Santa Baby...Hurry Down the Chimney Tonight

Kind of makes you rethink the whole family outing to visit Santa at the mall. Video compliments of my new favorite Christmas site, Sketchy Santas. You better hope the fat man coming down your chimney tonight is a little more convincing than some of these guys.

The Tree Stand that Hates Christmas

Last night Jesse and I went out and purchased our very first Christmas tree. I picked him up at his office and we stopped by our favorite Thai restaurant for fuel before the big search. As it turns out, we found the tree after about 3 minutes of looking. I decided quickly that I wasn't interested in the Douglas Fir trees (they have more puffy needles that go all the way around the branch). They are fine looking trees, but I was drawn to the Noble Firs that have thicker needles and more defined layers of branches. We took a pretty big risk buying the tree before the stand, given that earlier in the week I went to 5 different stores with no luck.

I read an interesting observation this week from a blogger who had a similar experience finding a tree stand this year too. He blamed it on the "Christmas Creep" that started long before Thanksgiving, so that by the time Christmas rolls around, the shelves are bare. I too was annoyed that stores had been sold out of Christmas tree stands two or three weeks before the actual event. It's not like I was running around on Christmas eve looking for something to hold my tree! I did find one store that carried $90 tree stands, which was just annoying given that our tree only cost $35.

Anyway, I popped into our local Ace Hardware (that I love more and more) this morning and luckily, they had just gotten a fresh shipment of perfectly reasonable $14 tree stands. Reasonable may be a stretch in this case, given that it took me 45 minutes to get the damn thing together. I read the very simple instructions: "Insert legs into indented slots and fit center ring. DO NOT insert legs on non-indented slots or your tree will fall over." I tried and tried, but the ring simply would not fit properly. After struggling for way too long, I inserted legs on the non-indented slots and voila! The ring slid right on. So if you are every in the market for the Ideal Brand^TM tree stand, do the exact opposite of the given instructions and save yourself a lot of cursing and fist waving.

I think our little tree looks pretty swell, but it certainly feels a bit naked in the corner -- even after stringing the lights. I wonder if a tree skirt would help? I'll just pile that on my to-do list for the rest of the week. (After a 30-minute diversion on the internet, I found that there is an abundance of really hideous Christmas tree skirts). Anyone have any ideas for something a little more mod? I'll have to put my thinking cap on for this one!

I'm hoping we'll have some time later this evening to start putting up the decorations. Jesse will have to bust out the Christmas tunes and I'll try to throw together some hot cider to make it feel more like the holidays. I also need to think about what we're going to do for Christmas dinner. It's just around the corner!

Weekend in D.C.

Last Thursday morning at 6am, I hauled my suitcase to the MAX station down the street in 13º weather to make my 8am flight to D.C. J had been in Maryland most of the week for a business trip, so we extended the stay through the weekend to meet up with friends and relax a little.

Our good friend, Kyle, defended his dissertation that evening and a bunch of the GW gang got together at a local bar for a celebration. I was happy to discover that Dr. Kyle did not let his new status go to his head, keeping conversations firmly in the gutter. As for the rest of the gang? I was pleased to find that we all just picked up where we last left off with relentlessness harassment, embarrassing story telling, being first-rate busybodies, and laughing until we cried. My ribs actually hurt when rolling over in bed that night. It was such a great evening.

On Friday and Saturday nights we got a sweet deal at the Churchill Hotel in Dupont Circle. Since J stays there often when he travels to D.C., they upgraded us to one of the king suites on the top floor with a view of the city. I swear the hotel room was almost bigger than our last apartment! Since J had to work on Friday in the morning and early afternoon, I went and had lunch at my old office and had a great visit with my coworkers and former boss. In the evening, J's office had its yearly office party and followed it up with a visit to U Street with Kyle, Sally, and Kevin.

Saturday was a little more low key, we slept in and had breakfast at the Florida Avenue Grill with Kurtis and Amanda. I opted for sides of macaroni and cheese and collard greens instead of the standard breakfast fare. The collard greens were mind-blowing. I couldn't finish them because they were so rich, but wow! Outstanding. On Saturday evening, we met up with Dan and Lydia, good friends and J's former co-workers. This visit felt like a true vacation and left me smiling all the way home.

This week is going to be pretty busy. I have a lot of things to accomplish before Christmas rolls around in just 11 days! Yikes!

I'm a Popsicle

This was Portland's weather status as of 6:45pm this evening. I'm officially a Popsicle.

In short, it's insanely cold here in the Pacific NW. Tonight, the low is supposed to hover around 15º and not really get above freezing tomorrow. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, this happened last year too in December. I seem to remember that it didn't last very long, except it was coupled with monumental amounts of snow. This time around though, we're just getting a terrible arctic breeze that cuts through every layer of my clothing. After walking around this afternoon, my skin feels like it was given a good sanding and is absorbing lotion like a sponge.

As a result of the arctic air mass hovering over Portland, I have spent a great deal of time jumping from room to room, closing the door, and blasting the heater to keep warm. The rest of the apartment has been sacrificed to the cold -- I don't even want to go into the dining room and kitchen, as I'm sure it resembles the ice palace scene from Dr. Zhivago. I never thought I'd say it, but I sure do miss having those radiator pipes pumping constant heat through the walls and keeping the apartment a balmy 78º during the winter. Is it so wrong to want to walk around in a tank top in December?

I've already gotten votes of "Alexander the Grape" and "Strawberry Short Kook" for favorite Otter Pop flavors. I haven't decided, but I think I'll go with "Little Orphan Orange" in honor of my multiple layers of clothes, wool socks and slippers, and the oh-so-attractive static-cling hairdo. What's your favorite ice pop flavor?

No Inspirado

I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving. Where did the time go? I had a great visit with Jesse's family last week and got to meet The Crane Wife & Ancient Indian Wizard's awesome baby boy. Despite my great time in Santa Cruz, I did not take a single photo. So, what have I been up to you ask? Well, sorting out the tedious details of moving, like transferring insurance, calling around to find out where the heck our mail has gone for the past two weeks, and general sorting through piles of crap to find underwear and my toothbrush. I also have that pesky class to finish with a paper/presentation that just won't write itself.

I have made progress though. I unpacked the kitchen and was able to cook an actual, wholesome, delicious meal on Tuesday night -- black-eyed peas with sausage and roasted carrots with a balsamic glaze. Yum! It's been pretty cold in Portland lately, only getting into the low 40s during the day, so the beans were a nice stick-to-your-ribs meal. I was thankful for the leftovers, since I really didn't feel like cooking yesterday after preparing all afternoon for class. I am actually counting the hours between now and next Wednesday when I will finally be finished with school work for a few weeks. Winter quarter doesn't start until January 4th, so I'll have a bit of time to really get into unpacking over the next couple of weeks.

Also, I'm heading to D.C. next Thursday to meet up with Jesse for a long weekend. Our friend Kyle is defending his dissertation and we're going to spend a frosty weekend in our old home town. I'm excited to meet up with friends and kick off the holiday season!