Is There Any Wonder About Food?

I love the holidays for many reasons. The twinkling lights, the stillness after a snowfall, gifts under the tree, Rudolph, the magic in the air, and THE FOOD. This entry could be about 400 paragraphs long, but I will spare you. So, here is my short list of holiday favorites:

1. The classic candy cane. Simple and delicious. I love adding canes to my hot chocolate too!
2. Pizzelles. A lovely woman who used to work for my dad used to make these every Christmas and deliver a stack to our house. Those pizzelles were all mine because I would eat all of them before anyone else even had a chance to grab one out of my greedy little hands.
3. Chex Mix. I realize Chex Mix can be made year round but I always remember my Mom making it most often during the holidays. Eating it right out of the oven makes it a great snack to warm up with after coming inside from the cold winter air.
4. Chex Muddy Buddies. Oh my word. This dish alone could cause me to gain twenty pounds during the holiday season. Love it.
5. Sugar cookies cut into fun shapes with that to-die for frosting. I used to work with a girl who made sugar cookies like I have never had before. They would literally melt in your mouth. I finally figured out that recipe last Christmas and my hips now tell that tale every day. The frosting is that delectable stuff that lingers on your tongue for merely a moment before melting away.
6. Nuts. Remember the nuts that your grandmother used to keep in a bowl at her house? It had that special cracker? It was always out at holidays? Me too! Delish! I could sit by this bowl and nibble all day long.
7. Gingerbread cookies. Cute and tasty! A favorite of Superman's and mine!
8. Christmas Morning Breakfast. This could be any variation of food, but my favorite is my Mom's specialty of pancakes, bacon, blueberry muffins, cinnamon rolls, and coffee cake. The perfect way to spend time with your family while making my muffin top muffin-ier.
9. Grandma's Noodles. Everyone's grandmother has a special dish she makes that everyone loves. My maternal grandmother's dish is homemade noodles. Made the old-fashioned way, they are perfection in a pan and I lust for them at least once a week.
10. Champagne. Bubbly and sparkly! A perfect beverage to wash down any of my favorite holiday foods.

Like I said, this list is in no way comprehensive. I could have made a list muuuuuch longer. I mean, mulled wine! Cheese! Advent calendar chocolates! Tree-shaped Reese's! Pizza King on Christmas! Holiday-tinis! Stained Glass cookies! Holiday Margaritas!

I Wonder What Is My Favorite Holiday Food?

Have we done this before? And if we have, who cares? I could talk about food all week, and I know I ain't alone!

So. I have the love for the holiday food. I instantly discard all of those ridiculous articles that give you tips on how not to gain weight over the holidays. Bah! I say to those. Weight, schmeight, we're talking rummed up egg nog here! Roast turkey! Mulled wine! Pies, pies, pies! Who cares about a pesky couple of pounds that will just drop off in the summer when it's too hot to eat anyway? NOT THIS GIRL!

The chocolates can be a bit much. Candy canes, I'm not a huge fan, although if you are what you eat I might be married to a candy cane. They are a major part of my tree decoration and the tree gets pretty bare by mid-month, while Darlin' always has suspiciously pepperminty breath and red red lips.

So, the candy ain't so much my thing, but step back from the baked goods table, lest you be bowled over. Pecan tassies are a sort of mini pecan pie cookie thing that my mom makes only this time of year, and I could pop those all day. I love any kind of pie, the fluffier the better, with tons of whipped cream. I'm also a fan of the savories this time of year - roasted anything sounds good to me (turkey, ham, beef, nuts, pumpkin seeds.) I love a chicken pot pie, or a hearty stew served with hunks of bread, cheese drizzled on top. And I could eat my weight in cheese and crackers. My sister's boyfriend makes a TO DIE FOR cheeseball, I smack my lips just thinking about it.

Last but not least, let's talk holiday drinks. I love cranberry martinis, which (being red and all) always seem to premiere at one party or another. Egg nog with some sort of warming spirit in it - mulled wine - hot toddies - and gallons of wine. Besides all of these "adult" drinks, we also have the family friendly hot chocolate, the hot cider with a cinnamon stick in it, mint tea . . .

Poundage, here I come. Mmmmmmmmmm. I love the holidays.

I Wonder What I Want To Do With My Life?

INSTRUCTIONS: Take one decade-changing birthday. Stir in two unexpected deaths in the family, one unfulfilling job, and enclosed spice sachet of a half-dozen passions that could never lead to paying full time work. Simmer in a medium saucepan on a stovetop for several months. In a separate bowl, whip together one slightly unfocused academic career, a penchant for short-lived bursts of enthusiasm followed by extreme boredom, and a husband with a grad school journey nearing completion. Combine and pour into a baking dish, top with a seven month old baby with plans for more on the way, and then bake until the admissions deadlines for law and graduate schools expire. Remove from heat, garnish with a staggering student loan debt which requires you to make some kind of money, and serve so hot that it burns your mouth, hands, and leaves a big scorch mark on your antique dining room tabletop.

This is how to bake up a fine Not-Quite-Mid-Life crisis. I’m enjoying one at the moment, and no, it does not taste like chicken. It tastes like desperation, actually, and a little bit of fear, and a lot of exhilaration. And brown sugar. Mmmmm, sugar.

Am considering law school. I’ve read all of the “Don’t Go to Law School, Even if Your Life Depends On It and I’m Serious, Yo” articles, and the “The LSAT is a Stupid, Scary, Horrid Test That Will Make You Break Out in Shingles” warnings, and the “I Went To Law School and Now I Have $160,000 in Loans” declamations. It hasn’t scared me away, but it has sent me skittering off to research just what exactly I could end up doing if I got a J.D. in three years. And the thought of choosing law, to the exclusion of all else, and possibly adding to our debt burden in order to do it, makes it a very sobering choice indeed.

Am also considering chilling a bit while the remaining 2-3 (HA!) babies are birthed, and then achieving my dreams, as it were, when the last kidlet is attending First Grade. It’s not so long from now, and I’m not so ambitious that I would be ticked off at hitting the game that late, whatever “game” I decided to “hit.” The problemo with this scenario, however, is the aforementioned ridiculous student loans. In order not to default on our existing ones, I have to work at something. The amount of money I make will either allow us to live the (frugal, stressful, not-even-breaking-even) lifestyle we now enjoy, or a little better, or a lot better. So that would be, like, part-time reception work, up to administrative work, and the up to full scale professional work. Would I rather just do the work I want to do long term right now? Or continue to add years of non-relevant experience to my life, simply in the name of deniro?

I could go to more grad school, but with a career in mind this time (weak smile.)

I could teach at the community college level.

I could continue in the career path I have now.

I could wait until we know where Darlin’s job prospects take us, and see what opportunities the new region of the country has to offer.

This latter seems like a recipe (do you dig my recipe theme in this post?) for accidental career trajectory, which I want to avoid. Making a preliminary decision, though, and turning my energies in that direction, could lead to supreme disappointment if I end up moving to a region of the country with no opportunities in my chosen life path.

Sometimes I feel hindered by my biology. Can you imagine if my law school finals week coincided with the due date of my next kid? I swore that I would take at least 3 months off when my next baby is born, but what if I don’t time it just right with the summer break? And if I decide to work, but don’t get a job immediately and haven’t worked in it at least a year before my next pregnancy, my leave (both for prenatal visits and after the birth) won’t be protected. So I could lose my job, and thus my healthcare coverage, right when we need the money and insurance the most.

Blargh. Blargh, I say.

I have been trying to think this way – when I’m 80 and looking back, will I think this was a good choice? Will this lead me to a happy life? Even in the name of art, being supremely poor is a stressor, but being miserable in your well-paid job would be, too. I wish I could just be an actress. Or a musician. A writer. A baby bootie knitter. A scrapbooker. A gardener. I wish I was independently wealthy. I wish I could make a difference AND make babies at the same time.

I have wished and wished for this grad school experience of my husband’s to just be over, already, and now that it may be ending soon . . . I wish I had a little more time to decide what it means.

my happy

tonight, my little family and i will eat homemade stew and rolls for dinner. afterwards, we will turn on some christmas music and decorate the house for the festive season. it is a special night and one when everything always feels right with the world.

Good Things Going On

Yesterday was a good day. The wonderful things that happened to me:

Superman surprised me with tickets to Handel's Messiah at the Kennedy Center the Saturday before Christmas. I cannot wait!

WALL-E came out on DVD yesterday. Pizza for dinner, WALL-E on my t.v., and my husband at my side? Perfection.

I Wonder Why I Didn't Post Yesterday?

A niece for G Love. 2008 has been a wonderful year. Everyone, meet Boo!

What wonderful has happened to you lately?

my turn!

let me preface this by saying that i do not have the eloquence of my fellow ww. i cannot write the way they do. i cannot express myself with big huge-mongous words that i have to look up on dictionary.com. i just can't. and i don't. okay, i feel better now. let's begin, shall we?

g-love - i envy every little, single, solitary inch of the talent you possess. folks, if you have never heard this girl sing, you are missing out! heck, i even have her on my ipod! seriously, her voice is soothing and magical and oh, words can't describe it - hence, my jealousy. i love your humor and your perspective on life. i love that you are so in love with the men in your life that you can hardly stand it. your pride and affection for them shines through in all that you do.

g-love's boy (let's call him p-love, shall we?) - i don't believe we've ever met, but i think you're hilarious. the pictures that i've seen of you make me laugh, so i know that you're funny. you have to be. and, well, if you're not, i still love you because you love g-love and that's that. i admire that you are still in school and pursuing your phd. that, my friend, is fantastic!!! and you make beautiful babies with g-love, so i think you're cool.

wicked - i envy your hair cut. i envy your spunk. i love that you are a strong, secure woman. you have gone through your fair share of challenges and changes these past few years, and you have emerged from them with your head held high. you are a scrapper and i mean that in the very best sense of the word. you fight for what you love and believe in and don't back down. i think i need a little bit of that tossed my way.

the hub - i remember getting teased a bit for "invading the head table" at your wedding. and while the wine may have prompted me to introduce myself before the time was appropriate, you didn't bat an eye. i think i may have even given you a hug and you took it all in stride. you treat our wicked m like a princess and that's exactly the type of man she needs and deserves. thank you for taking care of her.

mso rin - my first memory of you is in the sorority house kitchen making penis cookies. i envy your attitude and the confidence that you exude. you have this "take me as i am and if you don't like me, to hell with you. oh, and by the way, it's obvious you don't know what you're missing" attitude that i find amazing!!! you always provide a listening ear and can add humor to any situation. oh, and i wish i had your body.

the boy - first and foremost, i like your name! ;) any guy named what you're named is worth keeping around, in my opinion. obviously, mso thought the same! i remember hanging out with you and many others one night here in town. i agree with wicked when she says that you compliment rin perfectly. it is a definite match made in heaven. thanks for watching over her.

and that, my friends, is my love fest for the day!