2007 Highlights

(stolen from Katie's site!)

January: Helped ring in the new year at M&C's house with lots of Champagne, strange dancing, and many friends. Celebrated my husband's grandfather's 90th birthday and sang lots of sober-Karaoke in front of many of my husband's family members I had just met for the first time. I turned 25.

February: Visited friends in San Diego and enjoyed many martinis, champagne splits at lunch, and delicious (all be it ridiculously filling) meal at The Melting Pot - all while enjoying 70 degree weather in February. Valentine's Day - hubby surprised me by making a fabulous salmon dinner and even little heart shaped tofus (cut by hand) stir fried with garlic (my favorite!). T&F spent a day at Doggy Day Care in preparation for an upcoming boarding experience. T was graceful and pooped in the middle of the floor, just in time to be caught on the web cam and saved onto my hard drive!

March: Celebrated my father-in-law's 60th birthday, which meant I also got to hang out with my mom, brother, sister-in-law and nephew, PLUS the in-laws! :) F went on his first hike near Lake Tahoe. My husband turned 29 and T turned ONE. We got not one, but TWO new computers.

April: We hosted an old friend from Australia during his "Around the World" trip. I made the Giant Birth Control Leap and sprung for an IUD. (Ladies, read that entry...) We celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. F lost his dudes. Our good friend M threw the birthday party of the century to celebrate his 30th! I don't think that one will EVER be topped.

May: The boys had horribly explosive diarrhea! We took another road trip to Orgafornia. M&C found out they were pregnant, but it was still on the DL.My parents came out for a visit. We left for Cancun.

June: Cancun.... need I say more?

July: Fourth of July was spent with friends. We had a nice visit with friends at their family cabin where F found a way to jump off of a 6' deck and splay his shoulder, causing us to cut our trip short. We went to Vegas with friends for the 31st Annual National Beer Pong Tournament.

August: I took pictures of my favorite thing, inanimate objects.. at Hot August Nights. A large group of us went camping at Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe. F became an internet celebrity.

September: A fairly boring month. We saw the guy from Five For Fighting in a private concert. I photographed a wedding.

October: Helped my Grandma celebrate her 80th birthday along with the rest of my family. I moved my site from googlepages to blogger. I started to take blogging a wee bit more seriously.

November: NaBloPoMo. If you must know more, it can all be found here.

December: I got my new lens! Took lots of pretty pictures. Visited the wettest city EVER. Currently, we have friends in town and are busy visiting and doing things. Very busy. I promise.

*I want to apologize. I got a little bored writing this. I think it shows. The same thing happened when I wrote our yearly letter to go with our Christmas cards. In the end, I decided not to send it with the cards. Our lives were awfully boring this past year. I think this has to be the most boring year on record for us as a couple.

Here's to making next year a bit more interesting.

Duh.

Leaving the Apple store just as fire fighters, mall security, and police arrive. An Apple employee went out to greet them and the fire fighter asked, "Have you seen any weird people in there?"

The shaggy-haired-dark-rimmed-glasses-wearing employee responded with the most obvious response possible, "Well yeah. This IS an Apple store."

Male's Perspective

If you didn’t already know, my friend C is having a baby (their first)... she’s due in a few short (or long, if you ask her!) weeks.

Her husband told me he put the car seat in their car and got the stroller all put together. I asked him what it was like driving around with a car seat in his car now. I guess I was expecting a response like, "Oh I can’t believe a little baby will fill it up soon enough." Or something to that effect.

Instead, his response was a bit more masculine... "It makes noise. It rattles a bit. I need to fix that."

I'm sure my husband would have responded with the same way had he been in that position.

Drr how do I use this?

Cuvet This

Apparently, the 10-Day forecast was right.

OK... so it didn't quite drop out of the sky, but I was able to purchase this shiny piece of gizmology with some Christmas gift money. Hurrah.

Oh how I've longed for this this moment.

10-Day Forecast

There is a possibility that something will fall from the sky in the next 10 days. Possibly.

-----
P.S. We are home, I'll post more and comment more in the next few days, but yes, Seattle was kind to us.

.. and, Happy 200 posts TO ME! (though, not all were on blogger, they were on my googlepages site and I transferred them over here, never missing a beat. I think that counts.)

Christmas Tacos

Snapshots from Seattle

Love



The Whole Gang


Look, Blue Sky

Fresh Fish

Madeleine Von Katze Und Hunzikon

She has graciously allowed us as guests in her lair.

The Gays Love Me

Last night, hubby and I got all fancified for a dinner with his work folk. I got to wear a dress! Not just any dress, but a dress I splurged on this summer and have yet to have an occasion to wear it. Too bad it is the dead of winter and I had to pair it with tights, flats (so as not to slip on ice), and a shrug....



While we were at dinner, me and another girl were playing a game that I'm almost too embarrassed to admit on here. This is a rather shallow game, and yes, I'm sorry. I don't usually play it, except when I'm around her. Her presence is slightly intoxicating.

The game is called, "Your Team, My Team". Basically, you have to find a fabulous person and a not so fabulous person. Claim the fabulous one for, "My Team" and the not so fabulous person for "Your Team". Kind of like an insult. It sort of becomes slightly competitive after a while.

So, I spotted a fashionable gay couple at a table for two. I immediately claimed the slightly over weight but obviously, fabulously-charming man for myself and pawned the skinny little waif of a man of on Her team.

As we left, we had to walk past that couple's table and actually pause for a minute. As we stood there, the guy I picked for My Team, directly spoke to none other than Myself. He said, "That is a GREAT coat."

He, who was fabulous enough to be put on MY VERY OWN TEAM, loves my coat!

I don't think I could ever play Your Team My Team again. I could never top that. So, although I've only played this game a total of TWO times... I think I'm going to retire. I'm in my prime. Now is the best time for me to leave....

Out of Commission

Tomorrow, hubby and I are headed to Seattle... Bellevue actually... but you get the idea. We are visiting his brother who lives there. This will be my first trip to Seattle, evah! I'm über excited. Watch out Seattle. Here. I. Come. (oh yeah, and I'm bringing my camera, my trigger happy finger, and a plethora of lenses! muahaha)

Let's just hope that it doesn't rain too much. I don't know how dry I'll be able to keep my camera in the quart-sized Ziploc baggie that Puja (seriously, Go. Look... and yes, I'm name dropping here. I'm so cool that I got advice from Puja on Flickr) kindly told me to arm myself with. She also told me to be sure and visit the Seattle Public Library, on the 4th floor to be more specific. Didn't say why though. I'm not even going to Google it. I kind of want to be surprised. I just hope that there wont be a psychotic internet person waiting to chop me up into little bits when I arrive.

If I don't say much in the next few days - You now know why. But we all know that it is quite difficult to keep me away from the internet... so who knows. Ideal situation... to be able to post a super snazzy photo a day while in Seattle and leave it at that. We'll see.

Happy Holidays everyone.

The Other Half

So, the ornaments I sent to Steffi, ALL the way to Germany, have been blogged about!

Mine arrived last week... and I still adore them.

This was such a wonderful idea, Julie. Thanks again for organizing it.

Meet and Greet

Meet Ashley. (Everyone in unison, "Hi Ashley.") She left a few comments on my site, so I checked out her site.

While I was perusing her blog, I read this:

Pregnant ladies are like their own cult spreading hormones and mama warm fuzzy stories that try to suck you in and take you to the dark side.

I just wanted to scream, "YES. YES. YES."

Not only is she witty, but she also takes Spectacular Spectacular photos AND she lives in my favorite city. I love her.

Parenting

My baby fever has been fluctuating off and on since my friend C told me she was pregnant in May (yes, I was one of the lucky few who found out very early on!). There is something about being close to a couple that is expecting their first child, experiencing all of this love and joy for the first time, that kind of rubs you the right/wrong way. Inflicting all sorts of jealousy and biological yearnings.

While we are in no way ready to start heading down the path of ovulation predictions and basal body temperature charting .... I do think about having a baby every so often. This morning, I actually got a little anxious thinking about just how M&C were going to learn things that parents are supposed to know. Or things that I assume parents are supposed to know.

How do you know what to do? If it were me.. I'd go INSANE researching everything. There is so much conflicting research regarding everything from sleep schedules to discipline to whether or not you let your kid sleep with socks on!

For instance... feeding schedules. Is this something most women are born knowing? How often do they eat? Every few hours? Until they are what age? How much do they eat? How do you know when you are done burping them? Do you burp brand new babies? ( I don't know why you wouldn't, but maybe they are too tiny and fragile? Not saying you beat them when you burp them , but get the idea, right? )

What about sleeping schedules? (or am I dreaming when I think there can actually be a sleep schedule?) I get that the first few weeks are mostly sleepy time whenever .. but after that... do you have to set schedules and nap times and what not? Is that just something you figure out with the child's personality?

Diaper rash? How do you know what that is? Which cream to use? Do you use powder every time?

And don't get me started on sucking snot out of noses! What about baths? What is the temperature of the water supposed to be? How often do you bathe them?

How do people learn all of this?

Did I just not come equipped with standard motherly instincts? Am I defective? Or do all parents have to learn this some how?

Enlisting Your Help Part II

As I mentioned last month, my brother has just been deployed on his 2nd tour. This time, he is in Baghdad for up 15 months. This means that he and the rest of his unit are going to be away from their families for the holidays (and then some...).



If you are interested in sending a (cheerful) holiday card to anyone in his unit.... their address is up an working now.


** Edit... I never said anything about this.. but if you want to be so sweet as to repost this, go right ahead... I'd just prefer that you use the following image link when posting the address: http://bp3.blogger.com/_MeMPnEZUT4I/R2bhmb7Wy4I/AAAAAAAAF4g/KjbD8fttI3Q/s320/address2.JPG

This keeps the address unsearchable... (I have legit reasons for this, I just don't want to share them with the just anyone.) Please and Thank You... so very very much.

Say "Cheese"

I'm VERY new at photography. I'm trying, but I'll admit, not very hard. For the first 8 months with my Canon 30D, I left the thing in Automatic - refusing to even learn about f stops and ISO speeds. Even that wedding I did in September... yes... a paying gig. I shamefully admit to shooting in automatic.

However, yesterday's shoot AND today's were fully manual. But boy is that hard. There are so many settings to change. It still takes me a minute to remember what changes what and what there is to change! I feel like a fumbling fool sometimes.

Also, I sort of understand shutter speeds, ISO speeds, and apertures... but I just don't really know when to adjust one over others. If that makes sense. I know they are all to be adjusted... I guess I am just not very good at fine tuning and I don't fully understand why. I mean I do, but I don't. Confused yet? I know I am!

There are so many things that I know I need to work on. For instance, I have the tendency to frame things incorrectly. I'm always chopping of feet or elbows. Shadows are also quite challenging for me. I usually don't get to photograph people too often. My hubby can't stand the camera clicking away at him.If I try to take his picture, he gives me a scowl that clearly says, "What did I tell you about that?" I need more willing subjects. Actually, I need willing subjects that aren't expecting too much from me.

Today I shot a few pictures for a different couple -our friends, M&M, in Truckee, CA. They asked me to get a few pictures for something they are doing (top secret information there!), and to maybe get a good shot of just the two of them.

Poor M&M. I wasn't fast about anything today! Constantly it was, "Hang on. I have to change something." or "Hang on... this is too dark/too bright." They patiently stood there, shivering, waiting for me figure out how to work this thing I've owned for just about a year. I think we got some "useable" shots for what they were looking for. While I'm not going to post what they were looking for, I will post this one shot of the two of them... because they are just so darn cute!



Both yesterday and today, I walked away from our shoot soaking wet from laying in the snow. Let's not forget the frozen toes, fingers, and most importantly, my bum. The funny thing was that I didn't really feel cold until after every thing was over. Odd, because usually I'm the biggest weenie out there. I shiver when the temperature inside drops below 69. I think one of my favorite parts of photography is really just trying to get the right angle. I bend, squat, crouch, lean and lay. And today, today I'm ridiculously sore. How sad is that?

Then Comes Baby

I spent this afternoon taking maternity-type pictures for my friend, C, today. For being quite the beginner photographer, I think they turned out alright....

Laziness

For the last four years, I have heard, over and over from my husband, just how superior electric toothbrushes are compared to standard toothbrushes. I never understood the need to spend $100 on an electric toothbrush, when I could just move my arms and pay $3 for a regular one.

For the last four years, I have fought the idea of the electric toothbrush with my husband. Every time I said I didn’t get it, hubby would respond with, "That is because you have never used one."

After Thanksgiving, I saw a commercial for the Oral-B Triumph, and it Totally. Sold. Me.

On our next trip to Costco, and with very little discussion, we scooped up that electric toothbrush box and rushed home to charge those suckers.
I, Mrs. Instant Gratification, couldn’t wait to use my new toothbrush with the two-minute timer and the happy face at the end that reads, "Clean" on the digital screen.

With out reading the instructions (and let me tell you, I never knew a toothbrush could come with such a thick instruction booklet), I plopped on some toothpaste and turned the vibrating brush on. I pressed it to my pearly whites and... yes. I started to scrub like I would with a regular toothbrush. Drool and toothpaste went flying. I had a huge glob of goo on my chin and I think I even managed to wack my front teeth with vibrating base of the toothbrush. These things are dangerous. I hated that toothbrush.

Hubby explained that I don’t treat it like a regular toothbrush and suggested I read the manual. I did and I was still confused. These things should come with instructional videos. Do you know how hard it is to correct 25 years of toothbrushing habits?

Here I am, a week into Life with an Electric Toothbrush, and I still can’t figure it out. I am getting better. I just can’t seem to manage the two-minute timer. I either finish in a minute and a half, or four minutes. I apparently have horrible time management skills.

Last night, before going to bed, hubby turned to me and said, "I don’t want to use the electric toothbrush tonight. I want to just use my regular one. The electric toothbrush is just too much work."

I laughed. I’ve been feeling the same way this whole week. We are so meant to be.

Abandoned

Scattered through out my apartment...

Feelings

Usually, I don’t talk about my "feelings" here. I stay away from "real" subjects and try to keep it light and mildly-entertaining. I’m going to try and venture out of my comfort zone today (just a little) - casting any fears of possible judgement aside. Baby steps my friends. Baby. Steps.

I’ve discovered something about myself that I don’t like, anymore. I say anymore because I’ve always been this way, and I’ve always enjoyed this about me. However, I’m growing up and changing a bit along the way. Unfortunately, while my thoughts are maturing, my behaviors aren’t quite there yet.

I could be talking about a number of things, and I’m sure this is true about a number of important things about my personality. However, I can’t seem to get past this one thing.This one, slightly shallow detail. Drunkenness.
Keep in mind, I’m not out there getting "wasted". Heck, I rarely make it past 2-3 drinks. But boy do those three drinks loosen me up. I get real loopy and tend to say rather inappropriate things. Sometimes I’m loud, obnoxious, and constantly trying to take control of the conversation. In reality (sober reality), I’m not like this at all. Yes, I can still be loopy or say inappropriate things depending on who I am around. But I never try and commandeer the conversations.. At least I hope I don’t.

The problem, I rely too much on alcohol to make me feel "comfortable" in social situations. But you know what.... I don’t need that anymore. Now, I’m comfortable enough with myself and I’ve learned enough about myself (and the people I surround myself with) to trust. I trust my judgement in friends, my friends’ judgement in friends they are bringing around and I’m just plain happy with all of my surroundings. I’m a big girl now. I can take care of myself (but I still like it when my husband pumps the gas in my car).

I haven’t learned that I can have a drink and stop there. I don’t need to liquor up and try to be the life of the party. I can be me and other people are just fine with that.

So, for the past two weeks, I’ve been trying something new. I don’t need a beer every time we have pizza. Just because I have one glass of wine, doesn’t mean I MUST have two. At first, I worried that this was going to be difficult. I worried that I was going to have problems controlling my intake and that was going to mean I had larger problems ahead. Larger problems that involved daily meetings and never again tasting that beautiful thing that is a gin martini.

A little dramatic? Yes. But I considered it to be a legit fear.

Fortunately, it hasn’t been hard to do at all. I think my impulses just needed to catch up with my brain.

While I’m on the subject... I’m going to come clean and confess something. Remember my post with the "drunken video" where I lip synced to New Kids On the Block? Yeah. Well, I wasn’t drunk. I didn’t even pour the one martini I had that night until just before I POSTED the video. I was, in fact, very sober while lip syncing, recording, and making the decision to post.

Can't Sleep

I only had about an hour to play with it...









I Love it. LOVE. IT.

Can't wait to really use it...

"Santa" Tracker

Hubby and I don't really do "presents". Well, we get things... but they usually aren't a surprise. That is just how I operate. Anyone who has received a gift from me knows that I can't really hold my excitement in and usually spill the beans before the paper is off... or they get their presents really early because I just want them to have it. NOW.

My husband isn't really like this, except for with me. Last year, he REALLY surprised me with my Christmas present, though he couldn't wait and gave it to me a wee bit early! Yet another reason why I love him.

This year, we discussed what our presents would be. So yeah, we know already. That doesn't make it any less exciting. Actually, I'm thrilled to be getting what I wanted most!

(Cue chorus of angels...)



Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Autofocus Lens

.. did you see that? f/1.4 not the f/1.8 like I thought I'd have to get!

Hubby ordered it on Monday night and asked me, "Doesn't it bother you that you always know exactly what you are going to get?"

Seriously? Was he really asking me that question... as I was jumping up and down, fist pumping galore, all excited about the purchase of my new lens?

Here I am today, refreshing my UPS tracking screen over and over. Yesterday it was in Newark, NJ and today... Today, UPS is telling me my package is "OUT FOR DELIVERY". Eeek. I can hardly contain my happiness.

So, my dear hubby, if you are reading this, the answer is no. No, it doesn't bother me ONE STINKING BIT that I always know what I'm getting for Christmas, birthday etc. Valentine's Day is your day to surprise me... just not at work. You know how I am.

** For those of you with Google Reader.. I apologize in advance for the re-posting of older posts that got lost in transit when I moved from googlepages to blogger.

They're Here

I got an email from my hubby today that said, "You have a package at home from Hawaii."

That's it. Nothing else. Not who it is from. Just like that, he left me hanging. Of course I KNEW what it was! My SECRET ORNAMENT SWAP PACKAGE!

Since day one, I have been thinking about my Secret Swap Buddy's ornaments. What I would get THEM? I was even preoccupied with looking to see what OTHERS got from their partners. Never did I daydream about what I might receive.

Apparently, selflessness pays off in the end. I TOTALLY scored in the fabulous ornament department. Sarah and Kamryn (maybe even Keith too?) picked out the best ornaments to send me. Did I mention that hubby and were married in Hawaii? These ornaments are going to be some of our favorites for years to come.

Enough of me trying to get explain just How. Much. I. LOVE. these ornaments... I'll let the pictures show off their fabulousness!

Check out the snazzy, Hawaiian wrapping paper they wrapped them in (puts the wrapping I did for my swap partner to shame)... complete with Hawaiian Vacation Santa!






The card, presents, and Christmas pic of Kamryn (what better to way to spread good cheer?)...


The boys were rather intrigued with what I was unwrapping. Usually, packages that come in the mail are filled with goodies for them. THIS TIME it was allllll for me. Muahahaha.

Meet my sexy-hula-girl ornament...



and my hand painted, in Hawaii, Plumeria Ornament.....





and the obligatory, on the tree pics...





I love them. Have I said this yet? I'm now tempted to ditch the gold theme AND the mismatched theme and have an entirely Hawaiian tree. Heck, maybe we will be inspired to go back to Hawaii for Christmas next year! Oh no Sarah, you may have started something .... my husband is cringing right now and contemplating revoking my blog-privileges.

Also... thank you Julie for organizing all of this. I hope you have the cajones to try and tackle this again next year.

To my secret swapper.. you don't know who you are yet, but I promise... "It's in the mail." Truly, it is.. as of Saturday. Yep, I was a day late. My apologies to the blog world and to yourself.

Yes. Yes I Did.

I have wimpy dogs. Dogs that are not "mountain breeds" and that don't really enjoy the cold weather or snow we tend to get around here. OK, I have ONE wimpy dog... the other just gets judged by association.

I picked up a coat for F this weekend. Partly because I hoped it would help him stop shivering during morning potty breaks and mostly (let's be honest here) because I wanted to dress him up and show people (...that I am a crazy person).

T has a coat from when we lived in the Small Ski Resort Town. I decided to bust it out embarrass both of them (and my husband) this weekend on our walks.

Seriously though, aren't they just thecutestthingsyou'veeverseen?






Please excuse the unexciting shots. I was in a hurry on my lunch break trying to take these and the dogs were STILL shivering, and so was I. It is barely 30 degrees today. Yuck. So I didn't have time to pose, coerce, or play with settings. My apologies. On a "Brighter" note.. my 50mm f/ 1.4 is ordered and on the way! Hooray!

Redemption

As previously mentioned... here I am begging for forgiveness for talking in lengthy detail about coats.

Christmas 2005, we were living and working in China. The university had a literature club which our friend C ran or volunteered with ... I don't quite remember the details. That year, the Lit. Club had a Christmas party which they held in a local bar and invited all of the foreign teachers to. We were mostly invited so that they could prostitute our whiteness to random students who would then practice their English with us. Naturally, we said, "What the hell."

When we showed up, there was a cheesy, Santa Clause costume made out of VERY cheap and thin material waiting on a chair. When we asked who was supposed to be Santa, one of the students laughed and pointed to my husband while saying, "You of course!"

The students liked to refer to my husband as "peng peng" which translated to "fatty fatty" but was supposed to be an endearing name you would use call a chubby child. Naturally, Fatty Fatty should be Santa Clause... right?

After a little hesitation on his part and lots of laughter and absolutely ZERO mocking on my part, he squeezed into that costume the best he could.




He mad an excellent "Bad Santa"...



The students got a kick out of it, and eventually, he humored us all by posing with everyone...







Proof that my hubby truly IS Santa! Now he had better get me all of those things on my list damn it!

Memories

or Quite Possibly the Most Boring Post EVER!

First off, I just want to say that I have no idea how I'm going to pull off an entire post about, get this, jackets I have owned in the past few years. But I really want to take a shot at it. Mostly because this is a lame excuse to do what I love to do most - talk about China and re-post old pictures.

Jackets, Coats, whatever you want to call them, I haven't really owned very many of them in my adult life. I don't know why, maybe it is because they have the tendency to be pricey. Then again, that can't be it. Up until this evening I don't think I've ever paid more than $40 for a coat, except for my ski jacket. Even when I worked in the Amazing Fur & Leather shop in that even more amazing Small Ski Resort Town, I never gave in to my cost + 10% discount and purchased a wonderful, grown-up-type jacket.. like this one I had my eye on for the longest time...(p.s. check out that sparkley belt. we were encouraged to wear the merchandise there and the girls and I were often tempted to wear these blingy accessories to try and brighten up our days)



Nope, instead of that classy piece, the one coat I've relied on for the past 5 years has been this little purple gem (with a beautiful light purple, satin lining!) I purchased on sale for $20 at Old Navy a LONG ASS time ago. (shown here being worn in January 2006 for my birthday celebration .. with me dressed up as a tiger thanks to a wonderful booth at The Circus Circus hotel and casino. Yes. My friends drug me around town like that.)




The purple jacket didn't make it to China though. Sadly, I opted to leave it at home that year to leave room for more important things, like tampons. When fall came, I did break down and shell out a few kuai for this jazzy little corduroy number (also known as the country-bumpkin jacket I once owned)...



Unfortunately, that jacket provided ZERO warmth against the damp, cold winters of Sichuan Province.Later that fall, I was forced to enter a Chinese department store where they blasted such wonderful hits as "You are My Superstar" at excruciatingly loud decibels. Where I then had to hope and pray with all of my might that they'd have a winter coat, anywintercoat, in a large-ass-white-girl, the size equivalent to a medium in the U.S. Eventually, I bought this eggplant coat with fun toggles on the front ... (shown here being worn at the University's Literature Club Christmas party and sitting my my husband's... I mean SANTA'S lap)...



When we left China, we moved to the Small Ski Town. I had donated the eggplant coat to another American that was staying in China because I knew I had my faithful purple coat at home and that I'd be buying snazzy ski apparel. Which I did, and here it is on one of my first ski days that year....



I still have that ski coat, but the snow skirt broke a while ago and I am REALLY in need of a new one. (HINT HINT hubby.. I mean Santa!)

My current in-between no jacket weather and winter coat weather is a very casual, black, Patagonia jacket that collects all sorts of hair & lint on it through out the day, but looks pretty damn cool on. SEE...... (shown here being worn at the Hot Air Balloon Races in 2006)...



I love how the collar sticks up. Makes me feel cooler than I really am.

Now that the cold weather has finally hit us, I decided that it really was time for a new jacket purchase. I wanted (and still plan on purchasing someday) a classic, wool, 3/4 length jacket... but ended up purchasing something a little more casual. I like this coat because it is casual, yet I can dress it up a little. It also has a removable hood with faux fur trim. Very versatile. Plus, it even has toggles on the front like my old China coat. Ahh... the memories ....







I think the only way I can make up for this post, is to post later and elaborate on the picture of my husband dressed up as a very sad version of Santa Clause.....

Hankering

Driving down the 80, staring at the mountains ahead of me covered in fresh snow... and it reminds me of powdered sugar. Suddenly, I have a craving for deep fried Oreo cookies sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Keep in mind, this is after a breakfast of fudge (thanks C!) and 1.5 slices of cheesecake for lunch. The holidays are going to be killer on my thighs.

Sync Complete

I programmed the expected arrival of my dear Aunt Flow into my cell phone a while ago. I, apparently, also scheduled a reminder for the day before (as if I'd forget the impending cramping, bleeding, and three inches of cotton jammed upinthere for several days).

About thirty minutes ago, my phone politely vibrated and showed me the message, "Reminder: Aunt Flow's visit 12/8!" At that very moment, I started cramping (you know, warning cramps). Somehow, my menstrual cycle and my cell phone have synced with out my knowing. Who knew I came equipped with bluetooth technology?

Googled

or The Idea I Stole from Sarcomical...

Thought I'd share with you some of the search terms that brought some people to my humble abode. They may not be able to top these results, but I enjoy them.

• Mom Cleavage (this one got multiple hits... SCORE one for me!)
• ninja santa claws
• wearing my thong

Now... wander on over to my friend C's fabulous new blog (we are still working on color scheme). I finally set one up for her so she can track her baby progress.

Zagol Ethiopian Cuisine

Last night, nine of us went out for dinner. We went to a new restaurant in town, Zagol Ethiopian Cuisine.

I think it is pretty safe to say that this was EVERYONE’S first time with Ethiopian food. Which helped make for an exciting night. No one really knew what to expect. Though, I had read this (raving) review before hand, which prepped me with the basics of Ethiopian food:

Injera - soft, thin, spongy bread - the consistency of a nerf ball, but it tastes better
Eating with your hands - using injera as a vehicle to get the food from the plate to your mouth
Lamb, beef, and spicy

Why not? I love Indian food (hello lamb, naan, spicy!). Plus, I really enjoyed most all of the food in China (and let me tell you - it was nothing like P.F. Changs). So, why not add Ethiopian food to my list?

When we started looking at the menu, I think we became a little overwhelmed. I can’t speak for the rest of us, but pretty much everything on the menu sounded good to me. Thankfully, the (super sweet and funny) server suggested the veggie combo (includes 3 types of veggie dishes) and two meat combos (3 types of meat dishes for each combo) for our group.

Here is what we chose (along with the restaurants description of the food):

Veggie Combo:

Shiro Powdered peas simmered in hot Ethiopian sauce and spice
Kik Alicha Yellow split peas cooked and flavored with green pepper, turmeric, onion and Ethiopian spice
KilKil Fresh green beans, carrots, onion and green pepper flavored with garlic, ginger, tomato and Ethiop