Tuesday, November 30, 2004

It's the Most Wonderful Time

I would like to extend my first Merry Christmas, as tomorrow is December 1. Yay! Happy Holidays! The other day I put up my Christmas lights, and since then have been very much in the holiday spirit. This week the tree will go up, and presents will be wrapped, and isn't it just the most wonderful time of the year? It's nice to be in the mood so early, as it often takes me awhile to "catch" the Christmas spirit.

I've heard several Christmas songs on the radio already, which seems to be earlier than usual, but it may just be my imagination. Whatever the case, I had a "well that's interesting" moment the other day when I heard a carol on the radio. Have you ever noticed that Christmas is the only time of year when adults can legitimately sing children's songs? The song I heard was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sung by Gene Autry. Adults can even make whole CDs of children's songs and not be thought strange. You can't do this any other time of the year. For instance, I don't think good ol' Gene would make a CD featuring Sesame Street songs. (You never know, but probably not...) And I think that is just wonderful. (Adults singing kids tunes, not Gene and Sesame Street).

Anyways, those are my Christmas ponderings for today. I'm sure there will be more to come as the month progresses. Once again, Merry Christmas all!

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Adjectives

Amazing. Heart-rending. Hilarious. Spell-binding. Impressive. Desperate. Magnificent. Tragic. Eye-opening. Poignant. Light-hearted. Emotional. Inspiring. Intense.

This was Les Miserables. I saw the Broadway production last night, and it was all of this and so much more.

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Mary and Joseph

Better late than never?

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

...But sometimes you need the words to explain the picture.

Friday, November 26, 2004


Now what do you suppose is going on here?

Thursday, November 25, 2004

It's Been Decided

She's keeping The Beautiful Purse. A replacement has been found to give away, and the necessary arguments made to justify keeping the original Beautiful Purse. This makes me happy, because now I can borrow it for my Christmas party that is coming up in a few weeks. Three cheers for The Beautiful Purse! (And for My Friend deciding to keep said purse!) (And also for My Friend letting me borrow The Purse for my Christmas party.) (And perhaps one more cheer for when she reads this and discovers that she's lending me The Beautiful Purse.)

Cheerio!

Cheerio!

So I'm sitting at my desk, daintily trying to eat my nuts and bolts and not make a mess, when it happens. I grab several cheerios at once, kind of pinching them together to get a grip, and I squeeze so hard they fly out all over the place. I remind myself that I am not 3 years old, and perhaps I could find a snack more appropriate for an adult workplace.

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

To Give or Not to Give

A friend of mine is in a bit of a quandary. She has in her possession a Beautiful Purse that was purchased with the intent of giving it as a gift to her friend. Alas, she has fallen in love with The Beautiful Purse. Oh how she longs to keep it! Unfortunately, her friend specifically pointed out The Beautiful Purse the other day when they were shopping. To keep The Beautiful Purse now would mean never using it when aforementioned friend is present; secreting it away to keep from causing a scene. What to do? What to do? *wringing hands*

Stay tuned to find out whether our heroine unselfishly gives up The Beautiful Purse or gives in to desire...

but can you do creme brule?

But Can You do Creme Brule?

It's coming. I can feel it. One of these days I will cross the threshold from "Well at Least it's Cheaper than Ordering in," to Chef Extraordinaire. That's right. I will make fancy dishes that require precise timing in order to turn out, and they will turn out. The chicken will be done the first time I check it. The pork chops will not be overdone. The sauce will thicken gosh darnit! The first mouthful will elicit ooh's and aah's, followed by rave reviews at the meal's end. My table will be graced by succulent, flavor-infused masterpieces! Watch out world, Canada, Saskatoon, Roommate, here comes Chef Carmen!

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

When Scissors Go AWOL

Why is it that scissors never seem to be in the right place? Not in the kitchen drawer, where they're supposed to be, but in the last place you left them. (Which is always the last place you look.) This is a phenomena that has been going on since I was little. Mom would go to use the scissors, and of course they would not be where they were supposed to be. Then I would hear, "Carmen, where are the scissors?!?" To which I would respond, without even thinking, "I don't know!!"
Mom: "Well where did you put them?"
Me: "I didn't have them!"
This would carry on for awhile, Mom sure that I had misplaced them, and me wondering why I always got blamed for the missing scissors, all the while scouring the house to find said scissors. They always got found, and without fail they were exactly where they had been left the last time they were used. (Not necessarily by me.)

Well I'm an adult now, and I have my own scissors to worry about. And they are consistently AWOL. And although I don't have children, I do have a roommate, and when the scissors go missing, the first thing out of my mouth is, "[Roommate] where are the scissors?!?"

Monday, November 15, 2004

mmmm....chocolate

This weekend was all about The Chocolates. My roommate and I spent most of yesterday and today making all sorts - milk, dark, coffee flavored, amaretto flavored, pink, yellow, white, green, with nuts, with crushed candy canes, with ganache, and more! So many chocolates...so little time. I have to admit, though, that having spent this long with The Chocolates, I'm not all that inclined to eat them. After 12 hours or so, I almost go into sugar shock just looking at them. Therefore, they will become little gifts to just about everyone I know. Can't you just wait? :-)

Sunday, November 14, 2004



What a great movie! It had the perfect mix of laugh-out-loud and please-pass-the-kleenex moments. With a story that moves along exactly as you expect it will, this movie garners a genuine "nice" rating. No shock value, special effects or unnecessarily vulgar scenes; just a wonderfully nice movie.

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

When Fact Mirrors Fiction

...or is it the other way around? This reminds of the recently released movie The Day After Tomorrow.