the things you can find on the internet

This is just bizarre. I guess it could make a
cute gag gift, but really. Do you honestly give
this to children? I guess you could give them
some books, too...

Christmas Past!

My mom's cousin in Norway sent us these pictures...
I don't know the year, but the top pic is my mom and
her sisters. Mom is the oldest, Aunt Karin is seated
and the very excited looking little one is Aunt Elaine.
I love things like this - so much fun to see them! :)

Christmas 2006

Hope your Christmases were all merry! I had a thoroughly enjoyable one - one of the best yet!

For Christmas Eve, Matt and I stayed close to home while my parents trekked out to my brother's house. I didn't know if I'd be up for the craziness of a big party, so I laid low. We went to see some friends in the afternoon and then had a quiet dinner at my house.

Christmas morning brought a fun time with my parents, opening presents. Highlights included Netflix for my dad, fleece clothing for mom, flannel PJ's and other great stuff for me. Santa even brought my parents a DVD player - they must have been very good this year!

In the afternoon, Matt and his parents came for dinner. We had a lot of fun hanging out together and enjoying a great meal. More gifts were exchanged... Matt found his requested rice cooker under the tree and I was surprised with a very luxurious cashmere blanket! I ate far more than was good for me, but it was all wonderful!

Unfortunately I forgot to take pics at dinner, but there are a few pics to see here. Enjoy!

Adventures while home-bound

Picture #1 - This is what happens when you're home sick for seven work days.
You start to grow foliage out of your head and look really bizarre. It must be the after-effects of the high fever.












Picture #2 - I got to help with making Christmas cookies... and in doing so we broke in my beautiful KitchenAid!
It makes making the Neiman Marcus cookies so
so so so soooo much easier! Oh, beautiful KitchenAid... I love you! (recipe available upon request!)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

and all through the house, not a creature was stirring... well, except maybe me.
The stockings were hung on the china cabinet with care,
in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

M e r r y C h r i s t m a s, E v e r y o n e !

May you all experience joy and happiness, celebrating and appreciating those you love and care about. Remember that the commercial stuff isn't really what Christmas is all about, and practice thankfulness and giving over want and selfishness. At the same time, though, remember that this is a time of magic, of miracles and childlike wonder. Merriest of Christmases to you!

But the angel said to them, "Do not be terrified. I bring you good news
of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of
David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

What's wrong with being a geek?

Another picture!

This was found in Atlantic City, when I was there for the teacher's convention. Take a look at the second line.....

What did the geeks do to you?

It's A Picture of the Day!

After months without one, it's time for a picture of the day! I wanted to post this way back in September. It's really easy - where is TurtleDuck?

Personality twins?

Kate took a personality test on her blog and since I have so much time on my hands this week, I decided to take it, too.
I must say that I question its results, though... Kate and I got the exact same reading!
I mean, we're friends and have a lot in common, but I wouldn't say we're cookie-cutter-images of the other!

You are gentle, caring, quiet, dutiful, neat, dependable, modest, unassuming, and humble. You can be counted on to make sure everything is in its place, that people are doing what they’re supposed to be doing and all the supplies have been secured. (yeah, I'd like to think so)

You prefer to work behind the scenes, driven by a sense of obligation, often overworked for the benefit of others. You prefer tasks that are highly outlined, organized and practical. You fill your life with meaningful activities and schedule any down time. You enjoy helping any friend in need. You have a strong work ethic and can be critical of sloth, laziness and people who have possessions only through extreme indebtedness. All you’d like in return for all of your hard work is recognition and gratitude, neither of which you receive nearly in proportion to the effort and time you exert. (pretty much. I like organization.)

One of your greatest strengths is supporting family or group activities. Your contribution of cooking, cleaning, fixing or constructing is an expression of your love and loyalty to everyone present, and such labor is truly a pleasure for you to fulfill. (family is important to me.)

You were a model child. Relatively neat, sweet and conscientious, you were the child that every parent thinks they’re going to have. You may have openly disagreed or rebelled but if so it was short-lived and harmless and you were quick to accept the judgment of your parents along with any punishment they deemed reasonable. (I was a goody-two-shoes, I can admit it.)

Parenting, for you, is a lifetime commitment. You are protective, supportive and patient, often putting your children’s needs before your own. (I'd like to believe this will be true.)

You prefer not to make waves or attract too much individual attention. You go by the book and are suspicious of anyone suggesting that tried and true established methods should be revised or ignored. (truer than I'd like to admit.)

You have a strong appreciation for antiques, traditions and heirlooms. You have a natural appreciation for and connection with your past and the people in your family tree. You find special joy in guarding old family artifacts regardless of their monetary value. (again, family is important.)

You put a lot of energy into maintaining your home. You keep things tidy, visually appealing and in working condition. You make sure your home is always well stocked with food and supplies. You take better care of your possessions than most types, cleaning, oiling, maintaining things so that they will always be nice, maintain their value, and function when needed. You want things to be sturdy and may replace something which isn’t broken if, after acquiring it, you realize that it’s of the new, shabbier quality. (I do care about things. Unfortunately, my life is chaos at the moment and therefore is a mess, but I'd like to believe I can be like this.)

You may or may not be a pessimist, but your speech is laced with reminders to realistically expect problems to arise. You are aware of the general dangers of living and are conscious of the fact that other people don’t heed your warnings as often as they should. You are also the first to point out to someone who seems surprised that they should’ve known that setbacks would occur. (I've learned from being burned.)

In a marriage you are helpful and supportive of your spouse. You enjoy working on tasks together, or working on your specialties at the same time (one cooks while the other fixes the plumbing). As a parent you do all you can to ensure that your children are well behaved and hard working. (Again, I hope that this will be true, but I hope I' m already on the right track!)

Katerina

Even though she sent me the email a while back, I've just discovered that a dear friend from college has entered the blogging community. She's a cool chick from Maine, and we go way back to Freshman year music theory, sharing clothes and saltine-fluffernutter sandwiches. Go check her out.

Hi, Kate! :) Welcome!

Drama

Last Sunday, I got sick. It was fairly miserable, but not unbearable. I went to work, tried to take care of myself, rest. I did ok. Being that I was still not feeling great, I went to the doctor on Friday night. They gave me something they thought would help.

On Saturday, I had a great opportunity. We were invited to go and be a part of filming a talkshow pilot. If it ever airs, you'll see us on TV! :) We actually got on camera in the same shot with Jesse Martin! It was a long day, though, in a cold, cold room.

Then, Sunday morning came. I woke up with amazing chills and a sharp pain in my chest. This then got worse with a high fever and general misery. I was supposed to sing with my church choir and couldn't get out of bed. I called the doctor's office and spoke with the service. A doc called back and told me either to see someone at another of their offices or go to the emergency room. The other office didn't really want to see me, so I ended up at the hospital. That turned out to be the best choice. I was amazingly miserable. So nausious, so shaky, so cold, amazing head pain, hurting, miserable. They drew blood and gave me lots of IV fluids, chest x-rays, more blood... and diagnosed me with pneumonia.

I finally got released after being ordered to stay home for the entire week... which causes chaos in terms of holiday concerts, two of which happen this week, one of those in which I am in charge. But there is nothing I can do about it. I can only give them the information I have and leave it at that. So now it's a week of rest and ordering the rest of the Christmas presents online. Bah humbug.

Holiday Spirit

The Christmas season is always a tough and busy one for a lot of people. With my new job, I've got my fingers in four holiday concerts. In two of those I seem to be the ringmaster! Neefless to say, it makes the time you actually get to enjoy the holidays go onto the back burner. That's dissapointing...

However, last Friday night was different. Matt surprised me by taking me to one of the "Champagne and Candlelight" evenings at Skylands Manor. It's such a beautiful spot, and even more beautiful when it is completely decorated! Each room has a different theme - the entire house theme this year was "Believe." There was a music room, an outdoor-themed Fairy room, one room with full sized snow-covered trees and a one-horse open sleigh (and a lute player!) and many others. It was really lovely - the only thing we could have wished for was some real snow - but alas it was at least 60 degrees outside!

The only frustration was that we couldn't find the pickle... they had one of those traditional pickles that you hide on the tree - whoever finds it gets one year of good luck. We searched and searched... but alas, no pickle! There were just too many places to look!

I still think we'll have good luck, though. And a little Christmas spirit.