So long 2013....hello 2014

Who's ready to say goodbye to 2013? This girl, that's who.
 
I've been working on my goals for 2014 and am ready to reveal them. The  new year always seems like a clean slate to me.  Starting fresh. All the old goals are out the door whether I completed them or not (I do know, but am not going to bother sharing at this point).  
 
Here's what I'll be working on in 2014!

Courtesy of eCoast

Personal
These are all things that help develop me as a person, enhance my already quirky personality, and/or are my every day activities that make up who I am.
 
Read:
1. Read a total of 50 books by Dec 31st
2. Read all 12 books in book club.
3. Include in the 50 books all those books taking up space on your night stand.
 
Blog:
1. Write a minimum of 3 times a week. 
2. Focus your writing beyond just daily activates. Start writing thoughtful blogs that trigger emotions. Use the blog topics already collected.
 
Cultivate Relationships:
There any number of friends who live here in the Pacific NW - almost in my own backyard - that I want to work on seeing more than once a year.  I have a list.  You've been warned.
1. Reach out to friends you haven't seen in years
2. Work on how you deal and react to some folks.  Don't break any spirits this year.
 
Scrapbooking:
This one is an every year goal.
1. Cease purchasing randomly.  Purchase only items that are specific and have a project.
2. Stay caught up. Scrap photos within the same quarter they are taken.
3. Work on getting heritage photos scrapped.
 
Photography:
1. Up to 6 photo strolls with themes
2. Try to spell Wraspir in photos
3. Continue with Project365; scrap them as project life
 
Finances:
The never ending finance goal. 
1. Do the 52 weeks of saving challenge (you basically put away in savings the amount of $$ that equals the number of the week. So for example, the first week I'll put away $1, the second week $2, the third week $3 and so on. And no this isn't the ONLY form of saving, but I thought it would be fun to do - and physically do it by putting it in my money jar.
2. Through March, track every single receipt. Keep all receipts and track what is purchased. Note anything that wasn't on the "list" when going shopping. This should help me understand where some of the money goes.  Sad that one can go into Walgreen's for a toothbrush and $60 later not know what you purchased.
3. Get 3 months of salary saved (this is in progress already - and will need true up once I find a job)
 
Health:
1. Work out 3X a week minimum.
2. Focus on good healthy food choices.
3. Lost 3-4 lbs a month
 
Professional:
This is a new category this year. My PMP certification is up in August and I'm 15 credits away. 
1. Get 15 PDUs by August
2. Read 3 PM or career focused books

I have some other more personal goals that I'm electing to not share with you all...they are a bit too personal for this medium. What about you? Got any goals?

Birthday Bash!

I think I'm still recovering from the birthday bash. I didn't drink too much, but man I was exhausted from all the standing and jabbering that took place. Don't get me wrong, I loved that I got to stand and jabber with most of my favorite people.

Chez Jenn's was at capacity. We had 18 people here - expected 21 - and we were packed to the gills.  Everyone brought their favorite appetizer and we had so much food here we could have fed a small village.  Everything was delicious and most were not low-cal.  Notable appetizers: homemade goat cheese, Olive yummies, meatballs and little smokies, dips, dips and more dips.

I think for Sunday dinners moving forward I will not bother taking a "normal" photo. I never post them or use them in the scrapbook, so why bother.

Just one more day in 2013. I am not ashamed to admit I'm READY for this year to be gone. As I reflect over the year I can see many, many happy things that happened.  I'd like to focus on those, but sadly, I had quite a bit of loss this year.  I'm ready to put it behind me. 2014 comes rushing in with a clean slate. I've got my goals done and I'm ready to start working on them. Do you have your goals done yet?

Merry Ho Ho

Merry Ho Ho everyone.  And with that another Christmas season is wrapped up and decorated with a bow.  Phew. I'm done with Christmas this year. December has turned out to be a long month, and one I'm ready to say "so long" to.  Let's start 2014.  Clean slate.

But before we get into 2014 so much, let's review Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  What a splendid couple of days it was too.

The original plan for Christmas Eve was for the MomUnit and I to head off to a fancy pants dinner at the Salish Lodge. My gift to the MomUnit.  Once I found out I'd be out of work on the 24th of January I quickly reviewed my calendar for things I could not do and save $$.  The MomUnit was fine with us tossing the Salish, figuring we'd do our traditional meal instead. 

Instead we were invited out to the Braspir's for prime rib.  Who passes up prime rib for a stinking tradition? Not this kid. And not the mother of this kid.  So off we went.

People, I feel bad that some of you have never met the Braspir's.  They are family.  I combined their last name with ours so that it can show just how close they are to us. And they were thrilled. (On a side not, if I had reversed the order and put our name first we would have been the Wraschs - pronounced "rashes"). Anyhow, we were greeted with open arms and hugs all around. 

They live out in what I call the "country" here.  I swear you have to pack a lunch just to get to their house.  They have a charming house that was all decorated.  The savory smell of prime rib wafting from inside greeted us at the door.  After much merriment, and many drinks, we got down to business of eating. The prime rib was spectacular.  A bit too rare for me - it moo'd when you stabbed your fork into it - so Mrs. Braspir and I nuked ours just a tad. The rest of the fam was happy as anything to eat such a lovely piece of meat.

The night progressed and we got goofier...Mr. Braspir, in particular was in rare form. God that man makes me laugh. 

Their tree was beautiful and made me feel like Christmas was finally here.  I missed my tree this year. Maybe next year.

The Braspir Christmas Tree.  So merry and bright

The "Bras" half of the Braspir family. I love these people so much.

The MomUnit and I ...we have so few photos of us together. I'm going to remedy that.

After coming home and declaring we were never going to eat again, we got up on Christmas morning and began prepping for Christmas Dinner.

Mr. and Mrs. Hotlanta were bringing the prime rib.  How I managed to be surrounded by people who love their prime rib and who love to feed me their prime rib is beyond me. I swear it's not an interview question.

They showed up sometime around 1 and Mr. Hotlanta promptly started getting the prime rib together for cooking. It smelled so good in this house that my mouth was watering.

We got out our appetizers and waited for Seattle SIL and Seattle Niece to get here.  Once they arrived, the real merriment started.  I was unsure how it would be to not have BigBro here with them, but it turned out I only missed him about a hundred times instead of the thousand times.

Mr. Hotlanta set off the fire alarms a couple of times during the cooking process, but when he was done, oh man....that prime rib was so delicious.  I made twiced baked potatoes and my favorite green bean recipe to go along with the before mentioned slab of meat. 

Just look at that! Take a moment and just imagine how incredible good that tasted.  You'd be right. Once he sliced into it we all let out a collective "ahhhh".

Its funny to see this photo and all the slabs of meat on our plates and nothing else. Darn Mrs. Hotlanta for closing her eyes.  I think she was just blinded by the beauty that was the prime rib.

Finally, the sides were passed and we were ready to eat.  After eating everything on my plate, and then maybe a brownie or two after, I swore I'd never eat again.

Which reminds me...it's dinner time. BRB

Merry Christmas Eve

Last year when the DadUnit died, I tried for hours to find a photo I KNEW I had taken of he and I going out on our annual Christmas Eve shopping trip. I couldn't find it. I looked through every scrapbook I had and still couldn't find it.

Fast forward to the last couple of months where I've been taking photos of all my scrapbook pages for safe keeping....I found it!

I'm sad that we only have one photo of us doing this, but one photo will have to be enough.

In case you don't recall, the story goes like this.

One year many moons ago, the DadUnit whispered to me that he hadn't shopped for the MomUnit yet and would I go with him.  I pointed out it was Christmas Eve, at which time he said, "And?"

From there it became our special time. He'd always buy me a special gift that was from just him. Over the years I tried to come up with things that he'd know about - to make him feel useful.  We'd have lunch, go shopping, the MomUnit would get EVERY THING on her list, we'd come home and I'd wrap gifts for three hours. 

It's something I'll never forget. And as I sit here this Christmas Eve and ponder traditions that are now gone, I can't help but think about how to make new traditions. It's sad to me that we've lost so much this last year, and yet I find strength in knowing that we will over come the loss and move on. New traditions are to be made.

And let's not forget all the old traditions that still exist? Frito Lollies on Christmas Eve, the MomUnit eating 12 grapes on New Year's Eve, Sunday dinners, my themed birthday parties, decorating the day after Thanksgiving, undecorating the day after Christmas, clam dip for an appetizer, and so on.  There is so much we still have to be thankful for.  I'm going to choose to look at those moments now and not linger on the sad ones.

Who's with me?

Christmas Eve Eve - Or as Patron Saint calls it...Christmas Adam

Merry Christmas Eve Eve everyone. 

This season hasn't been the merriest, though admittedly it hasn't been a bummer either. I haven't been in the normal Christmas spirit that I usually find myself in. The house is only half decorated, so I guess my spirit is only half into it. (As I type this Linus is pestering the fake poinsettias....again.) And considering all that has gone on in the last month or so, I think I've earned a "bah humbug" or two.

The MomUnit is still here. We made our traditional Frito Lollies tonight that we normally make on Christmas Eve.  Why tonight? Well because Mrs. Braspir (aka Queen PopUp) and her hubby invited the MomUnit and I to their house for prime rib. Yum.

Originally I had made reservations at the Salish Lodge for the MomUnit and I. It's a relative hoity toy-tee place that was fancy and I figured it would be a nice thing for us to do. Once I heard I'd be out of a job in January, we cancelled those reservations fast.  Next time maybe.

On the job front, I spoke with three recruiters today and have informational interviews all set up for Thursday and Friday. I love how fast this is moving and really hope that something comes out of any of these. We shall see.

Snow-ma-giddon

There's something about waking up when it's snowed overnight. It's quieter in the morning and all you hear is the scrape of a snow plow against the pavement. Oh wait! Not this year because DOT doesn't have budget to plow.

Anyhow, it snowed out here today. 

In Seattle that basically means the city shuts down.  To our credit we do have a bunch of hills, and a ton of people who don't know how to drive in the snow (myself included) and think they know how to drive in the snow.

The demons aren't sure what this white stuff is.  I lured Linus out to the deck with a toy and he went as far as the snow and stopped. Lucy, on the other hand, saw the open door and booked. She didn't get far until she realized what she was in was wet and cold.

I used to love snow days because it meant I could stay home and enjoy the snow. Now working from home it means a snow day just means I work from home.

Speaking of work, I won't be doing that for too much longer. I found out on Thursday that my current project management position is going away. My contract will officially end on Jan 24th. Oh goody. An early NON-Christmas gift. Maybe this is karma's version of coal.  I'm sure I'll find something but am not too happy about having to look.  I don't blame the team and their decision, it's a decision that makes sense and frankly, this is the life of a contract worker.

Favorite Meal

I signed up for these 27 days of blog prompts (Thanks BeagleBabe for the suggestion) in which each day, obviously, I'll get a suggested topic. The idea is to, like any muscle, exercise your writing muscle. 

Today's suggested topic is what your favorite childhood meal was.

I didn't have to ponder this for long. I immediately had a couple of thoughts when I did a quick think of my favorite childhood food. Then I realized I didn't have a specific favorite.  Instead there are meals I learned to cook that I still cook today. And those are what popped to mind.

I credit the MomUnit and the DadUnit for my love of cooking.  When they were married, ONE, (of the many chores - I was so abused to have chores as a child) was I made the salad for dinner every night AND cracked the ice AND did the dishes after dinner. I hated all of them.

Then the ParentalUnits suggested that once a week I was responsible for cooking the meal. They outlined what that meant as to my responsibility and so I got to work. 

It meant I had to have in mind what I was going to cook, the grocery list to the ParentalUnits and a "can-do" attitude.  This, for whatever reason, gave me something to look forward too. AND it meant that mom/dad had to make the salad, crack the ice AND do the dishes. THAT made it all worth it.

I started out small, and made recipes the DadUnit taught me. I don't recall what my first meal was, but I have recollections of making Hunter's Stew (I can't believe I don't have Hunter's Stew as a recipe on my cooking blog. I'll remedy that in short order) on a regular basis.  Mom's Tacos and enchiladas was another recipe I remember making.  I didn't have a 'favorite' as much as I had a 'favorite chore'.

First let's discuss Hunter's Stew.  Hunter's Stew is the one recipe that I still make today.  It is one of the few recipes that I will gladly eat the leftovers of.  In fact, the leftovers are almost better. The recipe may have changed over the years - adjusted for memory lapses.  BigBro and I had discussed this before and his version of Hunter's Stew was quite different from mine, which leads me to believe I changed it up a bit.

It's a simple dish. Designed to be made while camping, or in their case, hunting.  It's all canned goods and burger.

You take burger, brown it, then dump in a can of Veg-All, a can of kidney beans, a jar of picante sauce, a can of cut green beans, and a small can of corn.  Now, admittedly the can of green beans and can of corn are my own addition. Blueberry and I decided years ago when we lived together that we wanted more of those veggies. 

You let that cook for 15 minutes or so (oh and don't drain the cans of their liquid) until the liquid evaporates a bit.

Then you make Bisquik dumplings and plop them on top. That recipe calls for 10 minutes with them uncovered, then 10 minutes covered. You then take off the lid. Dump a bunch onto a plate or into a bowl, and take a bite...burning your tongue every single time.  Ok, so that last part isn't part of the recipe but what I do every...single... time.

The second food that popped to mind is the MomUnit's tacos and enchiladas.  I won't go into great detail with how they're made because I actually do have that recipe on my cooking blog, but suffice it to say they aren't low in calories. 

The one memory that stands out the most is making the taco shells.  Back in the day before hard taco shells were available, you had to make your own.  This meant filling a skillet with oil (sometimes we'd use Crisco). Then you'd slide the corn tortilla into the hot oil, and flip it in half. The challenge was trying to keep it open enough so you could stuff it with meat and what not.  I never did perfect doing that and the bottom of the shell was always closer together than the top.  Stuffing meat into the crevice was the fun in it.  And oh, those cold tacos the next day....YUM...Of course you'd eat them with bandaged hands because you always got burnt by the hot oil.  It was considered a badge of honor.

And the enchiladas...I can't even tell you how good they were.  I don't think I've modified that recipe one bit. If anything else I actually make it like the MomUnit did - for example, she put in onions and green chilies. For years I didn't like either in my enchiladas...now  I do. Go figure.

But again, nothing low-cal with these. You soften the corn tortilla by dipping it in hot oil...that in and of itself screams calories. But they are so worth it. And I figured, if you only have them once in a great while, then you're ok to have the higher calorie.  Right?

Those are my two fondest memories of food that came immediately to mind.  Do you have any favorite foods?

December Sunday Dinner

We close the year out with a festive and sugar filled Sunday dinner.  It's the annual December Cookie Exchange Sunday dinner.

There was much merriment. Much sugar. Much food. And much fun.

I have to admit, I was worried what this first Sunday dinner without BigBro would be like. I was concerned there would be a somber feeling to it. Turns out all my friends are very festive and made the Sunday dinner enjoyable with no reminders that BigBro wasn't there.  I mean you could still feel his presence missing.  For example, I  missed him and Blueberry arguing of who parked in "his" spot.  I missed him coming into the house and announcing in his loud boisterous voice, "Bless all in this house."

And I missed his gigantic bear hug.

Still we pressed on and we celebrated the love of friends and family. The MomUnit got to be here for another Sunday dinner. And what a good one she got to enjoy too.

I had 10 guests last night. I had, at one point, 13 and slowly people had to cancel for one reason or another. No worries, they'll be welcomed back.

The entertainment of the night was Linus in his Snowman costume.

You can tell he loved being in it.  Not.

Second entertainment was Zoe.  She's a sweet dog and put up with being stalked by Lucy.  Lucy was in ONE CRANKY mood last night. She did not appreciate me bringing a dog into the house.

A couple of the guests, who shall remain nameless, decided they wanted to do a pasta test with the gluten free pasta.  I swear the used ever pot and pan I had in the house. The kitchen was a disaster and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a photo.

It really doesn't do it justice. It was a  mess. I'm on the 3rd load of dishes today.

Still, in the end we had quite the variety of goodies and treats. I sent most home with HikerGirl (oh yah, BTW, HikerGirl was here to visit. It was great to get caught up with her.)

I kept it simple and made Bolognese, Caesar salad and cheesy olive bread.  No carbs  and no calories here.

Just look at all those treats!

Just look at all those sugar crazed people.

Not shown in the photo is Lucy. She had had enough by the time this photo was taken and she bolted, scratching Mrs. Landlord on the way. Also not in the photo is Mrs. HotLanta.  She and Zoe had to take off a bit early.

So here closeth another Sunday dinner year.  Maybe next year we can get back to the rotating Sunday dinner.

Friday the 13th

Are you a superstitious person? I try not to be, but sometimes I can't help it. I blame Grandma Spaid.  She had all sorts of "Old wives tales" and I remember feeling like she really believed in them. Now granted I was younger and could have totally read her wrong.

Speaking of reading, I just finished my 49th book this year.  I'm not sure I'll be able to get 52 by the end of the year. The book I started last night after finishing the December book club book, is only 120 pages.  If I could find just two more like that then I should be good.  OR... I could go to Barnes and Noble and read a couple Dr. Suess books. Does that count?

Speaking of goals, do you have any for this coming year?  I have been putting mine together over the last couple of weeks. I'll share them when I'm done.

I'm big on goals.  And I'm big on adjusting them.  I see nothing wrong if you start with one goal and readjust it mid year. 

Speaking of mid-year, when last we reviewed my goals it was July.  Let's check in again to see where I am now.

2013 Goals - Review
1. Read more!
 As I mentioned above, I'm so very close to my 52 books this year. I find it interesting that my goal was "Read More" and didn't include a number of how many to read.  Somewhere along the way I decided to read a book a week.  Next year, this goal will need to be more specific.

 2. Scrapbooking
My goal was to control my purchasing of scrapbook supplies.  HAHAHAH. Its a good goal, but again, I need to be a bit more specific.  Its hard to not spend with regards to scrapbook supplies.  Still I did pretty well and wrangling it in, but not nearly as good as I wanted.  This next year I'll need to really focus on it. I have some ideas on how and will share them with you later. I can tell you it does not include shock therapy.

3. Photography
 My goal here was to get out at least 6 times this year to shoot photos. It didn't seem like that difficult of a thing to do, and yet, I think I only got out a handful.  I shot Georgetown, Pike Place, Ballard/Seattle Library, and ... and... well that's it. Darn it.

 4. Finances
The savings plan is going ok. Not nearly as well as I had planned. I'm thrilled that I've done as well as I have and know that I need to take it up a notch. 

 5. Health
This one stunk.  I really didn't do well on the exercise and eat right plan. I need to really focus on this again. I gained some of the weight back and I can tell.  The lack of working out has really made me feel sluggish and unhealthy.  Time to make that change.

 6. Blog more.
 November helped with this. I tried to do the 30 days of blogging, had a rough patch toward the end for obvious reasons, but still got myself back into the rhythm.  I miss writing and I miss telling you all about my life. You know you wanna know!!!

So there we are.  Didn't do nearly as well this year as I had planned, but did well enough.  Many of these will end up on the goals for next year - they always do.  I just need to be more specific in my goals.

Do you do goals? What are some of your goals?

Daily reminders

Its been almost a week since we lost BigBro. I know I am missing him only one tenth of what Seattle SIL is, and for that I feel very sad.  I miss the big guy more than ever it seems.

I keep assuming, and I know, that each day will get better.  And yet each day something, random usually, reminds me of our loss.  Today it was geese flying above me.  I thought about how he'd pretend to shoot them every time he'd see something like that.

Which led me to his legendary Donald Duck voice.  That made me smile.

Which led me to search my photos for goofy photos of him. And let me tell you, it would be harder to find a normal photo of him.  He really was not normal...in a good way.

I picked up my mail today and was excited to see what looked like cards in the mail. I love this time of year and getting Christmas cards from friends and family long and far. Reading their letters to get me updated on what happened over the year is one of my all time favorite past times.

Only these cards, weren't what I was expecting. I opened the first card to find a sympathy card. I read it, teared up a bit and moved on to the next, and the next, and the next. All sympathy cards. 

I love them too, don't get me wrong. I just wasn't expecting them.  I remember the shock I felt when the DadUnit died at how many sympathy cards I received and at the same time how comforting they were. I find these just as comforting.

They weren't Christmas cards, but they still, somehow, made my day.

Its turned cold here in the Pacific Northwest. We're breaking records right and left with just how cold it is. Woke up this morning to 18 degrees. That's insane and completely uncalled for here. Bring back the 40's.

Tomorrow at 11:50am, would you mind having a moment of silence for the big guy? It would surely warm my heart.

A poem

A friend of mine shared this with me on Facebook and it hit a chord. Now I'm sharing it with you.

Feel no guilt in laughter, he knows how much you care.
Feel no sorrow in a smile that he's not here to share.
You cannot grieve forever, he wouldn't want you to.
He had hopes you'd carry on, the way you always do.
So talk about the good times and the ways you showed you cared,
The days you spent together and the ways you showed you cared.
The days you spent together, all the happiness you shared
Let memories surround you, a word someone may say
Will suddenly recapture a time, an hour a day
That brings him back as clearly as though he were still here
And fills you with the feelings that he is always near.
For if you keep these moments, you will never be apart,
And he will live forever locked safe within your heart.

Two simple words...

"He's gone."

That's what I texted to my community of friends who were sitting vigil virtually.  November 30th at 11:50am, BigBro lost his battle with cancer.  The cancer was just more stubborn than he was.  He went peacefully with is family by his side.

The week leading up to it was just so overwhelming and so emotionally charged.  I would cry at the drop of any mention of him passing.  One look at The  Niece and I'd cry. One look at Mrs. Niece and I'd cry.  It was an impossible situation to not cry in, and I was ok with that.

If I've learned nothing over the years, it's been "let the tears flow".  They aren't a sign of weakness but a sign of hurt.  And hurt we felt.

BigBro really came into my life in 2008.  We were "family" before. Only doing things on birthday's
or the occasional holiday. Then in 2008 we trained for the 3day.  In those many training miles, we became friends. We became family.  The bond between us continued to grow, year after year, and I can say that he (and his wife) are two of my closest friends.  I'd call on them for anything.  Now he's gone.  Leaving us to grieve his loss and be so very thankful for the time we did have with him.

I think about all the things that will happen in the next day / month / year that he won't be a part of and it makes me very sad.  But the legacy he's left behind, the HUNDREDS of friends who have left condolences and well wishes is truly a sign of the man he was.  The ripple affect of the lives he's touched is enormous and hopefully will go on for years.

I miss you BigBro, today, tomorrow and always. Rest in peace.