot of other factors at work in well-adjusted kids. But it is a lifestyle choice that I am really happy with. My kids spend a lot of time playing outside and/or with each other. They are constantly interacting, and when they need downtime they read or play music. In my son's case (the child who is most likely to get bored--and the only one who asks for video games), he spends hour upon hour with his Legos which has resulted in some very original, creative, and complex creations. My kids play a lot of board games, rarely by the rules, and a lot of role playing as well. Maybe not so different from gamers after all, but a lot more interactive, hey?

I prefer the pogo stick to a joystick. :-)

I'd be interested to hear from other families who have made the choice not to invest in video games. What are your reasons? Or, did you eventually give in? Were you glad you did?

Home Again

2011-12-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

What was filled with light, warmth, laughter and noise only a day ago now stands dark, cold and empty. We loaded up the cars with gifts, luggage and bags and bags of trash, closed up the cabin and came home today. We had a great week up there, including a beautiful snowstorm, ice skating, and a wonderful Christmas, but it feels good to be home again.

The first thing I did when we got home was take my car to the car wash. It's sort of like having to go to the bathroom urgently ... just ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

))Shudder((

We had a really beautiful Christmas this year. It started with a special candlelight service at church on Saturday night, and on Christmas morning we had a little time to ourselves as a family before our guests came over. We did a bit of quick cleaning, and then I got started on dinner, which was just a simple ham and mashed potatoes, broccoli and bread. I just don't believe in stressing myself out on the holidays. And the food was pretty darn good, anyway.

Hubby's two older children came over, and then my parents did. After dinner we all opened even more gifts. I don't have any photos really, because I spent the whole time using my new camcorder instead. It was a very nice time of togetherness and some really nice gifts all around, too.

The kids liked what they got, mostly. They were excited to open the biggest presents that came while they were sleeping Christmas Eve, but when my 8-year-old son ("C") saw the new suitcase inside, his face fell and he said, "I guess Santa didn't come after all." Later he asked if we could return it. In my defense, I got an amazing deal on the luggage, and they needed it, too. In my opinion, Santa is a very practical person. But don't feel too bad for him, because he got lots of Lego and other stuff he liked, so it's not as if he got gypped. Besides, I'll have you know that when it came time to pack up for home, they all decided they really liked their new suitcases.

J with her favorite gift.
I always knew she was a star.

The kids got Christmas money, which apparently was burning holes clear through to their bones, and I didn't get any rest today until they had spent it. My son got his first taste of online shopping when I convinced him that he was better off not paying tax or shipping through Amazon. He picked out... wait for it... another Lego set. But this time he went for something a little different and way cool: a model of the Farnsworth House from the Architecture series.

J has been dying to buy the Mindless Behavior album (lastest Disney-manufactured *gag me with a spoon* boy band), so she used some of her money to buy an iTunes gift card so we could download it at home for her mp3 player. And then she picked out... you'll never guess... a Lego set! The latest rage at my house is Ninjago (Masters of Spinjitzu, mind you), and so this was an absolute must-have.

We now have hundreds of dollars' worth of Lego at our house, and guess what it looks like now? It's all jumbled together in a big box, never to be made into their kits again. That being said, my kids, and especially my son, do spend hours and hours building with them and making some very interesting and at time incredibly good and innovative creations. (That's what they call them, too -- "creations.")

When I was a kid, I never owned a single brick of Lego. :-( (<--That's for you, Mom and Dad.) C let me put together his set today, and now I think the next Lego set that comes into this house is going to be mine!

A is saving her Christmas money for the iPod Touch she absolutely must have but I won't buy her.

Mom came through and got me what I've always wanted but no one's ever given me: Hickory Farms! Am I the only one who likes that stuff? Whenever I see it I look at it longingly but it has never made it under my tree until now. Thank you, Mom! I can always count on you.

Love

Now we are looking forward to our annual New Year's Eve party coming up this weekend. No rest for the wicked. This week will be filled with cleaning house, menu planning and shopping.

I hope you all had a memorable Christmas in all the good ways! Share a favorite memory or gift in comments below.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

Have a very furry Christmas!

We're headed down to the city to check on the house, collect the mail, snowblow the driveway, etc. And then we'll go to the Christmas Eve service at church.

My whole life we celebrated on Christmas Eve, and we continued that tradition with my parents with my own family. But the last few years I've felt it's important to focus on the real Reason for the season, so we have been attending Christmas Eve services instead.

We'll be all gathering together at the cabin tomorrow, instead, and I'm really looking forward to it.

The house's frosting is starting to melt

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! See you all the day after. :-)

Marshmallow World

2011-12-23T16:04:00.001-07:00

As someone pointed out on Twitter, even though we have a foot of snow (or nearly two, in our case), Colorado still has more sunny days than Florida. That's one reason I don't mind the snow. Another reason is because it is just so gorgeous here. The storm passes away, the sun comes out, and the scenery is just breathtaking. Besides, it's not really all that cold. There's a reason people pay good money to come spend their winter holidays here.

While folks in the city are rushing around doing last minute shopping, we mountaineers (ha) are enjoying what Colorado has to offer. We took the kids ice skating at the lake today, so I got a few pictures I'd like to share.

Marshmallow world -- Evergreen golf course in winter

Evergreen Lakehouse

One of the hockey rinks

One of the Top 10 rated outdoor ice skating rinks in the country

My kids trying to get the hang of it.

I don't know these people, but I think they are such a cute couple.

Ice fishers

More pictures from Flickr are in my sidebar. -->

Our Cabin

2011-12-21T16:57:00.002-07:00

The snow has begun to fall, so we're hunkering down with some Christmas music and comfort food here at our cabin in Evergreen. We're expecting at least 8 inches with a possible 20 inches. We've got everything we need, so bring it on! Here's hoping we don't lose power, though...

We bought this cabin nearly two years ago, and since then I have dubbed it the Money Pit or Time Suck, depending on my mood. But we do enjoy coming up here from time to time, and this year we decided to spend Christmas here for the first time.

We have been in love with Evergreen for years. We've looked at properties off and on for probably about 12 years. Evergreen is perfect because it's close to Denver but has a small-town mountain feel about it. Besides, the area is gorgeous. It's more of a summer destination than a winter one, and it has many wonderful hiking trails that I have been taking advantage of. And, of course, Evergreen Lake is one of Colorado's prettiest gems.

We try having friends up here from time to time, but for those of you who haven't seen it, here's a little virtual tour. Now I have to preface this by saying that the word "cabin" is a bit misleading. It's really a house. We were after a cabin for a long time, but it was hard to find anything decent in our price range. Then the economy tanked, and the foreclosure situation worked in our favor. We got this place at a steal--if you don't count all the work we've had done since then (which explains the great price, ahem).

Here's the living area. The builder was an artist dabbling in home design, so there are a lot of unique (er, quirky) features throughout, but also some very good ones. This fireplace area falls on the side of quirky. The whole building is modern design meets rustic: the new areas are built around an original 1930s log cabin.

This is the dining room, which was added on. The stone and log wall you see was the front of the original cabin.

The stone fireplace also makes a good climbing wall.

The kitchen is in the original cabin but fully modernized. You can't see it in this picture, but three walls have the original logs.

This is the kitchen facing the dining room, and the other side of the stone fireplace. We use the wood-burning stove for heat while we're here.

The back bedroom is also part of the original cabin, and it is small and charming. You can see the original rockwork and parts of the structure in the en suite bathroom. Incidentally, this is my favorite room in the house. There are more windows per square foot in this room than any other, so it is always bright even though it also feel cozy because of its small size.

This is the front yard. No views of Mt. Evans or anything, but it's pretty nice, no?

There is much more to see, but you'll have to come visit to see the rest!

Video Kids

2011-12-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

All right, I've got a few videos made, and while I have yet to learn how to edit them, I do have a couple to share. My 8-year-old was doing "commercials" and I filmed them. Here he's selling a "Ford F-150." He might be hard to hear, so you'll have to turn it up.

Here's one of J playing with the dog. He's a pretty high jumper!

I would put more up, but this took me about a bajillion years to get these two videos uploaded. I made a YouTube account as well, so check it out at www.YouTube.com/teaandbonbons. I'm working on getting more videos up there.

Weekend Shenanigans

2011-12-19T19:07:00.001-07:00

It's true, I've been neglecting my blog again. This weekend was pretty busy, and I figured everyone else was also busy so no one would be reading anyway.

That's what I tell myself.

I had my second and final Christmas party this weekend, my aunt and uncle's annual hors d'oeuvres party. (And yes, I know how to spell that without looking! Anything is possible with enough practice.) It is a family-only gathering, and there are usually about 20 of us local relatives there. I grew up with no relatives around so I feel blessed to have a number of them here in the area that I get to see regularly. The hors d'oeuvres party is fun because ... well, hors d'oeuvres are fun.

Ours are not this pretty, but I'll bet they taste just as good!

Then Sunday my two younger kids performed in the Christmas pageant at church. J had two small solos. Now, while I will say that the kids did a great job, I will never be one of those parents on American Idol cussing out the judges for not recognizing my kids' talent. I love J, but ... her singing ... well, I love her.

She was absolutely adorable, of course.

Just wanna pinch those cheeks!

And nothing ... nothing on earth is more precious than kids singing in a church pageant.

Whose heart wouldn't melt at the sight?

I think if someone didn't mess up, or some kid didn't start tugging on his/her clothes or kind of start wandering around the stage, it would be a big disappointment.

After that, our family read the week's Scripture and lighted the Advent candle. Hubby's not in this picture, but he was there too, wielding the lighter.

I must say, I was a fabulous microphone holder.
(Oh, and the kids did great, too. And hubby can really light candles.)

That afternoon I watched both the Packers and the Broncos lose. Booo. :-( That was a downer. But here's a nice picture of that one hottie everyone keeps talking about, to brighten me you up a little.

Those arms haunt my dreams.

With the kids out of school for the next couple of weeks, we decided to spend this week up until Christmas at our cabin in Evergreen. Getting ready to go is almost more work than it's worth, but we're here, we're ensconced in the cozy cabin in the cozy woods with the snow falling outside. This week will be especially challenging since we have no TV here--for me because I'm without my trusty babysitter, and for hubby because he's without his security blanket. (But we do have internet, as you can see. And movies can be and are watched on the computer!)

I'll be posting more later this week about the cabin I'm sure, but here's a little teaser.

Anyone who's been here knows how misleading
this picture is. As is the word "cabin."

While hubby and I went to buy this week's groceries (holy crap, this family is expensive to feed), the kids took it upon themselves to do a little decorating.

Santa and Mrs. Claus

Hope you all had a great weekend, too!

You Might Be from Colorado if...

2011-12-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

I compiled this list from various sources a few years ago, and it always cracks me up. Enjoy. :-)

You switch from Heat to A/C in one day.
You know what the "People’s Republic of Boulder" means.
Your sense of direction is: towards the mountains and away from the mountains.
You take your out-of-town guests to Casa Bonita even though you would never go there otherwise.
You can drive over a 12,000 foot pass in 4 feet of snow, but can't get to work if there are 4 inches of snow.
You know the correct pronunciation of Buena Vista.
April showers bring May blizzards.
You know what a Rocky Mountain Oyster is.
You know what a 14er is.
But you don't know what a turn signal is.
A bear on your front porch doesn't bother you nearly as much as a Democrat in Congress does.
Having a Senator named Nighthorse doesn't seem strange.
You think a red light means 3 more cars can go.
You know where the real "South Park" is.
You can recognize the license plates of all 50 states on sight.
You've gone snow skiing in July and...
You've gone sunbathing in January and...
They were in the same year!
You’re not sure if Colorado extends west of the Rockies.
You have a business degree and are frying burgers at a McDonald's in Vail.
You’ve never actually been to Aspen, much less ski there.
You see someone riding a Harley in a snowstorm, and you look closer to see if it's anyone you know.
You know the elevation of a town, but not its population.
You can name only two people you know who were actually born in Colorado.
You merge onto the highway at 15 miles an hour.
You have absolutely no recognizable accent.
If the humidity gets above 25%, you consider it "muggy."
You are the third car to run a red light after it has changed.
When giving directions, you never say "Turn left, turn right", it's always go West, then South.
You never plan a picnic between 3:30 and 6:00 in the summer months.
If it rains more than two days straight you compare the weather to being in Seattle.
You have a broken windshield.
You love your Broncos, your Avs, your Rockies, Nuggets - well you can't have everything.
You don't have A/C in your home, but you use it in your car all winter long.
If it snows in the morning you expect it to be gone by lunchtime.
You've never seen the tourist attractions in your own city.
You think a pass does not involve a football or a woman.
You are 82 years old and take up snowboarding.
You have been skiing less than 10 times in your life
North means "mountains to the left;" south is "mountains to the right;" and east and west are where all those damned liberals keep moving in from.
You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels "sticky" and you notice the sky is no longer blue.
You see your East Coast relatives now more than when you lived there.
You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard, and you grew up planning your Halloween costumes around your coat.
You don't care that some company renamed it, the Broncos still play at Mile High.
You can always tell when a Texan is driving in front of you.
You know what a "trust fund hippy" is, and you know its natural habitat is Boulder.

Got more? Add 'em in comments!

Not Just Any Old Snowflake

2011-12-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

It's a high heel.

It's a sweater.

It's a bull.

It's a snowflake!

Odds & Ends

2011-12-15T13:34:00.002-07:00

No deep thoughts from me today. If I waited around for those, I might never write, so I'll just hit a few things from the last several days.

After my shopping experience with the girls, I made up my mind that 2012 is going to be different. I decided to force, if I have to, my 12-year-old into community service. And I'm going to do it with her. I made a list of different charities in the area and let her pick the one that interests her most. Here's how it went:

Me: There's the Denver Rescue Mi--
A: I want to work with animals.
Me: We're not going to work with animals. We're going to work with people.
A: Do you think I don't care about people! I do! You don't know the real me!
Me: All I know is what I see, my dear. Anyway, your next choice is the Children's--
A: When I'm at school I'm not the same as I am here! I care about people!

Well, she'll soon get a chance to prove it to me, I guess. She grudgingly chose Excelsior Youth Center, and to be honest, I'm looking forward to getting involved in the new year! Let's hope that by 12 months from now A has a little better perspective on her own life.

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I'm a book lover. This shouldn't surprise anyone, given my (useless) English degree. I've had a lot of time on my hands for reading this past year, and I've read some really good books ... and a lot of crap. If you ever need a recommendation, just ask me. In fact, you don't have to ask. I'll give you one now.

New author Patricia Falvey's The Yellow House is, in my opinion, a masterpiece of a debut novel.

I just finished reading it for the second time, and I loved it as much this time as I did the first. It's set in Northern Ireland around the time of the formation of the IRA. The author is Irish, though she lives in the US most of the time. What I love about it is that it's exceptionally well-written and doesn't fall into the artsy-fartsy trap that too many modern novels embody (you know, written by English majors for English majors, angsty and overwrought--though it is emotional). Her literary devices are nice and subtle; if you're looking for them, you'll find them, but if you don't care about that and just want a really good story, it fits the bill as well.

Her second novel, The Linen Queen, is also an excellent book, and I'm about to start reading that for the second time as well. I'm eagerly awaiting her third to be published, which she claims she is working on.

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I shopped at Hot Topic for the first time in my life this week, looking for a gift. I am scarred for life. God, please don't let A ever discover this store. I'm begging you.

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What's up with all the atheists who think they have to crap all over Christmas every year? You know they spend the whole year planning for it, and when Christmas comes around they go into full rage mode. Don't ever tell me that militant atheists are happy people. Happy people don't go around undermining other people's happiness. Christmas is Happiness. If you're not happy at Christmas, the problem is you, not Christmas. Geez.

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I got about four inches cut off my hair this week. At first, I liked it. It always looks good coming out of the salon.

But now that it's been a couple days, I'm not lovin' it. Too blunt at the ends, too heavy looking... I don't know. I feel like I have a case of News Anchor Hair, and that's not the look I'm going for. I do love my stylist, who I've been with for years, so I'm gonna have to tell her this cut isn't working out. Waa.

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Tell me I'm not the only one who gets caught at every stinkin' red light on Smoky Hill Rd. going east. Did the city plan the lights this way? Ugh. I say it's time for a freeway to Southlands. Are you with me?

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Well that's all I've got. Hopefully we'll be back to more meaningful banter next time--you never know what Adventure in Adolescence will come up. Be good.

And comment. Seriously. It's like an echo chamber in here.

Shopping with the Girls

2011-12-13T22:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight I took my girls to JCPenney on what should have been a very simple shopping trip. By the time we left, I felt like doing this...

...until I achieved sweet oblivion.

Let me explain. The kids and I have been asked to read the Scripture verses for the lighting of the Advent candles at church next Sunday. They didn't want to do it (I swear mine are the only kids like this), but as their mom I said they have no choice, and to sweeten the deal I'd get them new outfits to wear on Sunday. This is something they need anyway. We've been getting away with holey, but far from holy, jeans at church for a while, but no way was I going to let them wear their usual casual dress in front of everyone, and on Christmas to boot!

My 9-year-old daughter ("J") was thrilled, but my 12-year-old ("A") acted like this was a major atrocity.

She wants sweatpants, yoga pants, jeans, and pajama pants, but no dress pants, and especially no skirts! I've learned by now not to waste good money on clothes the kids won't wear, so I wasn't about to force her to get a skirt, but jeans were not acceptable either. We settled on a pair of black jeans-style twill pants that I'm praying she will wear more than once.

Then to find a top. It is such a shame that she doesn't like dressy clothes, because she has a figure built for it. She is tall and thin and beautiful and has great posture ... and all she will wear is hoodies, t-shirts and sweaters. You would think it would be easy to find something for someone who likes clothes so much, but no. Nothing was "her style." I finally convinced her to "just try them on," and it turned out (surprise!) that most things look better on her than on the hanger. She settled on this top:

Believe it or not, it looks better on A than on this model.

In the meantime, J loved everything. She quickly picked out some things she liked, tried them on, and had chosen her outfit lightyears ahead of A. She has a sense of style that is far more feminine than A's. It may be partly due to her age, but I've also noticed that J has a much more open mind about how things will look. Anyway, she chose a very cute, age-appropriate top:

But wait! We're not done! Once the outfits were (finally) picked out, we went through the store looking for gifts. That's when the headache really started.

A: I need a belt. I neeeeeed one!
Me: Fine, we'll see what they have.
A: Look at these bags! They're 80% off! Mom, I neeeeed a new bag for school.
Me: I thought you needed a belt?
A: Well, I don't really need one anymore.
Me: We have bags at home. You can have one of those.

A: Hello Kitty pajama pants! These are the ones I was telling you about! I neeeed new pajama pants 'cause mine are too small!
Me: If that's how you want to spend your Christmas money, go right ahead.
A: But you always get us pajamas for Christmas.
Me: Right. But this year you wanted money. So instead of spending money on pajamas, I am giving you the money to do with as you please.

A: Mom, I need to dye my hair. Look, it's getting gray.
Me: Don't. Talk. To. Me.

A: Everyone at school buys these really cute clothes from Victoria's Secret.
Me: Yeah, I looked at stuff from there and guess what? I will never buy you sixty-dollar yoga pants.

And besides, what parent in their right mind buys clothes for their 12-year-old from Victoria's Secret?!

A: Oh, look at these boots! I really want them. Mom, I need new boots because mine don't fit.
Me: I'm ignoring you now.

La la la, I can't hear you!

The whole attitude of "I want, I need, gimme, gimme, gimme" has really been getting on my nerves this Christmas. I warned the kids that something drastic is going to happen. Like maybe it's time to think about getting less for ourselves and giving more to a family who truly is in need. I was immediately met with an outcry of "not fair" and "I'd never forgive you" and so forth, but something has got to change. I'm convinced they need to witness what real neediness actually looks like. I don't feel like I spoil the kids, even at Christmastime, but the self-centeredness I'm witnessing disturbs me. It's time for a change. I haven't decided what yet, but it'll come.

Meanwhile, where's the Xanax?

Happy Early Christmas to Me

2011-12-12T22:45:00.002-07:00

Remember when camcorders looked like this?

Don't you miss lugging this thing around?

I asked for a camcorder for Christmas this year. I have never had one before. Now that my kids are getting older, I'm regretting not having one when they were little. It's something I just didn't value at the time. Of course, with a house full of babies and toddlers, I was unlikely to break it out much anyway, but still. Even a handful of videos of the kids' little years would be precious now.

Hindsight. It bites you in the butt every time.

Hubby and I have an understanding now that we ask for exactly what we want, and that's what we get. The surprise factor is way overrated.

We've all been there.

Someone always ends up being disappointed. So when I "suggested" a camcorder this year, the end result was a certainty. Just the way I like it. (On the other hand, he's under the impression that a spare battery pack makes a perfectly reasonable stocking stuffer. We're still working out the kinks.)

But then I got to thinking, you know, I'd really like to record the kids on Christmas Day, and I won't be able to do that if I don't have the camcorder beforehand. And their program at church is coming up this weekend, so wouldn't it be nice to record it? Hubby agreed and so I opened my gift a couple of weeks early.

Just look at this bad boy.

Maybe I'm partway to understanding why guys
drool over hunks of metal on 4 rubber wheels.
This pile of plastic is definitely drool-worthy.

That right there is 13.9 ounces of pure technological marvel that fits in the palm of your hand. We're talking 1080 full HD 60p video, 3.3 megapixel stills, 160 GB hard drive, 42x zoom, and a bunch of other little numbers I can't even begin to understand. One of the coolest features is while you're recording it detects smiles and automatically captures still photos of the smiles! I love it!

I've been playing with it a little today, and so far my most willing subject is Scruffy (it does not detect doggy smiles, alas). I did get interviews of the kids, but I unfortunately nothing worth sharing yet. Hopefully I'll come up with something good soon. Since I'm so new at this, my movie-making skills need a lot of work. I realize that nobody wants to watch ten minutes of awkward and/or boring footage. :-)

I am over the moon. Happy Early Christmas to me!

Football

2011-12-11T23:17:00.004-07:00

Let's talk football.

I'm not much of a sports fan in general, although I do like sports. I just don't get all passionate about a team, or involved in the intricacies of stats, rules, or strategy. I played sports in high school, and I enjoy attending events. And who doesn't love watching the Olympics or even the occasional World Cup? (I might tolerate the Stanley Cup if there weren't six months of playoffs, for crikey's sake.)

The exception is football. I love football. Or, more accurately, I love the Packers, and because of them, I love football.

The reason for this is very logical: I actually lived in Green Bay for a few years, and in the state of Wisconsin for my most formative years, 7th-12th grade. This was during the heyday of Brett Favre, Reggie White, and Sterling Sharpe. So I come by my team loyalty honestly.

A big player known for his big faith

Packer fans are somewhat unique in that you can find them everywhere, despite the fact that Green Bay itself has a population of only 100,000. Probably many of them are former Wisconsinites like me, but a large number of fans never stepped foot in Wisconsin who are attracted by the tradition, unique history, and unique ownership of the Packers.

Plus, their colors are, in a word, awesome.

Gorgeous!

Living in Green Bay was quite an experience. People from other major cities only think their cities are nuts for their teams. Green Bay is the only place I've ever been where the city is, quite literally, drenched in team colors. While Green Bay has other proud traditions, being a port city and home to a huge paper mill among them, the city and its team have a symbiotic nature that is not mimicked anywhere else.

Lambeau Field is situated uniquely at the corner of Lombardi Avenue and Oneida Street. Across the street from the stadium are homes. Old '40s and '50s era ranch-style homes, who sometimes open their driveways for parking (for a fee, of course!) on game day. I used to make my turn at that intersection on my way to work at the Bay Park Square Mall every day. It sits there as snugly as any old office building or strip mall would, only it's much, much prettier and inspiring.

Hear that? It's angel choirs singing.

One of my favorite Packer traditions is during training camp. The players suit up in the locker rooms at Lambeau Field and then make their way across the parking lot and across Oneida Street to the practice field. In the parking lot, kids offer their bikes for the players to ride, and the players really do ride the bikes across the street, proud kids trotting alongside.

Nope! Not making it up!

When I lived there, bleachers were set up outside the chain link fence where fans could sit and watch practice for free. I did this once as a teenager and was thrilled when Sterling Sharpe came within three feet of me with only the fence between us! I remember thinking how breathtakingly huge he was up close.

In spite of all that, I've never been to a Packers game at Lambeau Field. If I had a bucket list, that would be on it.

I've been living in Colorado since 1997, and it still drives my hubby nuts that I haven't shifted my loyalty to the Denver Broncos. It's nothing against the Broncos really, it's just that they're not the Packers. I never was an Elway fan, and without him, the team is ... well, what can I say, really?

Until Tim Tebow, that is.

Cuter than Aaron Rodgers, but is he as good?

Suddenly I find myself watching Broncos games with an intense interest, sitting on the edge of my seat as Tebow pulls in one miraculous-looking win after another. If anyone changes my mind, it will be that man. I'll never stop loving my Packers, but if the Broncos' management manages to keep from doing something stupid (as if), and they keep Tebow on, I just might start to like them, too.

Maybe.

Baking Day

2011-12-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

Today was the annual Christmas baking day for my mom and me. We don't make a lot of things because, well, there aren't that many people to eat the stuff up, so it's a fun and (more or less) relaxed day for us.

One of my requirements for cooking or baking anything is it has to be easy. And nothing is easier than chocolate covered pretzel rods. I do different toppings on them and this year it was toffee chips.

This is also one of my kids' favorite holiday treats. It helps when people like the stuff you make, y'know?

We made my absolute favorite, Chex party mix. Four boxes of cereal, six cups of nuts and six cups of pretzels ... it'll be gone in no time. People don't eat the stuff, they inhale it.

We actually don't make many cookies around the holidays, but we always make spritz cookies. They're fun because you can make different shapes and colors without too much hassle (I'm anti-cookie cutter). We make a few cookies in straight-up colors...

And we make some fun tie-dye ones, too. These are my favorite.

While Mom and I were doing adult things, the kids were decorating their own cookies, which Mom had baked ahead of time.

I think they're getting bored with this particular tradition, because they did not even attempt some "nice, pretty" designs. My kids have a twisted sense of humor, and here are some of this year's favorite cookies.

"I ATE U!"

Murdered cookie

Pwease can you hewp me?

Perfection is overrated, anyway.

Would have done more baking, but I had to leave early to get ready for the spouse's office party. Let's just hope nothing happens tonight that is blog-worthy, if you know what I mean!

Kid Antics

2011-12-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

My two younger children, a 9-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son, do a lot of things that are pretty funny.

I bought cutie oranges the other day, thinking "healthy snack."

Kids see things differently. They saw little heads.

What was I thinking? This is so much better.

The other day, I overheard them saying things like, "I am King of the Sock Wars!" and "You stole my Death Sock!" and "Beware the Slingshot Sock." When I finally figured out what was going on, I had to take pictures. Sure enough, they were playing "Sock Wars."

The guns are wrapping paper tubes hot glued together, and socks are the ammo. It got pretty dicey there, but they both came out of it alive.

A few weeks ago, my 9-year-old sent a letter off to Santa (she doesn't believe, but likes to pretend). We'd forgotten all about it, until this came in the mail today:

Inside was a cheesy little poem from "Santa" (typos included), but it was pretty neat anyway. I think the postmark was smudged on purpose though, don't you? Here's a closer look at the return label.

My kids are known to torture stuffed animals from time to time.

This is wrong on so many levels.

Mostly, though, I think my kids are just pretty darn cute.

He's since had a haircut.

She had a haircut, too. Minutes
before this picture was snapped, in fact.

And so is Scruffy.

Cutest little pink tongue ever!

Oh: I added a list of blogs I like in my sidebar. Make sure you check them out! -->

Going to the Mall

2011-12-08T19:40:00.003-07:00

Today I went to the mall. This is newsworthy only because I rarely go to the mall. I don't like malls in general. I'm an in-and-out kind of shopper. I usually know exactly what I need to get, and I prefer to go in, get the item(s) and get out. Malls are not conducive to in-and-out shopping.

Going to the mall is so FUN!

So anyway, nothing opens until 10:00 (even during Christmas season--what?!) so I stepped in the Starbucks line and killed fifteen minutes that way. Normally it's against my principles to stand in a Starbucks line more than three or four people deep, but I figured I had nothing better to do.

I ended up going into only two stores: Crate&Barrel and Williams-Sonoma. You know, it's weird. I hate cooking, and my least favorite room in the house is the kitchen, but I love kitcheny stores. Especially overpriced ones like these. Why is that? Why does cookware look so good on the shelves but so uninteresting in my kitchen? I walked the rest of the mall but didn't see a single thing I wanted to look at. I guess it helps that my Christmas shopping is done already.

Spending $345 on a dutch oven (on sale!) makes perfect sense!

And thank goodness for that. I can't afford that place. At least I got my mall fix for the next six months, minimum, so that's good.

Being Alone

2011-12-07T22:23:00.001-07:00

This is what my Wednesday nights look like.

I drop the kids off at their church activities, then I head off to the nearest Starbucks and enjoy an hour of reading and coffee. It's where I find my bliss.

A lot of people won't sit down in a public place like Starbucks if they're alone. The ones who do usually disguise their aloneness by tinkering on a laptop. I'm not saying they're not doing real work, but it's unusual to see anyone being alone for the sake of being alone in a place of business. In fact, some of them may be escaping the aloneness of their homes by working there.

Of course, I also bring something to do--reading material--or else I'd get bored. But I don't go to Starbucks on Wednesday nights just to kill time, though that's how it started. I definitely don't do it to be around people. I love being alone every once in a while. It's restful. It recharges me.

I'm alone a lot these days. With all the kids in school now and my husband working, I spend the hours between 9:00am and 3:00pm mostly alone. At times it can be very isolating, and while I seek out ways to be involved with other people through volunteering, there are still a lot of hours in the day where I'm alone. Luckily, I don't mind it most of the time. At least I have Scruffy to keep me company.

For some reason, being alone at home and being alone somewhere else are two completely different things. I can be alone for five hours a day and by evening I am often desperate for the peace and quiet that evening brings.

Aloneness is different from loneliness. Aloneness is a choice, something to that is sought out. Loneliness is never achieved by choice. I've been there, too. We all have. Loneliness is difficult, unpleasant ... depressing. Aloneness is none of those things.

A while ago, this video was making the rounds, and the beauty of it is the acceptance that one can find in being alone.

Someone who knows how to be alone is someone who knows herself well.

Rocking Out to Christmas Music

2011-12-07T12:11:00.001-07:00

What, your To Do list doesn't look like this?

So let's talk Christmas music. We already know that I love Christmas cards. I've told you about our ornament tradition. (Which reminds me, I promised a photo of the tree, so here.)

Another one of my very favorite things about Christmas is the music. I have more Christmas CDs than all other types combined. While my regular tastes stay in the country and rock/pop range, when it comes to Christmas music I like all types. Well, except R&B. I still don't like that.

My husband doesn't care for it much, and since the stereo is in the same room as the TV, there's a battle for who reigns supreme over the electronic equipment this time of year. My philosophy is, he controls that room 11 months out of the year, just give me this one! We finally figured out a way to co-exist: when I want to listen to music, he puts on headphones to watch TV. Unfortunately, the cord doesn't reach all the way to to sofa. (snicker)

So far this morning, I've listened to Andrea Bocelli's My Christmas, which has a gorgeous rendition of The Lord's Prayer. Now Bing's White Christmas is playing, which is always good for a vintage feel.

I love country music year round, and the best of all country Christmas CDs is Lonestar's This Christmas Time. I've had it since 2000 and I never get sick of it. It's nice and energetic. This year I picked up Wynonna's A Classic Christmas from Walmart for five bucks and I'm liking that one a lot, too. I don't have this CD, but one of my all-time favorite songs is Colorado Christmas by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Another new one this year is Boney M.'s Christmas with Boney M. They have the best version of "Mary's Boy Child" ever. We also like rock Christmas music around here. One of my favorite CDs I bought in 2006 at Bath & Body Works (I'm so bummed that they discontinued selling Christmas CDs!). It's compilation of various popular and obscure artists and it's just really unique. The kids and I love to turn it up and rock out to My Girlfriend Forgot Me this Christmas by The Click Five (who?). Let's not forget about Trans-Siberian Orchestra's mega-hit "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" (another kid favorite) from their Christmas Eve and Other Stories album.

And of course, what Christmas music collection would be complete without Josh Groban, Kenny G, and Mariah Carey? (Sorry, no Michael Bublé!)

Of course, not all Christmas CDs have been winners. Possibly the worst album I've ever bought was last year. I was so excited that Mariah Carey came out with another one, since I loved her first one so much. This one bears the original title of Merry Christmas II You, and it. is. crap. Hate it.

Then there was the ill-advised Christmas Classics Redneck Style. I probably shouldn't even admit to that in public. I was disappointed in The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection. I love her, but this just wasn't very good. My mom didn't want John Denver & The Muppets, so she sloughed it off on me. Thanks a lot, Mom. There is a silver lining, though -- my 8-year-old son is suddenly really into the Muppets and he is thrilled that I gave it to him. Just needed the right audience, I guess.

Beware of any cover that looks like this.

So tell me ... what have you been listening to this month? I'm always on the lookout for a great new Christmas CD! What do you suggest?

Is university the right choice for your child?

2011-12-06T15:13:00.001-07:00

First, it was the dot-com bubble.

Then, it was the housing bubble.

Now, we're facing the higher education bubble. This country has more college-educated workers than it has jobs for.

Pop!

For most of us growing up, it was understood that if you wanted a better life, you had to get a college degree. Now there are a significant number of people with college degrees who can't get jobs. For many of us, the answer seems to be to get an even higher degree in order to be competitive. But that bubble will burst, too. The market can support only so many MBAs and Ph.Ds, after all.

If you think things are tough for today's educated adults, think of what our children are looking forward to.

Tuition rates have risen to the point where return on investment is questionable. Is $100,000, or more, for a college education reasonable? Most graduates will take most of this money out in loans, to be repaid when they get their wonderful new careers. Except many college graduates can't get jobs in their fields and are working in retail, restaurants, construction, sales--whatever--until "something opens up." So now they have a degree they can't use but still have to pay for.

Help! It's crushing me!

Americans have to reassess how valuable a college degree really is. The New York Times addressed this recently in an article entitled The Dwindling Power of a College Degree:

"...[A] college degree is no longer the guarantor of a middle-class existence. Until the early 1970s, less than 11 percent of the adult population graduated from college, and most of them could get a decent job. Today nearly a third have college degrees, and a higher percentage of them graduated from nonelite schools. A bachelor’s degree on its own no longer conveys intelligence and capability." (<--And isn't that the truth! ~Me)

Unless you intend to enter a field where A) potential for hiring is good, and B) a specific college degree is essential (such as medicine, science, and technology), it's time to take a second look at trade schools and other options, like the military (they need smart kids, too!), for high school graduates.

As parents, we want what's best for our kids. What if what's best is not expensive (unaffordable, really) universities, but less expensive trade schools where they learn marketable skills that can translate into a fulfilling career? Let me give you an example.

Since she was a little girl, my daughter has wanted to learn how to style hair. She loves fashion, makeup, and hair. She's also very sociable and builds rapport with people fairly quickly. On the other hand, although bright, she is an indifferent student at best. Never once have I been able to imagine her at a job in the future where she sits at a desk. I'm positive she would be unhappy in an office environment. Currently, she is torn. She wants to go to "beauty school" to learn about something she really loves. At the same time, she thinks she might want to be a teacher and understands that going to college is expected of her. Currently, she talks about attending Colorado's party school, CU-Boulder. This has nothing to do with quality of education and everything to do with quality of social life.

This is what she thinks college is about.

Through various conversations, she knows that college is very expensive and that we as parents are not going to pay for it. She'll have to decide whether she wants to go the scholarships and loans route. I've also made it very clear that if styling hair is what she really wants to do, then I will support that decision as well. Because I'll be honest: I'd rather have her working in a career she loves and is good at, even if it pays less, than a job she's ambivalent towards because of the expectations of her parents. And frankly, beauty school is far more affordable than university, and I don't want to witness her struggling with school debt in her twenties. The key here is for her to ultimately get a job. As long as she can support herself, I don't care which route she chooses.

Furthermore, I think it's ridiculous to expect any person at the age of 18 to understand what they want to do as a career. Most of them aren't even aware of all the options out there, or even what they're good at. We ask kids, who have zero adult life experience, "What are you going to major in?" Some of them know, but -- hello! -- are you where you thought you would be in your career at the age of 18? I know I'm not. So a big part of the problem is we're telling kids to spend tens of thousands of dollars on an education for a career that has yet to be conceived of. To me it makes more sense to obtain education on an as-needed basis. For example, if I want to be a medical dispatcher, what skills do I need to learn to advance in that field?

One reason I'm passionate about this subject is because I find myself with a college degree and nowhere to use it. I never questioned whether I would go to college; I just did. I majored in English because I had no idea what else to do, and I always liked English so it sounded good to me. At first I had some good jobs, thanks in part to a roaring economy when I graduated. But then came the "Mom Gap." I quit work to care for the kids. In the meantime, the economy tanked. Worse, I realized my previous field didn't interest me all that much anymore. I regretted majoring in English, when what I really should have majored in was Business. Not that that interested me in the least when I was 18 or 20.

Now, when I want to work again, I'm finding it very difficult to find a job. The jobs for English majors are 1) few and far between, and 2) extremely competitive due to too many English majors on the job market. With my mom gap of 10 years, I'm pretty much out of the running. To add insult to injury, it's also difficult to find a job in an unskilled, or "lesser skilled" area, such as administrative assistant, a field that I'm actually more interested in than writing or editing. Why? I'm not sure exactly, but I suspect one reason is that I'm "overqualified." So what am I doing with my useless English degree all these years later? Writing a blog. My problem is so notorious that people have written songs about it.

(Language warning)

I'm not saying I'd give up my college degree, but for a long time I've wished I'd had a lot more real-world guidance around the time of high school graduation. I wish someone would have come along and said, "You know what? You might want to think about what getting an English degree really means. Let me help you."

Tuition reform certainly needs to be part of the solution, but I think a reality check is also in order. Opinion columnist Glenn Reynolds talks about what comes next. Does one really need a BA in Philosophy? Women's Studies? One of my favorite bloggers, Ace of Spades HQ, uses terms like "Universities of General Feel-Goodery And Do What You Wantery" and "Professors of Silly Studies," and I have to say I agree with that assessment.

One of these streets leads to a career that pays actual money.
The other one teaches you how to write research papers.

Bottom line: If you're going to spend all that money on college, have your child choose a field with an actual demand for workers. If all they're going to get out of 4 years of college is an ability to research and write papers, maybe it's wise to consider other avenues.

Before & After

2011-12-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

Is there such a thing as a person who can not only look cute wearing a hat, but take it off and still look good? If so, I'd like to know the secret. It's hat weather, and I would love to wear a cute hat. Wearing the hat isn't the problem ... taking it off is. Observe.

Before

I've never been a hat person, but--it's okay.

After

I can't go out in public like this!

Sometimes it's even worse--my bangs stick to my forehead or lay back at a weird angle after I take off my hat. Don't tell me I'm the only one.

Am I doomed to a hatless life? ~sigh~

Half Baked

2011-12-04T22:23:00.002-07:00

We hardy Coloradans enjoyed a weekend of cold and snow, so that put the kids in the mood to do homey things like baking. They've recently learned how to follow recipes, so they make cookies pretty much on their own.

My 12-year-old made peanut butter cookies. They turned out pretty good, too.

Yum

My 9-year-old daughter made "Original" Girl Scout cookies--sugar cookies. They didn't look like much, but they tasted good.

I helped my 8-year-old son with his first attempt at cookies, and we made chocolate & butterscotch chip cookies together. (My favorite!) He didn't want my help at first because he wanted to "wing it" like he sees my husband do. I explained that baking isn't exactly like cooking, and you can't just wing it.

Hungry yet?

My husband was feeling a little left out, so he decided he wanted some of his favorite, shortbread. Oh. Em. Gee. Next time he bakes I am leaving the house. It went basically like this:

Him: How do you know it's done?
Me: It should be golden brown on the edges.
Him: No, it shouldn't. Shortbread is overdone if it's golden brown on the edges.
Me: If you know, why did you ask?!

We had a similar exchange about every 2 minutes. And it was slightly underdone. Not that I would ever say I told you so.

Anyhoo, I'd been reading my Ladies' Home Journal and with all this baking going on, I was inspired to try a recipe I saw in the magazine. Creamy mints. With only five ingredients and no actual baking, how hard could it be?

Famous last words.

The first time I tried it, I guess I used too much powdered sugar, because the dough just crumbled. Plus, I might not have waited for the cream cheese to soften enough. I had to throw it out.

And perhaps Ladies' Home Journal would like to explain exactly how to mix 3 oz. of cream cheese with 3 cups of powdered sugar without flinging sugar all over the kitchen, hmmm?

The second time I tried it, the dough was nice and pliable, but then I tried to cut the leaf shapes out. This is what it is supposed to look like:

Are you kidding me, Ladies' Home Journal?

After fighting with the sticky dough (I followed directions, I swear! Just not good enough, apparently), I gave up and here's how my mints ended up:

My philosophy? They taste exactly the same as the pretty leaf mints. So there!

Considering how long it took me to roll my pathetic balls, I've decided that anyone who actually takes the time to score all those little leaf veins in the mints has got to be certifiable.

The Good, Bad, and Indifferent

2011-12-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

As often happens on the internet, I stumbled today onto a Twitter discussion of atheism v. religion, morality and goodness. One person tweeted something that caught my attention:

Despite the name, Allah Pundit is not Muslim, he's atheist.

I don't intend to get caught up in a discussion about atheists and whether they're good, etc. This post isn't about religion, per se. What kept going through my mind today was, define "good."

Again, not in relation to atheists, but in general. What does "good" mean? What makes a good person, as opposed to a bad one? Who gets to decide what good is?

Is good merely the absence of bad? If so, then let's define "bad." What is required of someone in order to be classified as bad?

Maybe a bad person is someone who does something criminal. Rapists, murderers, child molesters ... they're bad people. Embezzlers, thieves ... they're also bad. Suppose someone uses an illegal drug like marajuana. It's against the law one day, and the next day it's legalized. Were they a bad person yesterday, and today they're not?

What about people who think about criminal activities but never act on them? Is someone who fantasizes about murdering somebody, but never does it, a bad person? Saying horrible things to someone isn't illegal, but it certainly can have a negative, long-lasting effect.

If all it requires to be good is to refrain from very bad behavior, to be compliant and obedient, then that doesn't say much for being good. Someone who is "a good person" has got to have evidence of good behavior, which is a proactive, not passive, state. The evidence is manifest in the people in their sphere of influence.

The thing about "good" behaviors is that this is also subjective to one's personal belief system. For example, an animal-rights activist may believe that by splashing paint on a fur coat, he is doing something good, or at least for the "greater good." Whereas, the person wearing the coat is likely to think the paint splasher is evil. The activist thinks the coat wearer is evil for perpetrating the killing of animals for the purpose of making a luxury item. Pretty soon, you have circular arguments going based on your own belief system, whether it has to do with animals, economics, and even Americanism and religion.

Helping out your fellow man, especially the less fortunate and helpless, is generally considered good. Being a productive member of society is good. Being kind, generous, helpful and caring ... all good.

So the question, then, is, where does this code of morality come from? Ultimately, humans search for absolute truths in order to explain why some behaviors are superior to others. Subjectivity leads to circular arguments and a kind of anarchy. We want structure and reason and logic for the things we believe.

Even the most sophisticated belief systems don't close up all the holes. They leave openings for interpretation, argument, misunderstanding. Even within Christianity there are hundreds of sects and denominations, all with slightly different ways of believing the nuances of the Bible. That is likely what frustrates a lot of non-believers ... the inability to come together and agree conclusively on anything.

In spite of that, the need for an absolute truth leads me invariably to the Bible. Not to my church, not to my pastor, not to Christian philosophers and theologians, but the Bible itself. God revealed Himself to us through His Word, and therein lies the moral code.

The Christian Moral Code:
(Not ambiguous or open to interpretation. See if you can detect the theme.)

"Jesus replied: '"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'" ~Matthew 22:38-39

"'A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.'" ~John 13:34

"[I]f I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." ~1 Corinthians 13:2-8

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." ~1 Corinthians 13:13

"God is love." ~1 John 4:16

"If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." ~1 John 4:20-21

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." ~Romans 5:8

Christianity is a religion of relationship, not rules.

7 Tips for Easier Christmas Cards

2011-11-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

This is a follow-up to my previous post, Crazy Christmas Card Lady. Maybe you want to do Christmas cards but think they're a hassle. Having streamlined my process over the years, here are seven tips that will make sending your cards easier.

(If you didn't think I was a little too serious about this before, you may now...)

1. Buy your cards on clearance after Christmas.
If you're sending a lot of cards, it can get very expensive. I send around 50 cards a year. Considering that (nice) boxed cards are sold at around $15/box and contain 15-20 cards, I could be spending close to $50 for cards alone. That's far too much, so after Christmas I hit my favorite supplier, Barnes & Noble, and see what they have left at 50% off (or more!).

If you paid full price, you paid too much!

2. Keep your addresses in Outlook.
Or another exportable electronic address system. This makes addressing cards a breeze. I make use of Outlook's "Categories" feature, and everyone who receives a card is designated in my Christmas Card category. This way, I don't have to make a new list every year. I also keep track of who sent me cards, but this may be just a little too anal for some of you. :-) But I like to know. Anyway, for that purpose Outlook allows you to create your own categories. Or, if you're not an Outlook user, just use Excel to begin with.

3. Use Word's Mail Merge feature to create address labels.
It might sound complicated, but it's not. You just need to spend a little time getting to know how to use it. Once you figure it out, it will make your life easier for years to come. Trust me on this. (Exception: If you like writing out addresses by hand, by all means, go for it.) You will need to export your Contacts from Outlook to an Excel file. Check over the Excel file to make sure all addresses look okay and that names appear how you want them to. Use Mail Merge tab to import your Excel file, make sure the fields are as you want them, and voila!--the addresses magically appear. If you haven't done it before, the learning curve will take some time, but it has a wizard to help you out. You will save yourself a lot of time plus writer's cramp.

This ...

...or this, x50?

4. Sending a photo? Target is your friend.
Whether you're sending a photo card (this is second-rate to a "real" card, but I understand the trend...I guess), or just a photo, going through Target's photo lab makes the process super-easy. You can go to the store with your photo on a memory card and order up what you need in their photo lab, to be done while you shop. Or better yet, you can do it online. I order photos on targetphoto.shutterfly.com all the time, and just pick them up next time I go to the store. It's cheap, too--cheaper than those awful school pictures people buy. I found a coupon at target.com and ended up spending only $6 on 40 4x6 photos this year.

Please do not send this to your loved ones!

5. Start thinking about your Christmas letter early.
If you include a Christmas letter, don't wait to start thinking about it until the night before you intend to mail the cards. Sure, you'll come up with a few paragraphs of stuff, but is it quality stuff? I start thinking about my letter usually around October or November. I don't start writing it, but I think about the types of things I want to include and what kind of tone I want. I like to get creative, but if writing's not your forte, that's okay. Hallmark.com has some great ideas for letter starters. A little thought and planning will go a long way toward making your letter coherent and focused. The best thing about the letter is you only have to write it once, and then make copies!

That's a whole page of happiness, right there.

6. Don't go anywhere near the Post Office.
Sadly, there is just no way to save on postage. However, you can make life easier by staying away from the Post Office, which is always crazy busy this time of year. Buy your stamps at the grocery store checkout, or, my preferred mode, buy them online at shop.usps.gov. They do charge $1 to deliver them--but they come straight to your door. To save money, consider hand-delivering to people you see regularly.

The stuff of nightmares

7. Let the kids help!
Okay, I'm a total hypocrite because I don't let the kids anywhere near my cards, but even little kids can slap address labels and stamps on the envelopes. Older kids can stuff the envelopes and lick them. If your child has decent handwriting, they can even sign the cards or address the envelopes. They're usually happy to do it, and you get to give the most tedious jobs away.

Why should you do it if you can get him to do it?

With a little planning and foresight, putting together Christmas cards doesn't have to be a nightmare. Getting an early start gives you time to get everything together and work on it in your spare moments (if you watch TV, you have spare moments!). Put some Christmas music on the stereo or a favorite movie on the DVD player; that helps everything go a little easier. :-)

Crazy Christmas Card Lady

2011-11-29T21:31:00.004-07:00

If there's one thing I'm nuts about this time of year, it's Christmas cards.

I love them. I love everything about them. I love getting them and I love sending them.

I love selecting them. I go for cute. Little kids, babies, snowmen and animals are always winners in my book. Here's one of this year's cards:

Death by cuteness

It slays me.

I try to save money by getting them on clearance after Christmas. But I only buy cute ones. I never buy a card just because it's cheap. The company who makes this card makes a lot of other cute ones. Check 'em out here. If you scroll down, you can see one with a mouse sliding down a shoe. I sent that last year, and it's my all-time favorite so far. Barnes & Noble sells this brand, which is where I get most of my cards.

(Added: I also make sure the card uses the word "Christmas." This is important. None of this "holiday" bs for me. I celebrate Christmas, not holiday, and if you're the type of person who gets offended by the word, we wouldn't be friends anyway.)

I don't just send a card, I send a photo of the kids and a letter as well. (Only to those who care, I swear!) The letter is always kind of a fun challenge. I try to make it something people want to read. I have a friend whose husband writes funny, interesting letters and I look forward to getting their card every year--and I've never even met the guy. I don't quite have his panache, but I like to think my letters are more interesting than a dry recounting of the things we did during the year.

Except this year's letter. I had major writer's block. I thought and thought and couldn't think of one interesting thing to say. I almost didn't write one at all. Rather go without than write a substandard letter. But I have some older relatives who I know like hearing about the family, so I felt I had to write one. Here's what I really wanted to say:

Dear Friends and Family: Unfortunately, we didn’t really do anything interesting this year. And anything that was worth noting is already on Facebook. So get with the 21st century and get on Facebook. Look through my photos and status updates, and you’ll learn more about us there than you ever will from this stupid letter. Peace out, Tea and Bonbons

That truly is the cleverest thing I've come up with yet, which tells you how sorry the letter ended up being. I'm ashamed, but I guess not every year can have a winner.

I used to send cards to just about everyone I know, but lately I've shortened the list to People Who Are Important whether or not they send me a card back, and People Who Also Send Cards. I have a large extended family, so I had to cut out the cousins who weren't holding up their end of the deal, unfortunately. Postage is expensive, y'all!

Now, getting. Getting cards, in an era where personal mail is at zilch 11 months out of the year, is so fun. Who doesn't like to get mail, right? But I don't just enjoy getting the mail this time of year, I actually study the card for prettiness, I eagerly read the letters, and I like looking at the photos. I love the cards, and I love the fact that people spent the time during their busy lives to send them.

My only complaint is when I get one of those photo cards that hasn't even been signed. Maybe it's just me, but I think the minimal personal touch of a signature is the least you could do. When I get a card with zero personal touch, it feels more like a mass mailing to me. But hey, I'll still take it.

For your viewing pleasure, here's another one of my cards I'm sending this year:

What's cuter than a little boy looking for Santa?
Nothing, that's what.

As fewer and fewer people are willing to spend the time and money on Christmas cards, I find myself clinging to them more than ever. It's such a beautiful tradition and I'd hate to see it die. I've been toying with either finding or creating a Christmas Card Club, where everyone in it sends cards to each other. Wouldn't that be fun?

Some people garden, some play golf, some collect memorabilia. My hobby just happens to be Christmas cards.

(Click here for 7 Tips for Easier Christmas Cards.)

Bragging Rights

2011-11-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

The gifts are bought ... and wrapped. Including teachers' gifts!

Yeah, mine look nothing like this.

The cards are signed, stamped, sealed, and sent. I even finally wrote that darn Christmas letter.

The house is more or less decorated.

I've even prepared the invitations for our New Year's Eve party to go out in a couple of weeks.

In other words, I am done, done, DONE with Christmas preparations! And it's not even December yet! All I have to do now is enjoy the season and all it has to offer.

Ahhhhh...

Good Black Friday

2011-11-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

My plans for Black Friday were pretty simple: stay at home and decorate for Christmas with my 12-year-old.* And we did do that.

Among other things.

I rolled out of bed around 8:20 this morning, after 11 hours of sleep. I don't remember the last time I went to bed as early as 9:00 pm, but Thanksgiving dinner really did a number on me this year. After a leisurely shower and checking of Facebook and whatnot, I finally got around to having breakfast at 10:00. Then I told my 12-year-old that we'd be going to Starbucks. Needed the energy from the caffeine to get going, you know.

Almost ... awake

So I finally got around to dragging boxes up from the basement, opened a few and decided that a couple of them could go straight to the cabin. I found the Christmas music and put it on, and after we got the easy things put up, we got the tree out. We have one of those 7-foot, prelit trees. It's really pretty, but I'll be honest, every year I feel like it's more of a pain than ever. We got it put together only to find that a couple of strings weren't working, so we had to wait for hubby to come home to fix the lights.

We needed a break anyway, so we went to Lowe's, ostensibly for nylon cord. And that's exactly what I bought. And a couple of stocking stuffers. (Tool kits for $5, guys!)

While we were out I thought I'd see if I could find a gift for hubby. We went to a certain guy/geek-centric haven and found something I think he'll like. While standing in line, I said to my 12yo, "Look around. Notice anything?" "No," she said, "what?" "How many other females do you see here?" I asked her. She looked around. "None," she said. Exactly.

I might be taking the gift back because later hubby told me he found what he wants at Best Buy, but he can't remember what it is. I guess he wants it real bad.

Where was hubby while all this was going on? Why, he was out shopping for a new car. So if you think you spent a lot today, I'll bet you didn't spend tens of thousands like we did. He got himself a nice Highlander Hybrid.

Be still, my heart!

He deserves it. His old car was a piece of crap (sorry, honey, but it's true). My favorite thing about it is the color--green! Actually, it's a sweet car, and now I want one too.

He took us to Target in his new car where my 12-yo did her Christmas shopping, and I'm pretty sure that hubby bought mine at Best Buy next door. Although it could have been Target. He's being sly.

After he fixed the Christmas tree lights, we went out for Pho again. This time I used a fork.

That's me right there.

This evening, 12yo and I wrapped up our Christmas gifts, and I ran out of paper, which I'm thrilled about because that means I can get more! I have this thing for Christmas paper. I see it at the store and I just have to have it. So I tend to have much more than I need. I finally resolved not to buy any more paper until I used up what I have. That sweet day has finally arrived.

I did a lot more shopping and a lot less decorating than I'd planned, but it's all good. A lot got done and I'm in my happy place.

*My other two kids were with my parents all day. Thank you, Mom! Without other kids around to fight with, my 12yo is a lot of fun to hang out with.

Thankfulness

2011-11-23T23:46:00.000-07:00

Anything that incorporates Scrabble is a hit with me.

It's real easy to be thankful when things in life are good. When the blessings are right in front of your face, they're easy to identify and articulate. When things go to hell it's much harder to look past your problems and find the blessings.

Your daily dose of encouragement

To take it a step further, it's really hard to be thankful for your problems. Or, more specifically, for the people or situations who cause those problems. In Romans 5:3-4, Paul says:

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

That could very well be one of the most difficult passages of Scripture to understand, or to reconcile with what we know of pain. God knows I don't exactly appreciate pain, even for its character-building attributes.

Still, it's a different level of maturity to give thanks for the very things in life that are breaking us down.

Just like courage isn't the absence of fear, I think real thankfulness is not about counting blessings but an ability to look at both the good and bad in our lives and appreciate what they mean to our personal growth. They may or may not contribute to our happiness; but we know they are shaping us into the people we are meant to be.

So with that in mind, here is my Thanksgiving list:

I'm thankful for my family. For the ones who understand, love and accept me unconditionally, and for the ones who hurt me and take me for granted.
I'm thankful for my friends. I don't make friends easily, so the people who have taken the time to truly get to know me are very special.
I'm thankful for my health. I could lose it at any time. When I think about those I know who are suffering right now, it makes all my problems seem so petty.
I'm thankful for my home. So often I see it as a burden that needs upkeep, updating, and constant cleaning, but in reality it is better than anything I had ever imagined when I was young.
I'm thankful to live in Colorado. It is truly one of my life's greatest blessings, and when everything else looks ugly, the place I live is always beautiful and gives me joy. Always.
I'm thankful for my dog. I didn't want a dog, but when everyone around me erupts in chaos, which is pretty much every day, his warm, furry, adorable and adoring silence give me a measure of calm.
I'm thankful that I can cook. I hate cooking. But I'm glad I can prepare a decent meal, especially since I was never taught how.

I'm thankful for my upbringing in the church. Being a PK wasn't always easy, but I can't imagine any other life.

I could go on and on ... once you get started, all kind of things pop into mind. I'll be really thankful if the Packers win again today. Go Pack!

Another of life's greatest little joys

Being Red

2011-11-22T15:47:00.003-07:00

Today I saw an article someone posted on Twitter claiming that redheads and dentists don't get along.

"The study shows that people with a specific gene that often occurs in redheads tend to experience heightened anxiety when they pop in for a regular teeth cleaning."

I don't want to disparage the American Dental Association or anything, but I propose that perhaps dentists' preconceived notions about redheads, and consequently the care they receive, have a lot more to do with the dental experience than any gene.

Off with you, ignoramus!

I can only speak from personal experience, but I have never experienced anxiety from going to the dentist. In fact, cleanings are so matter-of-course that they're hardly a blip on my radar. Earlier in the year I had a crown put in and again, no anxiety.

Point is, anybody who's had a bad experience with the dentist is going to have anxiety, and hair color doesn't have anything to do with it!

The case could be made that because of stereotypes, redheads are treated differently than other people, and because of that treatment, redheads react differently to some situations. You may find this hard to believe, but ... redheads are are varied in personality and traits as people of any other hair color.

So. Here's what being a redhead is really like. For me. Because everyone is different.

When I was little, I hated having red hair. This was because I hated being different. No child likes to be called "carrot top." Childhood is really hard on redheads.
As I got older, I didn't mind it so much. By high school I figured out that people were dyeing their hair red. I realized it could be an asset.
Now, I love being a redhead. Especially now that I'm in my mid-30s and have yet to find a gray hair (knock on wood). I look at a sea of blondes and brunettes and thank my lucky stars my hair is so much more interesting than that.
It bugs me that people dye their hair red. It takes an extremely talented colorist for it to look natural, and you know what? Being a natural redhead is a very small, select, privileged group of people, so butt out. You'll never be one of us, not really.
My hair has at least 10 different shades of red, from very dark to white blonde. I love it.
Stereotypes? I don't have a fiery temper, at least not more so than a certain blonde and a certain brunette I could name but won't. Impatient, yes, but that has nothing to do with hair color.
I'm more introverted and reserved than passionate and volatile.
Oversexed? Uhh.....
It is said that redheads have high tolerance for pain, and I would say that's true for me. I gave birth to all three of my kids naturally. And when people whine about sore muscles and such, I don't see what the big deal is.
I don't know if I require more anesthetic than non-redheads, but I do know it makes me sick to my stomach.
According to Wikipedia, there is little to no evidence that redheads bleed or hemorrage more than others, but believe me, I heard all about it when I was giving birth. The nurses watched me like a hawk. (No bleeding problems for me.)
I am not attracted to red-haired men. I don't know why this is, except that I've always been fascinated with my opposite: dark hair, dark eyes, swarthy skin. I'm not generally attracted to blondes, either.
I'm not Irish. Not one drop.
My mom and both my sisters are also redheads. Yeah, we used to get lots of comments growing up.
None of my kids is a redhead. I'm assuming my (dark haired, dark eyed, swarthy) husband doesn't carry the gene.
God didn't give me much by way of great beauty, but He gave me green eyes and red hair, and I'll take it!

I love being a redhead. I hate the stereotypes. But since I ignore ignoramuses, life is good. :-)

Negotiating with a 12-year-old

2011-11-21T15:53:00.003-07:00

I will dedicate blog space to my other two children someday, I promise. But my almost-13-year-old daughter is just so entertaining right now.

Her latest declaration is that she's not going to do anything I ask her to do unless I pay her for it.

LOLOLOLOL

Yeah. Right.

I asked her to pick up the dirty towels from upstairs and put them in the washer. She, of course, thought it was totally unfair that she has to do anything physical around the house and wanted to be paid for her trouble.

I said, "I'll give you a nice, big hug if you do."

"No."

"All right, I'll give you a nice, big hug if you don't."

"NO!"

So then she tried bargaining. "How about, if I go pick up all the towels, you do my laundry for me."

(Yes. My kids do their own laundry.)

I said, "How about if, in exchange for putting a roof over your head, providing you with food and clothes, and giving you pretty much everything you need and a bunch of junk you don't, you do your own laundry. And you pick up the towels."

If looks could kill

At which she proceeded to give me the Death Glare and flounced off.

The towels got picked up. No money exchanged hands. Chalk another one up for mom.

The French Hitchhiker

2011-11-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

After the church service this morning, I got the kids their donuts from the fellowship hall and sent them on to Sunday School. Meanwhile, I slipped out for my weekly Starbucks run, aka "me time." Normally I bring a book to read during me time, but I had forgotten it at home so I planned to go to the nearby grocery store to pick up a magazine.

Before I could start my car, an older lady came up to my window and gestured for me to open it. She looked harmless enough, so I did.

Would you say no to this?

"I don't speak English," she said, and proceeded to talk in her native language, which I perceived to be French. Interspersed were the few English words she knew: house and Walgreens. She also held a piece of paper with a street name. I figured out she wanted a ride, and the place she indicated wasn't far, so I decided that since I didn't have anything else I had to do right then, I should go ahead and give her a lift.

Amazingly, even though I don't speak French, and she spoke only a few words of English, I was able to gather the following: that she lives with her son; that her son has a little daughter; that she was Christmas shopping for her granddaughter; that she has lived here for four months; that America is very good; turn left by the church; do you speak French?; her name is Angel. And, of course, Merci, merci, ooh la la, merci beaucoup.

Thinking about it, I'm sure this isn't the first time she's hitched a ride, since she had a few of the key words of English down pat. But she was very sweet, and I had fun doing it.

And I still had time to stop at the aforementioned Walgreens and pick up a magazine to go with my coffee.

Making Lefse

2011-11-19T18:47:00.001-07:00

It would be a mistake to assume that us white-bread folks in flyover country have nothing to contribute to America's ethnic makeup. We also came from somewhere else, originally, didn't we? Whether your heritage is German, Polish, English, French, Italian--or Norwegian like me--you probably have some type of ethnic food in your repertoire.

In my family, we make lefse every year around the holidays. It's made from a dough made of potatoes, cream, butter, salt, and flour. The dough is cooked on the first day, chilled overnight, and the second day is when the fun begins. Rather than bore you with details, here is a pictorial of my mom teaching my daughter how to cook lefse today.

Adding flour to the dough

Mixing the flour into the potato dough

Dividing the dough into four equal balls; chill.

Rolling one dough ball into a log

Cutting the log into 1/4 cup sections

Pretty little dough balls!

Flouring the pastry round

Flouring the rolling pin (see a theme here?)

Rolling a dough ball out nice and thin

Lifting the lefse round carefully with a lefse stick

Carrying it oh, so carefully to the griddle

Placing the lefse onto the hot griddle

Getting nice and bubbly, just the way it should!

Cooking the other side

Storing the cooked lefse under a towel so it doesn't dry out

Annoying little brother

Top with butter and sugar

Roll it up, cut it up, and enjoy! So good.

Adventures in Adolescence

2011-11-19T00:08:00.000-07:00

You know how in my last post I said I have a 12-year-old who is basically taking over my life?

Well, here's what I'm dealing with.

Yesterday she asked me if she could go with her best friend to a school play held at her friend's middle school (which is a different M.S. from ours). I said sure, because even though I didn't particularly want the hassle of driving her across town on a busy street during rush hour in the dark, I do want her to spend time with her BFF, a girl I know and like and (somewhat) trust. She said admission was $3 and another friend's mom would bring her home.

With me so far?

Well. Here's what really happened. The girls thought the play was boring, so they left the M.S. at intermission and walked over to the adjacent high school football field and watched a high school football game instead. The ticket lady wouldn't let them buy a ticket without a school ID, so these clever young girls waited five minutes until the lady took a break and tried again with the new ticket lady--and got in. Even though I'm pretty sure my daughter knows next to nothing about football, she screamed herself hoarse in addition to freezing her butt off because she didn't have a jacket. My daughter's other friend's mom was late picking them up, and she didn't get home until 10:00 pm.

My daughter came home and said she wants to join poms, she wants the H.S. football team's spirit wear for Christmas, she wants to know when her curfew is (and helpfully suggested 11pm), and oh yeah, she spent $10 to get in the game and buy a $4 bottle of juice.

It turns out the BFF's parents dropped off the girls at the M.S. but did not stay themselves. This is an important distinction, because I foolishly assumed the parents were attending as well. I didn't even think to ask. And to be honest, since I knew the girls were at the M.S. watching a play, I wasn't all that concerned anyway. But obviously, I need to specifically ask if parents will be present in the future whenever I drop my daughter off anywhere since it can no longer be assumed.

Here's the positive part: she had a really good time and I truly am glad for her. I know those friends so I'm not terribly worried about her getting up to no good.

But there is that sliver of worry. I don't think they were ever in any danger, but for one, it was dark and cold out, and I didn't know where my daughter was. For two, I'm just wondering how many years it will take before she'll try something truly seditious, and instead of coming home and telling me everything like she did this time, she'll start sneaking around.

Anyway, we had a nice little chat about a) if you change venue, you must call and tell me; b) I need to know if adults will be present; c), no, I'm not paying for dance lessons so you can be in poms; d) NO, you don't have a curfew, because you're 12, and 12-year-olds don't need curfews because they're not supposed to be without supervision! and e) no way am I spending forty bucks on a high school sweatshirt, I don't care if it is Christmas and it's the coolest thing on earth.

You know you're getting old when your kids

are having more fun on Friday nights than you are.

Catching Up

2011-11-18T14:11:00.001-07:00

I really thought I was going to post at least once a day, or nearly so, and then I just hit a wall. I had one or two topics in mind, but I did not feel like writing. After a couple of days I lost interest in my topics and worse, I couldn't think of new ones.

And then I figured it out.

Blogger's block is definitely one of the many symptoms of PMS.

How dare you suggest that my feelings are not valid!

Now that I've identified the problem, perhaps I can neutralize and move on.

There are a lot of little, day-to-day things that go on around here but I don't blog about because I don't want to be boring. So I thought I'd take the opportunity to just mention a few of them so we can get that over with.

For example, this year, both my younger children are in Destination Imagination (DI), and for the first time I am also the coach for one of their teams. I did this not because I have a burning passion for DI or even to help the kids out, but because I needed something to do. I was looking for ways to volunteer so when they said they needed DI coaches I responded with great trepidation. Today will be our third meeting, and let's just say ... those meetings are the longest two hours of my week. At the same time, I enjoy being involved in something again. So there's that.

Also, the Packers.

My latest crush.

They are 9-0. Just thought I'd share.

Also, I've been getting ready for Christmas. Most gifts are already bought, and the ones that aren't, I mostly know what to get. Tomorrow I'm making lefse with my mom, and that will definitely have its own blog post. Here's what I want from Santa:

Hellooooo, gorgeous.

I probably won't get it, because -- hello! -- it's $700, before all the add-ons. But this is just the sexiest camera I have ever seen and I want it. What I actually wanted was a camcorder, and that is what I'll get. But this thing takes video, too, and when I saw it, I instantly fell in love. I'm hoping that competitive cameras will come out in the next couple of years and drive the price down.

Another thing going on around here is that I have a 12-year-old daughter. This child exists to drive me to stress headaches. I really love her, but considering that she is PMSing at least 3 out of 4 weeks, I'm not sure I really know her anymore. I definitely don't "understand" her, as she constantly reminds me. In all honesty, she is beautiful, smart, and fun. I just don't know how I'm going to live with her the next few years.

OMG, I think she invented this phrase.

So there you have it -- the detritus of my brain. Here's hoping I have a little more focus next time.

Game Night

2011-11-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

These are a few of my favorite things.

If there's anything I really love to do, it's play board games. I grew up playing them, and there's just something about them that brings out my competitive spirit. Mostly, I love to win. Ask anyone.

Unfortunately, my guy refuses to play games with me at all, and my kids are still too young for most of the games I enjoy. So a few years ago I sought out some women in the area who are in the same conundrum. Since then we've had Ladies' Game Night several times a year. We have a few regular favorites, like Rummikub and Scattergories, and we also like trying out new games as they come available. One staple of nearly every game night is Pounce, a fast-paced card game that can get pretty wild.

Most of us barely knew each other when we got started; all we had in common was a desire to play games. But since then, we've become very good friends as well. There have been times when the games are forgotten while we just sit and chat late into the night.

With the busy lives that moms are living, one has to make the time to come to game night, and sadly we've seen a few ladies drop off as they have other priorities. For me, though, game night is a priority. There are precious few opportunities to let my hair down with other women and I take them when I can. It's me time, but it's also them time. Friendships wither up and die without time investment, and game night has become more about friendship than it is about games.

We are always looking for new players, so if you are in the area, we'd love to have you join us.

What do you do to keep up with your friends?

A Christmas Tradition

2011-11-13T22:52:00.001-07:00

They look good enough to eat.

A long time ago, when I was a young mom, I met another young mom who told me about a tradition she had started with her son. She bought him one nice Christmas ornament every year so that when he left home, he'd have a whole bunch of nice Christmas ornaments to take with him and use in his own home.

I thought that was really sweet, and as I had only one child at the time, not three, I thought it was a great idea, so I copied her. This is the thirteenth Christmas I have been buying ornaments for the kids, and it has turned out to be a great tradition ... with a couple of caveats.

One caveat is that the brand of ornaments I chose -- Lenox -- are quite expensive. This is the kind of thing you don't think of when you have only one child. It's when you're buying three at a time that you think a little foresight might have been in order. For all three kids, these ornament cost around $100 every year if you factor in shipping. That's about 25% of our Christmas budget for the kids right there.

Another caveat is that now that I've started, I can't stop. Not that I really want to, but I do sometimes think the amount I'm spending on them is outrageous. However, the kids have come to expect and anticipate these ornaments every year, and if they were to stop coming, I'd be in the doghouse for breaking with tradition.

The upside is that these ornaments are very beautiful. My 12-year-old gets a Santa every year, my 9-year-old gets a Gingerbread Man every year, and my 8-year-old gets a Nutcracker every year. They truly will treasure these ornaments their whole lives. If they don't, they could always sell them on eBay, I guess.

Now that we have at least a couple dozen of these ornaments, the effect they have on the Christmas tree is just amazing. The ivory and gold color against the green backdrop and red balls and ribbon of the tree is stunning. I will take a picture once we get the tree up later this month. I am thinking of adding some cut glass ornaments to the tree to add some sparkle. Problem is, we have more than the tree can hold the way it is!

My husband and I also collect the annual Precious Moments ornaments for ourselves.

Does it get any sweeter?

Okay, you know what? They're actually for him. Don't spread it around or anything, but my manly man is nuts for Precious Moments. Shhh.

They are pretty adorable. The creamy porcelain design fits with our overall look, too.

What about you? What do you do for Christmas that sets your family apart? Tell me about your special tradition.

Phở Sure

2011-11-11T22:41:00.000-07:00

"Phở" is Vietnamese for noodle.

I'll admit I'm not the most adventurous eater. I was raised in an environment where Taco Bell was the Mexican restaurant in town. I was in my late teens the first time I tried Chinese food, if you can call Panda Express Chinese. Italian food was about as ethnic as we got, though of course we didn't consider things like lefse or klubb to be ethnic; they were normal foods.

Since I met my husband, though, I've tried a lot of things over the years. My tastes remain rather tame, but at least I'll give most things a try. One of my husband's favorite types of food is Vietnamese, so when a chain Pho restaurant opened near our home, he had to try it. I could have gone years without setting foot inside the place, but as I said, I'll always give something a try. This is one of those places where the waiters barely speak English, so that only adds to the adventure.

The first thing that was set on our table was a small bowl of liquid with shredded carrots and cabbage floating around in it. Neither of us knew what this was, so we thought maybe it was a soup. We didn't order soup, but ... well, we wouldn't know unless we tasted it, right? So I took a big slurp, and ... it was cold. And hot. Spicy hot. Very, very hot. Nope, not soup. Turns out it was a fish sauce. What the heck it's used for, I don't know, but suffice it to say, I did not taste it again. My husband just poured it over his meal and declared it delicious.

Being authentically Vietnamese and all, this place gives you silverware by request only. Now I have tried using chopsticks several times, all of them unsuccessfully. I decided, however, that I was going to eat the entire meal using only chopsticks this time. I surreptitiously studied the people around us to see how they were using theirs, but as far as I could tell, I was holding mine right. My attempts were awkward and I got a cramp in my hand, but I did eat the entire meal using only chopsticks! I was so proud. And a little self-conscious because I was sure that anyone who looked at me could tell I didn't have a clue what I was doing.

The food, by the way, was absolutely delicious. And cheap. Six bucks for my meal!

We ordered what we thought was green tea, but was actually boba green tea and looks like this:

Appetizing, no?

It. Was. Disgusting. I couldn't drink it, and believe me, I tried. I brought it home to the kids, and they wouldn't drink it either. My husband drank his, but he admitted it wasn't easy. I mentioned before that there are certain things that just have to be hot, and tea is one of them. Also, I never drink sweetened tea. It's just gross. Therefore, cold, sweet tea with blobs of boba (tapioca) is just out of my realm.

Well, live and learn.

Anyway, the whole experience was fun, a learning experience, and delicious! We'll be going back ... Pho sure.

Underachievers R Us

2011-11-10T18:44:00.001-07:00

Chronic underachievers, unite!

For our family, this is that time that parents either dread or anticipate. Or, if you're like me and have been doing this for way too many years, you could be ambivalent. I'm talking about parent-teacher conferences.

Maybe you've got one of those little angels who not only is clever but is also a hard little worker. Her self-motivated little butt makes you so proud you can hardly master your facial expressions into something approaching humility. For you, parent-teacher conferences are a time when you congratulate your child for being so wonderful and yourself for being such a successful parent.

And then there's the rest of us.

I thought my children were going to be like that. Of course they were! They have intelligent parents, one of whom was a very good student. Boy, was I hit with a good dose of reality. And believe me, it wasn't easy to swallow. It took me years to come to terms with the fact that I gave birth to an underachiever. And not one, but two.

My kids are all plenty smart. My eldest just doesn't care. I see two C's on her report card and I flip out. She see them and shrugs. What's the big deal? she'd like to know. You're not even trying to do well! I berate. So? she says. And so it goes. Lesson learned: At the end of the day, it is her life, and she'll live it to please herself, not me. She doesn't respond well to pressure, so I have to back off. God, that's hard.

My youngest is very smart, and he presents different kinds of challenges. Unlike my daughter, he cares. He's competitive, and he wants to be the best. But he's also a wee bit arrogant and rather intellectually lazy. He figures if he has to try hard at something, it's not worth his while. So we're in an interesting dilemma where he performs below expectations not because doesn't care, but because he doesn't like the assignment, and therefore rushes through it, figuring he's done "good enough" to get by. He's only 8 years old, so I'm not freaking out yet, but there is definitely a self-discipline issue going on here.

My middle child, the people pleaser, is the only child who actually applies herself. She's not as "smart" as my son, but she's so much more diligent that her report cards are much more pleasing. And not because of whatever grades she gets, but because I know she's doing her best.

Whenever my kids' report cards drive me nuts, I remind myself that their father was a straight-C student his whole life and he turned out okay. In fact, he's smarter than me, the good little student. He proves it'll all work out in the end. I can only hope.

Grammar Snobs

2011-11-09T12:55:00.003-07:00

That is something with which I will not put, er, up.

If you can't win an argument with someone based on the merits of your point of view, attack his grammar instead. That'll show 'em.

If there's something I can't stand, it's a grammar snob. Thanks to the internet, they are everywhere. You've seen them. Heck, you probably are one. Grammar snobs are people who post things like, "OMG, people! Learn to use their/there/they're correctly!!!" on Facebook. Or they make comments on your blog like, "You should use 'affect,' not 'effect.'"

These people are more annoying than the original grammatical infraction. I mean, seriously, if you have to go around correcting people's grammar on blogs and Facebook in order to make yourself feel superior, maybe you should think about achieving a real accomplishment in life instead.

As someone who holds a degree in English, I actually like grammar quite a bit and I do think it's important in many situations. When I'm writing something serious, or editing someone else's professional or scholarly work, then I do pay close attention to every last comma and apostrophe. It's my job.

But my philosophy about the English language in general is that it is constantly evolving, and there are some things we just have to be flexible about if we want to keep up. For example, it's already being commonly accepted by grammarians that ending a sentence with a preposition is perfectly okay in English. (Two examples of which you can find in my previous sentence.) It was a rule made up by some old dude who based it on Latin standards, which, as it turns out, is a language nothing like English.

I realize grammar mistakes can be annoying, and worse, can make someone look stupid, but really ... is it your job to make them see the light? Chances are, if someone uses the wrong "there/their/they're," he probably just doesn't care, care, care. And that's his right. Besides, we all make mistakes. Besides typos, which are just plain common (I've corrected several already and probably missed more), sometimes it just happens. I've used the wrong "its/it's" before, even though I know the difference. I've put commas in places that just don't make sense, and I've no idea how or why.

All I'm trying to say is, focus on your own material. Impress folks with your own stellar writing, and let the English teachers and millions of grammar-dedicated web sites out there take care of the rest of the world.

Tires!

2011-11-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

What girl wouldn't be thrilled with a new set of tires?

New tires, new windshield wipers, car wash ...

It's like a whole new car.

It's sort of like getting a haircut. You just feel good when it's done. And, the ride is so much smoother! Who knew?

I went in to get my tires rotated ... and came out with new ones. Did you know that you're supposed to get your tires rotated every 6,000 miles? I did not know that. Mine were last rotated 20,000 miles ago. I blamed the husband for not telling me, of course. I mean, why take the blame if I can shift it to someone else?

When I finally went to get it done, they said they wouldn't rotate them because the tires are safer where they are due to the wear pattern. Luckily, the husband was amenable to getting new tires (I'm pretty sure he suspected that I'd need them anyway). I love it when he agrees to stuff to easily. It's a rare, and therefore blessed, event.

And by the way, I can't remember the last time I was in a place of business that piped in Christian music. Not only that, but they had good toilet paper in the restroom! I mean, that right there is enough to make me a customer for life. And the guys were really nice to me even though I'm a woman. Discount Tire, I like you!

Sanctuary

2011-11-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

Kick your feet up. Ahhhhh.

This is my living room. It's looking particularly cozy here at twilight.

This room is special. I call it "my" room because it's where I hang out most of them time. There is no television in this room; therefore, the man of the house spends most of his time in the family room, where the TV is.

This is where I read, play around on the computer, and play the piano. It's my sanctuary.

It's also special because it's the only room in the house where I've picked out and arranged the furnishings. That explains why it's the most tasteful room in the house.

Do you have a favorite spot in your home?

Color Me Coffee

2011-11-08T09:43:00.001-07:00

So pretty

All right, take a guess. What's my favorite holiday beverage from Starbucks?

I love these red cups. I love Starbucks. I love blogging, or twittering, or Facebooking, or reading a book with a hot latte to keep me company. Today's American coffee culture is one of the best things about this country.

So here are a few coffee (and tea) facts about me:

I don't actually like coffee very much, which is why I don't drink it black. I have to doctor it up to make it palatable.
My go-to drink is the grande non-fat latte. $3.58 after tax in my suburb, $3.62 in the next one over.
It used to be a toffee nut, vanilla, or cinnamon dolce latte, but then I decided to give up the syrups.
I get caffeine jitters pretty bad, but only on an empty stomach.
I have a Gold card at Starbucks. I get a free beverage for every 15 I buy. It's awesome.
I won't drink cold coffee beverages. That includes coffee-flavored ice cream. Blech!
I also love tea.
But not as much as my mom does. She's kind of nuts about it. I will still deign to use a teabag.
My favorite flavor is jasmine green tea. It's like holding a bouquet under my nose. Yum.
Mighty Leaf is my favorite brand.
I will not drink cold tea, either. Some things are just meant to be hot.
High tea at the Brown Palace in Denver is amazing. Pricy, but so worth it.
My husband is a coffee fiend.
We have a $400 espresso machine on our counter and it produces about 5 cups a day. All for him.
I don't even want to know how much he drinks at work.

What are your coffee quirks?

Meet Scruffy

2011-11-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

This is Scruffy.

Your lap belongeth to me.

Scruffy loves me. In fact, he adores me. That is why I put up with pee in the house.

As you can see here, he wedged himself in front of my laptop to claim his rightful place on my lap. He's kind of like a cat that way.

Scruffy is not the prettiest dog around. In fact, when we take him to the dog park he looks more like the goofy cousin. But he is pretty darn cute a lot of the time. He has a great personality; he loves people and people love him.

He's part Pomeranian, part Maltese, and part Poodle. (Yay for no shedding!) People usually think he's a terrier. But no. He's all mutt.

Scruffy turns two this month. I love my little dog.

I'm Baaaack!

2011-11-06T14:39:00.001-07:00

After a two-and-a-half year hiatus, I'm back to blogging! There were a few false starts during that time, but I finally figured out that I can only write about that which I know, and that is myself and my family. I hope to see a lot of my old bloggy friends here again as well as some new ones.

So, to start ...

Gimme a piece of that deliciousness.

The Packers are 7-0. Will they beat the Chargers today and remain undefeated?

Let's hope so.