So much has changed

So much has changed since my young years
The way we children laughed and played
More fun and fancy than there were fears
So much to do, we had it made!

My neighborhood looked full of fun
With swings and toys to choose from
But now the kids will choose to run
Than frolic in the mid days sun.

Green Grass

green grass
windmill blowing
red wagon rides
down a steep hillside
kids jumping…

skipping…

smiling…

sunny days in heaven!

Christmas 2008

Christmas morning I met with my family for our traditional Christmas breakfast out. Todd and two of his kids, Thomas and Samantha, arrived just before I did and we were seated right away. My dad was running late due to the mass starting 15 minutes late, we learned when he did arrive. Before he came, it gave Todd and I a chance to talk, which was nice. I only see him this time of year.

Breakfast was okay, although Todd opened up a package of jam that was moldy. That made him lose his appetite. He asked for a manager, but a food assistant manager, dressed in a cook's uniform, came over. He didn't do much but give a weak apology. This irked my brother, but being who he is, he didn't say anything more. If they can't offer to pay for a meal that he was too disgusted to eat, he wasn't going to tell them. They should know without him having to demand it.

After breakfast I drove home and talked on the phone with my sister, Erika, and her kids. Then I began to watch the movie "Into the Wild" which is about a young guy in his 20's who gives all his money to charity (about $25,000) and he goes off into the wild. I wasn't able to finish it before leaving to pick up my dad for dinner at Scotti and Rich Steip's (my sister, Erika's in-laws).
Before getting my dad, I popped over to say Merry Christmas to John and Maria Konyalian, my dad's neighbors from across the street. They were my neighbors once, years ago, when I lived with my parents as a teen. John and Maria have two sons, and it was their youngest, Michael, who answered the door. He's a grown man now, but when they moved in, he couldn't have been more than 7. "Merry Christmas, Alexis" he greeted me with a hug.

Maria was there. I was glad to see her. It had been a long time since I had talked to her. I handed her some fudge and thanked her for being a good neighbor to my dad. "He's more than a neighbor to us...he's a friend. He helped me when John was sick." At the same time my mom had gone into a coma, John had a surgery and the doctor's made a mistake and he was internally bleeding which caused more problems. He was very sick and couldn't do much but sit on his porch. My dad would come over and sit with him, most likely telling him lots of interesting stories about practical jokes he's played or projects he worked on when he worked in aerospace.

I said my goodbyes and promised not to be a stranger before running across the street to get Dad. The drive to Palos Verdes was an easy one since it was Christmas Day. When we arrived, the wind had really picked up and the air felt ice cold--something you don't experience much here in sunny California. The morning had been rainy and the hills of PV were surrounded by grey.

The Steips have a city view and on clear days you can see downtown Los Angeles. The whole day had been overcast, but about 4pm, the clouds parted right above downtown and the sun shone on the buildings as if it was a forbidden city. I could have sworn I heard angelic music playing in the background as the sun bathed and brightened the area, as if I was witnessing the birth of a new era.
Dinner was delicious and very much worth the wait! Scotti served a roast with crispy roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes (that Katie prepared), a broccoli almond dish, as well as carrots and parsnips. I had never tasted parsnips before and I was satisfied in the fact that I liked them very much.

Here is Katie and Scotti:
Every holiday I've been to at the Steip's, you could always find Andy dozing off. Here he is lying next to the warm, cozy fire, pre-zzzzzz's.
Here I am with Scotti.
My dad and I left the Steips at about 8pm. I hadn't slept well the night before, having gone to bed around 3am and waking up at 6:45am. I finally opened my remaining Christmas presents before hitting the pillow hard that night. I feel very blessed to have been given so much in life, gifts are the cherry on top!

Christmas Eve and thereabouts

You have no idea how difficult this stuff is to cut up into pieces!

Well, I was able to pull off making two more batches of fudge: one peanut butter batch and one chocolate and health bar toffee mix batch. I made one on the night of the 23rd (PB) while trying to make a sausage, egg and cheese (with onions) casserole for my companies potluck. Don't know if it turned out so well, but it was all gone from what I saw!

I left work at 1:30, which was a half hour after I was allowed to leave. I rushed back to my apartment so I could make the second batch so that I could box it up and give it out!!! To keep me in the Christmas spirit (and keep my blood sugar level up) I had a couple shots of egg nog (non-spiked)!
I picked up my nephew, Thomas, to go to Christmas Eve service. I was surprised to see my niece, Kristen, who I hadn't seen in years. I met my great-niece, Kaitlyn, and great-nephew, Anthony, also. Am I allowed to feel old yet?

The Christmas Eve service was great! At King's Harbor we sing lots of Christmas Carols (which I think really speak the truth to our souls) and intersperse it with the scriptures of the birth of Jesus. Pastor Chris spoke, first starting with asking the congregation what they think are nice things of Christmas. After a child said the best thing about Christmas is "giving gifts", Chris said he liked that the girl said "giving". Then he talked about the greatest gift that God has given us, which is Jesus Christ, His Son. It was a great message.

After the service, Thomas and I went to Sammy's Woodfired Pizza for dinner. It was delicious. I drove Thomas back and chatted with him and my brother, Todd, before heading to Nicole and Lisa's for game night.
I had a great time! First we played Sequence, which was a really fun card game that I had never played before. Nicole (who is pretty competitive) won both games. Then we all decided to play Scene It. It took them awhile, but Nicole, Darcy and Adell won the game against Lisa, Bryan and myself.
Here's me, Lisa, Darcy, Nicole and Adell.

Here's Bryan lounging on the floor--subconsciously segregated from the women!

In order to try to get better at the All Play rounds, Bryan stood up so he could be more competitive:

At the end of the night, we were all talking about Christmas traditions. Darcy talked about the pickle game, a German tradition. No one besides myself had ever heard of it. It's a pickle ornament that is hidden and whoever finds it gets the last Christmas present of the day. Darcy joked that she probably would have gotten a weird look and a double-take from Pastor Chris if when he asked about nice things about Christmas, if she had said "I like the pickle!" Darcy also mentioned peppercocker cookies--yikes! Another item that she shouldn't mention in church.

;-)

Faith Under Fire

In the spirit of Christmas:

Faith Under Fire

Two weeks before Christmas during my junior year of college, my faith in humanity dried up. Wherever I turned, I witnessed people failing to perform the most common of courtesies: opening a door for someone carrying a box, letting a car pass in front without a chorus of hor ns, or offering to help someone in need. Everyone I encountered was selfish and unfeeling.
Take, for instance, the purchase of my very first real Christmas tree. Thinking I could move a 6-foot tree myself, I went alone. I purchased the tree from a local Boy Scout lot and as I took in the rich perfume of the Douglas fur strapped to my car, the excitement began to mount at the thought of taking it home. I parked my car in front of my apartment complex. I only had to carry the tree across the street and through a small courtyard. No problem, I thought.

Apparently, I needed to step up my workouts because I couldn't move it more than two feet.
I decided to roll it, but after another three feet I was exhausted. There I was standing beside a beautiful green tree in the middle of the street. I felt helpless and what's worse--stupid. Trying to decide what to do, I heard a few voices over my left shoulder. A block away there were three men looking at me and laughing. My first thought was a good-natured, "Ha ha ha. Very funny." I expected to see the owners of the voices walking towards me to help. They didn't make a move. This depressed me. What was wrong with people? At a time when we were supposed to be filled with good tidings and holiday cheer, I saw no joy in the people around me. Still, I wasn't going to let that stop me from having a merry Christmas. After finally getting my tree into my apartment, I went home to my parents' house for the weekend instead of struggle with this inevitable truth of life.

The Friday night I arrived home, I discovered an unusual thing - four of my siblings were home as well. I come from a family of twelve children, so having four together may not seem like much, but four in our family in one place at one time is unusual because most of us are dispersed across the country.

We were all sitting in the living room chatting about the usual things--kids, school, the weather. As I sat there on the couch thinking of my beautiful real green tree sitting in the middle of the street, I stared at my family's 6-foot tall artificial tree. It was the same tree every year: a lot of decorations, tinsel, garland, but no lights.

"Mom, are you ever going to get lights for the tree?"

"Oh, honey, maybe someday. Your father has a hard time trusting those lights since that Christmas."

In 1966 a fire ignited in my parent's house. I wasn't born yet, and we had since moved, but the memory of that day lives on in the minds and hearts of my family. Every year during the holidays, the fire is mentioned. It wasn't until this one weekend, however, that I heard the entire story.

My younger sister, Erika, voiced the question that was on the tip of my tongue. "What really happened that year, Mom?"

We all leaned in closer as Mom began to describe what happened.

"On December 23rd, your father and I put all the kids to bed at 8pm. We went to watch some television at 8:30 in the study, which was located at the back of the house. Scott, usually a fast sleeper, had for some reason felt he had to stay up. The house was laid out so that Scott and Kent's room was really a den with no door. Their room faced the living room where the Christmas tree was. I asked Scott about it later, and he told me that he was lying down on his side, propped up by his elbow when he witnessed the tree catch fire. He described it as looking very beautiful! For a four-year-old, the red-blue flame coming from the multi-colored lights becoming a neon glow of meshed colors had no alarming effect at first. But soon Scott realized what was happening. He quickly climbed down the bunk beds and shook Kent awake. Both Scott and Kent then ran out the den, down the hall to the doorway leading to the study and rapped on the door."

"Both Tom and I instinctively jumped up and went to evacuate the rest of the children. We alerted the girls-Tanya, Shawn, Andrea and Valerie."

"Although I faced the possible loss of my children, my husband and our home, I didn't have enough time to panic. There was too much to do. We had to get out of there right away!

"The house began to flood with smoke. I called to the children in the next room to go out the back door and stand on the retaining wall, which was far enough away from the fire. As Scott and Kent exited the house, I had a horrible realization: one of my boys was missing! Todd, only two years old, was still in the house.

"'Tom, Tom! Todd's still in there!'" I shrieked with horror.

"'You call the fire department. I'll get him.'"

"Before we had retired to the study, I had placed the happy toddler into his crib, which was located in the room next to the fire. Todd was the closest to the horrible blaze and he was the most defenseless against it. Your dad turned on his heel and lunged into the cloud of smoke that was fast approaching that side of the house. As he did this, I picked up the phone to dial the fire department."

Dad walked up behind Mom to add his perspective.

"I navigated my way into Scott and Kent's room as swiftly as I could. As I crossed the room to the door that led to the inferno, I spied Todd standing up in his crib, with his back to the fire and his chubby arms outstretched waiting for someone to scoop him out of danger. I paused and assessed the fire. By now the room was aglow and pulsing with red-hot heat. I crouched down when I saw that a thick layer of poisonous gases filled the top half of the room.

"I scuttled to Todd's crib to retrieve him but soon realized with utter agony that I could not lift Todd out of the crib to safety because lifting him meant that he would be brought up into that layer of gaseous fumes. A 2-year-old could not hold his breath through that. I became frantic, trying to figure out a way to get my little boy out of there. I was at my wits end when I pleaded, '"Dear God, help me."'

"For a brief moment, the air seemed stationary, as if it were holding itself up waiting for instructions from an unseen force. Suddenly, all the windows in the living room shattered. I realized that this would cause an updraft raising the ceiling of smoke. I seized this moment to grab onto Todd's waist and hoist him up and over the crib gate and into my arms. I found out afterward that it had to heat up to between 800 and 900 degrees F for the windows to blow out."

Along with the rest of us, including Todd, Mom let out the breath she was holding. Her eyes twinkled and she let out a laugh. "That wasn't the only close call. Tanya was the last of the older kids out of the house. A second before she had closed the screen door behind her, the windows began to shatter. As she closed the door, thick shards of glass catapulted across the room, piercing the screen door, which held them in like a net.

"Tanya's eyes widened at the understanding that, had she been a second delayed in shutting the door, one of those glass pieces might have impaled her instead of the door. Tanya finally moved from the spot where she had stalled and joined her sisters.

"I heard the ruckus as the windows blew out, which caused the dispatcher I was on the phone with to ask, "'Where are you calling from?'"

"'I'm in the house,'" was my answer.

"'Get out. Now!'"

Dad interjected, "By this time, with Todd secure in my arms, I began making my way across the smoke-filled room to safety. With each step I took, I could feel the rubber on the soles of my deck shoes melt away. I hadn't thought to get a towel and moisten it to place over my mouth before going after Todd. So after I left the living room, I felt dizzy. The fumes were affecting me.

"Everything was moving in slow motion. When we finally stepped into the hallway, I looked up to see the light in the study signaling me in as a lighthouse might. Although it was only about 15 feet away, I doubted I could make it. I faltered as I started to black out.

"Miraculously, I found the strength to push on, shaking off the dizziness just a few seconds longer. As I pushed the study door open with my right hand, I saw your mom place the receiver back in its cradle. Your mom, Todd and I then exited into the back pool area through the study. The infusion of the night air into my lungs helped me breath easier."

"What about Tanya, Shawn, Andrea, and Valerie? Where were they?" I asked.
Mom responded: "They were all standing on the retaining wall, just as I told them. Your dad and I looked back at the house and saw our neighbor on the left-hand side, putting a hose to the house to prevent the flames from burning the wood-shake roof. Tom was able to jump the fence that separated the girls from us, so he could assist in putting the flames out. Nate Hall, our neighbor from the other side of the house, volunteered his hose, which was longer and more powerful. Tom and Nate stretched the hose across the pool area and pointed it at the roof. Their efforts succeeded in preventing the roof from catching on fire.

"The fire department arrived, and the firefighters were able to contain the fire and eventually put it out. After they started bringing in big fans to blow out the smoke, I was escorted through the house with Todd since we couldn't jump the fence. The Jarmans, who lived across the street, invited me over to clean up Todd. I sat Todd down near the sink in the Jarmans' kitchen while trying to find a washcloth to wipe the soot off his hands. I wet the cloth with cold water and held Todd's right hand. For the first time I took a really good look at Todd's hands and realized that it wasn't soot I saw but Todd's burned skin. Every area of his skin that his pajamas didn't cover was burned: his ears, his nose and his hands.

"I alerted Shirley Jarman and we rushed outside towards a deputy sheriff who had since arrived. We told the situation to him. Without hesitation he motioned me into his vehicle and rushed Todd and I to the hospital, sirens roaring. Before I stepped into the police car, I called over to your dad and told him the situation. To avoid further injury to Todd, I couldn't stay a minute longer."

"That's when it really hit me," Dad admitted. "As I saw my wife and child being rushed away, I slowly sank down and sat helpless on the curb. The shock hit me and I started to breathe heavily, so much so that the paramedics who had recently come to the scene had to administer some oxygen to me."

"Todd was treated for his burns and we finally came home," Mom said. "That night your father and I were able to sleep in our bedroom. I had kept the door shut, which prevented the fire from spreading into that room. All the children slept at the Jarman's. The next morning, as we were assessing the damage, we counted our blessings even though we no longer had presents to give our children on Christmas day and had no place to eat breakfast on Christmas morning. We would manage somehow. We always did.

"Later that morning the doorbell rang. It was Bob and Shirley Jarman who had opened their home to our family in that horrible situation. They had in their hands a huge basket full of everything that you would need to prepare a Christmas meal. In the middle of the basket was an envelope. I let out a gasp as Tom opened it to discover $200."

"'We-everyone on this block-thought that you would need this.'" Shirley said. "Maybe get some gifts for the kiddies, and have a nice Christmas breakfast.'"

"I stood there, with my right hand on my chest, in absolute amazement. Never had I seen such a display of generosity."

"That day, I fought the last-minute shopping crowds and bought gifts for the kids. I told the situation to the store managers and they all gave me huge discounts. We had gone all out with the gifts that year because the previous year was a meager Christmas. The G.I. Joes we had gotten for the boys were replaced with 'fake' G.I. Joes and the same with all the Barbie's we had gotten the girls. The kids didn't care, though.

"Todd, didn't cry once during the ordeal. Seeing his hands bandaged like miniature boxing gloves makes me cry even now. And to see him manipulate the building blocks and other toys..." Mom's voice trailed off as she focused on wiping her eyes.

Mom shook her head slightly. "We had gotten Todd a rocking horse and had kept it in the study so that wasn't damaged. To see him holding on with those bandaged hands and rocking away is an image that I will never forget."

With what my parents had left over they took the family to breakfast at a local diner on Christmas morning. Every year since then our family has faithfully continued with that tradition. I have shared in this tradition since I was born and knew it was because of the fire but I had no idea there was so much more to the story.

As we all stared at my Mom in amazement as she concluded the story, she leaned over and said "You see, we aren't only celebrating the fact that God saved us from a terrible fate. We celebrate those generous neighbors who showed such brotherly love and kindness to us that day."

So there it was: people can be good. They all aren't bad and in some cases, they can be spirit savers as well. With my negative experience all but forgotten, I left my parent's that weekend with a sense of peace at the very nature of human kind. They can be angels.

Haikus...sort of

Haiku’s

1
Happiness in sight
Given away by our eyes
Expressed by our lips.

2
Sickness seen and gone
Nauseous memories fade
Wellness is restored.

3
Commitment abhorred
Organization deplored
Chaos adored.

4
Togetherness faked
Only stay for the kid’s sake
Terrible mistake

She Stepped Outside

When She Stepped Outside

When she stepped outside
She never looked around
Noticed nothing, stars, moon nor sky
The only thing she noticed
Was the glaring sun
But even then she was blinded
If only by love!

When he stepped outside
He saw it all
Moonlight, blue sky
And the Northern Star
And when they met
Point them out he did
Showed her the beauty
That she had missed

But with the moon, stars and the sky
He showed her more
He showed her his heart
Opened it to her
He gave it willingly
To have it kept safe
More than anything

So she stepped outside
And looked around
And saw the beauty
That was there all the time
And for 60 years
She had his heart
And she did keep it safe
More than anything

For life they cherished
In sun and chill
When they stepped outside
Everyday a thrill
And when his passing came
She kept the beauty he had taught

Next time she stepped outside
She took it all in.
She looked around,
Looked in her heart.
And knew they would be forever
Never be apart.

Something About Him

I've decided to "publish" some of my musings on my blog for my many fans (hi you two!). I'll post a few now and then every so often, I'll post what fancies me.

I wrote this while sitting in coach flying no where notable:

There was something I liked about him from the very start. Maybe it was his neatly combed and oiled hair pressed down delicately as they used to style it in the 20’s and 30’s. There is something about a well-groomed man that speaks to me. If one should care so much about one’s appearance so passionately, it would lead me to believe other passion’s lay within one’s heart.

But, of course, too much of a good thing can be dangerous--borderline insane. Passion can lead to compulsion, which can lead to obsession. This passion could potentially consume every waking hour or minute and even invade one’s dreams.

But to be without passion of any kind, all the time, would be madness as well. If life lulled along without even as much as a blip on the radar of enthusiasm, would life be worth living? No. I think those that give up do it because something in their heart withers away. Any flitter of joy as an initial reaction gets somehow subdued and then is altogether ignored so that after some time it is not even recognized and therefore not felt.

To not feel--to be numb--is a tragedy. I would rather be angry or dead than to not acknowledge any emotion at all.

Fudge

Today I made fudge. I haven't made it in 10 years, but it's just like riding a bike. I bought small cookie cutters to make shapes of the fudge, but the remnants made it so wasteful, so I stopped cutting the shapes.

I need to make another batch tomorrow so that I have enough for both floors at work. I don't really know why I was in such a mood to make it--maybe it was when I was talking to Erika about making it. While I was in Colorado we got the ingredients but never made it. I think I'll make peanut butter fudge tomorrow (my favorite!). Chocolate fudge is too sweet for me. I prefer peanut butter.

Rest of the Weekend

The rest of my weekend was pretty busy. Saturday morning I was tortured with my deep tissue massage--my S.I. joint is giving me troubles. As I write this, my lower back feels bruised, which is common the day after my massage. I had to run errands afterwards...I was happy to find a Trader Joe's that had the hamburger patties I like, so I stocked up! I had tried two other TJ's before finding one that was stocked.

Saturday night I went to the King's Harbor service. This past Wednesday, I started going to a new bible study and that bible study was asked to light the third Sunday in Advent candle, the candle of joy. We all said a part of the ceremony. I read part of the reading from the book of John, I read chapter 1:1-7: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. "

I thought it went well. Afterwards Darcy, Lisa and Bryan and I went to see the Sleepy Hollow area of Torrance. This area is known for the extravagant light displays. I tried to take a picture of the lights, but this was the result:
So, instead, I took pictures of the people in the car (that I could get at). Here's Darcy driving:
Here's Bryan (the only guy in our bible study):
We had fun, but I was so tired afterwards that I didn't end up going to the housewarming party I was supposed to go to. I did end up dropping off a little something for the hostess the next day.

Sunday was my chore day. I had to do laundry and dishes, etc. When I was finally done with laundry, I got ready for more errands. I had to go to several places, but my final destination was Angie and Gretchen's for an ornament exchange party.

I made stuffed mushrooms. While I was making them I realized that the last time I had made them was 10 years ago at my first tree trimming party in Boston. I remember how Ginny had come even though she wasn't able to make our regular bible study because she was working an extra job. Jamie and Seona were also there and so many others. It amazes me that it was 10 years ago!

All the ladies in attendance at the ornament exchange had a good time. I ended up with a Hallmark collector's ornament of a gingerbread man-in-the-box ornament. After the ornament exchange we played a 10 minute game of bunco (of sorts). We had a lot of fun.

Here is Colleen picking out an ornament (she picked the one I brought):

Holiday Luncheon

This year I was part of my company's holiday luncheon committee and I was actually able to go to the luncheon this year (last year I was out of town).

I worked with Trisha Parker, our receptionist, on the prizes. HCP gives each employee a $10 gift card to either Jamba Juice, Starbucks or In-n-Out. I can't just hand out a plain ol' gift card, so I put them in red envelopes, had the admin. assistant for account, Lynn, create labels and then I individually tied ribbon into bows on over 100 of these envelopes. I did 50 one night and stayed up until 1am (I watched "White Christmas" while I did the bows to get myself in the Christmas mood). I ran out of Christmas ribbon, so I had to go to Michael's the next day to get more. I did the other 50 during work. I was so tired of it, I asked Nhi to help me a bit. I was so relieved to finish!



The luncheon was nice, but very short. We started at 1pm and ended at 2:30! After the buffet lunch, we did a Christmas crossword game with each table--my table couldn't figure out three! I am not very good at those things. Here's a picture of Reid (one of my bosses) trying to figure out one of clues. The woman to his right is another V.P., Jeannine Bonesteele. We also had a raffle for various denominations of AMEX giftcards ($50, $75, $100 and $250).


Since I left for home directly from the Virginia Country Club, I decided to call my friend, Shelley, who lives in Peru. I hadn't talked to her in awhile so it was nice to catch up! We talked about my plans to visit her. Most likely I'll go in February and we'll be going to northern Peru for "Carnival"! Yay!

Twilight Saga

Courtesy of Summit Entertainment

Here's the tale of how I became addicted to the Twilight Saga: I had seen a few minutes of the making of the movie and wasn't too impressed, but then I saw the movie trailer and was a little more intrigued.

I always pick a book to read for my flights and I was going to Colorado for Thanksgiving week. I decided that I wanted to see the movie, but I definitely wanted to read the book Twilight before seeing the movie, because everyone knows the book is always better than the movie! In the airport and on the plane I read about 120 pages. My mouth was watering to read more, but there was my sister and the kids so I put it out of my mind.

Of course, it didn't keep me from telling Erika about the book. She asked for a synopsis and it peaked her interest enough that she asked me to read it to her while she got dinner ready. I was surprised by this because my sister doesn't like reading much, one, and two she doesn't like people reading out loud to her much, either! But it intrigued her so much that she agreed that we should go see it on Monday night. So, that meant we had to read the book before then, and Erika made sure of it. Sunday night I read aloud until 3am because Erika kept cheering me on "We have to finish it tonight!"

Erika and I went to see the movie and we both liked it a lot. It was a great adaption of the book, we both agreed. Erika has a crush on Rob Pattinson, the guy who plays Edward Cullen. Haha.

The next day we were at Target, so I decided to get the next book, New Moon, for the trip back. Of course, I began reading it that night and the next morning. Every once in awhile, Erika would ask what happened. Finally I acquiesqued and started reading New Moon to her while she was cooking, etc.

My sister, Heather, arrived on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and mentioned that she had bought Twilight but lost interest. Erika began to convert Heather's thinking. It worked--Heather wondered if we would see it with her for a girl's night. So we went to see it again. Heather also started reading the book while she was there.

Thursday Erika and I finished New Moon. I had bought the 3rd book, Eclipse, but I didn't dare bring it out. I wanted to read it on the plane. To myself. :-D

Well, I finished Eclipse and then moved onto the last book, Breaking Dawn, which I finished last night. Of course, Erika told me that the author, Stephenie Meyer, started to write a manuscript that has the narration of Edward (instead of the usual Bella (female heroine) narrative. Apparently, the manuscript is on Stephenie Meyer's website. I told her "Why did you tell me that! I thought I was finished! Now I have to read it!" I was hoping I wouldn't lose more sleep reading late at night, but alas I began reading it and now I have to finish. Oy.

Bella and Edward after she discovers what he is: a vampire!

Christmas Tree

Last night I put up my new artificial 4 foot tree. Last year I bought a 6.5 foot tree, but it was just too big in my apartment. The 4 footer is perfect, placed on a small round end table I have.
I was surprised to learn that my new tree had colored lights attached. I'm not a super big fan of colored lights, but I am way too lazy to return the tree for such a slight infraction. So, I just layered on some white lights (all I have) and some moving LCD lights and voila!

Of course, I came home tonight and turned on my tree and now the top half of the tree is dark! Drat! The LCD lights are still going, however. Ah well. We'll see if I'm not too lazy to go figure out what happened!

Dinner at La Creperie

This Saturday I met a few of my friends at La Creperie in Manhattan Beach. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the city had already done the pier lighting so I was able to enjoy the magic of the lights as I drove down Manhattan Beach Boulevard.

When I parked I was also surprised at the reminder that MB pays for everyone's meters for the holidays!

Dinner was really fun with the girls. From left: Lisa, Angie, Colleen, me, Donna, Tania and Gretchen. Both Gretchen and Angie brought gifts for everyone. Here's Tania opening her gift (we all got inspirational mugs...mine is orange and it is a proverb with Praise being the biggest word on the mug).

Here's Angie passing out the gift bags. She got everyone Christmas Themed kitchen towels wrapped with a ribbon with a heavy silver heart that says "Faith." I'm going to turn mine into an ornament!

Everyone had dessert (except for me because of my rule). Tania is really into desserts and she really loved what she got so she decided to slurp the remnants of it up off her plate!

Everyone had a great time!

Cherimoya

Right before Thanksgiving one of my staff accountants, Nhi, brought me a Cherimoya fruit to try. I got busy with packing for my trip to Colorado that I didn't eat it...but I had promised so I put it in a paper cup and brought it to Colorado with me. Of course, by the time I was ready to try it it was over-ripe and it was terrible!


I thought I could get away from the inevitable question from Nhi, but she asked whether I tried it on the Monday I was back at work. I had to be honest with her and she said it was okay because I was right that it was just because it was too ripe. So she brought me another one to try.


The fruit is a milky white color and it has hard black seeds. Cherimoya has an interesting odor (the outside skin) so it was difficult for me to try it, but the inside has a different smell and the flavor is pretty good. Very sweet, meaty inside.

So, now I can give my account of the fruit to Nhi!

Thanksgiving Day

When I came into town, I brought with me a loaf of rainbow bread--it's a sweet bread made by King's Hawaiian. The kids love it. I was happy to know that it didn't get squished during my travels. Erika made sandwiches and cut out turkey's from the bread:


My sister, Heather, visited Erika and her family while I was there. It was nice to see everyone--my nephews Nate, Brodie and Asher are getting so big! The two oldest are young men already!

Here is Nate on the couch:
Here is Brodie playing with Rebecca:Heather and her boys are on their way to Iowa, where Heather accepted a midwifry position. Because they were traveling as a family, their dog Fiona came along too. You can't get a good idea of how rotund she is until you see her lying down! Heather has her on a strict diet.


Here I am playing on the carpet with Kaylen. At one point, she flipped right over my legs--that's why I am holding her! She's such a happy baby.
When I grew up, we always had an artificial Christmas tree due to the Christmas fire my family experienced in the '60s. Because my mom wanted to keep us busy on Thanksgiving, we decorated it while she cooked the Thanksgiving meal. Since Rebecca is allergic to pine needles, Erika and Brian's family has to have an artificial tree, so we began decorating it, continuing the tradition.

The kids were ancy when Erika and I were putting on the lights. That's the "grown up's job".



It was Rebecca's turn to put the angel on the tree. The angel that Erika and Brian used was actually made by Heather. I have a blue one that she made me that I use at Christmastime as well. She is quite talented at all things crafty.
Heather gave me a cute candy cane shaped package of Christmas-themed socks! It's a good thing, too, because I discovered earlier that I had a whole in my sock.

It started snowing on Thanksgiving day. This picture is of Erika's house. I'm standing there in the doorway. Erika isn't completely satified with her lights display. Her vision isn't complete, as she likes to say. I think it's great! Much more than I would probably do!
The meal was delicious! I made Waldorf Salad (my specialty) and helped here and there in the kitchen, while Erika made almost everything for the meal. Everyone enjoyed their dinner:
Here is Brian, Erika and Heather:

Here's Erika, Heather and I:
All in all, everyone seemed to have a great time!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

While I was visiting Colorado, I went with my sister, Erika and her kids to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. The drive was a very scenic one, with the crystal clear view of Pikes Peak to the north of us. The houses along the way were also very picturesque, little storybook houses.

After going through the admission line, we went almost directly to the giraffe arena. Cheyene Mountain Zoo has the largest number of giraffes in any area, except for the herds in their native Africa. I went and forked over $3 for 9 crackers so that the kids could feed them. The giraffes are located in two pits with our walkway at the height of their neck--their upper necks that is! Just below their long heads.

These giraffe were very excited to see us, no doubt because of the crackers Lauren, Rebecca and Sebastian held out to them. One giraffe stood there, sticking his foot long tongue out waiting for his treat. Lauren was happy to oblige. I worked up the nerve to feed one of them myself. You'd think that I would have no problem with this since my nephew, Sebastian, age 3 had no problem with it. But I was more repelled by the slimey tongues than afraid.

Rebecca's eagerness to get a wipey just proved that the tightness in the back of my throat at the thought of the wet, slimey tongues on my skin was a reasonable response.
After the giraffe's feeding frenzy, we took the shuttle to the top of the zoo, which was created out of an old ski resort, aside the Cheyenne Mountain. We walked down the trail and visited several exhibits. In between one, we came upon a wood sculpture of a grizzly bear. Erika made a comment about how mammoth and intimidating the bear was. Rebecca then, quite decidedly, marched up to the wooden creature and began to hit the statue's crotch area over and over again. Erika and I looked at each other with perplexed expressions. Erika then asked Rebecca what she was doing. Rebecca's elementary response being "He's a baaaaaad bear. So I was hitting him in the privates." Apparently, Erika had many discussions with her children about bad strangers and that if they ever did anything that Rebecca, or any of her other kids, should kick and scream and hit them in their privates. Erika and I chuckled at how Rebecca had so loosely interpretted "stranger." I doubted Erika thought that it would encompass a bear made out of wood.

Erika trying to make amends to the bear after his assault.

We saw the bears in their living area and then it was off to the lion's den. It's no wonder lions are considered the kings of their domain--the air about them is one of majesty. As I met their gaze, it was as if they were asking what one of their subjects had wanted.

The zoo had a fun tunnel for the kids to run under (it was much too small for us adults to venture into). The kids giggled as they entered the mouth of the cave, but were serious when they were in it's dark walls. I could hear Lauren talk of their adventure, as if some ominous thing were to happen. Instead, they came out the other end with glee in their voices and through their smiles.

Next we went to the pony corral for pony rides.

From the excited conversation with her pony guide and the ear to ear grin that Rebecca gave as she rode the pony, it seemed that she enjoyed herself the most of the three kids.
Sebastian, being only 3, had to concentrate a bit more to stay on firmly.

Lauren is completely enamored with horses (and unicorns to be more accurate) so she also had the time of her life, enjoying the ride with giggles and her infectious smile.

We brought our lunches and ate at the eating area provided by the zoo. I got the drinks and the cotton candy that I had promised the kids (personally, I hate the stuff). While we were sitting there, both squirrels and peacocks were scurrying and strutting around us. A woman at the next table alerted us to the fact that a squirrel had jumped right into Kaylen's stroller! Thankfully, it was on the bottom of the stroller, so Kaylen was safe! Erika shushed it out.

After lunch I went on the carousel with the kids. Later I learned this carousel was the 2nd oldest running carousel known to exist!
The last stop was the gift shop where I had to contend with the grifters, i.e. the kids. They scammed me into getting them two things, not just one! I was taken for a ride, man! I'm a big softee that's all there is to it.

We all agreed that we had a wonderful time at the zoo!