11-30-09

A Christmas still life for this last day of November.

We got our first Christmas card; it is time to finalize the newsletter, cut the photo wallets, and write the cards.

It's time to plot our which activities we want to get to in December, and get them on the calendar. I just sent out a Connections e-mail about four activities offered just this next weekend, oy!

It's definitely time to wrap up my Christmas projects - fruitcake, bottle covers, stitched ornaments.

And it's time to escape from all the holiday hoopla in Christmas themed novels. I normally read the most between Thanksgiving and New Years.

"For many of us, sadly, the spirit of Christmas is "hurry". And yet, eventually, the hour comes when the rushing ends and the race against the calendar mercifully comes to a close...The pre-Christmas rush may do us greater service than we realize. With all its temporal confusion, it may just help us to see that by contrast, Christmas itself is eternal." - Burton Hills

11-29-09

Drat, the long weekend is coming to a close. Back to reality...

Today we had breakfast in our room while we watched movies, then headed to Mars Hill church. It was an interesting service, but over two hours is pushing it.

After lunch we headed back to Fischer's for another Thanksgiving feast. I tried to get a family shot, but this is as good as it gets.

"There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy." - Ralph Blum

11-28-09

Our day to be grown ups. After lunch we took a hotel shuttle ride downtown, and the driver mentioned that we are getting a chance to be grown-ups.

And where on most evenings I am winding down by 9pm, we headed to Chopstix for drinks, dessert and dueling pianos. Our hotel room is right above the bar, so going back for my forgotten ID wasn't a big deal.

Our day also included:

Walk to Seattle Center, weaving through a 5K run

Lunch at Dicks Drive In. So many old eating establishments, so little time!

Explored the crowded Pike Place Market, including a Chukar Cherries purchase

Hand picked $40 of chocolate at Sees (thanks mom!)

Wandering through the Bodies exhibit

Some final (done except for two things!) Christmas shopping despite Bruce's grumbling about carrying purchases

Checking out the uniquely decorated nutcrackers on March of the Nutcrackers (photo is my favorite, Jimi Hendrix style)

Dinner at Phuket Thai for a second night

Enjoying our time as grown ups!

11-27-09

And so our traditional weekend in Seattle begins. We are back in the funky old hotel in Queen Anne, thinking maybe we can eat our way through Seattle.

We started at Pioneer Square, for Elliot Bay Books, lunch at a Mediterranean hole-in-the-wall, and Cow Chip Cookies for dessert. Then we drove through downtown and finally found the Seattle Art Museum outdoor statue garden (here is Bruce with the Space Needle and Eagle statue in the background). Last year we couldn't find it.

Next stop was the beach at Golden Gardens, since it was such a nice day. But chilly! We checked into our hotel, watched some TV (Ugly Truth is a stupid movie!), had dinner at a Thai hole-in-the-wall, and I got my first Peppermint Mocha of the season at Starbucks.

Having fun!

11-26-09

OK, I'm proud of myself for taking more photos on Thanksgiving than normal, but I still didn't get any treasures.

We went to Uncle Pats & Aunt Mo's for Thanksgiving dinner with my dads side of the family. Here you see Aleta (Ryan's girlfriend), Uncle Keith, and Aunt Liz.

Bruce was well enough to join us after all.

As many M&M's as the kids could wolf down.

Sweet potatoes AND candied yams.

Brendin playing with trains, pulling in several engineer helpers.

Remembering to fill my system with antihistamines to share the house with Trigger, Abbey, and the cat.

Eating myself sick, and adding pie before the stomach ache subsided.

Happy Thanksgiving!

11-25-09

Our house is Christmasized. Three nativities, three Santa's, and more angels and snowmen than you can shake a stick at.

With being gone all weekend, I really wanted to get our Christmas stuff up today. With Bruce out of commission, I gave myself a personal challenge to see if I could get the artificial tree up.

The answer is "no". After assembling and reassembling it, I could not get all the lights plugged in. But three cheers for Anastasia; she is better at puzzles than me and kept at it until the whole thing was lit up.

But they both thought we should wait for dad to decorate it. Not sure if it is nostalgia or laziness, but I gave in.

One month to Christmas!

11-24-09

Look who's down for the count.

I was going about a fantastic day at work, oblivious that Bruce was coming down with stomach flu.

But we had/have plans! Hoping that he is back on his feet very soon and that my immunity stays heightened.

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book." ~Irish Proverb

11-23-09

Guess where I was this afternoon? I had a very unproductive day at work today, so it was pretty easy to walk out early. Hoping to make up for it tomorrow.

The ladies lost, but it's all good experience. It was a fun day for Anastasia, to be playing against one of her best friends, Loren.

I'll miss tomorrows game, but Grandma and Grandpa Fischer are here to see it. maybe his camera will capture the action better than mine.

Happy Monday!

11-22-09

"Can we make a rainbow?" - Kaylina

Many years ago I went to a conference for Sunday School teachers and got a lot of great preschool ideas - the magic of simple repetition games, fill a small suitcase with beans to play with, buy scarves at thrift stores for music time, etc.

In Aberdeen I had a ton of different patterned scarves and we had a "scarf dance" each week. When I moved to Longview and started over, I found that Oriental Trading Company had scarves available for sale. Not quite as fun, but a lot easier. So the weekly "scarf dance" lives on.

One advantage of the plain colored scarves is that we can line up to match the colors of the rainbow - a simple repetitive game!

"A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine." - Unknown

11-21-09

Not sure how we ended up with two Connections events in the same weekend, but this afternoon was our Santa's Elves workshop. We had layered jar cookies and soup, jewelry projects, and other fun crafty items.

I got some Christmas preparations done, but mostly helped things run smoothly. As did Anastasia. She is a great little helper with the little girls. She made me a gorgeous necklace too.

A slower pace in store for tomorrow? Negative. More church activities, and more running around.

“In about the same degree as you are helpful, you will be happy.” -Karl Reiland

11-20-09

Shoebox Ministries is a long tradition in our house. In Aberdeen we had a church wide drive for shoeboxes each November, and I would easily fill a dozen. I would always shop for kids the same age as my kids.

This year I broke with that tradition. I filled 3 shoeboxes, one for a girl age 2-4, one for a boy age 5-9, and a girl age 10-12. We kept the tradition of hosting an event with other families to go shopping at Wal-mart together.

And our crockpot dessert, Minsiters Delight, seems to be a tradition too! Regardless, bring on Christmas, now that our first holiday event has come!

“When we give what we can and give it with joy, we don't just renew the American tradition of giving, we also renew ourselves.” - Bill Clinton

11-19-09

I didn't think I'd make it to Anastasia's basketball game this afternoon, but things change.

Let me just say that nothing makes me feel like an old crippled lady more than sitting in those bleachers for 90 minutes!

The Mustangs (in white, Anastsia has the ball) won, but they still seem to be trying to get in their groove.

"The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!" - Marvin Phillips

11-18-09

I'm only home for lunch a few days a month, when I have to practically drive by the house to get from my morning meeting to my afternoon office.

Today I was lucky enough to get a baby fix. Bruce had an impromptu babysitting session with little miss Riley. I got to have a mini photo session, feed her a bottle, rock her to sleep, and miraculously avoid her spitting all over my work outfit. She's sure a cutie, especially when she is smiling. Her and Bruce were sticking out their tongues at each other.

"Babies are bits of stardust, blown from the hand of God." - Barretto

11-17-09

Only spent 3 hours in the office today even though I put in an 8 hour day.

Left early to watch Anastasia's basketball game. Don't like that they are right at dinnertime, but like that they are late enough in the day for me to attend some.

The girls didn't win, but I don't think anyone expected them too, and even I can see BIG improvement from last week.

You go girls!

"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -William Faulkner

11-16-09

She may be smiling, but she's not happy.

She's bickering with her brother, she's a whirlwind of discontent, and she's full of excuses:

- I’ve been too busy.
- Xander is always on the TV.
- It’s a hassle to move the laptop.

Looking forward to bedtime - but hers or mine?!?

“Do you WANT to be in trouble?” – Dad to Anastasia

11-15-09

Last weekend when we were at Red Robin, they handed out coupons to a free onion ring tower.

Since we didn't have plans this weekend, we headed down to Vancouver again this weekend to cash in.

Anastasia was in Portland on Friday and Saturday for Revolve, so it's a road well travelled for her.

"The journey of a thousand pounds begins with a single burger." -Chris O'Brien

11-14-09

Are you a fan of fruitcake?

I LOVE it and look forward to Grama's mini loaves each year. But I've also had a chocolate fruitcake recipe that I have been wanting to try for the past two years.

November is typically a crazy time for me, and this year I still feel slightly frazzled. But my goal this year is to tackle all the Christmas projects I've meant to do for years and Bruce did the hard part of hunting down all the weird ingredients, so today I baked fruitcake.

It still needs to set up for a few weeks, but early indications suggest the potential for a new holiday tradition...

"It would be good if it didn't have the fruit in it." - Xander

11-13-09

I loathe felt.

It seemed like such an easy craft project, but gluing felt is proving to be a nightmare. My goal for tonight was to get everything ready for our craft day at church next weekend, but all I have to show for my time is glitter and glue all over the dining room table.

Must remember, no felt projects ever again.

“We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.” - Helen Keller ... even if the glue doesn't stick! :)

11-12-09

I knew what my blog photo was going to be.

Anastasia's first basketball game.

And then I forgot the camera!

So I had to take this after the game.

They won the game. I've only ever watched the Globetrotters, I think I'm going to like basketball just fine.

"Basketball is like photography, if you don't focus, all you have is the negative." - Dan Frisby

11-11-09

I've been pushing the excercise hard lately. 300-400 calories a day. Run two miles every morning, and another session in the evening. Missing the nice weather and daylight for sure.

The more calories I burn the more junk I can eat! I've been smelling cookies that the girls baked for 24 hours now and it's about killing me. I hid some in the freezer for a weaker day...

Tonight after church Bruce and I did a quick "workout with a friend" on wii Active. Keeping me out of the kitchen on many levels.

"Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental states." ~Carol Welch

11-10-09

Tomorrow is a holiday for some.

But not for working mom.

Manna is spending the night; the guys are up late playing computer games; I'm heading to bed so I can spend tomorrow making final updates to the 2010 plan.

However you spend tomorrow, make it a good one.

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." ~Cynthia Ozick

11-09-09

Congrats to both kids for their 4.0 grades today!

Here is one of the posts Anastasia put on Facebook today:
i LOVE my life, my friends, my enimies, my family, and my GRADES!!!! only bad thing today is my tenor sax broke right in the middle of jazz band today so now i got to learn 3 new songs on my flute, for the concert tomorrow!

Dad’s comment back to her:
Maybe you can learn to love spelling words correctly? :)But gratz on your grades. You did great....again.

Alexander doesn’t seem to have any Facebook status updates. But he has done a lot of quizzes and recently plucked some luxurious down feathers from his duck in FarmVille!

Charlie Brown: Why do we have to have all this pressure about grades, Linus?

Linus: Well, I think that the purpose of going to school is to get good grades so then you can go on to high school; and the purpose is to study hard so you can get good grades so you can go to college; and the purpose of going to college is so you can get good grades so you can go on to graduate school; and the purpose of that is to work hard and get good grades so we can get a job and be successful so that we can get married and have kids so we can send them to grammar school to get good grades so they can go to high school to get good grades so they can go to college and work hard...

Charlie Brown: Good grief!

- From There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown (1973)

11-08-09

Can you see the rain in the photo?!?

So glad we are finally done with soccer season! It wasn't as windy today, so I could handle being outdoors, but it sure isn't fun!

Ready to go back to work tomorrow to rest a bit from this busy weekend!

"May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart might desire." - Irish Blessing

11-07-09

We TOTALLY forgot that we had tickets to a hockey game tonight until 11:30pm last night. Oops!

So rearrange our weekend and off we go. It was an AWESOME game. Sudden death overtime, our two local teams, there with friends.

Hockey goes way back to our dating days. Xander was named after a 1993-94 T-birds player, Alexandre Malvichuk.

Here's one of my favorite part of the games - the altercations. Fight! Fight! Fight! Finally got a photo of one, so had to use it today.

LOC8 NTMD8 DVST8

11-06-09

This evening we headed to Vancouver for a concert. We saw FM Static, This Beautiful Republic, Audio Unplugged, Thousand Foot Krutch, and Jars of Clay. Wish they played more of their popular songs, but that is how it goes at concerts.

Head is still pounding; music vibrated all through my internal organs. Now I must go to bed! Xander and I don't deal well with staying up past our bedtime.

"There are three bands left?" - Xander, trying to figure out how soon we can go home

11-05-09

When I was a kid, we made endless trips to the corner liquor store to buy candy. [In California mini marts are called liquor stores, for you Washingtonians.]

Now the tradition lives on with Anastasia and Alexander. Xander had some money burning a hole in his pocket, so they walked to the Hemlock store after school today.

It makes me sad that it is no longer safe to do many of the things that I did as a kid, but it is nice to give them this small freedom.

“The events of childhood do not pass, but repeat themselves like seasons of the year.”
Eleanor Farjeon

11-04-09

My world is a lot darker this week.

Not jsut because of daylight savings change, but wow, that contributes!

We are one of twelve households competing to save energy. So far the only concrete change we've made is to keep the lights out.

I miss having the house ablaze, but I can see how it is more responsible to turn off a light when leaving a room. So I'm trying.

"Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark." ~Rabindranath Tagore

11-03-09

A lot of people around me are going through a lot right now. In comparison, my life seems very mundane.

To seemingly reinforce the point, we had a family card game of Hearts tonight. We took turns at failed attempts to shoot the moon.

Things may seem boring, but I am not bored. I am blessed.

“I like boring things.” - Andy Warhol

11-02-09

A Creating Keepsakes magazine came in the mail for me today.

It seems like i can't finish one magazine before two more arrive. I even get some I never asked for.

I keep them in the car for unexpected delays. Sometimes I read them at work on ergonomic breaks. I read them at the allergy clinic.

But I hardly ever read them at home. And I rarely read them in the season they are meant for.

"A magazine is simply a device to induce people to read advertising." - James Collins

11-01-09

What do you do the day after Halloween?

A. Get up at 5am, get confused about what time it really is, fail to wake up your family, and almost be late for church.

B. Watch your family dispose of the pumpkins in a very non-convential way.

C. Order the big treat at DQ instead of OD'ing on Halloween candy.

D. Be reminded that this is the anniversary of my first date with Bruce.

E. All of the above.

Happy November!