summer adventures, part II (cabin pics)

Stella climbing the stairs inside the cabin.

A beautiful view with Grandma Jenny. Note the cattle drive in the background!

A walk through the aspen.

Sweet cousin time with Kaia. These two were crazy cute together. Kaia was a bit wary at first, but after a few days they would squeal with delight and run to each other.

My dad & Jenny have added a wood-fired hot tub to the list of cabin delights. They got their hands on a wine barrel and made it into a baby version. The girls were in heaven!

Could this be any cuter?

Grandpa & Grandma enjoy their handiwork.

The girls also got quality time with Craig & Sarah (my uncle & aunt) and my cousins Colin & Will.

Spectacular sunset with Grandpa Mike.

Can you believe it? I came back from a bike ride to find Stephen working as part of a fencing crew. Will kept Stella entertained and Stephen got to drive the tractor.

Summer adventures, part I

I should really recap all this before we start to forget! Life is funny these days. We are doing well but looking forward to finding out what this next phase of life is going to be like. We had an awesome summer, lots of traveling (I think like 6 weeks total) - but we are looking forward to putting a bit more predictability in our lives.

In June and July we took a 3 week adventure to SLC-CA-SLC-WY-SLC.

My cousin Brian got married to sweet Allie. They threw a fantastic party and we enjoyed getting to know Allie and her family. They really made us want to move to CA. I know I am biased and all as her mother, but I think all would agree that Stella totally stole the show. We knew this kid liked to dance, but DANG! She was the first one out on the dance floor and DID NOT STOP all night. (14 months old and finally we're starting to see some of me in her, ha!)

People I didn't know would come up to me and say, "Oh, you're Stella's mom, right?" I was so proud. She danced her little booty off and we all had a great time. It was a fantastic wedding and we were so glad to be a part of it.

After the wedding we rented a couple of houses on the Russian River in northern CA. Had wine tasting and family bonding. Turns out that wine tasting is fairly kid-friendly what with having lots of new places to explore, as long as you don't mind getting the kiddo in and out of the car 7,000 times.

We also took a walk through the redwood forest. It was really cool and someone reminded us that it was where they shot the Ewok planet scenes from Star Wars.

Then we invaded the insanely charming town of Sebastopol (and now we want to move there too) for a mini-reunion with some fantastic friends that we hadn't seen for way too many years. It was so great to see Kim and Chris and Dean and Jacqueline and all the progeny. These four are all way ahead of us on the parenting thing, and we were so impressed with their ninja-like skills. Jacqueline in particular had the brilliant idea to get three rooms and a baby monitor - kids sleep on the outside rooms and party in the middle. I was in awe. We had a great time (but I think I get to add Jeffrey Katzenberg to my list of people I want to punch in the face).

Here's our crew, minus the moms, on the train at the world's best park ever:

Dean and sweet little Olin:

Next up was a few days in SLC. I went to my 15 year HS reunion. It was great to see old friends and make new connections. I must admit that I forgot what a cool bunch of people I went to school with. Thanks to the magic of Facebook, it will be much easier to stay in touch this time around.

Then we had the cabin trip. Oh, the cabin... my dad and Jenny built it (themselves, like with actual hammers) on 40 acres of beautiful Wyoming country. Borders a national forest near the Grand Tetons. Aspen grove behind the house. It is extremely well-engineered and very remote. You can drive there in the summer, can't get there at all in Fall and Spring, and in the winter you have to snowmobile or ski in. It is a blast.

Prior to this trip, our little city girl didn't walk on grass, just on sidewalks. Soon enough we had her running through the meadow of wildflowers.

(you know, this post is really long enough. cabin pics coming up next)

Stella rocks the mic

announcing...

(no, its not a baby)

The web site for J. Mandala Studios is now live! 

www.jmandalastudios.com

Or for those who have trouble spelling our name (and when family has a hard time, you know its bad)...

weddingdresspaintings.com. 

Check it out!

PS - you can also become a fan on facebook.

the right way to read a book

Stella shows Stephen what for:

culebra!

Ah, faithful readers, thanks for sticking with us during our summer blog-lapse. We've been traveling a lot but are now home. The wailing and gnashing of teeth may now conclude. We're back and ready to bring you more baby pics and random observations!

But first, we shall briefly summarize our trip sans baby to Culebra. It's a teeny tiny island in the Caribbean, just off the coast of Puerto Rico. It is heaven on earth. There is a teeny tiny town on the island, it has a name, but people just call it "town". There are no resorts. We stayed in a fantastic guest house on the water in town. "Fantastic" here means charming and colorful and air-conditioned. I've been trying to get Stephen here for years, but the prospect of going to the Caribbean without a resort was sort of daunting. (My friend Janet and I fell in love with this place a few years back).

Here's something we learned: if you have a great balcony, but no door to it, you can just build some stairs up to the window and call it a door. No one will mind! Just tell people to duck. This was the "door" to the (fantastic) balcony in our room.

Here is the outside of our guesthouse. It was right on the harbor, where the town is. Everything is walking distance in the town. There are just a few restaurants but they are tasty!

The beach there is amazing, one of the best in the world, it has seriously turned us into beach snobs. I know it sounds silly, but that sand is as soft as powdered sugar. And pristine. Locals come over from PR and spend the day picnicking, but it never really gets crowded. This might seriously be the best beach I will ever visit. One end is calm and good for swimming, you can snorkel right from the beach, and the other end gets some pretty big waves for bodysurfing. Here's Stephen, right before getting totally trashed by that wave:

Our home away from home:

Another thing we learned - this time the hard way. If you think you might get seasick, and you have the choice between a 90 minute ferry ride and a 20 minute flight, spring for the flight! Even if it is scary! We flew back off the island in a propeller plane, here was the view out of my left window. The plane only fit like 6 people and the pilot was right in front of me. They ask you your weight when you make a reservation, and tell you exactly where to sit. You don't dare lie. What a thrill. I was afraid to even turn all the way around to talk to Stephen - in a plane that small you just don't want to be shifting around. 

We also visited San Juan, but the focus of our trip was really the beach. We want to go back as often as possible. Next time I think we could bring Stella, and maybe a cousin or grandparent to help entertain her. Volunteers?

so helpful!

Stella loves her cousin Gabe, she has been trying to teach him to clap and blow kisses. Pretty dang cute!

spaghetti girl

one more reason I love Obama

Last Monday I was laid off from my job, which I loved very much. It was a complete shock. Donations are down, and the organization had to take some pretty drastic measures. 

I had the good fortune to work for a great organization with some truly amazing people. I will miss that and remain a committed supporter. 

But I'm looking forward to what is next. I could use some new challenges, and while this is a horrible time to be laid off, there are a few silver linings. 

Thank you, President Obama, for helping laid-off employees keep their health insurance! Part of the stimulus plan included a provision that allows laid-off employees to pay only 35% of the normal COBRA premiums for the first 9 months. This is the difference between $1467 and $507 per month to continue our health care coverage. For us, this means I can sleep at night. I don't know for sure (yet), but I suspect that $1497 is more than I will get in unemployment. I am sure that for many others, not having this 35% plan would mean going without coverage. Yikes. Especially when you consider that medical catastrophes are one of the leading causes of bankruptcy, losing your house, etc. 

I've made a personal commitment to work out every day that I am between jobs. It will help me stay positive, manage stress, and give me something else to talk about. I'm considering documenting my fitness and weight loss efforts in a public forum. Helps with the accountability. Since finding time to work out was a challenge before, there are no more excuses!

I'm taking a bit of time for some vacations we had already planned, but really am anxious to get into a new position as quickly as possible. Would love to hear ideas if anyone has them!

birthday girl

There is much to say. But so little time! Our rosebud turned one. Somehow she has bloomed from this:

To this:

She may still look like her daddy but she is learning to shake it like her momma.

my brilliant husband

Back in the days before Stephen and I dated, I had a nice little apartment with a hot tub outside and a sunroom off the bedroom that I used as an art studio. I had all kinds of crazy projects going on back there. One of these projects was born of necessity - I had a favorite pair of shoes that were in need of replacement. Problem was, they were the perfect mix of heel, platform and bounciness - and of course I couldn't find anything else like them anywhere. I analyzed the slope of the last (and found out what a last was) and replicated it. All I needed was something strong and sort of bouncy - I figured that if I could get the last, insole and sole together I could just make it into some sort of sandal. I figured cork would be a perfect material, so I saved some wine corks and began to assemble them into the requisite shape. One could say I possibly had too much time on my hands. Stephen likes to joke that if he hadn't come along I would still be off somewhere, trying to make my own shoes. hee. 

All this is background on just why it is that we have a large quantity of wine corks in our house. I'm always thinking I'm going to make something out of them. But, drumroll please... Stephen found a use for them before I did. 

So it's springtime in Texas, which really is a pretty spectacular thing. For just a few short weeks, people in snowbound places feel envious of our weather. It's a sentiment that doesn't really return until October or so. We're really enjoying the courtyard we put in last fall, 

and the fountain especially has been pretty entertaining for the bambina. 

Stephen had the idea to throw some of her bath toys in there... good idea, but a little short-lived as she can't reach far enough in to fish them out, and there are just a few of them. But then... inspiration strikes. Ladies and gentlemen, may I please introduce you to what is sure to be a craze among the junior circuit: corks in the fountain. 

All you need are a couple hundred corks and a fountain. She spent hours picking up the corks and putting them in the fountain. Then moving corks one by one on to the ledge, then into the fountain. I tell you the possibilities are endless! The great thing is they float, so once enough are in there, she can bat them around with her hands or even take some out. Cleanup is easy with a colander. This is our new favorite game. Go Stephen!

April 1st Free Zone

I really don't like April Fool's Day. To be frank, I got tired of always being the sucker and never being able to successfully turn the tables on Jess. She is a master at fooling me (comes from her family). After several years of marriage she got me so bad that I used one of my few but extremely helpful "if you loved me" cards and declared our family a no April Fools zone. I realize that this all sounds a bit pathetic, but I have to protect my innocence from the truly evil and wicked Jessica.

She once told me that "a fool can be a good husband for a clever girl." You see what I have to love. Happy April Fool's Day!

spring break

Since so many of her cousins were out of school last week for spring break, we decided it would be a good time for Stella to get some extended family time. She and Stephen left for Montgomery the previous Wednesday, and I came down for the weekend. They were having so much fun, they stayed the whole next week and I went down again for the weekend - but this time there was no way I was coming home without them! 

They did all kinds of fun things, and Stella learned a lot about being heard in a crowd. She had a ball - I think it was kid heaven. Me, on the other hand - I worked late a lot. I don't like being home without them. 

Whenever they leave town without me I think I'm going to get all these things done - this time I thought I would:

• build Stephen a dream desk for his home office (and no, I've never built a desk before, I'm just pathologically optimistic)
• paint a diamond pattern on the dining room walls
• catch up with friends
• clean the whole house 
• work out every day
• get a pedicure

In reality, I: 

• uploaded my cd collection to my mac (takes forever!!)
• completed the transition of what was formerly known as our guest room/tv room/home office into just a guest/tv room
• did all the laundry
• organized all kinds of random stuff (that I'm sure will only be noticed by me)
  
• saw a couple of friends
• got two bike rides in

I'm pretty darn thrilled with that. I also got some good time trying to figure out just what this mac can do. Stella is also very interested in it, she put this video together about her adventures:

more arboretum pics

I realize that not everyone wants to plow through the bajillion photos on our Flickr page, so here are my favorites:

baby daddy

Stephen, circa 1972:




















Stella Rose, circa last weekend:
















Somehow I don't think anyone is going to be asking for paternity tests anytime soon. :)

stella jonas?

We had a great weekend. Picnic yesterday at the arboretum with the Thomhousers - weather was spectacular and it was so refreshing to just be outside for a few hours. I think that may be one of our new favorite places. We got a membership so now we can go hang out there any time we like. The place is so beautiful - we got lots of great pictures. You can see them on our Flickr site and on Becca & Chris' Flickr site too.

Stella's hair is getting pretty cute. It's starting to curl a bit at the ends - kind of flips out like a little baby hipster. Very curly when it is wet. We haven't cut it or anything, so it is of course longer on top than anywhere else. She and I had lunch with our friend JP on Saturday, and I think he hit the nail on the head when he pronounced it "boy band hair":

we've gone mac! and other updates after our hiatus

Our home PC succumbed to a particularly nasty virus, providing just one more reason to get us into the Apple store. My new macbook is my first-ever personal computer, if you don't count my old 386 hand-me-down in college that was great for papers and solitaire but didn't even have a modem. And I don't count that. :)

Speaking of viruses, we have been hit hard lately. Yesterday was the worst with all three of us down for the count. OH MAN I was starting to panic. Stella had been so miserable Sunday night, she just whimpered in our arms until about midnight. Fever around 102. Couldn't sleep, just would lay on us as we rocked her. Jenny had the brilliant idea to put on some music to distract her. There was a CD of czech polkas in her stereo, so we put that on. She loved it. Picture this sad little girl who can't bear to even hold her head up, but then she hears that music and her little arm goes out waving like a conductor. Then around midnight, it was like someone flipped a switch - she was ready to play like her old self. Healing power of polka? Could be. 

Anyway we took her to the doctor Monday, she's ok, just got some kind of bug with a sore throat. Then early Tuesday morning Stephen came down with some kind of intestinal flu. As I was telling my boss that I needed to be home, I heard this awful thud. He had passed out in the bathroom. So yeah, I needed to be home. I spent yesterday trying to keep the two of them away from each other and properly medicated, then I got a fever and felt very faint in the afternoon. Why do we live so far away from grandparents again? I really can't remember!

Stephen and Stella took an extended weekend at his parents' house a few weeks ago. Gotta love the sink baths.

Stella in the fresh country air.

We had a nice visit from my Dad & Jenny last weekend, unfortunately Stella was getting sicker and sicker and was not her usual self. I guess they will just have to come back for another visit. And unfortunately for them, we seem to have sent them home with the same bug that has us down.

Today Stella is doing much better, she seems to have her mojo back. She has also found her first hiding place. I heard her in the bathroom but could not find her, then I looked in here:

This evening Stella and I ran out to get something for dinner. We were finally up for eating but could not quite muster the will to cook. I got this picture of the flowering pear tree in our front yard. It is in bloom - the weather has been lovely lately and the plants are quite confused and think it is springtime. I love this tree - when in bloom it has the most lovely perfume that just floats in the air. So it's not all bad news around here.

Stella spent 10 minutes last night trying to put on one of Stephen's (thankfully clean) socks. Not on her foot, of course. On her head. I don't know what she was trying to accomplish, but she would put it up on her head, almost like she wanted to play peek-a-boo with it, but then realizing her face wasn't covered, just kept trying. I helped her drape it across the top of her head, wondering if that was what she wanted. She paused for a moment, pulled it down and tried again. Tried draping it around her neck, same thing. All I can think of is that she wanted it to be bigger. It was the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.

Here we are at the Mardi Gras parade in Oak Cliff on Sunday. She had a good time but got tired. Later that night she had a fever of 102 - her first real fever. Monday we took her for her first sick doctor visit. She's fine now, just a little virus.

We had a great weekend with my sister Judy and her boyfriend Josh, who came for a visit from SLC. Judy narrowly avoided being named "aunt doody" (kids usually have a hard time with J sounds) when Stella produced a credible "juju". Yay for Juju! We had a great time with them, went to the park and swings and all kinds of stuff I would be able to show pictures of - except that we had left both our cameras at Nana's house. Juju took some good ones, I'm patiently waiting (HINT HINT) for her to email them to me.

Thoughts from a Househusband

Today I have reached a point that I never thought existed. I am sitting here wishing my sleeping Stella was awake. Until today I have relished the freedom that her naps allow me. In the last couple of weeks she has become so much fun, I miss her while she's down.

baby's got some new skills

Kiddo loves her some peekaboo - this was last week. Now she is actively hiding herself under blankets, teddy bears, whatever. It's pretty cute.

She can multitask. Now that she has learned to hold her bottle with her feet, that frees her arms up for all kinds of things.

And now this - I found this shopping cart toy at a garage sale two weeks ago and she went crazy for it right away. We were going to put it away until her birthday because she was not quite stable around it - would pull it over, not a good thing to pull up on because it moves, etc. Lucky for her we are lazy and it never made it to any form of storage beyond "by the wall in the living room". She would pull up on it, and if we were nearby, we would hold it still for her so she didn't fall down. Then yesterday I come home and she can do this:

burleygirl

So one of my Christmas presents from Stephen was a bike trailer. He placed the order from REI and it was backordered, then they said they wouldn't be getting any more after all - must be a model change. They had a floor model, but it was missing a part. So we went in to the store to check out what else they had.
Have you ever been to REI in January? They have the best sale. All their sale stuff goes down another 50%. Turns out they sell the missing part to that floor model, so they gave it to us for free, and we got a $550 bike trailer for $179. SWEET! It also converts to a regular stroller, jogging stroller, and even a cross-country skiing trailer. I don't think we'll use the skiing thing, but it's nice to think that we could. Kiddo seems to like riding in it, but is not a fan of the helmet.

green garage sale

Saturday morning Stella came with me to the lake to work out with my running buddies. I say 'work out' instead of 'run', since I was just up for a walk this time. I have misplaced my iPod, and while I know I can run without it, it is not as much fun. So I figured I will save my knees and burn almost as many calories with a brisk walk. Baby girl enjoyed the scenery and dogs. On the way home, we stopped at a garage sale, just to see what we could find. I LOVE garage sales - maybe it is the treasure hunter in me, maybe it is the haggler in me, who knows. It's a slice of pure entrepreneurism at its most basic level. And now I can love them for two more reasons: they are environmentally friendly and great for kids.
So I'm not just cheap, I'm reducing waste in our landfill. And if I find a toy or something for Stella, that means one less plastic thing has to be manufactured new.
Garage sale lovers, hide in shame no more! Be proud to shop in the most eco-friendly manner possible! No bags, no signs, no manufacturing! And don't forget to negotiate!

resolutions

Inspired by our friend Joe, who not only makes a detailed list of goals each New Year, but actually accomplishes them, we are joining the ranks of the resolute.

We're hoping that by publicly posting them, we will be more likely to succeed.

So here we go:

• Limit sweets to once a week. For Stephen, this means one day a week, for me, one sweet a week. Devil's in the details. Don't even ask him about bringing the Jewish interpretation of the Sabbath into the mix.
• No fast food, unless we are on a road trip.
• No sodas. (This one is easy for me, I've been off soda for years)

We are also charting our weight every day. So far we both like it a lot. I made graphs for each of us, with the pounds (to the tenth of a pound) on one axis, and the day on the other. It's posted right above our scale, so every morning we hop on and plot our progress. It's actually kind of fun. Sometimes you need to see that you went down two tenths of a pound, and the recording adds a bit of accountability. Of course for my graph, only the last digit of my weight is displayed. A girl's gotta have some secrets...

Another weight loss competition is starting up at work, and I think I will do it again. I love the competitive aspect, it really makes it a lot of fun. But then I find myself taking it little too seriously, so hopefully the fact that I am still breastfeeding will help me temper that (no skipping meals, gotta eat enough for both of us). It's starting to be light out longer, I am anxious to get on my bike!

Another goal of mine is to sell ten paintings this year. I started doing wedding dress paintings a few years back, they look like this:

It looks better in person. This is the bride's dress, along with the dresses of her bridal party. It's done in watercolor and ink, and the names and wedding date are along the hemline. I can also do just the bride, bride and her mom's dress, etc. Pretty much any variation on the theme.

These make great wedding or anniversary gifts. I sell these matted and framed, starting at around $100 (depending on size and number of dresses - the one pictured here would be $200). I can work from a photo, ad, or detailed description.

If you know anyone who might like one, send them my way!

Happy new year!

how could I forget...

This entry from our Christmas Eve cookie party, which definitely wins the Tarantino award for the evening. Note the innocent look on Mrs. Gingerbread.

our smokin' hot new year

My mom generously offered to babysit Stella overnight so we could do a practice run of being away from her when we are on vacation. Now that we are parents we need a good reason to stay up late on purpose. So we opted to get a room at the Hotel Adolphus, the place where we had our wedding reception. We got dressed up for dinner, Stephen was looking sharp and I put on my favorite magical evening gown. This dress is amazing. It made me feel gorgeous when I first bought it, when I was pregnant, and now 35 lbs smaller. I seriously feel like Daisy Buchanan in it. It is so delicate, almost like wearing a spiderweb with beading.

Anyway, we are about to step out the door, when Stephen's phone rings. It's one of our tenants. Our duplex is on fire. Happy freaking new year! Ours was smokin'!

It was a five alarm fire started by a heater unit that we had hired a company to work on earlier that day. Stephen called them in the afternoon after smelling smoke and asked them to come back and take a look, but perhaps with party on the brain, who knows, they chalked it up to dust burning off the coils, declined to come back and said not to worry about it. Then the sun went down, the heater kicked in to high gear, and the whole place went up in flames. Our charming 1920s duplex, that Stephen had just remodeled, was apparently built to burn. The fire started above the downstairs bathroom and quickly spread to the second floor bathroom and the entire attic. The good news is that no one was hurt, and big-time snaps to the Dallas Fire Department for containing the fire as quickly as they did. It could have easily burned the whole block of charming 1920s duplexes.

It is completely uninhabitable, you can see pictures on our Flickr site. Oh how I wish that it was snow in the pictures.

One of our tenants has renters insurance, she's going to be fine. The other one, not so much. We put her up in a hotel and got her some clothes, shoes, etc. and are helping her move her stuff into a new apartment.

If you are reading this and you are a renter, let me just step up onto my soapbox for a moment. Ahem. GET THE DAMN INSURANCE. It's only a few bucks a month and if your place accidentally burns down or floods you will have a place to live and possessions. Otherwise you are totally screwed. Our insured tenant immediately got $5,000 to cover living expenses for the next month, she is comfortably set up in a hotel and shopping for new stuff. Her insurance is paying for her possessions to be moved, catalogued, cleaned and stored until she moves into a new place. Stuff that is damaged will be replaced. She's going to be fine. Our uninsured tenant, on the other hand, would not have had a place to sleep if we hadn't put her up in a hotel. She would have only her cat, her pajamas and her wet slippers while things got figured out. Now that things are figured out, she has found a new place to live but literally has to go pick through the remains of her charred and wet apartment, where the ceiling continues to fall and the fireplace tilts dangerously, and get what she can salvage. She will have to clean it herself and just deal with the loss. So if you are renting, ask yourself, how nice is my landlord? Probably not as nice as us. GET THE DAMN INSURANCE, because even if your landlord is nice, he will not be reimbursed for the niceness.

birthday

Too much has happened in the past three weeks. Perhaps you thought we had grown bored and complacent, or overly consumed with arguments about fancy ornaments. The fact remains that the second half of December remains sorely unblogged. Here goes. Bear with me, there is a lot to cover.

We took a cursory pre-holiday break for my birthday. My mom, in town to greet her new grandson, made me the most delicious fancy cake with not uno, dos, or tres, but cuatro leches. Yum. At first I wondered why La Duni (one of my favorite places) would post the recipe to their signature dessert online. But then I read the recipe and realized that it is a low-risk strategy for them as few people would dare attempt it. Brava for my mom, aka Grandma Sugar, who was up for the challenge. It was amazing and we all had fun with the kitchen blowtorch. Stephen gave me a much-needed and still unplanned vacation for my birthday. This will be fun to put together. Any suggestions? I'm thinking someplace warm with beaches.

christmas time

What with the baking queen in town and all, I did not attempt my usual holiday baking. (First christmas with a kid, and I played that card for all it was worth.) With a nod to reality, I planned on falling off the no-sweets wagon for the period between my birthday and new years. I'm sorry, but if your mom comes to your house and plays with your baby and bakes you cookies, it is seriously bad karma not to eat at least one cookie.

Stella and her healthy fear of The Man.

Speaking of cookies, we had a cookie party on Christmas Eve. One of the best things about spending our first Christmas at home was coming up with new traditions. This one was a keeper. Let's see... my mom made all the cookies and icing, and my sister's in-laws brought dinner... I'd have to say it was the best party ever that doesn't involve grinding your own sausage. I'm thinking a potluck cookie decorating party will have to be expanded on in the future. I especially loved the part where everyone but me cooked. We kept things pretty small and low key this year on account of my new nephew Gabriel. Here are some of our favorites:

Best booty-loving cookie: Best self-portrait cookie (Stephen):

Best traditional cookie:

Best alternate use of the shape:
Best minimalist cookie (this one narrowly beat out my mom's classic one-shake-of-red-sprinkles):

and honorable mention because it's christmas in the Federation, too:

Christmas morning it was just the three of us, I made cinnamon rolls from scratch and we chillaxed. Opened stockings and got on Skype. All three of us got spoiled. Here's Stephen's new grill, complete with baby back ribs, ha.

In the afternoon my parents, Becca, Chris and baby Gabe came over. We opened presents and finished up dinner, which I had been planning ever since Becca announced her due date and I realized we would get to be home. Somehow the planets aligned, and even though getting to dinner took much longer than we thought, everything turned out perfectly. I don't know how. And now I shall bore you with the menu, what can I say I am very proud. We did a prime rib with port sauce (snaps to Jenny for the recipe!), savory sweet and regular potatoes, green beans, rolls from scratch, and a spinach-blue cheese and pecan salad. In the evening we invited the rest of the family over for dessert. One of these days I will get it into my head that when people have a big dinner (like xmas and thanksgiving) they just don't really eat much dessert. I still have pie in the fridge, it will just have to be thrown out due to age and sugar avoidance. We had a good time, it was a truly bizarre experience to not have to rush off to another celebration. Oh and I got called out (gotta love family) for what I thought was a good response to an unusual gift. ("Oh! I don't have anything like THIS!")

Overall, it was a great holiday. Loved the combo of not cooking, cooking and not having to go anywhere. Can't wait to try out my new bike trailer - I think Stella will like cycling.