Eggnog your socks off!

Back in December 1998, a month before I was to start college in southern California, I tried Starbuck's Eggnog Lattes for the first time. I cannot explain the holiday cheer that rushes through me when I think of those steamy lattes.

There is no Starbucks on Saipan. But there are Starbucks coffee beans. So I brewed some Starbucks coffee and filled half of my mug with coffee and the other half with eggnog. Yes, that store bought canned eggnog. And you know what? It was good. I also mixed a packet of Nestle hot cocoa with about 2 ounces of hot water and then filled the rest of my mug with eggnog. And you know what? It was good. It was really good.

I don't have pictures of my eggnog coffee or eggnog cocoa. So instead, please enjoy this picture of my homemade pumpkin cheesecake with ginger cookie crust. Yeah, it's that good.

~~~

Christmas was really nice. We opened presents with my mom and my sister's family and then we went to church. James was nice enough to take the screaming 20-month old to walk around and play in the dirt with sticks so that Katelyn and I could enjoy the service. We came home and had a nice little open house for our family.

The Guitar Hero Girls

Katelyn and Maui use our little nativity scene (complete with a snow covered Christmas tree) to reenact the birth of our savior.
I love this! Aren't they all so precious?
My cousin's two girls are very close in age to my two kids.
(I've got some new projects in the works. I'm so excited!)

Scarrred for life.

My college friend and roommate, Jenni, used to say something cheesy about scars. She said that each scar tells a story. Allow my scars to share their stories with you, my friends, my internet friends.

We're sticking with physical scars - the ones you can see. Don't even ask about the stories my emotional scars have to share.

Do you see the scars on my knee? No, you don't. That's because I got them when I was like 8 years old. They are still there....just much harder to see now. Tell me which story is the story of these scars....
Story A: I was a young wanna-be breakdancer and in an attempt to impress my friends, I brokedanced in shorts on bare cement outside of the Convention Center on Capitol Hill. My knee scraped along the cement when a Helicopter attempt went sour. Straight outta Beat Street, yo! I had to walk home.

Story B: I was a Girl Scout Brownie and I and my Brownie sisters were frolicking one day in between Brownie activities. We ran up and down the cement path on a small hill at the Convention Center on Capitol Hill and I slipped and skidded down on my knees. I had to walk home.

What do you think? Story A or Story B?

~

Would you believe me if I told you that I got this scar in a fight? I punched a girl in the face and her diamond stud nose ring tore the soft flesh between my knuckles?

You were right not to believe me. Truth is, I don't know how I got this.

~

Would you believe I have this scar because I cut myself with a steak knife?

You should! Because that is totally what happened. Sometime in early 2004, I was cutting apples with a steak knife. I did not use a cutting board, instead, I held the apples in my hand. How was I supposed to know that a steak knife could slice through a Red Delicious and my index finger tendons in one quick motion as if it were a samurai sword slicing through the belly of an enemy? Believe me, now I know. Next time I'll use a fillet knife.

~

See this one?

This is the scar that all the little children when held safely in my arms love to pick at. Fun. I don't know what they think it is - a dried blob of oatmeal? What an odd place to have a scar. What if I told you I was stabbed? Or I had a cyst? Or what if I had a teeny tiny alien growing in me and that scar marks its exit from my body?

It was a cyst that was removed.

~

This is the scar from my former nose ring(s).

Yeah, it didn't work out so well. One day my friends and I went to Venice Beach. Stephanie pierced her belly button (and was faint the rest of the day) and I pierced my nose. Using a gun. An ear piercing gun. And seriously? It barely hurt at all. I didn't put a back on the stud because I planned to switch it to a smaller cuter made-for-noses-not-for-piercing-ears stud once I could convince someone to drive me to the closest Hot Topic. Well, the backless stud fell out one night while I was sleeping. I couldn't put it back in. So I went to our friendly West Covina piercing place (can't remember the name of it now) to see that dude with the ball bearings in his forehead so he could re-pierce my nose. Um, yeah, it would have been a better idea to wait a few days for the last piercing site to completely heal first. Anyway, he re-pierced it with a needle, not with a gun. And seriously? It was the least painful of all my piercings, even less painful than the previous nose piercing and all prior ear piercings (6 in total). For some reason this piercing didn't heal well so I got rid of it only 3 or 4 months after I got it.

~

Duyuseedisune?

Oh, I'm sorry, let me close my mouth now. Ahem. Do you see this one? That's where my tongue ring was. When I was in high school I told my friend Vanessa that maybe I'd like to pierce my tongue. Long story short...she thought I was chicken to do it. So I did.

Why don't I have it anymore? Let's just say it was a pre-c-section safety measure to remove it. And then let's say that I forgot my flat acrylic ring at home. And let's finish up by saying that I was stupid and had the nurse throw it away.

~

How do I put this? This one time, I went to the gym with my best friend Ace, and I put a hole in my wrist.

Yeah. I was tinkering with the thing and the whatever moved and my hand was under the bench and BAM! A hole. In my wrist.

~

NOT PICTURED: Two c-section scars.

ALSO NOT PICTURED: Belly ring scar. For my 18th birthday, Jenni took me to get our belly buttons pierced. She was the one afraid of needles, so she went first. She told me it wasn't bad at all. Then I got on the table. And it hurt like a mofo!

~

I wish I could say I got a scar doing something cool and dangerous like fighting a bear during a snowboarding trip to Big Bear. But it wouldn't be true - I don't know how to snowboard and I'm not even sure if that resort town is home to many big bears.

I also cannot start off any of my scar stories with, "this one time I was sooo wasted and I tripped over myself and hit the corner of a table..." Because really, the times when I was sooo wasted (and there are many), I wouldn't have remembered tripping and falling onto the corner of a table. I'm pretty sure it never happened to me; however, it might have happened to Jenni. We aren't completely sure how it happened - we aren't even partly sure of how it happened...the truth is, we have no freaking idea how it happened! But we woke up one morning, probably still a little drunk, and Jenni had a huge bleeding gash above her eye.

Every scar tells a story. But poor Jenni can't tell the story of that scar.

~

Merry Christmas Everyone!

The Savior reigns!

Santa is coming to Saipan tonight!

Sorry, I've been really pressed for time...

...but I have two very important questions for you. First, have you watched the videos yet? And second, do you prefer soggy or crispy fries?

I like em soggy. And salty.

Because I don't have much to say today....

...except that these guys are so funny!









And because I don't know how to embed from MiniMovie, please click here. It is totally worth 2 minutes it takes to watch.

Tuesday Night Fights!

Tuesday night was our niece's school Christmas play, so James and I took Katelyn to watch. We started with dinner at Shirley's. Because Shirley's is Katelyn's favorite restaurant and it serves the best burger and onion rings on island! For realz yo, get some!

We always sit in one of the last booths, partly to see just how far Katelyn's crazy loud voice can travel and partly to see how far Jacob can throw metal spoons. On Tuesday we sat in a booth directly under their large flat screen TV. When I looked up I busted out laughing, there was James on the TV reffing the fights in July. It was classic.

(He's that blurry thing in the red shirt and jeans.)

After the play, in which our niece was a super-duper ridonculously cute sheep, we took Katelyn to look at the trees on the Paseo. Each year for I think 3 years now, there is an event where all the elementary schools on island decorate Christmas trees on the Paseo with recylable materials and one school wins a prize....or something. I believe the judging is tonight, go check it out if you can. All the trees looked great!

The first year of this event, my friend, let's call her Merced, asked if I had any suggestions for names for the event, as a good friend of hers was one of the organizers. I came up with maybe 10 suggestions, all humurous and "green" plays on different Christmas songs. Guess what the name of the event is?

Nope, not The Green Days of Christmas. It's called "A Green Christmas for the Children of the Marianas". Catchy? Not at all. It's still a really nice event!

I asked James and Katleyn to stand in front of the huge tree (not part of the "green" trees) so I could take their picture. Guess what happened? No, it did not spontaneously combust.

Quite the opposite. The power went out. It didn't stop us though.

We happily ran into some friendly faces. Oh, and Dora, Santa, and Boots too!

Katleyn had some mango ice cream before we headed home.
Just in time for the tree lights to come back on - or at least, the one tree's lights.

It was a great time for all of us! Katelyn has been throwing around a lot of attidute lately. She's been real testy and needy and at times jealous of her brother, so I'm really glad we could take her out for some alone time with mom and dad.

(And I was glad to come home to a nice, happy boy child who was not immediately demanding susu.)

Expressions

There's this great little gourmet shop that I love, it's called Expressions. You can buy my jams there. But you can get so much more.

Wonderful red wines.
I wouldn't know....but so they say.

I mean, I know, but I haven't tasted these.

Great teas! I love the Holiday Spice
and the Pommegranate Oolong.

If you aren't sure, just smell them.

Then you'll know.

A wonderful sweets selection.

Pretty, isn't it?

I love the Kir Royale jam, myself.

But my Island Flavor Mango Jam and

Papaya Citrus Twist are great too!

And they're there now, so go get some

and share some Island Flavor for the holidays.

For the ginger lover.

They are too strong for me.

Dips and other yumminess.

Semi Homemade

From this
to this

to this! Booya!
(Deece's fried zucchini, Kraft mac & cheese with broccoli, and Tony Roma's ribs)

Please note that when deep frying zucchini and one piece does not fully submerge in the oil, do not use your finger to push it down - no matter how fast you think your hands are. You would think that common sense would already dictate this. It would. Unless your name is Deece.

Season's Eatings, yall!

I will show this to his girlfriend one day.

Muzak

Some years we ago we lost a great Christmas CD. I don't remember what it was called, what the album cover looked like, or which label produced it. I miss it. I want it back. It was my dad's. It had Julie Andrews singing Patapan. If anyone on island has it, give it back.

Here are my favorite Christmas songs, in no particular order:

1. Carol of the Bells
2. O Holy Night
3. Adeste Fideles
4. Patapan
5. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
6. O Come O Come Emmanuel
7. I Wonder As I Wander
8. Little Drummer Boy
9. Angels We Have Heard On High
   

What are yours?

And because every woman deserves pretty to es....

A Tour of Our Tree

Or my mom's tree, rather. I kept the pictures small because there are so many of them. But you should be able to click on them to see larger versions.

Here is my mom's tree. It has looked like this my entire life; whether fresh or fake. Although every year there are one or two new ornaments. The tinsel is a little wind blown, and while some of you may think it's overkill, it's great at night - so sparkly and Christmasy!

This is the tree when lit.

This is the tree lit at night (the star is not working).

An angel and an elf sit below the star.

This porcelain doll used to spook me out when I was young.

Now I think she's darling.

Here is a shepherdess and a Maine ornament. The Maine ornament was given to my mom by my cousin when he and his family were living in Maine.

My Cal Poly Pomona ornament. It was given to me when I was a James Bell Intern.

A little birdie. There are a few more of these perched on other branches.

Cheer bear. Bedtime Bear also hangs on the tree.

A bear in a sleeping bag on a sleigh...or something like that.

One of the three wise men that travel up the tree. I love these. But they look totally worn out. Too many years of traveling.

I believe this is my 1981 Baby's First Christmas ornament. And underneath sit a snowman and his wife in the woods (painted by my sister many years ago).

Looking up. See that ornament with the beaded garland? There are a few more of them, I think they belonged to my grandma. If not, then they're just my moms.

What's in your wallet?

Er, makeup bag, rather. I've a got a lot of junk in mine!

For 5 random points: correctly identify 5 items in my makeup bag, be as specific as you can.

Wednesday What Is It? Results

The results of last week's Wednesday What Is It?

Eggs!

5 points to The Saipan Blogger!

2 points each to Sheila, Boni, Plumeria Girl, Kirida, Lynn, Erdene and Mark, and KAP

Thank you, everyone, for playing!

The winner of the Wendesday What Is It? Round 3 is Sheila!

Congratulations! I will email you with instructions on how to claim your prize. (Don't I sound official?)

Let me know what you think....should the next round start next week or should we wait until 2009 begins?

Holiday Traditions

Some people have advent calendars....shoot, some people make their own advent calendars. Some people cut down fresh pines for their Christmas trees, while others pull out the trusty old fake tree. Some people go to midnight mass, some people open presents at midnight.

Our holiday traditions consist of me and my family... my small family... my immediate family... how do I put this? My husband, my children, and I go to church on Christmas morning. Then we come back to my mom and my sister's family at our house and eat pastries, drink coffee, and open presents. This is usually a very stressful time. Once there has been at least one argument and one pot of coffee we open the presents. We start with the stockings - only the men and children get them. Do you really want to know the minutia of my Christmas? I thought not.

Anyway, every Christmas since 2003 I have made croissants. Ham and cheese and jelly filled croissants. No! Not ham, cheese, and jelly. Ham and cheese. And jelly. This year I will not make croissants. They are delicious, self-satisfying, and darn good! But they are a lot of work. And a lot of work is not something I'm willing to do this Christmas. So instead I'll make quiche and cookies.

One thing we always do on Christmas is make someone work hard to open their present. You know, the old 'tiny gift in a huge box' thing? We also reuse boxes. Which is great because we don't have to get new boxes, but also because the more gullible young ones think their Christmas gifts are things like tampons and cereal. This year we're giving oatmeal and stuff:

So tell me, what holiday traditions do you enjoy?

Did I tell you that I love my camera?

But I totally don't know how to use it.

That doesn't stop me though.
This photo reminds me of a typhoon.

What does this one remind you of?

Of all the people....

The giveaway ended with exactly 100 comments - how cool is that?

The winner is....

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:60
Timestamp: 2008-12-04 10:15:45 UTC

Sfer, you won! Congratulations!

My bags are going to Spain - how cool is that?!

Thank you, everyone, for entering. And thank you for all your kind comments.

Gag me with a spoon!

For the past month every now and then I've thought about things that make me want to vomit. I don't know why, but they've been popping into my head. Allow me to share some with you...

1. When men get super disgustingly sweaty that their shirt is drenched and they take it off and wring it out. And what's worse is when they wring it out and then put it back on! *ugh...gag*

2. Swishing your drink around in your mouth before swallowing.

3. Seeing children suck on toothbrushes.

4. Not rinsing with water after brushing teeth. You know that scene that's in about 1 in every 4 movies where someone is brushing their teeth and something happens - the phone rings, a friend walks in - and they just spit but don't rinse? Yeah. *gag*

What grosses you out, my internet friends?

Don't forget to enter the giveaway in the post below! I'm blown away at how many entries there already are. I figured I'd get about 15 to 20 entries - but over 50 so far! Wow! Check out the master list of giveaways here.

Thank you for stopping by.

A Giveaway! [Now Closed]

It's been December 3rd on Saipan for some time now, but it's finally December 3rd on the mainland, so that means - Give-Away Day has begun!

And I'm giving away a set of bags!

This set of three handmade bags, perfect for lunch, shopping, bringing along beach items (it's winter you say?), or just toting whatever, can be yours. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post in the next 24 hours - by 8:00 pm December 4th Saipan time (that's GMT +10). I'll choose a random number to choose the winning comment. Don't forget to leave a way for me to contact you. That's it! Good luck!

Be sure to check out Sew, Mama, Sew to see the master list of giveaways!

And if you think these bags are cute - please check in with my etsy shop over the next few days. It's empty right now, but I'll be stocking it with tropical handmade items soon.