That's the way the cookie crumbles

Apologies for not updating you sooner, but my neighbors moved out and took their internet access with them!

I had so much fun baking for Brian's care package last Christmas, playing with new recipes and sharing the yummy goodness. This year, I decided to tweak plans a bit by hosting a cookie swap party. Of course, if you're going to have any kind of holiday gathering, you have to decorate for it. Since I knew I'd be at Dad's the week between Christmas and New Year's, it just didn't make sense to buy a tree this year. Instead I whipped up this faux tree (materials: 8 yards of quilting fabric, lots of safety pins, a few ornaments, my punching bag and an upside down tomato cage!). Simple, crafty and, best of all, free!!

My friends all brought delicious cookies to sample and share. There was a lot of milling about, chatting, sharing funny stories and just hanging out. My kind of laid back, relaxed gathering.

Knowing that a few friends have gluten issues, I made these red velvet cookies using a gluten-free, vegan friendly recipe. They were so good you'd never notice that they were vegan!

Much like my scavenger hunt this summer, the best part of the cookie swap party was that I put my friends to work for me! The leftovers from the swap were promptly packaged up and sent out as gifts to several lucky friends.

Two Years

Last night I was sitting in my living room watching an old movie and knitting. I looked down at the project in my lap and suddenly realized: I have my Mom's hands.

I can't tell you how many times I studied Mom's hands when I was a child. I used to watch her create amazing things with her hands. Delicious meals, beautiful clothes and toys, thriving gardens all came from the work of her hands. In church I would play with the rings on her fingers, twirling them around and around. I would trace the lines on her palms and the ridges on her nails. I could tell when she had been working on hand quilting a project because her finger nails would be bent bend from pressing into the thimble.

As I looked at my hands last night, I saw those same ridges on my finger nails and the creativity flowing from my finger tips. Of all the gifts Mom gave me, the desire and skill to create is my most treasured.

It's been two years today since she left us, but I'm still occasionally caught off guard by her absence. There are times when I think "Oh, I have to call Mom and tell her..." before I realize that I can only talk to her in my heart now. I wish that I had saved an old voicemail message, just so I could hear her voice one more time.

So much to be thankful for...

This has been a pretty full year for me, and there are so many things for which I give thanks regularly. I'm thankful for a job that I love, friends and family who are loving and supportive, a great town to live in, a creative streak a mile wide and so much more.

But this Thanksgiving I has something extra special to be thankful for: going on an amazing Caribbean cruise with Brian!


We sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale on Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam to rather rough seas and high winds. But that didn't keep us from exploring the ship and enjoying the fresh sea air.

Our stateroom was very nice and the stewards kept it immaculate and decorated!

I almost felt like I was at summer camp as there were so many things available to do each day. There were pool games and musical shows, educational seminars and a movie theater, a fitness center and bingo. The hardest part was deciding what to do!

The chefs were amazing, not only at creating wonderful meals but also beautiful desserts and decorations!

Day or night, the ship was lovely. As big as it was, I was amazed that we were able to get right up into port for the day trips.
The nature lover in me enjoyed finding the wildlife on each island. This little crab was lightening fast at skimming across the beach and burying in the soft sand.

I have no idea what kind of lizard this is, but I thought the curl of the tail to be a nice touch.

Never again will I scoff at photos of the clear blue Caribbean waters. Words just can't describe how beautiful it is here.

In Grand Turk we had an awesome time Snuba diving (it's kinda like Scuba, except the tank is floating above you an a raft and you have about 20ft of tube to swim around). I'm still getting the film from the underwater camera developed, so stay tuned for those photos!

On San Juan we signed up for the ATV ride through the rain forest. Brian drove most of the way, but I still got a little time in the driver's seat. The scenery was beautiful and the ride was fun. ATV is not something I would have opted for if I was traveling by myself (hiking is more my style) but I enjoyed it more than I expected!

We made time for a little sight seeing and some shopping (I had no idea that jewelry was such a bargain here!) and even got in a little bit of relaxation.

It was interesting to see several of the other cruise lines compared to ours (on the right). Many of the people we met on board said that Holland America is one of the best out there. Not having anything to compare it to, I'd have to say that it was pretty fantastic! We're already thinking about our next adventure...maybe Alaska??

Fun things I've done

Life have been pretty busy lately, but that's nothing new. Work has kept me running around, and I've done some really fun Holiday Planning workshops. I love that my job is all about getting people to think critically about how they deal with money. Not that I think everyone walks out of a class and completely changes a lifetime of financial habits overnight. But you have to start somewhere, right?

I'm coming up on my third week of training to run a 5K. As expected, my biggest challenge is not to push myself too hard, too soon. I have a detailed, gradual plan (check out Active Trainer if you're interested in buying a ready made plan or creating your own) to work up to running for 4 miles without stopping to walk. But the over-achiever in me wants to just jump right in to running non-stop for as far as I can. I know that isn't sustainable, or even healthy, so I'm taking my time and building a solid foundation. I've also started doing an hour of yoga every Sunday morning. It's a peaceful yet energizing way to ease into my week. If you haven't heard about it, the website Yoga Today offers free one-hour classes every week. It's a great way to keep it fresh and challenging. Today I succeeded in doing Crow pose!

When I moved into this apartment, one downside was the very small closets. I compensated by hanging two tension rods in my bedroom closet: a lower one for pants and a higher one for shirts. The shirt rod is support by some old shelving hardware left from the last tenant. But the pants rod kept slipping under the weight of my pants. Since the inside of the closet is drywall, I couldn't increase the tension on the rod without damaging the plaster. So I did what any DIY crafter would do: I improvised!

With just a few simple supplies (screws, screwdriver, and non-skid caster cups) I was able to fix my problem.

I screwed the casters into the wall and the ends of the shower curtain rods fit perfectly into the cups!

When Brian first told me that he was getting a Ford Mustang, I had this idea to make a mixed CD of songs about Mustangs. That was several months ago... But I finally got around to downloading iTunes and doing it last week.

I found an image that almost matches his car for the cover work...

Then spent a few hours searching for various songs. The "Crank it up!" track is actually the sound of a Mustang starting up and pulling away, which I thought was a fun way to start the list. The other songs range from 60's surf bands to country to White Zombie. The only thing I couldn't bring myself to include was Vanilla Ice's "Rolling in my 5.0." And, of course, no Mustang album would be complete without the Wilson Pickett classic "Mustang Sally" to wrap it all up.

A New Goal

If you didn't already know, Brian is home from Iraq!! It is very comforting to know that he is not only in the same time zone but just a mere 40 minutes away. The past 13 months went by faster than I could have imagined... most of the time. Of course there were moments when it felt like he'd been gone forever, or that there was still an eternity left to the deployment. But that's all behind us now and, if I do say so myself, I think I held up outstandingly well. He's doing great and is happy to be back and driving his new 2011 Mustang convertible.

As Brian was approaching his departure date, and I could no longer send packages because they'd arrive after he left, I began to wonder: what am I going to do with all this time that I used to spend baking and writing to Brian? Well, of course the simple answer now is to actually spend that time with Brian. And believe me, we will be spending a good deal of time together! But you know me, I'm a goal oriented person. And having just accomplished a fairly impressive goal (namely, sending 43 care packaged over the course of a year) I was feeling the need to set my sights on something new.

Just as I was pondering what I should strive for next, an email popped up in my inbox announcing that registration for the 2011 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure has started. Now, I've participated in several 5K races before, but I've always done a mix of walking and jogging. An interesting idea occurred to me: If I started now, I would have five and a half months to train. And if I were really dedicated, motivated and focused, then I could set my goal to run the whole 5K.

So that's what I'm going to do! Starting on Monday, November 1, I will begin a training plan that will end with me running for a full 3.1 miles. I am really excited about this, and will be logging lots of miles on my treadmill over the winter. Dad even said that he'd participate in the race with me, so we'll be training buddies. And I'm telling YOU this so that you can help me stay focused and on track. I am not a great runner, so I'm sure there will be times that I could use a pep-talk, or just some loving folks to help me be accountable to myself. Thanks in advance!

PYIW!

It's been a busy week at work, preparing and supporting our Protect Your Identity Week events. My new friend Fran did an awesome job helping to plan the shred events and coordinate the locations and providers. This year we had over 200 people drop off personal documents to be shredded, as well as old computers and cell phones for recycling!

Care Package #43: The Last Box

Brian had suggested that I stop sending boxes the first week of October, since he would be away from his base for a good part of the month and then heading home. But we all know that I don't listen so well sometimes! I figured that even if this last box took 10 to 12 days to arrive, it should still be there a few days before he had to leave. And the 42nd care package, though it did have some yummy graham crackers, did not seem to have the sense of finality that I really needed. It felt as incomplete as ending a sentence with a preposition (you English majors out there can relate, right?).

I've thoroughly enjoyed baking and sending these boxes, and I wanted the last box to really feel like it was an end to this process. But there were a few logistics to consider. First, the box may be sitting around base for a few days before Brian received it, so I didn't think that a home baked treat would fare well. Also, if it arrived very close to his departure, I didn't want it to be go to waste if he couldn't pack it up and bring it with him.

As I was pondering all this, I remembered that there was a distinct possibility for delays during the flight. Being a traveler myself, I have an idea of how tedious this can be (though, in all fairness, I have never been stuck in a foreign airport for 7 days straight). So I decided to put together a little travel pack of snacks and candies that he (hopefully) could fit in his bags and nibble on during the trip home.

Of course, being the kind of person who tends to go overboard, I didn't just make one travel bag. Nope, I made six. I figured that he'll be traveling with a bunch of other soldiers and someone (or five someones to be exact) would probably enjoy the goodies as well.

It's so exciting to think that in just about a week Brian will really be back in Georgia! After nearly 13 months of care packages, letters, emails and chats, it will be so wonderful to spoil him in person.

A Very Crafty Weekend

What do you do when you have four whole days off from work, a huge stash of fabric, and a somewhat silly need for some fun new clothes? Well, if you're me, you bust out the pattern box, heat up the iron, thread up the sewing machine, and get to it!

A few weeks ago I picked up some leggings at Target for a steal. I don't think I've worn leggings since I was about 8 years old. But I like the look of leggings with a long shirt/short dress, so I bought them. Problem is, I only had one long shirt/short dress! So when I got hit with the sewing bug this weekend, and actually had the time to focus, I decided I wanted to make a few jumpers for the cooler months.

I had some denim that I bought forever ago, but also picked up some corduroy on sale. The denim pattern was a newer purchase and I'm not 100% satisfied. I will have to make some adjustments the next time I use it, but I won't bore you with all those little details.
As I was skimming through my patterns I found this one that I had kept of Mom's. The pattern was printed in 1974! It is amazing to me how some styles really can withstand the test of time (not so much for the fabric choices, though).
I had to make some adjustments to the actual pattern, but I'm really happy with the finished product. Instead of lining the arms and neck holes, I just used double fold bias tape, which was much faster and easier and made the jumper less bulky.

I've been told that red is a good color for me, so I picked up this rich red corduroy. I liked the jumper so much that I decided to use the same fabric to make a cute little matching newsboy-style hat!

Sorry for the quality on this photo, but I took it with my phone. I feel the hat looks cute either with my hair down or up, which makes me think I might actually wear this hat a lot! As cute as it looks on me, my favorite part of the whole hat can only be seen when I take it off: the adorable lining fabric! I think I may have finally found a use for some of Mom's calico stash!!

A Taste of Charleston, SC!

The chilly weather of a few weeks ago (48 degrees when I walked Harley one morning!) has given way to a bit of Indian Summer. It's only getting into the 60s at night and still reaching the mid-80s during the day. But the humidity has broken and there is no mistaking the Autumn is in season. If I were in Connecticut, I would be out picking apples, hiking on Cliff Walk with Julie, visiting Salem with the Girls, and strolling around Bluff Point watching the leaves change.

But, I'm not in Connecticut. I'm in Savannah, and I am having to find new Autumn activities. I stumbled on one just the other morning when I won 4 tickets to go to the Taste of Charleston! Several of my new friends have said how awesome Charleston is, but I hadn't made it up for a visit yet. The 2 hour drive isn't so bad, but I never had a good enough reason to stop sewing/knitting/baking long enough to make the drive. Now I had a good reason! And what Autumn road trip would be complete without a few of my girls to stir up some trouble?

I recruited Amanda and Robyn and we rolled out of town Sunday morning.


I didn't really know what exactly to expect, having never been to a "Taste of..." event before. There were about 40 different vendors offering a wide variety of foods to sample. Of course, the bulk of the dishes were meat or seafood, but I did manage to find a booming Butternut Squash ravioli, some poppy seed coleslaw, two yummy brownies and a strawberry shortcake.

There was a live band playing some decent covers, and also a Waiter's Wine Race through an obstacle course. The weather was beautiful, the company fun, the food tasty.

After the Taste of Charleston, we decided to head downtown and check the city out a bit. Amanda was the only one of us to have been here before, so she served as tour guide.

We visited the large outdoor market, with an interesting variety of goods (jewelry, trading cards, baked goods, and clothes).

We strolled along the battery walk and enjoyed the refreshing breeze coming off the water.

In the battery park was this very odd tree. It appeared to have been filled in partially with concrete... Perhaps to stabilize it? Hmmm...

I had exactly the kind of fun, relaxing and exciting day that I was longing for. I forget sometimes (though never for long) just how important it is to have good, quality time with amazing women. It's very refreshing. And now I know that Charleston really is as neat and pretty as everyone has been telling me! And, given the right weather and company, it would be a great day trip on a motorcycle (wink wink).

Care Package #42: Graham Crackers and a few randoms

Several months ago the Savannah Morning News had some neat looking recipes for Road Trip snacks, such as the Cowgirl Bars. One recipe was for homemade graham crackers. It looked a bit time intensive for such a simple snack, so I was subconsciously avoiding trying it out. But I finally decided to give it a whirl and see if it would be worth the trouble. The finished cracker is okay, but I'm afraid I was right: it's not worth all the work! Also, I froze it a wee bit too long and wasn't able to roll it out as thin as it should be, so the crackers were a bit thicker than I would have liked. However, I think this would be a great recipe for making homemade ice cream sandwiches!

Cinnamon Sugar Graham Crackers

1 C wheat flour

1.5 C plus 2 TBS flour

1C brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

.75 tsp sea salt

7 TBS butter (cut into .5inch cubes and frozen)

.3 C honey

5 TBS milk

2 TBS vanilla

3 TBS sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

In a food processor, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles course meal. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add this to the flour mixture until the dough comes together. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap and put the dough on top, shaping it into a large rectangle about 1 inch thick. Put in the fridge for 2 hours or the freezer for an hour (really, just an hour!).

Divide the dough in half and keep one half in the fridge to stay cold while you roll out the other. Roll the dough out into a large, thin rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick, and use a knife to cut into 4 inch squares. Place the crackers on a parchment lined cookie sheet and put back in the fridge for half an hour, or the freezer for 15 minutes.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Preheat oven to 350. Using a fork, make dotted lines, being careful not to poke all the way through the dough. Dust with the cinnamon-sugar mixture and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, rotating halfway through so they bake evenly. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

I participated in the Combined Federal Campaign's annual event for work and got to meet Mrs. Adams, an amazing volunteer for the USO. She's been working with the USO since the 1950's and it was a pleasure to talk with her. She kindly gave me a bunch of things to send over to Brian, the most useful of which was travel TP! I included these donations in the box with the graham crackers. Even if Brian can't use them before he comes home, I'm sure someone there will be happy for them.

While the Fabers were visiting, we were all lamenting one of the major downsides to living in Georgia, namely the ROUS (Roaches of Unusual Size). As we were complaining about the unwelcome critters, I had an amazing idea! I recently purchased some screen material to cover my bedroom windows and had a bunch left over. I grabbed the duct tape and screens and proceeded to cover over the bottom of all my air conditioner vents. The screens will still allow ample air flow, but hopefully thwart a good number of roaches from entering through that portal. We'll see...

We've had some pretty heavy rains over the past week, and this lovely lady decided to come in out of the storm. I've seen dozens of widows, both black and brown, outside. But this is only the second one I've actually found inside the house. The timing seemed a little ironic, as I had just told Xander about 3 days earlier that I haven't had a Black Widow in the house in almost a year. I captured her and relocated her to the far side of the back fence.

The Fabertids Come To Town!

A pictorial summary of a wonderful visit from the Fabertids (and the Faber-adults, too)!