Eeek! We're going to the Inauguration!!

DC here we come! We bought our tickets over the weekend and the price was not too bad. We were just going to to go for two nights, but the airfare went down dramatically if we added on another day. Whoohoo! Liz reserved a room ages ago, so we are staying with them. This is George's first time in DC -- I hope it's not too cold! :-)

A DIY Christmas

This post has 34 ideas for a handmade Christmas. I think I'm gonna try the homemade truffles. Yum, yum!

President Obama

Holiday Timetable

And if we're already talking about Thanksgiving, Christmas is not too far behind! Here is a 12 week timetable for the holidays. I love planning! I will add my comments in white. :)

Week #1 - List Week
October 5-11
Make your lists of gift recipients, Christmas cards, menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, goodies to share or to give, favorite meals to prepare ahead, decorations needed, and gifts to make.

Yep, already did the gift lists (even mine :)) and Thanksgiving menu. No menu for Christmas or New Year's as we visit family. However, Rachel has been asking about us hosting Christmas. Maybe next year. And I've set the date for holiday baking. I just need to decide what. I need to verify tamale day with Mom. Gifts to make? I am thinking of having Rachel make ornaments for the grandparents. Decorations to make? Maybe hang a zillion stars from our dining room ceiling (can be seen from the street). I better get to that!

Week #2 - Browse Week
October 12-18
Develop and record ideas for gifts and decorations. Ask yourself the following questions:

What would our ideal Christmas be like?
What activities are particularly important to our family at Christmas?
How much emphasis do our Christmas activities place on the spiritual side of Christmas?

We've decided no gifts for extended family except for the kids and I have to tell you, it feels so liberating! I'm actually not worrying about what gift to give whom and having alot of time to plan activities that we enjoy.
My sister does a pizza party for family and friends. I'm hoping to help her a bit on that.
We will be making tamales with my mom. I really need to learn to do them.

Week #3 - Supplies Week
October 19-25
After inventorying supplies on hand, purchase non-perishables needed for holiday baking, supplies needed for gift making, film, batteries, gift wrapping, and Christmas cards as needed.

Hmmm...did she consider the family photo to go on the card? I've set aside a weekend for that and discovered that CostCo has the *cheapest* photo cards for Christmas. Gift wrapping - check. No need for film. We are digital, baby! Start making paper stars for dining room.

Week #4 - Baking Week
October 26 - November 1
Set aside the time needed to complete holiday goodie making. Make lists of toys, books, and clothes that children would enjoy and keep the list handy for telling family members who ask what they would like.

We bake at the end of October? I had no idea! Do cookies last that long? Hmmm...maybe we'll start baking next weekend. :)

Week #5 - Gift Making Week
November 2-8
Focus your energies on completing gifts to be made, setting aside gifts that aren't coming together, and writing a Christmas letter. Find family photos suitable for inclusion with Christmas cards.

Okay, I will get over to Michael's and figure out if we'll do ornaments for the grandparents. I was thinking of doing a Christmas letter this year. She finally mentions a photo.

Week #6 - Shopping Week
November 9-15
Decorate your home for Thanksgiving and focus on gift buying for prepared list. Wrap and label packages as you go. Set aside needed shipping boxes.

I will decorate for Thanksgiving as soon as the jack'o'lanterns are gone. I've bought one gift for Rachel. I really need to get on the ball.

Week #7 - Shopping Week #2
November 16-22
Complete as much shopping as possible. Take advantage of many items that are on sale before Thanksgiving! Check Thanksgiving menus and grocery lists: purchase any additional, needed supplies.

Week #8 - Thanksgiving Week
November 23-29
Use this week to prepare Thanksgiving dishes, pies, homemade rolls: enjoy the holiday with your family.

Week #9 - Mailing Week
November 30 - December 6
Complete package wrapping for gifts to be shipped. Complete addressing and mailing of Christmas correspondence.

Week #10 - Meal Making and Decorating Week
December 7-13
Prepare some favorite meals and other baked goods for the hectic days ahead. Decorate. Involve children in memory making!

Week #11 - Final Shopping/Wrapping Week
December 14-20
Complete last minute details and enjoy holiday parties, concerts, and family activities.

Week #12 - Celebrate!
December 21-27
Enjoy the Holidays with Family and Friends! Take time to drive the neighborhoods to enjoy holiday lighting displays. Enjoy family traditions and special meals. Enjoy, and please let us know how it works out. We would love to have your feedback!

Thanksgiving menu

Now that Halloween and the election are over, it's time to talk turkey!

We've decided to have Thanksgiving at our house. It's about time we give my mom a break. :) So I'm thinking about the menu. We will just go traditional for our first time out. I'm just hoping the food will be warm when it gets to the table.

Thanksgiving Menu
-----------------
Turkey (natch)
Shrimp cocktail
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes (Mom)
Gravy
Green beans almondine
Yams (Natalie)
Green salad (CostCo)
Cranberry sauce (Trader Joe's)
Spinach dip
Biscuits (Kat)
Pumpkin pie (CostCo)

Schedule:
Get all recipes 11/7
Create shopping list 11/14
Do non-perishable shopping on 11/22
Go to Trader Joe's 11/23
Finish shopping 11/25
Buy pumpkin pies, flowers at CostCo at 11am 11/26

Rachel's first loose tooth

The chica has been waiting for this for a year, haha. Last year in school, there were alot of kids turning 6 and they were losing their first tooth. They got a special "tooth bag" when that happened and their name went up on a board. I guess Rachel was feeling a bit left out. So she has been anxiously waiting for this and then Sunday night she announced her lower tooth was loose! I felt it and sure enough it's true. I'm sure it could take awhile until it finally falls out, but I better get a couple of gold dollar coins soon just in case. :)

Simply vacation

I'm sure this will be a recurring theme throughout the next year. We are on a decluttering/purging mission. If it doesn't have a place and I haven't used it in six months, out it goes. Sometimes we think there is no way we can get rid of that much stuff. Don't we need it? Wasn't there a reason we got it in the first place?

I'm sure there was, but a great way to see what you really need in life is to go on vacation. Stay in a condo for a couple of weeks. Preferably a condo that has a washer and dryer in the unit. These are usually furnished with your basic necessities: towels, cooking ware, etc. How many clothes would you bring? Not a whole lot fits into a suitcase or two.

Something strange starts happening. You can get along with *only* 12 towels. You can live with *only* five pairs of underwear. You figure out how to work with only two pairs of shoes, etc.

You discover that you really can live with less.

Yeah, in real life, you'd probably have more stuff: your computer, photo albums, books, DVDs, a couple of pairs of nice shoes. But probably not too much more.

Try it sometime -- it's an eye opener. :)

Halloween 2008

Historic election indeed

I loved this article.

My wife made me canvass for Obama; here's what I learned.
by Jonathan Curley

Charlotte, N.C. - There has been a lot of speculation that Barack Obama might win the election due to his better "ground game" and superior campaign organization.

I had the chance to view that organization up close this month when I canvassed for him. I'm not sure I learned much about his chances, but I learned a lot about myself and about this election.

Let me make it clear: I'm pretty conservative. I grew up in the suburbs. I voted for George H.W. Bush twice, and his son once. I was disappointed when Bill Clinton won, and disappointed he couldn't run again.

I encouraged my son to join the military. I was proud of him in Afghanistan, and happy when he came home, and angry when he was recalled because of the invasion of Iraq. I'm white, 55, I live in the South and I'm definitely going to get a bigger tax bill if Obama wins.

I am the dreaded swing voter.

So you can imagine my surprise when my wife suggested we spend a Saturday morning canvassing for Obama. I have never canvassed for any candidate. But I did, of course, what most middle-aged married men do: what I was told.

At the Obama headquarters, we stood in a group to receive our instructions. I wasn't the oldest, but close, and the youngest was maybe in high school. I watched a campaign organizer match up a young black man who looked to be college age with a white guy about my age to canvas together. It should not have been a big thing, but the beauty of the image did not escape me.

Instead of walking the tree-lined streets near our home, my wife and I were instructed to canvass a housing project. A middle-aged white couple with clipboards could not look more out of place in this predominantly black neighborhood.

We knocked on doors and voices from behind carefully locked doors shouted, "Who is it?"

"We're from the Obama campaign," we'd answer. And just like that doors opened and folks with wide smiles came out on the porch to talk.

Grandmothers kept one hand on their grandchildren and made sure they had all the information they needed for their son or daughter to vote for the first time.

Young people came to the door rubbing sleep from their eyes to find out where they could vote early, to make sure their vote got counted.

We knocked on every door we could find and checked off every name on our list. We did our job, but Obama may not have been the one who got the most out of the day's work.

I learned in just those three hours that this election is not about what we think of as the "big things."

It's not about taxes. I'm pretty sure mine are going to go up no matter who is elected.

It's not about foreign policy. I think we'll figure out a way to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan no matter which party controls the White House, mostly because the people who live there don't want us there anymore.

I don't see either of the candidates as having all the answers.

I've learned that this election is about the heart of America. It's about the young people who are losing hope and the old people who have been forgotten. It's about those who have worked all their lives and never fully realized the promise of America, but see that promise for their grandchildren in Barack Obama. The poor see a chance, when they often have few. I saw hope in the eyes and faces in those doorways.

My wife and I went out last weekend to knock on more doors. But this time, not because it was her idea. I don't know what it's going to do for the Obama campaign, but it's doing a lot for me.

Jonathan Curley is a banker. He voted for George H.W. Bush twice and George W. Bush once.

Reaching your Dreams

Great post on accomplishing your goals.

“So I posed a simple question. ‘If you were going to become an artist, what would you do first?‘

“Chris answered easily. ‘I’d set up a little studio in my basement. Maybe rent a booth at the local artist’s market and try to sell something.’

“‘Yes, making a living as an artist is tough,’ I replied, ‘but setting up a studio doesn’t mean you have to stop working to make a living, does it? Would you be willing to take that small step and see where it leads?’

“That’s the key: Take a small step toward your ‘unreasonable’ goal. I find clients almost always have a plan in mind—they simply need ‘permission’, as it were, to act on it. That’s Step One.