Christmas 2006

Late Holiday Update

Tis the Season...To be very, very busy.

Last Thursday we bought our first Christmas Tree. I've named him Bert and he is very cute. He's quite small, but we thought that would be a good introduction for the cats. He's also extremely sappy. So far I've found sap on my scarf, my coat, my hair, my rings, my husband, my face, and many other things at any given moment. The cats love to lie underneath of Bert's branches, but have not yet 'bothered' Bert or his lovely branches. Bert is ready to delight. He drinks way too much though, and his lights are probably 25 years old. Bert is probably a fire hazard.

Last Friday night, I met the girls out for dinner as we bid Meagan adieu before she heads to Bulgaria. There were no tears because we all know she will be happier there and will come back again some day. Plus, we've been having a long distance relationship for many years and we're really good at it. Last Saturday I went to my first holiday tea party and had dinner with Sean and my parents. We brought back many old decorations for Bert and some firewood ready to be burned. Sunday was a very exciting and busy day. Four of my girlfriends came over and we baked cookies for over 6 hours! We made Chocolate Chip cookies, a generic version of Peanut Butter Blossoms, Christmas Tree cookies, Shortbread cookies and Candy Cane cookies. Then we split them 5 ways! This gathering provided us with lots of variety and it was a nice day to hang with the girls. It was a fun day enhanced by lots of gossip.

Highlights of the day included:
-An engagement announcement
-The beginning of a giddy romance
-The exchange of a Christmas gift between two people who gave each other the exact same gift.
-Devoted teamwork while rolling dough for candy canes
-Mismanaging the oven
-Strange, out-of-the-blue one-liners (i.e. "I've got one in the oven. One on the table." Cookie sheets of course.)
-The Walsh family portrait
-Candy cane bashing
-Endless conversations about Kisses. (Hershey Kisses)
-Calling 3 places to get dinner delivered
-Proofreading the local restaurant menus

After everyone left, I made fudge for work and it was off to bed. I just love a busy, productive weekend!

You get a line and I'll get a ....

Pole! I finally got this fine shot downloaded. Please excuse the red eye.

Christmas Survey

I got this today and filled it out.

1.Hot Chocolate or Egg Nog? Hot Chocolate. Sometimes with peppermint schnapps.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa wraps them now, however sometimes he doesn't label them and they get all mixed up.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? To be decided as we will put up our first Christmas tree in our house this year.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. I may not want to kiss everyone that walks under it.
5. When do you put your decorations up? About two weeks before Christmas if I'm lucky.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I can’t include dessert? What kind of deranged questionnaire is this? I guess it would be stuffing, but I'm picky about what kind I like.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Rushing out to the living room to make sure Santa had been there before waking everyone up. I didn’t sit on Santa’s lap until I was in my 20’s.
8. When did you stop believing in Santa? Probably when I heard the disgruntled sounds of family members trying to put stickers on a cabbage patch stroller late one night. The sounds of midnight assembly weren’t always positive in my house.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Sometimes we open all of our gifts on Christmas Eve. Depends on when the whole family can get together.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? This year starts a new tradition. All of the ornaments I have been collecting from my travels will make their first appearance and will go on the tree with new lights. We are buying a small live tree this year that hopefully we can re-plant. We don’t have many ornaments, and don’t have the time/energy this year to go out and buy lots more, so I’m going to wait for the after Christmas sales and work up to a huge beautiful tree. I decorate somewhat carelessly though. I find that competitively searching acre after acre for the perfect tree is more fun than 'taming' it so to speak. The same pumpkin patch hunting tactics apply, but I dress warmer and carry a saw.
11. Snow? You never know. I prefer that it falls after I’m where I need to be on the holiday.
12. Can you ice skate? Yes, one of my favorite things as a child to do on an outdoor pond. Now it hurts too much when I tumble, but I still make sure I go once a year if I can.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I remember my first tricycle, and my Barbie Dream House and many others, but I do not know my favorite.
14. What's the most exciting thing about the Holidays for you? Probably the Christmas Tree and decorations, and all of the parties.
15. What's your favorite holiday dessert? Apple, Lemon Merengue, Cherry, Pumpkin pie... Mom makes them all! Oh and the green Christmas tree shaped cookies Mom makes.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Every Christmas Eve we gather around the tree and sing Christmas carols while my brother plays the violin. My Mom sings Silent Night and then my Dad reads us The Night Before Christmas. We sip hot chocolate in front of the fire and we each open one very special hand made gift from Santa. After a final group family hug, we put out the cookies and milk for Santa and go to bed so that Santa can come. I'm almost teary-eyed just thinking about what a wonderful Christmas that is in store. For someone, somewhere. Well, let's get real. Who really does that? Not me! Truthfully, spending our kind of quality time with the family and bickering with each other is good enough for me. We traditionally go to mass on Christmas Eve and I enjoy the folk ensemble that plays/sings. I also enjoy unwrapping the gifts! Although I wish my brother could play the violin.
17. What tops your tree? I can’t decide whether I want an angel or a star! My guess is that it will be a 20 lb cat.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? What kind of dumb question is this? I love to give gifts. Oops, I cracked a smile. Ok, I do like to give gifts, but I also really like to receive gifts.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Sleigh Ride! is my favorite. My favorite Christmas Soundtrack is the one with John Denver and the Muppets!
20. Do you like Candy Canes? Just a bite here and then.
21. What is your favorite Christmas Candy? Do they make Christmas candy? Not really into it I guess, not when there are pies and cookies to eat.
22. Do you celebrate Christmas for the Birth of Jesus or do you celebrate it as just another Holiday? A little bit of both I guess. I do go to mass every Christmas Eve, but when we drive home, I’m more looking for Santa Claus in the sky than I am the North Star.
23. When do you usually have your shopping done for Christmas? It depends. I used to ship all my gifts to location so I would be sure to complete it all before December, but this year I anticipate I will finish the week before Christmas. I only have a few more things to buy.
24. What would you like for Christmas this year? I have a list with a few items, but I’d like everything to go smoothly and to have a nice, fun time with everyone. We’ll be in MD and the Walsh’s are coming too.
25. What is the worst gift you have ever gotten? There have been some gifts I wasn’t really fond of, but nothing horrific.
26. Do you buy presents for pets? They get stockings, but usually the grandparents buy the gifts.
27. Who is the easiest to buy for? My husband, he seems to like everything and I always have tons of ideas for him.
28. Do you send out Christmas Cards? Yes, mailing them tomorrow!

Fat Cat

Yesterday Mum and Dad took my sister, Alamo, to the vets. She had to get her rabies shot and while there, the vet said she had ear mites. My sister is kinda dirty and doesn't clean herself as well as I do. She had a very rough beginning and as her big brother, I have to take care of her. The vet also said that Alamo was getting fat and would need to diet. Mum and Dad were not completely surprised, but Mum made the mistake of telling the vet that Alamo was the 'light' cat at 17.2 lbs, and that her 'other' one was 20 lbs. Now, I'm on a diet too. We're not fat, we are just big-boned, but no one believes us.

The diet started Saturday night and I'm already miserable. I think Mum and Dad are mad at me because I was mean to Alamo. When Alamo came home, I walked up to her and she smelled different. So I hissed at her. And again, right in her face. She was pretty loopy from the shot and ignored me. I am fascinated by her though and kept approaching and hissing; she just wanted to sleep. I think deep down I knew she had earmites so I hissed to say, "Heeee, Bad earmites stay away!" I didn't want to hurt Alamo, I just wasn't sure she was my sister. Mom checked my ears too. As usual, mine are crystal clear. Mum says I'm a trooper when it comes to administering medicine, brushing, nail clipping etc. Alamo is not as easy to work with. She's a whiner. She fights the ear drops tooth and nail, but never uses either her teeth or her nails, which is a good thing.

My sister and I are getting along fine today but I'm super sensitive. I just want to follow Mum around all day. I might be big, but I've got feelings. Dad thinks I want attention because I want more food in my bowl. I reckon Dad is right.

I also think Mum and Dad are not happy with me because I've discovered something great. Although the old sofas in the family room are comfortable, it's cold down there. So I've started sleeping on the beautiful new red sofas in the living room. This is the life! I sleep on the loveseat and Alamo now sleeps on the other sofa. We sleep right in the middle, wedged in the crack between the cushions. We've ignored these sofas for over 6 months until this week. Mum got the vacuum out today and spent 30 minutes vacuuming our orange and gray locks. Then she put a less-than-attractive maroon towel on the sofas. I don't think she was happy to cover her nice pretty sofas. I don't know what the problem is? Why would she put anything in the house that Alamo and I can't use?

So the diet starts. We get fed once a day and a small snack in the morning.

Mum, If you are reading this, I know I'm bad sometimes. I'm sorry I hissed at Alamo and I'm sorry I broke your blue star trinket box from Tiffany's and your lamp last weekend. If I swear to never be bad again, will you put just Alamo on the diet? Remember Alamo and I were born in Texas, and everything is bigger in Texas.
Luv,
LoneStar

Report Card

This weekend I spent a lot of time trying out new recipes. I like to have a few great recipes that I can whip up for a party very quickly. I also have a lot of great kitchen tools that I've never used so it was time to practice.

Jack Daniels Whiskey Balls: C-/D+
They probably taste like they should, but they are way too strong. Sean politely ate two and then suggested I not take them to work. I agreed. Whiskey belongs with coke, not chocolate. I will try them on a few other people just to be sure that it's not our sensitive tastebuds.

Fudge: B+
Sean and I both enjoyed the fudge. It was very good considering the recipe was super easy, including the clean up. I used the recipe on the back of the Nestle Chocolate Chip morsels. I'm having a gathering in a few weekends to bake cookies, and since the morsels I had were past the 'best if used by' date, I thought I would experiment with them (as opposed to sharing the expired morsels with my guests). Although I think it's good, I didn't give it an A, because it's not as rich as some other fudge I've had.

Rosemary and Garlic Bread: A
Baking bread from scratch (without a bread maker) is hard. This came together perfectly, although next time I'm leaving the toasted pine nuts out. I'm don't like the extra texture in my bread. I think the picture below speaks for itself. Next bread I make with my new Kitchenaid mixer will be a Parmesan and Olive Bread. Come over and try some!
Rosemary Garlic Bread, Fudge and Jack Daniel's Whiskey Balls pictured.

Show Me The Money

T'is the season to think about money. Christmas is just around the corner and I’m constantly pulling out my credit card. Today I spent $80 at Safeway so that I could spend the weekend making fudge, Jack Daniel’s Whiskey Balls, homemade rosemary and garlic bread and soup. (Be sure to tell my husband how lucky he is!) I hope everything is edible because I made a large investment in my cooking talent, and I am not sure I will be successful. I want to try new recipes out in time for the holiday. Instead of writing about vacuums and recent flights (which were mostly on time, plus we were upgraded to first class on one flight), I chose a topic that I often think about. This week I transferred my last deposit for the year to max out my Roth IRA.

Many of you will be shocked, maybe even disgusted to learn that I am extremely fond of MONEY. Cash in my wallet, pennies on the ground, loose change in the sofa, a growing savings account, IRA, 401K, CDs, APR, checking accounts, mutual funds... If it has to do with possessing money, I want to know more. Once ashamed of my drive to have more money, I decided to research my motives. I absorbed any advice on growing money so I can live a "good" life. This means I have to understand my values and goals. Living a good life and the Freedom to spend money on my priorities keeps me going. By prioritizing, I am able to save money on items like coffee and cigarettes, and focus on having better home-cooked meals and vacations.

I take most free financial planning opportunities offered by Fidelity, American Express etc. Last year my company brought in a Financial Planner and I made an appointment to see if I could learn anything new. The lady asked me what my retirement goal was. I said, “I don’t know. It depends on how many years I spend out of the work force in the next 30 years and if something unexpected happens.” I didn’t really know what was realistic. Could I retire at 62, what about earlier? I casually mentioned that my husband was 8 years older than me and she suggested that maybe I wanted to retire at the same time as my husband.

Eerrrrttt. Back up. Maybe? My face went white, my eyes blank as I pictured giving Sean a kiss as he stayed in bed, while I went to work. Images of Sean watching Oprah and The Simpons all day flashed in my head while I was trying to explain the benefits of segmentation to new clients. The wind was sucked out of me.

Umm, “Yeah of course I plan to retire when my husband does.” Younger or not, I’m not going to work 8 years longer than my dear husband. “So yes,” I said, “mark me down for retiring at 54!” Although I did agree to work one extra year because I entered the “real world” one year later. I started kindergarten at 4, graduated high school at 17, finished college at 21 and had my first job lined up before college graduation. Thank goodness for that late birthday to get the ball rolling early!

About five years ago I picked up a great practical book called "Smart Women Finish Rich." It reinforced many of the principles I already believed in. I'm also interested in traveling, driving a car, living under a sturdy shelter, sharing my home with pets (next year I may even track what food, litter and vet bills cost for two hairy felines with attitude), and buying things I want. I also enjoy giving gifts that I know my friends and family will like (i.e. not re-gift, return, or send straight to Goodwill.)

This book talks about paying yourself first and increasing your net worth so that you achieve your financial goals. This book is written especially for women because too many times women do not play an active role in the household finances and then are left in a terrible scary situation when they find themselves alone. Every person (man or woman) should take charge of their financial future. I recommend this book for my gal pals and for the guys. The author, David Bach, believes everyone has a few extra bucks to put away for their future based on what he calls the Latte Factor. If just the $5 a day spent on a Latte and a muffin were saved, the time value of that money would be astonishing. Check out www.finishrich.com for more information.

I’m now reading Smart Women Finish Rich again to re-motivate myself to make smart financial choices. This is especially important now that the “I” I often refer to is now a “We” and “Us.” We are going to complete the worksheets together, taking a hard look at our reserves and our current expenses.

Money, unfortunately, is pretty important. I wish I had more for all of us. But since the money tree is yet to grow in my yard (I assure you I have looked!), we have to be a little smarter on how we prepare for our future. I am driven to make money. I do not go to work each day because I enjoy talking on the phone. (Yes, I know there are people out there who LOVE their job, I just cannot find anyone who will pay me a lot for lying in a hammock and drinking iced tea.) I understand the earlier I start saving, the better off I’ll be. I accept that I am middle class, and always will be, and that driving a Buick (with transmission and radiator problems) is OK. I do not deprive myself of the things I want, but I do try to make good purchasing decisions. I also do make several charitable donations each year for my top causes.

Kristin’s Tips:
-Avoid Starbucks.
-Pack a lunch 3-4 days a week.
-Use coupons at the grocery store and for car maintenance.
-Only shop catalogues when the shipping and handling is free. Only purchase from stores that allow you to make returns at their local stores.
-Don’t put food on a credit card if you can’t pay the bill off. I find that food doesn’t taste very good when you are still paying for it months after you ate the meal.
-Avoid credit card debt or at least avoiding using too many cards.
-Know your credit card interest rate. Consider consolidation.
-Save all of your charity receipts for tax purposes.
-Collect loose change and deposit into a savings account occasionally.
-Once you put money in a savings account, leave it there.
-Never make impulse purchases with high-priced items. Wait a week or two, but not too long to miss the sale!
-Open your Val-Pak once in a while.
-Cable, Satellite, Internet service, and Phone features, are not always ‘must-haves.’
-Be sure to at least contribute enough to your 401K plan to get the full company match if available.