Sushi

Oh, goodness, how I love sushi. I just had some for lunch, and mmmmmm! (Note: My last blog post felt a little deep, so this one is delightfully shallow. :) It makes you feel fancy, it's relatively inexpensive, and you get to eat it with chopsticks. It's equally good eaten in the restaurant or as take-out. Also, it's pretty healthy and full of protein to get you through your afternoon. The biggest question is -- two rolls or three??

Family Photo

This photo was taken, I think, two Christmases ago. (Note: We DID NOT match our clothes' color palette intentionally. It just worked out that way.) It makes me happy, of course, to see us all so happy together on Christmas morning. But this picture also makes me a little sad. I know! This blog is about happy things. So we'll not say sad... but melancholy. Because this year, my sister Meg can't come home for Christmas.

Meg is a professional distance runner for Adidas. She lives in Arizona. Due to her racing schedule, she couldn't have been home for more than a few days, and that coupled with the flight's length and extreme expense meant it just wasn't in the cards this year.

I saw Meg for Thanksgiving for a day or so, and that was nice. And I think she might try to squeeze in a visit between races sometime after Christmas, so I'll see her then, too. But this is the first Christmas where all three of us sisters won't be together on Christmas morning. We have so many quirky traditions -- waiting at the top of the stairs until our parents have everything in place, Kate wearing ridiculous and sometime inappropriate old pajamas, always opening our stockings first, always saving our sister presents to each other for last, the obligatory post-present-opening fashion show, Grandma's egg dish, having Jim Henson and the Muppets Christmas tape (yes, cassette tape!) on in the background... I could go on and on. Most of that will probably still happen, but it just won't be the same without Meg home.

Granted, things were bound to change this year with Sophie in the picture. That might make up for Meg's absence a little bit. But we'll miss Meg a lot, and we'll all be a little sad (wait, not sad - melancholy!) on Christmas morning when we make one fewer pile of presents.

However, thinking back, we've had SO MANY great Christmas mornings together. Times change, things change, traditions come and go. We're not kids anymore (even though we sometime act like it). We'll see each other as often as we can. And when we do, we'll reminisce and laugh about the good times gone by. Because some things won't change: the memories we have of holidays past, and the promise of new traditions to come.

ADELE

I LOVE all of her songs, especially Someone Like You. We've all heard it on the radio. I found this live version I had to share. It's slow, close, and indulgent. You can tell she's more comfortable higher in her range, when she's really belting, but the whole thing is just great.

This cover of Someone Like You is just so amazing. I already posted it to Facebook, but I'm still kind of obsessed with it (can you be "kind of" obsessed with something?) so I thought I'd post it here for safe-keeping. They also do a pretty inventive cover of Need You Now by Lady Antebellum. You can download both on iTunes.

Since we're on the subject of Adele covers, here's John Legend doing Rolling in the Deep -- he has such a good voice and makes this song feel almost like a spiritual. (I still like Adele's better, though. :)

Anyway, she's amazing, and she's inspiring others to create amazing stuff as well.

Shutterfly

I've started thinking  about Christmas presents in full force. Shutterfly (and other similar web sites), especially for those of you with kids, is an AMAZING present resource. For those tough-to-buy-for parents and grandparents? How about a personalized mug with an excellent picture on it? Or a deck of cards? Or a tote bag? Or a photo book? I could go on and on. There are big-time sales from now until Christmas, and it's pretty fun to use, at least for me. (For those family members reading this blog... yes, it's possible you'll be getting something with Sophie's picture on it. :)

Because who wouldn't want this on a mug???

Baking

Baking makes me happy for the following reasons:
a.) It is typically a non-strenuous and inexpensive task.
b.) It allows me to create something I can be proud of.
c.) If I'm sharing, it makes others happy (provided things turn out as planned).
d.) It almost always ends up as a yummy treat for me to enjoy.

Today I made gingersnaps. Here's the recipe (courtesy of my Aunt Becky) if you're in the mood for an easy, Winter-ish baking project to accompany the first snow of the year.

Ingredients
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
4 tbsp molasses
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups flour
pinch of salt

Directions

Mix all ingredients. Roll dough into small balls. Dip into sugar and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350. Enjoy!

The First Snow of the Year

Winter in Wisconsin can be brutal. By February, I'm SO ready for Spring. But the first snow of the year -- which happened to fall today -- is always a magical sort of day. I took this picture from my front door. As you can see, the first snow of the year is typically not too significant; it's more of a teaser of what's to come. Since the temperature is on its way down, the ground and everything is too warm to really let the snow accumulate. But it stays for at least a few hours, reminding us that Winter is on its way. It always makes me do Winter-y things like bake and drink cocoa and buy Christmas presents online (all of which I actually did today). :) So long, Fall! See you next year!

A Quick Trip to Santa Barbara

In September, my mom and dad went to Santa Barbara on a trip for my dad's work (a pleasure trip, not business). In July, I received a call from my dad's assistant, Nel. She told me that during the trip in September, there was going to be a surprise retirement presentation for my dad. (He's retiring in March of 2012.) She asked if my sisters and I would fly to Santa Barbara in secret and surprise my parents during the celebration. (It was expenses-paid, which took the biggest obstacle -- price -- off my sisters and me, none of whom could have afforded it otherwise.) My sisters and I talked, and we told Nel we could go. The planning began, and soon the trip was upon us.

We were lucky enough not to have significant flight delays, and one of dad's friends picked us up at the airport and drove us to the Four Seasons resort in Santa Barbara. (AMAZING place!) We hid in a room and caught up with each other until it was time for the big surprise. Dad's company had put together a funny video presentation, so we waited backstage while that played. (Remember, neither mom nor dad knew about even the retirement presentation.) Then, they had us give a short speech on a microphone backstage. Since mom and dad obviously had no idea we were there (and why would they?), they thought it was taped. After we spoke, the host said, "All right, girls, come on out!" Holding hands, the three of us walked out on stage. My mom's hands flew to her face, and both she and my dad cried. I think we all cried a little, actually. We all hugged and stood together, arms around each other, on stage for the brief remainder of the presentation.

Afterward, of course all the guests wanted to come up and congratulate my dad. Also, it seemed that everyone wanted to meet my sisters and me. So while what we really wanted to do was huddle together in some back room and explain what was going on -- why we were there, how long we'd known about this, where Sophie was, how long we were staying, etc. --  we instead made pleasantries with all of the friendly guests, including the Marilyn Monroe  and Jack Nicholson impersonators they'd hired to mingle. Finally, at about midnight (2AM Madison time), we made our way back to our adjoining suites and talked as a little family about the events that led up to the wonderful surprise for my parents.

That evening was really the high point. Kate, Meg, and I were able to stay the next day, and we had a nice brunch, a walk on the beach, bloody marys on the bar terrace overlooking the ocean, and a bike ride to the lovely city of Santa Barbara and its huge boardwalk. Unfortunately, Meg had to leave early to fly to a race in Missouri, so she missed our great dinner at a local steakhouse, but we had a great day together.

We wondered aloud if we would ever again spend significant time together as "The Original Five." All three of us daughters are married, we have Sophie now, and we're literally spread out across the country. We spent most of our time together just enjoying each other's company. Because it's amazing -- we actually do enjoy each other's company. I feel so lucky to be able to say that. Sure, we have our differences and our occasional spats, but when we're together, it's always joyous, and it's always hard to say goodbye when it's over. That happy trip to the coast was brief, but I'll remember it forever, and I know the rest of my family will too. :)

Coffee!

What makes me happy in the morning? COFFEE.

Oh, sweet nectar of life. Off to my second cup of glory juice. Thanks for listening. :)

This Song

Since You've Been Around by Rosie Thomas

I heard this song at the end of a particularly romantic Criminal Minds episode, so I looked it up and downloaded it. It was a cozy, rainy kind of day, and the song fit my mood perfectly. Now it's a cornerstone of my "chill" playlist, and I often find myself hitting repeat again and again.

Apropos of nothing, this artist's wikipedia page says she's a singer/songwriter/stand-up comedienne. What a range. :)

Confetti

We were lucky enough to get Brewers tickets to game 5 of the NL divisional series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. (That alone should make the "what makes me happy" list, but wait, it gets better.) It was a slow game, with few runs scored, and it actually went into extra innings. It being game 5, the last of the series, there was a lot on the line. We were all wringing our terrible towels in angst. In the 10th inning, a couple of batters got on base, and then Nyjer Morgan (aka Tony Plush) hit a game-winning RBI to beat the D-backs 3-2. The crowd went wild.

And then...
...confetti rained down from the stadium's ceiling.

It's been on my "bucket list" since forever to be somewhere when confetti comes down. This was it. I was caught up in the crowd's ecstasy in the Brewers' win, but it was disguised ecstasy for my part. I'd quickly gotten over the big victory and had moved on to the fact that one of my life goals was complete -- I was right in the middle of a genuine ticker-tape situation. How cool is that!? (I'll admit that while everyone was "woo-hoo"-ing and slapping high fives, I was in my own little world yelling, "I LOVE CONFETTI!" You might think it's lame, but I don't care. This had been a long time coming.)

So I was happy to be a part of my team's big win, but most of all, I was happy to feel the tiny pieces of confetti landing in my hair. I even took a few home in my pocket. And then I wondered whose job it was to clean all of that up? I bet they weren't as happy about it as me. :)