Merry Christmas

Christmas morning with the family!



I woke up this morning to Lonny calling me like it was "old tyme." Like back in the day when he'd wait as long as he could (usually around 6am) before waking me up to tell me what I got in my stocking. Then we'd both wait as long as we could (usually another hour) before waking mom and dad.

I got dressed and joined the rest of the fam (at Lon & Jaime's) for gifts and Christmas breakfast. We had a nice time before mom and dad had to head out to the airport. I found some time in the afternoon to go to a movie with the Hens - then stopped home to let the dogs out before heading back to Lon's for some leftover Christmas dinner. I just got home - let the dogs out - and now fed them . . but neither puppy ran for the food. Strange . . they should be more than ready for dinner. . . .then I found this.



I guess the puppies couldn't wait for me to get home - they helped themselves to the rest of the orange cookies and donuts from pierogi/cabbage roll making day. Huh. Guess I'll be getting up a few times tonight with sick puppies. We'll see. Ugg.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL!

Little Red Hens 2

Today was the second annual Polish food making day!



We waited until this weekend so the Queen Hen could join us from Vegas! Mom and dad have been in MN since Wednesday night - and we planned to spend today cooking pierogi and cabbage rolls for Christmas dinners. Heidi arrived around 8:20 this morning . . and the people didn't stop coming! Mom and Dad, Julie, Michele and the girls, Lon & Jaime & Alice, Mary Joy and Greg, Jon and Genevieve - even uncle Jim and cousin Fred stopped by!

We cooked, ate, gossiped, talked sh*t, laughed, and some drank. Some drank more than others. It was fun day as my apartment was full of family and laughing! Baxter and Bella enjoyed being under foot - and loved going outside with grandpa!



Even as we (my generation) are still learning and trying to perfect our ethnic food techniques - we dragged in the NEXT generation. Kelsey and Abby got right into it. I think they enjoyed it - they should have - they did a great job!



Here are the (cool) cousins who hung out today (the Jeromes and Nordins) - including THREE future Hens - Kelsey, Abby, and Alice.



Now for a little relaxation, gift wrapping, and re-grouping! Tomorrow and Monday will be busy days! Merry Little Christmas Eve to you all!

First Week of December

Ok - It's December again - and it's been a busy week. Last weekend was the craft fair (finally!) - and I got to spend the whole day with Alice! I was kinda bummin'- because I'd figure she'd get cranky - and I'd have to take her home (therefore missing something) . . . but she held out. All day. Like 12 hours. Like I was kinda hoping she'd need to go home and take a nap. I needed a nap. :) It was a great day - I hung out with Alice pretty much the whole time - but also covered for Lon and Jaime when they needed P breaks - and if anyone needed food. Alice and I took a few walks around the place in the stroller - and even a few in the Baby Bjorn. Here's the smiley girl near the end of a long day of fair'n. (This is actually her 2nd outfit - I didn't get my camera out until after she'd messed the cute "Books by J-Me" onesie she had on.



Even though I REALLY could have crawled into bed and slept until Sunday - when I got home from the craft fair - I changed clothes - and waited for Donnie and Julie to come over so we could head out to see Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. It was a great show.



Some highlights:

1. Donnie got a kick ass parking spot (which rubbed off on me the following day).
2. Some guy paid Julie $5 to get the bartender's attention (which almost cost us any relationship we had already established with this cranky guy who needed a break - real bad).
3. We got a spot on the rail - so could actually SEE the band that boasted the most expensive tickets the Triple Rock had ever seen. (yeah - worth it).
4. A good time was had by all - and we deserved it!

Back at school this week (well sort of). Out of the last 10 school days - I've only been in my classroom for 5 of them. What can I say - I like meetings. Lots and lots of meetings. I WAS at school yesterday - to get pumped up for wrestling season (which started last night!). Before I kicked off my 4th(?) (or is it 5th?) season of keeping the books for our high school's home wrestling meets - I ran down to TG to catch Vanhtha's PREMIRE as Girls 9B Basketball coach. He did a good job. His team won. I think he's pretty proud. Maybe even a little giddy. Go V! Here's a pic of him coaching - he was in the zone. Totally.



Ok - so just got back from Lon and Jaime's. Was sufferin' a little "Alice withdrawl." - I hadn't seen her for like four whole days! Anyway - wanna know what the dogs do when they're "starving to death" and mommy isn't home? Yeah - they find the candybar in her school bag that she bought like 2 weeks ago and then forgot about. Know how dogs get to a candybar that's nicely lost in a school bag? They chew it. Yup. A nice little hole. In mommy's favorite bag. Hmmm. Good thing mommy's good with a sewing machine. Naughty puppies. No, dad, I did not beat them - but Baxter was PRETTY guilty looking. I wish I had my camera out when he lowered his head, looked up at me with those pathetic doggie eyes - and tiptoed - not kidding - TIPTOED across the hardwood floor to lick my knees. (That's puppy for "I'm sorry.") Whatever. It's just a bag. And it was probably my fault for not feeding them for 2 hours. Sheesh.

Ok - That's a nice "update" for ya! Happy December!

Thanksgiving in Vegas

I left for Vegas Tuesday night. The flight was pretty uneventful - I even got to watch the new Pirates of the Carribean movie. Even tho it took a long time to get to mom and dad's from the airport - ahem - once we got there - all was well. Mom, Grandma, and I got pedicures on Wednesday and Sue and Bob joined the party on Thursday. Thanksgiving dinner was shortly after Bob and Sue arrived. We ate alot (duh)! We had all the normal stuff - turkey, stuffing, potatoes, yams, cabbage rolls, and potato sausage. And of course - pie! We had the free Pumpkin pie from Santa Fe Station and also cherry.



Of course there were leftovers - so I tried the Pampered Chef recipe I learned just last Monday. (& now mom has leftovers of the leftovers!) Grandma's cousin, Valerie came in from AZ and mom and dad's neighbors, Ed and Lynn, walked down the block for said leftovers. :)

A holiday with Grandma and Grandpa is not complete without many rounds of cards - and this holiday did not disappoint. I think I may be a little ahead - but Christmas is right around the corner - so I'm not counting my nickles just yet!

Here's a favorite shot from my trip. Three generations of cutie pies! Mom, Grandma, and Me.



Coming home on the redeye last night - wasn't terrible. I was bummed that the flight was too late for the movie. I had to listen to my iPod, try to ignore the woman behind me - who couldn't decide if she wanted to or did NOT want to use her tray, and sleep sitting up. Oh well, I made it home - Julie came and picked me up even tho she was comfy and warm in her bed when I landed - and I was in my own bed by 5am.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Becky's Married!

Saturday morning - Amy and I took off for Fargo. We arrived around 3pm - so before we checked into our hotel - I drove Amy around campus a little. I showed her one of my apts and where my dorm once stood. The wedding was at 5pm - a very pretty evening event. (the church was across the street from ANOTHER on of my apartments - so I made Amy check it out as I drove thru the parking lot - also - took the long way home - so drove by my little run-down house I lived in on Main - in total - Amy saw 4 of my former dwellings!) We enjoyed the reception that followed - and even enjoyed retiring a little early to the hot tub and some beers. Either our age showed a little - or the fact that we weren't with a big party group - I think we were in bed - watching TV by 10:30! It was a fun weekend - some girl chat and bonding . . . oh yeah, and of course - Becky's married now.

It's A Boy!

Luca Stefano was born November 15th in Thailand.
He weighed in at 7.04 lbs.

Luca and Mommy



Luca and Daddy



Welcome to the world Luca! - I can't wait to meet you!

Crazy Night

Ok - yesterday (Tuesday) was kind of a crappy day at work. To say I was crabby is an understatement. Pretty much anything that could go wrong, did - and I didn't like the kids too much - so that didn't help.

The night was looking like a beacon of light in an otherwise yukky day. My boss from soccer/wrestling had called me and asked if I'd like tickets to Tues. night's Wolves game. I'm like - heck ya! I ended up taking Paul with me - I mean come on - Wolfies and Vikes - they're kinda our thing. (ok - were - but it was still fun).

Anyway - so we get there - our tix are up in Timbuktoo - like row P in some corner section - but hey! We were at the game - and it was free! I had paid $9 to park - but hey - the tickets were free - and I had visions of a Dome Dog (or whatever they call those huge slabs of hot dog at the Target Center) dancing in my head. Except for new seats and scoreboard - it was kinda like we remembered it. I spent the pre-game watching the cheerleaders and Crunch more than anything else. I actually enjoy the non-basketball entertainment that goes on at the T-Wolf games - and I was telling Paul about how Crunch comes to our school's "Pride Rally" and kinda takes over - and acts like the "emcee" - yadda yadda yadda - and how he was great at the Wolves scrimmage that was at CPHS a few weeks ago. (ok - I Heart Crunch)

Not too long after that - Here Comes My Man walking up the steps to our nosebleed section! Paul nudges me and says here's my chance to "high five" my hero. Well - Crunch didn't high five me - but he pointed at the two of us and held up 2 fingers. We're like "yeah - two of us" - and he holds up two tickets and motions for us to follow him. We grabbed our stuff - and ran down the steps after him. When we got to the landing - his human escort told us that Crunch wants to upgrade our seats and we should follow him! We had to practically run to keep up with him as he went down stair after stair - and in the end - Crunch showed us to our NEW seats - on the lower level!

It was so cool! That's NEVER happened to me before! I was giddy! (But trying to act cool - cuz we were obviously underdressed for our new section - and I didn't want all the "richies" to know we didn't belong there - but yeah - I was giddy!) Being so close to the court - I had to whip out my camera - and with the zoom - I got a few good shots of KG up close and personal!



We stayed for the whole game. Here's a shot of me standing in the aisle of our NEW seats. - to get an idea of how close we got.



Well - I never ended up getting the Dome Dog - yes - I'm cheap. I thought it better to get a McRib (yes! they're back!) on the way home for like $4 - instead of an $8 hot dog! :) Just as we were crossing the river into Nordeast - Annie calls. (She had been at a cooking class.) She was quite upset - maybe even crying - and quickly blurted out her deal. She had broken down on her way home (luckily before she hit the freeway - but UNluckily on the corner of Washington and Broadway). We changed course - and headed straight for her. I actually stayed on the phone with her while we drove there - she had already encountered some strays knocking on her window - people telling her to move her car (duh!) - and even a blind guy who had to feel his way around her to get by!

The tow truck arrived about 20 minutes after we got there - and both Ann and I were truly glad Paul was there. There is a reason why you wouldn't want your car to break down in North Minneapolis after dark - and I'm glad Ann didn't have to be there by herself for very long - and I'm glad I wasn't the only one there to "protect" her! Anyway - Aaron from Gopher Towing - was AWESOME by the way - got her up and towed (ok - it took like 45 minutes - but I'm sure the crackhead trying to tell Aaron how to do his job - wasn't helping anything!) :) Even though I found a few times to giggle - here's how Ann felt about the situation:



SO - Annie got her car towed to Bobby and Steve's in Columbia Heights (I love this place - but am glad I haven't had to see them since I got rid of my old car!) Paul headed home - and I brought Ann home to Osseo. It was after 11pm when I finally got back to my house. Didn't get my Dome Dog. Didn't even get the McRib. I settled for a bowl of cereal - and went to bed!

A crazy night. I was tired all day today. But it was fun! And hopefully a fun story to read!

Lost Finale

Who can say that this season's LOST isn't up to par??? Whoever says that isn't watching the same show I am! Wow! I can't believe I have to wait until February to see what happens next!

Spoil Yourself

Ok - so I FINALLY got my car in to get washed today. (for those of you hard-core fans - you know it's been on my "to do" list for over a month!) - ANYWAY - I recommend everyone spoiling themselves once in awhile with this little gesture. I splurged for the "Velocity Package" - or something like that - like everything got a once-over - even the tires got some sort of magical black spray. I brought my little car all the way up to Spring Lake Park for a visit to Perfect 10. I hadn't been there since I lived in Fridley - but it was just as I remembered it. I brought my car in - dusty dash, crumbs in all the crevices, and leaves covering the floor mats. I left the carwash in an almost-new looking car. I love the little joys in life - and, yes, this was the highlight of my day! (Oh - except for seeing BORAT with Cousin Julie! - yes, you must go see it - unless you're easily offended - in which case bring a friend - you can be offended together!)

Also - Congrats Julie and Mike! I hope you had a great WEDDING DAY today! *smooches*

November To-Do

Ok - well last month was OK successful - I wanted to get 1/2 that list checked off - and I didn't do too poorly. We'll try again this month - and yes, some things got carried over - hey. . . it's a start! :)

November, 2006

_X__ Nov 1 Clean out car AND bring to wash inside and out. (Call eye dr.) - nope

_X__ Nov 2 Get the grime out of your computer keyboard, using a suitable cleaning fluid (isopropyl alcohol) and Q-Tips.

____ Nov 3 Clean and organize your coat closet. Donate any coats you (or other family members) no longer wear. & Store away your summer clothing, and bring out your fall and winter clothes. If you pull out something you don't like, immediately put it in your Donations Box.

_X__ Nov 4 Send package to Thailand - Organize & print photos from snapfish. Get your yard cleaned up. Remove any debris around the house.

____ Nov 5 Write a holiday newsletter to be inserted into your holiday cards. Photo this year? Install closet organizer in bedroom.

_X__ Nov 6 Finish sewing sandwiches. (Organize Archiver Bags.) - nope

_X__ Nov 7 Today is Election Day in the US. Exercise your right to vote.

____ Nov 8 Copy WWII photos

____ Nov 9 Organize your bedroom dresser. Remove everything inside. One by one, pick up each article of clothing. If you don't like it, it doesn't fit or is stained or torn, get rid of it. Return the keepers back into the dresser, keeping similar items together. Clean BEDROOM

____ Nov 10 Complete writing out your holiday cards and get them ready for mailing.

_X__ Nov 11 Scrap for the holidays

_X__ Nov 12 Weed out your wallet. Toss any discount cards, papers, etc. that you no longer need (shred them if necessary). Replace old photos in wallet photo sleeves with newer updated ones if you wish. Clean DINING ROOM.

_X__ Nov 13 Label an envelope 'Holiday Receipts' and insert any holiday gift receipts into it. Attach the envelope to your refrigerator with a magnet. When you need to refer to a receipt, you'll know where to find it. After the holidays, file the receipts away until you're sure you don't need to return anything. Do FLOORS.

_X__ Nov 14 Organize and clean your pet's feeding area. Clean KITCHEN.

____ Nov 15 Buy a new calendar for 2007. Fill in any recurring dates, such as birthdays, anniversaries or classes.

____ Nov 16 Organize the bathroom. Give it a deep cleaning. Then, add some special touches to the guest basket - like scented hand soaps, pretty guest towels and travel-sized toiletries in a basket.

_X__ Nov 17 Shop for Fargo.

_X__ Nov 18 Becky’s Wedding

_X__ Nov 19 Prepare for Pampered Chef party - Shine the Sink!

_X__ Nov 20 Pampered Chef Party

_X__ Nov 21 Leave for Vegas

_X__ Nov 22 VEGAHHHHS

____ Nov 23 Today is Thanksgiving Day in the US. Enjoy this festive holiday as you see fit!

____ Nov 24 Today's the busiest shopping day of the year. Stay home, grab a cup of hot cocoa, and do any final holiday shopping from your computer. (OR. . . take daddy out to stores for some jeans and tennies!) :)

____ Nov 25 Search for a new holiday turkey dinner leftovers recipe and make it today. Frame Mpls print & posters.

____ Nov 26 Decorate for Christmas. Dust off and organize the books and shelves in one book case.

____ Nov 27 Make a list of 6 things you'd like to do in December, 3 work or chore related and 3 fun related. Then, go right to your calendar and schedule definite days and times for each.

____ Nov 28 Go through all of the mail sitting in your inbox, discarding, delegating, doing or filing as necessary. Avoid the mail pileup from now on by going through your mail on a daily basis.

____ Nov 29 Weed out one drawer of your filing cabinet of papers you no longer need, shredding any documents that contain personal information.

____ Nov 30 Do any final holiday decorating, both inside and outside.


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