This is not good news. Not good at all.
On another note...today was the opening day at Bolton Valley. It was 0 degrees when we woke up this morning. The weather man said it felt more like -8 with the wind chill. Did that deter Matt from wanting to go skiing this morning? Absolutely not. We were out at the lift before it started running with the other crazies and kids whose parents let them skip school :) It was great! No photos. Too cold to take off my gloves.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Tree Debate
Real or artificial?
Balsam or Frasier Fir?
Pre-cut or cut your own?
Matt and I have different opinions on the importance of the tree selection process. As in, I care a lot and he could really care less. At least we both agree on a real tree. Whew.
When the tree discussion came around this year, Matt suggested we drive over to the mall around the corner because they were selling trees in their parking lot. Excuse me? I didn't move to Vermont to buy a tree in a parking lot. Don't get me wrong...I've bought many a beautiful tree in the past from the grocery store or Home Depot parking lot. I'm just not doing it this year.
When we moved here, I had our tree buying experience all planned out in my head. I envisioned us headed out the weekend after Thanksiving, riding in a sleigh through the snow, wrapped in blankets and drinking hot chocolate on our way to cut down the perfect tree. I had the perfect Christmas Tree Farm picked out about a 25 minute drive from our house.
Well...the first weekend of December rolled around and there was no snow. The Christmas season only lasts for so long and Matt was leaving to go out of town for a few days, and I knew I couldn't wait for another whole week for the tree.
On Saturday, we decided to go hiking (the opposite direction from my dream farm) and Matt made it clear he REALLY wasn't excited about driving all the way back past our house for the tree purchase. Then we saw this sign as we were leaving.
$20? Sounded good to Matt. I think we paid $50 last year. Right on the way home? Sounded even better. That way he wouldn't miss the SEC Championship game. I wasn't sure what a Blue Spruce was but agreed to go look.
We found a great selection of cut your own trees. I was happy because at least we would get to pick and cut our own.
After MUCH deliberation I finally decided on one. I had a list of qualifications: it had to be short enough for our low ceilings and skinny enough to fit in front of the window in the den, plus have no dead needles on the inside.
Matt got to work cutting it down, which, in the moment, made me feel a little guilty. Images of Matt taking it to the dump after Christmas flashed in my head. I quickly pushed them away....He he is...working hard.
Then the tree had to get to the truck somehow. I supervised :)
Now. I mentioned I had no experience with the Blue Spruce. Have you? They're very pretty and have the blue-green looking needles. They're also VERY prickly. Please read this description. It is absolutely accurate.
Those prickly needles made decorating the tree pretty tricky. I had to wear gloves while I put the lights on. No kidding. I also noticed the tree was a little thin...I hoped once I put the ornaments on it wouldn't be as noticable. Not the case. We have a little bit of a Charlie Brown situation going on but that's OK : Matt also thinks our angel looks a little too "beefy" for the tree. Ha. Oh well. There's always next year.
I found it hard to take a picture of the tree lit up but here's my best attempt.
Balsam or Frasier Fir?
Pre-cut or cut your own?
Matt and I have different opinions on the importance of the tree selection process. As in, I care a lot and he could really care less. At least we both agree on a real tree. Whew.
When the tree discussion came around this year, Matt suggested we drive over to the mall around the corner because they were selling trees in their parking lot. Excuse me? I didn't move to Vermont to buy a tree in a parking lot. Don't get me wrong...I've bought many a beautiful tree in the past from the grocery store or Home Depot parking lot. I'm just not doing it this year.
When we moved here, I had our tree buying experience all planned out in my head. I envisioned us headed out the weekend after Thanksiving, riding in a sleigh through the snow, wrapped in blankets and drinking hot chocolate on our way to cut down the perfect tree. I had the perfect Christmas Tree Farm picked out about a 25 minute drive from our house.
Well...the first weekend of December rolled around and there was no snow. The Christmas season only lasts for so long and Matt was leaving to go out of town for a few days, and I knew I couldn't wait for another whole week for the tree.
On Saturday, we decided to go hiking (the opposite direction from my dream farm) and Matt made it clear he REALLY wasn't excited about driving all the way back past our house for the tree purchase. Then we saw this sign as we were leaving.
$20? Sounded good to Matt. I think we paid $50 last year. Right on the way home? Sounded even better. That way he wouldn't miss the SEC Championship game. I wasn't sure what a Blue Spruce was but agreed to go look.
We found a great selection of cut your own trees. I was happy because at least we would get to pick and cut our own.
After MUCH deliberation I finally decided on one. I had a list of qualifications: it had to be short enough for our low ceilings and skinny enough to fit in front of the window in the den, plus have no dead needles on the inside.
Matt got to work cutting it down, which, in the moment, made me feel a little guilty. Images of Matt taking it to the dump after Christmas flashed in my head. I quickly pushed them away....He he is...working hard.
Then the tree had to get to the truck somehow. I supervised :)
Now. I mentioned I had no experience with the Blue Spruce. Have you? They're very pretty and have the blue-green looking needles. They're also VERY prickly. Please read this description. It is absolutely accurate.
Care should be taken when handling blue spruce as the needles are very sharp and ones arms will look like you went and had acupuncture done on yourself. It is best to have a long sleeved sweater on while planting the larger trees.
Those prickly needles made decorating the tree pretty tricky. I had to wear gloves while I put the lights on. No kidding. I also noticed the tree was a little thin...I hoped once I put the ornaments on it wouldn't be as noticable. Not the case. We have a little bit of a Charlie Brown situation going on but that's OK : Matt also thinks our angel looks a little too "beefy" for the tree. Ha. Oh well. There's always next year.
I found it hard to take a picture of the tree lit up but here's my best attempt.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Let it Snow!
Ahhh. The snow has finally arrived and we could not be more excited! These are the days most Vermonters have spent the past 7 months dreading, but they are the reason that we moved to Vermont in the first place! We have been waiting patiently...our ski coats and pants hanging in the hall closet, snow boots by the door, shovel in the garage. It started falling on Sunday night and our fingers are crossed that we won't see the grass again until March.
The world is just more beautiful blanketed in white, don't you think? It gets dark here so early, but when snow is on the ground it's so much brighter at night.
So what if we only have a one car garage and one lane driveway and now we (OK Matt) have to do the cold car shuffle in the morning because we can't park on the street? At leasst we have a garage. So what if my peaceful 45 minute commute turns into a white-knuckling drive from you know where? That's why I bought snow tires. So what if running with Willow feels more like I'm making my way down a slip n' slide while she pulls more than usual in her excitement over the white stuff under her feet? My legs get a better workout. So what if this is our 5 day forecast?
Low of 6 degrees? Cold + snow = Skiing and FUN. Bring it on winter. Plus we'll get back up to a toasty 36 on Sunday which could = snow melting. Boo.
Check out the snow report from Bolton Valley (where we have a season pass this year). 3.5 feet in 72 hours - finally!
Willow absolutely loves the snow.
This is her favorite game. She sits by the back door and cries to go out and play. Excuse the poor video quality :) We're not experts...
The world is just more beautiful blanketed in white, don't you think? It gets dark here so early, but when snow is on the ground it's so much brighter at night.
So what if we only have a one car garage and one lane driveway and now we (OK Matt) have to do the cold car shuffle in the morning because we can't park on the street? At leasst we have a garage. So what if my peaceful 45 minute commute turns into a white-knuckling drive from you know where? That's why I bought snow tires. So what if running with Willow feels more like I'm making my way down a slip n' slide while she pulls more than usual in her excitement over the white stuff under her feet? My legs get a better workout. So what if this is our 5 day forecast?
Low of 6 degrees? Cold + snow = Skiing and FUN. Bring it on winter. Plus we'll get back up to a toasty 36 on Sunday which could = snow melting. Boo.
Check out the snow report from Bolton Valley (where we have a season pass this year). 3.5 feet in 72 hours - finally!
Willow absolutely loves the snow.
This is her favorite game. She sits by the back door and cries to go out and play. Excuse the poor video quality :) We're not experts...
John's Favorite Soup
A delicious winter soup. It's finally snowy here in VT (more on that later) and snow always inspires me to make this warm hearty recipe - yum! My mom calls it John's favorite soup because my brother loves it sooo much.
A few warnings...
- This soup takes all day to cook. You have to have at LEAST 6 hours to watch it on the stove. I've never tried it in the crock pot because it really needs to boil and then simmer.
- It takes a lot of prep work (chopping, etc.) but you can't mess it up..
- You will have tons of soup to eat! It's great frozen and you can use a smaller can of V-8 if you want to make less.
OK If you're still interested, and you should be, here it is....
Ingredients:
- 1 large can V-8
- Chopped stew beef (any kind, any amount)
- 6 diced potatoes (bite sized pieces)
- 1 large diced onion
- 4 Beef bouillon cubes
- Water
- Pepper to taste
- Other veggies(celery, carrots, peas, beans, corn, etc.)
Pour the V-8 into a large soup pot. Add the stew beef (you will need to cut it up more to make it into bite sized pieces). Add the other veggies chopped into bite sized pieces(you can use fresh, frozen, or canned - but drained and don't use more than 2 cans of each). Add water - at least as much as 1 can of V-8. Add the bouillon cubes and pepper. I bring it to a boil and then turn it to low. Let it simmer, covered, all day (at least 6 hours or more).
OK - This time I made a few variations on the recipe. I'm trying to reduce my sodium intake (for blood pressure reasons) so I switched out a few things and it was still delicious! I used low-sodium V-8 out of the bottle, bought no salt added canned vegetables, and used the Herb-Ox Beef Seasoning instead of bouillon cubes(1 packet = 1 bouillon cube). I also had to leave the house a few times so I turned the stove on and off and the soup still came out fine. My mom suggested I bring it to a boil before eating it so I did.
I usually eat this with Saltine crackers (with the unsalted tops - yuck) or bread. Enjoy!
A few warnings...
- This soup takes all day to cook. You have to have at LEAST 6 hours to watch it on the stove. I've never tried it in the crock pot because it really needs to boil and then simmer.
- It takes a lot of prep work (chopping, etc.) but you can't mess it up..
- You will have tons of soup to eat! It's great frozen and you can use a smaller can of V-8 if you want to make less.
OK If you're still interested, and you should be, here it is....
Ingredients:
- 1 large can V-8
- Chopped stew beef (any kind, any amount)
- 6 diced potatoes (bite sized pieces)
- 1 large diced onion
- 4 Beef bouillon cubes
- Water
- Pepper to taste
- Other veggies(celery, carrots, peas, beans, corn, etc.)
Pour the V-8 into a large soup pot. Add the stew beef (you will need to cut it up more to make it into bite sized pieces). Add the other veggies chopped into bite sized pieces(you can use fresh, frozen, or canned - but drained and don't use more than 2 cans of each). Add water - at least as much as 1 can of V-8. Add the bouillon cubes and pepper. I bring it to a boil and then turn it to low. Let it simmer, covered, all day (at least 6 hours or more).
OK - This time I made a few variations on the recipe. I'm trying to reduce my sodium intake (for blood pressure reasons) so I switched out a few things and it was still delicious! I used low-sodium V-8 out of the bottle, bought no salt added canned vegetables, and used the Herb-Ox Beef Seasoning instead of bouillon cubes(1 packet = 1 bouillon cube). I also had to leave the house a few times so I turned the stove on and off and the soup still came out fine. My mom suggested I bring it to a boil before eating it so I did.
I usually eat this with Saltine crackers (with the unsalted tops - yuck) or bread. Enjoy!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Another Song I Love
I know I'm a little behind in finding this but I love the song "Hold My Hand" released as the first official single from Michael Jackson's posthumous album. It's MJ plus Akon and I think the rest of the album will be as well....the full album is supposed to release Dec 14!
Family Christmas Card
We have another tradition in our family that dates back many more year than the wreath making....the family Christmas card. My dad has insisted every year (since the year after I was born) that we send a Christmas card including a photo of our entire family. I remember many many years and hours of complaining while my dad either set up the tripod or asked some poor soul standing near us to get a photo of our family.
It's always something. Some years we take it in the summer and we're hot, some years the wind is blowing too hard, some years we take multiple poses because someone looks awkward. It's really hard to find one that everyone likes. We always take multiple, which of course takes longer and leads to more complaining. We always feel bad for the person taking the picture because they end up with a much bigger ordeal than they bargained for. For the eight or so years that we dated before we got married, Matt was the photographer. Talk about pressure. I think he was glad to marry into the family to be relieved of his duty. This year we passed the torch to my brother's girlfriend, Nicole. She did a nice job, and was pretty cheerful about it so she passed the photographer test.
So no matter what, we always end up with a family Christmas card. I love it. Love it. Love it. I couldn't be more glad that my dad...who is also the best. period. :)... makes us do it. My mom usually comes up with a creative little letter to go along with the card that gives a brief overview of what we've been up to. A few years ago, my mom compiled all the photos and letters into one book as a gift for my dad's birthday. Now we look at it every year at Christmas.
It's so wonderful to be able to look back and remember all the significant events. We've had pictures from family vacations, in front of each house we've lived in, at Cameron Indoor Stadium, in Vermont, at my wedding...you get the idea. I was reading the old letters over Thanksgiving and it made me realize how much love and joy comes with being a member of a family, and it made me thankful for mine all over agin. So thank you dad for putting up with all the complaining and creating memories that are so special to us today.
I wish I had scanned some of the old pictures so I could show you a few, but I'll have to try to remember that for another time. Here are a few of the rejects from this year...you'll have to wait until closer to Christmas when they've been sent out for the real thing (plus Matt and my Christmas card - because our picture hasn't even been taken yet - we're waiting for the snow to come first!).
We weren't feeling particularly original this year and didn't have much time with the whole family together so we decided to pose in front of the fireplace.
Standing just look awkward. Plus it wasn't a particularly flattering angle for me.
Next pose. Still going with the fireplace theme but sitting instead. Now the guys look weird. They don't know what to do with their legs when sitting like that.
Fine. We thought maybe the girls in front would be better. That was the best of the bunch but we all decided not card-worthy.
You can see for yourself why this one didn't work. I think Matt's face is hilarious.
We tried again but the lighting was just bad, bad. We should have switched me and my brother - Matt's hand on John's shoulder looks a little creepy and awkward.
We moved the location one more time for the final shot - almost everyone is happy with it too, which was an accomplishment.
It's always something. Some years we take it in the summer and we're hot, some years the wind is blowing too hard, some years we take multiple poses because someone looks awkward. It's really hard to find one that everyone likes. We always take multiple, which of course takes longer and leads to more complaining. We always feel bad for the person taking the picture because they end up with a much bigger ordeal than they bargained for. For the eight or so years that we dated before we got married, Matt was the photographer. Talk about pressure. I think he was glad to marry into the family to be relieved of his duty. This year we passed the torch to my brother's girlfriend, Nicole. She did a nice job, and was pretty cheerful about it so she passed the photographer test.
So no matter what, we always end up with a family Christmas card. I love it. Love it. Love it. I couldn't be more glad that my dad...who is also the best. period. :)... makes us do it. My mom usually comes up with a creative little letter to go along with the card that gives a brief overview of what we've been up to. A few years ago, my mom compiled all the photos and letters into one book as a gift for my dad's birthday. Now we look at it every year at Christmas.
It's so wonderful to be able to look back and remember all the significant events. We've had pictures from family vacations, in front of each house we've lived in, at Cameron Indoor Stadium, in Vermont, at my wedding...you get the idea. I was reading the old letters over Thanksgiving and it made me realize how much love and joy comes with being a member of a family, and it made me thankful for mine all over agin. So thank you dad for putting up with all the complaining and creating memories that are so special to us today.
I wish I had scanned some of the old pictures so I could show you a few, but I'll have to try to remember that for another time. Here are a few of the rejects from this year...you'll have to wait until closer to Christmas when they've been sent out for the real thing (plus Matt and my Christmas card - because our picture hasn't even been taken yet - we're waiting for the snow to come first!).
We weren't feeling particularly original this year and didn't have much time with the whole family together so we decided to pose in front of the fireplace.
Standing just look awkward. Plus it wasn't a particularly flattering angle for me.
Next pose. Still going with the fireplace theme but sitting instead. Now the guys look weird. They don't know what to do with their legs when sitting like that.
Fine. We thought maybe the girls in front would be better. That was the best of the bunch but we all decided not card-worthy.
You can see for yourself why this one didn't work. I think Matt's face is hilarious.
We tried again but the lighting was just bad, bad. We should have switched me and my brother - Matt's hand on John's shoulder looks a little creepy and awkward.
We moved the location one more time for the final shot - almost everyone is happy with it too, which was an accomplishment.
Friday, December 3, 2010
How to Make a Boxwood Wreath
For the last three years, my mom, sister and I have had a tradition of making a boxwood wreath on the day after Thanksgiving. It's awesome to have a homemade decoration when I get back to my house! I think it costs about $7 so it's also way cheaper than buying one.
You start with one of these - whatever size you like.
And some of these.
Then you need to clip a bunch of boxwood pieces (hopefully free from your own yard if you have it) and soak it in water for a few hours (the reason for the metal tub). After that we cover the table with a big plastic tablecloth and spread the boxwood out on it.
Take a bunch of boxwood and use one of the metal pins to push it into the wreath form.
Continue around in a circle (so that all the pieces face the same way) spacing the pieces so you cover the pin you just pushed in, until you've covered one entire side. The flip it over and start working on the back (because you will see that side through the door).
You end up with a finished product like this beauty. I mixed some other greens in with mine this year, but a pure boxwood wreath is beautiful as well.
My mom is an amazing bow-maker. She usually makes me a gorgeous red bow to go on my wreath. This year I declined her bow offer because I still had my bow from last year at home. When I got home, I found my bow all flat and crinkled. So sad. I tried to repair it myself with the iron, which proved to be more frustrating than I anticipated. I was a little disappointed with the result but used it anyway :)
You can't tell from far away that she's less than perfect. Here you go! Finished product!
You start with one of these - whatever size you like.
And some of these.
Then you need to clip a bunch of boxwood pieces (hopefully free from your own yard if you have it) and soak it in water for a few hours (the reason for the metal tub). After that we cover the table with a big plastic tablecloth and spread the boxwood out on it.
Take a bunch of boxwood and use one of the metal pins to push it into the wreath form.
Continue around in a circle (so that all the pieces face the same way) spacing the pieces so you cover the pin you just pushed in, until you've covered one entire side. The flip it over and start working on the back (because you will see that side through the door).
You end up with a finished product like this beauty. I mixed some other greens in with mine this year, but a pure boxwood wreath is beautiful as well.
My mom is an amazing bow-maker. She usually makes me a gorgeous red bow to go on my wreath. This year I declined her bow offer because I still had my bow from last year at home. When I got home, I found my bow all flat and crinkled. So sad. I tried to repair it myself with the iron, which proved to be more frustrating than I anticipated. I was a little disappointed with the result but used it anyway :)
You can't tell from far away that she's less than perfect. Here you go! Finished product!
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