2009 in review

Well, it’s that time of year again – time to say goodbye to one year, and prepare to greet the next.  As you look back on 2009, I pray there were more smiles than tears.  And whether you plan to usher in 2010 with a bang, or a quiet hello, I pray this next year will be bright & happy. 

For my faithful readers, thanks for hanging out with me this year.  For those who are new, here’s what you missed:

Beans, beans, the magical fruit …

One of my goals for the new year is to eat more veggies.   I’ve been wretched … wretched I tell you … since staying home.  Working outside the home, you see, I could pack a lunch that included carrots and the like, and then I would have to eat them, or go hungry.  When I’m home, however, I can just  … I don’t know … eat more cookies or something.  This leaves a pitiful display of vegetables with dinner.  And that, is that. 

And, since it looks like freelance may be the route for me, I must get off this crazy train. 

So, more veggies.  And they must be tasty, or I’ll simply ignore.  Thankfully, I love me a good vegetable.  I’m just at a loss if you expect me to do more than a side.  With that in mind, I’ve called in the troops.  A vegetarian cookbook - one that seemed to hold promise – is on it’s way; and I’ve taken a few baby steps.  By baby steps I mean the recipes tried thus far have not been entirely healthy (processed ingredients don’t you know – as the true vegetarians GASP(!) in alarm!).  Still, it’s a start.  And a delectable start at that. 

Take Black Bean Pizza for instance.   So quick, so easy, so de-lic-ious!   And you can get the recipe here.

And then it was gone…

The services have been conducted, the candles lit; the cookies have been baked, the dinners served; the presents have been unwrapped and Santa has handed over the reins for another year.  All that anticipation and Christmas is gone in the blink of an eye.   

In some ways, I just want to get the new year started already.  I’m a bit of a perfectionist, don’t you know; I like to know what’s coming down the pike.  To prepare.  As I head into 2010, however, things are up in the air.  There’s no way of knowing how it all will settle.  It’s a bit disconcerting.  Granted, as I look back on those years where I thought I knew what the year would hold, I knew nothing of the sort.  Still, the illusion was nice.  And so it is that I feel a bit like Kuzko from The Emperor’s New Groove:

Pacha: Uh-oh.
Kuzco: Don’t tell me. We’re about to go over a huge waterfall.
Pacha: Yep.
Kuzco: Sharp rocks at the bottom?
Pacha: Most likely.
Kuzco: Bring it on.

On the other hand, maybe I’ll just keep Christmas going a bit longer.  Maybe I’ll sip some hot cocoa, nibble cherry delights, wrap up in a warm blankey, and gaze at the Christmas lights.  Just a little longer.  Yes, I do believe that’s what I’ll do …

Merriest of Christmas wishes to you

I love this picture.  A snapshot of Christmas past, it shows my aunt and her rocking horse, at Christmas.  Such a precious reminder that Christmas is about love … and magic … and memories.  And that’s precisely what I wish for you, dear readers – that you would be surrounded by those you love most … that whether young or old, you’d sense a hint of magic … and memories?  Well, I pray your memories would be sweet enough to warm your heart for a lifetime. 

Christmas mouse

I’ve always held a certain fondness for mice.  Not the stuck-in-the-walls-scratching kind, but those of make-believe (though, I must admit, my brother had a pet rat when we were growing up who I absolutely adored; I would take a pet rat over a little yippy dog any day of the week, hands down).   Though I’m not sure where this affinity originated, I’m thinking it might have something to do with Santa Mouse, by Michael Brown.  It was a book my mom read to me each year at Christmas. 

So, imagine my delight when I opened the package from Sweden and found this …

Seriously.  A handsome Swedish Christmas Mouse.  Can you even stand it?  I, obviously, cannot …

And so, this Christmas, if you please

Beneath the tree that’s in your house,

Why don’t you leave

a piece of cheese?

You know who’ll thank you?

Santa Mouse!