Say "cheese"!

I'm so excited! I think I must've been one of the last people on the planet still using 35mm film. For Christmas, though, I was given my first digital camera. It's a Kodak Easyshare V530 and I just love it so far. I have had minor difficulties taking pictures indoors with low-light and am not sure if I have some settings wrong or if it's just going to take better pictures outdoors... I'm open to any tips/advice from people with more expertise than I!

Happy New Year!

May 2006 bless all of my online friends with good health and much happiness!

Million Dollar Webpage

I love this story! Go Alex! (Click above for the actual webpage he created - it's a trip!)

Tracking Santa

You have to love the people at Norad for doing this every year! Following him is becoming a much-loved Christmas Eve tradition for us and our children!

Holiday SWEETS

I've been in the kitchen quite a bit during the last week and thought it'd be fun to post a few of my (new) favorite recipes here...

Peppermint Bark
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. white chocolate chips
peppermint flavoring
2-3 large candy canes (crushed)

Melt 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes (stirring every 30 seconds). Immediately use spatula to pread out on cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour. Melt 2 c. white chocolate chips in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes (stirring every 30 seconds). Mix in 1-2 capfuls of peppermint flavoring (depending on taste) and pulverized candy canes. Spread out over dark chocolate. Place back in refrigerator until hardened - approximately 1 hour. Break into pieces to serve.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 squares (2 ozs.) unsweetened chocolate
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter or shortening
2 eggs
1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. plus 2 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 c. finely chopped peanuts
36 miniature peanut butter cups, frozen and unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine both chocolates in bowl and microwave at 50% for about 2 minutes. Stir and repeat until smooth and melted. Cool slightly. Combine sugar and butter/shortening in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until blended and crumbly. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then salt and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add chocolate slowly. Mix until well blended. Stir in flour and baking soda with spoon until blended. Shape dough into 36 1 1/4" balls. Roll in chopped peanuts and place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set. Press a frozen peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie immediately upon removing them from the oven. Cool completely before serving.

Update to my October 28 Post

My son appears to have "emerged" from the little funk I posted about a few weeks ago. (Phew.) I wonder if I'll ever understand those phases... Are they developmental? Related to something in his diet, supplements, the moon, for pete's sake? So much mystery surrounds my little man... I wish I could just take these things in stride and know that they won't be permanent - I just worry about him so much.

I've decided to put him back on melatonin. I'd had him off of it for a little while. Save for one night when he just could not seem to "turn his brain off" at the end of the day (flashback to those endless nights we used to suffer through during which he'd "bounce off the wall" all night long), he hasn't had many problems - that we've noticed. He had told me on a number of occasions, though, that he was feeling tired during the day so I wonder if the "sleep" he was getting (sans melatonin) was really restful.

He's doing well at home and in school - even scored 100% on his math test 2 weeks ago! Ahead, we trudge!

Scary Santas

Call me sick but I think these are absolutely hysterical!

Ho, ho, ho!

We're going on a Cruise!

I'm so excited! We were confirmed last week - in March 2006, we're flying from L.A. to Fort Lauderdale and cruising on the Caribbean Princess to St. Thomas, St. Maarten and the Princess Cays (a private island in The Bahamas). I'm nervous - having never been on a "real" ship before. (I've spent a few nights on The Queen Mary down in Long Beach but she doesn't move!) I know it'll be great, though - the kids are very excited. The countdown begins!

I'm a little concerned about my son and how he'll do... He suffers from Sensory Integration Disorder - oh the joys of Autism - and, while it's mostly under control (thanks to years of occupational therapy), I worry that the vestibular thing could be a problem for him while onboard the ship. We won't really know until we get there, unfortunately. I was panicked about it when I took him on an airplane for the first time last Summer (a 5-hour flight to Maui!) but he did incredibly well. Perhaps he'll surprise us this time as well. Maybe (hopefully) Mom will be the only one on this trip who has difficulty with her "sea legs"!

My Babes

In all of their glory at 5.5 and 6.5 years of age. They're beautiful children (inside and out) - I couldn't be more proud.

Christmas - bring it on!

I'm ready! I start shopping early - October, usually - but didn't have every last little thing until just this morning (when I picked up a UPS-delivered box from my porch). I have a small amount of wrapping to do and need to buy some of those bags for odd-shaped things - but I'm DONE with the shopping! I did a lot online this year - Amazon, Victoria's Secret, Brookstone, Macy's... Nothing beats the convenience of that. With my kiddos in Kindergarten just 3.5 hours/day (7:30-11 AM), it really helps me.

The kids are on vacation for 2+ weeks now so whatever things I have to get done this week to prepare for Christmas day, I'll be doing with them. My menu is decided - I always do a prime rib roast with horseradish sauce, popovers, garlic mashed potatoes and a green vegetable - either asparagus or creamed spinach. For dessert, I'll make a pecan pie and some type of cake (so I can use my favorite Fitz & Floyd cake plate). I'm also really looking forward to making and serving Tiratini drinks - martinis that taste like Tiramasu! My girlfriend and I had a few last weekend at a Macaroni Grill restaurant and they were excellent - perfect for Christmas evening (and maybe even Christmas Eve!)!

I love this time of year!

Actor John Spencer Has Died

How sad - he'd have turned 59 on the 20th of this month. He had a heart attack apparently - a bit creepy considering what his character, Vice Presidential nominee Leo McGarry, just went through on the show West Wing. We had the opportunity to meet him at a fundraising function 6 weeks ago and he looked great. I've enjoyed him for years and am deeply saddened by this news.

Mother Tosses Baby From Burning Building

I get chills every time I see that video - it seems too wild to even be true. I can't imagine what that poor woman must've been going through - feeling she had no other choice but to drop her 3-week old child from a 3rd story window. (Of course I cannot imagine what watching your infant die from suffocation would be like either.)

Williams Execution

Our Governor has denied clemency to Stanley Williams. His death - scheduled to happen in about 11 hours - seems to be imminent now. I've read reports that community leaders are worried about the possibility of "backlash" (from the 30,000 Crips members in south-central L.A. and others) post-execution. I lived in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict was announced and would hate to see that city - any city - go through anything even remotely similar.