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Month: December 2014

undeniable proof

undeniable proof

a repost from almost 10 years ago about christmas!

when i was 2-1/2 years old, my family (consisting of my mom, dad, and myself) went to kathleen and george’s house for christmas eve. when i got older and my family got bigger, we started to host christmas eve at our house. but until i was about 4, we went there for christmas eve.

they opened their presents that night instead of christmas morning, so there was frantic gift unwrapping and sighs of gratitude from all. then there was a buzz circulating the room about santa claus. is he coming? my 2-year-old self was a firm believer in santa claus.

oh, how i hoped he would show up. oh, how i hoped i would meet him and see what he looked like so i could ask about his reindeer and mrs. claus. oh i hoped i hoped i hoped. so i sat on colettie’s lap and waited and watched, mostly the fireplace because it was widely known that santa came down the chimney.

then i heard sleighbells jingling through the kitchen from the porch. my attention swiftly diverted from the chimney to the door where i could glance through the window to the porch.

a flash of red!

the door to the outside was closing as i whipped through the kitchen door to the porch. i had missed him.

but in his wake was a pink and blue big wheel. ecstasy!

a few minutes later my uncle george came through the front door, rubbing his hands together and shedding his coat, explaining that he had seen reindeer tracks and had santa come? and oh boy! a big wheel!

and i was a believer. oh to have that feeling again.

i missed my calling?

i missed my calling?

i enjoy video editing, which i guess doens’t surprise me. i’ve been putting together the holiday videos for rctc the past three years, as well as some additional videos (including a fun halloween one this pas october).
here’s this year’s holiday video. i edited it and took the closeup video cuts.

movie time

movie time

i’ve got to get going on my christmas movie watching list. i’ve started already, but there are so many!
i’m especially looking forward to diehard, which i got on ebay. 😀

o christmas tree

o christmas tree

yesterday, i dragged charlie out to help me get a christmas tree. the last time nate helped with that was in 2007, so it was really nice to have someone else help with this process. nate hates christmas. but not really. nate hates retail at christmas.
anyway, getting off topic.
i have specific criteria for a tree, as cha can attest. it needs to have enough room in the branches for me to hang stuff on the inside of the tree without it bunching up. full on the bottom and can be sparse on the top. i think we found a good one!
IMG_2353bonus ralf under the tree.
 

ATK: carrot cake

ATK: carrot cake

oh, ATK, you really had me worried for a minute with your “light” carrot cake recipe. in fact, i almost tossed it and started over with a different recipe. but, i persevered, thinking that you haven’t really failed me yet. 
thank god i didn’t follow my instincts!
cakethe carrot cake i’ve made in the past has called to add the carrots to the wet ingredients, then mixing in the dry. this one said to mix the carrots in at the end. but before that point, i was looking at the dough wondering how on earth it would pour into a cake pan, because it certainly looked more like cookies. 
reluctant, i stirred in the carrots. it was a long process – i probably spent 5 minutes trying to incorporate those carrots – but in the end, the water from the carrots transformed the cookie-ish dough into a cake dough.
WHEW.
needless to say, this worked out ok. it’s a little bit chewy, which i’m not sure is the fault of the recipe or the inherent quality of carrot cake or my overzealous mixing of the carrots.
either way, point ATK.

it looks green on the top because i have black sprinkles on the top. it's nate's birthday cake, so i thought black sprinkles would be appropriate!
it looks green on the top because i have black sprinkles on the top. it’s nate’s birthday cake, so i thought black sprinkles would be appropriate!

 

hannah christmas pics

hannah christmas pics

today nate and i went to lacrosse to get hannah’s xmas pics! we also went to the rotary lights, which wreaked havoc on my auto-focus and blurred up my glasses so even manual sucked. oh well! we got it done!

bazaar time!

bazaar time!

my work buddy and i went to the christmas bazaar at one of the local churches in town today. bazaars are generally only one step above auctions when it comes to prices. i was able to get liz three christmas village houses for $1 apiece, a pyrex glass bread loaf pan for $1.75, and some christmas lighted garland for $3. not too shabby! 
my cold is hanging on nobody’s business; i’ve had it for a week now. it should theoretically be gone by sunday, but we’ll see what happens. my body’s been like, let’s go for a run! but my head has been all “nooooooooo nooooooooooo i will explode” on me. so i haven’t been for a run in almost two weeks since i had a busy three days before thanksgiving. i’ll be happy when this is done with!
ah, tree time is always a dilemma. i think i’ll try to get it up within the next week, even if i get it after work some day. i’ve got to get it up so i can get a picture of the cats for my christmas cards! that should be a fun time (sarc).

vacay plans change??

vacay plans change??

i booked a cabin and made reservations for nate and me to go out to the black hills next june, but now i’m second guessing my choice; as much as i love the hills, i’ve been there many times. the other option, which i’m really considering, is to fly into vegas, rent a car, take a trip to the grand canyon, then head over up through some national parks and end in san francisco. 
it would add a considerable cost, flying and renting a car, plus needing a hotel each night versus being able to rough it in a cabin. but it would be exciting! what say you, blogosphere? maybe i could crowdfund my vacation… 

light the advent candle one

light the advent candle one

i went to gradeschool in a large stone building on the east side of austin, which was connected to a church of the same tan stone. the halls were dark and tall, wooden beams crisscrossing the ceiling and meeting in the center at the principal’s office. 
while we may have gotten away with it at a public school due to my schooldays being in the 80s, in catholic school we were able to celebrate christmas. except, if you know anything about catholicism, we generally didn’t start with anything christmassy until at least the third week of advent. 
during advent, a round table was placed in the atrium outside the principal’s office, upon which a wreath and four candles stood – three purple and one pink. the advent wreath. 
once a week, the entire school would gather in the center of the building for the lighting of the advent candles – week one, purple; week two – two purples; week three – two purples and a pink!; week four – three purples and a pink. (pink represents joy – christmas is getting closer!)
then the entire school would sing the advent candle song:
Light the Advent candle one 
Now the waiting has begun 
We have started on our way 
Time to think of Christmas day. 

Candle, candle burning bright 
Shining in the cold winter night 
Candle, candle burning bright 
Fill our hearts with Christmas light.