The Niece & Nephew

There are not enough hours in the day.

Session began last week. It's my sixth. Because of the shift in power, my job has become insane earlier in the session than it ever has before.

After getting over a cold myself, my roommate has that Looks-Like-A-Cold-But-Is-Really-The-Flu thing. I hope I don't catch it.

Our pastor is back in the pulpit as of this weekend, and I'm happy for it.

Other than those things, I've been reading quite a bit the last few weeks. My favorite book of 2011 was the book I just finished this weekend, Condoleezza Rice's Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family. Although I don't agree with her on all points political (for example, she doesn't believe Roe should be overturned, although she does agree that limitations should be placed on it), I still love her. She is a very classy and graceful lady, and I so appreciated her story. The book begins with the lives of her parents and segues into how she grew up in Birmingham, AL, and later Denver, CO. This woman has been busy racking up degrees at a young age, and making tough decisions as both provost of Stanford and multiple presidential administrations, but I appreciate how down-to-earth she seems to be even with and throughout her many accomplishments (for example, she loved television growing up and watched an awful lot of it, and wasn't always as interested in reading). It was a quick and easy read - I finished it in a couple of days - and I highly recommend it.

Trader Joe's is bad for me. (Never mind, TJ's is bad for anyone on a Sunday afternoon. Everyone goes there on Sunday afternoons. Ack! Too. Many. People. Also more bells rung than an Italian church on Sunday morning.) I go in to buy one or two things (chicken noodle soup for the sick roomie), and walk out 50 bucks later. (No, chicken noodle soup does not cost $50. I am aware of that fact.) My latest love: their crisp pineapple chips.


It's snowing. Again.

Today.

Five years.

Merry Christmas!

Sing we now of Christmas,
Noel sing we here.
Hear our grateful praises
To the Babe so dear.

Sing we Noel!

The King is born, Noel!

Sing we now of Christmas

Sing we here, Noel!

Angels called to shepherds,
"Leave your flocks at rest;
Journey forth to Bethl’hem
Find the Lamb-kin blest."

Sing we Noel!

The King is born, Noel!

Sing we now of Christmas

Sing we here, Noel!

In the stall they found Him;
Joseph and Mary mild
Seated ‘round the manger,
Watching the holy Child.

Sing we Noel!

The King is born, Noel!

Sing we now of Christmas

Sing we here, Noel!

From the eastern kingdoms
Came the wise men far,
Bearing ancient treasure,
Following yonder star.

Sing we Noel!

The King is born, Noel!

Sing we now of Christmas

Sing we here, Noel!

Gold and myrrh they took there,
Gifts of greatest price;
There was ne’er a stable
So like paradise.

Sing we Noel!

The King is born, Noel!

Sing we now of Christmas

Sing we here, Noel!

From the distant mountains

Hear the trumpet sound,

With angelic blessings

On the silent town.

Sing we Noel!

The King is born, Noel!

Sing we now of Christmas

Sing we here, Noel!

Come let us surround him

On this magic night;

Gather here around him,

Wondrous Babe of light.

Sing we Noel!

The King is born, Noel!

Sing we now of Christmas

Sing we here, Noel!

In this YouTube clip, although the song is called "Now the Green Blade Riseth," an Easter hymn that I also love, the tune is the same as "Sing We Now of Christmas." And once I saw Luther College perform the same arrangement on a PBS special from 2008 as "Sing We Now of Christmas," I've become obsessed with handbell choirs playing this piece.

Tune & Lyrics: Noel Nouvelet, Traditional French Carol, 15th century

Lyrics Translation: Traditional English Carol, 17th-18th century

There are supposedly 13 verses to this carol; in the short time I've had to investigate, I've found seven of them. (And in the searching for all 13, I discovered - and now want - this book. And this one.)

I hope you all have a blessed Christmas in 2010! The King is born, Noel!

PhiladelphiOddity

Is it odd that I was wandering around for a portion of today with a partially-eaten package of cream cheese in my coat pocket? And not one of those small mini ones, but a full eight-ounce package? Yeah, that's what I thought: weird. (I was taking it home from work and had no place else to put it.)

2010: Gingerbread Houses

Hands down, the best gingerbread house of the year: here.

Don't you just love it when...

...you schedule an appointment for something in a day or two, and the company calls you back a couple hours later to remind you of your appointment that's going to take place in a day or two?

This morning I scheduled a haircut for Friday afternoon. A few minutes ago, I received my reminder phone call for my haircut appointment on Friday afternoon. The phone call this afternoon was from the same woman who scheduled my appointment for me this morning.

Now, maybe this makes sense if you have a really large salon or a lot of Jane Does (or here in Minnesota, it'd be Jane Johnsons or something suitably Scandahoovian like that) as clients. But it's not a large salon, and I'm guessing they probably don't have many clients with my name, no matter how Scandahoovian. Just sayin'.

Tragic Fire: The Nook

Burned last night. Totaled. No one was hurt, though, so that's good. And Shamrock's (the Irish Nook) is still open so I can get my fix of Paul Molitor burgers.

Ah, the Metrodome (aka, the big "puffy white thing" according to a television reporter this morning)

Snowmageddon 2010: the Proof is in the Pictures

The view from my bedroom window on Saturday afternoon. Yes, that's snow stuck between the screen and storm window.

Normally we can see downtown St. Paul in the distance from the balcony.

It wasn't just the amount of snow (though that was pretty cool). It's the wind and snow drifts that really make a blizzard. And now it's going to be frigid here for the next couple of days.

Saturday evening: made sugar cookies and ginger snaps. What a way to spend a snowy day. (Yes, that is snow piled up in that window, too.)

Blank canvases.

Seriously, too much fun. Also, too much sugar.

Roomie K had a slight mishap with the nonpareils in one of these. We called it the "swimming pool."

The aftermath this morning: roomie K is there with a shovel trying to dig someone else out. I don't think we'll be going anywhere until they come to plow our parking lot. And look! Now you can actually see downtown in the distance.

December Life

Internet,

It's been a while (other than those Chinese girls on a bicycle yesterday, and that doesn't really count). Let me get you caught up on my life these days.

Do you think it's possible for a person's ab muscles to be so sore that it hurts to even swallow food (let alone digest it)? I'd say the answer to that question is a resounding "Yes!" I lifted weights for the first time in, oh, a year? last Thursday morning, and couldn't move for about two days afterwards, and I swear, even eating hurt. Alas, what a sad state of affairs (not that that really stopped me from eating...). I am thankful to report that this week's weight-lifting (also on Thursday) wasn't nearly so bad, and I'm not in any real pain right now (other than some mental pain along the lines of "I don't wanna any more!" which doesn't really count).

My new favorite things to make? 1) Apple-cheddar omelets (had one of these in Boston in October, and talk about delicious! I've since set about recreating them here...who knew you could put apples in an omelet?), 2) Mashed potatoes (well, the mashed potatoes part because I, a single woman, bought a ten-pound bag of potatoes at Thanksgiving time because it cost about $1, and now I have to actually eat ten pounds of potatoes. So on Friday night last week I made a pot of mashed potatoes and ate them - and pretty much only them - for dinner. Bizarre, I know, but now I feel more Irish, or something like that, after surviving on potatoes for cheap in the middle of winter), and 3) Homemade mac'n'cheese (I've discovered that to keep your cheesy pasta nice and un-clumpy - especially for leftovers - add cream cheese to the base...it's delicious, and I'm sure it's completely healthy).

On Saturday night last weekend, I went to the boat club's annual bow ball. This year's was a circus theme, and if you think I stood around eating cotton candy all night, you'd be right. (I don't even want to tell you how much of it I ate...they were putting it in these martini glasses, and I ate a bunch of those...and then they had the leftovers at the end of the night in bags, and I ate more.)

So for this bow ball, I had my makeup done by my MAC makeup artist and facialist friend Anna, and it was shocking how heavy false eyelashes are. (I also had to play the Messiah in between getting my makeup done and the bow ball, and it felt weird to be so glammed up for an afternoon concert.) Here's what I looked like with friend SW (who also provided that awesome Chinese bicyling video):

In this picture, SW is trying on my official Minnesota Boat Club Henley blazer, Version Pre-Tricked Out. (It still needs white piping and our boat club's crest in white on the pocket. But it fits like a charm after a couple fittings and some tailoring, and a bunch of us wore ours to the bow ball, and it was one of the live auction items. How is it that I always end up wearing stuff in the live auction? This is the second time in three years.)

This week was a little crazy at work, but what's new? I'm down to my last three boxes of files I haven't had time (or possibly inclination) to put away in the filing drawers, mainly 'cause I want to organize and toss stuff as I put them away.

Today I'm sitting at home in the middle of a blizzard. Is it sad that I'm completely entertained by the guy trying to plow our parking lot and garage area? He keeps going by (and has been for the last hour), and no matter how many swipes and passes he takes with his truck's plow, it never looks like he removes any snow. Apparently we've gotten about 10 inches so far in the last 12 hours, and it'll keep on going the rest of the day (meaning I get to watch the snow plow guy keep trying!!! ha! I love it, and no, I am NOT pathetic!). Yay for life as a Minnesotan! Maybe this justifies another boots purchase...or maybe not. You can really only wear one pair at a time, I suppose.

Yesterday I went to the grocery store on a regularly scheduled trip - no, I did not go specifically in preparation for the snow. But apparently a lot of senior citizens did. I was amazed at how many older folks were there. And not just senior citizen old - I mean, these people were using grocery carts in lieu of walkers, and they were everywhere. I fit right in with them as I used my coupons, though. I was amazed at the things that were flying off the shelves of my local market and Target. Apparently everyone in the Twin Cities is baking Christmas cookies this weekend because you couldn't find a cookie sheet or bottle of sprinkles anywhere. Entire shelves in the baking aisles were decimated.

Update: I tried taking a picture of the blizzard, but it didn't turn out. It's a complete whiteout.

More Things I Cannot Do...and Maybe Don't Want to Do...

To continue with the theme of people being able to do a lot of stuff I can't, here's the next installment:

1. I think it's suspicious they don't always show the dismounts. I'm gonna say they probably all fall in a huge heap on the stage in some of those.

2. Who has time to come up with this stuff?

3. In that last one with 16 girls on 1 bike, I want to be the one in the white tutu, and not the one doing the actual pedalling. She gets stuck with all the work, while the others just sit...uh, stand? balance? whatever...there looking pretty.