One of my favorite conversations from Christmas while unwrapping presents...
Hal: (inspecting each wrapped gift before giving it to me) I put codes on all your presents so I would know what they are.
Jenn: (smiling) Of course you did.
Hal: But now I can't remember what the codes mean.
Jenn: Of course you can't.
None of it mattered once I opened one of the best gifts ever - a label maker!! To say I was excited is an understatement. How Hal knew that I wanted this especially when I hadn't asked for it is purely and wonderfully fortuitous. And later my mom gave me a cutting board with a built-in colander. Christmas couldn't have been better!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Almost Christmas
We have presents under our tree.
We have lots of food and goodies to look forward to.
We have a cozy home to nestle in.
We are celebrating with loved ones.
We have each other.
I am extremely grateful this Christmas since many are not as fortunate.
Here’s to filling the holidays with laughter!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The first step is admitting you have no time
So I have to admit that in hindsight I was perhaps too ambitious to think I could make holiday cake pops for Christmas, especially since it's only four days away and I have nothing, no ingredients,no lollipop sticks and no room in the freezer. The more and more I look at my recipe options for these cute confections on a stick, I find that even the short cuts seem like a long road to sugar heaven.
Thus, I've been exploring alternatives and think it's more likely I'll end up making these:
Thus, I've been exploring alternatives and think it's more likely I'll end up making these:
Pignoli Cookies
Extremely delicious, equally sugary,
almost as delightful to look at
But, to be truly honest (to myself, mainly) I may end up contributing these for dessert:
Clementines
Extremely delicious, not always equally sugary, somewhat delightful to look at
It's the thought that counts, right....
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Daily plea
Every day for the past few days we've had this conversation...
Jenn: (so, so hopeful) Can I open a gift?
Hal: No!
Jenn: (defeated) Well, it doesn't hurt to ask.
Jenn: (so, so hopeful) Can I open a gift?
Hal: No!
Jenn: (defeated) Well, it doesn't hurt to ask.
Who wouldn't be tempted if you saw this under your tree?
Cat nap
I give him free reign over the entire bed, but Rascal manages to fit his entire body onto my long johns.
Now that's kitty love.
And yes, I do own long johns.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Indulging and it feels so good
The holidays have become a time of indulgence and if your bank account won’t allow for it, certainly your stomach will. The voracious appetite I acquire for all things sweet, buttery and outrageously bad for you is insatiable during this time of year. Pignoli cookies? Yes, please. Butterscotch toffee covered cashews? As many as I can stuff in my mouth at once, thank you. Fresh linguini with truffle cream sauce? It haunts my dreams.
As a cruel twist of fate (not so much fate as daylight savings), since it gets darker earlier my body becomes tired earlier making it much harder to work out. Lately, I just stare at the elliptical with a loathsome glare as if it’s the machine’s fault I need to work off the 9,000 calories I ate during the day. Even the Bowflex stands there like an enemy challenging me to take it on. In the end, I usually call defeat and go sit on the couch. I keep reminding myself that in less than a year I have to fit into a beautiful wedding gown that I love, and can currently breathe in without a problem. Then the Food Network’s umpteenth holiday special comes on and I’m reaching for the green and red Hershey Kisses, and trying to figure out just how difficult a Yule log would be to make.
So I’ve decided my one holiday treat goal is to try making cake pops. If you haven’t seen them, they’re balls of cake on a stick, usually covered in chocolate and other fun sugary accoutrements. This blogger, Bakerella, does cake pops like it’s her job and they come out adorable. I’m not so ambitious so I’ll be starting off simple. Wish me luck! I just hope my kitchen doesn’t end up looking like a bomb of devil’s food cake went off with shrapnel of sprinkles flying everywhere.
As a cruel twist of fate (not so much fate as daylight savings), since it gets darker earlier my body becomes tired earlier making it much harder to work out. Lately, I just stare at the elliptical with a loathsome glare as if it’s the machine’s fault I need to work off the 9,000 calories I ate during the day. Even the Bowflex stands there like an enemy challenging me to take it on. In the end, I usually call defeat and go sit on the couch. I keep reminding myself that in less than a year I have to fit into a beautiful wedding gown that I love, and can currently breathe in without a problem. Then the Food Network’s umpteenth holiday special comes on and I’m reaching for the green and red Hershey Kisses, and trying to figure out just how difficult a Yule log would be to make.
So I’ve decided my one holiday treat goal is to try making cake pops. If you haven’t seen them, they’re balls of cake on a stick, usually covered in chocolate and other fun sugary accoutrements. This blogger, Bakerella, does cake pops like it’s her job and they come out adorable. I’m not so ambitious so I’ll be starting off simple. Wish me luck! I just hope my kitchen doesn’t end up looking like a bomb of devil’s food cake went off with shrapnel of sprinkles flying everywhere.
Bakerella's Tree Cake Pops
What I'm hoping to achieve...
I guess if there’s any time to treat yourself to the delectable things in life it’s the holidays. And maybe birthdays. And other special occasions, like anniversaries. Why not, right? We only live once and before I know it, I’ll be singing this same tune next December 2010.
Monday, December 14, 2009
A Priceless Holiday Follow Up
62 – the degrees at which our house was during dinner. Yes, our guests were freezing unbeknownst to me. Thank goodness for dessert by the fire.
3 – glasses of wine with dinner, which is probably why I didn’t realize how cold it was in our house.
10 – lbs of roasted vegetables. We have at least 6lbs left over. I think I overestimated our guests’ appetites.
2 – chatty parents, mine. My dad’s line of the night was “To make a long story short…” followed by a long story of course. My mother was characteristically jolly throughout the evening and conversed up a storm making my parents an unstoppable team of talk. But we were entertained nevertheless.
1 – silent dad, Hal’s. His lack of oratory participation made us wonder if he was tired, bored or if all the cashews he ate were not mixing well with his diverticulitis.
71 – attentive nods from Isadora as she listened to all the conversations buzzing around her. When she did volunteer commentary, her tone was as always chronically reassuring, which I’m convinced has been developed from years of psychotherapy.
4.5 – hours of bonding, mainly between Hal and me, as we made it through another family gathering together with much laughter and few mishaps.
3 – glasses of wine with dinner, which is probably why I didn’t realize how cold it was in our house.
10 – lbs of roasted vegetables. We have at least 6lbs left over. I think I overestimated our guests’ appetites.
2 – chatty parents, mine. My dad’s line of the night was “To make a long story short…” followed by a long story of course. My mother was characteristically jolly throughout the evening and conversed up a storm making my parents an unstoppable team of talk. But we were entertained nevertheless.
1 – silent dad, Hal’s. His lack of oratory participation made us wonder if he was tired, bored or if all the cashews he ate were not mixing well with his diverticulitis.
71 – attentive nods from Isadora as she listened to all the conversations buzzing around her. When she did volunteer commentary, her tone was as always chronically reassuring, which I’m convinced has been developed from years of psychotherapy.
4.5 – hours of bonding, mainly between Hal and me, as we made it through another family gathering together with much laughter and few mishaps.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Priceless Holiday
6 of us cramped around a small table : requires cozy dining in the kitchen
4 dietary conditions to take into account - lactose intolerance, wheat allergy, diverticulitis, and no shellfish : a challenging menu that may not be edible
2 days (less actually) to clean house, food shop, cook, put up last minute decorations and get merry : team work will be required, especially to achieve “get merry”
1 evening with family, around the fire and surrounded by holiday cheer : irreplaceable and worth all the effort.
4 dietary conditions to take into account - lactose intolerance, wheat allergy, diverticulitis, and no shellfish : a challenging menu that may not be edible
2 days (less actually) to clean house, food shop, cook, put up last minute decorations and get merry : team work will be required, especially to achieve “get merry”
1 evening with family, around the fire and surrounded by holiday cheer : irreplaceable and worth all the effort.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Married (Happily) with Issues...And?
Every once in a while, I read something that hits a hot button (in a thought-provoking way, not aggressive provocation) and I find myself frantically typing all the thoughts and observations I have on my relationship with Hal as if this is the first treatise ever to be written on the subject. That’s hardly the case.
There is so much one could say about relationships, and there is so much that has been said about them. Maybe too much. Perhaps we’re overloaded with conceptual ideas of how relationships should be that we begin to seek out remedies for issues that don’t exist. We have ‘experts’ giving us steps for creating the “perfect” syncopation between partners. But they don’t know you or me or us. And, maybe people are not so different from each other, but the individual experience over the course of lifetime cannot be summed up in a text book or guided through a set of rules.
A recent article in the NY Times, Married (Happily) with Issues, as shared with me by a good friend is interesting to say the least, and I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it. It’s a snapshot of a couple attempting to fix their marriage, or as they put it, make it better. What began as a marriage renovation evolved into a marriage revelation, as questions about automony, monogamy and commitment abounded. Initially, everything that is ‘broken’ about this marriage is seemingly implicit, tucked under rugs or projected through passive-aggressive behavior, until they voluntarily break the dam, and elicit the help of marriage self-help books, therapists and relationship seminars. They run the gauntlet of relationship counseling, and it’s exhausting even for the reader to witness. Sure, there are candid observations, raw insights shared and thought provoking anecdotes, but it really needs to be read through the looking glass, as an outsider peering into the life of this couple that is in the fishbowl. Otherwise, you begin to wonder if their's is the inevitable condition of the 21st century marriage. That when you peel away the layers of a relationship, you discover there's no such thing as a good marriage.
It’s a lengthy piece that you can relate to, object to or just stop reading if your eyes get tired. It seems honest and chockfull of revelations, that I’m sure a book deal helped secure to some extent (I’m so jaded at times). But it’s ultimately fodder for thought, and I guess someone else’s journey through misery is always fascinating on some level. As my friend said, it would be interesting to read this again years later to see if personal perception has altered at all. However, if you’re in a happy relationship right now (whatever that means to you without judgment), this article should encourage you to relish in it for the moment rather than scrutinize it.
One of the things I did find fascinating in this article was the verbiage used in all these relationship books and studies. They sound like such hyperbole and make the subject very melodramatic.
“Marital ghetto”. “Intimate Terrorism”. “Vindication of love”.
They make love and relationships sound scary and dangerous. It all seems like a mind game at times constructed by the psychotherapy community. We’re telling you love is scary and dangerous so you need to talk to us to get over how scary and dangerous it is. Now I’m just babbling unconstructively.
Anyway, read the article here. I recommend curling up somewhere comfortable with a large cup of coffee or your choice of liquid energy.
There is so much one could say about relationships, and there is so much that has been said about them. Maybe too much. Perhaps we’re overloaded with conceptual ideas of how relationships should be that we begin to seek out remedies for issues that don’t exist. We have ‘experts’ giving us steps for creating the “perfect” syncopation between partners. But they don’t know you or me or us. And, maybe people are not so different from each other, but the individual experience over the course of lifetime cannot be summed up in a text book or guided through a set of rules.
A recent article in the NY Times, Married (Happily) with Issues, as shared with me by a good friend is interesting to say the least, and I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it. It’s a snapshot of a couple attempting to fix their marriage, or as they put it, make it better. What began as a marriage renovation evolved into a marriage revelation, as questions about automony, monogamy and commitment abounded. Initially, everything that is ‘broken’ about this marriage is seemingly implicit, tucked under rugs or projected through passive-aggressive behavior, until they voluntarily break the dam, and elicit the help of marriage self-help books, therapists and relationship seminars. They run the gauntlet of relationship counseling, and it’s exhausting even for the reader to witness. Sure, there are candid observations, raw insights shared and thought provoking anecdotes, but it really needs to be read through the looking glass, as an outsider peering into the life of this couple that is in the fishbowl. Otherwise, you begin to wonder if their's is the inevitable condition of the 21st century marriage. That when you peel away the layers of a relationship, you discover there's no such thing as a good marriage.
It’s a lengthy piece that you can relate to, object to or just stop reading if your eyes get tired. It seems honest and chockfull of revelations, that I’m sure a book deal helped secure to some extent (I’m so jaded at times). But it’s ultimately fodder for thought, and I guess someone else’s journey through misery is always fascinating on some level. As my friend said, it would be interesting to read this again years later to see if personal perception has altered at all. However, if you’re in a happy relationship right now (whatever that means to you without judgment), this article should encourage you to relish in it for the moment rather than scrutinize it.
One of the things I did find fascinating in this article was the verbiage used in all these relationship books and studies. They sound like such hyperbole and make the subject very melodramatic.
“Marital ghetto”. “Intimate Terrorism”. “Vindication of love”.
They make love and relationships sound scary and dangerous. It all seems like a mind game at times constructed by the psychotherapy community. We’re telling you love is scary and dangerous so you need to talk to us to get over how scary and dangerous it is. Now I’m just babbling unconstructively.
Anyway, read the article here. I recommend curling up somewhere comfortable with a large cup of coffee or your choice of liquid energy.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Twas 18 Days Before Christmas...
The stockings are hung.
with some of our favorite decorations
and now it looks festive!
Rascal attempted to help
but ended up creating an artistic shot of our tree.
Happy Holidays!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
O Christmas Tree
Presenting our naked tree!
It's our third Christmas tree together and I think we got a good one this year.
Hopefully we'll get it dressed with holiday cheer this weekend.
In the meantime, we've been enjoying our new pine and its piney smell.
Hopefully we'll get it dressed with holiday cheer this weekend.
In the meantime, we've been enjoying our new pine and its piney smell.
Tell Santa what you want for Christmas
The holidays are magical; they always manage to bring out the most anxious, stressed, impatient sides of our selves. Holiday spirit becomes more like holiday aggression, and the pressure to find the perfect gifts, buy enough gifts, rewrap the regifted gifts can easily send us over the edge. And our household is not immune to this.
As Hal and I discussed what we each wanted for Christmas, we came to a dead end for the most part. We have a lot of stuff and to use the holidays as an excuse to accumulate more stuff just doesn’t seem as appealing. However, I do have an idea brewing that may make Hal’s holiday a little more fun than usual (which has me excited at the prospect of this), but the mere mention of this sent him into stress mode like I’ve never seen him. He actually appeared to get aggravated that I was brainstorming thoughtful gift ideas FOR HIM. His exasperation, Hal explained, was more due to the pressure he was suddenly feeling to be equally thoughtful in his gift-giving, a pressure I can understand. I told him that I would be happy with whatever he got me, which I sincerely meant, but he was unconvinced.
Hal: I just don’t want it to end up like my first Christmas living in Tomkins Cove as a kid.
I’m immediately picturing poor Ralphie from A Christmas Story dressed in the bunny suit praying for that Red Rider air rifle. But as Hal explained, it was more a situation of ‘procrastination is the thief of time’ (and good gifts, apparently).
A brief anecdotal moment compliments of Hal:
The first year we lived in Tomkins Cove, little Hal apparently waited too long to ask Santa for what he wanted so by the time I did, my parents had already gotten me stuff I didn’t ask for. When I opened them on Christmas, I thought Santa made a mistake and dropped the wrong presents at our house. So I wrapped them all back up again and waited for my real presents to come. I was really disappointed when my real presents obviously never showed up. And I’m sure the whole time my parents were like, “What the hell, Hal?” So I don’t want either of us to feel that way because we never asked Santa for what we really want.
So a list was made for Santa Hal in hopes of relieving some stress while attempting to capture more of that holiday spirit. But now after thinking about 9-year old Ralphie, it kind of makes me want to ask for a set of cozy footie pajamas, sans bunny ears.
As Hal and I discussed what we each wanted for Christmas, we came to a dead end for the most part. We have a lot of stuff and to use the holidays as an excuse to accumulate more stuff just doesn’t seem as appealing. However, I do have an idea brewing that may make Hal’s holiday a little more fun than usual (which has me excited at the prospect of this), but the mere mention of this sent him into stress mode like I’ve never seen him. He actually appeared to get aggravated that I was brainstorming thoughtful gift ideas FOR HIM. His exasperation, Hal explained, was more due to the pressure he was suddenly feeling to be equally thoughtful in his gift-giving, a pressure I can understand. I told him that I would be happy with whatever he got me, which I sincerely meant, but he was unconvinced.
Hal: I just don’t want it to end up like my first Christmas living in Tomkins Cove as a kid.
I’m immediately picturing poor Ralphie from A Christmas Story dressed in the bunny suit praying for that Red Rider air rifle. But as Hal explained, it was more a situation of ‘procrastination is the thief of time’ (and good gifts, apparently).
A brief anecdotal moment compliments of Hal:
The first year we lived in Tomkins Cove, little Hal apparently waited too long to ask Santa for what he wanted so by the time I did, my parents had already gotten me stuff I didn’t ask for. When I opened them on Christmas, I thought Santa made a mistake and dropped the wrong presents at our house. So I wrapped them all back up again and waited for my real presents to come. I was really disappointed when my real presents obviously never showed up. And I’m sure the whole time my parents were like, “What the hell, Hal?” So I don’t want either of us to feel that way because we never asked Santa for what we really want.
So a list was made for Santa Hal in hopes of relieving some stress while attempting to capture more of that holiday spirit. But now after thinking about 9-year old Ralphie, it kind of makes me want to ask for a set of cozy footie pajamas, sans bunny ears.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Generation Gap?
Last night Hal was playing “Songs of the Millennium” which we actually think was Europe’s songs of the millennium based on the colorful and eclectic song choices that came on at times. There were a number of songs that took me back to middle school days and I enjoyed a dance party of one at those choice moments. Then this particular song came on and it got both of us grooving, I Like To Move It (Move it) by Reel 2 Real, and then we were reminded that sometimes your age does show itself.
Grooving away...
Jenn: I think I was like 12 or 13 when this really popular. It was a big hit on the bar mitvah scene, which is the only reason I remember how old I was.
Hal: I’m five years older than you, aren't I?
Jenn: Yeah.
Hal: Wow...I remember this was big in remixes they played at rave scenes.
Jenn: Oh. Yeah…
Grooving away...
Jenn: I think I was like 12 or 13 when this really popular. It was a big hit on the bar mitvah scene, which is the only reason I remember how old I was.
Hal: I’m five years older than you, aren't I?
Jenn: Yeah.
Hal: Wow...I remember this was big in remixes they played at rave scenes.
Jenn: Oh. Yeah…
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