ATCs & food as art

The November CMP ATC theme "gather". It came out pretty cool & mostly how I envisioned it. I would have liked a bit of chicken coop wire, but didn't make a trip to Home Depot for it.

The December CMP ATC theme "gift". I had an idea to use an angel & couldn't find any line art online. I used a picture and quote from a calendar my mom gave me a few years ago.

We had bagels one morning. And lox (must have lox). Fi made a lox cowboy hat for her penguin plate. Mad did onion "angry" eyebrows for hers. Lib usually does architectural stuff with her food but I think she had already cleaned her plate (as did Maddie, hence the use of crumbs)

a Christmas meme

borrowed from Renee:

Here are the questions (feel free to substitute the winter holiday of your choice & to add questions):

1. What was the best Christmas present you got as a kid?
the most memorable gifts I received as a kid were: a Barbie townhome when I was in 3rd grade or so. a Steiff Meckie in 6th grade, to go with my collection from our trip to Germany. I also remember a pair of cowboy boots in Jr. High.

2. What was the best Christmas present you got as an adult?
Probably my iPod nano last year. Or some jewelry when I lived in PGH. The xmas gift I really wanted & really liked but didn't fit was leather pants. Damn. They just weren't made for short people.

3. What’s your favorite Christmas carol?
I like any of the traditional church carols. I also groove on the Chipmunks song "Christmas Don't Be Late". The Eartha Kitt version of "Santa Baby".

4. How long can you stand to listen to Christmas music before you break?
As long as it's not at work for 8 hours straight, I would listen to it until New Years.

5. How many Christmas albums do you own?
a generic compilation of traditional tunes; one homemade compilation of contemporary tunes; a Chipmunks Christmas cd. Three. I used to own more. But they were on cassette. My parent's 33 collection was awesome. I could listen to them for hours when I was little. Makes for good singing practice.

6. Did you ever go caroling as a kid?
This is one of the most memorable & enjoyable childhood activities. I would LOVE to find a group to go around with here. No one does this anymore, I think. my poor kids will never know the joy of singing carols & hot chocolate after.

7. Would you willingly eat fruitcake?
I tried it as a child. It wasn't horrible. That candied fruit stuff...I can almost taste it....

8. Do you own any Christmas sweaters?
Not a one. I used to have some Christmas themed socks.

9. Do you own any Christmas jewelry?
I used to

10. Do you wear them?
No

11. Did your family have any Christmas traditions? Like what?
My mom bakes a gazillion stollen. She gives most of them away. She also bakes these hazelnut macaroons for my dad (he says that's the reason he married her). They're made on wafers -similar to church wafers.

We have roasted chestnuts. Fresh baked bread and as soon as it's out of the oven eat it with REAL homemade hot chocolate (not out of a package).

When we were little, my dad used to work long hours (he had his own business starting, two of them in fact.) He got to sleep in on xmas (the only day) so of course he didn't want to wake up at the crack to open gifts. We started opening gifts on Christmas Eve. BUT first we had to go to bed (when we were little, we actually did fall asleep). My parents would prepare the gifts under the tree. Then my dad would walk around the house ringing this bell (it used to be this little brass bell with a wood handle, I remember it's sound) (over the years, the little cowbell from Switzerland took it's place). My dad did the "ho ho ho" thing the whole while. Then he would slam the door. Then my mom would come upstairs to wake us kids for presents. It was exciting & fun. And we would still do it, if we were there for Christmas. I miss doing that. I miss doing all of these things.

12. Do you buy Christmas presents for your pets?
Yes, a treat and a toy. The cat used to get a lot more. Now that we have a dog (& four kids), she doesn't get as much. Then again, she doesn't really play with toys anymore.

13. What’s your favorite Christmas cookie?
Do I have to name just one? peppermint candy cane cookies, hazelnut macaroons, spritzle, iced sugar cookies, egg nog cookies, rum balls...I could go on

14. What’s your favorite Christmas candy?
I really like cinnamon hard tack, but I haven't made it in years. I also dig little german chocolate ladybugs.

15. What’s your stocking look like?
it has a penguin on it, but Feefer wanted it this year. So I had hers, which is purple velvet.

16. How do you feel about the “Steal from Your Neighbor” Christmas present game (the one where people pick gifts from a pile, but others get to steal it)?
I have never heard of doing this at Christmas.

17. What is the oldest ornament on your tree?
Probably this little ceramic bear shaped bell from Snick's first xmas.

18. Real or artificial?
Artificial. We got it when we went to RI until the 23rd December a couple years ago & didn't want to spend the $$ on a real tree for a week's worth of xmas. We keep using it because, well, because it's here & it doesn't cost $100 like a real tree would. I miss the fresh scent of pine, though.

19. How do you feel about Christmas letters?
I did one once. It was time consuming b/c our computer doesn't have the proper software. I would do it again if I had the proper software.

20. Do you have Christmas decorations or lights outside your house? What are they?
Not this year. Not last year. Maybe next year. I want one of those big plasic nativity scenes for out front of the house. Maybe next year. Hmmmm, wonder where I could buy one????

21. How far would you drive to see Christmas lights?
Across town. My very favorite light display was 12 years ago driving up 76 heading back to PA on New Years Eve. It was in the middle of some cattle field along the side of the road. "Merry Christmas. Eat Beef". Or maybe it just said "merry christmas" but all the black angus milling around it made for an excellent picture. I wanted to use it for a postcard the next year, but the flash made all the cattle eyes shiny.

22. Are you a fan of tasteful or tacky?
I like a little of both

23. Do you have any Christmas collections?
No. Madster has a nice growing collection of nutcrackers, though.

24. What is your favorite tree ornament?
I used to really like my little keg. And my disco ball.

three miscellaneous pics

my ATC for the CMP October exchange. The theme was "once upon a time"? I think. I don't remember! I used a paint chip card from Home Depot. And Permapaque pens. Neat effect, no?


The girls were excited to visit the big elf this year...until they actually had their turn at his knee. LaLa kept waving from a distance while waiting in line.

oooooh, there he is! Just a little sketchy.

Doesn't Madness look absolutely thrilled to be there? (my camera's flash didn't perform as expected, hence the dark & grainy photo) after an hour's wait, couldn't we even get a little smile? Not from anyone?

xmas cheer

and very few photos...BOTH of my cameras' batteries died. And we were out of AAs. ACK! Bad mom. (hey! they worked the day before!) However, G's dad was taking some snaps & some vids, so I may be able to get a few to post from him.

Overall, it was pretty darn exciting. Snick was spending the night xmas eve & was able to wake up for presents & stay for (early) dinner before heading back up to Boulder for work. (Darn that movie industry for releasing flicks on holidays when EVERYONE should be hanging with family & not out & about at a movie theatre).

The biggest thrills were:

Madness (new nickname) got an American Girl doll. After which she was quite content to unwrap the rest of her gifts with one hand, as the doll didn't leave her right arm. In fact, the doll -Lisa- hasn't left her side yet.

Feefer got a new bike. She so badly wanted to ride it outside -but we had snow that day (12% chance of snow on xmas, according to G's dad! Excellent!) She tried to ride it around the t.v. room, but could only go about 6 feet; turning was impossible. She asked if I would take it upstairs so she could ride it around the house, but that didn't seem like a good idea -fun, but could be dangerous. Too bad it snowed; it was 57 the day before, which would have been superb had xmas been on the 24th.

LaLa (new nickname; more on that later) got a Smart Cycle -a Fisher Price contraption that looks like a plastic child size exercise bike hooked up to the t.v. with educational (?) video games powered by the child's pedaling. It's now upstairs hooked up to the girls' t.v. & she pedals it even when it's not on. HOWEVER, the biggest squeal from her came when she opened the Freddie Fish computer game. Apparently, Santa could have left a bunch of computer games -instead of the "big" gift- for the tech-y geek girl & she would have been happy.

Snick got an iPod nano. I always feel bad because she get's so few gifts compared to the other girls; but her few are just as or more expensive. AND she gets a second xmas at her dad's house! (Who says divorced kids are worse off? I've always thought that she has a far better lifestyle -but for the inconvenience- than if her dad & I had stayed together.)

Another big hit was the globe. Feefer can't read yet & doesn't really understand the concept, but she is enthralled with it. They also like the "trampette" (mini trampoline, but "trampette" -word they've gleaned from "You Are What You Eat" BBC t.v. program- sounds so much more...cool? British? unique?)

Okay, so the BEST family gift was...the Wii!!! Santa was able to score one in the last couple days before xmas. Whew! It was down to the wire really. It's a blast & quite a work out for sedentary kids (and adults). Maddie & I both had sore muscles when we woke up yesterday (sad, but true). Everyone has created their own Mii. Now you see where "LaLa" and "Madness" originated. Madster also created Mii's for V, Lindz, Trev, Ro, and Snick. So we have our whole "local" family onboard. We've only tried tennis, bowling, boxing and baseball. Even the little girls love to play. It's great for virtual activity but the actual activity would be better (duh). I want to take the girls bowling. The Wii just doesn't compare to throwing an 8 lb. ball down the lane.

my guilty pleasures on t.v.

or: what I watch while I knit (when I'm not watching mansoaps with Garrett)

smart & humorous

humor as only the brits could do

cool gadgets

humorously informative

easy 15 mins when you skip commercials via DVR

british humor with a little sci-fi thrown in

oh the drama

Thanksgiving 2007, posted a few weeks late

Lib, Fi & I went to school to have the special Thanksgiving lunch with Mad.


The food is pretty much the same as 25 years ago. The turkey was more "real": it wasn't processed slices -a slight improvement.
The styrofoam bums me out. 400+ of those babies in the trash every day -in one school.
even the milk is the same.


these cute centerpieces were sold with proceeds going towards a children's hospital library (or something like that). Note the silk tablecloths. Fancy schmancy.


here is our thanksgiving turkey breast. I opted for less meat since we wasted a lot last christmas. I saw this particular recipe prepared on Martha Stewart. It's Emeril's. It looked so tasty & fairly easy; I had to try it.

with the leftovers I made a turkey pot pie. Prepared in this lovely quiche pan I received as a birthday gift from G's parents. Squeeeee! Isn't it pretty? The pan and the pie!!!
scrummy! Fiona had 3 servings

did you notice the short hair?

One Saturday morning in early November I was leaving for work when Maddie begged me to help her brush her hair. It looked like only the very top layer had been brushed...in the last 3 days. There was a huge knot on the underside. Did I say huge? I meant huge, in that it involved probably every strand but for a handful. I didn't have time -it would have taken a good 30 minutes. She had been wanting to grow her hair a little longer so that she could cut it to donate to Locks of Love and still have it be shoulder length. I implored Garrett to PLEASE take her that very day, regardless of the end length. OMG. The difference is remarkable! And so very cute! Posh Spice inspired. Mad has the perfect hair for this style -thick & wavy. I had to weigh it just so see. There was a "mere" 3.5 ounces of hair braided & cut off for donation. A very pretty do it will be for some little girl. And there have been only a couple bad hair "moments". You know, even as a 3 year old Maddie had bad hair days. Now it's limited to occasional unruly bedhead & some flyaways. Nothing a little water & hairspray can't fix. Easy peasy to wash, dry, style. WE LOVE IT!

before
during
This was yesterday waiting for light rail to go downtown to DCPA. It's been about a month & she's ready for a trim.

now you can see for yourself...

why the girls don't "need" any more toys for xmas. There is no denying that they have plenty & then some. I think this is the most dreaded chore in our house. It even trumps folding laundry. gawd. I can't believe I'm actually posting this in public.

St Nicholas Day morning 2007!

must be good kids who live here...not a switch in sight

sleepy inspections of goodies


she looks happy...but "I only like girl songs. not boy songs. not boy & girl songs. only girl songs". Got that???




ze jonas bruvers
the girl's gotta dance...always!

mom! mom! mom!

Look at all of mine pockets!!!

Look! I have pockets for hands here...


and more pockets for hands here...



this pocket is for...
chicken food (????? where did that come from???)


and this little pocket is for...
pennies

how's that for scoring beaucoup points?

Garrett bought 2 tix for Maddie & me to see The Nutcracker. Nikki heard us talking about it a couple weeks ago & complained that she had never been but would like to do. Last week the ballet gave a courtesy call to Garrett to inform him that we should plan to arrive an hour & a 1/2 early. Garrett enquired whether there might be another seat available anywhere near the already purchased two. Why yes! there was ONE seat...right next to ours!!!! He quickly called Nikki to ask if she was free that day. She called back after finding her work schedule to be off that day (she had requested the whole weekend for finals study). And lo! yesterday we three girls attended our very first Nutcracker ballet!!!! It was fabulous! The sets, the costumes, the feats of physical exhibition, the unexpected humor. Maddie's favorite bit was Mother Ginger & the polichinelles. I was blown away by how fit the dancers were -not one ounce of fat, just pure muscle. Maybe I should take up ballet for exercise?

The only disappointing part of our day was the chatty Cathy sitting behind me. She was talking for most of the second act. I wouldn't have minded if it were strictly discussion of what was happening onstage, but do I (and everyone around you) really care that you had to get a new dishwasher this morning? Maybe the $100 seats were comp'd to you; maybe this is old hat & it's your umpteenth time seeing this show; maybe you have $100 to blow on your ticket & each of the seats with yours. Not so for me. I almost turned around to say something but really I didn't want to sacrifice any of the action happening onstage to tell you something that should have been common knowledge (shut the fcuk up in a theatre), courtesy, & just plain good manners. I kind of felt sorry for her. Either she's the kind of person that you can dress up but can't take out (in which case I felt bad for her friend). Or she's the kind of person who, growing up, had to be the center of attention (in which case I felt bad for her parents). It wasn't so bad that I couldn't hear the production, but then she also involved the small child & teenager as well as the other woman with whom she was previously chatting. Annoying. The dude sitting beside Maddie was talking a bit when the 2nd act started but he caught my look & quickly quieted himself. Not so the woman who was the chatting partner to the woman seated behind me. Eye contact did not compel her to tell her friend to shut it. Some people's kids....

Back to the beaucoup points...and straightening the playroom -several times in the past 2 weeks. And occasionally washing my coffee mug. And buying MOST of the grocery list items. Actually pouring my coffee too, on occasion, and making me tea one night. We might be working our way out of a deficit here...crap. What will I have to be angry about then???? More on that later....

MPB children's choir

Here's big sister in early Nov/late Oct when we were leaving for her 1st performance of the year. This is Mad's 3rd year in choir. She's really enjoying it this year. AND she has a small solo in the Christmas Eve Mass. She didn't tell me when I picked her up on Monday after practice that the director had chosen her. I found out the next day from my friend Deonne, whose daughter is also in the choir. When I asked Maddie about it after school, she broke out in a big grin & a "oh yeah" response -like it's no big deal. Like she wasn't lamenting the fact that she wasn't chosen for a solo in the last performance. Like she couldn't care less. This from the girl who knows all the songs & rarely needs to read the words but instead follows the conductor's directions.

So, be there or be square! 5pm mass 24 December, MPB church

"duh", she says

mom:"Lib, what are you making?"

Lib:"indoor snow for Santa. Duh." (and yes, she wagged her head at me when she said it)

it's a girl thing

Another Lib story. She is patiently impatiently waiting for her hair to grow. I took her to get her hair trimmed a few weeks ago, b/c it was looking a little scraggly. The beautician (cosmetologist? stylist?) snipped just the very very tips & then cleaned up Lib's bangs so she could see clearly again. When she looked into the mirror (stylist & I thought Lib looked great...the other women in the salon thought she was the cutest), Lib burst into tears. Big, loud tears. I asked what was wrong & she said she wanted more cut off. So the stylist commenced to making the bangs shorter. Not a big deal: I've always been a fan of short bangs on girls. Then Lib was crying even louder. I assured the stylist that Lib looked great & really it wasn't the cut that she was crying about (the stylist was really young -like Snick's age- and was genuinely concerned about what was wrong, what did she do, how could she fix it). As we walked out of the salon, Lib told me between sniffles, "my hair doesn't look like FiFi's." I tried to explain that probably never in her life will her hair ever look like Fi's; Fi has very fine hair & Lib's is thick (& very cowlicky). I got the distinct feeling, though, that what Lib meant was that her hair wasn't somehow magically transformed into a longer style -like Fi's- when it was cut. Oh, if only it were that easy.

Yesterday, I witnessed her new method of measuring the length of her hair -stretching the side strands (just barely) into her mouth: "my hair is getting so long now, isn't it mommy, because I can do this."

Thanksgiving Day humor

So turkey day, we were all in the t.v. room watching the Macy's parade. The girls were growing increasingly impatient because the commentators were talking so much & the cameras only showed celebrities instead of balloons (booooooring). Finally came the float with the boy band "The Jonas Brothers". Here is a band that is played almost to monotony (running neck & neck with Hannah Montana) on Radio Disney XM. Yet the girls enjoy every listen. "It's the Jonas Brothers!!" they squeal every time. This particular morning they finally had the opportunity to see what the band actually looks like & watch them perform "SOS", the girls' favorite song (next to Ali & AJs "Potential Break-up Song"). Lib jumps up when she sees them & moves to stand about 2 feet away from the (big screen, mind you) t.v. She had the biggest smile & the sparkliest eyes I've seen in a long time while she watched (like my little sister at the same age when she used to watch old Elvis concerts). Suddenly she starts to back away from the t.v. -like she's just seen a rabid dog & has to inch away to safety- until she's about 5 feet away. She has a horrified look on her face, HORRIFIED. Quietly and in a shocked tone (as if she had just discovered "They've killed the easter bunny") she says, "The Jonas Brothers is boys".