oh christmas tree... the hockey edition

My friend Diana is posting an ornament a day this month on Instagram for the 25 days leading up to Christmas. (That will equal about 1/100th of the ornaments on her tree -- ha!)

I like that idea, but not enough to do it everyday for 25 days. ;) So I'm officially kicking off my own abbreviated version of showing off my tree -- six themed days of ornaments, showcasing the collections that have manifested throughout my Christmas tree over the years.

Tonight, in honor of the Los Angeles Kings' 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sucks.... I mean Sharks... here are most* of my hockey-themed ornaments:

 

Hockey-playing S'mores Snowman! 

Autographed Rob Blake Kings Ornament

Scary Wayne Gretzky Hallmark Ornament from
the year he was an evil Ranger.

One of the most important ornaments on my tree...
It's been placed front and center the last two Christmases : )

*Note: I have a bunch more hockey ornaments on my parents' tree, but my mom won't let me take them from the "Family Ornament Collection" to my own. Maybe I'll take pics of those this weekend :)

baking-palooza 2013

Due to family commitments, I lost a weekend of holiday prep time this year. So rather than happening on a full, exhausting, reeeeally looooong day like in years past, "Baking-palooza 2013" was split into three shorter, waaaay less exhausting nights in my super awesome kitchen. (Hey, baking is the only thing I really do in there consistently other than make tea at the stove and pour Cape Cods at the bar ;)

To get everything done, I was a pre-planning machine, prepping dough that needed to chill overnight (chocolate crinkles), or baking things that needed to cool before being decorated (Rudolph sugar cookies :) as part of the previous night's bake-fest. The result was a much happier, less tired out me AND some really cute desserts combined my annual holiday faves :)

Rudolph Sugar Cookies

I saw these on Pinterest a month or so ago and thought, for decorated sugar cookies (which are usually a pain), this design actually looked attainable with my limited decorating skills... and I was right! These were super-easy to decorate and came out super cute (IMHO). I will admit that I totally cheated and used refrigerated dough on these though -- not enough time or energy to make sugar cookies from scratch this year. 

Peanut Blossoms

I make these a few times a year now... cuz I also totally cheat on these and use peanut butter cookie mix. But I figure that's allowed since I have to work to quickly open up dozens of individually-wrapped Hershey's Kisses to press into the hot-out-of-the oven cookies. 

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels
My goal was to make white-chocolate dipped pretzels with pretty holiday colored sprinkles. But I ended up burning my Ghirardelli white chocolate chips (which smelled oddly like smore's while burning...). So leftover Hershey's Kisses were sacrificed to hold my pretty sprinkles on pretzel rods. I haven't actually eaten one of these yet. Hope they taste good :)

The Annual Faves: Chocolate Crinkles and Snickerdoodles
People at my holiday party would revolt if I didn't make theses cinnamon-y Snickerdoodles. And I think the Chocolate Crinkles (from my Aunt Trudi's recipe) are super fun to make cuz they're so messy. I made these smaller than normal this year and finally got the promised amount of cookies out of Trudi's dough recipe... it only took like a decade for me to realize that ;)

 

the important things

Tis the day of every year when Americans plan an entire day around one, usually very traditional meal that inevitably sends everyone into a tryptophan-enduced food coma. 

It's also a day to give thanks for the good things in your life... like being lucky enough to have enough food on your table to send you into a tryptophan-enduced food coma.

A lot of people on social media spent the past few weeks saying one different thing they were thankful for each day leading up to Thanksgiving. I thought that was a cool idea, and considered  doing it myself, but it seemed like a lot of pressure. Having to come up with a different thing to be thankful for 27 days in a row? I could see that getting snarky or superficial pretty quickly (especially in my sarcastic brain) and that would defeat the purpose of recognizing the really important things I'm thankful for, which have been front and center the last two months because those two months have kind of really sucked.

See, when the going gets tough, recognizing the important things is really easy. 

When a loved one dies, you miss them and wish you had more time with them. Time is precious and so is family. I am thankful for the precious time I've had so far in my life with my loved ones.

When a loved one's health is jeopardized, you miss the time when health wasn't a constant worry and hope for recovery. I am thankful for modern medicine and trained doctors who can remove disease from a person's body and help them eventually feel better. I am thankful my mom is on the road to recovery. I am also thankful for my own good health to date. 

When a lot of stuff goes bad in your life at one time, you miss being able to laugh and wish for more carefree times. You also need a shoulder or two or five to lean on. I am thankful for my rocks, the friends in my life who take me out for wine and let me vent, give great hugs, call to check on me and my family, and in a few special cases pray for me (and get their whole church to pray for my mom). I don't know what I'd do without my friends.

And when it pours rain, you miss the warmth of the sun and wish for brightness. I am thankful I've made it through the last two dreary months and can smile again. Being too emotionally exhausted to actually experience life is no way to live. So even though one part of my life is still in a potential downward spiral, I'm choosing not to focus on that.

One of my favorite inspirational blogs had a post a few months ago titled, Nine Things You Do Not Need to Be Happy. This line flew out at me, because I truly believe this, but often forget it: "The best thing you can do it let go of what you can't control and invest your energy in the things you can." It also says the formula for being happy is to do your best and appreciate what you have.

So that's what I did today .... and will continue tomorrow and every day after. Focus on the good things and appreciate them while I still can.

You don't need a tryptophan-packed turkey dinner for that.

here's to a "bow"tiful holiday

Christmas is in one month and next weekend will be the holiday load-in at my house. That means the six plastic crates full of Christmas lights and decorations, as well as the big box filled with my new fake (sniff) Christmas tree will be freed from the garage to fill the inside and outside of my house with holiday spirit. 

To prepare for holiday load-in, I got crafty today, making replacement bows for my front fence, because after five years out amongst the "elements" my old bows are looking a little faded... among other things I won't mention. (Thanks birds who sit on my fence too much.)

Anyhoo, when I bought my new fake (sniff) tree a month ago at The Decor Store, I also bought some new velvet ribbon... 20 yards of it to be exact. (Although, in retrospect, 30 would have been better.) Today, under the guidance of expert bowmaker Mom, I fashioned eight bright new bows. Here's how this Christmas miracle unraveled:

1) Start with your ribbon roll. Since my bows will be outside on a white picket fence, I went simple with bright red velvet and a green border.

2) Create a three or four inch loop. Then twist the ribbon around into another loop, so the outside of your ribbon is always on the outside of the loop. Also be sure to hold your thumb on the center spot where each twist occurs. Twist again into a third loop.

You can stop here if you want or add another two for a total of five loops, which is what I did.

3) When you are done with your loops, take a two or three-inch piece of 26 gauge floral wire and wrap it tightly around the center where your thumb was holding the twisted loops together. Feel free to use pliers to tighten the wire.

4) Add your bow's "tail" by cutting a long piece of ribbon (I used about 24 inches) and tying it in the middle to the center of your bow and then straighten out your loops. Ta-da! All done. I also added a reeeeeally long piece of wire (as I tied on my tails) which I will use to secure the bows to my fence next weekend when I put up all my outdoor Christmas decorations. 

goodbye grandpa joe

A year ago today, my mom and I were in Vatican City, mailing postcards to my grandparents in New Mexico.

A year later, we've spent the weekend mourning my grandpa, my mom's dad, who passed away Thursday. Time sure flies...

My mom's parents divorced when I was a toddler. I don't actually remember a time they were together, although I've seen photos. Subsequently, I didn't spend a lot of time with my grandpa as a kid. 

But as a kid growing up in El Paso, Texas, there were things about Grandpa Joe I loved to brag about. 

He was the Fire Chief of the El Paso Fire Department. That's pretty cool, right? He'd been burned in a big fire resulting from a railroad incident near the I-10 freeway, and I'd always think of him when we drove by the section of the freeway near UTEP. There were patches of skin on his head and hands that carried those burn scars for the rest of his life and always reminded me he was a fireman. My little brother followed in his footsteps and has been trying to make a career out of firefighting too. He always called Grandpa "Chief."

My grandpa was heavily involved in the El Paso community, and served as President of the El Paso Lions Club when I was in 6th grade. This is an important fact because the Lions Club was the group that handed out certificates each year to all of the elementary school safety patrol members, thanking them for their service. I was the only safety patrol nerd who could brag that my grandpa signed all those certificates... which I, of course, still have :)

We moved to California while I was in high school, and it is since then that I have most of my memories of him. 

In retirement, my grandpa spent hours in his workshop making beautiful things out of wood. Everything from a tiny purpleheart maple bowl that sits on my dresser holding jewelry, to little wooden trucks, to this gorgeous rocking horse he made and donated to his church for a charity raffle. He and his wife Mary would get in their motorhome once or twice a year and drive across the Southwest, to a crafts show in the middle of the Arizona desert where they'd buy materials and visit with the community of craftspeople they got to know over the years.

They would come visit us before or after the craft show, parking their motorhome on the side of my parents' house and spending two or three days with us, just catching up. We'd eat dinners in and watch football... in recent years with the closed captioning turned on the TV, since my grandpa's hearing wasn't that great anymore. It's weird how many motorhomes I've noticed this weekend...

A few times over the last decade, they organized great family reunions, so Grandpa could see all his kids and grandkids that are scattered across California, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas and Missouri. We spent 4th of July 2004 in the tiny mountain town of Ouray, Colorado, where my cousin was working for the local newspaper. The town is known for its 4th of July celebration, which consists of a parade anyone can join, a giant water fight with fire hoses, and beautiful fireworks over the surrounding Rocky Mountain range. 

Then we all gathered at he and Mary's home in Las Cruces for his 80th birthday six years ago. It was a two-day event and I remember spilling Coke on my camera the first night, buying a new camera at Best Buy the next morning, and then taking tons of photos the next evening. I've been looking at those photos a lot this weekend. 

I think it was that trip that I was once again drafted into "family IT person" mode, and helped fix their internet connection. My grandpa had an AOL account for the longest time (although he finally moved to gmail about a year ago). He used his email account to forward emails... lots and lots of emails. Many of them were political. Being that he was a Texas Republican, I deleted a lot of those emails after reading the first sentence. But every now and then, he would forward an email of beautiful nature photos, or a touching story about a child or a soldier (he was a WWII vet -- both my grandpas were), or a list of 43 things you can use WD-40 for. I kept a lot of those. I even blogged about one of those emails on Valentine's Day last year. 

Every time I made the decision to save or delete one of his emails over the last year or so though, it felt like a major life choice. He has been in deteriorating health for a while. And I knew that one day too soon, I wasn't going to get to make a choice about those emails anymore, because I wouldn't get any more of them. That day is now here.  

Every time we'd say goodbye, he would say, "You are so special to me." Grandparents are supposed to say stuff like that, but it didn't make it any less meaningful, because when saying it in person, Grandpa Joe would hold my hands and look me in the eyes and I knew he meant it deep into his heart. 

I know I told him I loved him, but I don't know if I ever told him he was special too. 

He was. And I'm going to miss him. 

random thoughts on the emmy awards...

Rather than live tweet about the Emmys like everyone else did tonight, I decided to hold all (and I mean ALL) my commentary for the end of the show and have complied all the thoughts that ran through my head for the last three hours here, in one handy blog post for your reading amusement. Enjoy.... this has to be funnier than the show was :)

- While I love Neil Patrick Harris, I think this show would've be way funnier if Tina and Amy were hosting. (Note: the show started 4 minutes ago, and Amy and Tina just crawled up the stairs to present the first award after heckling NPH from the front row in 3D glasses.)

- Thank god Lena Dunham hasn't won't anything yet tonight. "Girls" is such an over-hyped icky (yes that's the word that describes it best: icky) show that needs to go away. Thank you Julia Louis Dreyfuss and female Modern Family director for beating her.

- Two tributes in, these special tributes to the chosen five performers who died this year are a real downer...and we're not even to the two really tragic deaths yet.

- Had I known Elton John was performing live I would have shelled out the $300 for a ticket in the balcony I'm allowed to purchase as a former winner/nobody member of the ATAAS...(plus a dress and shoes and ride...) Oh wait, he just sang just one depressing song? Nevermind.

- Just when I was gonna say "Yay Homeland won something!" They say the winner (Henry Bromell) died earlier this year and his sad wife comes out to accept Best Writing in a Drama on his behalf. Depression is starting to set in.

- What!?!?! Christine Baranski didn't win best supporting actress in a drama for The Good Wife?? This show is sad.

- I really wish it was next Sunday already. Then I'd be watching the season premieres of The Good Wife and Homeland instead of this. 

- Cory Monteith tribute. More depression, peppered with a "drugs are bad" PSA.

- Yes! The Voice is Best Reality Show! Finally something I watch won! Yay! And isn't this like the first or maybe only second time The Amazing Race has NOT won this category? Interesting...

- Wow. Jeff Daniels wins Best Actor in a Drama for The Newsroom. I watch that too but that's a real shocker. For him too: "Well crap. Didn't expect this." Tough category. Wonder if the top contenders cancelled each other out?

- I don't even watch Breaking Bad (yet), but I feel like I should say Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul were robbed tonight.

- Clip of Walter Cronkite tearing up as he delivers the news President Kennedy died, followed by Carrie Underwood singing "Yesterday." Anybody got a Prozac?

- Is the microphone moving up and down on Jimmy Fallon supposed to be funny? He's better than that.

- Best Lead Actress in a Drama? Claire Danes, suffering from Gwyneth Paltrow's "My Boobs Are Too Small for This Dress" syndrome, and talking about her writer who won earlier and died. Prozac? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

- Standing O for Bob Newhart. Finally an alive old person being acknowledged. Yay.

- NPH knows this is the Emmys and not the Tony's right? At least the Choreography segment wasn't depressing. And Derek Hough wins an Emmy to go with his 17 billion DWTS Mirrorball trophies.

- James Gandolfini tribute from Edie Falco. Okay, where are the tissues?

- James Cromwell wins best supporting actor in a movies/miniseries for American Horror Story, another show I will watch one day. All I'm thinking in my head is "That'll do pig, that'll do," while my mom is wondering aloud what happened to his hair.

- Steven Soderbergh of Behind the Candelabra wins for Best Director - Movie/Miniseries. That's a shocker. (And that's sarcasm.) Just like Michael Douglas winning for Best Actor and Behind the Candelabra winning for Best Movie/Miniseries in about 6-10 minutes will be. (More sarcasm.)

- Bryan Cranston congratulates Claire Danes on her win. She just looks at him sadly as he says he's still got his fingers crossed in his category. Sad. Then they present Michael Douglas with his Emmy. Oh my gosh! That's the most shocking win of the night! (Did that sound authentic? ;)

- Behind the Candelabra wins for Best Movie/Miniseries. Did I call that or what? (Zzzzzz.)

- I just told my mom I'm adding her quote about James Cromwell's lack of hair to my blog. She would like me to add that she also said he is very deserving and that it's great to see actors with such a large body of work, like him and Ellen Burstyn (who she would also like me to note "is very elegant"), win. Okay. Noted.

- Will Ferrell's outfit. Now that's funny.

- Steven Levitan just agreed with me that this is the "saddest Emmys ever" while accepting Modern Family's Best Comedy Emmy. WIN! (Oh, and Yay Modern Family!)

- Breaking Bad wins Best Drama. Good for them (I assume...I'll tell you for sure after I binge-watch it on Netflix during December rerun season).

And that's all folks!

19 years ago today Friends premiered. Nine years ago today LOST premiered. September 22 is apparently a good day to premiere excellent TV shows.

And to air depressing awards shows about TV shows.

happy 1st day of fall!

(Shhh! Don't tell my rose garden ;)