Christmas Chez Nous

I love this picture, even though it's blurry. The raised eyebrows, the pursed lips...

We had a wonderfully mellow Christmas this year. On Christmas Eve we celebrated by watching the third "Mummy" movie while noshing on camembert-tomato sandwiches, Martenelli's, and a spread of assorted stinky cheeses and olives.

Between the olives and the camembert, our house stunk to high heaven (and still stinks every time we open the fridge). But DANG it was tasty. That blue cheese in the photo is Papillion Roquefort, which made me giddy with cheese-joy when I put it in my mouth. I don't want to consider my saturated fat intake for that night...so I won't. :)

On Christmas morning we slept in. We didn't have any presents to open*, and Atty's too young to care, so we had a leisurely morning eating pancakes and watching the James Bond marathon on tv. About the time I started thinking about going for a walk, the wind picked up and brought with it some pellet-y snow. So we stayed in. Atty liked having both parents with him all day--he got lots and lots of snuggles, and some extra snuggles by proxy for Nana.

It snowed all night, so when James left for work this morning at 6 am, the snow was almost knee-deep. I have a feeling it will be another snuggly day.

*Don't worry, it wasn't a gift-less Christmas. My present is at the frame shop, and we'll be using Christmas gift money to shop for James's and Atty's presents at the after-Christmas sales tomorrow.

Happy Babbles

99 Things

I tag everyone who has a blog to do this. It actually brought back some fun memories.

Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

1. Started your own blog. 2. Slept under the stars. (does in a tent count?) 3. Played in a band. (bells in junior high and HS) 4. Visited Hawaii. 5. Watched a meteor shower. 6. Given more than you can afford to charity. 7. Been to Disneyland/world. 8. Climbed a mountain. 9. Held a praying mantis. 10. Sang a solo. Not necessarily in public... 11. Bungee jumped. 12. Visited Paris. 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. 15. Adopted a child. 16. Had food poisoning. 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. 18. Grown your own vegetables.19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France. 20. Slept on an overnight train. 21. Had a pillow fight. 22. Hitch hiked. 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb. 26. Gone skinny dipping. 27. Run a marathon. (this used to be on my bucket list) 28. Ridden a gondola in Venice. 29. Seen a total eclipse. 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. 31. Hit a home run. (I'm lucky to get a hit at all) 32. Been on a cruise. 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language. 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (I'm satisfied now, but I don't necessarily want to be in this situation forever. Does that mean I'm not truly satisfied?) 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing. 40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person (breathtaking) 41. Sung Karaoke. (badly) 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt. With Suz and Bobby :) 43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant. I'd forgotten about this. A good memory. 44. Visited Africa. 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. 46. Been transported in an ambulance. Three times now. 47. Had your portrait painted. 48. Gone deep sea fishing. 49. Seen the Sistene chapel in person. 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling. 52. Kissed in the rain. 53. Played in the mud. 54. Gone to a drive-in theatre. 55. Been in a movie. 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout cookies. 62. Gone whale watching. 63. Gotten flowers for no reason. 64. Donated blood. 65. Gone sky diving. 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp. 67. Bounced a check. (sadly, yes) 68. Flown in a helicopter. 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. (Mona still sits by my bed) 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten caviar (just last week! there was some roe on my sushi, and I actually liked it!) 72. Pieced a quilt. 73. Stood in Times Square. One day I'll visit New York, I swear. 74. Toured the Everglades. 75. Been fired from a job. 76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London. 77. Broken a bone. 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. 80. Published a book. 81. Visited the Vatican. 82. Bought a brand new car. 83. Walked in Jerusalem. One day... 84. Had your picture in the newspaper. 85. Read the entire Bible. 86. Visited the White House. 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. 88. Had chickenpox. 89. Saved someone’s life. 90. Sat on a jury. 91. Met someone famous. (do general authorities count?) 92. Joined a book club. 93. Lost a loved one. 94. Had a baby. 95. Seen the Alamo in person. (only the outside--it was Christmas Eve, one of the few days it's closed) 96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake. Though I've walked through some stinky, brine-shrimpy mud to touch the water 97. Been involved in a law suit. 98. Owned a cell phone. 99. Been stung by a bee.

The Milky-Faced Cherub

He's still working on nipple control.

Conversation with Atty

Me: Atty, don't you want to play on your mat?

Atty: No, Mama, I just want to climb on you and bite your face.

M: Um, I'd rather be working on some other things right now. Don't you know you're supposed to just play quietly and coo at me periodically when I have other things to do?

A: No, Mama, I just want to climb on you and bite your face.

M: Is that the only thing you want to do?

A: Yes. And maybe pull your hair or burrow into your chest. Those would be fine, too.

M: How about if I put some formula in a small bottle so you can feed yourself?

A: Oh ok, but only for a minute. Then I'm going to want to start kicking you.

M: Ok. Just as long as my hands are free.

So I type this while being kicked by a milky-faced cherub. Maybe I can embroider while he sleeps...soon...I hope.

Clap on, clap off

We have our Christmas tree lights hooked up to "The Clapper," which greatly simplifies our tree lighting and enjoyment. The other night, though, Atty got upset and shrieky, and he kept turning on and off the tree with his cries. We thought that was pretty funny. It hasn't happened since we switched to the three-clap mode. Maybe he needs to start working on timing his crying better if he wants to keep turning off the tree. :)

**Update** Atty is smarter than the Clapper. He succeeded in turning it on/off twice today (15 Dec): once when he hit himself in the face with his jingle ball, and again when he didn't want to take a nap. That kid can shriek.

"...brown paper packages tied up with string..."

These are a few of my favorite things. Obviously not my VERY favorite, like my family and faith and country, but more like a few items I've come to love enough to want to tell you about them. If I were Oprah I'd send you each a gift basket of these things, but I'm not Oprah. Sorry. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Songs for Christmas by Sufjan Stevens. His version of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" just makes me happy. (The bells toward the end make it Christmasy...) I'm also very fond of "Sister Winter." I have yet to buy the whole album, so there are probably other favorites waiting to be discovered.

2. 100 percent cotton 800-thread-count sheets. It's like a little present to myself every time I put them on our bed. They are heavy and silky and drape like a dream, and will probably last forever. It was a bit of an indulgence, but I found a great deal online and haven't regretted it once. The only drawback is that they wrinkle like the dickens when washed and are impossible to iron, so I have them dry cleaned. Needless to say, I have only one set and rotate it with our regular sheets, but that makes it that much nicer when they are on the bed.

3. "Excite" personal lubricant. Oh my, it works. I will say no more.

4. Hershey's chocolate truffle kisses. They're dark chocolate kisses with a truffle filling. I've been disappointed by some of the other limited-edition Kisses (cherry cordial and candy corn being the most stomach-churning), but these are fantastic.

5. The MoTab/Sissel version of "Angels from the Realms of Glory" (available here). Best listened to on headphones, with the volume as high as you can tolerate. Absolutely thrilling.

That's it for now. What are some of your favorite things?