All is Bright

Hoping that everyone is having a bright and blessed Christmas!

 

That you had fun playing Santa for the special people in your life...

 

 

That you enjoyed nature's beauty and the miracle of the amazing world we live in...

That you felt the comfort of a higher power, a universal love... and remembered that however humble our beginnings, our destiny is shaped by our hard work, the relationships we build upon, our values and always keeping the faith.

 

 

 

That you connected with loved ones near and far...

And gathered round the table with blessings of good food and good company.

That you surrounded yourself with the people and pleasures that light you from within...

And that the holidays and coming new year bring you tidings of comfort and joy.

And on December 26, I always remember my Grandma Carol... she made Christmas warm and wonderful. Happy Birthday to someone taken from us far too soon.


Love and Joy Come to You,

#ThrowbackThursday: Christmas Edition

I've been going through tons of old family photos for a project (that I don't think will be ready in time for Christmas... bad elf, Leila) and some of my favorites are the Christmas pictures :)

There's literally hundreds of pictures I'm missing... This project has made me wish I'd stated a long time ago on better organizing all the old family pictures that are somewhat collected in albums, boxes, etc. I can think of plenty that I wish I had at the moment, but nevertheless.... There are still some gems here making me feel pretty cozy and nostalgic!

Found this treasure of a Christmas Card from
my grandma's family when she was a tyke

"Helping" little bro

With my cousin :)

 Baby bro destroying the tree

Probably the best Christmas pic ever -- my mom puff-painted

 coordinating sweatshirts for us all and then they tried to take a "nice" picture,

this was the best of the bunch so it's what was sent in the Christmas cards that year

I think he had just learned this trick....

Ana making tamales as a toddler...

... and as a tween.

The making of the tamales :)

"Christmas Comes to IB"

back when we were still just "Boyfriend and Girlfriend"
and when he had #JonSnowHair

The grandparents making tamales in their adorbs matching aprons :)

Back before everyone started getting married and having minions!

Our first (and so far, only, haha) annual Christmas Card from the Alvarez's

at The Merriest Place of Earth for our second anniversary :)

last year's holiday party

 

Do you have favorite photos from all through the years? I really need to work on scanning in all kinds of old pictures from my parents' and grandparents' albums and boxes... Besides enjoying albums and maybe getting pictures printed on a coffee mug or something, anyone have cool ideas for using these pictures around the house?  Maybe next year I could use them to make a garland of some kind?

May your days be merry and bright,

The Last Five: TV Shows We've Binge-Watched

Do you have some time off for the holidays and need TV programming to fill your days and nights?

Have you already watched every Christmas special and It's a Wonderful Life more times than the law should allow?

Do you want to get your Netflix money's worth?

Is it sad that I thought this deserved its own post (in chronological order)? Probably.

Nevertheless.

The Walking Dead.  We got hooked right around this time last year. Like, to the point that we almost blew off the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights to watch Season Two (we took a break to go see the boat parade, it's a delightful annual tradition). To the point that E dreamt of a zombie attack and sleep-punched me in the head (luckily his fist was buffered by three layers of blankets so I was cushioned from the blow). To the point that we came home at 8pm on New Year's Eve to start Season 3.

• What I keep telling my brother and his girlfriend who kind of fell off the wagon mid-Season 2: just get through it, or if you must, just skip ahead and watch the finale of Season 2 because I didn't realize how boring Season 2 was until we got into Season 3. Also, Season 3 is kind of frustrating because it keeps building up and can feel slow at times, but the payoff is worth it.
• Come for the zombies, stay for the Arm Porn: i.e. - Norman Reedus gets better every. season. (How is he equally lovable and sexy being tough and insanely vulnerable? Also, see photo below for a completely true story.)
• On that note, 50 Shades of Grey: Almost every character (at least the ones with more than a few minutes of talking time) is totally complex. They have good moments, they have bad moments. They can be heroic and weak. They make tough choices and stupid decisions. You hate them one episode and are in awe of them the next. This isn't a show about surviving a zombie apocalypse, it's about humanity and building society.
• Which character am I most like? Honestly I wouldn't have survived more than about a week. But I'm sure I'd be like Beth... probably not overly enthusiastic about killing things but I'm happy to pitch in how I can, whether that's taking care of the kids or helping to decorate the camp.

We also really enjoy The Talking Dead, although we often don't watch it until a day or two later and it can sometimes take us like, 90 minutes to watch because we keep pausing and injecting our own analysis (it's best that the two of us watch it alone because we're obnoxious).

Game of Thrones. It's as epic as everyone said it would be, even if it took me a few episodes to get the hang of who people are, where they are, why we hate certain people, get used to the limb-chopping, etc.

• Favorite Person: Jon Snow (obvi, I like cute boys with long curly hair despite his generally poor decision-making skills. Sidebar: Trying to convince E he should grow his hair out again to be more Jon Snow-esque.. he tells me it's not as curly, I tell him he knows nothing.) Also, this video is awesome if you enjoy a good training montage.
• What Makes Me Want To Throw Things At My TV: Whenever Theon Greyjoy chews soemthing, Ugh. Stop. HOWEVER - his situation has dragged on too long and -- sidebar -- I ADORE the squid fireplace (as shown below).
• Person Who Needs To Be Introduced To Daenerys Targaryen's Dragons The Sooner The Better: Joffrey, duh.
• WTF Moment (besides the Red Wedding): The Red Lady getting naked just to do some moderate leeching of Gendry... like, sure she's got a nice bod but why was that necessary? It wasn't.

  

  It wouldn't be weird to have this fireplace
  in a suburban home, right?

Sidebar #2 - My Aunt Gloria designed some of the jewelry that Daenerys has worn, cool right?! You can see it here - http://www.pinterest.com/farringnearrain/game-of-thrones/

Sidebar #3 - Once you've gotten to know the characters you will find this video hi-freakin'-larious. The people behind this are genius..it's gold... like, this is what Glenn Beck should be telling people to buy to secure their assets.

Orange Is The New Black.  It's smart, it's sassy, it's diverse, it tells interesting stories. This article summarizes most of my concerns.

• Most Compelling Inmate: Pennsatucky. Yes she is absolutely nuts but I absolutely have to know what she does next. But I am also dying to know Suzanne's life story.
• Made Me Cry Moment: Pretty sure it was Piper saying goodbye to Larry in the first episode. Also when Miss Claudette finally had a visitor.
• I Cannot Deal With: Healy you sonuvabitch. I really started out thinking you might be alright. I hope your green card wife makes you miserable.
• Have Such Mixed Feelings About: Pornstache. Part of me feels sorry for him. Also E nixed the idea of being Pennsatucky and Pornstache for Halloween. No sense of fun, that guy ;)
• Unintended Consequence: E now calls me "Chapman" whenever I wear my college sweats. Whatever, I love my school and my worn-in sweatshirt. #SorryImNotSorry

House of Cards. Dear Netflix you are so good to us. ohhhh Kevin Spacey -- you make me simultaneously want and fear you. Princess Buttercup - are you ever not stunning (except when you're being a B)?

• Person I Started Out Not Liking Who Has Grown On Me: Zoe Barnes, once she started doing actual journalism (it still exists!).
• The Event Planner in Me Adored: The impromptu moving of the CWI gala to the outdoor entrance of the hotel. Of course it still looked great and the BBQ ribs are going to be better than any hotel rubber chicken dinner.
• Why I Couldn't Make It On Capitol Hill: I still have some integrity.
• Reason I Don't Fast-Forward Through That Chase "Pay-Your-French-Teaching-Crafty-Babysitter-With-Your-Cell-Phone" Commercial: Because Lucas is in it. Also, I didn't really buy him as an undercover cop who would pose as picking up high-class hookers. Not because he doesn't come across as a legit actor (the "Surrrre, send her an extra $20 for teaching our kid French" little nod is a total Dad move -- you know the one), but because he just seems nice and normal.
• Phrase I Have Been Randomly Texting to E and Want to Put On A Tee-Shirt: JUSTICE FOR PETER RUSSO

The League. Had heard good things and even watched an episode or two sporadically but finally dove in at the insistance of a good friend who warned me to prepare for the crude humor.

• Person Who Needs a Break: Andre. Poor guy. How he tolerates those guys and being the butt of their every joke I do not understand. Like, most of it I can laugh at but seriously just be nice once in awhile (the clothes are awful, agreed there). Sidebar #4: When Worlds Collide Moment - my first observation of the show was "Doesn't this guy look like a gumpy Peter Russo... Justice for Peter Russo!!"
• I Still Don't Understand: Does Pete have a job?
• Why I Only Played One Season of Fantasy Football: I drafted really well but got kind of attached to my players and when they started getting injured I felt bad about dropping/replacing them.
• Probably Wasn't Supposed to Absolutely Love This Moment, But: Promising a romantic "Terrific Lady" weekend that involved a posh hotel room, dressing up, classy drinks sounds fun, but political talk puts it over the top.
• Phrases We Have Been Over-Using at Inappropriate Times: "Fun With Feces" and "Try the Veal, Child."

And I would be remiss in not mentioning that our first TV series binge-watching experience came via Mad Men. Still such a great show. The clothes! The hair! The Don! The -isms (alcohol/sex/race/age/etc)!

Ok, but the only thing about watching three seasons worth of TV in 3-4 weeks is the huge let-down when you have to wait for more episodes to be completed, and being on normal-people-time, waiting a week between shows and months betwwen seasons. RUN ON MY TIME BECAUSE I HAVE DARYL DIXON AND JON SNOW WITHDRAWLS!

What shows are you binge-watching (or regular-watching)? What should I add to my list? What are you getting emotional over and to which characters are you unreasonably attached? What kind of actual hobby should I get? Most importantly, WHEN ARE DARYL DIXON AND JON SNOW GETTING NAKED (not together, the TV and Internets couldn't handle that)?

Happy viewing!!!!

 

E's new gig

Things got crazy up in hurrrr. If by "crazy" I mean that I began writing this alone on a Friday night after eating a Lean Cuisine for dinner at 10:30 pm and watching chick flicks while my husband in in a hotel in LA. But let me back up.

{And let me also note that probably the weirdest part of all this is that I'm watching a super girlie movie by choice, it's not usually my genre, but I dvr'd The Other Boleyn Girl to see how it compared to the book (verdict - not nearly as good, but the king is pretty damn good-looking and overall I was mostly distracted by The Guv-uh-nuh -- David Morrisey of The Walking Dead -- with a wavy bob haircut).}

E got a new job... it's a great opportunity -- definitely a pay raise (which is so appreciated especially with me looking for work right now), and it looks like something he can do long-term in a company that is big enough to offer opportunities for him to advance and move up (which is good since he likes routine and comfortability, whereas I'm the one more likely to get bored after awhile and look for the next thing). He also wears a monster-size toolbelt and sometimes a helmet and heavy-duty workboots, so Merry Early Christmas to Me. ;)

He has to go through more training until about the end of January, which is cool, but the unexpected part is that they sent him and handful of other guys to training in Los Angeles... I don't get it because another segment of the larger group is training here and it seems like an unnecessary expense to put people in hotel rooms for weeks, but hey, what do I know... It's also a little bizaare to me that for such a big company, the communication is a little lacking and a lot of things seem to be decided at the last minute... But at least we're in a position where that doesn't really affect us much (I mean, if we had to coordinate picking kids up from school or had major holiday travel plans it might be an issue, but thankfully it's just a minor thing for now).

Overall, I am just amazingly thankful for us to have this opportunity. I'm thankful that E is being recognized and rewarded for being such a hard worker, dedicated to providing exceptional customer service, able to problem-solve the heck out of any situation, and being an overall smarty-pants willing to learn and apply himself. I'm thankful that he knows that he is capable of making changes and that he is getting positive feedback that I hope will inspire confidence to continue reaching farther. I'm thankful for what this progress will mean for our little family of two (i.e. --- maybe one day we'll finally be able to think about "upgrading" the number of family members and having a house to put them in).

Mostly I'm thankful that I have such an incredible husband, partner and best friend.

Although missing him is leading to odd TV viewing habits on my part -- last night I was watching some awful documentary on legendary bayou monsters and I've watched The Perfect Storm twice in the last week (I don't count that as weird, it's an amazing movie that E doesn't fully appreciate).

Knock 'em dead, babe,

Christmas Songs That Aren't Played Enough

There is a long-running debate in my family about whether to start playing Christmas music the night before Thanksgiving, or the day after. Or, if you're like me, anytime we have a cloudy day and chilly weather (I have been known to play my Christmas Pandora stations when a particularly heavy marine layer hits in August). My Dad and I have always been on Team Night Before Thanksgiving while my mom prefers to wait... but I think in the last year or so my brother has joined the Cheery Side. muah-ha-ha-ha.

I can totally understand, however, that when department stores and radio stations start playing holiday music before Halloween --- and they keep a continuous rotation of the same 20 songs or so --- that you can be Grinch-tastic before December 1st. As I am somewhat of a curator of Christmas music, and look for new songs each year -- and not just unimaginative standards recorded by the pop music flavor of the month -- I thought I'd share a few of my old and new favorites that (for reasons I will never understand) don't make it onto the radio. Adding a few of these to your holiday playlist (you have one, right?!) will mix things up a bit and make your spirits bright. You're welcome.

Peggy Lee - Ring Those Christmas Bells
When swing and big band music was really trendy in high school (though I've always loved it) my dad got me an album of swing and Rat pack -type gems. This was one I adored.

Natalie Hemby - The Perfect Gift
So a few years ago Target used some cool, funky songs in their holiday commercials and then had the songs availble to download for free on their website. This and the next song were two that I really enjoyed.

Little Jackie - Mrs. Claus
Another fun, funky song that I discovered from the Target commercials. I dedicate this to all the moms out there (especially mine!) who have worked hard to make the holidays magical and memorable for their kiddos.

Sammy Davis, Jr. - Christmas Time All Over the World
Ok, actually I can understand why this isn't on the radio, since it's Mad Men-era "Oriental music" probably isn't quite PC anymore, but the children's choir is so cute and the spirit of the song is delightful and timeless. Plus, if Sammy Davis Jr. can't inject some cool factor into your holiday cocktail party, then you my friend may be hopeless.

Celtic Woman - Christmas Pipes
This one is really traditional, and my mom thinks my dad and I are dorks for liking them, but do the ladies of Celtic Woman have the voices of angels, or what?! I mean, stunning. This is a song I've rarely heard sung or recorded but I think it is so sweet. I also really adore their version of Ding Dong Merrily on High.

Straight No Chaser - ?Donde Esta Santa Claus?
Despite my complete lack of singing of musical ability, or perhaps because of it, I think acapella is so darn cool. I like everything I've heard from SNC's Christmas albums but I think this one is super-fun and you'll be salsa-ing your way around the kitchen whilst you make tamales.

Francesca Battistelli - Christmas
I discovered her last year, can't remember how, and I think her while album is fantastic. Some are standards and some are orginals, which is fun... if I had to pick favorites I would say Marshmallow World / Christmas Is / Go Tell It On The Mountain / Heaven Everywhere

Sheryl Crow - There is a Star The Shines Tonight
There's not a lot of original Christmas music these days that doesn't sound like mass-produced, adult Top-40 crap, so this is really pleasant to me.

Kay Start - Everybody's Waiting for the Man with the Bag
In 9th grade I had this Dance/PE class where we had to do a one-minute choreography as the final, which happened to fall the day we left for Christmas break. The teacher was super laid-back so most people did it as a group and threw something together at the last minute, but I loved this challenge and used this song (off the swing album) and did this really cute dance with a chair, tap and jazz steps, and high kicks. I could have earned the same grade improvising, but I had fun with it.

Willie K - O Holy Night
This might be my favorite version of one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Freddy Fender - When They Ring Those Christmas Bells
I just adore Freddy Fender's voice and this is another that you never hear but will enjoy when it comes on after you've listened to "Jingle Bells" for the thousandth time. This whole album has a cool, country-ish vibe but not too much twang.

Jimmy Buffett - Merry Christmas Alabama
This entire album is really fun and sets a cool, coastal vibe (Up on the Housetop, Run Run Rudolph and Ho Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum are all gems) but I like how this showcases that Jimmy Buffett, known for Margaritaville and fun times, writes a really good, thgoughtful ballad, too.

I'd also recommend the entire Chris Isaak Christmas album, especially if you're like, having a backyard bonfire or watching the Christmas Boat Parade or something.

You might also want to add in some non-holiday favorites that convey the feel-good, home-y spirit of the season nonetheless. I did this for our Christmas party last year and think that it's a nice break from the same songs everyone has been hearing for weeks. A few of my faves:

• The Beatles - All You Need is Love
• Three Dog Night - Joy to the World
• Jackie Deshannon - Put a Little Love in Your Heart
• Jack Johnson - Better Together
• Keith Urban - Somebody Like You
• Ray Lamontagne - You Are the Best Thing
• The Eagles - Peaceful Easy Feeling
• Extreme - More Than Words
• Jimmy Buffett - I Have Found Me a Home
• Ray Charles and Van Morrison - Crazy Love
• Louis Armstrong - When You're Smiling
• The Lumineers - Ho Hey
• Phillip Phillips (is that his real name?) - Home

So it's "OFFICIALLY" that time of year!!!! What Christmas Carols and holiday classics are you listening to on repeat? Any underplayed songs I've missed? Anyone avoid Christmas music entirely since it's almost impossible to ignore in the mall?

And what's your favorite? I couldn't possibly choose one favorite (taking the easy way out of that one) but I personally cry at least once a year listening to BandAid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" and my sister and I lip synch -- in character -- all of baby Michael Jackson's "Up on the Housetop."

Joy to your ears,

Employment Update (2)

I was rejected from two jobs yesterday! And one last week!

But they did say I was "lovely" to interview. So I got that going for me.



What kind of job is good for a "lovely" person?


Pondering,

The Last Five: New Recipes I've Tried

I'm not a great cook; nor is it something I particularly love.  I do like to bake, but mostly because I like to eat baked goods. Sometime I feel particularly inspired and enjoy the process, but mostly I just want to get something fast, cheap and easy in my mouth (#TWSS).

I do know how to make a few things in my sleep (hellllo E's favorite pasta and chicken!) but I like to try something new once in awhile. Some of the following are winners, some are just okay (which may be more of a product of the cook as opposed to the recipe).

Baked Gnocchi with Chicken - E loves gnocchi and so we had a package of it lying around, but the times we've made it according to the package I thought it was really bland. Since I also had chicken marinating that I had planned to grill but then didn't and it had to be cooked, I made the chicken and then made my own version of this. Except that I don't like muchrooms and didn't have spinach so I used zuchinni and corn I had on hand. I liked this, I think it was just okay for E.

Cheddar Jalapeno Chicken Burgers - oh my yum! These are awesome. I made them once with chicken and a couple of times since using ground turkey since it's been cheaper. Also I used whatever cheese I had on hand at the time, I think it was even a couple of cut-up pieces of string cheese once. No matter, they are delightful. We took them camping and it felt like a bit of a sophisicated upgrade from your standard hot dog, you know? It's easy to make quite a few of these and freeze them, also they make cute little sliders for a crowd that maybe isn't such a fan of spicy.

"the BEST fluffiest chocolate frosting EVER" - So I pinned this and the pin didn't track back to the original source... I tried to track down something identical and found this on Kraft recipes. Full disclosure: I had a big glass of chocolate-coconut milk on hand from a recipe I had started to make (this one) when I realized I had low-fat coconut milk instead of the the full-fat I needed... Long story short, I decided to try using that in the recipe and it still came out great. One person mentioned (without prompting) that it had a slight coconut taste and one person (again, unprompted) mentioned a slight pudding taste. I loved the texture of this right out of the fridge -- it was more like mousse than frosting (I also ate the rest out of the bowl after frosting all the cupcakes I made. The only thing was that it was a hot day and just leaving the cupcakes covered on the kitchen counter for an hour or so while doing party prep caused the frosting to melt a bit and sticking them back in the fridge didn't reclaim the same fluffy, mousse-y texture. Bottom line: super yummy if you keep it nice and cold.

Hungry Girl Sassy Wonton Tacos - I had something like this at a restaurant awhile back and was stoked when I found the recipe (I mean, it's not rocket science, but...) and had been meaning to make them for awhile. I made these the other night for a potluck but I think they'd be better without having to transport --- 20-25 minutes in the car left them a little sloshed-around and a little but soggy but still good. I cheated a bit by using a salad mix (it was basically cole slaw with some bacon bits and tossed in bbq and ranch sauce) and since I had some "salsa-con-queso" sour cream on hand from a family dinner and an avocado, I added those as garnish. The shells are the most time-consuming and hands-on to make, I had to turn them so that both sides browned evenly and there's a very fine line between firm enough to hold fillings and firm enough to crack when you touch them. Also, it was quite easy to make the opening way too narrow and almost impossible to stuff. Since I had leftover chicken and salad topping E and I made them again the next night but just cooked the wontons flat and ate them tostada-style. just as good if a little bit messy (they really had a tendency to crack and fall apart when you bite into them). Verdict: Very cute but probably easier (if higher calorie count) to skip the wontons and just use tortillas as a burrito or tostada. The filling combinations are yum.

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats - There's no special trick to these or anything, you just need the Pumpkin Spice marshmallows and make as you would any other Rice Krispie Treat recipe (or for the Heather-and-Leila version -- don't even bother putting them in a pan and cutting into squares, just let the molten marshmallow cool enough --or not -- to eat straight from the pot). If you like pumpkin-flavored-any-and-everything this time of year, of course they're yummy.

I also tried adding a zuchinni and a yellow squash to the turkey chili I've made a few times... I wasn't sure E would like the veggies but he gobbled it and even ate leftovers, which he usually only does with pizza, score!

What should I try next? I have a cookbook of beautiful-looking chocolate recipes for the holidays, so I think some of those will be a must in the next month. Maybe I should try making some kind of showstopper chocolate cake for our anniversary (our 5th is coming up -- ahh! where have 5 years gone?!?! -- and I want a tribute to our amazeballs chocolate cake covered in ganache).

I also want to do that thing where you make like ten crockpot meals and put them all in your freezer at once and then you have crockpots and leftovers and your life is magical... but have I done that yet? Obviously not.

Until then...

Happy Cooking!