20's and 30's

And we're not talking about age...weather...brrr! I swear, yesterday we went out in the evening and the wind blew and it was like I wasn't wearing pants! Bone chilling! We're trying to get used to this! We have flannel sheets, plus two down blankets and a down comforter on the bed. No snow though... we're near 0% humidity. But maybe we'll get a white Christmas?

Winter is here for sure...it's getting dark around 5:30 p.m. and all I want to do is snuggle under the covers. This is what winter feels like! But we have had the most beautiful pink sunrises and clear starry nights. Amazing!

SNOW!

It is officially snowing today. Incredible! We weren't sure...at first we thougt it was small hail and then it seemed like slushie rain. I guess that's what they call a snow flurry? We have no idea, being native Californians. It's not cold enough (below freezing) to keep on the ground, but it looks pretty neat coming down. The dogs think otherwise. Good thing for those reusable pee pee pads...they're going to come in handy.

20 Ways to Celebrate the Season for little or no cost

1. Trim the tree with ornaments you already own or make some with items from around the house. Think pincones, paper snowflakes, strings of popcorn, etc. I love cutting out the artwork of cards I've received and gluing a little ribbon loop on to them and using them as ornaments.

2. Bake holiday cookies and decorate with frosting in various colors and little candies.

3. Volunteer at a homeless shelter or another place where people are less fortunate that you.

4. Light a fire or a bunch of candles and sip hot cocoa with your loved ones.

5. Read "The Night Before Christmas" to a child.

6. Enjoy Mother Nature's Winter Splendor...bundle up and get outside. Take the dogs or the kids or both. If it snows where you are make a snowman or throw snowballs.

7. Put all of your favorite holiday photos into one album to enjoy year after year.

8. Invite new friends or neighbors over for hot cider or cocoa and cookies.

9. Have cookie exchange with friends, neighbors or coworkers. This also works well with books and ornaments.

10. Make up coupons for services, time, etc. for your loved ones. For example, for your spouse it could be something like "one foot rub" or "one week of doing dishes" etc. For friends it could be "babysitting" or "a day of gardening assistance" or "voice lessons" or whatever would be particularly nice for that individual.

11. Donate unwanted items in good condition to a local shelter.

12. Send holiday e-newsletters via email instead of christmas cards.

13. Sing carols for your neighbors.

14. Simmer cinnamon sticks, orange peels and cloves on your stove to infuse your home with a cozy holiday scent.

15. Take a walk or drive through the local neighborhood that lights it all up. Every town has one!

16. Re-arrange your home, change out the accessories and decorate in a holiday style with things already in your home. Have red pillows on the guest bed? Move them to the couch. And empty vase filled with glass ball ornaments is stunning. Hang fresh evergreen branches from your dining room's chandelier.

17. Have a movie marathon with your favorite holiday movies (most are on TV these days or you may already own DVDs of your favorites) and snuggle up with your loved ones and big bowl of popcorn (with caramel...even better). Every year, we always watch: Planes, Trains and Automobiles; White Christmas; The Grinch; and Elf.

18. Have friends over for game night. Either board games, cards or video games...take your pick!

19. Have a potluck dinner on Christmas Eve or Day...each couple/family brings something to contribute to the meal. Makes it less stressful for you as a host, spreads the cost aroud and also ensures that each person will have at least one thing they like. Exchange recipe cards for the items brought.

20. Take the time to stop and reflect on all that is good in your life. Having an attitude of gratitude is the greatest gift of all and absolutely free.

A Cleaning Frenzy

Laundry, mopping, dusting, vacuuming...this has been my Saturday. I couldn't sleep and finally dozed off at 3:00 a.m. I decided to sleep in the living room, because J needed to get up at 4:30 a.m. and I knew that if I came to bed at 3:00 a.m. he would wake up. So I slept on the chaise and at 4:30 a.m. he woke me and I stumbled into our bed. I swear I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

At 8:30 a.m. the pugs woke me up barking and jumping on me. The neighbor had visitors in his side yard and that set the pugs off! They barked and barked and barked some more, for about 2 hours! UGH! Annoyed with them, I decided to run the vacuum to drown out the noise of the neighbor's visitors. I dusted and vacuumed, vacuumed and dusted. Then I noticed that the bathroom was looking grungy so I cleaned it from top to bottom. And then the kitchen. 4 hours later I had a sparkling clean home and tired out puppies.

As much as they begged, I didn't let them out in the yard because I knew that whatever it was they went nuts over last night was still out there. J came home at 3:00 p.m. and scoped it out...it was a squirrel. Dead. Poor thing. He cleaned it up and we let the dogs out...finally! Thank goodness for J. He always cleans up the dead things. I cannot handle it.

The pugs raced into the yard, running and sniffing, sniffing and running. Returning again and again to the spot that offered them lots of excitment last night. They finall gave up the search and pottied. Regina will hold it all day until she can go out (or use the rug if I am not looking!) whereas Luigi will use the pee pee pads we set out for them on the tiled floor. She's weird. She used to use the disposable pads but in our efforts to go green, we got reusable/washable ones and she's been finicky about them. Luigi loves them and we do too. Imagine a big, flat cloth diaper with a vinyl backing. We just wash them in hot bleachy water and air dry them. Awesome! I actually made them from one of those dining table protective covers that are vinyl with felt backs. I got one for $16 at Target and cut it into 12"x24" rectangles. They're perfect. And we've been using them for about two months. Big savings. We were spending about $30/mo. on the disposable ones. And saving the landfill from 80+ disposable pee pee pads each month.

Anyway, I digress. I have a clean house, a dead-squirrel free yard, 2 pooped puppies (literally and figuratively) and one hubby who's finally home from a long day a work. I hope we just chill, maybe watch a movie on TV and get to bed early tonight.

And this is why I don't think I can have kids...

Tonight, I let the pugs out into the backyard, as I do every night, to do their business. It's dark back there after the sun goes down and even with the backdoor light on, it only illuminates about a 4 foot patch of yard. Needless to say, I went on with my business as usual and checked on the laundry in the garage.

I heard barking, which is normal when the neighbors' dogs are in their yards, but this sounded more hyped up so I dropped the clean clothes and went to the backdoor to call the dogs inside. They were by the back corner of the yard, but not the left side, where the neighbor dogs usually fight with them through the fence, but on the far right side, beneath the bushes.

I called them away and next thing I see is them, running like crazy and doing their little jumping advances that they do when they have the cat cornered or when they're afraid of something they think is worse than it is, which recently, was a plastic solo cup in the leaves. Anyway, my mind flashed to the lame squirrel that J saved this morning.

This morning, J noticed a squirrel in our neighbor's yard that was dragging itself along the pavement. J deduced that its back legs were broken or that he had been hit by a car. A little later he saw the neighbor's cats going after the lame squirrel. Next thing he knows that squirrel climbs up a nearby tree trunk, by its front legs! Amazing! He shooed off the cats and said, "I saved the squirrel. Or at least bought it some more time to heal up his legs." Great. As long as it's not in our yard.

Back to tonight...the commotion that ensued in the yard with the pugs made me think, "Uh-oh! They got that squirrel." I really have no idea. It was so damn dark in that corner of that yard, I couldn't tell. I head inside to get a flashlight and the water squirt bottle (which I use to startle the pugs and get them to stop whatever it is that they're doing). No sooner than do I see the two pugs wrestling in the leaves and fighting. Now normally, I wouldn't be worried, since they do wrestle from time to time, but I was greatly concerned, because if food or a toy or in this case, vermin, are involved, it can get ferocious. And it did. I finally got the dogs in the house and Regina's left cheek is covered in blood. It looks bad. I start to cry and panic. And this is why I cannot have kids. I cannot even imagine what I would do if it was my own child that was injured and bleeding. She's my dog and my baby and my stomach hurt instantly.

I put her on the sink and get some wet paper towels and start cleaning her up. I cannot tell if it's her blood or that of the squirrel or whatever it was they were obsessing about (I still don't know for sure and won't know until tomorrow, when J goes out and has a look, because you can bet your bottom dollar it won't be me...*shudder*). I clear away the blood from her blonde cheek and find two perfectly round puncture holes. I think they perfectly match Luigi's bite. Great.

I take her into the bathroom and start with the peroxide, cotton balls, cotton swabs and antibiotic ointment. I finally get it all cleaned up and stop the blood. I let her back into the living room where she proceeds to roll, face first, into her bed. And then Luigi jumps all over her. And I am just trying to separate them! I get them away from each other. Of course, she's bleeding again. So round two with the peroxide and ointment. They settle down and I get back to the laundry I abandoned 30 minutes earlier. As I come back in, I see Regina peeing on the carpet! Great. This is why I let them out in the yard in the first place. UGH!

I am exhausted. My stomach is in knots. I have a headache and feel nauseous. How do mothers do it? Seriously.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving in Greenwood, Arkansas at the home of J's aunt and uncle. We were joined by his cousins, mom and pop and brother. It was a nice gathering complete with all of the standard fare...roasted turkey, glazed ham, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, sage stuffing, sweet potato souffle, mashed potatos and gravy, followed by our choice of pecan or pumpkin pie, carrot cake, banana bread, brownies or fudge. It was all super tasty.

Best of all, it was our first time together as a family since we've been in Oklahoma. And it was the first time we've seen Aunt Rita or brother Dan since Mom was in the hospital around this time last year. It was also the first time I met uncle Bob, even though J and I have been together for 7 years. Mom wasn't feeling great so the party ended around 3:30 p.m. but we hung out until about 6:00 p.m. and were home, back in Tulsa, by 8:30 p.m. Thanksgiving in Arkansas...it was good.

Leisurely Day (100th post!)

J and I both had today off from work so we decided to have a nice, relaxing day. It started with sleeping in and enjoying our morning coffee together. Then we headed to Clary Sage, the local asthetic and spa college, for side-by-side massages. The masseuses are advanced students nearing completion of their training. J got a great guy, I, on the otherhand, was sort-of disappointed with mine. She was okay, but her touch was so light that I felt like I was getting tickled for an hour. The firmest pressure she used is what I would used to put sunscreen on someone's back. Anyway, I am very moisturized now, but my muscles are still tight and knotted. Next time, I will request a guy with lots of manpower! I am a fan of massages that are so good they hurt. Guess I am my mother's daughter!

Speaking of which, we anticipate her relocation to Tulsa in the near future. She will stay with us for a while as she settles here and we're looking forward to the company. It might feel crowded, at times, since we only have one bathroom, but considering I grew up with 5 people in a home with one bath until I was 13, it's not that big of a deal.

Anyway, back to today....after the massage we tried out D'Novo Lean Gourmet restaurant. It opened a couple of months ago, but today was the first chance we had to check it out. It's a bright, chic and modern eatery with a glass tiled fountain, white leather booths and modern crystal chandeliers. The food is ordered euro-cafe style...at a counter and they you get a number and they deliver the food to your table (where your number is posted on a little metal stand/holder). J ordered the seasame seared yellowfin tuna salad and I got the roastbeef and gorgonzola wrap with a side asian salad. All was extremely tasty and we could hardly believe that every meal in the restaurant is 500 calories or less. We will DEFINITELY be back!

After lunch we walked around the KingsPointe shopping center, exploring the wine shop and then making our way down to the florist, KaBloom, where we got a lovely, fresh fall centerpiece to bring to Aunt Rita's tomorrow. It has yellow roses, red hypericum berries, rust colored daisies, yellow mums and orange daylilies. She is hosting Thanksgiving dinner for us and Joseph's parents. She told us not to bring anything, but we never show up anywhere empty handed, so we decided that flowers would be our contribution.

From there we decided to run some errands and on our way, found ourselves stopping at Kupcakz, Tulsa's only cupcake bakery. We've been wanting to sample their made from scratch offerings. J had the My Peanut Buttercup which is a dark chocolate cake with creamy peanut butter frosting chocolate splitters and toasted peanuts (they roast the peanuts themselves to make homemade peanut butter) and I had the Lemon Drop which is zesty lemon cake with lemon curd and lemon cream cheese frosting. Of course we got two Sooner than Later (red velvet cake smothered with mascarpone cream cheese frosting) to go. All was tasty and you can just tell that all of the ingredients are fresh and made from scratch...a lost artform these days. We will definitely be back to sample the Cheeky Monkey (fresh banana cake with caramel cream cheese frosting candied pecans and caramel drizzle) and Boston Dreamer (yellow cake filled with French pastry cream and capped with bittersweet chocolate ganache).

We came home and it was so nice out that we decided to take the furbabies for a stroll. All THREE of them! Yep, the crazy cat likes to follow us on our neighborhood walks. So we leashed up the dogs and she followed along behind us. The dogs had a blast, as they always do on their walks.

Now we're home and gonna make dinner...brown rice penne pasta with turkey kielbasa, apples and spinach with a creamy gorgonzola sauce. Very autumnal and SO good! Here's recipe (made up by me of my favorite things):

INGREDIENTS:

--1 package of polska kielbasa or smoked sausage (I prefer turkey),sliced into "coins"
--Bag of washed baby spinach leaves
--1 large apple, skin on, quartered and sliced medium-thin
--1 tub of crumbled gorgonzola cheese (5 oz.)
--1/8 c. butter
--1/4 c. milk
--pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
--Prepare pasta as directed. I usually make half the package which yields two heaping portions plus leftovers for lunch the next day.
--While pasta boils, in a skillet brown the kielbasa or sausage slices, remove
--In same skillet (wipe out any grease from the sausage) wilt the spinach leaves and soften the apples over medium heat. Don't overcook, the spinach should still be bright green and the apples should retain their shape.
--Drain pasta and set aside. In the same pot that the pasta was cooked, melt 1/8 c. butter or margarine, add in the the gorgonzola crumbles and the 1/4 c. milk over low heat. Melt all ingredients together. As they start to combine, fold in the drained pasta into the butter-cheese-milk mixture until coated and warmed through. Add in the drained, browned sausage, wilted spinach and softened apples and combine until coated.
--Serve up with a little fresh pepper on top.