Thoughts of an Ice Princess

Made it home today. Grateful to be home, but not excited to go back to work tomorrow. It's probably best that my mini vacation ended though. I seem to get myself into SO much trouble wherever I go. Seriously. There's a brief list of my Bridget Jones moments from the weekend:

:: Didn't get the sunscreen all the way up my legs. Fell asleep on the beach on my stomach for TWO HOURS. Could not bend my legs for two days. My knee pits are still super red and swollen.

:: Sideswiped a taxi as I tried to get into the right turning lane. Luckily Carrie shouted out in time and I only ... um... brushed him. You knew I couldn't escape without a rental car story. YOU ALREADY KNEW THIS! Anyway, the cab driver was this awesome Indian guy with an awesome accent who was SO sweet. We left some smudges on his car and he scuffed up my passenger fender (with bright yellow paint), but all was well and he said "Thank God everyone is ok! Thank you Jesus!" in that fantastic Indian accent. Loved it. But yeah. This morning found me out there in the sun buffing the yellow off the fender. I got 99% of it off (with MUCH WORK), but there was still a scratch in the paint. We'll see if they charge me for it later. *sigh*

:: Cut my thumb with a plastic knife. Yes. I know. It's stupid. They did this awesome Iron Chef/Hunger Games activity which ended up with our team making the best salsa we could. They only gave us plastic knives to chop the veggies and I guess I was vigorous...I cut right through the rubber gloves I was wearing and bled all over the place. Awesome. Our team won for our district though. YES!

:: Left my wallet at a Chevron this morning as I was filling up the rental car before we turned it in. Didn't notice it was gone until I got to the ticket counter at the Long Beach airport. Managed to talk them into checking my bag with a letter from my brother (which had my address on it) and my rental car receipt, which had my name. Carrie ran out to make sure I didn't leave the wallet in the rental car, but no dice. I sent her to get on the plane and I caught a cab back out to the gas station to look around for my wallet. No dice again. However, I did make the cabbie come to a screeching halt multiple times as I thought I might have seen it by the side of the road (I wasn't sure if I left it on the top of the car.) But yeah, it was just humongous leaves that were the same color as my wallet. *sigh* But this was another really nice Indian cabbie. My second of the weekend. He indulged my crazy. Anyway, got back to the airport and talked them into letting me through security. luckily it was a tiny airport, so they were nice and took my meager documentation as ID. I ran through security and by the time I got to the gate, everyone knew my name and was herding me toward the door. Turns out they were holding the door of the plane open for me. But this plane wasn't connected to the terminal. Oh no. I had to RUN around and down several ramps, out onto the tarmac, and up a few more ramps to get onto the plane. Some of the flight attendants applauded when I made it in. Carrie had asked them to hold the door for me, thank heavens. Even more bizarre, was that I had my pillow as my carry on. So through all of this madness, I'm schlepping that thing around, running with it, flinging it into cabs, stuffing stuff into the pillowcase....it was an odd sight, I'm sure.

So now I am without a drivers license, debit card, MAX pass, and temple recommend. However, there was only about $3 in change in the wallet, so that was a blessing. I think I'm most distressed about my Nordstrom hosiery card. (KIDDING). I was proud of how calm I stayed. I was about to weep and wail, but I realized that I could replace all that stuff with some inconvenience and I was blessed it wasn't something more valuable. I canceled my debit card and all is ok. Carrie lost her phone in Disneyland and I think I probably WOULD have cried if that happened to me. My phone is a different story entirely. But we get her phone back safe and sound, good as new and I'm SO glad. That was one crisis avoided.

I'm not sure if the weekend was worth all of this trouble I got myself into, but I really do think it was a good idea for me to go away for a few days. I feel better, despite all the crazy that happened.

I had a huge rehearsal tonight for my final concert of the season. It was actually a wonderful time. Dr. Browne is leading this one and we're doing some music I've performed with him before. I've forgotten how much I love his rehearsals. He is so good at what he does and his old age has mellowed him out. I love it. We had a great time and BRIAN was there. My Brian who was shot with all the broken ribs not even two months ago. He was there and he looked just amazing. I knew he was going to be there and I walked in and he was standing right in my path. We just stopped and smiled at each other and he opened his arms and we had a great hug. He said in my ear "I've been wanting to give you a hug for a long time." and I had to say "Same here, dude." He was really sweet and just said that he's been waiting to be able to thank me in person for my help and yadda yadda. I was SO glad to see him. I just stared at him and was stunned at how well he looks. I grabbed him and gave him another hug and he just laughed. Seriously, miracles are real, people.

Later we were talking and he showed me the scar on his leg and told me about the bullets that are still hanging around in his shoulder and back. We were talking about TSA and how crazy that would be and then I pointed to me and said "Unleaded" and pointed to him and said "Leaded". He laughed like crazy at my stupid joke and we were dorky. I heard him sing tonight, too, as he has a solo. He sounds just as fabulous as he always has. I feel like all is right with the world again.

And now, I'm off to sleep. I may actually point out some GOOD things about my weekend away. There were good things for sure. I enjoyed myself and the weather. Ah, the weather. *sigh*

Tags: bridget jones moment, resonance, singing, song for brian, travels

Ok, this was worth it. i'm lying on my tartan throw on the warm sand of huntington beach. Carrie's nearby and she's reading anne of green gables on her nook. I'm so grateful that she shares my opinion that just sitting here in the sun is the best course of action right now. Man, I love it. It's about 70 degrees, but the sun is warm, so you can swim if you want. I'm wearing a big floppy hat and sunscreen and I could probably die happy here. What is it about a beach that makes life better? I don't get it.

Yesterday was brutal though. We flew into long beach at about 9:30, waited forever for our car rental and then found our way to the hotel. We chose to stay in anaheim even though the conference is here. Turned out that the park was only a mile away, so we walked. We got into the park at around 11:30 and stayed until we couldn't stand it any more. Carrie had never been, so we hit the highlights. We started in california adventure and went on the coolest rides. She adored the roller coaster and the lines were so short we got right back on it. We had amazing corn dogs and then headed to disneyland. DL was soooo crowded and just got worse as the night went on. It was one of the grad nights, so every ride and line was full of super obnoxious teenagers who felt the need to scream and be jerks to impress their peer group. Ugh. However, we got dinner and seats on River Belle Terrace to watch fantasmic and the fireworks, which carrie liked. Those two things always amaze me. Just the money and logistics involved. Crazy!

Anyway, we hobbled home and Carrie realized she's lost her beautiful smart phone in the park...but we called today and someone turned it in. yay! I seriously murdered my poor feet though. I could hardly make it home. My tennis shoes are in much worse shape than I thought. I'm blisters and soreness all over. But today is good because i'm in the sand. Ahhh.

The speakers at the conference were pretty good. There was a dating coach that was pretty excellent. Tonight is a carnival and dinner and an iron chef competition. Should be interesting.

I'm driving the rental car with no major mishaps as of yet. (miracle!) We've got to head back to anaheim before tonight just to change and freshen up. But do I have to leave the beach?

This weekend was busy. Whew. Spent this morning making a huge rainbow for primary and then headed to church and over to my parents' house where we lamely celebrated mother's day. I think my mom was appreciated and she got calls from my brothers, which was good. We got to talk to Sean for a while though and that was awesome!! It was so fun to chat for a while and he sounds so great. He's losing his trainer this week and getting a district leader in his place. It should be interesting.

Anyway, now I'm exhausted and it's time for Monday. Whew. I won't really get a rest for another couple weeks. Next weekend is California and I come back from that and straight into rehearsals for the French concert. I just have to make it three more weeks. And then I'll be FREE. Free to take walks and enjoy the sun. Free to clean out my car and take a bunch of stuff to gooodwill. Free to sing and play the piano on my own. Free to hang out with my family more. Free to go to the Coast, which is where I've been dying to go since late February. :) Now it's finally warm enough to make it worth my while.

So, stuff I have to get done before I leave on Friday:

:: go to Target - W
:: Compile my snacks - W/T
:: Pack - W/T
:: cancel therapy
:: Practice French - T
:: audition for Dr. Browne - W
:: Plan primary and email to L. - T
:: cancel dentist appointment - T
:: Launder things - T

But right now, I'm going to finish baking the cookie dough and make it through the end of this excruciatingly boring episode of Sherlock.

I pretty much murdered my epic to-do list for today. It was ridiculously exhausting, but I also got to have a nice talk with my older brother on my lunch break during all my errands. He's laid up after a foot surgery and was bored. He usually calls me when he's bored. I think I'll choose to be flattered by that.

Anyway, I am exhausted. It's almost 1 AM and I'm waiting for the hotdogs to reheat that Laura had for dinner. I'm going to post here and then sleep like the dead for a while.

I've been thinking tonight about how musical my life has been since Christmas. More musical than it has been since I quit teaching music for a living. Tonight was another PVC concert and we sang the Petite Messe Sollenelle by Rossini. It was a ripping kick in the pants and there were some of the most subline solos and duets performed brilliantly by my friends and colleagues. Such a great evening.

And last week the stake youth choir performed at stake conference in front of the old stake presidency, the new one, and one of the Twelve. There were exactly 70 of them and they did a beautiful, thrilling job. On the one piece we had the harp and two flutes (all three young women, which was awesome) and the other one was a lot simpler. Both were wonderful and I had an amazing time conducting them. The whole meeting was a blessing. I am heartbroken to see President Dalton step down. It was such a blessing to have someone like him have rightful stewardship over me in my stake. However, the new stake president is also a very good man and one whom I've gotten to know a bit in the past. He'll do a great job as well. I'm grateful that President D gets to rest. I know he needs it.

Anyway, then there was Brian's benefit concert back in April that I got to be a big part of. I conducted, rehearsed, sang, and helped organize that and it was a huge blessing for me. Seeing so many old friends was a wonderful way to celebrate Brian and wish him a speedy recovery. And he's doing SO WELL now. I'm bringing them dinner in a couple weeks and I'll make sure to take some quality time to hang out with him and Katie while I'm there. But honestly, I haven't felt synergy like that in a very long time. That group of more than 100 singers was all there for one reason. The singing was loud and heartfelt and, incidentally, very beautiful. I enjoyed that so much.

Before that was the wacky wacky concert we did with Third Angle for the Rothko Chapel exhibit at the Portland Art Museum. I got to play an AM radio for the John Cage piece as well as sing some wacky wacky music. I also heard some really cool stuff from the other performances. The house was packed, the ambiance was super effective, and it was WAY more fun than I expected it to be. So glad I got to be a part of that one.

And back in February, we did the Best of the Northwest concert with PVC which turned out to be my favorite one of those we've ever done. There were some real gems in there that really moved me and stayed with me long after the concert was over. I still think of that Walt Whitman poem and that setting of the Edna St. Vincent Milay poem is probably in the top 10 most wonderful things I've ever gotten to sing.

I WILL be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

Through all of this, I've been teaching music to my fabulous primary kids every Sunday. They sang for Easter and pretty much knocked the ward on its pin if I do say so myself. And they are just so hilarious and sweet. This is the hardest I've ever worked in a ward or stake calling and it took me a few weeks to decide that this was going to be this much work and I just needed to get used to it. Once I came to terms with that, I've been fine that my Sunday mornings are usually spent with posterboard and glue sticks. It's actually dump trucks full of fun and I have learned a lot from the kids, from the other women in Primary, and just from doing this type of calling for the first time. What a blessing.

I think that there was a time when I needed to step away from all the music just because it was my day job and had become linked with my stress and my perceived failures and all the angst that went with that. I've been lucky to sing in these professional choirs a few times a year, but that was the extent of it until this year. I'm grateful that my life is more musical again, that I'm teaching music again though on a smaller scale, and that I've had opportunities to run rehearsals and conduct and receive such positive feedback from that. I am very VERY good at all of it. That's the bottom line. I still don't think I could make it my day job again, but I'm glad that it's back in ways that I can do. It's a wonderful thing and makes my life awesome.

I have one more concert with Dr. Browne at the beginning of June. It's all French and French composers, which will be super fun. Dr. Browne is bizarre, but I know his deal and we are super tight. It'll be a fun (and long) concert to sing in. And after that, I'm done with the professional singing for the summer. I'll miss it, but I'll also enjoy the break. And I'll still have my primary kiddos every week. They'll always be there, needing pictures glued to the ends of paint sticks. :)

This post was written yesterday and then I thought my lj phone app ate it. But here it is! So this one counts for two days, too.

I let yesterday's post count for two days since I posted it at midnight. I'm posting this one from my phone because I'm snuggled up in bed almost asleep. I had rehearsal tonight for yet another concert this weekend. I also booked our car rental for california next weekend. Carrie booked the hotel.

I'm starting to look forward to that trip in spite of myself. It's been excellent fodder for my therapist though. Heh. It'll just be nice to go somewhere. And you all know how I feel about disneyland. Of course i'm looking forward to that one the most.

Having booked this trip before i realized how broke I was and could smoothly back out, I've had to really scrimp these let few weeks. It stressed me out at first because I started down the "I need another job" spiral of doom which is an easy way to ruin my own life. However, I shook that off and contented myself with feeling suffocated and broke.

But, I've been blessed. I think this really was the only way I would have been able to get a handle on my terrible eating habits. Having such a tight budget forces me to plan my entire week and buy only what I need. I know this is easy for the rest of the world at large, but it's always been a struggle for me. Anyway, I've been doing well and saving lots of money on food. I'm also losing weight as a result.

I got to thinking today about all the things that are going right and saving me money. My car is running well. Gas prices are slowly eeking down. I was able to buy the things I really needed (shoes, jacket, etc.) with my tax return, and so I'm pretty well outfitted for summer. I have a steady job that is currently pretty low stress. I have singing gigs to help with the financial crunch...and they're fun. I've been able to keep up with my tithing. When I think about it that way, i'm so grateful. There are plenty of things going right, and i'm glad.

And now, goodnight. :)

I think that you can tell a whole lot about a person's mental state and psychological issues by watching how they browse and post on Pinterest. It's a unique place on the internet and I'm starting to notice trends in my own pinning (when I do it, which is probably during one or two browsing sessions a week) and in the pinning of the world at large.

Here's a random list of my own observations and Pinterest quirks just because I took a nap today and I'm now up late and bored. :)

1. Macarons will never EVER look appetizing to me. They all look dry and untasty. Pinterest is overrun with macarons.

2. Quinceanera dresses...what the heck? I didn't realize anyone still made dresses like that.

3. My trust issues surface and I'm now paranoid that every pin is a secret doorway to an advertisement posted by a bot instead of as someone's bookmark. Some are obvious and some are not.

4. I tend to not post extravagant interior design ideas because I don't have a lot of faith that I'll have a) the house b) the money and c) the motivation to make it happen.

5. I really like Disney-inspired art. Don't judge.

6. All strapless wedding dresses look the same to me. They kind of just blur together in one big boring.

7. My wedding board is called 'Myth and Legend'. My therapist would thwap me for that, but there you go.

8. The only time I seriously consider letting my hair grow really long is when I see another pinned tutorial of how to do the sock bun. I SO want to try that...

9. I pin and covet handbags that I would NEVER, EVER shell out for. However, they give me ideas about what to look for in the cheapies.

10. Pinterest feeds on my fear of forgetting or losing track of good ideas. My favorite boards are my 'save the space' board and my 'remedies and fixes' board. I'm always up for good storage and time saver ideas.

11. Yay. yellow and grey are obviously the fad wedding colors of choice this year. I guess Pinterest is a good way to figure out what NOT to do if you don't want your wedding to look like every other wedding that summer.

12. I think I'm over having a color-coordinated wedding...or even a reception...or even a wedding. But that's another psychological issue entirely.

13. Some things should NOT be repurposed. Please don't make a flower pin out of melted plastic spoons. Please.

14. Pinterest really did help me improve my eyeshadow application and color choices. It also taught me how to put bronzer on right.

15. The food on Pinterest is the best in town.

16. Though I'm amazed at the lengths some people will go make food look cute. Some cute is fun. some is...too much work.

17. Pinterest makes me feel better about myself when I see what appalling taste some people have.

18. Believe it or not, all the pictures of women with rock hard abs are a positive motivator for me. Not necessarily effective, but I get a mild stirring of "Look at that. wouldn't that be nice?" which is more than I usually have.

19. Since being on Pinterest, I have bought more jewelry for myself than I ever have before. I think this is a good thing. I love jewelry.

20. I miss Ryan Gosling. He hasn't been around lately and he made Pinterest so much more fun.

If you haven't tried Pinterest, I think you would like it. Yes, you. It's basically a visual bookmarking tool that lets you categorize and do whatever you want with your bookmarks. It's also cool to see a random feed of everyone else's bookmarks. Some of them are truly awful. :)

On my way to bed. Super busy day.

We had choir rehearsal this morning with the kids and they wired up the harp and the flutes and we ran it with all the instrumentalists. SO LOVELY! I was missing piles of kids because of various campouts and stuff, but they still did well. We'll be awesome when everyone comes tomorrow. I really love this group. I'll miss them when this is done.

Drove down to the outlet mall with my mom just to see if I could find some decent Sunday wear. Found two fantastic skirts and a couple great tops, so it was well worth the drive. Still really lame on the shoe front, but that's par for the course.

Went to see the Avengers tonight. It was awesome. Stay till the end of BOTH sets of credits because the gag at the very end is silly but just so worth it. Man. I loved this movie because it was dang funny and had Tony Stark in it with all of his snark and brilliance PLUS everyone else. What's not to love about that? Oh, and yes. Thor. It had Thor in it. And Jeremy Renner. Yum. Oh and Thor. And Loki. I kind of love Loki. I started to root for things to go right for the villain because his slow, evil smile is probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The man is GORGEOUS. Like, work of art gorgeous. I basically pretty much loved the whole dang thing.

And now I'm waiting for laundry so I can go to bed. Tomorrow is stake conference. The kids will sing, President Dalton will get released, we all will cry, and I will come home and eat that piece of cheesecake that's waiting for me in the fridge. And then watch Sherlock. Sounds like a great plan!

Today was extremely normal. My cold is definitely on the way out, I thought deep thoughts at work and started tackling a project I've been avoiding, and had lunch with Tracy. I love Tracy.

This evening has been spent hole punching music and putting it in those really annoying paper folders with the three pronged holders in the middle. Blech. I have 63 folders with music in therm. Not sure if that will be enough, but we shall see.

Seriously, this has been the LONGEST WEEK. It seems like ages since I saw the kids for rehearsal last Saturday. We have on early tomorrow morning and I just hope we can get everything presentable. There's really not much more I can do at this point, but tomorrow we'll have the harp and both flutes, so it should be fun. They sounded good last week. It's just hard to get them to sing their most fabulously at 8 o'clock on a Saturday morning. They are awesome though.

Avengers tomorrow. I'm sure it will be tons of fun. :) But now, I must bed. Because...bed.

Danny and Stef are in town this week with their four fantastic children. We've played and played and PLAYED. I have played so much that I haven't had time to take pictures of how cute they are. But trust me, they're cute. We've had fun the little bit I've been with them this week, but we played ALL last weekend. So fun.

Tonight Jessie and Ellen came over and make cookie press cookies with Laura and me. The cookie press is fun because it makes all sorts of shapes and the cookies are flavored with jello. YUM.



There's Jessie with her pan of shapes. And here's Ellen:



We watched I Love Lucy episodes, ate pizza, and made cookies. It was pretty awesome.



Meanwhile, Sean is having a great time in the MTC. He has an awesome companion called Elder Knobbe (pronounced Elder Kenobi) and he has written some great letters to various people in the fam. I'm SO proud of him and so grateful he's having a good experience. I know he'll be wonderful. :)

I'm grateful for my family. We're insane and completely irrational. But I'm loved by them, which is what matters. It's been great to hang out with them all this week.

It's weird when one of your dear friends lives in someplace that's hot most of the time. Kind of...humid. My habit of gifting knitwear doesn't really work that well for her. HOWEVER, since she's back in Atlanta (and not in the scorching swamp of NOLA), I figured she might get cold hands. Maybe. Sometimes. And since she's a writer, I figured she would want her fingers free for those days she's clacking away at the next epic chapter.

I could be wrong on all points. *sigh* Maybe she can wear them when the air conditioning is up too high??







I tweaked this pattern to add a thumb gusset. I've decided that I hate glove/wristy patterns that are written so your thumb pokes out of the continuous knit. I want my thumb to feel some LOVE and some space. So, there you go. My notes are over at Ravelry.

This yarn is pretty awesome. It falls in the category of 'expensive' because I bought it at a yarn shop and they had to use the swift to wind it for me. However, it's been in my stash for over 2 years and I only had one ball of it. I was just waiting for the perfect project for it and this was IT. And now I kind of love that yarn and wish that I could afford yarn shop yarn all the time. It feels so nice to knit and the weave is so solid and sturdy feeling. I love that. This is the Berroco Ultra Alpaca, in case anyone cares. :)

This is the same Stockholm Scarf pattern I used for my plummy scarf, but I shortened the length by 40 stitches for this version. I used Caron Simply Soft because, honestly, the yarn is inexpensive and comes in amazing colors. My notes are over at ravelry if you want to get in on the pattern action. :)

I actually LOVED the result of less stitches. It's shorter and just long enough to wrap twice and be bulky around your neck. It will stretch in time. (Be sure you use this bind off technique to make it nice and stretchy.)







Diane really loved the color (as did I!) and it looked fantastic next to her face. Don't look at it next to my face. I didn't mean to look so serious. :) (Thanks to Laura for snapping pictures for me).

I'm tempted to make myself ANOTHER ONE at this length. I've been wearing my long one non-stop since I made it.

I've had a pretty delightful few days. I was kind of a zombie through them all because I've been having trouble sleeping, but they were delightful all the same. I finally got a solid 10 hours of sleep last night and I'm feeling much more normal, if not a little groggy. I think there are still sheet creases on my face.

Anyway, it's time for a list. Delightful things in no particular order:

1. My niece, Emily. Holy crumb, she is CUTE. Observe:



Right?? Everyone's been rather enchanted with her (she's 3 months old). One night I brought her into a room and sat down. My two younger brothers and Laura came in a bit later and sat on the floor or right next to me, kind of facing her like she was a TV. We joked about how we were all mesmerized by her and Sean said "She's better than TV. There are no commercials!" LOL Indeed. Love that kid. She's a darling.

2. My dad's Christmas eve message. This is the first year he's been back to church and he has a calling and is taking it all seriously. He sat us all down and gave a nice little message about the birth of Christ and the prophesies, etc. It was so nice and I really enjoyed it. I think it's less about anyone else changing and more about me changing, actually.

3. In general, Christmas Eve was awesome. Laura and I headed out for a few last minute things and I ended up finding the most fabulous sweater dress for dirt cheap. YAY! I bought it to wear for Christmas Day singing. Laura got us delicious hot chocolate and we made one last-ditch effort to find chocolate oranges. Alas, we were unsuccessful.

We thought that Gary and Diane wouldn't be with us for presents on Christmas Day, so my mom was all ready for an awesome Christmas Eve celebration. She had everything DONE (which took no small effort, I know) and we had a nice chili dinner and family home evening, and the most amazing assortment of delicious treats. I made cider and my popcorn stuff and she made cookies and had some yummy stuff. We practiced the song that they were singing in sacrament meeting the next day and had a good time.


4. As it turned out, Gary and Diane WERE with us for presents on Christmas day. I have no idea what happened, but I know there is a bit of tension with both moms (my mom and Diane's mom) about 'sharing' them. Ugh. I don't envy Gary and Diane for the navigation of that minefield. I think it's ok though. I hope so. Anyway, that was really the only source of drama, and it wasn't really bad. I was glad that they got to stay though because the light-saber fight would have been lamer without Gary there. It was also fun to have the babykins there for the morning.

5. Christmas morning was busy. Laura headed off to go to church with my parents. I couldn't because I'd promised to sing in my own ward. I sang with the choir and sang He Shall Feed his Flock from Messiah. I got so many nice compliments, some accompanied with tears. I was exhausted and near hysterics myself, so I shed some of my own tears. I love my ward SO MUCH. Evan, Sean and Laura came to hear me sing, which was nice of them. It was a really great meeting with lots of beautiful music and I appreciated it. After that we headed off to my parent's place and had brunchy bacon and eggs (also fixed by my mother. Jeez. That woman is probably exhausted today) and then got to presents after noon. It took us that long. :)

6. Opening presents was so much fun as it always is with such an enormous group of people. It was fun to see people open up gifts I gave them and we all had things that we really loved to get. My favorites were my Harry Potter DVD set (ALL 8 MOVIES OH MY GOSH!) and the Billy Joel keyboard book that Laura got me. Evan got me my sonic screwdriver, which was super fun. The light sabers were the best part though. My mom assumed (correctly) that I wouldn't really want one, but they got one for Gary, Evan, Sean, and Laura. It was hilarious. They all leapt up and started faux fighting. Love love love. I wonder if Diane thought we were crazy. I have a feeling she didn't. She comes from pretty nerdy stock herself. :) That's partly why I like her.

7. My knitted goods were appreciated, which made me happy. My mom liked her slippers and wore them around the rest of the day. Dad loved his gloves and decreed that yes, he would like flaps on them. (I didn't have time for flaps and decided to leave it up to him.) He LOVED the addition of the thumb flap. I'll post pictures of these when I'm done. Diane really liked her scarf and oohed and ahhed over the color. It did look rather fabulous on her. :) I'll post pictures of that soon, too.

8. Our Christmas dinner consisted of hot dogs and the most artery-clogging cheese dip and tortilla chips EVAR. Perfect. I kind of hate the thought of making a big traditional holiday dinner on Christmas day. My mom has done it a few times, but I'd much rather eat leftovers and just relax.

9. I'm grateful that I get today off. I'm sorry that Laura has to work, but she ended up going in late just so she could feel a bit better. She's been having headaches over the past few days, which is mostly exhaustion and maybe some sugar high. She gets NO time off for Christmas, but I know there are people in her same boat. :(

Here's my list of not delightful:

1. I've been so looking forward to this weekend and time with my family that the thought of going back to this job is one I'm doggedly avoiding. *sigh* I'm lucky to have a job.

2. There are so many choices for new year's resolutions that I'm kind of avoiding that, too. It's funny that my resolutions are less about NOT doing things (smoking, gambling, etc) and more about DOING things (scriptures, exercising, vitamins, etc). I'm still thinking about it.

3. My new calling starts next week and I'm nervous. Never mind that I have a DEGREE in this particular subject and practice, I'm still nervous. Everyone has been emailing me and commenting to me that they know I'll be awesome and I feel some pressure to be awesome. I guess I always feel that. I know they will be delighted with anything I do, but I'm still kind of anxious. It's silly. I'm also going to really miss Relief Society. *sigh* However, service is good. Service service service. It'll be fun after I can shake the jitters.

4. 2011 has really sucked in general. I would love to spend 2012 focusing my energy on something besides being worried about my job. That's the goal, I think.

Hope you all had a good weekend!!

I'm wrapping up the knitting projects for Christmas and, to procrastinate the rest of my knitting, I'm posting pictures of a few of them.



The first project is this pair of Options Slippers I made for my momsy. I loved this pattern when I saw it on Ravelry because they looked a wee bit stylish. However, I can't decide if they're hideous because of the wacky yarn I chose. Here they are on my own feet, just for picture's sake.



These are double knit, which means you hold to strands of yarn together the whole time. It makes them super cushy and thick, which I love. For the tops I held an hombre and a solid together, hence the red mixed in with the other colors. I can't decide if I like it or if it's gross, but it's too late now. :)



I love the shaping around the heel and ankle. I stitched the top and bottom together with a blanket stitch, which I didn't know how to do before this. Nifty!



We'll see if they fit my mom's feet. I made them a bit wider for days when her feet were a little swollen and hopefully she doesn't think they're ugly. (I'm not fishing for compliments. I really can't decide if they're nice or bizarre.)

I made stuff which means that I have to make a big deal and post pictures. YAY!

See, usually I make toffee to give away to people, but toffee is REALLY EXPENSIVE to make and it doesn't go very far. So I thought I'd make something that...fills more space. Yes, Ho ho ho. I'm a grinch.



I adapted it from this recipe, but I added MOAR STUFF. Here's what I had:



Christmas Minty Munch

12 cups popped popcorn (air popped. If you don't have an air popper, do it like I did and microwave it in brown paper lunch bags.)
1 lb of almond bark
1 cup mint M&Ms
1 cup roasted, salted peanuts
A pile of pretzel sticks, broken in half
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Put your popped popcorn in the biggest bowl you own. Add M&Ms, peanuts, and pretzels, just laying them on top of the popcorn. Break your almond bark into smaller pieces and melt according to package directions. (I just melt it in the microwave on medium power and stir every 90 seconds or so.)

Then just pour melted almond bark on the popcorn mixture and mix it to death. Mix and mix and mix. You want everything coated and evenly spread out. Mix and Mix. Lay out a bunch of wax paper (a cookie sheet wasn't big enough for me, so I just used my counter top) and dump out your melty popcorn. Spread it out in one layer so it can cool.



Melt your chocolate chips in a ziploc bag in the microwave (moosh them around every minute or so until they're smooth). Snip the corner off the bag (just a tiny tiny corner) and drizzle that fabulousness over your popcorn. Leave it to cool. Break into chunks and store in air tight container. Yum.

I tasted this and it was the perfect touch of mint. Some people flavor the almond bark with mint, but I didn't. The M&Ms add just enough mint flavor and the peanuts and pretzels salt it up. YUM!

The Scottish. The kissing. The sequins. Merry Christmas.

I have this strange problem with my Christmas cards. I have three piles of cards from this year and the last few years. I try not to send folks the same card I already sent them, but you know I can't remember. Forgive me if you get the SAME CARD from me. You can be like Mr. Bean and hang them all up in a row.



You know I licked them that way, too. You KNOW it. (If you want a card, licked all over, and you haven't commented, go over here and comment with your address. :)

"Never mind how much we believe, or no; In the difficult moments, we all pray...So there must be a God." - Placido Domingo. I just heard him say this in an interview on PBS when he talked about playing certain roles that convinced him that there is more to our existence than just this life on the Earth. Right on. :)

I'm sending out Christmas cards! Leave me your address if you want one and I'll screen the comments. :)