Be thankful

I'm thankful for my family, hundreds of friends, fun hobbies, living my religion every day, my full life, opportunities for service, the four seasons, reproduction fabric, my Canon 10D, a trusty computer, Bluebell (my '94 Honda Civic), living in New England, my very cool condo, a red retro refrigerator, childhood memories and photos, good health, a steady job, life experience, newspaper and magazine subscriptions, growing up in Los Angeles, holidays, independence, a photographic eye, strong ancestors, dessert recipes, postage stamps, faithful blog readers, and this cute turkey I made that reminds me every day to be thankful for my many many blessings.

The list! The list!

No, not the list of 50 qualities I'm looking for in a husband. I have updated my annual list of fun things to do in Boston for the holidays! I try to do something new every year. I'm hoping to get to the Annual Christmas Tuba Concert at Fanueil Hall next Saturday.

Print the list, get out there, and ENJOY!!!

Mall rat

Tonight I went to the mall. I wanted to pick up a few things before the Holiday Shopping Craze begins. I avoid the mall this time of year when--despite the holiday season--people tend to be mean and nasty and would run you over just to get a parking place.

Anyway, enough of that. I love wearing wool plaid skirts, turtlenecks and tights in the winter. I scoured the mall for some new skirts and it didn't take me long to realize that they may not be in fashion anymore. Bummer. And while I went from store-to-store looking, I found lots of clothes that I wouldn't be caught dead in (is it technically a skirt if it's only 16 inches from top to bottom?). I saw a dress in the designer department of Macy's that a) looked like a "house dress", b) was $179 and c) could have been handmade in about three hours.

And, Lucky Jeans. What is all the fuss about? They have their own store and they are expensive. I will never ever (even if I win the lottery) pay that much for a pair of jeans (or "dungarees" as some Bostonians call them). I'm thrilled with my recent hand-me-downs which included a nice pair of jeans that I'm wearing now, even as I blog.

The good news is that I did find a skirt tonight. It was on sale for $19.99 at Eddie Bauer. It's long and it kind of feels like I'm wearing a tent but it fits and the price was right. I think it will look smashing with a black turtleneck and black tights. I'll have to find someone to take my picture!

I've got runners

I have friends that help me pick up supplies for my photocards (from stores that have inconvenient hours for a working gal) and I give them a few cards for their trouble. Today a friend in Utah purchased and delivered these beautiful roses to another friend who lost a family member recently. My friend expressed interest in some of my cards (her stash has dwindled) and I asked if she'd be willing to be my flower delivery person in exchange for some photocards and she went today. Thanks, Amy!

The Notebook

I spent a lot of time at work today preparing "the notebook" (not to be confused with the movie "The Notebook" from 2004 which I didn't like) filled with an itinerary and lots of back-up materials for an international trip. It's almost done (well, it has to be done by tomorrow since that's when the flight is) and I'm proud of how organized it is. I love my job!

Worry doll

My coworker went to Belize and brought me a "worry doll". If you are worried about something you put the doll under your pillow when you go to sleep and the doll worries about your worries. Who doesn't need a redheaded worry doll?!

Cahd Pahty

I'm selling my cards at my annual "cahd pahty" tonight and tomorrow night. I had a great crowd tonight and sold lots of cards! Everyone gets a free card and you can order cards or reprints of any of my photos. I even have a drawing each night for a free 8x10 of your favorite photo (tonight's prize winner was Mary G!). Here are a few photos of my photos.

Thank you, Veterans!

Thoughtful gift

One of my faithful blog readers gave me this gift today.













And, how do I know that she's a faithful reader of my blog? Because she read this post and knew I didn't have Pumpkin Pie Spice.

Thank you, Shauna!!

Turning 50!

This afternoon I went to a surprise 50th birthday party for one of my old coworkers, Sister Falloooooon. Her sister-in-law hosted the party (I used to work with her too) and she's amazing. The decorations, food, favors and everything were so nice. My friend was very surprised and really enjoyed the party. Her husband was there in the beginning and gave her one red rose. How nice! I made her a pouch and put 50 pieces of candy corn in it (she loves candy corn) and gave her one of my 50MPH birthday cards. If my gift wasn't her favorite (hahaha) it ran a close second to the one in the Tiffany's box or the Coach bag!

Diaper fire

I hosted a baby shower at my place tonight. I'm not usually big on shower games but I hadn't played this one so my friend and I thought it would be fun. You melt chocolate bars in diapers and then the party-goers have to guess what kind of candy bar it is. So everyone has their nose in a diaper and the poo look gross (no surprise). In preparing for the game I put a Halloween-size candy bar in diaper #1 and put it in the microwave. It started to smell really bad. Not like a dirty diaper but like melted rubber or something. I took the diaper out and sure enough there were ashes on the bottom of it. I immediately turned the fan over the stove on and melted the rest of the candy bars 8 seconds at a time. The game was a hit.

Photocard party

I'm getting ready for my photocard party next week (Tues/Wed). These are new cards this year.

M-gram

I had absolutely no intention of blogging about getting a mammogram today. It's painful and private. But I can't help it. There I was -- trapped in a huge vice grip -- and the tech said to me, "Don't move."

Are you kidding me?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

The Legend of The Tin

I have three Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark tins that I use to transport baked goods to work. It is not uncommon for one of my co-workers to walk up to my desk and look around for the tin (and they don't hide their disappointment if they don't see it). If the tin is on my desk, it means one thing: it has home baked treats in it and that makes people happy.

Last night I made Pumpkin Whoopie Pies from Every Day with Rachael Ray. The recipe says it makes 12 which is definitely not enough so I doubled the recipe. It made 29 cookies (12+12=29) so I have plenty to share. The recipe called for pumpkin pie spice -- which I did not have -- so I tossed in some nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice (oops -- I forgot cinnamon). I'd give the cookies a B- and yes, I'd probably make them again.

My only issue: there was lots of extra whoopie.

More family photos

Little Miss Ing

This little girl is so adorable. I really enjoyed photographing her this morning.

I left next door to a cemetery and it's beautiful this time of year.

Better than chicken soup

Someone loaned me Season 1 a few months ago and I couldn't really get into it. Then I borrowed it again and got hooked! In the last few weeks I've watched Season 1, Season 2, and am almost finished with Season 3.

This show is funny.

Home sick/sick at Home

I dug around and found some medicine to take but it expired in 07/01! I guess I really don't get sick that often.

The Great Pumpkin

ConocoPhillips transforms a pumpkin-shaped 3 million gallon storage tank at its Wilmington, California-based Los Angeles refinery into Smilin' Jack, the world's largest jack-o-lantern. We went to visit the Great Pumpkin a few times when we were kids!

Soccer star

This is my niece Emma that lives in Oregon. She sings, she acts, she plays soccer. And she's delightful!

Twenty four years ago today my brother Robes and sister-in-law Kim were married in the Atlanta LDS Temple (on her youngest brother's 5th birthday!). We all enjoyed a wedding lunch at a hotel and then drove to Seneca, South Carolina (where Kim went to high school) for their reception. Funny story--Kim rode with her parents and Robes rode with my parents and Robes' keys got locked in his VW bug so he was late. My brother John arrived before Robes did and people thought he was the groom! It was fun to meet Kim's family that I had heard so much about for a few years and I enjoyed spending two weeks vacationing in the south.

Last week I had a clever idea and made a pouch for Kim out of a pair of Robes jeans (Levi 501's of course). The inside is the cool blue VW bus fabric (same as Jamel's pajama pants). I hope Kim got the package today on her anniversary.

Leaf Peeping

Before I moved to New England I had no concept of Fall. Remember--I grew up in Los Angeles: land of the one season.

When I was in college I remember one of my friends telling me that his mother was going to New England to see the Fall leaves. I thought you had to go somewhere special to see them. Then I moved here and as I tell people now, the leaves on your own street are beautiful! So here are a few photos I took this morning of some leaves in the front of my building on my very own street.

Wheat, oats, and powdered milk

Six months ago our local church leaders challenged us to get two weeks of food, water, and money by this weekend along with important paperwork we would need in case of an emergency. Confession: I was shopping at BJ's, Target, and the grocery store today.

Mormons are big into food storage. For years we have been encouraged to have a supply of food and necessary items. We had 1800 pounds of wheat in our garage back in the day (that meant each of us would have had 300 pounds of wheat to eat in a year). It's important to store what you will eat so I've put quite a bit of thought into this and had some help/encouragement from a friend who is a food storage super star.

I live in an converted school and my unit was part of the auditorium. I've got this great crawl space underneath my condo (you can see where they removed the auditorium seats!). And in my crawl space I have some shelves for my food storage. I just put all my things away (I still have some water in my car that I can't lift by myself) and I'm pretty pleased with what I have. I should have plenty to eat/drink in case there is an emergency.

I still need to get my paperwork together and get more water. And I want to create a spreadsheet so I can keep track of what I have. But I'm close and am feeling more prepared that ever!














































Please pass the vienna sausages!

Lost and Found

I don't lose things very often, so when I do, I get really annoyed. I knew that I would find my hat somewhere in my condo and sure enough I moved a jacket that had been thrown on a table (I can't blame anyone but me) and there was my Red Sox hat!

I found it just in time for Game #3.

The Lunch Lady

I am responsible for making arrangements for the emeritus professor's luncheon twice a year (preparing invitations, taking the RSVP's, choosing the menu, etc.) . The luncheon was today. I went over early with name badges and made sure that everything was running smoothly. The matrons (faculty and staff and wives of professors) luncheon was at the same time. The woman in charge of that luncheon invited me to join them so I did. I sat next to an older woman and got chatting with her (I know that's a shocker) and she was really delightful. She was born and raised in Ohio and graduated from Vassar and then got a Ph.D. at Radcliffe (in the 40's) -- in chemistry! I believe her husband has passed away but he taught chemistry and she did research in chemistry and she said they understood each other! I said she must have been a "shining star in Ohio" (leaving there and attending fancy colleges) and she smiled and nodded that she was. She took a chemistry class in high school and her teacher had never taught a girl before! It was really fun to hear her stories and I hope to visit her. In the meantime, I'm going to send my new friend a few of my photocards and she got some ink on my blog.

Dude, where's my cap?

I can't find my baseball cap (no, this isn't it--this is a picture of Jeff Windsor's cap that I took a few years ago for a scrapbook I made when they moved from Boston). I need my cap. My team is in the World Series.















I'll continue to search...

TOOT your horn!

My middle-school niece played her baritone horn at the high school football game Friday night. She lifted two pound weights every other night for two weeks so she could bear holding her giant horn all that time standing in bleachers! Her brother and mother have listened to the baritone part of every fight song ever written for a month.

Red Sox Nation celebrates!!!

The Red Sox are headed to another World Series!!!
(Globe Staff Photo / Bill Greene)