Turkey Day

Now I know you're thinking, Turkey Day in March? Yes, that's what this is. Every year I buy a huge turkey when they're on sale before Thanksgiving and keep it in the freezer through the winter. Turkey is our favorite meal around here, and we definitely get our fill of it during the holiday season. But just once or twice a year is not enough. So every year, at the end of the winter, I haul out the huge bird and make an entire turkey dinner complete with all the trimmings. I guess it's a kind of farewell to the season we call winter. We love winter while it lasts, but we're always happy to see spring ushered in. So tonight we'll feast on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc (ooh--don't forget the mouth-watering gravy). And in doing so we say see ya to winter and WELCOME to spring!

The Yard Sale Bug

“Digging through a cellar or an attic is like archaeology of the soul.” –Anonymous

It’s getting to be that time of year again. I have the itch—the yard sale itch. Every spring I can’t wait to pour over the classified section of the paper looking for yard sale ads. Every Saturday I love to while away the morning hours going from neighborhood to neighborhood, looking for hidden treasures. I think this bug started because for 5 years, I lived in the Yard Sale Land of Plenty, also known as Clarks Summit, PA. There were always friends to go with (Gretchen, Laura, and of course Judith--who taught us to haggle) I realized the bug was back last week as I was flipping through Craig’s List online, looking for outside toys for the kids. Jackpot—I got a little tikes picnic table for just 5 bucks! Then I realized just how bad my bug is: the fact that I was going through not just the Columbus ads, but the Cleveland ads too. I knew if I found anything worthwhile, I could get my in-laws to pick it up for me (they’re just great like that). And low and behold, I found my perfectly priced picnic table in Cleveland! It’s sitting in Grandma and Papa's garage as we speak. I got even more excited last week after talking to my friend, Lydie. She told me about amazing multi-family neighborhood sales that happen annually in certain upscale towns, and we already have a date to leave the kids with the daddies and hit those up! So until the spring weather actually comes and the newspaper starts filling up their ad section, I’ll get it out of my system by scouring craigslist.org. Ya never know what you might come across.

“It is the beholder who lends to the beautiful things its myriad meanings, and makes it marvelous for us.” –Oscar Wilde

He will quiet you with His love

"...He will quiet you with His love..." (Zephaniah 3:17). I have never read this before. The worship leader at our new church mentioned this passage in passing on Sunday morning, and for some reason, it was like a fog horn in my head. The phrase kept repeating itself to me (I'm assuming that was the Still Small Voice, Gretchen) over and over throughout the service and the rest of the day. The rest of the verse is just as amazing as the middle phrase--"The Lord our God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." I simply cannot get enough of this right now. Isn't it the most amazing thing? I'm speechless.

Rest and Oscar

Last weekend I spent a glorious Sunday afternoon holed up in our basement. Sundays are the only days that Jake still takes a nap and for some reason, this past Sunday both kids took really long naps. I went downstairs and curled up on the futon with a quilt, my pillow, a book, and glass of water, and some chapstick (just for you, Jamie!). The original purpose of our basement was for Mark's sports memorabilia, the treadmill, a playroom for the kids, and storage. But it's turning out to be more than that. It's still all those things, and it's by far the kids favorite place to play. Probably because we have tons of bookshelves down there full of toys, blocks, activities, etc. But it's turning out to be a little getaway for me too. We have a nice comfy futon down there, a lamp to turn on when I don't want overhead lights, and it also houses all our books, since we don't have space for bookcases up in our living area. I love being surrounded by my books--it automatically makes for cozy living. We also put our old tv down there along with a $17 DVD player (LOVE black Friday!), so now it's the official place for kids movies. And on Sunday afternoons, it has become my safe haven to watch old movies. Sunday afternoon is always reserved for sports on the bigger tv upstairs. I have no problem with that--it's the American way. Maybe it's because we spent every Sunday afternoon at my grandparents' house while I was growing up, and because they always had old movies on all afternoon (they had cable a long time before us!), but I am so content to just sit down with an old musical or a black and white movie and loll the afternoon away. So last Sunday, after reading a few chapters of Harry Potter (I'm re-reading the whole series in honor of the final book coming out this July), I settled in with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck for an afternoon of "Roman Holiday." If you haven't seen it, SEE IT! It's a classic. We are talking pre-My Fair Lady, Sabrina, Funny Face, Breakfast At Tiffany's... It was Audrey's first movie and she won an Oscar that year for Best Actress. I love the Academy Awards, but don't like to put Mark through the torture, so I'll probably settle in on the futon once again this Sunday night for the Oscars. I just love when Sundays turn out to be what they are intended for. Rest...

Trip of a Lifetime

I'm not sure how many people I've had a chance to share this with but I'm going to Ireland!!! My mom has always wanted to take my sister and I there because we have a strong Irish heritage (don't forget I'm from Boston--the only people I knew growing up were Irish or Italian or both!) and last year she mentioned actually making legitimate plans. We talked about it here and there, but I guess in the back of my mind I didn't think it was actually happening. Well, over Christmas we talked about it more and settled on this summer, but we still had no ligitimate plans. Then this past week my mom got snowed in here in Columbus, so we got out the guidebooks I had bought on eBay last fall and just started making plans. We even bought our plane tickets (August, by the way)! We're spending 5 days in Ireland and 3 days in London and Mark and Ryan (my sister's huband) are coming too! As it turns out, the entire plan and itinerary is pretty much falling on my shoulders because everyone else is too busy to take care of such a detailed trip. And I gotta say, I don't mind one bit. I have a lot of time on my hands, I'm an internet addict, I love researching, and I especially love organizing everything in life. I'm in heaven. So I've spent the last two days online and with my nose buried in my travel books looking at ticket prices, hotel reviews, restaurant suggestions, train schedules through Ireland, day trip bus tours, festival dates... My sister thinks I'm psycho cuz I keep calling her and asking questions and opinions trying not to leave her out of the planning process and I keep using phrases like, "well, I'm working on Phase 2 of the trip..." I'm just being silly, but it makes it more fun and elicits a chuckle out of her. I'm hoping to keep a rough journal of the trip while we're there, and then post everything on a new blog and that way be able to share everything and all our experiences with our friends. I'm just giddy with anticipation, but keep in mind too that I've never been out of the country before. This is all new for me and beyond exciting!

(FYI, I'm listening to my new AG Silver CD right now and I think they have a new fan--Thanks Abby!)

30'th Birthday Weekend

My amazing husband treated me to the best birthday ever. It was a full weekend inluding dinner at Mongolian Barbecue, spending time with Mark, chai from Barnes & Noble, my wonderful and amazing friend Abby's "surprise" weekend visit, a razzmatazz latte from Cup-A-Joe, quality cafe time with Abby, a surprise party complete with family and Columbus friends, a REAL surprise visit from my mom, Mark's exciting game win, Mark taking care of every meal the entire weekend, peppermint mocha from Starbucks, surprise gifts from Mark, fun gifts from friends, including lots of Starbucks gift cards, many many pounds of Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks coffee, an extremely special gift from my long distance but close-to-my-heart friend, Gretchen, and two phone calls from my kindred in Germany, Daylin (which I missed, sniff). I am blessed. I am thankful for what God has given me and for the people He has put in my life. Turning 30--not such a huge deal. Spending time with and hearing from people I love--the best deal in life!

Mum and Abby

Julie and Brian (Mark's brother and his wife)

Katie, DJ (Jamie Miller's sister and brother-in-law and also who Mark is coaching high school basketball with) and Brian or Big B as our kids call him

DJ, Brian, Mark, Rory, and Mom C (Talan and Jake in front)

Mikayla and Rory

Me and my wonderful new Columbus friend, Lydie (Mark's cousin's wife)

Rory, Grammie, and Jake watching The Aristocats

Me and Abby

Abby and Rory

New CD's are Definitely Pennies from Heaven

I love Amazon! I just treated myself to a little pre-birthday present. I got Carly Simon's "No Secrets" and Carole King's "Tapestry." I'm totally in a funky 70's chicks phase right now and we're talking the original albums--the ones that made them legends--not the greatest hits or new recordings. The classics. Fun.

January Piercings

Well, I don't know what it is about me and January and nose rings, but it's on my mind again. I want to get my nose pierced! For anyone who might be reading this not knowing the history, last January I got a nose ring--just a tiny diamond. I LOOOOOOVED it, and it was so fun having Abby along for the ride and moral support. But I had to take it out 4 days later because of infection and I was devastated. I haven't considered trying again because to have it pierced was no big deal, but to have it removed was excruciatingly painful. But here I am, a year later, considering...If I had money in my pocket, I'd probably go today...

You're only young(ish) once.

"Lady In the Water"

I finally got to see M. Night Shyamalan's latest today. I'm a big fan of his movies, ever since "The Sixth Sense" scared the bejeezes out of me. This one was the usual Shyamalan fare: slow moving plot, lots of silences, interesting camera angles, etc. I LOVED "The Sixth Sense," liked "Unbreakable," thought "Signs" was okay, until they actually showed the alien, which basically ruined it for me (although I did appreciate the twists at the end), and then LOVED "The Village" again.

As far as "Lady In the Water" goes, Paul Giamatti is amazing, as always, and I'm loving that Bryce Dallas Howard (Iris from The Village) is in this too because I just think she's an interesting actress. This movie was different from the others in that it didn't have a major twist or surprise at the end. In my opinion, the theme of this story is that the goofy people, the boring people, the weird or interesting people, the people that you may look right through every day around you--they all have a purpose. There is a meaning for everyone. Everyone has their own little piece of the larger story.

M. Night Shyamalan actually used to tell this to his daughters as a bedtime story, then had a book published, then turned it into a movie.

It took a while to get into it, but by the end, my heart was full, my spirit was soaring. What a weirdly inspirational movie!

Game Over

First the Ohio State Buckeyes, now the New England Patriots. Football is a fickle friend...

My Heart is Full!

It's snowing! So far this winter we have had NO SNOW, and I don't know if I can explain to people just how difficult it has been for me living in a place with no snow. We had a few flurries one day in the fall, and since then, nothing. Even now, it's only flurries, but at least it's still light out and I can watch while it lasts.

MY SNOWFALL
My eyes behold its beauty
As my hand Reaches out for its touch,
While my face
Feels that certain tingle
That makes me love
Snow so much!
My heart embraces its coming
The way a child frolics In the fallen snow!
My beautiful snowfall
Brings joy to my spirit
And sunshine to my day.
It doesn't matter
Whether it be a blizzard
Or a dusting of flakes,
Snow falling from the sky
To me looks the same
Any old way!
Snow, my ever lovely snowfall!
Be it Valentine's Day, President's Day,
And yes, Be it Groundhog Day!
Let it snow I walk in it,
As well as sing in it!
I play in the snow
And build my favorite snowman,
Then chase
Each falling flake
As fast as I can!
Each breath of air
Feels crystal clear
Making Winter so very dear!
Each descending flake
Falls as if it were
A blessing from the angels,
Appreciating this gift
Of nature from God,
More than any other
Man created pleasure!
Let it snow
As well as
Let the winds blow!
I wait for the snow every year,
And can't stop smiling
When it finally appears!
Snowfall, my snowfall!

--Holly Bianchi (Age 11)

Rut Be Gone!

I've been a cooking maniac lately! It feels so good to be out of a rut and be on to bigger and better things. My goal has been at least two new meals a week, since I have all these great cookbooks, but this week I did four. I've been cooking with fresher ingredients, and it actually makes cooking more fun. To have to chop up the rosemary, smash the garlic cloves, etc--that's way more fun than getting dried herbs and spices out of the cabinet and my bottled minced garlic out of the fridge. So here are the new meals we ate over the past week:

Penne with spicy chicken alfredo
Chicken piccatta with whole-grain mustard roasted potatoes
Risotto with tuscan chicken
Garlic roast chicken with rosemary and lemon with pesto smashed potatoes

Some of them are keepers and some of them aren't, but it's great trying new things and finding out!

Coffee Timeline

I realized the other day that my relationship with coffee has been an ever-evolving one. I don't know what got me thinking about the details of me and coffee, but here's what I came up with. In high school, I drank it once in a while, with a friend here and there, or on really cold days while slinging Christmas trees. Once I got to college, it was purely social. I didn't need coffee everyday, but I drank it mostly nights, when I went out with friends. There were many late nights at Perkins, Daylin with her pitcher of tea, Diana with her pitcher of decaf, and me with my coffee pitcher straightup. It was also in college that I was introduced to the wonderful gas station cappuccino, which is a little too sweet for me now, but delicious when combined with half regular coffee. This is still a road trip staple for me. Once I started working full time, that's when the everyday coffee came about. Not because I needed the caffeine, but because it was nice to have my mug waiting at my desk for me everyday, ready to be sipped all morning long. It was just habit. I got into bad habits though--drinking about 4 cups a morning and once in a while in the afternoon. That ended when I quit my job to have a baby. I went down to two cups a day, which I maintain to date. I still didn't need the caffeine, it was just love of the flavor and of being able to hold a mug everyday. Holding a mug provides a lot of comfort, for those of you who don't know because you don't drink hot beverages (Mark!). Once I had a second kid, THAT'S when the need for caffeine kicked in. I needed that jump start in the mornings. I still do need the caffeine, but I realized this week as I was thinking about this, that more than anything right now, for me, coffee holds the promise of a new day, a fresh start... Maybe it's because my kids are getting bigger, and there are so many changes around here. They need constant interaction, they are constantly learning, and they get that from me--all day long. I have been learning that I mess up as much as they do. I have a short fuse, I am learning to be a teacher since it doesn't come naturally to me, and I'm learning how to love my kids for the fact that they are little people with huge personalities, not just because they are my children to raise. So I try to sit with a cup of coffee every morning, not just sip on the go as I do things around the house. My kids are starting to figure out that for 15 minutes, Mom can sit and not get up--no filling cups, no changing pullups, no untangling necklaces or helping with lincoln logs. And as I sit there sipping, I'm thinking, What will we do today? Everyday is an adventure and everyday I have a fresh mug and a clean slate.

I can't even think of a title...

I have writer's block.

Post-Christmas Yum

Well, I'm up to my ears in 11 new cookbooks this Christmas. So much happiness here. =) Hmmm, where to start, where to start...

A Red Bucket

Last night we took a family trip to Walmart. Mark's been gone so much with practice and games for the past couple of months, so the kids were really excited to go somewhere with him. Mark gave each of them a dollar and told them if we made it through the store with no whining or fighting (there's been a lot of bickering lately and I'm sure there are people out there who disagree with the bribing, but hey, desperate times call for desperate measures!) they could buy something that they picked out themselves. At the end of our successful shopping, the kids picked out boxes of little Christmas tree cakes. With Mark, everything is fun and exciting, so he showed them how to do the self check-out lane and had them insert the money themselves and then of course came the excitement of seeing the change come out the little slot. Jake was excited to put his change in his Ohio State piggy bank at home, and of course Rory imitates and talkes about everything that Jake does so she got excited about her Dorothy and Toto bank. On the way out of the store, Mark asked if they wanted to put their money in the red bucket instead. We explained to Jake how that money would help buy something for another kid who didn't have very much. I have no clue how much of that he understood. Most likely they were just excited to drop coins into the swinging red bucket (very cool!), but as they did, Jake yelled out "Merry Christmas" to the friendly man ringing his bell. My eyes filled with tears that he gave his little treasure away so easily. It was a huge reminder to me that it's my responsibility to teach these two little people about loving people (which is a new concept for me in life since I did not grow up this way.) Just an unexpected kind of blessing during my favorite time of year.

Holiday Books

I love books! I love old books, I love new books, I love the smell of crisp pages, I love the sight of old book bindings sitting on a shelf. And most of all, I love the tradition books create in a family. I grew up with a great old pop-up version of Twas the Night Before Christmas, and of all the Christmas objects we unpacked out of bins every December, that was my favorite thing to see each year. My mom even has a video of me reading it to Trina and Wayne when I was about 8. And I still have that book. I think my mom understood that it was most meaningful to me, so I got to take it with me when I got married. It’s sitting on my shelf of Christmas books right now, waiting to be read this season. I actually bought a new Twas the Night Before Christmas book a few years ago from Hallmark because it was so pretty—it’s a Santa and Coke version and I love the illustrations.

Some of my best memories of being a kid are road trips and my mom reading out loud to us from the Bobbsey Twins and Little House books. We took lots of trips to visit cousins and we always read our favorite family books along the way. I’ve been collecting vintage Bobbsey Twins books for a few years now, and I still have the Little House set that was mine as a kid. And I have found some great versions of American classics like Pollanna, the Little Princess, Swiss Family Robinson and other stories I loved as a kid. And I have extremely vintage copies of The Wizard of Oz (my favorite story ever, well, tied with Little Women) and Charlotte’s Web (shout-out to Gretchen and her annual book report!). I have boxes and boxes of children’s books.

Now that I have my own family, I’m trying to create holiday traditions through some books with them too. I’m probably going a little overboard though. I found great books of little poems for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day by Jack Prelutsky. I also found Twas the Night Before Halloween, and other Twas books for Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, first day of Kindegarten, etc. by Natasha Wing. And I also bought a couple of other random books about the Pilgrims, Christmas and other things that just seemed so cute. I spend more online time on Amazon than anywhere else—books, movies, and music—my three favorite things on one great website.

People have told me I better hope and pray that Rory is a reader because I’ve been collecting classic books since before she was born. Well, so far, she IS! She’ll sit with books all day if she can. She loves being read to, she loves reading to herself, so far so good. =) And Jake is starting to come around too—the more he sees Rory with books, he seems more interested. Needless to say, we spend a TON of time reading together on the couch. Time will tell if they love their holiday books as much as I did.

Tim Horton's

Okay, okay, I finally tried Tim Horton's coffee. My honest assessment is this: the coffee was just okay, but I appreciated the festiveness of their cheery winter cup. (I'm now bracing myself for the comments to come...)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Well, we've had quite a Christmasy weekend. I've had the house decorated for a week or so now, but Saturday we went to get our tree and it was really fun because the kids actually knew what was going on. It was great watching their little faces in awe as the guy cut some off the bottom of our huge douglas fir and then netted it up and tied it to the top of our car. It feels so good to have a real tree again. Mark grew up with an artificial and thought that was the way we'd go in our own home. And those who know us know Mark is definitely the one who runs the show around here. But a real Christmas tree was not something I was willing to give on! It's in my blood. For over 70 years Christmas trees were our family business in Massachusetts, but this year is the first year it no longer exists. The business shut down last year and it's pretty sad to see it gone. But I digress. Anyway, last year was the only year we had a fake tree and that was because we lived in an apartment complex that didn't allow real trees. I'm so happy to have our huge real tree smelling all amazing in our living room.

After picking up our tree Mark and I set off on our afternoon adventure of putting up lights outside the house. We felt like the Griswolds. Mark was up on a ladder with staple gun in hand and I was fooling around with the extension cords and outlets trying to get everything to fit in somewhere and work. With all the icicle lights, the potted trees on our entry way, lights wrapped around bushes and a wreath in every window, it took us all afternoon. We had fun though--it's yet another memory of our first home.

Today I spent literally the entire day baking cookies. I haven't even chipped the iceberg yet--I am trying a bunch of new kinds this year, so I plan to bake a couple more days this week too. I've been stocking butter, flour, and sugar for two months now, so I'm extremely prepared. And I'm making double batches of our favorites, now that I have my new freezer in the garage. I've really missed cooking ahead with no extra freezer for the past couple of years.

When Mark got home from ball practice tonight we decorated the tree. It was pretty funny because the kids put every ornament I handed them in the same exact spot. There was a whole front bottom section of the tree laden down with ornaments and the rest of the tree was empty. Of course, my obsessive compulsive self had that fixed as soon as they went to bed, but it was fun watching them do it.

I was thinking back to last year's Christmas Movie Extravaganza (is that what we called it, Abby?) wishing I could do it again this year. But since we still don't really have a circle of friends to entertain yet, I'll have my own. I told Mark that the one good thing about him having late practices every night and me being home alone all the time is that I can watch Christmas movies any night I want to. And since we have Directv back, it's not hard to find one. Lydie and I have plans to go see The Holiday for a girls night out, so that will keep me in my tradition of seeing whatever Christmas movie is out every year.

So the holiday happenings are keeping us busy around here. Hope everyone else is having fun!

Thanksgiving Trip to Boston

Me and the kids goofing off with Christmas decorations.

The kids chased this rooster all over the tree farm we visited--it was hilarious!

Grammie took us to a Christmas shop for donuts and coffee.

Uncle Tommy and Jake sacked out watching a movie.

Auntie Treen and Rory--she's the spitting image of Trina as a little kid!

Grammie and the kids smelling the amazing New England Christmas trees.