2009 First Update

Yikes, I didn't even realize it had been two weeks about since my last post until I saw that it had been about two weeks since my last post! (Think about it....) I guess I've been fairly busy since my last post for Christmas, even though I didn't know it. Either way, to catch y'all up, here's the skinny: Christmas was great - mostly quiet, spent with family. I was awakened at the traditional 8am by my little sister, who wanted to open presents before coffee-time, so we did that first and foremost. I received a nice luggage set, some cooking tools and an apron, a nice up-to-date version of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from Scott, and some books I've been wanting for a while now (one on the House of Representatives' history, one on the Library of Congress' history, and a couple other general history/government). I also (finally) got to give the presents I've been holding onto since pre-Thanksgiving. I got my mom and dad a nice matted and framed Charles Wysocki print (See Link), and I got my siblings a couple nice board games which we ended up playing later that day. My fave gift to give though was to my friends Scott and Abigail. Okay, the gift itself was kind of lame - just a bottle of wine for the two of them and a nice book for Scott - but it was all about the presentation. See, Scott's a writer, and back in the day, he wrote an amazingly good story entitled "The Saga of the Evil Dude Penguins" in which a couple of Dr. Pepper-loving pals (one a penguin, the other a polar bear) learn to find the good things in life, despite some adversity. One of the tales is about "The Masked Penguin" - a shadowy do-gooder much akin to the human version of Santa Claus. Dressed in a blue cape and mask, the Masked Penguin brings gifts to the child-penguins during the holidays. So, when I found a plastic penguin doorstop (the kind you fill up a bit with sand), I just knew I had to make it seem as though the Masked Penguin were visiting Scott and Abigail on Christmas Eve! I, with the sewing genius of my sister Sarah, dressed my penguin in a royal blue cape and mask, and set him out on Scott's doorstep one night. I knocked and ran off to hide around the corner while Scott found him and the bottle of wine next to him! Then I came back and revealed myself. It went off well, and it was way fun for me to do! Fast forward 7 days: New Years' Eve was spent also with Scott and Abigail, as well as some of our other friends: Matt, Angela, Kim, and Travis. We ended up staying up until 2am or so before I left playing a game called Quelf - which I totally encourage you to check out if you haven't already. It's hilarious! The game's rules feature wacky "Roolz" which you must do lest you lose points, stunts, charades, trivia, etc. Matt ended up having to be a sad weeping willow humming sad movie music (though I'm not sure the mix of Star Wars and Titanic really counts as sad....) every time someone rolled a four, I had to translate everything I said into a foreign language of my choice, and Scott ended up being asked to give himself a wedgie before all was said and done. (Note: owing to the fact that I have no dignity or shame, I ended up winning this game.... I was the best of the whackos!) It was a great time, and I definitely have to thank Matt and Angela once more for graciously inviting me to spend the evening with them at their apartment! Fast forward another 5 days: Yesterday was back-to-school/work day for the family, meaning I'm back to the job hunt. I also started back with cooking weekday dinners with the aid of my new cooking tools from Christmas. Actually, I just made something from Scott's cookbook this evening: cheese tortellini with roasted red pepper and garlic sauce and a key lime yogurt pie for dessert. It turned out okay, though I think next time I will use less garlic and onion. I had to adapt the recipe a bit, since it was written for 4 servings, and I needed 6 for my family. All-in-all, not too bad. Tomorrow is Pepper-Lime Chickcn with stuffed baked potatoes! Fast forward to today: I finally got my GPS receiver in the mail, which I sent away for just before New Years. I plan to start a sport called "geocaching" - like a high-tech treasure hunt. You download GPS coordinates to the receiver, then hike out to the location and attempt to find a "cache" - a hidden container of some sort containing a logbook to sign indicating you have completed that quest. The ultimate goal is to get out of the house more and start getting in shape. If I can hike a little bit each week, that's only beneficial in the long run. Who knows, I might start enjoying Phoenix for a change, too! Anyway, now that I'm caught up, I will work on more regular updates again. I hope all my friends reading this are well!

Merry Christmas!

Today marks stop #6 on the Holiday Advent Tour, and I'm happy that I get to be a part of sharing in it. So, Merry Christmas!

Now, you may be wondering why I say that with such gusto.... Well, today is the first of two Christmas Days that I celebrate! That's right, I celebrate Dutch Christmas AND the regular American Christmas on Dec. 25th.

Being 1/2 Dutch from my Dad's side of the family, the traditions of Sinterclaas carried on through my grandfathers and my father and became a part of my family; I look forward to passing it on to my children someday!

On December 5th, the date of Saint Nickolas' death, each of the six people in my family lays out their wooden shoes (yes, I own a pair of wooden clogs) under the Christmas tree and goes to bed so that Sinterclaas (Santa Claus) will come, with his elves, called Zwarte Pieten (Dark Helpers). Riding across rooftops on his white horse dressed in a bright red bishop's robe, complete with a staff and mitre, Sinterclaas looks very much like what you'd expect the Catholic Saint Nickolas to look like. Sinterclaas keeps a list of all the children who've been good (they get candies and small toys which fit in the wooden shoes) and bad (they get carted off to uncharted lands in a big sack).

But enough history! My family sticks our wooden shoes under the tree, goes to bed, and *magically!* the next morning, they are filled with little toys, gift cards, and peppermints! That day, I ALWAYS wear a big Santa hat to pay tribute to the holiday, and I absolutely love it when a hundred people stop me at school or work to ask me why I'm celebrating Christmas so early!

So, if you ever see a guy wearing a Santa hat on Dec. 6th, saying 'Merry Christmas' to everyone and getting lots of quizzical stares, just know that he might be Dutch and is celebrating Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

42 Days 'Til Christmas

I'm really on the ball this year. There are 42 days left until Christmas Day (which means 41 shopping days left, for you procrastinators) and I am proud to say that I am DONE with my gift-getting. I had it all planned in advance, I had some money from my temporary election job, and I got it all done within the past week. The only thing left is to get the addresses of my friends for whom I do not have addresses. I sent you all out emails, so please respond! Now all I have to worry about is the job hunt and budgeting the rest of my money to maximize its effectiveness in said job hunt.