Catching up

I'm not going to write a lot because I'm tired and it's late and Ricky's in bed and I really just want to crawl in and cuddle, but I feel the need to make a quick list of things on which I need to blog. So, here goes.

• We got a second dog
• I'm working on show #2 for the year at school
• I got new glasses
• IKEA is cool

I guess that's it. I feel like there are a lot more things. I really need to commit to blogging daily; perhaps I'll make that commitment for April. I do promise to at least come back and update you on Cody-Bear, our new pup.

A Leisurely Swim

I am crazy. My coworkers are crazy. We are middle school teachers, we are certifiably insane. So insane that we voluntarily jumped in a river today.

That's right. We jumped in the Columbia river by choice, in the middle of February. The water was a balmy 39 degrees. We went for a short swim, then ran to change, and promised we'd do it again next year.

Let's start at the beginning. A couple months ago, I got a note from my coworker asking if I'd join her Polar Plunge team. The thing with Barb is no one can say no to her. She's not intimidating, but she's our work mommy, and we just can't say no. So when she asked, I suddenly forgot how much I hate to be cold, how being wet and cold is about the worst possible thing in my world, and said I'd do it.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. Suddenly I realized the month of the plunge had arrived. Until that point, I'd been blissfully in denial of what I'd committed to. I quickly did my fundraising and thanks to my generous friends and family raised over $250 in donations for Special Olympics Oregon. I got my gear together and made plans with my coworkers. And suddenly, Feb 12 was upon us and there was no turning back.

There was an early registration the evening of Feb 11, but I had an improv night at school so I couldn't go. One of my dear friends and coworkers offered to go to the morning registration with me, even though she had done the early registration and it meant getting up early. What a great friend! So this morning I got up and drove to her house, bearing coffee. We packed all our stuff into her car and took off for Broughton Beach on the Oregon side of the Columbia River.

Registration started at 8:30 and we got there at 8:45 as we'd been warned of long lines. Apparently we were the only ones concerned about the wait because we walked right up to the registration table. I was signed in and ready to go by 9 am! The plunge didn't start until 11, so we had a couple of hours to kill.

We spent the first half hour playing the Wii game "Rabbids" in the Game Truck. How cool, and what a fun idea! We killed a lot of time and had a blast doing it. About the time we realized there was a line starting to form for entrance to the truck, we got a text from Barb, our fearless leader, saying she and her husband, also a coworker, had arrived. We met them and then made the rounds of food. We had clam chowder provided by Salty's restaurant, macaroni and cheese provided by Noodles and Co., hot chocolate provided by Clear Wireless. There was also ribs from Dave's Famous BBQ and pizza from Papa Murphy's, but we skipped out on those - we were too full from the other stuff! After the food we played rock band, provided by 98.7 KUPL. After one song we realized it was time to line up, so we headed for the plunge.

I don't really know how to describe the plunge. It's terrifying and awesome, amazing and difficult all at once. The anticipation was definitely worse than the plunge itself. I had that "oh crap" feeling in my stomach, the same one I get before big roller coaster rides. When our team name was called, we ran down to the beach, arranged our towels and coats so we could immediately warm ourselves upon getting out of the water, and lined up to plunge.

5...4...3...2...1!

Suddenly I was in near-freezing water. The next thing I knew, my shoes came off my feet (darn crocs!) but I knew I had to just keep moving forward. I swam out to the divers, and about the time I got to them (the turn around point), I started having trouble breathing. I turned and swam as hard as I could for the shore, knowing that getting out of the water was the only thing that would make my breathing return to normal. On the way back in I managed to snag my shoes. I got out of the water and ran for my towel, wrapping it and my robe around my shoulders. It sounds crazy, but getting that on provided instant relief. We grabbed our things and headed for the changing tents. On our way, one of my coworkers got stopped for an interview by a TV station!

Once we were changed the adrenaline started to wear off and we all headed for home. It was exhausting and incredible, thrilling, bone chilling, and something that I am so proud of. I still can't believe I did it. I hate the cold, I hate being wet and cold even more, and yet I managed it. We're already planning for next year!

Brinner

Brinner, also known as breakfast for dinner, is one of my favorite things to make when I don't have any clue what to have for dinner. It's fast, and easy, and hey - who doesn't love breakfast?! So tonight when I realized we had chicken but nothing to go with it, I decided pancakes sounded a lot better than a hunk of chicken with no sides. I've always preferred pancakes from scratch, and sometime last year I found Jamie Oliver's "one cup pancakes." It's all we've used since. Best part? It's the easiest recipe I've ever made!

One Cup Pancakes
One egg
12 oz mug of flour
12 oz mug of milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbs sugar
butter

Heat butter in frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. While that's heating, mix the egg, flour, milk, baking powder and sugar in a bowl. When the pan is hot and butter is fully melted, pour batter into pan using 1/2c measuring cup. Cook until edges are dry and bubbles form in the center, then flip. Yields about 8 pancakes.

I serve these with homemade syrup. I can't really give you a recipe; it's melted butter, brown sugar, and a smidge of water, but I have no idea of the measurements or even the ratios. I learned it from my mom and it's one of her famous "till it looks/tastes right" recipes.

A high tech, power-filled Christmas

Another Christmas has come and gone. It was bittersweet this year; I always love Christmas, but the first Christmas without my grandma was hard. I haven't seen her on Christmas in about 10 years, but it's the fact that she wasn't there to shop for, or to talk to on Christmas day. I had a really rough day a couple of days before Christmas. I was out finishing up the last of our shopping and saw a lot of things that Grandma would have loved, things she would have tried to get me to like too, and then we would have argued over them...And everywhere I went I heard Christmas carols, and I couldn't help but hear her soprano voice harmonizing every song...Add that to the fact that we've scheduled her placement in the mausoleum and it made for a difficult day.

But Christmas came...well, sort of. You see, Ricky had to work on Christmas day, so we moved all our celebrations up a day, to Christmas Eve, which really threw me off. I've been a day off ever since!

Anyway, it was a nice holiday. We spent Christmas Eve morning with my parents, pretending it was Christmas Day, and they really spoiled us. Ricky received a skill saw and a saws-all, along with some much needed items like new socks and a balaclava. I am now the proud owner of a sewing machine! I am excited to try something beyond pillowcases (of which I made several tonight).

That evening we went to Ricky's parents' and had Christmas with them, Ricky's two sisters and their families. We enjoyed the traditional Christmas Eve meal of pizza and oyster stew and opened packages. The 3 year old nephews had a blast drawing on the easels we gave them; in fact, it kept them entertained long enough for the adults to play a game uninterrupted!

Afterward we went home and opened our gifts to one another, which is where my biggest surprise came in. First, you must know that my husband is the cheapest human being on the planet. Secondly, you need to understand that he hates to read and doesn't understand how anyone could like it, which leads him to merciless teasing of my love of reading. So when I opened up a box that held a Kindle, well, I was shocked. I've already loaded the thing up with 30ish free books and am about halfway through the first book. I'm loving this thing and already spent some Christmas money to buy a cover with integrated light.

Overall it was a very nice holiday. We had the chance to spend time with family and friends, received some very thoughtful and surprising gifts, and enjoyed the time together.

With that, I'm off to bed. I'll read on my Kindle for a while and then get rested so I can attempt to make an apron on my new sewing machine tomorrow!

The skirt is in!

I got my Christmas tree skirt back today! For those who many not remember, this is what it looked like before, in the form of a dress. I like to call this Christmas Tree Skirt: The Prequel


Here it is with the tree. Notice there are lights but no ornaments. This is because I am lazy.

Closer up, so you can see the detailing

And another close up because I wasn't happy with how the skirt was laying (lying?) in the previous picture.

I am absolutely thrilled with the results and am so glad I thought to do this! If you've been hemming and hawing over what to do with your very own useless but well loved sentimental garment, I highly recommend going the tree skirt route.

Wedding tree skirt!

Is that a wedding tree skirt? Why yes, yes it is!

Uh, what's a wedding tree skirt?

Well, it's when you use your 8 year old never going to be worn again wedding dress and make a Christmas tree skirt out of it. Which I have an appointment for today. Wahoo!

Thankful

As yesterday was Thanksgiving, I thought I should take some time and write about the things for which I am thankful.

I am thankful for my awesome husband. He is a great match for me in so many ways. He pushes me, challenges me, supports and encourages me. He is always up for a debate, but he'll also gladly just listen. He makes costumes and builds sets because he knows it's what I love to do and he wants to help me. He's a pretty cool guy and I like having him around.

I am thankful for my parents. I seriously have the best parents ever. They are always willing to help in anyway they can. They let me major in theatre (what were they thinking?!). They call me just to talk, they hang out with me and go shopping with me. They drive me around in snow storms. They're pretty amazing people and I'd like to keep them around for a good long time too.

I am thankful for my job. I love my job. Adore it. How did I get so lucky? I get to combine the art I love with my passion for kids and have fun all day long. I have such a supportive boss. He is willing to take a chance and try new things with my students. And my students - they are wonderful. I learn so much from them everyday. They are pretty awesome people too. And really, who gets to say that they love the people they work with, they love going to work, they love spending extra time at work?! But I do, and for that I am so, so grateful.

I am thankful for my family. Not just my mom and dad, but my extended family. I am so blessed to have family with which I am close, family that I genuinely like, and family that cares about me. I am especially thankful that not only does my family accept me and all my strange quirks, but they've opened their arms to my husband. From the beginning he was look at as a grandchild and cousin, and I love my family for that.

I am thankful for my in-laws. It's amazing that you can take two people and all their family history and traditions and put them together and expect them to lives peacefully. But so far we have (mostly), and I think a lot of that is because my in-laws raised an incredible human being in my husband, and they are very welcoming and accepting of me. Ricky and I are very different from them in a lot of ways, but that's ok, they love us for who we are and are willing to support and encourage us in anyway they can.

I am thankful for egg nog. And Christmas trees. And pretty much the whole holiday season. I love this time of year. I am so excited for it to be here again. In just 2.5 weeks Ricky and I will be celebrating our 8th anniversary, and that makes me happy. Then we have Christmas and all the excitement that comes with it, then New Year's and then my birthday. I just love the excitement and wonder of this season and I'm so grateful to live in a plase where I can have all that.

I have so many wonderful things to be thankful for. What are you thankful for this holiday season?