Got Milk?

This is what I spent my afternoon yesterday doing...baking cookies. I woke up in a bit a of a funk...getting my ass kicked by dearest M...it was raining too...which I usually love, but yesterday I needed sun and happiness.

I packed up the piglet and off we went to Trader Joe's where I got almost everything...they didn't have the coconut I needed for the Macaroons I was also going to bake so I'll tackle them tomorrow.

We came home, O went to sleep on his little swing and I spent the day playing with my Cuisinart and Kitchen Aid. Nora Jones once again serenaded us...Enzo chased Pookie and Louis stayed alert as to a goodie that may drop onto the floor.

The cookies came out great...I used the Neiman Marcus cookie recipe and added almonds, raisins, toasted coconut and oatmeal. Now where's that milk....

Twas The Night Before Christmas...

We arrived at dad and Jeri's mid-afternoon...Bo, Katie and Brian where there, as well as dad, (in the kitchen) and Jeri being her elfish little self, wrapping presents and making everything beautiful.


Katie was knitting and Bo was helping! What a good guy he is!!!


Brian was making sure all the appetizers were delicious and brought up some interesting discussions about the brain, God and chiropractors...never a dull moment at home!



Eventually the whole clan arrived, we sat around knitting, eating, sipping champagne, taking pictures, restraining ourselves from eating the piglet, who was completely mesmerized with his little pudgy hands!



Dad read a fabulous poem in Spanglish written by Hector Vargas I believe, (I'll have to double check), which was just delightful and hilarious...I may have to seek permission to publish it here...

Victor meditated on the meaning of Christmas and what a bad Brother in Law he has been....



and Gigi couldn't wait till dinner and tried to eat her husband...



While Joe tried to eat O's presents!



Dad made sure the standing rib roast was still standing...



...which it was...and we eventually made it to the beautiful table Jeri had set...the ambiance was spectacular with the soft candles, the tree lit as a backdrop, all adding to the feast we were about to partake in, on dad's beautiful new table...Thank you tree.

After dinner, Santa Gigi and Santiago passed the gifts to everyone, and one by one, (ok, most of the time...) we went around the table and delighted in the lovely and thoughtful gifts given. Thank you all!!!





Eventually the night came to and end, and one by one we all left...there was joy, and love, and more love...





...and even exhaustion on the steps...



And to all a good night!

Thanks Little Sheep....

It's Christmas Eve day...I don't have too much time to write as piglet has been napping for 3 hours and is about to awaken any moment. I did although want to post the picture of the little pants I knit for him this week...which he will wear tonight to dad and Jeri's for dinner...

I'm pretty pleased with them...Next week I'll attempt a sweater!!!

We are spending the afternoon/evening with the whole clan at dad's. Jeri (and or dad) are making the standing rib roast she made years ago while dad was spending Christmas in Spain...it was so good that she made it again for New Year's...after much hounding from her kids...So today we will feast...Dad is making Bacalao as well as a starter...MMMMMMMMMMMM....I made the Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie I made at Thanksgiving...

Off I go to heat up some yummy formula...

Merry Christmas everyone!

Ahhhhh....Quiet

I just put the piglet to bed and turned off NPR...I have the fire going and it's crackling is the only sound I hear...

It's nice being here now...the pups are asleep after a couple of days of constant activity...they have found their beds a sanctuary of sorts...especially from me probably...telling them constantly to sit, lay down...stay...PLEASE STAY...Needless to say our pups have a mind of their own...



My dear friend Nicole came to visit from Bozeman. We spent Saturday together while Joe hung out with little O...We started out our outting with lunch at Lola's, the only restaurant we found open...We had a delicious meal...I, a petite lamb burger on a small artisan bun with roasted vegetables...Nic had squid kabobs with a cilantro mint (I think) sauce...and of course a generous glass of wine...we then headed to a day spa for a little pampering. I had the Pacific Rim treatment...soaked in a Japanese tub, scrubbed my neglected skin with some sort of oil and salt mixture that stung my recently shaven legs...then off for a nice long massage. It felt so good...I love being touched...doesn't matter if I know you or not...wanna rub my feet? Sure...go ahead...So there I laid, relaxed and willing to have my muscles kneaded...it was wonderful...(Thanks honey!)

After our date, we headed back home to the piglet and dearest Joe. I had bought a highly recommended bottle of Argentinean wine and as soon as we arrived we poured ourselves a glass. Joe had a fire roaring, the Christmas tree was lit and O was asleep on his little swing...Tucker, (Nicole's Pug) played all day with Enzo and Louis, so they were happy as well.

I made dinner and we sat at the table and enjoyed every last bit of it...and eventually opened yet another bottle of wine. I pulled out my WONDERFUL new camera and began playing with it at the table...both Joe and Nicole are owed my gratitude for putting up with the constant shots and flashes of flash going off in their faces...I felt like the papparazzi...and they, I'm sure, felt like the hounded celebs..."Over here! Over here!"



After the photo shoot hounding thing, we sat around and continued chatting until sleep over came us all...and so the wonderful day came to an end!



Today both Joe and Nicole left...and I, the pups, the Pooks and O stayed behind, in our beautiful and now, very quiet home.

You are both missed.

Early Christmas!

We bought what looks to be an awesome new Digital SLR camera, the Olympus Evolte E-500...Joe is bringing it home on Friday from Portland...I am so excited to get my hands on it! Today I downloaded the 250 page manual and read to page 76. I learned a lot and know that it's going to take me a year at least to really know it's capabilities...Of course I could just put it on AUTO and do nothing else but enjoy my pics...but I'm hoping to become quite the little photographer! I've been reading up on photography basics...that class in high school is sure far, far away in my mind...

So this blog and All About O's blog will soon be inundated with pictures...stay tuned!

Speaking Of Trees...

Why did we get a fake Christmas tree two or three years ago? We had previously gotten a live Christmas tree which we summarily planted in our garden. It died within a year...(apparently we forgot to water it during the summer...)

I think we were just walking through a big store and saw it there...and thought it would be better for the environment to get a fake tree...of course who knows WHAT process goes into making one of these...which contributes to all those horrible things one tries to avoid like pollution, mass consumption, making "fake" fashionable...but whatever our thinking was back then, (I can pretty much confirm I was 100% responsible for our even considering buying a Christmas tree...fake or not)...here we are now with a lovely, tall, artificial but very convincing tree.

It also came with 1000 or was it 10,000 colored lights? Regardless...it is beautiful. This year we put it up in the "family" room as it is too tall for the living room ceiling...

JOE: Honey, I don't think it's going to fit in the living room.

ME: Of course it is...I'M THE VISUAL PERSON HERE...I KNOW these things.

JOE: Why don't we go home, measure and come back?

ME: WHAT? Are you insane? I can't be practical...I NEED this tree now...and it will fit.

5 hours later...

ME: It doesn't look too bad without the top does it?

No, It Wasn't The Whole Tree That Fell On The House...

1:36 a.m....BANG! CRASH! BOOM! I leap from the bed...Pookie BOLTS...the pups run into the bedroom...hackles up...O stirs. I get out of bed and try to wake up and gather my thoughts...what the hell was that?



There you go....4 branches fell on the roof and snow covered the yard...I don't think there is any damage..Joe will look at it this morning...I contemplated removing what I thought was just one branch at 2 a.m., but the thought of dealing with it was not too exciting and I talked myself out of it rather quickly...I immediately thought that one of the 75-100 foot pines was going to fall on the house..more precisely right where O and I lay sleeping...but after a large bowl of cafe au lait, I realized that 10 feet of snow had NOT fallen upon us and there was zero wind...so we were safe for the night. I did think that our power may go as it does sometimes, so I did some chores and finished at 4 a.m...


The pups enjoyed chasing each other for a couple of hours...both at 2 a.m. and at 8 this morning when I actually managed to peel myself from my nice, warm, untreed bed.

Beauty...

List

1. My feet are my favorite part of my body.
2. I try not to have a least favorite part. Sometimes I succeed.
3. I like having clean hands.
4. I miss being in school.
5. I miss Olivia.
6. I am finding out that I am judgmental.
7. I am a very loyal friend.
8. I wear my emotions on my face.
9. I love my sense of humor...even when it embarrasses me.
10. I sing in the shower.
11. I can't sing.
12. I wish I could sing.
13. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Washington.
14. I have had my heart broken a few times.
15. I have lost some good friends.
16. I love eggnog lattes.
17. I believe I have a novel in me.
18. I thought I would be a better artist than I am.
19. I suffer from a mild case of claustrophobia...especially in my feet.
20. I don't like wearing bras.
21. I'm sad I couldn't breastfeed.
22. My biggest hope now is to be the kind of mother O needs.
23. I adore my husband.
24. Joe is the best person I know.
25. I wish Maggie hadn't moved back to London.
26. I fear that I won't have time to do everything I want to do.
27. I fear I won't figure out all I want to do.
28. I dislike call waiting.
29. I love getting mail.
30. I feel guilty for having so much sometimes.
31. I don't understand abuse.
32. I collect Japanese Maples.
33. Jasmine is my favorite flower.
34. I miss Kila.
35. I love knitting by the fire.
36. I love O's laugh.
37. I don't respect Bush.
38. I feel pain for what is happening to the United States.
39. My favorite radio show on NPR is The Diane Rehm Show.
40. I love Joe's tenderness.
41. I can bake a mean chocolate cake.
42. My toenails are painted most of the time.
43. I don't like narrow minded people.
44. I don't miss smoking and will not smoke if I know I have a limited time to live.
45. Sometimes I exaggerate, (although not on this list).
46. Sometimes music makes me cry.
47. Sometimes beauty makes me cry.
48. I have no interest in parachuting...ever.
49. I don't care for developers that mow down all the trees and put cookie cutter houses that are ugly.
50. Beauty is important to me.
51. I love meaningful conversations.
52. I get moved a lot by people's stories.
53. I wish I was a better person.
54. Sometimes I lie.
55. I used to think I was special, until Olivia died.
56. Sometimes I blame myself for Olivia dying.
57. Sometimes I wish I had chosen a different path.
58. I think a lot of people have children for the wrong reason.
59. I think a lot of parents are clueless. (See, I'm judgmental!)
60. I love to travel but rarely do it lately.
61. I don't have a lot of regrets...just a couple.
62. My favorite painting is L'Origine du monde by Courbet, (which I saw in Paris).
63. I am awed by Odd Nerdrum.
64. I may teach myself guitar.
65. I've eaten potato bugs and bird poop...
66. When I was little I had to have shots often, but I don't know what for and dad doesn't remember.
67. I don't remember a lot of my childhood/adolescence.
68. I wish I understood Physics better.
69. I see my mother (physically) in me.
70. I'm scared of ghosts.
71. I love taking long HOT showers but don't do it enough lately.
72. I dislike passive-aggressive behavior...especially when I do it.
73. I think Martha Stewart got a bum rap.
74. I believe the death penalty is barbaric.
75. I find myself too happy.
76. I have struggled most of my life with my weight and wish I never had an issue with it.
77. I don't miss not having a TV.
78. I wish I read more.
79. I hate driving because I dislike how others drive.
80. I dislike ordinary.
81. I love Joe's mom.
82. I wish I hadn't been raised to respect authority and elders just because.
83. I believe spanking children kills their spirit.
84. I wish I hadn't been spanked.
85. I LOVE being O's mom.
86. I love reading about mountain climbing but have no interest in doing it.
87. I once drank REALLY good champagne.
88. I love being touched.
89. I love cooking for my friends.
90. I like washing my face every night.
91. I was exorcised once.
92. I love my dogs and crazy cat.
93. I hate it when they kill birds, snakes and rabbits.
94. Crows are my favorite birds.
95. I wish I forgave more.
96. I believe quality is more gratifying than quantity.
97. I love swimming in the ocean.
98. I love how often Nicole comes to visit.
99. I love O's smell.
100. I feel very blessed.

Unbelievable!

I was making out with Tom Cruise. Can you believe it? Not only is he recently engaged and about to have a child, (nevermind the fact that I am happily married...LOVE YOU HONEY!), but WHAT WAS MY SUBCONSCIOUS THINKING!!! WHAT woman in her RIGHT mind would want to make out with Tom Cruise AFTER his brilliant comments about PPD and his constant, "I know the history of Psychiatry Matt...and you don't!"? I am very disappointed with my brain.

On the other hand, prior to the nightmare described above, I did have an amusing little dream, of which I will spare you the majority of it's content...except for the following vignette...

I was at a playground sitting on a bench on a beautiful day, when Liz, a good friend of my stepmom's, walks up to me and says, "Amalia, it's all about the accessories" as she proudly holds a little leather purse that looks more like a wallet to me. "See?" She inquires. I take the purse and look at it. It was very soft, and it had stamped on it a little bunny and the logo was Tout y Lapin. (Go figure). "Guess how much I paid for it?" I throw out $250. "No, she says, $8,000". Then it occurs to me that the reason it's so soft, it's because it's made of LITTLE BABY BUNNIES.

I've lost control. How can I do this to myself? Little bunnies? Liz spending $8K on a purse? I mean I know I'm not looking my best lately, but no need to kill bunnies brain...I promise I will comb my hair today and put on lip gloss.