Friday Feast

What? Did someone say it’s not Christmas anymore? All right, all right. I know I’ve been falling down on the blogging job a lot in the last several months year or so. Usually it doesn’t matter too much, but I can’t stand coming here and still seeing Christmas on January 11. Mags is cute, but it’s time to push her down the page.

The question is, what should I write about? I don’t have any original ideas, but I recently stumbled across a meme site called Friday’s Feast. The site says, “Pull up a chair and dig in! Friday’s Feast is a meme of five questions cooked up by the chef each and every week. Enjoy!”

I thought it looked kinda fun. Let the digging in commence!

Appetizer
What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?
Hey, wait a minute, that’s three questions right there! I guess it’s like a real restaurant—if you have an appetizer, you’re full by the time the main course arrives.

My middle name is Marie. It’s my mom’s middle name, and it was her mom’s too. When I was a kid I didn’t like my first name, but now I guess it’s okay. Even though I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have changed it. But I know a kid who did just that. His name was Stacy, and he didn’t like having a girl’s name. So in about sixth grade, we came back from summer vacation and he was Steve—he’d legally changed it.

Soup
If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?
A fashion designer? ME? Um yeah, right. Let’s see . . . I would design non-shrinking jeans that are long. I have a really hard time finding jeans in the first place, and then I’m afraid to let them go through the dryer so I’m always pulling them out. I hate hanging up wet clothes, but I hate flood pants even more. Also, Sharkey Jeans would not cause normal women to have muffin tops, and they wouldn’t have that horrendous gap at the back of the waistband.

Salad
What is your least favorite chore, and why?
Hands down, it’s putting laundry away. I don’t mind washing the clothes, and I don’t even mind folding them. But putting them away? Gah! Mostly it’s because J.P.’s side of the closet is crammed so full of stuff that there’s nowhere to put anything. I counted 38 polo/golf shirts one day last fall! Also? I think he has more shoes than I do, and stepping over/on them to get to the drawers and clothes bar is a real pain.

Dessert
Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.
I’m sitting in my usual spot on the couch, with my feet up on the ottoman/coffee table. I sit here so much that the couch now has a semi-permanent ass imprint. I see:

1. Maggie sleeping in front of the fire.
2. Conan O’Brien on the new HDTV that J.P. bought with his year-end bonus.
3. The Christmas decorations that need to come down this weekend.

See? the blog isn’t the only place where Christmas has worn out its welcome.

Merry Christmas!

When I wrote my Christmas post last year, I thought I was busy. Turns out, I didn’t know what busy was! The photography business is nutty this time of year with last-minute orders. And today I got calls from two different people who want to buy a total of four gift certificates for sessions in the new year! A good problem to have, to be sure.

Good thing we got our cards done early. Now if we could just get them addressed and in the mail, we’d totally be in business! In fact, that’s what I should be doing instead of writing this, so I’ll make this short and sweet.

Thanks for stopping by here all year, even when I haven’t been the most faithful blogger. J.P., Maggie, and I hope you and your family have a very merry Christmas, and a happy, healthy 2008!

***Let’s see those pet photos! If you posted one, leave a comment so we can all stop by your site and visit!***

Pass the cookies

Welcome to the third annual blog cookie exchange! Lovely Susie is the hostess with the mostess, and she does a fine job every year. Be sure to stop by her place to say hello.

Do you think they’ll let me stay at the party if I don’t have any cookies to exchange? Yesterday I baked a cake to take to a holiday party, and I thought it would be perfect for this event too. However . . . it didn’t exactly turn out as I’d planned. Even J.P. said it wasn’t one of my better efforts. So alas, I’m afraid I can’t offer you much to eat. But there’s plenty of eggnog in the fridge—please, help yourself!

You know how sometimes you have to invite people over in order to motivate yourself to clean the house? No? Maybe that’s just me. Now I know that the principle also applies for blog people. Until about 10:30 last night, we had absolutely no Christmas decorations up. And then I remembered you were coming by today, so decided I’d better get moving.

For the last few years, I’ve been asking my grandma about her Advent calendar. She made it herself from a pattern many years ago, and I remember it hanging in their house when I was a kid. She didn’t know what had happened to it, but she did manage to dig up the pattern and send it to me. I knew she must still have the calendar too because . . . well, you’ll see in the next part of the post. And I knew she’d give it to me if she could find it.

When we were in Minnesota for my grandpa’s funeral, my dad and his brother were cleaning out my grandparents’ house in preparation to put it on the market. We grandkids enjoyed going through some of their things, reminiscing about when we were young and they’d have all five of us stay overnight. And what do you suppose I found? It was in a box with other Christmas decorations, and the box was marked, “1991 - Didn’t use. Don’t bring down (from attic) again.” Yes! I was so excited!

There’s an ornament for each day, plus a set of candles for each of the four Sundays in Advent. And there’s a big sequined star that goes on the top. I think it’s SO much better than the ones you can buy in the stores. But after hanging all the little ornaments on it tonight? I totally understand why it’s been up in the attic for 16 years. The pins she used are literally only about 1/2″ long, and it’s a HUGE pain to get them through all those layers of felt! Perhaps I’ll have to invest in some longer pins.

Remember that part above where I said I knew she’d still have the Advent calendar? Well, here’s how I knew . . .

Christmas is coming, Christmas is coming!

I think I’m fried. I’ve been sitting here, staring at this screen and trying to figure out what to write for at least 20 minutes. And the sad thing is, I KNOW the main topic I want to write about. And it’s easy! It’s a simple invitation that I’d like to extend to you. I was hoping to be clever or maybe even a little witty because I know that’s what you’ve come to expect around here (ha!), but I just don’t think I have it in me tonight. So . . .

From Thanksgiving to Christmas

It’s baaaack! The Office Max Elf Yourself site. Click the link to watch Maggie and Zelda dance.