Merry Christmas

Thoughts on Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve. I'm home, alone, and happy. That's what matters, right? I spent a busy day visiting first Kit, then my parents. I cut my mom's hair. My sister Lisa was there to visit also. We all went out to lunch. The traffic killed me!

I came home and started cooking, which was very therapeutic. It was a rough night last night and a tiring day. I put together the lasagna that I'll cook on Saturday. Made Fumi salad and hot artichoke dip that I'll bring to my brother and SIL's tomorrow. The house has been silent and very peaceful for hours. The only sound is that of the clothes dryer. The smell is from my new candle that is the BEST ever. Here's that story: I was checking out at Bed Bath and Beyond the other day. I smelled a wonderful smell. I asked about it and the cashier said it could be any of the candles. It was the one right in front of me. I bought a votive. When I got into my car after work, the whole car smelled wonderful from the candle. Today when I opened the BB&B bag, the smell wafted out. I have it burning right now. It's by Yankee Candle and it's GOOD AIR odor eliminating just plain clean. No, this isn't a paid endorsement :)

I need to wrap gifts. Just Emily's. The rest, and there's not many, I'll wrap tomorrow. Emily will go to her dad's in the early afternoon and I'll go to my family at 3:00. If I'm lucky I'll find a movie to go to on my way. There's so many good ones out there. I hope to see at least 5 over the holidays. That's my expensive goal.

Saturday will be spent with my friend Julie. She's the one that set Rob and me up. The guys will be down in the recording studio all day. Julie and I will go shopping and to a movie. I'm bringing the lasagna over for dinner. I was going to make a dessert but I'll bring one of the many sweets given to me by my clients. We'll all have dinner together, watch a movie, etc... It's going to be a great day. Emily will be going to NYC with her father and step mom on Saturday for an overnight. They do that every year. My ex's family lives in Brooklyn. Em and Tony and Maggie usually stay at the Ritz in the city. Skate in Central Park. Go to Tavern on the Green. Not shabby. They always have a good time.

Happy Christmas Eve to all my friends. You mean more to me than you know.

The day before tomorrow

It's an up and at 'em day. Unfortunately the 'up' started at 4 AM, but I can deal with it. It's the last work day before a 5 day vacation. I'm at Borders drinking a decaf latte. It tastes delicious but it's missing the kick. That's OK. I have lots of caffeine to look forward to in the coming days. I had a few things to buy at Borders and wanted to be here at 8 when they opened. It's quiet. No lines. Empty parking lot. Laptop and latte. What a great way to start the day.

Today is my father's 82nd birthday. I spent some time this morning thinking about his life. He grew up in the tenements in Brooklyn, NY. His father died when he was 6 (I think) and his mother was left with 2 children and no money. His mother was a bitter woman, and my father had a very unhappy childhood. He quit school when he was in 8th grade. Left home at an early age. Later he joined the army and spent time in Korea. He was best friends with my mother's brother, and eventually my parents married. It's not been a good marriage. As I write this, I realize I'm painting a bleak picture. My dad is a people person. He'll schmooze with anyone. They know him at all the local grocery stores, Best Buy, Walmart, the Senior Center, etc. He's very generous. I don't think he's had a happy life. I wish it had been different. I'm glad he's my dad.

My parents and my sibs in April

Well, I'm starting to fade. Sure wish I could have just a little caffeine. I need to get to work so I can be busy.

Happy Wednesday friends!

No La De Da

I've been thinking of having a new header on my blog. I wonder what it will be?

Just a quick post. It's gorgeous outside and I can't wait to get bundled up and get in the snow. Shovel and sled. The sun is brilliant and the reflection on the snow is amazing. The sky is blue! I think the snow is done falling. Maybe we got 20-something inches? Here's the snow mound on the deck this morning compared to yesterday:
Yesterday.

Today.

I love how the new snow smoothed the mound out and made it bigger. Soon it's gonna be a snowman. See the blue sky?

Time to put the layers on. I'll be taking new pics.

Blizzardy Day

What a day. I've been a domestic goddess. What? You're not supposed to call yourself a goddess? OK. It's been a domestic day. I made breakfast for the gang. I made a Texas Sheetcake. I have a double recipe of pot roast in the oven and I've invited a bunch of neighbors over for dinner. The kitchen is clean and I'm finally relaxing. Emily and Phil spent a bunch of time outside. So did Rob. Not me. Not yet. Not today.


Rob shoveled the deck and left this pile to make a snowman. It's gotten taller as the day's gone by.

View from the deck.

Inside looking out.

It takes a real man to wear pink.

Don't they look like an ad for Abercrombie?

Working hard but having fun.

House and cul-de-sac.



What I'm looking at as I blog.

Happy Me!

SNOW!

We're in the midst of a major storm here. Woohoo! I decided to make it a sleep-over weekend. Emily's boyfriend is sleeping on the living room couch and Rob is sleeping on the family room couch. I went grocery shopping yesterday morning before the crowds hit and bought all the ingredients to make The Pioneer Woman's pot roast. I'm thinking of making bread. I bought chicken and shrimp and deli meats and cheeses and ice cream and bagels and chocolate. We have a good hill and sleds and my neighbor's snow blower. I don't think I'll venture outside much. They're calling this a blizzard with high winds and freezing temperatures. Right now it's in the low 20's. I'm the only one up, and it will probably stay that way for a while. Happy me.

The big reveal

I woke up at 3:00. Laid in bed till 4:00 before turning on the lights. Read for a few minutes. Somtimes I can fall back asleep after reading. Turned off the lights and laid in bed till 5:00. Decided it was a good time to upload the party pics. Blogger says I've used up 84% of the allowable mg of pictures for my blog. I guess that says I've put up a lot of pictures over the years.

I can't believe Christmas is next week. I have a few gifts left to buy. I'll shop this morning and tomorrow morning. I hope that takes care of it. Knowing what to buy is the hard part, but lying in bed has helped me figure out gifts for the few people I buy for. At least I'm using these crazy mornings for something.

It's still the crack of dawn. I think I'll get up and do all my Christmas cards, get ready for work, drive the kids to school, shop, then work 8 hours.

So, here's some pictures. I uploaded the small size since there's so many. I took some and my sister took the rest. Some of the house, some of friends. You'll see Kathy and Karen and Bon. Emily and my sister. Friends and neighbors and co-workers.

Everything is ready and I'm taking a moment to relax.

























The happy couple!

So, there you go. The big reveal! Things are going great around here. Busy. Happy. Tired.

Happy Thursday!

Relaxing....

The last couple of weeks have passed in a blur. In a good one. From starting this relationship of mine, to decorating the house and hosting two parties. Now it's time to relax, and shop. The party on Saturday was a success (if I must say so myself). I have great friends and combine that with good food and how can you go wrong? I'm grateful to have a home to host a celebration, and good friends to share it with. Ya know? It was great introducing Rob to my friends and family. Embarrassingly, everyone he met raved about me. Flattering, yes, but too much! I'm not wonderful, and I know it. I try to be a good person, but I'm only human.

We went to my brother and SIL's for Hanukkah yesterday. It was casual and fun and funny. Rob got to meet the local family. Emily brought her boyfriend Phil. The guys had potato latkes for the first time and liked them. What's not to like about fried food? Everyone liked the guys. Again, nothing not to like. Emily's boyfriend is really nice and the two of them laugh and talk all the time. My family is laid-back and quirky (like all families) and they were welcoming and nice to Rob and Phil.

I got into my pajamas at 6:00 tonight. I ate crackers and dip. I've had my laptop on my lap for hours now. It's felt great to just BE.

I meant to post pictures, but this and that got in the way. Stay tuned.

A quickie

I'm in all-out Cheryl mode. I know I used that phrase the other day. It just seemed appropriate again. I'm caffeined-up with no food. I think I need to fix that or I'll crash before the party begins.

It's a great sunny day out here. The house is sparkling clean. It smells good. I'm happy. The camera is charged-up. I'll post post-party pics soon.

Happy day!

What a day!

I was in all-out Cheryl mode today. I even amazed myself!

I started my morning by making the bourbon sauce for my meatballs. It's delicious...two cups of bourbon, two bottles of beer, two bottles of chili sauce and 24 ounces of brown sugar, simmered and reduced. Yum. That's refrigerated and waiting to join the meatballs. I drove the kids to school then went to Sam's Club. Then Borders. Then Nordstroms. Then Marshall's, looking for the elusive camisole that's still eluding me. Then I went to the grocery store for hopefully the last time before the party. Then home and cooking. I made a rum cake. I made a cheesecake. I made curried cheese spread. Hot artichoke dip. Spinach cheese balls. Chipped beef dip. I did a lot of dishes. Lots and lots of them. I did laundry in-between. I vacuumed and mopped all the hard floors. Then I made our favorite chicken recipe with the french fried onions, broccoli and potatoes. Then I collapsed and here I sit. What a day!

Slacker

Man am I a slacker. 'Tis the season? I've been busy with all kinds of things. Getting the house ready for the holidays. It's done. All decked out. I had my book club holiday get-together on Sunday. Now I'm in all-out mode getting ready for my big holiday party this Saturday night. I have a lot of food shopping and cooking to fit in this week. My lists are made, and I'm not going to stress. I'm expecting at least 40 people. Fun times!

I've not done any gift shopping. This year will be a lean one. I know what I'll be getting for Emily; I just have to buy it. We're having a gift exchange at work. We don't exchange gifts with my family for the most part, so that's easy. And there's really nothing I want. Really, unless someone wanted to buy me a Mac Book Pro, which of course isn't going to happen. Ha ha. So, I'm not so into gifts this year.

I've been spending a lot of time with my new guy. It's been 4 weeks now. I guess it's safe to say he's my boyfriend, although that word seems so foreign to say. He's wonderful. He talks, talks, talks and thinks I'm the best thing that's ever happened to him. He brings his guitar over and sings to me. Can you imagine how romantic that is? Yesterday he sang his newest that he wrote about us. I think I'm a lucky girl. It's still early, and it could come to naught, so I don't want to say too much. He came to my work party on Saturday so everyone got to see the person who keeps a smile on my face. He'll be at my party this Saturday. I think Emily likes him; there's nothing not to like.

Time to get up and going for my 'Monday'. Happy Tuesday to you!

Thursday, work day

What better thing to do when you wake up at the crack of dawn then write a new post? I had a reprieve for two days and woke up at 6:30. Today was back to the 4's. I'm not sure why. When I open my eyes I hope to see a little light from my windows. I thought I saw it today. I stayed in bed for a while with my eyes closed, hoping to fall back asleep. Finally I looked a the clock and it was 4:34. Oh well, I just stayed in bed with my eyes closed to think. After a while I realized I could/should be doing things as long as I was awake. I worked on the e-vites for my party--setting up reminders. So far I have a definite 38 attending. I updated some financial information on the high school application. Read some e-mail. Soon I'll go downstairs and finish decorating my tree. I got 90% of it done yesterday before work. I put up all my outdoor lights the morning before. That was brrrr. Yesterday after work I had a lot of energy so I went shopping. Spent a bundle at the liquor store. At the party store for the papergoods. Then I went to Kohl's to look for something to wear. I usually wear black or gray slacks to my party and a nice top. I've bought a few tops but not the perfect one yet. I bought a black jersey wrap dress last night, but don't know if I want to wear a dress. Maybe I'll have time to shop before work today. The good thing is that I'm at my skinny weight so shopping is a lot more fun.

I've invited my new 'friend' Rob to my work party on Saturday night. That's a big deal. People want to see who's put this constant grin on my face.

I've said it before; I've been remiss in visiting my blogging friends. I've just been busy and the month will continue that way. I miss you. It's temporary. You're as important to me as if you were a friend that I saw in person. If you lived closer, I'd want you at my party.

Monday, Monday in a good way

It's about time for a new post. It seems like forever, especially when I compare it to when I was writing almost daily. I'm way behind for the year, but it's one of those things that happens. Ya know? I have no plans of leaving. Back in the day I spent all my time cross-stitching. I loved doing it. Then I got big time into rubberstamping. I was so creative. I never thought the day would come that I'd stop doing it. Last Christmas was the last time I made cards. I loved it, and if I got started right now I know I'd spend every spare minute working on making the most perfect ones I could. I made the decision to simplify ( my version of it anyway) and buy cards this year. So now my time is being spent on other things. It's the same for all of us.

I'm deep into getting ready for parties. I have a busy schedule this month. My work party is this Saturday. My book club holiday meeting is at my house on Sunday. My big holiday party is here the following Saturday night. A baby shower is the next day. The following Sunday is the big cousins Hanukkah party. Somewhere in between those two weekends is my family get-together for Hanukkah. The following weekend is Christmas. I don't know what I'm doing for that.

I've been getting my house ready. Decorating. I should be spending every minute on that, but my weekend has been spent with my new friend. He's wonderful. That's all I'm saying. A big bonus has been spending time with my friend Julie from work and her family. She's who set us up. She's wonderful and I love hanging out with her family. She and I cooked together for the group of us on Saturday night. How cool to be chopping garlic and peeling shrimp with a friend? We all watched a movie afterward. I think Emily would like it there too, and when this busy month is over maybe she'll hang out with us. Julie has a son and nephew that live at home and two daughters who are there a lot.

I've continued to wake up at 4-something every morning. I don't get it, but what can you do? Today is my last day of vacation and starting tonight I'll get back to my usual bedtime. The earlier I go to sleep, the more hours I'll get in before 4 am.

On that note, I'm gonna jump in the shower. I think I'll hang the jingle bells this morning before driving the kids to school.

Happy Monday!

Deck the halls

Coffee, Christmas and tunes. How 'bout you?

Happy Vacay

Thanksgiving was wonderful. I'm always so happy to be with my family. It was a feel-good day for all. Here's a long glimpse into our day. I wish the picture quality was better, but... I think if you click on the 'HQ' tab of the video it's a little better.


I got about 4 hours of sleep last night. I'm not even sure I want coffee...afraid it will make me too hyper. You know that mixture of bleary eyes, the sweats and the coffee buzz? Don't think it's for me.

It was very hard to resist going out for the infamous Black Friday, both last night when I stayed up till almost 2, and again when I woke up by 6. I hadn't thought of it before looking at the ads yesterday. Just seeing them gave me a rush and made me want. I'm still here.

The agenda for the day is to start readying my house for Christmas. I have some cleaning up to do before that can begin. Starting with all clean surfaces is the only way to go. I have days off, and that's what I'll be concentrating on. I might check out the weather. A walk this morning would probably do me a world of good.

I took a break and now I'm back. I spent a few hours raking very wet and heavy leaves from my garden and front lawn. The driveway is lined with bags. The dirt is finally exposed and so are the hedges. Maybe with the wind we're having there will be some drying off? Maybe we'll have a break from all the rain we've had? I'm itching to use my new hedge trimmers and get the shrubs ready for lights.

Things are still going good on the other front. You know.

Emily got the job at American Eagle. At least for the holidays. She'll be working 2-10 today, her first ever 8-hour job. She's apprehensive about working such a long day on her feet, but she'll do just fine. We just found out that one of my nephews is working at Oakley in the same mall. Pretty cool. Maybe they can have breaks together.

OK. Time to eat. And drink coffee. And clean. Motivation...please come.

Here I am

I just clicked on Reader and saw that I'm 173 posts behind. How can that be? How can I ever catch up? The answer is that I can't. I'm sure a lot of us are in that same bind. If you don't read every day, this is what happens. If I don't stop by your blog, I'm still there with you in mind and you know that, right?

It was a good 'weekend' but too short! We have a big break coming up. The salon is closed for 5 days, starting on Thursday. Woo hoo to that! It means that we work today, my Sunday. It's a 3-day workweek, so I'm not allowed to complain and I won't. Well, you know. I'll complain a little. So, Saturday was pretty great. I met my new 'friend' at Borders. Perfect place for me, right? We spent a few hours talking. We had plans with our mutual friends to meet for dinner. We walked around Borders, then Target while we were passing the time. Dinner with friends was great. Here's a funny. While reading the dessert menu, someone at the table said they could use some reading glasses. Our waiter Boris (a made-up name, I'm sure) said they have a basket of readers just for that purpose. No-way. I thought, I have to blog about this. Sure enough, he brought them over. Later I got to thinking they were probably left-behind glasses. Un-sanitized. Glad I didn't need them. I came home afterward and spent some good time with Emily. So all in all, a good night. Yesterday I dropped Emily at her boyfriend's so she could go to church with them, then out on their new yacht. You heard me right. I walked around the marina in his neighborhood for a bit to enjoy the beautiful scenery. I spent a bunch of time with my mom. We had pizza for lunch. Went grocery shopping together. I ran into Sears and bought a new hedge trimmer. Ran into Starbucks and bought this year's Christmas ornaments. Did stuff around her house, etc. It was a nice visit. Just as I was leaving Kit called me up and I drove over to her house to walk with her. We did a 30 minute brisk walk. Perfect. It was time for me to leave to get Emily from the boyfriend's house. I got there at the prescribed time, and immediately got a call from Emily saying they were stuck at the restaurant in Kent Island, waiting for the family friend to pick them up and bring them back to their house. Wah. I had to sit in my cold car in the dark for 45 minutes waiting. Luckily I have my iPhone so I was able to pass the time. Her being so late meant she had to miss the orientation for her new job. Luckily they'll allow her to do it today. Gosh am I rambling here. She was hired at American Eagle for the holiday season. She's going to be great there. They had a group interview. One of the questions they were asked was, what would they say to a parent looking for help with shopping for their child. Emily's first question for them was if they were looking for a complete outfit or separates. Did their child like skinny jeans, favorite boyfriend jeans, boot cut jeans, etc. Did they like to layer their tops, etc. That's my girl. She knows their clothes and could be a poster child for AE. If she turns out to be a good producer, they could keep her on. Anyway, the rest of the night was spent watching TV. Fringe. I don't think I like that show any more. It's too strange and half the time I have to cover my eyes so I don't see the gory stuff.

So, Thanksgiving is upon us. What are your plans? I have some cooking to do, and will go to my cousin's, as usual. If I have my count right, we'll be at least 38 strong. I can't wait.

I plan to be busy in my days off. I have major raking to do. I have to trim all the hedges so I can put the Christmas lights on them. I plan to totally decorate for Christmas. I'll be very busy. Hopefully happy and busy.

With that, I wish you a happy Monday.

A quick hi on a Friday night

I'm making lunch to bring into work tomorrow. Chicken Corn Casserole. It's one my sister makes, and her family loves it. I bought a rotisserie chicken yesterday and there was way too much leftover for my little family of two. So, work gets lunch. Julie offered to make a salad and Dana's making cookies. Back in the day, we took turns bringing in Saturday lunch. We've discussed doing it again. My salon owner brings in lunch from time to time. It's always a treat to have food provided on a busy Saturday.

It's been a whirlwind week of busy at work. People gearing up for Thanksgiving. Most of my clients seem to be going somewhere. We go to my cousins' house every year, a tradition I love. They live about an hour away. I'm the family carver. Of course. I can't wait till Thursday. I love being with all my cousins, my aunt and uncle and my own family. We're usually a group of at least 38. They have a wonderful house with plenty of room. Everyone brings a dish. Or two. We're a pretty lively bunch.

It seems my new wake-up time is 4:30 AM. I realize I'm awake, but don't open my eyes, hoping I'll fall back asleep. After a while, I'll think, please don't let it be 4:30 when I look at the clock. But it is. It's usually 4:34 or 4:38 or somewhere around there. I wonder why? I just wake up.

I did Bon's hair today. It was great catching up with her. Here we are when I was finished. We're both holding our iPhones :) I took the picture.


Tomorrow morning I do Kathy's hair. I'll see if she'll pose for me. It's great to do my friends' hair. It's more like a play date than work.

Happy Weekend. Time to put the casserole in the fridge and call it a day.

The real thing

I'm a bad blogger. I'm a bad blogging friend. There. I've said it. I haven't kept up with posting on a regular basis. I haven't kept up with reading your blogs. I've been at Borders for hours now and I've been writing e-mails instead of blogging.

So, yeah, I met a guy. Rob. He seems pretty wonderful. I've had a smile on my face all week long. I was convinced, not willingly, to meet him through one of my co-workers. I went to her house on Saturday to meet him, in a casual setting with her kids and husband and nephew there. I didn't dress up. I wasn't nervous. We hit it off from first sight. We talked for hours. We've e-mailed every day. He's going to meet me at Borders on Saturday. We'll probably spend our time grinning.

I've been preoccupied with a book I couldn't put down, and finished it yesterday. The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf. My mother gave it to me at least a month ago, saying she couldn't put it down. I've had it in my car, my house and at work without turning the first page. I brought it to Sherwood with me on Monday and once I started, all I wanted to do was read. I couldn't put it down. I have a few other books I've been carrying around. Maybe I'll start one of them too.

I had a great time at Sherwood Forest on Monday. I got there a few hours before Kit. I walked down to the dock, book in hand. My Great Blue Heron was on the dock, waiting for me.


I wish I had a camera with a better optical zoom. I hope my camera breaks before the warranty expires so I can get a new one. It happened last time. Anyway, it's so beautiful there. It was just me on the dock with the sun shining and the river surrounded by what's left of the autumn leaves. I stayed for hours. The walk back to the cottage had me laughing. I didn't realize how steep the winding road was. I remembered the golf car not having enough power to get us up the hill and Kit having to push it with me steering. Kit got to the cottage and we had the soup I made that day, then I had to leave to get Emily and come home.

I've been here at Borders for 3 hours! I've had way too much caffeine. Whew.

I'm wearing my jeans and they're no longer uncomfortably tight. What a great feeling. Hopefully I can keep my good eating habits up as the holidays approach. Thanksgiving won't be hard. It's the in-between time before Christmas that's bad. Speaking of Thanksgiving, I can't wait to eat that meal. And spend time with the family, of course. I always bring home one of the turkey carcasses. My thank-you for being the carver. Last year I made a wonderful soup that starts with roasting the dry turkey bones. It was fabulous. I also made a recipe called Turkey Curry in a Hurry that was fantastic. It was only quick if you already had the roasted veggies. I'll make both recipes again.

It's noon and I should go. I still have a bunch of things to do today, and if I don't get started....

Hope your Thursday is a great one!

Filler

Tomorrow I'll post. Promise. I'm heading to Borders in the morning for my latte with my laptop. I can't wait. Just thinking of that drink makes me happy.

Good day, Sunshine

The sun is shining again. Two days in a row and I'm off work!

Guess what I woke up with? A hurting shoulder. I stopped by a platform overlooking the wetlands yesterday and did some stretches. That's all it took to get that old familiar hurt back. So strange. I guess I really can't think about swimming after all. Yesterday's walk was nice. It was more of a stroll. There was a huge great blue heron on a log that I watched for a long time. It never moved. It was just good to be outside. I'm going to do some strolling again when I'm done here. I wanted to rake, but with the shoulder, it's probably not a good idea.

I went to a play at Emily's school on Saturday night with my sister to see The Diary of Ann Frank. It was so well done, and so sad. It reminded me that I do like the theater. I had forgotten. I'm going to add that to my list of things to do.

Two things I'll talk about some other time:

I backed into my sister's car on Saturday night. It was dark, and she was parked in an unusual and unexpected spot that I couldn't see out of my rear-view mirror. I'm upset about it, but it will work out.

I met a guy last night who was really nice and we're both excited about it. Not much might come out of it, but I haven't even been on a date since my divorce, so this is big for me.

Stroll time. Then I'm making The Pioneer Woman's 'Carrot and Squash Soup with Curry.' I made it last week and it was amazing and I want more. Later on I'm meeting Kit at Sherwood and we're walking. Sound like a good day?

With that, I bid you adieu.