December glimpse: 2

12.20.09      |    Home   

Sam was the first person ready for our family photo shoot on Sunday:

so he let me do some test shots while we were waiting for the primpers.

I really love this boy.

. . .

Best .09: Best startup: what's a business you found this year that you love?  I discovered Paperless Post this fall and have used them several times since. They are a custom online invitation and announcement business that offers gorgeous and diverse designs to send via email for less than the price of a stamp (totally worth it).  Happy inviting!

Bests roundup

Best packaging: Mast Brothers Chocolate, a birthday gift from Nancy.  They are wrapped in thick sheets of florentine papers with clean simple labels. Love.  Oh, and the chocolate was delicious: I had the fleur de sel and salt and pepper dark chocolate. Wow.

 

Tea of the year: I'm not a tea drinker much, although I do drink herbal tea a few times a month, especially when I need a warm comforting pause in the middle of the day. There's something about sitting there with my hands warmed around the mug, staring off into the middle distance, thinking wandering thoughts.  I'm a big fan of elevenses, with or without a cuppa.  Most often I have the very normal and probably boring honey chamomile. Or lemon zinger, when I'm feeling zingy.

Word or phrase: most often heard around here: amazing.  My daughters use it several times a day. I love it that they are amazed so frequently; it seems a close cousin to wonder and enthusiasm.

Shop: Um, a quick glance at my bank statement would tell you that Amazon is my best friend these days. It has allowed me to be (relatively) ready for Christmas gifting and I even do drug-store shopping there. Runner up: Etsy.  I love supporting independent artists and crafters & buy many gifts and house things there, too.

Car ride: August 2009, from our home to the Adirondacks and back, with G. and the kids.  We've entered a stage of relatively good humor and patient travelers (a far cry from the days of car-seat tirades and she's-touching-me tantrums...it only took us a decade to get here).  This trip was especially lovely, with the journey setting the tone for the entire week.  Runner up: the drive from NYC to Boston with my mom in September.

New person:  Who is your unsung hero of 2009?  Natalie saved the day this year for me at girl's camp by jumping in at the last minute when the camp director was put on pregnancy bed rest (who would have also been fabulous, by the way).  Natalie handled it with grace and enthusiasm and the girls all loved her.  Who was a new acquaintance you were excited to meet? Runners up: It was great meeting Whitney last week and having lunch--I've admired her from afar for a while.  Ditto Leslie, who I finally met at a fundraiser in November.  One of my students handled a painful year with great courage.  And (for purely selfish and vain reasons) my new (& first ever) eyebrow lady Lauren.  I am in good hands.

What about you? A new person in your life this year that has made a difference? A memorable car ride? Do share...

It's amazing...

...what a little paint did to boost my love of our house.

Best Change to your Home .09 |  Exterior paint (finally!)

The original colors weren't bad, they just weren't *us* and I've been planning on changing them ever since moving in two+ years ago.  This summer we finally made the change and couldn't be happier.  We chose a gold-yellow and a light cream/yellow for trim, with black rimming the windows + black doors and garage door (eventually we'll replace the door with a vintage wood one with a warm finish).  It's classic and warm and looks good in the bare winter and the lush summer.  (Benjamin Moore custom paint mixed by our friendly neighborhood paint shop.)

After:

Before ^

. . .

Best of .09: Change you made to the place where you live.  What about you?

Santa squirrel drops in for a visit

This morning I had a surprise visitor from a Santa impersonating squirrel.  I was in the next room and I heard a plop and the fireplace screen door opening. I went in to investigate and IT WAS A SQUIRREL that had come down the chimney.  A squirrel, in the house, running around crazily and bumping into windows and jumping on things.  Neither of us were very happy about the situation.  Here's what I learned:

While I do fancy myself as someone who's good in a crisis, it turns out I do freak out and squeal loudly and talk to myself when there is a wild animal loose in my house.

Emergency pest control services cost $195.

Apparently the "emergency" part does not mean they come quickly.

(two hours later) Opening all the windows, channeling the Three Blind Mice farmer's wife, and shooing it with a broom works just as well, thereby saving us $200.

I feel like that $200 is now mine to spend as I choose.

Louie is not a hunting dog (remember how he's not a watchdog either? When will he earn his keep?).

While he didn't trap or chase the squirrel, Louie was a good wingman, standing in the doorway & preventing the squirrel from running into the rest of the house.

Wild animal stress will drive me to eat all the Trader Joe's peanut brittle 3 hours after I swore off sugar.

The stress of being cooped in a human home drives squirrels to wet their nonexistent pants.

Also, google images even has something fitting the search term "santa squirrel":

. . .

Best of .09: Best rush.  Well, I'm inclined to say this squirrel-chasing thing was quite a rush.  But I guess I'll have to go with the shock in receiving the Zero to Three fellowship and attending the first retreat.  If a rush is measure by adrenaline and heart rate, I'd say mine hit a year-long high when I was presenting my project to that group and the mentors, all eminent leaders in the field & heroes of mine.  

Oh, but I reserve the right to change my answer after I take the young women I mentor at church on an adventure at the end of the month: skydiving in a wind tunnel.  Gulp.

Snippets + verbs

photo via

Shivered.  It's cold 'round here.

Read.  I loved this essay by Mental Tesserae.  And this passage from One Magpie.  Kindred thoughts in both of these.

Wrote.  Posted on Segullah this week, a (religious) piece about Mary and her "how shall this be?" response. (If you've read this blog for more than two years, you might recognize the first paragraph or so...) Also, I've played around with the formatting for this blog. I've been having so much fun...like moving the furniture around without all that effort and floor scraping.

Watched.  Had a long-awaited movie date with G this afternoon. It's been ages since we were able to get out just the two of us...ever since our girls acquired social lives and obligations. (Although last night we did go out to dinner. Sam came with us and was a wonderful dinner companion.  Still. Not really a date.)   We stopped off at the Danish Pastry House on the way home to prepare for St. Lucia Day tomorrow--hooray! Now I'm catching up on emails and watching It's a Wonderful Life.  "George Bailey, I'll love you 'til the day I die." (Someday I hope my kids understand how George Bailey-like their dad is, in all the right ways.  Because he is, lucky us.)

Delayed. I have a take-home final due next week.  No headway there. Also, we haven't yet taken our Christmas card photo. Ditto no Christmas tree...hopefully Monday's the day for that.

Savored + celebrated.  Feeling really content to take my time with the holidays this year.  Each day I'm doing a little bit and shunning any guilt or agendas (trying to, anyway). So far: books, candles, garlands.  Next up: tree, nativities, presents.  Bit by bit, especially until finals are over.

. . .

Best of .09: Food.  Hmm. I think I'll dub this the year of Really Good Chocolate. Truffles from Burdick's. And Nancy sent me some decadent chocolate from a chocolatier in her Brooklyn neighborhood: the really good stuff, with interesting flavors like pepper and salt and chiles.  It's not new to me but I upped it a notch.  How 'bout you? Best new food of 09?