Mission: A Homemade Gift

Greg and I have a tendency to buy prints and then never quite get around to framing them. This was certainly the case with our print purchase from the Shack Up Inn.

I knew exactly what I wanted to make for my man: a rustic frame to evoke memories of our Delta Blues tour.

I called Mr. Fix It himself to share with him my plans and of course to ask for guidance in putting the dang thing together. Dad was game...as he always is for a project even if it means toiling away in his workshop for most of Christmas Eve. He also mentioned that Neil may be able to score us some reclaimed wood from his barn. Sweet. So with the measurements, wood and glass in hand, we set to work. As usual, we ran into a few road bumps along the way but the final product was totally worth it. Check it out.

UnScrooged

I'm happy to report that the Christmas spirit has finally found its way back to me this year. This morning began with what I would like to call the soundtrack to my childhood Christmases. My trusty Saturn's radio tuned into the Ray Coniff Singer's The Little Drummer Boy medley which always reminds me of my Dad singing along as he sneaks ornaments on all of the light fixtures in the house.

Greg indulged me in another childhood tradition when we ventured off two weeks ago to pick out our best Christmas tree yet at a local tree farm. Oh, and please don't think Greg is trying to strangle poor Winslow in the picture. We just have a photo averse dog.

This weekend, we enjoyed a visit from my parents as well as our Tennessee family. We celebrated Addie's 4th birthday at the American Girl Bistro on Saturday evening. A few of the highlights from the night: meeting Shad for the first time, finding my very own Gwen doll at the store and catching up with the cousins. Enjoy a few snapshots.

I'm looking forward to all the upcoming holiday events we have planned specifically our Festivus For The Rest of Us brunch.

An Experiment in Food

I know after the sunny fall days are gone all I'm going to be left with are short, grey days and most likely the onset of self-diagnosed seasonal affective disorder aka seasonal depression. After a pretty tough winter in 08, I decided I would give myself a fresh start for 09. My chosen path for better health in mind, body and spirit: raw foods.

My thought process followed the lines of: Hey, this will detox my body and help me feel energized. I should be drinking less caffeine and alcohol any way. So, the weeks went by and I did my research and I devised my plan. I would start by eating two raw meals and one cooked meal. This seemed reasonable. Oh, and I was cutting caffeine completely out and limiting alcohol drastically. I made my meal list (including things like: smoothies, raw cheese, sprouted breads, salads) and ventured off to Kroger and Whole Foods to make my rather expensive purchases. Heck, at this point I thought I could go completely raw by week three.

A recap of Week One:

Day One: I started the day attempting a salt water flush. Look it up if you must. Any-hoo, it didn't work. That was followed by a banana, blueberry and kefer smoothie....meh. Lunch was a huge salad with raw apple cider vinegar and cold pressed olive oil dressing...yums. This was accompanied by a raw miso soup (warmed to 114 degrees) with seaweed, carrots and mushrooms.....disgusting. Needless to say, I was rather discouraged with day one.

The rest of the week encompassed me trying a sprouted hummus (gross) and finally finding my stride with the smoothies and meals. Not to mention the soul crushing caffeine withdrawal headaches.

The beginnings of Week Two:

I've blown the raw foods off a total of three meals thus far. Oh, and there is no way I would be able to fully transition to raw foods. What have I learned so far? Well, the recipes suck and the only physical difference I've noticed overall is better digestion. I'm going to wrap things up later this week because I at least have to eat all the good food I bought.

Oh well.