Tales of the Puffy Vest

I can't believe how nice it is outside today. It is November 30 and it is a balmy 60 degrees and sunny out. I have no frame of reference here. Is this normal for Philadelphia? In Iowa and North Dakota, we would be stunned to find ourselves going to a car that hasn't been running for ten (Iowa) or twenty (North Dakota) minutes. Although I would take this lovely forecast anyday to ice storms and biting windchills, it does pose a wardrobe challenge.

I have been getting by wearing my beloved puffy vest. I like it just fine for most temperatures. I rarely need the full comfort of a coat, yet then the temperature changes...not drastically, but overnight. I get up, dress for the day, put on the beloved puffy vest, and head to the car. AH! It is too warm for the PUFFY! However, I am far too lazy to go back upstairs to my apartment so I wear it, thinking that I will remove it once I get in my car. This doesn't happen because once in my cozy car, I completely forget about this plan because a good song has come on the radio and my mental dialogue starts in...

"OOooo. I like this song. They don't play this song enough."

It is only when I am standing in line at some annoying task...in line at the bank, buying stamps at the post office...that I realize, UGH! I am hot in my beloved puffy vest! I hate this feeling. It starts in my lower back. I feel the heat. It creeps up my back onto my neck and before I know it, I want to throw the puffy onto some table that is reserved for people filling out change of address cards.

At least in North Dakota and Iowa, I was always safe with the assumption of cold.

Cookies and Connections

I have tasted many cookies in my lifetime. I am a fan of the peanut butter blossom. I enjoy a nice chocolate chip. I won’t turn away even monster cookie.

There continues to be one cookie that tastes better than all cookies.

Each Christmas season, my mother along with her two sisters would gather at my childhood home. Sugar sprinkles in hand, they continued the ritual of making and rolling of the dough. Santas, stars, and bells would be cut and gently placed on the cookie sheet. Years went by as I sat on the sidelines watching this yearly tradition where I saw each sister in their assumed job descriptions. My mother was always the roller. She made the dough and had the art of rolling and cutting down to perfection. She placed the cookies on the pan and passed it to my Aunt Sandy who would place them into the oven and watch over the cookies as to not burn the once-a-year treat. The cookies were removed once the edges became a yellow-gold and passed to my Aunt Joy who held the position of sugar sprinkler. She would sprinkle the cookies with colored sugar and I would be called in as a back up at this point.

The cookies have proved to be the perfect Christmas cookie because they can be sprinkled, frosted, or left completely plain to be enjoyed. The perfect cookie is a sugar cookie. Most sugar cookies that require frosting are hard and sometimes tasteless, but this cookie stays soft and has a yummy taste of almond and vanilla.

With years of apprenticeship under my belt, I am now able to complete the whole cookie process on my own. My mother could complete the cookie process on her own too, but how lucky she was to have her sisters to experience this Christmas pastime year after year. How lucky I am to have watched and appreciated the art of the perfect Christmas cookie and the connections this tradition brings to the past and the present.

1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 ½ cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Creamy Decorator’s Frosting (Below)


Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, almond extract and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Heat oven to 375°F. Divide dough in half. Roll each half 3/16 inch thick on lightly floured cloth-covered surface. Cut into assorted shapes with cookie cutters, or cut around patterns traced from storybook illustrations. If cookies are to be hung as decorations, make a hole in each 1/4 inch from top with end of plastic straw. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Frost and decorate cookies as desired with Creamy Decorator’s Frosting and colored sugars.

Creamy Decorator’s Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoon milk or half-and-half

Stir together all ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Tint with food color if desired.

Bee Geeish

I think this is the longest that I have gone without writing a post. I was in North Dakota celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with my family. Usually, I complain a lot about airports and more specifically, the people that are at the airport. However, we had a very pleasant flying experience. Everything was on time. I was able to sit by Tim and not any other soul. It is not that I have anything against strangers, but I think I end up sitting by some unfortunate ones. I am not kidding here...once, I had a guy ask if he could have some of my peanut m&m's. I denied him out of plain respect for manners and fashion decency. He was sporting a Three Stooges T-shirt. I detest the stooges.

My friend, Kecia, told me that she always has Ginger Ale when she flies. I decided I would start doing this. I would choose a drink that I only drink when I am 30,000 feet. I decided to do the Ginger Ale. Very nice. I told Tim about this change in beverage choice and he was shocked, yet supportive. So supportive that he too drank the Ginger Ale.

And I swear to God that the young man across the aisle from me last night could have been related to the Gibb Brothers of Bee Gee fame.

This is short, but I will be writing a lot this week because I am inspired.

Diet Coke

Sometimes I know that I am addicted to Diet Coke when I finish a 20 ounce bottle and secretly and silently long for my very own fountain pop machine in my home. This is not normal. I need to drink more water. Can a person get addicted to water in the same way, or at least develop a strong longing for it...without being stranded on a desert island? That's it for today. That's as good as it gets today.

SUDOKU Love

I know I have a tendency to become easily obsessed with things, but I always stick with it. I am not a woman of fads. Which means...I have lots of obsessions. Currently, I am obsessed with SUDOKU.

The rules of Sudoku are simple. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square.

I like this website because it lets you use easy, medium, hard, and evil to choose the type of SUDOKU game you would like to play. They also time you. For my first SUDOKU game, I was able to finish in 10 minutes and 13 seconds. My last game, I was able to finish in six minutes, 35 seconds. So, you get better, but to start, I wouldn't worry about the time. That is just an added bonus when you finish. This type of thing reminds me of the puzzles that I used to give my students for some fun brainteaser activity. Some students would love it and some would dread it. I think my readers will feel the same. But, you should at least try it. You might be surprised.

Fearful Five-Year-Old

I have been requested to write about my childhood, but I think I might disappoint. I lived a charmed childhood with two parents, an older brother who sometimes took it upon himself to torture me using all five of my senses but for the most part was always there to watch cartoons, build forts, or tell really funny stories. I lived in a great neighborhood where there were loads of children around my age. It was pretty simple.

So simple, in fact, that when I sat down to think about the vivid memories, I seem to have catagorized them into emotions or feelings. Today, FEAR is the winner.

Turns out, I was a very fearful child but I was the only one who knew it. Maybe my parents knew it with the repeated visits to our door at bedtime to make sure I had locked it, over and over and over. Maybe they knew it when they found me hiding underneath their bed when they were watching a werewolf movie on the television. But, I think they knew it every Friday night when the family gathered in our basement where our only television was located and the terrifying Incredible Hulk played. I sat on our couch along with Sean, my brother, knowing that at any moment Dr. David Bruce Banner might get angry and turn into that terrible green thing.

I would always ask my dad, "Do you think he is angry?"

No one ever told me when the good doctor was getting angry and I was too little to actually follow the storyline so I waited in fear to see the first tear of the pants and the first red in his eyes. I would beat it out of the family room around the corner where I could hear the television but could not see it.

I would yell back into the room, "Is he done?" I have memories of Sean telling me it was all over and I would wander back in and see The Hulk throwing cars and bending light poles! He'd laugh and I would return to my refuge behind the wall and wait. Why would I put myself through this each week? The alternative was just as scary...sitting upstairs by myself as everyone else watched The Hulk!

New Sidebar Attraction

With inspiration from Amanda at LaLaLaLola, I have decided to share the Friday iPod Shuffle each week on my sidebar. I will press play and shuffle on my beloved lime green iPod mini and see what comes up first. I think it is interesting that the first four artists are artists that I have either recommended through my Amazon link or I have written a post about them with the exception of the obvious guilty pleasure "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Sir Elton.

With Christmas coming up, I know you want to be all commerical and spend, spend, spend! So, use my link if you are going to order from Amazon and I can get a little coin in my amazon account to spend, spend, spend! This week, in preparation for the holiday season, I am recommending my favorite holiday book called Holidays on Ice by the hilarious David Sedaris. It is a short but sweet book. The perfect gift for the literate with a sense of humor.

Big Brother Will

Today's shoutout goes straight to Baby Will! Well, I guess he is a toddler now, but I really enjoy him. He is one of the sweetest babies that I have ever played with. He is all boy too. He loves trucks, dogs, and putting things in other things. He smiles liberally and likes to just hang in his crib rather than cry like so many babies do. Will is about to become a big brother to three...yes, three...younger sisters. His mom is going to be having triplets at any moment. My advice to Will is the following...

- Be patient. You will never have bathroom priviledges first. The girls take longer and hopefully, your mom and dad will share their bathroom with you.

- They will want to dress you up. This is not a challenge to your manhood, rather, a celebration of your flexibility with your sisters.

- It is fine to use your action figures along with a story line about Barbies going to the mall. Your sisters will appreciate that you will always be Ken when they all want to be Barbie.

- Stand your ground. Even when the girls want to watch Powerpuff Girls and you want to watch Yugi-Oh, you can always win with the whole, "I am the oldest" arguement.

Does anyone else have advice for Will?

Wonderwall

"And all the roads we have to walk along are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
I don't know how"

I am sucker for lyrics. I love somes songs based strictly on a lyric. Yesterday, I was baking some chocolate chip cookies in my little kitchen after work. All was right with the world. I had wxpn, my new favorite public radio station, on my little kitchen radio. Then, they played "Wonderwall" covered by Ryan Adams. It wasn't a big deal at first, but as I listened to this awesomely acoustic cover, I stopped my stirring of the chips just to listen. Sometimes the original artist just doesn't sing the song where I could appreciate it.

I wish I could link you to this song.

Some Borders Love

There are lots of perks to working at Borders. Last night, I checked out the free promo shelf to find three Christmas CDs and a Susan Tedechi CD. Awesome and free. Along with free music, we were able to buy music, books, and other things at 40% this past weekend. So, in my Borders world, I get free music, good discounts, and hours of entertainment telling stories of customers. I am no longer a one trick pony with only magazine displays, but now I stock movies and music and prepare the new releases...I am more a four trick pony. I am working about 22 hours a week at the bookstore along with my preschool job. That is a little look inside my working life...anything else might be a little boring to read about.

Smut Update

What it is it about my personality that allows myself to become OBSESSED with television shows? Why can't I be normal and just enjoy a television show without knowing exactly what is going to happen from episode to episode? Is it normal to go online to read the episode guides of my new favorite show, Nip/Tuck, just like I did for Six Feet Under and The Sopranos and Arrested Development? I think it comes down to my aversion to surprises and my impatience for the next DVD to come in the mail.

I am waiting for disc 3, 4, and 5 for season one of Nip/Tuck. The show is so dirty. I love it. It is set in south Florida with lots of hedonism and twisted story lines. It is a soap opera, but with very conflicted and flawed characters. I think that a television show has to have interesting characters to keep me interested. This is why I turn away from most sitcoms and crime dramas on television right now...they focus too much on the plot rather than the characters.

My friend, Jodi, has been recommending Nip/Tuck for sometime to me and I have been too wrapped up in Arrested Development, Six Feet Under, or other shows. But now, I have to depend on other shows since Six Feet Under is finished and sadly, Arrested Development will be cancelled after this season (Stupid Fox Network). After I finish with Nip/Tuck, I am moving on to season one of Lost.

Today, I was standing in the back of the Borders preparing new releases and I spied Nip/Tuck DVDs. I wanted to buy them very badly, but decided to be patient for my smut.

Can't We All Be Nice to Each Other?

When I was teaching, I would hear my students use the phrase, "SHUT UP!" when they wanted a classmate to be quiet. I would always have a conversation with them where I would tell them that there are always two ways to say something...the nice way and the mean way. For example, if you say "SHUT UP!" or if you say, "Can you please be quiet?" The same response is going to happen except with the first, the person will be mad at you but be quiet and second, the person will just be quiet. This rule applies most of the time.

I would like to have this discussion with adults. Why do adults have such a hard time communicating in a respectful manner.

I know sororities have a bit of a bad reputation in this day and age, but I learned a lot by being in a sorority. I was not the typical sorority girl. I just really enjoyed living in a beautiful house with a great cook. I liked that there were always some social gathering to go to or girls to sit up late and have a chat. I could have done without a lot of things that were part of the sorority, but the greatest tool that I took from my four years in a sorority was how to learn, live, work, and communicate with a variety of personalities. When you have so many personalities, a person needs to learn a variety of communication styles in order to get from these people what I wanted or needed.

We always had weekly meetings at the sorority house where we took care of the 'business' of the week. At the end of a meeting, people could share issues, celebrations, or personal 'traumas' that were going on in their lives. Some women would go on and on screaming their heads off because they were mad about something or at somebody. This never seemed to solve any problem. I usually listened. I never could figure out why people would take a public forum or meeting to tell someone if they had a problem with them.

So, even at age 29 and no longer living in a sorority house, I see this kind of display of communication that yields nothing but frustration and anger. I understand that people get frustrated and what to vent their feelings, but for pete's sake, close the door and find a confidant. Or, even better, go up to that person and tell them what has been bothering you, but please wait until you have had sometime to think about it.

Are there different standards for conduct depending on the business we are in...family, retail, education, social...or can we just use one standard? Hopefully, a higher standard. I think I am at my best in a professional setting. I have always used a respectful manner when addressing any problems or issues, but like anyone, I can let my behavior slip and start to go off on someone...usually in my personal life. I know this was a bit high and mighty, but I just wanted to complain and reflect a little on this. It has been on my mind this week.

Blast Off

With a flush and a swirl, my toilet, like so many other toilets, does exactly what it should do with one exception...it sounds like it is a space shuttle ready for lift off.

This is a new development in our bathroom. It started out as a low hum after the prior mentioned flushing and swirling occurred. It is a combination of a rumble with a vibration. It gets louder and louder with each flush. When I am laying in bed and I hear the toilet flush, I later see the results of the flush...my wall begins to shake.

At first, I didn't really notice it because we have the R100 train in in our backyard and we've gotten quite used to that rumble, but this is a crescendo of a flush. Right near the end of the flushing cycle, I start to believe that the toilet might just explode. Maybe I should call someone about this.

Occupational Hazards

Ever heard of SCOOPER's WRIST?

I didn't think so.

Let's flashback to the summer of '95! You walk away from your high school job at the local ice cream shop only to feel a throbbing of your right wrist as you turn the radio knob on your sweet, sweet Chevy Celebrity. Holy Cow! The wrist is swollen like nobody's business! The best thing you can do is go home and ice it and hope it is recovered before tomorrow's mad ice cream rush.

I thought my occupational swelling was finished as I entered the teaching profession, but before I knew it, I was back in the retail world stocking magazines, hulling boxes, and ripping periodicals apart. If only OSHA knew about SCOOPER'S WRIST and now, what I like to refer to as MAG THUMB. My thumb has now taken on a swollen look because I use it at length to organize and hold back magazines as I organize them. After every shift, I feel my right thumb pulsate with pain. I think I need a new technique to adjust and organize the magazines. I was coloring with the crayons today at preschool, and I could feel my grip put a twinge in my thumb. UGH...MAG THUMB!

Again, Tim?

I don't think anyone wakes up and says, "Man, I am going to watch Grumpy Old Men tonight!" But, for whatever reason, that is exactly what I found Tim doing as I returned from work last night. I walked into the apartment and heard the familiar Tim laugh. I walked over to see a familiar, but unappealling movie on the television.

Tim and I continued to have a discussion that seems to repeat itself several times a month.

I asked, "Haven't you seen this movie, like, 100 times?"

Tim replied, "Well...yeah. But not for a very long time, especially unedited."

What this discussion implies is the vast contrast in movie pathologies between Tim and myself. First, Tim can watch a movie over and over and over and over. If it was anything Lord of the Rings related just multiply those overs by 10! His love of Clint Eastwood westerns are equally beloved...by Tim alone. Maybe it is because Tim is more selective than myself. I will watch many movies once. Tim will watch few many times.

If someone were to look at our movie collection, they would see science fiction, westerns, and dumb comedies. Because of this rewatching compulsion, I have refused to buy Tim certain movies for his birthday or Christmas...(true, he could go and buy them himself, but he won't.) If we own it, I will then be forced to at least listen to them from another room. Take Trains, Planes, and Automobiles for example. This movie is so annoying to me, but he LOVES it. He laughs every single time at the exact same parts.

Thank goodness, there are always new and inappropriately funny movies coming out so that both of our movie needs can be met...a new movie for me....sick and toilety humor for him.

Muffin Madness

I am just one of those people who notice life's little incidences.

About 5:30 last night, I decided to bake some lemon blueberry muffins. Sounds good, right? Well, I thought so. I had my kitchen completely clean...the way I like to start any cooking or baking endeavor. I had my music playing in the other room. I had my spiced cider candle burning. It was just the way I like it. Life was peaceful.

The muffin pan had the yellow wrappers all placed in a neat fashion. The batter was complete with the exception of the blueberries. I moved to the sink in case I dripped a little blueberry juice. I took a fork to finish opening the can of blueberries after the can opener did it's work. I must not have realized my strength because I flipped the top of the blueberry can off and it went flying across my clean kitchen. With purple drips all over the floor and counters, I scarcely noticed that my blue cardigan and white shirt was covered with blueberry juice. I went to my room to take off the sweater and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My face was COVERED in blueberry juice. I couldn't help but burst into laughter all by myself. I thought to myself, "These muffins better be good."

I returned to the kitchen to clean up and finish the muffins. I sat down after such 'commotion' to enjoy the messy peacefulness. And they were good.

Making My World

I feel more positive today than I have in a very long time. I think it is probably a number of things. First, I think I have gained some much needed perspective from my Iowa trip. I was able to see friends who I knew I had an important and lasting connection. It really affirmed for me the type of relationships that I have with them. Even though we are very far apart, it can be as fun and thoughtful as it has always been.

Lives go on. That is what I learned from my Iowa trip. People move on and grow on and keep walking forward with just a glance behind them once in awhile. That is what this weekend was.

My friend, Penny, gave me this magnet when I moved. It said, "Wherever you are, it is your friends who make your world..." This was never more true than right now. I would like to think that I make my world. So, that is my goal and wish, to make this world. I think from an outsider's view, it may seem like I have embraced this new surrounding with trips to NYC and constant crepes, but I think I need to dive in.

I have never been concerned about how this move would affect my family relationships because they are family. I can call them everyday and not worry if I am bothering them or misjudging the importance of that relationship. But with friends, it is different.

Next weekend, I will take my sixth and final PRAXIS exam to become licensed to teach in Pennsylvania. Although it is my final test, it is the beginning step to finding a job. This sort of thing really motivates me.

Iowa Revisited

I have returned from my trip to Iowa. It was fantastic from start to finish. First, I love Midwest Airlines. It was my first time flying with this airlines, but the free, warm, like homemade chocolate chip cookies that they serve to their fliers were delicious. They have first class seats throughout the plane including that nice extra leg space. We were running late out of Philadelphia so I had to run to my connection in Milwaukee. Normally, I only run when someone is chasing me, but it would have been terrible if I had missed this connection because it would mean that I was stuck in Milwaukee, and no one wants that. When I got on the plane, all of the other waiting fliers gave me a few dirty looks. I couldn't help it. I wanted to go to Des Moines just as much as the rest of them. But it was nice that they waited just for me.
Bright and early Friday morning, I met my friends Kelli and Jason at a midwestern favorite, The Village Inn. A haunt usually for the retired and the hungry. Waffles were enjoyed by all. This was the beginning of seeing my favorite friends in Iowa. I am an easy laugh, but I tend to laugh a lot with Jason. We talked about school, our lives, and all things in between. Jason gave me a shirt that says 'I Heart Pizza' but the word pizza is an actual picture of a slice of pizza. My friend Ryan is helping me model the sweet t-shirt. Thanks, Jason. I will wear it with pride.

The rest of my Friday in Iowa consisted of hanging with Kecia and Jodi. We drank some margaritas at a time that was close enough to noon and we did some shopping. I have yet to find a proper scrapbooking store in Philly so I loaded up on supplies from one of my two favorite stores, Archivers. We ended up that evening at Kecia's house where she hosted a party for Northwest, my former school. Lots of Northwest friends came to hang out. I was so happy to see people that I knew and they knew me. We stayed up late laughing and talking. Good times.

I'll just give you a bulleted list (my favorite kind of list) of the highlights from the weekend...
- Fountain Soda...a staple for Jodi and me.
- Taking turns sharing our favorite ways to hypothetically beat someone up...I like to hypothetically punch with my middle finger knuckles out and finish with a slap.
- Finding many inappropriate uses for leftover pumpkins and goards.
- Watching Jodi's husband practice his wrestling moves on Jodi.
- Eating Crab Rangoon since it is hard to find out east.
- Laughing so hard that my stomach hurt by the end of the weekend.

Iowa

I am leaving for Iowa tonight. I am thrilled.

So, I will return with lots of pictures and stories to share on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Way Back Wednesday

Shelly and I were like peas and carrots. We had a charmed childhood upbringing on our little street. At every moment of our childhood, there were at least five or more girls our age living in our neighborhood. We would always play with other girls in the neighborhood, but everyone 'knew'...Shelly and Sara are best friends. I would loan Shelly out to her friends Kristi or Kristi. She would loan me out to Kelly down on the other end of the street, but we would always return to each other to play.

Shelly wrote a shoutout to me on her Second Impressions. This is the second shoutout that I have received in blogland. It was quite special. Thanks, Shelly.

A Question

Lately, I have found myself asking this question...

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?

Do you know the answer?

Ghosts of Halloween Pasts

It is surprising that Halloween is not my favorite holiday with my penchant for costumes, but it just cannot compete with Christmas. Not to say that I have not enjoyed a Halloween costume a time or two. I have worn many that hold fond memories for me...some not so fond.

Raggedy Ann-As ninth graders, it might not have been the coolest costume idea, but my friend Janelle and I thought this would be a cute idea. I sewed two red yarn wigs, one with bows for me and a Raggedy Andy wig for Janelle. We were going to a Halloween party and it only seemed reasonable that we would go dressed as a pair because we were always 'quite a pair'. I think my boyfriend at the time was a nun at the party. Can you imagine that picture?

Clown-Normally, I think clowns are creepy, but I was a cute clown. My mom sewed some great costumes when we were little. She created an angel, Indian, and clown costumes with her sewing machine. I remember my mom drawing big, red circles on my cheeks so I would have a proper clown costume. I wore this costume for more than one year because I really liked it. Plus, I think she made it big enough to fit the required snowsuit for a North Dakota Halloween.

HoBo-I dressed as a residentially challenged person in the fourth grade. Why? I have no idea. I thought it would be fun to dress up in old, beat up clothes. The strange thing is that I was not the only HoBo in the class. I also remember that I got in some serious trouble right before the class party because I wrote a mean note to a girl classmate the way fourth grade girls do.

Greg Downer-Who is Greg Downer, you ask? Well, he was a man on our college campus who was famous for very few showers, lots of keg stands, wearing a Primo Beer shirt, and a pleather jacket straight from some 70's detective show. He was in a fraternity that was famous for throwing water balloons at women as they walked by the house or streaking the campus. We had a similar pleather jacket at the house, so, we thought it would be SOOOOO funny if this was my costume along with the Primo Beer shirt. I went two days dirty so I could get into character. Looking back, it isn't so funny. But still a good memory.

Mental Patient-The traditional high school dance would make most girls want to dress in something cute like a little flapper outfit or cowgirl, but I thought it would be funny if I dressed up like a mental patient and he could be my doctor. That is not normal. I wrapped an ACE bandage around my head and wore a hospital gown with the hospital booties for my feet. I think someone should have said something to me like, "Sara, can't you just be a witch." No one did. But that was also the year that my friend Marisa dressed as a Hugo's cashier when they still wore the polyester neon green and navy blue jumpsuits and her date dressed as the bagboy. So, I wasn't the only "creative" one.