Things I Bought in Danville Over the Holiday Break

We just got back from a week-long trip to my husband's parents' house. It was actually a fairly low-stress visit, although we didn't get any snow like we'd been wishing for. (It DID snow in Oklahoma, of all the nerve... something like 4 inches!)

While we were there I bought a few things, and I thought I would catalog them in case anyone else finds the humor and absurdity as I do. Here's the list, as best I recall, because I don't track my receipts in any logical fashion (in fact I'm searching for a missing Walmart one to return a clip-on light that won't actually work on a bunk bed, but I digress).

• Three $3 pillows at Target, since the "no-flat" pillows provided had gone flat LONG ago. These are not great pillows, obviously, but we made them work for one week. (There was oddly one pillow that was fine, as it was the "crib" pillow and rarely used. I made Liv use a flat pillow, since she uses flat-ish pillows at home!)
• $13 slippers at Target because my feet hurt when they aren't in shoes and the skipper socks I packed didn't provide enough support.
• Target clearance -- I hit Target at the 50% mark and at the 90% mark. At 50% I got a few cookie/candy things (I didn't hit the sauce while at my in-laws, but let me tell you I HIT the sugar hard ... pretty sure I'm making the wrong choice, health-wise, but here we are). At 90% off I was able to find several really great clothes deals -- mainly shirts and sweaters for the girls for next year but also SOCKS -- 50 cents for a pack of six kids' socks in holiday themes. I got two packs but at the register realized I should have got them all -- in all sizes -- as they would easily be donated to the "Sock It To Them" drive the libraries here do every December. I also got some gift tags and a sticker scene for the girls, and wishing I'd bought multiples of that too, as it would have been a cheap (30 cent!) gift to pass out to classmates next year (although this year I didn't even do ANY gifts for classmates ... it slipped my mind entirely with the mid-December school play eating up most of my brain band-width). I also got the girls a set of 10 Bonne Bell lip balms to share and a mascara 4-pack, both for 50% off. My very best purchase was a $1.49 Hello Kitty flannel night gown that fits Jane now and SHOULD still fit next year. She was DELIGHTED and my only sadness was there wasn't one in Livia's size or anything remotely comparable!
• Hobby Lobby clearance -- we checked it out when it was 80% off and all I got was a frame ornament (mother-in-law mentioned that she doesn't have many (any?) ornaments with just Livia's picture), some snowflake paper (not sure why -- I don't do a holiday letter, don't have many people to WRITE letters to anymore, but maybe the girls will like to use it next year). The frame ornament was missing its backing and any little plastic piece that might sit in front of the picture, but otherwise it was fine and those things seem easy enough to hack with recycling materials. Shawn's cousin's son was working the register, but we couldn't talk him into a further (or five finger!) discount -- LOL!
• Hallmark clearance -- we went to the mall to "walk around" and most of the stores were pretty sparse. The girls got Mary Poppins bobbleheads at Hot Topic, but Shawn bought those, not me. I got my mother-in-law another frame ornament at the Hallmark Christmas clearance. Only 50% off, but it was cute and grandparent themed.
• Food Lion -- a variety of groceries, mostly for the snacky New Year's Eve supper I like to eat: summer sausage, velveeta-rotel cheese dip and chips, onion dip and chips, sparkly grape juice, and cheese and crackers. I made my mother-in-law pay for most of the other groceries -- for the suppers I made, meatloaf, mac & green beans and spaghetti, salad and cheesy bread. She also covered the lunch and breakfast stuff, the girls' foods and even my Diet Coke! (She actually bought Diet Dr Pepper, and it was a refreshing change.) I also had to buy some ibuprofen, a new, softer toothbrush and some kid toothpaste (I really thought they would run out, but Shawn managed to make the meager, flat tube last the whole week).
• Marshall's & Ross -- these get confused because it was one trip, but I bought a grey cardigan (probably my fifth?!), but this one is darker and has a different detail with some elastic in the back to give it some shape. I also bought a pack of thank you cards, since I never remember to pack enough (I wasn't expecting more gifts for the girls from cousins' families, but we did get a few things, including a book Jane loved about Princess Jasmine, so I think we need to watch Aladdin soon), and a 5x7 frame for a black & white picture of Liv I brought to my in-laws as a gift. I ALMOST bought 2 small reindeer-dressed Cabbage Patch dolls that smelled so great and were SO cute, but I didn't (although looking at prices online of the current iterations it was less than a third of retail price!). I did buy a few discounted Christmas books to add to our collection -- that's the only thing I have left to do to put away Christmas, wrap and pack our 48 Advent books for Christmas 2019. 

In addition to the Cabbage Patch dolls that I didn't buy, I tried on a couple fancy dresses that didn't make the cut, mainly because I don't really NEED fancy dresses or have a good place to wear them. But also I was overstuffed with stuff to get home as it was. I almost bought a "Joy" holiday sweater at an outlet place near Hobby Lobby, but my mother-in-law pointed out the makeup stain on the back, and even at $6.50 I didn't feel like trying to get it out. I'll probably think about that sweater anyway, especially next year when I need something to wear to a sweater party! (Unfortunately it's rarely cold enough for sweaters like that ... so maybe I'll get over it when the heat cranks back up outside.)

We're home, I got an amazing night sleep although still tired from the travel and the non-stop work today putting away Christmas stuff. I wasn't the best for my kids -- seeing all the excess Christmas gifts and piles of things lying around didn't help. I didn't purchase anything today, as I was able to make our meager cupboard work for one more day, but I know tomorrow I'll be hitting that grocery store HARD.

Hope your 2019 is bright!

All Good Things

I watched Angels Sing, a Hallmark movie with Willie Nelson as Santa. No one prepared me for its sad themes. It was good, and I liked that the main character is a professor named Walker! And they lived in Austin! Maybe someday. I also really liked the singing, especially "Christmastime is Here." Wonder if there's a soundtrack. (LOL.)

I cooked all day yesterday and a bit today. We had a huge meal, the five of us -- Shawn, Jane, his parents and me. Here was the menu:

• Pineapple cream cheese & pecan cheese ball/dip with crackers
• Pigs in a blanket (li'l smokies wrapped in crescent rolls)
• Honey ham
• Dressing (no turkey, and I made this WAY too dry/used too much cornbread)
• Corn casserole
• Green bean casserole
• Parker house rolls (from scratch -- I think this is the last time for those, even though they are scrumptious)
• Deviled eggs (which FROZE in the top part of the fridge)
• Broccoli, mushroom and onion salad (probably not making again -- it's good, but requires too many herbs so is expensive and is overshadowed by other, traditional comfort foods so we always have too much and have to throw some out)
• Cranberry salad (will never stop making this ... so good)
• Mashed sweet potatoes (I forgot about this and started them too late so we only had them with the leftovers)
• Pumpkin pie

Ever time I cook here I swear it will be the LAST time. I can't find anything, there's not a sharp chef's knife anywhere, and it generally makes me stabby, ragey and upset. But it is nice to have a clean-up crew (my mother-in-law does all the dishes and cleanup).

I also made white velvet cutout cookies for the family get together on Saturday. We'll also take the second pan of dressing, although it's not right in any sense of the word. Boo hoo.

Jane opened more presents than necessary. Her favorite was a set of Daniel Tiger figures, and she's played a lot with them already. Precious.

Merry Christmas!

Pictoral of Recent Travels

My last pre-written post about our trip was published today. I didn't write extra from Danville since November had already begun and I was struggling just to get one post together. Anyway, here are some non-Jane snapshots from our DC/Virginia trip and our weekend trip to New Orleans (actually just two pictures from the zoo). In order:

• The White House (through the bars of the fence)
• The National Press Club Building (memories)
• Bert & Ernie and the Washington Monument, just because
• Washington Monument through the World War II Memorial (note scaffolding)
• Fox on the Mall -- so weird in broad daylight
• Panda at the National Zoo
• Fall leaves at the Zoo
• Metro ceiling
• Walker Drive (we were staying at a hotel just off this road)
• Route 66 light sign in the American History Museum
• Washington Monument Earthquake Repair sign (explanation for scaffolding)
• More fall leaves
• Profound quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
• Fall leaves and Washington Monument
• Carousel on the National Mall
• United Methodist Building: "God's Justice Never Shuts Down" (a stone's throw from the Capitol)
• Three flags at Union Station
• Water tower in Danville (basically all my pics from here are of Jane!)
• Orangutans at Audubon Zoo
• White alligator at Audubon Zoo (taken through glass and quickly before Jane ran off -- not sure why I didn't make a better effort to get his tail in the shot too)

Danville or Bust!

I drafted a few posts from our recent trip and am scheduling them to post when we get home. These will not count for NaBloPoMo, since I use that as a write-every-day exercise.

30 October 2013

I'm so tired that I'm READY to go. I am looking forward to relaxing at Steve and Dale's once we get there. And then we'll prepare for Jane's second birthday party on Saturday! I haven't even begun to fret about that, as I have been swept up in trying to see everything and everyone here in DC (I failed on both counts, but we did pretty well).

As our trip wound down I couldn't sleep as well fretting about how we were going to fit things in, especially as Jane and I got more and more tired. Metro-ing and walking long distances became harder. I used to stay up late thinking about websites, content, strategy, events, publications, etc. Now it's whether we can make it to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial AND the Supreme Court. (We did. I'm still tired.)

It's been a great trip, and we're still a week from going home.

Little Free Library

We went to a couple parks in Danville (lesson learned: listen to the recommendation of someone who actually HAS a young kid. Her recommended park actually had swings).

At both of the parks we hit they had these "Little Free Libraries," which I thought were so clever. Basically they are library books that are probably taken out of circulation. Then you can take what you want and put it back when you're done (or not I guess). I didn't find anything I wanted to read, but I could certainly dump some of my own books after I read them (although I'm not sure if that's allowed).

Looking at the map it seems that there are little free libraries all across the country, including in New Orleans. I didn't notice any while we were out (and we've been to a couple parks here). Oh and there's one in Baton Rouge -- how funny. Maybe I'll check it out sometime.

I'm a big public library fan, and I use my library card at least monthly if not more frequently. In Baton Rouge the library cards expire every three years. I didn't realize this until whoops! My card didn't work to download ebooks anymore. And I was in Greenbelt!

I called to find out the problem, and the woman on the phone said: you have to come in, no two ways about it. So I tweeted my distress (I really wanted my ebooks AND I really didn't want to lose them since you only have a few days to download reserved ebooks before they're put back in the queue). The reference desk tweeted back and was able to give me a temporary extension so I could get my ebooks. Hurray!

The day after we returned was library storytime, so I went to renew my card since we were there anyway. It was kind of a hassle because I'd forgotten something with my address -- and I needed to update the address on the card. I had our car insurance/registration and managed to cobble together something (with my ID that has my old address on it) that worked for the cranky lady at the desk.

In any case I'm good until November 2016, give or take.

Rainbow Party for a Second Birthday

While we were in Danville with Shawn's family we had a party for Jane. It was mostly an excuse for everyone to come over and visit (limiting the number of trips we had to take trying to see everyone on a six-day trip). It ended up being really fun.

I decided on a rainbow theme way back -- I think inspired by a rainbow layer cake that looked wow-worthy. (After my amateur baking fails at Christmas, I thought this could be a chance to redeem myself. Silly Mari.) After remembering my aversion to food dyes for Jane and the lack of proper baking equipment in my mother-in-law's kitchen I scaled back my baking efforts to a pumpkin cake (lower sugar and easy to make in bundt cake pans), but we had rainbow decorations.

 Happy Birthday banner from the dollar store (bought by Grandma)

Second year around the sun photo retrospective -- my 24 favorite Jane photos from Nov 2012 - Oct 2013 (not including our DC trip of course).

Arch of rainbow balloons on the carport wall -- was cuter in my imagination and we should have started with a red row of 14 instead of 12, working down to a row of 4 purple. It looked great from the road though and added to the festivity.

The best way to do it is string the balloons (which we did the day before the party and hung them the morning of). I used size 10 crochet thread (which I can use for actual crocheting later/once Grandma and Popeye come visit and bring our overflow baggage) and a tapestry needle. Then we poked that through the necks of each balloon to get a string of each color. We used regular tape to affix to the siding and they stayed up several days -- at least as long as we were there. I haven't heard if they've fallen down yet, although they were starting to lose air from the temperature fluctuations and just time.

After last year's helium shortage I really wanted to get Jane her own balloon for her second birthday. I bought this "2" from Oriental Trading, not realizing how big it would be (almost as tall as Jane!). In the end though I had it filled with air (that much helium would have probably been pretty pricy). The party store also did some rainbow balloons and squiggles and added a weight at the bottom so that the balloon centerpiece stood up. Jane kept saying "pop it!" So she didn't really get to play with it much.

The cake ended up being very cute and was complimented a lot. It definitely tasted "healthier" -- lower sugar and with 1/3 whole wheat flour.

The icing/glaze was just leftover pumpkin (probably 1/2 cup) mixed with powdered sugar and a bit of milk. So it had a nice pumpkin flavor and color.

The ice cream cone stem was supposed to be green, but we forgot to look for it earlier and ended up just using what we could find at the last minute.

I forgot to put baking soda in the bottom cake, so it didn't taste as good/have as much lift. But we only served the top cake at the party so that was all OK.

We also made fruit salad and pasta salad, both rainbow-style. I had toyed with the idea of making fruit pizza, which could be designed to look like a rainbow. But after tasting the test version Shawn didn't think it would be a good idea for his family. The recipe also took several ingredients my mother-in-law didn't have, and I wasn't up for buying more when it came time to make the decision. The fruit salad replacement was a big hit -- I had thought about doing a fruit tray with the rainbow colors layered out, but in the end I thought the fruit salad would be easier to eat. And it was well received -- with no random bits of fruit left if one color didn't taste as good as the other.

The pasta salad was the only thing that made leftovers. I didn't use a heavy dressing, which would have made it taste better. Instead it was dressed simply with olive oil and lemon juice. There was too much pasta to veggie ratio, and the red onion was overwhelmingly sharp. It looked pretty though. Here's what I used for the rainbow colors (fruit salad and pasta salad):

Red: strawberries and grape tomatoes
Orange: peaches and shredded carrots
Yellow: bananas and cheddar cheese
Green: green apple and green bell pepper (from Grandma's garden!)
Blue: blackberries and nothing (could have done crushed blue corn chips? or maybe found blue colored pasta?)
Purple: purple grapes and red onion

Today is Jane's actual birthday, and she is two years old. We are heading on ANOTHER trip, although this one is short and by car. We're going to have some fun in New Orleans before we come home and start focusing on prepping for the holidays. Grandma and Popeye are coming for Thanksgiving!

Airport Wifi

This is a travel day, so I am happy that RDU provides wifi. Otherwise I would scramble tonight to post. We left around 7 am, and I am not a morning person. 

After our usual goodbye breakfast at IHOP we hit the road. I got a bonus goodbye upset stomach and counted the minutes to the airport bathroom. Ugh. 

Now we are thru security and waiting til boarding. Travel is stressful. Air travel is very stressful. Air travel with a toddler is off the charts stressful. We have SO much stuff!

Coffee Resumed

I've mentioned here or on Twitter or something that I'm re-losing weight that I re-gained when pregnant and after Jane was born. I've been working with a nutritionist at a metabolic clinic and trying to follow a Mediterranean diet (very loosely, but I'm hoping to get better). I have been exercising for a couple months and that always helps. In fact I'm sweating to the oldies right now after doing a Jillian Michaels kickbox workout. Fun times.

Anyway, as part of this effort I have been taking a low estrogen birth control pill to help with my cycles, which are always wacky but had gone off the deep end with the weight gain. They are helping in that respect, but they seemed to have a side effect of kicking in the morning sickness hormone with which I'm so familiar.

Ads on their coffee cups

It isn't as bad of course -- just a mild nausea feeling in the mornings that's gone quickly. But it has dampened my taste for coffee -- horrors! I hadn't had a cup, not even a latte from Starbucks or CC's, in a couple months. I had taken to drinking Earl Grey if I felt like a hot drink in the morning (which I started to as the weather cooled). And of course I was sneaking Diet Dr Pepper most afternoons -- a much harder habit for me to break, and something that's much worse for me than coffee no matter how you look at it.

Anyway, being at my inlaws' house has jump started my taste for coffee again. Their coffee isn't special -- although they have a nice new coffee pot -- it's just the environment that's led me to feel the need for java again. I got a major headache the second day we were here, and I chalked it up to dehydration and exhaustion. It kept up the next day, so in addition to popping ibuprofen I also tried a cuppa.

That's the ticket!

Now I'm back to guzzling a couple cups of high octane stuff (since I'm the one who makes it, getting up with Jane early in the morning -- goodbye daylight savings).

Not sure if I'll keep it up when we're finally back home. (And more posts about our trip to come -- both scheduled and as NaBloPoMo.) I haven't had my coffee pot plugged in for a good while, but I'm sure it will still work if I decide to take up the habit again in earnest.

Rock My Little Baby

Jane has become a pretty good sleeper (knock on wood, cross your fingers, etc.). Traveling throws a few kinks in things, but overall she gets good rest, 11-12 hours per night.

Right now we're sleeping in a room together, and she can hear us come to bed after she's been asleep for hours. It hasn't been a problem. But last night she woke up before we were able to fall asleep, and she cried and cried like she hadn't in a long time with real tears and that ragged "huh-huh-huh" breathing between sobs. Break your heart.

We'd had a huge day with lots of playing and company and NO NAP (although she did rest in her crib for about an hour without sleep it's about the same as staying up and playing all day). She really sleeps better when she is rested, which is a crazy thing about kids' sleep.

Anyway, she snuggled with us in bed for maybe 10 minutes and was fine/calmed down. When I tried to put her back in the crib the crying became hysterical again. So I sat in the rocker and rock-rocked and sang once I got her to calm down and relax in my arms, which wasn't easy and took patience. I hadn't rocked her like that in months.

She relaxed and sighed and even requested a song (Baa, Baa Black Sheep, naturally). Then she sang for me and I put her back in the crib with kisses and hugs. She slept through until this morning and woke up at her usual time, although thanks to the time change it was about 6:30 instead of 7:30.

In the moment I wasn't too tired or anxious or upset. I just held her and rocked her, liking the feel of her body against mine relaxed and breathing deeply. Normally I count the rocks and think after 50 I'll try to put her down. Knowing how numbered our rocking days are becoming I held on and enjoyed it.

Not sure that I'll feel the same if there's a repeat performance tonight!

Christmas Cooking 2012

It's been a hard working Christmas for me in the kitchen. Since the day after we arrived in Virginia I've been making something every day. And nearly every step of the way something has gone wrong.

It started with the cake. I'd seen a recipe in a magazine and didn't think it seemed too hard. But the payoff looked gorgeous -- like it always does in magazines. After making the cake batter to perfection I was thwarted when the cakes rose over the sides of the pans and made the bottom of the oven super messy. Luckily there was foil on the bottom of the oven so cleanup wasn't too difficult. But the cakes were pretty much useless -- too soft in parts and crusty in others.They really seemed like brownies in consistency.

After pondering a while I gave up and decided to bake a regular box cake in two layers and go ahead and make the cream cheese frosting. With the excess frosting I mixed the half of the ruined cakes to make cake balls (kind of gross, and I never bothered to cover them in chocolate candy coating like you're supposed to ... so they ended up in the trash ... maybe it only works with store bought frosting?).

But the box cake turned out OK -- domed but OK. I iced the two layers and then did the decorating -- pressing crushed candy canes around the sides. I also made peppermint red-and-white meringues for the top. While the meringues dried, I left the cake on the counter with the candy canes in place. It was covered in the cake carrier and when we got back the candy canes had melted, leaving the sides of the cake pink and a puddle of goo underneath. YUCK.

Little did I know that cream cheese frosting must be refrigerated. SO that solves the mystery of the melting candy canes (I think?).

We went ahead and ate the cake at a family party and it didn't get an awful reception. It was just sad sitting next to a pristine bundt cake that was on a plate made out of actual peppermint candies. Pinterest much? Oh me.

There have been similar fiascos as the cooking has continued. We never had exactly the right tools -- missing a rubber spatula, no big mixing bowls, it takes more than 30 minutes for water to boil on her stove, etc.

In addition to the cake I also made cream cheese cutout sugar cookies. I've had that recipe from my aunt for 10 years, so they turned out fine -- although it didn't seem like it made enough because I used such a giant cookie cutter (I brought one from home just in case ... and lucky for me because my m-i-l couldn't find her cookie cutters either).

Other desserts included banana pudding pie, pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake. As of this writing we've only eaten pumpkin pie -- and it was only OK. I think a problem is that Shawn's grandma's recipe calls for "milk" and I'm pretty sure she means "evaporated milk" -- which is a game changer. It still set up and tasted right. It just wasn't as dense as it should have been.

The banana custard for the pie was difficult, and I'm not sure I did that right. It said to bring it to a boil after it thickened ... but with the stove not being hot enough it thickened and would not boil. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to keep cooking it until it was a thick unmoving block ... but that's where I was headed so I stopped. I'm not sure if I overcooked or undercooked it. In any case it doesn't look like the picture (let's be honest, none of my recipes do).

For dinner we had

• cranberry salad (my mom's recipe -- easy, tasty and one I've made before ... a rare win for me this season)
• 3-cheese scalloped potatoes (all you magazine ... turned out OK EXCEPT the bottom got too brown because the casserole dish was metal and we didn't use the baking sheet underneath because there was no room)
• mashed sweet potatoes (mainly for Jane -- easy enough I didn't mess it up)
• broccoli and mushroom salad (real simple magazine -- yummo)
• deviled eggs (m-i-l made these ... needed mustard!)
• creamy corn pudding (real simple magazine -- yummo except that it too got a little too brown around the edges ... and it was in a glass casserole so it may just be the oven was too hot or overcrowded? she only has one rack in the oven, which made timing everything super difficult)
• turkey (m-i-l did this too and it got a little dried out ... we didn't have a deep roasting pan so I wasn't able to get many juices/drippings for the ...
• cornbread dressing (Shawn's grandma's recipe ... I got close. Consistency was almost right but it was missing some flavor, probably from the lack of turkey juice)
• store bought yeast rolls (the bottoms got too brown ... there is no timer in her kitchen!)

I am wiped out. Still need to make whipped cream for the pies. 

I don't think I want to be making this meal again in any kitchen but my own. And even then ...

Hope you've had a Merry Christmas.

Christmas Dinner

With my mom's cranberry salad in the bowl
Shawn's grandma Ramona gave me.

Sugar Free pumpkin pie!

I didn't take pictures of the deviled eggs I made (one regular batch and one made with Slap Ya Mama cajun spice mix) or the other hearty treats we enjoyed over the holiday. Glad to be home so I can get back in the gym! I also rode my bike to work today for the first time. Pudge-o-rama...

Juggling Elf

For my Christmas present to Shawn I gave him three light up juggling balls. They are amazing, and I may have to attempt a video in the dark. But they still look pretty cool on first juggle. On the way home he was hassled at the X-ray machine, but they let him through with them after he explained (no demonstration required). I'm EXTRA glad I shipped them to Danville instead of carrying them on the way there -- the surprise would have been spoiled!

White Christmas 2010

Being in Danville this year was our second white Christmas in a row, after last year's blizzard in Oklahoma. Here's what we saw out the back door at the inlaws' house. (Of course I stupidly didn't take pictures of us IN the snow ... I didn't even step outside on Christmas Day!)

Dear Santa

Watching Miracle on 34th Street for the first time, and I have been cooking for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners -- so far just the deviled eggs and cranberry salad. Yum-oh. Tonight we're having ham and tomorrow will be turkey. Just the four of us (thank goodness for Christmas Day NBA basketball games!), and then on Boxing Day we'll go to Shawn's aunt's house for a bigger party with the rest of the extended fam. We had dinner with Shawn's dad's family on Tuesday after we arrived.

Thinking about Santa puts me in a greedy frame of mind. Gimme, gimme, gimme. I just perused my Google bookmarks, and the category labeled "i want." In the past couple years I've been using it I've amassed 100 bookmarks of items I want, and that doesn't count items on my Amazon list. Some of them are dead links now -- like a dress I liked over a year ago that's no longer available. A lot of letterpress stuff, tons of specific Etsy things, travel products, jewelry (especially w/ an m and/or w), a few books and a magnetic photo rope.

That's not what Christmas is about. Hope you find the real meaning of Christmas in your holiday this year.

Oops

I had the camera cable with me the entire time! I'd been so smart in stashing it with my iPod. But I didn't get my iPod out at all during the trip. A lot of things are like that but we know everything is with us somewhere, even if we haven't uncovered it yet!

While my videos get uploaded and organized and everything else, here are some photos of my first motorcycle ride. Geez Louise, Shawn could have told me to pull my shirt down so I didn't look so rubbery around the middle. BUT this will have to do, because if I cropped you'd lose the effect of the motorcycle!

Nerves of Steel

Pre Ride

Post Ride

Patience, My Dear

I would post some video and photos BUT the USB cable is packed somewhere in the back of the truck ... so words or nothing for now. Although maybe I could get some of Dale's photos on here before then. We'll see if I put forth the effort. We also have looked through some childhood photos of Shawn and she is going to scan a handful for me. He was and is the cutest!

Waiting, waiting, waiting. One of my least favorite things to do. Waiting on a phone call and everything's going to be OK ... once I get the call, I can button up everything and be fully employed once again.

I am a nervous wreck, of course, and probably will remain so until I'm firmly settled into the new position. I do not plan to write about it publicly, but I will update my LinkedIn account and send an email to my "so called life" list with details and my updated address. If you'd like to be added to the list and/or be my pen pal let me know.

Alexandria

Highlights from a quick trip, Thursday morning to Saturday afternoon ... writing this from the hotel room. The room includes a computer, which is pretty funny. I also have a laptop with me, but I'm a better typist on a keyboard AND already have my computer packed up.

The BEST was getting to meet my friend's little boys. 10 month old twins who are the most fun ever. I really had a good time playing with them and catching up with her. Motherhood certainly agrees with her. I couldn't be happier for her. Got a twinge of baby fever, but we're working on it!

Drink after work with some people, and it was so cheap I almost fell off my stool -- happy hour was really happy, and if I'd realized drinks were half price I might have had more than one. Although all things considered, one and done is better for me!

A coworker asked me if I'd miss anything about NYC, and I said yes, I have a list. I do, but for whatever reason couldn't think of the best things. There are the obvious -- city living, walking to most everything (which I also hate sometimes), access to museums and plays, and grocery delivery. But there's also the cachet that I'll miss -- the story/idea that I moved, gradually, from a tiny town of a few hundred to a city of 8 million plus tourists! I also know Baton Rouge will hold its own story. I can't wait to live it!

For now, I'm living up my New York life. But I can't resist the chance to do one of my fave DC things while it's within my reach. The Museum of American History reopened and assuming I can get in gear and store my bag at Union Station I'll take a final tour. I hope the Puffy Shirt is still there. I'll report back after the fact!

Happiness in Danville

I love this picture so much -- taken Thanksgiving Day/my birthday at the Elk's Lodge in Danville. I have pictures and a video to post from Miami so far (we changed hotel rooms though for a quieter sleep, so I need to do a second video I guess).

Church yesterday was amazing. We went to the First United Methodist Church of Miami -- just one block from our hotel. Instead of a sermon the children did a drama with the pastor -- about John the Baptist and preparing the way. And there was a solo of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" that sent chills down my spine (Holy Spirit at work, methinks). Even Shawn commented on how welcoming the congregation was, and truly they were very nice to us.

We got rained on a bit but did manage to get in the ocean (in DECEMBER!), have some trail mix stolen by sea gulls (a problem with a group of 2 is that there's no one left to watch the stuff when getting in the water) and took a drive to see a light house (pics to come).

For now, instead of wasting daylight blogging (among my favorite activities but can truly do it from anywhere), I'm going to get out there and shop ... Pray for me!

***EDIT*** Photo by Dale!

The End is the Beginning

Wrapping up 30 days of posting. Most of it pure drivel, but exercising the posting muscle isn't the worst thing I've ever done.

Travel back from Danville was pretty uneventful, and back to a rainy, grey New York November afternoon, the perfect punctuation to this month.

After the gym, I've done a bit of work (oiy ... taking off one day for travel left me with a pile of trouble ... imagine what next week is going to be like) and am now pondering dinner I guess.

Shawn went to work, so I was home for a while by myself. The first time in five days or so when I was all alone. The sadness was crushing. Wow. I'll be glad when he's home, and I know I can remember how to be alone (and that I mostly like it). I'm already feeling better, but I am glad Shawn will be home soon.

On the plane I read "I Feel Bad About My Neck" by Nora Ephron, after I bought it in the RDU airport's second hand bookstore (what a great idea!). The book itself was meh ... essays about getting older as a woman and some typical Manhattan-ite preening. What came through most for me was despair, especially in the last essay. I am tempted to write her a letter (one of the best essays was about her "rapture" reading books and composing unsent letters to authors of books she loves) to tell her the Good News.

I want the Advent devotional to sink in for me. So far I'm really enjoying it, and perhaps part of why I bought the book was the perfect script font on the cover. Very similar to what I used in our wedding materials (1.5 year anniversary today).

Not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow and if I'll post. I thought about the idea of a picture per day, but my camera is a drag and requires a cord to transfer so that probably won't work. I guess I'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Advent Day One

I read my first day of Advent book and already learned something new. Advent is the season in the Church for four weeks leading to Christmas. The celebration continues to Epiphany on December 6, but it does make sense for Advent (or coming) to end when He comes on Christmas. What a joyful time!

Shawn, Dale and I went to church with Robbie and Tabatha, and then went to eat at Golden Corral. So feeling good on all counts. Tomorrow is Robbie's birthday, so this may have been his birthday lunch. Fun times, either way. We always have fun when we're around them. And good, abundant food choices don't hurt either!

Dollar Tree shopping and JC Penney's ... I think I've hit up all the stores in Danville at least once this trip. I bought some writing paper at the Dollar Tree and nothing at Penney's, although there was a DARLING pair of shoes they had in my size they just didn't feel right. I'm out of room in the suitcase anyway, so moving on.

Now we're washing clothes and will be packing up for the flight to NYC tomorrow. Looking forward to the New York Times and some solid elliptical time (and/or basketball with Shawn).