I turned 36 last week. Seriously, 36… and I’m just not vain enough to lie about my age. Mostly because I’m not noticing any new wrinkles or crow’s feet and I’m okay that the reason for this is simply because my face is just pudgy enough to fill them out.

Gray hairs… nope. None of those, thankfully. Although, who could tell, considering my stylist talked me into a platinum blonde streak (just one, bold and up front) and a few, ahem, teal peek-a-boo chunks hidden underneath here and there.

I’m happy, it’s cheaper than a sports car, boob lift, younger boyfriend and far more exciting than a rest home. ( Elder Care Portland )

I’m thinner this year than I have been in probably oh… 4 years at least. In fact, all my jeans are my skinny jeans even if skinny is in the eye of the beholder.

What did I do for this momentous occasion?

Earlier this month my husband gifted me with an early present, a Kindle Fire. One of my dearest friends, Chickie, sent me a box full of the most delicious smelling bath bombs on the planet just barely outdoing the shotglass/necklace and dancing chicken card from last year!

On my birthday my husband made me dinner and I was presented with a gift that almost got me a little teary. Non-plant people probably won’t get this… but through the years I’ve always had “dream plants” my husband always smiles and usually goes along with whatever I want to grow at the time. I’ve had beautiful hydrangeas, roses, butterfly bushes and crepe myrtles all gifts for my birthday, Mother’s Day or Easter.

But the Holy Grail, for me anyway, has always been a lilac tree. Holy Grail, indeed, I even found an old post mentioning my desire for a lilac tree:

My great grandmother used to say that the best cure for a headache was putting your hands in the dirt. She was absolutely right. What I would give to have the lilac tree that my grandmother transplanted to her backyard from my great grandmother’s yard!

My grandmother had a lilac tree in the backyard and it was easily one of my favorites of her plants. I knew she had grown it as a cutting from her mother and I believe it was from an original tree in Oklahoma. I had never really seen them around here or available at nurseries and so had given up on ever having one of my own.

Until a few weekends ago when a sunny day sent me perusing the garden section at Lowe’s. They had a huge selection of bare root lilacs. I sort of looked like Agnes in that scene from Despicable Me with the unicorn, there was all sorts of gasping and ooo’ing and ahh’ing and “I MUST HAVE THIS!!!!!!”

Mike grumbled, began asking questions like, where was I going to plant it? How big would it get? Was it going to be like that butterfly bush that has to be fought back from eating his redwoods 200 times a year?

My husband deserves a Golden Globe or Oscar or something because I barely spoke to him for the rest of the day for “dashing my dreams” and his follow up to the act at Lowe’s was to pretend he didn’t notice how annoyed I was with him.

Fast forward to my birthday when I was presented with what Maggie described as “an AMAZING CARD!!!!” which was a giant pop-up card with all sorts of cute, cartoon animals on it. I was later told it took her almost 45 minutes to pick out my birthday card (she took her assignment VERY seriously) and she probably molested every card with a puppy, kitty or other cute animal on it in the stands before selecting this card for it’s unique “pop up” feature.

After much time spent ooo’ing and aaah’ing (I do a ridiculous amount of this, no?) my TRULY AMAZING CARD (just in case Maggie reads this) I was presented with a lilac tree. Not just any lilac, but one my husband and daughter spent about as much time as Maggie with the birthday card, selecting just for me.

I’m really proud of it, but I’m going to spare you a full length picture because it’s only about 18″ tall and is essentially some sticks on a very short, skinny trunk. BUT… check out this beauty of a bud!!!!

I might have some LEAVES this year!!!!!!!

A little over a month away from Christmas and the only thing I’ve purchased is stocking stuffers. Technically, they aren’t 100% done but I’m close. My kids used to have debates over who they got better candy from; Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.

Personally, I think Santa Claus because I’ve seen his bill.

Halloween is sort of the junk candy holiday. It’s Hershey’s miniatures and lollipops and gummy worms. Easter is about Cadbury Eggs, the token Peeps, Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs and chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies.

Christmas… now Christmas is all about the good stuff. Ghiradelli chocolate and Lindt truffles. I like to go to World Market and buy too much exotic treats, unusual things that you don’t see at all the stores. I think I have the most fun with Christmas, for sure.

Right now I have the other stocking stuffers ready to go. The candy I usually buy a week or so before Christmas. When the kids were little stocking stuffers were toys and crayons. As they have gotten older I’ve switched things out for perfume, make up and fun stuff from Bath and Bodyworks.

Maggie is hopelessly addicted to bath bombs. Nothing makes her more happy than climbing into a tub that is hot pink and smells like strawberries and lime. I love to find them in fun shapes and I’ll probably go with a combo of Christmas themed bath bombs and every day bath bombs for her.

Christmas Eve is a blast for me, the kids go to bed with empty stockings hanging over the fireplace and the next morning the stuffed stockings are propped against the hearth because they are too full to hang anymore.

What are your standard go-to stocking stuffers?

November first… it dawned on me during the ride home from dropping Kate off at school that my favorite time of year is now off and running. I’ve just about got Halloween cleaned up on the inside and next up is the front yard but I came home and changed my computer wallpaper to something festive and gorgeous:

Like it? Click on the pic for a full version and save it for yourself. It cheers me up because we don’t get foliage like this around here in the armpit of California!

Then I tripped over to FB and uploaded a new seasonal pic. Do you have the new FB profile with the huge banner at the top? I like it. I’m getting used to it. I cleaned up my timeline and all my people are on the appropriate lists although, given the wrong (or right) Saturday night those status updates might be anything but appropriate. You just never know.

Next up! My ringback tones. Usually I stick with something that feels Thanksgiving-ish to me like “Home for the Holidays” by The Carpenters. This year I couldn’t resist, I created a jukebox and dumped all my holiday stuff in there and you never know what you’ll get if you call me now.

Am I playing Christmas music now? You betcha!

What have you done around your place to decorate for November/Thanksgiving? Are you holding off on music or have you already created that special play list on your ipod?

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. It’s ridiculous how fast the holidays have come up on us, isn’t it?

Last year I opted for a new sweet potato recipe. I love Guy Fieri. Long before he was hosting game shows, I really loved the way he cooked and I adore “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” So when I came across his “Whiskey Glazed Sweet Potatoes” recipe I had to give it a try.

After all, I love sweet potatoes, love whiskey and I always dig cayenne pepper.

I followed the recipe exactly and sadly, it just wasn’t a good fit.

When FlyLady started announcing her Cruising Through the Holidays missions I flipped open my home control journal and found my mini-holiday journal for Thanksgiving! I had completely forgotten making it last year but there it was, menu and shopping list all ready to go!

The only thing I wanted to change was the sweet potato recipe. We discussed sweet potatoes and the “not much of a hit” recipe from last year around the breakfast table and I made a mental note to do a search for a new recipe. Then life happened and I promptly forgot all about searching for that recipe.

Over the past few years I’ve experienced moments that can easily fall under the category of “dark night of the soul” and through those there were moments that helped to restore my faith a little. I’ve had to work through a lot of heartache and I’ve had to rediscover my own sense of faith. What I’ve discovered, happily, is that whatever source you view out there as your own, whatever makes you feel more connected to something bigger than you and humanity – isn’t relegated to once a week or a few holidays a year. There is a magic to be found in everyday, little moments where you realize that you aren’t alone and you are always, perpetually connected to and working with something much larger than yourself. Even if it’s something as mundane as sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes momentarily forgotten I tripped over to the Avila Valley Barn website to see what sorts of things they had going on for October. They had section on recipes. I clicked and was happily surprised to find that they had only ONE recipe listed and guess what? It was Sweet Potato Casserole.

I got a little zing of gratitude and had another one just typing this out. I’m convinced, that sometimes God, the Universe, insert your own title here, gives you those tiny moments to support your faith and increase your trust for when the harder moments appear.

Loose end? Well, I’ve got my recipe for Thanksgiving and a delightful lesson in gratitude as well.

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:
2 Cups cooked sweet potatoes, mashed
2 Cups cooked yams, mashed
2 Cup sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup milk
2-1/2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 Teaspoon salt

Topping:
1 Cup brown sugar
2-1/2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 Cup flour

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all main ingredients together and pour into a greased baking dish.
Blend all topping ingredients and sprinkle over sweet potatoes/yams in baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until brown sugar melts.
Recipe may be doubled or tripled.

——————————————

Check out all my posts in this “31 Days of Tying Up Loose Ends” series here.

And, you can check out all the other 31 Dayers here!

Last year I saved a bottle from Halloween. It was a bottle of Witch’s Brew Ale with this awesome label. I hoped I would come up with something interesting to do with it this year.

Sure, enough I forgot about it and we started pulling out all the decorations and I came to a set of black roses that I usually just cram into a vase and plop on the counter… but this year I remembered my Witch’s Brew from last year and used it to create this arrangement on a shelf in the entry hall.

———————————————

Check out all my posts in this “31 Days of Tying Up Loose Ends” series here. And, you can check out all the other 31 Dayers here!

October is on the horizon. I’m working on a list of spooky movies (spooky not horror!) to watch in the backyard this year with the kids. I’m looking forward to chilly evenings, fresh popped popcorn and hot chocolate.

Our movie list ranges from family friendly to creepy/suspense. We might tiptoe up to the horror line but you won’t find “Saw” or anything close to it on this list.

Our current list of Halloween movies includes:

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Disney, animated)
Hocus Pocus
High Spirits
Ghostbusters
The Fog (original, not remake)
Imprint (if you haven’t seen this – check it out!)
The Changeling (George C. Scott)
Sleepy Hollow
Halloween (original not remake)
Arsenic and Old Lace

What movies are on your “must watch” list for October?

The Zube I adore more than she knows wrote a beautiful poem from a “Where I’m From.” prompt, I believe hers to be far, far better than any I could produce (and still do) but I couldn’t resist trying it myself.

Enjoy.
——————————–

I am from handmade doll clothes well ironed by a little girl, from Brach’s Lollidrops and glass bottles of grape Crush from the dairy down the road.

I am from the corner house with the big front porch, cheery yellow stucco and red brick, warm and welcoming, sweet and broken, glowing warm hearth and big Christmas trees.

I am from the lilac tree transplanted from Oklahoma, and the giant palm tree carved to look like a tiki totem pole.

I am from egg hunts at Easter and double jointed thumbs, from Alpha and Floyd and Auntie Lil.

I am from the hair trigger tempers and green thumbs.

From “I love you a bushel and a peck…” and “…little lambs eat ivy.”

I am from Sundays spent on scratchy tweed upholstered pews and Christmases spent dressed as an angel singing before the congregation.

I’m from the red clay of Oklahoma, peach cobbler, biscuits and gravy from scratch.

From the Carnation factory and motorcycle that wouldn’t stop, the loss of a beloved pony along with the family farm and the landmine in Vietnam that didn’t explode on Christmas Day.

I am from the doll in the closet, the lamps from the old living room now on my nightstand, and the apple dishes stored carefully in a hutch.

Hope you had a great Easter. We’ve been swamped between Easter and Katie’s 16th birthday. I’m truly blessed to have the most amazing kids, but especially such a remarkable and wonderful daughter. The world is definitely a better place with her in it and I couldn’t be more proud of the person she is. /biased mother gushing

We have new neighbors on both sides of us now. Both of have dogs. On the one side of us the dog there is a big, yellow dog that looks very much like the dog from Funny Farm. On the other side we have a pack of mongrels that must have been rescues but we can’t figure out why our neighbors feel that they need three of them. All three clearly aren’t fond of other human beings and so any time they see us or hear us in the backyard they lose their damned minds.

Of course, now that the weather is warming up and it’s beautiful outside, Mike and I like to enjoy the deck off our master bedroom in the evenings, it makes it tough when you have the choir of chaos singing at max volume in the next yard. It’s really like a poorly done live performance of 101 Dalmatians only there are no cute puppies to rescue and I’m fairly certain no real communicating going on.

It’s put a slight damper on our enjoyment of our deck but not completely. We still couldn’t imagine living in this house without the deck. It just makes for a nice getaway. We’ve had romantic dinners on the deck and recently we enjoyed the deck while Katie had her birthday party out on the patio below. It made for an ideal way to keep an eye on the goings on at the party which included our big, outdoor movie screen showing “16 Candles” and “Footloose.”

It’s actually my husband’s dream to eventually, some day, move to the mountains somewhere to a cabin with a big full wrap around deck. Driving through our neighborhood it always surprises Mike and I how many people didn’t opt for the deck off the master bedroom. Although one house opted to purchase their own deck building materials and built their own deck – which from the looks of it, is much larger than ours.

We used to refer to our evenings on the deck as “deck therapy” there was something soothing and relaxing about sitting out under the stars with a soft breeze blowing by. Of course, by the time August hits you have to wait until midnight for a cool breeze, but the rest of the year it isn’t so bad.

If a deck is on your spring project list check out decks at Azek.com.

I haven’t done a meme around here in a while and this one sounded like fun. Okay, maybe it’s just fun for me but, if you are interested at all in what’s on my ipod these days then here you go. And, of course, while my children have iPod touches and what-not I have a very simple iPod Nano in a lovely blue that was a Christmas present from my husband years ago. It’s not all modern and “Ooo, la la, touch me but don’t scratch my screen!!!” but I love it anyway.

Okay, the rules are as follows (if you are so inclined to join me either on your own blog or in the comments below):

1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.

Ever the rebel, I am flipping the bird to rule #3 ONLY in regards to Christmas music. As much as I love Christmas and all that music – I’m a tad burned out so I’ll skip holiday tunes if they pop up. Cut me some slack it’s like January 8th, I’ve got at least 8 months to work up my Christmas carol enthusiasm again.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Mama Kin – Aerosmith

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Petite Fleur – Harry Connick Jr.

WHAT IS LIFE’S PURPOSE?
I Get A Kick Out of You – Frank Sinatra

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Michael Buble

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Turn Me On – Norah Jones

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
El-Shaddai – Amy Grant

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
You Brought A New Kind of Love To Me – Frank Sinatra

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Times Like These – Jack Johnson

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Lead Me On – Amy Grant

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Banana Pancakes – Jack Johnson

WHAT SONG WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR WEDDING?
‘s Wonderful – Ella Fitzgerald

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
We’ve Only Just Begun – The Carpenters

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST??
What’d I Say – Ray Charles

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Good Ol’ Boys – Willie Nelson

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology – Jack Johnson

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
The Way You Look Tonight – Frank Sinatra

Sooo, it looks like Cabo San Lucas and St. Bart’s are the top hot spots for New Year’s for the A-listers this year. Those of us regular joes probably aren’t jetting off for Costa Rica vacations and are instead opting to stick a little closer to home on what my husband calls, “amateur drinking night.”

Our New Year’s eves are notoriously (ha) quiet and laid back. Not that we won’t make it to midnight. Although, I’ve completely given up on champagne as the last time I toasted I had a slamming headache within five minutes of finishing my one and only glass. Riding a migraine into the new year isn’t my idea of fun so I’ll probably stick to a nice dark beer or glass of red wine.

At any rate here we are at the start of another new year. Easter is just around the corner and summer vacation will shortly follow. It amazes me how quickly the years fly by the older I get. Still I’m not quite ready for winter break to be over since Monday’s arrival with signal a return to the daily grind. At least there are more than a few three-day weekends to look forward to.

Mike and I have plans for the next year. We’re going to start hitting the gym together and then try not to peer pressure one another into stopping for a pitcher of beer after. We also have some camping trips to plan and book sites for – family time is top on the priority list this year, especially with Katie half way through high school and Ethan in college. It makes a parent wonder where all the time has gone.

I’m really looking forward to spring and barbecues. We spend so much time outside in the spring and summer I’m already getting a good case of cabin fever since the weather has been almost unbearable with all the rain. It’s cleared up a bit but the weatherman promises the return of downpours by New Year’s day, Maggie’s 7th birthday. It was raining the day she was born so it seems only fitting for the rain to return on her birthday.

What are your plans for New Year’s eve? I hope you have wonderful plans for New Year’s and that your celebrations go off without a hitch, safely and splendidly. Happy New Year’s!