Until then...

Merry Christmas!

and a very happy new year

I am off to Mexico,

with a stop in San Diego,

so I will be back blogging

(with pictures from La Rebel!)

after the holiday.

The First and the Last?

I read this book recently. I thought I'd love it, because I love books and food and personal essays and all that.

And let me tell you, it was awful. So bad that I thought about writing a brutally honest on Amazon.com just to warn others to stay away. But then I rethought putting all that bad karma out there in the universe, because you never know when it will come back around, and the author might read those reviews, and if I ever wrote a book and read some anonymous person saying nasty things about it online I would pretty much want to vomit.

So I didn't. But I wanted to.

So I'll post it here instead, where she'll never read it - not broadcast to the entire universe, but a little word to the wise - if you think you liked the movie, don't be tempted to check out the source material.

The author is so whiny and complaining and has barely-controlled anger management issues. She seemingly hates her husband, hates her job, hates New York life, hates even cooking Julia Child's recipes. She expresses all this disdain with a constant stream of profanity, which doesn't bother me so much for it's own sake but for the part that it's very, very lazy writing.

Ugh.

Anyway, I watched the movie after that, and you know what?

It was so much better than the book.

And that's probably the first time in my life that I have ever said that.

Dear Hannah

Dear Hannah,

You are my only big sister. You taught me about how to properly lip sync to Amy Grant's "Baby Baby", and how NOT to serenade someone with a warbling rendition Bette Midler's "Under the Boardwalk". You taught me about Alanis Morissette and blue fingernail polish, and now that we're older you show me how to apply liquid eyeliner and powder foundation and what kind of bracelets don't slide up and down your arms all day (always get the stretchy kind).

You are having surgery today. Your gall bladder has been having an attitude lately and it's time to give it the old heave-ho. You have been waiting patiently in the hospital since Friday evening to be scheduled. I was THIS CLOSE to finding your surgeon myself and demanding an explanation.

I love you, big sister.

Gallbladder or not.

Love,
the middle child.

Giving

I feel approximately seven years old.

That's how psyched I am for Christmas morning this year.

Sure, I am excited to receive (who isn't, let's be honest).

But this year, I am jumping at the bit because I can't wait to give! I have a few things up my sleeve that I am hoping the gift recipients will love with all their might, because I love them with all my might.

Try using that logic in a court of law. I dare you.

P.S.
All philosophical implications aside
I am also excited
that the Christmas menu
includes prime rib
and roasted garlic mashed potatoes.
does it get any better?
I submit to you
that it does not.

P.P.S.
How are we feeling about holiday cards this year?
The thing is
if I start a tradition now
I am not sure that I will ever be able to take a year off
without feeling guilty
(or so I'm told)
so -
I submit it to you
To card or not to card?

You Ask, I Deliver

A few weeks ago I wrote about my writer's block on coming up with an interesting article to write for Got2BGreen.com, which, (as I have gleefully repeated here ad nauseam), was named one of TIME's Best Blogs of 2009.

Anyway, you told me in the comments to write about traveling green(er) during the holiday season.

And I did. I DID!

Ask and ye shall get it eventually.

So, in case your enthusiasm hasn't wavered, you may read my article here.

And thank you very much for letting me steal your brilliant ideas.

Photo Friends, Listen Up!

Okay, so I've mentioned here before that something momentous is about to happen in my life.

It looks like this:




By the way, I am sharing this camera with The Mister, who is actually quite artistic and a very good photographer. This surprises people who only know him as The Engineer, but the knowledge that he is not a one-trick-pony will not surprise any friends who have seen him a.) dance, b.) bake way better brownies than I, or c.) sing and accompany himself on guitar. But, there is a downside to sharing...a HUGE downside.

I want to be super girly and get a fun fabric camera strap cover like one of these, or camera bag like this. The Mister snickers heartlessly and vetoes all overly feminine accoutrements, breaking my heart into ever-smaller pieces. This is going to be a unisex camera, he stresses.

*Sigh*

Anyway, I had a point before I got sidetracked. I know there are a lot of photo-lovin' folks out there, and some of you that I know have digital SLR cameras but aren't quite sure how to use them or need a refresher. I signed up for a class with photographer Maggie Holmes to give me all the background knowledge that I'll need to start taking the kind of pictures that I love to look at (I can't believe I just ended a sentence with a prepositional phrase but I really didn't see a way around it. Your pardon, please?). I am now on a mission to get as many friends sign up with me as I can! The more the merrier, I say.

Her online beginner/intermediate course runs six weeks starting in early January, and if you have a DSLR and are interested in becoming better at photography and knowing your camera better, check it out!

What is Inspiring Me Today

*from Vol.25

Sweet Republic

On Saturday evening, The Mister turned to me. We had been slugging away at Spanish for a little while and needed a break. (Turns out, watching "The Fox and the Hound" scene by scene in Espanol is a rather mentally taxing activity).

"I think we need some ice cream", he announced.

I was on board.

So we trucked down to Sweet Republic, a locally-owned, retro-stylin' ice cream shop, where the decor is wicked cool and the ice cream is never boring.

Never boring, you ask?

Allow me to illustrate:
Basil Lime sorbet
Salted Butter Caramel ice cream
Earl Grey Tea ice cream
Pear Ginger sorbet
Bacon ice cream

Yup, I really did just say that. Bacon! Ice cream! We tried a sample. And would you believe me if I told you that it was really, really, really good? It was a sweet, creamy, smoky, salty, nutty burst of flavor and texture.

Coldstone, Schmoldstone, I say.

So if you are lucky enough to be in the Phoenix area, I urge of you: get your sweet-treat-lovin' behind down to Sweet Republic, stat.

*lovely photo taken from la website de Sweet Republic*

Family Photo Session

My favorite (and the one that will get blown up and framed on my wall):

An overdue thank you

I need to say thank you.

The other night I watched Mr. Holland's Opus. I get so choked up at the end of that movie, when Mr. Holland's students try in their own ways to express just how much his mentorship meant to each of them.

It's easy to watch that movie and just think about my own life, and how I want to live the type of life that's worthy of that kind of celebration. Which is true (who doesn't). But perhaps even more importantly, that film makes me think that I want to be the type of person that's ready and eager to give my thanks to those who have made a difference to me.

In high school, I had a teacher named Mr. Norris. Of all the teachers I have ever had in any subject, Mr. Norris remains my hands-down favorite. He taught history and economics, and did them both so well that I considered majoring in economics for one wild moment in college, notwithstanding the fact that I really dread math. He made it that fun and interesting. (I still find economics fascinating to this day, and I owe that one hundred percent to him and 0% to my college econ professor).

Mr. Norris is the very first person that encouraged me to write. I was startled, to be honest, when he said nice things about my writing - I liked writing, and had always gotten good grades on papers, but no one had really sat me down and said you have talent the words any teenager craves to hear about anything, anything at all. But he did.

He talked me through college application essays and my hazy, unformed views of my own future. Mr. Norris encouraged all of us to read the news for ourselves, to know what was going on and what we personally thought about it. We would talk about these things, important things, in the minutes after class before the bell rang - things like 9/11, and Enron, and the early days of Afghanistan and Iraq.

So thank you, Mr. Norris. Thank you for taking interest in me, and stretching my mind and understanding of my world and capabilites.

You made a difference in my life.

For that, I am so grateful.

What is Inspiring Me Today

"Do not ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

- Howard Thurman

Redwoods

I am back.

I spent the weekend in Santa Cruz, among the redwoods and the clear, cold mountain air.

The weekend was wonderful and filled with the best kind of friends.

And if you aren't sure if you believe in God, go and stand under those redwoods for a few silent moments. They are really that awe-inspiring.

Greatest Hits of 2009: Books

My friend Kelley asked me recently what books have inspired and encouraged me this year. It's a thought-provoking question for me, because I really love to read and and have always been really shaped by books.

Normally the answer I'd give would include nonfiction like I usually like to read; books about history and politics and economics and governments and theology and phsychology and anthropology.

Am I boring you yet?

But this year, my answer would be different. This year, the books that have reached down into the deeps of the soul and pulled out something better and wiser and stronger have all been fiction.

Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
Rebbecca
To Kill a Mockingbird
Gone With the Wind
Atonement
Sense and Sensibility
Emma

I've learned something about myself through these books this year. I've learned that I'm more in touch with my own creative side when I'm immersing myself in the creativity of others. Which is fun and interesting to me, because I didn't use to think I HAD a creative side. But now I think we all do and most of us just don't know it.

Because I'm interested - and because I always love a good book recommendation - what books have inspired you in 2009?

Culinary Brilliance

If you are a food purist, I beg of you - look away!

Okay, for the rest of us.

The Mister and I are going out of town for a long weekend, and therefore have the random assortment of condiments and weird ingredients in the fridge that suggest a long gap since our last shopping trip. My sister Hannah emailed me last night some magic words to two hungry people:

Chicken breast + mozzarella + Chick-fil-a sauce, wrapped in a flour tortilla = heaven

Joy! We had all the ingredients (including Chick-fil-a sauce, which Hannah rightly calls "a must for every pantry").

And it was good. Oh, was it good.

And my public service announcement for today is that IF the following conditions are met:

1. You are hungry
2. You are a person of refined taste

Then it really might be for you.

(Almost) 30 Posts in 30 Days

We did it!

30(26)posts in 30 days!

(26 is close enough)

Are you sick of me yet?

Then you're out of luck - I actually had fun and might keep up this daily (or semi-daily, as the case may be) blogging habit.