Remembering...

A mother...  a daughter.

A sister... a wife.

                                 A friend.

Today I'm remembering Linda. She died 11 years ago today. My sister-in-law who had been around for more of my life than not that she felt just like one of us.

Every year I say the same thing: I can't believe it's been so long. And as soon as I say or think those words...I feel the loss. I feel the span of time. I glance over at her picture sitting there on my little shelf and remember her laugh, her bright smiling face, her caring nature. And I feel the dull ache of loss.

But I will still remember her today. I remember the lasagna cook-off she had with a couple others in my family... hers was the best and she was so secretive about that recipe. I remember her crazy, infectious laugh, her GIANT belly when she was pregnant with Ryan, and how she took me driving when I was still learning. I also remember her excitement when I was going to my first prom... she had already been through so much and was pretty sick, but she came over the day after and laid on my bed and wanted to hear everything.

Linda was beautiful, courageous, and loved by everyone who met her. She was taken too soon. So today I remember her.



**To honor her memory and the memories of countless others, I'll be making a donation to the American Cancer Society again. So many people have been touched in some way by cancer. Consider making a donation here, or if you want to keep it local, find your office, and check for events or fundraising efforts in your area here.

2009: What a Rollercoaster!

Where exactly did 2009 go? I can't believe we're about to ring in the New Year! And oh my, doesn't 2010 sound so...out there? I mean, remember watching those movies back in the day (e.g. the Back to the Future series) when they'd talk about the year 2000 or 2010 as "the future" - flying cars, futuristic gadgets, whole meals in pill form?

Wow. 2010. Weird. (And I'm not just saying that because it's the year I turn 30!)

Anywho, I thought I would take a minute to reflect on the past year. I filled out this silly thing a few days ago and it asked me to describe 2009 in 1-2 words. My 2 words: Roller. Coaster. Let's take a look back, shall we?

January: I started the New Year off with high hopes for a new job back in my home state of WI. I braved the cold, icy weather and traveled out for an interview early in the month. By the end of the month... a job offer!! Hooray! I would finally escape the ever-tightening clutches of my evil boss...thank goodness! I also started this little blog! Such meager beginnings... it's come a long way...

February: Dissertation defense! Finally! The month was full of celebrations, packing, and goodbyes. I left my job a little earlier than planned...again, thank goodness.

March: With the help of family and friends, the truck and car were packed tightly and off I went to Wisconsin. In torrential rain. Then snow. Good times. I dove right in to my new job. It felt like I knew my new coworkers forever. As if things weren't crazy enough, I also decided I was going to buy a house.

April/May/June/July: These months felt like such a blur to me. I was essentially homeless. Yes, my good friends were kind enough to let me stay in their guest room for a long time (thank you!), and yes, my parents lived just an hour and a half away, but I didn't have my own place. My furniture was in storage. I had limited clothing options. I didn't have my dogs. I didn't feel settled. At. All. Plus I was seriously hunting for a house during this time. I made not one, not two, but three offers on houses before one finally stuck. Woohoo!

August/September: Renovations. Home improvements. Still didn't feel very settled, but I got to see my family a lot! My friends Nacole and Jason visited in August, which was so awesome. I missed them so much, so it was great to be able to hang out for a couple days. Work kicked into high gear and left me feeling exhausted a lot, but I still had time for projects! :-)

October: New carpet. I finally started unpacking for real and settling into my new home. Took a trip to Minneapolis/St. Paul for a conference (which wasn't great) and got to hang out with my brother, which was the best part anyway.

November: Lots of projects here and there, more nesting, and many many trips to thrift shops. I have an addiction. Spent an afternoon at my alma mater to give a little talk to a couple of classes. Also got to reconnect with some faculty members, which was a lot of fun. My mom, sister, and I had our first annual Black Friday Craft-a-Thon when we made book wreaths. And I had a couple of helper elves come visit and magically decorated the house with snowflakes while I was gone to work.

December: Snow. Snow. Snow. Lots of work on projects, a little Christmas shopping, and some baking too! Quality time with family, too much food, and a week-and-a-half off from work! Woohoo! I need to take more vacation, more often.

So that's it. My year in review. It's really no wonder time flew by. And why I was exhausted. It was a year full of stress, excitement, goodbyes, tears, newness, and surprises. I'm hoping 2010 is a little calmer...though I've got some big ideas for the New Year. Check back later to see my 2010 To-Do list!

Oh Christmas Trees...

 

I know, I know... most people are putting their Christmas decorations away, and here I am, creating new ones! But I've been itching to make some jute Christmas trees ever since I saw them oh-so-many blogs (like here, here or here, for example)!

While mom, my niece, and I were out shopping for after-Christmas deals, we got some jute, styrofoam cones of varying sizes, and more hot glue sticks. I also really love the look and texture of this plain ole twine I had laying around, so I thought that might also make a great tree, too. Basically, you just wind the jute/twine around the cone, gluing as you go, making sure the string stays close together. Simple, right? It took a few minutes to get the hang of gluing the jute onto the cones, but once we got going, it went pretty well. I definitely burned my fingertips during this little project. The twine was another story. It is thinner than the jute and seemed to sort of roll away, so we used a LOT more glue on the twine tree. Oh, and I burned my fingers a lot more on the twine tree.

The tips of these cones are flat, and I really wanted a point, so I fashioned a tip out of an empty paper towel roll and glued it to the two larger cones (for the twine tree, I covered the tip in white paper, so you couldn't see a color difference). I also wanted to have a star on my tree and I had seen some very cute, very little, star ornaments at Target (ah, Target).

Cute, right? So voila! We had stars for the tops of our trees. I only wish I would've bought another couple of packages of this little glass ornaments. They're so cute!

 Like I said, my mom and niece were in on this project too, and I think they had fun. My niece made a small cone tree for her dad and she wanted to add some red ribbon to hers, which is also very cute. Actually, my mom is finishing another small cone as I type!

Oh, have you seen this pic in the West Elm catalog? Same concept, right? Yes, they are gianormous, but $99, really?? Excuse me, $69.99, on sale now.

I love how the trees turned out and plan to leave them out for a while longer, instead of putting them away with some of the other decorations!

So, have you already packed your stuff away? Anything you're planning to leave out for a while?

I'm linking up with:

The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer...

...is singing loud for all to hear!
Yes, a line from my very favorite Christmas movie, Elf. No, I haven't really been singing...yet.

I just made taco dip! Hooray! There was a panicky moment earlier when my mom thought she did not have the prerequisite taco seasonings...{GASP!} ... but luckily my brother next door had some. It was a Christmas miracle!

A minute ago, my 19-year-old neice...we shall call her "Betsy", to protect her identity... called my mom's cell phone. Mom usually answers the phone on holidays by saying "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Thanksgiving" or whatever fits. I wanted to be helpful so I answered her phone and decided to shake things up a bit...

Me {in my most professional, yet cheerful voice}: "Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"
"Besty": {Long silence. Crickets chirping.}        "Whhaaat?"
Me: "Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"
"Betsy": {Long silence. Crickets chirping. Finally, some unintelligible stammering.} "I, uh, I..."
Me: {Uncontrollable silent laughter. I finally handed the phone off to Mom}.

Merry Christmas everyone! And remember... there's room for everyone on the Nice List!!

Christmas Traditions

In my family, for as long as I can remember we've celebrated on Christmas Eve. Over the years we've done various things in the evening, but we always end up at my parents' house to open presents, eat food, and sometimes play games. There are certain things that mean Christmas to me, whether on Christmas Eve, or during the holiday season...

Movies. Yes, I do love the classics, like White Christmas, Christmas in Connecticut, and It's a Wonderful Life and I try to watch them with my mom, but for me, Christmas isn't Christmas without Elf and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation! I've seen each of those movies hundreds of times (even multiple times each year) and still laugh at the best parts. Of course, A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original version, please) are also important ingredients, though I don't own the Grinch on DVD yet. I DO own the CD version and listen to it at least once (usually while traveling) during the season. I actually just added Home Alone to my collection too!
 
A tree. For most of graduate school I didn't have a tree since I was gone for most of the holidays/winter break. A couple years ago, I bought this little potted Norfolk pine because I just couldn't be without a tree anymore. It's grown a lot since then, nearly died a few times, and survived a cross-country move. It's my own little Charlie Brown tree! Maybe next year I'll have a big tree...maybe.

Fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp. My sister has us over for Christmas Eve lunch for homemade Alfredo, with salad and bread. Mmmm. Love, love, love it. Honestly, the recipe is super-easy, but it never actually tastes the same when I make it.

Taco dip. After all the presents are opened, we pull out tons of food, including taco dip. Mmmm. My younger sister and I usually try to "forget" about bringing it out, because that means it might just last a little bit longer...which means more left over...but everyone knows what we're up to. It wouldn't be Christmas without taco dip. Yum. 

Christmas stockings. When I was a kid, our stocking always had a HUGE orange and apple inside, which honestly wasn't my favorite part when I was young. Now our stockings are filled with all kinds of useful (and fun) stuff, like contact solution, cooking utensils, chapstick, lotion, and on and on. It's fun opening each little present...you just never know what you're gonna get!

Christmas Day leftover taco dip breakfast. Yes, it has become a tradition for my sister and I to pull out the leftover taco dip and eat it when we wake up. Now that she is married and has her own place in town (and I stay with my parents, since I live out of town), I try my best to wait for her... or at least save some. 

Christmas Day breakfast. On holidays we usually have a big breakfast/brunch with hash browns, eggs, kielbasa, fresh rolls, and whatever else my mom decides to throw in (like hot-from-the-oven blueberry muffins). Yummy. 

Music. I've been enjoying a lot of Christmas music on Pandora this year, but I have my collection of holiday favorites, too. Christmases past have found me and my brother enjoying holiday hits on loooong car trips, singing and acting goofy... I kinda miss that this year!   

So. Those are my favorites...what are yours?

Sinfully Sweet

No, I'm not talking about cookies or other delectable holiday goodies. Fooled you, didn't I? I'm not even baking cookies... I never do since I have to travel for Christmas. Besides, last time I tried making a ton of Christmas cookies, they didn't look pretty (they tasted great), so no one few wanted to eat them (more for me, fools).

But I digress.

I'm talking about having a random day off after a crazy-busy semester.

Ahhhhh. 

Is it just me, or is there something about having a day off that feels naughty or mischievous? Being home when everyone else is at work? I slept in this morning and sipped my coffee leisurely instead of hurriedly slurping it down, which is typical for a Monday morning. And boy does it feel good.

I'll be honest though... I did pretty much the same thing all weekend...but doing it today, Monday, feels ... oh-so-much better.

It wasn't really even my choice to have the day off today. They are doing some flooring work at the office and it may or may not involve loud noise and noxious fumes, so we were told to take the day off. Hooray!

I  have some things I need to do today, errands to run and whatnot, but I'm tempted to crawl back in bed with a book and another cup of coffee...

So, is it just me? Does anyone else feel this way on random days off?

Was Henry VIII Nuts?

Image courtesy of amazon.com

I just finished Philippa Gregory's book, The Boleyn Inheritance, another in a series about the Tudors (others include The Constant Princess, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Virgin's Lover, The Queen's Fool, and The Other Queen).

From the back of the book:

Three women who share one fate: the Boleyn Inheritance.

Anne of Cleves: She runs from her tiny country, her hateful mother, and her abusive brother to a throne whose last three occupants are dead. King Henry VIII, her new husband, instantly dislikes her. Without friends, family, or even an understanding of the language being spoken around her, she must literally save her neck in a court ruled by a deadly game of politics and the terror of an unpredictable and vengeful king. Her Boleyn Inheritance: accusations and false witnesses.

Katherine Howard: She catches the king's eye within moments of arriving at court, setting in motion the dreadful machine of politics, intrigue, and treason that she does not understand. She only knows that she is beautiful, that men desire her, that she is young and in love -- but not with the diseased old man who made her queen, beds her night after night, and killed her cousin Anne. Her Boleyn Inheritance: the threat of the axe.

Jane Rochford: She is the Boleyn girl whose testimony sent her husband and sister-in-law to their deaths. She is the trusted friend of two threatened queens, the perfectly loyal spy for her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, and a canny survivor in the murderous court of a most dangerous king. Throughout Europe, her name is a byword for malice, jealousy, and twisted lust. Her Boleyn Inheritance: a fortune and a title, in exchange for her soul.

Gregory initially started the series with The Other Boleyn Girl, The Virgin's Love, and The Queen's Fool, then wrote the other books, out of chronological order. I had read the "first" three (above) and loved each book (though I refuse to see the movie version of The Other Boleyn Girl). The first three books were easy to get into and I read them quickly; similarly, The Boleyn Inheritance kept me interested for all 514 pages. The story was told by three women, which was different from the other books, but I think it made this book more interesting. Gregory wrote in three distinct styles, so while each character had her own unique point of view and story to tell, it was clear who was narrating.

I also appreciate Gregory's committment to researching the history of her subjects- I've read a couple of interviews with the author in which she has talked about her research and where the line between fiction and fact has blurred. Each time I read one of Gregory's books, I've wanted to read more of her writing AND I've wanted to learn more about the history behind the stories. (Honestly, after reading the first three books, I read The Six Wives of Henry VIII and The Life of Elizabeth I, both (nonfiction) by Alison Weir and I've had a documentary on my Netflix list for a while). And now, I'm thirsty for more!
So tell me, have you read any of these books? Have you ever read historical fiction that has left you wanting to know more about the time period, people, etc.?

Hmm. To Finish, or Not Finish?

Update 12/20/09: I returned the book to the library. I just couldn't finish it. Thanks for weighing in!!

Happy Tuesday! The sun is out and even though it's "quite brisk" (as a coworker said), I'm glad for the break in the cloudy, snowy weather.

I need some help here... I've been trying to get into Toni Morrison's book Beloved, but I'm having a really tough time with it. To me, it seems as though the story is all over the place, there are flashbacks that seem to pop up out of nowhere and I find myself backtracking to see if I missed soemthing, and the language is, for lack of a better word, weird. The reviews I've read, in a variety of places, seem mixed. The people who hate the book, apparently hate it with a passion; those who love the book, apparently love it so much that they have few words to describe it.

So, the reviews aren't really helping me decide whether I should finish it or not.

It's won awards, including the Pulitzer...

I still think the book sounds interesting and meaningful...here's a description, from goodreads.com :

Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement.

And yet, I have little desire to pick up the book and finish it. I rarely leave a book unfinished. Grrr. It doesn't help that this book is also on a couple of my "lists." Ugh.

Have any of you read it? Thoughts? Anyone want to try to read it with me and push me along?

Help!

PS- I'm basically sucking at my Bookwarm Challenge list. At this point, it's probably NOT going to happen before 12/31/09. I've been reading a LOT lately...just not much on one of my "lists."

Today I Feel...

Tired. It's Monday. Lately it seems as though I've been trying to prolong the inevitable (i.e., Monday) by staying up a little later on Sunday night. Bad idea.

Hopeful. It's finals week and the end is truly in sight...we all (students, staff, etc.) need a break. I'm looking forward to time off for the holidays!

Worried. As if 14 inches of snow wasn't enough...we now have freezing drizzle and a little more snow. It's supposed to stop fairly early, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the drive home is OK since the temp is going to drop.

A Project Here, A Project There...

This weekend I worked on a few odds and ends...like hunting for snow boots which I did NOT buy because I was shocked by the price AND the fact that Fleet Farm was jam-packed with people... who apparently were also buying boots. Oy.

I also worked on my new personalized pushpins for my new bulletin board. Aren't they pretty? They were super-easy to do and basically free, since I had all  most of the supplies (can you believe I didn't have any Elmer's glue?). A good friend of mine made some magnets like this for me years ago and I still use them (thanks Erin!), so I thought these would work just as well.

First, I gathered a few flat pushpins/thumbtacks I had in my office stuff, as well as a couple of buttons and those glass flattened marble thingamajigs. I also grabbed the Elmer's, some magazines and scrapbook paper, sandpaper, and my heavy-duty E-6000 adhesive.

A Tail of 2 Puppies

According to weather.com, it was -1 when I woke up this morning. That's without the windchill factor. The puppies are having a tough time with the snow, but Montey more so than Lilly, since his feet are pretty sensitive. They trot out quickly and come back quickly, slowed only by their numb feet.

So imagine my surprise when I let Lilly out for a second time and I saw this...

At this point, it was -3 degrees, with a windchill of -13. And there sits Lilly, enjoying a nice morning on the deck,

watching the geese fly overhead, like it was nothing. She sat there long enough for me to go to the living room, grab the memory card for the camera, put it in the camera, return to the kitchen, and snap a few shots.

Wintery Delusions

delusion [di-loo-zhuhn]
- noun, a fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact

Remember when I was knee-deep in snow yesterday? Shoveling, snowblowing, heaving, grunting? There was a moment when I asked my neighbor if she knew what the rest of the forecast for the week looked like. She replied, "Cold. The snow should be ending, though." Yet, even though she said it would be cold, I was thinking of warmer days, melting snow, and even had a brief vision of actually seeing our driveway again...my poor car looking less like a popsicle than a car...

Wait. What? Melting snow? Warmer days? Huh?

It hit me last night...after 7 years in Colorado... I was just expecting the snow to go away sometime soon...melt in a few days, a week, soon.

Oh, Heidi. Poor, poor, Heidi.

It was bitterly, squeaky-snow cold today. So cold that the dogs kept alternating which paw they'd hold up to give it a "rest" from the cold snow. My windows are all frosty and I worry that my back screen door hinges are going to snap when I open the door.

The women at work reminded me that we'll have this snow until March.

It's gonna be a long winter...and I may be in for a bumpy ride.

Maybe my delusions are a form of self-preservation??

Blizzard '09 Update

Well after spending literally hours outside working to remove the snow from my gianormous driveway, front stairs, front walk, and a path on the deck for the dogs (already part-filled in from the continuing snow), I'm finished.

I had some help from my neighbors at the end...in fact, they are still out there working, while I am finally inside, showered, fed, and slowly warming up. My head still hurts and now my body aches, unfortunately, but I've taken something and will hopefully soon be snuggled on my couch in a blanket fast asleep.

Blizzards are way more fun when you live in an apartment.

Snowed In

Well for once the weather guy was right. We got snow. A lot of snow. Here's the view out my front window, taken with my camera phone.

I had weird dreams all night long about getting my driveway cleared out and wondering if the college would close. I dreamt that I barely had snow and the moisture meant I would actually have to mow the lawn again. Yuck. I woke up with a pounding headache and sore throat. Awesome.

Bleary-eyed and barely conscious, I grabbed my phone and eagerly pulled up the website to see what the verdict was: "OPEN as usual..." Crap. I took one peek out the window to see a winter wonderland and hoped my neighbor (I share a driveway) had cleared things out. Nope. Apparently they just pulled right out through all the snow. Crap.

The dogs seemed unfazed as they went bounding outside, leaping through the snow like little gazelles. The second time they went out they were a bit more wary and cautious. Poor Lilly could barely do her business...the snow comes up to her butt!!

I pulled out some wintery clothes (I honestly NEED to get some giant snowboots) and trudged outside to try to shovel my way at least to the car. HA! What a joke. This snow is heavy folks. And I do have a snowblower, but I've actually never used it so after fumbling for a bit, I gave up, frustrated, hot, and cranky with my head pounding.

It was then that I realized I wasn't going to work. Sigh. I started the coffee pot and breathed in the aroma. What was I thinking? Trying to shovel snow without morning coffee?!?

I called work and left a message (perhaps no one was even there yet) and started emailing people to cancel appointments for today, feeling guilty because apparently some people have braved the weather to go to work. As I'm sipping my lovely, hot coffee, I'm contemplating tackling the snow, or crawling back in bed.

But wait! A new email! Subject: "College Closed!" Apparently the conditions are "deteriorating rapidly". Uh, durr. It's STILL snowing and the wind has been picking up for the last hour! Whew. No more guilt AND I don't have to use my vacation time for this!

Now... if only my headache would go away and the snow would get shoveled magically on it's own.

What? A girl can dream.

The 1st Annual Black Friday Craftapalooza

I'm not sure I meant for it to happen, but I think I may have started a new tradition! After seeing so many fun projects on the last couple of DIY Days, I told my mom we should try a few projects. We made a couple of fancy snowflakes and decided to make more later. I had also finally decided that I wanted to take a stab at Lindsay's book wreath- check it out at Living with Lindsay.

Here's my take on it...

I'll be totally honest with you, when I first saw the wreath on Lindsay's blog, I wasn't sure if I loved it or hated it. Don't judge me! After my initial, huh??? reaction, the wreath kind of grew on me. Apparently it kind of grew on a LOT of bloggers out there too!! (We tried something a bit different though... so read on).

Anywho, I showed my mom and we decided we were going to make one for each of us and then we decided that my younger sister would join in on the fun. Ah, little did she know what we had in store for her. We're not big Black Friday shoppers, but we did go out later in the day for a few things and gathered supplies at the dollar store. My sister just kept saying, "We're making a wreath out of books???"

Since there were not very many paperback books (that were in decent shape) at our dollar store, we went with hardcover books. I chose mine because I really liked the font (which really doesn't matter much later) and my mom grabbed the other books, sort of based on font style, but also because they had plenty of pages. Oddly enough, I realized later that my book was a fictional story about Freud and Jung! How fitting! Amber's book was about criminal investigation and forensics, which was also somewhat fitting. Mom's book didn't fit quite so well, but it did have a Polish character. :-)

I will admit my sister and I were a little discouraged at first, since it seemed like the first few rows/layers weren't adding up fast enough, but after a while, the wreath took shape. I really liked using a hardcover- the pages were wider, which was good, though we did end up adjusting the length of the pages. We just simply tore a little off the bottom. I usually rolled/folded my torn edges in, but on some it really added some texture and fullness. I also really tried to fill mine pretty tightly when going through for the first time, which meant I didn't have to fill in a lot of holes at the end. My sister actually ended up using nearly 2 books for her wreath!!

Here's my finished product! I realized this pic doesn't do it justice...

Ahhh, this is a little better. You can get a better idea of just how big and pouffy these things are! Initially, I thought the wreath forms at the store were smaller than the one Lindsay used... gosh am I GLAD we didn't get a bigger one!

Mom ended up helping the 2 of us make our wreaths, then she decided that she would use her supplies to make my other sister a wreath, since she couldn't be a part of our Craft-a-Thon... check out our handiwork on my sister's blog here . I think they turned out really well (in spite of what my brother and dad think!)!!

What do you think?

I'm linking up with DIY Day!

Food for Thought...

"Well, it's easy ... until it gets hard."

-Abby {my niece}, age 10

So true, little lady, so true.