I hope you've all had a very Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas
I got a flip video camera for Christmas. Thanks Santa! You can see my first video attempt at http://sassyandalley.blogspot.com/
I hope you've all had a very Merry Christmas!
I hope you've all had a very Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Dreaming of snow days
I'm jealous of everyone's snow pictures. It seems the Northwest, Midwest and East Coast were covered in white fluff this past week. (Of course, by now it's probably turned to brownish, yellow layers of ice.)
It was 70 degrees here in Columbus. I'm glad it wasn't freezing, but I do miss playing in the snow.
I remember being a kid in Indiana and waking up on cold winter days to peak out the window hoping the yard would magically have transformed into a winter wonderland. My sister and I would listen to the radio, fingers crossed, to hear whether school would be closed for the day. My mom would listen, too. Her fingers would be crossed, but I don't think we were hoping for the same announcement.
I remember the absolute joy of hearing classes were canceled. Mom could barely get a bowl of cereal in us before we'd run out in the yard to make forts and plan snowball wars with neighbors.
We'd come inside for a break when we'd lost feeling in our toes and fingers and we were convinced our noses had turned into ice cubes. Mom, sister and I would drink hot chocolate and eat mom's famous jam-filled thumb-print cookies.
After warming up, mom would bundle us up again and take us to the park where we would sled down Snow Mountain, in hindsight it was really more of a steep hill. All the kids would be there. We'd have races, try out different tricks and attempt to run into each other as we headed down the hill at top speed. It was all fun and games until someone got hurt, never seriously, thankfully. And then we'd go home.
That night we kids sadly watched our dads shovel the snow into piles and trucks clear the roads. We drifted off to sleep with our hopes of another snow day melting faster than the icicles hanging from the roof.
It was 70 degrees here in Columbus. I'm glad it wasn't freezing, but I do miss playing in the snow.
I remember being a kid in Indiana and waking up on cold winter days to peak out the window hoping the yard would magically have transformed into a winter wonderland. My sister and I would listen to the radio, fingers crossed, to hear whether school would be closed for the day. My mom would listen, too. Her fingers would be crossed, but I don't think we were hoping for the same announcement.
I remember the absolute joy of hearing classes were canceled. Mom could barely get a bowl of cereal in us before we'd run out in the yard to make forts and plan snowball wars with neighbors.
We'd come inside for a break when we'd lost feeling in our toes and fingers and we were convinced our noses had turned into ice cubes. Mom, sister and I would drink hot chocolate and eat mom's famous jam-filled thumb-print cookies.
After warming up, mom would bundle us up again and take us to the park where we would sled down Snow Mountain, in hindsight it was really more of a steep hill. All the kids would be there. We'd have races, try out different tricks and attempt to run into each other as we headed down the hill at top speed. It was all fun and games until someone got hurt, never seriously, thankfully. And then we'd go home.
That night we kids sadly watched our dads shovel the snow into piles and trucks clear the roads. We drifted off to sleep with our hopes of another snow day melting faster than the icicles hanging from the roof.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
One week until Christmas
How can Christmas be only seven days away? I'm not done shopping. I haven't baked any cookies. One row of lights is out on my tree.
Oh, and Jeff and I are hosting the newsroom Christmas party at our house on Saturday. Yikes!
When am I going to wrap presents, clean the house and finish hanging the lights?
Remember being a kid? When Christmas meant a hard-earned break from school, playing in the snow and eating cookies while sipping hot chocolate? I don't remember any stress. I can't remember rushing around convinced I'd never get everything done.
Maybe that's because the only thing on my to-do list was to have fun.
I need that to-do list now. Instead of stressing out about when I'm going to finish all my self-inflicted tasks, maybe I should just lay on the couch and watch "Love Actually." Perhaps I'll even have a cup of hot chocolate. That should get me in the Christmas spirit.
Oh, and Jeff and I are hosting the newsroom Christmas party at our house on Saturday. Yikes!
When am I going to wrap presents, clean the house and finish hanging the lights?
Remember being a kid? When Christmas meant a hard-earned break from school, playing in the snow and eating cookies while sipping hot chocolate? I don't remember any stress. I can't remember rushing around convinced I'd never get everything done.
Maybe that's because the only thing on my to-do list was to have fun.
I need that to-do list now. Instead of stressing out about when I'm going to finish all my self-inflicted tasks, maybe I should just lay on the couch and watch "Love Actually." Perhaps I'll even have a cup of hot chocolate. That should get me in the Christmas spirit.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
'Tis the season for crowds
All I want for Christmas is to avoid the crowds. It seems every store and restaurant in Columbus is packed.
Aren't we facing tough economic times? Someone forgot to tell the shoppers and diners.
Last night Jeff and I went to the Olive Garden. (I know the big, bad chain, but hey, this isn't New York) Picture it: A quiet Tuesday night, an 8 p.m. dinner for two, a glass of wine, some Christmas music playing in the background.
Sounds serene, huh. The perfect way to relax after a busy day at work.
Wrong. We struggle to find a parking spot and then we can barely squeeze into the restaurant's door because so many hungry people are crowded around waiting for tables.
The wait is 25 minutes... on Tuesday! Yikes. We try our luck at the bar (first-come, first-serve policy there). And there is a family with a 9- or 10-year-old daughter sitting at the bar. Not at a table near the bar, at the actual bar. She could reach over an pour herself a beer. Not that she was, it was strictly sweet tea for this family of three dressed in their finest sweats. When did it become O.K. for kids to sit at the bar? Don't you have to be 21?
After 10 minutes and some elbow-throwing, we snagged two seats at the bar and proceeded with our meal. It wasn't exactly the quiet, relaxing dinner we'd been hoping for, but hopefully the crowd signifies that Olive Garden is doing well financially. People need their breadsticks, especially in hard economic times.
Aren't we facing tough economic times? Someone forgot to tell the shoppers and diners.
Last night Jeff and I went to the Olive Garden. (I know the big, bad chain, but hey, this isn't New York) Picture it: A quiet Tuesday night, an 8 p.m. dinner for two, a glass of wine, some Christmas music playing in the background.
Sounds serene, huh. The perfect way to relax after a busy day at work.
Wrong. We struggle to find a parking spot and then we can barely squeeze into the restaurant's door because so many hungry people are crowded around waiting for tables.
The wait is 25 minutes... on Tuesday! Yikes. We try our luck at the bar (first-come, first-serve policy there). And there is a family with a 9- or 10-year-old daughter sitting at the bar. Not at a table near the bar, at the actual bar. She could reach over an pour herself a beer. Not that she was, it was strictly sweet tea for this family of three dressed in their finest sweats. When did it become O.K. for kids to sit at the bar? Don't you have to be 21?
After 10 minutes and some elbow-throwing, we snagged two seats at the bar and proceeded with our meal. It wasn't exactly the quiet, relaxing dinner we'd been hoping for, but hopefully the crowd signifies that Olive Garden is doing well financially. People need their breadsticks, especially in hard economic times.
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